God's-Eye View

Magic connected to time was unstable, and serious violations of the rules of time could bring disastrous consequences. During her return experiment, Eloise Mintumble had been trapped in 1402 for five days, becoming entangled in the Battle of Ankara between the Ottoman Empire and Timur.

In that battle, Timur's army utterly defeated the Ottoman forces. Yet with her help, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid narrowly escaped. In exchange, the Sultan returned to her the pendant the soldier had offered him, which was said to possess miraculous powers.

Although the Sultan had been saved, he was still gravely wounded. A war for the throne began among his four sons, while the people of the newly conquered territories seized the chance to rise in rebellion. The Ottoman Empire was plunged into a severe crisis and had no choice but to postpone its expansion into Europe, buying a brief peace.

It was also during this period that the later-famous Count Vlad the Impaler was born. He was born in Transylvania, and in order to seek peace, his father sent him and his younger brother Radu, known as the Handsome Prince, to become hostages of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1447, his father and elder brother Mircea were assassinated, and his status as a hostage was lifted. With the support of the Ottoman Turks, Vlad succeeded his father as Duke of Wallachia, but two months later he was defeated by János Hunyadi, Prince of Transylvania, and fled to Moldavia.

In 1451, the Prince of Moldavia was assassinated. Vlad returned to Transylvania and came under Hunyadi's protection. In 1456, Vlad accepted Hunyadi's support and ruled Wallachia once more.

In 1459, Vlad eliminated several great nobles within Wallachia and began to consolidate his power. He refused to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire. When the Ottomans sent envoys