Preys and Predators 3 Love Binds, Family Destroy Chapter 3

 

3.

 

“I am Vlad II; many called me Vlad Dracul. I was known as Vlad the Dragon.” The weary man rode on his horse, led by the escort provided by the Sultan, back to his land. He was one with the Dragon Order under Sigismund of Luxembourg. He was also recognized as the lawful Voivode of Wallachia, allowing him to settle in nearby Transylvania, but Vlad could not assert his claim during the life of his half-brother, Alexander I Aldea ruled the region. Alexander I Aldea acknowledged the suzerainty of the Ottoman Sultan, Murad II.

It was a complicated servitude, and when John Hunyadi, Voivode of Transylvania, called on him to challenge the Ottomans, he relented then. The crusade against the Ottomans was underway after Hunyadi routed an Ottoman army in Transylvania. However, Vlad II was still under servitude when the Ottoman was ordered to come to Edirne. Vlad's patron, Sigismund of Luxembourg, died on 9 December 1437. Sigismund's death and the uprising of the Transylvanian peasants weakened Hungary, forcing Vlad to seek reconciliation with the Ottoman Empire.

Vlad II joined Murad II, who came to Wallachia at the head of his army in summer 1438, serving the sultan as his guide. The Ottoman and Wallachian troops broke into Hungary and routed the army before they marched along the river Mureș, capturing Câlnic and Sebeș. The Ottomans and Wallachians laid siege to Sibiu, but the siege lasted only for 8 days. They destroyed the outskirts of Brașov before they left Hungary, loaded with plunder and taking more than 30,000 captives.

After the Ottoman army left Wallachia, Vlad II attempted to maintain a balance between Hungary and the Ottomans. It was unbalanced by John Hunyadi, voivode of Transylvania, in February 1441, who decided to restore the influence of Hungary in Wallachia. Hunyadi came to Târgoviște to meet Vlad, demanding he join a crusade against the Ottoman Empire.  

After Hunyadi defeated the Ottomans in Transylvania in March 1442, the Ottoman governor of Bulgaria accused Vlad of treachery, and Murad II summoned Vlad to Edirne to demonstrate his loyalty. Before departing, Vlad made his eldest son, Mircea, the ruler of Wallachia.  Soon after he came to Edirne, he was captured at the sultan's command.  He was held in captivity in Gallipoli. Murad II sent Hadım Şehabeddin, Beylerbey (or governor) of Rumelia, to annex Wallachia in August 1442.

Hunyadi annihilated the Ottoman army in the Carpathian Mountains in September and made Vlad's cousin, Basarab, voivode of Wallachia.  Before the end of the year, Murad II released Vlad, but he was to pledge that he would not support the enemies of the Ottoman Empire, and he would pay an annual tribute and send 500 Wallachian boys to serve as janissaries in the sultan's army.  He was also forced to leave his two sons, Vlad and Radu, as hostages in the Ottoman Empire.

“You did what you could, cousin.” Basarab II consoled him when he returned to Wallachia. “Vlad and Radu will be fine there.”

“They will live their life with the threat of the sword at their neck. If I revoked my oath, they would pay the price for my betrayal.” Vlad II sighed. “I have failed as Voivode, and now as the father.”

Vlad Tepes was to be assimilated into the Ottomans’ life; he was given the training to be a Janissary. He had endured the punishments of being one.

“You are a Janissary, boy.” The instructor roared into the ears of the young Vlad. “You will serve the Sultan. He is the supreme ruler of the Ottoman Empire.”

“I am not a boy. I am a Wallachian. I will remain as one till I am dead.” Vlad defended his heritage. He was given a smack on the head.

“You are no more than. He is no more than of … too.” The instructor picked one of the other lads from the lineup. “He is a Janissary.”

Vlad knew the boy was from the Balkans, and he cried for his home at night.

“For your insolence, you will be given the whip. Fifty lashes will remind you of the Sultan’s mercy.” Vlad suffered because his love for his heritage was above the level of pain.

“Vlad, you need to be …”

“I am not a Janissary. I am Wallachian.” Vlad had snapped at his brother, Radu Tepes. The latter was with him in the Janissary, but he was given the privileges to study with the Sultan’s children, too. Radu was more of a scholar than a warrior. He studied the volumes on astronomy and mathematics. He said one day, scholars will rule the world, while the brawns will be the minions.

After his punishment, Vlad was dragged to his bed at the barracks to recover. He was visited by Radu, who came to console him.

“Madness!” Vlad had denied his brother that dream. “The world needs warriors like me. I will be …”

“As great a father, and yet he bowed to the Sultan here. He made us hostages while he rules at home with ……. Mircea.” Radu was upset with their father. “He forgoes us for his own life.”

