Chapter 2: Secret Origins
"Twas in the year 1609 when I was nothing but a we lad barely in my twentieth year of life and I was serving as a scribe to the King of England, Scotland, and the Iris throne (or so the English claim), in light of the recent activities of the Ottomans in the east, his holiness Pope Paul the 5th, sent messengers to every king in Europe, enticing theme to gather in Rome in order to discuss the recent Europe's response to the Turks.
Among the kings and high ranking generals and admirals of Europe who gathered in the Vatican City, there was one who kept his head, covered in a black hood and mask, and a black cape flowing from his shoulders, this was the notorious privateer, recently made Commodore of the English fleet Leatherwing.
His reputation as a fierce warrior who always is the first to draw the blade and the last to sheet the sword, was legendary even in Ireland, and the only thing that outmatched his fighting skills was his, chivalrous nature and grand generosity to his friends and sometimes even his enemies, accompanying him was his captain of the guards Robin 1st earl of the county of Bludhaven , and his right hand man Alfredo, Baron of Pennyworthland.
Leatherwing as head of the English fleet was summoned there, but many of the other officers and kings and prince's looked upon him partially with discontempt especially from the king of Spain and partially with curiosity, and a few with excitement in there eyes, for his exploits on the seas where legendary.
There was a bet amongst us pages and lowly commoners who accompanied the kings and nobles as to who will make the most uproar at the meeting, called it stupidity or whatever you will but I bet everypunt Éireannach (Irish pound) I had and every scrap of valuables in me belongings on Leatherwing.
It was a risk but the luck of the Irish was with me that day for I had won the bet tripled me fortunes, and the uproar Leatherwing caused Became known as the worlds first European scale scandal or the first shame of Leatherwing , but years later the name would be changed to the day The Secret origin of the Justice League"
"Memories of George Thomas O'Reilly, folded within the collection
Carte Manuscripts by Thomas Carte"
Leatherwing stood outside the Theather of Pompey with a sight of disappointment, it was nightfall about 11 o clock in the evening and he began to recollect the events which transpired recently insidethe great building and then realized that there was a sense of poetic irony in it.
Here on these steps and inside this building mighty Caesar was struck down , here almost 17 century's ago greatness died.
And now another great tragedy which will unfold and sprout in the near future but gain roots here in the Vatican, Leatherwing breadth contempt, from his lungs into the cool nigh air as he began approaching his friends Robin and Alfredo, in order to tell them of what transpired inside the Theater of Pompey the place which the fate of Europe was to be decided.
"Several hours earlier 9:00 o clock in the morning"
The meeting of the leaders of Europe vas held not in the Vatican for fear of this seeming like a catholic controlled meeting but in the Theater of Pompey which was based on the ancient one from roman times.
It was a magnificent building, in the shape of a half-circle at least 200 to 300 feet tall, the walls which supported it all had arched entrances, up too 10 feet tall and it was decorated with the statues of great men from Rome's ancient past like, Julius Caesar, Pompey Magnus, Marc Anthony, Octavian Augustus and many more.
In the interior of the theatre the seats were divided into four massive sections with hundreds of seats, each one, the size of the sections from 10 to 20 feet in width and the length of the rows covered the entire diameter of the half circle part of the theatre.
In the middle of the room was s throne for the use of the pope and the floor was paved in marble.
The attendance where all seated according to rank, within the first section of in the first row of seats the kings and prince's of Europe where there.
Seated where: Philip III of Spain, Henry IV, of France, Matthias of the Habsburgs, the Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund III Vasa King of Polish Crown and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Charles IX of Sweden, Queen Hippolyta of Themiscira, and about 40 prince's and high ranking nobles. Seated behind them where commanders of armies and high ranking, nobelmen from all of Europe who's power and authority where second to none in their country, except for perhaps the king himself.
From the Swiss Confederacy there was Hasten Jool, commander of the Knights of the Order of Green Knights, the army which protects Sweden nicknamed the Green Lantern (because in times of darkness for his country he was a beacon of light which brought salvation to it many times in the past)by his old friend Leatherwing, which was seated to the right side of Hal next to him, and on the right side of Leatherwing himself was Sir Clark Kent of the duchy of Small Ville, who was a skilled diplomat of England and the commander of the English cavalry seated next to this great trio was,: J'onn J'onzz de Gaul Marshal of France , Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen leader of the Spanish dragoons, Arthur Curry I of the kingdom of the Adriatic Island Nation of Atlantis, and Doge of Venice nicknamed Aquaman because his seafaring skills which rivaled Leatherwing himself,
And alongside them was Princess Diana of Themyscira , and although the last two where supposed to take a seat in the front row along side the other kings and prince's, they choused to stay next to their friends, preferring their company, instead of that of snob kings and prince's.
