The Grand Council Chamber of Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Emperor Basil the First stared blankly at the massive map of the known world painted across the domed ceiling.
Though Basil was a man in the prime of his life, possessing the legendary vitality that had allowed him to violently seize the Byzantine throne, the last few weeks had aged him a full decade.
This rapid physical deterioration was in stark, terrifying contrast to Vanguard Commander Bjorn, the man actively dismantling Basil's empire from the east. According to the panicked, half-mad spies who had managed to flee the Anatolian slaughter, the Viking warlord looked like a man thoroughly enjoying a leisurely autumn hunt, radiating an aura of youthful violence despite the immense logistical burden of an overseas campaign.
When Basil had first launched his heavily armored Cataphracts across the Anatolian plains, it was supposed to be a glorious, highly opportunistic land grab.
