|
  My my. "The Poet." How presumptuous, how arrogant, how utterly absurd! Can you and your family of subversives not be happy with any good thing? Have the souls of of most of Christendom not been saved? Tell me, does anyone mourn the passing of another Muslim dynasty? Did anyone mourn the passing of the Arians? No? The end of a heretical and false faith is good, righteous and holy! The only era that is ended is that of our humiliation by that pretender in Ortebello! You wail about slaughter, but I have heard of none. Most converted quite easily. But, frankly, if any would begin butchery, it would be those poor Catholic lambs you are so keen to sob over. How many of their militant "holy" orders remain, ready to strike down true Christians? Yes, Valeria brought the heretics the Light. A fine gift, since they had given themselves over to Death centuries ago. The Catholic heresy is nearly over. The barbarian kings of the West are embracing the True Faith. It is a miracle, resurrection.
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 14:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 09:36 |
|
|
And in these fires, in this blaze of conflict, we prevent the rise of thousands more over the coming centuries. Is it not plain to see that, with the Western Kings embracing the Orthodox Church, the One True Church, that we have unified Christendom? That with this unite we shall preclude all manner of conflict dealing with faith? How much stronger have we made Christendom by unifying it against the heathens that would assault our Church, the Pagans that still blight the land? Yes, there will be those who die. However, as with Sodom and Gomorrah, their passing marks a cleansing of the faith, a unifying of the people and the promise Christianity's light remaining triumphant and strong from now until the end of time.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:07
|
|
|
Luhood posted:
Oh, yes. Let us feel horror and shock at the notion that war sometimes causes death! Perhaps the Senator would like next to deliver a polemic on the miseries inflicted on so many by the fact that swimming causes dampness! Do you know what, Senator? Yes, I am elated at what the Empire has done. Of course it caused pain; birth causes pain. Healing causes pain. Exercise causes pain. Change causes pain. And in exchange for that pain the schism is ended. No more will the people of Europe for whom you outwardly profess such reverence and love be misled by ecclesiastical arrogance and even bullying. No more will they find their path to Heaven barred by those who should have been their shepherds. And this makes you sad? This makes you chastise this chamber? Senator... what the hell is wrong with you? Go right ahead, Senator. Go return East. You focus entirely upon the symptoms; I choose to focus on the cure. The Roman Empire has made the world a better place today. That that makes you upset speaks more to your own skewed, distorted priorities than anything else, and it makes me sad.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:12
|
|
|
Luhood posted:
  New Byzantines -/- Phanariotes I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. The fires of rebellion have been lit across Europe, and this turmoil will only weaken the true faith for the coming years. Another problem with all of this is the talk of restoring the "Roman" empire. Again and again my family has tried spoke on this: we should not idealize a pagan, dead empire. We are Byzantines, part of a glorious Christian Byzantine Empire. We so look past this foolish notion of returning back to theRoman Empire. Look at what we have accomplished as Byzantines! We have created cultural unity and tolerance within our empire on a scale that has never been seen in this world. Would you all turn your backs on this to return to antiquity?
