Senator Diaver Kastelos (Blue Demes):
A young man, possibly the youngest of the senate, rests taking some distance from the debate, though near enough to be able to hear every single word. The Kasteloi, although present in every debate, were always busy with their trade company: the flow of money couldn't be stopped, requiring attention from every member of the family, and the increasing market of "heathen" goods, along with the secret treaties with Pisa, were being extremely benefitial... until now. The only thing that looked good in the Kastelos senator was its very clothes. Wearing the traditional senator clothes didn't help to hide the bandages he has around his body. Even his face haven't recovered from some visible scratches. He was the living representation of the state of the family.
"You don't know me, just like I don't know you, besides some known families that have been standing in this senate as long as mine." He took his walking stick, unusual for someone of his age, and he stood, as firmly as his conditions allowed. "I have no time for big presentations: I'm Diaver Kastelos, and I'm a survivor."
"Survivor of what, you might said?" He started to go down, getting closer to the heart of the discussion. "Survivor of the incompetence and narrowness of the people who leads the Imperium." Soon the whispers began to say the word heresy. "Obviously I did not mean the Emperor, no. I would not dare to say such thing, no."
"The army or the navy" and he sat, tired. "Its always the same thing"
"Its the people who dictate what kind of "strategy" and weapons we have to use to fight our enemies the one that is leading Rome to the border of the cliff. The sword and shield? Obviously, that has been the answer for ages. The bow? Hah, the man invented it when had to leave the Garden of Eden."
"Why do I talk about weapons, when we have to be discussing about our navy, or the exploration of the east?" He made a small grimace before continuing. "Its because we have been doing something terribly wrong."
"If you don't know, the kingdom has been released and now counts with the protection of the Basileus. I was there, in the coasts of Hispania, along with my family and the totality of our trade fleet. I'll not be humble: the participation of the Kasteloi was vital to the hispanian's revolts, some that were vital too for the victory of the Empire."
"But everything went wrong, fellow senators. We lost all of Aragon, except the capital. The Imperial Navy failed once more, and not because the romans were less brave than before, or the God's blessings were weaker that day, no. It was the ineptness of our military leaders, that have shown their inaptitude to keep our fleet strong. Our times are changing, senators. The sword, the shield and bow are nothing against the war machinery of the xenoi, and thats what halted our great victory, isolating our themas in Africa while the xenoi armies were attacking Italy."
"I've seen it with my own eyes. The fire they use, those... "cannons", as the aragonese call them after being under the dark dominium of the xenoi, are the key in our defeats. They not only use them against our soldiers, but against our ships. The wood is cracked, our veals burning before we could met the enemy in combat. Half of our fleet was drowning before the romans could aboard the enemy."
"And I, with total confidence, can say the next: even the merchant fleet of the Kasteloi fought better than the Imperial Navy." He sighed before saying the next. "Our revolted allies, under the lead of Joan II of Aragon, captured 300 pieces of "artillery". Two dozens were equipped in our ships. And while I lost my grandfather, my father and brother in the battle, with almost the entire fleet of the trade company, we sent to hell hundreds of those bastards."
"Imagine if we could "modernize" the Imperial Dromons, think what a mere merchant fleet did. I can assure you, the coast of Italy wouldn't have been sacked, our women rapped and their children killed, and our armies could reforce the defenses to expell the those beasts out of our limes."
"Yes, I truly know that the army is important, but remember how the ancient rome conquered the world. The sea were our roads, our perfect domain. The mediterraneum, the Mare Nostrum. Navy and army were together, vital one to another. Without the support of any of them, we are destined to fail."
"So I vote yes for a reformation of the navy, but a total one. You might qualify me as heretic, as a heathen worshipper for using the weapons of our enemy. But I tell you what I have seen, what you can see through my bendages. We must recover the total control of the Mediterraneum, that's the only way to secure the heart of the Imperium