Summit - Nicosia

[AussieGiant]

"Now we just await Senator Tiverios.

I assume we will wait until he arrives before beginning?"

[_Tristan_]

Senator Vringas,

May I suggest we begin without waiting for Tiverios ? I was the one who requested his presence and though I feel at a disadvantage right now, I am ready to face whatever you want to throw at me in these dealings.

He will be able to catch up later and assess what has been said and done.

[OverKnight]

Tiverios rushes in looking a bit worse for wear. He bows to the Basileus and the Caesar and nods to the other men.

Apologies, I was settling matters at Ragusa.

Please, let us continue. While I feel it is unfortunate that a represenative from the Order is not here to settle that dispute as well, I hope we can at least heal this current rift between the Basileus and the Caesar.

While I am not certain as to what role I can play, I will assist anyway I can.

[AussieGiant]

Apionnas nods in acknowledgment to Tiverios.

"Alright gentlemen, I think it is time to get into the point of us being here on this very nice island.

I called this meeting for a very simple reason.

While civil war has existed between the Basileus and the Caesar for nearly 10 years, neither party has made any effort to pursue or engage each other in any type of conflict.

Therefore in my opinion, there is no real appetite for this conflict in any serious fashion.

If this is the case then I ask both parties here and now...

What will it take to have the matter resolved at this time?"

Apionnas holds the gaze of each man for a few seconds to ensure a few moments of thought are made before replying.

[_Tristan_]

Sitting on a fallen column of the derelict colosseum, Methodios comtemplates the uneasy silence that settled after the High Chancellor's words. Without raising, he finally breaks the silence.

My Lords,

None can deny that this war is nothing but de facto. I did not declare war on the Basileus, nor did he declare it on me, but I can understand that my decision to marry my daughter aginast his will was construed as an act of disobedience that bordered on irreverence and thus set us at odds.

All this could have been resolved if the Basileus was not so rash and inconsiderate of the well-being of his vassals, not so power-hungry that the end justifies the means.

While I do not deny that our law decrees that it is his power to decide upon the marriages of daughter of his line, it does not prevent him from seeking the consent of the party concerned before announcing to the whole Empire.

While I may have been considered the one who flaunted authority in this case, the actions of the Basileus in the instance of the marriage of my daughter Hypatia were like a slap in my face, a slap which he knew I would not ignore and thus hoped to get rid of me.

But he misjudged the fact that even faced with veiled threats many Senators would declare neutrality in this conflict, clamoring to the whole world the lack of power and control that Ioannis has upon his vassals.

For loyalty is not granted, it must be earned and Ioannis has not managed to do that. Most of the Senators that joined with him did so out of loyalty to the function of Basileus rather than for the man himself.

Rarely in our long history has a man in power garnered so much distrust and antipathy.

This whole business of war was nothing but a ploy born in Ioannis' mind, perhaps with some third party advisor, to bring to heel all Houses and destroy those that would resist.

Proof of this is clearly apparent in his declaration of war against the Order of Saint-John. The Order expressed no sympathy for my cause, nor did they declare neutrality but still they faced the Basileus' wrath, a wrath long contained from years of bickering with the former Grandmaster, noble Makedonios. Now Ioannis had found a way to vent his fury on false grounds.

I do not want to enter in a prolonged war with Ioannis. A war that would shed the blood of so many of our Greek brothers, and to no avail. I spent my whole life fighting to enlarge the Empire, from taking Durazzo to almost conquering Egypt in its entirety, with my men. I fought always to protect our Greek countrymen, be it by relieving Belgrade, keeping order in Cairo or using as few men as possible in my battles so that our blood should not be drunk thirstily by unforgiving sands.

With that in mind, do you truly think that I would seek to destroy Ioannis, bringing battle on Greek soil against Romans ? Have you seen any move made by me since that "declaration of war" that could be construed as a hostile move ? Even with the threat of all armies of Constantinople swooping down upon me, I managed to get rid of the Fatimids, capturing the holiest of Muslim cities in the same stroke.

Are these the actions of a rebel ? If so, I'm glad to be considered so.

I didn't want to launch myself into such a long rant but I had to let things out. I hope I didn't bore you and I am now willing to listen to Ioannis' answer and proposals towards the resolution of this conflict.

[Ignoramus]

Strolling around in the midst of the coliseum, Ioannis began his reply.

