Vitus

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Vitus Palaiologos (维图斯)
Alias(es)	Anthony Doukas; Anthony 9 10
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Eastern Roman Empire; Tuna Legion; Attica Legion 34 129
Occupation/Role	Co-emperor; military commander; military reformer; former artillery commander and mercenary captain 9 127 129
Status	Alive; reigning co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire 127 128 223
First Appearance	Chapter 2: “Armistice” 2

Background / History

Vitus is the fourth son of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. Before coming to this world, he recalls being an idle college student with limited knowledge of the period; after arriving, he relies on remembered history, mathematics, and technical concepts to search for a way to prevent the Empire’s collapse. His early notes include attempts to reconstruct ballistic equations and designs for advanced artillery. 2

He spent much of his youth in seclusion at the Blachernae Palace, focusing on scholarship rather than martial training. This left him physically lean and pale, and his family initially considered him unfit for major responsibility. He received a broad upper-class education, including Greek classical studies, mathematics, law, theology, and Latin. 2 10 29

During a diplomatic journey through Italy, Vitus injured his ankle in the Apennines and was left behind at a Florentine manor. When the Noose Mercenary Group attacked, he escaped alone to Pistoia despite the injury. His defense of Pistoia became his first experience commanding a battle and revealed his aptitude for artillery warfare. 4 8

Appearance

Vitus resembles his younger brother Constantine Palaiologos, though his long seclusion initially left him leaner and paler. After years of campaigning, his frail scholarly appearance is replaced by a more capable and decisive bearing. 2 33

• Gaunt cheeks and sharply defined features. 27
• Neatly cut Roman-style hair and a clean-shaven chin. 27
• Often wears practical knightly or military armor rather than elaborate imperial attire. 5 127
• Uses a signet ring bearing his imperial identity. 10

Personality

Vitus is intensely pragmatic. He evaluates wars, alliances, weapons, and institutions in terms of cost, logistics, and long-term value. He refused peace negotiations during the Achaean campaign because abandoning the war would waste the money he had invested, and later rejected further North African expeditions despite their profit because of their casualties and harsh conditions. 38 71

He is intellectually curious and unusually focused on military affairs. Hunyadi notes that Vitus has little interest in gambling, hunting, or women, instead devoting himself almost entirely to warfare, artillery, and military theory. 26 He also applies this curiosity to industry, administration, mathematics, medicine, and education. 42 66 138

Though capable of ruthlessness toward enemies and unreliable specialists, Vitus takes responsibility for his own troops. He rewards soldiers with land, pensions, and captured wealth, and secretly provides financial help to legionaries and their families. 98 125 179

Abilities & Skills

Artillery Design and Firearms Development

Vitus possesses exceptional knowledge of artillery, ballistics, and firearm development. He uses incomplete remembered knowledge alongside practical testing, adapting designs to the available craftsmanship of the fifteenth century.

• Attempts to derive ballistic equations and create practical firing tables for artillery. 2
• Commands serpentines during the defense of Pistoia, organizing civilian caravan hands into gun crews. 8
• Proposes more mobile artillery with improved carriages and iron shot at the Di Maggio foundry. 12
• Orders modified Ribauldequin-style barrels as the basis for matchlocks. 34
• Oversees matchlock testing; the weapon can pierce weaker plate armor and is expected to defeat lamellar armor and chainmail at one hundred meters. 45
• Expands firearm production through the Andravida Arsenal and assigns captured Ottoman blacksmiths to cannon and barrel production. 46 98

Battlefield Command

Vitus develops from an inexperienced artillery commander into one of the Empire’s foremost generals.

• His first battle command relies on infantry advancing as cover for artillery, a deliberately simple formation suited to poorly trained militia. 8
• Uses wagon forts, scouts, and advance reconnaissance during the conquest of Achaea. 37 38
• Develops pike-and-shot square formations for the Tuna Legion, combining pikemen, matchlock troops, and artillery. 56
• Uses ambushes, terrain, artillery, and firearms to defeat larger cavalry-heavy forces. 63 80
• Reorganizes cavalry into heavy cavalry, light cavalry, dragoon, and horse-artillery formations. 219 245
• Plans campaigns around supply routes, defensive terrain, and the need to stabilize conquered territory before advancing further. 112 244 267

Military Organization

Vitus favors disciplined professional soldiers over feudal or temporary levies.

• Founded the Tuna Mercenary Group from Greek miners, personally recording their identities, issuing regulations, and equipping them with captured arms and armor. 22
• Turns the Tuna force into the Tuna Legion, with a structured officer corps including deputy commander, quartermaster, military tribune, and chief centurion. 102
• Rejects the Theme and Pronoia systems as obsolete in an era dominated by firearms and professional armies. 129
• Establishes field schools and personally compiled textbooks to train officers for new legions and auxiliary brigades. 223
• Creates garrison districts and limits hereditary military power by allowing long-serving military households to become ordinary citizens through a fee. 252

Governance and Economic Development

Vitus applies the same practical approach to civil administration, industry, and territorial development.

