To Synedrion (The Royal Council)

[Maion Maroneios]

This is a thread aimed only for players who are subscribed to The Vergina Sun. Here, we are going to hold all Synedrion meetings. They Synedrion is to be held every once a year, at the closing of the war season (Winter). The Basileus has to officially state the beginning and end of every session here, so that players know when they have to post. Elections and voting procedures will be given the form of a public poll, which will be created by me, Maion Maroneios, with the Basileus' request.

How the Synedrion works: Every Winter, the Synedrion is going to hold a meeting after the current Basileus' official announcement. The Basileus is the one who defines when a meeting begins and ends. All voting procedures will take the form of a public poll. In order to participate in the Synedrion, you have to have the corresponding rank (defeault for all starting characters).

When a session begins, the Basileus makes the opening speech, by making the first post where he lists all details he wishes to discuss with the Synedroi. This means all other players have to wait for the Basileus to post first, then start the discussion. After a session reaches an end, all possible decisions that have been discussed will be formed into Edicts, that require half plus one vote of the Synedroi to pass. Only the Basileus has the right of making a list of all Edicts he wishes to undergo a voting procejure, which has to pm'ed to me in order to make a corresponding poll. If an Edict is of great importance and the votes are a tie, another voting procedure will undergo. This time, it will need only 2/3 of the Synedroi's total votes.

If a certain player has his avatar far from Pella, he can send a so-called "representative" who will speak with his voice to the Synedrion. The same goes to the Basileus, who can appoint either his Basilikos Grammateus, or someone else in charge of running the Synedrion and making decisions depending on the Basileus' wishes.

For any further questions, go to the TVS Player Chatroom.

Maion

[The Celtic Viking]

Opening of the Synedrion - 11th May, 272 BCE
This is an emergency session.

[The Celtic Viking]

The man who brought the parchment to the speaker in the agora steps into the floor and waits for the Synedrion to gather. He then speaks up as loud and clear as his voice allows him:

"I am Agathangelos, and I was sent by basileus Antigonos Gonatas to represent him here when he can't attend himself. My first announcement to you here on his behalf is that Krateros Argeades, his older brother, will be the Basilikos Grammateus.

What he wish to be addressed in this emergency session is the Epeirote problem. We all know it: the Molossian king Pyrrhos is in Makedonia and he pose a real threat to Pella. We need to decide how we are to counter this, while still not forgetting about the Hellenes to the south, or the barbarians to the north. Should we separate our forces in the south, so that either Krateros or Antigonos himself march north with their army while the other stays to keep check on the south? Should we seek peace with either faction, and concentrating all our military might on the other?

This is what you have to discuss."

Agathangelos bows.

[/Bean\]

Theophilus Diokletes rose. A prominent Synedroi his younger days, he now spent much of his time being hired as tutor for young noble's, and had recently taken up to representing the young Alexandros Argeades, the son of the King's brother.

I wish to thank Antigonos for bringing together this council in the country's most dire need. We face a great peril, gentlemen, one we would do well to act quickly rather than to argue long into the night.

The Molloson will bear his army upon the gates of our capital within a matter of a few weeks, if not days. Though defeated in Magna Graecia, Pyrrhus will be well equiped to assault our poorly defended nation while it's armies reside in the south. While Pella itself is of only administrative and historical importance, Makedonia is not. It is our homeland, and houses the great cities of Thessalonika and Aigai, along with the great mining towns to the north. It must be defended. But by who?

As I understand it, Antigonos still plans to march on Athenai, does he not? These treachorous good-for-nothing Ionians still look down their purfumed noses upon us, the conquerers of the world. They need to be reminded of their place, it is true. But does this hatred of the independent democracies override our need to defend our homeland? I wonder how our small empire will react should Makedonia itself fall. How loyal are our subjects? Loyal to the king? Or loyal to strength?

Whatever path we may choose, we must be certain it is the right one. We must show strength, unity, and above all, ruthlessness. We cannot allow all we have accomplished thus far to be thrown away by some semi-barbarians from the west!

