A Tryst with Destiny

You misspelled Garrison.

@Spirictum : Yes, you (and for rp purposes your students) continue to be Royal cartographers.

@DKVM : You and all the other fmr.ministers else can reapply for the same position or a new position.

@Matthias : Sure you can go for it just remember to post the position in bold letters. It makes it easier to follow.

@Rest of the ministers : Check on the group for update on which players have completed 21 turns as ministers.

Remember also, that I will be taking more than one application for the same position this time. If that happens, I will chose only one name. You should try to convince me on why I should chose you .

My office restarts today and I'll be working full day till Saturday. So the update will come in the weekend again, maybe not this weekend but the next one since new proposals will be formulated. I will be checking up on the posts through the week though.

OOC : How did you like the Sitar theme music ?

I liked the Sitar music. It would be cool to be able to play a Sitar!

Also, I reapply for Commander-in-Chief.

You should pick me because I have plenty of experience in the matters of war and battle, I have been a loyal follower of this story since the start, and I'm descended from the Great Archarya Dhrittiman.

You should choose me for Minister of foreign affairs because I am descended from the great diplomats of our empire that brought good relations to all of Magadh's neighbors. I promise to keep that legacy alive by keeping peace the largest export of India, but also increasing materialistic trade between empires.

A single person can't apply for more then one ministry, right?

I believe I would be a fine choice for Minister of Domestic Affairs, as my ancestors have served the empire faithfully for decades, along with adding some new life to the position.

Spirictum said:

A single person can't apply for more then one ministry, right?

Spoiler :

​

Click to expand...

One person one ministry that's the rule.

Could I possibly ask what the finance minister does? I'm considering running

Sets financial policy. Decides how much should be spent on science/culture/espionage. Basically he determines the sliders and decides how much gold should be kept as threshold (no buying, upgrading, rushing etc beyond this point) .

"Not everybody experienced the fruits of Roman expansion equally. The most compelling case here were the slaves. In the Italian peninsula alone, millions of slaves do work as varied as teaching the children of aristocrats to serving their families to toiling in large agricultural estates to suffering in mines. And millions continue to come as Rome continues to expand its borders. Men, women, and children are indiscriminately captured by the victorious Roman legions from the Black Sea to the Nile River, where they are shipped to the Roman population centers to be sorted and auctioned off like any other commodity...

If anything, it is slavery's monumental importance to the Roman economy that leads to one of Rome's other defining features, its high level of militarization. First of all, it is the demand for slaves that is perhaps the contributor to Rome's continued expansion. In addition, Roman society, or at least its military aspects, is somewhat reminiscent of the social order of fallen Greek city-state of Sparta. There, only a minority of the population was made up of Spartan citizens; the majority consisted of helots, who, bound to the land, formed the backbone of the Spartan economy. It is for that reason that Sparta developed its infamous military culture - not to form the greatest conquering machine, but to create a finely-tuned police state, ready to suppress any helot revolt. The same thing occurs for Rome; constant vigilance is required to keep the slave population in check, and constant vigilance requires a standing army.

That is not to say that slave revolts do not happen, however. During my stay, for instance, one agricultural slave, working for an aristocrat who will not be named out of privacy, attempted to run away but was caught. As per the Roman custom, the retribution was greatly disproportionate. Not only that one slave, but all the slaves of that estate - all 400 or so - were condemned to die. Riots ensued when this execution of over 400 innocent people was announced. It was only with the help of Rome's mighty military that this riot was suppressed and the mass execution carried out, and even then, as the slaves walked to the gallows, they walked down a path lined, on its entire course, by soldiers hand-picked by Consul Marius himself.

The fact that that singular incident sparked a riot does not mean that Romans have especially humanitarian attitudes towards their slave population. Not one Roman that I had seen was against this peculiar institution, not one. Even those who were ambivalent about it accepted it as a defining institution of Roman society. Without it, according to Romans, society will simply collapse, into a dystopia completely alien to them. Of course, this is in part due to the fact that Roman slavery is not particularly harsh. The lives of both farm and mine slaves are indeed poor, nasty, brutish, or short, and they do make up the majority. Many slaves, however, live relatively comfortable lives; these are the slaves who serve wealthy households as cooks, servants, or even educators. And that is discounting the fact that slave owners can and do free their slaves; when that happens, the slaves return the favor by continuing their loyalty to their former masters. In fact, many a poor Roman voluntarily sought slavery for the purposes of social advancement; life for a house slave is usually much better than life for a rural peasant...

