Alright, wow guys, this story has become the longest thing I've written so far and it will probably remain amongst the longest for a long time coming. I started this story almost a year ago and now we're starting the last act of it, so...here we are, the beginning of the end. I think my writing has improved during this story, about halfway through I took some much needed advice and started cutting down my run-on sentences. There are still some, after all, I do have a pretty tangential writing style and I tend to embrace a sort-of stream-of-consciousness method. It came across to me, as a writer, as nice and flowing, though as a reader, I understand how it can seem endless and exhausting. Hopefully I've managed to find a good way of keeping my sentences relatively short without sacrificing much content. I am also aware that I have a lot of crutches while writing - I say therefore too much, I use lists of three when one would suffice, and I tend to minimalize dialogue because, well, I think my dialogue sucks. I have been trying to get better and I hope that, if nothing else, the effort is showing. One more thing I've been struggling with is trying to distinguish between Anastasia and Helena more, I admit that has probably been one of my shortcomings this story. I am not a perfect writer, I don't think I ever will be, but I think this story has helped me grow and I can't wait to finish the story of Anastasia and Yelizaveta and of Helena and Fatimah.

This chapter will be a Russia chapter and I think the next chapter will be as well. The reason for this is because The Ottoman Empire is pretty much at the place in the story where they're ready for the climax, however, the Russian plot needs to advance more to meet up with it, therefore - dammit I said it again - act three will be more Russia heavy, at least more so than the end of act two which was even an even five-five in terms of war-time chapters. That being said, given that The Ottoman Empire is pretty much ready for the climax, that means when we do get to the last few Helena chapters, they will advance pretty quickly. Enough teasing about what act three will be, lets get to what act three actually is - here is chapter thirty-one of The Legacy of The Romans!

The Legacy of The Romans.

Act III.

The Civilizations and The Vandals.

Chapter XXXI.

The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace.


The soldiers of The Russian Imperial Army returned to Moscow as heroes. They were the men who expanded Russia and defeated our enemies, not just The Ottomans, but The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before them, and we were the women who led them to victory. I sat with Yelizaveta on an open-topped wagon as we rode back into our capital city. The two sisters of Russia waved to the awaiting crowds as we passed the Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral - relics of the old regime - and our grand parade continued through the city. We moved northeast from the old core of the city to the lands we cleared for my White Square. I awed as Saint Sofiya's Cathedral and the Aleksander Citadel came into view as we neared the heart of my new Moscow. The parade turned right into my new White Square, the Church behind us, the Citadel to our right, and the Tsaritsa Maria Davidovna Building to the left. The two hands of a monarch represented by these buildings named for my parents, military might and bureaucracy. One would squash my enemies and conquer new lands, the other would care for and cultivate those lands, properly bringing them into my state, taxing them, and governing them. Bureaucrats would handle the day-to-day affairs of the land, but ultimately, all the real power gathered in the hands of one person...me.

There was a wooden stage awaiting us in the center of White Square, a podium at its center and a pair of Russian banners hung from poles on either side, but these poles had more than just those banners on them, for, at the very top, they both flew purple ribbons, the symbol of my Third Rome. The banners and the ribbons were one symbol of authority, but nothing showed my authority more clearly than the massive palace sat behind the stage. The white and gold walls of The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace stretched from one end of White Square to the other, filling the horizon. Monumental pillars faced White Square, point up to a triangular pediment. At the center of this decorated, Greco-Roman inspired architectural element, sit Yelizaveta and I in thrones, halos around our heads. The present and future divine rulers of Russia immortalized in the architecture of our eternal palace. Our carriage stopped and the two of us got off. I offered Yelizaveta my hand as we walked up to the stage, hope filled my eyes as she looked down at the hand, she bit on her lip, contemplating. I heard Liz take a deep breath before walking away, walking up the stage. I closed my outstretched hand and caught back up with her, climbing the steps with her and standing at the podium. My little sister and heiress was at my side, she was giving me all the public support I could ask for, but in private, the hurt and the betrayal I left her with after what I did with Krystyna at Konstantinovskaya are abundantly clear.

I faced the wonderful Russian Orthodox Cathedral at the southern end of White Square, named for my youngest sister - well, officially it is named after the same Saint she is, but it really is named after her - but then, I looked closer to the stage. At either end of the base stood the Italian architects behind all this, Camillo and Andrea, behind them, filling the square, where the serfs that build all this. There were thousands upon thousands of them - it was no mean feat to build all of this in just the three years since I hired the architects, sure, there was still plenty more to do - decorations, embellishment, completion of rooms at the outer ends of the Palace, Citadel, and bureaucratic Building - but that could be done with new serfs - I had a plan to both reward these serfs for their hard and diligent work here and begin my plans for the vast expanses of southern Russia. Presently, all of these serfs were my personal property, inherited from my father, just like The Tsardom of Russia, they were one of the two apparatuses that made us particularly rich - the other being that the crown owns all of the vodka distilleries in Russia - but they could be of more use to me as free men. I could always buy new serfs, especially given that the lands in Byelorussia and the Ukraine we took from The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth contain an existing and prospering system of serfdom. As I stood at the podium overlooking White Square, I put my plan into action.

