1453: Revival of Byzantium

The moment Halfdan saw these heads, he knew that things are going to escalate out of control. Because he recognised the face of Yuri within one of them, as he grew up with a Varangian background hearing the tales of Yuri from his brother since young. If one face is not enough to verify the identity of these people, then there is another Varangian whom Halfdan recognises too, as he is Halfdan's boot camp instructor who gave him a life resembling hell at the start of his career.

Halfdan sat there, utterly speechless looking at the five heads before him, with his own head already been stirred up with thoughts. A minute later he suddenly grinned, it is a bitter smile, as he whispered in a volume that only he could hear it. "First it is my father, then it is my father, and now it is you people… Is it true that they say Hel and the death that comes along with him is the only fate lying on the end of the path of all Varangians?"

The troubled Varangian trudged around his tent, and finally after deciding on some thing, he sat back there burning mid night oil, and scripted two letters. One for the admiral in Drama, and another one for his superior Helio. The second generation Varangian sat there rooted for a while, and then went out of his tent to have a taste of fresh mountain air, passing it to two of his guards asking them to deliver the letter immediately, each with four people as escorts. Then Halfdan remained outside, gazing the stars and moon of the summer sky.

It is already mid night, with most of his men already in their dreams preparing their strength for what is going to come tomorrow, with only random guards and patrols going around checking for safety. Halfdan wandered around for a while, stared at the wooden fortress a distance away, and suddenly smiled. But it is not that kind of typical smile when on feels happy, instead it is a smile of evilness, a smile that revealed his canine out of his beard. He, is a Varangian too, despite not being in a Varangian unit. And what these bastards have showed him today, shall only increase the natural ambition and cry inside him to revenge, and tear down those faces of these rogues to see what kind of demon is hidden beneath the skin.

The smile quickly disappeared after another lieutenant approached him from the back, expressing concerns about his superior saying that he should not be here alone in the coldness when it is already mid night. Halfdan smirked and gave him a whack of brotherhood on his back, then ventured back to his tent. He still remembers one of the teaching his drill instructor, whose head is rolling here now, taught him. He could still remember this man roaring at a voice that is constantly bombarding their ear drums.

"All recruits must have seven hours of uninterrupted sleep! I do not care if you can sleep or not, but do not let me catch you doing any other stuff like talking crap and fapping! Just close your eyes and freaking sleep!"

The offensive continued the next day, Halfdan threw in twice as more people as compared to yesterday, with the aim to pull all of the buggers hiding within those walls to come out and submit. Not to kill them, of course, as death would be certainly too cheap for him. He wants to bring these people to the old neighbourhood belonging to the Varangians, where they would have a true taste of what pain feels like. But just as the attack progresses, it got interrupted by the arrival of another man, that is the commander of the entire army group Helio himself.

Even Halfdan is surprised, he certainly does not believe that his man can travel across the mountains, down to the plains and find where Helio is within half a day and come back using the next half of the day. So, there can only be one possibility, his superior received another piece of order from another higher up, ordering him to come here personally in the search for some thing. And that higher up can be non other than the admiral himself. Hence, with out further ado Halfdan led Helio inside his tent and showed him the five heads being placed on the table.

Helio too did not know what to say when he saw these heads, he recognised Yuri with just one look. That was his buddy, his comrade his companion for years. He is still in a mode of shock, unable to believe that this Varangian who is known for valour and strength did not die in an epic battle, but instead sacrificed in a sneak attack by a bunch of anti social rogues. He is remorseful, for he got part of the underlying responsibility in causing this to happen. He is in charge in the security of the entire region, and it is his fault that he did not discover such a huge bunch of heretic rebels in time.

Now the issue has became way too large for even the two of them over here to decide, in no time a third letter written by Helio is being sent towards Drama seeking their admiral's instruction. But what they did not know is that the usual peaceful city of Drama now, is almost like a boiling tea pot, with the cover going to blow at any time.

Antonius was already preparing for the worst that might come after not receiving any piece of news for more than a month, but when the letter from the junior officer Halfdan came to his desk, it still gave a shock to him that almost made him fall when getting up. He too could not believe that his first Varangian, the legacy in his army died to easily in a clash with bandits. He could not think it through, and now he has no idea how to face the families of these Varangian, and Nikolas' brother Mikhail, for he promised the man as the supreme leader that his brother shall be home safely. Most importantly, this event of Yuri's death reminded him of one thing, his friends, his companions, his trusted pals, they can all die one day, and Yuri is just a start.

Antonius sat there in his office for an entire day not moving by an inch, not drinking any thing, and not eating any thing. Alexios observed him with his eyes filled by worries, trying all he could to comfort the admiral making his struggle with himself a bit easier. Alexios is probably the busiest person today in this building, for he got to run up stairs first to try to comfort the admiral, then run down stairs to comfort the teenager Mikhail who is weeping over the loss of his only brother, and then he got to run up stairs again to repeat the cycle.

While inside the city, every single street is now occupied with armoured troopers running around and falling in to formations, lining up before the streets and parade squares of the government house. They have been informed of this humiliating defeat that happened right beneath their watch, merely a few Roman miles away resulting in one of their high ranking commanders getting such a discriminating way to die. This is a shame, a disgrace, an ignominious loss that will be marked as one of the most degrading event since the creation of Antonius' army. They are waiting for a clear instruction from their admiral, their icon, their supreme leader, to march off towards the south.

Alexios came back up the next day to find his admiral, and found him seating alone by himself at the balcony, right under the gazing sun light. He has already worn his armour, with his same old cutlass by his side. Antonius just sat there quietly, without making any sounds, in fact Alexios almost thought that his liege has already fallen asleep in the position until Antonius suddenly opened his eyes and said in a peaceful tone. "You are here."

"Aye I am here admiral." Alexios signed and approached. "Admiral, have you decided on what to do?"

"What do you think I should do?"

"I do not know, and I do not think about such questions." Alexios stood behind Antonius and replied. "But I only know that no matter what you do, you need to remain calm, do not let rage and sorrow take over your mind. We cannot start an internal campaign on our own lands, stabbing on ourselves, it shall destroy the fragile economic foundation we have just built. If we go back to a war time situation, the merchant route to Drama shall be sealed off quickly, you know."

Antonius nodded slightly in agreement.

Knowing that the later has made up his mind, Alexios heaved a sigh of relief and left the room, his job as an advisor is done over here.