Chapter 162

“Er… it will certainly be very popular!” Andrea said, shyly covering her mouth as she swallowed a delectable slice of lamb. “But,” she added, offering her own practical opinion, “this way of eating requires someone to constantly add wood to the fire. Tending the heat is rather troublesome.”

“You are right, Andrea,” Crystoia agreed. “That is why a meal of scalded beef and mutton will require dedicated attendants to serve the table, and we will charge a higher price for it. And it is not just for meat; you can cook other things as well.” As she spoke, she gestured to a nearby slave.

The servants immediately brought forth more platters: sliced beef tripe, lamb arteries, sea greens, and more. After blanching and tasting these new additions, the guests all agreed they were equally delicious.

At that moment, Davos turned to Vesba and Bagulos. “You see, when a sheep is slaughtered, the hide can be made into warm clothing, the bones can be boiled for broth, the meat can be eaten, the intestines can be made into sausages, and the other organs can be turned into a delicacy. Nearly every part of a sheep or a cow can be sold for a profit. With our full support, the Greeks will gradually develop a taste for beef and mutton,”—the Greeks, like the Romans, had a diet based primarily on grain—“and the Lucanians are the most skilled herdsmen. Your livestock is already famous throughout Magna Graecia. In the future, when your animals are in high demand by the citizens of our Alliance, the lives of the Lucanian people will surely improve…”

Vesba and Bagulos were taken aback. They had never expected Davos to use this meal to speak of the livelihood of the Lucanian people. That the Archon of a Greek city-state would concern himself with improving their welfare was both strange and deeply moving. For a moment, they were at a loss for words.

Just then, Davos raised his cup. “Come, let us drink!”

***

With novel and delicious food, a refreshing new drink, and the pleasant company of two beautiful women to enliven the atmosphere, Vesba and his son found the banquet to be an exceptionally pleasant experience.

After the meal, when the women had retired, the three men remained in the hall.

Emboldened by the wine, Vesba asked directly, “Lord Archon, what did you mean earlier when you said I could still be the chieftain of my tribe?”

“When you have completed your term of labor and become citizens of the Thurii-Amendolara Alliance,” Davos explained, “I will invite you to become a member of our Senate. There, you will offer counsel and protect the interests of all Lucanians living within the Alliance. Is that not the role of a chieftain?”

Vesba was tempted. During his nearly six months as a prisoner in Amendolara, he had come to understand one thing clearly: Davos genuinely wanted the Lucanians to stay. Otherwise, he would not have gone to such lengths to reduce their terms of service. He also knew that most of the young men in his tribe yearned to become citizens of the Alliance and enjoy a prosperous life they could only dream of in the mountains. But as their chieftain, he had his reservations. Now, Davos had offered him a promise.

Continuing to use the wine as a shield, Vesba spoke without his usual restraint. “For my people to become your citizens, according to your laws, it would take four or five years. That is too long!” he said, a note of dissatisfaction in his voice. He was not a young man, and every year counted.

“According to the Thurii-Amendolara Alliance Immigration Act, that is true,” Davos conceded. “To complete your labor, apply for preparatory citizenship, and then transition to full citizenship would indeed take four to five years. However, there is a special mission. If your tribe is willing to participate, upon its completion, I will petition the Senate to grant all the men of your tribe full citizenship in Thurii immediately. Not only would you become a senator, but I would also recommend Bagulos for a seat in the Senate as well!”

The pronouncement was stunning. Bagulos’s face flushed with excitement. Vesba was thrilled as well, but he was far more seasoned than his son. For Davos to offer such extraordinary terms, the mission could not be a simple one. “What is this mission?” he asked cautiously.

Davos looked at them both, his voice even and deliberate. “Chieftain Avenogis of Laos has allied with the Thurii-Amendolara Alliance. He is preparing to help us take the city of Nerulum.”

The words struck the two men like a thunderclap. They fell into a stunned silence. The Alliance was preparing to declare war on the Lucanians. To help the Alliance fight Greeks would have been no issue for Vesba and Bagulos. But to take up arms against their own people… it was a difficult emotional barrier to cross, even if inter-tribal warfare and massacres were tragically common among the Lucanians.

Seeing their silence but not outright refusal, Davos guessed their concerns and pressed his advantage. “In the future, the Lucanians under the rule of the Thurii-Amendolara Alliance will be treated the same as the Greeks. You will not only enjoy all the rights and duties of citizenship, but you will also be free to maintain your own cultural traditions and customs. The Alliance will not interfere; on the contrary, we will protect them.”

