Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2012 18:31:57 -0600
From: dnrock@rock.com
Subject: Arden's Saga 17

Arden's Saga
by:  dnrock (dnrock@rock.com)

A short reminder: Nifty needs help in the form of financial support.  It is
easy to do, just click the link on nifty landing page. That help keeps the
stories coming.  Also just a reminder this story is sexually explicit and
involves youths and adults.  If that offends or is illegal then you know
what to do.

17:  Lessons in Politics

1313, the 1st month, 4th day:

It turned out to be a sizeable amount of treasure under that false bottom.
It was just over 100 florins.  That would be enough money to build the Inn
and then some.  After Drakon explained the venture and why I could not help
my sister and future brother in law, except to locate an investor, Loup
quickly agreed; Drakon would have one of our officials drawn up a
partnerships agreement and Royal Charter.  I wrote Abrith, explaining I had
found an investor and asking him to bring Perum and Flavia to the castle
for a meeting with Loup.  If they are to be business partners they should
at least have met.

During our meeting I could see Loup paid close attention to our physical
interactions, I think he was curious about this boy to boy physical
attraction.  After our business concluded and Drakon went his way, Heron
and Damao came; inviting Loup to attend our fencing lessons, as the
captains of guard wanted to insure all those from the pirate ship, that
were being given weapons, knew what to do with them.  Loup was delighted
for the opportunity to train, he had been denied it for almost two months
now.  He turned out to be competent and a match for me and Iason but no
match for our body guards and Ikaros bests us all.  At the end of it I ran
circles around all of them.  In sports we may all participated but some of
us excel at this or that.  No one I know excels at all skills.  Our coach
thinks I will do well in most.

We would be holding large sports games at the spring equinox.  These games
will be for both men and boys.  The games for the boys will be divided by
age groups 12 to 14, 15 to 16 and so on.  While in the bath Loup asked
Damao where he could find a prostitute, since he was greatly in need of
those services.  Odo asked male or female and while Loup blushed Odo went
on to offer his services at no cost.  I could see Odo was determined to
seduce our new friend but Damao felt the need to be a parent and suggested
he find some other 10 year olds to play with.  Odo left in a pretend huff
and Damao told Loup and all of us where the prostitutes did business and
what the fee should be.  Heron turned to us saying, "information you did
not receive from us."  Which brought a howell of laughter from all.  Loup
is not learning Greek very fast but he has only been here a few days;
fortunately we all know a little Italian by now.

By custom, boys under about 16 are not welcomed by the prostitutes, however
if the boys is persistent and has the coin he can get the service.
Children under 10 are off limits regardless of gender.  Girls under about
14 are not permitted by their families to get to close to boys anyway.  The
Palace Girls under 14 are by custom off limits to any older males.  The
Palace Boys under 14 are discouraged from the girls and most are not
welcomed anyway.  Over 14 it is catch what you can.  A number of females
over 16 are concubines of one man or another, they are not paid as such and
are only partly kept, in the common uses of the term.  Everyone who lives
in the castle complex contributes to its running or the running of the
government.  No one has said anything much about Iason and I.  We are just
not interested in girls other then friends.  Volos told me that will change
for us soon, "nature has her ways."  I guess since Iason's wife will be
picked for him and I can't have one we are not all that interested.  I
guess like our Fathers we will just need to see that kind of sex as an
adventure.  Ikaros claims to the older boys, the ones his age, that he has
no shortage of willing partners.


1313, the 1st month, 15th day: (TN: The sections preceding have been lost.)

This was more than one day's worth of activity.  I am very tired nor can I
imagine just what has gotten into Iason.  In the past few days he has been
demanding of my attention.  Not that I mind, I crave his attention as well
but he has been so ardent that my penis is red and swollen from over use.
He is now snuggled on our bed with Odo.  I suspect it has something to do
with Odo's success at seducing Loup and his spending several nights in our
bed.  One thing is certain, that boy will never be the same again.  It only
took Odo a few days to make his seduction.

