House of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ (Tepaki)

House of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ
(House of the Tepaki for short)

This is an IC and OOC thread for the members of LotR. All OOC posts must be in spoil brackets [SPOIL]hahaha[/SPOIL]

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After asking directions to the House of Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ, you find yourself directed to an old inn looking structure. The house banner flies above the door. As you study this building more closely, you see that it is more of a small fortress than an inn. To storm this place would require a small army. A local spoke of the single entrance, stating that "3 grandmothers could hold that passage with broomsticks for six months." You thought him to be jesting, but in hindsight he is not far off. Walking inside the building, you find a cheery inn, with a few rooms off to the side. Seating yourself at a table beside the fire, you order an ale from the innkeeper. Mounted upon the wall, you see a list of the members of the house, their ranks and settlements they control. Other wall mounted parchments detail the glory of the members. The warmth and cheery atmosphere of this place quickly makes you easy. You are among friends.


Members of the House:

Lord of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ:
Treasurer of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ:
Captains of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ:
Knights of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ:
Senators of the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ:


Ranking System:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Lord is determined by the will, or a vote in the case of no will being left by the previous lord.
The Treasurer is the second in command, and has no actual in game or out of game effect, just names.
Captains must have a land owning vassal and own land
Knights must own land
Senators must be members of the house.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Alright, this house is all about giving the freedom to your characters. We are simply a group of people working together, bound by common goals, or friendship. There are no rules per se, but dont go stupid. We shall sit together, band together and be victorious together. And other stuff I cant think of.

Efstratios Monomachos wanders in...

I must say I am impressed with your house so far, particularly your coat of arms. That is one handsome shield.

What would I have to do to be provided with a shield like that?

Michail is delighted to see a customer and a good friend enter.

"Only join us my friend! As we rise in political rank, we get to coin our own additions. This is only the start my friend"

Michail returns to cleaning the bartable.

I declare my desire to serve this house.

The House of the Asteri has two factions with differing agendas, and my own feudal lord may or may not be leaving. As such, the feudal chain will be broken and I will have the option to serve this house. In such a case, Michail has promised me the second in command position. Should he reserve this position for me, I will take it.

I will continue as a member of the Asteri house for the moment, as all have agreed that this is not the time nor the place for partisan bickering. I propose that our great Western houses work together to serve the Emperor, the Empire, and our people. We must help one another achieve our goals. First order of business is to settle territorial ambitions.

The Tagamata is planning on expanding west, and so am I. The Tepaki is also planning on moving in that direction. I propose we coordinate so that we all get what we want. The Asteri seem to be planning to expand elsewhere, and therefore we won't be treading on one another's toes. Let these three houses work hand in hand. With, not against, each other.

Grant me command, lord Michail, and the freedom to use it. I will not let you down. We do not have permission to attack the Catholics yet, but the time may come. We must wait until it is politically viable, and tactically prudent. At that moment, those who would conquer and convert us to their militant brand of Christianity will find themselves conquered. I would serve as an ambassador between the houses, if permitted.

My friend Efstratios,when the time comes, will you serve me?

If so I will welcome you as my right hand man.

Absolutely. It seems I've already gotten permission from my lords, due to political differences, to secede from the Asteri.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

With it being a mutual thing, and no hard feelings, I feel that I should be able to declare a new oath to a new master. However, it is probably best to wait until the preliminary settlement grabbing has ended to make it official. Then I can undergo whatever penalty there is for "breaking" an oath.

I'm a little fuzzy on the oath rules. I should probably go read them. :yes:

I can help you take Bari if you help me take Durazzo, and then we should decide which settlement to take next. I think it should be a rebel settlement and it should be whereever is logically closest to what we have.

With 3 provinces we get a private army, do we not? That is what we need. If we can get the other houses to support us, we can perhaps repay them later by ceding some of these provinces in favor of the more valuable ones west of here. It's important that we all cooperate.

What our priorities should be is securing lands for the Empire as a whole, then dividing them up between the houses who fought for them, and making them contiguous states of the empire. This will lead to less tensions between the houses, greater cooperation, and greater success for all.

WE ARE ONE EMPIRE, after all. Let's act like one. Let's show the Emperor our commitment to restoring his nation and our people to his enlightened rule. Our successes here will convince him that our immediate Catholic neighbors who have stolen lands that belonged to the Empire not too long ago must be brought back into the fold, and brought back within our church.

It seems you are required to swear an oath, will you Efstratios?

I swear an oath of fealty to my lord, Michail Arianitis.

I will bring glory to this house, my master.

I accept thee as my Second in Command Efstratios, let us serve the empire!

If you know any unaligned Senators, feel free to invite them into our house, for it is an open house...if you know what I mean! :laugh4:

I believe that now is the time to open the floor for official business. M'lord, if I may have your permission, it is important that we discuss our priorities.

1. Membership

It is important that we expand our house with more generals, because there are political advantages to having vassals, and the more generals we have, the faster we can expand.

