The afternoon sun shone bright above the skies of Athenia, casting its golden rays upon the crowded streets of the city as he made his way towards the Dikastírio in order to attend the usual weekly meeting of the Senate. Fluttering smoothly in the gentle breeze of the afternoon, Elias' immaculate-white, double-shouldered toga perfectly reflected the sunshine as he advanced, almost blinding to all those who would cast their eyes upon it. Over his snow-colored tunic, an orange and gold robe fell from his shoulders, covering part of his back and chest, and adding a colorful touch to his garment. It was a rich man's outfit, one he did not wish to get sullied by all the dirty peasants around him. Following closely behind him, his two hoplite bodyguards prevented just that, tracing his every step like watchful shadows and making sure to shove aside anyone who would dare get too close or could otherwise pose any inconvenient to the young Stravos' passage.

Elias gently stroked his golden anchor necklace as he went about, paying no mind to the route that unfolded in front of him, indeed he needed not even to think where he was going as the sheer number of times he had gone through that itinerary before had been more than enough to ensure he knew his way around by heart. As he turned a corner, the large, white structure of the Senate finally came into sight, immediately bringing his mind down to earth once more. He ought to keep a clear mind for the oncoming meeting, after all he was there to represent the family in the capricious political arena of Athenia. That being said, and despite the fact that he was there indeed as the "face of the family", it was true that these meetings did not have such an importance as they were often credited as having, which was part of the reason his father had sent him to the Senate in his stead even though Elias was merely the heir.

His steps finally came into a halt as he found himself beneath the large stone entrance of the building. Before going in he ordered his two bodyguards to wait outside, it was not customary to enter armed into the Dikastírio, let alone bring in two armed strangers, regardless of their loyalty to the Institution. After leaving his protectors, and already inside, he made his towards the large stone circle where the meetings of the Senate always took place, encountering the scribe in charge of taking notes on the debate soon to follow already in his designated place. He was about to head to his own usual seat when something, or rather, someone caught his attention.

From all of his attendances of these meetings, he had come to recognize by sight virtually all of the nobility of the Kingdom, or at least all the relevant ones who attended events such as this, and so it was with relative ease that he was able to pinpoint the lone, young man siting roughly half-way up the stand. One could be forgiven, based on the way the man was dressed, to mistake the figure by some lowly baron from the outer provinces, however the crown upon his head sent the message of Royalty clear into the air. To others it could come across as a mystery just why was a foreign Royal attending one of the weekly meetings of the Senate, but not to him, nor for that matter should it be in doubt to the remaining members of his family.

He had already heard the rumors first-hand, from Colchian sailors down at the harbor, of the ships flying the banners of the golden anchor that had struck the unaware Kotas convoy away at Sea. With a currently stable foreign conjuncture towards the Athenians there was therefore only one plausible explanation for the Princeling's presence there. The man was there for him. With a sigh, he decided to make his way up and towards the Prince.

It had been unfortunate the way things had played out. The sinking of the Colchian vessel had been... well, poorly handled. The marauders had been instructed not to leave a single soul adrift in the Aegean, those they did not manage to kill were to be captured and sold as slaves in North Africa, but for some reason the marines had failed to do so, and now there they were. No doubt some of the sailors that escaped had blabbered their tale to the King who had sent one of his sons to parlay with the Athenians. Just which one of the Colchian Princes sat there before him was another matter entirely, Elias knew the King had a fair amount of sons, some three or four by his accounts, and he doubted that was the heir - Why would a Crown Prince be sent to deal with a simple diplomatic lapse after all? - so this should be one of the younger sons. Regardless of which one it was though, the ruling House of Kotas was better known for its martial prowess rather than for their political maneuvering, an ace he'd certainly use for the upcoming meeting. It was also fortunate the Prince had chosen to attend the Senate to express his possible concerns, as it stood half of those men had been already bribed into virtual vassalage by his father years ago while the other half was simply too intimidated by the power of the House of Stravos to take direct action against him. All in all he shouldn't have too many problems dealing with the foreigner, he was in for a stroll in the park.

