Byzantine Stories (A Few Leon Weber Specific Story Desires, M lf F)

[Leon Weber]

Byzantine Stories

It's not exactly a secret to those that know me here on E that I am a huge history nerd and tend to prefer Historical settings over most other settings for Roleplaying. I've done a few modern settings, fantasy settings, etc but I tend to always come back full circle to actively seeking out partners to roleplay in historical settings, whether or not these stories are focused around our characters, or more focused on the setting they inhabit and using our characters as a force for change in the world they live in matters not, I love all styles of story within historical settings.

This particular thread is dedicated to one particular time and place in history that I have a very special love for, The Eastern Roman Empire during the Dark Ages all the way through the beginning of the Renaissance. Nowadays its most often referred to as the Byzantine Empire though this was an attempt by Western Europeans to downplay them as the true continuation of the Roman Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the founding of what would become Western Europe as we now recognize it, it is incorrect to try and separate them from their background as the Eastern Roman Empire.

For just a little bit of background the Emperor Theodosius I put a clause in his will that permanently bisected the Roman Empire into two halves with one of his sons taking rulership of each half on his death. The Western Roman Empire crumbled due to a large variety of factors but the East kept going strong until its eventual downfall in 1453 AD. Even though the west had fallen the Eastern Roman Empire considered themselves just as Roman as Caesar, Cicero, and the rest of their Roman Forebears. They maintained many Roman Institutions such as the Senate all the way until the fall.

With that out of the way I'm going to list all of the different Roleplays that I am seeking within the setting of the late Eastern Roman Empire in this thread, most of them will take place in or around Constantinople but they can take place elsewhere within the Empire as well. Please PM me if any of the listed scenarios seem interesting to you, and of course check my O/O's to learn what sort of smut I am into writing, and that which I am not.

Courting the Basilessa

To start out strong the first scenario I am looking for is the titular, Courting the Basilessa. Female Basileus (Emperors) were rare, not unheard of, but fairly rare. Normally they ruled in their husband's stead if their husband was ill or away on campaign, but occasionally a few came to rule on their own. Your character in this scenario would be one such woman, whether from the death of the previous Basileus or through whatever circumstances led to her rule she is now the Basilessa. Of course, this also means that it was considered paramount that she find a Basileus to rule alongside her as her husband, the key for many women in such a position of power was finding a man who was willing to allow her to rule independently without attempting to wrest power from under her nose. Matrilineal marriages would happen and often did in such cases. In this play, I would play as a foreign male noble trying to entice the Basilessa into a marriage with him and to show her that he could be of use to her both as a husband and a co-ruler without trying to overshadow her.

The Varangian

The Varangian Guard were the Elite Soldiers of the Basileus's bodyguards instituted first by the famous Basileus Basil II 'The Bulgar Slayer' of the Eastern Roman Empire. They were typically recruited from either the Kievan Rus or even further north from Scandinavia. Norse Nobles would often send their children to serve in the Varangian Guard to gain wealth and reputation. Though the members of the Varangian Guard were required to convert to Christianity on paper in truth many of them were Pagan's who converted because it was required of them to join the Guard, and would eschew their Christian Faith upon return to their homeland. Though with others the conversion stuck, it was often a mixed bag. In this play, I would play my character as a member of the Varangian Guard, who your character is can be discussed. A member of the Imperial family? One of the many women who work in the palace? Another Roman noble? A heitarea even? Who will guide this Varangian through the large and wild city of Constantinople?

A Stop in Istanbul

This story is a bit more free form and less specific than the other ideas I've had up until now. In this story, my character could be anything from a wandering mercenary to a merchant or a mere wanderer coming to Constantinople for the first time. Note that Istanbul is merely an old Greek term meaning "In The City" long before it was the name of the city in Modern Turkey. This story will have little to nothing to do with the politics or other grandiose themes that the other prompts deal with and will simply revolve around characters immersing themselves in the awesome city of Constantinople. At the time Constantinople was the largest city in the European and Middle Eastern World and it was an attraction for merchants, pilgrims, mercenaries, criminals looking to disappear, and all manner of folk from every corner of the known world at the time. Who our characters are, and what they will be getting up to is completely up for discussion. Maybe just the tale of a whirlwind romance between two star-crossed lovers, or perhaps a more involved story that gets into the shady underbelly of such a massive city? Who knows, but feel free to approach me with ideas on this one.

To Right a Wrong

This story is a bit more involved and definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea but that's okay. This one would involve my character being a member of the infamous Fourth Crusade that sacked Constantinople and attempted to supplant their own Empire in place of the Eastern Roman Empire. In this play your character would be a Byzantine Princess or other higher nobility from the Empire with a claim to the Imperial Throne and my character as mentioned would be a former member of the Crusade that toppled the last Basileus. Whether out of guilt or of love he would decide to help your character retake the Eastern Roman Throne, no need to go into too much detail here but that's the general gist of it we can work the rest out betwixt ourselves if anyone is interested in this plot.



Welp those are the ideas that I have for Byzantine Stories at the moment. I will update this thread in the future if I get more ideas and end up linking this to one of my larger idea threads but I wanted to make sure this one gets the love and attention it deserves.

PM Me please, do not clutter this thread, thank you!