A Narrative History of Byzantium, Book 1: Gloria Sine Fine

[HistoryDude]

Okay, so the majority of a legion might’ve been destroyed. If that was the case, what was he supposed to do about it? It wasn’t like that could be kept a secret forever if it was true, and not telling Clementius and the remnants of the Legio I Armeniaca would probably lead to mistrust - and he needed to be trusted.

On the other hand, telling them could lead to panic, and he couldn’t afford to have an entire legion panic. It was quite a conundrum.

It was, unfortunately, a conundrum that Albinus had no idea how to solve. Which was more important, the Armeniaca’s morale or their interim commander’s trust? In ordinary circumstances, that would’ve been an easy decision - morale was far more important than trust. The reason why it wasn’t that easy, though, was because losing trust now could easily lead to the complete loss of any semblance of control he had under the Legio I Armeniaca. That would leave the Armeniaca separated from the other Eastern Roman legions… which could lead to their annihilation… or worse. It could lead to them leaving Hasakah, which might cause the city to be lost. That couldn’t be allowed.

Nobody could afford to have panic either, though. That would jeopardize the campaign for certain.

Albinus sighed. This decision would be so much easier if he knew what the interim commander of the Legio I Armeniaca was like. Unfortunately, he didn’t - and he didn’t have time to figure it out.

In truth, there was no simple answer to his dilemma. Still, he could hold off on making a decision. Yes, that was what he would do. He wouldn’t tell the remnants of the Legio I Armeniaca yet, but he would tell them if his suspicions were ever confirmed.

With that decision made, Albinus finally let himself lose consciousness. His dreams were no comfort, though. They showed his fears.

He dreamt of his friend Galerius’s dead body. He dreamt of thousands of dead bodies, for that matter. He didn’t recognize many of them, but they were all near the Sassanid tents. The bodies looked weirdly plain - a few had armor, but most lacked even that.

To be fair, a few of the Sassanid tents looked to be in disrepair. There were also random piles of ash. This ash was near the tents, but the few Sassanids that he could see avoided it as much as they avoided the dead bodies.

He awoke with that image in his head. He winced. He really hoped that his dream was merely a subconscious rendering of his fears and not a prediction of the future - or, worse, a revelation about the present.

Of course, he knew what the image meant. The bodies belonged to soldiers of the Legio I Armeniaca. He knew for a fact that that legion was equipped with decent armor, though. That mystery was easy to solve - the Sassanids had likely plundered their armor.

He wondered why they would do that. It seemed like that would require far too much effort to be worth the reward. The Sassanids wouldn’t plunder armor unless they were extremely desperate.

As he thought that, Albinus realized a third possibility as to what his dream meant. Perhaps it was not a subconscious rendering of his fears or a warning. Perhaps it was a revelation.

 

[HistoryDude]

A revelation of what, exactly? It was shockingly similar to his fears for a revelation. It didn’t really tell him anything that he didn’t already know… at least not at first glance.

He frowned. The image that he had seen had been a haunting image. It had showed him dead bodies that were stripped of their armor. Oh, he realized. Dead bodies stripped of armor. There was only one reason why the Sassanids would take Eastern Roman armor - if they needed it. And they would only need it if…

They would only need it if they were losing the battle overall - or if they were winning at an enormous cost. Either way, an attack might well break them.

Still, Albinus had misgivings about planning a battle around a dream. He especially had misgivings about planning a battle - or, indeed, doing anything - based on his own interpretation of a dream. After all, his interpretation of his dreams could easily be wrong… and, if he acted on them, that could lead to disaster.

Albinus was still annoyed at doing nothing. He had been doing nothing for weeks by this point, and it was really getting on his nerves.

For that matter, Anastasios and the Scythia should really have arrived here by now. What was taking them so long? He would have to ask once they finally did arrive.

Albinus really hoped that that moment was very soon, as his patience was wearing thin. Worryingly thin.

If they took much longer to arrive, Albinus figured that their arrival would likely be too late to affect the battle at all. The battle would, in effect, have been won or lost without them. In all honesty, that was probably fine. They weren’t strictly needed to win, but the extra men would be very helpful.

Perhaps he should send a small scouting force into the city of Hasakah? Sending one into the Sassanid camp was probably too risky, but sending one into the city would probably be fine. Albinus was certain that the battle would already be lost if Hasakah had fallen to the Sassanid army.

Unless the Sassanids were playing with the three legions, Hasakah was likely safe for a few scouts to enter. And Albinus highly doubted that the Sassanids were playing with the three legions - there was no good strategic reason why they should do so.

Still, better safe than sorry. For that matter, even if the Sassanids hadn’t taken Hasakah, it was still possible that the city had decided to be neutral until someone won the battle… which might lead them to execute possible soldiers from both sides. That wasn’t very likely, but Albinus had learned not to dismiss any possibility from Demetrius, who had the experience to back up his words.

He could still send scouts into the city though. He just had to make sure that the fact that they were scouts was kept… somewhat secret. That shouldn’t be that hard.

Of course, that raised the question of who he should send? He needed people that would make good scouts but also wouldn’t get caught if Hasakah had either fallen to the Sassanids or decided that risking neutrality (of any kind) was a good idea. So he needed scouts that could plausibly deny that they were scouts. Preferably scouts that could plausibly deny that they were associated with the three legions - or the Eastern Roman military - entirely.

That might not be that easy.

 

[HistoryDude]

There weren't many people in his legion - or any of the three legions, for that matter - who could pull that off successfully. Those who could were probably needed far more elsewhere. Still, there had to be a few people who could pull it off, and even one could probably get Albinus the information he needed…

While Albinus was certain that he could get into Hasakah without being identified, he also knew that he was needed in the Eastern Roman camp far more. Clementius couldn’t manage the three legions very well… and whoever was in temporary command of the Legio I Armeniaca wouldn’t have much experience commanding anything, much less three legions. No, Albinus couldn’t go to the city himself…

He would have to send someone else. It would have to be someone that he trusted, and they had to be an effective spy.

Albinus frowned. Okay, so who fit that description? Actually, who had participated in Galerius’s Charge? If someone had done that, then they wouldn’t be available for this mission. Sadly, that meant he couldn’t ask Galerius himself to check on the Armeniaca, which was a real shame. Galerius was someone that he knew and trusted, and he led the Legio I Armeniaca. If he hadn’t charged, he would have been perfect for this mission.

Of course, if he hadn’t charged, this mission might not be necessary. Albinus really hoped that Galerius was still alive - he was excellent company. Still, that was irrelevant - Albinus couldn’t let his personal feelings get in the way of the greater good - that was the greater good for his plans, of course.

Sending somebody from the Legio I Armeniaca would probably be the wisest move. They would be able to recognize their comrades most easily, and they would be inclined to help them arrive safely at the Eastern Roman camp.

