[quote=@BingTheWing]
[@Prisk] Wait, so this is a black-and-white, clearly-defined-good-and-evil kind of world, like the Lord of the Rings?

I personally think this would be far more interesting if the characters, along the course of the journey, discovered the dark truth about their beloved empire.
[/quote]

I don't necessarily see this as a world of clearly defined good and evil, as that type of dichotomy is impossible to create. There are two clearly defined, opposite factions that have been in conflict. These groups are antithetical and antagonistic to each other. It is evident that whatever a person thinks about the nature of these this conflict is solely based on their individual perspective on the matter. 

It is clear that the narrator of this story is from a perspective that heightens the glory of the Anatolia (why the sun wheel to represent a region of the Byzantine Empire, btw, feels anachronistic), but even the most hardened patriot of the Empire can still have their own perspective and qualms on the nation, given that they make sense to his ideology, such as lamenting how the Empire was weak enough to falter in the face of such adversity. 

Of course, you could probably make a character who is more critical of the Empire, but still sees the necessity of his quest and hopes that this journey to find some messianic figure might finally bring peace to the land (lol idunno, the rp hasn't even started yet). Actually, this story is probably meant that you have some sort of character arc so that your character repents and makes peace with what he has done. Sorry is came out a bit too mort de l'auteur, but that's just what I think.