EMPIRE REWRITTEN
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Book II / Chapter 36: Terms Written in Salt
🕑 Added 2025-08-18 23:39:06 +0000 UTCThe war room stood in the basilica’s shadow, a sacristy turned to command by urgency alone. Planks over trestles made the table; a broken saint’s bracket held the map of Macedonia. The lamps burned low, their smoke clinging to the smell of incense and sweat.
Constantine braced his hands on the table’s edge, steadying himself. The air was heavy with the mingled scents, and outside the open doors the distant clatter of the encamped army echoed against stone.
The familiar circle waited around the map‑table: Sphrantzes with his quill; Loredan’s fingers drumming in half‑armour; Condulmer’s rosary ticking; Hunyadi, newly scarred, watchful; de Croÿ restless; Thomas taut, Andreas impassive beside him; Branković silent in the shadows with his cane.
Sphrantzes cleared his throat. Constantine drew breath and spoke. “We stand at a crossroads. Thessaloniki is ours once more. The cross flies above its ramparts. The enemy has been dealt a mighty blow and driven from Macedonia.” There were faint nods around the table; it was no small feat. “But,” Constantine continued, “these victories have cost us dearly.” He glanced to Sphrantzes.
George unrolled the list: dead and wounded by the thousand, powder nearly gone, supply lines thin as thread. His voice bounced off the marble.
Hunyadi’s jaw tightened at the mention of fallen knights. Thomas looked down, blinking hard.
Loredan spoke first. “Thessaloniki is secured,” he said, voice measured. “The Turk has been humbled, for now. Perhaps enough to bring him to terms. Our scouts report no fresh Ottoman army or fleet nearby; Murad’s forces are scattered, licking their wounds. We hold the advantage. We should consider peace while fortune favors us.”
Hunyadi uncrossed his arms. “Peace now?” The edge in his voice was unmistakable. “The beast is wounded, yes, but that’s when it’s most dangerous. Give them time and they’ll rebuild. Better we press our advantage and finish this while we can.”
His dark eyes swept the table. “Every mile we push them back now is one less mile they can reclaim.”
Loredan shook his head. “Press to where, Lord Hunyadi? To Constantinople? To Edirne? We are at the limits of our strength. We have neither food nor powder for a march into Thrace. We’ve achieved our aims here. If we go further, we risk overextending and losing everything we’ve gained.”
Hunyadi’s shoulders tensed. “Venice’s aims, perhaps. You have your ports and trade, so you’re ready to quit.” His words were sharp. “But some of us didn’t cross swords with the Turk for spices and silk. We came to break his power. If we stop now, with the Turk on his heels, we waste the blood already shed.”
Loredan’s face flushed at the insinuation of cowardice or greed. “Mind your tongue,” he snapped. “No one has fought lightly in this campaign. But I will not march them into ruin on a whim. Prudence is not cowardice, Hungarian.”
“Enough,” Cardinal Condulmer interjected firmly, raising a hand. “We are Christian allies, not enemies. Save your ire for the infidel.” The rebuke in his tone was gentle but brooked no dissent. Slowly, the tension ebbed; Hunyadi rolled his neck and stepped back, while Loredan exhaled and loosened his grip on the table’s edge.
Constantine nodded gratefully to the Cardinal and spoke in a calm, clear voice. “No one here doubts the valor or sacrifice of any nation.” He looked between Hunyadi and Loredan. “We have all paid in blood and treasure. That is exactly why we must choose our next step carefully. One misstep could cost everything.”
The papal legate inclined his head. “Just so. Holy Father Eugene IV entrusted us with this crusade not for glory alone but for the survival of Christendom. If a truce can secure that survival, even for a time, we must consider it.”
At that, Prince Thomas stepped forward. Grief and frustration sharpened his young features. “Secure Christendom, for how long?” Thomas shot back. “Until the court settles on which boy wears the signet? These will be terms written in salt. The moment a son finds his footing, he’ll wash them away.” He turned to Constantine. “Brother, John lies murdered. Demetrios still defiles our throne. Will a truce mend that? Would John want us to halt now?”
A troubled hush fell. At the mention of the late Emperor John VIII, Constantine and Thomas’s brother, slain in the coup, several men crossed themselves or looked down. Thomas’s words hung in the air, heavy with raw pain.
General Andreas answered, his voice steady and low. “I loved John as much as any of us,” he said. “But I will not sacrifice the living to avenge the dead without hope of success.” He gestured to the parchment of losses. “Look at our condition, Prince Thomas. Our powder is nearly gone. Many of our soldiers are wounded or exhausted. Autumn is at hand, if we push much further, winter will catch us far from home.” Andreas put a firm hand on Thomas’s arm. “Your brother would not thank us for throwing away the army, and the empire, with reckless ambition. We have gained more this year than anyone dreamed possible. Let us secure that, lest we lose it all trying to grasp more.”