Unfortunately, Albinus knew very few people in the Legio I Armeniaca. Why would he? For one thing, it wasn’t his legion. He didn’t need to befriend or get to know anybody in it. He didn’t need the loyalty of the Armeniaca. Indeed, he couldn’t have predicted that he would have to serve alongside any other legion, and, even if he had considered that possibility, he had no way of knowing which legion he would have to serve alongside.

He didn’t actually know anybody in the Legio I Armeniaca personally except for Galerius. That meant that he was going to have to assign this mission to somebody from his own legion.

A part of him wanted to discuss this plan with someone that he trusted, but there was nobody that he trusted and knew where they were. That meant that he was just going to have to go with his instincts and hope that something didn’t go horribly wrong.

To be fair, he could wait for Anastasios, but that plan was far too risky. By the time Anastasios arrived, the vast majority of the Legio I Armeniaca might already be slaughtered. That outcome was far from acceptable.

The Legio I Armeniaca was an important part of his plan, after all. Their elimination from the scene might force him to have to drastically change his plans.

 

[HistoryDude]

Of course, his plans succeeding was also contingent on, well, his own survival, so he had to ensure that the Second Battle of Hasakah was won. Failing that, he had to ensure that he could pull off an ordered retreat. Also, he would need to ensure that he wasn’t killed for the loss, which is what would happen if anybody blamed him for not stopping Galerius’s Charge.

He did know many people in his own legion, and that meant that he could easily recruit one of them to check on the majority of the Legio I Armeniaca. Indeed, they would probably be honored by his personal trust in them… which meant that he needed to actually trust them.

Albinus wasn’t stupid. He knew that his legion had many spies. While most of them wanted the Eastern Romans to win this battle, there were a few that were indifferent… and even a few that wanted the Eastern Romans to lose this battle… and the war.

He could afford to send the spies that shared his immediate goals to Hasakah. Indeed, that was probably the best course of action. It would make them believe that he trusted them - which was true… to an extent.

Furthermore, however, sending people that were truly loyal to him would allow him to figure out the state of the Armeniaca, yes, but it wouldn’t help him in the long term. On the contrary, if he sent someone who was spying on him, but for a different faction in Eastern Roman politics, he would earn their trust… at least temporarily. He could then use them as a double agent.

Yes, that was an amazing plan. There were a few things that could go wrong with it, but there were not many of those. No plan was foolproof, but this plan came close.

Albinus still didn’t know who to send, though. It had to be someone within his legion, and that someone couldn’t be personally loyal to him. In addition, they couldn’t be inclined to sabotage the mission, which meant that they couldn’t be spying for a faction that wanted Eastern Rome to lose or for a faction that was plain indifferent. Indeed, any faction that was indifferent was likely an extreme threat to his plans. The only factions that didn’t care about the Second Battle of Hasakah’s result either didn’t care much about the Eastern Romans at all or had a plan for both results. The most dangerous people were those that could adapt.

Albinus figured that the Second Battle of Hasakah was one of those battles upon which wars hinged. Indeed, it might be one of those battles upon which history itself hinged. In those battles, even the smallest of actions had far-reaching consequences.

That meant that Albinus was desperately going to need to consult with someone about this plan. He needed a second opinion, and the occasions where that was strictly necessary were rare indeed. Still, the first part of his plan required a victory against the Sassanids in the short term. In the long term, it required the glory of Rome - or some part of it, at least - to be restored. Many plans hinged upon that. Albinus was sure of that much.

He was going to have to summon his close advisors within his legion. They would be able to give him a second opinion.

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, he told them that they were his close advisors, and that was true - to an extent. In truth, though, he followed the truest advice of all - that the truth lied. Even despite that, he was relatively certain that these men would tell him what they thought of his plans as honestly as they could. They had never done anything less before.

Of course, he would need to check their loyalties a bit. Above all, they were supposed to be loyal to him. Their foremost loyalty was to be to Albinus - and no one else. Not the Emperor. Not any fellow army commanders. Not governors of the provinces. Not the Imperial Court. Not foreign rulers. Not ancient conspiracies (although he could never tell when those were available - they were good at covering their tracks). Just him.

He had done that before, of course, but this was the Eastern Roman Empire. Loyalties could change quickly, and men were driven by different things. Just because his council was loyal to him one day didn’t mean it had been loyal to him the previous day, or that it would continue being loyal to him the following day.

In addition to that, many men were good at concealing their loyalties. It was always good to ensure that he wasn't simply being watched by very good spies. The longer a man successfully spies on someone, the sloppier their spying gets. Also, they sometimes formed relationships with those that they were supposed to be spying on. Loyalty was fluid in the Eastern Roman Empire.

As such, he decided that he would go ask his advisors to come to his tent. He couldn’t do that in broad daylight, though, because that might be seen as favoritism. It was technically favoritism, but his soldiers didn’t need to know about that. They especially didn’t need to wonder why their council wasn’t asked for. All Albinus needed the soldiers under his command to do was serve him loyally.

Granted, it wasn’t entirely favoritism. He did need to keep an eye on his enemies, but he didn’t need to seek out their advice. Despite that, he often included both his enemies and his allies in his councils because it allowed them to believe that they were trusted. It made them consider themselves his trusted advisors - regardless of whether or not he actually trusted them or not.

After all, they were included in council with those who actually did trust. Why should that not mean that they were also trusted? Why should that not also mean that their advice was highly valued? If that was what they thought, then Albinus’s plan was succeeding. Albinus preferred to keep his friends close, yes, but he liked to keep his enemies closer.

In addition, it also gave him insight into the thoughts of his enemies. If a man could think like his enemies, then he would be able to easily defeat them, after all.

The sun was setting, and that meant that the time to get his council’s opinion was close at hand.

If their advice didn’t make his choice easier, and if he still had serious qualms about his choice, then he could call a meeting of everybody in all three legions. However, he preferred not to do that. Far too many people would offer their opinion there… and those that did speak intelligently might be drowned out by the voices of those that did not.

 

[HistoryDude]

Albinus waited a few hours before he called upon his council. Secrecy must be preserved, after all. He didn’t want any of his legion to lose their trust in him.
As such, his council was gathered in his tent at around midnight.

“Well,” he began. “This battle has gone on for days. Still, it shows no signs of ending any time soon. That must be rectified, and I intend to rectify it. Currently, the vast majority of the Legio I Armeniaca is missing in action.”

“What does missing in action mean?” Julius asked. Julius was from Rome itself. He had fled that city when it fell to Odoacer, or so he claimed. Albinus didn’t believe that for a second. He had investigated his past, though, and he seemed to have been loyal to Demetrius. This loyalty had apparently not transferred to Anastasios, though, which meant that Albinus would have to figure out who he was loyal to now. Still, it was doubtful that he served either the barbarians in the West or the Sassanids from the East, which meant that he could be trusted to give good advice in regards to this war.

“In short?” Albinus rhetorically asked. “It means that we have no idea where the majority of the Legio I Armeniaca is. Worse, that was the veterans - only the new and recently trained men were left behind.”

