The Magnaura

[AussieGiant]

Apionnas stands:

CA 7.2:

In the case of the 1170 peace negotiations the absence of any participants will be counted as an agreement to end the hostilities between all parties in the proposed white peace.

[Ituralde]

I second the CA proposed by Apionnas Vringas.

[TinCow]

The Protoasecretes nods eagerly when Senator Vringas proposes his legislation.

"An excellent suggestion! It seems that at least some wisdom can come from this fiasco of a Senate. Perhaps it is also time to ensure that such difficulties are less common in the future."

RC 7.5: Rule 5.3 will be modified as follows (changes in bold):

5.3 – Ending a Civil War: A Civil War will end when all Senators on one side are dead or all living Senators on both sides publicly agree to a Peace Treaty. A Senator's public agreement to a Peace Treaty will also remove all Senators below him in his feudal chain from the Civil War, unless the vassal Senators specifically state otherwise in a public thread. So long as it is limited to changes to the provinces, settlements, armies, Oaths of Loyalty, and retinue of the Senators signing the Peace Treaty, it will be considered binding law. All terms of a Peace Treaty that go beyond these limits, particularly those that increase a Senator’s influence or powers beyond those allowed by the rules, will only be binding if adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Senate at the next normal session. Individual Senators may unilaterally remove themselves from a Civil War within one turn of the Declaration of War that brought them into it by breaking all Oaths of Loyalty that tie them to any Senator involved in the War and by publicly declaring Neutrality. Neutrality cannot be claimed by a declarer, a target, or any Senator who has been involved in a PvP Battle during that specific Civil War.

[pevergreen]

It has been a quiet senate session, with many senators sitting idle in their chairs, twiddling their thumbs, watching peace happen, with not a word to be said. They sit silent while a dog is put up for voting for the ruler of affairs. Many that once made these halls great are gone, or simply do not turn up.

A faint breeze blows over the empty floor. No one raises to take control, a few discarded pieces of paper tumble over and over. A few eyes follow them, some just stare straight ahead. From a distance, clanking can be heard, but no one strains their hearing, no one notices. The noise slowly gets louder, irregular beats of metal on hard stone. Over the period of a few minutes, it seems to get closer. A scratching sound is heard, continuous.

A few more minutes pass. The noise stops. Bells begin to pearl. A deep ringing echos throughout the chamber. The ringing muffles the recommenced clanking. The double doors of the Magnaura are flung open, and Michail strides in, flanked by two personal guards. He walks slowly to stop in front of the seat of Ioannis, the King.

"Ioannis. For the last 15 years I have confined myself to Durazzo. I wished no harm upon anyone, save those who would come into my domain with hate. I have grown weary of Durazzo. I have embezzled thousands into the countryside. It is literally a gold mine there. This solid gold sword I carry is the literal seal of Durazzo. The title and the sword are one. I offer you this, Ioannis. For peace in our empire, but on conditions.

1. Michail Ariantos shall be granted a province of the Magnaura's wishes to preside over.
2. All conflicts involving Michail Ariantos shall be ceased.
3. The money hidden within Epirus shall stay where it is, to be found by whoever wishes, not to be collected by the government.


What say you, and others, on my terms?

Also, here is 10 coins for the cleaning bill."

Michail leaves the sword at Ioannis' feet and walks slowly around the floor, seeking the eyes of everyone he knows, and inspecting those that are new.

"Who was the last one to make a jest about me and my dagger? I've gotta buy them a drink!"

With that statement, Michail jumps the railing and takes a dusty seat, once reserved for the ruler of the Silver Hawks.

[Alerion]

I second the Codex Amendment made by Apionnas Vringas.

[Northnovas]

Senators,

Most encouraging legislation I can't see why it would not meet a 2/3 majority to pass. No one wanted the damn war to begin with!
With this legislation on the floor I will submit my name to stand for the position of Megas.
I know Blacky would be a good candidate but I feel he does not have the full support of the Magnaura to pull off a victory.

We are at an important stage, I can feel the defeat of the Venetians is near but we must have the will to finish the job. There is much to gain with a foothold in the Italian peninsula but we cannot do it divided. I have lost much in this dispute trying to remain neutral. I am too old to build my wealth and standing for my own purposes. Therefore, if I am elected I will give all my energy to the office of Megas in order to defeat our current enemies in the East and West and improve the infrastructure preparing ourselves for the future. Where there will be greater challenges to face in our future. We cannot rest on our laurels.

