The morning sun cast a soft, golden glow over the city of Arta as Andronikos stood on the balcony of the Despotate's palace. The city below was beginning to stir, its streets slowly filling with merchants setting up their market stalls and citizens going about their daily routines.
Andronikos, dressed in the regal attire befitting his new role as Despot of Epirus, looked out over the city with a mixture of determination and contemplation. He had taken on the weighty responsibility of ruling a principality that was still recovering from years of conflict and political strife. The fate of his people rested on his shoulders, and he was acutely aware of the challenges that lay ahead, manly the upcoming invasion that the king of sicily would soon entertain.
