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Anno Domini 828,June-26
Pov of the Wālī of Anṭākiya
"Then… how many n are there outside the walls?" I asked as I studied the map of Anṭākiya spread before us, fully aware that the infidels were already at our gates.
"We do not yet know with certainty, my wālī," my assistant replied cautiously. "But our scouts estimate around thirty thousand, perhaps a few more. The recruitnt was solid. We can trust that they will not take the walls easily, even if part of our n lack experience."
I nodded in silence as we looked upon the camp of the Rūmīya, whose fires stretched before the gates of Anṭākiya like a sea of embers.
"This is not an enemy to be taken lightly," I said at last. "Have the Christian guards been removed from the walls and reassigned to internal duties, as I ordered?"
"Yes, my wālī. They have been taken away from the ramparts. However, the naqīb of the infidels keep asking why we distrust them."
I frowned. "It is the only explanation I can find for the swift fall of the wālī of Ḥimṣ. I know he attacked too early, but to lose every city under his control in less than a month is strange. Without help from within, such a thing would be impossible. It is true that the Rūmīya possess a considerable army and could have overwheld the garrisons… but Ḥimṣ… it does not fit."
I moved to the window and watched the enemy fires burning in the darkness.
"The caliph has already sent his word," my assistant added with confidence. "When the fortresses of Anatolia fall, he will send reinforcents for this campaign. If we endure for one or two months, we will be safe. The granaries are not as full as we would wish, part of the supplies were sent to Cilicia, but we can withstand the siege without imposing harsh rationing. I doubt the Rūmīya will attempt to divert the river. They do not have enough n for such a work."
I slowly shook my head.
"Do not underestimate the Rūmīya. If they have co this far, it is not by chance. Allāh will grant us victory when the caliph's army arrives, but until then we walk upon a sharpened blade. We have troops committed in Cilicia, and now this enemy before our walls. Reinforcents will co, yes… but until then we must remain vigilant. The enemy leader must be clever. He will know how to exploit even the smallest of our mistakes. Double the guards tonight. I want no surprises in the darkness."
With that, I withdrew, thinking of how to make their siege even more difficult.
That night I slept beside my wife. She asked whether we would withstand the encirclent, and I cald her fears by reminding her that Allāh is just with those who persevere. We only needed to endure.
Listening to my wife's soft moans as she held tightly, her legs wrapped around my waist, I felt energized, as if the weariness of the day faded in that instant. Each ti I let my weight fall upon her, small sounds escaped her lips, and I felt her nails dig into my back, marking my skin and returning to the urgency of the mont. Her breathing grew uneven and broken, and her body answered every movent with a tension that pulled onward, unwilling to stop.
Her eyes, like bright stars in the night, were fixed upon as I quickened the rhythm and then held it firm, listening to the dull sound as I pressed deeply into her. I began to play with her generous breasts, feeling her warmth beneath my hands, while she continued to moan, clinging to more tightly, losing control of her breath and giving herself over to the steady sway that shaped the night.
I was close to finishing when my wife gripped hard and moaned far louder than usual, a sound she could not contain, just as I began to hear a commotion in the distance.
We stopped. We both turned our eyes toward the window.
I rose at once. Torches. Many of them. Too many. They were burning near one of the gates.
My heart pounding in my chest, I began to dress when my assistant burst into the room, pale as ash.
"My wālī! The Rūmīya… they are inside the city!" he cried, his voice breaking.
"How is it possible that they have entered?" I roared.
"I do not know, my wālī… I only know that they are already within the walls," he said, fear heavy in his voice.
I turned my gaze outward and saw the gates opening. Enemy shadows were beginning to pour in.
"May Allāh protect us," I murmured, watching the scene unfold.
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Pov Basil
I slamd one of the Sarakenoi guards against the city wall, driving into him with my shoulder. I heard his grunt of pain and, before he could even react, I drew my dagger and cut his throat. Blood burst out in torrents as the Sarakenoi tried to cover the wound with his hands, uselessly soaking his clothes as he collapsed.
I felt a blow to my shoulder. I turned and saw another guard trying to reach with his curved sword.
I did not waste ti. I threw a straight punch at his face. He shut his eyes as the impact struck his mouth. I stepped forward, grabbed his right arm, and holding his head, smashed it against the wall once, twice, three tis. On the third impact I saw one of his eyes burst from its socket. The body fell to the ground without resistance.
I looked around. It was the sa everywhere. Dead Sarakenoi. Broken legs. n crawling across the ground, groaning in pain. Others with crushed skulls after direct blows to the head, bone fragnts and matter scattered across the stone pavent.
"Move, the gate," I shouted, pointing toward it.
