abstract
| - Iakovitzes was a Videssian diplomat who negotiated several treaties with the empire's neighbors. He preferred boys to women, much to the disgust of one of his grooms, Krispos. He was famous throughout the aristocracy for his exceedingly sharp and sarcastic tongue, and may have (by accident) originated the Namdalener heresy of Phos' Wager while mocking a pair of Namdaleners for their love of gambling. During a diplomatic meeting with Harvas Black-Robe, Iakovitzes met the hardest negotiator in his life. He managed to get what he wanted (a tribute to keep Harvas from rampaging through Videssos for a year while Krispos fought a civil war), but when he haggled with the other man over what oath they should use to secure the treaty, he mentioned Phos, which Harvas took an instant offense. As a consequence, Iakovitzes' tongue was cut out and sent to Krispos, with the diplomat barely surviving his trip home due to the cut becoming infected. He was eventually healed of the infection, but his tongue could not be restored. Iakovitzes never regained his speech. Subsequently, he was forced to rely on a slate and chalk to write down what he wished to say. Despite this great handicap. Iakovitzes remained an effective adviser for Krispos well into the avtokrator's late middle age, when he was undoubtedly in his sixties or seventies. He was appointed to the office of sevastos.
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