Diplogame HOTW XII Ragnarok - Story Thread

[Diplo Carpathia]

The Fall and Rise of an Empire

The Code is Enforced

From a military standpoint, Count Tepes I is viewed as both a miliatary genius, and fool.

The rapid expansion, resorces used to fuel religion, and tecnelogical advances came at a price. Tepes I generally ignored any sort of military. The barbarians came to the right place at the right time.

His genius comes to light as a result of what he did after the fall of the capital.

Retreating to the seaside town of Oradea east of the capital, Tepes began to hatch the plan that would go down in history as one of the biggest military upsets in the ancient world.

With only 600 troops at his disposal, Count Tepes fended off 8000+ barbarians and reclaimed the capital. The plan was two fold...

Firstly, the Count had all work suspended in Oradea until a giant pit trap could be constructed. The trap was basicly a mile long 7ft deep ditch filled with sharpened stakes. Tepes saw this defence as not only practical, but fitting due to the nature of the barbarians crimes.

When the barbarians arrived at Oradea, they were met with bare buttocks at the edge of the town. This mooning enraged them, and caused them to charge with reckless abandon.

"Steady, steady," warned the Koss the Exceutioner, "not yet, soon..."

The barbarian forces were closing fast. It was then that Koss gave the orders for the ropes to be yanked. The men mooning the oncomming barbarians pulled up their britches, grabbed their ropes and pulled.

The pit trap top gave way, and instantly impaled 7000 barbarians. The noise it is said, was so awful that it still haunts the wind in modern day Carpathia. The slaughter at Oradea as it is know known was the largest mass impalement in the history of man.

What forces did managed to avoid the giant trap where quickly dispatched by the Oradea Guard.





The Slaughter at Oradea and The Carpathian Rhino

The second half of the plan would come to be known as the Carpathian Rhino.

Although the barbarians were decimated, they still outnumbered the Carpathian troops almost 3 to 1. Tepes captured his home however through the use of another clever trap.

Along with the Oradea trap, Count Tepes had the construction of a wooden rhino commishioned. The Wooden Rhino was designed to hold 300 soliders in secret within it's belly.

The Wooden Rhino was taken to Targoviste by horses, and presented to the remaining barbarians as a token of peace. The barbarians took much likeing to this gift, and accepted it into the city.

That night, 300 soldiers from the rhino and 200 from the underground resistance snuck out into the cool October night and murdered roughly 1000 barbarians in their sleep.

The rhino is considered a scared animal in Islamic society. Some suspect the reason is due to the fact that the animal has a stake afixed to it's head.

The Carpathian Rhino is on display currently in the modern day city square of Targoviste and is a major attraction for tourists.






Expansion, Renewal, and the Death of Vlad Tepes I

Following the recapture of Targoviste, Tepes the First had an army formed, and a birth incentive inacted. The incentive offered one gold coin per child born. This policy fuled expansion, and stocked the much needed settler partys.

Within short time, the Carpathian Empire included 6 citys and was once again considered a top civilization.

Count Vlad Tepes the First died in 750 BC. The kindom was passed on to his son, Vlad Tepes II. Tepes the Second came to power at the age of 24. Studying military tatics and American culture in the city of Richmond, Tepes II was not present during the Carpathian barbarian crisis. None however challenged his right to the throne as he like his father was a strict follower of The Code.

[Diplo Inca]

Assistance



A Letter to all tribes on Terra

We the Inca ask for help and assistance. The Mongols are raiding as we speak towards the brightest city of terra, a city of culture and faith. Many have experienced their unlimited aggression. We ask that you help us in this dark moment; any help will be appreciated, political pressure, sanctions or military assistance. This is a terra thread, do you prefer to have a peaceful trading partner close to you or the Mongolian Hordes watching down on your civilians and bulling you.

Grateful

Inca

[Diplo Inca]

Cuzco Defence!

Hold your ground - hold your ground! Sons of Cuzco my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. The day may come when the courage of Men fails; when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship; but it is not this day - an hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the Age of Man comes crashing down - but it is not this day!!! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth - I bid you stand!

[The Capo]

The Capo can't help but notice he's seen all of this happen before....

its all too familiar....

