The Magnaura

[Smowz]

Having cast his votes a weary looking Nevoulas ek Philadelphios looks forward to his ride back to Athens. It has been a trying week for the young nobleman and he longs for the simpler joys of campaigning.

He turns at the entrance and once more looks on the splendour of the place and relives some of the heated debates in his mind. Reflecting that it was a huge learning experience he wonders if he shall live to see another one of to see another Magnaura...

Agggggh

Nevoulas clamps a hand over his mouth and notices none have paid him too much bother, he rushes out the door and towards his lodgings where he will pack and quickly make his way out of Constinantinople perhaps for the last time...

[_Tristan_]

A messenger enters the halls of the Magnaura, unrolling a parchment.

Basileos,
Noble Lords of the Empire,

Being true to his word, Methodios Tagaris wishes it to be known that he surrenders the village of Dyrrakhion to the rule of our benevolent Basileos.

He proposes to remain in the town for the once until a garrison can be provided and act as his governor for the time being.

For the greatness of our Empire,

Signed Strator Tagaris

The messenger the bows and exits.

[Ferret]

Correct me if I am wrong but did the edict not state that the settlement could only be taken with the Emperor's permission? Handing it over to him now hardly excuses this disobedience.

[_Tristan_]

Just as he was making his exit the messenger hears Mchonios words

Stand corrected then my Lord because Strator Tagaris received permission for such a capture if you had checked our Megas' reports.

[Ferret]

Excellent, I do love it when I am corrected, thank you for clearing that up for me.

[OverKnight]

A pair of Varangians in full mail open the doors to the Chamber and take up flanking positions by it. The Basileus strides in behind them, armed and with a travel stained purple cloak the only mark of his rank. Marching to the middle of the room, he addresses the Senators.

I congratulate the Senate on our recent victories. The reclamation of the Empire proceeds at a much faster pace then I anticipated. Rebels have been put down and settlements lost to us have been restored to their rightful place. There is much to celebrate.

Aleksios pauses, his gaze sweeping the chamber.

However, we must temper this head-long rush for land with restraint. We have now plucked the lowest hanging fruits, further conquest and holding what we have reclaimed will present difficulties. The bloody massacres at Belgrade and, to a lesser extent, Antioch, along with the rioting at Zagreb, show the challenges we will face in the future. Lands outside the sway of the true faith will resent our restored sovreignty. As our frontier expands, these new conquests will be further away from our heartland, making supplies and soldier more difficult to bring to the front or garrison restive settlements. We have also pushed out our borders next to more organized kingdoms rather than rebels playing petty despots. They will present more of a challenge.

In order to hold our new lands and prepare for further expansion, I believe the Empire needs to prioritize pacification, proselytization and construction over conquest for now. Roads must be built to connect the frontier to the core of the Empire. Churches must be built and priests recruited to convert heathens and schismatics. Our castles must start building stables, bowyers and barracks so we can have proper armies. Trade must be emphasized so that we can fund further expansion.

I know the temptation exists to keep up a frenetic pace of expansion, to keep going forward and let pillage and blood fuel a never-ending cycle of conquest. It is even possible that we could do so. Yet, there is more to the restoration of the Empire than just conquest or settling old scores, though that is a part. Our task is to bring Roman civilization, Roman order, Roman prosperity and Roman peace back to the blighted places of the earth that so badly need it. We must bring the light of Orthodox Christianity back to those who have shunned it. We may conquer by the sword, but we will rule with justice, as exemplified by Marcus Aurelius and Justinian the Great. In the places we reclaim we will build new monuments, new churches and new roads, for not only were our ancestors the greatest soldiers on earth, but the best builders as well.

This is our task, this is what we must restore. Not just in taking back land, but in rebuilding a way of life: A new Empire, a new Pax Romana. I will not live to see it completed, but I ask for the help of the Senate in laying the foundations.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Efstratios Monomachos marches back into the Senate, dressed for war.

Great Emperor, I speak on behalf of the House of the Tepaki. My feudal lord seeks the settlement of Bari, and I would seek permission from your grace to obtain passage via ship across the sea to take this settlement for the glory of the empire.

I will gladly halt expansion for the Empire if that is your bidding, of course. We of the Tepaki have restrained ourselves from seeking to claim Ragusa from the Venetians, because war with the Italians is not your wish at this time.

I would thank Strator Methodios Tagaris for his conquest of Durazzo on behalf of the empire, and the Emperor for assigning that settlement to the Tepaki who were without land.

My request on behalf of our house is simple, we seek Bari and Ragusa (at some future date) for the glory of the emperor, and for my lord Michail Arianitis. Whether these settlements fall immediately or at some later date, it matters not. With the Fall of Bari, we would be most pleased to sit tight and await further instruction from the Emperor in matters of the west.

So long as our humble house is not forgotten in the midst of the greater matters of the Empire, we of the Tepaki are keen on patience. If it serves the interests of my lord and my emperor, I am willing to wait.

In the meantime, I was wondering if anyone had seen a fair and noble lady at the hippodrome... I must confess I find myself most distracted by her. She was seated with the Royal family, and left before I had a chance to meet her. Before I travel off to Bari, I would like to learn her name...



I formally petition the Senate and the Emperor for one unit of garrison infantry and passage to Bari to claim it in the name of the Empire.