The Royal Council

[SwissBarbar]

"Your words are kind and i am looking forward to reporting this good message to my master. Thank you very much"

[kingsnake]

Welcome, Strategos Hermokrates Parthikos!

Unfortunately I won't have any time to know you better, as I'll be leaving to the Syrian Army today.

Aratos turned to Antiochos. "Basileus." and bowed. He then looked randomly to the others. "Strategoi." bowed again and left the council.

[everyone]

"I thank you all for your kind welcomes."
Hermokrates turns towards Hilarion
"Master Hilarion, please tell the Kleoronomos Basileus I accept the invation and I shall join him when recquired."
Currently I shall travel around the Arche with my retinue to see where else my aid might be required.

[everyone]

A messenger enters the court
Hail Basileus Antiochos and Strategoi! I bear a message from my master Hermokrates Parthikos.

he unrolls the parchment he holds in his hand

To the Basileus or whomsoever this may concern:

I have encountered a relatively sizable force of bandits in Sophene while en route to Karkathiokerta. I do not think I am able to handle this threat with only 25 men; therefore I request permission to temporarily use a unit from the nearby garrison of Karkathiokertar
As the citizens of Karkathiokerta are rather rowdy, I suggest that only a unit of Thanvare Payahdag be used so that the garrison of Karkathiokerta is still sizable enough to maintain order.

Thank You

the messenger rolls up the parchment, takes a step back and bows

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: edit: removed the mercenary thing actually I tried a battle with the thanvare and I won

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos replies to Hermokrates...

You can use that Thanvare Payahdag unit to defeat those rebels but no other units can be used for that at the moment. Also, no mercenaries will be recruited since they cost to much and want too much money for their upkeep and to be honest.. they ain't worth all that money!

Turning towards the Council..

But this makes me think. We need a small rebel and brigand defeating armies. Probably one West of Mesopotamia and the other one East of Mesopotamia. I wish I would've thought about it when we had a Council Session.

[SwissBarbar]

Galaktión stands up

My Lord, when the war against Epeiros has ended,we have emerged victorious and my master has gained more experience in battle, he would be pleased to lead one army to defeat those misguided rebels and secure our country. After all, protecting the Arche is what he considers to be his task. He'd be thankful if this would be discussed at the next elections.

[The Celtic Viking]

Hilarion stands up.

"Hermokrates, I must say I am confused by your master's actions. He accepts my invitation, but heads east to fight brigands? While he did a good deed and won a fine victory, it doesn't speak for his reliability."

Hilarion turns to Galaktión.

"I am displeased to hear that as well. I thought that Nikarchos meant to stay with Sarpedon and fight with him longer than just during the Epeirote campaign. I understand your ambition to lead an army of your own, but Sarpedon do need a capable commander on his side whom he can trust. I would have hoped Nikarchos was that man."

[everyone]

Hermokrates stands up
"Master Hilarion, this must be a misunderstanding; by going north and defeating brigands, my master was merely attempting to 'prove himself trustworthy' and did not intend to appear unreliable; though if there were other ways to do so, he would apologise for his ignorance"

he turns towards the Basileus
"Basileus, regarding the brigand-fighting armies, would it not be more convenient if there were "assigned troops" in every major city's garrison that could be moved out of the city at any moment to deal with rebels? rather than moving large forces around to defeat some small force of bandits only to find another small force appearing on the other side of the region."

[MerlinusCDXX]

Mardakou, an official looking Babylonian wearing the Parthavan seal on his chiton, asks "And who would command these men, Hermokrates? Someone must lead the troops into action, and that someone must be of sufficient rank to lead troops in the Arche. We simply cannot have any man with a bow or spear lead troops into combat, that would lead to chaos and destroy the chain of command. You do have an intriguing idea though, I'll put it to my boss, Phanias and see if he can come up with an idea to make rebel suppression easier. He's been marching himself and his troops ragged to suppress these damned brigands, sometimes to the detriment of his other duties."

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Now.. those brigand fighting armies should be unofficial. This gives me the power to use their troops to support other armies if needed. Also, they should be small, possible 3-4 units, cavalry forces. I think we might need some Horse archers into those armies.

[SwissBarbar]

Galaktión turns to Hilarion

"Dear Hilarion, i did no know that your master wishes that. You must know,if that be the case, my master will follow yours to conquer Hades, if this shall be their path. Especially when they are going to free Hellas"

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos walks into the Council Chambers. Taking his seat he looks at the men in the room. He looks tired..