[ULC]

"I agree with Senator Aleksios whole heartedly, let us put this bitter and pointless war with ourselves behind us and concentrate on whom the true enemies of the Imperium are!"

Nikolaos nods in Aleksios direction with a smile.

"Your words warm my heart with new hope, you will have my full support this election."

[Northnovas]

For government to work there must be some mandate. I proposed the following edict.

E7.2That 2 more diplomats be recruited and send to western lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire to secure maps, trade and possible alliance.

Other legislation proposed so far in this session.

CA 7.1:
A Senator, that is not accompanied by an army of four units, is not allowed to seize more than two ships without the permission of the Megas Logothetes.
Proposed:Pavlos Chrysovergos Second:Sophronios,Isaakios Komnenos

CA 7.2:
In the case of the 1170 peace negotiations the absence of any participants will be counted as an agreement to end the hostilities between all parties in the proposed white peace.
Proposed:Apionnas Vringas Second:Pavlos Chrysovergos,Savvas ek Militou



Edict 7.1:
A joint invasion of Mesopotamia is to be conducted by Andronikos Komnenos and The Order of St. John.
Proposed: Andronikos Komnenos Second:Vartholomaios Ksiros, Savvas ek Militou
Edict 7.2
That 2 more diplomats be recruited and send to western lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire to secure maps, trade and possible alliance
Proposed:Aleksios ek Ikoniou Second:Pavlos Chrysovergos,Savvas ek Militou


Rules Changes - no seconder required

RC 7.1 - All Agents that start the turn within a Senator's army(stack) fall under that Senators control until the end of the current Megas term, so long as they remain within the army(stack).
Proposed: YLC

RC 7.2 - The military structure, and training, and deployment of all field armies will be regimented more efficiently. To this effect, Real Combat 1.3 will be installed, along with a Sounds Fix, so that our armies will be more efficient.
Proposed: YLC

RC 7.3 - If RC 7.2 passes, then an avatar will be spawned within the 1170-1185 Megas term, and renamed Sergios ek Kallipoleos, pending YLC and TC's approval. If an avatar that is spawned within 1170-1185 Megas term is not selected, then all spawned avatars at the end of the term will be terminated and this RC will be null and void.
Proposed: YLC

RC 7.4: Rule 5.3 will be modified as follows (changes in bold):
Propsed: TC

[Ituralde]

I thank Aleksios ek Ikoniou for his summary of the proposed legislation. I second Edict 7.2.

Also another seconder for CA 7.1 would be great! The Megas needs control over the fleets to accomplish the goals we set out to achieve!

[flyd]

It's hardly a timely amendment, but I second CA 7.1.

[AussieGiant]

Apionnas:


I've re-numbered my CA to 7.2.

If Senator Aleksios could readjust his to fit this will avoid confusion.

[Andres]

I second Edict 7.2. and CA 7.1.

[TinCow]

The Protoasecretes stands and speaks.

"As the Basileus is present business of this body seems to be coming to a close, I hereby declare that the Senate Session of 1170 AD will end at 15:00 GMT on Tuesday, December 9th. It will then be followed by 48 hours for voting."

"I urge all Senators to resolve any unfinished business they may have in the Magnaura immediately, as there will be no further extensions to the debate period."

[TinCow]

"The time for debate has expired. Voting will begin shortly and will last for 48 hours. A further 24 hours may be allowed if it appears necessary."

[Cecil XIX]

My fellow Senators. As of now, I am stepping down from the position of Grandmaster of the Order of St. John. The Knights thereof have voted, and Vartholomaios Ksiros is the new Grandmaster.

[Zim]

A tall young man dressed in plain but well made clothing wanders into the room. Those unfamiliar with his identity may at least recognize in his paleness and certain facial features the stamp of the Komnenos family and his mother Anna, but would be harder pressed to determine his paternal heritage.

He slowly circles the room, pausing briefly at seemingly random intervals. Finally, at one such pause he bows his head and softly mutters something in a dialect easily recognized as biblical Greek. The man then turns to leave before starting upon finding himself face to face with a confused cleaning servant. The young man smiles faintly.

"Sorry, I was just invoking a blessing for the ongoing voting and election. At a time like this we Senators need God's guidance more than ever."

Before the servant had any time to respond the young man brushed past him and left the Magnaura.