The rows above them where empty, because of the great secrecy of which the information of this meeting is of concerned to entire Europe, the Theater was to be sealed of completely from the world when the meeting begins and only when the meeting is over will anybody be permitted to leave.
Every one of the persons present was given a glass of brandy and a pipe of tobacco before the meeting started. A look of anxiety was on everyone's face for the meeting was supposed to start at 9 o clock, but out of a lack of patience the kings gathered at 8:30. When finally the clock struck 9 o clock Pope Paul the 5th along with his chamberlain, his head of espionage sir Thomas Andrew Tresser and a boy who was the pope's page came inside the Theater and the pope sat on a throne in the middle of the stage from which everyone could hear his voice. And as soon as the Pope was seated the doors where sealed with guards posted outside the meeting of the Leaders of Europe began.
Meeting of the leader's assembly of the Holy League is now in session said: the page of the pope while hitting the marble floor three times with the papal staff.
The reason why I have called you all here is because the current situation has increased alarmingly in the East. As you all know in 1604 a new vizier was named to the Turkish throne his pagan name will never be pronounce within the sacred walls of the Vatican City, but his action are to be taken noticed.
With this statement the pope gave a nod to Sir Thomas and the young spy stepped a few feet forward and began his formal report: During his the beginning his tenure as vizier to Ahmed I in 1604 the Ottoman Empire was in a weaken state in terms of it's economy from the wars it fought and it was threatened with collapse because of numerous rebellion , which it had little military power to spare to suppress them because it lost battle after battle against Michael the Brave lord of Walachia the country of Transylvania and all of the land of Moldavia, which is now in heaven unfortunately however within a year , of his rising to power the vizier made a series of reforms.
In addition to that he has subdued the Indians, Crimeans Afghans and even part of the Kazaks in the Far East and now their army now fight for the Turks almost raising the number of troops he has to almost 300.000 strong. This not only stabilized the empire but under his leadership in is now stronger than it ever was before. And now the Turks are raising an army and have following the assassination of Michael the Brave they have conquered Walachia Transylvania and Moldavia .
In response for our piracy on their trading vessels in the Mediterranean as an excuse they sent us emissaries with the clear message that they wish to avoid war in exchange for the termination of the pirate activities which the fleets of Europe are currently occupied with, and for us to stop interfering in the affair of the three above mentioned country's or they shall unleash the fury of Allah followers upon Europe.
At this news there was a murmuring and small talk which made a distinct sound of many similar to that of crowd talks within the room with a slight hint of panic in the tones of the voice of those present , which continued until several bangs of the papal staff on the floor by the pope's page stopped the noise.
After a few moments of silence Emperor Mathias of The Holy Roman Empire rose and said: Zentleman ze pagans are finally mustering, their forces after years of provocation on our part, und now zhis zo called peace negotiationzs is proof that the Turks are vulnerable, and if we unit all of our armies there will be nothing the turks can do against us.
Here, here said all of the king's present.
The King of Poland sat up and said one Christian can defeat twenty Turks, one battle and they will run away back to the desert and we shall liberate Constantinople with one great push.
At this the nobles all rose up in unison roar except King James and Leatherwing and those seated next to the famous privateer. The French king: Mon Frère while addressing the English king, what does the leader of the best fleet in Europe say? King James of England rose up and said: My lords I wish if it where possible to settle this problem through diplomacy and not war.
At this statement the lords where a little shock.
At this statement Charles the IX of Sweden said to: but King James surely you don't mean that you do not wish for war, this will be a new crusade!
King James responded by moving his right palm to grasp his chin and rapt his left arm around his waist and said: Some of the most horrible things the world has ever known where done by war and when it was over nobody remembered the reason the war was fought for, nevertheless if Christendom goes to battle then England will join you and I shall fight and if necessary die for our faith.
At this statement everyone started another round of crowd talk which was only dispensed by Emperor Mathias which calmed everyone with his words: Now now, everyone settle it is true zhat war is horrible but only to the loosing side, but ze mensch* of our armies will not lose.
Admiral Leatherwing said the Emperor as he turned his head to where he was seated. You I understand have recently been to the east, as a liaison to ze ambassador of England at the turkish court ya? Tell us truth about the turks and their army's what do you zhink.
Leatherwing rose from his seat and stated I thing that it is hard to win a war with only talk my lords.
At this statement Phillip III of Spain rose up and said senior? What are you suggesting? I am not suggesting anything I am simply stating that recently the Turks have been preparing for war very carefully and while I was there I discovered they equipped their every soldier available with muskets and have been sawing gunpowder and ammunition for years, they have also abolished the use of armor in their army along for shields and spikes and bows.
That does not matter to a Christian knight senior, said Phillip.