[Diplo America]

Originally posted by Diplo France
We see you have calmed down and posted a map... Well its grossly innacurate the east is quite a bit smaller as is the Dutch claim. And the Mali are a bit more south relative to the "mediteranean".

And once again you take what I state as possiblity and spin it into fact or even policy!

Anyhow I'll but out of this now, but my policy stays.


EDIT: OCC: Mongolia great pic! How did you make it?

Dude, what is your problem? Don't get OOC angry with my IC posts.

Chill out, reply in character.

[Diplo America]

Richmond, Virginia, America

Christopher had a lot on his mind as of late; between dealing with Benedict Arnold's activities in the south, fighting barbarians, raising a family and dealing with the Dutch and the French he had a lot on his plate. It was no wonder he was begining to buckle under the pressure.

"A, B, C, uh"

The College of Electors, now fashioned as the 'Senate' had called upon Christopher to discuss what he had finally planned on doing about the Dutch. The Senate itself was a bit split, many of the Senators did not understand what exactly was going on, some of them felt that the Dutch may be welcome neighbors, but the majority sided with Benedict and Christopher (who for once would agree on this issue, although it would prove to be the first and last time they would agree) and wanted to maintain a staunch position on the matter.

"Um, I don't know what comes next mommy."

Christopher was doubly miffed by the involvement of Remi II of France. He was pretty sure that France existed, and was equally sure that Remi was their leader and probably had as much to worry about as he had. But what he could never quite grasp was why the French decided to involve themselves, he was sure if they spoke they could come to some sort of, whats the word entente? No, that's not it, hmm...

"D, and what comes after D?"

Regardless, the die had been cast. Whether or not Christopher's reactions were more or less based on stress was irrelavent. Politically he was making the right choice, if he backed down from the Dutch and the French Benedict would quickly rise to the occasion and take his throne, and that's something he realized could never happen. Arnold had designs, big designs, and Christopher knew in his gut that they couldn't be good for America.

"I think, hold on a second" the young child said, Betsy was barely old enough to speak "okay, A, B, C, D, uh, E?"

"Yes, you are so smart darling!" Abigail said, kissing her daughter on the forehead, "And beautiful."

Christopher and Jefferson were preparing to speak before the Senate regarding the latest issues. "Well, time to woo them." Jefferson said.

"Is it that time already." Christopher said, his gaze seemed distant "How do I look?"

"You look gorgeous darling." Abigail cooed.

"You look like a Senator, don't you have any armor?" Jefferson asked "You should look the part, you don't want to be upstaged by that dolt Arnold do you?"

"Certainly not" Christopher said "Certainly not. So, I hear we recieved a rider from the Inca, let me guess, they want Arnold out of Philadelphia."

"Well not quite sir" Jefferson said, removing Christopher's ceremonial laurel, "Here, put this helmet on, its very becoming."

"What did they want? Trade?"

"That was mentioned, slightly. They are being threatened by the Mongolian hordes my Lord, they sit outside the city of Cuzco, prepared to strike." Jefferson continued.

"Wow, and I thought we had problems. Well, what'd they want military support? We absolutely can not do that." Christopher said, as his brestplate was latched on, it was adorned with an American eagle, carrying a bundle of arrows in one talon to signify defense, and a bundle of olive branches to signify peace-time "Wow, Abigail, this is some great work on the armor."

"Yes, my father's men are quite talented."

"My Lord, please, listen to me." Jefferson said, he tended to get quickly irritated "The Mongolians are attepting to take away one of the royal family's children, they will sack the city if the Inca do not turn him over peacefully."

"Wait a moment" Christopher said looking into a mirror "That's ridiculous!"

"Well, not quite, its true, as far as I can tell. It was already abuzz in Philly before Arnold and I got back here, so the news has spread throughout the region." Jefferson explained.

"That's terrible, I could not imagine" Abigail said, clutching her son Augustine close "Should we do anything?"

"What can we do? We've got these Dutch to deal with, now the French have involved themselves, and no word from our so-called allies in Carpathia, I'm not sure there is much we can do about it, not that its any of our business anyway." Christopher said "How do I look?"

"You look like a coward!" Abigail said, she was not pleased.