[flyd]

Note from Isaakios Komnenos:

Senators,

It is good to see the silly-war finally be signed away into nothingness. There has been some confusion whether the peace agreement amendment applies to me and Petzeas. I certainly did not intend it to. To me it seemed the amendment was (sort of) a conclusion of the Nicosia negotiations, to which I was not a party. As far as I'm concerned, my war remains declared, although if that is in violation of the war rules, then I simply re-declare it into existence. Not to worry though, Petzeas and I have already agreed to a way of ending this conflict, and it will end once the necessary things have come to pass. (hint: it involves ships).

Isaakios Komnenos.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

A note from Theo Petzeas is brought to the Magnaura..

Senators,

Firstly, I hope that my 'war' with Isaakios will end soon.
Secondly, can someone explain why is the Emperor of Holy Roman Empire with a huge army camping near Cairo? Why are they there?

Theo Petzeas

[Ituralde]

Theo Petzeas, the situation with those pesky Germans on our territory is easily visible from my reports. They were initially sent to capture Jerusalem for the Pope, then they tried to reach Tunis via land and now that this Crusade is also over they are stranded in their current location. I fear it will take another of those bloody Crusades to get them off our soil.

[TinCow]

The Protoasecretes rises.

I regret to inform the Senate that Tiverios Indikoplefstis (OverKnight) has fallen in the Venetian assault on Ragusa. As Senator Indikoplefstis had no known will and did not have a Lord, in accordance with the Codex his province of Constantinople is now the property of Basileus Ioannis Komnenos (Ignoramus).

[Ituralde]

I mourn the loss of such a fine young man! And also the blatant defeat against the Venetians! They have shown us that they are not without reserve and that war, although starting off well is far from over!

[Andres]

Kristophoros had been following the proceedings in the Magnaura, lurking in a dark corner. He was wearing a black cloack and he stood up whenever a messenger arrived in the Magnaura, anxiously hoping that the news he feared would never arrive.

And so, while Kristophoros was waiting, he knew that the messenger walking directly to him that day, would not bring good news.

He listened to the messenger who whispered into his ears. A loud scream filled with grief and sorrow scared those present in the Magnaura.

With tears in his eyes, Kristophoros stands up.

Esteemed Senators, I have bad news.

I just learned that my master, Savvas ek Militou, died a heroic death in a battle against the Venetians, near Bologna.

You may wonder what I was doing here, while my master was doing battle. Truth is, he sent me away himself, with this letter. He always knew he was going to die soon, even before the last Magnaura session even started. When he sent me away, he asked me to read his last letter to the Magnaura once I would hear of his demise.

Kristophoros opens the first parchment he is holding in his hands and starts to read:

Dear Basileus,
Dear Senators,


Disgusted.

I am utterly disgusted.

Disgusted by how short term political gain has been more important than the overall good of our Empire.

It's not a new evolution. Alas. It's something that has always been there throughout our history.

But I thought Manzikert had changed everything.

During the reign of our dear Basileus Aleksios, it seemed like all was going well. Yes, there still was the occasional bickering in the Magnaura, but the Empire seemed to be in balance.

Even my greatest foe, Makedonios, the Grandmaster of the Order, had the best intentions and acted for the best of our Empire.

Soon, however things changed.

When Aleksios died, some saw an opportunity to provoke our dear Basileus Ioannis.

Yes, Ioannis has made mistakes while he was still the Caesar. He has been punished for that, back then.

But many conveniently forgot that and decided to try to take away his throne from him.

Ioannis however, managed to keep the Civil War a Civil War of Words. Think about Ioannis what you want, but under his reign, Romans have not spilt the blood of other Romans.

Considering our history, that is quite an achievement and I sincerely hope historians will remember him for that.

My last will is a symbolic act. Through my will, I force the Basileus and the Order of St John to communicate with each other and I sincerely hope that better relations between the Order and the Basileus will bring more stability in the Empire.

A last word for Aleksios ek Ikoniou: you have always been and will always be my friend. But you should have never broken the bound of fealty that existed between us. The damage caused by that act has always been beyond repair.

However, I would like to ask you one last favour: take young Magnentios Kalamateros under your wings, assist him and guide him through the mudpit that is the Magnaura. He's a fine young man and I have a feeling that we will need strong, stable men in the future, to maintain peace in the Byzantine Empire.

Senators, while this is read to you, I am probably drinking my zillionest goblet of wine in the afterlife, in the meanwhile inspecting the curves and the anatomy of the female angels. Hah! I always knew that this "angels are a-sexual" stuff was a lie.