Much to Flavia's displeasure he and Perum became fast friends as well as
business partners.  Perum's educated anus was the glue and after he
returned to Koalhurst, Loup became a frequent visitor to our chamber much
to every one's delight.  He is well endowed and now highly skilled at all
the arts of male sex.  Flavia may not like it but as Abrith remarked, she
will learn to live with it as long as he keeps her satisfied and pregnant.
I don't think it was Loup she was jealous of but Ikaros, as he is more girl
than she.

Father and Uncle have been consumed with our guilds.  They are attempting
to reform a number of them.  Over time several have grown just a bit to
powerful for their liking and with power seems to come a resistance to
change.  A few are reluctant to allow expansion, creating what Father said
was an artificial shortage and driving up prices.  He was also much
displeased at the number of sick and injured apprentices our census
uncovered.

Guilds are essentially associations of masters in particular crafts,
trades, or professions.  Here they go back a long way; to the time of Iason
the 2nd, further in some other places the scholars tell us.  In origin they
were clubs which observed religious festivals together and attended the
funerals of their members.  Soon after the idea reaching Parga they
acquired other functions.  Their economic function was to control standards
and to enforce the guild's monopoly of particular activities, in a
particular territory.  Since Iason the 2nd only charted them for the
kingdom and not a specific place in it, we at least have state wide
standards.  That is or seems to be a good thing.  Their political function
became to participate in the government of the city-state.  Iason the 5th
made some changes to restore the power back to the citizens and reduce the
guild's role to advisory on political matters.  In some other cities,
notably Florence at this time, only guildsmen are eligible for civic
office, thus excluding both noblemen, unless they swallowed their pride and
joined, as some do, and unskilled workers like the wool comers and dyers.
Not the case here, our civic offices are held by appointees of the King and
they will have a guild when Arden's boys graduate and are employed.  The
Byzantines are closer to our model but depend more on political and family
ties then merit.

Guilds are also patrons of art as is the crown, commissioning paintings for
guildhalls, contributing to the fabric fund of temples and churches and
collaborating on collective projects we hope with the Argoanuts. The guilds
do not see themselves as equal.  We in government do.  In Florence, the 7
'Greater Guilds', including such prestigious occupations as judges and
bankers, outrank the 14 'Lesser Guilds'.  In Venice the glass blowers and
related guilds are the most powerful, along with the bankers.  The scholars
warn that as long as times are good and the economy is expanding guilds
will grow but if hard times arrive or if demand is reduced for guild
products and services, fewer opportunities for journeymen to become
masters, and greater hostility between master and man, will result.

A shift of economic interest from trade to land will mean a decline in the
social standing of the crafts.  Not likely a problem here since all the
land is owned by the state and users can only get long term leases.  We
also have a limited opportunity to grow as our population is in fact
controlled by our resources.  The balancing act for us is to keep the
guilds about equal in power and wealth while making sure opportunities and
products meet the needs of the people and the state.

Father went on at some length about the number of sick and injured boys and
young men from the guilds.  He was also displeased about the lack of
education some of the guilds were providing or allowing.  He simply told
them to find ways to improve or he would.  They had one year to do it.

The wrangling went on for some time.  Uncle Iason was adamant that all
craftsmen working in the castle i.e. directly for the state be guild
members but the guilds had to agree to make sure a sufficient number of
apprentices were made available to them and that when one of the masters,
in our employ, selected an apprentice the guild must accept them.

Karyakos was adamant that the guilds accept and seek help from the
scholars, teachers and new schools being established as well as the
Ingegnere Generale and his people.  He went on to suggest that the
ingegneres set up guilds such as civil ingegneres, architects, surveyors
and so on, separate from the military.  He also admonished them to insure
their secrets were recorded properly by the scholars and put in safe
keeping, so knowledge and formulas would not be lost to our decedents.
(TN: it is from those archives that Arden's journals have come to us.)

The King reminded them they had an obligation to the people and themselves
to become as innovative and productive as possible, our means are small and
our population stable, any surplus should be exported.  He urged them to
send masters and apprentices to other places to learn new techniques and
methods.  Just as the crown sends scholars abroad to learn new ideas.