“No, Radu. Father is …. He did not. He loves us. He just needed time to regroup, and then he would free us. I heard John Hunyadi rides with him.” Vlad looked to his brother. His back aches from the lashes, but the scars have hardened from the previous punishments.

“John Hunyadi will be father’s nemesis,” Radu says. “I have studied the battle reports. The Sultan bides his time to defeat John Hunyadi. What is that Voivode compared to the Sultan? Nothing but a gnat to be squashed.”

“Stop your dreams, Radu. We must bide our time to fight the Ottomans soon.”

“The Mongols once defeated the Hungarians. They were victorious.” Radu was an avid reader of the past empires.

“Yes, they may have been, but where are they now?” Vlad looked to his brother. “They …. It was the bubonic plague that dwindled their empire.”

Bubonic plague is an infection spread mostly to humans by infected fleas that travel on rodents. Called the Black Death, it killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages. Prevention involves reducing your exposure to mice, rats, squirrels, and other animals that may be infected.

“It was not the only one, as I am told by the other scholars,” Radu explained from his readings. “The Mongols were not familiar with our terrain. They fought on open lands, and when they were here, they encountered forests and hills. They were unfamiliar with it. More to it, their leader had died. Ogedei's death halted their advance. The elders had to convene a gathering to select the next leader. His successor was Kublai Khan, who tamed the far eastern continent.”

“Did you read of Ogedei's war and the aftermath?’ Vlad questioned his brother. “He struck fear in his enemy. He …”

“He was a great leader. He knew he was to consult others on many matters and listened to their advice, but you do not.” Radu retorted to Vlad’s stubborn attitude.

“You are misinformed. Ogedei did many atrocities that made his enemy fear him. He had the Oirat girls.”.

“Raped and killed or handed over to be prostitutes... Alas, Vlad, you are demented to vicious means. One day….”

“Radu, the means to leadership is to be ruthless, and to be ruthless, there is a need to be vicious. Your enemy will fear you when they hear you are there.” Vlad turned his back towards Radu. “These are my scars. The Ottomans’ will one day bear these scars when I defeat them.”

“And for now, you need your medication.” That was the gentle voice of the handmaiden. She approached the two brothers bearing the pot of ointment for the wounds on Vlad.

“Aylin, you are a cheerful light to my darkness.” Vlad smiled. He had then lain on the bedding face down while the handmaiden applied the ointment to the wounds.

Aylin was the personal handmaiden of the Sultana, herself being the rightful wife of the Sultan. The Sultan has a list of wives and concubines, but the Sultana holds the rightful place next to the Sultan on the throne. She was the kind one who had liked the Wallachian’s brother. She had taken notice of the two brothers during one of her talks with the Venetian trader. He had presented to her gifts brought from the far cities at the hall during the visit. She likes to be told of the happenings outside the palace.

“I saw this boy in the garden. He is …” Lord Gencio Capulet was cut off. He was used to the Sultana, who was to hold her own lines.

“The Wallachian. Yes, I knew of him. He is no boy. He is a growing man. His name is Vlad Tepes, but he … He is a hard one to teach.” The Sultana smiled behind the veil on her face, and she was seated behind the thin, silky drapes as was the custom there.

“I am … I am always surprised that ……….” Lord Gencio Capulet smiled. “Your highness…”

“I must be vigilant, Lord Gencio Capulet. I am the Sultana, and before me are the hundreds, if not thousands, of servants ………. Serfs, you called them. They are answerable to me and report to me on the happenings in the palace.” The Sultana was herself to cut in. “And these … young hostages …. You are aware of their ranks here… they are also offered a chance to be a part of the Janissary.”

The Janissaries are the personal guards of the Sultan.

“They are taught many things, including servitude, but not Vlad Tepes. He is as hard as the steel of the blade. He is unlike his brother, Radu, who was amicable to our ways.”

“Vlad... Vlad Tepes... Have I heard of the name before?” Lord Gencio Capulet searched his head for the name.

“His father is Vlad II of Wallachia.” The sultana spoke.

“Ayew, the name now struck my memory. I have not met the father, but his …”

“Circulate among the dissidents of the Hungarians and Wallachians. He is a thorn there, and yet, anyway, he is now a vassal of the Empire.”

“Most gracious, Sultana.” Lord Gencio Capulet smiled. “I was just…”

“Curiosity kills the cat, Lord Gencio Capulet.” The Sultana said. “Or in this lad, still a boy to me, it will be the kitten here.”