As I speak for the young Alexandros, who could not make it to Pella himself, I would like to inform the Synedrion that Alexandros nominates himself to serve in the war effort, be that against the Greeks, or the Molossions.

Thank you.

Theophilus Diokletes sits.

[Hotseat_User]

A shadow enters the floor of the synedron, right after that another one. Then the two persons with long hoods make a short stop. The tall one seems to take a look of the scenery, then turn around and exits the synedron entrance while no noise is hearable from some steps. The other immedeately steps further pushing back the hood. A long grey beard, hiding a smile becomes to be seen.

Welcome fellows of our Macedonia, free people of our good king!
As you all know, we are in serious trouble, after all those years campaigning outside of hellas, Phyrros finally decided to join our beatiful lands with his troops. The basileus has told to hold a emergency session of this commitee.
Informants of mine have given me some nice thoughts about the current situation. From our point of view, we have no need to seperate our troops in the south facing the alliance of free greek poleis. They should stay there without even think about their homes in danger.
There will be no danger for our capital of Pella. ...
With coopted work of the basileus fleet, the well known an also well trained garrission of Demetrias could be here - before Phyrros even has the chance of setting up a siege. In case they really hurry up, all ressources for a trouble-free defeat of the Epirotes can be here - without a weakening of our troops further in the south.

If you want more informations, I'll be here again in a few hours. There are people who whish to meet me right now. I have to hurry, but I hope my thoughts can help you out.

Illuminating himself in his grey hood, the person leaves the synedron with harsh steps, even without waiting for some response frome the audience.

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

Karpos Aiginios sits back in his chair, his enormous girth roiling under his white robe Phyrros must be dealt with, that is sure. but I for one believe that trying to split our forces to go against them would be a horrible mistake. For that reason I believe the peace must be reached with the Greeks. at least until we manage to get Phyrros out of the way. Theophilus Diokletes, those "perfumed Ionians" may look down on us, but to March against them now could end in disaster. If you can not stand them at least respect them for what they have done. They held off the Persians long before Megas Alexandros marched against them, for that we must show caution. Peace is the order of the day I say! Do not split our forces, I beg you all. For I see it ending only in pain.

[HunGeneral]

Philadelphios Teleochos an elder Synedros stands up and addresses the Snyedrion:

"Fellow Makedones! We seem to have many different plans on how to defend our Kingdom from the threat of Phyrros and his army of Epeirotai and Barbaroi, as well from the so called “Koinon Helennon” formed by those dim-minded Attikans, those over proud Lakedaimoi from Sparte and the Rhodoi who never saw and will never see farther then there own coffers…They might have driven back the Persians centuries before but after that all they could achieve since then was to fight amongst eachother and bring war and destruction to Hellas. Megas Alexandros and his Makedonian warriors were the first to unite Hellas and avenge the Persian actrocities.

Of all of these the most dangerous in my mind seems to be Phyrros the Molosson and his soldiers. The foolish Hellenes of the south always fought against each other and they will not agree now either on what they should do. Taking this into account I would suggest our true Basileus to march with his army north to support the defense of our Capital against Phyrros should it be of need.
However Basileus Antigonos should be ready to face an attack by the Attikans. They have shown several times how eager they are to fight an enemy who seems to be fleeing. Just remember Chaeronea… even there when the soldiers of Philippos started to move back the warriors of Athens were sure in there victory… On to Makedonia they shouted in there overconfidence… and soon Megas Alexandros himself lead the charge of Hetairoi which sealed the fate of Hellas against them.

If the Attikans attack then kill or capture them all. Only so will they learn the price for defying the true ruler of all Hellenes. Once there soldiers are all sent to Hades or in our captivity they will be too scared and too weak to even attempt to interfere with our actions.
If they don’t attack then we should gather our armies and prepare to drive back Phyrros to Epeiros where he belongs…"

Philadelphios sits down and awaits the reaction of the other Synedroi.

[/Bean\]

Theophilus Diokeltes stood, looking over at Karpos Aiginios.