The King also suggested that groups such as midwives, male and female
prostitutes, alchemists and others form guilds as well.  He went on to
suggest that those groups, not now organized, should be assisted by those
that are.  This idea got mixed results mostly negative.  That was not
acceptable to the King, if necessary he would just make laws to regulate
such services.  Most of the objectors thought that was acceptable until the
king reminded them that once the state got into the business of regulations
all became fair game.  He pointed out that in other places, Venice and
Florence to mention two, presently unorganized groups like pre weaving
textile workers and dyers were agitating to form guilds.  Something we had
done long ago.

Karyakos pointed out that the most common occupation in the land was
agriculture, into which he included animal husbandry, winemaking, fishing
and the like.  He pointed out that few if any of these groups wished to
form guilds and that the existing guilds would be uncomfortable if they
did.

"It is in your interest to keep agriculture out of this as they would
become the largest and therefore the most powerful group.  We all must eat
and most of us enjoy wine and honey.  The makers of casks and baskets have
guilds the makers of that which fill them do not.  For these groups he was
proposing a different kind of guild.  One he termed an association.  The
charter of these associations would not allow them to regulate that which
needs no regulation or is covered by the State or guilds themselves.  They
would be able to recommend standards the members could follow.  He was
thinking more along the lines of education and a sharing of techniques and
practices.  We have done this informally for thousands of years, he said.
Breeders of animals or farmers of hemp, growers of olives have always
shared among themselves.

Regulation of standards or sharing of information and techniques that
benefit one group or another benefit the whole; unless one group gains the
power to control prices or exchange.  Giving a guild the power to regulate
the activities of its members comes very close to that.  Any monopoly
outside the direct control of the state poses a danger for a democratic
society, even one like ours, which is in fact an elected oligarchy.  That
is why your charters all specify you will act in no way that restricts
supply of the goods and services you offer the people of Parga.  In effect
the crown will regulate your monopoly power if needed.  That is also why we
control such things as the number of horses so that the plethrons of feed
or pasture, devoted to them, will not decrease food for people.  Same as
for plethrons of hemp and flax.  If by increasing the productivity of food
producing land, some of that can be redirected to hemp for example, you
rope makers or weavers may have more raw material and surplus products that
can be exported.  Since we raise a limited crop of these things, allowing
the price to rise during times of scarcity or fall during plenty will not
cause more or less to be grown.  We control this price as you know, which
must by necessity relate to the cost of production.

Word has come to us that in the Frankish, German and Anglo-Saxon lands they
have received so much rain and now snow, that most of the harvest lay
rotting in the fields.  Much of what was collected is rotting in the barns
unable to dry.  It has so far been a very cold winter.  If the next growing
season is poor, these places, whole duchies in some areas, will see wide
spread hunger.  Wide spread hunger is a precursor of pestilence.  Several
bad seasons will spell disaster.  Since these places are controlled by
nobles and most of the farmers are surfs, tied to the land, many will
parish.  The nobles and merchant classes are more mobile and can go to
where food is more abundant.

Those are larger lands, Parga is small and our geography not unlike the
island home of our distant ancestors.  If we dig deep enough into our
history we will find that everyone here is related to everyone else.  We
are one large family although we call ourselves a clan.  King Iason for
example is directly related to every major family in this clan and I am
related directly to most of them.  Because we are like an island, we are so
tied economically and culturally together that blood ties have become less
meaningful over time.  We, King Iason and I, work very hard to prevent
divisive elements and differences between us from succeeding; we must all
work just as hard to prevent social attitudes, faith based ideas and
customs of other places from causing divisions.  We pass no judgment on
their society, although we may greatly disagree with them.  We expect the
same acceptance of our society from them.  Some religious leaders will say
because this or that person believes differently from you he is less a
person.  We must ask ourselves can my brother, cousin, uncle be less than
me?  I say to you, no man, not even the king has the right to brake the
laws of the land, every man has the right to be wrong in his beliefs.

