The Royal Council

**The Celtic Viking** · 06-03-2009, 09:59

Hilarion stands up and walks into the centre of the Council. He solemnly raises both hands and shouts out in his deep voice:

"The tenth Council Session will begin now! All members have three days, until the 10:00 6th of June, to propose legislations, at which point all that have passed will be held up for voting, which will end after the passing of two days. A new chancellor election is also due, so all who wish to run for the position should make their voice be heard."

Returning his hands to their normal position, and speaking with his regular tone, he adds:

"Our Basileus, lord Sarpedon Syriakos, will be a little bit late for this one, but until he arrives, I will speak for him. You needn't worry, though: he will be here in good time before the session is over."

He bows his head gently, and then makes it back to his seat.

**Celtic_Punk** · 06-03-2009, 13:27

A Greek dressed in formal attire enters the council
"honourable council members and representatives. I am Duros. I am here to represent the General Cunobelinus. Under his orders I propose the edict 10.1 "General Cunobelinus should be given temporary full authority over the Satrapy of Egypt.""

"With his close and good friend Aratos being indisposed at the moment, progress and development of the Satrapy has been slowed. Aratos will return to properly administer his Satrapy, but until this happens the effectiveness of the Satrapy has lulled to a halt. The only man who knows what things are needed is Cunobelinus. The powers given to him with the passage of this edict, he will forfeit upon the return of Aratos. As acting Satrap Cunobelinus will continue his campaign against the remaining Ptolemaic threat, and begin new construction projects in Alexandriea. And will be better able to deal with mounting threats to the Satrapy... Such as the eventual border with Carthage! These people are quite martial, and are competitive. They may not appreciate a border with us, and may be ballsy enough to attack our Egyptian border. Cunbobelinus will need as much support he can garner in order insure security along this new border."

**Ibn-Khaldun** · 06-03-2009, 13:39

Kleonemos stands..

First of all.. I am happy to get out of the desert.

Secondly, we need a new Satrap in Mikra Asia. Someone who could defend us against all of our enemies in west. And that someone is .. me!

Thirdly, what shall we do with Makedonia? I highly doubt they would just give Pergamon back to us. They know that they have an upper hand currently in this war. They have enough men to attack Halikarnassos, Ipsos, Sardis and take them without suffering too big losses in manpower!

Oh.. and those rebels in Mesopotamia?! We should slay them all!

Kleonemos takes his seat.. thinks for a moment and says...

I also second Edict 10.1

At the moment Cunobelinus is the only one who could run Aigiptos\' day-to-day life since, as you heard, I have other plans.

**The Celtic Viking** · 06-03-2009, 16:46

Hilarion turns to a magistrate in the Council. ([OOC] read the GM.[/OOC])

"It is to my understanding that edict 9.1 can't be passed, since it is the Basileus alone who appoints satraps and satrapies, and they cannot be inherited. Unless I am mistaken, it is thus impossible to have an edict that would effectively hand over a satrapy to a different man."

Hilarion now turns to Arrhenides' representative.

"First of all, dear Greek, I would have you name yourself. Who are you, and what is your name, so that we can verify the authenticity of your words, when you say you speak for Arrhenides? If you do not identify yourself, for all we know you could be a spy for the rebels, or any other enemies of our kingdom.

With that being said, I will for now give you the benefit of a doubt and take your words as true, mostly because they seem to be lining up with my own understanding of things. Since the satrap is no longer able to do his duties, as you say, I feel forced to take the following move:

Edict 10.2: The Satrapy of Aigyptos should be dismantled.

We cannot have a satrapy to be 'lulled to a halt', as this Greek says, and this seems to be the only option, especially now that the rebels destroyed the barracks in Antiocheia. We cannot afford having the greatest barracks we have stay under the care of someone who is incapable to care for them."

Hilarion now turns to Kleonemos.

"Lord Sarpedon recieved your letter concerning that application, and though he agrees, I don't think he has made his decision yet. At the very least I have not been informed of any. You can be sure that if lord Sarpedon thinks it shall be so, you will be the first to know.

However, I don't think that reinstating a satrapy there now is the best way to combat the Makedonians. You are free to leave your current position and go there to help out in the fight as it is, as I'm sure Panaitolos would appreciate the help, but jumping to decisions is never wise."