That caused an uproar. Albinus had expected that - news of a missing legion tended to do that. Still, the sheer volume of the uproar shocked him, as his advisors normally kept relatively quiet during their meetings. That was required to keep secrecy, and Albinus had stressed that to them. The fact that they were willing to break it meant that they were even more worried about this than he was - which wasn’t reassuring in the slightest.

Still, the uproar eventually died down. When that happened, Julius stood up. “So, for all intents and purposes, we’re missing a legion?” he asked. “We’re missing an entire legion? And we have no clue where they are? Are we sure that the Armeniaca still exists? How long have they been missing?”

He sounded panicked, and, by the shouts of agreement throughout the room, many people were still panicked. Albinus couldn’t have that. “Calm down,” he snapped. “Yes, the situation is bad, but it isn’t hopeless. We aren’t sure that the Armeniaca still exists, but it is doubtful that such a mighty force would be so easily annihilated. I’m certain that they didn’t intend to be destroyed, at least, which means that we shouldn’t assume the worst.”

“If we’re not sure that the Armeniaca still exists,” Julius interjected. “Why haven’t we checked? Our legions are the pinnacle of armies - they aren’t easy to destroy.”

“I just realized how long they’ve been missing recently,” Albinus responded. “I have a plan on what to do myself, but I want a few other opinions. If we mess this up, we could easily lose the battle and even the war itself. The Armeniaca could’ve been captured, and that is what worries me. As such, I plan to send a few scouts to check Hasakah itself for their presence. If they aren’t in the Sassanid camp, then they’re probably in the city that we’re fighting the Sassanids for.”

 

[HistoryDude]

“And if they aren’t in Hasakah?” Julius asked. “What do we do if a legion has been lost? Admit it? That could lose the war - and a loss would be disastrous.”

“While a victory in this war would be preferable,” a man named Marcellus said. “A loss wouldn’t be the end of the world - or even the end of the Roman Empire. Our mighty empire has recovered from defeats before. It has even recovered from the loss of legions, and we wouldn’t have lost an entire legion even if we lost the majority of the Legio I Armeniaca. We were promised an empire without end, after all.”

Albinus paid close attention to that declaration. As far as he was aware, Marcellus had also been loyal to Demetrius. Unfortunately, Albinus had no clue who was loyal to now, and he needed that information. He knew that Marcellus had been offered something by Demetrius, and he agreed to work with Demetrius shortly after. Albinus assumed that that meant that Marcellus had been bribed, but he wasn’t certain.

The words that Marcellus had just said weren’t comforting Albinus at all. He felt the need to rebut them, though. “We have indeed recovered from losses before,” he declared. “However, the loss of a legion has never meant anything good. Rome lost legions against the predecessor of the Sassanids, and that had destroyed the Republic.”

Okay, so that wasn’t completely true, admittedly. The destruction of the Roman Republic had been coming for a while, but the loss of the legions had been the spark that eventually annihilated it. Albinus knew that the Eastern Roman Empire was in a similar state of collapse, even if most people didn’t.

“Later,” he continued. “Three legions were lost at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. As a result of that defeat, we had to abandon Germania Magna. In time, the tribes that lived in Germania Magna would seize control of the western half of our empire. If we have lost most of a legion, it probably isn’t good news - but that doesn’t mean that we should panic.”

“Fine,” Julius said. “I was just wondering whether or not we should tell anybody about the fact that a legion might’ve gotten destroyed. If we don’t, and the other members of our legion - or, for that matter, the other Isaurian Legion - knew, we might have to deal with internal strife.”

“Losing a legion will become far worse if it becomes widely known,” Marcellus snapped at Julius. “Just because we don’t believe in bad omens doesn’t mean other people don’t. Many will believe that a missing legion is a bad omen. Telling them might cause panic. Panic that might not even be necessary if the Legio I Armeniaca is merely missing and not destroyed or captured.”

Albinus decided to let this argument go on. Normally, he would have intervened by now, but it didn’t seem as if the argument was causing serious strife. In addition, and far more importantly, it was giving him information about the goals and possible allegiances of both Marcellus and Julius - neither of which he knew. Information was more important than peace or unity.

 

[HistoryDude]

“Yes, but what do we do if the Legio I Armeniaca actually has been destroyed or captured?” Julius asked. “It won’t matter as long as nobody else knows that we did know. How would we hide our knowledge, though? Do we really need our legion’s mistrust? For potentially no reason at all?”

“Our legion’s mistrust is something that we must risk,” Marcellus snapped back. “Even if it is not merely our legion - it could easily be three legions, and that doesn’t mean that we should allow panic to spread. Panic is the worst enemy of any force. Panic could easily annihilate our army far more thoroughly than the Sassanids. Panic can bring down empires!”

Hmm, so Marcellus was worried about the other soldiers making a lot of noise over nothing. That was a concern that Albinus shared, but it seemed contradictory to his previous statement of the loss of a legion not being the end of the world. Albinus idly wondered whether Marcellus was attempting reverse psychology on him. It was possible that Marcellus was sabotaging the legion from the inside while appearing loyal.

Albinus frowned. There was no way he could directly question Marcellus’s loyalties without appearing suspicious. He couldn’t do with his council sharing his paranoia, except directed at him. He needed to maintain the loyalty of his men while still gathering information. He could indirectly interrogate his men, of course, but they might catch on.

It was a risk that he would have to take.

“Marcellus,” he said. “If panic can bring down empires, why shouldn’t we treat a loss here as a worst case scenario? Why shouldn’t we assume that a loss would be the end of the empire and do our absolute best to avert it?”

To Albinus’s annoyance, Marcellus didn’t look like a deer caught in headlights at that question. Indeed, he didn’t even look shocked at all. “My commander, I don’t know why you believe that I was advocating for such a thing,” he began. “I just believe that, if the worst does happen, we shouldn’t panic. We know that many of the people serving in this army who aren’t here will panic if they hear this news, which is why I believe it should remain a secret. We should still aim to rescue as much as the Armeniaca as possible. They can be useful in the future. After all, the Sassanids have fought us for eons. Shouldn’t they be dealt with?”

That seemed like a somewhat planned response. Albinus let out a very quiet curse under his breath. If one of his soldiers had a pre-prepared response to being subtly interrogated by him, that meant that he was losing his touch, or that it wasn’t as subtle as he would’ve liked it to be.

Still, Marcellus had given him what he wanted. It seemed as if Marcellus heavily disliked the Sassanids. He likely wanted them destroyed. Albinus could work with that. Personally, as long as his legion survived - and, more importantly, as long as his legion’s loyalty to him survived - he would be fine with any outcome.

Albinus was so occupied noting this information that he failed to notice that Julius and Marcellus had resumed their debate. Thankfully, it seemed as if he hadn’t missed much. They were still debating over whether or not it was a good idea to reveal the Armeniaca’s status to their comrades. He decided to continue listening to their conversation. This was one of the things he wanted a second opinion, after all, and the debate might give him more information about either Marcellus, Julius, or both.