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:14
|
|
 ...I hope the decades of war and strife that will be storming over Europe over this "mending", murdering what I suppose must now be labeled "true believer" and "heretic" alike, wreaking havoc on villages, farmsteads, castles, cities and temples because the matter of religion can simply be solved by throwing more young, able-bodied men of the Empire at the problem until only a wasteland remains was worth it. Not to mention the wars that will inevitably have to be waged because some imbecile starts jammering about "terrible borders" like it's some sort of lethal disease that will end up bringing Armageddon if not treated by more annexation of territory. Lord Cyrahzax posted:You wail about slaughter, but I have heard of none. Most converted quite easily. But, frankly, if any would begin butchery, it would be those poor Catholic lambs you are so keen to sob over. How many of their militant "holy" orders remain, ready to strike down true Christians? Pshaw. How stereotypically short-sighted of you. The Dukes of the German, French or British kingdoms are no different than our 'beloved' Douxes (or whatever the hell that plural is, I can't remember), and I'd be willing to bet my last... whatever our currency is on half of those converts simply doing so because of an impending fear of great holy wars coming from the Orthodox side now that we officially declared them a heresy, and those same "converts" will now be looking to pounce on those strong enough to remain true to their beliefs while using their "true belief" as a cover for their land-grabs. Look for Germany, France, the British Isles and Scandinavia to become bathed in the flames of war until one reigns supreme in that area. God help us if somebody else were to use this moment of weakness to strike at the weakened world of Christendom with a horde of soldiers... These truly are dark times. This "mending" is pretty much akin to conversion at swordpoint. "Accept our now definite faith or we reserve the right to invade you at any time and take all your land away". TheMcD fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Apr 15, 2014 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:15
|
|
|
Those "strong enough" to remain true to their beliefs? Really, I think you mean "foolish enough." Catholicism is the dead "faith" of heretics. Frankly, any king fanatic enough to remain one deserves to be destroyed. How is the destruction or conversion of the last holdouts a bad thing? We are making them bring civilization to themselves, gaining new allies on Earth and in heaven!
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:31
|
|
|
 Praised may the Lord be, blessed may the Empress be! The Pentarchy is restored, and our western brothers come to us in droves! To those denouncing this holy victory, I can say few things. But those that I can I will: To begin with, the only thing Empress Valeria did was restore Roman, Christian order to the Pentarch seats of Jerusalem and Alexandria. Is that wrong? It most certainly isn't. I truly doubt you would honestly say you preferred these lands to remain under Muslim, or even Papist control. And indeed, that brings me to my second point, which is that Roman acts have done little to discredit the Papacy compared to those committed by the Popes themselves! Should we forget that the Pope granted Jerusalem to the Republic of Genoa? That he literally gave the Temple to the merchants? And he did that not once but twice! Why, it might have even been three times, I don't remember and I don't care to relive such misguided histories in my mind! The popes have been leading Christians astray for centuries. That the acts of our Empress, fulfilling the Empire's divine purpose, turned into the drop that spilt the wine from the glass the papists filled themselves brimful should not rest the responsibility for the implosion of their church upon us or the Empress. We have merely conducted our holy duty, and there is nothing more righteous than that!
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:42
|
|
|
New Byzantines -/- Phanariotes  Aslan I "the Poet" Qutuzid If you do not hear the Drums of War, Senators, it is only because you do not listen. Will the people of a small town in inner Germany, scared senseless by the preachings of their Bishop, be content in simply peacefully converting just because he tells them to? Will the people of London be as accepting of the Catholics, now branded True Heretics, as the people of Constantinople? Or what about those who come saying their Pope is an usurper? Will the Bishop of Lund survive when the unruly masses wish to burn him for the Catholic lies he have told them over the years? As Senator McD so wisely said, will the Doukes of the west not see this as yet another reason for worldly landgrab and petty backstabbing, bringing yet more misery and pain to Europe? Brothers will fight against one another, drafted into yet another meaningless war not even the survivors will see any difference from but a new lord to pay taxes to. Christianity may be unified, but at what cost. We are weakened by infighting over the sake of religion, with powerful enemies waiting at our doorstep. Had this not happened, would there still be war? Yes, and to claim it wouldn't cause pain would be to be naive. But why give them another reason to? Pain may be just a part of life, but why cause it just for the sake of faith? Is that what Christ our Saviour would've wanted?
