Legends Never Die: Migration (ch. 90) (Patreon)

I was going to have to build a forum, I realized. And rush construction for several of my other projects. I refused to be shamed by the Christians that would soon flood my town. I'm certain that they would find a way to complain about something, but I refused to allow their complaints to be rooted in anything except for their own prejudice. And, admittedly, I wanted to watch them choke on their insults when I made something clear -- that I had built a city equal to any that they had ever seen and that I did so in a single year.

For I had six months to build up Norland. To construct a forum worthy of a grand debate to settle some issue I didn't really understand. It was an honor, I could recognize. If I was a Christian, I imagine I would feel very blessed by being chosen to house such a debate. But I wasn't. So, instead, I was mostly inconvenienced and, worse, I wasn't in a position to refuse. Irene had already settled on a course of action that she believed would grant her what she wanted.

Maybe I could resist such an order, but it would be more costly than to simply grit my teeth and accept the burden. In the end, I was a guest in these lands. My success rested largely due to Irene's favor and with the sheer number of enemies I had in the empire, I doubted that I would survive if she removed her royal protection. Which would leave me in a position to turn to the Abbasids, but at the same time, they only courted me so desperately because they didn't wish to face me on the field of battle again.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, Siegfried,” Otto offered, looking sufficiently chagrined after the meeting had ended. We rode together in a larger palanquin that was taking us to the university. I needed knowledge, wisdom, and perhaps to shamelessly steal some inspiration from other great buildings. “Seeing Regent Irene… I understood what you meant. Pope Adrian desires to force her to come to him. To make the East yield to the West for the sake of appearances. But, she never would have agreed to such a thing, so I volunteered your lands because it was the closest compromise I could think of.”

I grunted, accepting the apology for what it was. I understood his reasoning. He had his own mission given to him by the Church. Honestly, if he hadn't tried something like this to spare me some inconvenience, I would think less of Otto for it. His resolve would have wavered in my eyes. That being said, I was still annoyed at the prospect. “Surely your Pope shall have reservations? I am a pagan and while I rule Norland, it is a pagan settlement.”

Otto inclined his head, “I suspect that it shall be a task to convince His Holiness to compromise on the location.” he admitted freely, so there was still hope that this could be called off. A shadow of hope, but I would take it. “But… as most would see it, you are a pagan under a Christian ruler. Your beliefs are tolerated at Regent Irene's sufferance. And… well… forcing a pagan to house a Christian debate… does sound like quite the insult.” He admitted sheepishly.

I grunted again, unhappy with the turn of events. “I suppose I'll simply have to bear this insult,” I admitted. Getting out of this obligation would be far more costly than simply going through with it. Though… I didn't have to accept this with a grimace and a smile. I had to build the forum, I had to house the debate… but I could make things ever so slightly uncomfortable for the influx of Christians I would be forced to deal with..

“Again, my apologies,” Otto offered.

I waved him off, “There is no point in apologizing. You'd do it again if given the chance, and you should. You were given a quest and you used everything in your means to complete it,” I replied.

That got a small sigh out of Otto, “One can fulfill his obligations and still feel guilt for the means with which he fulfilled them.” He replied evenly.

“Your guilt is apology enough,” I said, absolving him of wrongdoing. If our positions were reversed, I very well might have done the same thing. Despite my words, I could tell that the measure he took didn't sit well with Otto, but by that time we had arrived at the university. Getting out first, I held out a hand for Jasmine, who took it before looking around with barely concealed delight.

“This is where you study, is it not?” She asked, her gaze lingering on the very same statue that mine had when I first arrived.

“When I have the time,” I confirmed. I spent less time here at the university than I would prefer. But, my studies hadn't suffered from my extended stays in Norland, overseeing its development. And I didn't expect that to change in the coming days.

Otto and Astolfo followed, while I cast a glance at Jasmine, curious about her reaction. She caught the glance and answered the unspoken question, “My brother would talk about the University of Constantinople. I think he wished to conquer the Romans merely to get his hands on their texts.”

To that, I chuckled. “Perhaps he will get the opportunity once I leave,” I said to her in Arabic as the doors were opened for me and I took the familiar path to the library. There were other students in the halls, but they gave me a wide berth, even if they were curious about who was joining me.

My words inspired a flash of a smile behind her veil before it was quick to fall. “I… will confess that I have some interest in the library as well. I'm glad to have the opportunity to visit… even if I don't yet understand why I'm here in the first place,” Jasmine admitted.

She had been all but ignored during that meeting. I didn't trust this city enough to leave her unattended, so I thought it best that she stay close while we were here. So far, there has been no clear reason provided for why she had been summoned, and I was starting to suspect that there wasn't a clear reason. Meaning that there was some kind of subterfuge going on.

