Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 08:47:06 +0100
From: A.K. <andrej@andrejkoymasky.com>
Subject: The Vanished Empire 4/8 (Historical)

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THE VANISHED EMPIRE
by Andrej Koymasky (C) 2006
written on February 11, 1995
translated by the author
English text kindly revised
by John

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USUAL DISCLAIMER

"THE VANISHED EMPIRE" is a gay story, with some parts containing graphic
scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land, religion, family,
opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be better not to
read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU don't care, or
because you think you really want to read it, please be my welcomed
guest.

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FOURTH - GANO'S ASSASSINATION - HIS SUCCESSOR

4.1 - Gano takes the emperor in front of the court

A period of peace followed. The young emperor was now
nineteen-years-old. Gano went to the imperial palace, and in the throne
hall, in front of all the court asked him to make him Great General of
the empire and Regent, thus practically surrendering to him all the
effective power, even though not the nominal one. But the youth, revered
and served since his childhood by everybody, was convinced the real
power was all in his hands. Therefore he answered Gano that he would
willingly name him Great General, but not Regent - he didn't see a good
reason for that.

Gano climbed the steps and, in front of all the court, smacked the young
man. Many rose up, included some of Gano's generals. He drew out his
sword and pointed it to the emperor's throat, "You, boy, didn't yet
understand one thing - without me you are nothing!" Gano said. Then,
addressing the court, he added, "Do you want to see what value this
conceited boy has for me? Look, then, and open your eyes wide!" he
shouted.

He took away the crown from the scared boy's head, pulled out his mantle
and threw it on the floor. With studied slowness, started to undress
him. The youth was trembling, white as a washed-too-often sheet. When
Yude guessed what Gano had in mind, he said aloud, "No, I beg you, don't
do it!"

Gano answered with a laugh and continued to undress the youth that he
had crowned eight years before. He undressed him methodically, with an
amused smile on his lips, teasing and groping him while he was exposing
his body, until the youth was totally naked.

"Kneel in front of me!" Gano ordered dryly, making the cold blade of his
sword glide along the youth's back. The emperor, trembling, complied.
"Pull it out nd lick it!"

"No!" an aristocrat yelled drawing out his sword.

"Still and silent, if you don't want me to cut his throat here in front
of you!" Gano ordered, with flaming eyes. The aristocrat sheathed his
sword. "You, obey!" Gano said curtly to the youth.

The emperor rummaged in Gano's clothes, extracted the turgid member and
bent to lick it, while tears were streaming down his face.

"Stop it, Gano..." Usae said.

Gano laughed again, "Are you jealous? Are you remembering our good old
times?" Gano asked, then said to the young emperor, "Open wide your
mouth, suck it nicely. Don't make me feel your teeth... Wet it well with
your saliva, so it will enter smothly when I will fuck your ass..."

"Why are you doing this?" Usae asked him.

"Because I like it, because he has to learn to keep his place, because
this amuses me, becuse I wanted to do it even before now..."

"But why in front of everybody?" Usae insisted.

"Because everybody has to see how well our emperor is skilled to give
pleasure to the man to whom he owes everything! Because he can so show
his gratitude. You see, boy, they are worried about you - tell them you
like, you always desired doing it... tell them!"

The youth continued sucking. Gano slipped it out of his mouth and
menacingly repeated, "Tell them!" and forced him to stand up and to face
the hall.

The young emperor, his tears continuing to stream out, said, "I like
it."

Gano caressed his bottom and said, "Say it again!"

"I like it." The youth repeated in a sob.

Gano slipped a finger between his buttocks, brushing his hole, "You are
no longer a virgin, here, are you?" Gano said, as he knew that the youth
had a relationship with two of his body guards. The young emperor was
silent, his eyes lowered. "Is it so?" Gano shouted.

"Yes, it is so..." the youth murmured.

"Good, therefore I will not hurt you, on the contrary... bend down and
spread your buttocks well " he ordered.

The youth complied. Gano sank on him with a single sharp stroke, pulling
the boy to himself, girdling his waist with his free arm, while with the
blade of his sword he caressed the youth's chest.

"Give yourself satisfaction, you have to enjoy this fuck too..."

"No..."

"You had better - I won't stop until you come, I warn you..."

The youth started to masturbate himself and Gano to piston inside him.
In spite of all, the young man became aroused and, shutting his eyes,
started to pant lightly. Gano enjoyed him with calm in front of the
astonished, silent, still court.

