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Anno Domini 829, August-25
While wiping the blood from my sword with a cloth, they finally brought before me the tribal leader of a Slavic group that lived in Transylvania.
We had crossed the mountains searching for a place where iron could be found and exploited, and during the advance we discovered more Vlach and Rhomaioi settlements, descendants of Romans who still spoke Latin tongues, thanks to several Vlachs who had joined my forces as translators I could communicate with them. Many of those settlements had asked me for protection against the Slavic tribes, and I granted it under one clear condition, that they would recognize Emperor Theophilos as their lord and therefore acknowledge me as their governor.
"Translate these words" I said to the Vlach while continuing to wipe the blood from the blade.
"Yes my governor" he replied, bowing his head before turning to look at the Slavic leader.
"Bulgaria is destroyed, the new lords of these lands are Rome. You have two choices now, bend the knee and swear loyalty to me and I will treat you as one of my own, or I will cover you in chains and you will die working the fields alongside your men, women and children".
The Vlach translated calmly, the Slav looked at him for a few seconds before answering in his own language.
"He accepts" said the translator.
The tribal leader lowered his head until it nearly touched the ground while speaking a few more words.
"Remove his ropes" I ordered while standing up.
One of my hird drew his dagger and cut the bindings, the Slav slowly moved his wrists while watching me carefully.
Without saying anything else I took my sword by the blade and offered it to him.
"A gift, serve me well and one day you will stand like them" I said, pointing toward my hird.
The Vlach translated, the Slavic leader took the sword with both hands and gripped it tightly before returning to his people, who remained prisoners or lay dead on the ground.
We began freeing the captives and returning their horses, slowly they returned to the tents they had raised among the ruins of old settlements they used as their homes.
"Good, it seems we are staying here, let us continue" I said as I mounted my horse again.
"Are you certain about letting the Slavs go?" the Vlach asked with some hesitation.
"They may betray me or they may not, but without the Bulgars who once united their tribes they can do little. You said it yourself, the Slavs have begun fighting among themselves and have grown more violent, they are trying to see who will become the dog that commands, and that dog will be Rome. Now let us move on, we must reach the settlement that offered its submission in exchange for protection".
As we advanced several Slavic riders began to join our march, following us at a distance, some belonged to the same tribe we had defeated not long ago.
It was nothing unusual, in these lands once defeated the Slavs tended to cooperate without much resistance, they knew how to recognize who held authority. Many of them lived nomadic or semi-nomadic lives, traveling on horseback and proving to be excellent scouts, they were the ones who began pointing out the locations of other tribes where the same process repeated itself.
Many Slavs had once abandoned the lands of the Empire but now they were settling in Hungary and Transylvania, if we did nothing sooner or later another great nomadic tribe would rise from the steppes, subjugate all the peoples of the region and we would once again face new Bulgars on our borders, only under another name, that is why it was essential to create a vassal state in the Hungarian plains, Transylvania and Wallachia.
For now everything was going well, we had subjugated dozens of Slavic tribes, some by force and others by simple fear, my army also continued to grow. Slowly Vlachs, Rhomaioi and Slavs joined our cavalry forces while we imposed imperial authority throughout the region.
The defeated Slavic tribes were dispersed among the existing settlements and the local leaders were left responsible for keeping watch over them. Many of them knew their languages, though there were far too many dialects to learn them all, so the most practical solution was to leave that task to the Vlach and Rhomaioi communities.
"We are approaching strategos, Brașov" said one of the riders pointing toward the horizon.
Before us stood the ruins of what appeared to have once been an old Roman fortress, heavily deteriorated and surrounded by small villages.
"Well, it is not what they promised me but we will have to work with it" I replied while urging my horse forward.
We rode toward the place and soon a small group of poorly armed riders came out to meet us.
"Greetings Roman, our voivode has been expecting you" one of them said, gesturing for us to follow.
We advanced with my cavalry escort to the gates of the fortress, the walls were in poor condition as if no one had maintained them for years.
The gates opened and allowed us to enter, shortly afterward they brought me before the local leader of the Vlachs.
He was quite young, he barely had a beard and his expression showed a mixture of nervousness and expectation.
"Welcome noble Roman, we have awaited your arrival ever since we heard you had crossed the Danube to defend these lands. Your great victory against the Bulgars has not gone unnoticed here, without the khan's men these lands have grown violent once again, no one can impose peace" said the voivode as he rose from his wooden seat, speaking in surprisingly fluent Greek.
"Yes things have grown violent, I am hunting the Slavic tribes and the Bulgar remnants who escaped, we need operational bases in this region so I have come to collect the word you gave voivode" I said while watching him calmly so he would give me his name.
"Dragomir" he replied.
"A name with Slavic influence".
"My father's attempt to curry favor with the Bulgars, but now it seems to work against me" he answered while looking directly at me.
"Very well Dragomir, I have come to claim the word you gave, in exchange for Rome's help you would submit as a vassal of the Empire".
"Of course, I know your host is large but I would like to know how many riders you have, the Slavic threat here is serious".
"Around five thousand, and I could gather more if necessary, many are still operating in the south".
"That is excellent" said the voivode as he walked toward me and knelt.
Without wasting time I made him swear loyalty to the emperor and then gestured for him to rise.
"Now, what comes next?" the young voivode asked.
"For the moment we will begin subjugating other Slavic tribes and making the remaining voivodes pay tribute to the Empire, so some of your riders will join my forces and grain will be provided for the horses. We will not remain here long before moving again, we will rest today, I assume you have a forge, I need to work on something" I said while looking at the voivode.