The economic dependence of Roman society impacts the Roman civilization in additional ways as well. Technology suffers from this vast pool of cheap labor. Why, for instance, build a piece of complex, hard-to-maintain machinery such as a waterwheel when one can instead hire a bunch of slaves at a fraction of the price? We can see the effects of these by contrasting the exports of Rome and China. China is well known for its silk products, porcelain, and paper, all products of its advanced machinery. Meanwhile, the Romans export mainly grain, gold, skins, and animals, not products associated with advanced technology..."

- Excerpted from Mrityunjay's Letters to Emperor Apilaka of Bharat

OOC: I got my AP World History textbook yesterday, and most of the information in this letter comes from it. Said textbook is Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc J. Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 5th ed. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2007. Print. The information used for this letter is on pages 144 and pages 151-152. For instance, I based the execution of 400+ slaves and the ensuing riots on an actual event that happened in Rome in 61 C.E., after its city perfect was killed by a rogue slave.

C.100 BCE

Several months had passed since Buddhagupt's arrival to Persia. He had spent this time as a guest in the manse of the merchant Hormuz. Together they worked hard to unravel the secrets of the puzzle box. One month earlier, Hormuz and Buddhagupt travelled far to the frontier province of Artashat, through the dangerous war torn frontiers near Susa. The duo had thought they had found the location of the scrolls of Physiology and its keeper, whose guardian was named Cyrus. When they had arrived at Artashat, they found a city at war. The Greeks threatened the borders of the province from the South and the West. While Artashat itself did not see the worst of the war, her people were kept on permanent alert in the event that war called upon them.

The people of these mountainous regions were hardy and strong. They were adept at the ways of war. They provided among the strongest of fighters for the Parthian empire. At Artashat, Buddhagupt and Hormuz searched, and searched till they tired. A week went by, then a fortnight, it seemed as though their search had led them nowhere. All the perils they had overcome to arrive at Artashat was for naught. At the last day of their search, just as the duo were about to retreat in defeat from their travel and return to Persepolis, Buddhagupt found a key piece of evidence.

Their search, seemed to be alive again. It was a golden ear ring made in a design peculiar to Vanga. The ear ring had scriptures intricately crafted on to its surface, one which only the most careful observer would notice, and only a linguist like Buddhagupt could hope to decipher. The patterns were familiar to Buddhagupt, he had last seen brahmi written in this style back in Pataliputra, the night he studied the mysterious ledgers. Buddhagupt took the earring and explained to Hormuz the key to unravelling the secret codes. Together the two read the secret of the message :

" In the lands where the sun sets, beyond the sands of the Parada, past the barren hills of the North facing the great oasis of the heartless deserts. Here shall this knowledge lay, within the hands of its keeper. Thus, to the brahman I bequeath the task of guarding the secret of the rise and fall of empires".

"The Persian frontier is not the wisest place to keep such a secret" Hormuz commented. Buddhagupt was not one to question the wisdom of the ancients "Let history decide upon the wisdom of the decision. For our part, we must search for this knowledge and find it before our enemies do" "But where ? We must have searched in every corner of this town. Every able bodied man is manning the garrisons and those who are too feeble have either left for Persepolis or taken shelter behind the fort of the city. We looked wherever there are still people to be found here, and we found no one. We should go back to Persepolis." Buddhagupt had conceded then to Hormuz. The two went back to Persepolis, and continued their work from the manse of Hormuz.

