The past three years had been.. calm. Utterly calm!
This was the exception to the rule.. as it was not often that a chapter of the Byzantine peoples began without some sort of calamity, unrest, or other chaotic entanglement. But, as it were, things were.. normal, for once.
Four years; long years, at that; since the remnants of the Byzantine people had fled their destroyed home, a fraction of a percent of the trillions of souls that once boasted to rule a vast portion of the Milky Way Galaxy. A people known staunchly for their arrogance, superiority complexes, and sometimes, even treachery. But this small crop was nothing short of the anti-thesis of what a modern galactic inhabitant might think when they hear the word 'Byzantine'. Their singular star system was neatly tucked away, their civilization, advanced as it were in such futuristic technologies, was humble and simple. Its people, doubly so. Thankful to be alive, survivors of the cataclysm, of the Ikrahk, the Rethast, the hand of a dark god.
Equally strange to an outside observer (should there even be one) was the current state of the Byzantine's. Once known for their fierce xenophobia, there was an odd sight of anthropomorphic beings now amongst their ranks; ethnic Terran-Byzantines, humans descended from old Terra, shoulder to shoulder with these humanoid animals. It was no secret that those four years ago when Felix Tiberius lead the remnants of the Byzantine exiles to their new homes that the Kitsune Empire was one of the first to make contact, if not one of the only to even know that the Byzantines survived extinction. As far as the galaxy was concerned, the Byzantine Empire was long gone, and the history books recorded their civilization as one from antiquity, come and gone, leaving their mark and nothing more.
The Kitsune, however knew better and acted quickly to secure the Byzantine remnants once they had stumbled upon their star system. Their diplomats and military vanguards came to these people with harsh and threatening tones, knowing the wicked and dark qualities that had preceded the Byzantine Empire's reputation. To their shock, however, they found that the culture of the Byzantine people had radically shifted; war-mongering, xenophobia, hatred and arrogance slowly dissipated with the rise of humility, pacifism, and piety. The survivors had come to attribute their ills and loss of their home to these vain qualities, and through much spiritual insight had come to garner a more peaceful outlook on life and the galaxy. Such a radical shift indeed, to the Kitsune and the Byzantines themselves, was equated to a side-effect of a people having survived literal extinction.
Even the Byzantine's religion transformed from a hierarchical, episcopal and judgmental state-church to one of zen, stoicism and community. The Sacred Temple, the large zigguart structure that dominated the planet's skyline, served as the focal point for people's lives; but it's halls were one embodying encouragement, love, meditation, repentance, somberness and happiness, not the doom and gloom that had dominated the Imperial Church, darkening hearts with fear of damnation and the 'wicken alien', turning zeal into blind hatred, nor the endless episcopals shouting and cursing every which ill prophecy and preaching the fear of the chaos threat. Even the diversity of sects and other religions began to fade-- the mix of Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism and the other diverse faiths that were found in the Byzantine realm had for the most part made the blended transition into a simple Monotheism, focusing more on the positive aspects of their belief systems and taking a more caring outlook on the Byzantine people's faith and their God.
The Kitsune were at a loss. They could not come to understand how over the span of a decade, from the time of the Byzantine Empire's destruction to the exile's landing and reestablishing civilization, how a people once so evil, responsible for genocide of entire planets in the name of imperialist ambition and conquest, had made such the radical shift in outlook and personality.. but, then again, it was equally impossible for them to comprehend or understand a major driving force behind this change of culture: How such a small fraction of people survived a cataclysmic destruction of their homes, spend years aboard colonization vessels in dead space in exile only to stumble upon an earth-like planet and try to build anew with little to nothing.
The more pragmatic analyst might simply think that those responsible for breeding such contempt and hatred amongst the ranks of the Byzantine populace simply died off with their Empire. And while that certainly might have contributed to it, the more certain answer simply was that a combination of all these things, along with Felix Tiberius and the remnant leadership impressing upon their exiled brethren a New Order of peace and tolerance had helped to make this change.
A change for the better, no doubt.. with one exception.
