Topic 1: Blinding the Eyes of the Republic

Where once the three-front threat of the Habsburgs, Venetians, and Mamluks resisted the ordu of the Padişah, the conquest of the Mamluks to the South and the peace with the Holy Roman Emperor to the North leaves only the forces of Italy and her maritime city-states to halt the advance of the Devlet-i Alîye-i Osmânîye. Venice like no other presents a thorn in the soft flank of Anatolia with her fortresses across the Aegean. The Sublime Porte and her navy stand poised to wrest control from the insolent merchants, but Rome watches wearily, ready to construct an alliance to save the Adriatic. 

Topic 2: The Union of the Crescent and the Lily

The Sultan of Sultans, sovereign of sovereigns and dispenser of crowns, has found a long awaited European ally looming in the West. King and Padişah stand together against the tyrannies of the Holy Roman Emperor with respect and in spite of their clashes of faith. Long have Francis and Suleiman dreamed of conquering the heartland of Rome, of uniting the far flung allies into an unstoppable wave against the Spanish, Germans, Hungarians, and all others who would stand in the way. It was the Franks who drove back the Caliphate once, but, properly cajoled, it may be the French who invite the Sublime Porte into the West.