As he approached the man, he popped the golden anchor of his necklace out of his robe and onto his chest, placing it in full sight of anyone who would look his way, he wanted to make sure the foreigner knew just who he was talking to.

-"You know,"- He started, his tone low and sly. He had opted for the seat just besides the man, an arrangement that got him close to the other, maybe too close, but it was for the better. He wanted to make the Colchian feel pressured, alone, and while body language was not capable of doing the job alone, it certainly went a long way into getting one's objectives fulfilled. Appearances were everything after all. -"you have left quite the impression with your presence here, it is not everyday we have a foreign Royal attending our Senate meetings."- He made a pause, letting a pleasant smile develop on his face -"If I may, your Majesty, what would be your purpose here?"- He asked politely, it was not as if he did not know the answer already.

It was a strange and beautiful place and to Kassandra, used to the comparatively parochial baronies of Colchis, entirely alien.

Strange smells assailed her nostrils as she made her way through the agora to the senate house, the stranger sound of Greek shouted in thousands different accents buzzed in her ears and strange looks greeted her – a woman - as she by turns strode, elbowed and shoved her way through the crowded market place.

She’d dressed to shock: a red chiton, embroidered with gold flowed about her taut frame, topped with gold diadem. Her arms were bare, her right showing the many and deep criss-cross network of blade scars she’d picked up in the Persian Wars and Long March.

She was confident that she could deal with any opportunistic cutpurse that would hazard a chance at her …. Not that she’d thrown caution entirely to the wind; her bodyguards, plainly clothed, followed in her wake, but Kassandra wanted to give the impression that she walked abroad with no need of protection.

First impressions were everything she thought as she made her way to the Athenian senate building. There was some administerial faffing with a short, stocky scribe as she presented her papers, giving her time to wonder for the umpteenth time how Vangeils would react to her presence.

Her uninvited presence.

It was for his own good, she told herself. Vangelis was altogether too conservative and, in her view, too keen to his sword still. A dread warrior for sure, a canny (if hidebound) strategist, she could not fathom why the man was so unwilling to show his teeth.

Kassandra cared not a jot if the Athenians hated Colchis: it was enough that they feared her island fastness. As such allowing them to slap the Crown in the face with a petty act of piracy could not stand.

Administration dealt with, she strode into the senate (leaving her bodyguards without), her red chiton a bloody splash amongst the pristine white garb of the men present. Not a few of them gaped at her which she took in stride; unlike enlightened Colchis, most Kingdoms kept their women cloistered away which was – to her mind – ludicrous in the extreme.

It didn’t take long to spot Vangelis - tall and imposing, he had an unique presence, one that made men want to follow and die for him in war. He was standing in close conversation with an Athenian dandy who was extremely easy on the eye.

And he knew it. She could tell by his stance, the tilt of his head and the oratory gestures he made when talking. She smiled at Vangelis as she approached; if he was shocked, he hid it well. If he was angry, she’d know all about it later.

“Cousin,” she said. “My apologies for my tardy arrival.” She turned her gaze to the Athenian. “One can’t be too careful on the open water these days. Pirates are a plague aren’t they? I’m Kassandra,” she introduced herself. “Commander of the Fifth Phalanx of Colchis, Imperatrix in the East, Lady of Laconia and second cousin to the prince. You have a beautiful city,” she added. “When our business is concluded I would like to sample whatever delights it has to offer.”

She looked around, seeing yet more senators watching the little gathering she was party to. “What’s wrong with them?” she asked the dandy. “Anyone would think they’d never seen a pair of tits before.”

Kassandra found herself rather enjoying the Athenian’s banter. He was pretty, amusing and, she reckoned, sharper than he pretended. He didn’t even flinch when she mentioned pirates – which all three of them knew as a not-so-subtle reference to the recent attack on a Colchian trading vessel… and then he compounded it with a probable and effortless lie about similar woes his own merchants had suffered.