Now, You probably have already heard that I captured Hierosolyma. After five battles that city is ours! IF those 'liberators' some years ago would've worked together then two men would've been alive and many lives would've been saved.

You probably have also heard that Alexandros Thraikikos, the man who is responsible my brothers and many of our soldiers deaths, was slain by my and Nikanor Kybiosaktes' bodyguards. He got what he deserved.

An evil smile crossed Antiochos' face...

And finally.. You probably have heard the faith of Hierosolyma. This was a very hard decision but I had to do it. Those locals did not honor the deals I made with them and decided to side with the Ptolemaioi. Only one punishment was suitable for those Egyptian lovers.. enslavement. No one else was harmed.

I will send some troops to Antiocheia so that new recruits can join with them and after that I will head towards Alexandreia!

Another thing, I'm displeased to see that Theodoros couldn't keep those small Ptolemaioi armies away from my Royal Army. Because of that some good soldiers died.

Antiochos sighs and lowers his head for a moment..

[johnhughthom]

Lykikos stands

Congratulations Basileus, the locals of that city made us all look like fools with our liberation mission. I am sure I am not the only person who came back from that a changed man, and many did not come back at all. Indeed some may think you were generous in only enslaving those Jews, I believe they are used to such a status, I certainly would not have disagreed had you razed the city to the ground. It is truly wonderful to see you back unhurt, you have earned a rest, there are others who have to do their duty to the Arche now.
I must ask though, I don't believe any edict to assault Alexandreia took place-in fact such an edict was defeated in the past, taking it upon yourself to attack the city makes me wonder if this council actually has any point. Of course there is always the chance my servants have informed me incorrectly, in which case I withdraw my statement.

Lykikos bows before being seated

[MerlinusCDXX]

Mardakou (Phanais' clerk-ancillary serving in detatched duty in Seleukeia as council voice) bows toward Polyxenidos Lykikos "respectfully, sir, I believe that the only edicts that were spoken out against concerned sacking Alexandria. My boss believes that if we can hold the city, we should take it, and I agree. The edict he proposed only specified that forts be erected at the crossing points between the Levant and Aigyptos before going onward. These could be easily manned by psiloi, or even depleted units for a brief time until a proper garrison can be detailed there. I can confidently say that he would not be opposed to the taking of any Ptolemaioi cities, as long as our own defenses are in order."

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Dear Polyxenidos, since we are at war with the Ptolemaioi then all of their holdings are open to attack. Edicts proposed during the Council Session can give us some direct targets. Also, this means that Chancellor must do what ever he can to support missions against those targets. If someone wants to take a city that is not mentioned as a target then he is most likely on his own.
And, this Council is necessary since one man can not rule efficiently an Empire like this one.

[johnhughthom]

Lykikos stands once again

With respect sir the issue still stands that you are about to attack a target which this council said should not be attacked. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of such a move, doing so totally makes a mockery of what you have said this grouping was about. No vote since has shown the council to be in favour of such a move and makes me wonder if we are here strictly as a puppet council. You are the Basileus and it is up to you to make that choice, but I have no wish to be part of a group whos decisions can be ignored when you feel like it. What is the point of us gathering to vote every few years if these decisions can be rendered void whenever you decide?

The Babylonian sits once again

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

To be honest I have that opinion in character and OOC, if we are going to vote on things we need to stick to them or change them in the Council otherwise this game is pointless. And to clarify I would vote for an attack on Alexandreia.

[The Celtic Viking]

Hilarion stands up.

"This is a very important issue, one so big that I'm not even sure I can speak for Sarpedon here. However, he did choose me as his representative, and I feel I must make my opinion heard, I will have to take the risk and do so anyway. May I suffer the consequences justice demands."

Hilarion coughs.

"I feel that Lykikos is making a good case here. If it was any other city than Alexandreia, there would be no problem, but as the Council did vote against attacking it, the whole thing changes." Hilarion now throws a look at Mardakou. "Yes, the edict turned down did call for a sacking of it, but there was no separate edict for taking the city, so doing that can be seen as included in the proposal.

If I have understood things correctly as well, we, the Council, as well as the Chancellor, lord Sarpedon, can decide not to back you on this campaign. I will not take the liberty and say that Sarpedon will or won't - that is definitely out of my authority, and I will have a messenger sent to him about this should he be forced to take a side - but you have to concider this carefully as well. If enough of the strategoi voice their trouble with this campaign, perhaps calling for an emergency session in which this can be decided properly may be a good idea."

With that said, Hilarion sits down again, looking around, trying to read the other people's minds from their facial expressions.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos stands..

