Diplogame HOTW XII Ragnarok - Story Thread

[Diplo Holland]

RIP King Remi II

He cried and cried at the sad news. His friend was gone forever.

He was heavily drinking the Dutch ale, so plentiful now since the American embargoes.

He had started to write to him.

"My Dearest Remi,

I'm in a foul mood of late. I have been drinking and written de Americans a most blunt missive.

Of course you are de only nation I can trust, bonded by history economy and religion. I'm sorry if Harrod has troubles reaching you. And Juliana (heir to my throne) is SO looking forward to an interview.

Other priorities have caused Hollande to be unusually behind in its production of workers…

Ah, what a wondrous Confucian kingdom full of castles from coast to coast!!
We will invent …”

Willem couldn’t think anymore. Who was he going to write to anyway? What would happen with the visionary plans of Remi II?

He was beginning to miss Verkerk now. He had no close confidents to work things out. His only friend was the jug of ale…

“So, de Carpathians see it as a backdown eh? I’ll show them and those damned Americans. Why am I not getting any news from Manning? Will he only talk to Verkerk? I think I shooted myself in de foots…”

“At least I shall travel to France for Remi’s funeral, I trust and there I meet my daughter again after so many years and I might even allow that Verkerk fool an audience.”

[Diplo America]

What?!?!?

That's ridiculous.

Dynamism?

Man, we've strayed so far off from a Diplogame this is becoming ridiculous.

Listen to yourself!!!!

[Diplo Carpathia]

101 Tales of Terra, Chapter 3, The American Tribes

The road between Carpathia and Richmond was always a pleasent one. For as far back as is written or remembered the Carpathians and American tribes lived in harmony.

Sharing their religion, technology and resources, a Carpathian regarded Americans as their brother and vice versa.

The road to Richmond includes a stop in wonderful New York. Truely a testiment to the bond the two civilizations enjoyed. New York City is often refered to as the keystone in the Americarpathian alliance.

Tepes the First and Second both regarded New York as an intrusion. They held to the deal they had with the American tribes however.


Dinner with Christopher

The American Palace in Richmond is a splender. Made of stone like everything in America, it is an epacenter for culture and diplomacy. I always enjoy getting out of Carpathia and Richmond is one of my favorate cities. To be invited to dine among American royalty is a dream come true.

After a royal welcome with horn blowers and everything, dinner was served, and what a banquet it was!

The salad was mostly american lettus, with a few other unknown far eastern herbs.

The soup was a rich beef broth, almost like stew. Carrots, onions, potatos, and steak added to the hearty appeal.

The main course included roasted herb phesent served with both American and Carpathian corn on the cob.

All of this served with Carpathias finest draught.

Desert was a delight. Something Christopher called "Apple Pie".

Right after dinner I inquired of inner workings of Christophers mind.

I asked Christopher, "America is surrounded on all sides by rival civs, however its stragey for land claims seems to be working. Who does America see as a friend and who as a potential foe as the struggle for the last of the good land comes to a close?"

Christopher thought about it while still chewing. "We have always had a relatively respectfully attitude when it comes to our land claims, with the exception of New York we've been pretty good at keeping foreign anger over our claims to a minimum, and for that matter New York's settlement was more or less a careless accident rather than a statement to Carpathia. Clearly there is rancor from the Dutchmen, and there have been complaints from the Turks and some words have been bandied about with your people the Carpathians as well quite recently, but all in all I think we've kept out of other people's affairs and that has helped. As far as friends and foes we believe the Carpathians to be our greatest allies, we have been warming up to the Inca but we believe that is only due to our military advantage over them rather than any type of mutual admiration."

"Interesting," I commented, "You know you are very popular among the Carpathian citizens."

I started into my second question, "There are rumors of disharmony in the American govenment. Yourself and Arnold biding for control of America?