"The Ottoman Empire has been pushed out of Crimea and the Caucasus, a new Russia reigns victorious in eastern Europe. Our foes in Warsaw and Constantinople tremble, our enemies in Stockholm and on the steppes of Central Asia await the day that Russian troops will roll over their lands with utter dread! We have made our name clear all across the world as the Third Rome! The ancient Russian heartlands in Kiev have been reclaimed! The future belongs to the Russians! Soon enough, not even the Chinese will be safe from our grasp, Peking itself will whimper as Russian troops reach the Pacific and spread along the coast from there. Russia is on the cusp of becoming the most powerful country in the world and the men here in White Square have all contributed to this vision. The soldiers, who followed me into The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and against the Turks, the architects from distant lands in Italy who designed all of this that you see around us, and the serfs who have built all of it! I recognize that the common serfs in this Square have done an amazing service to The Tsardom of Russia, building a holy Cathedral, a grand Citadel, an excellent base for our bureaucracy, and The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace, the only architectural marvel in the world worthy of symbolizing what my sister and I have done and will do for Russia. To say my gratefulness to you serfs, I hereby declare you free! You shall be compensated for your lifetimes of labor with vast plots of land in the country we have reclaimed from The Great Horde, The Kazan Khanate, The Nogai Horde, and The Ottoman Empire ever since we escaped the shackles of The Mongols. So journey out to the steppes, cultivate the lands, and enjoy your freedoms. The armies of Russia shall protect you, all we ask in return is your appreciation, your taxes, and a portion of your grain. Once again, I thank all of you for your service to The Tsardom of Russia." I smirked as the crowds cheered, the serfs were grateful, and out of their gratitude, they would settle Russia's frontiers for me, all the while, serfs from our new western regions would arrive in Moscow to replace them.

The serfs cheered. The Russian people would remember me as a benevolent ruler who brought wealth and prosperity to their country, the Russian soldiers would remember me as a capable conqueror who accompanied her troops on grand campaigns deep into The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, The Ottoman Empire, and, perhaps in the future, into The Kingdom of Sweden, and the Russian aristocracy would remember me as the woman who seized absolute power and created an entire southern Russian population indebted to the Tsardom, all without noble intervention. I would erect new cities to stand alongside Sevastopol and Tsaritsyn in the south, I would feed those cities with the grain of these freed serfs, and I would confine the Cossacks, forcing the wild bands to either submit or disband. There would not be nobles in these new lands gained from Crimea, The Great Horde, Kazan, and Nogai, it would all be crown lands, all of it would feed my power. A victorious parade, an ambitious plot, and a new palace, everything is looking fantastic for my Russia.


The pillars of my new palace stood in front of the grand doors of the front facade. Yasamin, Yelizaveta, and I entered The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace from White Square, revealing the main hall. A towering, two story hall filled our vision, including a second story interior balcony supported by pillars. The white and black checkered pattern tile floor expanded endlessly in all directions. A circular pedestal stood in the center of the room, awaiting a statue of Yelizaveta and I - the statue could not be designed in time before she and I left for the war, therefore, the pedestal stands empty - and beyond that, the grand staircase leading up to the second floor. On either side of the staircase, still on the first floor, there were doors which led to the throne room. The throne room was located on the opposite side of this part of the palace, facing the rear facade. The rear facade faced empty space at the moment, however, I intended to eventually convert these grounds into palace gardens. This was the advantage of effectively creating a whole new city connected to the old Moscow, I had room to build whatever I wanted. White Square is only the beginning, I wanted to double or even triple the size of Moscow. I wanted to create a productive, modern, planned city out of the medieval capital of Russia, turning the city which was once a stockade on the Moskva River surrounded by nothing but forests into the envy of all Europe.

We crossed to this other end of the palace and entered the new throne room. A massive golden double-headed Russian eagle filled the wall behind the throne with an impressive relief sculpture. The eagle wears the red and white shield of the Muscovite horseman, when viewed from the entrance to the throne room, this eagle and its Muscovite coat of arms floats directly above my throne. The throne was large and grand with a secondary, smaller throne for a consort to the left - the monarch's right when they take the throne - both of these thrones were painted gold but covered in purple. The gold and the purple of these thrones were to symbolize the grand wealth and luxury of The Tsardom of Russia. The purple additionally symbolizes our claims to the Third Rome whilst the gold connects back to our Russian roots, matching the gold and black flag of Russia. I took my seat in the throne, turning around to see Yasamin and Yelizaveta. The Indo-Persian noblewoman clearly seemed impressed, after all, this is a titanic and expensive building, deeply embellished with precious metals and quality building materials, metals and materials which would only increase in number over the next few years as this palace is fully completed. Yelizaveta, trying to suppress her happiness due to my stupid and misguided mistake, could not fully hide her delight with our new palace, however, I knew we were still a long way from celebrating this palace the way we planned. I had broken my little sister's heart and her trust, and now, I had to pay the price.

"You were right about the Palace, Anastasia, it is magnificent. A bit too European for my taste, but it is clearly one of the finest examples of your architecture." Yasamin observed. This baroque palace certainly was different that the Persian and Indo-Islamic architecture she is accustomed to, but it is precisely the kind of palace that I need as a European monarch. If I were a monarch in Persia or Indian, I would have gone for a more local architectural style, after all, exoticism can be appealing, but a palace that is too exotic can clash with the city it belongs in. The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace is far enough away from the old medieval Russian architecture in the old heart of Moscow, while the Citadel and the Building are made to match it. The Saint Sofiya Cathedral is a mixture of Russian architecture and Baroque architecture, structurally similar to towering Russian churches like Saint Basil's, but decorated in the Italian style. Russian architecture does play a part in the other baroque buildings of White Square, after all, the pilasters of The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace are topped with miniature turnip domes. These small domes are golden with white stripes swirling up to the top. White Square is designed to be both Russian and European, reaching out to our western neighbors and establishing ourselves as a European power while maintaining our own culture and our own distinctiveness.