Hormuz greeted Buddhagupt that morning, "Suprabhat Buddhagupt!"(Good morning Buddhagupt), "Suprabhat" "There is an interesting news from our Eastern frontier. Balochistan, or as your people seem to call it, the Parad kingdom, has celebrated the Rajyabhishek (crowning) of the new Indian monarch. This has attracted the ire of the Imperial court, yet the 'King of kings' great emperor Phraates IV has decreed that no action be taken", the news made Buddhagupt somewhat nervous "Yes that is interesting news" he said in a dry but stern tone , "It gets better" Hormuz continued "Because the King has taken no action, his courtiers are disgruntled. They speak in hushed tones about seating a more …assertive monarch." "The clouds of war are looming over our peaceful lands." "It is the work of the minions Buddhagupt. They have their agents working in the lands of the West and the lands of the East. They have designs on India" Buddhagupt's eyebrows were raised, a look of anger fell on his face "And yet you want us to stay here in your manse and luxuriate ! I have deciphered the code, we must track this earring to its owner, we must find this person and we have wasted our months doing nothing !" "Calm down my friend, have some fine Persian wine" Hormuz said smilingly as he poured his finest wine on a goblet.

Buddhagupt never liked wine, back home in Bharata, his colleagues would sometimes offer drinks of rice wine, which is quite popular in Magadh. "No thanks!" he said as he would always say when offered with alcohol, "As you wish. More for me then." Hormuz poured the wine to his own goblet before continuing "There is a place in Persepolis. It is not very well known, nor very well loved" "Don't worry I have been through secret hells before, this one shouldn't perturb me" Hormuz stood up to take out a blank parchment, some ink and a quill. He started drawing a crude map of Persepolis, "This is the city of Persepolis, to the North are the hills, to the south a desertified land. here is the main lane of the city which connects to all other smaller lanes. At the grand square before the palace of Persepolis, is where the warrior Bessus was executed before the public by Alexander's army. What is not known, is where Bessus was kept." Hormuz moved his finger following the crudely drawn lane leading Northwards from the palace."This was Bessus' dungeon. Once, this was the royal dungeon of the old dynasty. After emperor Phriapatius came, he built a much more secure dungeon near the hill fort to the North West. Most people in Parsa call it Bessus' dungeon, others call it 'the heroes' dungeon' . No one goes near that place, but it has become a haunt for some … more shady characters in the city". Buddhagupt listened intently "And what do you propose we may find there ?" "You may not find the unknown man, but there is one who knows much and more about Persia who will help".

It was decided then, that they would go to Bessus' dungeon. They found their way through the narrow and dusty lanes of the city of Persepolis, till they came to the grand square. "There" Hormuz said pointing to the centre of the square, "is where the Greeks, or Yavan as you call them, crucified brave Bessus", there stood a circular enclosure made of black stone and a raised platform. Through the dust it seemed like there were still a few stains of blood on that spot where Bessus had died. They went North to a small lane near the side of the palace. They kept their pace, till they came to the old abandoned dungeon. It was a dark alley, where the canopies of closely built houses blocked out much of the sun's light. Dirt and muck were laden on the streets, and people sat on the street sides covered in rags. "Here is the entrance to the dungeon. We will need this lamp". When they had ventured out, Buddhagupt had questioned the need of carrying a lamp in broad daylight, that was before he had seen the dungeon. It was a ruined old building, which must have been both frightening and impressive in its day. A tall tower once stood where there is only a pile of rubble, iron gates with spikes kept out and kept in every threat to the empire. The building had but one color throughout, that was black.

The once mighty door has since rusted, and anyone could open it albeit with some difficulty. "Help me move this" Buddhagupt and Hormuz pushed the door open, when it did, it made a loud creaking noise which frightened nearby pigeons and cats. A torrent of wings came out of the dungeon, and Buddhagupt's heart froze for a moment. They walked in after lighting their lanterns. The light was dim, but it was enough to lead the way. The dungeon was dark, dank and confusing. A building made in black where one could easily get lost if he did not know his way. The collapse of the tower had made it worse since the collapsed bricks blocked out paths built as exits. "Follow me, and watch your step, these walls are treacherous" Hormuz walked surely and steadily, "it was as if he has been here before.. several times perhaps" Buddhagupt thought to himself. He was not someone used to suspecting people at first instance, but there was something about Hormuz that had always tingled his sense of caution. They walked till they came around to a corner, the path turned a sharp right and from here on, the path was no longer broken and crooked. A little distance away, a dim light was seen glowing out of the darkness. Here is where men would come to indulge in wine and alcohol, but who were these men?