"I think there is less disharmony , excuse me, I've been ill lately, must have eaten some bad shellfish at my last dinner party. As I was saying, I think there is less disharmony than you many would believe. The American system of government has always been a bit weak, we are a tribal federation and a lot of people forget that due to our single name. We've got numerous families and tribes to deal with, and often there are arguments. Arnold is an extremely popular General, despite his blunt and often rude personality, and he has done a great deal for our country including opening up diplomatic relations with your country. I think the recent riots in New York and Richmond have fueled these rumors." he replied.


I finished with, "what civ do you admire the most and why?"

With a drumstick the size of a club in his hand, Christopher dwelled on this one for a minute. Chewing, dwelling, chewing, dwelling, chewing, waving the drumstick around in the air.

"Enjoying the Carpathian beer? Vlad stocked me with some of his fathers vintage. Gets me across boarders and into places we shouldn't be." I said as I ordered the keg to be brought in. "Vlad sends his regards".

"I do admire Carpathia greatly,"Christopher said as he reached for another brew. "They have strong leadership that is honorable and that means a lot to me. But I know you want something a bit more contraversial, so here I go. Mongolia is a nation that, despite its reputation here in our region of the world, and even abroad in countries like Turkey and the Incan Empire, I think they have to be respected. They are one of the few countries in this world who have been able to, well seemingly, to uh, get what they want and they don't take resistance from outside very well. They have almost effectively made the Incan Empire a vassal state, and have shown the world through their defense of France their importance and capabilities. We don't know much about these Mongolians, and as I've said they aren't exactly popular throughout America, but they are a people that I personally admire. That said, I admire the Incan leadership, they are extremely friendly and accomodating."

"Another thing I wanted to add, Harrod, is that there seems to be a growing tension between the religions of Terra so far. For our part we are Muslims, as are the Carpathians and while the northern relations between Confucionists and Muslims may be settled there seems to be issues in the south between the Incas/Turks and then the Dutchmen and their camp. I think this is going to become one of the future issues that divide us as Terrans, and its something that should be addressed or at least prepared for."

"Your wisdom is profound," I responded.

[Diplo America]

The Origins of the Benedictine Dynasty...

Richmond, Virginia...

palace was abuzz with movement as Christopher, the Commander in Chief of the Americans, writhed in pain, his body and blankets drenched in thick sweat. This scene had been recurring for days and his herbalists could do nothing. The Imams could do nothing. His wife could do nothing.

"Damn it!" she said, glancing hopelessly at her sick husband, "Please herbalist, deliver him from this plague!"

The herbalists had been working countless hours, using all of their remedies as well as some from other countries (curiously Dutch herbs were used as well despite the apparent embargo), "Yes my Lady, we work tirelessly for Lord Christopher" he said, pouring the next concoction down Christopher's throat.

Jonathan Jefferson was on hand, unfortunately he was in the way and contributed nothing to the situation, yet he didn't realize this "My Lord" he said "I know you can't reply, but I hope you can hear me" he paused, as if awaiting a response from Chirstopher; none came. "Well my Lord the Senate has named Arnold the temporary leader as-"

"What is the matter with you Jefferson!" Abigail yelled, "this is no time for politics."

"He is the Commander my Lady" he shot back, undaunted "This is imperative that the Commander know what transpires behind his back."

"That is the last thing he needs to hear right now, you begone! Guards!" the guards quickly arrived at Jefferson's side.

"Please, come with us sir, the Commander must have peace." Jefferson was compliant, and shot a look in Abigail's direction. She didn't notice.

Christopher ceased moving, but he had not gone, he was breathing but began to grow pale, "My darling no, hang on, please hang on." Abigail pleaded.

"We need more water! Please fetch water!" one of the herbalists yelled, a guard quickly assumed this mission and ran from the room, the doors were left open and young Augustine approached, clearly frightened.

"What's happening?" he asked, his mother quickly turned her head and mustered a smile, but it was transparent.

"Daddy is just a little sick, please go to your sisters" the boy stood awestruck "Go Augustine!"

Christopher's body twitched again, and white foam spewed from his mouth, even the herbalists were sent into a shock. Abigail started to shake Christopher, it was all she could think to do "No! No!" she cried, her face turning crimson, tears gushing from her eyes onto Christopher's clamy chest "You can't do this to me!"

