The Epic Of Man...

[OzzyKP]

The Great Eastern War Begins

That morning General Ashoka led his troops out to the new Mongol city. They were caught by surprize though. A detachment of Mongol warriors garrisoned the city the previous night under the cover of darkness, just in time to provide some defense to the city. Instead of entering an unarmed village as planned, they had a fight on their hands.

The warriors were well trained and fought hard, but did not have a chance to prepare proper defenses for the settlement and were overcome by the superior strength of Ashoka's chariots. The battle was short but fierce.

Ashoka had no use for prisoners, and instructed his men to burn the city to the ground and spare no one. This battle was meant to send a message to Mongolia and that is what he intended to do. Ashoka personally cut off the head of the Mongol commander and had it delivered to the Mongol capitol.

"Negotiate or face the same fate."

He sent similar "care packages" to other Mongol cities hoping to strike a blow at their troop's morale. India would not be pushed around.

Ashoka camped out along the river to attend to the wounded and await further orders.

[The Capo]

THE FALL OF ROMVLVS LATINVS

House of Latinii...

Remus Latinus charged into Romulus' room, where he was sleeping. He was enraged, his bloody sword ready for another kill.

"Wake up you murderous prole!" he barked at his brother, who stirred, Remus grabbed his arm and tossed Romulus to the floor. "Look at me you dog!"

Romulus opened his eyes "Remus, what in Budus' (Buddha) name are you doing?"

Remus kicked him in the ribs so hard he rolled onto his back, Remus pointed his sword into Romulus' throat.

"I know what you've done, I know what mother has done. She's dead Romulus, and so are you! Now tell me you had nothing to do with this!" Remus was angry, and Romulus recognized this; he had to live, he was the Proconsul of Rome! He knew he could convince his brother he had nothing to do with Aeneas' murder.

"Remus... please, listen to me, take the sword from my neck." Remus stared at him for a second "Brother, listen to me, I don't know what has come over you."

Remus slowly withdrew his sword "What do you have to say for yourself Romulus? It better be good!"

"I don't know what you are-" he was quickly interrupted.

"Shut up! Mother told me everything, about Leartes, about Turnus, about your conspiracy with her to kill father, I just want to hear it from your mouth before I end you." Remus explained.

"Listen, just relax, she's lying." Romulus slowly stood, holding his hand out "I don't know what you are talking about, here, just relax let me put some clothes on." he slowly inched towards his toga.

"Stop right there!" Remus said "Why would she tell such a lie? What would her motive be?"

"I don't know, clearly she wanted our father dead. Do you think she wouldn't sink to setting us against one another?" Romulus explained, still moving towards his clothes.

"No, you are a liar just like she was." Remus yelled.

Romulus ran and grabbed his sword, he knocked the bed-table over to block Remus' path. "Stop there, I'll run you through, just relax." Romulus said.

"I will NOT RELAX!" Remus bellowed, he kicked the table into the wall "Come here you traitor!" he charged Romulus, who swung his sword knocking Remus' to the floor, it slid into the far wall. Remus again lunged at Romulus, but again Romulus side-stepped him and drove his sword into Remus' back.

"Ugh," Remus grunted as he fell to the ground, "You'll pay for this Romulus." he said, as he crawled towards the door, Romulus calmly approached him and placed his foot on Remus' back, then pulled out his sword.

"I won't brother, I won't." he said as he drove the sword into the back of Remus' neck, killing him.

Just then the door burst open, it was Flavius Julius with three soldiers "Romulus Latinus, I arrest you in the name of the Senate and People of Rome for conspiracy to murder Aeneas Latinus, the murder of Remus Latinus, and treason against the Senate and People of Rome..."

One Week Later...



