Manuel's suggestion sounds very appealing, especially considering that you know these are already quality troops who've seen battle before. You decide to focus as much as possible on building that strong archer contingent that will turn the tide of battle in your favor. The general smiles and makes arrangements to personally present to you the new archer units as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it turns out that the bowmen Manuel had heard of are only 5,000 strong all together. At your urging, Manuel and the Caesar do some more recruiting among the Bulgarian population in order to fill them out to a potent 10,000 while allowing an even mixture of veteran and green soldiers in each unit. The Caesar also manages to scrape up the funds to hire an additional 2,000 skutatoi, bringing your total to 10,000.

Training of the new soldiers begins immediately, and you drop in now and then to supervise, but you begin to feel a need to enjoy yourself with some of your old pursuits, to immerse yourself in literature at the palace library or indulge yourself in engaging conversations with the clever philosophers and inventors of your people. After all, from where does wisdom come? Not from the sword, but from the pen. That thought strikes you as remarkably poetic, and you have sat down to compose a suitable iambic when your mother enters your room suddenly. She is remarkably agitated, but you can't tell what emotions are clamoring in her heart - there seem to be several. Old Psellus follows her in, his face ashen.

She sits down on your bed, where you were resting in happy contemplation a moment before, and when she speaks it is in a very formal tone. "My Emperor, best of my sons. Rise up, and meet your step-father." You stare at her in disbelief as she continues. "I have chosen Romanus Diogenes to be my husband. Although he takes the place of your father, he will be a subject, not a ruler. I, your mother, have bound him in writing to observe this arrangement. And with his able help we will again elevate our great Empire into one that will inspire wonder in all her neighbors!"

"He waits downstais, before the palace doors," she tells you after allowing a moment for the announcement to sink in. "We have secured the Patriarch's approval; the marriage will take place immediately. Come, my Emperor, and greet your step-father with open arms."

Psellus says nothing at all but looks at you imploringly, probably hoping you will talk her out of this. In your confusion, several possibilities come to mind:

1) Go along with it. It sounds like her mind's made up, so there's no sense in arguing with her. You remember thinking that the evidence of his treason did seem less than convincing, and who knows, she might succeed in turning an enemy into a powerful ally.

2) You are not foreign to the skills of debate, and your mother has always seemed so intelligent. Surely she won't marry a man who plotted her death! You must convince her to see reason!

3) Seek out your uncle and ask him to help you stop this fiasco. You know he dislikes Diogenes, and with his backing and your status as Constantine's heir, you should be able to avert this with law or force, whatever is necessary.

4) Seek out Manuel. You've built up some good will with him, and your mother and "stepfather" are threatening your rightful inheritance! Such a situation calls for drastic action, even if it means bringing an army to the palace gates.