Beginning of the 13 century and onward
The year is 1227. The whole story is imagined as one continuous shot. A medieval funeral. We see Rashka with her head bowed wearing a black cloak over her armor. "O hi" she says noticing us. "I suppose you would like to know what happened next. Very well, let me just get out of these clothes" she says and pulls the cloak over her head. The cloak goes over the entire screen and when it's lifted, we see her walking the hallways of a castle still in her armor.
"As you can assume Stefan Prvovenčani had recently died. The title was supposed to go to his oldest son Radolsav (Радослав)" she passes a young man with a crown in the stone hallway and he says 'Hello' to us. Rashka stops with him still in the background. "But unfortunately, he ruled only for a year before his younger brother Vladislav (Владислав) overthrew him. What can I say. Some people have that mental stamina for governing and some don't" We see another young man with a beard and sword taking the crown away from the first. The first young man leaves with his head bowed.
She continues walking. "If you remember, the two were son's of the first wife. The promiscuous Byzantium princess. Fun fact, her maiden name was Angel" she chuckles. "Don't feel too bad for Radoslav because he later became a monk just like his uncle Sava."
She stops to greet an older monk with a grey beard who has young Radoslav, dressed in monks clothing, by his side. Sava gives her a parchment which says 'Constitution' on it. The two monks then bow and move out of the frame. "Sava was truly something. I sometimes think he had more influence from his monastery in far away Greece than his brothers and nephews did while kings. Oh and here is another fun fact. Many from my ruling class accepted the monastic life. Some sooner, some later but there was a fairly high number of holy people from the court."
Vladoslav appears and loudly clears his throat. Rasha notices and smiles: "Right. So my new king ruled for 10 years. Nothing really special happened during his reign." The king gets insulted and takes out a red and blue flag to which Rashka nods. "Well, nothing special at my place at least" she says looking out the nearest window. The frame moves from the window to the city and hills beneath and quickly turns back with the sound of a stopped record. "But later on that. I have a few more people I want to introduce you to" she says and walks outside.
Leaving the castle and proceeding to the open garden, Rashka continues: "After Vladoslav came Stefan Uroš I (Стефан Урош Први), his step-brother." We see the crown being taken from the previous king by the new one. He then puts it on his head and signals the previous king to leave.
"He ruled for 33 years and kept things pretty stable. He focused on exploiting mines which made the economy flourish. Which meant more money; which meant more monasteries, better castles, housing, clothing and even more prestige" she says as she walks upon an open field. We see a bunch of men in different attires and hairstyles speaking in foreign languages.
"In fact, skilful people came from all over Europe to work her. Mostly as miners and craftsman but also as mercenaries." The frame goes to a soldier who signals them to come one by one, giving pick axes to some and swords and shields to others. Rashka steps back into the frame and adds: "Apparently, if you worked hard and long enough, you could earn a fortune and return home a relatively rich man. Some could even afford mansions...Go figure."
The frame moves so we can see the castle in the background. The king steps out with his two sons, one older (and presented taller) and one younger (presented shorter). King Uroš I looks at them both and picks the shorter one. The young man claps happy and takes the crown despite the taller protesting.
"The next king was Stefan Uroš Milutin (Стефан Урош Милутин), the previous king's second son. If you started to notice a pattern then, congratulations you have been paying attention" Rashka speaks and walks away while we watch the young men bicker. "In the end, the older, Dragutin (Драгутин), renounced his claim aaaand...became the vassal ruler of less important Srem which was also Serbian but, let's face it, the south was where the party was. And the party was just heating up" she trots to a nearby battlefield where her new king is with his army. He gives her a sword.
Romanos and Bulgaria are there. She first fights side-by-side with Romanos against a masked representative with a white baloon-shaped hat. They manage to push him away. As he runs, Rashka turns to Romanos and signals him to pay up while holding her sword in a threatening way. He solemnly agrees.
As Romanos leaves, Bulgaria shows up. After a quick sparing match, he loses his sword and is pushed away by Rashka. She signals him in the same manner as Romanos. He accepts but is very angry about it. "So during that time I gained Skoplje, northern Albania and Vidin too. I had a slight skirmish with the Tatars but..." an arrow hits her in the head and stays there "let's say it didn't end well. Luckily, we were able to negotiate our way out of it. The king sent his oldest son as a hostage. The boy did not take this too well." We see a young boy looking at his father the king before the Tatars take him away.
