The Magnaura

[OverKnight]

Seeing Apionnas speak, the Basileus seems to remember something. He rises to speak.

Senators, I have wonderful news. Senator Apionnas has embraced the Orthodox Church and has been christened. I am proud to have stood beside him as his Godfather as he was brought back to the True Faith.

My Godson has been granted Bucharest as his personal domain. Please join me in congratulating Comes Apionnas Vringas.

[AussieGiant]

Apionnas stands and bows to the assembled lords and then makes a deeper one to the Basileus.

[Ignoramus]

Ioannis quickly follows his father.

"I congratulate Senator Apionnas! I trust his decision was not motivated by political interest, and that he will be a fervant member of the true Christian faith."

Ioannis nods approvingly towards Senator Apionnas and resumes his seat.

[AussieGiant]

Apionnas addresses the Ceasar

My lord, your parents were present and the Patriach himself conducted the ceremony. I could not have had a more supportive and legitimate service. While it does feel strange I do now remember clearly the early days of my life. My parents where both Christians. One Orthodox, one Catholic.

As for political interest, well that is for your father and perhaps you yourself to determine.

Holding his gaze a little long on the Ceasar.

I am at your service my lord. If you wish anything you simply have to ask.

[Smowz]

Nevoulas ek Philadelphius stands.

I cherish all matters of the faith and celebrate Apionnas' conversion.

Nevoulas takes a deep breath and turns to the Basileus.

I must apologize to you my lord for my hasty and unwieldy wording of my proposed Edict 2.4. I was overeager to speak my mind on the issue and as such was somewhat cluttered on how to express myself properly.

I respect and agree with the protocol of declarations of war by this empire, war is a serious thing and must be restricted to being declared by the Megas, whomever that may be or indeed yourself My lord Basileus Aleksios.

I am still passionate about the said edict and wish to reword it if I may to this:

Edict 2.4 (a): In 1101, war will be declared on the Seljuk Sultanate.

I am pleased to see several senators have sent me support and I thank them for their counsal. The words and thoughts of Strator Monomachos closely follow my own imaginations and dream for the direction of the empire. Rid ourselves of the evils of the Turks and then move on to the unholy elements of Christendom.

Nevoulas turns to catch the eye of the Caeser

My lord I thank you finally for pointing out my error before it spiraled into even more confusion then it has already caused.

Nevoulas then sits.

[AussieGiant]

Standing again to address the assembly.

I thank Senator Nevoulas for his support regarding my conversion.

As a note is passed to him by a court official Apionnas also nods in the direction of Senator Michail.

The calm exterior so commonly part of the young officer's demeanour in public changes. Gone is the unreadable face, a scowl and a glint in his eyes replaces his youthful expression. More over his tone of voice is deeper and carries without effort across the massive hall.

"Declaring war on the Turk is inevitable. However, now that this edict is in place, IF it is passed we will have a clear mandate. However, I would warn everyone to the dangers inherent in this voting system because we may find ourselves at war with more than one nation if further edicts are tabled, and passed.

Therefore, to ensure we do not open up more than one front, tabling of any further edicts should be held back until the next session."

Placing his hands on the desk in front of him his Arab robes fall open to reveal a heavy suit of scale armour.

"My Regiment was wiped out by Turkish units. I would recommend our own commanders in the region consult on force composition and tactics before any head long engagements are made. To underestimate the Turk will be our downfall.

More over, war will drain our ability to consolidate which I believe is the stated aim of our Basileus."

[deguerra]

Strators,

As I have made clear previously, I do not advocate a rash and aggressive war. The Basileos has made consolidation the maxim for our lands, and I support him wholeheartedly in that endeavour. I also support the Caesar's edict for watchtowers, as their relatively minor expensive will surely be offset by their great value as an early warning system.

As such, I support Markianos Ampelas in his candidature for Megas. I hope Methodios will not take this personally, I greatly value his dedication to the Basileos and the Empire at whole, and do not doubt his honourable intentions.

But I am of the opinion that we should consolidate our gains before we move any further, and that our current western border provides us with a territory held more easily than more expansion would. The Patriarch has specifically condemned actions against fellow Christians, heretics though they may be, and in any case I cannot see the right in advocating war against our erstwhile allies Venice, when the Turk still crosses our border and raids into our lands at will. If we should be going to war, and we should not, then it should be in the east. Our foothold there is much less certain than that of the west.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Apionnas on his conversion, and remind all Strators of his words regarding Turkish tactics. Let us use this man and his knowledge when the time comes.

[AussieGiant]

I would agree with Lord Ioannis.

Consolidate and hold in the west. Watch towers and garrison troops to be the priority.

Mobilise for war in the east. Counter cavalry and missile tactics should be the focus. At this moment we are simply able to use brute force due to the quality and quantity of our heavy cavalry units. This will be a fatal flaw as time passes.

My only point would be to do all this ONLY AFTER we have spent at least half a term of the next Megas in consolidating commerce, infrastructure and then finally military capabilities. That in fact should probably be the plan for his entire term in reality. Don't overlook the fact that other nations may take the decision out of our hands by declaring war on us.