Romulus Latinus was found guilty of all charges by the Senate and the oration of Aulus Iunius. While Romulus seemingly was a great leader and defeated the armies of Brennus and their attempt to sack Rome, and finally finished settlement of Gaul, Germania, and Spain, he would always be remembered as the most vile leader in Roman history. For his heroism in the war against the Gauls Flavius Julius was given the governorship of Spain. Scipio Africanus was named the third consul, creating a new triumvirate; Gnaeus Brutus, Scipio Africanus and as the new Proconsul Titus Pompeius...

[The Capo]

THE NOTES OF CRASSVS BRVTVS

I. The first day of our expedition was exhausting, Proconsul Latinus had somehow convinced the Russians to allow us passage through their lands in the Balkans. I have to say the Serbs and Greeks are among the most filthy of barbarians I have ever come in contact with. Our mission is to reach the lands of India and report on the impending war between India and Mongolia. Romulus believes it is wise to extend Rome's influence to this part of the globe, but in my mind he simply wants me out of Rome. I worry for my father, he is old and this ambitious prole wants him dead. I hope nothing bad befalls the house of Brutii.

II. It has been a long time since my last entry, I spent a lot of time surveying the lands of the two great rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. Such lush soil would be perfect for Roman settlement, and after some discussion with the Russians and Azadines of Africa I believe this could become a reality. We tredge on though, their are mountains in our midst and we must either find a way around them or attempt to cross them ourselves, our great Proconsul hasn't equipped us well for this journey, and it merely adds to my suspicions.

III. We have finally reached India! Well, we have made it to their territory at least. According to the people here their empire expands thousands of miles east to the great ocean. Their President has offered us safe passage through their territory, so we shall see how things are done in a foreign land.

IV. (There is nothing but strange writing here)

V. The Indians have been gracious enough to let us pass through their capitall, which boasts an amazing monument; they are large pyramid-shaped tombs for their Kings and nobles. They are constructed with pure white Marble and Ivory, with golden caps which reflect the sun's rays. Quite a splendid scene. We have been told that our journey to the lands of Japan will not be much longer, but there are dense forests to the east.

VI. This is entirely a military report. The war with Mongolia was started by the Indians and Japanese because there seems to have been a territory violation of some sort, my translator hardly knows any Latin, but has a good grasp of Russian so its difficult to translate perfectly. The King of Mongolia is said to have called for the demise of India, in some form of religious struggle, its difficult to tell exactly what is going on. Japan joined because of a similar Mongolian incursion into a land called China. This 'China' is said to be beyond the Mountains and Jungles, we are currently headed in that direction but have been warned to be wary of Mongolian axemen.

VII. Wine is good.

VIII. We have been in the jungles for a while, we may be lost. If anyone finds this please send word to Rome that Crassus Brutus and his expeditionary force did not make it.

IX. How I wish I could destroy this document. We were all starved and diseased until we reached Japan. We were given some cure for our ailments, namely food, but we have lost many men and the legion wishes to return to Rome. The Japanese are not very friendly to us, but the war seems to be over. Hopefully we can return to Rome intact. I hope everything goes well, I will be so happy to see the city again, even if it means running into Proconsul Latinus...

(Crassus Brutus was sent by Romulus Latinus to bring back a report on Asia. He returned only to find that Titus Pompeius was the new Proconsul, Crassus Brutus became the governor of Antium upon his return...)

[OzzyKP]

The save from Session 2:

[The Capo]

HOVSE OF SCIPII, ROMA...

It was a relatively cold night in Rome. A Russian dignitary, Vasili Pochenko, was expected to hold audience with Praetor Titus Pompeius at any moment; things were tense. For the past few centuries Roman-Russian relations have been very wary and cold. No trades, or deals were truly made as the two people barely recognized the other's existance. The leadership of Romulus Latinus was partly to blame, his expansionist policies included one of isolationism as well since he didn't want Russia to know where Rome intended on expanding to and perhaps causing them to beat them to it. Ultimately it didn't matter.