Karpos Aiginios, if you listened to my speech you would have heard that I make no mention of splitting our forces, nor do I denounce the Greeks as weak or below us. I merely say we have war on two fronts, and we must choose between them.

I do not believe we are in a position to make peace with the Greeks. They want independence; they started this war, not us. The only terms we can offer is independence, and we would be forced to retreat our garrisons in Korinthos and Attika. I cannot agree to that.

[The Celtic Viking]

Agathangelos stood up and cleared his throat.

"Neither can I. That is the very reason why our situation is so precarious. We have two field armies, one commanded by Antigonos Gonatas, and the other by Krateros. Both are at the moment in the south. If you do not wish them to split up, Karpos Aiginios, then you are left with a dilemma: which front would you have us leave undefended? Of course, the question whether our resistance will be strong enough in either place if we only send a part of our forces is also a strong point, as you point out, and we will need to balance these issues dearly. It is not as clearly cut so that the preferable course of action is obvious. I'm sure we all agree about that.

Personally I have not yet made up my mind on what route we should take, but I do lean towards a split, with Gonatas moving back north. More soldiers to stand a better chance against Pyrrhos can be levied up in Thessalia, and if our coffers allow it and our need demands it, there is the option of hiring mercenaries. If we do that I have enough faith in Gonatas' ability as an army commander to have a fair chance at beating Pyrrhos back to Epeiros, and if he manage to do that, we may be able to ascertain a peace with him, and convince him to focus on Italia instead. Meanwhile, Krateros should be able to keep the Greeks at bay. I'm not saying it would be easy, or that it would carry no risk, but a smaller army travels faster, and we may be able to surprise them that way, catch them off guard.

I'm not completely sure though, as I said, and your thoughts are, as always, heavier than gold."

[/Bean\]

I agree. We need to get our priorities right. The Greeks, for the moment, need to be held at bay, while we must show Pyrrhus that Makedonia is strong enough not to bother attacking. We need to prove that Pyrrhus is better off attacking Magna Graecia. Once Epirus is dealt with, we can turn our main attention back south.

But Antigonos will not reach Pella in time to save it. We need to decide whether to abandon it and reclaim it later, or to risk the lives of the brave Makedonians that protect it.

[Maion Maroneios]

A medium-sized man with a grey beard stands up and, after catching the eyes of the rest of the Synedroi, speaks with a clear and loud voice:

Noble sympatriotai, I am happy to see you all here! My name is Antisthenes Pellinios, and some of you may already know me. I hail from a very old Makedonian family, with all of my ancestors having served as Synedroi in the past.

Certainly, the times are grim for little Makedonia, but seeing ourselves unified instead of divided at these times shows something very important: That we, the true heirs of Megas Alexandros, have withstood all those years of war and sivil strife successfully and are still standing. For the most important thing in life, at least from what I have understood, is not how hard you can hit, but how many hits you can sustain and still be able to get up every time.

Now, let me get into the main part of my speech. Namely, the problem we are currently facing. You see, as grim as our situation may seem, we can never lose ourselves. Even with those Epeirotai knocking at our doors just as we speak. The people are counting on us, their leaders, to get them out of this mess. And who are we to refuse that to our people? They, after all, are free people of the Basileion Makedonias and do not deserve to live under the tyranny of this Pyrrhos from Epeiros. For tyranny it will be, given the outrageous ambitions of this man. He even thinks he is going to be the next Megas Alexandros himself or, maybe in his wildest dreams, even greater!

Some laughter can be heard throughout the Synedrion and Antisthenes waits until the noise sunsides to continue.

To make things even better, we have lost most of the control in southern Hellas due to this unreasonable rebellion. And I am referring to this petty, though dangerous, alliance formed by Chremonides of Athenai. The southern Hellenes are not to be taken lightly, fellow Synedroi. They might not stand a chance against our military forces, but in the seas they are very dangerous. Furthermore, the fact that we are shifting our eyes to the north towards the invading force of Pyrrhos, is more than enough to incite them to attack our holdings in Peloponnesos. As you may know, our fellow Makedones, Krateros and Alexandros of the royal family, are left alone to protect Achaia. The only thing we can count upon right now, are the forces of Basileus Antigonos, who is campaigning in Attike.

