Army Name: Thema Konstantinoupoli
Current General:Emperor Alexios Komnenos
Location: Romania
Morale: 100%
Strength/Unit Breakdown:
- Skutataroi (Professional Heavy Infantry)/5,000/Well Trained
- Tagma Ton Varangon (Elite Scandinavian Guard)/5,000/Well Trained, Physically Large, Fierce
- Kataphractoi (Professional Heavy Cavalry)/2,500/Well Armored, Mounted, Well Trained
- Hetairoi (Elite Heavy Cavalry)/3,750/Well Armored, Well Trained, Mounted Ferocious Charge
-Doryphoroi (Guard Cavalry Archers)/5,000/Well Trained, Mounted
- Pronoaia(Spearmen Levy)/<12,500>/Thematic
- Toxotai(Archer Levy)/5,000/Thematic
-Vardariotai(Light Cavalry)/5,000/Thematic
-60 Siege weapons
Current Action: March to Ukraine (when the three armies meet, he will command)
(Note, I had 5,000 tagmatic troops and 5,000 thematic troops I forgot to assign to an army, so I use them to replace losses and add an additional 1,250 tagmatics)
Army Name: Thema Trebizond
Current General:John Palaiologos
Location: Eastern Anatolia
Morale: 100%
Strength/Unit Breakdown:
- Skutataroi/3,500/Well Trained
- Kataphractoi/2,500/Well trained, Well Armored
- Tagma ton Toxotai (Guard Archers)/2,500/Well Trained
- Pronoaia/2,500/Thematic
- Toxotai/2,500/Thematic
- Vardariotai/2,500/Thematic
Current Action: Sailing to Ukraine
Army Name: Thema Limitanei
Current General: David Komnenos
Location: Constantinople
Morale: 100%
Strength/Unit Breakdown:
-Skutataroi/5,000/Well Trained
- Kataphractoi/2,500/Well trained, Well Armored
- Tagma ton Toxotai (Guard Archers)/2,500/Well Trained
- Pronoaia/5,000/Thematic
- Vardariotai/2,500/Thematic
Current Action: Sailing to Ukraine
Army Name: Constantinople Garrison
Current General: Skantarios Laskaris
Location: Constantinople
Morale: 100%
Strength/Unit Breakdown:
- Toxotai/2,500/Thematic
Current Action: Garrison in the walls of Constantinople
CHAPTER I (Continued): DACIAOn both fronts, our armies tasted victory, which never tasted so sweet before! We smile ruefully here in Dacia as we recall the days when the Turks were our most grave threat; they exist as a coherent state no more. Yet, is that not our fortune? That when we eliminate an old adversary, a new springs up in its place, more wretched and terrible than the last? I feel as Hercules did, combating the Hydra. Whenever we deal a mortal blow, that of severing a head, two more terrible than the severed grow in its place. We lack the relatively simple and obvious solution available to Hercules of being able to cauterize their stumps. Unless there is some way to stop the
entry of these creatures into our world, we are treating the symptoms. We are amputating the gangrenous flesh just a few inches behind the infection. Unless we can ever remove their means of entry, my theory will be confirmed, that humanity is doomed to the chains of slavery, whose clinking and clanging I hear louder in my ears with each passing day.
CHAPTER II: RUTHENIAWith little else to do as I lead my army into Ruthenia, I dedicate this next passage of my work to the precise nature of these creatures, whom I shall hereafter refer to as apparitions, for their tendency to appear out of nowhere and form whole civilizations. I have to work somewhat on rumor, surely much of it more terrible than the actual truth. In the style of true Attic logic, I will ruminate on some general observations I have and attempt to draw conclusions, and then on each of the apparitions I have heard of in order of their proximity to the Roman Empire.
Principally, all the apparitions (with one possible exception to be expounded upon when I have the time) come as conquerors, yet not exterminators. Were they devils, as some fanatics would have us believe, they would never cease massacring. However, they exhibit remarkable harmony with one another; to date I have recieved no report of an inter-apparate conflict. Therefore I cannot rule them out, as a strange harmony would be expected of demons (see: The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12 verses 25 and 26), as predicted by our Lord and not of civilizations.
Yet, perhaps they recognize we, the Earth’s soldier ants scrabbling to protect our little hill, are the primary threat to each of them, and not each other. Therefore they refuse to combat one another until they are more untrustworthy of each other than us. However, that begs the question, how do they not bear the same apprehension towards each other as we do for them? Clearly they are unrelated; we are look closer to mules than some of them do each other, yet they don’t move against one another even when (and here I rely on rumor) their lands are sparsely defended. It stands to reason, therefore, that in our lands is not the first time they have encountered one another and may have entered our world with pre-existing pacts . They are all of similar origin.
Now, as we draw closer to the first, and God-willing, final engagement with perhaps the least human of the apparitions, I will describe them as our scouts have seen them, hoping to rely on rumor as little as possible.
My initial rhetoric regarding these creatures proved prophetic. They are insectoid, but their intraspecies polymorphism prevents an exhaustive description. They do not converse, at least, no one has heard them converse in any language. There is some report of some sort of instantaneous communication; all attempts at infiltration have proven impossible as when one dies, the others are immediately aware. The scouts claim this instantaneous communication but reason would suggest the most likely explanation is supernatural hearing that foils their attempts at stealth.
It matters not. We go now in tremendous force; the entire Roman Army, every Thematic and Tagmatic man converges on Ruthenia. As of yet my courier has not returned from the Rus, but I suspect they will aid us.