Titus Pompeius wanted to send a representative before granting an audience for two reasons; the first was that it made him look more important and powerful, and the second was because he wasn't sure what position to take on certain issues. The Russians had expanded quickly into the danube valley and the Slavic areas of Europe effectively blocking the Romans from movement into Asia, or even out of western Europe. He had set up an emergency meeting of some of his most trusted advisors and allies in the senate; his nephew Scipio Africanus was a consul in the senate, and Aulus Iunius was another close friend from childhood. Cassius Carbo was there, but he was to be sent to meet Vasili once he arrived within Scipii territory.

"We must establish positive relations with the Russians if we are to be safe! As long as we strike a positive chord with them the safety of Roman territory will be established. The Gauls have fallen, the time is now to establish our territory and develop our lands." Scipio Africanus was against further expansion without establishing the current territory. Most Roman cities were unconnected with roads, or ill-defended with small groups of warriors. Roman augers have discovered a new way of making armor and weapons by using Iron, which would be stronger than the bronze that was used by the Gauls and many other armies in the world.

"While that may be true Africanus, we don't have the means to barter with Russia on certain issues. Can we allow them passage into Roman lands? Why would they want them? There is nothing beyond our border, it is securely Roman. If we allow them in, that changes, their influence is already at our doorstep in Antium, and in Narbo Martius. We can't allow their culture to trickle in any more. They would understand that, right now we have a big mess to clean up." he began pacing, Aulus always did this since he was a child. He was known as a man who thought on his feet, in actuality he constantly practiced speeches for things that hadn't even occured yet, the man was mildly eccentric.

Just then a soldier entered the room, "The Russians approach." he said and stood at attention.

"Very well legionary" Cassius Carbo rose "I shall see you in a moment, what are my orders?"

"They must understand that Rome's biggest concern is security of territory. That way we all understand what is in our better interests. Germania, Gaul, Celtebria, Hispania, Asia Minor, Hellas, Judea, and Assyria. These lands are what Rome strives for, and this must be made clear to King Stalin." Titus Pompeius said, he thought for a moment. "Make a big deal about our religious similarities, remark about what Budus would do, and oh yes. Legionary give him your helmet."

The Legionary slowly took it off and handed it to Cassius Carbo. Cassius looked up at Titus.

"Well, put it on. It makes us appear to be ready for battle. If it was our military victory over Brennus they admired well enough to send a representative, perhaps they respect a military tradition."

Cassiucs Carbo nodded "I shall return Domini..."

Vasili had simple orders from Russia; they wanted good relations with Rome, they got the territory they wanted and now was the time to deal with the Romans. It wasn't that Russia necessarily didn't like Rome, it was more that they weren't sure how they would fare against the Gauls and didn't want to waste any resources on a doomed country. But the Romans attacked the Gauls from two sides with two armies and ended the threat, now Rome was safe to trade with.

"I see an entourage of Romans approaching the gates, I don't think we need all of the weapons." Vasili said to his escort, they were assigned to protect the ambassador from any foul play.

"Salve!" Cassius Carbo said with a smile as he greeted the Russians, he opened the gates himself his troops standing closely behind him "I apologize for meeting you in these conditions, as you know our former leader; Praetor Romulus Latinus has been arrested for committing murder, it was a terrible turn of events. So I am representative of the Senate and People of Rome, Cassius Carbo."

"Greetings from Russia Cassius Carbo, I am Vasili Pochenko, and I represent King Josef Stalin of Russia." he gave a courteous bow, Cassius akwardly replied with a bow.

"We are interested in the purpose of your visit to the Proconsul's home." Cassius sad, "The Senate would simply like to know what your intentions are in Rome."

"Understood, these are our intentions. We simply wish to speak with your leader, and congratulate your people for their victory over the dreaded Gauls. We have issues in Russia with the huns. We believe Russia and Rome could be strong partners."

"Yes," Cassius was pleased to hear this, because it would make his job a lot easier "Rome feels the same way, we see no reason why we can't cooperate with eachother. Our borders meet, and yet we have little to no relations."