The boy ran into the room, to his father's side "Wha.." he whimpered, his mouth dried quickly and no words could escape as his father passed away...

The Death of Christopher the Yankee



the Yankee's death was an important moment in American history. Not simply because the torch would now be passed to the Benedictines, nor the restructuring of the tribal system that followed, but primarily because the Benedictine Monarchs that would follow Benedict I (General Benedict Arnold) would change much of the American cultural identity and would create what it means for something to be American, or even for the geographical border of the state to be known and thought of in the minds of its people. In many ways the change in power, the shift towards Benedictine-American politics from the former system under the Yankees (Samuel and Christopher). After Christopher died Jefferson and his political allies had the body quickly removed from the palace and hidden in case there were attempts to take the corpse by his rivals (in hindsight this threat seems unlikely, especially considering what Benedict did, however at that moment and in Jefferson's mind the probability of this occuring was high).

While all of this was occuring Jefferson found a means to hide the children of Christopher as well as Lady Abigail as well; they were the likely next targets especially if anyone wanted to end Christopher's bloodline. This of course was all done in Richmond, as Jefferson worried that armies may have already been amassed outside of the city (this was far from the case), but again his attitude was bolstered by the fact that the Senate (the College of Electors) had convened to name an interim leader while Christopher was convalescing in the palace.

The clear choice was General Arnold. Augustine was too young to rule at this point, and it seemed better to hand the title over to a military figure. In this case America's top General. At this point, however, this was seen as entirely temporary. If Christopher were to die Augustine would, most likely, be named the Princep (translated best as "first citizen") while Benedict would assume the title of "steward." As Steward he would retain all of Augustine's rights until the boy came of age. This was not long away, so it was even easier to hand the temporary title over to a General. Now, many of the Senators openly supported Benedict, and much of these supporters wanted him to become Commander in Augustine's stead of Christopher were to die. Then there were those who simply were against a hereditary system. They pointed out that while Christopher would have been considered the next in the bloodline from Samuel, this was not the stated reason to choose him by the College (although it was a major reason). This next item was never agreed on, and only the interim Command of Arnold was officially recognized.

After this decision was made a secret band of allies brought Christopher's body downriver south of Richmond and found a proper place for his burial. They wanted to keep Christopher's burial quite secret for a few reasons; the first was most obvious - they didn't want his enemies of find the body, and many of the retinue were fearful of beying caught and arrested by troops loyal to Arnold. The second reason is that, their Islamic faith, the Americans still considered Christopher to be of almost spiritual blood. He was descendant of Liberty through Samuel, who was supposedly the son of this mythical woman. The Americans loyal to Christophered believed in this legend especially and did not want his sacred body desecrated.

In the Senate General Arnold promised to find out what the true cause of Christopher's death was. He quickly suggested poisoning in an attempt to take the mantle of the "defender of Christopher" and handle the inquest into the death himself. This was a smart move, while many of his allies thought it would make him more suspicious, he was able to control the investigation (I use this term loosely) into the death. What would happen next would go down in American history as one of the greatest conspiracies and would mark the rise of the Benedictine Dynasty...

[Diplo Mali]

Border Tensions

It was not long into the Reign of King Mansa Sosso I that trouble once again began to brew-only this time it was not with the barbarians....

Sosso sat on his throne in the newly upgraded palace, when one of his chief scouts rushed into the palace unannounced.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?" said the King, visibly annoyed "I should have you taken away in stocks for this outrageous behaviour!"

The scout bowed low & said "my deepest apologies, Your Majesty, but this was a matter of the greatest importance!"

"Very well," said the king with a dismissive wave of his hand "but this had better be good or I shall call the guards immediately."

"Well sire, I have just recently returned from a scouting mission just beyond Kumbi Saleh, looking for potential barbarian activity, when we saw a settlement!"

"A settlement, are you sure?" asked the king, deeply concerned now.

"Yes Sire. At first we thought it might be a barbarian encampment but, when we got closer, we soon recognised the nationality of the interlopers."