Finally the youth reached his orgasm and, after a short while, Gano
inside him did so too. Then he slipped out, tidied himself, took the
crown and put it on the boy's head, picked up the mantle and covered his
naked body, made him sit again on the throne.

Then, "Now, your majesty, what will you do to thank Gano for the
pleasure he gave you?" he asked with irony.

The youth, with a loud and clear voice, said, "I name you my Regent and
Great General of all the empire, prince Gano Oddo."

"Thank you, your majesty. May I now dismiss the court?"

"Yes, you may..."

"Out, everybody! Fast!" Gano harshly said.

Everybody left in a deathhlike silence, bowing to the emperor and
drawing back without turning their shoulders. When the last man was out
and the big door of the throne Hall was closed, Gano said to the youth,
"You asked for it. I would have liked to have had a different
intercourse with you... You forced me."

"Are you apologizing, perhaps?" the youth asked, proudly.

Gano laughed, "I like you, you have grit. No, I'm not at all
apologizing, and anyway I would do it again."

"I don't doubt it..."

"I would like doing it again, right now, but I would prefer having you
in my bed."

"How did you know that I had already been taken?"

"I never lose sight of you, not even an instant, I know everything about
you."

"Also about my two bodyguards?"

"Certainly. But I also know that you never betrayed me. Why did you
refuse me the Regency?"

"Because... because I  thought I was the emperor, therefore I didn't
accept orders..."

"And now?"

"Now I know that I'm nothing but a toy in your hands."

"Yes, it is so, after all. But the one uniting the empire, risking his
life on the field, is me, not you. Do you hate me for what I just did to
you?"

The youth didn't answer immediately, then said, "I should. You could
make me yours in another way and obtain everything all the same, without
humiliating me in front of all the court. I admired you before; I wanted
to get your attention; I would have loved being yours. You spoiled
everything..."

"No, I didn't spoil anything. I am an unfeeling man, I would never have
been a good lover for you. As I have not been one for Kiai..." Gano said
honestly. Then he made the emperor stand up from the throne, sat on it
and took him on his lap, took away his crown and caressed his hair, "I
will never be a good lover for anybody, believe me. I'm now
forty-seven-year-old... there is too much blood on my hands to be a good
lover."

"And I will never be a true emperor..."

Gano nodded in assent, "But... you and I will make the empire one single
nation again. And we will enter history."

"Who kows if what you just did will enter history too?" the youth asked
with irony.

"We could never be lovers, you and I, and possibly not friends either, I
don't have true friends. But we can respect each other."

"Gano! How can you talk about respect, after what you did me?"

"But I respect you. Or else, I would have just killed you."

"A weird way to respect me."

"I never had sex with an enemy or with a man I didn't respect. You have
to believe at least that."

"I believe you. You are a strange man, Gano."

"I think so too."

"What need do you have of me? Keeping me on the throne?"

"When this land is united again, it will need somebody, after us, who is
able to keep it united, a real emperor, strong, determined... It is not
enough being of imperial blood to be a good emperor, or the son of a
warrior to be a good warrior. The hereditary system is the most absurd
that man invented. Well, get dressed, now. We have plenty of things to
do, before the problem arises."

**************************

4.2 - Reforms of the empire. Assassination of Gano

Many were astounded to see the young emperor coming out of the throne
hall talking quietly with Gano about the reorganisation of the
territories under his control. After that incident Gano was often seen
to confer with the young emperor before asking him to issue an edict.
However, Gano's priviledged councillors remained Usae and Yude for both
civil and military matters.

On civil policy, the edicts issued by the young emperor at Gano's
request, were many and concerned the abolition of customs between the
provinces, the reconstruction or improvement of roads and bridges,
mainly in Granla and in Misaga, and the development of Seko port.

But Gano took particular care of religious matters. As I said earlier,
the Eigthfold Order of monks, althought it was founded as a religious
order, had been transformed into a powerful faction with totally secular
and profane interests. But in various provinces ancient and spontaneous
cults still existed, with some common traits and a number of local
differences. On several occasions, Gano, even in enemy territory, had
received hospitality and food, mainly from the followers of a sect with
few believers, but spread over all the territories, worshipping a "god
of mercy" known by different local names.

