Mystras, August 2nd, 1308
The youngster had convinced him, Michael Kantakouzenos admitted to himself. Had the messengers from Constantinople not arrived just in the proverbial nick of time he would had marched north to join Alexandros sons. But the messengers had arrived. And the orders of his serenity the Faithful to Christ the God, basileus of the Romans, written in Andronicus own hand were crystal clear. Michael was to stay neutral. He should not aid the Franks but under no circumstances was he to march to the aid of Vatatzes either, the Franks were less of a danger than a potentially rival emperor with the wealth of half of Sicily behind him. That the order to stay put was unpopular hre was something of an understatement. It was no accident that his own son was right this moment on his way to join the army of Philanthropenos...
Mantineia, August 15th, 1308
Almost 17 centuries had passed since the day the armies of the Greek states had fought the battle that was supposed to decide the fate of Greece only for Epaminondas to fall on the field at the time of victory. The armies now drawn on the battlefield were but a fraction of the size of the ancient ones and it was questionable whether Guy II De La Roche knew he was bringing his army to battle in the same area with the ancient battlefields. Whther he knew or not the history was though irrelevant. Now that the Greeks had finally stood to offer battle he would give it to them before his illness got worse and before his feudatories, already in the field well beyond the customary 40 days their feudal obligations gave him, start to find excuses to leave for their homes. He send his Catalan mercenaries forward to disrupt the Greek lines ahead of his cavalry.
"Last chance! Will you fight your own comrades?" Ioannis Doukas Vatatzes shouted in fluent Catalan at the onrushing mercenaries.
"
Awake Iron!" the Almogavar battle cry was the only answer he got as he turned his horse back to join his own soldiers. Not a moment passed before over a thousand crossbowmen let loose their first volley. Many Catalans fell the rest kept charging hoping to get close to the crossbowmen before they could lose a second volley. But the crossbowmen were being protected by spearmen of their own. The pikes they carried were no different than the Catalans own coutell spears, after all Philanthropenos had copied the Catalans three years ago. But by now his men were armored and trained to fight in close order unlike the Catalans.
Guy cursed as he saw the Catalans break and run away. At least he wouldn't have to pay the bastards. But his knights would have to break the Greek squares holding the enemy center the hard way. So be it. He led the van forward into the hail of crossbow bolts his own infantry following behind and holding the flanks against the Greeks stradioti. Somewhat to his surprise the Greeks held back the first charge. Undaunted his knights unleashed a second charge. Then a third. The damn villeins might have wavered when his horse was killed under him and he fell to the ground. A hale knight might still stand upright and mount his horse, after all mounting his horse on his own while in full armor was one of a knight's tests. But Guy was ill and feverish and in the thick of the fight from the start. He fainted as he fell. Worse luck the Allagion commander opposite him noticed and rushed his soldiers forward. As the cry that the duke was down was raised the Franks wavered. Then Philanthropenos unleashed his own heavy cavalry under Theodore at the wavering Franks and their line broke...
Mantineia, August 16th, 1308
Guy II De La Roche barely managed to open his eyes despite the best efforts of the doctors. The two Vatatzes brothers exchanged a look between them and left the tent. They knew enough to understand the poor man would likely not survive the night. It was slightly unfortunate, the duke would be worth quite a ransom but it didn't really matter. The Latin army had been routed and their Stratiotai were still pursuing its remnants just as the Greek peasantry attacked stragglers. The Achaean castles were still standing but it would be years before Latin Greece would be able to raise any short of army.
Dafni monastery, Attica, October 5th, 1308
Guy II was interred in the crypt along with his forefathers. Seven weeks had passed since the disaster at Mantineia. Vostitza had surrender at the news without a fight as soon as the despotate's army had reached it. In Patras, Raynier, the Latin archbishop was made of sterner stuff and had refused to surrender but was under siege from both land and sea. Michael Kantakouzenos on news of the defeat had freely interpreted his emperors wishes and marched his own army to besiege Nauplion and Argos. Ioannis as soon as Guy was dead had send his brother with the body and peace feelers to Athens. The proposal was simple. Theodore was to marry
Maud and become despot of Athens. Or the war could continue. Gossip said the young widow had gotten enamored with Theodore and if it was up to her would had accepted the proposal. But the Achaean High Court had not. They had decreed that heir to the duke was not his widow but his cousin
Walter V of Brienne and for good measure had shipped Maud off to Naples in a Venetian ship.
Neopatras, Thessaly, October 10th, 1308
John II Angelos Doukas ordered his forces to eject the Athenian garrisons from Thessaly. Guy II, his fathers uncle, had been acting as his regent since he had come to the throne as a child in 1303. But with Guy dead, his bailli
Anthony le Flamenc back to Athens trying to hold the duchy together till Walter came and himself just barely of age there was little reason to keep as an Athenian protectorate...
Kassandreia, October 15th, 1308
Bernat de Rocafort thought carefully over the news from the south. The Catalans after pillaging Thrace had moved west to Macedonia hoping to get more loot. They had already raided Thessaly and looted the monasteries of Mount Athos. But the Catalans were growing weary and wanted somewhere to settle down while Berat had ambitions. Big ambitions. The duchy of Athens was up there for the pickings. The Catalan company would march south as soon as weather allowed...