Thomas’s throat worked. For a moment it seemed he might argue again, but the fire in his eyes dimmed, tempered by the undeniable logic in Andreas’s words. He stepped back, shoulders sagging in defeat. “John would never forgive cowardice,” he murmured bitterly, though the fight had drained from his tone.
Branković’s voice came, rough and calm. “Nor would he forgive folly,” the Serbian despot added. “I have made peace with the Turk before,” Branković said, voice gravelled. “Regencies breed bold border lords, and empty treasuries. That is when they pay dearly for quiet. Take coin and ground now; make them bind themselves while the knife‑counting lasts.”
All eyes gradually returned to Constantine. The decision was his to make. He drew a slow breath, feeling the gaze of each ally upon him. He thought of John, of the oath he had made at his coronation to reclaim the empire. He also thought of the faces of his soldiers, gaunt with fatigue, and of the devastated villages they had passed. At last, he straightened.
“We will seek a truce,” Constantine said quietly. Thomas closed his eyes, but he said nothing. Hunyadi’s lips tightened, yet he offered no protest. Around the table, men exhaled as if a great weight had been shifted. “A breathing space to hold what we’ve taken and draw breath for the next strike. The Turk will be met again, and so will the traitor Demetrios. For now we regroup and consolidate, powder, bread, coin, walls. Their princes and Beys will quarrel over Murad’s shadow; let them bleed one another. When they are spent and we are ready, we will choose the ground and strike the last blow.”
There were nods of agreement. Relief, disappointment, and lingering uncertainty mingled on the faces surrounding him. But the hardest part, choosing to pause the holy war, was done.
Cardinal Condulmer gave a brisk, businesslike nod. “Then let us define our terms.” He gestured to Sphrantzes. The secretary unfurled a fresh sheet, quill poised.
One by one, the allied leaders outlined their conditions. Constantine would keep central Macedonia and Thessaly. Branković claimed Niš and Vranje for Serbia. Loredan, on behalf of Venice, demanded expanded trade rights and partial control of Thessaloniki’s harbor, the cession of Demetrias to Venice, and an exclusion of Genoese merchants from Thessaloniki. When Hunyadi spoke for Hungary, he noted that King Sigismund was dead and the kingdom unstable. He required the return of all Hungarian captives, and a pledge that no Ottoman army would cross north of the Danube, a fixed boundary to safeguard Hungary’s frontier. He also pressed for a hefty war indemnity in gold to pay his soldiers and secure his realm. Jean de Croÿ of Burgundy requested repayment of his Duke’s expenses and a suitable ceremonial title for his service. Finally, Cardinal Condulmer presented the Church’s terms: protection for Christian worship in any lands remaining under Ottoman rule, a tithe of ten percent of the indemnity to the Church, and, he insisted, a pledge from all allies that none would seek a separate peace with the enemy.
Sphrantzes’s quill scratched rapidly, recording each point in Greek and Latin. When the list was complete, they reviewed it swiftly. The terms were bold and uncompromising: broad territories, heavy gold, and safeguards to hem the Ottomans in. To open the bargaining, Loredan proposed five hundred thousand gold ducats. Several brows climbed.
“They will never pay so much,” Jean de Croÿ muttered.
“They can,” Loredan replied, thin smile steady. “We know, vaguely, but enough, what flows through their customs and treasuries. Our factors hear every tariff; our ledgers catch the shadow of their coin. Murad was the richest monarch by a wide margin. His sons inherit coffers, farms, and dues enough to cover this, if they value quiet.” He tapped the map. “We ask high and settle lower. Not a copper less than three hundred thousand.”
After brief debate, they agreed: three hundred thousand would be the minimum price of peace.
The Cardinal allowed himself a small satisfied smile. These terms would make quite the parchment indeed. Hunyadi gave a reluctant grunt of assent. He still looked as if he would rather bleed the Turks on the battlefield than wring coin from them, but when Condulmer quietly mentioned that Pope Eugene was prepared to name him Athleta Christi, Champion of Christ, for his valor, the Hungarian general’s hard expression softened a fraction. The prospect of such honor helped salve the sting of stopping short of total victory.
With consensus reached, they moved to action. Couriers were summoned and wax seals prepared.
By candlelight, Constantine dictated a formal letter to Murad’s grand vizier. Under Cardinal Condulmer’s watch, both the imperial chrysobull seal and the papal seal were affixed to the document; Rome’s hand would be plain in the making of this peace. They would meet in the city of Serres within Ottoman-held territory to exchange these terms and arrange a swap of prisoners. It was agreed that the allied army would march with most of its strength toward Serres as well, not to attack, but to underscore their resolve and be ready should the Ottomans show any treachery or reject the offer.