"I'm sure you will have plenty of magnificent palaces of your own once you conquer India. You can add turquoise and diamonds to the gold and silver that us Europeans are used to." I remarked, displaying my knowledge of their embellishment. Yasamin Mirza Shahi al-Bahmani preferred Indo-Islamic and Persian architecture to my baroque and Russian, however, she recognized the beauty of baroque architecture, just like I can recognize the beauty that Yasamin will bring to India. Cities of the Deccan such as Hyderabad, Gulbarga, and Bidar will be transformed by the woman and her new Bahmanid Sultanate. To this day these cities stand as rump states of the old Bahmanid Sultanate, locked in a desperate struggle for survival as The Mughals expand southwards and the Empire of Vijayanagar, the City of Victory, pushes northwards, the rump Sultanates will be the easy part for Yasamin, she'll unite them easily, assuming those minuscule states survive the expansion of two of India's greatest empires. One, a Turco-Mongol Sunni state with ties to the once great Timurid dynasty, the other, the last bastion of Indian Hinduism, standing strong from its base in the southern Deccan, controlling a large, but disunited population of Dravidian peoples. It would potentially be a fascinating battle to observe, one the Europeans would surely use to steal more and more Indian ports, unfortunately for them, they will both fall to a Indo-Persian state under my influence.

"You know, once I do control the Deccan, I can offer you crown jewels made with Golconda diamonds." Yasamin suggested. I was eager to accept her offer, after all, a beautiful new crown and scepter - brought in to celebrate my confirmed status as the heiress of Rome - glistening with Indian diamonds, would perfectly symbolize my new found power. Such regalia would fit in perfectly with this throne in this palace with this golden eagle at my back. There was a distraction though, I watched as Bathory Terezia entered the throne room. The Hungarian woman who had been my regent had a solemn expression on her face and held an official, stamped envelope in her hand. This was something serious. The seriousness was only amplified when Terezia first walked up to Yelizaveta, her lover as far as she knows, and hugged my sister before attempting to kiss her. My sister was upset with me, and she would be fully entitled to kiss Terezia back, hurting me and betraying me just as much as I hurt and betrayed her with Krystyna beforehand, however, Liz was determined to be better than me. Liz moved her face and Terezia only kissed her cheek, Liz reciprocated the gesture to my right hand woman and the two shared a long, silent gaze before Terezia turned to me. The woman stood there, solemnly, and offered me the envelope. I accepted it and I unwrapped the golden ribbon holding it together, find the hand-written resignation inside.

"Tsarina Anastasia, Tsarevna Yelizaveta, Lady Yasamin," Terezia officially greeted each of us "You three are some of the most impressive, inspiring, and powerful women I have ever encountered. The years I spent with you, planning a war against The Ottoman Empire, serving as your regent in Moscow while you led the troops to victory, and overseeing the negotiations at Konstantinovskaya. I will forever love and cherish the experiences we shared together, however, today, I am resigning from my position as Russia's foreign minister, as well as my many unofficial positions. Do not mistake this for ingratitude, I am grateful for all you've done for me, but it is time for me to move on. In Portugal, I served a King who failed to recognize me, and, here in Russia, I served a country which allowed me to flourish, but a country that was never mine. My cousin, Lady Krystyna, is offering me the chance to return to Transylvania, perhaps even reestablish a Kingdom of Hungary, my place is there. As my final act, I have reached out as far away as Scandinavia and Germany, hoping to provide you with a woman just as capable as I was."

"Thank you Terezia, I accept your resignation. I understand the wish to be with Lady Krystyna more than most, I am sure the two of you will do great things together. I'm sure you were more than thorough with selecting your candidates. I'm confident that they will find great places in my government and my bureaucracy." I replied. I really did understand wanting to accompany Lady Krystyna on her journey through eastern and southern Europe, if I wasn't a monarch in my own right, I would want to join her too. I also had to applaud her initiative, Terezia must have come to the decision that she was leaving long ago, so much so that she already planned for her replacement. Her choice of female candidates is an interesting one, I never specified that I wanted an all female inner circle - my goal was to build up a group of capable and talented women in Moscow, however, it was never going to be exclusively women - however, as I glanced over at my little sister, hurt and pain evident in her expression, I realized something. Terezia thought that Yelizaveta was hurting because of her actions, the Transylvanian woman thought that she was the one who broke Liz's heart - a natural conclusion, after all, they were together before the war and now she was leaving - and now, she wanted to make sure Liz found someone new. I fully suspect that the candidates Terezia selected all happen to be young, beautiful women who are unmarried, in fact, they don't seem to show very much interest in men at all...so be it then, I will have plenty more plenty lesbians in my court, even if none of them will fill the hole in Yelizaveta's heart. I know I hurt her, I know what I did was absolutely wrong and weak and stupid and impatient, but I want to make up for it, I wanted to be the one who mends poor Liz's heart.

"Thank you, my Tsarina," Terezia bowed before leaving. She will be missed, after all, she was an exceptional woman and she served me in countless ways - even in her resignation, she acknowledged that she was far more than just my Foreign Minister, she had internal duties as well as external, she organized the alliance against The Ottoman Empire but then she served as my regent during the war and then led the negotiations. Terezia brought a very diverse set of skills to Moscow and, while I'm sure her candidates will be more than qualified, I question if any of them will quite be able to take on her vast work load. I may have to divide her duties amongst a group of these candidates. I will be an absolute monarch, but being an absolute monarch does not mean I have to rule stupidly, having all the power puts me in a position to delegate it. My state would barely expand beyond Moscow itself if I intended to rule entirely on my own, hence, the bureaucracy to control my lands. My state would be diplomatically isolated if I intended to handle all diplomatic affairs myself, hence, I need someone who can appeal to the distant capitals of Europe - Moscow may be establishing itself on the world stage, but that hardly means I can host any and all diplomatic arrangements in my capital itself. My state would collapse without me every time that Yelizaveta and I left on a military campaign, hence, I needed someone I trusted to serve as a regent, a regent who was strong enough and smart enough to resist any attempt by the nobles, or anyone else for that matter, to threaten Russian absolutism. My state required a very strong and very centralized government, a government which these candidates could, hopefully, provide.


