The Magnaura

[TinCow]

A scribe rushes over and hands the Protoasecretes a scroll with the tally from the election for Megas Logothetes. The old man unrolls it and squints at the writing. Eventually he clears his throat to speak.

"The Senate has chosen and the next Megas Logothetes will be Senator Tied."

After a few moments of silence, the Protoasecretes glances around the room suspiciously.

"Well, where is the buffoon?! Late for his own victory celebration! Hmph... why, in my day..."

A scribe rushes over and whispers in the man's ear.

"WHAT?! What do you mean the vote was tied?! Votes for Megas Logothetes are never tied! No, I've never heard of such a thing. Not in Roman times, before the coming of that fool Servius Aemilius. Not even in that barbaric Germanic cesspool that calls itself some kind of Roman Empire! No vote for a leader has ever been tied before!"

The Protoasecretes glares at the scroll again for a moment.

"Fetch me the Byzantine Charter!"

Two scribes duck out of the chamber. The various supporters of the two candidates for election eye each other nervously from their various vantage points. Eventually the two scribes return carrying a massive tome. They lay it down in front of the Protoasecretes on a portable table which is brought in by a third scribe. The old man opens it and begins leafing through the dusty pages.

"Let's see here... ah, yes. Rule 3.7 - In the event that a vote for Megas Logothetes is tied, the Senator who can correctly guess the weight of a freshly plucked, still living duck will be given the right to jump from the back of the Imperial Elephant and... oh, wait, no... that Rule was changed by a Charter Amendment in 833. Ah, here it is... a tie in an election will lead to a fresh ballot! Well, that's a bit boring, isn't it? I remember by grandfather telling me about the election of eight-ought-five, when the vote was tied between no less than seventeen different candidates and each of them was an expert duck farmer. Why..."

A scribe whispers in the Protoasecretes ear again.

"SHUT UP!"

The Protoasecretes smacks the young man in the head, and the boy recoils quickly.

"Ehem, yes, where was I? Oh, right. The election is tied, therefore a new ballot will have to be taken. As this is unprecedented in the history of the entire Known World, I will re-oppen the Senate floor for debate for a 24 hour period. This period will expire at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, August 19. After that period of debate is over, another 48 hour period of voting will commence. In accordance with the Rules, if the vote remains tied at that point, the eldest candidate for Megas will be chosen."

[Kagemusha]

"I would have preferred that Basileos could have decided the outcome in case of a tie..."

Ioannis glances towards the grandmaster with a teasing smile on his face and continues.

"But im happy to cast my ballot again."

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios sits at his table looking at election returns. He sips from a glass of cool water and it is clear from his puffy eyes that he has been awake all night following the election. When he hears the news of the revote, he sets the water down.

I see this will continue then. Alright, if anyone has any further questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Efstathios raises..

If it is a tie then it is a .. well.. tie..

Anyway.. I have a question..

What will happen to the units that have followed our brave Crusaders, just like me Efstathios smiles.., after the Crusade is over?? Will the next Megas disband them?? Leave them under the control of their current commander?? Or what??

[Privateerkev]

I assume those units will be used to garrison the settlements and to protect the area. I will not disband them. What I will do is look at what could be disbanded throughout the Empire. I will then talk to the commanders involved and ask permission to disband what is no longer needed. Every little bit will help.

If anyone is worried about their units being disbanded, they can ask the owner of the settlement to legally "lock" them in a garrison.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Patriarchal Representative:

What about legislation? Will there be a re-vote on them or are their results set in stone?

[Ibn-Khaldun]

All legislations passed so this means.. their result are in stone

I do have a question though.. Since it the Senate Session is opened again then is it possible to propose new legislations during the next '24 hours'??

[TinCow]

The Protoasecretes scowls at the Senators.

"No! No legislation may be proposed during this period of debate. That was apparently allowed until 729 AD, when some idiotic Caesar put forward an amendment which got rid of the policy. Though, I suppose that did save us all some trouble, as every Senator who proposed new legislation under the old laws had to do it while jumping up and down on one foot while standing backwards in a chariot pulled by three pheasants. Ah, those were the days..."

[Andres]

Efstathios raises..

If it is a tie then it is a .. well.. tie..

Anyway.. I have a question..

What will happen to the units that have followed our brave Crusaders, just like me Efstathios smiles.., after the Crusade is over?? Will the next Megas disband them?? Leave them under the control of their current commander?? Or what??

The brave Crusaders will need their units to control the area.

Disbanding of units in the newly conquered regions will only be done if the generals present in the area agree. I don't want the Senators who were brave enough to join on the Crusade die over there. Besides, we will need the money generated by those settlements and you won't be able to keep them without an army.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Looking at Protoasecretes Efstathios sigh and says quietly..

When do we get rid of that senile fool?!

Addressing the rest of the Senate..

I'm fine with both of the Candidates if they leave me and my troops alone..
I know most of them for a long time.. even before the Crusade and disbanding their units would be.. well.. most unfortunate..

[TinCow]

"I'm not deaf you know! You'd better be glad that Basileus Akronomius II abolished Rule 8.7 - Insulting the Protoasecretes, otherwise you'd be facing the wrong end of a mule right about now!"

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Efstathios raises his eyebrow and says whispers to his aid..

And I thought that he is deaf..

[Ramses II CP]

A letter arrives from Vissarionas ek Lesvou and is read into the record by a sweating, uncomfortable scribe:

Even the messengers of this body must be severely in decline with regards to their ability, unless I am expected to believe that the Megas election was actually a tie. In any case I have sent my vote in once more just in case.

Now, would anyone care to explain why the oldest candidate wins by default in the event of a tie? Is there no more objective, useful criteria available?

Vissarionas ek Lesvou

With a gentle shudder the scribe glances up, and smiles in relief. As he is walking away from the floor he casually flips the note over, and instantly turns the color of curdled milk. Slowly, shamefacedly he walks back to the center of the floor and again addresses the chamber.

P.S. And the Caesar is still a dirt worshipping, dog loving, blind beast. The Muslims of Alexandria called him a hero as I rode by, and cried out to me asking when he would arrive to save them and slay more Crusaders!