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:42
|
|
|
My fellow senators, those who fear for the future, those who weep even now at the moment of our Empress' miraculous achievement, I understand your pain, and I know your concerns to be real, genuine and worthy of being taken into full account. This is not the end of unification: We have a duty to the faith and to the world to see to it that we carry this through to the full conclusion, total religious unity across the continent, all men truly brothers. We owe guidance and nurture to those who were most cruelly misled for so long, to ensure their path is not lit by the fires of ignorant rebellion, but by the warm hearth's light of truth. I will not ridicule the poem or the poet, for it is a salutary lesson, a warning as to how things could be, indeed how they will be if we are not fully diligent and totally committed to seeing this through to the bitter end. I trust my fellow Phanariotes will support me in this commitment, this pledge to hold aloft the lantern of knowledge and shine it across the west, that we may tamp down the potential for the fires of bloodshed and instead allow enlightened knowledge to conquer ignorance. You have sounded the warning call: We must ensure that it does not go unheeded. Do you stand with me, Phanariotes?
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:48
|
|
|
TheMcD posted:Pshaw. How stereotypically short-sighted of you. The Dukes of the German, French or British kingdoms are no different than our 'beloved' Douxes (or whatever the hell that plural is, I can't remember), and I'd be willing to bet my last... whatever our currency is on half of those converts simply doing so because of an impending fear of great holy wars coming from the Orthodox side now that we officially declared them a heresy, and those same "converts" will now be looking to pounce on those strong enough to remain true to their beliefs while using their "true belief" as a cover for their land-grabs. Look for Germany, France, the British Isles and Scandinavia to become bathed in the flames of war until one reigns supreme in that area. God help us if somebody else were to use this moment of weakness to strike at the weakened world of Christendom with a horde of soldiers... Of course they're different than our own doukes, my fellow senator. They're not our problem. We did not force the world to convert to Orthodoxy-- our ascendancy made doing otherwise self-evident folly! I'm curious, though-- are you coming out as a catholic yourself? Because speaking of pouncing on heretics...
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:51
|
|
|
What an interesting question: would Christ want his flock ruled by proper shepherds? Of course! Europe, Christendom, is going through a trial of holy fire! By the end of it, only the faithful will remain, ready to spread a pure and righteous faith across the world! The reunification is but a prelude to the wars to come. A united Christian world will destroy the House of Islam. A united Christian world will conquer India, Cathay, and everything beyond! True Christian shepherds, empowered by our Pentarchs, will convert and save the world. We veterans of the wars against the heretics will lead the converted and grateful sons of heretics against the heathen! Before, Christendom was iron. Now, it is steel, ready to be used.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:51
|
|
AJ_Impy posted:
You better hurry, because I'm not sure the repositories of knowledge that are the Catholic monasteries of mainland Europe will survive long in this impending time of war. You thought the burning of the Library of Alexandria was bad? You ain't seen nothing yet! Adept Nightingale posted:
So basically, you're confirming that this entire "mending" process was not done because of the greater good, but out of self-interest, knowing it would leave devastation in its wake? You're pretty much just saying "gently caress those other guys, they're not Roman like us, the cool people. We, the cool people, made Orthodoxy the real deal, if you don't follow, prepare to get murdered", just in a different dressing. And while I do not consider myself a Catholic, I always considered them brothers in arms. I have a good few friends that are Catholic (although it must be seen how many stay, considering open season has been called on them) and I always considered myself ideologically close to the T.R.A.I.T.O.R.S., as their policy of camaraderie with the Catholic world made sense in a realpolitik way as well as a tolerant way. TheMcD fucked around with this message at 15:58 on Apr 15, 2014 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:52
|
|
|
Fortunately, the Library of Constantinople and our own monasteries remain unsullied, yes? We can reeducate the West, save it from works tainted by Catholic fanatics.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:55
|
|
|
Lord Cyrahzax's bold words and increasing wisdom in the face of hand-wringing and cowardly fear of an unknown future have deeply moved me. I wish to throw my lot in with theirs in Unitas. TheMcD posted:So basically, you're confirming that this entire "mending" process was not done because of the greater good, but out of self-interest, knowing it would leave devastation in its wake? You're pretty much just saying "gently caress those other guys, they're not Roman like us, the cool people. We, the cool people, made Orthodoxy the real deal, if you don't follow, prepare to get murdered", just in a different dressing. Not at all. My statement is instead that this mending process was done for the good of Christendom. We seized Jerusalem, seized Alexandria, from the muslims and rebuilt the Pentarchy of old. This is, unabashedly, unequivically, a good thing. That we in the process showed Catholocism to be the mockery it is to the world is not our fault, and the only coherent argument I can find in your endless wailing is that you do not believe we should have retaken the Holy Land, and for what? So that Catholocism could cling to some semblance of relevancy for awhile longer? You are weak, and would have us be weak alongside you. We are Rome, and we are great. To say so aloud is not posturing. Adept Nightingale fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Apr 15, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 15:58
|
|
Adept Nightingale posted:
And thus, the true colors are revealed. I was about to tell you to go join them, as your rhetoric was right as home with their line of thinking, but it seems you were one step ahead.
