Chapter Three: A Call to Arms Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. Introduction For over a decade, the Teutonic Knights' influence in Hungary has grown largely unchecked. While the Teutons instill terror in the name of the Cross, Jürgen makes use of his collection of slavish knights like well-stringed puppets, directing their moves wherever opportunity presents itself. Evil has become a loosely bandied word that the determined Ventrue uses to denounce not devils or pagans, but rivals and detractors. The year is 1225, and a reversal is at hand. The years since the crusade in Acre have been a mixed bag for Lord Jürgen and his cause. His Teutonic Knights have built a chain of strongholds and keeps in Transylvania, making themselves a power to be reckoned with in the region. Indeed much of the so-called Siebenbürgen is under their control. But their authority is hardly stable. Rustovitch sends waves of fiendish monstrosities to assault Teuton patrols and keeps, and his spies and assassins are everywhere. The attrition rate among the German knights is appalling, despite the fact that at least 10 enemies pay with their lives (or unlives) for every one of their own who falls. Jürgen has spent most of the last 15 years leading this campaign, and he now makes his haven in Bran Castle, in the fortified town of Kronstadt (modern-day Brasov). For all his battling - and more than a few potent Tzimisce have met their ends on his Toreador-crafted sword - only the strongholds and their immediate surroundings are truly secure. The wild lands and small villages are still fair game, with farmsteads reduced to burning hulks and villages transformed into slaughterhouses with horrific regularity. Jürgen knew full well that this war would be hard-fought, so the brutality of the conflict does not concern him. Where he has found himself vulnerable is in the sphere of mortal politicking. Ever since the destruction of Baron von Achern in the Holy Land, King Andras has been leery of the German faction. He has also fallen more and more under the sway of powerful local barons, who forced him to sign over a great deal of authority to them in the Golden Bull of 1222 (Hungary's Magna Carta). Some of the these barons are tied to the Vlaszy revenant brood, to Kara Lupescu and thus to Rustovitch. The Arpad Ventrue also have some sway over the barons, but they do not seem to be in any rush to use that influence on Jürgen's behalf. To make matters worse, a goodly number of Kara Lupescu's Vlaszy knights remain stationed in the Holy Land and have disrupted Prince Etienne's rule, making Jürgen's gain of domain there less than secure. All these maneuverings come to a head in 1225, when King Andras formally expels the Teutonic Knights from Hungary. They have become too independent, so they threaten the realm. Kara Lupescu could not agree more. Jürgen is not ready to withdraw just yet. Aided by Lucretia and his other vassals, he directs the knights to delay their withdrawal as much as possible. He knows that once the mortal order is gone from the region, he will have precious little support. Therefore, he must strike now, and strike decisively. Rustovitch has planned on this reaction, and he readies to make his final strike as well. A Call to Arms is the story of this final battle. Jürgen Speaks The gathering is a makeshift thing, organized but utilitarian. There is none of the pomp and ceremony that characterized the gathering in Magdeburg or even Etienne's court in Acre. About 50 Cainite knights and three times as many ghouls gather in a field inside Bran Castle's outer wall to hear their lord speak. Jürgen stands on a high platform with burning torches at each corner and raises his sword - still beautiful despite all the blood it has felt. "For years we have cut at the heart of the Fiends, my brothers! We have fought their thralls and monstrosities, cut down countless of their young and old alike. We have ridden through gardens of molded flesh and torn out the heart of broods more horrific than anything in Hades. And still our true foe has not shown himself. "Deep in those dark hills," he says, pointing up to the Transylvanian Alps north of the city, "sits a dark chieftain who thinks to send his brood against us without bloodying himself. Well, no more! "I call him out! Let the terrible Vladimir Rustovitch enter the field of battle, and we shall see who the greater warrior is." Jürgen holds up the pouch that the coterie gave him. "I hold here two handfuls of earth that he holds dearer than blood. Through this, the Fiend feels my call. He feels it most terribly!" With that, Jürgen tosses the pouch into the flame of one of the torches. A gout of greenish flame curls up from the torch, and a streak of lighting arcs across the northern sky. "Yes, Fiend! Feel the fire burn and come! We are the Order of the Black Cross, and we wait for you!" He raises his sword high, and the assembled knights chant his name for all to hear. The characters may be swept up in the enthusiasm or they may see the folly of pride at work.
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