"Sarve Nara Mriyantām" Hormuz said "Sarve Narā Mriyantām" the men greeted. Buddhagupt was utterly confused by what he saw , "Sarve Narā Mriyantām?… you greet 'all men must die'?" Hormuz turned to face his friend , he had an evil look in his face and a sly smile, "For that is the law of nature, Arya Buddhagupt, the supreme truth, the only truth" . The drunken men arose, slowly they removed their shrouds revealing swords from their belts. "What is the meaning of this…?" " For months, you and I have stayed together as friends. We broke bread together and drank wine in a manse, that did not in truth belong to me. That belonged to Ayān. I knew of your coming here and of the purpose of your coming. Your quest is futile Buddhagupt. Now I know the secrets of the Nine Unknown, thanks to you and your skills. You have unravelled every secret that we ever needed to know." Hormuz walked closer, each step he took echoed along the walls of the dungeons, it felt as though doom was about to strike , " Our people are spread far and wide. Right this moment, our agent in Greece is plotting the downfall of Alexander's empire. Once Greece falls, we shall turn our eye upon Rome. Persia, China and then India. All shall fall till there will be nothing but chaos, glorious chaos. There are hundreds of us Buddhagupt, and only one of you. We are the minions of death, and we will prevail!"

Buddhagupt took the lamp in his hand, and hurled it frantically at Hormuz, "Aaaaaaahh" the burning oil burnt through his eyes and destroyed his sight. The others moved with their swords unsheathed to attack Buddhagupt, but in the darkness he was invisible. Perhaps luck was with him on that day, or perhaps it was destiny, that he came out of the dungeon alive escaping the clutches of every minion who came. No sooner than he escaped the dungeon he sprinted back to the main square. "They won't attack me in the open" he reasoned, behind him half a dozen armed men were chasing Buddhagupt. Some were armed with swords, others with large daggers. He ran faster than he ever run before, but his legs were giving way. "I must … reach… the manse" "Must destroy…. the box!"

Buddhagupt took the lamp in his hand, and hurled it frantically at Hormuz, "Aaaaaaahh" the burning oil burnt through his eyes and destroyed his sight. The others moved with their swords unsheathed to attack Buddhagupt, but in the darkness he was invisible. Perhaps luck was with him on that day, or perhaps it was destiny, that he came out of the dungeon alive escaping the clutches of every minion who came. No sooner than he escaped the dungeon he sprinted back to the main square. "They won't attack me in the open" he reasoned, behind him half a dozen armed men were chasing Buddhagupt. Some were armed with swords, others with large daggers. He ran faster than he ever run before, but his legs were giving way. "I must … reach… the manse" "Must destroy…. the box!"

Buddhagupt ran, but his legs gave way in the end. He fell to the ground and standing before him with swords unsheathed, were the minions of death, "Om namah Shivay.." he took the name of the god of destruction before closing his eyes, expecting blades to fall, instead, he felt a splatter of blood. The men who were following him were dead, their heads severed from their shoulders, their blades had fallen. A veiled woman stood before him, holding a bloodied sword "Come, we must not waste time". "Who are you?" asked Buddhagupt, "Your protector, this is not the time for questions, we must go to the manse before its too late" . The veiled woman assassin and Buddhagupt walked back to the manse, with a purpose, to destroy whatever evidence there was leading to the location of the Nine Unknown.

"I was a fool to trust this stranger. No one becomes a friend without some interest." Buddhagupt reflected on his errors in Persia, "They wanted my knowledge, they used me! Now they will have none of it." he placed the box along with every scroll that had been unearthed and every parchment that he carried, onto a fireplace. He lit a match and flung it at the accursed objects. "May the secrets stay forever safe" behind him he heard a sound of a swords being unsheathed, he turned around and saw the woman that said she was his protector and a cloaked man draw swords. "Sarve nara mriyantam" the man muttered before the fight began.

The fight was short but vicious, the woman was skilled, but the cloaked man was more so. Between them, they destroyed half the lounge of Hormuz' manse before the protector made a mistake that cost her her life. The cloaked man forced his sword upon her belly so hard it came out of her back, and with equal force pulled it out. Buddhagupt's heart stopped, then and there. The minion walked closer, but Buddhagupt felt a hand embracing him from behind, and then a dagger at his throat. "Sarvé Narā Mriyantām" .