 

[HistoryDude]

“...it’s not the end of the world,” Marcellus snapped heatedly. “The empire is eternal. It cannot be destroyed, especially not by the Persians. The Persians are weak! Their destiny is to perish!”

Albinus blinked. This was clearly a bad time to resume listening to the debate. Still, he was surprised by the vehemence of Marcellus’s words. It seemed as if he hated the Persians. Idly, he wondered why that could be the case, but he quickly dismissed that thought. It wasn’t important.

“And if they aren’t?” Julius asked. “How are you certain that the Sassanids are as weak as you claim? Even if they will perish eventually, that doesn’t mean that they’ll perish in this war. It would arguably be bad if they perished in this war, but that’s irrelevant to the topic at hand. What if we do lose this war, and it’s because we didn’t check Hasakah now? How utterly humiliating would that be?”

To Albinus’s surprise, those words seemed to shock Marcellus into silence. He agreed with Julius, but he had learned a bit more about Marcellus’s character from that exchange.

Marcellus hated the Persians, but he also seemed to regard them as a lesser race. Albinus was… uncomfortable with any worldview that proclaimed that some people were better than others. He was especially uncomfortable with philosophies that proclaimed that some cultures were inherently superior to other cultures.
This view had nothing to do with morality. He just believed that believing in your own superiority to anyone else, regardless of who they were, was going to cause you to underestimate them.

Finally, it seemed as if Marcellus had come up with a response to Julius’s declaration. “They won’t,” he began. “But, if they somehow did, then the glorious Roman Empire would rise up and get revenge for the humiliation - tenfold. If the Persians somehow win this war, our reaction will make them wish that they had lost. One way or another, they will perish!”

That was an interesting view. Objectively, it was even a correct view - very few people in the Eastern Roman Empire would be happy with a Sassanid victory. Many factions that were normally at odds with each other would likely ally due to the Sassanid Empire being a threatening enemy once more. Nothing unites like a common enemy. Still, as far as Albinus was aware, Marcellus wasn’t aware of the various factions that dominated Eastern Roman politics. Either Marcellus knew more than he was letting on, or he was fanatical in his belief in the superiority of Romans to Persians. Neither of those ideas was comforting to Albinus.

“Why would certain people care at all?” Julius retorted. “Just because the Sassanids could win one war doesn’t mean that they can seize control of the entire Eastern Roman Empire. We have defeated them before, and many people will just assume that this war was an outlier - on both sides. We might lose control of some of Mesopotamia, but that won’t matter to the vast majority of governors and important figures in the Empire.”

That was also a good point. Dammit. This debate was just making his already existing indecision worse. Now, he was going to have to continue listening just to come to a decision about whether or not even sending troops to Hasakah would be a strategically good move.

“Losing a war lowers our position amongst other nations,” Marcellus pointed out. “Many will assume that we will be an easy target - we would have just lost a war and a legion. A loss to the Sassanids will ensure that His Imperial Majesty will be forced to prove that he isn’t weak. He will need to prove that he will remain a good leader who can protect the people. If he can’t, then he will be overthrown. If he’s overthrown, then whoever the new emperor is will have to prove that he is a good leader who can protect his subjects. If he can’t, then he will be overthrown. Eventually, there will be a leader who is willing and able to get revenge on the Sassanids. When that day comes, the Persians will fall.”

And that was another good point. It seemed as if this issue was far more complicated than Albinus had assumed. Great. Another reason to question his decision. Albinus was so consumed by this line of thought that he almost missed what Marcellus said after.

“Also, why did you emphasize Eastern when referring to the glorious empire in which we serve?” Marcellus asked. Albinus figured that he meant that as an afterthought. “The Roman Empire has always been one state. It has occasionally had multiple leaders, but that doesn’t mean that it was multiple separate empires. With nobody ruling over the West, Emperor Justinian is the rightful ruler of the entirety of the Roman Empire. He is the only ruler of Roman territory.”

From a legal standpoint, that was correct. Albinus didn’t take Marcellus as someone to stand on technicalities, though, which meant that that speech was intended as a declaration of something. The problem was that Albinus had no idea what Marcellus was trying to declare.

“I suppose that you’re right in regards to the Roman Empire’s unity,” Julius said unconvincingly. “My apologies. I’m used to the time when there was still a western emperor. Anyway, why do you believe that the empire could survive a military coup? For that matter, why do you believe a military coup will succeed or even happen at all? Yes, a loss in war might lead to a loss of status, but most nations aren’t vultures…”

Around half the room looked directly at Julius incredulously. Albinus imagined that they saw Julius as hopelessly naive for that statement. After all, barbarian tribes had descended like vultures upon the Western Roman Empire very recently.

It seemed as if Julius noticed the looks, though. “Let me finish,” he said, sounding somewhat annoyed. “Most states aren’t vultures, and the barbarian tribes are probably too busy worrying about keeping their subjects under control or ensuring that their land remains unconquered by other tribes to pose much of a threat. The Emperor will seem weak to his subjects and his court, though, and the resulting chaos will come from people wishing to take advantage of that.”

“I don’t believe you with regards to your emphasis on the word Eastern, but I’ll let it slide for now,” Marcellus said. “Also, even if there is a civil war, that war must eventually have a victor. The winner of the civil war will need a way to keep popular support, and what better way is there to do that than to attack the most resilient of enemies to the Roman Empire? If His Imperial Majesty wins, then he will want to redeem this defeat against the Sassanids with a victory. If anybody else wins, then they will want to prove themselves better than Emperor Justinian by doing what he failed to do.”

“And what’s the harm in sending people to check for the Legio I Armeniaca in Hasakah?” Julius asked.

To Albinus’s utter shock, this was enough to shut Marcellus up. All of that debate… and it gets stopped by one question? Seriously?

“I suppose that there isn’t any harm in sending a mission to Hasakah,” Marcellus conceded. “Consider this, though: what do you do if whoever is sent to Hasakah returns empty-handed? What do we do if the commander of the Legio I Armeniaca was actually stupid enough to get the majority of a legion destroyed? It won’t be the end of the world, of course, but we need to have a plan on how to bounce back… or a plan on what to do in the event that the war is lost.”

Albinus mused over these words. Marcellus did have a point - a backup plan was required, as well as, preferably, a backup plan to the backup plan. One could never be too prepared.

“Very well, then,” Albinus said. “Is everyone in agreement that we should send a small force - from this legion - to Hasakah itself? To check for any signs of the Legio I Armeniaca?”

He expected agreement, but, then, Julius brought up yet another good point.

“Why should we only send men from this legion?” he asked. “There are men from three legions present in this camp. Why should we not send men from the portions of the Legio I Armeniaca that aren’t missing in action with troops from our legion to Hasakah? They could identify potential spies and make our dialogue with any potential members of the Armeniaca easier.”

This statement received many agreements. Unfortunately, it also left Albinus in an… unenviable position.

