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Pelasgia

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PRIVY COUNCIL REPORTS
2 Alex. 7 № 1(1) | Ordinance 1/2023

IMPERIAL ORDINANCE RESPECTING CERTAIN MEASURES FOR
THE PRESERVATION OF PUBLIC ORDER

ALEXIOS VII VATATZES
PELASGIAN EMPEROR

As requested by Our Council of Ministers, and having considered that:

1. There exists presently a nationwide movement of unlawful occupations of public buildings, which is taking on the characteristics of an insurrection against the lawful organs of State authority and which is preventing the execution of several Imperial Laws.
2. The All-Pelasgian Confederation of Labour ("PES") has voted to hold a general strike in support of the unlawful occupation movement, with a direct view to undermining the Government, and with open reference to illegal methods of strike, such as the occupation of places of labour.
3. There exists a possibility of foreign interference in the domestic politics of the Nation, given public statements of support for the unlawful strikers and occupiers, and the operation of several foreign entities in support of the aforementioned unlawful actors in Pelasgia.

We, at the advice of Our Privy Council, decree and ordain as follows:

Article 1 - Unlawful Strike

IO 1/2023, art. 1
1. The general strike voted for by PES is declared to be unlawful, under Art. 25(3) of the Constitution and art. 281 of the Civil Code.
2. As such, any and all participation in or militancy in favour of the unlawful strike is deemed to be an unlawful act itself, subject to the penalties provided for in the Penal Code and the relevant laws, including the Delictum Sui Generis Law (Law 477/1990).
3. PES itself may be prosecuted under the Delictum Sui Generis Law (Law 477/1990) if it refuses to comply with this Ordinance.

Article 2 - Emergency Ordinances (Domestic)

IO 1/2023, art. 2
1. Violations of penal law relating to illegal occupations of places of work and learning are hereby deemed to be not ordinary offences but seditious activity within the meaning of the Delictum Sui Generis Law (Law 477/1990). This also applies to any public or private space or building, if its occupation or other unlawful use is related to pursuing the objectives or otherwise supporting the activities of the persons occupying the places of work and learning contemplated by this article.
2. As such, in prosecuting these violations, the organs of Order are entitled to circumvent ordinary criminal procedure and constitutional protections as provided for in the Delictum Sui Generis Law (Law 477/1990).
3. Moreover, where the owners, residents or managers of the occupied spaces, or their agents, aid or abet the occupiers in any way, they may be prosecuted in a like manner.
4. In the case of university students and officials, the Minister of Education is empowered to punish offenders fully pursuant to the University Law (Law 1268/1982), including sanctions up to permanent expulsion and permanent termination with prejudice.
5. Any individual participating in an unlawful association claiming to be a student union may be prosecuted under the Delictum Sui Generis Law (Law 477/1990) in connection with acts prosecuted under this Ordinance.

Article 3 - Emergency Ordinances (Foreign)

IO 1/2023, art. 3
1. Any offender deemed to have committed any act prosecuted under this Ordinance who is not a Pelasgian national or citizen may be deprived of his residency status in Pelasgia without prior proceeding or hearing, and he may be expelled from the country, provided that he shall be entitled to contest this decision after the fact.
2. Any foreign governmental body or organisation, or any body or organisation which receives funding or support from Foreign Governments, and which supports or commits acts criminalised under this Ordinance may be dissolved without prior hearing.
3. The provisions of this Article do not apply to foreign diplomatic missions directly. In the case of foreign diplomatic missions, offending diplomats shall be declared to be personae non gratae and expelled.
4. A foreign private body, business or other association, or a private body, business or other association receiving foreign funding or support from private sources, and which supports or commits acts criminalised under this Ordinance may be dissolved without prior hearing.
5. The principals and directors of foreign bodies prosecuted under this article may be liable to prosecution themselves under the Delictum Sui Generis Law (Law 477/1990) and other applicable laws.