Hilarion, you may be right. Emergency Council session is needed to solve this Alexandreia issue.

So...
I hereby declare the Emergency Council Session open! It will stay open for debate and legislation until 16.00 GMT on Friday, December 19th, at which point there will be 48 hours allowed for voting.

Now, the first thing I do is propose the following Edicts:

Edict E1.1: Alexandreia must be taken.

Edict E1.2: If Alexandreia is taken peace will be proposed to the Ptolemaioi offering them to become our Protectorate.

[kingsnake]

Strategos Aratos stands up.

Greetings honourable Strategoi and Basileus,

I have just arrived this morning from the Syrian Army's camp, this army is currently on its way for recruitment, so does not need my presence until its arrival at Antiocheia, so I will be present this whole Emergency Council.

Before I second anything I wish to know, if eddict E1.1's war strategy includes the conquest of every Ayguptos settlement between until Alexandreia, wise Basileus.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos answers..

Just like it says - Alexandreia must be taken. I don't want the other settlements there since it would be too difficult to defend them. Also, once Alexandreia is in our hands they must realize that there is no point of fighting us and perhaps they will sign the peace treaty. If not then I'll destroy every Ptolemaioi army in Aigiptos until they do want peace!

[johnhughthom]

Lykikos stands

I hereby second Edict E1.1: Alexandreia must be taken and Edict E1.2: If Alexandreia is taken peace will be proposed to the Ptolemaioi offering them to become our Protectorate.

I also am a man who can admit when he is wrong, quoting the laws of the Arche "Edicts require a simple majority of votes to pass and remain in effect until the next normal session of the Council." Perhaps this should be changed to "remain in effect until superseded by another edict." Unfortunately I don't have the rank to propose such a change. Leaving the law as it is seems open to problems in the future in my opinion.

He returns to his seat

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos responds to Polyxenidos..

Perhaps we need a new kind of Edicts. Permanent Edicts that will "remain in effect until superseded by another edict." This way normal Edicts will have an effect on current Chancellors term and the permanent ones will be.. well.. permanent until decided otherwise??

[The Celtic Viking]

"That is a good point, Antiochos. I fully agree with that, and I would also like to note that I second Edict E1.1 and Edict E1.2. However, I also have an own Edict to propose:

Edict E1.3: If Alexandreia is taken, the inhabitants are not to be enslaved, and should remain as unharmed as realistically possible. Stealing from them should also be kept as low as possible.

I have also got word from Sarpedon that he has two Charter Amendments he'd like to propose:

Charter Amendment E1.1: Hypaspistai units should be limited to the Basileus' Royal Army, which can only have one of them. Hetairoi and Hetairoi Aspidophoroi should be limited to the Royal Armies.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: There are two reasons why I propose this. The first is that I think they should be rare and special, and secondly it is more historically correct as I understand it.

Charter Amendment E1.2: A satrap's aid should be allowed to lead the Kleronomos Basileios' Royal Army under the condition that the Kleronomos Basileios is also the satrap he is aligned to.

The reason why Sarpedon suggests this one is because he wish to make Arrhenides his aid, but under the current set of rules doing so would mean he can't use him as a second-in-command as he has intended. If Sarpedon had not been the heir, he could have let him be that over the satrapal army he then would've had, so this shouldn't be against the spirit of the rule."

[navarro951]

Message from Panaitolos Ankyrikos is brought in and handed to the Basileus...

The general seconds Edicts E1.1 , 1.2, 1.3, and Charter Amendment E1.2.

[MerlinusCDXX]

Phanias L. Lydikes strides into the council chambers with a pronounced bowlegged appearance and the dust of the East still clinging to him. "So, we are bickering again over the fate of the Ptolemaic dogs again, are we? Are we ever going to learn that time spent vacillating over 'should we attack here, should we attack there?' just give them yet another chance to catch us with our chitons around our ankles?" Glaring at Polyxenidos Lykikos "AND YOU, YOU BABYLONIAN FREAK, If I Didn't know Mardakou well, I'd be inclined to think you're all a bunch of whiny, poppy addled jackarses who can't help meddling in things they obviously know nothing about. Just because you can't tell the business end of an army from your arsehole doesn't mean you should all of a sudden question the way an obviously seasoned warrior conducts a war. So shut your hole, smoke this" throwing a large bundle of Skythian herb at him "and stick to your trade contracts. Who do you think protects your precious caravans anyway. If it weren't for warriors like the Basileus, you'd be nothing but a poor arsed dirt scrabbler like the rest of the peasants."