Something like a famine or great pestilence here will test us as a people.
Just as our ancestors pulled together in times of difficulty, we must do
the same.  They did so because they agreed to disagree about many things,
perhaps everything except their civic principals.

Our history shows no periods of long or difficult famine.  We do know poor
harvests and unfavourable growing seasons can and do occur; from our estate
records about every 11 years.  Fishing harvests have poor and good periods
as well.  We keep enough grains, dried fruits, nuts and so on in storage,
mostly on the State’s estates, to feed about half of our people
for a year.  I am no prophet and I hope no Cassandra.

What I see in the world outside disturbs me as much as it must have
disturbed our ancestors.  It looks as though few know anything about their
history and if they do know, have not learned any useful lessons from it.
Our best protection is the preservation of the meritocracy long established
here.

Guilds in other states, place more importance on heredity than performance.
Often they place more importance on power and greed then advancement of the
art.  This is a trap you must not let yourselves fall into.  As hard as it
may be for any master, he must recognize when his student has surpassed him
and honour that performance.  Better a man's sons choose other professions
than his and do well at them, than be forced into something for which they
are not suited...."

We pages were a little long in the council today.  When we returned to our
apartment we found Odo giving cock sucking lessons to two new 12 year olds,
the twins Kastor and Polydeukus.  He was using Dysme and Alexandros the
younger for them to practice on.  I was most impressed with his teaching
technique and with the results.  But I wanted Alexandros' long fat penis in
my bottom before dinner.  Iason and I interrupted the lesson and not only
got our butts fucked by two of the palace masters but our cocks sucked by
two very skilled twins.  While Alexandros and Dysme fucked us and the twins
sucked us, Odo made sure we were kissed and nibbled on frequently.  I was
going into higher and higher levels of delight when I blasted my load into
the young boys mouth.  These twins were the most natural practitioners of
oral pleasure I have yet seen.  Not that I am an expert yet.  After we were
done, while Dysme was getting them ready to play Ganymede for our men; they
told us that being twins they had always been close and slept together and
just always sucked each other's penises.

They sure did look good and so much alike that Dysme put colored leather
strips on their wrists to tell them apart.  Red for Kastor and Blue for
Polydeukus.  They sound just alike and even act alike.  They not only
looked like each other they also looked exactly like a young Karyakos.
Right down to the same little dimples and even a couple of small moles on
their chest, right above their left nipple.  These boys are my brothers,
for sure.  They were absolutely beautiful to behold, blond and blue eyed,
long of leg with small round buttocks.  They knew Iason quite well, having
been schooled together and played together while growing up.  He could tell
them apart but none of us could.

I wondered how they would take to me.  I was Karyakos’ adopted
son and a prince, they were his biological sons, all be it bastards.  Given
the way Kastor sucked me I think we will get along just fine.  I think
Ikaros had hoped Alexandros and Dysme would fuck him but Volos and Pyrros
are never very far away and always game for a good fuck.  Ikaros is that if
noting else and he truly is a lot more.  It is sad that he keeps his long
cock for the girls and won't share with us boys.  He was almost half way
through his half year term of service; Iason and I like him so much we have
asked that he be assigned to our household permanently.  The First Steward
comes for frequent inspections

I was most impressed with the twins' singing and playing and I wondered if
they were Dioskourol or youths of Apollo.


1313, the 1st month, 16th day:

I do not completely understand this boy to boy and boy to man sex business.
At least where I am concerned.  I sure like it and find nothing to dislike
about it.  Iason and I have a true passion for each other and that seems to
be growing stronger.  That I think I understand.  What I don't quite
understand is why over the past few months my personal desire for others
has only grown and not diminished.  At first it was new and exciting and
pleasurable.  It is no longer new but still exciting and my desire only
seems to grow with my body.  I know Iason and I are both early, most of the
castle boys our age are not able to ejaculate.  It just seems that a full
set of boy lips or a large penis on a man, perhaps a well shaped butt,
starts a desire in my groin that I can not, nor do not wish to, leave
unsatisfied.  I think if my body was able, I would engage in sex forsaking
all other tasks and duties to do so.  I must speak with my father about
this.