"Darling Abigail, what is the matter?" Christopher said.

"How can you do nothing, that is a terrible thing, those Mongols are no better than the barbarians you fought in the jungles, snatching away children, razing cities. They attacked our Carpathian brethren as well, isn't that enough to do something?" her eyes began to well up, Christopher realized what had occured, he removed his helmet and sat down.

"Very well, I'll try and stop the Mongolian Khan from doing what he is doing, perhaps there can be some way to resolve the issue, surely he can do without the Incan child" he said as he kissed her cheek "I just don't want to see you sad."

"Commander Christopher!" a soldier said "The Electors will see you sir!"

The American Senate

The American Senate debated for hours, and some points were made for and against continued aggression towards the Dutch. Some felt that opening trade with the Dutch would benefit, and the cession of one parcel of land wouldn't hurt too much (it was pointed out that dutch culture seemed to be rooted in a couple of places and one of them could become a dutch settlement), some even argued for a temporary dutch position, or even a territory swap with the dutch to ensure American position. All of these suggestions were quickly defeated by the simple point that the Dutch had yet to respond to any American missives sent their way, although there had been numerous attempts. Therefore negotiation, even though both the DUTCH and FRENCH said they were willing to engage in negotiation, was impossible because they would not talk to the Americans in an open forum. General Arnold caught much of the Senate's attention with his firey speech about maintaining American dignity and respect, he spoke of sovereign rights of a nation of people, and even made reference to the Mongolians (who he deemed were uncivilized barbarians for their murder of Carpathian explorers and their threats towards an Incan child) as epitomizing the attitude of "that backward region of the world" (Arnold, and all Americans for that matter, had no idea where Mongolia was at the time and mistakenly thought it was to the east of France [OOC- is it to the west of France? I actually don't know either]). Everyone was interested in what Christopher would say, this situation was seen at the time to be the defining moment of his rule. When Arnold was finished Christopher walked into the center of the building, which was vastly improved compared to the one Samuel was chosen in, and began his speech...

My fellow Americans. We have gone beyond a point in time, decisions have already been made, decisions beyond our control, decisions accross the sea and in far and mysterious capitals that we have no understanding of. To many of us in this room this has no effect, our lives are estabilshed, our lands flourish, and our children grow safely, undaunted by barbarian assaults, famine, slave revolts, or attacks by wild beasts. But to the citizens of our realms, to our every day men and women who have to suffer the pangs and heartaches of war the upcoming years may spell disaster and sorrow. We must remember this when making our decisions. The Dutchmen have not made it easy for us, they refuse to speak to our emissaries who come in the name of peace. For the sake of Allah Himself, Jonathan Jefferson couldn't hurt a fly, and yet they ignore his missives [laughter from the Senate], and they bring in their allies the French. [the Senate begins to boo, Christopher holds up his hand silencing them]It is no secret that many of you doubt my capabilities and compare me to my great Uncle Sam. I dont' blame you, I am nowhere near the leader he was, and right now we could really use a man of his temperence, his acumen, and his intelligence.[One Senator rose from his seat to yell "Here here!"] See that? You long for him to rule again. But there's a problem noble Senate; he is not going to come back, Samuel has passed away, and now you've got me. A young, untested, and many would say unqualified Commander whose first diplomatic experience with an unknown foreign nation may be war. I ask you not to believe in my ability, I ask you not to believe I am the best man to be Commander, and I ask you not to speak well of me what-so-ever, I know many of you detest my position, and I have always known this. All I ask of you, of all Americans right now, is to support me. To help me, to guide me. I do not want to fight the Dutch, I sincerely do not, I wish they would stay in Holland, I wish they would listen to my emissaries, and I wish they never suggested this to begin with. But that is not our choice to make, the die has been cast as they say. I ask the Senate to provide me with an army specifically for defending our coasts from these men, this army will not diminish the defenses of any of our cities, in fact I also ask the Senate to provide me with the funds to bolster our defenses, in all cities, in case there are underhanded designs against us. I, along with General Arnold, will command these armies to defend our sovereign land. We will send missives to both France and Holland, apologizing for our aggressive tenor, but at the same time reminding them that we are prepared to defend our lands to the death, suggesting they take this issue up diplomatically. It is the only way I can see this coming to an end. Thank you everyone, I hope we win this day. [Christopher turned to leave, and thought for a moment, returning to the center of the room]And oh yes, God Bless America!