"This room is yours, just opposite of mine." I told Liz as I showed her to our rooms on the third floor of the Palace. The first and second floors were the main part of the building, the part decorated in white and gold, the third floor, however, was built beneath the roof and contained dormers to increase space. Her bedroom and mine were designed to sit above the throne room, built inside of the triangular roof. Our chambers were equally sized and contained a number of rooms - the doors opened up to a small office space, places where we can work, read, and write in private, these then opened up to the main bedrooms. The bathing rooms were to the left of the bedroom while the dressing room was to the right. There were two of these rooms, one on either side, but I had only hoped on using one of the with her. Unfortunately, for the both of us, I had the perfect relationship going and I went and ruined it. I opened my door and offered Yelizaveta the chance to walk in with me, once again, I saw that ponderous expression on her face, the biting the lip, the averted eyes. Yelizaveta knew that if she entered the room with me, she wouldn't be able to resist me, our love and attraction would overcome the grudges and the resentment, but Liz was stronger than that, she knew that I betrayed her and that I had to be punished for my actions. Her heart wanted to come with me and forget, but her brain knew better than that. I trained her brain to never compromise, to be an unabashed absolutist just like I was, and now, now that uncompromising nature was turned against me.

"No...I can't Nastya...you know I can't. I love you, I waited for you, and just when I thought I finally had you, you go and have sex with Krystyna. I know she's beautiful and you loved her, but I can't just let you get away with that. I can't just let you cheat on me." Liz argued, pain evident in her voice. I took a deep breath and sat down at the chair behind my desk, hand in my face. Yelizaveta floated around the entrance of the room, she wanted to comfort me, she wanted to fix this, but she was still worried about being sucked back into a web of lies and betrayal. Liz wanted to fix our relationship, but it had to be fixed the right way. I loved my little sister, I loved her with all my heart, I loved her too much, but I still broke her heart. I not only jeopardized our relationship, but I jeopardized our very sisterhood. Yelizaveta spent her whole life believing that I was the perfect person - smart, beautiful, ambitious, destined to rule, and fearless in the face of the impossible - but my betrayal shattered that illusion. I wasn't just her sister and her lover, I was her idol, anything less than perfection was an insult to her very perception of me. I had to do better for Yelizaveta, I had to be perfect for her because she was perfect for me. I had sex with Krystyna, not only at Konstantinovskaya, but before then at Kolomenskoye too, meanwhile, Liz never had sex with Terezia, she had saved herself for me. My little sister was pure and virgin for me where I had not been, I had let fear of incestuous relationship starve my heart while she embraced it, and I had broken her heart while she remained true to me, even now when Terezia wanted to give her a goodbye kiss. Liz was perfect for me and now, I had to be perfect for her.

"I'm sorry," I pleaded, pathetically as tears streamed down my face. I should have wanted to pull myself together, after all, I was an absolutist monarch, I should use this desk to make sweeping declarations, grand decrees, and sign laws into existence, instead, I'm weeping into it. I didn't feel out of place though, after all, Yelizaveta was my heiress, I couldn't very well have an heiress with a broken heart. I was training Yelizaveta to replace me as the Tsarina of Russia, I couldn't have this painful, awkward tension between us, therefore, it was not only in my emotional, romantic, and sisterly interests to fix things with Liz, it was in my state interests. Liz rested a comforting hand on my sobbing shoulder, sitting down on my desk. I thought that, the first time the two of us were together in my chambers, we would be making love for the first time, instead, we were sobbing, we were connected, but there was a noticeable distance between us, and we were uncertain of the future of our relationship. I couldn't believe that it was possible for the relationship to completely fall apart, after all, lovers or not, we were forever linked as sisters, but I don't know how long it could take for us to rebuild the trust and affection we shared at Konstantinovskaya.

"I know," Liz replied. Blue eyes looked into blue, my sister did care, my sister did love me, and she did want to rebuild our relationship. I took a deep breath and wiped away the tears, there was hope. It would take time and it would take effort, but there was hope that we would, one day, maybe one day soon, maybe one day in the distant future, be able to return to the happy, loving relationship we had not too long ago. The fact that there was enough to make me happy again, before this, my goal had been to plot for a war against The Ottoman Empire and then to actually defeat them, now, I had a new goal to work towards - repairing my romantic life. I would finally get to tap into all those feelings and all that love I had been suppressing while on military campaigns, now, all there was to do was to show Liz how sincerely sorry I was and how much I still loved her, how much I regretted my stupid mistake.


"Well Persians, along with occasional Turks, Arabs, Uzbeks, Kurds, and other Islamic peoples, would arrive at the Konkan ports and join the established nobility. These local nobles tended to be mixed between Indians and Persians, though some areas were under the control of Hindus as well." Yasamin Mirza Shahi al-Bahmani explained how the old Bahmanid Sultanate worked as we walked around the perimeter of White Square, enjoying the Russian summer sun. Moscow was never going to be quite as the scorching deserts of Persia or the Deccan plateau, however, the northerly, continental climate of Moscow meant that the weather ranged quite dramatically. The winters were bitterly cold, snowy, and icy, whilst the summers were warm, humid, and beautiful. The trees and the grasses were practically overwhelmingly green, shining gloriously in the sun. Our flag was gold and black, but our troops wore green and red, I think these forests is one of the reasons why we wear green uniforms. Russia is practically synonymous with taiga forests and, much like these ancient trees, our troops were uncompromising, standing tall and proud even against the most difficult conditions. The soldiers, much like the great forests of Russia, were clad in a brilliant green.

