The Eternal Empire

by Geoff Fabron

  The granting of a general amnesty to those who had rebelled in Britannia removed any hint of legitimacy from the Caledonian and Hibernian intervention and after a few days of confused fighting a ceasefire was arranged in the Island province as well. All foreign forces were allowed to leave and the provincial administration re-established itself.

  The damage done by the fighting in Britannia and along the Rhine would take many years to repair. The lives lost and the grief inflicted on families would never be completely healed.

  October 1920

  Constantinople

  The Church of the Holy Wisdom - Saint Sophia - was crowded for the coronation of General Strategicus as Emperor Manual V. The murder of Alexander by Monomachus and the usurpers subsequent death at the hands of the Pannonian troops had left a vacuum that needed to be filled and filled quickly before the Empire descended into a series of civil wars. There were no close relatives to Alexander in the House of Ducas so the senate and assembly offered the throne to General Strategicus, who only accepted after Gregory had spent days persuading him that it was his duty to the Empire to do so.

  Cornelius sat towards the back of the church, well behind the members of the great noble houses of the Empire, senators, other politicians, top military officers and foreign representatives. He could just make out Count Maleric in the midst of the Saxon contingent.

  When he had learnt that Frederick was attending the coronation, Cornelius had left Milan where he had returned after the cease-fire, and travelled to Constantinople. He did not know what Frederick's reaction would be when he came face to face with the man who had 'betrayed his sisters’ feelings' but he had to have news of Katherine. He had written a dozen letters but the postal service between the two countries was still erratic in the wake of the war and he had not received a reply.

  He had gone to the newly re-opened Saxon embassy and requested a meeting with Count Maleric at the earliest opportunity and to his surprise had been granted an immediate audience. As he followed one of the embassy staff along the corridors, Cornelius could feel his stomach churning and a bilious taste in his mouth. He was more afraid of meeting this one Saxon than he had been facing their entire army.

  Count Maleric was standing, staring out of the window with his back to the door when Cornelius was ushered in. It reminded him of that day during the trade talks when Frederick had questioned Cornelius about his feelings towards Katherine and he had promised never to do anything to hurt her. He began to feel even worse.

  Frederick turned around, transferring his stare from the Sea of Marmara, to Cornelius. His face was impassive, giving no indication of what was going on in his mind. For what seemed to Cornelius to be like hours, but in reality was only six seconds, Count Maleric said nothing. Then he smiled.

  "Katherine has told me everything," he said simply as he walked over to a door connecting his office to another and opened it. Katherine walked in.

  "I'll leave you two alone," he said with a broad grin and left the room closing the door behind him.

  Cornelius was speechless. His lips moved but his brain had not yet caught up with this sudden turn of events. Katherine smiled, amused at his predicament and moved towards him. The next moment they were holding each other.

  "I thought I would never see you again," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "I was so scared you would be killed."

  "Everyday I wondered what was happening to you," he replied, "hoping that your part in the theft of the plans would not be discovered. I wrote as soon as the war was over but never heard from you."

  "I got one of your letters the day before Frederick was due to leave for the coronation and insisted on coming with him. Saxony will never let you back in, neither as a diplomat nor as a tourist so I had to come to you."

  "How did you know I would be in Constantinople?"

  "I didn't," she replied with a satisfied smile, "I hoped you might be but if you weren't I planned to travel to Milan to find you."

  "Will you marry me?" The words were blurted out before he realised that he had said them. He had decided to ask her weeks before whilst he was writing to her. He had practised it in his mind over and over, visualising a quiet romantic dinner leading up to the big question, but now he had her in his arms again, he simply could not wait.

  Now it was Katherine's turn to be speechless.

  "I love you, Katherine," said Cornelius. "Leaving you behind was the hardest thing that I've ever done. I want you to be my wife and I never want to have to say goodbye to you without knowing that you'll be there waiting for me on my return."

  She stared into his eyes and her mouth tightened into a thin line. Cornelius broke out into a cold sweat and as he saw tears form in her eyes, he feared the worse. Then she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  "Yes, Cornelius, I'll marry you."

  The day before the coronation, Cornelius had hosted a private dinner party at one of the best restaurants in the capital to officially announce his engagement to Katherine.

  It was a small party; Frederick Maleric, Gregory Nicerites, Marcus Metellus and Fulvia Antoninus as well as Cornelius and Katherine were present. He would have liked his brother Titus and Sextus Capito to have been there as well but they were still in Britannia bringing order to that devastated province.

  The restaurant had a patio overlooking the Golden Horn and this had been reserved for Cornelius and his party. After the meal, announcements, speeches and toasts, the men had gathered together around Cornelius whilst Fulvia had taken Katherine away for a quiet talk.

  "What are you going to do now?" asked Frederick. "Will you stay with the diplomatic service?"

  "I'm not sure," replied Cornelius, "after my escapades in Saxony, they might find it difficult to use me."

  "That's true," said Gregory with a laugh. "You have gained a reputation as the greatest Roman spy in history. No country will accept you as a representative of the Emperor."