She takes out the arrow and walks into another castle much more lavish than the one before. The female servants have better clothes as well. The king is wearing a crown with more jewels and a golden embroided outfit previously only seen in Byzantium. Architects stand around him showing him numerous models of monasteries and churches as he ponders observing them. "Build them all!" he proclaims to the joy of all.
"He also had many wives. Five to be precise" Rashka states as the architects leave and four women dressed in different fashion take their side by him. "But unlike his predecessors, he didn't banish them as soon as an opportunity for a more powerful alliance emerged. He just kept them around...like sister wives" she shrugs. "That's how powerful he was. But the most important alliance with the Byzantium Emperor that caused a scandal. The alliance was needed so badly that the emperor offered to send him his very young daughter" Rashka gives the king a trade card. He takes it and looks back at her uneasy. He sits and takes a piece of parchment and quill. "He wrote back that he will adopt her first, and marry only when she becomes an adult" she says glancing over to see the letter. She adds as the king stands up and walks towards someone.
"He ruled for 39 years. His successor was, surprise surprise, his second son Stefan Konstantin (Стефан Константин) which was to his first one, the one he sent as a hostage, unacceptable." Now old Milutin walks and puts his hand on the younger king wearing his crown. Another middle-aged man, Stefan Dečanski (Стефан Дечански), comes over with a sword and tries to take the crown by force. Uroš I tries to defend his heir but is too weak. The old king coughs, sits on a chair and dies. The frame moves away as clanging of swords is heard to Rashka, who observes the battle disinterested.
The frame moves back showing Stefan Dečanski putting on the crown and posing triumphant. The frame slowly zooms in on him as Rashka narrates: "Stefan Dečanski came to the throne in 1322. Poor guy. He didn't have an easy life, but it's not like he wasn't out looking for trouble. He was a Tatar hostage for 5 years, and then exiled to Constantinople for 7 years and blinded by his father after a failed coup. Still, he ruled well. Kept the kingdom thriving. Built more monasteries, the most famous being Visoki Dečani... My glory days started with him. And what happened next? Well, that's a story for another time."
November of 1885.
An open peaceful field. "Seriously, when will you grow up? You never change!" Serbia's head pops up and yells.
"I don't see what's so childish about it. I want to gain my independence and regain my territories. What's wrong with that?!" Bulgaria yells back. They are both wearing their national attires.
"There is when you have your eyes set on other people's territories...Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Ask Greece if you need a reminder" she continues angry.
"There you go. You two always ganging up on me. I should have known. Well, this is my moment to shine and I ain't budging" he says pointing to his chest proud.
Serbia loses her temper and attacks. They clash, grabbing each others shoulders as they continue to shout insults at each other. After some struggle, Bulgaria manages to mustard the strength and push Serbia to the ground. She falls in slow motion, completely baffled by what just happened. Bulgaria can't believe it either.
He stands observing her amazed: "Ha! I did it! I beat you!"
She is still on the ground, silent and confused. "You...How? I would always beat you in battle. No matter how big you got. I toppled opponents a thousand times stronger than you. I am unbeatable" she mumbles with eyes open wide.
"Not any more" Bulgaria gloats. "I won Serbia. Now pay up!" he says as she is standing up. Serbia looks at him angry and is ready to say something before another voice is heard.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible" Austria nonchalantly walks towards them. "You see, Serbia here is a sovereign country. His territories cannot be taken away in such a vulgar way."
"But I beat him. I wan't my country as well!" Bulgaria protests.
Austria looks at him and continues calmly: "How about we make a deal."
Next scene: Austria is sitting in his comfy study reading a newspaper. "And so the deal was made. Bulgaria was not given new territories but he was recognised by Western powers" the narrator says.
There is a knock at the door. "Come in" Austria says. It's SAH, in her work outfit. She stands near the door extremely happy about something.
"Yes?" he asks glancing at her before returning to his newspaper.
"I just wanted to say, I heard what you did for the Serbian kingdom. Thank you" she says and does a curtsy.
"No need to thank me my dear. I was just doing my job" he answers calmly.
"Nevertheless, I am truly grateful. If there is anything you need me to do..."she starts.
"Honestly, it's fine. Just keep doing your job well" he smiles. "Is that all?"
She nods. Still smiling, she turns and leaves the study. Austria continues reading in peace.