History Fanfic / IAmSkantarios

->''From the Report of Troper, 2010 AD...''

** IShallTauntYou: Taunting enemy soldiers, particularly Muslims, to get them to sally out and attack. At one point he presents what he claims to be [[spoiler: the ashes of the Prophet]] to a Turkish garrison, and [[spoiler: puts it inside a pig's corpse]]. The Turks go ''berserk''.

* {{Badass}}/{{Determinator}}: Both meta- and in-universe example - Skantarios the character ''and'' Skantarios the author. Look, if half the world hates you, your army is starving and close to desertion, and your only major city is besieged from the get-go, you have to be both of the above to even survive, let alone turn the table. The author gets plus-points for being the one who actually plays in that impossible setting.
* BadassArmy: Skantarios can be proud to say he owns the world's leading {{Badass Army}} about ten turns in, and he eventually gets several of these. The Imperial Army ''is'' still the best, [[spoiler: as they demonstrate repeatedly during his genocidal campaign against Islam]], but [[spoiler: the campaign against the Ottomans and Rus]] show that his subordinates have some utterly invincible troopers as well.

* TheDreaded: By the time Skantarios is in his mid-40's, the [[KarmaMeter Dread meter]] is maxed out. [[spoiler: [[AllThereInTheManual In the epilogue]], a historian notes that Skantarios' name remains feared by the Muslims for generations, and that even [[CandleJack speaking it aloud or writing it down might summon him.]] This reaches the point where any Muslim who states his name is lashed, and any Muslim who writes it is stoned to death.]]

* HitAndRunTactics: Some time into the war, Skantarios struck a deal with Hungarian cavalry mercenaries. These mercenaries become the core of his Imperial Army, and [[ChekhovsGunman repeatedly turn the tide of battle]] for him.

* NecessarilyEvil: It's a cruel world, Skantarios knows this, [[CurbStompBattle and he is not afraid to do grievous bodily harm to those in his way ''repeatedly'' to make his point]].

-->“You have all been judged and sentenced to death.”

->''From the Report of [[ThisTroper Troper]], 2010 AD...'')

* BeyondTheImpossible: Skantarios never loses on the battlefield, despite frequently unfriendly odds. [[spoiler: At the end of the first Jihad, Skantarios tallies up the thousands of fallen Jihad warriors in the burial pit outside the city. Recalling the Islamic tradition that every fallen Jihadi receives 72 virgins upon entering heaven, he calculates that Allah will need to find over a million virgins to satisfy that fallen warriors' needs.]]

Or not..

[[OrIsIt Or not.]]

* {{AntiHero}}: Skantarios is frequently downright cruel to his enemies. His acts of [[strike: genocide]] righteous retribution are [[strike: implied to be mostly forgiven]] glorified by his people, who more-or-less worship him as a living saint, and [[NecessarilyEvil since their enemies would do pretty much the same to them should he fail anyway]]. Skantarios' less virtuous acts include:

* {{Badass}}/{{Determinator}}: Both meta- and in-universe example - Skantarios the character ''and'' Skantarios the author. Look, if half the world hates you, your army is starving and close to desertion, and your only major city is besieged from the get-go, you have to be both of the above to even survive, let alone turn the table. The author gets plus-points for being the one who actually plays in that impossible setting.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Every. Single. Battle. Ever. Skantarios always has to fight enemies who vastly outnumber and outclass his own troops. Most of them turn out to be Heroic Victories for the Byzantine hero. [[spoiler: By around midway through the story, he manages to pull out his own version of [[HitAndRunTactics Mongolian warfare]] and from that point things continually go downhill for his enemies.]]

** Parodied in the Third Battle of Ankara. By this point, we're accustomed to Skantarios' eloquent speeches. He goes to the men to deliver a speech to get them in the right frame of might. [[spoiler: It consists solely of "Kill them all!"]]

* {{AntiHero}}: Skantarios is frequently downright cruel to his enemies. His acts of [[strike: genocide]] righteous retribution are [[strike: implied to be mostly forgiven]] glorified by his people, who more-or-less worship him as a living saint, and [[NecessarilyEvil since their enemies would do pretty much the same to them should he fail anyway]]. Skantarios' [[UnderStatement less virtuous acts]] include:

*** KillItWithFire: Burning entire units of enemy soldiers to a crisp with his flamethrowers/siege weaponry, and showing no remorse for it, to counterbalance his constant disadvantage in numbers.

*** KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: Killing said prisoners in sight of their comrades, in order to demoralize the remaining enemy armies.

*** RapePillageAndBurn: Sacking said captured cities and looting everything of value within to fund his war machine. He ''does'', however, spare a few towns [[PragmaticVillainy that he needs for future campaigns.]]

The year is 1450 AD. The Byzantine Empire - henceforth refered to as Basileia ton Romaion, "Kingdom of the Romans" - the last remnant of the glorious Roman Empire of the age past, is on its last legs. Surrounded by hostile neighbors who can crush what little land it has left and put an end to the lingering legacy of Rome for good, it seemed that there is little the the Basileia can do except for [[VestigialEmpire surrendering its arms and step down...]]

* AlasPoorVillain: You can't help but feel sorry for Skantarios' enemies, [[LeaveNoSurvivors knowing how the Byzantines treat their defeated foes.]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Is Skantarios:
** a [[TheHero champion of the Roman way of life]] and [[TheCape everything the Roman Empire stands for]]?
** a [[AntiHero morally questionable]] [[ThePrince Machiavellian dictator]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist who just wants to restore the Byzantine Empire]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo and who is only doing what he has to do]] [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans to achieve his goals]]?
** a [[VillainProtagonist ruthless, diabolical]] [[FantasticRacism Roman supremacist]] who has no qualms against [[BloodKnight exterminating whole towns]] and [[OmnicidalManiac murdering all who cross his path]] to bring back [[VestigialEmpire an empire that is supposed to be dead]]?

* {{AntiHero}}/{{WhatTheHellHero}}: Skantarios is frequently downright cruel to his enemies. His acts of [[strike: genocide]] righteous retribution are [[strike: implied to be mostly forgiven]] glorified by his people, who more-or-less worship him as a living saint, and [[NecessarilyEvil since their enemies would do pretty much the same to them should he fail anyway]]. Skantarios' [[UnderStatement less virtuous acts]] include:

[[SubvertedTrope Or not.]]

* WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife: Skantarios remarks often at the waste of so many good men in the Egyptian generals ranks, but a particularly [[TearJerker heart-wrenching]] one is [[spoiler: the pointless death of seventy year old al-Khawalani, who charges out in the face of withering arrow fire and actually makes it to the safety of the gatehouse... only to turn around and see his entire bodyguard lying dead. With nowhere to run, he simply marches out into the Byzantine arrowstorm... the general remarks at the unworthy death of this old man.]]

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Every. Single. Battle. Ever. Skantarios always has to fight enemies who vastly outnumber and outclass his own troops. Most of them turn out to be Heroic Victories for the Byzantine hero. [[spoiler: By around midway through the story, he manages to pull out his own version of [[HitAndRunTactic Mongolian warfare]] and from that point things continually go downhill for his enemies.]]

* CoolVersusAwesome: Several ten star generals including the best the Mongols have to offer, giants of the ancient world themselves, crumble in the face of the even more formidable Skantarios and his generals.

* WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife: Skantarios remarks often at the waste of so many good men in the Egyptian generals ranks, but a particularly [[TearJerker heart-wrenching]] one is the pointless death of seventy year old al-Khawalani, who charges out in the face of withering arrow fire and actually makes it to the safety of the gatehouse... only to turn around and see his entire bodyguard lying dead. With nowhere to run, he simply marches out into the Byzantine arrowstorm... the general remarks at the unworthy death of this old man.

* TheEmpire: Everyone surrounding the Byzantines, especially the Turks and Fatimids. [[spoiler: By about midway through, Byzantium itself, especially given Skantarios' [[MoralDissonance murky]] modus operandi.]]

The year is 1450 AD. The Byzantine Empire - henceforth refered to as Basileia ton Romaion, "Kingdom of the Roman" - the last remnant of the glorious Roman Empire of the age past, is on its last legs. Surrounded by hostile neighbors who can crush what little land it has left and put an end to the lingering legacy of Rome for good, it seemed that there is little the the Basileia can do except for [[VestigialEmpire surrendering its arms and step down...]]