"Right, and you appeal to both of these classes, being both Persian and Kannada." I added on, remembering what Yasamin told me about her family, her father being a Bahmanid heir with nostalgic ambitions and her mother being a Kannada convert to Islam, their marriage, in some ways, being a result of this nostalgic fascination with the time their family ruled over southern India. My own understanding of Indian history is that, when The Bahmanid Sultanate lost control of the Konkan ports, their decline was rapid and violent. The Sultanate was cut off from its influx of new Persians by the expansion of Vijayanagar and The Sultanate of Gujarat, the latter of which has since been conquered and absorbed by The Mughal Empire. The fractured states were smaller, weaker, and centered on major cities, such as Bidar, the last capital of The Bahmanid Sultanate, and major cities such as Bijapur, Golconda - modern day Hyderabad - Ahmednagar, and Berar. Some of these fractured states have already been absorbed into the larger two empires, others have merely lost territory, but regardless, these Deccan Sultanates will eventually be erased if Yasamin does not intervene. Unfortunately for those Sultanates, Yasamin Mirza Shahi al-Bahmani does not intend to save them, she merely intends to annex them, bringing them into her Shia Persian state before expanding much further against the City of Victory and The Mughals.

"Indeed, that is how I intend to appeal to both classes of Muslims in my eventual Sultanate. My Kannada links, as well as my need for a strong bureaucracy, will hopefully appeal to the local Hindus. Kannada, Telugu, and Marathi all alike." Yasamin explained, once again make it clear that she has thought through her plans. The Kannada and Telugu are both Dravidian people, from the western and eastern Deccan respectively, meanwhile, the Marathi people are a northern Indian people known for their history as warriors. This makes the Deccan quite a diverse area, especially given all the mixing and foreign groups involved - the mixed Indo-Persian places with their Hindustani languages, Arabic traders operating at the Konkan ports, and Portuguese conquerors in Goa, a port they took before either The Mughals or Vijayanagar could take it. Russia is a diverse country, however, Russia is overwhelming Russian, that allows me to use the Russian people to dominate over the other minorities, such as Tatars, Kalmyks, and now, due to my expansion, now Ruthenians and Byelorussians - close enough to Russians - Goths, Georgians, Armenians, Azeris, and additional Circassians. Yasamin's Sultanate is different than that, for example, and I'm oversimplifying, she could have one third of the Indian population be Kannada, one third be Marathi, and one third by Telugu, thus, rather than letting one culture dominate the others, her absolute authority will come in the form of turning those groups against one another, keeping the local Hindu population from unifying against her rule. That does not necessarily mean creating conflict between them, not immediately anyway, merely accentuating the differences, keeping them three, small, disunited cultures, rather than one group of different cultures that came together to oppose this invasion of outsiders. It is an interesting proposition to think of how it would be like if I ruled over a more heterogeneous state - again, Russians are numerous enough to subjugate all other cultures within The Tsardom of Russia - like Yasamin will, or even like Lady Krystyna will, given that her expansion into The Kingdom of Hungary alone will leave her ruling over Hungarians, Croatians, Serbians, Romanians, Slovaks, and Germans.

Lady Krystyna's conquests will put her in control of a very diverse, very differing set of cultures. The Kingdom of Bohemia contains Czechs, Silesian Poles, Germans, Jews, in addition to minuscule populations of other minorities, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth contains Poles, Lithuanians, Germans, Jews, now Romanians in Moldavia, Byelorussians along the border with Russia, Ruthenians in Galicia, and even more diverse minorities such as Tatars and Swedes, then Hungary has those aforementioned groups, along with Italians and Dalmatians in Croatia if Krystyna expands further into The Kingdom of Croatia, long held in personal union with Hungary, and, finally, should Krystyna push into Naples in southern Italy, she'll find herself reigning over Italians, Spaniards, Albanians, and Greeks. This presents a very different set of challenges than ruling over Russia, challenges which shall keep her very far away. I knew that it wasn't Krystyna's fault that she created this gap between Liz and I, but I still wanted to avoid her, I wanted to avoid any opportunity for making that same mistake again. It was my fault that I wanted to have sex with powerful woman whenever I wanted, it's my fault that my selfish desires led to me cheating with my little sister, but Krystyna being far away meant that my selfish desires could be kept away. I sighed, Krystyna was wonderful, but the reason why I started a relationship with her and fell in love with her is to quell my feelings for Yelizaveta, now, my feelings for Krystyna have hurt my relationship with Yelizaveta.

"So...where shall you be making this bureaucracy and skeleton government?" I asked, wondering about how exactly Yasamin intends to bring her state together in Moscow, establishing the basic structure of her state before she even has any land to rule over. This is a smart move, after all, that gives Yasamin the chance to skip the chaotic and unstable stage of forming a new country, the stage where invaders have to choose whether to depend on the local, existing infrastructure or try and impose a new, foreign system on the lands, instead, Yasamin's conquest comes with a fully formed government, practically eliminating the transitional period. Lady Krystyna will not have that particular advantage, she has been able to experience a successful and absolutist monarchy and she has an established reputation in the Catholic world after capitalizing on her victory against The Ottomans. The Second Battle of Varna is not called that because it has anything to do with The First Battle of Varna or because it takes place in Varna itself, the battle is called The Second Battle of Varna because marketing. Lady Krystyna wanted to market this random battle of The Russo-Ottoman War as avenging the Polish and Hungarian defeat at Varna in 1444, something she has succeeded in, winning over the Catholic courts of Europe. Krystyna has both of those, but she does not have Bohemian, Polish, and Hungarian absolute monarchies ready to go - that being said, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Principality of Transylvania are existing states with existing government, however, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's hopelessly inefficient government with its vetoes and Sejm may be more of a hindrance than an asset.