Article 4 - Operative Provisions

IO 1/2023, art. 4
1. This decree shall be executed by Our Ministers of the Interior and Education.
2. This decree enters into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette. It shall remain in force for forty-five (45) days unless its legal force and effect is previously revoked by the Government or Parliament.
3. Per article 44 of the Constitution of Pelasgia, as presently in force, this Ordinance is to be tabled for review before both the Boule of Representatives and the Council of State within forty-five (45) days after its entry into force.
4. Per article 44 of the Constitution of Pelasgia, the Judicial Senate of the State shall verify the legal validity of this Ordinance within the same period, and hear any challenges of this Ordinance or its enforcement in first instance through its Fifth Department.

Propontis, January 4, 2023

ALEXIOS IMP.

(L.S.)

The Imperial Seal was witnessed and affixed in gold.

THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL
IOANNES MAKARIOS VELISSARIOU
 

Pelasgia

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Palace District, Propontis M.P.

There are certain things in life so far beyond one's lot that, even when one even momentarily conjures them in his imagination, he does so without any serious thought or intent. Rigas Kavallaris, like most men, had many such imaginings which he could point to as example--and certainly foremost among them would be setting foot in the Great Palace of Propontis. Certainly, like all other children raised in the Pelasgian Empire, he had dreamed of walking the halls of that palatial residence, the seat of the Propontine Sovereigns about whom he had read and heard so much in school and elsewhere; a prodigious student of history (and once aspiring to be an architect), he had even memorised the names and relative locations of many parts of the complex--places that he had never seen, and of which he had rather vivid and detailed imaginary images which did not, often, match the reality of the Palace, as such things rarely do.

Still, when he was summoned to appear before Emperor Alexios in the dead of night on one somewhat tame and warm January night (for 2023 had been a mild winder, even by Pelasgian standards), he could scarcely believe his eyes and ears. That feeling of sheer disbelief was replicated when he was informed of the place where he would appear before the Basileus: not in some small, secondary room or some satellite building used for governmental purposes, but in the Privy Council Chamber, which was located at the very heart of the Great Palace, a corridor away from the Throne Room and the Emperor's personal apartments.

Residing in the Cathedral District, a sort of threeway midpoint between downtown, governmental Pelasgia, the more business-oriented coastal districts, and the residential parts of the city proper, Rigas had grown accustomed, over the last few weeks, to the appearance of large concrentrations of policemen, who would disperse the occasional group of protesters, students, and strikers, in addition to paramilitary constables of the Imperial Politarchy in the characteristic olive-green fatigues, who patrolled the city centre with rifles and armoured vehicles. Nonetheless, even this had not been enough to prepare Rigas for the show of force he witnessed while en route to the Great Palace: the regiments Imperial Guard, some of Pelasgia's finest troops, were arrayed behind several walls of police, armed to the teeth and quite clearly ready to use full force if needed.

"It seems as if the Government is under siege," Rigas had told his driver, as the armoured car carrying him to the Palace had crossed the final line of the cordon.

"It would appear so, because it likely is, sir," the other had responded. "Otherwise, His Majesty would not have summoned you, I wager."

As the newly appointed Director of the Internal Security Directorate (DEA), Rigas had one task: to ensure the domestic security of Pelasgia, its society, its status quo, and its Constitutional Regime from all dangers, mostly internal but also (occasionally) external. Unlike the Director General of the erstwhile Krypteia, who could have been summoned about a whole host of issues, foreign and domestic alike, Rigas could harbour no illusion as to the purpose of his audience: he was to advise the Sublime Throne on the ongoing political crisis. For one as highly placed as him to have not been notified of last-minute troop deployments around the very centre of Pelasgian Government meant that the crisis was spiraling out of control--even if the Government had already pulled the usual extraordinary measures that it had used with effect no less than a year prior. It was this that Rigas observed loudly to the Sovereign, when the most powerful man in Pelasgia questioned him as to DEA's view on the ongoing upheaval.

