#fallenglory

The Ottomans have emerged under the reign of Sultan Orhan and his brother as deadly force to be reckoned with; no longer mere vassals of the Seljuk, they have made a name for themselves. The conquest of Karesi is complete and the Sultan has left tasks of conquering to rest for most part and instead has turned his attention to improving the foundation of the rising empire. The standing army of the Janissary was unlike anything, an army always ready to go, professional soldiers paid and trained, they will be the strong arm to pave the road ahead for the Ottomans. Work on civil matters are also to be tended to to improve the life of the people living in their newly acquired territory; for instance, schools to provide education and places of worship. 

Contrary to the relative peace the Ottoman's have been experiencing, the Byzantines have been experiencing a civil war. The Byzantines have called the Turks in to help them yet no great move has been made until now. The Emperor John VI Kantakouzenous has sent a ...surprising offer to Orhan in attempts of winning his favor...and his forces. 

Sadik has been feeling weak for years now after the fall of the Sultanate but he has been feeling better since the Mongols were driven out. It was refreshing to him to meet a man like Osman, Sadik has lived many years and met many honorable men and yet Osman struck a cord with him and Sadik will hold a special place for him for the rest of his long life no doubt. Happily his son Orhan has none nothing but increase the young Turks strength and better yet has given him hope that this could be the start of something bigger. Sadly growing bigger and stronger includes taking that strength from someone else in this case. Fighting with Byzantine was never a good thing, he hated causing her pain and humiliation but he tells himself everyday that in the end it will be worth it and he can take that pain away from her and she will be happily his. Is he only being delusional? Perhaps but he has no clue of the real pain to come in the future so he will live in his blissfully happy ignorance for now.

"Can Atilla - Sultanlar Aşkina

"I've got so much to show you." Greece is aglow as he leads his mother toward the crowded city. "I would normally start with your ruins, but...well, I can show you those later. I doubt you'd find them as exciting as most tourists." Actually, he's terrified that if his mother returns to her ruins she might disappear, although he doesn't have any evidence to back up his fears. He takes his mother's hand and looks over at her with a bright smile. "Athens is huge now," he says, "I mean, it was big back then, but now it's even bigger."

He glances around as they enter the city. "A lot of the architecture is still influenced by your people. There's a lot of monuments to you as well." He lets out a sigh, "Unfortunately there's a lot of Roman monuments too, and even some Ottoman. I don't know what my people were thinking when they did that." He looks over at his mother, making sure he isn't boring her, or over-loading her with so much information. They walk on for awhile, with Heracles occasionally commenting on something they pass.

The Ayasofya has stood tall here in his heart, a beautiful piece of architecture and testament to the faith of men. Ottoman doesn't deny its beauty and majesty but to him it is looking at a tombstone of a empire long dead. A beautiful tombstone. The pain of being here and in the ruins is a dull aching pain most of the time, how can the pain ever leave? Sadik would like to reside himself to a life of apathy and numbness but his people deserve better than a hollow shell of a nation that can't handle the responsibilities of being a nation and hides himself in his mind to avoid feeling the pain of the blood on his hands. The empire doesn't think he deserves that either, he doesn't believe he deserves to escape the pain in by embracing apathy and forcing himself not to care about it anymore, he believes that he should have to live with it forever as his punishment. Sadik prays to Allah that that serves as his punishment but he fears that in the end the old saying those who live by the sword will die from it and he will face a fate equal to or worse than what he bestowed upon so many. Ottoman doesn't want to see his people suffer and he doesn't want to face whatever divine punishment awaits him after the end. 

Today he decided to visit the Hagia Sophia and watch the tourist and Turks alike come to look around. Leaving seldom to get something to eat and then wandering his way back to the once grand church turned Mosque. Sadik stays here until the golden setting sun cast shadows down upon the streets and the dark shadow cast by the Ayasofya darkens the city, its shadow more resembling the tombstone that he pictures. Sadik imagines he will be asked to leave so he starts heading for the exit.