Kosem's Real Battle Begins

Two camels were following Kosem as she rode her warhorse and led the procession that would enter the high gates of Constantinople. The one riding at her right side was Nalan Kevser, who was wearing a cream-colored formal Ottoman Turk attire with an embroidered sigil of the Basara Fief at her back – a silver Asena also known as the female wolf from the Orghuz Turkic Foundation Myth. Nalan was now the adviser of Kosem who helped the latter protect the southern border of Basara Fief territory.

The Basara Territory was located in the most remote part of the Ottoman Empire. As the Grand Vizier pleaded for Kosem to manage her fief, the competitive Sultan Hazeyn Suleiman threw her and her retainers at the southernmost part of the empire. Facing the Persian Gulf on its west and the border of the Persian Empire on its east was the fief bestowed to the fifteen–year–old Kosem. The Basra Territory, being the only fief located within the premises of mountain ranges, was the frontier of the Ottoman Empire facing the Persian Empire. Putting her there to manage the fief, it was as if he was ordering Kosem to fail and die while managing the Basara Fief.

Surrounded by the desolate mountain ranges to its north which separated the Basara Territory from the rest of the Ottoman Empire, the fief was almost a forgotten part of the vast Ottoman Empire. To its east and west was the territory of the opposing Persian Empire. As long as the campaign for territorial expansion was being publicized then the calm Persian Empire was a sleeping giant that would wake up when necessary.

But for Kosem who came from the future, such a childish scheme would not kill nor stop her plan. The moment Nalan Kevser and Macit Guray became her vassals, she already secured her spot in the pecking order.

"Are you alright, Taga?" Macit Guray's deep voice snapped Kosem from her reverie. Riding the camel on her left side, the vice commandant of the Basara Elite Troops of Janissaries was no other than Macit Guray. Clad in his armor with the insignia of the lone she-wolf called the Asena beast.

The young talent that Kosem found in the fighting pit bloomed after a year. The saying that a flower would bloom splendidly when placed in the right environment was real. Over the course of three hundred sixty-five days, the desolate Basara Fief and its territories were often plagued with bandits and runaway criminals from the capital city of Constantinople and the Persian Empire. With only a hundred Turk soldiers and one thousand Janissaries that Kosem brought with her from the capital, Macit Guray and Arslan Tolga were the key factors why Kosem and her men were able to survive.

And now, marching her ten thousand cavalries of Janissaries from the prairie to the buzzing city of Constantinople which was surrounded by the brick walls – Kosem would display a fraction of her power to the Sultan and his faction.

"Yes. I just can't believe that I am marching now as a Taga of the Basara Fief after a year. I remember leaving this place with you, Nalan, Orhan, and Arslan. I did not expect that I will really live and survive to tell the tales of what happened within that year." Kosem held the reins of her white-colored stallion named Aslo using her left hand. Place before her was her bow as its poison-laden arrows were being kept at her back. Her crescent-shaped sword was tied to the right side of her waist.

Instead of wearing her armor, Kosem chose to wear an azure-colored tunic paired with pants and a man's combat boots. Her left arm was covered with metal plates that would serve as a landing strip for her falcon. With her hair tied and the lack of jewelry, Kosem was the total opposite of her fifteen-year-old version.

"Hey! What are you talking about with Taga, Macit?" Nalan joined the conversation upon seeing Maci Guray's camel marching closely with Kosem.

Before Macit Guray could answer Nalan Kevser, Kosem butted in. "Did Orhan safely arrive at the mulkeye?"

Nalan nodded her head before she handed Kosem a folded piece of parchment. "They arrived exactly two days ago and they were able to penetrate the mulkeye as planned."

"Orhan and the rest of the Mushtassem Assassination Group are amazing. To be able to penetrate the mulkeye which is also known as the sultan's palace is already a great feat." Macit gave praise to Nalan's brother, Orhan, who was also the leader of Kosem's intelligence group.

"Of course! That's my brother we are talking about." The pride oozed from Nalan's voice as she bragged about her brother in front of her master and Macit Guray, her competition.

"It is too early to celebrate. They are yet to do their task," Kosem stopped the impeding competition between Nalan and Macit that was about to start. She turned towards Nalan. "Did you hear any news from the fief?"

"Yes, Taga."

"Good." A satisfied smile cracked Kosem's collected expression. "Then, double the speed. We will enter the high gates of Constantinople City before the sun sets."

TWO FLAGS WERE RAISED during the parade. A red flag with a crescent moon and a single star, the flag of the Ottoman Empire, and a red flag with a mythical beast called Asena, a lone she-wolf, marched towards the entrance of the city's metal gates.

The war beats of the drums and the trumpets resonated at the entrance of the capital city. Every Ottoman Turk stopped whatever they were doing as if time itself stopped the moment that the white-colored warhorse of the new Taga entered the premise of Constantinople. Leading her ten thousand elite cavalrymen, the rays of the setting sun guided the procession.

The people threw flowers for the infamous cavalry who led the victory of the Ottoman Empire against the Persian Tribes that were residing along the border of the Basara Fief and the Persian Empire. Every man and woman of the Ottoman Empire knew about the young Taga, heir to the Fahrettin Household.

Looking up at the mulkeye, the tallest palace located at the apex of the capital city. Kosem smiled bitterly as she imagined Sultan Hazeyn Suleiman's displeasure upon her grand entrance.

"Finally, the real battle begins."