"I do not understand," the Emperor had told Rigas--one he had been admitted to the Privy Council Chamber, all the formalities of his appearance before the Emperor's close council of advisors had been dispensed with. "We did much less, to much fewer people months ago, when the Tiburan Heretic came to Hierosolyma and it worked then; like clockwork. And the Senate's supporters were also humbled with a mere riot police charge."

The DEA Director bowed his head and did his best to appear solemn; indeed, he paused for a few moments, to give the appearance of thinking up a response to his Sovereign's profound comments (though, in all honesty, Rigas had rather swiftly conjured up a reply). He run his fingers through the ribbons on his greyish-green uniform, as he often did in such circumstances, giving him just enough time for the desired effect--and then, he answered. "Indeed, Your Majesty, but there is a critical distinction: back then, the vast majority of the people were with us. Presently, however, it appears that the Government is under siege, and a great deal, if not, dare I say, the plurality of the populace is against us."

The Prime Minister forgot himself and stood up--normally a profoundly rude gesture before the Emperor, and, for any lesser man, cause for immediate removal from the chamber. "Do you mean to imply that the Sublime Throne has lost the confidence and support of the people, Mr. Director?"

Rigas shook his head emphatically. "No at all, Mr. Prime Minister. His Imperial Majesty retains the people's heartfelt affection as the father of the Nation. For now, fortunately, the people blame another: yourself. They believe that this present administration is behind Pelasgia's woes, and that the Emperor is merely following your advice, out of respect for His subjects' wishes. I pray to the almighty that this perception will persist, though repeated crises have tested it and as Pelasgia becomes a more sophisticated society, it will no longer be possible to hide behind such technicalities."

"So what you're telling us, Mr. Kavallaris," the Emperor responded--while holding up his hand to preemptively silence the Premier, who had stood anew to retort--"Is that our subjects in general no longer support the Prime Minister and his policies; but that they do not necessarily endorse the illegal travesties which have been occuring throughout our Realm in this last few weeks, with some respite during the Holidays?"

Here, Rigas nodded, twice as deeply as he would have for any other man. "Precisely, Your Majesty!" (And he said this with honest excitement, for he was content that the monarch, who was often spoken to indirectly, still understood his underlying meaning precisely.) "For now, at least, the people still respect and revere Your August Person, and they abhor the outrages committed by the radicals leading this movement. If certain steps are taken immediately to defuse tension, most of the protesters will dissolve, and the radical core remaining will be left so isolated that it will be faced with either resignation or arrest--or, indeed, both."

"And pray, do tell, Mr. Kavallaris: What steps are these?" (The Prime Minister nodded thrice, rapidly at this question of Emperor Alexios'.)

"First and foremost, Your Imperial Majesty must make use of the Imperial Prerogative Power to dissolve the Boule of Representatives and call for a general election," Rigas explained. "Various shuffles have taken place, but only an election will truly legitimise any new administration in the people's eyes. Of course, any use of such a prerogative power should ordinarily be done through the Privy Council... and it is therefore most convenient that the Council in question is here assembled, with quorum and in good order."

The gasp of an indignant PM Andreades, and the wide-eyed stares traded by many in the room, were covered by Emperor Alexios' retort. "And what of the second condition?"

Rigas breathed in deeply before answering. "I am afraid that Your Imperial Majesty must leave for Despotikon Island. Your absence from the capital would further distance you from these unfortunate political developments and their primary actors, while it would also serve to remind the people of what they stand to lose in the way of stability and continuity if they were to do away with a person as esteemed and an institution as ancient as Your Majesty's."

The Prime Minister was preempted by another response--this time of Empress', who was sitting in the council in lieu of her young son, the Grand Despot. "He speaks the truth, husband," Hildegaard said with a slight but perceptible accent. "Courting the people are like courting a woman: be there for her always, and she will disdain you; scorn her for an instant and she shall be your willing slave."

"Very well, then," the Emperor replied, his eyes meeting those of his wife's. "It is decided. We shall immediately issue a Decree dissolving the Boule, dismissing Prime Minister Andreades and calling an election. The Prosecutor General can serve as Prime Minister in the interim."