“There is a decent chance that someone will try to contact you while we are here,” I ventured, figuring that was the most likely case. Irene was gearing up for war once more. “They may be Abbasids, or they may be Romans claiming to be Abbasids. I would be cautious in trusting what they have to say.”

Jasmine glanced at me as we entered the library, and I was greeted with the familiar scent of parchment and ink. “You believe the Romans seek war?”

“I know Irene does,” I admitted easily. “She wants to get her use out of me while I'm here. She's not satisfied with fending off an invasion, she wants to take territory as well. She'd be the first ruler of Constantinople to do so in the better part of a century,” I noted to Jasmine's careful consideration while Otto and Astolfo ventured forth. I was still speaking Arabic, so they caught the hint that it was a private conversation. “And I suspect that she wants this war and debate to happen at roughly around the same time.”

“Would that not risk disaster?” Jasmine questioned as we began to walk the library in search of what I was looking for.

“If not timed well? Of course,” I agreed. “But, I'm finding that people only have it in them to be outraged about one thing at a time. There are going to be many iconoclasts that will take issue with the result of the debate, and under normal circumstances, they very well might take up arms. But, if the Abbasids were to attack? Then that ire would be directed at the Caliphate for a time. And any victories we win would, naturally, be credited to God and his approval of the restoration of icons.”

I couldn't say that I entirely cared for how I was learning how these people thought. The days when all of my problems could be solved with an axe were missed rather fondly, even if this was exactly why I had come here in the first place.

I was learning how to think like a king.

Irene’s scheme was an ambitious one. One that would serve her well. For, I was certain that she would reap the credit for the victories. She was stepping out of the shadow of her son, and victories like this -- a mending of the faith and territorial gains against an old enemy? That would be exactly what she needed to claim the throne in earnest.

Coming to a stop in front of a shelf, I picked a scroll and unfurled it before smirking at the contents. I had recalled correctly. “Take this. Give it to the person that contacts you, but only if you know and trust them. Also, give them a message to pass along to your brother -- I would prefer it if we didn't face each other in battle while I remain here.”

Jasmine didn't know what to make of that, I could tell, as she examined the scroll. She wore a heavy frown beneath her veil, her dark eyes getting mine. “Is this not a risk for you?” She questioned, able to glean my plan.

“It is. But I am not Irene's hound that she can command at her pleasure. I'm accepting the task that she orders because it's not worth the cost of going against her. However, what she intends conflicts with my own ambitions and interferes with my studies,” I said, taking another scroll and opening it. “I don't desire a war that would impact the growth of Norland. So, I hope to change Irene's target for when the war is called.”

It wouldn't be so simple, and it was entirely possible that the momentum behind such decisions was well outside of my ability to influence. But, I thought I had a decent enough chance to make it happen. Or not happen, as it were.

Jasmine was here to provoke the Abbasids. For Irene's ploy to work, the Abbasids would need to be the ones to declare war and launch an invasion -- that way, her detractors would have another enemy to focus on. The army summoned wouldn't be wielded against her in a sudden rebellion because the stakes would be too high.

Jasmine inspected the scroll a moment longer, putting the pieces together. “This… I would likely be your captive for… some time,” Jasmine ventured, glancing back up at me.

I nodded in acknowledgment, “Most likely.” I admitted, understanding that the deal wasn't ideal for her. If I managed to avoid an invasion into the Caliphate, then that meant Jasmine would be used as a bargaining chip to keep the peace. Worse, she'd likely endure insults and worse as Irene would seek to use her to provoke her brother into action.

“And if the acting Empress calls for my head?” Jasmine questioned, holding my gaze.

That was a question that had bothered me. I was duty bound to execute her on Irene's orders, but that didn't settle well with me. If it wasn't for Otto and our talk, I'm not sure if I would have an honest answer to give her.

“I would follow the order. Only to discover that you had escaped because of spies that had infiltrated Norland,” I told her and her eyes widened minutely. Telling her that was probably not the wisest decision, I could admit. In the end, she was a hostage, and if the Caliphate thought that there was no danger? Then they'd move freely against the Romans.

But talking to Otto helped put some things in perspective. I still didn't know what I would do when I returned to Denmark, but here? Now? It was one thing to kill a man that had picked up a weapon and chose to fight. That was war. Battle.

But I had never murdered anyone in my life, and I would be damned before I allowed Irene to make a murderer out of me.

“In that case… I have something I wish to add to this bargain,” Jasmine decided, turning her eyes to the library around us. “I wish to study here. And at your library,” she said, catching my attention and I tilted my head ever so slightly. Her lips thinned before she elaborated, “My father…”

She trailed off before she openly grimaced, “He loved me, in his own way. He wanted me to be protected. Safe. And because of it, I never left the palace. My entire world was a handful of rooms and a garden. The past few months have been… an adventure, of sorts. I never imagined I would experience the things that I have. Or learned the things that I did. I… have learned of my ignorance and I wish to do away with it.”