It will mean a great difference to a great number of Christian knights my lord, for you see a suit or armor can block a sword a spear even in some cases the arrow from a longbow, but against a bullet or a cannon shell it is useless.
While our armies only a quarter are equipped with them every single Turkish soldier now has a musket, all we have are spears bows, useless armors which are iron body shape coffins and arrogance.
At the last statement everyone in the room was shocked Leatherwings friends where all with glee at the boldness and truthfulness of their comrades statement while the other kings and prince's where all shocked.
The king of Spain Phillip said, senior that is not only treason but also blasphemy, I forgave you for your pillaging of my ships in the new world because, I considered that you the famous Leatherwing which has always defeated my fleet would now lead all of the Holy League to victory, but after meeting you in person senior I am outraged, and I will not hear defeatist talk no more, he said and slapped Leatherwing across the face with his right glove, the gist in which it's meaning is an invitation to a duel, shocking the whole room Leatherwing being calm and level headed as was his nature never to rush into battle , simply bowed his head and said, I apologies for all of my shortcomings.
Your holiness, I know that the room is supposed to be sealed until the meeting is over but I seamed to have disturbed the mood, and I request permission to leave the theater and visit the Sistine Chapel.
The Pope nodded his head in agreement and Leatherwing, left the room. The coward said Phillip of Spain. What do you expect from a pirate said, Sigismund of Poland, he wouldn't even accept your challenge king Phillip.
King James roes up put his arms in front of Phillip chest in order to stop him from pursuing Leatherwing and said: Lord Phillip please calm down , my admiral simply did not want to take advantage of you. T
ake advantage of me? Said the Spanish monarch. Yes, my admiral is one of the most skilled swordsmen and marksmen in all of Europe and he has proved that on numerous occasions.
Why, I'll show the son of a burro* .
Once again restrained by the King James with the words calm, yourself Phillip, your strength will be needed somewhere else.
But despite the fact that he took side with the monarch of Spain, James could not feel that he betrayed not only his most gifted officer , but also his own conscience, for deep down he new that there where truth in Leatherwings words.
And sow the meeting continued for many hours in which, 9 tenths of the time was spent by bolstering of the great power of the Holy League of how Jesus is on their side, and how this is God want's this war and so on.
"Present 11:06 in the evening outside the Theater of Pompey"
Leatherwing was now being approached by Robin and Alfredo who were to low in rank to attend the meeting Well what happened in there? Said Robin. The king's apparently think the war is already, before it has even started yet.
At that statement Robin was flabbergasted and Alfredo was in the same state, and as robin started to have a fit of anger because of the sheer overconfidence of the monarch.
Alfredo was level headed enough to keep his tongue in his mouth, but he could not condom, or reprieve the boy for his mouth for it was only his patience and etiquette which was forged through the years that kept him from joining Robin in the cascade of anger an insults.
Few a few moments the rest of the assembly exited the Theater, the majority of them, confident in victory and went to the papal palace to toast for the war. But there was a handful of those who participated who did not join the rest and instead went to where Leatherwing and his aids where standing. These were all those who sat in his proximity during the meeting Once they all got to where Leatherwing was standing, he said to them: Don't worry I won't be coming to the celebrations to spoil the mood.
At that statement Arthur, doge of Venice said, don't worry about that my friend, I wouldn't go to that feast if I was, the guest of honor. Sir Clark Kent then said to him: We just came here to say that, we agree with you, and supported your earlier statement about the difference of our armies.
The Guardians of Switzerland , will not publicly challenge the opinions of the monarch's but the Elders and the Order of Green Knights, will side with you if a line is drawn eventually, said Hasten Jool.
J'onn J'onzz de Gaul, you where wise in there Admiral your words and sometimes arrogance makes people stop from listening to wisdom.
The Amazon Nation of Themyscira , admires courage and you have shown great courage by your actions today, we will be a part of your faction when war comes, said Princess Diana , accompanied by her mother Hippolyta , a few steps behind her.
Barry Allen said that: you can count on my dragoons, if you need them.
To these answers Leatherwing was surprised but great full, and the veteran of the seas gave them the following answer, ladies, gentleman I propose that while the Leaders of the Holy League are to busy celebrating victory before actually achieving it ,whe form our own league in case this one fails.
At this statement the onther members where all thrilled and al of them agried to join except for Hippolyta because she decided that her daughter Diana would be more than qualified for this organization and her duties as queen would prevent her from participating as a full time member, and after those statement's they all went to a local in to Celebrated the creation of their own league which was christened :The Justice League
Author's note
Mensch = german equivalent of man
Burro = donkey or mule.
Holy League= real life alliance of the Christians states against the power of Islam
I apolagise if i insulted any irish , german readers i am inexperieced with writing english text with a foreigh accent.
Please review, criticism is welcomed, because i like to know my own imperfections in my writing style.
