Chapter 66: The Wind from the West
Date: March 29th, 1180Location: Eastern Mediterranean, south of Cyprus – Aboard the Regina Trionfante
The sea rolled dark and endless beneath the Sicilian fleet, its blue-black depths glinting under a cloudless spring sky. Thirty-seven warships stretched out across the eastern horizon—sleek dromons and round-bellied cargo ships, their sails full, their hulls bristling with men and arms. Painted prows bore the crowned leopard of the House of Hauteville, while smaller banners flapped above the decks—crosses, anchors, eagles.
At the heart of the formation, the flagship Regina Trionfante sliced through the waves like a spearhead. Aboard her stood Admiral Matteo de Lecce, a wiry man with a hawk's nose and burnished armor beneath a blue surcoat. His face was wind-worn, and his eyes fixed eastward, toward Egypt.
To his right stood Count Ruggiero di Marsala, commander of the landing force—a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a scar that split his chin. He leaned over the railing as gulls screamed above them.
"Still no sails from Alexandria," he said, scanning the southern horizon.
"Good," Matteo replied. "That means our departure was not tracked. And even if it was... they'll be watching for a blockade, not a lightning raid."
The Objectives
The two commanders walked together across the deck to where a map had been secured beneath weights and rope. The parchment bore the jagged curve of the Nile Delta, inked with red marks on Damietta, Rosetta, and Tanis.
"We strike here first," Matteo said, pointing to Rosetta. "Their smallest coastal fort. Minimal defenses. We take the port, destroy the harbor installations, then pull back before their cavalry can respond."
"And then Damietta?" Ruggiero asked.