1313 the 1st month, 21st day:

Little of note has happened over the past four days.  Yesterday the Doge's
personal Representative arrived with several very handsome Venetian navel
vessels.  Admiral Pantaleon and his flag ship met them at sea and escorted
the little fleet into our harbour.  I assume our guests will not be with us
much longer.  Lugo will be leaving soon as well.  I will miss his company
and so will our guardians who have seen much of his well shaped butt and
stiff penis.  I am amazed at how perceptive Odo is.  He sized Lugo up and
identified him as someone who would be interested in boy sex, regardless of
what his culture and religion told him.  I am told the in Venice many men
engage in male to male sex but fewer than in Parga and most less publicly.
I am glad for that and so are our guardians.

I trust that now Lugo and Perum are business partners, Lugo will be at the
least an infrequent visitor.  Uncle Iason suggested to Lugo that he might
think about employing one of our junior officer Royal Guardsmen as a
companion, body guard and personal assistant.  He suggested Dario.  Iason
knows him reasonably well, as he like many others, grew up in the castle.
I found him a very pleasant young man.  Dario also speaks enough Italian to
get by and is a Christian.  Dario is very adapt with all kinds of weapons
and had trained with our four, who all praised his abilities and strength.
He has 17 years and a strong resemblance and closeness to Uncle Tertius.
Since none of us have family names like the Italians do, he would be known
as Dario de' Parga and Uncle Iason will grant him a title if Lugo thinks it
best, as well as a leave of absence from the Royal Guards, for as long as
he wishes to employ him, or he wishes to remain in Venice.

Ikaros told me Dario is a little on the shy and quiet side but he is a very
accomplished lover of both men and women.  He though him well suited to the
idea of travel and adventure.  Like all boys here he is well educated in
letters, numbers and the arts, his best being an ability to draw.  I take
that to imply he is a keen observer and notices details others often miss.
I now think I understand more about how our fathers manage to receive such
good intelligence from places like Venice and Florence, without having any
formal diplomatic presence there.

The Envoy did not make a presentation to the council this time.  Most of
the meetings with our fathers were behind closed doors.  We were invited to
one this afternoon.  The Envoy was making the suggestion that we form a
military alliance with Venice.  Our fathers were polite and flattered but
said no.  "We already offer protection to any Venetian ship entering our
waters and we would continue to keep pirates at bay and would cooperate
with Venice and others in that effort."  They pointed out that our army and
navy are just to small to do anything else but defend ourselves and any
that seek refuge here.

We were prepared to use our good offices with our neighbours in any efforts
to resolve differences and issues peacefully.

During the meeting wine was served to the Envoy, his group of officials and
ourselves.  Not us boys, we were given tea.  The Envoy inspected the
crystal goblets and decanter.  He was amazed that the hallmark was not
Venetian, but our own.  "This glass is as fine if not finer than that of
Murano.  How did you learn to do this?"

"Our glass makers have been producing this type of glass since about 1100.
When Prince Karyakos and I were boys, not much older than our
sons,” he pointed to us, “your predecessor ask our
fathers the same question.  At that time as now, an invitation was extended
to the guilds of Murano to exchange and share knowledge with us."  He
smiled and nodded his head.

"Are your guilds willing to share such knowledge?"  They were then and I am
sure will now.  I can tell you one of our secrets is the purest of sand is
found here.  It is not in great quantities but enough for our needs.  As we
both know, pure sand is only one factor and a commodity found in many
places.  If your guilds are willing, we propose to send a master glass
maker, a master glass blower and one senior apprentice each to Venice in
exchange for a like group to come here.  I would suggest they exchange jobs
for a year.  You will notice the stained glass in our windows is of
exceptional quality and colour and the clear panes are extraordinary clear
and lack much of the usual distortion.

