Yazdegerd I gazed upon the document in his hand with an expression of disbelief. The western roman emperor was dead. Murdered by the hands of his Magister Militum. Though things were not that simple. According to his intelligence, the only reason Olympius had reacted in such a hostile manner to the man he served was because of the rebellion caused by Titus Claudius Marcellus.

With the death of Honorius, the Western Roman Empire, or at least part of it, fell into the hands of a usurper. A man who would marry the previous emperor’s sister in a desperate attempt to gain some legitimacy. To Yazdegerd I, who was the regent of the current Eastern Roman emperor. This was an affront to the Theodosian Dynasty, and Yazdegerd had half a mind to send her own Magister Militum into the west to reclaim the throne for his charge

It was this fury that drove the man to gather the greatest officers of the Eastern Roman Army so that they could discuss their current opportunities. The head General of the Eastern Roman Army was a man named Aulus Pontidius Frugi, and he was pointing towards a map that was sprawled out in front of him while declaring what intelligence his army had gathered.

“From what it appears, the Goths have pulled out of Illyricum and moved into the nearby province Noricum. They appear to be settling the lands under the commands of the usurper Marcellus. This means that they have sworn their loyalties to the man.

If we were to march our army on the west, we would first have to get past an army of between fifty and eighty thousand Goths who now stand guarded against us on our western Border. The only other feasible solution would be to go around this army and march through Germania and into Raetia, however, this could prove to be even more disastrous.”

Yazdegerd did not take this news well. His hands gripped the wooden hair in front of him so tightly that his fingernails left permanent indents inside of it. He gnashed his teeth in displeasure before asking for better alternatives._.

“What about North Africa? Has Carnifex declared his loyalty yet?”

Frugi shook his head with a bitter expression on his face as he announced what he knew.

“The man has sworn his loyalty to Marcellus and now guards North Africa with his comitatenses. It is unlikely to get him to join our side…”

The regent of the emperor sighed heavily as he heard this. Things were not looking good. It was at this moment another General spoke up, hoping to heighten the man’s mood. He reported on the information his men had received from Marcellus himself.

“If I may interject, we have received word from the Usurper. It appears for the time being he has no hostilities towards us. In fact, the man offers a small gift of a thousand pounds of gold. While this may not be much to us, it is a substantial sum for the West and its current treasury. He offers this gift in the hopes that we will recognize his claim to the Western Empire and assures us that his interests lie in taking out the other usurper so that he may solidify his claim to the western throne. The meaning behind this gift is clear: he intends to bribe us into pacification.”

Yazdegerd was a proud man. Now that his charge was the only remaining successor of the Theodosian dynasty, he would not allow the west to be separate for long. He fully intended to march his armies on Ravenna and reunite the Empire beneath his puppet’s rule. He found the notion that Marcellus would try to bribe him to be deeply insulting.

However, a campaign of that size would be a costly affair. Aside from the losses that she would suffer, the Eastern Roman Army would ultimately be forced to leave the northern portion of the Empire largely undefended. While the Huns were docile for the time being, there were plenty of barbarians who sought to ravage the empire’s borders.

The amount of troops he would need to expel the Goths from Noricum was no paltry sum. He could not easily separate his forces from the east without weakening his current position. It was because of this that he bit her nails in anxiety. Naturally, with no clear solution, the generals began to argue with one another on how to proceed.

“Say we sail our forces from Constantinople to Italia. We will be able to catch Marcellus and his army off guard. I doubt he has the forces required to stave off a direct invasion of the heartland of his empire.”

It was a good idea in theory, but another general immediately blew the idea out of the water.

“With what ships!?! We don’t have nearly enough vessels to ferry such a large amount of soldiers across the Mediterranean!”

The infighting between the generals was getting fierce when  Yazdegerd could no longer tolerate it. The man yelled at the top of his lungs, as if he were a barbarian commanding the men to quiet down.

“Silence!”

The men gathered in the room followed the man’s commands and halted their petty debates. When the room was so silent that one could practically hear a mouse walk by, Yazdegerd spoke about his thoughts.

“We can not leave the north undefended, and since the Goths have sworn their allegiance to this usurper, they have abandoned Illyricum. If we don’t do something about this soon, we will lose the province to other barbarians. It is clear to me now that if we wish to press our claim, then must get some foederati of our own.

If that is the case, then I know just the right men for the job. Frugi, I want you to contact the Huns, and entice them to join our side in this conflict. Assure them that they will be well rewarded for their efforts. Everyone knows those foolish Goths are terrified of the Huns. If that is the case, we will use those filthy horsemen to slaughter the usurper’s barbarian allies.

Naturally, we will send a token force of our own army to assist the Huns in their massacre of the Goths. After all, we can’t allow barbarians to run through our lands unsupervised. Does anyone have any objections?”

The men gathered shook their heads. The Huns were a terrifying and destructive force, but if they could be convinced, then they would make for some powerful mercenaries. When combined with the Byzantine forces, it should be enough to break the Gothic defenses in Noricum. Or so the men thought. Of course, if Marcellus reinforced the Goths in Noricum with his own forces, it was difficult to say who would be victorious. Because of this, Yazdegerd gave the command that would ensure such a scenario would not occur.

“After we have recruited the Huns, we will wait until Marcellus marches his forces against that fool Constantine. Once he had done so, we will combine our might with our new Barbarian allies, and smash the Goths in Noricum. I doubt those filthy Germans will have the spine to stand against the Huns. “

The various generals nodded their head in agreement. Pressing their claim while they divided the enemy forces was the most likely path to victory. They had no complaints. However, the problem with this plan was it relied on successfully recruiting a large number of Huns to their side. It was because of this that Frugi was quick to voice this possibility.

“And what if the Huns refuse us? How will we press our claim, then?”

Yazdegerd did not think of this as a possibility and immediately felt embarrassed by the General and his audacity to question his logic. Rather than simply admit he was wrong and look for a contingency plan, he doubled down on his plan, ensuring that it would be a success.

“That won’t be a problem…”

Frugi, however, was convinced there was a sufficient enough probability of failure during negotiations that a contingency plan was necessary. Despite earning the contempt of the regent, he pressed him on the issue.

“And what if it is?”

This only further enraged the man, but rather than snap in that moment and make a fool of himself, dhe decided to take a deep breath and calm his nerves before answering the question.

“If the Huns fail to accept our kindness, then we will be forced to accept Marcellus’ bribe until a point where we can divert our forces from the east, to press our claim in the west…”

Upon hearing this, Frugi nodded his head. The other generals stared at him as if he were the bravest man they had ever witnessed, simply for insisting on an answer to the question they all had in their minds. With this, the Eastern Roman Empire had formed a plan of action on how to deal with Marcellus and his recent rise to power.