10th November 1444. On the plains stood two armies facing each other.
One the army of the broken treaty and the other the army of the oath.
In the middle of the plain was a lance with a piece of paper that was the peace treaty of Szeged, broken by a man who stood with the army of god.
King Wladyslaw III with the promise of eternal glory by the pope, was leading this army and next to him with his silk emblazoned papal banner was the man who broke the treaty — Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini.
In that freezing morning three thousand armoured knights with lances levelled up were waiting for the order. King Wladyslaw seeking his glory walked his horse a few paces in front of the waiting cavalry, slowly raising his sword from its sheath, stretching out his arm, looked back at his army, turning his head looking towards the army in front of him and with that shouted: For God.
Three thousand knights heavily armoured charged — thundering down the plains to become a barrier of unstoppable force.
Waiting for them was Murad II who only a few months prior abdicated for a more peaceful life passing his position of Sultan to Mehmed II who was only twelve.
When the treaty of peace was broken, the Grand Vizier advised Murad to return to the palace, to which he refused. Hearing this, Mehmed II sent his father a letter. Return to lead your army or I order you to lead my army.
With the noise of twelve thousand iron clad hooves thundering down the plains. Murad pointed his sword at the lance with the piece of paper and shouted to his army with bows fixed: My brothers. Let the cross never forget. If they do, then let the earth remind them who kept the oath.
The charging knights were completely unaware that the previous rain at the basin of the plain had gathered forming a mire. Landing in the field of mud, what was a charge instantly became a slow marauding pace of awkwardness.
Kasim, who had meticulously planned for this eventuality and seizing the moment. Shouted. Fire. Ten thousand light flight arrows were launched into the field of awkwardness, hitting every horse, bringing them down with their mounts and let the record state.
Armour and mud makes an open grave.
Archers. Shouted Kasim. Trained archers stepped forward and from two hundred yards with the knights struggling in the mud, looked for gaps. Their aim sent them to where they were promised.
The King, seeing this disaster and drunk on immortality, charged with sword in hand towards the Ottoman royal camp. He never got as far for he got hit with an arrow, fell and with one swoop of an Ottoman sword his head was chopped off, his golden helmet rolled off into the mud.
Witnessing this, the holy army became a panicked mob. They quickly dispersed running back to the plateau.
Cardinal Cesarini, in panic threw away his silk papal banner that was blessed by the pope and turned his horse round to retreat back to the plateau. He too didn’t go as far, for the panicked mob cornered him, blaming him for the chaos that was brought to them, dragged him off his horse, stripped him naked as a sign of humiliation and attacked his body with their scythes till he was lifeless. They then dragged his mutilated body to the field of open grave to rot.
History has taught — that an army of a broken oath was completely wiped out by the army that honours it.
The boy Sultan Mehmed II awaited in Edirne for the news from Varna. Wondering did he or did he not have an empire. On a cold November morning the fate of the western alliance reached him, and the boy learnt a lesson that would determine his reasoning with the holy church.
Kasim, who nine years later would be standing approximately two hundred and fifty yards in front of the walls of Constantinople.
Kasim is alive only in the novel.
The defeat in Varna not only sealed the fate of the Crusade. No one knew it also sealed the destiny of Constantinople.
Forge of Equilibrium
Arrives May 29th 2027
574 years to the day since the wall broke