We have been making reading lenses for hundreds of years from mineral
crystals of Quartz but during my grandfather's time our glass makers
learned to make glass like this crystal," he held up a clear goblet, "but
stronger, that can be shaped into lenses of extraordinary clarity.  These
occhiali (TN: This is an Italian term = eyeglasses or spectacles, it means
`it glances at them', that is what Arden used.  I have tended to translate
his Greek term as spectacles a tern that is often considered dated.) are
now made in Pisa and Venice as well as here.  You can see by looking at our
scholars, the ones from Parga look different than yours; in that the lenses
are held in a frame, that sits on the bridge of the nose and has struts
that slide over the ears, keeping them in place without pinching the nose.
At our new university, when it opens, we will have scholars devoted to the
study of a new field we called optikos and light.

Our markets are small and our production facilities commensurate with that
market.  Parga is not a threat to anyone's markets nor do we offer large
opportunities.  We do excel at innovation and the production of a limited
quantity of highly superior products.  Instruments for surgery of
exceptional quality and extraordinarily well decorated and of the highest
accuracy scales, survey instruments and astrolabes, for example.  We do not
wish to gather riches to ourselves or impose our ideas or will on others.

By the same mark (TN: Arden wrote mark but I think he means token.) we do
not wish to be imposed upon or exploited.  That is why we don't care if
others make and sell spectacles or even take credit for their invention, as
they have done in Florence.  What is important, is every citizen of Parga
that needs them, has them.  We are prepared as you know to sell surplus to
our needs; since we must buy goods and materials from other places; this
must not place them out of the reach of our citizens.  We do not have great
wealth or power like Venice or Florence.  Those of us that seek such things
must go elsewhere to find them.  Our goal is to keep our population in
balance with our ability to feed, house and provide for ourselves.  The
guilds here are chartered by the crown, as in other places they have a
monopoly on some economic, cultural or social aspect of the state.  The
crown reserves the right to regulate monopolies so they can not take unfair
advantage of the citizens or the government.  We also can intervene in
their operations should we see them placing unfair restrictions on
innovation or on those seeking admittance to their membership.

This discussion went on for some time.  It was obvious the Envoy could not
respond to our offer for technical cooperation, it was strictly a matter
for the guilds themselves.  We would send our own envoy back to Venice with
him along with the merchant ships and so on.

Just as we were shaking hands and finishing our meeting, the Alarm Bell
rang and almost instantly our body guards appeared at our sides.  King
Iason went to the window and looked intensely at the messages being flashed
from the harbour headlands.  Our guests could not see what it was he
studied.

"Three North African pirate ships are approaching from the south.  They are
making about 1 dolichos/ hour (1 stadion = 200 m, 2 stadion = 1 diaulos and
6 diaulos = 1 dolichos) and are 20 dolichos from the harbor entrance.  He
looked at the clock.  That puts them here at best by the 4th hour of the
new day.  Given that the sea breeze they now enjoy will become a land
breeze in a few hours I would guess they arrive at the 10th hour of the new
day.  Ouranos please have everyone stand down until further notice, thank
everyone for their quick response and have the captain of the guard make a
response report to Prince Tertius.  Shall we go and rest a bit before our
evening meal Envoy?"

This was very exciting for a bit.  I know the Envoy was very curious about
how King Iason seemed to have so much information so quickly and without
taking to anyone.  The Envoy had asked to meet the sculpture and poet
responsible for the wonderful statue of Ganymede that now graces the city
plaza.  Father invited him to dine with the Argoanuts and all of us.  We
extended the invitation to Lugo and the other members of his party.  Now
that the other three houses are away from the castle the Argoanuts had
given the solders dining hall back to them until their new one is finished.
For tonight we would use the Knights dining hall and include any of them
that wished to attend.

Everyone who was able showed up and the place was filled to capacity.  I
noticed Lugo had brought Dario so he must be thinking about the
King’s suggestion.  Kastor and Polydeukus were serving our
fathers and several experienced Palace Boys our guests.  The Envoy was
amazed at how young Odo and Goro were and the Argoanuts for that matter.  I
learned that Lugo was the Envoy's cousin's son and he mentioned several
time how appreciative he and the Doge were of our generosity and friendship
to their kinsman.