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: It seems that every time Phanias leaves town, he gets the "unquenched anger" trait, so I'm gonna RP that for emergency sessions and such. Remember, he probably killed several remounts to get here from Parthava so quickly.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos raises his hand...

Satrap Lydikes, please control yourself! Although I share your view, that it is needless to have an Edict for every town that we want to take from our enemy, we can talk about it without getting too emotional.

Turning towards Sarpedon..

Those CA's you proposed.. I like them. But could you also mention what 'Rule' do they change. At the moment it's a little bit confusing.

As I understand, your CA E1.1 changes will be added to the 'Rule 4.1' and your CA E1.2 changes will be added to the 'Rule 3.10'?

Am I right?

[Celtic_Punk]

Cunobelinus who had snuck in unnoticed several hours ago stands up" I second Edict 1.3, Charter amendment 1.1 and 1.2. Those men are expensive to keep and are quite independent. It would take someone of greater influence to keep them together and to act accordingly. CA 1.2 should also be passed because if a Heir wishes his Aid to lead his own army, despite whatever sort of army it may be he should allowed to do so.

I also propose an Edict myself. Edict 1.4 : The war against Epiros should be put on hold when Byzantion falls till we finish with the Gold Coast of Egypt. The reason for this is simple. If we stretch too far too thin too fast we will become easy targets for our enemies. When we take Byzantion the Dacians may not be too happy about our new presence. I know these people better than anyone here. They are hardy like my own people, but are not as wary of the consequences of their own actions. They are ballsy and will pick a fight they cannot hope to win. They also use a weapon called a falx. Any armour we outfit our men with can be torn in half with this weapon. Our western forces should begin training to counter these weapons, so they are not taken off guard if Phyros employ them or the Dacians choose that we are a threat to their sovereignty.

I do not think we should give Ptolemy a chance to regroup with a ceasefire. Even if we make them our protectorate they will not sit idly. We must march down the Nile and destroy them as quickly as possible. 2 Armies with perhaps a small contingent of reinforcements trailing those 2 armies would be sufficient to deal the blows necessary. We cannot allow them to regroup. Just holding the Gold Coast will not be enough to stop them. We will have a long exposed front where we can be pushed into the sea. And Alexandriea will be cut off and overrun. This is total war we face with Ptolemy. We cannot go about this half assed. I do not propose a scorched earth policy at all. I propose we simply destroy all resistance and not stop till they cannot levy any proper force against us ever again.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Antiochos smiles..

Dear Cunobelinus, I think this is how you are called these days Arrhenides, you just said that we should not let me qoute you, "stretch too far too thin too fast" but still want us to go down the Nile? The forces available to us are not strong enough to do this. Also, do you think Epeiros will just stand idly when we go against Ptolemaioi?

Ceasefire with Ptolemaioi is not the perfect solution but at least we have taken their ability to build large fleets and recruit their 'elite' units. Also, knowing how irritated they are because of our presence is victory itself!

[kingsnake]

Aratos claps his hands three times and lifts up.

Yes.

I share Strategos Cunobelinus' opinion. Our war agaisnt Ptolemy is total! We must not stop until Egypt is fully under the rightful control of the Arche.

So I second Edict 1.4!

[MerlinusCDXX]

Basileus, my apologies for my outburst, it was inappropriate for a meeting such as this. Though, could someone PLEASE tell me that we are looking to our defense while we conduct this campaign. I realize that many of you would love nothing more than to march down the Nile like an armored juggernaught, but we can't afford to give the Aigyptoi dogs ANY back doors into our lands. And what about the rumors of previous Edicts being overturned? Taking Petra is vital, oh, I know it's nothing but a desert craphole, much like the rest of Aigyptos below Memphis, but its strategic position is vital.

Cunobelinus, you do speak some sense about things, but , If you could perhaps re-word your Edict to be less vague, perhaps giving Dispolis-Megale as the new defensive line, I would give it full support. The rest of Aigyptos south of there is filled with nothing but naked barbaroi, it would be more expensive to keep them under control than to just let them burn in the African sun. The problem I see with taking too much of the Mesogeios (Mediterranean) coast is that we would eventually piss off the Qart-Hadastim, and from news that I've heard, they are a pretty advanced people. We are already on the wrong side of alliances as far as they are concerned anyways, and I'd hate to see us at war with them over land we don't even want.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: The naked barbaroi comment is due to my characters extreme xenophobia (hates strangers trait), not any prevailing attitude on my part.

Please fell free to correct my horrible Greek.