The death of Galerius was not a cause for celebration in Trier; it was a cause for intense, cold calculation. The news had settled over the Western provinces, and an uneasy quiet descended as the world waited to see how the remaining pieces on the board would move. In the imperial palace, Constantine spent his days poring over maps and dispatches, his mind sifting through the new realities of power.
Valerius's reports from the East soon confirmed his predictions. "Maximinus Daia moved first, Augustus," he said, tracing a line across a map of Asia Minor. "He has seized all of Galerius's Asian provinces, right up to the Bosphorus. Licinius has solidified his hold on the Balkan provinces in Europe. They have divided the spoils of the dead Augustus between them, and now they watch each other across the strait like suspicious wolves."