"What type of agreement does the Roman Senate suggest? We understand that there has been some sort of change in leadership since the war?" Vasili asked, part of his mission was to find out why the reign of Romulus Latinus ended so abruptly.

"Yes, unfortunately our prior Proconsul, who was made Praetor because of the Gallic invasion had be to arrested for murder, it was a sad story but the Senate lives on even in his absence, and we had two other Consuls to choose from. Proconsul Titus Pompeius resides over the Senate, and here in this villa. We wish to clean up the mess made during the war, so our foremost concern is an agreement of territorial concessions for both sides. Rome will agree to no more expansion into Europe, namely East and north. Well, except for Britannia, we believe we can secure that island, and should, as Russia has locked us into Europe for thousands of years.."

The Russian stood and thought for a second, and smiled "We can agree to that, as long as the Romans stay on their side of the border, we can allow those lands to be Roman."

"What about open borders? If we shared open borders Rome could explore the rest of the world, but we are bottled up in Europe, we must be able to pass Russian lands to make new discoveries." Cassius continued, he felt good about his chances here, for whatever reason the Russians were cooperating.

"Do you speak of Turkey?" the Russians said.

"Asia Minor, yes, the lands you call Turkey. And Greece for that matter, the Slavic lands are yours by virtue of your similar cultures, but the lands of the Greeks should be ours by that some token."

"Russia doesn't see a problem here, you musn't expand past the Caucus mountain-range, all land north of that is Russian and only Russian." Vasili didn't see this as a concession, Russia had no interest in expanding into the Middle East, and if it made Rome feel like they got something out of the deal he would give it to them.

"Agreed."

"Finally, we would like to send our wisemen to Rome to discuss the sciences with yours. We believe to establish friendship, we must share with eachother. The more we can learn from eachother the better our bond will be." Vasili smiled, Cassius couldn't help but mistrust this Russian, why was he being so helpful?

"Very well, please stay in the house down the street, I shall send a detatchment to escort your men there. Tomorrow we are having the triumph in the center of the city. It will be a day of celebration, a day of eating and drinking and we insist you come. There you will have a meeting with Proconsul Pompeius and we can discuss the future of Rome and Russia." he said proudly "Oh yes, I musn't forget. We will execute Brennus, the leader of the Gallic scourge, that is unless you and your men have problems with a little blood and death."

Vasili knew he had to except the offer "Yes, we shall celebrate with Rome, the demise of a barbarian horde is mutual to all civilized people..."

[deity]

Originally posted by deity
Lizard perused the latest piece of intelligence.

Knowledge, peace and harmony...

But these scouting Azadine warriors never returned home - killed in the pass it is believed. BUT by whom?

"And you just watched them then?"

These words echoed in Lizards 'ears'................

There was a blinding flash! The Universe lurched and a time space vacuum was created... it was no more, yet in it's place was a planet strikingly similar... familiar names... familiar problems...

Lizard was quickly catching up with the affairs of the Azande on this planet. Confusionism (!) still reigned supreme but the holy city was now Azande River, leaving the kingdom of the lower Nile with less power.

Lizard was in prayer to his God when news of far away wars reached him. His cold blood coursed through his veins. Mongolia had decided to take on the world! But in another blinding flash the Universe lurched once more... and.. it was another place, again... There was a deep disturbance here; extreme lack of stability; extreme behavior by rulers on this world who saw themselves as king Makers and as Gods!

So be it! Lizard formed a new mission in his mind.

The 'new' ruler of Mongolia was peaceful and had sued for peace with India and Japan. As a gesture of support, and in an effort to assist in restoring some balance, Lizard did offer free technological support to Mongolia.

An ill wind blew throughout Asia and a strategic, friendly and peaceful relationship was further cemented with Rome and Russia. Huge, idle armies lay to the far East and all nations must be vigilant.

Until calmer heads prevailed Lizard's main thought was to use his technological advantage sparingly; and in full knowledge that peaceful uses were applied with such technologies.

It is now AD 510 - a new age was beginning, again.