If we want to effectively counter this crisis, we must grab every field that needs to be attended, isolate it and figure out how to fix the problem. Of course, the problem becomes more complicated as more fields eneter the problem, but all can be done with necessary organization, rationale and carefullness. Here are some points I have prepared and possible solutions:

1) The Pyrrhos matter. Since obviously the garrison present in Pella is too small to hold back the Epeirotai, we will have to reinforce the garrison. A good way to do that, in my oppinion, would be to stansfer troops from Demetrias to Pella as soon as possible. The fastest way, as I see it, would be to use our royal navy and ship the troops from Thessalia to the port of Thessalinike, then a quick march to Pella.

2) The southern poleis matter. Here, I believe our forces are strong enough to wipe out any remains of the Koinon Hellenon, as the Southrons call their alliance. Athenai lies before our Basileus like a ripe fruit ready to be picked, so I understand the temptation must be great. Though, in my oppinion, Antigonos should do the following: Take the bulk of his army and march back north, while leaving a portion behind so that Krateros and Alexandros can defend Achaia while the Epeirotai are being taken care of.

3) Economics. Since all this requires coins, something which we don't have an ambudance of, I believe the Basileus should consider announcing War Taxes to applied to all across the Basileion.

There is more I wish to say, but I believe I should let others speak before I end and, of course, listen to any criticism on my rationale.

And with that, Antisthenes sits back down and takes a gulp of water from a cup that is given to him by a nearby slave.

[Iskander 3.1]

Risto, representating Archon Basilikou Stolou Alkaios rose
The Archon Basilikou Stolou says that his fleet is ready to support whatever decision the Synedrion reaches. He does not wish to interfere in the matters of generals, just as Poseidon will not interfere with that which is Zeus'. Likewise, he must remind you that Zeus does not interfere with Poseidon's realm, and asks for the same courtesy from the Synedrion. He stresses that we are in no shape to challenge the Athenoi for control of the Aigaion as of this time. We will not engage this alliance at sea unless he deems it prudent. In the coming months, after this crisis is abated, we can discuss naval reforms.

[vartan]

The Synedros stands. Axios Anaxagoras is relaxed and speaks clearly.

My fellow Makedones...the time has come for a great people, under a great king, to make great decisions. Our situation is not bleak at all, but reassuring, because it is yet another test of our might and our self-confidence. For if none of us have forgotten, it was not too long ago that one of us rose against Persian might and Makedon's heartbeat was felt through vast lands as an earthquake moves the Earth itself. Let us not forget, that any decision we make, we give all our effort and all our strength. It is for this reason that I have full confidence in you, my brothers, and the Basileus of Makedon herself, my King, that any decision you make, you will have my full and unconditional support. May Pyrrhus, Koinon Hellenon, and the barbarioi know their limits, for nothing will stand in our way. Long live the Basileus!

[johnhughthom]

A man stands, he is obviously an experienced military man, though he seems uncomfortable in his current surroundings.

Greetings fellow Makedons, I bear a message from my master, the brother of our Basileus, Krateros Argeades.

"Friends, no doubt you are all debating the Pyrrhos problem and how we should attack it. My opinion is we should do just that, attack it. My brother Kalos has a small force with him in Demetrias, and my nephew Alkyoneus has a force here in Pella. The two combined should be enough to defeat Pyrrhos, perhaps our fleet may be of use in helping Kalos make Pella without Pyrrhos intervening. I am well aware of the youth of both men but when has youth ever stopped a man fulfilling his destiny? I am certain history will tell tales of the two young men who defeated Pyrrhos and saved Makedonia.
As for me, I am ready to undertake whatever the Synedrion feels necessary, go north to mop up the Epirotes after Pyrrhos is dealt with, or stay here and show this "Koinen Hellenon" who is destined to rule Greece."