2. Military planning

We must formulate a united and desired course of expansion. Our primary goal should be reaching the 3 province milestone, as it comes with rights and arms that we currently do not have.

3. Diplomacy

We must work with other houses to assist in their expansion, that we might have their cooperation in expanding ours. The Asteri are on friendly terms with this house, but we need to improve relations with the Tagamata, if possible, and contact the other houses in the region regarding cooperation.

4. The Senate

We must find allies in the Senate if we cannot gain the support of the other houses. It may be possible to find allies in the far east, if we cannot find them in the west.

5. The Emperor and the Caesar

We need to establish friendly relations with the Emperor and attempt to build a friendship with the Caesar in spite of some of our recent political differences. I've attempted to heal the rift but it could be some time before we could call the Caesar our friend.

It pains me that we already have stubborn political rivals, and that I lost my temper in the Senate. I will have to bow out of the discussions in the future if I cannot contain myself. However, I do believe my arguments were justified and necessary for the survival of our house.

Certain factions will want to become dominant at our expense, we must form a broad coalition to prevent that. If any one faction becomes too powerful, they will monopolize the Senate votes and prevent expansion of the other houses by edict, and then we can all kiss our futures goodbye.

____________________

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Efstratios Monomachos, Second Rank of the House of the Tepaki, Order of the Silver hawk.

I believe under the circumstances, the policy of this house should be to occupy durazzo until a spearmen unit can be sent, then m'lord should occupy Durazzo and I will take the spearmen and my bodyguards towards Durazzo.

Other houses are expanding to the other potential areas. If possible, we could skip across the sea and hit the rebel province Bari, unless it has been targeted or captured by another house. We must continue to expand until we can have our own private army, my lord.

A letter arrives.

Quote:

---

Brave soldiers of House Tepaki,

I am overjoyed to hear your kind words towards our group. Let it be known that we too reject the notion of "east-west" dichotomies. While we focus on one front of the Empire, we recongize the importance of the rest.

Please know that our opposal to a war with Venice at this time has to do with the wishes of His Eminence. And not out of any feelings of hostility. The Proclamation of 1081 makes it quite clear that war against the Catholics is not desirable at this time.

Before anyone claims that the Order is being self-serving with this decision, let it be known that we too have Catholics on our borders. As currently worded, the Proclamation of 1081 prevents us from removing the Knight's Templar even though they gather an army on our border.

We will see what the Proclamation of 1095 brings. Perhaps His Eminence will see the threat that the Templars and the Venetians pose. Until then, we will wait until attacked. If Venice attacks, rest assured we will support your war effort.

The armies in the west can only function because of money from the east. And vice versa. The Empire is interconnected. If one limb is weak, the body is weak. Anyone who tries to foster east/west divisions is being short-sighted.

Warm regards,
Domestikos Makedonios Ksanthopoulos
Grandmaster of the Order of St. John

---

A request message arrives from the Imperial Cartographer.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Noble lords of the Tepaki,

With a new Diet session upon us, and your own noble house having not been in existance at this time during the previous session, I ask that you select a color with which your holdings shall be represented on the Imperial Map. Should you not respond before the close of the session, I shall assign you a color of my own choosing.

Sincerely,
Demetrios Kalistanos

I would request a dark orange, similar to the orange we bear proudly on our seal.

Master Efstratois, you serve our house wisely in the choice of a colour, it is perfect!

It seems our house is growing in communications. Alas, I am to be away for a while, I shall return in about 2 days.

Michail ventures out, holding close to his breast a Wii, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Mario Kart and various other games, en route to another night of gaming!

The House Tepaki may soon be governed by Efstratios Monomachos himself, with his former lord taking a more sedentary role in defense of the realm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Askthepizzaguy

The House Tepaki may soon be governed by Efstratios Monomachos himself, with his former lord taking a more sedentary role in defense of the realm.

---

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Is this ever going to happen? I have been abstaining from all game play and IC stuff, waiting on you to take control as we agreed ATPG. :laugh4:

Last I heard you were still in story mode contemplating it. I need your official decision in order to change the feudal structure and take command.

Awaiting YOUR orders, sir! :laugh2:

Take over already! Sheesh! Michail can count and govern and defend, not attack. Onwards Efstratios! Lead us to victory. PM me the format you want for the first post.

In a small ceremony, Michail Arianitis bestows upon Efstratios the Sword of the Silver Hawk, which bears the emblem of the House Tepaki.

General Efstratios,

I hereby confer upon you the rank of Lord, ruler of the Order of the Silver Hawks. By granting you this title, I relinquish my command of the Silver Hawks.

It is now your responsibility to lead the Silver Hawks to greater glory... to challenge the rule of the Catholic invaders... to restore the greater Roman Empire in the name of our great Emperor!

Rise, Lord Efstratios... and receive now the loyalty of myself, Michail Arianitis, and all others who join the Order of the Silver Hawks.

