The Magnaura

[deguerra]

Ioannis gets up with an irritated frown

And what, pray, constitutes your wrath?

I tire of your petty threats to Senators of the Empire. I tire of all these personal insults and this squabbling. For crying out loud, you are grown men, nobles and tasked with running a government. If you cannot face this task with some of the required maturity perhaps you should ask to be replaced with men more suited to the position.

[Motep]

To get back to the task at hand,

I proclaim my support for the Grandmaster Makedonios Ksanthopoulos.

[Ignoramus]

Ioannis, slightly annoyed at the yapping senators, rises to speak.

I will ignore the slander poured on me by the members of the Order. They are not important. What is important is the fact that we have a tied election for the post of Megas Logothetes. As this event is unprecedented in our empire's long history, I ask each senator to reflect carefully on whom he shall vote for.

I reaffirm my support for Savvas ek Militou. He is a worthy candidate, and has the interests of the empire as a whole at heart. He has proved to be above partisan politics, and has proved himself well in battle. While all of us in the east were eager for war with the Seljuks, he accepted the mundane task of putting down insurrections. Surely that is to be commended.

While Senator Ksanthopoulos waxes eloquently on the need for balance in the empire, he makes little mention of the fact that the lands of controlled by his Order are the least developed in the empire. How can you expect him to be balanced under such a policy? We will see the lands of the Order take priority because "they are in the most need".

Ioannis resumes his seat.

[Ignoramus]

Ioannis, slightly annoyed at the yapping senators, rises to speak.

I will ignore the slander poured on me by the members of the Order. They are not important. What is important is the fact that we have a tied election for the post of Megas Logothetes. As this event is unprecedented in our empire's long history, I ask each senator to reflect carefully on whom he shall vote for.

I reaffirm my support for Savvas ek Militou. He is a worthy candidate, and has the interests of the empire as a whole at heart. He has proved to be above partisan politics, and has proved himself well in battle. While all of us in the east were eager for war with the Seljuks, he accepted the mundane task of putting down insurrections. Surely that is to be commended.

While Senator Ksanthopoulos waxes eloquently on the need for balance in the empire, he makes little mention of the fact that the lands of controlled by his Order are the least developed in the empire. How can you expect him to be balanced under such a policy? We will see the lands of the Order take priority because "they are in the most need".

Ioannis resumes his seat.

[Privateerkev]

Amused that the Caesar gave the same exact speech twice, Makedonios addresses him.

Slander? You deny that you broke the Rules during your term? Can it be slander if it is true?

As for the Levant being the least developed, that is only because of your own criminal neglect. And while you jump to the assumption that I would show favoritism to the Levant, I am happy to inform you that you are quite wrong. I will distribute what resources there are evenly without regard as to who owns which province. All subjects of the Empire are deserving of the benefits of the Empire, regardless of which politician governs the province.

And yes, what Comes Savvas has done is quite commendable. But, while you commend him, you failed to support him when he needed it. When you were busy sinking all of your resources into your pet projects, he was busy gathering local garrisons together to protect our heartlands from Jihad.

[deguerra]

Ioannis rises, and bows to the Caesar

Actually, my Lord, it was I who waxed eloquently about balance.

[Andres]

Makedonios listens to the people argue over the Caesar with mild amusement.

Alright, lets settle down a little. While I would have picked slightly more... diplomatic language than my Sergeant, the Senate is the proper place to voice dissent.

As for the Caesar murdering his own people, I do find him guilty of "criminal neglect." My complaints are well documented so I will be brief. The Caesar illegally starved the armies of the Order of men. This caused us to take higher casualties than normal when we had to defeat the Jihad heading towards the capital. So, because of his actions, or lack of action, more people died than probably would have normally.

I won't go so far to call him a murderer because I do not think he was trying to kill our soldiers on purpose. I think he was simply trying to hurt his political opponents and the Jihad just happened to come along while he did it. But his actions were neglectful, as well as criminal. Because he broke our "rules" when he neglected those armies. Rules that are "supposed" to be sacrosanct.

As for who gets banned, that is up to the Emperor. I am confident he will let us know when someone crosses a line.

This looks like a nice speech, but it is, in fact, no more than slander.

Rather ironic, isn't it? You constantly accused me of insulting you (which isn't true by the way), yet you don't refrain from lowering yourself to personal attacks versus our Caesar.

And yet again, you subtetly make it clear that the main priority during your reign will be the Order... After all, since the Caesar "neglected" the Order, you will have to "rebuild" their armies and settlements, don't you?

Tell me Makedonios, how is it possible that the "neglected" Order, which has faced so much "injustice" while the Caesar was Megas, managed to stay strong in the Levant?

You always say how the Caesar didn't help me out while Corinth was besieged. But I never complained! You say that I was being ignored by the Caesar, but I, the person concerned, say that this is not true. I had all the resources necessary to obtain victory against the Fatimid crown prince. Instead of constantly whining about "injustices", I accepted that resources were scarce and that the last Megas wasn't able to recruit reinforcements. Instead of whining, House Tagamata tried to find a solution themselves, and we found a solution, thanks to the esteemed House Asteri (Savvas nods to the tables of the Asteri).

I am sure you will yell "personal attacks" at me yet again, but the fact is that in times of peril, I didn't waste my time whining in the Senate. Instead, I tried to make the best out of a difficult situation.