-----------------------

I guess I'll come back and run for economy now that I thought about it

Whoa. Suspense!

Greece C. 75 BCE

Athens burned ! The fires that the conquering Roman legions lit consumed the city till no less than three quarters of it were consumed by its ominous saffron glow. Alexander IV felt as though he had lived a nightmare those few days, when the Alexandrian royal family made its escape to Byzantion. The emperor was but a boy, the youngest of three brothers, who had only ascended the throne, because his elder siblings had died in battle. Those who remained of the royal family fled with a the last remaining legions of Athenai to Byzantion.

Byzantion was the largest city in the world, whose people thrived on the waters of the Black Sea. It was the gateway to the East, the bridge between the orient and occident. It was the city on the straits whose great lighthouse stood watch over hundreds of ships sailing into the city for trade. The wealth of Greece came from its position straddling the Eastern mediterranean and its control over the near east. That wealth was made possible by the might of Greek's armored legions. It was the iron frame that kept Alexandrian rule over three continents. The great legacy that Greeks beginning from Alexander had built up through war and conquest was now being trampled under the heavy boots of the Roman legionaries. "I have failed mother.." the emperor spoke out as he was about to break down, "I am a failure!" he screamed.

"Take hold of yourself son, no, no you're not a failure" the mother embraced her son and stroked his hair as if he were still a child. It was said of the emperor, that the mother had robbed him of every drop of Spartan warrior spirit. The Greeks scoffed never loved him as a prince, "Alexander, the fourth of his name, is a shame on the name he bears!" his uncle said one day "I will rue the day this pansy sits on the throne of Greece. I will not stand for it !" that was long ago, when the royal family still had warriors among them.

The uncle had never quite understood the wisdom of continuing the line of Alexander, whose basis seemed more questionable than not. When the first Alexander the Great had died, there was chaos throughout the grand empire he had made. It was Seleucus Nikator who had placed a child on the throne of Athenai, claiming him as the rightful heir to Alexander. The truth was known to most, that whether or not the child be the rightful heir, it was Seleucus Nikator who would rule. His line, ruled the empire since then and for Antiochus Nikator IV, this gave him the right to place his own kin on the throne of Greece.

The journey to Byzantion was long, it gave the refugees time to reflect on what they had lost. The emperor was still in shock, "I can't tell which I feel worse for, the loss of Athens, or the loss of my brothers". His eldest brother died fighting the Persians and the next elder brother, had died of a suspicious 'accident' when inspecting troops on the Roman frontier. "I could not save them. What good is a king who cannot save his own family mother??" all the mother's affection and care could not bring him out of this self-loathing it seemed. "Disgusting" the uncle replied, "What are you doing in her Antiochus?" the queen retorted in a stern voice "Athens lies in ruin, the empire of Alexander is on the verge of destruction. Our enemies surround us East and West, and here I see the fourth Alexander crying tears on his mother's bosom" "Leave this tent at once" "This is all your fault !" he said pointing to the dowager empress "You made him soft. His brothers were more deserving of the throne, perhaps the sons of Alexander could still save themselves the humiliation" .

The uncle's presence seems to have made it all worse for Alexander IV, he made a loud cry and sprinted away from the tent, "Now look what you have done ! If anything happens to my baby boy I will see the end of you!" "hmf, not before I see the end of your pathetic excuse for a son" "Antiochus!" the queen went to slap Antiochus, but her hand was grasped hard. "If your son remains emperor, Greece will fall" and with that warning he moved back to his tent.

In the tend of Antiochus, there were two others. His son, and a sooth sayer from India. "Tell me what you see sayer" , the sayer closed his eyes in solemn meditation, "Give me your hand Arya" . The sooth sayer felt his palm, "I see greatness in your future Antiochus. I see… I see your son.. and he is sitting on the throne. This throne, is not in Athenai, nor in Seleukeia Susana. This throne, is made of black granite, its halls are dark… from the window he sees .. a tower. It is taller than any tower in the world, and it shines.. it shines like a sun !" "Then our fate is certain. We shall move with our plan son." The plan was simple yet brutal, they would kill the last Alexander, and the royal family. Once they were out of the way, Antiochus, the fourth of that name, shall crown himself the new emperor of Alexander's empire and his son shall be his heir.