"Of course… of course… I will give everything within my reach, my governor" the voivode replied, gesturing for me to follow him.
We left the central fortress and soon their granaries were opened. They provided a good amount of food for the horses while my men dismounted, let the animals rest and raised the camp.
While selecting the places we needed to fortify I had a clear objective, I had to secure control of the region before returning south. If I managed to secure the Carpathian mountains and the Danube river as a frontier we would have a solid defensive line behind which vassal states could be established.
With that in mind I took several steel ingots I carried with me and began forging a new sword.
"Why did you give your sword to that Slav?" Sigurd asked while working the bellows.
"What was the first thing you thought when your father presented you with one of my swords?" I replied without taking my eyes off the metal.
"That it was a very good sword" Sigurd answered.
"That is exactly what the Slavic leader thought, and he will understand that Roman weapons are better than anything they can obtain now that the Bulgars are gone, they will understand it is better to serve us" I said while heating the steel.
Sigurd let out a small laugh."And how are you dealing with that problem of yours?"
"It is nothing important Sigurd, I have control over my impulses, otherwise I would no longer have a head" I replied while watching the ingot turn red inside the forge.
"Just get yourself a slave and be done with it, nobody will say anything about it, most would even approve, besides you relaxed the rules about women" Sigurd said while continuing to pump the bellows.
"I did it because the Varangians took many slaves and I had no way to keep them outside the camps, there was not much I could do. Besides it helps if they begin having children, these lands need population, if the Varangians have children with them it is good for everyone, but I did not do it out of kindness" I replied while grabbing the ingot with the tongs and beginning to hammer it.
"Bah… nobody cares Basil. If you want I can get you a good looking slave, I can buy one from someone… or capture one for you" Sigurd said while watching the steel begin to take shape beneath the hammer.
"Do not worry Sigurd. I live by my rules and I will die by my rules, I will not be a hypocrite. I eat the same food as my men and follow the same rules I impose, I am not different from them, everyone who serves me is my equal and I will not enjoy privileges" I replied while striking the steel hard, it was still too cold to work easily.
"Yes… I have even seen you standing guard when we do not march the next day" Sigurd said.
At that moment one of the Varangians entered the forge.
"What is it?" I asked while looking at him.
Sigurd glanced at the newcomer and sighed.
"I have… something to do Basil" he said before quickly leaving the room.
*
Sigurd departed and the Varangian slowly approached me with his hands close to his waist.
I extended my arm and firmly gripped the tongs. If necessary I could throw the red hot steel at his face.
But the Varangian began removing his armor, first the Brigantine, then the helmet.
When the helmet fell to the floor I saw the trick, a false beard had been attached to the helmet. Beneath it appeared a woman's face.
"Brynhildr… for a moment I thought Sigurd had sold me out" I said while bringing my hands to my face.
She smiled while beginning to remove her mail shirt and her gambeson. Beneath it her chest was tightly bound with cloth. When she untied the strips the bandage fell to the ground and revealed her torso, an abdomen completely toned and crossed by several scars.
"Eh… what are you doing?" I asked while watching her strip her upper body.
"Sigurd told me you were alone…" she replied while cutting the last pieces of cloth that kept her chest bound and stepping closer.
"I remind you that I allowed you into the army on the condition that you pass as a man" I said while watching her as her chest was finally free.
"And that is exactly what I have done my dear strategos" she replied with a smile. "A false beard made from the trimmings of my uncle's beard and some of my own hair. Nobody knows who I am. Have you heard any complaint about me? I kept my word… but you are alone, and so am I, very alone".
She moved closer and placed her hands on my face, trying to push one finger between my lips.
"I am married and—" I tried to say.
Brynhildr placed a finger on my mouth to silence me."Shh… you are a powerful and wealthy man. A second wife… or a concubine if you think I am not of your rank" she said while placing her muscular arm full of scars beside my head against the wall of the forge, biting her lip as she looked at me.
Brynhildr was taller than me so her chest was almost in front of my face. Almost all of Hakon's family were giants.
I could feel the hardest erection of my life while I closed my eyes, wondering whether my honor and my loyalty were truly worth more than that.
I felt her hand near my mouth again. When I opened my eyes Brynhildr was holding one of her breasts in her hand while smiling at me.
"No… no… please withdraw. I will not be a hypocrite" I said while struggling against my own instincts.
"Oh? Really? You do not want to help this poor maiden without children solve her problem?" she whispered near my ear. "My father might force me to return home to marry… but you could help me remain here".
I exhaled deeply as if regretting my own words."No… please… Brynhildr withdraw".
She clicked her tongue and began gathering her clothes and armor, though she also removed her trousers for a moment, revealing her strong thighs and the small golden bush between her legs.
"If you change your mind you know where to find me… though I may come looking for you first" she said while passing a hand over her chest and then along her thighs.
I bit my lip while looking at those thighs that could crush a skull.
I watched her dress again calmly, place her armor back on, put on the helmet and wink at me before leaving.
A short while later Sigurd entered.
"Quite a hird you are" I said while looking at him and sitting down to hide the erection that still remained.
"Meh… she was not going to do anything to you. But I am surprised you resisted" Sigurd replied with a shrug.
"Yes… I almost could not" I admitted still somewhat agitated.
"A pity. We would have been family" Sigurd said with a crooked smile. "Though that can still be arranged in the future".
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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