"Who were they, Incan? Turks? How could they be to our north when their main settlements lie to the South & East of us?"

"No Sire, as far as we can tell, these two nations are remaining true to our original border agreements. No, the interlopers are clearly of Carpathian origin!"

"Are you sure?" asked the King. "Well, they look identical to the Carpathian writer who was here before the death of Koboku."

"and how close to Kumbi Saleh are they again?" asked the king. "They are just over the River Nile, in the very position that we had hoped to settle!"

The king was furious. He immediately dispatched a messenger to Carpathian territory to ascertain the nature of the settlement. A month later the messenger returned with his report.

"Sire," said the messenger "the Carpathian city of Targoviste is in disarray. The slaves & peasants of that city are in full revolt!"

"Hmmph, I'm not surprised!" said the king, disdainfully "if what I have heard is true, they were probably tired of watching their friends, neighbours & loved ones getting impaled on stakes. Did you at least get to meet with their king?"

"I did, your Majesty, & they sent me back to assure you that the settlement was not of his doing. Apparently some slaves & criminals escaped from Targoviste in order to establish their own city free from the brutality of the king."

"Well, I don't want a bunch of slaves & criminals as my neighbours" said the king with growing alarm. "How are we to know that they won't simply join forces with the barbarians and threaten our northern settlements of Kumbi Saleh & Goa?"

The king sat, deep in though, for a few minutes before saying "messenger, take down this message & return to Carpathia at once. Let the king know that, if he wants, I am more than happy to either bribe these separatists to leave the region & go whither they will or-failing that-round up my military forces & deal with these people by force! Add that I am happy to extradite all of these dissidents back to Carpathia to face justice."

The messenger finished taking down King Sosso's message, then departed Timbuktu as fast as he could. King Sosso could only hope that the message would be received in the manner in which he intended it!



OOC: Never let it be said that the Mali don't listen to the requests of other nations.

[Diplo Mali]

To: King Vlad Tepes of Carpathia.

From: King Mansa Sosso I of The Mali.

It has come to my attention that a settlement of Carpathian origin has been founded mere kilometers away from Malinese Territory, & well within territory that we believe to be our sovereign lands.

Now, we have been assured by you that this was done without your knowledge or permission, which would simply make them criminal interlopers (& we do understand that the settlers are escapees from Carpathian justice). Therefore, we are prepared to overlook this border violation if you would let us deal with the matter in our own way. As criminals, we feel sure they would accept some kind of bribe courtesy of our substantial gold stores, in order to disband their settlement and go elsewhere. Failing that, we would be happy to eliminate the settlement & send any captives back to face your justice.
We hope that we can resolve this matter with a minimum of fuss, & that this won't spoil Carpathian-Malinese relations for the future.

[Diplo America]

Explaination of the Conspiracy against Christopher.

Following Christopher's death there were two clear sides in American politics; the first fully supported the concept of hereditary ascencion, the second believed that it would be best for America if the Commander was not (necessarily) the descendant of his predecessor. On its face this issue doesn't seem to be that divisive, but when stoked by mysterious (and very contraversial) death of Christopher the Yankee it became a wedge-issue that would change the direction of American politics forever.

Uknown to contemporaries, of course, Benedict Arnold was responsible for the death of Christopher, and it was quite a simple turn of events anyway, although somewhat shocking in a few instances. General Arnold was deeply moved by his trip to Carpathia many centuries ago; he admired Vlad Tepes and his Code, he was proud of Carpathian military stylings (which he attempted to emulate throughout his career), and further impressed by the order these two things seemed to create (Carpathia, like all other nations, still struggled with civil disorder). Upon his return he saw many things that America could borrow from their neighbor and suggested to Samuel the Yankee to implement them. This did not occur and America continued to use its old tribal system. Following Samuel's death Arnold had hoped he would be named Commander and with the election of the young Christopher the Yankee he realized he would never get his chance as Arnold was no spring chicken.