• Simplifies Achaea’s government by dividing it among three towns and appointing mayors, tax collectors, and judges. 42
• Organizes Morea into five administrative divisions and seeks to reduce dependence on imported iron. 65
• Improves iron smelting with Italian technicians and adapts production to local water and animal-power constraints. 66
• Develops workshops producing soap, wool, firearms, ships, and later bone china. 51 75 268
• Establishes new provinces and garrison districts in recovered Anatolian territory, including Galatia and Paphlagonia. 267
• Introduces mathematical methods to reduce administrative errors as the Empire expands. 142

Equipment / Military Assets

• Signet ring — Used to seal correspondence as a member of the Palaiologos family. 10
• Sword and plate armor — Carries a sword and regularly wears practical armor in the field. 2 5 127
• Serpentines and three-pounder cannons — Core artillery of his early mercenary command. 8 36
• Siege cannons — Used in the Achaean campaign and subsequent sieges. 15 36
• Matchlocks — Developed from modified multi-barrel firearm designs and adopted by his professional troops. 34 46
• Personal banner — Designed during the anti-@@REF_ENTITY_12251932@@ allied campaign to distinguish his command from other Palaiologos forces. 113

Relationships

• Manuel II Palaiologos — Father. Initially overlooked Vitus due to his secluded upbringing, but later recognized his military ability, entrusted him with the Achaean campaign, and elevated him to joint rule with John. 29 35 127
• John VIII Palaiologos — Eldest brother and co-emperor. John handles internal administration and diplomacy while Vitus is assigned responsibility for foreign conquest; the two generally cooperate despite political disagreements. 127 129 171
• Agnes Di Maggio — Wife. Their marriage joins the Palaiologos dynasty with the wealthy Di Maggio banking family. Agnes supports his military-industrial projects, manages workshops and finances, and raises their children with him. 27 34 42 179
• Theodore Palaiologos — Second brother and former Despot of Morea. Their relationship is strained by Theodore’s reluctance to fund or support Vitus’s early campaigns, but they later cooperate on defense and territorial administration. 37 45 64
• Piero — Leader of the Rotten Herring Mercenary Group and one of Vitus’s earliest mercenary associates. Piero provides connections, military advice, and troops during Vitus’s rise in Italy and Achaea. 20 22 36 38
• Marcus — Former Attican miner and early Tuna recruit. He becomes a trusted commander, leads wagon-fort troops, and later receives major responsibilities in Vitus’s armies. 21 37 38 151
• Damien — Tuna officer and close subordinate. He helps enforce discipline, advises Vitus on military matters, and later serves as deputy commander of the Tuna Legion. 34 51 102
• Phil Di Maggio — Agnes’s brother and Vitus’s friend. Phil introduces him to sword practice, accompanies him during his Florentine years, and later handles military supply business in France. 10 12 99
• John Hunyadi — Fellow commander and military interlocutor. Their discussions of cavalry, artillery, Hussite tactics, and strategy develop into mutual respect. 25 26 112
• Krezer — Former Hussite officer and military adviser. Vitus hires him for his knowledge of Jan Žižka’s methods, then promotes him to deputy commander of the Varangian Legion. 46 163
• Romanus Palaiologos — Eldest son and heir. Vitus personally broadens Romanus’s education with mathematics, military theory, administration, and firsthand campaign experience. 192 213 273

Story Role / Major Arcs

Italian Mercenary Years

• After escaping the Noose Mercenary Group, Vitus helps defend Pistoia and earns recognition for his artillery command. 4 8
• He accepts Giulio Di Maggio’s offer to serve Florence under the alias Anthony Doukas. 9
• During the Italian wars, he earns substantial wealth, gains practical battlefield experience, and forms the Tuna Mercenary Group from exploited Greek miners. 16 20 22 27
• He expands the Tuna force to four hundred men and travels to France as part of a Di Maggio business mission. 28

Return to the Eastern Roman Empire

• Vitus’s concealed identity is exposed when his engagement to Agnes Di Maggio is approved by Manuel II. 29 33 34
• After returning to Constantinople, he presents a plan to conquer Achaea and is promised the title of Despot of Achaea upon success. 35
• He recruits mercenaries in Italy, expands the Tuna force, and begins the campaign against the Principality of Achaea. 36 37
• Following the conquest, he establishes Andravida as his administrative center and begins rebuilding the region’s military, civil administration, industry, and defenses. 41 42 46

Imperial Commander and Co-Emperor

• Vitus transforms the Tuna Legion into a firearm-based professional force and leads major campaigns against Ottoman forces in Greece and the Balkans. 56 96 112
• After the recovery of major territories, Manuel II publicly divides imperial responsibilities: John VIII oversees internal affairs, while Vitus directs foreign conquest. 127
• Vitus is crowned co-emperor at Hagia Sophia but retains his old residence in the secluded Blachernae Palace courtyard. 128

Crimean and Steppe Expansion

• Vitus conquers Tauris, defeats Haji Giray’s forces, frees Rus slaves, and begins recruiting a new Varangian force. 151
• After Khan Qichihe’s death is falsely attributed to him, Vitus is forced into a campaign against Sarai to fracture the Golden Horde before it can retaliate. 163
• He settles allied nomadic tribes along the lower Don and develops Crimea through trade agreements, infrastructure, mining, agriculture, and military stud farms. 169 170 179

Anatolian Reconquest

• Vitus reorganizes cavalry, dragoons, and horse artillery while preparing for a large-scale war against the Ottomans. 219
• He leads the reconquest of western Anatolia, captures Sakarya and Bursa, and distributes recovered lands to soldiers, the Church, and imperial administration. 236 244
• He pushes into the Anatolian interior, establishes Galatia and Paphlagonia, and plans further advances toward the Black Sea coast and Trebizond. 264 267

Notable Quotes

“State affairs come first. Keep everything simple; have the chamberlain prepare it immediately.”
— Vitus, prioritizing the Achaean campaign over his wedding preparations 35

“I have no need to constantly curry favor with the outside world. Let them slander me as they please. I am used to it.”
— Vitus, on his public reputation 138

Trivia

• The Tuna Mercenary Group received its name because Vitus remembered enjoying tuna soup at a banquet and chose the name on impulse. 22
• Vitus initially disliked the idea of a personal banner, dismissing it as “gaudy nonsense,” until Damien explained its battlefield value. 113
• Despite becoming co-emperor, he prefers the secluded courtyard where he lived for more than a decade over a new imperial residence. 128