The stars seemed stable now...

[The Capo]

THE TRIVMPH OF TITVS POMPEIVS

Outside of the House of Scipii...

There was a knock at Vasili's door as he prepared for the day's celebration. In his mind the greatest thing he could bring back to Russia was information about the way Rome operates, that way they could better deal with these backward people from the west. "Enter." Vasili said plainly as Cassius Carbo entered.

"Salve Vasili." he said as he approached the diplomat with a large smile on his face "It is a great day for a triumph. I hope you are prepared, it will be a long day."

"I am excited sir, finally we can celebrate the end of the Gallic hordes." he grabbed his cloak, "Shall we go?"

Rome, the Curia...

"The best thing we can do now is show him a good Roman time!" Scipio Africanus remarked as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"Yes, this is true." said Quintus Latinus, he was very old now and sickly, the demise of his family was a terrible burden on him, and in honor of the old Latinii name he was allowed to maintain his seat in the Senate. "The gods shine favorably upon us this day, and the Russians will appreciate such an event. It will make Rome look more powerful than it truly is."

Gnaeus Brutus whispered something into Aulus Iunius' ear, and Scipio noticed "Gnaeus." he said "Is there something you'd like to say?"

"No, that is why I whispered. Young Scipio." he responded, he was discouraged that his family gained nothing from the demise of the Latinii, Crassus Brutus was his son and he expected Brutii stock to rise.

"He was only talking about the triumph and didn't want to interrupt the discussion, that's all, everyone should relax its a day of celebration..." Aulus Iunius replied.

Meanwhile, near the city-square...
The newly dressed praetorian guard began to make its way into the center of the city, Flavius Julius was overseeing the operation and was happy he had become so successful recently, despite the death of his friend Remus Latinus "Alright men, two more blocks to go and we put on our warfaces! This is important cargo we have here!" he said looking up at Brennus, who was tied to a post with a noose around his neck.

Placus Americus, a Centurion, rushed up to his commander "Flavius, err, General, I have word that we must delay our enterance into the city's square!" he yelled over the sound of the clanging armor.

"What is it Centurion, I can't hear you?" Flavius asked.

"I said, I have orders, we can't continue so quickly, because the ambassador from Russia is going to make his entrance before us!" Flavius heared what Placus had to say and placed his hand in the air.

"Halt!" the soldiers slowly came to a stop. Flavius took his helmet off and turned back towards Placus again.

"The what?" he simply asked.

"I said the Ambassador of Russia, he is coming today. He is going to enter before us, and we are to enter after him." Placus replied.

"Well, when do we enter?" Flavius asked.

"They didn't tell me dominus." Placus replied.

Flavius thought for a moment, "Well Centurion, go find out and return quickly, we don't want this Gallic prole escaping on us do we?"

Outside of the Curia...

The crowd had gathered, and the scene was brilliant; there were children playing and music blaring over a grand feast with boar, beef, lamb, and seafood. Old music from the tribal era was popular, and everyone was drunk. The Romans had been dogged fighters against a Gallic threat that had a technological advantage, and finally they could celebrate what they considered guaranteed peace and stability within their country. There was no longer a fear of death anymore, they had gone from a tribe of Latins on the run from the Etruscans to the masters of their own fates, it was bigger than the people at the triumph imagined. But it didn't matter, today was for eating, singing, dancing and drinking.

The Russian diplomat made an enterance first, with a horribly done rendition of what the Romans believed was the Russian national anthem, but was in actuality a Russian drinking song. To the end of his days Vasili Pochenko would always remember this as an oddity, not realizing Rome truly meant great admiration by the act. He was escorted to the enterance of the Curia and was placed in a seat next to Senator Scipio Africanus "Salve, pleasure to finally meet you." he said, extending his hand, the Russian shook it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Senator Scipio I presume?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes dominus, I am the nephew of Proconsul Titus Pompeius, you don't know how much of an honor this is, to have a dignitary such as yourself here to witness one of our greatest days."