This touched a nerve. “Can we continue to worship the gods we revere?” Vesba asked urgently.

“Not only can you continue to worship them, but you may also build altars and temples to your gods. I have heard that you Lucanians have an important festival… what is it called… the Bull Festival?”

“The Festival of the Bull-Fighting,” Bagulos interjected. “A celebration where two bulls fight, to bless the prosperity of our herds.”

“After you join the Alliance, you can certainly continue to hold it! We will make it even grander and have our Greek citizens participate as well!” Davos said with genuine interest.

“Lord Archon, are you speaking the truth?” Vesba was deeply moved.

“I can swear it on the name of Hades,” Davos said, holding his hands open, palms to the sky, his expression utterly solemn.

His magnanimity finally won them over. If their culture, customs, and religion were to be preserved, then it was simply a matter of the great chieftain of the Lucanian tribes being replaced by the Senate of the Alliance and Davos himself. And if this could bring unity to the Lucanians, reduce the constant strife, and grant their people peace, then it was a noble cause.

Having found a righteous justification for his compromise, Vesba consulted briefly with his son. Then, he declared that they were willing to join the army of the Thurii-Amendolara Alliance and participate in the military campaign to capture Nerulum.

***

The next day, another emergency meeting of the Senate was convened. As the council hall in Thurii was not yet finished, the meeting, like the last, was held in Amendolara for the sake of secrecy. Early that morning, the carriage drivers, including Sorikos, transported the honored senators to the city.

There were two items on the agenda. The first was the treaty with Avenogis, which Axistes had brought back, personally signed. The impending war with the Lucanians filled the senators with excitement. The second item, however, was the proposal to grant Vesba’s tribe citizenship in the Alliance en masse.

Though the Immigration Act had already allowed many non-Greeks to become citizens or preparatory citizens—Marigi, sitting in the assembly, was a prime example—the idea of granting full citizenship to such a large number of Lucanians, the very people who had brought so much devastation to both Thurii and Amendolara, was difficult for many of the senators, especially the Thurians, to accept.

A significant number voiced their opposition. Polycletus’s words were the harshest. “This action by the Lord Archon is a grave insult to the feelings of the people of Amendolara and Thurii!” he protested loudly. “Does he wish to turn our civilized Greek city into a barbaric and filthy Lucanian mountain stronghold? Does he wish to make slaves of the very people who just survived a war against them?!”

Even Scombrus and Stromboli, who had begun to accept and support Davos, joined the chorus of opposition.

Antonios, Capus, Alexis, and others stood to defend Davos’s decision, arguing that the Lucanians were just as civilized and courteous as the Greeks. They had built the great road and had helped the Alliance defeat the Crotoniates. They truly wished to serve the Alliance.

“That is merely a stratagem by the cunning Lucanians to win their freedom!” Polycletus retorted. “In any case, you outsiders cannot possibly comprehend our suffering!”

His insult enraged the senators who had been former mercenaries. The debate devolved into a furious shouting match, and soon, they were hurling insults at one another.

Raphia, the presiding chairman, repeatedly struck the bronze bell, trying to restore order, but no one paid him any mind.

Finally, Davos was forced to rise. “Silence!” he roared. “Or you will be removed!”

The hall quickly fell quiet. Polycletus looked as if he wanted to say more, but he saw Davos’s eyes, sharp as daggers, fixed upon him, and he immediately lowered his head.

Davos surveyed the assembly. “Since you all agree that allying with Avenogis and capturing Nerulum is of great benefit to the stability of our western border and to preventing future Lucanian invasions,” he said, his voice ringing through the hall, “let us for a moment set aside our emotions and consider this question logically. After we have taken Nerulum, how do we propose to govern it?”

He paused, but did not wait for an answer. “According to the sentiment you have just expressed, to pacify Nerulum, our only options would be to either slaughter all the Lucanians in the city, or to enslave them and move them to Thurii, and then resettle the city with our own people. Is that not correct?”

This was the traditional method of the great Greek colonization, and the opposing senators had no objection.

“First,” Davos continued, “Nerulum is a mountain city, located in a region with little arable land, suitable only for herding. How many of our people, who love the sea, would be willing to move to a mountain stronghold with poor soil and low yields? I cannot say for certain, but I trust you can give me an accurate answer.”

Kunogelata, Cornelius, and the other more sagacious senators remained silent. No one else stood to reply.