She laughed – genuinely – at his comments about the Senators general state of portliness; Elias the Charmer she thought to herself. Those looks and silver tongue would have charmed more than a few beauties into his bed, she thought. And that would be a pleasurable and enlightening diversion she too would like to sample – no doubt they’d pump each other for information. She decided she’d get him hammered first, backing herself to drink him under the table.

It was, she thought, good that Elias was a slick political operator. Depending on how Vangelis played this, a deal could be done that would ensure reparations rather than reprisal. A private admission of guilt, a hefty bribe for silence on the matter and the certain knowledge that tweaking Colchis on the nose would not go unnoticed or unpunished.

The questions that irked were how indeed would Vangelis handle this and moreover why would House Stravos prove Colchis in such a way? What was the gain? Admittedly, it was a large haul of booty, but the risk for a miniscule profit seemed absurd.

Crazy, in fact.

Unless Colchis took it lying down which would, in Kassandra’s view, be a severe blow to the prestige of all the Houses of the Isles. And that she would not tolerate.

“He’s a smooth one,” she murmured to Vangelis. “I’m guessing a deal can be done here, Cousin. If it cannot, the Fifth stands ready to exact reparations in kind. My guess is that you would prefer a political solution to my army landing on Stravos shores and burning their fields. Which I will order if we cannot reach a more sanguine solution here – either in this Senate house, or more likely, in a backroom.

“I don’t know why they did it – but we know they did. We have to let them know we know. And that we will not tolerate any such act of aggression. Else we risk the prospect of any privateer with hard on for gold arse fucking our merchantmen till they bleed the stuff.”

She met his gaze. “Stand fast on this,” she urged. “I’m not saying accuse them outright, but you’re the Blood General, Vangelis. They fear you. They fear Colchis. They fear us. Dress it up as you will,” she said, “but we cannot leave here without reparation."

Slowly but surely he felt his despise for the Colchian Prince fade, indeed by the time the man was done speaking Elias felt he could kiss the damned foreigner. For months, if not for years, they had been carefully planning the "pirate coup", they had never expected it to be easy to bring into fruition but now, now some hard-headed Colchian moron had delivered their objectives to them on a silver plate.

Their goals with this were relatively straightforward. They had began, some time ago, by hiring a pirate flotilla whose sole objective had been to create a huge pandemonium in the Aegean, the marauders were to sink ships from all the three nations of the Grecian Alliance - Colchis, Taengea and even some Athenians as well - in an effort to sow fear and dissent among the members of the League. In the end the Stravos family, besides enhancing their already considerable naval superiority in Athenia - for the pirates would never really attack one of his ships - would make these events reflect poorly on the King for not being able to keep his Realm safe. When enough mayhem had already been created the Stravos would then, as possessing the largest navy standing, selflessly volunteer to deal with the pirates themselves - asking the King for some monetary funding from the royal treasury to do that in the process - and once their hired swords had been dismissed, peace would return to the seas, ensuring this way a significant increment to the family's prestige and power.

Everything had been planned and accounted for, that is with the exception of the Colchian princeling who thought himself an ace on the political arena. He did notice the man's cold stare, they were playing each-other, and so Elias felt it his turn to participate on that charade. He let his triumphal expression die down until his self-satisfied smirk was naught but a frown upon his face, it was as if he was defeated before the Colchian.

-"Why, but..."- He started, his tone much lower than it had previously been. -"I do believe it is common knowledge one of our convoys was sunk off the coast of Crete some weeks ago."- It wasn't, but he was confident not a single one of those senators would have the balls to call him out on his lies. -"I also believe I informed you of this before this session started."- He pointed out. -"A mere memory lapse I'm sure."- And not at all a pathetic attempt to turn the Senate against his family.

In an unexpected turn of events - or so he hoped - he once again turned to face the crowd with open arms, letting his most arrogant smile come and take over his features.

-"As it turns out, our Colchian friends do raise a valid point."- He made a pause as to add some eloquence to his moment. -"We cannot be allowed to stand and watch while our merchants are harassed and pillaged! Those men are the source of most of our wealth after all."- He let his smile die down a little, his features taking a more serious expression.

