Senator Hadrianos Raoul
*Hadrianos Raoul rises with a content feeling on his face. He had accomplished one of his goals : becoming the leader of a faction in the Senate at only 28 years old. A strange combination of the human kind, he had Titian hair coming from his old ancestors from the Norse while harboring a beard cut like in Ancient Greece. He had power, a limited one and which will surely shift through time but at least he had an influence.*
Dear Senators, *he turns to the side of the Magnaura where the Blues have gathered and bows a little* Dear friends of the Blue Demes, we are assembled here under the eyes of God to advise our Basileus, long may he reign.
I will make my will clear. I advise those who have gathered under our banner to support the proposition of our Emperor to reform our Administration. I know that some will think that I change advice as soon as the wind turns but that is not true !
Exploration is and will always be my goal. I already exposed my reasons before but for those who would not have understood, *a sarcastic smile appears on his face* my dear friends of the White Demes come to mind, I will expose them once and for all. The world which we thought knowing for centuries is bigger than even Alexander could have ever thought when he was crying thinking there were no more worlds to conquer. But alas for us he was wrong. The Xenoi empire is bigger than the empire of Trajan, and yet we do not know any of these. In the same time, they know our lands, they know where to land, where to strike. During the last campaign, I was drougarios. I have captured some of their ships, at the costs of many lives, and I discovered maps, but no maps of the lands of the Falling Sun. No it was the Imperium and the other Christian lands which were represented. Of course, it was not as accurate as the maps of the Pandadikterion, but how could we imagine be safe in this situation.
But it is not the West that we should explore first. No, countrymen, there are countries where spices, gold and other riches lie in abundance. There are countries which could be converted to the One True Faith, not by force but by spreading the Gospel amongst these innocents. India, Serica, .... So many places where we could build an influence and then bring back riches, men to the Imperium and then completely push the Xenoi out of Christian lands and establish a new Pax Romana, a Pax Angelica ....
But exploration is not possible currently. The Imperium is circled by enemies on all sides. The lands in Aegyptus and Ethiopia which will be from where we will launch our ships to a new era of Discoveries, is isolated. But time will come, my friends, when the Imperium will stand proud and high, ready to discover what lies out of what we have known for centuries. Let us reform our administration, ridding it of corruption and thus better know ourselves. For if we want to win against our enemies, we must know us better than they do. "Gnothi seauton" as said a great thinker
So dear senators of the Blue Demes, what do you think of it ? I am merely your servant, your representative here in the capital. Please let me know if you agree on supporting the Emperor's proposal and if you have any project you want to be defended by me in this assembly. I am in favor of advising to go to war against Timurids to reclaim Egypt, once and for all. I would be also strongly in favor of annexing the Reich, or what stays of it before Xenoi but it is less important than Egypt.
Thank you senators for hearing my plead, Imperium shall prevail ! St-Markos bless you all.
*Before going back to his seat, Hadrianos goes to senator Columbo *
I see senator Columbo, leader of the Eagles, that we pursue the same goals in this noble assembly. Would you be ready to promise us to support Exploration in the future, and you will have my support for any matter, especially against the fanatics of the so-called "Faithful" ?
*Hadrianos then goes back, and speaks to senator Salamis*
I appreciate your support, senator Salamis, and be sure that you will be rewarded for sure when the time comes. Just trust me and our carriers will surely prosper