As the council adjourned, dusk was falling outside. The last sunbeams through the doors caught motes of dust swirling where heated debate had given way to fragile hope. Constantine rolled up the parchment of terms and passed it to Sphrantzes for safekeeping. “See it delivered safely,” he instructed. The secretary bowed, clutching it as if it were a sacred relic.
By nightfall, the word had run the courtyards: Serres. Not tomorrow, but soon. A truce was to be sought. Some men reacted with visible relief; there were hushed prayers of thanks from battle-weary infantrymen grateful for the chance to live. Others, especially among the more zealous knights, muttered that they had come all this way only to sheathe their swords before final victory. Still, tents were struck and wagons loaded with a kind of cautious optimism. They would march again, but perhaps toward peace instead of battle.
A few days later, when the wheels were mended, horses shod, and the guns coaxed onto their limbers, the army formed under Thessaloniki’s walls. A lean garrison stayed behind to hold the city; the rest stood to the road.
At first light, the column stepped off toward Serres. Constantine rode at the head, the double‑headed eagle lifting in the sea breeze.
Standards bristled over the long column; truce banners rode boxed in a courier cart. Word had already gone ahead to the Grand Vizier: parleys at Serres, under the walls and under arms. And if the Divan would not answer, the guns would.
They marched at a steady pace toward a city in Turkish hands, toward an answer that would not wait.
Author’s Note :
Time to consolidate! This chapter’s truce is loosely inspired by the 1444 Edirne–Szeged settlement between Sultan Murad II and King Vladislaus, brokered on the Ottoman side by the same Grand Vizier, Çandarlı Halil Pasha. in this timeline the Ottoman position is markedly more precarious, hence the steeper terms.
Comments
Alexander the Smoker
Are we going to see an updated map of the area after the truce? I enjoy seeing the differences in each and how Constantine is slowly changing the geopolitical landscape.
Andy Worcester
Would be a great time for Demetrios to release Orhan Celebi
Max Müller
Well, i guess 3-4 years until the war kicks off again. I suspect the Byzantine army will have doubled by that time and have far more gunpowder weapons and gunpowder itself. I guess by that time everyone and hteir mother will also jump in to take a bite out of the ottomans. Now the question is if the Ottoamsn can make some gains in asia during that time and ensure some of hte minor actors are too cowed to interfere
Kirra
Yeah, the truce is a double-edged sword. The good thing is that they might be able to stabilize the empire and slowly rebuild the military. But the bad thing is that they will leave a very dangerous foe alone, and oh, he might just have gotten a lot of cash to play around with.
ThePolarParadox
They're not seeing it now, but a truce today would grant Constantine a far more complete victory tomorrow provided he makes use of the time given. Maybe this time he'll actually fix his logistics. Every time the excuse for not pressing further has either revolved around or at least involved running low on powder. Then the matter of equipment. Depending on how long the truce lasts, we might see the next generation succeeding current Roman small arms and artillery. Might even get to see some bayonets supporting the pike line. Wider use of sandbags and entrenchment. Refining engineer practices and reviving old Roman engineering traditions. Road building! Fortified emplacements! Maybe even concrete bunkers... And lest we forget, the navy. Portugal is a distant place with interesting maritime techs. Makes for an interesting R&D partner as previously mentioned. All the way, maybe get some civic improvements here and there. Like widespread beekeeping perhaps with hive frames? Im told the wax harvested has many uses, including the sealing for preserved food. So many projects to start.
RENAISSANSE SI
Thank you!
RENAISSANSE SI
Thank you!
RENAISSANSE SI
Yes, the Ottomans still hold northern Epirus, though with the Albanian revolt flaring up, the situation’s pretty tangled. We’ll see more of how that plays out in the chapters ahead.
RENAISSANSE SI
Thank you!
RENAISSANSE SI
You’re right, the map is shifting fast, and we’ll be getting a clearer picture of what falls under Constantine’s banner soon (map update soon!). The crusade’s ripples are hitting Epirus and the Albanian rebellion too, so plenty of side effects still to unfold.
RENAISSANSE SI
Yeah, even with a truce the borders won’t stay quiet forever, there’s always raiding and probing. And as for the runaway lover… let’s just say that thread isn’t done yet!
RENAISSANSE SI
Glad you liked it! And yes, we’re definitely shifting into rebuilding mode, Thessaloniki especially has big plans ahead. Less swords, more scaffolding for a while!
RENAISSANSE SI
Exactly, it’s not total victory, but it is a major turning point. The Ottomans look mortal, and that changes everything. Now Constantine has to catch his breath, secure what he’s gained, and turn that doubled land into real, lasting strength before the next round.
