The Magnaura

[Andres]

Kristophoros had been following the proceedings in the Magnaura, lurking in a dark corner. He was wearing a black cloack and he stood up whenever a messenger arrived in the Magnaura, anxiously hoping that the news he feared would never arrive.

And so, while Kristophoros was waiting, he knew that the messenger walking directly to him that day, would not bring good news.

He listened to the messenger who whispered into his ears. A loud scream filled with grief and sorrow scared those present in the Magnaura.

With tears in his eyes, Kristophoros stands up.

Esteemed Senators, I have bad news.

I just learned that my master, Savvas ek Militou, died a heroic death in a battle against the Venetians, near Bologna.

You may wonder what I was doing here, while my master was doing battle. Truth is, he sent me away himself, with this letter. He always knew he was going to die soon, even before the last Magnaura session even started. When he sent me away, he asked me to read his last letter to the Magnaura once I would hear of his demise.

Kristophoros opens the first parchment he is holding in his hands and starts to read:

Dear Basileus,
Dear Senators,


Disgusted.

I am utterly disgusted.

Disgusted by how short term political gain has been more important than the overall good of our Empire.

It's not a new evolution. Alas. It's something that has always been there throughout our history.

But I thought Manzikert had changed everything.

During the reign of our dear Basileus Aleksios, it seemed like all was going well. Yes, there still was the occasional bickering in the Magnaura, but the Empire seemed to be in balance.

Even my greatest foe, Makedonios, the Grandmaster of the Order, had the best intentions and acted for the best of our Empire.

Soon, however things changed.

When Aleksios died, some saw an opportunity to provoke our dear Basileus Ioannis.

Yes, Ioannis has made mistakes while he was still the Caesar. He has been punished for that, back then.

But many conveniently forgot that and decided to try to take away his throne from him.

Ioannis however, managed to keep the Civil War a Civil War of Words. Think about Ioannis what you want, but under his reign, Romans have not spilt the blood of other Romans.

Considering our history, that is quite an achievement and I sincerely hope historians will remember him for that.

My last will is a symbolic act. Through my will, I force the Basileus and the Order of St John to communicate with each other and I sincerely hope that better relations between the Order and the Basileus will bring more stability in the Empire.

A last word for Aleksios ek Ikoniou: you have always been and will always be my friend. But you should have never broken the bound of fealty that existed between us. The damage caused by that act has always been beyond repair.

However, I would like to ask you one last favour: take young Magnentios Kalamateros under your wings, assist him and guide him through the mudpit that is the Magnaura. He's a fine young man and I have a feeling that we will need strong, stable men in the future, to maintain peace in the Byzantine Empire.

Senators, while this is read to you, I am probably drinking my zillionest goblet of wine in the afterlife, in the meanwhile inspecting the curves and the anatomy of the female angels. Hah! I always knew that this "angels are a-sexual" stuff was a lie.

Kristophoros!

Wipe those tears away, get drunk as hell and then offer your services to the Basileus. I'm sure he can use an old veteran like you.

Yours truly,


Savvas ek Militou
Despot of Arta

Shaking his head in disbelief, Kristophoros smiles.

He then opens a second parchment.

This is Savvas' last will:

Last Will of Savvas ek Militou.

I hereby declare all my previous last wills null and void.

It is my last will that all settlements I own upon my death, will be inherited by the current Basileus.

All my retinue shall be distributed among the members of the Order of Saint John, at the discretion of the Basileus.

This is my will.

Savvas ek Militou.

Kristophoros gives both documents to the Protoasacretes.

He then walks back to his seat to grab his sword and his other belongings. He quickly empties a goblet of wine and leaves the building.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: Savvas' last will has been sent a couple of weeks ago to TinCow, so this is not a last will made after dead