Chapter 4: Iskandar makes a Campaign Ad
August 1, 1999
Greece
The wars following the breakup of Yugoslavia unfolded quite differently from in normal history thanks to Iskandar's intervention. Shortly after Shirou used his lessons from Touko Aozaki to create a new living body for Iskandar from his First Magic—and Ereshkigal helped place the Servant's soul inside—he stopped simply defending and started recruiting and conquering. His oratory, his calling back to the true message of his previous rule, and his success in battle rallied many to his side. North Macedonia accepted the rule of 'Alexander V' quickly, Bosnia and Herzegovina became an ally due to his defense of their people during the Bosnian War, and Kosovo was ultimately liberated from Serbia with the local population falling under his protection. As Iskandar was seen as Greek by the Greek government, there were discussions of merging North Macedonia with the Greek parts of Macedonia into greater Greece but there were complexities and aspects of corruption on the Greek side that slowed the process.
It seemed that Iskandar had found a solution to this as his visage appeared on television screens across Greece.
He was shown in a battered cityscape, dressed in a more modern form of combat armor and commanding his forces in battle. A voiceover from his powerful voice was spoken in Greek. "Nations ill-led fall apart if they care not for the people. Those who would demand dominion over their fellow men seek bloodshed, slaughter, and a purge of differences. This...is not the way of Iskandar!"
After the scenes of battle faded, the image shifted to Iskandar in a military officer's uniform looking to the south toward Greece in a contemplative manner. "Even those who seek to claim the same birthright, a birthright defined by the acceptance and unification of other cultures working together to become more, would stay apart and renounce the very meaning of their shared legacy. O Greece! Have you truly lost the meaning behind your glorious history? Are you unable to carry it forward into the future? Or will you accept my hand and let me guide you toward something greater?"
The image shifted again to show Iskandar wearing a well-fitted suit that utterly failed to hide his physique, towering over the people around him with the ocean at their back. The rising sun was on the horizon and there was subtle supplemental lighting to make sure Iskandar could be seen clearly, even more so than his supporters. This time, his words were not a voiceover but instead came from his lips. "On February 8th of next year, the people of Greece will vote upon their future! Will you simply decide the next President, or will you choose to reunify that which has been shattered by time and discord? Your brothers in Macedon already wish to rejoin you, only hindered by the corruption of my political opponents in Greece seeking to exploit them for more! Is it not enough that they have thrown off the yoke of Communism? Greece! Accept me—Alexandros Pella—as your next President! Your next King! Then, together, we will push forward through the catharsis of a dying era and into the next! Remember not to fear today's troubles, for if we work through them and look to the future—" Iskandar then turned his body and gestured with a massive hand toward the sea. "—we will find that glory lies beyond the horizon!"
After lingering a moment to provide the proper impact, the image shifted again. Iskandar now stood with his back to the camera—supplemental lighting turned off—while boldly looking toward that rising sun over the ocean. The shadow he cast was large, his back looking broad as if it could shoulder the whole of the world. Various written characters in Greek soon appeared over the image that provided relevant information to the campaign and where to volunteer, and then the image on the movie screen faded.
Author's Notes: This was originally going to be part of Chapter 25, but I trimmed it out because there was just no good place to put it. Still, I couldn't let it vanish entirely.