RENAISSANSE SI
Glad you enjoyed the war arc! I’m excited too! Now we get to see if all that blood and sacrifice can actually be turned into something lasting. Time to dive back into the building side: cities, reforms, new tools… the real test of empire.
RENAISSANSE SI
You’re exactly right to pick up on those points. Venice getting a slice like Demetrias was pretty much unavoidable in this moment, their galleys were indispensable, so Constantine couldn’t stonewall them without risking the alliance. But yes, the silver lining is that the Ottomans are badly weakened, facing a succession crisis and infighting at court. For the first time in a long while, the Empire has breathing room! With the war winding down, the story is indeed going to shift more into kingdom-building: food, supply chains, coinage, arms production, the less glamorous but absolutely vital foundations that decide whether victories last or wither.
Sir Baka
Huh, Demetrias got taken by Venice… maybe I was rooting too much for Constantine, and set my hopes too high that he wouldn’t cede any former Greek territories to Venice. On the fortunate side, the ottoman threat has been quelled for now! They still have a civil war at their back door, and it’s not going to get any easier now that a power vacuum has just opened up in the court. I doubt the Empire would just fall apart like that, but they’re going to be greatly weakened for now with internal strife and a succession crisis. Someone else in comments mentioned civ building, and something that had been in my mind for a while since logistics was mentioned so much during the war, what about canning perhaps? From what I know, it seems like a relatively simplistic tech, and while it would require stockpiling, it might help stretch the food stores considerably. Even be a nice treat for the soldiers on march perhaps, a change in pace from salted meat and hardtack. Gunpowder also seems to be an important bottleneck in campaigning, so I wonder if there’s any way to remedy that. Granted, I’m not sure if the average American would really know of ways to produce saltpeter en masse, so that might take a little longer to figure out…
de la Fouchardiere
This war was really fun to read, but i'm also exited to go back into "civ building". Improving the cities, introducing new tech, administrative/pol reforms, ...
pls don't ban me
i suppose the correct percentage for all parties, based on participation: Constantine and Hunyadi get the big share, 60% split between them. maybe to make it as a gesture a 25/35 favouring the hungarian. Venice a good 10% Serbia and the papacy what's left with serbia gaining more so a 18-12 proportion.
pls don't ban me
so. i suppose the treaty will be accepted. the ottomans will want to keep control over their remaining territories. with this the crusade is a victory. not a complete one but still one. and an important one. until now the ottomans were seen as unstoppable and yet Constantine defeated them 3 times in a row. the best course would be to end the campaign, return rest for a year, establish control on proper Greece and epirus and then prepare for round 2 after a couple years. the emperor has just doubled his territories and incomes.
Vuk Stefanovic
Tftc , good chapter , i would like to see rebuilding of thessaloniki as a separate short story , what went into it , how they did it etc , bit less battle bit more building
russell marsh
Time to regroup and refill the ranks. But I have a feeling that border skirmishing will continue for some time yet. And I hope he's runaway lover is dealt with soon
Kirra
While it does not say much about the rest of Greece, I’m guessing it will fall under Constantine's rule. I mean, the Ottomans can try to resupply the local soldiers they might have left, but with the landsroats cut off, it might as well be impossible. A truce will be necessary; if Constantine does unite all of Greece under his banner, he will have to consolidate his power in the region and maybe finally remove the stain that is Epirus.
Elaine
good chappie
Andy Worcester
I think it’s implied that Larissa goes to Constantine, as he gets Thessaly and traditionally Larissa is the capital of Thessaly.
Davada
No mention of epirus don't the ottomans currently control the northern part of epirus
Hugo23
He is married to Catherine of Cornith from very early on, when they were securing the Morea proper. Although I don't know if they have children or a true bond.
Hugo23
Out of curiosity what happens to the lands not named but now cut off from support like Larissa? Hunyadi's statement seems to imply they will turn border raiders but there is no ground or sea route to link them with the rest of the Empire that isn't in Constantine's hands.
Zayari
Someone please find Thomas a wife or something to do besides run headlong into danger. Glad cooler heads prevailed because clearly any attempt to push further would likely be disastrous unless it provided a VERY clean victory. Now though you have a decent cadre of veterans that can serve as the foundation for expansion of the empire existing army. The ottomans will be in for a rude awakening come next year. On the subject of the Ottomans I wonder what the eastern part of their empire in currently thinking about all that’s going on especially with so many minor Turkic kingdoms on their borders
ioshf fikry
Demetrias in Venetian hands..that is a bitter pill to swallow but Thessaloniki is the real price..also what percentage of the reparations will Constantine get?
Velyndin1989
Nice job. Hopefully someone will be able to temper Thomas’ hot blood.
Isaac
✅