It took the better part of the day to search for the emperor's whereabouts, but he was ultimately discovered cowering in a fetal position under a tree, weeping. After the emperor had found peace in his mother's bosom, the caravan continued its journey Northwards along the Black Sea coast. It would take two more days till they would see the Byzantion. The journey on foot was slow and tiring, Greeks had sailed on fleets of galleys, but the bulk of the fleet was stationed at the Athenian harbor, the Romans made it a point to destroy the harbor along with the fine Greek ships before sacking the rest of the city. The journey on foot was riddled with dangers not the least of the Roman troops who would pursue them North. Fortunately, the Greek resistance at Athenai had scuttled any rushed troop movement. It would take the Romans some time to consolidate their holding in Greece before they are able to march North.

After long weeks of marching, the scouts finally saw a sight they had longed to see. Glowing over the horizon, the Great Lighthouse of Byzantion, stood like a sentinel to greet the weary travelers. "This is our new home my son. Your new seat of power, behold, the light of Byzantion greets you", "We should rest the night and enter in the morning" the emperor said, "Our men must have rest". 'Now is the time to strike' Antiochus thought, he went back to his tent, where he had called every captain in the company who was loyal to him. "Let there be no dawn for weak kings" the conspirators unsheathed their swords in unison. When the night was at its darkest, and the royal family had gone to sleep, the captains went from tent to tent, calling upon their men to rise up and take arms. Those men, loyal to Antiochus and his followers, woke up as they were told, donned their armor, and went from tent to tent. Massacring those who were commanded by the emperor's loyalists, not sparing their captains either.

The noise of the massacre reached the ears of the Dowager empress, her son, the emperor slept by her side. Screams of men dying and of bronze and iron armor clanging against each other were resounding through the night. Then five men walked in to the emperor's tent, Antiochus led them. Of the other four, three were captains and another was Antiochus' son. The emperor woke up , "mother ?… what's going on" "Stay where you are !" said the empress unsheathing her dagger. Suddenly, the emperor felt more frightened than ever before in his life. He was scared still, he had no control over himself, and wet the bed. "The throne shall belong to me and my son. You can chose to die in one of two ways. Either execution or here fighting against fate." said Antiochus in his gruff voice. The queen was fear-striken and panicking, she attacked wildly with her dagger not knowing where to strike or how. One of the captains caught her right arm and squeezed it, forcing her to drop her dagger, another took her left arm and held it.

Antiochus' sight fell on the wet patch on the emperor's bed. "Disgusting" he said while slicing with his sword. The emperor was injured at the neck, the force of the blow had thrown him from his bed. Antiochus pulled him up by his hair "I will make your mother watch as I kill you" , "No! Please, don't, kill me first I beg you, spare my boy" the queen's voice was choked with sobs and tears filled her eyes, "Fine then, we kill you and make your pathetic baby boy watch !" "Noo mother…" , the captains, first stripped her with their daggers, "look away my child" , then proceeded to cut her body.
A thousand cuts they made, before finally stopping the bloodshed. At the end, Antiochus took his sword, and severed the emperor's head.

It was a barbaric and beastly night, that Antiochus had set out to put his plan to motion. When the sun rose over the morning sky, the true extent of the horror was made evident. Over a thousand were killed, there was blood blood everywhere. Pieces of human flesh lay scattered. The mangled corpses of the royal family were the worst sight of them all. However, the Ptolemeic princess was nowhere to be found. Antiochus had ordered them dumped into the Black sea. Thus ended, the reign of the Alexandrian Kings, Antiochus saw a glorious future in the corpses of the royal family, but the only future that awaited him, would be of death.

"Are you certain, that the garrison of Byzantion will defect ?" Antiochus asked, "I am certain my liege" the captain replied, "My spies tell me of the cities seething discontent against the weak ruler. They would welcome you and your sons as a strong and just emperor" "It is only obvious" Antiochus went with the remaining among the caravan till he came to the gates of Byzantion. "Alexander IV, has been slain, the weak king is no more ! His line, has been ended. I stand before you citizens of Byzantion, your new ruler. I promise to lead all the Greeks, back to glory !" Antiochus made his announcement before the garrison of the city. For a moment, there was no reply, the gates remained closed, then as predicted, they were opened.