Initially Arnold, as a military man, was sworn to duty and support of Christopher was part of this duty. So when the barbarian hordes came from the south he dutifuly sallied forth and destroyed barbarian army after barbarian army (gaining most of his prestige). Christopher would join in soon thereafter and took much of the credit that was truly due to General Arnold. In response Arnold and his loyal captain William Manning (who has an interesting story of his own) marched south to establish the settlement of Philadelphia on the south coast of the great bay; from here Arnold hoped to establish political power and to create, in a sense, almost a dual monarchy between Richmond and his city of Philadelphia. To bolster this notion he attempted to establish a marriage with a prominent iron-working family from Virginia, the Washingtons.

The Washington family declined, as they refused to send their prized daughter Abigail far south, through the barbarian infested jungles, to a new settlement surrounded by foreign (and quite different) tribes. Further, the family had aims to wed their young daughter to the young Commander in Chief who was so much closer in age and more desireable than the older, battle-hardened, General. Arnold designs were seemingly falling by the wayside, and then the Dutch troubles began. After much discussion and international involvement the issue (which everyone knows about so I won't explain again) was diffused, but Arnold was still embarassed as Commander Christopher made the deal in secret and never told his General, who marched his men east and awaited the Dutch for months. These Dutch, of course, never arrived and Arnold was even more disrespected to discover that Christopher had not only failed to tell him, but also refused to invite him to the celebratory dinner party.

Prior to this Dutch situation, however, Arnold's agents had already looked into a possible coup. Christopher's ineffective leadership was apparent to Jonathan Jefferson his top foreign minister. Jefferson was hesitant, but eventually met with the General to discuss how to aleviate America's "problems." In the second half of Christopher's reign America was on a precipice of disaster; Christopher had sent the part of the army that was loyal to Arnold on a ridiculous journey south all the way through the Incan empire and almost to Mongolia and France before their Captain, William Manning, decided against orders to return. This "portion" of the army loyal to Arnold was almost a third of the entire American army, and constituted the majority of its offensive forces. Christopher had already made the mistake of allowing Arnolds forces to march against the Dutch in case they attacked, which allowed for rioting in Richmond, now with a third of the offensvie army thousands upon thousands of miles away the riots intensified and many buildings were destroyed. A small barbarian incursion resulted in the loss of a bronze mine, and yet another mine was destroyed due to structural failure!

Further there were more tensions, although not serious and mostly due to semantic misunderstanding, between America and its ally the Carpathians. It was seeming more and more apparent to Jefferson that Christopher was steering America towards disaster. So he spoke with Arnold, who convinced him that the only solution would be to kill Christopher and take up the role of Commander himself. Neither man believed in hereditary ascencion, and felt that if this became a trend America would be in even more trouble. It was their estimation that Christopher was chosen due to his relationship to Samuel the Yankee, and had they chosen someone who was not related to the last Commander they would have got a better leader. This notion is debateable, but regardless, this is what these men believed. Ironically the Benedictine Dynasty was a hereditary monarchy, despite their founder's initial distaste for the institution.

They got the poison from what has been described as a "dutch agent," but this is probably a political maneuver rather than an actual fact. The memoirs of certain people involved reveal that the poison was acquired in the jungles north of Philadelphia which implies Malinese, Carpathian, or even Incan involvement. Either way historians agree that the poison was acquired from a foreigner (obviously to limit the number of Americans who knew of the plot) probably by Captain Manning or even Jefferson himself.

The poison was given to Christopher at another one of his dinner parties, in fact while that particular dinner party was occuring there was rioting in the streets of Richmond, symbolising the fateful day. The assassins wisely placed the poison in the Commander's wine, which was later used as a reason to implicate his wife Abigail in the scheme (this as you shall see in a future post, was a set-up and she had nothing to do with it). Arnold reasoned that Augustine (Christopher's son) had to be removed from the picture if those who supported hereditary rule got their way, which is precisely why Abigail was implicated. The Washington name was shamed, and the Washingtons would be banished from Richmond for centuries. Arnold was also sure to remove Jefferson from his position, as they differed on nearly every single issue of American governance. Captain Manning, for his part, was wisely removed from his military role and given a new status in Benedict's court.