|
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 16:00
|
|
|
Gentlemen, May I direct you to this map?  Do you know what I see my fellow senators? I see exactly two kings clinging to the failed Authority of the Pope. You all may talk of war and turmoil and strife, but the reality is that those peoples there, the actual farmers and tradespeople likely are completely unaware of the differences between the two. Frankly, the bigger problem is the clergy, and with the promise of autocephaly, even that is fairly unlikely to be a problem. You all are alarmists and hand-wringers, lamenting Rome burning just to participate in false mourning. But Rome is strong and rising and Christendom has never been so united and great as it is right now. Here is what is actually happening: very little. Each of the bishops and archbishops of these lands cease acknowledging the pope and act independently instead, something that has been de facto in practice since Rome was taken. All you people saying that there is going to be some great turmoil completely lack perspective. Things are going to go on pretty much as they did before. As for the Monarchs, the situation is much the same. It has often been the case that they have struggled with the pope for power and I would be surprised if this mending of the schism was nothing but a relief to many. For most of the people out there it is all business as usual. NewMars fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Apr 15, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 16:04
|
|
|
 Our glorious empress has done what none thought possible. The Church is, once again, united and ascendant. Let fools bicker like dogs. God himself is with us -- and clad in the purple. I declare it now: Valeria II is the Christ reborn, here to deliver the Hope of the True Church to all mankind. Rejoice, my friends. Sing hosannahs to The Name. The Redeemer returns, and she is Bathed in the Blood of the Lamb.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 16:29
|
|
|
Noble senators, I understand that I am new to this august body having not even registered with a party (though I will do that as soon as the next registration period begins) and understand that it is presumptuous of my first address to call you all silly... and yet I seem to have no choice. Blaming the Saint for the squabbles of Europe? Claiming that uniting our fractured faith will in fact divide it further? It seems to me that many in the senate simply want to argue for the sake of arguing. Will men in Europe use this as an excuse to kill? Almost certainly. But Europeans will use anything as an excuse to kill. Family feuds, obscure treaties, whether a swallow is African or European. And when the continent was dominated by papists it was by no means peaceful. In fact, the pope could even be petitioned to sanction a war against a brother in their faith. Yes, men will still kill in the name of the Prince of Peace. Also, the sky is still blue, water still wet, and the senate still the wonderfully dysfunctional backbone of our great empire.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 19:03
|
|
|
Ghostwoods posted:
That's dangerously close to heretical, Senator, but on this happy day I'll let it pass. Let's just canonize her, move on, and in a couple centuries maybe we can debate the merits of whether or not she was a new Prophet.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 19:06
|
|
|
 The New Byzantines Steppes and Republics Steppes and Republics would like to say that we are glad for the mending of the Great Schism, but feel sad feel sad for all the good Christians, Heretic or not, that may lose their lives in the coming religious infighting. Except the Croatians.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 19:20
|
|
|
Gauls... I hate Gauls. And True senators of the Byzantine empire weep for Gauls in far off lands, weep for Muslim Caliphates that reduce themselves to constant civil wars in merely a Dynasty or two? Oooh Senators I am worried about thee, it is Byzantines we should be worried about true Byzantine families that pledge allegiance to the Emperors, Empresses and the Senate. These lands you weep over own slaves not citizens, robber barons own the lands to the west like stinking Gauls that ravaged each other in days long past for scraps of power, and meager lands where one has fought the other for generations. Yes they will die, they have always lived and died at the whims of barons, mercenaries and rapacious armies. So it is our job to bring Roman order to stinking Gauls, and bless them with the stability and protection of the empire, and most of all guard their minds against the polluted heresies of their local lords. We don't own Orthodoxy Senators, we steward it's well being. Something Popes and kings of the savage lands have forgotten. So weep no longer ye faint of heart, rest no longer ya who wants to halt our advance. Let us bring order to the world, Gloria Valeria! SPQR! SPQR!
