Draconia: Preview

Alexius sat with his head hung low. It was unbecoming of an Emperor to sit in such a meek, defeated manner, but the ruler of the Byzantine Empire was at the end of his rope.

Ever since the Komnenian Restoration, things had been looking up for the Empire of the Romans. They reformed their army, stabilized their faltering economy...they even managed to kick the Turks out of Anatolia completely, relegating them to Persia and part of the Caucasus.

They beat back the Arabs and retook Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, all symbolically important to Christendom, and necessary to reinstate the Pentarchy.

At their zenith, they successfully installed a friendly regime in Tunis, and invaded Sicily. The Byzantine Empire was getting close to reaching the height of their old borders during Saint Justinian's reign. Eternal glory, and the city of Rome itself, was just around the corner.

Now, though? It was all gone. Ash to the winds of fate.

About three years ago, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns and Danes all came flooding into both the Holy Roman Empire and Novgorod. Tales of horrible monsters and giant beasts descending on cities and leaving nothing but scorched ruins followed in their wake.

The Russians and Germans laughed at the Norsemen, calling them mad and moonfaced. Still, something big had to happen to cause such a great migration.

The first sign something was wrong was when refugees from Holstein, an Imperial county bordering Denmark, came flooding into the rest of the empire. The same tales of monsters were told by the survivors. Finally, the moment came when the Imperial army came into contact with an enemy army marching in from Denmark. This moment changed the course of history and fate of mankind, now and forever.

Dragons.

Mythical beasts of legend, from ancient tales. These beasts were real. The winged serpents had emerged from caves in the Northernmost tip of Norway, or so they claimed. They attacked without reservation, without mercy. They made no distinction between soldiers and peasants. All who failed to escape were slaughtered. They took over all the Nordic lands before pushing out on all sides, toward the Holy Roman Empire, Novgorod, and across the sea to Britannia.

Britannia formed a Grand Alliance between England, Scotland and Ireland, and made a stand on the plains of England. All three armies were led by their respective kings, and all three armies were destroyed. All the realms' populations were exterminated. Next came the Germans. The Holy Roman Empire put up a titanic struggle, but they too were eventually destroyed. After them went France and Hispania. The Papal States' final stand in Rome was a sight to behold, with Papal Guards fighting heroically to the very end.

The Russians had fallen, and the Golden Horde, who called a truce to aid them against the dragons, were on the brink. The Eastern Roman Empire was next on the chopping block.

Emergency hearing after emergency hearing was held, day in and day out. Emperor Alexius was convinced that the empire was doomed, though he didn't dare let anyone know that. He made sure to put on a brave face every time he had to address their situation. If they were going down, they weren't going without a fight. Perhaps they could even make the Germans and Italians pale in comparison.

"Basileus!" Alexius snapped out of his daydream and rested his eyes on Georgios. Georgios was the empire's best general. He had led the volunteer army into the Holy Roman Empire that had resulted in one of very few human victories against the dragons, a battle that slowed down the dragons' push into Germany and resulted in the very first dragon being taken prisoner. He had been behind the invasion of Sicily. He was wise, prudent, and decisive.

The rather aged commander looked at him with weary eyes. "Err, yes Georgios?" The general sighed, rubbing at his temple. "We're running out of leads. The council has agreed that...'coaxing' the emperor's son to give us information on draconic troop plans would be our best chance at learning more about the imminent attack. What say you?"