The survival and success of the Byzantine Empire could on all accounts be attributed to these wicked qualities which had built and maintained their massive galactic state. Abandoning their principles had left them weak and vulnerable; a people that had no desire to wage war for war's sake were, inevitably, bound to fall victim to a nationstate that would employ these imperialist tactics and strongarm their way to a position of dominance. Such was the case of the Byzantines, now officially a Kitsune protectorate. A people once boasting to rule most of the galaxy, now, themselves, subjugated.
But, there was a small sliver of a line the Kitsune treaded near. Despite the Byzantine's now being a pacifistic lot of exiles, they still retained their religious zeal and faith in their God, the concepts of holy war and spiritual struggle; even if they now refused to use their faith to wage wars of expansion and genocide, that did not mean they would not invoke it to wage a war of survival. This was the very last thing the Kitsune were ready to combat; no matter how advanced or powerful their military might may be, they simply could not compete with the psychological warfare that was a literal Jihad.
So the Kitsune Empire approached this case in such a way of prose, masterful diplomacy and wit that allowed them to take hold of the remnant nation without need to bleed resources in a war of attrition. There was no brutal repression, hostile takeover, tyrannical crackdown. The Byzantine's kept their laws, their customs, their government, their religion. They were incorporated peacefully, resources taken, traded and shared fairly, taxes levied reasonably and governmental oversight was just. What would normally be a heavy-handed conquest was instead more of an open-handed cooperation, and although the Byzantine's were now subjects and conquered peoples, it had been done without a single shot being fired. Their economy flourished from Kitsune takeover and investment, their culture expanded as the two peoples intermingled and traveled between eachother's worlds. Kitsune and Byzantine alike were seen shoulder to shoulder in the huddled streets of Terraius, and the Byzantine people had come to greatly enjoy the patronage of their Kitsune overlords, and there were very few, if any, that despised being their subjects.
And so, that is how the Day of Two came about-- the second most important holiday in the Terraiusian Republic outside of their arrival and founding, as well as the myriad of religious holidays handed down from the mixture of faiths that had come to make up the monotheistic cult of the state. It was a day of great celebration, where the Byzantine people payed homage to the Kitsune Emperor and the memory of the deceased Byzantine Emperor Justinian who had died in the destruction of their nation. It was a day for the Byzantines to pay homage and tribute to their Kitsune overlords, traveling to their capital for an audience to reaffirm the friendship that had come to bind them together.
But this year was an exceptional one. Rumors and whispers had abounded that the Byzantines were to make a formal request for independence, a peaceful separation from the Kitsune Empire in hopes that the Byzantine people may finally begin reforging their destiny as an independent nation; no longer as Byzantine Exiles, but a new generation of Terraiusians, eager to rekindle their civilization and empire, but this time, as a force for good and peace in the galaxy, not one of evil and war.
Noone got their hopes up, however. Despite the Kitsune's humane treatment of the conquered Byzantine's, there was doubt that they would readily give up their protectorate. There was too many valuable resources at stake; natural minerals deposits, Byzantine technology, and perhaps most importantly, the Byzantine people themselves, renowned for decades throughout the galaxy for their engineering and architectural prowess, brutal efficiency and disciplined workforce, and indeed even their religious zealotry which made them exceptionally valuable military resources as strong and fearless warriors.
The job of appeasing and striking such a deal laid with a small delegation composed of senior Terraiusian senators. Tirelessly they had formulated various plans of approach and things to offer as incentives to garner the goodwill of the Kitsune to grant their Byzantine subjects their freedom. But no matter the amount of planning they did, they simply could not know their demands until they had met with the Kitsune themselves to begin such talks.
As it were, today, the Kitsune were on their way to Terraius Prime for the weekend's festivities and formalities as they had done the previous years. The streets were littered with Byzantines and Kitsune alike, flotillas of ships dotted the atmosphere and flags of both nations flew high as the people celebrated. The Senate building sitting square in the center of the now massive metropolis was decorated brightly and was prepared to welcome the Kitsune envoys. Rumors abounded further that the Emperor Foxfire himself was to show his face, along with other members of the family..