I should add this message was written before my master was made Basilikos Grammateus and on his behalf I would like to thank the Basileus for the honour. I will wait here until I have orders to return with.

[johnhughthom]

A few minutes later another messenger arrives from Krateros.

Lords, I bear a message from my master Krateros.

"I have received word from my spies within Pyrrhos' army that he believes we are unaware of his position close to Pella, he is under the impression we believe him to be many miles away yet. If we could join Kalos' and Alkyoneus' armies together in Pella, then march south he may attack, unsupported by his son who is marching to join him. We should use Pyrrhos' own bravery and rashness against him. Alkyoneus should then march south to garrison Demetrias.
I am unsure if it is possible to join the two armies in time and leave it to those closer to the scene to decide if this is a viable plan."

The messenger leaves the hall.

[mini]

Alkyoneus rose graciously

"And who exactly is to be in command if this charge against Phyrrus? Did your master tell you that?"

[/Bean\]

Theophilus Diokeltes rose.

Is that all you care about, Alkyoneus? Our homes are in trouble; concentrate on that, not on who gets the glory. The Synedrion will vote for someone to lead our men to victory.

[Maion Maroneios]

Antisthenes rises up and addresses the aroused Synedroi

Friends! Let us be rational, first and foremost.

He then turns around and faces Alkyoneus

Noble Alkyoneus, we all undrestand you have a great weight on your soldiers, as you have been tasked of guarding our great polis of Pella. Your reaction to this messenger's words are completely rational and I feel I have to protest too; Pyrrhos Aiakides, as foolish as he may be, is an excellent commander and has even defeated our Basileus in combat before! Let us not forget that and believe ourselves to be invincible.

Antisthenes turns towards Karpos Aiginios and addresses the man

Noble Karpos, you have spoken before and I restrained from opposing your words, awaiting for someone to justify what I am about to tell you. You see, I do not believe focusing on one front at a time is the best solution at the present moment. Our Basileion is crumbling on multiple fronts and we must face every problem at once, if we have any hopes of overcoming our enemies.

Let me give you an example; if you have a dam that has a hole in it, you use your finger to stop the leakage. When the dam starts to crack in many places, you block the holes in every possible way before you start repairing the dam. You never focus on one or few big holes, or the dam will break and the land will be flooded.

He then turns and addresses the whole Synedrion

Men, at the present point I believe we should act in one way only; defensively. Right now, we cannot afford another plunder. Even if we manage to subdue southern Hellas, we are in danger of losing our homeland to Pyrrhos. If we focus too much on Pyrrhos, we risk to loose it all. So we have to find a way in the middle, as I proposed before. Split our forces, with the bulk of Antigonos' army going up north to counter the Epeirote invasion, while a small portion stays back to reinforce the garrison of Korinthos.

Furthermore, there are some other matters I wish to remind you. Namely, Pyrrhos has a reputation of doing half-done work. He starts something that catches his attention, then something new arises and he abandons any previous plans. He is not a man that finishes a job well, in other words. Zeus willing, Pyrrhos might even abandon his invasion of Makedonia and give us time to recover.

If, now, our Basileus decides he is going to fight defensively, he has many advantages. The most important one being the fact that our phalanxes are at their best in crowded areas, plus we are fighting in our own homeland. This is something many of us seem to fail to understand, but a man fighting for his land is ten times stronger than a man fighting for coins or a despot.

Antisthenes finally sits down again

[Iskander 3.1]

Perhaps we should send envoys to the Cartheginians for aid? They are at war with Phyrrus already, and it would be a burden off our navy as well.

[/Bean\]

Theophilus nodded.

Hmm, a good idea. But it may take some time for an envoy to reach them by land, and a voyage by sea concerning such an important matter would require a personal escort of Makedonian ships, of which we can hardly spare.

[johnhughthom]

Krateros' first messenger, awaiting orders for his master, rose, unsure of whether he was allowed to speak or not.

