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The great meeting hall in Argolis resonated with the tightly bound energy
that was on the verge of release. Axeme Strategos Euchalyus motitioned for the assembly to come to order. He held the rostrum with one hand and began with other hand making a fist. "Great citizens of Arbor Graz
Since the escape of our people from the Medis many decades ago, no one has mentioned the Persian Tyrants intents these many years. Indeed we all must assume there are still wars in western mediterranean. I know this because even barbarians of those places must not favor tyrants to rule overthem. Unfoturnately those wars will come to an end and future Persian kings will look out to sea past the Pilars of Hercules. They may well try to find us. But that day is still very distant and in the here and now we can prepare for that day."

"The fruits of our labors here on this great Island have been paid for with
many lives, lost both to the enemies that surround us and the wicked
elements of winters grip. It has been a decade since we eliminated the last challenging Savages from our dear island. We are now many times larger than our arrival here. We cannot be complacent we must colonize
a larger space. This island while suitable defensively, cannot support many more doublings of our numbers, and as we have seen we are vulnerable to drougts without a riverine source of water. While our animals have adapted to our new world, clearly more pasture and less rock is desireable.
The sound which has protected us also is a great barrier to our future.
It would scandalize our forefathers that we have not built great ships of
battle and are satisfied with small boats for fishing and exploring. These
ships are quick and agile and are manned by our best sailors. But they
do not give us the capabilty of landing a more than 15 men with provisions
at a time. This is not acceptable. I propose therefore two initatives in
ship building. One, a new class a ship. An armed Scout if you will. This
armed scout will have the ability to carry 40 soldiers 10 horses and provisions for them for one month. I intend to make use of the coastal maps our sailors have drawn up portions at a time, one death at a time.
We are going up the great Cyrene River to its head and we are going to
know the land about it by force." "The other class of ship will be a colony ship" Each will be able to
carry 100 colonists. When we have determined an ideal location we will
lauch 30 of these ships and create at a single stroke the yolk of a second
greek state in this new world. By the godess in the heavens this will come to pass."

A thunderous ovation filled the hall. Eucalyus took his seat as the lesser polititians clamered to be first to support the new initiative. He tugged his coat tighter as the heating coals were fast fading. The cold he could live with it was the short winter days he could never get acustomed to.
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