'-Persia, Media, and the other lands of other tongues, of the mountains and the plains, of this side of the ocean and the far side of the ocean, and of this side of the desert and the far side of the dessert'- Darius the Great
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(Artaxerxes POV)
It had been a few weeks since the death of his brother and father, dubbed the night of the Red Apadana. It had been a tumultuous time for the empire.
Starting off, Artaxerxes knew he had to secure his position as King of Kings, undergoing a swift coronation in the same blood-stained Apadana his brother and so many others had died in.
After donning the ancestral gaunaka worn by his great ancestor, Teispes, Artaxerxes didn't waste any time to stabilize the empire and get his vassals under control.
In order to do so, he undertook a series of trials and tortured and murdered those who had a part in the murder of his father and brother. He also had to revise the main method of administration that had allowed such a massive empire to exist in this ancient era. And the answer to that revision was Satraps.
Cyrus the Great, his great-grandfather, had ingeniously developed a system to grant regions limited autonomy while also maintaining their loyalty and submission through a series of checks and balances. That being the creation of the renowned Persian KGB, the Eyes of the King.
This organization (now shortened to EoK) was responsible for supervising governors of the several satrapies in the kingdom and making sure their allegiance was to the King and, most importantly, that the tax was paid.
The regional governors of the satrapies would be given the power to make on-the-spot decisions that would need to be made in crisis or make decisions on the day-to-day affairs of the satrap that aren't significant enough for the King's attention. Should a Satrap want to raise an army he'd need to communicate with an EoK member, usually an aid sent to the Satrap to keep a close eye on things and ask for permission. Should the Satrap want to make any sort of commerce or inter-satrap trades, he would need the EoK's permission.
Each satrapy had a chief financial advisor responsible for taxes, and a head of the military, both of which answered directly to the king.
If there was any suspicion that the Satrap was disloyal and harbored rebellious intentions, the matter would immediately be reported to the King and planned measures for response would be taken.
By keeping the local princes/kings/governors thinking that there is more to gain by being subjects of the empire than against, the Achaemenids kept the empire stable, and their subjects satisfied.
It was the important obligation of the satraps to send the best produce of their provinces to the Great King. In taking possession of these gifts, the Persian monarchs would reaffirm their domination over the empire. The most symbolic of all these gifts - the gift of earth and water - represents a country's unconditional surrender to Persia.
Artaxerxes had watched the famed movie, 300, in his previous life and had always been curious about the Persian obsession over 'earth and water'. In a conversation with his mother as a child, he had figured out.
It placed the Achaemenids in a position of life-giver to his new subjects because he was considered to hold exclusive control over the natural forces that sustained life. The Great King would always travel with his own drinking water which had been sourced from a Persian river, the Choaspes River near Susa linked the king with his homeland no matter where he might be in the empire.
This is how the massive Achaemenid Empire stayed together, through efficient administration and stick-and-carrot tactics.
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Standing in the grand council hall of Susa, Artaxerxes stood amongst his chief ministers and senior advisors. The grand hall was supported by a dozen grand columns, decorated with the iconic Persian double bull capital. The walls surrounding the men were covered in mosaics of fantastical beasts brought to life with the vibrant glazed tiles.
"When will the preparations for the journey to Persepolis be completed? " Artaxerxes asked the men gathered around the round cedar wood table. One of the men stepped forward, the steward of the royal household, Parnakka, "My King, The preparations are nearing completion, by my estimates we will be ready in a week."
Hearing, this Artaxerxes nodded. Persepolis. It was the ceremonial heart of the empire, and going there was vital for the stability of the empire. At the moment, there was uncertainty and doubt as to what the situation in the empire was. All people knew was that the king died, then the heir shortly after. Then, rather than the second son, the third son inherits the throne.
To solve this unease, Artaxerxes planned to go to Persepolis for the Nowruz festival and summon all his vassals for the customary delivery of tribute. He would also bury his father in the royal tomb, Naqsh-i Rustam, as is every new king's duty in order to show his respect for the previous monarch.
