Imperator: Resurrection of an Empire

"I can feel it."

Julius said at last, breaking the silence between the two of them.

"The tension, the shift. As if the very air itself knows what is coming. The Pope won't wait long to follow his cardinals recommendation. Once he is assured of Carthages' union to Romanus, our Excommunication is all but assured. He'll defineitly blacklist us with holy mandate, labelling us as Heretics. False Rulers. Perhaps even anti-christs."

Serena across from him exhaled slowly as his words sunk in to her dainty skin.

"And when that Pope speaks, his people will follow."

Julius nodded in agreement.

"Not all of them, since some follow the faith unwillingly, and certainly not immediately, there are many of their followers who have not been corrupted by the new doctrine that replaced the old one a few generations back. But those who do indeed follow the new sect of the church. They will need to go, their tainted belief will only bring harm should they be allowed to remain within our lands."

"You're going to let them leave?"

"Yes. We'll announcine the popes descision openly without hiding it from our people, opening the roads and even assisting the 'faithful' with leaving their homes, lands, and fellow countryment behind. If the exodus remains peaceful they will be able to leave faster, and in doing so will alter the percieved enemy of god the church has painted in their minds."

Serena's gaze softened as she stared at him from across the candlelit table.

"Still the same man, one who wont burn a church even if it is of an opposing religion to your own if the people can be spared."

He smiled faintly at her words.

"Faith doesnt make someone my enemy, unless that faith declares that my own faith to be one that need be exterminated by decree of their own god/s. But conquest... conquest leaves little room for misinterpretation. If the Principality reacts foolishly and draws its sword on us, we'll be sure to answer in kind."

He leaned forwards placing both elbows on the table and steepling his fingers beneath his chin.

"But i want it to be clear that we didnt start the engagement. When historians write of the war, i want it to be unequivocable carved into every record that we Pagans tried to offer peace and live alongside our neighbors, but that it was the high pontiff's altered madate-was the one to call down the gods wrath upon his followers."

Taking a sip of her wine, her response quiet.

"And if he doesnt stop at words? What if he sends one of his Holy Orders ahead to commit to our excommunication, a preemptive crusade under the guise of purifying our lands?"

Julius's eyes flicked to the window, outside where his empire was growing like an embered fire stretching across the sea.

"If they choose to cross our borders, then we show them the power of the people unified not by a single god, but by purpose with the backing of an entire pantheon of gods. Romanus is no longer a small and weak kingdom cowering before the larger, older edifaces of our age. We are now an empire standing tall alongside the great powers of the continent."

~

The meal faded into silence again save for the occasional banal chit chat about stories of the past, or funny tales that happened in Serena's youth.

After some time, Serena cross the room to stand before a map of the world as they knew it.

Her arm raised as her finger tips danced across the stretched parchment, Julius having turned half-round smirked as he noticed what she was doing.

Her finger was silently tracing out the boundaries of their new empire.

They alone owned almost the entire south of the continent, with their allies and vassals controlling the rest.

Julius took this moment to pull up his system interface to compare the world map before him with the current state of worldly affairs.

His spreading smile seeing the breadth of his own influence was frozen upon seeing that other flames of war were raging across the continent as well, not remaining idle as his own forces were at work.

Brittanian had performed an invasion of Celtica, probably due to their Monarch having caught wind of the growing rumors about Romanus's animostity towards Francia, should a war break out they could join in, and obtain significant territorial gains while having a much easier time at war with Francia's focus being divided.

Then to the far north The Slavic Union had begun to eat up their neighboring states, having already absorbed the Suebi Republic, while their armies continued to march through the Teutonic Orders lands.

And lastly Visigoth did not remain idle either, their armies were hard at work once again in the east, having conquered close to half of the Sarmatia Imperium bringing them one step closer to blocking Romanus's own growth from reaching to the East of the continent.

But the real goal of this conquest was likely to get access to ports that were not all to close to Romanus to allow their northern sea fleets to rebase themselves to the south to combat against the growing Romanus fleet since it's shipwrights were producing new ships and now the skilled Carthaginians had joined their ranks making Romanus a new contender for greatest naval strength in the world.

And finally there was some modest advancement in the west as Romanus's allies Germania and Dacia continued their assault against the Achae people's state, though it was likely there was some outside interference going on by the hand of Francia since the progression of the war itself was much to slow considering the overwhelming advantage the barbaric forces of the twin nation should have of that of the Achaeans.

Of course this was just mere speculation at this point, but Julius would find out soon enough once he was back home to hear from the root on what his espionage forces had found out.

The other thing he needed to work on would be the integration of the vassal states to grant him greater overal control, if he could double his nations population and land mass by the integration of the Greecian penninsula his Empire would gain significant power with which to continue the fight against their neighbors.

Meanwhile his growing reputation should help him to peacefully enact a takeover of the adjacent eastern lands creating a true border with Visigoth and further extension of his great wall acting as a bulwark to prevent their advance south.