Yazdegerd wasn't in a good mood, let alone in a happy mood, war was something he never wanted, if he could he would rule without going to war.
Yet he still goes.
"What of the east line?" He asked his Steward.
"Not good, Shāh the Arabs have made good on their word that they'll attack on the eclipse, they've taken it as a sign from their god as it's their time and… have started to forcibly convert the villages and have gotten closer and closer towards our capital" The Steward rattled off as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
"The Rushidun dynasty and their Caliphate Uthman have decided to give you an ultimatum" the Marshal spoke solemnly, this wasn't how their plan was supposed to go, upon the solar eclipse, they were to kill their own Shāh, instead they're running around facing the Arabs instead.
The message has already been sent to the Prince, now all they need to do was to kill the boy, this was their time, their moment, yet they hesitated.
"Ultimatum? Those filthy Arabs dare to give us, the Sasanian Dynasty, who've ruled Persia for nearly four centuries an ultimatum?!" For the first time Yazdegerd raged at the audacity of his lessers.
If only his brother was here.
"My Shāh, this is no mockery! Please, you must take account of the people!" The Countiller begged.
"Take account of the people… I am!, they are forcibly taking away our faith, turning our women and children away from us! I will not stand for this!" The Shāh threw a stone slab.
"…what is their so-called ultimatum?" Yazdegerd asked, seemingly giving himself to be calm.
"Submit to the Caliphate Uthman and the people will be spared, but… we must convert-" the Steward was cut off.
"Convert… CONVERT?!?" Yazdegerd fully flipped the war table, there was no dignity in the boy king, there was only faith filled rage as he screamed.
"Convert?! I'll show them what I think! When I go down there burn their little portraits of their prophet Muhammad, tear off their Izār and Ridā, and topple their little Kaaba!" The Persian Emperor raged as his false calmness shattered almost immediately.
"Please, cease Shāh, once your brother gets here he'd help you get the situation under control!" The Marshal gestured to the Spymaster.
"My brother…" the Shāh breathed; it was slow, chaotic and slightly shallow, yet it held back his rage.
"My brother is more than a few months away, the time it'll take for him to not only get the message it'll already be spring, and then the tail end of winter before he steps into the walls of the capital" Yazdegerd slowly listed off.
"Can we even hold off the Arabs before our capital is lost?" The Shāh's rage quelled as he shook his head.
"I may not be as great or as smart as my brother- but I will not bow nor break to that of people who do not know nor care about us!" The Shāh announced to his council.
"Now, Marsha-" pain, searing, cutting pain as nearly hot, boiling wetness came from the throat, choking sounds involuntary came from Yazdegerd as he reached to his throat and his hand pulled away red. Blood.
He looked back and saw his Spymaster looking somewhat remorseful "for what it's worth, I am sorry"
Yazdegerd, bleeding as he fell to his knees before he fully collapsed as yelling he couldn't comprehend filled the tent, the Persian Emperor aged 14 died as he choked on his own blood, betrayed by the people who practically raised him.
His only thought was his faith.
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Today was a good day, the sun was absolutely shining, no clouds in sight, hell, even the weeds were growing.
It's Spring, so the prayers for a growing farm are high, and the paperwork is still, higher, as for me, I'm in between India and China currently working out of a HQ, or rather an unopposing stone building.
"My Prince, we have the current reports from the farmers in Sui and India, we're currently looking at a solid increase of around 16% from last year, with India pulling the most amount, a solid 12% total" My Advisor spoke as I wrote on a stone slab.
With the unification of India, the southeastern region, and China underneath my banner came the absolutely massive issue of food.
You see, I'm facing the consequences of my actions, with the fear of starvation on the horizon in winter, I had to get creative.
As such I dubbed the area I'm in the 'Unified Food Storage' yes, I'm great at naming things.
Either way, nearly a mile down and a mile wide of just tunnels I had seeds to properly store grain in their respective areas.
Meat however was preserved completely separately by both drying them in pounds of salt or by submerging cooked meat into honey.
It's crazy we discovered this before refrigeration.
Anyways, I'm currently at what is basically the 'reception' and making a count for what we have.