Comes Arianitis now kneels before his chosen leader, and Lord Efstratios rises to claim rule of the Silver Hawks.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Whenever it is convenient, Michail will swear fealty to Efstratios, and Efstratios will no longer be Michail's vassal.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

:laugh4: Said who? You shall lead but I never said that I will swear fealty. :laugh4: Unless you convince me.

As Efstratios placed the ceremonial sword back above the hearth of the fireplace he heard the sound of hoof beats outside the tavern walls. Walking over to one of the small windows he peered outside. Arranged before the tavern was a small force of about 20 men. Though covered in dirt from the day’s travel the quality of their arms and armor stood out. To any casual observer they would have appeared to be Kataphraktoi under the employ of the Basileus. However, Efstratios noted a disturbing diversity in their dress. Instead of Byzantine purple these new comers wore a patchwork variety of colors and heraldic imagery. As they approached the tavern Efstratios signaled towards one of his soldiers who handed him a crossbow and then set about pulling on a rope.

Outside, a young man, apparently the leader, dismounted and approached the tavern door. As he neared the entrance an iron portcullis was swiftly lowered in front of him. Bewildered, he looked about until his gaze fell on a small window to his left where a man was watching him with crossbow in arm.

“It strikes me as poor business to drop a portcullis on paying customers, or am I mistaken to believe that this is a simple tavern?” questioned the newcomer.

“A tavern it is, but simple it is not. This place doubles as headquarters for the House of Tepaki, Order of the Silver Hawk, 5th largest house in the Byzantine Empire. And who might you be who brings a small army with him to buy a flask of ale?" replied Efstratios.

Taking time to gather his thoughts, the newcomer at long last spoke, “I am a former merchant of Zagreb, and now a wandering kataphracktoi seeking audience with the Magnaura at Constantinople. The men under my command are all Orthodox merchants, smiths, and miners from the lands in and around Zagreb. Since Methodios abandoned us, our trades have been monopolized by first Hungarian and then Venetian Catholics. An Orthodox Christian can hardly make an honest living there anymore. We have all forged or purchased enough equipment to fight as kataphraktoi and now we seek a lord to serve who will give us a chance to obtain glory and wealth.”

“In that case you have come to the right place,” Replied the now cheerful Efstratios.

He signaled to someone in the room and the portcullis was raised. Opening the door, Efstratios began to talk, “By swearing fealty to a member of the Tepaki you will become a senator of the Byzantine Empire,” grabbing a piece of parchment from the wall he continued, “All you have to do is sign here.”

The newcomer grabbed a nearby quill and ink pot and wrote out in sophisticated calligraphy his name.

Annios Solomon

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This occured back in 1109. Solomon will officially swear an oath to Efstratios after the Magnaura session is over.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Pevergreen-

If that's the case, then Efstratios is ruler of the Tepaki in name only. He has no real power as your vassal.

It doesn't bother me either way, but that's how I see it. :smash:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

True, but it seems we need land anyway. Shall let you know of Michails plan after this Magnaura session.

Efstratios walks into the House with a solemn look in his face. He looks around, wearily.

Seeing no one and nothing of value within these walls, he departs for the hills outside Durazzo, where there is rumor of a rebel camp.

He takes with him the Sword of the Tepaki, apparently expecting to do battle.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Now that the senate's over, lets make it official

I swear an oath of fealty to Efstratios Monomachos

Michail enters the tavern-esque building, returning after a long absence. Seeing a third member has joined the Silver Hawks.

"Greetings Friend, I am Comes Michail. Efstratios is absent, as have we all been of late. Come, let me educate you on how the Tepaki operate nowaday."

Michail brings Annios into the candlelight and explains the working of the Silver Hawks.


The next morning, Michail rises early, moving for the first time in years, with a purpose. The Magnaura that had only finished a few weeks ago still seemed fresh in his mind.

Michail take up his pen and puts it to parchment:

"Let it be known throughout the Empire that the Tepaki are a House for Hire. By commandment of Lord Efstratios, The Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ shall function as meceneries until notified otherwise. In times without employment, the Ασημένιο ΓΕΡΑΚΙ shall follow their own orders."

Finishing his notice, Michail pens a letter to Efstratios.

I break my oath to Efstratios Monomachos and swear a new oath to Michail Ariantis

A letter arrives.

Quote:

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Lords of the Tepaki

We have captured your leader, Efstratios Monomachos, and are holding him in our custody until such time as the decadent Roman Empire removes itself from Western Greece. Should any Roman Army set foot within Durazzo again, we will execute your leader. Your Senate may wish to receive a copy of this letter, if you are foolish enough not to act.

-Free Durazzo Movement

---

Efstratios Monomachos has been killed.

Good luck, Tepaki lords.

Michail walks into the tavern, which was once home to a few good men.

Seeing it in disrepair, his vassals killed or breaking oaths, Michail knows his time has come. The Tepaki will live no more. He alone will carry the shield.

Efstratios will be watching over you...