Tyranny of Steel

While Alexandros had begun bi-weekly visits to his mother's homeland in an attempt to help bring the collapsing Empire under order. Ghazi was given a similar task. Roughly the same age as his half-brother, Ghazi had just as much ability as the Byzantine Prince, but had yet to truly prove himself.

Thus, while Berengar was enjoying a weekend away from home, Yasmin decided now was a good time to take her family to visit her homeland. After a rather short journey to the Capital of the Iberian Empire, which was the city of Granada, Yasmin and her children relaxed themselves in their ancestral home.

Ghazi was currently sitting in his office while hard at work, with some new reforms. During his absence, Berengar had left the daily administration of Iberia up to an educated official from the Reich. The seat, which had once been occupied by Adelbrand, was now in the young Sultan's hands.

At the moment, Ghazi was currently introducing a similar form of cultural conversion that his father was forcing upon the Dominion of Frankia. The old identity of the Visigothic, and Suebi peoples who once inhabited what was now referred to as Spain and Portugal, was making a comeback thanks to Ghazi's efforts.

Because of Iberia's close ties to the Reich, as well as his personal heritage, Ghazi had begun using propaganda to stoke a desire within his people to return to their Germanic roots. As a result, he introduced policies to teach the Gothic language in schools as a tertiary language, with the intent of it eventually replacing Spanish and Portuguese altogether.

After all, the Kingdom of Spain was a short-lived and failed state that had only been united in this world as a means of combating the Austrian-Granadan Alliance. Thus, no real culture had formed from it. In actuality, the last of the Spanish monarchs lie dead and buried while the religion which had been the basis of Iberian culture for so long was nothing more than a memory of darker times.

In the place of the Catholic Church, the Iberian Reformation had taken root, which in many ways was a blend of Islam and the German reformation. An Iberian christian was permitted to have up to four wives. The eating of pork was considered taboo while beer and wine were also prohibited. However, distilled spirits such as rum, which were locally produced in Iberia, were allowed for recreational consumption.

While Ghazi was instituting these cultural and religious reforms, his mother knocked on the already open door. The boy did not even look up to see her and instead responded with a simple phrase.

"You may enter..."

Yasmin had a warm smile on her beautiful face, as she saw her son fulfilling his role as the Sultan. Despite being only roughly twelve years of age, Ghazi already looked so much like his father. Especially when he was overseeing a mountain of paperwork.

However, the boy could not sit in his seat all day, and sign his signature. After all, he had other responsibilites to take care of, as the head of state. Thus, Yasmin was quick to remind him about such a thing.

"I just wanted to stop by to inform you that your little fiancee will be arrriving within the hour, so it would probably be best if you called it a day, and prepared yourself or her arrival."

This simple statement completely shocked Ghazi. This was the first time the boy had ever heard that he had a fiancee, and as a result there were quite a few questions on his mind. First and foremost, why the hell was his mother only informing him of such an important matter now?

However, the last thing a boy like Ghazi would ever do in his life would be to lash out at his mother, especially over such a petty matter. Thus, Ghazi placed down his pen and forced a smile as he questioned her in the most polite way he could manage.

"I'm sorry mother, I thought you said my fiancee would be visiting me. I am going to need some clarification on this matter. Since when have I been engaged?"

A warm smile appeared on Yasmin's face after hearing her son be so respectful, even though it was clear by the strained smile on his face that he had been rather irritated with this sudden bombshell of information. She quickly approached the boy and clutched him to her rather substantial bosom as she stroked his silky golden hair while explaining the situation.

"Your father and I have figured that it would be a good idea to begin solidifying your claim to all of Iberia. As a result, the two of us have arranged for the daughter of the former king of Nevarre to marry you. Think of it as a way to bring together your two peoples. I heard she is a rather delightful young girl. You will like her!"

Ghazi had to search his memories for anything related to the Kingdom of Nevarre. It was a small and petty kingdom compared to its other Iberian neighbors, and had completely remained neutral during the Iberian war until it was ultimately annexed by the Aragonese King Felipe de Trastámara after he united the Spanish People into the Kingdom of Spain.

As a brother of Felipe, the former King of Nevarre took a step aside, and kept his family out of the conflict which eventually consumed the entire peninsula, and even went so far as to refuse the papacy's attempts to make them a figurehead to rally behind during the Catholic Insurgency which followed immediately after Felipe's death.

With the Andalusian annexation of the Kingdom of Spain, Nevarre became just another administrative region of Ghazi's empire. However, the young daughter of their former king would certainly make a formidable tool in politics. At the very least, it would compel many of the more unruly Iberian Christians to become more accepting of the new regime. Thus, after thinking about this for some time, Ghazi smiled and nodded his head before accepting his mother's instructions.

"Okay, I understand. I very much look forward to meeting her."

As Yasmin had said, within the hour the representatives of House de Trastámara arrived at the Granadan palace, and Ghazi went out to meet his young fiancee. The boy had grown into a fine resemblance to his father, but with slightly tanned skin, and his mother's amber eyes. He even slicked his hair just as how Berengar had done for the last fifteen years.

Thus, when the young princess first laid eyes on Ghazi within his imperial regalia, she dropped her jaw. She could have never have believed that a half-moor would be so dreamy, and until this moment was rather regretting her engagement to the boy.

The Princess of Nevarre was practically a living doll with flawless pale skin, fiery red hair, and fierce blue eyes. From a single glance, Ghazi could tell that this girl was among the last of a dying bloodline. She was a pureblood Visigoth. Which would be the perfect piece of propaganda for his ongoing process of cultural conversion.

Though Ghazi was cautious of ever stranger he met, he did not outwardly behave as such. Instead, he quickly approached the young princess, who was roughly the same age as him, and introduced himself to the girl with all the charm he had learned from observing the way his father interacted with his women.

"I am Sultan Ghazi Al-Fadl. May I perhaps have the pleasuring of knowing your name?"

The girl slightly blushed and averted her gaze before whispering her name in a voice so low, Ghazi nearly missed it.

"Isabella, Isabella de Trastámara..."

Immediately after hearing this name, Ghazi gave his future bride a pet name with a wide smile on his face.

"Well Bella, how about I show you around my palace?"

The young girl smiled and nodded her head silently before grasping hold of Ghazi's firm biceps. The moment she felt the boy's muscles, Isabella was shocked to see that he had such muscle definition despite being so young. As a result, the princess wore a pretty smile and obediently followed the boy into the palace, while his mother spoke with her own parents about more important matters.