 

[HistoryDude]

The point of this mission was to recover as much of the Armeniaca as possible - this suggestion didn’t threaten that. Unfortunately, Albinus was a naturally distrusting person. He didn’t trust those that he didn’t know.

The problem with Julius’s suggestion was that it required him to trust people that he had never even talked to. They could be working for anybody. The fact that these men were likely new to the legion and untrained in the art of war just added to Albinus’s paranoia. How many had been put there by those with a hidden agenda?

After a bit of thinking, Albinus came up with a solution. Soon enough, if the mission succeeded, the fact that the Legio I Armeniaca would become known across the three legions - and perhaps even beyond - anyway. Making the information known to everyone would mostly make potential spies useless - they wouldn’t be able to share any new information.

However, there was still the threat that they could sabotage the mission if they were allowed any control over it. That wouldn’t be good, but it was also easily avoidable. Yes, he could present this as a compromise…

“Very well,” Albinus said. “We shall send a few members of the Legio I Armeniaca that remain at this camp on the mission. They shall help identify the members of their legion, and they will be allowed to serve a mouthpiece.” In all honesty, even that was a risky move, but the potential benefits there outweighed the risks. “However, they shall not be allowed anything resembling control over the mission.”

“Wait,” Marcellus said. “How will we determine which members of the Armeniaca shall go? For that matter, how will we determine which members of our legion will leave for Hasakah? We can’t simply refuse candidates, as that would mean that there would be people who know what we’re doing, but won’t necessarily keep quiet about it? If they tell anybody, then this might spread throughout all three legions, which would be a disaster. Panic would spread throughout the three legions. How would we stop that?”

“We make sure that the information doesn’t get out,” Julius said. He was silent for a few seconds. “How we’re supposed to do that, I don’t know. I’m sure that somebody here has an idea.”

“I did have an idea,” Marcellus said, rolling his eyes. “It’s just that it was a terrible idea that had a very low chance of working. I thought that, perhaps, we could swear people to secrecy. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that they will obey their oaths - and we need a guarantee of that for this to work. If we don’t have it, we could jeopardize our victory in the entire battle - and the war itself.”

Albinus considered that. Marcellus did have about not being able to trust people to keep their word. There was a solution that removed this possibility entirely - but that was extraordinarily risky. He wasn’t going to suggest it himself.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to. It seemed that Julius had the same idea. “Well,” he began. “We could simply recruit people. We would make it so that, once someone has been recruited for this mission, they can’t back out of it in any other way except dying.”

 

[HistoryDude]

“And if they refuse?” Marcellus asked. “No offense, but threatening to kill anyone who attempts to back out will only encourage people to attempt to be martyrs. Your so-called solution might destroy the three legions entirely. Encouraging treason is a terrible idea.”

“How would my idea encourage treason?” Julius began. “Almost all Romans hate the Sassanids. Even if we piss off our soldiers somehow, they won’t commit treason. Especially since they should know that doing so will be akin to suicide.”

“Many of them might realize that committing treason will end in their death,” Marcellus acknowledged. “But… death is the only way out of the mission. If they believe that they will be killed anyway, what do they have left to fear from committing treason? If they succeed, there is a chance that they can buy more time - time that they can use to do whatever they want. If they fail, well, they were sentenced to death anyway.”

That shut Julius up. Albinus sighed. He was going to have to put an end to this… argument. If Marcellus and Julius continued being at odds for much longer, they were going to damage their relationship with each other. If that happened… well, the results wouldn’t be pretty. Both Marcellus and Julius commanded a significant amount of loyalty within the three legions - not as much as some people from the Legio I Armeniaca or Albinus himself, but still a substantial number. If this argument went on much longer, their anger at each other might spread throughout the three legions, and that was the last thing that Albinus needed on the verge of a final victory against the Sassanids.

“Making death the only alternative to joining the mission once someone knows about it is absurd,” he finally said. “There are many reasons why a soldier in this army might not want to go on the mission that aren’t deliberate sabotage. Perhaps the Lord could be punishing them with disease for their sins, and they don’t wish to let that be known. Perhaps they are injured. Perhaps they believe that they will only hold the group back. Unfortunately, Marcellus is right that we can’t let panic spread throughout this camp. That means that we do need some measure to prevent that from happening.”

“My centurion,” Marcellus began. “Perhaps we can simply demand that those who know about the Armeniaca’s plight keep it secret. Make them swear by a religious oath, or an oath based on their beliefs in any case, to keep it a secret. That would prevent them from spreading word due to the fear of divine intervention.”

“Would it?” Julius asked. Albinus let out a small sigh, but he decided to let Julius make his point. “Not everyone truly believes in divine retribution. Some might simply not care - perhaps they only believe in delayed intervention for oath breaking and wish to tell anyway. Your suggestion also assumes that we would somehow be able to convince them to swear oaths in the first place. How? Threatening with death won’t work. If we did do that, we would have to be bluffing. What do we do if they call that bluff?”

 

[HistoryDude]

Privately, Albinus agreed with Julius here. Bluffing was a terrible idea in almost any circumstance. A mass bluff was an especially risky move because, if any single person learned that they were being bluffed, they could easily spread the word that it was a bluff. Unfortunately, he was unable to think up a better idea himself. He hoped that either Julius had an alternative, or that Marcellus had another viable plan.

“We could make everybody in the three legions believe that we weren’t bluffing,” Marcellus offered. “We could make it seem as if we have killed those who refuse and gotten rid of the bodies. It’s better to be feared than loved, after all.”

“The best option is being feared and loved, and that only applies if the people that you want to fear you actually know that you exist and have power over them,” Julius shot back. “All acting as if we weren’t bluffing would do is increase hatred towards whoever takes credit for the idea. Almost certainly Albinus, in this case.”

“They need to have some incentive to not betray our secrets,” Marcellus snapped. “If we must lie to gain said incentive, then so be it. Men are vultures. They will betray you as soon as they can to gain an advantage for themselves. Always.”

“You have a very cynical view of humanity,” Julius observed. “I disagree with it, but you are right that an incentive to not spread this information - and to not spread panic by extent - wouldn't be a bad idea. I’m just thinking that we should have that incentive not be something that encourages betrayal. We could bribe people who are in the know to keep their mouths shut.”

Albinus smiled. That exchange had told him a lot about both Marcellus and Julius, and it had brought their disagreements to light. Marcellus was far more of a cynic - he didn’t trust people in general that much. Personally, Albinus thought that he was right about that, but that he wasn’t cynical enough. He did trust everybody in this tent, and he probably assumed that they were his friends. That was pure folly, as spies were everywhere in the Roman Empire. Everywhere. Julius, by contrast, was more of an idealist. He believed the best in humanity - or at least he implied that he did. However, his actual precise wording seemed to imply something very different. Julius wanted people to believe that he was naive to the ways of the War in the Shadows, but Albinus wasn’t buying his act for a second. Their conflicting viewpoints would be very useful to use if they ever began to plot rebellion against him…

“And what incentive should we grant them?” Marcellus asked. “Especially considering that you believe it shouldn’t be violent. If our incentive isn’t violence, then what should it be? Nothing moves men more than the threat of reprisal.”