This sect was composed of humble people who preached universal
brotherhood beyond social rank, beyond all hostility. This sect moreover
had simple but gentle rites for the "five moments of life", that is for
birth, coming of age, marriage, illness and death, and also for the
"five moments of the year", that is for the preparation of soil, sowing,
growth, harvest and food storage. Gano had been particularly impressed
by them and therefore decided it had to become the official religion of
the empire.

First of all he gave to this sect the conquered monasteries that were
not destroyed, asking for them to be used for a threefold aim - to host
the indigent, to cure the infirm, and to teach the children. For that he
confirmed their tax exemption. The monasteries were called Shelters and
a distinctive symbol was hoisted in front of their gate: a tall black
pole with an open, red umbrella at the top. The  Shelters couldn't own
land but could receive alms.

The shelters were to be manned by volunteers who were distinguished in
four categories and two kinds - the managers with a red tunic, the hosts
with a blue one, the doctors with a yellow one and the teachers with a
green one, and they could be permanent, with a white mantle, or
temporary with a black one. In each shelter there also lived a state
controller, who was a knight named by the court.

Another edict established that no castle could accommodate more than
5,000 people, including the servants; this expanded the smaller castles,
reduced the biggest ones and had new castles built. Each castle was
entrusted to a nobleman appointed by the court. The title of the noble
changed in accordance with the importance of the castle, therefore the
same official, when moved to another castle, changed his title. No
charge was hereditary.

The old aristocracy still living in the conquered territories, received
the generic hereditary title of nobleman, but no hereditary power. This
raised some discontent, but nobody was able to oppose to this system in
the territories controlled by Gano.

The old dominions were split into provinces and amongst them only one
kept the old name. The Octagon was demolished in great part and in its
place Gano started to build a large castle where he intended to settle.

But Gano, more than a manager, was a man at arms. In the capital in
1481, he had his troops marching past in a magnificent parade. The
pretext was to present them to the emperor, but in reality it was to
make everybody feel the power he had attained. He had new and very
colorful uniforms made for all of them and this incidentally boosted the
work of the Gami weavers. In the parade 10,000 horsemen and 50,000
infantrymen marched which, in reality, employed just a fraction of his
troops.

But meanwhile, Rimo armed himself and decided to march on Ikoi, where
the construction of the new ships was in progress. Gano, receiving this
information, at once went with a part of his army to Assa and via the
mountain pass, marched through Ekin and Misaga provinces. Meanwhile,
fearing that Suna could send reinforcements penetrating through Ario to
use the mountain pass connecting Ario with Rimo, Gano ordered Yude to
mass his troops on the border between Ario and Suna and had Usae protect
the territory around the capital.

For years Rimo had been preparing for war and had suceeded in fully
arming a total force of 60,000 men. In Ikoi the general regent named by
Gano was Keka, a young man of twenty-eight. Keka was the younger son of
a minor knight, a distant relative of the duke Siba. At the beginning of
his career Gano had been a feudatory of that duchy, which he later
seized.

Keka was born and grew up at Gano's court. When Keka was fourteen, Gano
noticed him while the boy was training in the use of weapons on the
parade ground of Suki castle and became infatuated with him. Therefore,
waiting for the boy to enter in the baths after training, Gano also
entered them, sent away all the others and, being alone with the boy,
took him and had sex with him.

After that, for about four years, Gano often entertained himself with
Keka, but when the boy became more adult and precociously virile, he
forsook him, nevertheless keeping him nearby in various military
campaigns. Some years later young Keka chose a lover from amongst his
younger soldiers, a sixteen-year-old boy named Mahi. But Gano, also
infatuated with Mahi, demanded that Keka surrender the boy to him. Keka
complied, but inside he developed a muted rancor against his ex-lover
and lord.

When he was informed that Gano was coming to confront Rimo, Keka, in
secret, started negotiations with the count who promised him, if they
defeated Gano, to grant him the lordship of Ikoi. Therefore, when Gano
reached Ikoi with his troops, Keka welcomed him with all the honors and
offered to accompany him in his campaign against Rimo, to attack whom
they had to pass through count Chui's territory. Keka said he knew Chui
very well. In reality that count was also an ally of Rimo and together
they had concocted the plot to have Gano's troops fall in an ambush.

