Order of St. John

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios summons every noble in the Order to Antioch. In the great hall of the Order's chapterhouse, the Grandmaster stands with the aid of his cane.

Marshall Armatos! Well done with your victory at Aleppo! That was masterfully executed.

Now, Sergeant Nathanail, come forward.

Brother Armatos and I have decided that you will be the next Knight of the Order of St. John. I hereby grant you the province of Aleppo. Serve those people well, spread the Word, and build up the settlement to help our mission here.

Congratulations Brother Nathanail!

[Privateerkev]

OOC:

I just had a look at the save. Makedonios is finally free of the dreaded Pneumonia that wouldn't die.

Unfortunately, Nathanail picked up the "slave to superstition" trait which whacked 2 of his piety. I propose we take everyone but him out of Aleppo and send them to Antioch. That will leave him in Aleppo and he can build churches and recruit priests to get his piety back up.

Plus, getting everyone back to Antioch will get them in position for the war that is about to start. Adana has been taken from the Turks and we'll hit them when the war starts. Plus, Antioch is now 47% Orthodox so we should be able to resupply soon.

I'll take the save and make moves tomorrow. So, feel free to take a look at the save and let me know what you think.

[Rowan]

OOC: We might need to keep some BGs in Aleppo to keep order. If you are doing the moves could you move Bart to the northern river crossing as he can't make it all the way to Antioch.

[Privateerkev]

OOC: The peasants should help Nathanail keep order. Cecil already moved Armatos. I'll move Bart like you asked. And I'll move Aero into Antioch and Iakovos as close to Antioch as possible.

[Privateerkev]

OOC: I moved Bart and Iakovos to the north river crossing. And I put that small rag-tag collection of men they call an army in their stack. I moved Aero to Antioch, Mak to Cyprus to resupply, and left Nathanail in Aleppo with the peasants.

Nathanail needs to update his SOT and ask for the castle to be upgraded and for a small chapel. This will help ensure he can keep public order by himself.

[BananaBob]

Nathanail strides into the Order chambers. An ornate cross hangs around his neck and his hands are covered in religious rings and tokens. He wears a white robe over his red tunic and equally iconic sword is sheathed at his left.

I hereby break my oath to Makdonios, and swear an oath of fealty to Armatos

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: yes, this is already in the Magnaura but i figured Cecil would see this here first.

It brings me joy to finally be able to call myself a full fledged Knight of our glorious Order!

[Cecil XIX]

I accept your oath.

[Cecil XIX]

Gentlemen! The Jihad Army wrecked much damage upon us, but is a Jihad arm no more. I must give considerable praise to Nathanail, who despite losing his entire bodyguard fought with exceptional valor. It was he who slew the Emir of Mecca as well as many of his bodyguards.

[Rowan]

Grandmaster, brothers. I thank you.

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios walks into the great hall and approaches the wall with parchments on it. He sees the dagger he dropped weeks ago. He pulls out the letter that the Caesar sent Pavlos and Kalameteros and tacks it to the wall with the dagger.

All of Apionnas's inane chatter is serving to distract from the real matter at hand. It's not every day we discover that someone is plotting our death. Let us keep the Caesar's letter up here as a reminder of his hatred and fear.

Greetings, dear friends.

I will soon ascend to the throne. The Order have insulted me and the royal family flagrantly and yet we have been powerless to bring them to account.

What is more, the Order have shown themselves increasingly disloyal as a whole.

For the good and stability of both the empire and the nobles, I have a proposal I wish to offer to the both of you.

It is simply this:

As soon as I ascend to throne, we three form a Triumvirate. The Order's insults are a legitimate and just causus belli for us to declare them traitors and their land confiscated. Once we have defeated them, we shall be able to redistribute the land of the empire amongst ourselves. If the independent nobles, such as Methodios and Micail remain out of the conflict, then they shall keep their land. If they cast their lot with the Order, then their land shall be forfeit too.

As a result, the Asteri would control the western half of the Empire, the Komnenodoukai the East, and the Imperial family the centre plus all the patriarchates.

This would require some exchanging of land between House Asteri and House Komnenodoukai, but I'm sure negotiations could be entered into.

Imperial Provinces:
Constantinople
Rome
Nicaea
Dardanellia
Antioch
Jerusalem
Alexandria

House Asteri:

Athens
Thessalonica
Corinth
Arta
Dyracchion
Belgrade
Bucharest
Rhodes
Zagreb
Sofia

House Komnenodoukai:

Sinop
Caesarea
Smyrna
Adana
Tblisi
Yerevan
Nicosia
Diyarbakir
Aleppo

We would then control the Magnaura and be able to propose legislation which would change the structure of the empire.

War may only be declared by the Basileus.
All new provinces are at the disposal of the Basileus.
The cities of Rome and Constantinople can never be held by anyone but the Basileus.
The Basileus army consists of a minimum of 8 infantry units, 2 missile units, 2 heavy cavalry units, and two artillery units.
The Imperial Fleet is under the command of the Basileus.
The Imperial Fleet consists of a minimum of 8 ships.
The Caesar’s army consists of a minimum of 6 infantry units, 2 missile units, 2 heavy cavalry units, and two artillery units.
A member of the House Asteri is always the Lord High Chancellor
A member of the House Komnenodoukai is always the Lord High Steward
The Caesar always holds the Privy Seal.
The leaders of the Asteri and Komnenodoukai are on the Basileus’ Privy Council along with the Caesar.
Constantinople alone can recruit Varangian Guards.
The House Asteri commands the Western Legion, which consists of 12 infantry units, 2 missile units, 3 cavalry units, and 2 artillery units.
The House Komnenodoukai commands the Eastern Legion, which consists of 12 infantry units, 2 missile units, 3 cavalry units, and 2 artillery units.

What say you, my loyal friends?

Ioannis Komnenos,
Caesar of the Romans.

OOC: This will go up on the OP as well. I'm taking this letter as a "badge of honor."

[Cecil XIX]

Tch. The Caesar sets a wide definition for treason, doesn't he?

[Privateerkev]

Yes, if you don't jam your nose deeply and intensely into his rectum at all hours of the night, you are indeed guilty of treason.