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Swords and Roses, I

"Tell me, general, what do you think of our newest acquisition?" Mehmed asked the man opposite him. The two sat in comfortable low chairs around a small table woven from wooden stripes. The windows of many-colored glass in the room were open, and sunlight flooded the entire space.

"Those lands are very fertile, and the spice grown on them would greatly expand our treasury. Hopefully, some of it may even go toward the army," the older man took a sip of tea.

"While true, that is not what I was referring to, general Suvari," Mehmed chuckled and pointed at a large painting that hung on one of the walls. "Have a look over there, for example. None of our artists draw on paper. Neither do they use the color in this manner."

The painting in question was a landscape depicting a shore with turbulent seas clashing with the ground. In the sky, beasts of flight, dragons, fought just as fiercely.

"It is certainly different from what I am used to, my bey," the general replied after some consideration.. He was a general and knew the importance of information and details, though gaining those from art defied convention. Then again, not all intelligence originated from spies. Moreover, not all pertinent intelligence was military in nature.

“That it is,” Mehmed explained. “They paint landscapes, but the transitions between colors are stark, you can almost draw a schematic from this one painting, for example… It indicates a certain avoidance of compromise, aggressiveness even. And the island we claimed belonged to a splinter group. Probably a minor one at that.”

Täğeç made a humming sound. He knew of the former. The battle for Tõtjükjä was the most fierce in some years. It certainly surpassed all of the previous naval engagements Medilan fleets ever participated in. The numeric advantage brought Medilah victory over the island, not military genius. Then again, Kaymak-çekmeçä did not have a stellar reputation as far as leadership or tactical prowess were concerned. The man was a strategist who rarely left Medila, not a battlefield commander.

“If I may, my bey… How did you determine that there are more of them aside from those who are still occupying parts of the western coast?” Täğeç asked.

“Oh, it is not all that hard. This is but one of the pictures brought to my palace from Tõtjükjä. The rest are very similar. These people, whatever they are called, are fascinated with sea. There are also too many paintings for them to have made all of those here, and artists need stable land to work,” Mehmed speculated. “They simply could not have produced all of their paintings in the short span of time they occupied Tõtjükjä. Therefore, there is probably another bastion of their people somewhere at sea.”

“Then we need to mobilize the navy, my bey,” Täğeç responded. “We are facing perhaps the most powerful navy we have ever seen!”

“I don’t think so, general,” Mehmed replied and took a sip of tea. Täğeç followed the bey’s example. “Any retribution would have already arrived by now. The fact that the enemy is not here indicates that they are either incapable of launching a counter-attack, or unwilling. A combination of both, if I were to guess.”

“I see,” Täğeç nodded. “Then, I presume we are interrogating prisoners from the island, my bey.”

“Of course,” Mehmed sighed. “Though the process is slow, as we have to translate their gibberish into Medilan. In either case, general, I have a mission for you. Securing the west is of paramount importance to us. The interrogation of that prisoner from Noväsä you brought revealed that the origin of all the recent provocations is in the west. The pirate invasion apparently disrupted whatever plans the puppetmaster had and I want to seize the opportunity. Therefore, you will establish our control over those areas while their rulers are weakened. Do whatever you need, promise whatever you must. We will deal with those later. And don’t worry about the plot, I will send the captain of my Janissaries with you to unravel it.”

“Of course, my bey,” Täğeç stood up and bowed. “Those lands are as good as ours.”

“Oh I don’t doubt it. But do start with vizier Adalet’s unruly vassals who refuse to pledge their allegiance to us. They have such nice lands for growing spices, it appears there will be plenty of slaves to work there as well in the near future,” the bey said with a half-smile.

“Indeed, my bey,” Täğeç replied with a smile of his own.