Chapter 4: The Austro-Byzantine War Part 1

Austria had just about had it with the progression the Byzantine Empire was making, if he didn't stop him in his tracks he knew that he would be the next target after whatever he was going to do. Austria was in control of Bavaria, Bohima, and most of lower Germany and Northern Italy as this was the only way he could expand. The rapid Expansion of the Austrian Empire, gave cause for a unification in the North, but no country was strong enough to do this, but do to the strong need for unifications it led Brandenburg to form the Kingdom of Prussia earlier than in actual history. Prussia quickly conquered Poland and the Baltics, and was now slowly intergarting Northern Germany into his Empire.

Byzantium new that Austria had land that he would want in the future, but he had no dire need to conquer it now so he would be playing defense in this war. Byzantium led a good sized army of musket men and Greek fire throwers to meet an army that intel had intercepted. "Ok men I want the Greek fire hidden in the growth understood, but not to far in that you would hit it got me!" The Greek fire troopers moved into a line of bushes on both sides crouched just behind them. "Musket men I want you to stand right in an intercept on the road, creating a blockade, but I only want one regiment actually in the open, the rest go hide in the woods down near to them in order to flank them!" The musket regiments moved to where they were told to go. "Ambush in place, ok I will go to the top of that hill and singal the Calvalry when the time is right ok." Byzantium ran up the hill that was covered in growth to prepare the assult.

The Austrian army moved forward as Austrian who for the first time was not playing an instrument to express his anger, no he was blood thirsty today and he wanted to stop Byzantium's pushes for as long as he could. The ultimate goal however was to completely stop the Byzantines from expanding any more, because sooner or later they will go for most of western Europe since they have ancient claims to that land.

Austria saw the one Byzantine regiment standing in the road and moved his troops into position to fire at it. His troops just got into range when the fire troopers jumped out of the trees and pored Greek Fire all over his army killing hundreds of Austrian troops and scaring any that survived. Then the troops stationed behind the Austrian army moved into position and fired at their backs. The surving troops, were to scared and boxed in. They surrenderd quicker than an Italian army. However Austria himself refused and ran off deeper into Byzantine lands hoping that he could attempt subterfuge.

Byzantium was surprised that he didn't need to bring in more troops, since Germans are usually such a battle ready people. Maybe they were recuited from northern Italy… probably. The first battle of the war had gone in Byzantium's favor and this was almost always a good sign. With Byzantium's luck and everything usually going his way he decided to take a break and let one of the actual generals command the army for a while.

Byzantium decided to continue that memory he was having earlier before it was intrupted. Byzantium carried the boy back into the villiage away from the trio just outside it. He set the boy down to examine him more. He was small had brown hair and looked kind of like Triestan, could he be the colony? No that's not possible the land has to first have a majority and a good hold on it along with cultural dominace, no way was this the colony, but who else could it have been. "Little one, what's your name?" The child turned his head and shrugged, "I don't know mister." Byzantium feel face first to the ground, how was he suppose to figure out this mistery if the kid didn't even know his own name. However this act caused the child to laugh very loudly. Byzantium stood up off the ground and asked the child another question, "Do you have a home?" The child shook his head and said, "No mister I don't have a home I just woke up here." Byzantium rubbed his chin and said, "Look you can stay at my cottage here ok. I am sure I will be able to find some family or someone that knows you eventually, but until then your free to stay at my cottage." Byzantium either had a kid who had amnesia or was his colony… he couldn't tell yet, but if the child progressed as the colony did then he would know.

Byzantium stopped thinking about it and said to himself, "Been a few years since I visited the colonies, might as well go, everything is fine here, I am sure the generals can handle themselves just fine without me for a month or two." Byzantium left to sail for his colonies. After about a month at sea he reached the colonies. He walked to his cottage in the now busiling city of New Constantinople which was the capital of the colonial part of his lands. He now owned the whole northern half of the coast of the new world excluding the part that France owns, which would be that blasted Quebec and what he calls New France. Below his colonial claims would be England's land which extends to a peninsula owned by Spain.

He stopped thinking about political borders and walked into his cottage to meet what he thought would be an old man, but he met a teenager, Byzantium instantly was overtaken with joy and some what an ah hell feeling. "Nice to see you again, well I guess I can clearly say you are defintaly a personification. I am not going to try and Bullshit here you are immortal and you represent my colony… so technically that makes you my child… or brother depends on how you look at it." The teen looked at Byzantium then shrugged and just charged and hugged him. "If what you say is true then I have a family, god bless you dad!" Byzantium was taken back by the sudden show of affection, but quickly rebounded and hugged his son/brother back. Byzantium desided to try and cook for one day hoping that he was good, the results were… to put it in perspective, worse than England's cooking. "Ok I am done with the cooking, I made pastichio." The dish however in his hand looked something akin to road kill. "Don't worry it maybe my first time, but hey it cant be that bad right." He put it down and put another one down for New Byzantium to eat as well. Byzantium was the first to take a bite. "Oh sweet mother in heaven!" he said as he chair and him feel backwards, "I'm terrible at cooking, yet my people are so good at it… then again it is my first time and I tried it without a recipe." Byzantium said as he took the dish away from a now laughing New Byzantium, "Hey at least I don't lie to you and say my cooking is any good, no that would make me like England and heavens knows how bad his cooking is." Byzantium then spent the next couple of weeks there doing some very calm and progressive things and bonding with his colony. By the end of the month he had to leave and as he was saying his good byes he couldn't help, but envy these folks not having to worrie about war or the such only about building their lives.

When Byzantium finally gets back he learns that the war had become a stalemate the moment he left no one could really push the line, though this is what Byzantium wanted to here he was hoping for a push into Austrian territory just so that he could in the war sooner.