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 19:53
|
|
|
So this is the Senate House, is it? It seems rather spacey in here... I must congratulate Empress Valeria for accomplishing what generations of Roman Emperors have failed to accomplish. My father would no doubt be apologetically excited for this day. My loyalties are not to any lofty ideals you New Byzantines may hold, but to the Empire first and foremost. Do you see this map? Only two kings cling yet to the false authority of that whore of Babylon. For the common folk whom you fear so greatly for, what will change of their lives? So many of the former Papists have turned to the light, it is a miracle if nothing else. Had there been more resistance, we would not doubt be in a time of bloodshed, but the West has seen the true path, and no time of troubles shall emerge here.
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 21:07
|
|
|
Long live the Empress! It is only a matter of time before the world recognizes that Rome has returned!
|
|
#
?
Apr 15, 2014 21:14
|
|
|
I would like to apologize on behalf of the New Byzantine party for our... more alarmist members. I don't know if its the wine or the hashish the Komnenians brought or if they are just mad we didn't oversee it, but I do know that not a drat one of them has taken the time to actually study the reports from the West that Senator NewMars has so kindly pointed out. Really, you all should be ashamed of yourselves. You should be focusing your energies on more important things LIKE THE ELIMINATION OF THE DOUKES. Seriously Senator Qutuzid, you bemoan the doukes using this "turmoil" as an excuse for worldly land grabs yet appear to remain content to sit on the side and write poems. If our grand Empress can mend the wounds the Pope inflicted upon the Christendom surely putting a leash the vile doukes is within her reach.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 02:31
|
|
|
j00rBuDdY posted:
Admirable goal, but stopping doukes from holding large tracts of land is a temporary measure. They still hold power. To eliminate their POWER, while making them feel empowered.... it will require them to accept a change in the status quo. That could take decades, centuries. It's a long term project...
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 02:35
|
|
|
AdventFalls posted:
The Empire has decades. It has centuries. It has as long as God wills it, and with the way things are I dare say that would give you Old Romans enough time to figure out how to conquer the moon (as soon as our universities figure out how to build a road to it). The doukes will not be able to plague it for eternity, that much is certain.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 03:00
|
|
|
We must begin to limit the power of the Douxes as soon as possible. We must make efforts to eliminate the power of the appointed governors, who, sadly, are clawing their way into hereditary landowners despite the measures taken. I hold the floor open to any suggestions and present my own: we must render it impossible for a single individual to hold more then one Thema to their name, a process that will take great discretion. To do this we must first strip them of their extraneous titles, which is... difficult, to say the least. Then we must be vigilant to ensure that they do not gain any more.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 03:04
|
|
|
(OOC: So is the rest of this LP just going to be the Byzantine Empire going around and blobbing across the map or will anything interesting happen at any point?)
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:02
|
|
|
(OOC: I feel like the last update put it pretty well that these revolts are going to come to a head sooner or later. The player got really lucky with the untimely death of the claimant in the last one, or we'd already be in a very different place, here. 'just blobbing forever' seems like a pretty unlikely outcome. The senate continually pushing ideas that are designed to guarantee low relations with most of the doukes seems likely to accelerate that.)