Just then the trumpets blared, as both men turned quickly. A gateway was open under a newly built arch, three rows of young beautiful women emerged throwing rose petals and dancing, the trumpets again blared as two large oxen pulled a cart holding King Brennus of Gaul. The crowd went into a chorus of boos, as they pelted him with tomatoes and other assorted (and quite spoiled) vegetables. Then came the legion of praetorians, all dressed in their new iron-made armor, they had yet to see action but the entire crowd was silenced in awe. The real army that won the Gallic campaign was a rag-tag group of hunters, warriors, and farmers. This legion looked nothing like it, Flavius Julius proudly wore his helmet and smiled as he waved to the crowd. Roses were thrown at their feet as the legion passed.


Then it was time for Proconsul Titus Pompeius, who entered on a chariot. He wore laurels as his men carried various standards, and the ceremonial fasces (a bundle of sticks tied together with axeheads, to symbolize the unity and strength of the Roman people). He waved proudly to the crowd. He then left the chariot and walked up the Curia stairs towards his throne, the crowd cheered in approval. Vasili Pochenko rose from his seat and clapped, as did the others seated around the Consular throne, Gnaeus Brutus and Scipio Africanus greeted Proconsul Pompeius as he stood before his throne. He then turned to the crowd again and raised his hands in victory, there was a loud chorus of cheers again from the assembled audience as they filled in the area the parade vacated. Titus then stood watching over the crowd, he was pleased in the position he had gained, and he knew he could do great things for the people of Rome. He cleared his throat as the crowd silenced itself...

"Romans! Today is a day of celebration" Titus began "We have defeated the maurading Gauls once and for all! We have established friendly relations with the great kingdom of Russia, and secured Roman peace for centuries to come! There is much left to be done, the tyrannical rule of Romulus Latinus left us with a penniless and powerless nation, far flung, and unweidly. Our settlements in Celtebria, Gaul and Germania still have no roads to connect them to our great city. We have barely begun to increase our military prowess, and there are issues of scientific development and foreign diplomacy to address as well. So Romans, there is plenty of work to be done yet, this must serve as a day of celebration and of forethought, tomorrow is the begining of Rome's rise to greatness, and I invite everyone here to join me and the Senate in such a goal."

The crowd cheered in approval, as Titus Pompeius smiled. Things finally seemed well for the empire, and while things may have seemed so grim there may have been no getting out of it, Rome prevailed and their empire preserved. "Now then, the next order of business is the stinking Gaul over there!"

The crowd began to boo Brennus, who couldn't understand the words that were being said, but he knew what they meant; his people were now under Roman control, and there was nothing more that could be done. Their heroic march to Rome only ended in their defeat up and down the Italian penninsula, their army (which was comprised of their tribe's greatest warriors) was crushed underfoot. Now only women, children, and a few elderly men were left to defend their camps which were no doubt being overriden by the Roman scourge. Death was nothing now to him, if anything it was deliverance from his shameful fate. He was a failed king, and now he would get what he deserved.

Titus lifted his hand into the air and clenched it into a fist at the crowd's approval, Flavius quickly gave the signal and the oxen were made to pull the rope, squeezing against the back of the post and pulling the rope tight around Brennus' throat. The crowd watched in silence as the Gallic King slowly suffocated to death, his face growing pinker and pinker until it took on a more purple tone. Vasili Pochenko looked around at the assembled Roman nobility, they all watched intently like ravenous vultures. Vasili noted this affinity for violence that Romans had as a reason for the murders that plagued their history. The crowd burst into applause as it was apparent, once and for all that the Gauls would never trouble their empire again. From now on Rome would be safe from any internal tribes trying to deny them their empire, from this point on only foreign powers would ever again threaten Rome...