Er, in my experience Carthaginians have one concern and one only, money. Um, unless we can convince them of profit from such a venture, it is unlikely they would actually come to our aid. They may agree to an "alliance" and proclaim Pyrrhos as their enemy, but what would they actually gain from sending troops or fleets to aid our efforts? He is well away from their sphere of influence and not affecting their trade.

If I may, unless we attack Pyrrhos it seems highly likely Pella will fall, his forces are split at the moment, if we give them time to join and assault our homeland it will be much more difficult to defeat them.

He glances around nervously then sits, still looking over his shoulders.

[The Celtic Viking]

Agathangelos stands up, clearing his throat.

"Antisthenes, what you are proposing is just what I proposed with the only alteration that Antigonos should leave some forces behind. Do you really think that is wise? His army isn't great as it is, and though the force Pyrrhos has at his disposal right now is relatively small as well, his son is not far away with reinforcements. As you admit yourself, Pyrrhos is undoubtedly a good commander, so it seems foolish to me to weaken Antigonos' forces even further before facing him. Is Krateros' army not strong enough to hold the Greeks at bay at least while threat of Pyrrhos is met? Right now I have less fear of them than I have of the Molossian king, though I of course don't mean to underestimate them either.

But should we take to your proposal, what units would you have Antigonos leave? Not the phalangites or the hoplitai, I hope - they're the backbone of his army, the anvil, and he would need them himself. The cavalry wing? Small as it already is, it provides another vital function - the hammer - and he can't make it without them. What's left are the Keltoi and the psiloi, and he wish not to part with the former, and the latter are just rabble armed with javelins and slings anyway. I doubt they could help save us from the Greeks if Krateros' can't with what he has already. So what of it? Who and how many of them would you have him depart without?"

[johnhughthom]

Krateros' messenger, looking surprised at his own boldness, rose once more.

My friend, I am unsure of your military experience but I have fought in many battles. Pyrrhos has elephants with him and strange as it may seem those psiloi are exactly what the Basileus will need to take down the elephants. I am unsure of the make up of Kalos' and Alkyoneus' armies, unless they have many psiloi the Basileus should take his.

He gives a small wince as he sits down too quickly from sheer nervousness.

[/Bean\]

Theophilus Diokletes arose once more.

It is obvious by now, gentlemen, that we do need to divide our forces. However, all our field forces reside in the south, while only a handful act as city garrisons in our northern strongholds. As large as it is, Antigonos' army is largely made up of those young men levied from Makedonia and Thessila on his march southwards, with only a small core of proffessional troops. With many of our elite brigades wiped out by Pyrrhus' past attacks, we rely on few professional soldiers to uphold our kingdom.

However, the levies will be extremely angry to have marched to Attika only to turn around, march past their homes once more and go and fight a much stronger and larger enemy, with more professional soldiers in his midst. We may face a mutiny in the single most disastrous time possible. Therefore, I propose the following:-

Move the entire garrison currently stationed in Demetrias via sea to aid in the defence of Pella, while those forces levied from Thessaly that serve in Antigonos' army return home to defend their polis.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

(OOC: move a couple of levy hoplites or something from Antigonos' large army to garrison Demetrias.)

Krateros should remain in the south, though if facing a large enemy force perhaps retreat to Korinthos. It would be a disastor should our garrison there be overwhelmed and the city lost.

The rest of Antigonos' army should march north to confront Pyrrhus' forces, by then hopefully whittled down to a defeatable number by our forces in Pella. If needed, perhaps our forces there can be supplimented by extra troops or mercenaries, to better aid the defence of the capital.

[The Celtic Viking]

Agathangelos addresses Krateros' messenger.

"Who, me? I am merely a messenger really, and I have never seen battle myself, though I thought myself bold enough to understand the rudimentary bits of it, all I've learnt from speaking with Antigonos. I did not know that, though I am sure Gonatas himself did. But that leaves only the Galatians then, and as I said, he does not wish to leave them behind. Say what you wish about their habits, culture and language, but those barbarians sure know how to fight."