You must forgive me, Methodios, if my decision seemed unfeeling to you and your daughter. But the fact is that you are Caesar. You are the second greatest man in the empire, and thus it is necessary for your daughter to be wedded to a man whose character, loyalty, and ideals that are known to both of us. I understand the pain and sacrifice required in fulfilling one's duty, but our elevated position requires this of us. I married a woman I had not set my eyes upon - a princess of royal blood from the Rus. But love came after marriage and I did my duty to the empire.

I am afraid to say that you do not help your case with your words. Even the meanest beggar on the streets of Constantinople knows that I have difficulties in maintaining the support of the nobles of the empire. That is exactly why emperors, even such of a generous and forgiving nature as myself, cannot tolerate such acts of defiance. The marriage, it is true, was announced in the Magnaura. It was official, and I fully intended it to take place. You were consulted, and it is unfortunate that my wishes were in conflict with yours. However, I must admit I was disappointed that a man of your standing would defy me over an issue which has been Roman law and tradition for over 500 years.

It is ironic that you claim that capturing Mecca was not the action of a rebel, when I had expressly ordered a cessation of hostilities against the Fatimids.

However, our meeting here in this arena is not a fight to the death but rather a coming together to heal wounds and restore unity to the empire.

I will present my terms for the cessation of the conflict.

I. Methodios Tagaris, Caesar of the Romans, must humbly apologise in the Magnaura for disobeying the Basileus' command and marrying his daughter off without his permission. There must be no excuses given, else the apology is meaningless.

II. Methodios Tagaris, Caesar of the Romans, must surrender the city of Cairo over to the Basileus.

If the Caesar agrees with and acts upon these two points, he will be fully pardoned and a ceasefire will be accomplished. He will also be invited to join the Basileus in the invasion of Italy as a show of unity.

As for peace with the Order of St. John:

I. They must fully apologise for their disloyalty and their insults directed at the Basileus' person. Again, this must be an unreserved apology.

And concerning Michail Arianitis:

I. He must surrender Durazzo to the Basileus, who will grant it back to him on receiving a full oath of personal loyalty.

II. He must apologise unreservedly to the whole Magnaura for his act of disowning the empire.

I await your word, Caesar.

[_Tristan_]

Upon hearing the Basileus' answer, Methodios rises from his seat on the fallen column.

My Lord, you will have to lower your demands for what you ask of me is too much.

Apologies ? Apologies ?

You should apologize to me or more exactly to us, nobles of your Empire.

You say you consulted me on the subject of my daughter's wedding, I call that a lie. You took your decision on your own, with never a care to whom I might find suitable as a betrothed for my daughter. Had you truly wanted to find someone suitable, we could have come to terms on someone which may have been your brother or not... But your rash actions drove me to this... And I deny you the right to question the character, loyalty or ideals of Vakchos Tzetzis. This man has served with me for years and I know him for a true Roman.

As for calling me a rebel, I'll accept it. I captured Mecca against your will for I could not leave that well of infamy right on our doorstep ready to spill hordes of scimitar-wielding fanatics upon our unsuspecting and reinforcement-lacking Egyptian cities. So yes, I am a rebel and proud of it if being a rebel means standing up to a tyrannical ruler who places the best interests of himself and his followers above the good of the whole Empire.

I think I have proven multiple times that I was willing to fulfill my duties to the Empire to the best of my abilities. And do believe that I know the pain and sacrifice that come from serving. Should I remember you the many losses I suffered : Zagreb, Kosmas, Annios... So do not lecture me on the cost of sacrifice... I was not born to my position, I deserved it... Your own father saw merit in my actions and elevated me, the greatest honour done to me...

But what of your service to your father's legacy ? Aleksios left us a powerful, united Empire but already he knew the seeds of dissention were growing with your future accession to the throne. Your uncovered plans to get rid of the Order (and I thank Lord Kalameteros for bringing them to the light, should I not have done so in the past) cast a shadow on your future governance. You created that situation... Now, it is plain to all in this Empire from paupers to princes that the Basileus is not fit to rule over his nobles, having lost their trust so many years ago.

So rather than make pointless demands in exchange for your pardon, you should rather ask what we, nobles of the Empire, would demand as a price to give back our trust to our Basileus.

That would be a step towards mending the rift in the fabric of our Empire.