On Mighty Getia: Commentaries on the Pan-Thracian Empire

[Laevex]

CHAPTER TWO: CONSOLIDATION
527th Year of Zalmoxis (186BC)

As spring came and the plants burst forth with colour once again, the entire empire began to feel calm and secure as Tzinto’s fresh reign began to settle upon the land and revitalise it. At the death of Burebista the empire was stronger, richer and larger than ever before; but this glory came at the price of corruption amongst the rich and grief amongst the poor, as unrest grew and raiders preyed upon the populace. Years of expansionist warlord basileis had made Getia mighty and proud, but these kings had neglected the less desirable duties regarding the internal politics of the land. Pharadmon and Burebista were magnificent Daoi (the latter had become somewhat of a heroic idol to me last year) but they were not great administrators. Now I feel we have the right basileus to reign responsibly; to take the crude iron of our land and forge it into a splendid falx which will vanquish our enemies and unite the whole world under our serpentine standard.

Thankfully the western wing of our Empire is now truly secure and, Zalmoxis be praised, the Boioi are free from the horrific plague which tormented them last year. Tzinto put a great deal of pressure on the town’s temporary governor – the Hellenikos general, Rhemaxos – to ensure the filthy dava and its warlike inhabitants were introduced to proper Thraikios sanitation. The young Rhemaxos did his duty and made some simple changes to the city’s drainage system so that the Boioi now live in clean, healthy conditions, as all citizens of our empire should.

The western front has also now been secured militarily. Robust fortresses have been built along our borders with the Germanic tribes and the Romaoi, garrisoned by locally-recruited soldiers. I have heard from soldiers that they are a menacing sight indeed – vast, looming walls built of dark wood and gates thicker than ever seen before with huge muscular men patrolling the walls armed with spears and javelins to throw at any foe within range. The basileus has ordered local governors to make the message clear to our Keltoi allies that the king trusts them to defend their own lands, rather than sending Getai to do the job for them, and it is imperative that officers instil national pride into the savage Keltoi. They are, after all, now part of the grandest empire on Earth and so have good reason to be proud. The Hosts of the West now camp in their base amongst the Alps, lead by Seuthes – a mighty general from the hardy local Keltoi – titled Grand General of the Hosts of the West.

Seuthes is an able commander of men and is loyal to the Getike Basileia. His army is professional and well-equipped and contains some elite soldiers from the Scordiscoi, who have been proud citizens of the Thraike Basileia for many decades now. They are drilled hard and the Grand General is confident that in the event of an attack from the west, they will be able to hold off even the heavily armoured troops of the Romaoi – an opinion that the more conservative members of the high tribal council refuse to believe.

Although the west was now strong, Tzinto was worried about the various rebellions which littered his empire. Taking a highly mobile and experienced force of horse-archers from the Hosts of Skythia, our basileus has dedicated much of the recent months eliminating these threats to his sovereignty and his people through means of battle.

The most influential of these dissenters was Diurpaneus – yet another vile man who claims descent from Pharadmon in order to gain support among the simpler men of the empire. This horrid wretch was a Kostobok who believed only true Getai should reap the benefits of our empire’s success and would make all others slaves if he had his way. He had raised a force of warriors who were highly loyal to him and threatened to overthrow the heart of Getia itself (apparently by sheer determination, as Diurpaneus was a dull and unskilled man, if charismatic). Tzinto and his hoard swooped upon them with his army of lethal Daoi, confident that this rebellion would be the subject of comedy within a month.

As Tzinto ordered the entire army to open fire on the pathetic insurgents, the occasion seemed more of a mass assassination than a battle to me. Taken completely by surprise, under the watchful holy mountain, Diurpaneus and his men were slaughtered helplessly by our deadly hail of arrows.

With their leader dead the scattered rebels were hugely vulnerable. Tzinto found it embarrassing that he even had to waste his armies’ efforts on mopping up the remnants of this abortive revolution. Nevertheless, he took his horse-archers eastwards whilst his kinsman Kloilios – a legendary commander of the Skythioi hosts – swept the north borders clean of the wretches, raining down clouds of arrows upon the unfaithful.

This policing of the empire was tiresome for me as a spectator, but for the warriors it boosted morale hugely. The riders of the Hosts came to see their enemies as little more than animals and this action as simple hunting. During this campaign the warriors of our empire gained much loyalty to Tzinto, who they saw to be cleansing the empire of scum like these traitors. Kloilios appreciated the hunts too, as he is a true wolf of Getia who thirsts for any chance to lead men into battle, his armour gleaming and his bow spewing forth murder.

Seeing that our empire was flourishing under its new king, dignitaries of the Lusitanoi began visiting our basileus’ court regularly. Tzinto is a private man, but regular and persistent diplomatic visits from Karos Ebracoi – an Iberios noble – caused an unlikely friendship between the two to be formed. Both were political fiends and their debates on the management of empires continued deep into the night when the Lusitanoi visited. Soon this friendship caused Tzinto to become politically involved with the Iberios Empire, supporting their war against the overambitious and exploitative Romaoi, and so an alliance between our nations was formed.

Tzinto is aware that the Romaoi may now be inclined to attack us and for this reason he has come under much criticism in the high tribal council. However, our basileus has a sharp wit and knows the minds of rulers and does not believe Roma is daring enough to make aggressive moves against our grand nation. Moreover, there are murmurs amongst the tarabostes that Tzinto is too soft to be our basileus and, in order to allay these worries, he is eager to put our idle Hosts to use once more and conquer the enemies of our empire. Maybe war with the Romaoi could be a great opportunity for the wolves of Getia to do what they do best – conquer.

The world at the end of 527YZ: