Order of St. John

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios walks into the great hall of the Chapterhouse. He is cleaned up and looks to be in a slightly less dark mood than he has been in the past few weeks.

Sergeant Vartholomaios,

Marshall Armatos and I have made a decision. Since Brother Nathanail is absent, the decision is up to us. You are now a full Knight of the Order of St. John.

It is long overdue. You have been with us from the beginning and your decades of service has not gone unnoticed.

Congratulations Brother Vartholomaios!

[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.

[Privateerkev]

Sergeant Vissa,

Marshall Armato, Brother Bart, and I have decided to make you a full Knight of the Order of St. John in recognition for your years of faithful service.

I ask that you break your oath of fealty with me and swear to Vartholomaios.

Congratulations Brother Vissa!

[Ramses II CP]

Thank you Grandmaster, I am honored!

I hereby break my vow to Makedonios Ksanthopoulos and swear a new oath of fealty to Vartholomaios Ksiros.

[Rowan]

It is a great honor to accept the oath of such a stalwart man and an unswerving defender of the faith! Welcome, brother!

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Theo walks into the room and declares..

I, Theophylaktos Petzeas, hereby swear an Oath of Fealty to Makedonios Ksanthopoulos!

Quite amused that he said his name right he stands aside to wait Mak's response..

[Privateerkev]

I accept. Welcome Sergeant.

Follow me and we'll get you caught up.

[Privateerkev]

Sergeant Stavros,

Come forward.

Because of your years of loyal service, the other Knights and I have decided to make you our next Knight. A Knight needs land so I hereby give Tortosa to Stavros.

Congratulations Brother Stavros, you have earned it.

[Dafuge]

Stavros bows infront of the Grandmaster.

I thankyou so much.

[Privateerkev]

Members of the Order,

It has been a long journey. And it has been a hard one. I first conceived of the Order not long after Manzikert. Our defeat there made me realize we needed a group who could defend the Holy Land and spread the Word.

I inherited Nicosia through my family and a plan formed. A Charter was written that would codify a group who would be up to the Holy Task. I sent letters out to like-minded men and got our first Sergeants. The first Senate Session was a challenge. I learned that many saw the Order as a threat to their own plans. Legislation was proposed that would keep us from fulfilling our duty.

Through a lot of hard work, legislation, yelling in the Senate, politicking, and some luck, the Emperor allowed us to sail over to Antioch. The city was taken but not without tragedy. Slowly, we expanded throughout the Levant despite supply problems, lack of army units, and neglect.

A rebellion flared up through the Empire and we were the first to re-secure our area. A Crusade was called and we sent more members than any House. A Jihad was called against the Empire in response and we have fought more Jihad armies than anybody.

But despite the enemies without, we have also learned about the enemies within. We suffered from criminal neglect from our Caesar when he illegally and immorally denied us our rightful armies in a time of war. And we uncovered a plot by this same criminal to declare war on us and kill us all. Together, as we always have, we voted as a brotherhood and made it much more difficult for this evil plot to come to fruition.

Another enemy within we have fought is the evil Organization. Like cowards in the dark, they took one of us from this world. Iakovos exemplified what it was to be in the Order. But like we always have, we suffered that loss together and recruited new members.

Finally, we have defeated the first "faction" in the known world in these times. The Templar thought we were weak. They struck when we were spread out and had just lost the province of Adana. But, like all of our enemies, they underestimated us.

For our strength comes not in our armies or castles. It comes from our Brotherhood. For we are all Brothers. Forged through the hot crucible of battle. We have all saved each other's lives more times than we can count. The other Houses have plotted, schemed, and stolen land from each other. But the Order has stood as a cohesive force for good.

But there comes a time when one must take medium-term gain and turn it into long-term gain. For the Order to survive as a long-term force for good, there must be changes. While I was the obvious choice to create the Order and get it started, I believe someone new should usher us into the next phase.

With this in mind, I enthusiastically pass the torch on to my second-in-command, Marshall Armatos. While fire-breathing rhetoric and blunt stubbornness were needed in the early Senate Sessions to get us started, his even temper and softer touch will guarantee that the Order will continue to do it's good work through the generations.

I hereby break Marshall Armatos from his oath to me. And I now swear an oath of fealty to Grandmaster Armatos.

I also hereby give Grandmaster Armatos the province of Dongola.

I brought forth the proposal to pass on the torch to a new Grandmaster and the Knights of the Order of St. John have supported this decision. I will serve the Order, as I always have, for the rest of my life. It will simply just be in a different capacity.

With the warmest and sincerest of regards,

Makedonios Ksanthopoulos,
Knight of the Order of St. John

[TinCow]

Note: I am updating the Library and Bananabob is now officially inactive. Aleppo is hereby given to Armatos ek Naksou (Cecil XIX) in accordance with the rules. There is no room to add Aleppo to Armatos' retinue.

[Privateerkev]

Note: I am updating the Library and Bananabob is now officially inactive. Aleppo is hereby given to Armatos ek Naksou (Cecil XIX) in accordance with the rules. There is no room to add Aleppo to Armatos' retinue.

Since BB has only missed one real vote, can we give him until the end of this session's voting? I'll shoot him an email and hope he gets it while he is at work.

[TinCow]

Sure, he won't technically lose it until he misses this coming vote, but he hasn't logged onto the Org in over a month, so I think the odds of him returning are slim.

[Privateerkev]

Sure, he won't technically lose it until he misses this coming vote, but he hasn't logged onto the Org in over a month, so I think the odds of him returning are slim.

Alright, I just shot him the email. He doesn't have internet at home but he can get email while at work. We'll see if he sees it in time.

Him and I have been talking a little. He wants to come back but has been busy and has lacked internet access.

[Rowan]

Vartholomaios Ksiros walks into the Order chambers. Usually they are full of life with servants and orderlies scurrying about but now they are silent. He walks to the center of the room and announces

In the absence of Grandmaster Armatos I am taking over the administrative duties of the Order. When the Grandmaster returns he shall review all my actions in this capacity and judge me accordingly.

Few servants have entered the hall at the sound of his voice. Vartholomaios begins issuing them orders and slowly a little of the former activity returns to the room.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: Cecil mentioned on the (now possibly defunct) Order private board that he hasn't been able to connect to .org for a while.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Vartholomaios Ksiros, please tell me.. is the Order falling apart?
I have heard stories about something like that.. is this true?

Theo looks disappointed..

[Rowan]

Vartholomaios looks up from his papers.

Theo, the Order is not falling apart. At least not yet. The times are tough but we must persevere.