Two months had passed since Ivan sent the letter to Alfred. His ship pulled along the coast of the Sultanate, in land that Alfred had taken. His campaign had been swift and strong, easily piercing through the initial southern defensive line.
He had expected more resistance from the defenders, but it was a strange sight. No support had arrived from the main Safrid army. The under-defended forts easily fell under the barrage of his trebuchet fire; and although his 13,000 soldiers were small in comparison to the total forces of his neighbours, the under-defended forts posed no trouble.
Within two months, Alfred had taken over all the immediate borderlands with the Safrids and finally had a connection with the Tears of Gaia. Ivan's letter came as a surprise in his campaign but wasn't unexpected. Agreeing to the terms listed by Ivan, Alfred stood on a port he had taken during his conquest. A large ship, bearing the flag of the Grand Principality of Vladmire slowly pulled up.
Chris and a second royal guard stood behind Alfred. He would have also brought Charles or William along with him, but he knew he couldn't let them leave and lose command over their armies. With the ship docking, a wooden plank fell, letting Alfred climb up.
Those aboard watched him with hawk-like eyes. Despite this, no one dared to point a weapon at him. Scaling the ship, he looked at Ivan, wearing an admiral's uniform. He walked over with a happy smile reaching his hand out.
"I appreciate you taking the time out of your campaign to meet with me." Alfred grabbed the man's hand shaking it. Ivan's voice was friendly as he led Alfred to his personal quarters. Chris tried to follow him in but was stopped by one of the crew mates on board. "It's fine Chris. Nothing will happen." Alfred reassured him with the door closing, leaving the two men alone.
Pouring a drink for the two, Ivan took his seat, looking at Alfred, intrigued. "I heard many things about you. I must say it strange to see you as an adult when your childhood was so... eventful." Chuckling to himself he took a drink.
Returning a smile, Alfred took a drink. He smacked his lips together. The alcohol was one he had never had in this world but remembered from his old world. It was the oaky taste of whiskey that he had enjoyed so much in the past. "Why have you called this meeting then?" Not allowing himself to bask in nostalgia he shot the question out. He still had to return to his war.
"We both know that my father wishes to invade the Sultanate. But we also know that your goal and ours clash. My father is a pious man, he doesn't wish for war against a 'blessed one', so I'm here to propose a deal." Reaching into the bag at his side he pulled the parchment out, that held his father's seal. "A Great River runs through the Sultanate. We hope that The Kingdom and the Grand Principality can see it become the new border between our respected nation."
With a kind smile, he proposed the offer, that was repeated on the parchment. Alfred looked at the document and thought about it. It was a deal that had no downsides for him, but the idea of not getting all the land was annoying. He knew it was just greed to think like that, but his wish was to start the creation of his empire with the conquest. That's why he wanted to add more.
"This deal. Why don't we formalize it? Add another thing to it." With a sly smile, Alfred pushed the parchment back over. "I have a son, you have a daughter. She is only three. Only a two-year age gap." Ivan's happy face crumbled. His eyes went fierce with a chuckle coming out his mouth.
"You want me to marry my daughter to a cripple?" The disbelief in his voice was apparent, "Why would I ever do that? I mean can your son even have children."
Alfred looked at Ivan, expecting the response. He knew that there must have been a reason a marriage wasn't proposed originally, and he now had the answer. Despite that, Ivan's point was right and one that Alfred had pushed to the back of his mind. Would his son ever be able to have kids?
"I assure you, my heir will be able to bear children. Only his legs are broken." Alfred politely smiled. "There are no downsides to this deal for you. You have the opportunity, to not only create an alliance that will last decades. You can also make the wish of every Grand Prince possible and re-establish the Silesian Empire. With no reason to guard the South, you can focus on your uncle and those in the North" His words struck a chord with Ivan.
He looked deep into the blue eyes before him. "Sure I can wed my daughter to your son and achieve all this, but why should I? I mean, I can marry North and turn South instead" He was probing.
"The Empires of the East and North laugh at our small kingdoms all the time. They look at you and see a fractured land, split between branches of the same family. They look at me and don't even know the name. We have an opportunity to change this. You can become the North of this land, and make your dynasty and your Empire unforgettable. Without having to worry about one another, I will make the South mine until I hit the Bactrians."
Alfred's words were full of passion. Visions filled Ivan's head of reuniting the collapsed Empire. He knew that it was possible if the South no longer became an issue, and whilst the partition of land would see peace for a short while, he wondered how long it would truly last. Alfred had made his ambition clear to create an Empire and it was just a case of where he would march next to create this dream.
Still, the thought of marrying his daughter off to a cripple was something that he struggled to bring himself to do. Whilst Alfred had promised that his son would bear children in the future, it was a risk. He didn't know the boy after all. Downing his drink and pouring himself another, he scratched his neck thinking.
Alfred looked at this and gave him the time. He knew that it was a big sacrifice to marry his child off to someone like his son. He just hoped to play on every Grand Prince's desire for the old empire, but also Ivan's desire to avoid war with the Kingdom.
"You must remember. Your daughter doesn't just marry a future king. He also holds the blood of a 'blessed one' approved by the Pope. He is someone who carries the Lord's blessing." With a snort he cut himself off, looking away, "It funny how the Lord works. Blesses me and my blood, but makes my son a cripple." Alfred played on the world's attachment to God and the supernatural. It was a gamble if the Grand Prince cared, but seeing how his father was someone who hated being on the wrong side of the church unless necessary, he hoped it rubbed off on his son one way or another.
Ivan looked at Alfred's face. He sympathised with the young man in front of him a little as a father himself. But Alfred's words hit deep. It was true that Alfred was blessed. If his son carried a fraction of this blessing, his daughter would live a good life, which could be transferred to his future heirs. His mind started to look into the future.
It was a chance for his bloodline to also get ahold of the blessing of Sol. With both empires created, the two could create a thousand-year alliance, of repeated marriage alliance, creating a pure bloodline holding Alfred's blessing. It was something that could legitimize his Empire even further.
"Okay." Grabbing a pen, he wrote on the parchment, adding the marriage to it. He could already see the great future being created from this alliance and was unable to suppress the smile blooming on his face. Alfred stamped his seal on the bottom, solidifying the alliance between the two.
Pouring another drink for Alfred, he raised his glass, "May Sol bless the Empires to come." Alfred tapped his glass, the two dowing its contents. With wide smiles on each of their faces, the two looked forward to the future for different yet similar reasons.