Chapter 123 – Interlude: The Letter to Constantinople
Constantinople,1180
The bronze doors of the Palace of Blachernae opened with ceremonial flourish as the eunuch chamberlain led a small procession of scribes and secretaries into the Imperial audience chamber. At the far end, beneath a soaring mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Emperor Alexios II Komnenos sat upon the throne. Still a boy of barely twelve, he was flanked by his mother, Empress Maria of Antioch, and by the towering figure of Andronikos Komnenos, the de facto ruler in all but name.
The court was tense with factional whispering and rival ambitions, but this morning all attention turned toward a scroll wrapped in white silk and sealed in golden wax with the insignia of Jerusalem—the Cross of Godfrey.
The herald stepped forward.
"By leave of His Majesty Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre, a message to the Emperor of the Romans."
Andronikos raised an eyebrow. The seal was unbroken. A eunuch presented it to the Empress, who carefully opened the scroll. With no official patriarch present, she cleared her throat and began reading aloud.
"To His Imperial Majesty Alexios, heir of the Komnenoi and shield of Christendom,
Peace in Christ be upon you. I write you not as a rival king, but as a son of the Church and brother in arms to your late father. May the wisdom of your forebears guide you through the storm that now surrounds your throne."
Andronikos leaned forward in his chair. Maria’s voice remained steady.
"By now you have heard that Damascus is taken, Aleppo has fallen, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem has marched deep into Syria. The war with Salah ad-Din turns, and the Eastern Cross stands higher than ever before.