The Magnaura

**rossahh** · 02-12-2009, 05:14

Originally Posted by some foolish envoy

Considering your willingness to look down on a man such as Markos

And how would the envoy of a lowly Senator know what I think of the noblemen of the realm?

Your excuse is rather thin. Loyal Greekmen on the way to fight Venetians for the Empire are in no mind to join a rebel's cause.

**KnightnDay** · 02-12-2009, 05:54

Ammonathas stands to reply to the envoy of Helarionas.

Yes, your tone and manners now betray your thoughts and what you know to be inevitable. Your masters plot will fail. You may shout, you may scream and flail, you may howl at the moon this evening for all the good that it will do. I shall not waste my time answering these empty rantings. History will judge how this trail of lies, deceit and treachery met their end in due course, and your protestations will count for naught and be forgotten. What will be remembered is this: men who respected the laws of their lands did not hesitate to act once the naked hand of aggression was raised. Byzantium will overcome the lawlessness that these traitors and would-be kings seek to breed.

**ULC** · 02-12-2009, 05:57

"And how would a man blindly loyal to the Emperor know of what cause Markos serves? In any case, the men will be returned to the Empire once Markos reaches safety - this is the word of my Lord Anargiros."

**Zim** · 02-12-2009, 06:19

Arintheos looks up bemusedly at the men debating.

I don't believe Helarionas' chances of gaining Andreas' army are much of a concern at this moment. Andreas has confiscated the rebel's ships and set sail into the Adriatic.

**rossahh** · 02-12-2009, 06:35

Bravo Andreas! Convey that to your master, envoy.

**Zim** · 02-12-2009, 07:10

Yawning, and seemingly engrossed in checking the tip of a small dagger in his hands, Arintheos continues.

I begin to think that Helarionas' lackey invokes Markos' name far too frequently. I know the man. He was a worthy opponent in the election who never resorted to dishonesty. A man of great honor as well.

So far we have seen one of Helarionas' lackeys "rescue" him when he did not seem to want to be rescued and had chosen to do the right thing by neither fighting against the empire nor ignoring his oath to Methodios, and now another lackey uses his name to justify Helarionas' aggressive actions against a general that only wanted to reach the Venetian front. Never mind that Markos was placed in more danger by not being picked up in Ragusa by his "ally" right away, nor that he never seems to have asked for such aid, or an attack on Andreas.

It seems to me that a traitor seeks to hide his ambitions and less than savory intentions by using the name of a man far more honorable than he.

**Ituralde** · 02-12-2009, 08:46

I don't even know why we're listening to this man.

He turns to the envoy of Helarionas Anargiros.

If your master truly wanted to be tried by the Magnaura he would be standing here in front of us. Instead he threatens Roman Senators with violence, has allied himself with a rebel, and sent you here to fill our ears with unimportant drivel. I won't listen to you until your master shows up and has the courage to face us in the flesh and not through his puppet!

Nikitas shakes his head disgustedly.

**Ignoramus** · 02-12-2009, 10:35

A Komnenoi page enters the Magnaura with a cheerful expression on his face.

Salutations, honoured senators! My lord, Ioannis Komnenos, Basileus of the Romans, is pleased to announce the impending marriage of his nephew, Ioannis Komnenos, to Theodora Tagaris, daughter of Caesar Methodios Tagaris, and one of the fairest ladies of the court. It is hoped that this marriage will bind the empire closer together in these strained times.

I understand young Ioannis is on his way from Crete as I speak, and the marriage should be conducted in the next few days. My lord Basileus apologises for his absence, but he is currently laid low with a particularly nasty bout of scurvy, and is confined to Dyracchium.

The page bows, and leaves the building.

**ULC** · 02-12-2009, 11:16

As the envoy moves to retort to Nikitas, a cold presence pervades the Magnaura. A tender hand lays itself upon that of the envoy, who looks up startled to see Chara staring back, her eyes cold and pitiless. "You speak no more for my Lord, and if you do not leave now, you will speak no more for anyone. Is this clear?"

The envoy nods meekly as Chara firmly pushes him from his seat and towards the Magnuara's exit. After the envoy leaves, Chara turns her attention to the Magnuara.

"Senators of the Roman Empire, forgive the fool who spoke before. He was neither empowered to speak for my lord, nor was he given permission to do anything beyond relay a message even by the man who sent him."

"His speeches, not only presumptuous of my lord, carry only few grains of salt. From here on in, no one speaks for my liege, except himself. Anything you here of his intentions hereafter, will be considered falsity."

"My liege owes you all an apology, for more then breaking Imperial Law. It has been alleged my Lord has lied about his identity - this is true, but not of his character. There was a man named Helarionas Anargiros, who lived in Durazzo. When he was but 20 years of age, he died from a terrible sickness. Then there was a man named Sergios Echter, who was from Bran. He was but 16 and almost nothing but a servant, a child conceived through adultery, his mother a married noblewoman, his father a pariah. One day, a man from Durazzo of the name Nikolaos Aristenos came to see this boy, and handed him a new identity, so as to fulfill the request of him by that boys father."

"And so it came to pass that Sergios Echter ek Kallipoleos, son of Aleksander Echter ek Kallipoleos, took the name Helarionas Anargiros, took the senatorial papers given to him, and he came to Constantinople. It was here that he reunited with the one person whom he cared for - Aleksandra Tagaris."

"In 1161, Sergios, along with his mother, were given sanctuary in Alexandria. It was there, for a year, that Aleksandra and Sergios first met, grew to know each other, and fell in love. That love never disappeared, carrying on even when the two were separated by oceans and borders. It was so strong, that Sergios was willing to defy Imperial Law to marry Aleksandra."

Chara takes a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing.

"Few men have I met, that compare to Sergios. Few men have I met, that would fight for what eh has, let alone die for it. Sergios's youth and innocence maybe the very reason he has not lost his heart, or his compassion. Few men do I know that would risk their lives for the love and affection of one woman, yet he would do it for any stranger, any commoner, for nothing in return."

"But he is also a stubborn man, an idealist. He believes in an Empire that was told to him by the fire when he was a child, one filled with Heroes that worked selflessly, tirelessly to preserve the Empire, stories told of men that served not themselves, but the people of the Imperium. That is what Sergios fights for, and why he still holds an army, and why he is not here before you, waiting to be shackled in chains."

"He will fight for his beliefs, to the last gasp. And he will continue to fight, until he sees that the Empire is what he heard in those stories when he was a child."

Chara bows respectfully, if coldly, to the Senators from each House, and then turns and walks calmly out of the Magnuara.