“We disagree on that point,” Julius mused. “Still, that’s irrelevant. Even if men primarily look out for themselves, my idea should still work. After all, what better way to ensure loyalty than by threatening affairs of the heart?”

 

[HistoryDude]

“Emotional manipulation,” Marcellus murmured. He looked like he was mulling over the idea. “I like it,” he decided. “But how will we use affairs of the heart to guarantee loyalty?”

“All men care about their families,” Julius said, smiling. “If we were to threaten them… well, then they would be inclined to obey our will. Even better, we could offer to protect their families from their enemies - and they will have enemies.”

Albinus blinked at that. Julius was an idealist, yes, but it seemed that he was a pragmatist above that. Still, the way that he smiled while talking about torturing - or killing - others gave Albinus chills. Julius wasn’t a man that could be crossed lightly. Not at all…

“That’s... actually really harsh,” Marcellus said. “But what about those who have no family? What do we do about those who only have dead parents and are unmarried? Or those who have dead parents, dead spouses, and perhaps even dead children? How do we control matters of their hearts? After all, you can’t kill that which is already dead, so threatening to kill their family isn’t a viable threat…”

“If a man lacks a family, then it is very likely that he is trying to replace it,” Julius said. “He will do this by making friends. We can always threaten them… or, perhaps, convince them to abandon the person who refuses to keep our vital information secret… which will work best if they aren’t truly reliable friends. Some people have terrible taste in who they associate with.”

“While that should cover almost everyone,” Marcellus began. “I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. What do we do if they are friendless, and their family is dead… Or simply don’t care about what happens to their family or their friends. How do we manipulate the affairs of the heart for someone who doesn’t have a heart for one reason or another?”

Albinus thought over that statement. As much as Marcellus framed his question as a far-fetched hypothetical, Albinus could tell that he meant it seriously. Marcellus didn’t have a very high view of humanity.

“Why would anybody not have significant people in their lives?” Julius asked. “Everybody loves someone.”

“Many men are wolves,” Marcellus shot back. “Do you seriously believe that every person in this world has love - of any kind - in their hearts? Do you believe that every person loves a living person? I highly doubt that. Many people are untrusting, and they often have good reasons to be. If a man can’t trust, why would he be able to love?”

After a long silence, Albinus finally decided to speak. “Do you have another idea on how to ensure that panic doesn’t spread around our camp?” he asked. “Does anybody? I agree that many of our soldiers likely lack people that can be threatened to ensure our cooperation, but what else can we do?”

The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. It seemed as if emotional manipulation was their only plan to ensure cooperation. Albinus sighed. He had hoped that someone else did have a plan.

Well, this silence didn’t necessarily mean that nobody had a plan. It was possible that some people were mulling over their plans. Albinus desperately hoped that that was the case.

 

[HistoryDude]

“Wait, so we decided that neither emotional manipulation nor death threats will work?” Julius asked. “What are we supposed to do, then? It’s not like we could threaten to smear their… wait. Actually, that could work. If they care about how they are viewed…”

“Care to let the rest of us in on your thought process?” Marcellus asked. “What is your idea?”

Hmm, it seemed as if Marcellus really didn’t like incomprehensible mumbling. Or he was getting impatient. What was really weird is that this was the first instance in this meeting that Julius had thought aloud. Albinus knew that he used to do that far more often, but he stopped after a while. He didn’t know why he had stopped, though, and figuring that out could tell him more about Julius himself. Still, asking that question immediately would make him seem far too paranoid or give away his current game, and neither of those options was acceptable.

“What? Oh, I was talking out loud again, wasn’t I?” Julius asked. “Well, my idea relies on the idea that many men care about their reputations. Indeed, they might care about their reputation more than they care about their families or friends, as many people who believe that people are inherently untrustworthy might also want to appear trustworthy for their own plans. We could simply threaten to smear their reputations completely, to make them appear evil, if they refuse to obey our wishes.”

“That is an excellent idea - in theory,” Marcellus began. “In practice, though… it will easily fail. What happens if somebody doesn’t care about their reputation at all? In that case, threatening to smear it won’t affect them at all. Their response will boil down to, ‘so? I don’t care’. And some people care about certain abstract concepts, like, say, truth, over everything else. Those people are always very annoying.”

“I never did get those people,” Julius admitted. “But that’s beside the point. There will always be those few people that we can’t manipulate. For them, the best thing we can do to shut them up is death. The more cowardly ones will back down at the mere threat of it. This is our best plan - the plan that will convince the most people to keep their mouths shut and not spread panic.”

“That’s not good enough,” Marcellus snapped, annoyed. “We need to come up with a plan that will convince - or force - everyone to keep their mouths shut. Nobody can talk about this, or panic will spread across everybody in what’s left of the three legions. Our campaign could be irrevocably destroyed!”

“I know that!” Julius replied, agitated. “But we haven’t come up with any plan that matches that description! We can’t create a perfect plan.”

“We can try,” Marcellus pointed out. “Also, even if you and I haven’t come up with a good plan, that doesn't mean that somebody else that has been listening to this meeting hasn’t. We have kind of been keeping attention focused on us.”

“If they did, they would’ve tried to say something by now,” Julius responded. “Still, they might be afraid to enter this argument, or they might not want to express their opinion. Perhaps, if we ask for opinions, we will get more?”

 

[HistoryDude]

Albinus would've greatly preferred hearing multiple voices to start out with. It would allow him to gather more information about the influential figures in his legion - and whether or not they believed that he trusted them. Wait. Perhaps that was why this argument was limited to Marcellus and Julius. If so, then he would need to figure out how to trick his other advisors into thinking that he trusted them.

On the other hand, it was possible that he was being overly paranoid. Normally, he believed that there was no such thing as “overly paranoid”. Everybody had their own goals. Every alliance existed out of shared interest - either the two or more parties allied with each other shared a common enemy, or they shared similar goals. Still, this fundamental fact wasn’t as well known as it should be. Far too many people believed in such ephemeral concepts - such as trust. It was probable that his advisors were simply not as enlightened as he was.

“We likely will,” Julius agreed. “Even if we don’t, it can’t hurt to try. So, everybody, does anyone have an idea on how to keep this secret - so that we won’t lose this battle due to panic alone?”

There was an extremely long and really awkward silence, and Albinus began to worry. Did this silence mean that nobody had a solution to their current dilemma? Granted, he could choose between certain suggestions that Marcellus and Julius had already offered, but none of their “solutions” was ideal, as they themselves realized.

Thankfully, it seemed as if some people were simply gathering their thoughts. Unfortunately, that meant that a lot of voices began to say ideas, and Albinus couldn’t hear any of them. Actually, nobody could hear any of them because, well, a bunch of people were talking at once.