[Diplo America]

Commander in Chief Christopher the Yankee, Lord of Viginia

TO: Verkerk of the Dutch
FROM: Foreign Minister Jonathan Jefferson of America

Hail Willem!

I have been advised by my Commander, Christopher the Yankee, the Lord of Virginia, to profer an official apology as to our tenor with you. We understand that you unwittingly claimed land on what you thought was a small island, and it turned out to be part of a much larger landmass and it also turned out to be inhabited. We are aware of these things.

You must wonder why America is being aggressive? Well for our part we do not believe this to be the case, but we understand that different cultures see things in different ways, therefore we will attempt, in this missive, to explain our position and the position you have put us in.

Firstly, America and Carpathia have made a land accord centuries ago, possibly even thousands of years ago splitting this land between our people. It was apparent to both of us that we were bottlenecked together into this area and the best solution would simply be to split it down the middle rather than fight over the small amount of land we have at our disposal. This provided us with neat little even parcels of land. Our borders were established, and America was concieved of this agreement. We have known of your people for quite some time, and have on many occasions attempted to contact you, even to accept an open borders treaty with you, and thus far you have ignored our attempts.

Then, out of nowhere we see Dutch scouts. At this point we did not react, if anything we greeted you politely, and I know this because I was personally present when this occured. Still the Dutch remained silent. Now, years later you claim territory is yours and that you will settle it and you expect no American reaction? It doesn't take a genius to figure out why we mistrust you. We wish to fix this though.

We are still not prepared to give up our land claim, that we can negotiate over the next couple of years, we promise in the meantime we will not expand completely and will look the territory you want over to determine its relevancy. I will tell you though, the likleyhood of America agreeing to a Dutch settlement is very low.

As far as the so-called threats of attack go. Well there are two ways of looking at this; the first way is that these are not threats, and they are very real statements that will occur if you ignore us, the second is to look at it from our perspective. We are only defending our land, we have made no statements regarding an attack against Holland herself, or an intent to spread into Holland with our own settlers. So from our point of view you are the aggressor, therefore anything you do is illegal and anything we do is perfectly legal. This is the state of our Senate and our Commander. I personally do not wish for war, but the tenor of the French has not helped this matter at all.

Now, I understand we are standing at a crossroads here. I understand that your King probably doesn't want to loook bad either, my Commander in Chief certainly does not want to appear weak. But the simple fact is that the settlement is not acceptable. We do not declare war on the dutch, and similar to the Mongols make this simple statement;

If you come to American lands to settle, and you are not American or have American permission, you will be eradicated.

That is it. If you will not negotiate with us we have no other choice than to take this position.

I am sorry that it has come to this, please, for the sake of peace, rescind your claim.

-J. Jefferson

[Diplo America]

Commander in Chief Christopher the Yankee, Lord of Virginia.

TO: Remi II of France
FROM: Foreign Minister Jonathan Jefferson

Hail Remi II!

I would first like to formally apologize for the tone taken by my Lord Christopher the Yankee. He realizes that as our people have yet to make true contact there may be some cultural differences he hadn't taken into consideration. Writing through intermediaries does have its drawbacks, no?

We have thuroughly re-evaluated all of your missives, and have re-read ours and believe that there must be some confusion over a few points;

1) We do not hold that the French think the Dutch claim is right simply because the French agreed to it. Our point was that we have similar agreements with Carpathia, and in the end what does this mean? Whose claim is stronger? Our point is simply that your use of the "law of kings" does not work in this scenario because there are two groups of kings.

2) We are not trying to threaten anyone, our statements have simply said that we consider this our land, and we will defend it as such. Therefore if a foreign intruder comes to settle, he will be destroyed. This would be the case even if they were Carpathian, although the Carpathians have agreed not to do that anyway.

3) We don't have room to expand, other than there, and that land is on our side of the sea. Not only that we have our claims recognized by Carpathia, the Mali, and the Inca. We are quite confident that America's claim to this land is much stronger than Holland's.