My thanks to Lord Ioannis for his kind words on my conversion. While I may continue to wear the garments and armour of the Saracen it is purely for practicalities sake given the benefits in this part of the world.

[TinCow]

Event Three: The Egyptian Crusade

Please read the story and the Patriarchal Proclamation first. The Patriarch of Constantinople has called for a Holy Orthodox Crusade against the Egyptian Infidels. The target is the Egyptian capital city of Cairo, with Alexandria as a secondary objective.

Rules:

1) Any Senator may join the Crusade, though Senators who already own land are highly encouraged to remain behind to see to the welfare of their people. All Senators must declare their intention to join the Crusade by the end of the 1110 AD Senate Session by sending a PM to TinCow. All Senators who join the Crusade will be known as Crusaders for the duration of the Event. Whoever is elected Megas in the 1110 AD election cannot go on the Crusade.

2) Every Crusader will be instantly transported to Constantinople after the 1110 AD Senate Session has ended. They will arrive with only their personal bodyguard; all other armies and military units under their command will be left behind.

3) Once assembled in Constantinople, every Crusader will have a small army generated for their personal use during the Crusade. The army, including the avatar's bodyguard, will be no more than six units in size, and no less than three units in size. The number, type, and quality of units will depend on the traits of the avatar himself. The exact distribution will be determined by TinCow, but with the following general guidelines: Pious avatars will receive more ‘Crusader' type units (Grand Crosses, Religious Fanatics, perhaps even Crusader Sergeants, etc.); high Command avatars will receive higher quality units, either in the form of more advanced units, or normal units with extra experience and/or upgrades; high Chivalry avatars may receive trained knights, or their Orthodox equivalent; high Dread avatars may receive high-quality mercenaries; avatars that already own a settlement may receive some extra militia units.

4) Only the units received in #3 can be taken on the Crusade. The Megas is barred from providing the Crusaders with any additional units in any way until Cairo is captured. Crusaders are free to join forces with their armies prior to setting sail or after landing in Egypt. Crusaders may abandon any other Crusader they have joined with at any point after landing in Egypt. Anyone who splits away in this manner will take all of their surviving units with them. All rank limitations on command are abolished for Crusaders for the duration of the Crusade. No Crusader may move his own army or fleet for the duration of the Event. All movement of Crusaders and their armies/fleets will be done by TinCow.

5) Once all Crusaders have determined whether to join their army with others or remain separate, every separate army will be placed on a generated fleet of the proper size to hold them. The fleets will all set sail for Egypt at the start of the second turn of the Megas’ term. Every turn TinCow will roll a die for each fleet. This will simulate random factors effecting movement, such as weather, provisioning, delays, etc. Good rolls will result in full movement, perhaps even bonus movement. Bad rolls will result in reduced movement, or perhaps none at all. Armies of 6 units or fewer will receive a +1 to their movement rolls. Armies of 13 units or more will receive a -1 to their movement rolls.

6) Every turn, any Crusader may attempt to sabotage the movement of another Crusading army, whether at sea or on land, or even while besieging Cairo or Alexandria. A die will be rolled to determine if this is successful. Successful sabotage while at sea or on land will slow down the movement of the target army. Successful sabotage while besieging a city will prevent the army from assaulting until the next turn. There will be a small chance that the Crusader who attempted the sabotage will have his identity revealed, regardless of whether the sabotage succeeds or not.

7) When each army lands in Egypt, their entire fleet will be disbanded, with the IC justification of the wood being cannibalized to build siege engines. At this point, if the garrisons of Alexandria and Cairo are below 10 units, they will be increased to 10 units. After it lands, each Crusade army must send a PM to TinCow indicating whether they are marching directly on Cairo or going to Alexandria first. No city may be attacked other than Cairo or Alexandria. If there are AI controlled armies along the marching path, TinCow may require them to be destroyed before the city can be besieged. For the duration of the Crusade, an official declaration of war by the Senate or the Basileus is not required prior to attacking Egypt, however only the Crusaders may initiate the war.

8) The Crusader army that conquers Alexandria will gain ownership of that city. This city ownership will completely bypass the usual rule requiring vassals to give provinces to their Lords. Whoever conquers Alexandria will obtain control over it directly. If there are multiple Crusaders in the conquering army, they must all agree on who will command the attack and who will receive the city prior to assaulting the city. If they cannot agree before the Megas declares the turn over, they must wait until the next turn to assault it. The Crusader who gains possession of Alexandria will be given two to four additional units by TinCow. This entire paragraph only applies if Alexandria is conquered before Cairo.

9) The Crusader army that conquers Cairo will gain ownership of that city and will gain two religious relics. This city ownership will completely bypass the usual rule requiring vassals to give provinces to their Lords. Whoever conquers Cairo will obtain control over it and the relics directly. If there are multiple Crusaders in the conquering army, they must all agree on who will command the attack and how the spoils will be split prior to assaulting the city. If they cannot agree before the Megas declares the turn over, they must wait until the next turn to assault it. The Crusade (and the Event) ends when Cairo is captured.

10) There is another aspect to this event which will remain secret until it occurs.