Chapter 20 - Rebellion (2)
The Battle That Forged an Empire
Year of Our Lord 1271 — The Second Day of the Manilan Revolt
I. The Dawn of Judgment
Before sunrise, the bay was still and gray — a mirror for Heaven's silence.Smoke rose from the ruined districts of Manila, where rebels had torched warehouses and the old cathedral.Yet beyond the mist, the Royal Armada of Aragon assembled in grim formation — one hundred ships bearing the Cross of Saint James.
The flagship, Santa Leona, led the line, her cannons gleaming beneath banners of red and gold.Upon her quarterdeck stood Governor Hernán de Toledo, sword sheathed, rosary in hand.
"They think rebellion is freedom," he murmured to his chaplain."Let them learn what judgment feels like upon the sea."
As the first rays of sunlight struck the waves, a single bell tolled from the citadel — not for Mass, but for war.
The Reconquista's hymn began to echo from every ship:
Non nobis, Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam...(Not unto us, O Lord, but to Your name be the glory.)
The mist lifted — and the rebel fleet appeared like ghosts: twenty captured galleons and a swarm of native war-canoes, their sails painted with suns and waves.At their center flew the banner of Datu Saranaya, the rebel prince.
II. The Wrath of the Empire
The first cannon thundered from the Santa Leona.Within moments, the entire line of Aragonese warships unleashed their broadsides.
The bay erupted — flame, iron, and fury.Rebel ships shattered under the storm. Wooden hulls splintered; the sea turned black with smoke.
"Reload!" Hernán shouted."Fire in God's rhythm — one, two, three!"
His men obeyed with the precision of a clockwork choir.The Aragonese gunners moved as one body, chanting psalms between volleys.Every shot was measured, disciplined — the art of war turned into devotion.
The rebels tried to close the distance, hoping to board.War-canoes surged forward, their warriors screaming.But the Santa Leona's side guns opened again, mowing them down in waves.
Amid the chaos, Saranaya's flagship, Mayari's Flame, cut through the smoke, heading straight for Hernán's ship.
"Board them!" Saranaya cried."If we take their admiral, the bay is ours!"
III. The Duel of Kings
The two flagships collided with a roar. Grappling hooks flew.The decks became a storm of steel and blood.
Hernán met Saranaya amid the carnage, both men blazing with conviction.
"Your courage honors you," Hernán said, blocking a slash."But faith without order is chaos."
"And order without mercy is tyranny!" Saranaya retorted, striking again.
Their swords clashed beneath the fluttering cross of Aragon and the burning sun-banner of the rebels.Each strike echoed the war between worlds — empire and freedom, faith and fire.
At last, Hernán disarmed him with a parry, blade pressed to the rebel's throat.
"Yield, Datu. Spare your people."
Saranaya glared — then lowered his sword.
"They will call this peace," he spat. "But it is only silence before the next storm."
"Then let the storm serve God," Hernán replied.And with that, the Aragonese banner was raised above the captured flagship.
IV. The Sea of Fire
The remaining rebel ships, seeing their leader captured, faltered.Some fled toward the open sea; others surrendered outright.Hernán's captains showed no mercy to those who continued fighting.
The Santa Leona's cannons thundered one last time, sinking the final rebel galleon — the Spirit of Mayari — with all hands aboard.When the smoke cleared, only Aragonese colors flew upon the bay.
The water glowed red with fire and sunset.The bells of the citadel rang again — this time for victory.
V. The Triumph of Faith
At dusk, Fray Rodrigo led a procession through the ruins of Manila.Priests and soldiers carried relics, banners, and torches, singing hymns of thanksgiving.Before the steps of the cathedral — rebuilt from shattered stone — Hernán knelt and pressed his bloodied hands to the ground.
"Lord of Hosts," he prayed, "accept this victory not for pride, but for Your kingdom on Earth."
Behind him, the surviving chieftains and rebels were brought forth in chains.Hernán rose and addressed them:
"You are not slaves," he declared. "You are subjects of the Aragonese Empire — heirs to its light.From this day, Manila shall be the Jewel of the East, and its people — children of both Cross and Sun."
The crowd murmured, uncertain, but many wept.Even Saranaya, bound but alive, looked skyward at the crimson horizon.
"Then may your empire be worthy of the God you claim," he said softly.
VI. The Birth of the Empire
Weeks later, word of the victory reached Valencia.In a ceremony before the Papal legate, King Leon I of Aragon received a golden crown inlaid with pearls from the Pacific.The legate proclaimed:
"By divine providence and conquest of the seas,the Kingdom of Aragon is henceforth the Aragonese Empire,guardian of the Faith and first among Christian realms beyond the West."
Across Europe, bells rang for the new empire.Across the seas, Manila rose again — rebuilt in marble, crowned with spires and docks filled with ships bound for China, Japan, and the islands of the Pacific.
Leon wrote in his private journal that night:
The sea is wide, and the world vaster still.But so long as we build with faith, the sun of Aragon shall never set.
End of Chapter 20