He turns to Theophilus.

"If you think Antigonos' army is large enough to leave that many of the core soldiers, then you are working from greatly exaggerated numbers. As you say yourself, all his soldiers with the exception of the small cavalry wing are levies, and how well will they stand against Pyrrhos' troops if outnumbered as well? You must not forget Pyrrhos' son, friend. Antigonos will need all the men he have. I do not think they will mind, certainly not to the degree of mutiny, as you would have it."

[johnhughthom]

I must agree with Agathangelos, I wonder if Theophilus truly understands the mind of a soldier if he thinks they will mutiny at having to defend their homeland.

The messenger gives a little chuckle before sitting down.

[/Bean\]

Theophilus stands, looking puzzled.

I feel you misunderstand me. I said that those who we levied from Thessaly should return home, lest they be forced to march past their homes to fight elsewhere. Those we levied from Makedonia itself will of course continue to march with Antigonos to defend our country and their homes.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: I meant that we station just a couple of levy units in Demetrias from Antigonos' army., we can choose what two. The rest of the army can march north to fiht the Epirites.

[Maion Maroneios]

Antisthenes stands up and addresses Rito

Rito, allow me to disagree with this idea. External matters and creating alliances with far-away people is not what I would consider as rational in these times. Why, an envoy would take that much time to reach the Karchedonioi, that they might even return home finding an Epeirote flag over the Akropolis of Pella!

He then turns to Agathangelos

Noble Agathangelos, let me explain. I am no man of war, thus I cannot have an oppinion as to what soldiers Antigonos should take with him or leave behind. It just sounded rational, though from what I hear the troops of Antigonos aren't as powerful as I thought they were. In that case, maybe it would be better for Antigonos to march straight to Pella after all. Then again, I'm not sure of the strength of Krateros' army either. Thus, I believed an equillibrium of numbers to be the best solution.

There is something else I believe would be wise to do at this point. Namely, I think our Archikataskopos could gather some information on Pyrrhos' army composition, as well as his son's, and present them to our Basileus? Then, Antigonos could probably make a final decision based on pure facts instead of speculation.

Antisthenes sits down again

[The Celtic Viking]

Archangelos addresses Theophilus.

"Makedonian soldiers will fight where the Makedonian commanders tells them to fight. When we levied them they expected to leave Thessaly to take Athenai, and it is still men we're talking about. They will not break up and cry because they will have to defend Makedonia instead. Also, why don't you address the problem with Pyrrhos' son and the reinforcements he bring?

How can you expect Antigonos to defeat such a capable commander as Pyrrhos when he has to face better trained and more numerous soldiers coupled with elephants, and all he has is levies, and he has to leave 50% of his army's backbone in Thessalia because you fear the men won't be willing to fight for the freedom of Makedonians? Madness!"

He takes a few breaths and then turns to Antisthenes.

"I wholeheartedly agree with that. We need information about the strength and size of the reinforcements sent to Pyrrhos are. I do not wish to make a hen out of a feather, but I am equally loth to making a feather out of a hen, and when all is said and done, I'd rather be safe than sorry. With the information we have at this point, I must insist that all able men in Antigonos' army be brought with him."

[/Bean\]

Theophilus answers Agathangelos more clamly than the latters latest response.

Antigonos still commands a decent enough force, Agathangelos, even in a couple of hundred men are left to defend Demetrios. I make no mention of 50% of his forces left to defend Thessaly; I am not suicidal, and I am not sure where this high and random figure came from. I talk of leaving a unit or two of Thessalians to defend Thessaly. I would not wish it to remain completely defenceless if we are to move it's garrison to defend Pella.

And although Antigonos' army is smaller and less well equiped than Pyrrhus, you have not counted the forces at Pella and the distraction and casualties into the balance. With the current Pella garrison, supplimented by the garrison from Thessaly, and perhaps a few hundred mercenaries and levied Makedonian farmers, we will have a strong enough forces to withstand an assault against the city,even if Pyrrhus utilises his famous elephants.