"And what of Propontis, Your Majesty?" PM Andreades, now red-faced, protested. "Who shall we turn to in your absence?"

After a second's ponderance, the Emperor waived an assistant toward him--the same whom he had directed to summon Rigas. "Call Marshal Vasileios Kallergis here at once. He is the nominal Chairman of the centre-right opposition, though actual power within that party rests with its Secretary General, Mr. Angelopoulos. Kallergis is a military man, an aristocrat from an old Patrician family, and a loyal friend of the Throne, even if his politics no longer align with Ours. Thus, he will be enough to placate the opposition, without posing a serious threat to the institution of the Sublime Throne."

It was thus that the departure of the Propontine Sovereign from his city, of Caesar from New Tibur, was decided, for the first time since the Fall of Propontis to the Crusaders. Alexios went with hopes that it would be swift--and Andreades with prayers that the Emperor would not be forced to eventually exile himself to Nymphaion, or to whatever its modern equivalent was, as had happened during the days of the Great Himyari Crusade. For his part, Rigas bowed and excused himself, returning to the comfort of his bed with Anna. A long day awaited him, along with an early rise, for the coming days would decide the future of the Empire.
 
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Pelasgia

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Vigla, Propontis M.P.

The ordinary quietness of a mid-week night in the residential district of Vigla, just outside of the city centre, had all but disappeared this last week. As protesters made their way to the city centre, and as police chased them back, the sound of shouting, marching, fighting, and the occasional flashbang grenade reverberated through the city. The last couple nights had been particularly bad; since the Emperor had left the capital and the Emergency Measures Ordinance had been enacted, the protesters had gotten more bold, and the police more savage. On the one hand, the apprehension caused by the departure of the Emperor's stabilizing figure, as well as a combination of appeasement through the promise of elections and the fear of sanctions for a strike that many impoverished workers were not too keen on executing had dissipated much of the crowd; those who remained were hardliners, professional revolutionaries, who were ironically enough a mix of absolute hopeless dregs on the fringes of society and pampered rich brats with nothing better to do than "revolt" from the safety of their high station. On the flip side, the understanding and more moderate Astynomia, the "blue cops" as the Imperial Police were known, had given way to the olive-drab-coated, paramilitary constables of the Imperial Politarchy, who knew only to shoot first and ask questions later, if at all.

With such violent radicalism on both sides, Konstantina Markou, a working mother of two, whose husband was stuck working a late nigh shift as a bus driver, was left to worry twofold: one for fear that her husband's bus might be torched or attacked, and another in case her eldest son, the rebellious Panos, were to try to leave home unannounced to join the protests. And though the loud noise of many a long, heated argument had reverberated through the rooms and hallways of the working-class apartment, and the doors and windows had been checked, but Panos had still found a way to slip out, given the natural limits of his mother's vigilance: she was a woman, and thus had to use the washroom, and he, being a lad of already seventeen years, had his own keys. From the moment she had realized that her son had fled, Mrs. Markou had scarcely spent a moment without hyperventilating or crossing herself, wondering aloud endlessly where her son was and whether he still lived—so much so that her younger child, her daughter Elena, must have probably started to think of sneaking out herself, if only to find some peace and quiet.

"Where is Panos gone?!" the distressed mother would cry. "Tell me, do you know where he is?"

"I have no idea, mother," the daughter would respond, ever with more annoyance and equally unbelieved. "I assume he's gone off with those friends he met at some student cafe, who always talk about politics."

Konstanina Markou knew those "friends" well: the sons and daughters of rich folk who could afford to be transgressive, at best plotting a course into securing more power and prestigious political positions for themselves after graduation and at worst merely having some fun. Panos was a smart, diligent lad, charismatic and not too hard on the eye... she was certain that they liked to have him around, even if he was slightly too young to be in an establishment aimed at university students. After all, with his grades, he was only a year away from the Imperial University or the Polytechnic anyway.

"My son! Where is my son?!"

