Last King of Kings

Chapter 2: Spahbed, Hazarbed and Wuzurg Framadar

The sudden change in Shah's way of speaking and his sudden loss of higher status and arrogance was very surprising for all three of the men. All of them thought of betraying this child-emperor at some point of the day. It wasn't rocket science to see that they'll have to endure a lot of hardships if they want to keep the Empire together. All of them were startled and thought for a while. Rostam thought of his days back at the court of Ispahbudhan, a house from which he originated. He thought of how he fought against the Romans and then in the civil war, always loyal to the Sassanian kings of kings. It didn't take long until he realized that his nationalistic feeling and his strong sense of loyalty won't let him betray the young Shahanshah. He made up his mind.

Farrukhzad, being the servant of the last great Sassanid king Khosrow II., Yazdegerd's grandfather, didn't have to think hardly. Sassanian royal family has always treated him with respect, deserving of his accomplishments and service. He wasn't dissatisfied with serving the young Emperor, and same as his brother, he quickly came to the conclusion.

Jalinus had it harder. Even though he didn't came across any discrimination or insults of him being Coptic Armenian, he wasn't so sure about young Shahanshah's decision of letting an Armenian Christian be in charge of the palace guards and The Immortals, now an elite cavalry unit of the Empire. He could also quite easily desert back to Roman controlled Armenia, where he would have his safety basically guaranteed. But not his living. Even though he came from a family of landowners, his familys property and estates were sacked and destroyed by Khazar hordes on their raids. He would have to start from zero if he chose to go to Armenia. After realizing that, his answer was also obvious.

Yazdegerd was eyeing the three men, who looked startled by his sudden change of tone and way of speaking. He had to risk it. If he wanted to survive at least a few year on his throne, he had to build a circle of loyal retainers and servants. And these were the people he chose, these were the people he thought would be best as a base of his loyalist cult. And he was hoping he chose them right. He was aware of his position and that he had only a fraction of the power he should have. His authority barely reached outside of Istakhr. He didn't even control his own capital, let alone dreaming of controlling his Empire. He grew anxious every second, looking at the three men as if he couldn't decide, whether they were his greatest allies or greatest foes.

After a while, Rostam kneeled down before the Shah, showing him his loyalty and his answer. Shah was very touched upon seeing this. After Rostam, Farrukhzad followed and eventually even Jalinus kneeled before his Shahanshah. Yazdegerds facial expression turned into that of a pure joy and happiness. And being the eight year old he is, he couldn't control his emotions very well, and started crying tears of joy. These tears were the proof that the Emperors gratitude is real, and that his plead for help was serious. After a while, Yazdegerd calmed down and addressed the three men.

"Thank you, my friends and elders. From this moment on, I am not only your Emperor, but also a trusted liege and, mainly, I hope to be your friend. I thank you once again for your trust and loyalty, and I promise I won't fail your expectations. I also hope for the same from your sides."

After the Shah finished addressing the three men, he also kneeled down and started praying. The men followed his example. Yazdegerd was relieved. The men swore an oath of allegiance and recognised Yazdegerd as their rightful liege. He was relieved the men followed him, and when even Jalinus kneeled down to pray with him, albeit to a different god, he knew their resolve was absolute and their spirit unweakened. They had a lot to deal with after this, but every one of them enjoyed the quiet moment during their prayers and the coronation feast that was about to begin.

Farrukhzad, the new Wuzurg Framadar or minister of the Sassanid Empire was quite enjoying the feast. It was held in the royal palace in Istakhr, the temporary capital of the Empire, until Ctesiphon citizens and aristocracy is brought under control. He knew Yazdegerd from young age, when he still served Yazdegerds grandfather Khosrow II. He didn't know him well, but he talked with Yazdegerd's father a lot, until he was executed by his own brother Kavadh II. Yazdegerd's father was a close friend to Farrukhzad, and often told him how he was worried about his son. Apparently, Yazdegerd never really played with toys nor did he behave in a way 4 year olds are supposed to. He always had this aura around him that made him look more mature than he actually was. Of course, on emotional level, he was still but a child. He cried when he fell and bruised his knee. He cried when he was hungry. And he also cried, after his father was executed. And this hypothesis was today revealed as being true. Yazdegerd really did have thinking of a much mature person than what his real age was. Farrukhzad saw that. Not only him. All three men knew, that this isn't something average eight year old could produce. He didn't know the exact details, but it was obvious to him that Yazdegerd is aware of his current situation and plans to do something with it. When he was called together with Jalinus and Rostam before the Emperor, he felt as if this Emperor was much older than he actually was. But he soon realized, together with the Emperor's tears, that although his way of thinking may be more mature, deep there, he was but a child who had his childhood stolen by petty squabbles for the throne. But through all of this, Yazdegerd stood strong against the hardships that were thrown on him. And Farrukhzad admired this in the child-emperor. He admired his courage and way with words. And he believed. He believed, that if someone is destined to lead this Empire out of these hardships, it is none other than Yazdegerd, the God-made child-emperor.

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