  "It's been rather blown out of proportion," said Cornelius. "After all I didn't even prevent the war from starting."

  "The story has spread and gets bigger with every telling," continued Gregory, "you're stuck with it, I'm afraid."

  "Why don't you try politics?" ventured Marcus. "By-elections are due next year and you could stand. The Modernist party would back you. It needs good people."

  "You mean it needs a war hero to win over the conservative vote," commented Gregory mischievously. For his defence of Vouzeria, Cornelius had been awarded the Gold Crown, one of the Empire's highest awards, but had refused the offer of a permanent appointment as legate of the legio I Italica. At the first opportunity he had secured his release from the army and had returned to civilian life.

  "I really don't know what I'm going to do," repeated Cornelius, keen to nip a potential argument in the bud. The Modernist party had come out of the recent crisis in a strong position and they were putting pressure on Gregory, who was the new chief minister to transfer all effective power to the assembly. Gregory and the new Emperor were in favour of a move towards a constitutional monarchy but were not going to be rushed. There had already been some heated debates in the chamber.

  Cornelius left the three men together and wandered over to where Katherine and Fulvia were talking.

  "And what embarrassing stories have you been telling Katherine about me?" he said to Fulvia in mock accusation.

  "Me! Tell embarrassing stories about you, Cornelius Petronius. I wouldn't dream of it. I was just telling Katherine how this marriage could ruin a long standing friendship."

  "Come now Fulvia," consoled Cornelius. "We'll always be friends."

  "Not us! Our mothers. All they have done for the last twenty years is to plot how they were going to get us married. Now what are they going to talk about?"

  "I'm sure they will think of something," laughed Cornelius.

  "I must go and speak to Gregory," said Fulvia, "the votes for women issue is up for debate soon and I intend to let him know what he should do about it!" />
  Before she left, she turned to Katherine. "Did Cornelius really leave you tied and gagged when he left you behind?"

  Katherine nodded.

  "Well don't let him do that to you when you're married," she told her sternly, then added with a wink. "At least not too often."

  Fulvia then headed off towards Gregory, who was still in discussion with Frederick and Marcus leaving Cornelius slightly flushed with embarrassment and Katherine trying to stifle a fit of giggles.

  "She's quite a character isn't she?" said Cornelius.

  "Yes," agreed Katherine bringing her amusement under control. "We got on very well."

  He took her by the hand and led her to a quiet corner of the patio out of sight of the others and kissed her.

  "When are we going to get married?" she asked.

  "As soon as possible. Unfortunately Saint Sophia seems to be booked tomorrow for a coronation, otherwise we could do it then."

  "Perhaps next month then," she suggested, "Frederick will be staying for a while to sort out the trade situation and that will give you time for your family to get here."

  "It can't be too soon for me," he said and kissed her again.

  October 1920

  Athens

  Although she had no reason to believe that the authorities were looking for her, Stephanie Dikouros kept a low profile booking into a cheap but respectable hotel. A lot of people had fled to Athens to avoid the fighting so another visitor would not attract much attention. She registered under an assumed name, explaining that she had lost all her documents and papers in the exodus to escape the civil war. It was a common story and not likely to bring her to the notice of the local police any time soon.

  A number of discrete enquiries, a generous use of gold and a few smiles enabled Stephanie to procure a set of official documents and a new identity. She promptly moved to another, and distinctly better, hotel in a more up market part of Athens under her new name whilst she considered her options.

  With Exanzenus and Alexander dead the risks of any immediate official action against her seemed remote, but eventually someone may start wondering what happened to her. That could prove very embarrassing at best and may even lay her open to criminal charges depending upon what was uncovered in Exanzenus’s papers.

  ‘Best to disappear’, she decided. There was no record of her anywhere after Arcadiopolis and there had been hundreds of civilian causalities in the fighting, many of them unidentified. ‘North Africa is nice this time of year’, she thought to herself. ‘Just the place to sit in the sun and make some long term plans.’

  October 1920

  Constantinople

  The coronation ceremony was reaching a climax now as the Patriarch of Constantinople representing the Orthodox Church and the Pope of Rome representing the Catholic Church stood before Manual Strategicus holding a large leather bound Bible from the 6th century between them. Putting his hand on the Holy Book, the new Emperor swore to defend the Christian faith and respect the traditions and rights of both Churches. Only then, after he had reaffirmed the concordat of Thessalonica that had ended the Schismatic war of the 11th Century, did the spiritual heads of the two main churches of the Empire jointly place the crown on the head of Emperor Manual V.

  The congregation rose and acknowledged Manual Strategicus as Emperor of all the Romans, Vice-regent of God, Defender of Christendom and a score of other titles accumulated over two millennium.

  Katherine stood beside Cornelius, repeating the words from the service sheet - nobody could remember all these obscure titles - but her mind was awed by the magnificence of Saint Sophia and what this ceremony represented. The new Emperor was the latest in a line of rulers that could be traced back to Caesar Augustus. An Empire that had lasted some two thousand years. Even to Katherine, born outside the imperial borders and raised in a country that viewed the Empire through hostile eyes, there was a sense of permanence about it.