Thus, penetrating the northern part of Chui's territory, Gano and Keka
met no resistance. On the night of the twelfth day of the sixth month of
1482, while Gano was sleeping peacefully, feeling he was in a safe
place, Keka's men suddenly attacked his camp. They easily overcome the
defenses and, after a long struggle, Gano, surrounded by Keka's men, was
killed by Keka in person. Meanwhile Chui attacked the camp from the
south and Rimo from the east.

Gano's men were put to rout. At the news of Gano's death, they dispersed
in disordely flight. Almost at the same time, Usae and Yude came to know
about Keka's treason whereupon Usae sent a message to Yude to keep Suna
engaged. Leaving the territories of the capital unprotected, Usae
crossed the mountains with all his men and rapidly went down, passing
from Ekin through count Mim's territory, which he conquered without
difficulty, and from there to the principality of Wake, who let them
pass as he didn't take part to Rimo's conspiracy. He swoop upon Ikoi,
besieged Keka's castle and got the better of it with the utmost ease. He
cut off Keka's head and sent if to Lord Chui with a letter telling him
to keep it, as he would soon arrive to cut off his head too, in order to
give both to Rimo.

**************************

4.3 - Usae succeeds to Gano as Regent

Meanwhile Yude with all his men penetrated into Suna territory,
infiltrating between the peripheral castles without engaging in battle
and headed for the central castle, called the Pike Castle. It was a big
castle, standing in the center of a wide marsh formed by river Siffo.
The castle was so called because of its shape - the castle itself was
the central knot of the pike, having at the south the point with the
parade ground, to the west the point with the private garden, at the
north it was the opening in the blade - a wide trapezoidal extension
containing tilled fields, all surrounded by high walls. On the east side
there was the stone road, about 520 paces long, slightly above the water
surface, connecting the castle to the shore and so forming the pike
handle.

The castle had ample water, filtered from the marsh into three great
wells; its internal fields produced fruit and vegetables and the marsh
gave them fish in abundance. Therefore it didn't fear any siege.
Moreover the marsh didn't allow troops to go beneath the walls - it was
too deep and treacherous to run across by foot or with horses, but not
deep enough to use boats. The long, straight and uncovered road was too
narrow to allow the passage in mass of an army - no more than four men
or two horses side by side could travel on it. Therefore an attack along
the road was unthinkable.

Yude's task was only to keep Suna's troops firmly engaged, not to
conquer the castle. But when he saw the splendid buildings that were now
accommodating, besides prince Suna, the old emperor and also the
Prince-monk, he started to eat his brain out thinking how he could take
the castle.

His generals told him it was abslutely impossible - even if they had an
army of 40,000 horsemen and 100,000 footmen, they could not take that
castle. The only possibility would be to drain the marsh and wait for
the ground to dry, but this, in addition to impressive land reclamation
works, would require years to be carried out. The only way to make the
castle surrender, would have been to conquer all the surrounding
territory, thus totally isolating the castle, and to wait, surely for
several years, for it would capitulate.

But Yude was not persuaded. While he was flinging back the attacks of
the twelve minor castles built on the boundaries of the territory, he
was contemplating from the top of a rise the formidable castle asking
himself how he could take it. He received the news that Usae had
conquered half of Chui's territory and now was about to confront Rimo.
And there Yude was, idle. He wanted that castle. He wanted it at any
cost.

It was night and the still waters, turned silver by the moonlight, were
framing the pike shape of the castle. The original island constituted
the part with the tilled fields. All the rest had been built about three
centuries before by sinking thousands of heavy tree trunks deeply into
the marsh, and on them had been laid a platform of stones, perfectly
linked up and on that the castle, the walls and the road had been built.
The stone platform constituting the base of the whole system, was just a
palm higher than the waters in the part with the walls and just an inch
in the part with the road. The marsh surface level was kept constant by
a low and long dam on the side of the outflow, a small and quiet river.

And Yude suddenly got the idea - notwithstanding it was night, he woke
up his generals, took a map of the place and revealed his plan - they
had just to raise the dam a couple of palms and the castle would be
immersed in one palm of water, enough to make work in the fields
impossible, to pollute the well water, to make life inside the castle
very difficult.

At dawn he put to work part of his men - to find stones, square them,
build a double wall on the dam and fill it with earth, so making the
water level rise. To prevent it overflowing in other parts, it was also
necessary to raise some earth dykes here and there, at the lower points.