We turned right from the Citadel and walked alongside the Cathedral. The right front was the Maria Davidovna Building, however, directly ahead an open avenue led down to a cleared field. Much of the forests which once filled the area around White Square have been cleared - which I suppose kind of undermines my earlier uncompromising forest metaphor - for construction timber and space. Much of the clearing occurred long before White Square was built, that timber was used in construction of many of the older parts of Moscow, but the rest of it was cleared more recently. White Square was meant to be a beginning for a new Moscow, thus, we cleared much of the area around the square, even if the area isn't used quite yet. I wanted to make sure that land was ready right away for any new constructions I started. I already envisioned a German market - once, centuries ago, The Hanseatic League of German traders established a trade post in Novgorod, this connected Novgorod to the vast trade networks of central Europe, allowing money and trade goods to flow as far away as Copenhagen and London. Some of those trade relationships still exist, after all, The White Sea Company and now The Black Sea Company exist as trade links between London and Moscow, meanwhile, relationships between Russia and The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway have grown stronger lately due to our mutual rivals in The Kingdom of Sweden, including trade relationships - and, to help foster that German community, a Protestant Church.

That Protestant Church would be designed to be beautiful and baroque - perhaps in contrast to the more muted designs that modern Protestant churches in Europe tend to have - in order to fit with the theme of impossible luxury I wish to convey with my new capital, however, it would intentionally be designed to pale in comparison to Saint Sofiya's Cathedral. The bell towers would be shorter than the main tower of Saint Sofiya's Cathedral - fortunately, Russian architecture tends to produce larger than average churches, so that may even develop naturally, allowing me to produce a visibly less impressive church without directly telling my architects to intentionally stifle themselves. In a similar vane, I also wish to build a Catholic church, once again, one which is impressive, more impressive than the churches in European cities, but not as impressive as the actual Russian churches. This church shall cater to Catholic Germans - the Hanseatic cities were concentrated on northern Germany, which is now predominantly Protestant, however, I do not intend to limit this German market to merely merchants from Hamburg and Bremen, I want to appeal to traders from Catholic areas of Germany, such as Bavaria, Wurttemberg, and even Austria - as well as Poles. My relationship with The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth means that, for the first time in century, there are positive and stable trade relations between Moscow and Warsaw, meaning that Polish and Lithuanian traders will come to operate in Moscow as well. This shall be a German market, but not a market that is merely German.

"Perhaps that field could serve as a campsite for now, starting with tents and then developing into office spaces and hotels, we'll get a place to work and live while you'll get us to develop the city for you." Yasamin proposed. The Indo-Persian woman knew how to appeal to me now, she would get what she would want while spinning it in a way where it seemed like she was giving me what I wanted. I was conscious of what she was doing, however, given that I was being generous and I wanted to help her, in addition to the fact that I do want to develop that field into a new urban district, I was fine with this somewhat subversive appeal. A Persian district, even if it is only populated with Persians for a short time - perhaps especially because it is only populated with Persians for a short period of time - would appeal to Europeans as well. Once Yasamin and her forces are gone, this district will serve as a slice of the orient to draw in Europeans and even Russians with the hopes of seeing something exotic surrounded by the familiar. I'll give my people all the fascinations with the Middle East with none of the actual realities of living in the Middle East, none of the heat, none of the Islamic dominance disguised as tolerance, and none of actual experiences with living in foreign lands. I could imagine that the architecture of this district would be that typical mix of Russian and Baroque architecture that I have popularized in my White Square along with bits and pieces of Persian and Indo-Islamic architecture. I will give Yasamin her campsite and I will build it into my orientalist district.

"Very well, perhaps I'll even build you a Mosque." I proposed. The Sunni Tatars, Crimeans, and Kazakhs of the southern Russian steppe represent an obstacle for the Russian state. My main solution for that particular problem is to try and convert these people, turning them into Russian Orthodox believers and thus, bringing them within an apparatus that supports my absolutism. That may be difficult, after all, Islamic religions are particularly iconoclast - after all, one of their tenants is that there is no God but Allah - and thus, they may prove to be vehemently opposed to the idea of divine right rule. Thus, another potential solution to this problem of a dissenting religion is dilution. Moscow is almost entirely Russian Orthodox and thus, the addition of Sunni Muslims shall not disrupt my rule at all, especially not this close to my palace and the center of my control. Therefore, I can build a Mosque, initially one which is Shia, and it can serve Yasamin's faction, later on, I can convert this to a Sunni Mosque, thus, building a magnet for Russian Muslims, a magnet that will, unknowingly, put those Muslims in a position where they are diluted and they are rendered relatively powerless, a magnet that shall allow me to become an even more successful absolutist monarch. I smirked, Yasamin thinks she may be getting one over me, but she is certainly not, in fact, I am using this situation to further my own ambitions.

"A palace, a citadel, a building for your bureaucrats that rivals the palaces of some European sovereigns, a German market, two churches, and now a Mosque? Just how many other ridiculously impressive buildings do you want to add to your capital?" Yasamin laughed, amused at my never-ending ambition. The list was quite extensive, I do admit, after all, I was basically building up a whole new capital, doubling the size of Moscow, creating a city to match my towering visions. White Square was the core of it all, naturally, consisting of my grand residence, the centerpiece of my military and defense organization, and the complex that serves as the home for my bureaucracy. My next priorities are to turn Moscow into a magnet for the great minds of foreign countries, hence, the German market and the exotic, orientalist district I envision, based on Yasamin's campsite. Of course, there was one glaring hole left in my Moscow, because, while I could draw in foreign intellectuals, artists, and government officials, I didn't have a method for producing my own Russian minds.

