Logical Decision

April 20, 1695 – The Palace of the Sultan, Tunis

The grand halls of the Sultan's palace were shrouded in a heavy silence. Sultan Hassan III sat upon his elevated throne, his dark eyes fixed on the scroll laid open before him—the Elysean peace terms. Around him, his most trusted advisors, generals, and scholars stood in tense silence, waiting for his decision.

The past weeks had been a disaster. Carthage had fallen. The Grand Vizier's strategy to burn the city around the Elyseans had failed to break them. Their forces had held firm, their technology superior, their discipline unwavering. It was clear to any rational mind that a direct war against Elysea was unwinnable.

The Sultan clenched his jaw. He hated this moment. He had spent his entire reign maintaining the independence of his realm, resisting the growing influence of European powers in North Africa. And now, he was being forced to make a decision that no ruler wished to make.

Submission.