There was not a hint of any resistance as Antiochus passed through the grand streets of the city riding proudly on his steed. His son followed him close on a beautiful white stallion. Then, came the slogans, "Long live the emperor ! Long live Nikator !" the cheers came from the rooftops and from the sides of the streets. "Long live Nikator ! Our rightful ruler !" they brought a smile to the stern face of Antiochus, "They cheer you father" "they cheer our dynasty, son". The triumphant march led to the palace of the governor of Byzantion.

He settled with his followers in the palace, and called upon his sooth sayer. "Call the Indian, I would like to thank him personally". The man with the saffron turban and saffron robes with a dozen om symbols drawn upon it, stood out from the crowd of Hellenic warriors, in a closed chamber he, the prince and the emperor, met in privacy. "Your advice has guided me to this point my friend. Tell me o sayer, how do I repay thee ?" the sooth sayer bowed "Your victory itself, is a victory o noble emperor." Antiochus brought his son forth and showed his palm to the sooth sayer, "Tell me what you see in his future" . The sooth sayer closed his eyes and went to a state of semi-trance. "I see…. oh… I see danger… I see the legions of Rome surrounding Byzantion from East and West … yes the East ! They would take the east before they attack Byzantion… I see your son… and you.. and there is treachery. Oh such terrible terrible treachery", the prince pulled out his hand, Antiochus was startled , "Tell me how I must save my son, what must I do to stop these traitors ?"

It took a while for the sooth sayer to come out of his meditative state, then he took out from within his robes, a strange fruit. It looked much like an orange, but had the color of an eggplant. "This is a fruit of Kali, you and your son, must both devour it. Take it now, for I see traitors in your midst. They stand in your palace and among those you think are loyal.", Antiochus did not spare a second, he sliced the fruit in half, and begun devouring it. In moments there was nothing left of the fruit, his lips were covered the juices of this strange fruit. Then it began.

Antiochus vision started to blur, his feet lost balance, "fa.. ther" the son followed suit. The duo fell to the ground, their bodies writhing in uncontrollable pain, their lips burning away till it left a horrible scar on their faces. Their eyes started to bleed profusely, and those bloodied eyes fell upon the sooth sayer, who stood smiling. "Sarvé Nará Mriyantām!" he said with folded hands, as the last of the Nikators died.

That day in Byzantion, riots engulfed the city as people feared that an assassin loyal to the old line had killed their beloved new emperor. The cycle of violence and revenge resulted in an unending spree of riots and vandalism as Greeks killed themselves. The five chaotic years that followed saw one ruler come after another only to be toppled to make way for the next would be king. With Greek authority being effectively ended, the diadochi in far flung provinces, declared their own domains. The Ptolmeic dynasty broke away to form their so-called "New Kingdom of Egypt", forsaking their Greek heritage and accepting the culture of their Egyptian subjects. The diadochi of Mesopotamia and the Levant formed their own kingdoms, while the Diadochi at Seleukeia was overwhelmed by the Parthian empire.

Thus, had the minions of death brought down the once mighty Greek empire. The sooth sayer was never seen in Byzantion again, though rumors speak of one from the orient who guides an ambitious Roman general.

Wow. Those minions are intense.

I am closing the applications for the ministries. Tomorrow I will formally announce the new ministerium. Right now I will lay out the applicants and the ministries they applied to. :

Ministry for foreign Affairs : CaterpillarKing

Ministry of finance : TheNoob

Ministry of domestic affairs : Baseballpie

Senapati : DKVM

Ministry of protectorates and colonies : Matthias I

Since there was no one to challenge their application, they would win these posts and be invited into the Ministers of Magadh group.

The Ptolmeic dynasty broke away to form their so-called "New Kingdom of Egypt", forsaking their Greek heritage and accepting the culture of their Egyptian subjects.

Click to expand...

Technically, the Egyptians had been effectively hellenized into Egypto-Greeks along with the Ptolemy Dynasty.