[OzzyKP]

*sigh* well the game is dead and over, and no one noticed all the movie quotes I intertwined into my great "Two Kingdoms, One People" post despite my bribe. So since I'm all annoyed that I spent a whole lot of time writing this post and making every effort to put a lot of great quotes in here and make them work seemlessly with the material I'm going to point them all out to you punks who couldn't come up with them. Do people even read my posts? Or is my humor too subtle for y'all and you need things spelled out for you?

Anyways, now I'm gonna spell it out, cause this post (imho) is too much of a classic to let it fade away unnoticed and unread.

The following scene is one where the breakaway Jewish leaders of India are discussing what to do about the Hindu King and the people of Delhi. (explaining my in game decision to switch to Judaism for a few turns which was really done to expand the borders of Karachi, but as this is a well crafted Diplogame I made a storyline to accompany that in-game decision).

So the Jewish leader is Moseshadev, obviously modeled on Moses with an Indian twist. So since the most famous Moses is Charleton Heston's version of him in the 10 Commandments, I decided to slip in lots of movie quotes from Charleton Heston. Since no one read carefully (or at all?) enough to pick them out, I've bolded them all:

Originally posted by OzzyKP
Two Kingdoms, One People

The days after the Jews' exodus out of Delhi were turbulent times. Lord Bhishma who had lead his people since for many generations, was killed in the raging waters of the Indus, leaving no heir. With him, much of the army of Delhi perished.

At this point a great debate began among the leaders of the newly formed Karachi on how to proceed. Moseshadev, leader of the people, Arun, his brother and high priest, and Nidhish a wealthy Hindu merchant who joined the Jewish cause, all stepped forward into the center of the clearing that was becoming the town square of the newly formed Karachi.

Moseshadev addressed the crowd first, "After generations of slavery in Delhi, our people have been delivered their freedom by Indra, the one true god of all. The promised land, the land of our ancestors is here at our feet, this is a happy day, we should be rejoicing."

"Yes brother, we have been granted a great victory, but what then when news of this reaches Delhi?" Arun then turned to the crowd, and continued, "We are still outnumbered 3 to 1. When the Kshatriya and other military men discover what happened, they will raise an even larger force to destroy us. We must strike now while they are disorganized and weak."

"Now, now, lets not be hasty," Nidhish interjected, "We have been blessed with a unique opportunity to unify our people, Jew and Hindu alike. A civil war serves no one."

"A civil war will be upon us, whether we wish it or not!" said Arun, "I say we strike while we have the upper hand and not wait here to be murdered in our sleep."

"So we should murder them in their sleep instead?" asked Nidhish.

"If need be, yes."

Frustrated, Nidhish began pacing around the square, "We may have different faiths, but we are one people. We are all Indian. We share a common history and a common destiny. We cannot simply massacre our own people."

"Our people? You forget your place, friend, you know nothing of our people. While you and your Vaishya kin were counting your gold, our daughters were being raped, and our sons whipped." Arun's hand grasped the hilt of his sword menacingly as he continued, his anger brewing over, "Your heretical pagan faith has brought this oppression upon us, and no one will be safe until it is stamped out, one pagan at a time." With that he took a step towards Nidhish.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Moseshadev. "Stand down brother."

Arun, paused and slowly turned to look at his brother. He looked him in the eye just long enough to be uncomfortable before he let go of his sword and relaxed his stance. He waited for his brother to speak.

Moseshadev's silent flinty gaze panned the crowd, a silent accusation from their respected leader, and a warning to calm themselves. Humbled by his look, the Karachites waited expectantly for his words. Moseshadev was a known peacemaker and just ruler, if anyone can diffuse this situation it is he.

Moseshadev knew his people waited for him. He could sense their unease. With the many trials they have been through, it was this moment that was most important, and this moment that carried the most risk. He did not fear and did not doubt during the flight out of Delhi. He trusted in God, and he provided. Dealing with the passions of men is a far less certain business. This speech, this moment, would decide the fate of his people. Indeed of all the Indian people.