-"This is why, as the owner of the largest shipyards in the Kingdom, the Stravos Family will offer to arm all interested merchant ships at a lower-than-normal price, so that our traders can travel in peace."- Of course that with the increase in demand, prices would peak and his "discount" would simply be the normal price. -"We will also petition the King for a deep involvement and further enhancement of our military fleet for a future pirate-hunting campaign."- Subject to some subsidies from the crown that was, however there was no need to put the Senate aware of that part. Let no one say that the Stravos family had ever failed to fulfill their duty in the defense of the Kingdom, unlike their weak sovereign.

-"Furthermore, and since I do not believe the sinking of the Marikas and Xanthos' vessels were of public, or indeed private, knowledge"- What he did believe was that the little Prince was lying since his marauders had not yet given him any details or news on sunk Athenian vessels. -"I hereby propose the creation of an investigating committee to search about what ships went missing, what were their cargos, and what, if any, pattern might there have been behind these attacks."-

And this was the second reason the Colchians' presence there that day had been a God-sent. If - or rather when - his committee endeavor passed on the Senate, such an organ, in turn led by either him or his father no doubt, would have legal access to all the possessions, ledgers, accounting reports, alas to everything of his family's main commercial rivals. After all, besides money, information was the best means to get power.

Of course that meant the Stravos' reports would also come under scrutiny, particularly the supposed "misadventure" of his convoy in Crete, however he was not worried. The Stravos fleets were so large that no one would notice if they added some fictional ships here and there, besides with him or Keikelius at the head of the committee any bit of unsavory information they could be swept under the rug with relative ease. As his last words subsided, he could hear content whispers of the senators, some of his father's more "enthusiast" supporters even clapped at his speech. All seemed happy, that was with the exception of the royals. Marikas, Antonis all of their envoys had a face of someone who had just swallowed a broom, bunch of uptight idiots they were.

All of this though, he had the Colchians to thank for. If he wasn't kissing the Prince, then he would have to take his cousin to bed. Either way, those foreigners deserved any sort of acknowledgment for the service they had done him that day.

-"Moving forward then,"- He said, addressing the audience with his booming voice. -"what else might our Colchian friends have to add? Certainly you do not expect us to believe that the King of Colchis sent a Prince and a high-ranking commander to our Senate simply to offer us sympathies and aid. Why are you really here?"-

Come on - he thought - say it little Prince, say the words and accuse me. -he'd rain all hell upon the man if he did.

Kassandra watched the interplay between princes and felt herself colouring. With anger – and no little self-recrimination.


The problem with thinking of the bigger picture was that one tended to overlook the small-mindedness of men. Elias had the look of a man who’d just emptied his load into his worst enemy’s shit-pipe and the realisation that this was part of some internecine Athenian power-grab loomed up in front of her a plain as the Stravos flag that had sunk the Colchian merchantman.

Good that Vangelis had forbidden her to speak, she thought. She would have accused him outright, mid-power-grab. If only to set a cat amongst the pigeons.

At times – most of the time, in fact, Vangelis’s slow, emotionless approach to … well… everything drove her to distraction. But in this he was right and she didn’t know if she was seething because this was the case, or because she had failed to see Elias’s petty little gambit for what it was or if she just wanted to fight with someone.

The look on Vangelis’s face when he bade them leave told her that he knew that it was he himself who was going to get the brunt of it.

Which made her seethe even more.

He made a point of talking the entire way out of the Senate house and all the way to his lodgings, describing the grand architecture, the history behind it and a lot of other facts that he knew she already knew and has scant interest in re-learning.

However, once in the confines of his rooms, it was he and she.

“So that’s it,” she said, pouring herself a large cup of wine without asking and downing it one – and poured another for good measure. “Wine?” she offered – curt and she didn’t bother waiting for a response. He’d spend all afternoon drinking a single cup anyway. “That this attack was all… nothing but a Stravos powerplay? How stupid can he be! A single mistake and he’d tip the kingdoms into an all out war.