This hystrionic frenzy persisted well into the night until, just after midnight, a series of loud knocks thundered on the door. "Police, open up!"

Konstanina's blood froze at that command; and she would not have moved perhaps ever again, had Elena not started for the door, forcing the protective mother to run after her and stand in front of her, before whoever was to appear on the other side. That someone was revealed as soon as Mrs. Markou opened the door: two policemen in their characteristic blue uniforms and riot gear, flanked by a pair of Imperial Politarchy constables: one trooper and one officer, both bearing firearms and dressed in military-style uniforms. At the centre of this scene was a handcuffed young man beaten to a bloody pulp and only still standing because he was held up by one of the officers.

"Panos!" Konstanina Markou cried and she rushed forth, only to be held back by one of the police officers.

"So this is your son, then?" asked the Politarchy officer, a Second Lieutenant by the looks of his insignia. "Do you know that he caught him with a group throwing rocks and molotov cocktails at police officers?"

The poor woman's gaze shifted between her groaning son and the piercing stare of the severe officer so many times she must have appeared almost comical to the officers—though none of them were anywhere near laughing. "But... but... You... Please tell me you haven't arrested him!"

The officer blinked in disbelief and glanced at the police officer holding the lad before answering. "Arrested him? You're lucky with haven't shot him!"

Konstanina Markou's jaw dropped; she would have fainted then and there, had Elena not rushed to hold her up. "Please, sir!" the teenage girl cried. "We tried our best to keep him here, it's those friends of his who led him astray—children of luxury who do not fear the law."

"And your son feared us then?" answered the officer. "Is that why his group nearly burned one of my men alive?"

Elena looked at the blue cops, but they both shook their head as if to say 'You can expect no help from us.' And, indeed, she could not: the police had been subsumed to the paramilitary Politarchy by the Ordinance, and the Politarchs had not concept of moderation. A moment went by, then another, until suddenly the officer motioned the cop to Panos go; and he did, dropping the defendant forward, face first onto the threshold of his own home. The other cop stepped forward to uncuff him.

"You should consider yourself lucky we have a shortage of cells tonight," the Second Lieutenant explained. "But know this: we have your son's name and address, and yours as well; if I so much as suspect that your son sneezed before a picture of the Emperor and didn't excuse himself, we'll be back, and there'll be no saving him then."




Palace District, Propontis M.P.

"Your Excellency," sounded a voice full of beseeching masked under an increasingly thin coat of calm. "Your Excellency, we must do something."

Marshal Vasileios Kallergis, the youngest man in modern history to hold that rank, and a tall and imposing man by any measure, appeared as immovable as a rock and as calm but ferocious as a sleeping bear, both by virtue of his Marshal's uniform and his overall appearance and demeanour. His deep brown eyes glanced between a chess game that he had carefully arranged on his desk inside the Privy Council room—the newly appointed Sebastokrator had not even thought of using the Emperor's own desk, and his chessboard was the only real addition he had made—and the man addressing him, who was none other than the chief of the General Staff, Megas Doux Attalos Laskaris.

"Indeed, we must," the Marshal finally admitted after the other had lost count of how many times he had begged him. He almost touched the knight but drew back his hand and looked up at the man standing beside the Megas Doux, who was none other than Ioannes Makarios Velissariou, the Prosecutor General and acting Prime Minister. "I assume that you have consulted with Kavallaris of the DEA?"

"Certainly, Your Excellency," the other said. Having been at the Great Palace for longer than the other two men combined, Velissariou spoke the word 'Excellency' with much less weight, considering Kallergis to be a temporary figurehead much more than the Megas Doux. "He is of accord."

"Then go ahead and do it!" Kallergis exclaimed, almost with annoyance.

"Do what, Excellency?" Laskaris demanded.

"Do not play the fool with me, Laskaris," was Kallergis' natural, swift response. "There is only one thing to be done: Elections have been called, alright, but if we let things go on like this until election day, there won't be much of a point. The rest of the country is fine, but Propontis is a shitshow, what with all the students who just came back from the provinces ready to party and protest after the Holidays. We have to suppress this now, and only then can there be elections."