4) The very fact that Holland has refused to talk to us, and not just after this incident, the fact that they have always refused to talk to us shows that they know that land should be American, we have attempted to have open borders with them and discuss this matter numerous times in the past, and everytime they ignored us completely, not even one response. This type of activity is clearly untrustworthy, regardless of your culture.

I hope that the wise Remi II can see these points as points clearly in favor with America's position. We do not want a war with Holland, in fact we wish to become great friends with Holland. But we can't do this by succumbing to their imperial designs. If they stay on their side of the straights we will stay on ours, and that is what we will agree to. Besides, as stated previously, the "northeast corner" of this land is Carpathian anyway, and not American.

Good day my Lord,

-J. Jefferson

[Diplo Carpathia]

Carpathian Advancements under Tepes II

Vlad Tepes the Second (commonly known as Vlad the Impailer) had a memorial built to honor his father. The Hanging Gardens of Focsani are considered one of the ancient wonders of the world, and at the time of their construction they were the largest use of transported water in the world.

The Gardens stood in stark contrast to much of the rest of dark and dreary Carpathia. Those Islamics with the means make a point to visit the memorial once a year, give their offering to Tepes the First, and enjoy the cool and rejuvinating waters of the Hanging Gardens.


Dispite the major setback during the barbarian occupation, Carpathia flurished technology wise. Gaining understanding of mathamatics, bronze, organized religion, and alphabet.

Alphabet in particluar opened many doors as far as trade. Tepes reminded himself however that he would have to be careful in making these trades.

[Diplo Carpathia]

Tepes addresses the Dutch

Dear Verkerk of the Dutch,

Let it be known that the landmass on which Carpathia and America exist will remain Islamic.

It is unfortunate that we must take a side on this issue, as the Carpathians and Dutch have traded successfully for many years.

I hope you will see that the area in contention is inhabited by Carpathians and Americans, and dismiss any thoughts of expanding in that respect.

May your kingdom last 1000 years.

- Count Vlad Tepes II

[Diplo Holland]

Re: Re: Message to the people of the Netherlands

Originally posted by Diplo Holland


To: J. Jefferson
From: Verkerk, Foreign Affairs Noble

My king has asked me to thank you for your reply.

Willem de King wishes to alert you to de fact that de eastern seaboard of de continent that you are on has been Dutch coastline for centuries. Our cultural borders spread across the seas and envelops the eastern seaboard by one or two distance units (sq). Of course the Dutch claim this land and the resources in it. We are planning a settlement so as not to encroach on the unclaimed sugar fields, which my King regards as American.

Our settlement will be northerly and will NOT encroach American cultural borders. De new city will maintain de lowest culture possible so as to not infringe upon future American growth.

If you negotiate favourably with us on this matter certain 'compensations' may be offerred to de Americans.

Any American attempt to settle the NE tip of de coastline will be regarded by de Dutch as an act of war!

Please be informed by this advise kind sir,

Yours,

Verkerk

PS When my cartographers return I will forward to you a map of the area and the proposed site.

Manning was back in Richmond and smiled as he looked at the map swiped from his cousins' desk in Rotterdam.

Ah the Dutch galley trip was refreshing. The sea, the space. He missed it gravely. His health was failing now and his fathers homeland herbal treatment was helping a little.

He understood Dutch policy and their resource needs but his masters in Richmond saw things in black and white.

What would he do with this? The first known thought of the concept of double agent was formed...

[Diplo America]

Philadelphia

"Well, any word yet from Richmond?"

"Yes, the word is that there is no word."

"No word, what do you mean?"

"Well the Senate decided nothing, they are going to provide Chirstopher with some funding, and he says he will continue the policy he has currently."

"Any word from the Dutch?"

"Shouldn't YOU know that?"

"No, why should I? You're the mysterious wise man in the shadows right?"

"Hey, you're mysterious too, see it doesn't say who we are."

"That's true, anyway, look at this I've nearly lost track of who is who- the timing isn't right, and dont' worry once this Dutch issue passes the country will be back to normal again, and we can continue with our plan."

"Possibly, possibly."

"Damn, hurry get the hell out of here, they're coming."

