37 New Policy 36

'Even if the skies were shorter than my knees, I would not kneel.' - Cyrus the Great

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-Babylon, 465 BC-

With the crowd of nobles and officers jubilant after receiving rewards for their service to the empire and its king, they quickly quieted down after Parnakka signaled that it was time to move on.

Parnakka, still reading off of the clay tablet in his arms, announced in a booming voice, "With the matter of rewards taken care of, it is time for this assembly's second order of business; new policy and legislation that will be implemented to ensure the dominance of our glorious empire."

Many spectators, hearing this, grew interested. After all, the King had two priorities: Conquest and producing an heir. So long as these two criteria were met, the upper and lower classes of the empire would be satisfied.

However, it was always seen as a blessing when the monarch took his duties a step further and provided wealth and prosperity to the populace.

Continuing on, Parnakka spoke, "Thus, King Artaxerxes proclaims: To alleviate the strain of war, taxes shall be halved for the remainder of the year. In order to curb the rising food crisis, water mills and farmers who use the newly introduced tools and methods will be subsidized by the Empire's coffers. Until then, food will be provided for farmers from the royal storehouses."

Hearing this, many nobles grimaced. Sure, this may benefit the lowly peasants, but for them? It was akin to stripping away their wealth.

"Acknowledging the burden this places on ruling satraps and noble landowners, trade tariffs between satrapies shall be halved for the duration of the year," Parnakka said, almost as if sensing the unease among the gathering of upper-class nobles.

Many in the room let out a breath of relief after hearing that the already exorbitant tariffs were lowered, allowing and facilitating more trade between satraps and generating more wealth for the empire.

Waiting for the hall to quiet down, Parnakka continued, "Moving on, King Xerxes, in his last years as King, issued many construction projects such as the Hall of a Hundred Columns, the enlarging of the harem palace in Persepolis, building the Darius Gate in Susa, and as well as the improvement and expansion of the Royal Road network to ease troop mobility and encourage trade. King Artaxerxes orders for all construction projects to be continued in honor of the late King's memory."

"King Xerxes also issued the Daiva Inscriptions, heralding all religions not regarding Ahuramazda as their chief god as heretical. Artaxerxes orders the Daiva Inscriptions removal and the resumption of accepting all faiths."

"Lastly, and arguably most importantly, is the military. By decree of the King, 10 new bloomeries are to be funded and constructed, where iron-scaled armor and equipment are to be produced. These new armors are to go to the King's new super heavy cavalry unit, the cataphracts."

"Cataphracts are to be recruited from the noble elite already proficient on horseback since childhood. Any noble son who joins the cataphracts is to receive the King's personal blessing and eternal honor and glory."

As Parnakka finished his last sentence, many young nobles and officers' eyes were shining with light. To receive the Kings blessing? Eternal glory? These words were the key phrases that summed up all of their wildest dreams.

Though not many understood much about this new unit, they understood it was a cavalry unit, and that meant it was noble since only the wealthy had access to horsemanship training. Even with the introduction of the stirrup, and peasants could easily be trained on horseback, Artaxerxes still wanted his empire's future generations of nobles to be militant and battle-hardened.

After all, from Artaxerxes' memories, it was the weakness of Persian military tradition that eventually led to its downfall.

"Furthermore, to ensure Persian naval superiority, King Artaxerxes issues the construction of 300 triremes, 50 quinqueremes, and the sum total amount of support vessels. Naturally, these warships are to be produced by our Phoenician vassals."

Currently, the Persian empire held a middling fleet of a few hundred triremes spread out along its coasts, used for the sole purpose of counter-piracy and to offer minimal resistance should Greece choose to raid Persia's shores.

Ever since the failure of Xerxes' greek campaign, Persia's fleet has been abandoned and left to rust. Artaxerxes thought it prudent to renew the naval arms race with Greece and establish itself as a powerhouse in the Mediterranean.

Catching his breath, Parankka finished his announcements by saying, "By decree, the aforementioned edicts are to be immediately put into place. May Ahuramazda bless the Empire. May Ahuramazda bless the King."

And with those words, Parnakka turned to the enthroned Artaxerxes and performed a courtesy, signaling the end to official business.

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-Southern Palace, Babylon, 465 BC-

Deep within the Southern Palace's majestic pavilions and pagodas, lay Artaxerxes on a wide sofa. Recovering from his months-long campaign, Artaxerxes had missed the comfort of peace and quiet.

Artaxerxes appearance was disheveled, his voluminous court robe loosely undone to the chest, its woven patterns of chevrons and rosettes fit into the splendid garden surroundings. Augmented lion heads that shone and chimed as he walked dangled on his waist. He wore fine silk trousers with gold ankle bands. His feet were bare and to finish the look, he wore lion-headed torques and bracelets with gold looped earrings. He truly looked like a god, a god of wealth and gold.

Atop, Artaxerxes on the extravagant couch was Damaspia, his consort, and Queen.

Damaspia had removed her veil, revealing her bewitching features, and was dressed in a loose-fitting gown that exposed her shoulders.

As clouds lazily floated along the crystal blue sky, and vibrant gardens surrounded their isolated palatial grounds, the couple was truly content.

"How was it, husband? Battle I mean..." Damaspia asked with an idle tone, content with laying in her husband's embrace and enjoying the evening.

"Ho? I quite enjoyed our battle last night." Artaxerxes replied with a chuckle, staring down at his wife laying in his arms.

"You know that's not what I meant!" Damaspia glowered with a pout.

Realizing his wife was being serious, Artaxerxes said, "It is different than the stories I grew up listening to as a child. More chaos and more death."

Having said this, Artaxerxes reminisced about the times of his youth as a prince and as a youth in the modern world. In both lives he had glorified war, telling himself that it was only on the battlefield that he could prove himself to those around him.

'How about now?' Artaxerxes asked himself.

Frankly, he still wasn't totally sure how he felt about war. He could still remember the adrenaline he'd felt driving his blade through a man. Both men were on equal ground, it was kill or be killed. His status as God King disappeared and it was just him and his blade against whatever advisory stood against him.

Perhaps that's why he relished combat, perhaps it was from the feeling of conquest, perhaps it was from a multitude of other possibilities that entered Artaxerrxes mind. Regardless, to stay sane, Artaxerxes decided to simply live as he chooses. Should he decide to conquer a neighboring empire, he shall conquer. Should he decide to make allies with a foreign nation, then he shall make an everlasting friendship.

Hearing her husband's response, Damaspia couldn't help but shiver at the thought of being sent to a battlefield, where every decision had the outcomes of life or death in the balance.

Upon further thought, however, Damaspia found an odd similarity between the mindset of being on a battlefield to being at court. Damaspia couldn't help but let out a giggle at the odd realization.

Seeing his wife laughing out of the blue, Artaxerxes asked with a curious expression on his face, "What's so funny Damaspia?"

Smiling at her husband's inquiry, Damaspia responded slyly, "It's nothing, my husband, I just found the clouds particularly beautiful today."

Clueless about this entire interaction, Artaxerxes could only think of one thing that seemed to baffle him frequently in both of his lives.

'Women...'