Uncle Tertius and Admiral Pantaleon joined us, late as usual but they did
bring the latest news of the pirates.  Along with their plan.  The Army
would deploy along the coast, our harbour defences would be made ready.
That was more exercise than necessity.  His three squadrons that were at
sea would close on the pirates during the night and in the morning cut off
any possible retreat.  As the tide would be running out at that time his
squadron and the Venice's, if they chose to join, would close the trap.
The pirates would surrender or be sunk.  Pantaleon thought the pirates
intentions were to try and take hostages to exchange for our prisoners.  He
figured they are both experienced and smart enough not to try and attack
like the Florentines.  We have all of our fishers off the water and will
keep any merchants, now at sea, away.  Since the pirates didn't see any of
our warships in the area, and have not yet been challenged, they will think
all is well.  We also suspect they believed the battle with the Florentines
was very costly to us.  The Florentines are not publicizing the devastation
their navy was subjected to.

The Envoy just had to ask how we knew when they would arrive and how we got
the message to our squadrons, which were all well out to sea.  Admiral
Pantaleon told him, "they only have two choices make for our harbour or
head away.  We know their course and speed.  We also know our ships have
two to three times their speed so it is simple.  If they decide to run
during the night we can still catch them in the morning.  At last light
they were still on the same heading, fighting the southerly running current
in this area, with winds as expected.  The only chance they have of saving
themselves is running now.  Once they are in my trap I will destroy them
once and for all.

But how can you signal your squadrons if they are out of sight?  Oh that is
easy, one can see from the deck of a ship to a maximum distance of 10
dolichos From a height of land to 12 dolichos.  Our squadrons are stationed
11 dolichos off shore and they keep their sails as low a possible making it
very hard to see them from far away.  I can not tell you exactly how, but I
can say it is based on principles laid down by our ancestors and available
to the pre Christian Romans.  Our navigational aids are so accurate and
refined that we can arrive at any point on earth within one quarter stadion
of latitude and if we can see our shores, to get accurate time signals,
less then one stadion of longitude.  We can predict our tides within a
quarter of an hour and one pous in height, under non storm conditions.
This we can do for any ports between Kalamata in the south and Dubrovnik in
the north.

Iason and I know the scholars have several instruments that can predict
with great accuracy the positions of stars, phases and position of the
moon, eclipses, positions of planets and so on with great accuracy.  They
told us these machines were based on the work of scholars and craftsmen of
Rodos from about 75 BCE on the new calendar.  These combined with our
highly accurate sundials, weight driven and water clocks and continued
astronomical observations, give us great advantage in predicting tides and
navigation in general.  These instruments are some of our closely guarded
state secrets.

Plotting a ships course and speed from the land is a simple matter of
triangulation, a combination of geometry and mathematics again from the
ancients.  We do the same thing to survey on land.  As long as we can see
it, we can track it.

One of the Envoy's associates asked if the instruments did the calculating.
Karyakos was much amused by this.  I could see it in his face.  "No, any of
our citizens are well enough educated to do it."  He pointed at a 14 year
old Palace Boy who came rushing over, returning a few moments later with a
paper and quill.  "I will lay out a problem for you Theodosios, while I do
that please tell our guests what you do here and how old you are.
Theodosios told them he was 14 and was a beginning apprentice stone
cutter/mason.  Karyakos hand him the problem, plane geometry and
mathematics, written in eastern numerals not Greek.  He quickly solved a
series of algebraic equations to reveal the direction and speed of the
mythical ship.  Karyakos thanked him and he was off doing what ever he was
on his way to when called.  "Every citizen of this land learns to read,
write, figure and some art form and/or music, male or female.  We want
every citizen to develop his or her talent to its maximum, that and only
that, is true prosperity."

Soon the singers and players began performing.  That is what Theodosios was
on his way to do.  The Envoy asked how we knew our ships were so much
faster than others.  "Ah, that lay in two factors.  First our ships have
something called a centre pinna (fin), they are narrower, need less ballast
and can cary much more sail.  Our sails are of the finest quality and can
be raised and lowered more quickly.  Even the lightest breeze is efficient
to move them.  That is why your navy is purchasing them from us."