“Gods!” she spat. “These Athenians and there internecine games. Well don’t worry,” she finished her second cup and poured another. “I’ll sort this out. There’s no way – no way – that we can sit still for this. Not you, Vangelis – your reputation precedes you and luckily, so does mine.

“You know I’ve been planning on some slave purchases. A grubby business, if you want to know. I don’t agree with slavery – the king won’t hear it, but I’m telling you, we’d get more yield out of freepeople and they’d be grateful for it….

“Where was I? Oh, yes. I’ve come to know some of the less than savoury types in my enquiries. I say we hire one of these privateers – I have one in mind – to target some Stravos shipments. Send a few of them to the bottom,” she took a hefty swig. “Ought to help lend some credence to Elias's story as well, though I doubt he’ll thank us for it.

“Like as not, we’d be hiring the same pirates that sunk our ship. However, mercenaries are just that – mercenary. I’ll cut him our pirate deal on the slaves, offer him a fee for the job and a bonus upon completion. If he betrays me – I swear to Athena I’ll see him and his crew crucified!”

Elias found himself increasingly impatient with the Colchian Prince. Did the man actually believe anyone at all believed on his rumblings about aid and friendship? It was ludicrous; what he was truly trying to do was to hide his massive failure on the political arena behind a forced smile and some ridiculous excuse. What did give him some peace of mind was to know that not only had he outdone his rival but also that he had managed to execute a flawless power-play in the process. Well, not flawless, not yet at least.

-"That will hardly be necessary, your majesty."- He said rather dismissively in response to the Prince's offer to serve as an intermediary with the Taengeans. -"We have our own ambassadors and merchant contacts we can use. Although we do thank you for your effort."- Even though he was sure most of those senators would follow on his lead, he couldn't be sure all of them would. He made a mental note to get one of his spies on the trail of the Colchians, soon enough all of those who would think about turning him in would find themselves put out of business... by a Stravos warship.

When the little Prince finally shut his mouth Elias was not even sure whether he was dreaming or not, the man's speech seemed to last for an eternity, even though it had been a few, mere words. It would seem however, that his patience had paid off as the royal got up from his seat and, accompanied by his cousin, went off on his merry way out. Well maybe not merry, after all with that exit the Colchian was virtually conceding defeat, something that was not easy on any man.

-"Leaving already?"- He asked on a condescending tone -"Oh well, we thank you for your presence here, very enlightening."- His tone turned more scornful -"I'm sure you are a busy man. After all, all that peace and love won't spread themselves, will they?"- He furrowed his brow while his lips curled up in what was nothing short of a mocking expression. From the top rows, coming from Keikelius' "bench", he heard some chuckles and laughs as the senators turned to parlay between them.

As the Prince made his towards the exit, the Stravos puffed his chest, tilting his head in a way as to elevate his chin to the man. He was victorious and hopefully the bloody Colchians would remember what had happened there that day for a long time. He took a pause on his speech to enjoy the "retreat" of his rival from the Senate, upon which he once again turned to the audience in order to move on with that meeting.

-"And now,"- He announced, loud and clear, so that even the Colchian lordling could hear it from the outside of the room. -"For military matters and affairs of war."- These military matters were merely consisting on reforms of the garrison of Athenia, but still, there was never any harm done in beautifying it up. The rest of the meeting would proceed without any further mishaps, but would still stretch itself late into the afternoon. Between the mundane affairs and everyday arrangements, Elias started to wonder about more important concerns. Should his uncle decide to call for a succession law change, how well would it go? He swept the benches of the Senate with his hazelnut gaze, distinguishing four distinct blocks.

The Xanthos, or better, their vassals, would vote with the King, that much was a given. With them, the Antonis, although boasting in their midst the current heir to the throne, would most likely vote with Minas of Xanthos as well. Alehandros of Antonis was a content dunce after all, unworthy of the leadership of his House, let alone a Kingdom. Against them, the Stravos wing could outnumber either of those Houses but only separately, together the two of them - Antonis and Xanthos - could still turn the Senate to their side. There was still a loose canon in the Senate however, and it was so that in a possible, future vote the fate of Athenia lay in the hands of the bloody House of Marikas.