"Where am I supposed to go, there's only one door!"

"Dammit, hide hide!"

The door opened.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you so soon...." he said with a mischevious smile...

[Diplo Mongolia]

In a small yurt on a forested hill, three leaders of the Mongol tribes stand together around a fire. Far to the west can be seen the Inca capital.

One of the men speaks.

-We have received no message from the Inca my brother Hulegu. They said that they will consult their elders, but a whole year has passed, and no answer. We have waited here patiently, praying, hoping, asking that the fates spare us from the darkness. Our informants tell us that the boy has been whisked away by armed guards. They will clearly not agree to our request. We offered them brotherhood and an exchange so that our people would be tied together. They have refused. Further more they have dishonorably gone behind our backs and acted with great cowardice. They have sought the help of other tribes against us. They have propagated the most foul stories about us. They wish for war. They will have it.



I agree, says Hulegu. We made a fair offer, they refused. The darkness wells in my heart already. As the sense of doom and destruction spreads across the entire plain.
As do I, says Kubilai. They betrayed our openness and trust. They must be punished.



Then we are agreed. Send word to Yogotë and Subutai. To the smiths of Beshbalik, to the riders of Runan'Gee, to the Iron masters, to the lakemen, to the Karakorans. Send word to all the plains, that the Inca have declared themselves an enemy to Mongol.

[Diplo Holland]

Verkerk was in raptures!

The whole western and southern world were getting all tied up over Dutch imperialism.

He drunkenly smiled from his room overlooking the sea towards the West. The West, the great American civilization speaks aggressively and is now desperate for diplomacy.

---

Willem's attentions had turned elsewhere now in matters regarding Mongolia and little did Verkerk realise that Willem was in possession of some correspondence that spoke ill of Verkerk. He was summonsed to Amsterdam.

"I have a mission for you Verkerk."

Verkerk knew there was a Mongolian communique but was disallowed from reading it.

"My daughter, Juliana, is in Paris as you know. I want you to make de very long trip to Paris and learn from my friend King Remi and de great learned nobles a little more of French culture and give my daughter any support sdhe may need.
Although de French have been most admirable hosts of course.
But, in a few years, when her studies are complete I wish you to accompany her to Beshbalik and discover de ways of de Mongols. They will be expecting you."

Verkerk felt uncomfortable. As a blundering diplomat he felt he was being used. Ke knew Willem was Macheavelian before his time and he knew that his diplomatic 'blunder' were possibly deliberately contrived 'leaks'.

A nevous feeling crept over him.

"And Verkerk, I trust you have not been in contact with Manning at all?"

"Er, no sire."

"Good, then leave alone de affairs of America to me. I'll be sending a communique (oh how I love French) to de Carpathians post haste to tell them that Dutch plans to settle are on hold for now. De settlers are now directed elsewhere. I'll leave de Americans to stew a bit more as to their aggressive non-diplomatic nature."

Verkerk was totally confused now. Was he meant to see his cousin and leave certain maps 'lying around'?

What was going to happen in Mongolia? He felt certain that the 'leaks' favoured their intelligence gathering and that he would be seen in good stead.

"Mongolia or bust it is then sire."

"As long as it isn't yours Verkerk" Willem couldn't help but smile as he glanced at the head busts of his ancestors on the mantle.

A strange forboding was leading to total paranoia now for Verkerk but he was a much clevere man than even Willem gave him credit for

---

[Diplo Holland]

Willem usherd him out.

A new map had arrived from Dirk of the Axemen band in the South. Alone in his throne room he operated in total privacy and secrecy.

Confucionism was spreading like mad and the Mongol city of Turfan even build a Monastry! Excellent he thought. Building on his big picture plan aided by de 'blundering' Verkerk he drafted another communique to Hulegu. The Mongols sought plunder and riches and Hollande is rich. Maybe Willem could achieve a diplomatic coup that would be credtied to him alone.

Support the Mongols in their spread of Confucionism to other lands - not only spread but seek actual conversion to Confucionism by force of arms. Instead of laying wadte to wondrous cities like Cuzco the Mongols could recieve Dutch gold AND tributes from victim civilizations... he thought long and hard and decided to keep this line of tactics quiet for now...