“Quiet,” he said. Unfortunately, it seemed as if he had not spoken loudly enough. He could still barely even think with all the noise. “Quiet,” he shouted, as loudly as he could.

That worked. The entire room was staring at him now - he didn’t normally shout. “Okay,” he began slowly. “I will acknowledge somebody, and then they will talk. In order to request the ability to make your opinion known, tap the ground three times.”

Immediately, he heard a lot of tapping. He briefly mused on who was mostly likely to have the best information - there were five people tapping exactly three times.
Eventually, he decided to call on Luwia. He always had good advice, and Albinus knew that he was personally loyal to Emperor Justinian. He wouldn’t attempt to sabotage this war unless the Eastern Roman Emperor wanted this war sabotaged - and that wasn’t the case. If it was, the war would’ve been over already.

“My commander,” Luwia began. “Both Julius and Marcellus have good points - while emotional manipulation and death threats won’t work alone, it is possible that they will work if used together. Our legion has annual ‘interviews’ yearly, does it not?”

Albinus had honestly been hoping to keep that particular detail a secret. As far as he was aware, no other legion did it, so it would look somewhat suspicious. Still, Luwia had a point - he did have a lot of information about those under his command. He could easily use that. The only question was how.

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, there was no harm in asking. It wasn’t like he cultivated an image of omniscience to anybody. “It does,” he acknowledged. “I could easily use the information I collect to aid my campaign, but how will I do so? I can’t assume that the information I collected at the beginning of the year is still accurate - it isn’t accurate for some people. If there is anything Eastern Roman citizens have in common, it is that they change.”

Many of the members of his legion were probably also double-crossing at least one person. Of course, he couldn’t mention that out loud - it would reveal his paranoia, which would ensure that people were especially careful about what they said around him. He couldn’t have that.

“Some things do not change,” Luwia countered. “What a man is driven by doesn’t often change. It is true that reputation smearing, death threats, and emotional manipulation alone won’t work. However, there is no reason that all of those combined can’t. After all, our legion has annual ‘interviews’. If anyone finds out about the mission and refuses to go on it and won’t initially keep their mouth shut, all we have to do is look at their ‘interview’. Using information from that, we will find out what they are like - we will find out whether they will be more cooperative if we threaten them with death, reputation smearing, or emotional manipulation. Everybody has a weakness, and we are in the unique position of being able to use people’s weaknesses against them, so why shouldn’t we?”

To that speech, there was only silence. Albinus was certain that at least one mouth was open due to shock. Luwia had a reputation for being nice - and even Albinus had thought his idea would rely on mercy. Apparently not.

Still, nothing that Luwia had said was untrue. Of course, it would require a lot of digging through old notes, but that wouldn’t be difficult, just time-consuming.

“Very well. We will go with Luwia’s plan,” Albinus finally decided. “If anybody here dares to attempt to inform the three legions at large that the Legio I Armeniaca is missing in action, they will be punished. Severely. I know what you fear, and I’m not afraid to use it.” He heard several gulps at that, and he smiled. “Now, who will go on the mission to find the Legio I Armeniaca? Are there any volunteers?”

There were. Many people were interested in searching for the lost legion. Albinus had expected that, though - he wasn’t going on the mission, so many people likely felt that this was a chance to plot - away from scrying eyes - his scrying eyes. There was no way that he was allowing that.

Only men personally loyal to him or loyal to one of the factions that wasn’t at odds with him would be allowed to go. “Well,” Albinus mentally mused. “That didn’t actually eliminate many people. Pretty much everybody here was here because they weren’t in one of the factions at odds with him - which meant that all of these volunteers were still eligible to go on the mission. He needed to narrow down the amount of people allowed to go on the mission further.”

 

[HistoryDude]

Of course, that, too, needed to be handled very delicately. Those who he ultimately refused needed to be told that lightly - he didn’t need any more enemies than he already had.

In addition, those who were loyal to him now wouldn’t necessarily be loyal to him later for all time. That meant that he couldn’t share many secrets - even if those secrets might prove vital to the mission’s success. Of course, if he believed that the mission couldn’t be completed without a small sacrifice on his part, he’d give up his secrets in a heartbeat. Losing a legion would be devastating to morale - which could cost them the battle, the war, and the entirety of Mesopotamia itself.

If things went really badly, it might even cost them all that remained of the Roman Empire. A small disruption was all it took to cause a hurricane, after all, and even the smallest things often became significant. The Romans never should’ve let the Goths cross the Danube - that had destroyed their empire in the west. A similar mistake couldn’t be afforded in the east.

Not to mention the inevitable horror that would come if three legions were lost. The last time that happened was the Battle of Teutoburg Forest - better known as the loss of Germania Magna. Albinus refused to be another Quinctilius Varus. That would contribute to the empire a failure of the highest kind - a failure by incompetence.

Briefly, Albinus wondered what he would do after this war was over. What would he do once the Sassanids were defeated? He quickly dismissed that thought - he needed to be focused on the present - not on what might come in time. Planning for the future was useful only to the extent that it aided the present goals of a conspirator, and, above all else, Albinus was a conspirator. A conspirator without a conspiracy, sure, but he would likely have one in time. Plotting was practically a survival technique in the Eastern Roman Empire, anyway. Those who refused to play the game of rulers became pawns.

Albinus figured that he could likely trust that a few of the volunteers for the search likely were pawns, but that was irrelevant. Pawns only ever mattered to the extent that they are used. An unused pawn was irrelevant to everything. A used pawn was useful only as far as their loyalties could be changed - and what those they served wanted. Players could never be trusted, but Albinus could ally with them. He was already allied with many by virtue of necessity alone. Once he knew their goals, they could be trusted not to deliberately botch the mission.

Players could be pawns, of course. Even those who knew they were players could easily be made pawns. This was much easier for situations like the one Albinus was in right now - the ones where someone has a clear goal with a clear end - the ones where the question of “what next?” didn’t need to be asked. Schemers were easy to manipulate. They so rarely knew what they wanted.

That was what Albinus planned to do. He didn’t plan to trust in the virtue of anyone. He planned to trust that they wanted to achieve their goals. All that remained, then, was figuring out what those goals actually were. Directly asking that question was unlikely to gain honest answers - too much directness was never a good thing in a game that relied on subtlety. Answering indirect questions, though - that would likely get honest answers… as long as there was a reason why those questions were being asked that had nothing to do with the game.

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, that might not be the easiest task. The questions would need to be specialized… that was the only way he was going to get honest answers. However, his game might be realized if his soldiers - his subordinates - realized that he was asking different weird questions to each of them. Therefore, he couldn’t let them share what went on in these “questioning sessions” (interrogations), and he needed to figure out a good reason why they couldn’t do that.

The simplest solution was to claim that anybody could be a spy against the Eastern Roman Empire. This was even technically true, but it was too true. This would be outright admitting that he didn’t trust his own subordinates, which was bad for pragmatic reasons. For one thing, some people thought that trust was a two way street (it wasn’t in the slightest), and, for another, some people might go to higher authorities than Albinus with this information, which could be fatal to his military career.