"The crown might as well be in Hispania."- He thought. Indeed with this setting, there was an equal probability that he either became King, or would fall into oblivion with the remainder of his House. The Lords of Marikas were fickle, ambitious snots, whose only goal in life was to see one of their own sat upon the throne of Athenia. All in all, not so different from the Stravos and could, in an otherwise different scenario, have been a prospective alliance if not for their divergent goals. Unless...

By the time the Senate gathering came to a close, the sun outside had already sunk beneath the Athenian skyline, taking on an orange tone as opposed to the golden one it had during the afternoon. As he went on his way out however, he decided to head to the Marikas' seats before hitting the exits.

-"Lord Marikas."- He said in a formal tone. -"I am so sorry to hear about your vessels, those pirates are a scourge indeed."- Lord Panos of Marikas turned his blue gaze away from the fiefs he was conversing with and towards the Stravos, his blue gaze piercing through the younger man.

-"Stravos."- He said simply, sweeping Elias from top to bottom with his cold, blue eyes before responding in his flat, steady voice. -"Please... We both know better than that. Will you tell me next that your little convoy in Crete wasn't a ploy? Do me a favor and save yourself the trouble."- Elias smiled at that, looked away and then back into the frigid gaze of the Marikas' patriarch.

-"If that is true however,"- He started, in his most innocent tone. -"the Crown would be foolish to allow such a thing to go unpunished."- He shook his head, as if condemning the lies of the Colchian. -"Allowing a foreigner to lie in our Senate, what a blunder to the King."- At that, Lord Panos furrowed his brow.

-"Somehow, you still seem to be under the delusion that you would make for a better King."-

-"Oh no, not at all."- Elias said, keeping his innocent facade. -"In fact, I'm not planning on governing much once I'm King"- Everyone knew of the Stravos' intentions to one day hold the throne, no point in denying it. -"Why bother to rule when you can have someone else do the ruling for you?"- He let those words sink in and waited for his rival to fall for his ruse. Panos did not disappoint him, indeed for a moment he could have swore to have seen a spark in the older man's gaze.

-"And just whom will do that ruling for you?"- Marikas asked, already knowing the answer.

-"Why don't we discuss that in private? Stravos Manor, tomorrow, sounds good?"- He made a pause, now looking towards the exit. -"While we're at it,"- He added, turning his face to Lord Panos again. -"maybe we could discuss who the next Queen shall be as well, no?"- Giving one last smile to his opponent, he turned his back to Marikas and his followers and finally went for the exit.

As he stepped outside, he found his two bodyguards already waiting for him. Through the corner of his eye, he spotted a tiny, but perceptible, red dot in one of his soldiers' golden armor, no doubt a side effect from delaying the King's envoy. From the Dikastírio it was a rather short walk to the family archives, the place where his "Cretan ruse" would come to life. Once inside, it did not take him long to find the scribe slave that tended to the documents.

-"Walk with me."- He said to the man, waiting for the serf to catch up to him before starting again. -"Listen carefully because I will only say this once."- He started walking to the room where the ledgers of the vessels were kept. -"You will forge the records for six ships that left Lyncestia bound for Roma via Crete a little over a month ago."- He made a pause as to let that information sink in. -"You will forge records for the ships, their voyage and their cargo. Is that clear?"-

For once, the man looked puzzled. -"But m'lord,"- He said in a tremulous voice. -"wouldn't these records mismatch those in the ports?"-

-"It doesn't bloody matter if the records mismatch."- He said in a coarse tone, startling the man off his feet. -"they were sunk before they made their first stop at Crete and therefore never made it to Roma. Understood?"- An unnecessary measure, it was not as if someone would go to the works of retrieving all the records of all the ports in Crete, but better to leave no loose ends. At his instructions, the man simply nodded.

-"Good. Afterwards, my two bodyguards will escort you to Lyncestia where you will forge the records of those ships loading their goods and setting sail from there."- He concluded.