Several of the Varangians of my hird rushed forward and began removing the security asures, thick wooden beams that prevented the gate from opening.
With the help of the garrisons that had changed sides and my own n, who acted as the vanguard in nearly every sector, the Sarakenoi who ran in desperation to stop us from opening the gate simply fell without offering resistance, crushed against the steel wall ford by my troops.
There was no order in their ranks. Only terrified guards running without coordination. So ca out without armor, carrying little more than a spear or a sword, trying to join improvised groups forming in front of us.
We held our positions while my n worked to open the gate. From the other side ca the constant clash of steel. My entire army was already waiting outside, ready to enter the mont the passage was clear.
The dull crash of a beam striking the stone roadway caught my attention. An instant later, the gate gave way completely. Without resistance.
Thousands of my n began to pour in like an unstoppable tide.
"In the na of the Empire, death to the Sarakenoi," I shouted, raising my weapon.
All of my hird and the soldiers around shouted with and began charging against the defenders, who were already completely terrified.
A wave of steel crashed into the garrisons trying to block the streets. With the little armor they wore, they were no match for our armored forces.
Abdons pierced by the point of a polehamr. Knees shattered. Skulls split open with a single blow.
Those were the most common wounds visible as Varangians and Greeks, clad in steel, pushed rcilessly through the streets. The Sarakenoi could do nothing against that compact mass. Their swords bounced uselessly off our armor, and the only options left to them were to retreat or die.
"ODIN," shouted one of the Varangian jarls to my left.
He seed completely possessed by murderous fury. He swung his polehamr from side to side, breaking bones, crushing bodies, driving back nearly a dozen Sarakenoi by himself. The corpses he left behind and his roars were enough to shatter any attempt at resistance, while his n followed him like unleashed beasts.
"Did soone give him mushrooms?" I asked, glancing sideways.
"A beer… special, with rye infected by a fungus that so of them use," Sigurd replied, watching the scene calmly.
"Keep an eye on him. I do not want him killing Christians," I said, as I watched the Sarakenoi begin to fall back in all directions under the constant pressure of my troops, who kept pouring in through the gate.
"Take control of the other gates. Move, move. The more gates we open, the more reinforcents we can bring in," I ordered, pointing out to the kentarchoi accompanying the areas where the other siege camps faced the remaining gates.
Seeing that everything was going well, it beca clear that the Sarakenoi were dying in complete chaos. It did not take long to see the forces of the Christian garrison openly switch to our side, beginning to stab their forr comrades in the back. They cut off escape routes, trapping several thousand Sarakenoi between the furious Varangians and themselves.
As I moved through the sea of half-ruined houses, I saw another gate open and a new massive group of troops begin to enter the city. The sounds of battle echoed in every direction. Bodies lay everywhere. People ran in desperation, seeking refuge wherever they could, while the dead continued to pile up without pause.
Once I confird that victory was practically assured and that my direct intervention was no longer necessary, I gathered my hird and we began moving back the way we had co. We descended once more into the sewer, imdiately assaulted by the unbearable stench that filled our nostrils.
"My strategos… shall I guide you to the fortress?" asked the guide, who had remained hidden, waiting for the worst to pass.
"Yes. It seems we will take the city soon. Many of the Sarakenoi did not expect an attack on the sa day. Most of them only had their sword in hand, without even ti to put on armor. Even so, there are still nearly eighteen thousand left to kill, so it will be a long night for everyone," I replied as we descended again into the sewers.
"Very well, let us go," said the guide, moving through the tunnels as if he knew every stretch by heart.
"So you deal in smuggling," I remarked as I advanced carefully to avoid stepping into the stagnant, filthy water.
"One could say that. The Sarakenoi do not like us consuming alcohol. It is haram. Getting beer or wine is difficult, and if they catch you, it is usually lashes or a heavy fine. So were granted permission to produce wine, but it is limited and only for religious use. Where there is scarcity, there is business," he explained, stopping to remove several bars and allow us to move forward.
"I see. I might have work for you after this," I said as we kept walking, hearing soone slip and fall into the water, followed by muffled laughter.
"That… is good. Silence now, we are beneath the walls," he whispered, lowering his voice as we entered a visibly cleaner and better maintained section of the sewer.
We advanced with greater caution. The sounds of battle ca muted from above our heads, screams, blows, shouted orders, all blended into distant chaos.
"We are here. To the right are the barracks baths. From there you could quickly take control of the walls if you act fast. To the left are the private baths of the citadel of Antioch. The wali of the city might be there," the guide explained.
"The left," I decided without hesitation. "If we capture him and take him out of there, his n may surrender when they see their leader has fallen."