"And you'll sign this decree?" Laskaris went on, almost disingenuously.

"What do you think?" Kallergis groaned back. And he took out a pen and his seal, and then placed them on the desk, so as to make his point even clearer. Well played, Alexios, he thought to himself, as some aide or another rushed to bring a stack of papers before him. Well played. You sit over there in Despotikon, having the people clamour for you to return as their saviour, while I sit here and put out the fire. And when the dust has settled, you will return like the Angel of Peace, and I will be left here with my name signed on all the documents putting down the protests—and with my name, the whole centre-right opposition will be already be seen as half-on board with the established system in the eyes of the electorate. He looked up, above the head of the Prosecutor General, where the portraits of the reigning Emperor's father and grandfather hanged—both of them with the calculating foxiness of the Vatatzes line in their eye, and that small but perceptible smile of victory. You win again—for now.
 
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Pelasgia

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Despotikon Island, Propontis M.P., Pelasgia

A thin wall of grey surrounded the Palace of Saint Andrew, the Imperial Residence on the island of Despotikon, as the Emperor's Scanian Guards formed a wall around the edifice in their ceremonial grey winter overcoats. The "Varangians", as these men were sometimes called informally, seemed to be the last men who had remained loyal to Emperor Alexios in all of Pelasgia—if only because they had no other man to be loyal to, in a country so far from home, and to which they had only come to serve and be paid and honoured by the Vatatzes Emperors.

Behind this wall, this thin grey line, atop the steps that led to the palatial entrance of the residence, stood a man in a dark blue admiral's uniform: the Emperor himself, Alexios VII Vatatzes, flanked by his pregnant wife and their three children, the Grand Despot, Despot and Despotess of Pelasgia. Opposite them stood no less humble a delegation, consisting of the Megas Doux Attalos Laskaris, and a sizeable contingent of Imperial Marines from the naval unit that had landed on the island to reach the Emperor. The Marines stood in attention and presented arms, as did the Megas Doux—but their camo fatigues and very much non-ceremonial weapons, which contrasted with the ornate dress of the officer leading them, gave an impression of a veiled threat lying behind whatever heartfelt entreaties Attalos Laskaris, the descendant of the Great Bastard Attalos the Great, had come to make before Emperor Alexios.

A string of salutations and respectful greetings had followed, addressed to both the Emperor and his family. With that out of the way, and without some underlying hesitation persisting, the Megas Doux, the "Grand Admiral" to use a foreign equivalent, had explained the purpose of his visit: In the Emperor's absence, the Imperial Armed Forces, under the leadership of the Sebastokrator Marshal Vasileios Kallergis, had formed a Provisional Regency Council to exercise the Emperor's powers—a Council which had endorsed a pair of resolutions endorsed by a considerable supermajority of both houses of the Koinoboule to petition His Imperial Majesty for a series of demands and reforms, all of which were to be granted by Chrysoboule, binding both the Emperor and his successors in perpetuity (or as long as the golden seal and the special red ink on the document lasted).

The demands were many and quite varied: the most immediate ones touched upon the Emperor's prerogative powers, which were to be significantly reduced and subjected to being used "at the advice and with the consent of" the Council of Ministers, with certain cut-outs for National Defence and Foreign Relations. Other reforms consisted of federalizing the Empire; of limiting the power of the Church and of essentially secularising much of the State in fact if not in name; and of enacting certain social reforms which would, no doubt, open the road to further modernising changes. In short, the Emperor was being asked to give up to the Constitutional Democrats everything that they had wanted and then some, presumably in return for being allowed to return to Propontis by the self-proclaimed Regency Council.

