Ioannes the kaisar befriended the Varangian guard in two, fearing for himself and his sons if Romanos returned to power. He divided them in half. One section was put under his sons, Andronikos and Konstantinos: at a moment of crisis, thinking the emperor was in danger, with clashing shields and loud war-cries they formed an impenetrable circle round Michael VII and led him to the upper part of the palace, where he was proclaimed sole emperor. The other section, under Ioannes' own command, concentrated on terrifying the empress Eudokia. Those with Eudokia, including Psellos, not knowing what was going on, were petrified, thinking they were in grave danger. Psellos gives an important role to himself: he protected the terrified empress, who veiled her head and fled to a distant place of concealment. Bryennios gives a similar role to Ioannes the kaisar, who persuaded her, for her safety, to leave the palace. Eventually it was decided to tonsure and banish her. Psellos is insistent that Michael VII opposed this decision against his mother, but other sources include him among those responsible