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:04
|
|
|
Adept Nightingale posted:(OOC: I feel like the last update put it pretty well that these revolts are going to come to a head sooner or later. The player got really lucky with the untimely death of the claimant in the last one, or we'd already be in a very different place, here. 'just blobbing forever' seems like a pretty unlikely outcome. (OOC: My experience with this game is that once you get to the point we're at right now you can fairly comfortably hire as many mercs as are necessary to win wars. You'll notice that we were never actually threatened during that giant revolt we just had; it was really just an inconvenience)
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:09
|
|
|
Sampatrick posted:(OOC: My experience with this game is that once you get to the point we're at right now you can fairly comfortably hire as many mercs as are necessary to win wars. You'll notice that we were never actually threatened during that giant revolt we just had; it was really just an inconvenience) You can game the system all you want, but this is a narrative, so role-play will hopefully trump out gameplay.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:13
|
|
|
Hitlers Gay Secret posted:You can game the system all you want, but this is a narrative, so role-play will hopefully trump out gameplay. (OOC: It hasn't so far, I don't see why we should expect it to in the future)
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:16
|
|
|
Sampatrick posted:(OOC: It hasn't so far, I don't see why we should expect it to in the future) Touche
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:18
|
|
|
It is very possible for something disastrous or extremely weird to conveniently happen right before the conversion to EU, particularly if the thread expresses a wish for it that is somehow inexplicably granted by the game engine, almost certainly by complete chance. HINT, HINT.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:19
|
|
|
Sampatrick posted:(OOC: My experience with this game is that once you get to the point we're at right now you can fairly comfortably hire as many mercs as are necessary to win wars. You'll notice that we were never actually threatened during that giant revolt we just had; it was really just an inconvenience) Assuming you mean the big revolt from the update before this one (this one was smaller and, as Valeria herself said, was pretty much in the bag before the claimant randomly died), behind the scenes of the narrative I actually was losing that war-- we were at like -60% warscore, outnumbered, and going broke when the war leader abruptly dropped dead. EDIT: Just for laughs, I went and dug up the last screenshot I had before the war ended and I was doing even worse than I remembered. -90%! warscore! Yikes. Empress Theonora fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Apr 16, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 04:38
|
|
|
Wow, talk about your close shaves. If that guy had stayed alive for a couple more years then his heir would've been leading the country. Granted, Valeria II is awesome, would've held the richest lands in the Empire and the best legitimate claim, so it would've been a matter of time before she could've gotten herself back into power.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 05:04
|
|
|
OOC: Honestly, what I think is going to happen here is that it is all going to go catastrophically wrong at some point. All we need is one bad ruler to have everything fall apart. We have been incredibly lucky in that department, there have been a couple occasions, like that one up there, where if things had just been slightly different... well, there's no way we'd be able to go for the roman empire. Frankly, I don't know if we can do that, either, still, but I want it to happen just before things start going wrong.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 05:11
|
|
|
Guys, we haven't even assaulted africa yet and kicked Somali butt, we don't even own Carthage or Hispania (or croatia for that matter) so lets first start assassinating large land owners and then bumble through history like we use to! Our chaos and close shaves make this game interesting.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 08:14
|
|
|
Samuel posted:Guys, we haven't even assaulted africa yet and kicked Somali butt, we don't even own Carthage or Hispania (or croatia for that matter) so lets first start assassinating large land owners and then bumble through history like we use to! Our chaos and close shaves make this game interesting. Well excuse me, but I advocated for a trade war against the heathen merchants 
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 08:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 09:36 |
|
|
Incidentally, now that the Pentarchy has been restored and the Schism ended, it only makes sense that the Old Roman-Milvian caucus be dissolved. We accomplished truly great, historical things together, but our alliance has now served its stated purpose.
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2014 08:39
|
|