Before moving on, I stopped for a mont. "And one more thing. Remind to reward you generously when this is over. Your work has been crucial."
The guide nodded with a restrained smile.
"Of course… I will remind you," he said, turning around to go back the way he had co, likely trying to be as far away as possible from what we were about to do.
We moved in silence as much as possible for five hundred n in heavy armor, each step marked by the unavoidable tallic sound of steel. We advanced to the end of the tunnel, where I could make out sothing like a tal cover with water dripping through it. When we removed it, a torrent fell over us, soaking completely.
"Bah… I am going to need a good bath after this," I muttered, looking at Sigurd, who covered his nose and shut his eyes, trying to hold back his laughter.
I removed the cover and climbed up with my dagger in hand, bracing my feet and back against the wall until I reached what appeared to be the latrines. From there I began helping my n climb up, while I heard voices nearby.
"By Allah… what are we going to do? The Romans are everywhere. The whole city is full of them," said one voice.
"But how did they get in? We removed the infidels from the walls," replied another.
"It must have been the Persian dogs. They opened the gates for them. I knew it. We should never have brought them," added a third.
More and more n climbed up, and the murmur of those voices, together with the chaos of the fighting in the city, covered the noise we were making.
"Has anyone checked the storehouses? Do we have food to withstand a siege?" asked another.
"What siege, idiot? Do you not see how many Romans there are? When they finish killing those still outside, they will launch a general assault and that will be the end of it," soone replied in desperation.
"What are they saying?" Sigurd asked when he saw listening closely.
"They are desperate," I replied with a smile.
Once a sufficient number of n had climbed up, I gave the order to move out.
"The Romans. The Romans are here," one of the guards shouted when he saw us erge.
"How?" another cried, reaching for his sword.
I charged at them, using the polehamr like a spear. Before he could react, the first already had the point driven through his chest. I pulled the weapon free and, gripping it with both hands, smashed his skull with the hamr head, splattering the walls with blood.
Sigurd rushed past like an unleashed beast. The other two tried to flee, but he tackled them, slamming them into the ground, and smashed their heads against the stones again and again until they stopped moving.
"Good work. We keep going," I said.
We advanced through the citadel of Antioch with almost no resistance. We secured the main door from the inside, bracing it with beams to prevent reinforcents from entering. We began to climb and encountered several city administrators carrying books and objects. When they saw us, they froze and began to scream, but we ignored them and kept climbing, searching for the wali.
We searched every level of the citadel. We found only empty rooms, tax collectors, scribes, and terrified officials. Finally we reached the top level, where we found a group of won and children hiding.
"Where is the wali?" I asked.
There was no answer. I grabbed one of the won by her clothing and dragged her to the window.
"Where is the wali?" I repeated, tilting her toward the void.
"I… I do not know… he said he was going to help his n on the walls," she replied, crying.
"Damn it. I thought he would hide like a coward," I said, releasing her roughly.
"Where is he?" Sigurd asked, watching them coldly.
"It seems he is outside," I replied, cursing silently. I did not want to go out to the walls, where there could still be hundreds or thousands of defenders holding out.
As we descended, I heard violent blows against the door of the citadel.
"Open the door. By Allah, if you do not open it you will feel my wrath," a voice shouted from outside.
"Wali of Antioch?" I asked, stepping closer.
"Of course it is . Open the door imdiately or—" he replied, but I cut him off.
"Excellent. I am Strategos Basil, commander in chief of the Roman forces in this siege. We have your family captured. Unless you want to see them butchered and thrown from the highest point, order your n to surrender and open the gates."
"How… how can they be in there?" he said, completely stunned.
"Let us forget the details. Either you surrender and avoid a massacre, or I throw your family out, burn your supplies, and then enter by force afterward," I replied calmly, resting my hand on the beam securing the door.
"Cursed infidel. Leave them out of this," he shouted.
"Is that a no? Throw them out," I said in Arabic, though I was clearly bluffing.
"No… wait… wait… I surrender," the wali said hurriedly.
I removed the beam and opened the door slowly, sword raised. In front of stood several dozen ard Sarakenoi, with the wali at their head.
I reached out, grabbed him by his clothing, dragged him inside, and put the sword to his neck.
"Tell them to drop their weapons," I whispered.
"You stink… rat… you ca through the sewer," he spat.
"Yes… but I won. Did I not?" I replied with a smile.
"Drop your weapons," the wali ordered. One by one, his n let their swords fall.
"Quickly. Secure them and open the gates. Today we have won," I ordered.
My n moved out of the citadel, disard the prisoners, and without delay opened the gates. ssengers ran in every direction to stop the slaughter.
The Jewel of the East was ours.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let know.
Leave a comnt; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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