**Celtic_Punk** · 06-03-2009, 18:11

The Greek frowns at Hilarion's condescending manner and inability to listen"I have introduced myself, you have clearly decided not to give me time of day. I shall say it again. My name is Duros."

"Also, Cunobelinus would not be inheriting the Satrapy, but taking care of it until the bedridden Satrap is ready to take his post once more. Dismantling the Satrapy is as foolish as it is drastic. Egypt needs direct leadership, not distant control. It is home to several great cities not small backwater towns... The edict is fully legal, there is no law stating the Satrap cannot appoint one of his aids to run things while he is unable to do that himself for whatever reason. There is no law stating the council cannot appoint such a man either. This is not inheritance, but rather a temporary replacement till the Satrap himself is ready to take over. The man is very sick. Should his illness be blamed on him? Should he lose his job for just that? Should he succumb to his illness we can always find a new Satrap. This edcit would not be handing the satrapy over, just lending the full authority of it to one of its aids till necessary."
He clears his throat, thinks for a second and then once again speaks.
"Also how can You be forced to make decisions. These are not your decisions to make. Where is the Basileus? His campaign is on halt and I am surprised to not be addressing him, instead of his servant. If Cunobelinus' lieutenant can make it to the Council from the middle of the desert why cannot the Basileus? Before you propose this edict, on behalf of the Satrapy of Egpyt and the General, I demand proof that this is the Basileus' decision and not your own! The Greek pulls a parchment out from his clothes and shows it to the council"Here is my signed proof that I represent Cunobelinus, and it details the edict he sent me here to propose! Where is your proof? Until the Basileus can reassure us himself that you speak truly on behalf of his intentions Your say should be null. From what I've heard about you there are some suspicions. I must say your lack of attentiveness to pick up my name shows your disinterest in what the other's here are trying to achieve. This sort of behaviour of yours is counter-productive. Just like your new edict."

"Should the current Satrap of Egypt be removed, The Satrapy should stay, and Cunobelinus should be placed in his stead. Cunobelinus has served the in the Arche's military since 273 and has shown in his governance of Memphis that he can properly administer,delegate tasks, and manage a populace. He has shown leadership and has won more battles against the odds that no other General in the Arche can boast. Egypt and the Nile are the Arche's biggest assets, and should be trusted to a man no less than Cunobelinus. He has overcome many enemies and served the Basileus himself on the battlefield. He has shown that he thinks nothing of himself but only of the security and well being of those he is responsible for, by going beyond the call of duty to insure such security of the Satrapy and thus of the Arche. He should be given this authority, as he has been running the Satrapy himself within the bounds of his Aidship for sometime anyway."

"And one more thing... Hilarion, if you have indeed been speaking for the Basileus since he left to campaign, why does he seem so Hell bent on the destruction of the Satrapy of Egypt, and Cunobelinus? Since Cunobelinus has left to secure the Arche's borders he has recieved absolutely no support what so ever, and has had to resort to his own resourcefulness to supply himself and his men. Why is the General's prior service to the Arche completely forgotten? Even the charges levied on him after he'd garnered a purely volunteer force from Alexandriea seem to discount prior service. It seems that it's his record of many victories is what is being held against him. Or does that the fact that he's a Celt means he deserves ill treatment? or even worse no support while campaigning on behalf of the Basileus and his empire? It seems as if you or the Basileus are trying to trap him behind the Ptolemaic lines. Do we need a repeat of Xenophon's army's march? When all you need to do is authorize garrisoning of a few small towns, these choices you've made seem quite suspect. What are your intentions by not garrisoning these newly added settlements? Do you wish to trap Cunobelinus? Do you wish to see he and his men surrounded and butchered? or worse even captured? Are you trying to push him away from the Arche? It seems you are trying to make an enemy out of him. He is a very very big Celt. And worse is he's a very good at what he does, and is a very well liked General at the head of an army. Pissing him off might not be a very smart thing, especially since he's just an honourable soldier trying to do his duty to his country, and nothing more."