"So, thirty tons of seeds and fifty tons of rice" I said as I wrote down what I was talking.
"And six tons of meat" my advisor spoke as he also confirmed my work.
"Yeah, spring is going well for us"
"Should we do the same back home with both food and water my Prince?" That was an actual good question.
I nodded "yes, I'll designate a plot of land to be used for a united water… uh… water plot? Land? Eh, I guess a reservoir would be the best word for it"
My advisor only nodded.
If this was the 21st century I would've been clowned on for my verbal fuck up, here I guess my station places me above such jabs.
"Okay, next" I eventually said as another servant placed a parchment paper on my desk.
"From the tribes of the southern Pagan, they've offered several carts of seeds" I nodded as the servant walked away.
"My Prince!" Okay, this was new, I haven't had someone just barge in and scream my title.
"What?" I asked as I raised my eyes up to meet the person who had the audacity to do this.
"We've received news, bad news, your brother has been killed!"
Oh shit.
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"My Prince… you seem… un… uncaring" my Advisor slowly spoke.
Was he afraid?
Probably.
"I care… it's just…" just what? That I didn't know my brother enough to properly shed a tear over his assassination?
It was like a cousin that you barely knew and was supposed to care about, even if you barely knew them.
I slowly exhaled as I stood up from my chair, from the report, my brother was killed by the Arabs on the night of the Solar Eclipse, apparently an arrow straight into the neck.
Lucky mostly, yet I cannot help but be suspicious.
"It's just that I'm unsure if it was truly the Arabs" I finished my statement as I rounded the table.
"Prepare your horses, we ride for the Ctesiphon within the hour" I commanded, getting bows from multiple people.
With the death of my brother, I am no longer the Prince of Persia, I am the Shāh, King of Kings, or rather… the Emperor of Emperors.
I'm going to need a new title for my station.
Getting up on my donkey I couldn't help but think that things weren't simply going right for me - personally - ever since Pala.
So here I am, riding an ass, and being a soon to be king.
This feels like a joke.
"My Prince, the Arabs have crossed the line with the Assassination, and by the time we get to the capital… it might be lost" my Advisor spoke slowly.
"Maybe… maybe they'll go all the way to India, maybe they will attempt China, either way, I will meet them, and they will break upon me, as any weapon big or small shall never prosper" I spoke as my Donkey laughed.
He better not have been laughing at me.
"And our Army?" The Adviser asked as we only have a small retinue of fifty or so troops.
"We will gather them as we march, I've a feeling I'm more liked than I think" was I patting my back more than I should?
Probably.
Do I care?
No.
"Hey Advisor, I have my suspicions that this was a betrayal" I announced.
"I highly doubt that, the chances of the Council betraying the Shāh during wartime is… low" the Adviser nodded to himself.
"Even if they did betray the Shāh, we'd need undeniable proof, or at least something to call them out on, My Prince, if you were to accuse them of treachery you'd need something more than just… a feeling" I nodded at his words, I do need undeniable proof.
Nothing a little magic can't fix!
"I will not take my time with this then" I spoke as I lifted my hand.
"My Prince?" The Adviser blinked twice as reality tore apart and a purple and azure portal opened before me and my party.
"Let us go home, I have to punish someone" either they were used to my antics or they've gone numb to my magic my retinue followed me through the portal and I gotta say.
It felt weird.
The best way to describe it, was going through a film of honey or slime, just, slow over all, when the portal gave way to the capital of the Persian Empire, the smell of ash and smoke filled my nose and eyes.
The house of my empire, the seat of Kings of Kings, the Capital was burning, being ransacked by the Arabs, and I for one will not stand for it.
"Troops! Charge, kill them now!" I ordered as I empowered them with my magic making them overall more powerful, if they were regular warriors with only leather, now it felt like they were Olympic athletes with plate armor.
Overpowered for their time.
I slowly inhaled as I got off my donkey and grabbed his leash, I had some fools to punish.
A/N: came down with a cold so I'm sorry if this seems a bit all over the place here and there, there's more pressure in my sinuses than there is in the bottom of the ocean.