"There is one thing that Russia is critically missing though, and that is a university. I intend to add that to my state next." I answered. Universities were still somewhat of a rarity east of the German lands of The Holy Roman Empire, there was Charles University in Prague, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, The University of Konigsberg, and Vilnius University, but none of those were in Russia. One was in Austrian controlled Bohemia within The Holy Roman Empire, the other three were within The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Krakow and Vilnius in the Commonwealth proper, Konigsberg within The Duchy of Prussia, consisting of East Prussia and, thanks to Jan the Prussian, the vassal state was now ruled in personal union with The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. That particular detail is something that I'm sure will cause tension when Lady Krystyna is elected to rule The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ducal Prussia will, no doubt, attempt to regain its autonomy, something which Lady Krystyna shall not allow easily. In any case, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was, until recently, one of our biggest rivals, and they had two universities with a third in a vassal state while we had none, that seems like an utter embarrassment for The Tsardom of Russia. This is one of the reasons why I feel like it's so important for me to open up a university in Moscow, bringing honor back to my capital.

Yasamin and I continued to walk around White Square and discuss our respective states, her visions for an Indian Sultanate supported by Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and Uzbek immigrants. The Persians will be told this, unlike the Turkmen dominated Persia, is a state they could dominate, meanwhile, the Turks and the Turkmen would be told that this is yet another opportunity for them to flourish as the strongest and proudest warriors in the Islamic world, the Shia Arabs would be offered a new destination, a destination in need of officials, traders, and generals in India, and the Uzbeks would be offered a safe haven for their culture and way of life, something which will become very desirable as my troops descend upon the remaining hordes of Central Asia, exposing Transoxiana to Russian attacks. I, meanwhile, further discussed my ambitions for Moscow as well as my plans for bringing the other cities of Russia up to a comparable standard, as well as my methods to improve rural life. I envisioned great cities for my Russia, but those great cities would be nothing without rural farms to feed them, therefore, I need to ensure that farmers remain satisfied with their lives in the countryside so they don't move into the cities, thus depriving those cities of their agricultural base which allows them to be so great and so beautiful. Essentially, I have to improve all of Russia to successfully improve any part of it.


"Nastya!" Sophie shouted as she entered The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace for the first time, running up to me and giving me a hug, my bemused mother following behind at a slower and more restrained pace, though still quite happy to see me. Yelizaveta had gone to Kolomenskoye to take our mother and our third sister to the palace now that their rooms were ready, thus, our family was finally united again after two years of war. Sofiya, now seventeen, has grown into a beautiful woman, rich blonde hair, powerful blue eyes, happiness splayed across her blemishless face, and her figure was perfect despite her admittedly charming slothfulness and her taste for sweets. My mother was looking happier too, not just because she got to see Liz and I once again, but because she finally seems to have recovered from our father's death. Her skin, while still our family's characteristic pale - albeit not quite as pale as my father was and we are - now had its color and richness back, her black hair was silky and almost glossy with how utterly dark it is - I couldn't find a gray strand if I searched for it - something which suggests my blonde hair will age very well indeed. Finally, those same blue eyes were finally clear of sadness, the sadness and the regret now fully exchanged for the love and admiration for her daughters, all three of us. The Tsarina of Russia, her talented heiress, and a beautiful and heterosexual third daughter to ensure that our dynasty and lineage survives for centuries to come. Yelizaveta and I may rule, but Sofiya is the key to Russia's future.

"Sophie!" I hugged my little sister back, enjoying seeing her again. I greeted my mother as well, grateful to have my family back together again, it was the thing which finally made my capital feel almost complete. I say almost because there is one critical element missing, an element made clear by the held, longing gaze that Liz and I shared, hurt and regret evident in both of our eyes. Part of me wanted to scream at her that, saying that I was already infinitely sorry and that I already learned every single lesson I could possibly learn, but I knew that it wasn't that simple. It was about learning lessons but it also wasn't - the fact is, even if I've learned everything there was to learn, I've still hurt and betrayed my little sister and shattered her perception of her idol - it was about pain and recovery, Yelizaveta needed time and I needed to respect that, if I didn't, not only would it show that I really haven't learned anything - Liz is being monogamous for me, thus, I needed to treat her as my equal and be monogamous for her - but it would also potentially cause even more damage to her. Liz and I tore our eyes away from each other and walked with our mother and sister, giving them a tour of the finished parts of the palace.

"This is The Ukrainian Ballroom, named in honor of the conquest of Ruthenia and Zaporizhia in The Kievan Reconquest." I explained, using a name for the war against The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth coined by a Russian historian who wrote about the war whilst I was off on campaign against The Ottoman Empire. Evidently, Polish historians opted to describe that war more along the lines of The Great Humiliation, though, given that the war would kick off a series of events that would culminate in Lady Krystyna coming to power in The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, perhaps I didn't humiliate them, perhaps I gave them the chance to survive and fix their dysfunctional and crumbling country. We walked down the steps into The Ukrainian Ballroom, walking along the checker pattern floor looking up at the Baroque art throughout the room. The windows were surrounded by brilliant purple curtains surrounded by beautifully crafted art. Along the ground, between the windows, there were statues of notable and virtuous Russians, above that, there were paintings of saints and angles, next, on a ring around the ceiling, there was a list of all the Russian rulers of Kiev, written out in Cyrillic, culminating in myself and Yelizaveta. The ceiling contained a view looking down on the world - implied to be God's view - showing Russia, in glorious gold with the black, double-headed eagle in the center, stretching from the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic to the Pacific, the chilly, arctic waters of Arkhangelsk in the north down to the Transoxiana, the Central Asia destiny of Russia. This mural was very intentional, it was designed to teach my successors exactly where I intended for them to wage war and expand, taming the steppe, reaching the Pacific, and becoming both a world empire and a European great power. The mural of The Ukrainian Ballroom was my divine vision of Russia and, by divine right, God's vision.