Kristophoros!

Wipe those tears away, get drunk as hell and then offer your services to the Basileus. I'm sure he can use an old veteran like you.

Yours truly,


Savvas ek Militou
Despot of Arta

Shaking his head in disbelief, Kristophoros smiles.

He then opens a second parchment.

This is Savvas' last will:

Last Will of Savvas ek Militou.

I hereby declare all my previous last wills null and void.

It is my last will that all settlements I own upon my death, will be inherited by the current Basileus.

All my retinue shall be distributed among the members of the Order of Saint John, at the discretion of the Basileus.

This is my will.

Savvas ek Militou.

Kristophoros gives both documents to the Protoasacretes.

He then walks back to his seat to grab his sword and his other belongings. He quickly empties a goblet of wine and leaves the building.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: Savvas' last will has been sent a couple of weeks ago to TinCow, so this is not a last will made after dead

[Zim]

At first stunned by the news, a resolute expression settles upon Magnentios' face.

This is a grave time for the empire. First one great Roman dies at the end of the last campaigning season, now another at the beginning of this one.

Savvas was a hero of mine. We had talked about my joining him in Italy, where I would serve the empire by fighting under him.

Magnentios turns away, so as to not be seen fighting back tears. After a moment he regains his composure.

I find myself wondering if things might have gone differently had I marched straight for Italy upon coming of age rather than continuing my studies in Iconium. The only excuse I had then was that I thought I was following God's will in studying for my ordination. It rings hollow now...

I will not let more brave Romans die while I sit around and read books. I march straight for Italy, and any that wish may join me. We will teach the Latins the dangers of resting on the laurels of their recent victories!

With that Magnentios marched out of the Magnaura and left Constantinople that very day to meet his army south of Markianople.

[Northnovas]

This is truly sad news for the noble House of Tagamata. I have lost a great friend again. I will honour his last wish and see to it that Magnentios Kalamateros will be under my guidance so that he may do great things in service of the Empire.

[Ignoramus]

The Basileus enters the Magnaura with a sad expression on his face.

I am deeply saddened at the death of one of the Empire's finest servants. Savvas has always put the empire first, and has been truly loyal to my father and I. I will show those Venetians that they cannot slay my friend without retribution.

I will see that Arta is used for the good of the Empire, as Savvas would have wanted. I also look forward to working with the Order to distribute the late Savvas' retinue.

The Baslieus resumes his seat.

[YouHaveRecieved]

My lords,

My Senators,

I am Leon Symmachos, Nephew of the Basileus himself.

I am here to welcome myself to this noble hall.

[Ituralde]

'Tis good to see new faces in this hall. Serve the Empire well and avenge the death of Savvas ek Militou! He was a noble Senator, a trusted ally and feared foe. Few would have dared to face the Venetians in his manner.

[woad&fangs]

Andronikos stands silently for a few moments...and then pours himself a goblet of fine wine. Looking around, he raises his cup in a silent toast to the fallen senator.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Theo 'walks' into the Magnaura. Seeing that no one talks he takes his seat and starts reading documents on his table..

[Ituralde]

Pavlos rises slowly, the signs of age clearly showing in his movement and face. His voice still carries some of the old ring though, reminding the ohters that once whole armies followed his lead.

So it has finally bloody happened! Roman blood has been spilled by the hands of another Roman! I don't envy the dog Arianitis for dying as he did, nor do I begrudge Aristenos for doing what he though right. But...

he raises a finger.

... the inner peace that has lasted since Manzikert, that has allowed us to resume some of our former glory is shattered. The legacy of Aleksios Komnenos, his restoration of some semblance of unity is forfeit.

Mark my words this won't be the last time that Senators will meet in battle. Our enemies have been waiting for this and they will strike at us and tear us limb from limb, while we feed on our own flesh! I see a dark sky rolling with thunder and lightning stabbing at our hearts!

Pavlos voice has risen throughout his sermon and he is now almost shouting, his eyes glazed over as though seeing things only he can see.

The Komneni have slandered, their House lies in ruins, their heirs are incompetent, the line will fall when the lion roams the high plains and the eagle descends from the East, spilling Christian and Muslim blood alike! 'Tis the end and only the bravest will survive the struggles that are to come!

The last words were shouted loud and clear and at the end of it Pavlos sags visibly, as though the spirit that had posessed him to deliver his speech has finally left him. Looking older than ever his last words are muttered before he takes his seat again.

Mark my bloody words...