To these demands, the Emperor had a veritable armoury of answers at his disposal, all of which crossed his mind in succession: to point out the lack of legality of the Regency Council, and, indeed, of the unconstitutional nature of the petition itself, which had never been verified and endorsed by the Judicial Senate of the State; to accuse the Regents of treason and to remind the men now facing him of their supposed oaths of loyalty to him and to his father; to challenge those who would dare obstruct the Viceroy of God in Europe from returning to his own City. Yet, all of these, Alexios knew deep down, would be empty technicalities: usurpation had been the way by which every Pelasgian Dynasty and regime, his own included, had founded itself, and objections much more forceful than his had been brushed aside by the bayonet dozens of times before without so much as a thought, let alone the courtesy that the "Regency" was now doing him. You sly fox Kallergis, Alexios thought to himself. I might have won the early game, but you managed to check-mate me anyway. He was not mad, not even at himself and his own miscalculation, for he realised that, all things considered, some changes are merely a product of their times, and they cannot be resisted. Twice he had escaped the times, but they had finally caught up with him, and all the constables in the world could not undo that.

"I do not intend," the Emperor loudly proclaimed, cutting of another entreat by the Megas Doux and startling all around him, except, perhaps, the Empress. "To be the last Propontine Sovereign truly deserving of that title. If you want to break up the Empire of the Pelasgians into three dozen little polities, like in the Carian Confederacy across the sea, or to demote the Throne and the Church to mere ornaments for a modern, bureaucratic, secular State, that is your prerogative. But, for so long as I and my line live, the name of Vatatzes shall not be signed under any such Chrysoboule. My phatria* will not go from those who restored Orthodox Imperialdom to those who hollowed it out."
*An extended family grouping, akin to a clan or House.

Silence reined after the Emperor's response, so much so that even the birds seemed to fall quiet for those few, long seconds that preceded Megas Doux Attalos retort. "If this is Your Majesty's final response, then I must ask you to follow me, as I must escort you to the vessel that will carry you out of Pelasgia, into exile. The Government has deemed that a deposed claimant to the Sublime Throne cannot be allowed to remain in Pelasgia, unless he abdicates."

A loud rustle pierced the air as the Scanian Guards readied their rifles, but the Emperor stood them down. "Peace, men! I will not have my own guards shooting at my father's own banners, even if the men carrying them are no longer loyal to him or to me." He took of his officer's hat and gazed upon the eagle that was embroidered between the visor and the peak. "I have no intention of abdicating anything. An Emperor should die in the purple, even if it be away from his homeland."

The Megas Doux bowed almost mechnically, before catching himself and stopping, as the now-deposed Emperor descended the steps and exited the protection of the thin grey line, with his family and household servants in tow. "Attalos," Alexios said as he reached the officer opposite him. "Will they make you or your son Emperor now?"

"I do not think so, sir," the other answered. "For better or for worse, my family's claim to the purple died with the Great Bastard—in no small part thanks to the clever designs of your own grandfather. I'm guessing that they will make Kallergis Emperor now, as it's more convenient—if he decides to take the purple that is, and not to do away with the institution as a whole. Perhaps even Pelasgia has lived under despotism and autocracy for too long."

"He would be doing away with it either way," Alexios answered. "It's just that one way is more honest than the other."

Of whatever else was said between the two men, scarcely anybody knows, for the Imperial Marine Corps officer who transmitted this tale to posterity was then tasked, alongside his colleagues, with rounding up the Scanian Guards and figuring out who among them wished to remain in Pelasgian service, and who preferred to be dismissed along with his Emperor, and to receive the rest of the pay expected for that year as a parting gift from the country. Nor did Alexios himself, or his family and household, ever publish any detailed recounting of the whole matter. All that is known is that, following this admittedly sad affair, the Imperial Family and those attendants who wished to follow them boarded a lone warship of the Imperial Pelasgian Navy and made for the west without stop or delay, heading for the port city of Wörgi in the @Rheinbund, in the Lordship of Tirolestein of which the Empress Hildegaard's family were the rulers. This they did, most likely, without any hopes or dreams of setting foot in Pelasgia ever again.

In Propontis, across the sea, the roar of cannons and the bursting of fireworks heralded in a new era in the country's future—but the Vatatzes Dynasty and Restoration were both at an end
 
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