**Incitatus** · 06-03-2009, 19:04

Alexandros enters the council and speaks

It has been a long time since I was last here but I assure you all that my time in the desert has not dulled my wits. Speaking as one who has traveled along the Nile and also as one with a great deal of experience with the people of Egypt, I do not think it would be wise to discard the satrapy. The Egyptians are a proud people with a long history and would not take lightly an imposing ruler from afar. No, the Egyptians need a ruler in Alexandria who is able to understand the local customs and traditions. If the Basileus wishes better administration in Egypt, by all means remove Aratos, but appoint a new satrap in his place. As far as it goes I believe Cunobelinus would make an excellent satrap, but as you say Hilarion this is the Basileus' decision and not mine. This gives me reason to second Edict 10.1.

As for Mikra Asia and the Macedonian threat, I believe that it is firmly in the Arche's interests to appoint a new satrap and I fully support Kleonemos as a candidate. Mikra Asia needs to be defended, and this is exactly the job for a satrap. At the very least it is not the responsibility of the 1st Lydian. The defeat of the Macedonians should be our first priority - they have nothing to lose and will not stop until they all lie dead. The rebels can wait. Let them sit in Babylon. If they decide to attack more of our loyal cities that will just make it easier for us to destroy them.

with this Alexandros bows and sits

**The Celtic Viking** · 06-03-2009, 19:42

Hilarion rose with a jerk.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing! The lord Basileus Sarpedon Syriakos is has been my close friend ever since we were both wee teenagers, and he has appointed me to speak for him here in his absence. Look!"

Hilarion brought forth a parchment with the Basileus' sign on it, which did indeed support Hilarion's claim. He showed it to the Council, and then put it back.

"There you have it. The Basileus is on his way and he will be here soon; he's just a little delayed. I will have none of you question my authority here, lest you wish to have lord Sarpedon's wrath upon you when he arrives. That goes for you too, Duros, who should cease your threats and remember that pissing off lord Sarpedon is not a wise idea either, and these are his halls, not yours.

As for your claims that he is 'hell bent on the destruction of the Satrapy of Egypt and Cunobelinus', it is plainly false. He wish to dismantle it now because the current satrap is unable to fulfil his duties, and the most advanced barracks should not be in the hands of someone who can't make use of it. As for Cunobelinus, you are either dishonest, ill informed or you have a poor memory. Lord Sarpedon chose not to support Cunobelinus' campaign because that was part of the penalty he got for taking lord Sarpedon's men from him illegally, and Cunobelinus was informed of this prior to setting off. We've been through this plenty of times, and I will not waste more time discussing this."

Hilarion turns to Alexandros.

"Not the 1st Lydian's responsibility?! Who's responsibility is it otherwise? The army exist to defend the lands of this kingdom, and as the only presence in the area, that is what it has to do! Outrageous. Would you have the civilians fend for themselves, or what?

As I have said, I do not think lord Sarpedon wish to rush into anything at this moment. Setting up a new satrap in this moment just to counter the Makedonians is hasty, and I doubt it would do much good anyway. But I will let the Basileus have the word on this, as he may be of a different mind, or not."

**MerlinusCDXX** · 06-03-2009, 19:53

Yes, Hilarion, do show me some piece of paper. You seem to forget that YOU personally don't have any weight to throw around. It's easy enough to steal the Royal Seal and do whatever you like with it. All I hear you saying is dismantle this, no more Satrapies and such. What hubris you must have to think that you could administer these vast stadia all alone. And another thing, Hilarion, don't threaten me, boy. I could rip your throat out through your arsehole, and no one here would lift a finger top stop me, you toplofty little turd.

**MerlinusCDXX** · 06-03-2009, 19:08

Having stood in the doorway listening to what has transpired, Phanias strides resolutely into the council chamber.

Hilarion, you forget yourself. Where is Basileios Sarpedon? I've rode a long way to be here, to confer with my lawful sovereign, and I come here to find YOU mistreating the general staff as if you are the Basileios himself. I do not recall B. Sarpedon ever naming YOU Kleronomos Basileios. B. Sarpedon is conveniently absent from these halls for more than 3 years? I find this highly suspicious. Have you stuffed him into an amphora perhaps, so you could play in his sandbox? Run along now, you are not needed. I will accept no words out of your mouth until I see B. Sarpedon in person. If you wish to order good soldiers around, you need to join the army and rise through the ranks like the rest of us. Magistrate, I second Cunobelinus' Edict 10.1. Also, I will be taking over this council session, as I am the only one here with PROPER authority to do so, until the Basileios arrives. I shall also run for re-election to Chancellor. Magistrate, please adjust the record to show my intentions.