Chapter 3: The Guard Captain and the Pagan
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"Do you not see! This is our only chance!" shrieked the Lead Conspirator, "Only now can we reaffirm pious rule over all the Orient!"
"Aye!" said the gathered group of dark men.
Any passerby to the building would have no doubt have known their intent immediately, seeing faces, like
Eugenios Bsgi, Sergius Avahu, Paschalis Bsgi, Sabinianus, Pulcheria Tzanichites, Leo Agapitus, Orestes of Shayzar, and Marcian of Skalothe among the crowd.
Many were known for their illegitimate children, some of the younger conspirators were said children themselves.
Many were known for tracing their lineages back to Pre-Apollinarian Italy, some even to distant ancestors in a place known as Soissons only in legend.
Many of which were already noted by the Empire to be in other high profile plots.
All of which were pagan.
"We must kill Damianos now, before he comes of age, and before he marries! We shall be victorious, for Prince Anastasius is educated in the Old Rites! The gods shall be returned to the Orient!", exclaimed Sergius Avahu, lead conspirator, and member of the Avahu family, one of the most numerous in the Orient, with roughly 77 members living throughout the Empire.
Then, there was a crash, and a band of Scholae Palatinae stormed the room, grabbing any they could find. This spelt bad news for many, as over half of the conspirators were in the Scholae itself. Two men were not arrested, one on the virtue of his escape, one by the virtue of his betrayal.
The Guard cursed, Sergius Avahu had escaped, jumping out his two story window, and disappearing among the Aramean merchants. The other to avoid arrest was Leo Agapitus, the most famous Roman alive.
The Agapitii, originally Tribunes of Ancona under Odoacer, have become one of the most important families in the Roman world, and Leo Agapitus, the most important man alive (A title often begrudgingly given to Godogost by later scholars)
Leo Agapitus, a loyal, and former member of the Scholae, was eager to help his former mentor, and, in a "drunken" stupor, disclosed the plot against the Emperor to the ears of the Imperial-Regent.
"You have my thanks," said the Tribunus Palatinae Artemios, "A plot of this magnitude! In the city of Antioch itself!"
"Indeed", said Leo.
"But was it true?" said the Captain, "Was that woman, Pulcheria, really a Tzanichite?"
"Regrettably true," Leo exclaimed with a sigh, "many have arrived at the lands of that Nabatean, Timotheos Bosporios'il Christophoros, a distant branch of the family."
"I thought they had fled to the Hidden Country?" said Artemios, "If there are Tzanichites in Antioch, surely they have returned to Greece?"
"Yes, I fear for Valens Sempronius, the Tzanichites will not rest until Achaia is reclaimed." said Leo, now pacing the darkened room.
"I am impressed by their escape across the Caliphate's borders, even more that they survived the wrath of those wretched Hordes!" the Guard Captain added.
"If the Tzanichites can make it past the mountains, one can only hope the Hordes themselves don't cross the walls of their prison, for the only thing the Caliph ever did for us was trapping them in the Hidden Country, hopefully forever!" Leo continued, "We've seen the damage a Tzanichite can do! Their legacy will be an awful one!"
"Yes, and you see their legacy already! Melchesdechians in full revolt! Donatists in Sarzmegusta Regia! Tzanichites sow dissent wherever they go," exclaimed Leo.
"I thank you for your help," said the Captain, "I shall track down the rest of the Christophoros family, they must by hiding them there."
"Very well," said Leo, "I shall help in any way I can."
"Long live the Cappadocian Candidate!" said the Captain.
"Long live!" said the Cappadocian Candidate, "Long live!"
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The Regent-Captain, feeling that the forces of the Oriens no longer required the toleration of the traitors in Syria Salutaris to shield them from Islam, called a distant relative of Mery Rachim Lebbaeus, Anastasius Lebbeus, a Roman in upbringing to court.
The war got off to a rough start, with a large number of mercenary soldiers coming to aid Rachim, and with 4425.5 golden coins to his name, Rachim could not be outspent.
What more, deep in Germany, the Zoroastrian King Bertram Meroving the Rough converted to the Germanic faith in order to save his realm. It was claimed that all of Russia yelled in anger for this betrayal of faith, and the Russian King vowed to destroy the pagans wherever they prosper. In his rage, the Slavic states by the Vistula were shattered and most of their land was annexed. What more, the Russians converted the stronger kingdom of Donau to Zoroastrianism, and now seek to press the claims of the old Jhossrik nobility to the throne. In addition, Godogost has escaped the Russians yet again, and his location is unknown following his flight from Silesia.
The great armies clashed in al-Khazandar, and things looked grim for the left flank until the Praetorian of the Scholae Palatinae Vigilius managed to kill the mercenary leader Captain Yaromir. Afterwards, the Syrians were defeated and scattered. Great rewards were lavished upon Legatus Augustio Maurikios Doukas of Thrace, ruler of a single barony of Dorylaion.
Incredibly, the Syrians had already raised a new army, 8,000 strong, which commanded immediate imperial action in Asas. The African mercenaries were defeatedsummarily defeated, and the war was done. The conclusion of the war, came on the birthday of Damianos V (III), and Tribunus Palatinae Artemios could continue his service in the field.
The reign of Damianos V (III) began with the enhancement of the power of the Emperor, with a variety of reforms being passed curbing the power of the nobility, and improving the administration of the Empire.
While the Oriens prospered, Rome burned, as the Greek Cyrenaicans attained independence. What more, the ruler of the now Imperial Rus Khaganate has invaded the Frankish realm of Togcuoningkrike in order to place a Zoroastrian noble of the old Jhossrik Empire on the throne.
But the Orient knew Peace.
Emperor's Note: As you can see, the new administration of the Orient is vastly different from that of Damianos IV (II) and his predecessors. Where originally, rebels like Syria Salutaris, and states like the Ghassanids were encouraged to be powerful, as to act as buffers between the Orient and the Caliph, now, under Scholae-Palatinae Artemios' control, the Empire is now annexing these buffer states, as he views their existence no longer necessary. Now all eyes are on Damianos V (III) to see if he will continue in the Guard-Captain's footsteps, and proceed. this process of annexation. This, and the fate of the Empire itself will be decided in the next chapter: Godogost Triumphant.