Also, the more intelligent amongst his soldiers would realize that anybody could be a spy applied to him as well. Albinus didn’t need his troops threatening his authority by having suspicions of treason.

No, stating the simplest explanation was not a good move here. Lying outright was a bad idea too, though, for a multitude of reasons, not least that his lie could be discovered, harming his credibility. Even if that didn’t happen, an outright lie could be spread and grow far beyond what he intended. Lies could destroy people. Taken far enough and given enough time… lies could destroy empires.

All of which meant that he was going to have to bend the truth. The truth lied, of course. It was easy to bend if you knew how.

All of this went through Albinus’s mind in less than an hour. His decision reached, the general rose to address his men.

“Alright,” he began. “It seems as if many people want to go on this mission. This is very good news, for it means that our currently lost legion is unlikely to stay lost. However, I cannot allow everyone to go. This mission must rely on subtlety - even getting spotted by the Persians could lead to death or capture. This means that only a small group can go. I will not sacrifice many men to the enemy. Even risking them is a huge gamble already - I believe that the potential benefits outweigh the potential costs, though, so I’ll take that gamble.”

“Who will go on the mission?” Albinus heard someone ask.

“Excellent question,” Albinus answered. “I will personally ask the volunteers a few questions to test their competence. If their answers please me, they will be allowed on the mission. If you’re disturbed by this violation of your privacy, then don’t volunteer for the mission. I need to be sure that nobody will betray us to the enemy. I will not lose even one legion. That is a road to utter disaster. I will strongly request that the questions I ask of you be kept private. I will explain why I think this when I ask the questions. If you wish to go on the mission, line up outside the command tent."

 

[HistoryDude]

Apparently, very few people were concerned about the invasion of their privacy, because the line was still really long. Was one single legion - less than one single legion, actually - really that important to the common soldier? It was important to Albinus, of course, but that was because he was viewing things through a strategic lens. Why would the common soldier care? Simple concern for their comrades? That was doubtful - nobody was that nice or kind. There was always an ulterior motive.

Of course, it was always possible that his men simply viewed this as no different from the yearly interviews. Most of these men were probably sheep, following whoever showed strength. They could never be trusted. Those that weren’t sheep were wolves, and they were equally untrustable.

Albinus decided to lead with Luwia’s interview, simply because he somewhat trusted Luwia. Albinus would never phrase it that way, but he trusted Luwia to undermine his command. He was certain that the Anatolian secretly wanted command of the Three Legions for himself. After all, why else would he point out the heavy costs of one of Albinus’s policies during a meeting?

Luwia entered the tent and looked around. Albinus thought that he saw the Anatolian’s eyes gaze around the command tent hungrily. “Yes,” he thought. “This man clearly wants power. I can give him that… for the right price.”

For a little while, both men sat in silence. “So,” Luwia began. “Can we get this ‘interview’ over with? We both know that it is no mere interview. I can tell you this right now - I will not betray you to the Persians. But that was never your real concern, now, was it?”

“And why do you think that?” Albinus responded. “I am just as loyal to the Eastern Roman Empire as you are. Neither of us want the Sassanids to triumph, and I know that you and all the other men outside of this tent have reasons for seeking out the Armeniaca that you aren’t telling anyone.”

“Are you sure about that last part?” Luwia replied. “There is another explanation for our eagerness to go on this mission. A simpler explanation, although the schemers who run this empire would never think of it. You plotters always believe that everyone else is playing your game. Of course it wouldn’t strike you that your men could simply be bored. Nobody’s seen combat in days. To many, that’s an eternity.”

“How is that an eternity to anyone?” Albinus demanded, and he was legitimately curious as to the answer. “A day is nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

“And there’s your answer,” the Anatolian man replied. “In the grand scheme of things. Who views the grand scheme of things? A simple soldier has no need to do that. A simple soldier has other things to worry about - like staying alive until tomorrow. You command warriors, my Centurion, not plotters. Remembering that could do you a world of good. Forgetting that could cost you your command - or, worse, your life. That’s just my advice, though. I doubt that you’ll acknowledge it, suspecting it to be part of some scheme as you will, but it’s the truth.”

 

[HistoryDude]

“Of course I won’t acknowledge it,” Albinus thought. “It is a part of some scheme. This man clearly knows what the game is, which means he’s a player. All men are either players or pawns. Still, that’s irrelevant at the moment. He won’t betray the cause to the Persians…”.

The fact that only the Sassanids were mentioned in Luwia’s declaration didn’t go unnoticed by Albinus. However, it was possible (but unlikely) that he simply saw the Sassanids as the Eastern Roman Empire’s only enemy. If it was an omission, though, then it was an obvious one. How did he ask that question subtly? Ah. That would work.

“You won’t betray us to the Sassanids,” he began bluntly. “But the Sassanids aren’t our only enemy. For that matter, the Sassanids aren’t even the only Persians that we’re enemies with. We have many enemies, within and without. How do I know that you won’t betray me - and, by extent, the three legions gathered to battle here?”

Luwia scoffed at this, which Albinus only took as a further sign of his guilt. “I was using the Sassanids as a shorthand moniker for our enemies,” he said. “Obviously they aren’t our only enemies, given how much this empire seems to fight itself. It isn’t me that you need to worry about - not yet, and not at all if you aren’t plotting treason. Still, the fact that you know the Sassanids aren’t the only Persians means that you should consider how they might manipulate us - and how we can manipulate them in return.”

That was shockingly blunt, but it did make clear what Luwia’s current loyalties were. Albinus was annoyed about being accused of considering - or having considered, really - treason, no matter how accurate the statement was. He would never betray the Eastern Roman Empire even to its emperor. Still, there was a bit in that statement that Albinus found interesting.

“What do you mean ‘how we can manipulate them in return’?” he asked. This information could prove crucial to the campaign. Albinus had considered how the Sassanids could poison the minds of his people, but he’d never thought about doing that to them. It wasn’t that he refused to consider it, just that he’d never thought of it before.

“The Sassanids are not - and never have been - the only Persians,” Luwia replied. “Two Persian Empires existed before they did, and they overthrew one of those. Perhaps there are still some who remember those lost glories, if only through tales. There are many formerly Parthian clans… why should we not court them as allies against their titular liege? We can offer them spoils… perhaps even Persia itself.”

That was ruthless, but there was a harsh kind of logic to it. It was even harsher than Albinus had imagined it might be. He had merely thought to get some Sassanid generals to turn against their emperors, or maybe turn some members of the Sassanid family against their kin. Causing an empire-wide civil war wasn’t on the list. It could work, but it could also backfire spectacularly. Albinus would need to think about this.

Nonetheless, there were other people he had to “interview” in order to test their loyalty. This proved that Luwia wouldn’t betray him in the middle of the battle, and keeping his enemies closer was a good policy anyway.