As for his brother, Hystaspes, this was an issue that had plagued his thoughts, "Any news of my brother, Hystaspes? Any news of the affairs in Bactria?"
This question had brought about an uneasy atmosphere in the hall, for most men knew the fragility of the current monarch's legitimacy. A different man spoke up this time, the head of the Eyes of the King (EoK), Ur, "I've lost contact with the chief financial advisor and the head of military affairs. It's strictly against protocol to miss their routine check-up. They are either dead or imprisoned."
Artaxerxes grew somber, hearing such disturbing news, "Surely they are not your only eyes and ears in the satrapy."
"You are correct my King, other sources tell of farmers' sons taken from the fields and the blacksmith's fires turning the city of Zariaspa alight. Naturally, this cannot be verified." Ur said. The man was impassive and emotionless in his presentation - as if speaking of the weather.
After hearing this Artaxerxes realized that his once amicable brother was planning rebellion. Though they had been close once, he wasn't going to stake his life on naivety. Verifiable or not, Artaxerxes had long since learned to anticipate the worst. "Megabyzus, what are our current martial capabilities?"
Megabyzus was an intimidating man, though not as tall as Artaxerxes, he stood at 6'5 and weighed 300 pounds. And not fat mind you, but carbon fiber muscles and bulk. This man was also Artaxerxes brother-in-law, and the husband of his sister, Amytis.
Megabyzus had been a general who gained fame in the campaigns in Greece, establishing himself as a capable general and loyal ally to Artaxerxes' father.
Megabyzus gave the questions some thought, "If we were to rally all armies at our disposal immediately, it would amount to 50,000 warriors. Now, these are men whose profession is to kill, if we were to recruit from our reserves and conscript, we could triple this number in a year."
"And what of Hystaspes? Does the satrapy of Bactria bear a threat?" Artaxerxes questioned his brother-in-law. "Mm, If they scraped the barrel and gave every farmer a spear, then they could match our number. Mind you this would be an indisciplined rabble, with only about 10,000 trained warriors."
"But my King, this paltry force isn't a threat, it's the possible domino effect that could follow. Should Hystatspes march against you, he will rally other vultures seeing opportunity in the chaos."
All the advisors and ministers in the hall seemed to agree, but what option did they have? Sometimes brute force was the only solution...
"Hystaspes most likely already has a head start - thus - I want the entirety of our army raised immediately, including the reserves. I don't care if they'll be unprepared by the time to march, we need men."
Hearing this, Megabyzus nodded, and the other aides and attendants in the hall dashed off to begin the massive logistical coordination that was before them.
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-The night of the Red Apadana- (Flashback)
Aspamitres scurried through the winding city Bazar of Susa, having just escaped the Apadana where a blood bath was taking place.
'That fool, Artabanus. He actually dared to expose himself so openly'
Remembering his fellow eunuch and commander of the royal guard - Artabanus - Aspamitres could only grimace in distaste. Among the duo of eunuchs, Artabanus had always been the more loud and brazen, with Aspamitres being calmer and more composed, resulting in people usually overlooking him in the duo.
Aspamitres had never minded this, in fact, he enjoyed being out of the spotlight. After all, the main tactic used by the duo was to stay below the radar and steadily climb the ranks. That's how a pair of eunuchs had risen to become the most powerful men in the empire, through keen observation and calm patience.
However, years of power had dulled his companion's mind, making him act more and more foolishly, resulting in the catastrophe that Aspamitres was in at the moment.
Running away from the Persian capital with his tails between his legs, Aspamitrs could only lament the loss of everything he had worked for in his life.
About to be consumed by hopelessness, Aspamitres suddenly thought, 'NO! After all those years of hardships, after losing my... I refuse to fall into an endless abyss of loathing!'
"But what can I possibly do?" Aspamitres said aloud, having taken a break in his sprinting to catch his breath. Looking above him at the starry night sky, the moon in full display.
'That's it!' Having come to a realization, Aspamitres realized there was still hope, still a way for him to regain his lofty position of power...
'Bactria!'