The camp of the besiegers was transformed into a yard. Yude also had
some large rafts built which could navigate the raised marsh waters
without hindrance. From the main tower of the castle the meaning of all
these works was at once understood, so smoke signals were sent with
orders to the lesser castles. But Yude had anticipated that, so all
around the marsh he at once had dozens of bonfires lit onto which he had
green grass thrown making wide smoke curtains, so confusing the signals
of the main tower.

On the fourth day of the seventh month, Yude received a message from
Usae, telling that Rimo had been defeated. In the western part of the
empire there were still three territories to subjugate, besides what
remained of Chui, and in the northern part, the two counties of Rone
island. On the east side, besides Suna, there were three more
territories - Rosti island with its two counties, Chicha island with
Soka principality, Fago island with Keta principality and two duchies.

Usae was reorganizing the new territories when news came that prince
Keta annexed the two duchies of his island, and prince Soko invaded the
two counties of Rosti island. Moreover, Soka and Take had made a strong
alliance.

On the nineteenth day of the seventh month the works around the Pike
castle had been completed and the marsh waters had started to rise.

Back at the capital the solemn funerals of Gano were taking place, so
Usae and Yude went back to the court for the ceremonies. Yude entrusted
the command, during his absence, to Meta; Usae to his lover Kimi. All
Gano's generals were present and at once started the discussion about
his succession. Gano didn't have any sons, so who had the right to
succeed him? Some generals proposed the division of the territories
amongs them, but Usae and Yude, together with the emperor, decidedly
opposed that - it would lead back to the previous lordships, thwarting
all Gano's deeds. Others proposed forming a council of regents and
generals electing a leader every five years. But this would provoke too
frequent changes in the politics. Yude then proposed Usae to take Gano's
place and the emperor at once backed this proposal.

Therefore Usae became Great General and Regent of the empire, and the
title of Prince was bestowed on him. After performing the rite of
allegiance to the emperor and officially receiving the titles, he also
received the allegiance of all the others, Yude being the first. Usae
made Kimi his councilor, confirming Yude as councilor and Grand General.
Then Yude went back in haste to the besieged Pike castle - he wanted to
be present at its capitulation.

On the seventh day of the eighth month, prince Suna asked to parley a
surrender. He asked for a safe-conduct for himself, the old emperor, the
Prince-monk and a few other important families,to  allow them to take
refuge in Soka. Yude granted the safe-conduct to everybody, excluding
only the old emperor and the Prince-monk. Suna then refused the
surrender and went back to his castle.

But the situation inside the castle had become unendurable and there was
an uprising of the troops, led by one of the aristocrats, a baron Tuty,
against Suna, who was killed. Then the old emperor killed himself. On
the twelfth of the same month, the Prince-monk went in person to meet
Yude to discuss the terms of surrender - he declared himself Yude's
prisoner and asked for the lives of all the others to be spared. Yude
made some conditions - Suna's son, as the sole heir, had to sign the
order to surrender for all the twelve border castles and remain as
Yude's prisoner along with baron Tuty and the Prince-monk. All the other
men had to leave the castle unarmed and could have with them only the
clothes they were wearing, then they would be set free to go wherever
they wanted.

The Prince-monk went back to the castle. On the fourteenth day of the
eight month 1482, the Pike castle capitulated and was evacuated. Yude
gave the order to restore the dam to its previous level, allowing the
water to flow out from the castle. The long row of the vanquished,
searched by Yude's men while they were coming out, left the castle and
dispersed, going back to their homes or seeking refuge in the
territories of duke Pess in the east or of count Siie in the south. Then
Yude entered the castle and sent a mesage to Usae announcing that Pike
castle was in his hands.

In the depots of the castle there were treasures and gold in huge
quantities. Yude had an accurate inventory made and sent it to Usae,
asking him to dispose of it. Usae sent back a messenger instructing that
the treasure had to be split in three equal parts - one third had to
remain in Yude's hands, one third had to be sent to him and one third
sent to Kimi. Yude willingly complied and asked for authorization to
settle in Pike castle. Usae answered consenting and made him receive the
title of prince from the emperor.

Meanwhile, Usae had the works started by Gano carried on to transform
the Octagon into his residence. Kimi, named a great duke, had a castle
built in Ikoi.

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CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 5

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In my home page I've put some more of my stories. If someone wants to
read them, the URL is

http://andrejkoymasky.com

If you want to send me feed-back, or desire to help revising my English
translations, so that I can put on-line more of my  stories in English
please e-mail at

andrej@andrejkoymasky.com

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