“That,” I started, “is something that I can understand very well.”

I'm sure it would be a scandal of sorts, but… well…

That was hardly my problem, now was it?

…

Jasmine didn't tell me when someone eventually made contact with her, but I knew when it happened by a change in her demeanor. We stayed three days in Constantinople, largely because Otto needed to finalize the proposal that he would bring to the pope. I used that time to familiarize myself with the library and make contact with a few sources within the city.

As irritating as it was to be saddled with the duty, I could admit that Irene was at least following through when it came to helping me accomplish the task. It was for that reason I found myself being joined by a dozen of Rome’s most renowned architects and a dozen more skilled stone masons. An opportunity for my own burgeoning core of architects to learn from masters.

Not to mention that she had essentially given me access to the treasury to rapidly develop Norland into a city worthy of housing such a debate.

So, over the course of three months, we went to work. The quarry was expanded by half, pulling up marble from the ground as if it was dirt. All of it being reshaped and carved, laid out in the form of bricks of various sizes that were then shaped further into whatever we needed. All under the watchful eye of my people who learned all that they could before sharing their teachings.

All of Norland was under construction. An aqueduct was being built to connect bath houses that were rapidly being built to natural hot springs. The roads were greatly expanded. Houses were going up by the dozen. Things were so busy that my library opened with little fanfare.

However, it wasn't just the Romans that helped.

Caliph Harun never gave me a direct answer one way or the other, but his actions spoke his intention as a week after the construction began, he sent over his own architects, much to the displeasure of the Romans. Even more so when they began to alter the designs of the planned forum, adding touches such as domed spires. In addition to my own adjustments, such as the ship hull roofs that my people preferred.

The entire process was being aided by Hadi- or, rather, his wife, who was all too happy to accept my bargains as I purchased a great deal from her. Materials such as wood and iron, paints and pigments, wine, oil, and more. Because of it, Norland was in a constant state of activity. Ships arrived and left in droves, forcing me to look towards establishing a second harbor because the inner harbor was already at capacity. As a result, Hadi's lands were as enriched by our dealings as mine were.

Which left the forum itself.

With the library constructed, I had two of the five notable buildings that the gods demanded to complete the quest they had given me and I decided that the forum would be the third. It was adjacent to the library itself for the purpose that once this grand debate was settled, the students of the library could continue to use the forum. Possibly for hundreds of years in the future.

The designs for it made it the largest of the buildings that I had constructed. The debate chamber itself would be a large circle of staggered rows that rose up. The most important speakers would be in the heart of the circle, surrounded by a ring of seats. Then that ring would be surrounded by another, and then another until there were six rings in total. Provided that no one minded losing some elbow room, the central chamber would be able to seat a thousand people.

The ceiling would be a large dome of the Caliphate style. If we had more time, I would focus on more decorations, perhaps painting the dome and the walls themselves. But, we didn't. Things were rushed as it was with only six months to complete the project and that deadline was only possible because of the many, many, many hands that were sharing the workload. The extension to the central chamber was a large U shape with the central chamber in the curve of the U.

The two long arms would be classrooms, I decided. Two storied, which meant that each arm would be able to hold a dozen classrooms of reasonable length. The classrooms were smaller, and fewer, than the University of Constantinople but that was acceptable. When I returned to Denmark, I resolved to create a university twice the size of the one in Constantinople.

The central area would hold a garden filled with herbs and plants -- some useful but most would be for aesthetics. Especially when the empty space would eventually be filled out with statues.

As I stood before the forum, I could practically see what it would look like upon completion. Even as hundreds of people toiled day and night to complete it before the debate. And, it was there when I received some news that made all my plans come to a screeching halt.

“Our scout in Kiev has reported back,” Astrid informed me and, I should have known that she was delivering bad news based on her expression. “Gerald and my brother have returned to the city.”

“They're months late,” I noted, a friend in my voice and a pit starting to open up in my gut. “Did something happen?” I had been relieved when Gerald didn't rush back in the heart of winter, but winter had turned into spring and then summer. They had been delayed by nearly four months.

Astrid offered an expression that I could only describe as sheepish. “They were delayed by needing to forage and hunt along the way. Their numbers… are more than their food reserves could handle.”

I stilled, glancing at Astrid with narrowed eyes, “... How many of our people are coming our way?” I asked quietly, uncertain if I really wanted the answer.

Astrid, to her credit, spat the truth out regardless of my concerns. “They scrounged up around two hundred ships, according to our scout. And they're full to the point of bursting -- not just with warriors, but families and kinfolk. I reckon… close to ten thousand of our people are sailing down to Norland. All to meet you.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and a headache immediately set in.

Astrid chuckled at my misery, “If nothing else, this whole debate thing just got a lot more exciting, huh?”