You, dear Grandmaster, produce alot of air, while I just do my duty in silence.

To get back to the task at hand,

I proclaim my support for the Grandmaster Makedonios Ksanthopoulos.

Dear Senator, I realise you are still young and inexperienced, but it seems a bit tasteless that you swear an oath, only to ignore the opinions of your House members and your direct Lord. Maybe you should consult them in private, before casting your vote.

We don't want you to get the reputation of a disloyal House member so soon, do we?

[Privateerkev]

Savvas, do you deny that the Caesar broke THE RULES?

[Andres]

Savvas, do you deny that the Caesar broke THE RULES?

Necessitas non habet legem...

Besides, exactly what disasters happened during the reign of the Caesar? Where's the damage?

And I would also like the Senators to reflect on this: is a man who constantly complains about regulations instead of dealing with the situation at hand, using the resources at hand, is such a man fit for the office of Megas?

Let's assume that during the coming reign, a disaster does happen. Who would you want in charge: a man who keeps staring at his books, in disbelief that a certain rule was broken, or a man who carries on, using the resources he has and making the best of a situation.

Do you want a man who knows how to deal with unexpected circumstances, or do you want a nitpicker?

[ULC]

Lady Veronica, who is is at least 6 months with child, makes her way into the Magnaura, and sits down in her husbands seat. She reads the transcripts from the past few days and emotions from humor to anger cross her face. Finally, after she has satisfied herself, she gives Savvas a glance before addressing the senators.

"I am sorry my husband was unable to attend, his injuries make it extremely difficult fro him to move and he is bedridden for now. As I read these documents though, I begin to wonder at why my husband would even come to the Magnaura. Do you discuss anything of importance? The only man here who even suggested anything coherent and intelligent is Vartholomaios. Otherwise, it has been useless bickering between men who can't agree over the color of the sky."

Lady Veronica turns to Savvas

"M'lod, if you would please tell me why on earth you would have us sack cities, when you wish to scorn Makedonios for one that he had no control over? Do you wish to hang lives over everyone's heads and then remind them later when they go against you what monsters they are? Is there any reason that you require the sacking of cities to fund an Empire that not only remained stable under Markianos, but grew? Are you implying you don't have the skill of knowing how to count money well enough to be Megas? May I ask how you see Makedonios asserting his rights as a senator "whining"? So, if I simply denied you an army, which currently you have no right to, but say you did, would you not complain as the Venetians encroached on your land? May I ask why you see the law of the land as something very flexible, and to be brushed to the side whenever you see fit? If so, then my husband can simply recruit what he needs then, since we all know that Adana is near Turkish territory and that the rules are flexible enough to allow him to insure the defense of his holdings. I am sure the Caesar will see the wisdom in it."

Veronica delicately picks up another document. "Savvas, how attentive are you to the current situation on the eastern front? Because if you knew anything about it, you would see that House Asteri and the Order are ridiculously weak as of right now. The only real armies in all of the Empire are those controlled by the Caesar, and the one in this very city. May I ask how you will address not the quantity, but the quality of those in the Empires armies? When mentioning areas that need to be reinforced, may I ask why you neglectfully left Adana out of them?"

Lady Veronica then turns to Makedonios. "Grandmaster, I am sure you know of my husbands condition, and how it came about because of politics. May I ask what you intend to do about internal politics? We cannot simply say one will get all the senators to work well together. Balance can only be achieved if all sides agree to it, otherwise one side will do what it must to tip the odds in it's favor to the determent of all others. So, may I ask, how do you plan to resolve inter House issues?"

[Andres]

Savvas looks a Veronica

Mylady, I am still suffering from severe injuries from the battle of Corinth, yet I manage to attend this Senate Session.

I take it your husband doesn't take his duties as seriously as I do? That's a disappointment...

Anyway, the reason why I ask to sack cities has been utterly explained by me. Maybe you should re read your notes. I also explained several times why it is even better from a moral point of view, if you would only manage to think on the long term, long term as in "longer than one Megas-term". In order to do so, one must have a vision. As I explained before, the Grandmaster, who surely has the best interest of the Empire in mind, lacks such a vision. So it's not a matter of "knowing how to count money".

I also never said that the law of the land is something to be ignored, please, don't twist my words.

And if Venetians would attack my lands, than I would worry about the Venetians and I wouldn't just assume the Megas is deliberately ignoring my needs. I would send him a letter to ask for help and I would organise my defenses while waiting and I would also prepare for a worst case scenaria in case the Megas cannot help or cannot send me help in time, instead of wasting time travelling back and forth between the frontline and Constantinople, to plead in the Magnaura for my personal needs.

I would be more dedicated to the Empire itself and less dedicated to my own personal gains...

You will also remember that I plea for a war against the Order of the Knights Templar, who are without allies. These Knights are a great annoyance for the Order and they would gain a strategical advantage if they would defeat the Knights' Templar. Isn't it ironic, that the so called "foe of the Order of St John" has actually made a proposal that would hugely benefict said Order?

And as for inter House issues, if there is one person who tries to arrange agreements between the Houses by extensively working behind the scenes, that it's me.

You should ask you husband about this. Maybe you could mention a certain matter of the utmost delicacy while talking to him about certain actions behind the scenes.

Savvas sits down again.