-"Yes m'lord, it will be done."- With a silent nod and a smile, Elias left the man to go about his work, turning then to his bodyguards.

-"Once he is done in Lyncestia, cut his throat and throw the body into the ocean."- He did not care about what happened to a slave, however he would care alright if the slave blabbered to an outsider. Nothing bought a man's silence better than a knife to the heart after all. -"While you're in Lyncestia send a message to Lukos of Midas, I have a new contract for him."-

The two guards nodded and with that he turned on his heels and left the archives. Once outside, he made his way towards the Agorá. The sun had already set, leaving the stars brightly visible against the dark-blue of the evening sky. The moon, in its full form, cast its silver light upon the city below, illuminating his way through the empty streets. Before reaching the very center of the Agorá, he took a turn right, entering through a dark, narrow back alley, it was there that he found her.

An elderly woman, a beggar, sat besides the white walls of a ruined house. Behind her, wooden blinds and doors belonging to the building itself were already severely rotten while in front of her the muddy street had a stench of mold and piss about itself. Elias squatted in front of the woman, placing a silver Owl on her begging bowl.

-"There are two Colchians in town. A Prince and his female commander, they shouldn't be hard to find."- He said. -"I want you to trail them and report back to me about who they meet with, what they talk about and what do they plan on doing while here. Understood?"- The woman looked up at him and nodded.

At that Elias turned and left, leaving that horrid place behind.

As Kassandra has given him the respect of listening to his explanation from start to finish, without interruption, he gave her the same grace by staying quiet as she spoke. He gave only momentary reactions as he sat in his chat, foot up and glass of water in hand. He gave one of his few and rare half-smiles as she mentioned kicking the man in the balls - something he would be happy to aid her in, though she would never need it. He also nodded solemnly as she commented on the respect and legacy of Colchis and how, while he had offered the practical and pragmatic solution to their problem in the Senate, it had done little to satiate her feelings of insult and offence at the destruction of their ship. As far as Kassandra was concerned, Athenia had already declared war on Colchis. And it was their turn to retaliate.

While Vangelis loved his country and was filial to his king become the measure of anyone else - had made sacrifices to ensure their security and legacy and, with every fibre of his being, agreed with the Lady Kassandra on an emotional level, he had been forced over the years to not allow his piety and loyalty to Colchis mask bigger concerns or considerations. Vangelis had, over the years since he had been formally anointed crown prince on his fourteenth birthday, learned to see things on a larger scale.

And at the moment, Stravos was a small fish in a pond where he thought he was a shark. If plans fell right the Princess would be the one taking the throne and there would no longer be cause for concern with regards to the Stravos'. Starting some kind of skirmish on the border seas of Athenia? As much as it would be satisfying to strike back in retribution, it was not wise to anger the most powerful nation in the Greek realm.

"What is this plan of yours?" He asked Kassandra to confirm. While he was a man of trust and faith, Vangelis was also a man of knowledge. He was well aware that things only fell apart when the commanders or orchestrators of the events stopped paying attention. So, as much as he liked and trusted Kassandra to do whatever she promised to do, he would not authorise her to carry it out without full disclosure. After he was informed, his protocol was to back off entirely. He would never question, check or micro-manage - only trust that his faith had not been misplaced. It was why he was so rare at giving it in the first place.

"I'll support you if it's a good plan." He told one of his most trusted Commanders. "But I need to know the details... and whether it will involve me going up against my father in the Senate."

While Vangelis had a lot of sway in the Senate, whether he was speaking up for an unpopular opinion or not, he had limited to control over the influence his father swayed. As a beloved and respected king, King Tython was not one to be challenged. Vangelis had only done so twice since he had entered the political arena as head of the House of Kotas. Once he was shot down and the second he was granted his acquiescence and vindicated. Yet still, he had to pick such moments carefully... It was never his intention to upstage his father, but nor did he even plan on diminishing his own reputation when it was he who would need the respect once he had taken the throne in the future.