  Resented, feared, hated yet accepted. The Empire simply was. It existed and no one inside Saint Sophia at that moment could conceive of a world without it. It was everlasting.

  It was the Eternal Empire.

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS

  List of terms and places mentioned in the book with descriptions or their current names.

  Abonae - Bristol, England

  Adrianople - Edirne, Turkey (Europe)

  Aduatuca - Near Liege, Belgium

  Albis - River Elbe

  Aquilifer - The standard bearer of a legion

  Arcadiopolis - Thrace near Constantinople

  Argentoratum - Strasbourg, Germany

  Asia Minor - Province of the Empire roughly equivalent to modern Turkey

  Augusta Treverorum - Trier, Germany

  Auxilia Palatina - A military unit. About the size of an infantry brigade, with attached artillery

  Barcino - Barcelona, Spain

  Bremenacum - Ribchester, England

  Britannia - A province of the Empire equivalent to modern England (south of Hadrians Wall) and Wales

  Bucina - Roman Trumpet

  Caledonia - An independent state. Modern Scotland and northern England.

  Calleva Atrebatum - Silchester, England

  Camulodunum - Colchester, England

  Carthago Nova - Cartagena, Spain

  Capadocia - A mountainous area in Eastern Turkey, on the border with Syria

  Cataphract - The name given to heavily armoured cavalry during the 3rd/4th century. Used to describe regiments of landships (tanks)

  Classis Britannia - The Imperial Roman Fleet based in Britain

  Classis Mediterranean - The Imperial Roman Fleet in the Mediterranean

  Cohort - A military unit. About the size of a battalion. An air cohort is a squadron of about 20 airplanes

  Colonia Agrippina - Cologne, Germany

  Confluentes - Koblenz, Germany

  Decurion - A junior officer in a cavalry or armoured unit.

  Dertosa - Tortosa, Spain

  Deva - Chester, England

  Dubris - Dover, England

  Durovernum - Canterbury, England

  Empire of the Rus - The area covered by modern Russia

  Equestrian Party - A political grouping representing merchant interests. Roughly equivalent to Conservative/ Christian Democrat parties in modern Europe

  Fasces - Bundles of rods around an axe tied with red leather thongs. A symbol of authority of ancient

  Federalist Party - A political grouping in favour of a decentralised Empire where each province has a large degree of autonomy

  Gladius - The name of the short sword used by Roman legionaries. Now only carried by officers

  Glevum - Gloucester, England

  Hiberian - Ireland.

  Hibernicus sea - The Irish Sea

  Iconium - Knoya, Turkey

  Isca - Caerleon, Wales

  Lactodorum - Towcester, England

  Landships - Tracked armoured fighting vehicles. Tanks.

  Legate - The commander of a legion

  Legion - A military unit. About the size of a division with its own infantry, armour (landships/tanks), artillery and aircraft

  Londinium - London, England

  Lutetia - Paris, France

  Macedonia - Province of Rome. Northern Greece, Albania, Western Bulgaria and Southern Serbia

  Maniueium - Mancester, England

  Massilia - Marseille, France

  Minden - Capital of the Kingdom of Saxony

  Modernist Party - A political party in favour of pragmatic changes to the Empire. Similar to Liberal/Democrat parties in modern Europe

  Moesia - Province of Rome. Northern Bulgaria

  Moguntiacum - Mainz, Germany

  Mosa - River Meuse

  Mosella - River Moselle

  Naissus - Nis, Yugoslavia

  Noviomagus - Speyer, Germany

  Oceanus Britannicus - The English channel

  Oceanus Germanica - The North Sea

  Optio - Junior Non-commissioned officer (
NCO), equivalent to a corporal or sergeant

  Pannonia - Province of Rome. Western Hungary

  Peregrini - The imperial secret police

  Petuaria - Brough, England. (Near Kingston upon Hull)

  Pheugarum - Paderborn, Germany

  Primus Pilus - 'First Spear'. The name given to the most senior centurion of a legion. Equivalent to a Regimental Sergeant-Major or senior warrant officer

  Quastor - A senior financial official

  Radical Party - A political grouping in favour of major social and economic changes to society. Akin to modern Socialist/ Social Democrat parties

  Saguntium - Sagunto, Spain

  Saxony - The largest Germanic Kingdom on the borders of the Empire. Covers the area of modern Germany between the Rhine and the Vistula rivers

  Scandia - Kingdom of Scandavia. Covers modern Sweden, Norway and Denmark

  Scutum - The traditional, curved, rectangular shield normally associated with Roman legionaries. Now used for ceremonial parades and for riot duty

  Senatorial Party - A political grouping supporting the ‘status quo’ and protection privileges

  Setuanaa - Bremen, Germany

  Singidunum - Sremska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia

  Spinis - Newbury, England

  Tarraco - Tarraco, Spain

  Thrace - Province of Rome. Southern Bulgaria, Eastern Greece, European Turkey

  Thuringa - Small German Duchy on the upper Rhine