The term Kievan Reconquest also had another purpose, it was a reminder of our Russian history. I had fought and fought hard to be recognized as the true heiress of Rome and Moscow as the Third Rome, but, while we were Romans, we were also Russians. The term Kievan Reconquest reestablishes our continuity with the Kievan Rus, which we viewed as the first Russia, and reconquest clarifies that our war for the Ukraine is a war for reclaiming Russian history, Russian history which was seized by the pagan Grand Dukes of Lithuania following the chaos of The Mongol Invasions. Those pagan Grand Dukes then became Catholic and intermarried with Polish royalty, creating a personal union and setting the basis for the unified state which is The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, setting the basis for a long rivalry and countless wars, a rivalry and tradition of warfare I put an end to. To commemorate this age-old link with the Kievan Rus, the black and white checker pattern here was crucially different than the tiles in the main hall in one very particular way. The black tiles contained the white outlines of tridents and the white tiles contained black tiles. This trident was an old symbol of the Kievan Rus and a symbol of The House Rurikovich in general. This dynastic and Ukrainian link is immortalized in my palace, immortalizing a critical piece of Russian history that I reclaimed in 1622.

"It would be nice to have a dance in here soon, perhaps a wedding dance." My mother not-so-subtly changed the conversation to matters she was concerned with. She was proud of Yelizaveta and I for our rule and our conquests, but she was also concerned with the continuation of our dynasty. I suppose I could hardly blame her, it was hard of her to not think of her lack of grandchildren while looking down at a floor of our dynastic Coat of Arms or up at a list of rulers of Kiev, a list which ends at Anastasia I and Yelizaveta I. Now, that's already reaching into the future as Liz isn't a Tsarina yet, but the fact is, our dynastic future is not set in stone despite the fact she has three sexually mature adult daughters. Given that this is the first time in years the three of us have been in the same place at the same time, it was only natural for our mother to poke and prod about marriages and continuing the line. To be fair, I was concerned about this as well, though it's not like it would be a problem, Sofiya is hardly going to have a difficult time attracting male suitors and, given that Russia is exploding onto the European scene, the suitors will no doubt come from the most powerful and significant dynasties in Europe, the kind of dynasties worthy of marrying into The House Rurikovich and joining the likes of The House Komnenos, The House Palaiologos, and the ancient Georgian House Bagrationi, which has reigned over Georgia in some form since before Rurik even conquered Russia. The three of us have a prestigious background and Sophie's husband will have a lot to live up to.

"Well, if you're ready for it Sophie, it is about time for you to have a Debutante ball." I offered Sophie. I saw Sofiya blush as she realized the implications and I couldn't help but notice how much she was grown into our sister, beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed, and pale. She was excellent, every much Yelizaveta's equal physically, but she was nowhere near as attractive to me as Liz was. I was in love with Liz, absolutely in love with her, but my feelings for Sofiya were purely sisterly. I wasn't sure why that was, though I did acknowledge I spent far, far more time with Yelizaveta, but even then, for many of the memories I have with Liz, either Sofiya was there or I had a similar moment with Sofiya. When I was three years old, my mother took me in her lap and let me hold a newborn Liz, but just a year later, I remember my father holding Liz and smiling at us as my mother sat me on her lap again and let me hold Sofiya. I was older during the second memory and my whole family was involved, even my late father who has made ever accomplishment of my reign possible, but the first memory seems so much stronger. I don't know why or how, but I think there is a connection between Liz and I, a connection that dates back to way before either of us knew about our compatible sexualities. Our relationship had everything going for it, and I still managed to screw it all up with my pathetic and selfish behavior.

"I would like that." Sofiya admitted, a smile on her face and desire evident in her eyes as she no doubt began imagining all the handsome Princes and charming Dukes that would come to court her. A desire not at all dissimilar to the one I've often seen in Yelizaveta's eyes, a desire which was directed at me, a desire which I was sincerely missing. I shook off that regret and that hurt and looked on the bright side, Yelizaveta was still right here, she needed time, but there was hope, things could and would get better, in the meantime, The Anastasia and Yelizaveta Palace would soon host a Debutante ball and, with any luck, a wedding would soon follow. A marriage with a powerful European family could lay the foundations for a significant alliance, an alliance which could extend how far and how wide I could deploy the Russian military, as well as giving me an ally so as to outmaneuver my enemies. Not to mention the fact that an alliance could be yet another way to spread Russian influence and culture. This marriage would not only secure the long term future of my dynasty, but it could also present short term benefits, especially as I move against my next rival, The Kingdom of Sweden.


Alright everyone, this has been the first chapter of the final act! I hope you've enjoyed seeing a victorious Russia and an increasingly ambitious Anastasia juxtaposed with the fragile state of Liz and Nastya's relationship. This chapter contained a lot of setting up, next chapter, we'll start actually going through some of the things I've established in this chapter, as well as kicking off the Russian portion of the larger plot of act three.

In other news, I finished the ten chapter act one of my Star Wars story Secrets of The Outer Rim, and, since I adopted a bit of a seasonal approach now, that story is now on hiatus, next week, I'll be posting the first chapter of a DC superheroes story, so check that out if you're interested! Well, that shameless plug is all I have for this week, so, if you're reading this when it posts, happy Easter if you're a western Christian, otherwise, happy insert-day-here. Ciao!