He paused to collect his thoughts, and then at last he spoke, "My brother is right to be angry. I am angry too. And you, and you," he gestured to the crowd, "we are all angry, for we have seen much evil. The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of burden, to be stripped of spirit, and hope, and strength - only because they are of another caste, another creed. If there is a god, he did not mean this to be so."

He paused briefly for effect, then continued, steadily becoming louder and louder in his deep baritone voice, "I have been in your sandals, my eyes have seen what yours have. I toiled with you in the stone mines of Delhi. I was whipped by the same straps, and kicked by the same feet. And when our tormenters laid their hands upon me for the last time, I shared your voice of defiance by telling them, 'Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty Hindu!'"

With that the crowd cheered wildly.

Moseshadev continued, softer this time, "We have seen that evil, and we have overcome it, and now we are asked to decide what comes next. Should we, in turn, visit this evil upon our enemies?"

There were some murmurs of agreement in the crowd.

Moseshadev raised his hand to silence them and asked, "Before we decide this most important of decisions, we must ask ourselves, who is our enemy? Is our enemy those who have done evil, or is our enemy evil itself?"

He paused again, letting the question ring through the square and sink in to people's minds. Then he continued, more forcefully this time, "I say that we should here today, make an enemy of evil and a friend of all who renounce it. If evil is our enemy, then by exacting our revenge upon the people of Delhi, we make ourselves once again the slaves of our enemy. Doing the bidding of evil cannot defeat it, only doing good can."

The people were silent. Forgiveness is difficult for any people, especially those so wronged as his, but they must again learn compassion and forgiveness. He knew he was winning them over, but they still needed one more push.

Moseshadev walked over to Nidhish and put his hand on his shoulder as he began to speak, "It is true, this man did not endure the terrible wrongs we've suffered, but it is also true that he did not cause those wrongs. He has been a friend to us, and to our people. Indeed many Hindus have been our friends over the years and have supported our cause.

'We have been shown great evil, but haven't we also been shown great compassion? We indeed want our freedom, but don't we at some level feel a certain attachment and affinity to our home in Delhi? The Vishnu Gardens, gazing in the palace reflecting pool, Shaman Square, shopping in India Row, our children playing on the Soylent Green, admiring the Vedic Oblisk these are all part of our background and culture. We can't just burn them all down.

'All of these places from our childhood are made meaningful because of the people. The good people who have reached out to us over the years and reached beyond their caste to welcome us. The respite we got from our lives was from the people. Happiness is people. Shaman Square is people. Soylent Green is people. Delhi is people. We can't cast that aside. Remember some of the good times, please."

He waited for the people to think on this a bit. He could hear murmurs of people recalling out loud different locations and people and happy moments from their former lives. One caught his attention, "Gordon Street? Ah, yes, Gordon Street. I used to know a girl who lived there, when I was young. Not a day goes by that I don't think of that girl and the promise that I made which I will always keep. That one perfect day on Gordon Street."

By now, their eyes were welling up with tears. Even his brother Arun's demeanor was changing. Moseshadev addressed the crowd one more time with force, "There is a time for love and a time for hate, a time for war and a time for peace. So therefore I propose a course of action that will satisfy all our needs..."

Moseshadev continued to outline his proposal, and he received the full support of his people. His plan called for uniting Karachi and Delhi into one proud, strong nation. To stand firm against common threats as one people. Word spread of his magnanimity, and with no government in Delhi, Moseshadev was given control over the whole country in a spirit of reconciliation. No one was harmed, no one was executed, but the caste system was done away with and slavery was one and for all eliminated. For a time in fact, Judaism became the state religion. Karachi and Delhi both grew, and the Indian people prospered for many years to come.

1st quote from the 10 Commandments
2nd quote from Planet of the Apes
3rd quote from Soylent Green
4th quote from Wayne's World

Come on people, this post is classic. **** even besides the quotes I skillfully worked in (and it definitely took some work), the rest of it was damn good writing. Gimmie props, all y'all punks.

[The Capo]

Wow.

I will not say anything at all about this for fear of Ozzy's reprisal.