With both the Jefferson and Washington families banished from Richmond (they both relocated to the new settlement of Boston) Arnold would reorganize the American government, as we shall soon see....

[Diplo Carpathia]

Bacau

To: King Mansa Sosso of Mali
From: Count Vlad Tepes of Carpathia

Dear King,

Regardless of who lives there, Bacau is a Carpathian settlement. We will deal with the guilty ourselfs.

You claim that area is Mali sovereign lands. I would like to know what claim you have laid to it? This area was never discussed before by any nation, and now after Carpathia settles it, Mali lays a verbal claim?

Your best option king is to cut your losses and expand in other directions. A war with Carpathia would be VERY costly to both the Mali people and treasury. Please note our army is almost double the size of yours, not to mention protective archers and a long history of metal use. I noticed your army is mostly comprised of skirmishers.

Perhaps a very generous offer of either tech, money, or resorces might sway us to sell the land, but it would have to be quite generous.

Make me an offer, but forget about me handing over land for free.

- Vlad

[Diplo Carpathia]

101 Tales of Terra, Exerpt from Chapter 4, A City in the Desert

From Richmond to Timbuktu is one of the more dangerous legs in my travels. Not because of barbarians, not because of weather, but because of the fauna.

Snakes and elephants to be exact. The dense and humid jungles south of Carpathia and north of Mali harbor many venomous variaties, including the Pale Carpathian Viper. I was almost bitten not long ago. Once bitten, it is said you have only minutes to live.

The elephants are just mean, agressively defending their young to the point of chasing down any humans within sight and trampling them to death. I have not seen any, but the locals have warned me many times.

The Carpathian Jungle also holds many wonders. One plant in particular produces the most lovely shade of purple when applied to cloth in a hot bath. If only someone could figure out how to grow these on a farm, what an export it would be!

After the jungle, but before the Mali capital, was the Mali Desert. Streching for miles upon miles, one may go days or even weeks without seeing water or people.

Then, all of a sudden, out of the empty expanse of the wasteland looms Timbuktu. The crown jewel of the Mali Empire, Timbuktu was an oasis of unimagined grandure.

I sat with King Mansa Sosso at his royal table. His chambermaids hustled and bustled about bringing all manner of exotic mali edible delights. The wine flowed and so did converstation about worldly topics.


"Tell me oh King," I started, "what achievement is the Mali most proud?"

He responded, "I believe our finest achievement, to date, is the development of a method of writing &-from that-an alphabet. For this we owe everything to the Houngouns who guide us in the worship of the Loa & Ozzy the Dual-Natured."

"Timbuktu is indeed a grand city. How did such a testiment to Mali greatness rise out of the barren desert?" I asked.

The King reflected briefly, then replied, "The survival of Timbuktu is owed to three key things-the life giving floods of the Niger & Ghana Rivers; the ample supply of mutton in the surrounding flood plains &-above all-that beautiful yellow metal-GOLD. The first thing, the floods, are a double edged sword, for they often bring destruction & disease with them."

"How do you view your neighboors and their actions? I asked.

"We are deeply concerned by recent Carpathian expansion, as it is now worryingly close to Mali borders. We understand that the city of Bacau was founded by separatist slaves, but they still owe fealty to the Nation of Carpathia. This gives the Malinese people precious room to expand, as we are quickly being hemmed in by Russian & Incan expansion to the West & South respectively", he responded.

After eating sweet Mali desertes, the King added, "In spite of our recent tragedies, we believe that the Malinese Empire shall rise to become amongst the greatest nations of Terra. All we require is "Breathing Space" &, By Ozzy, we shall thrive."

"I am sure of it," I assured.


OOC: The snake is actually called a Golden Lancehead. They live only on one small island off the eastern coast of brazil. This island also happens to be the highest conentration of venomous snakes in the world. Works out to something like one snake per every 10 ft2. No one lives there, and you need a special pass from the Brazilian govenment to visit the island. Due to its temperment and ULTRA strong venom, Golden Lanceheads are one of the most dangerous snakes to keep in captivity.

OOC: The structure pictured is actually an Mali building.

[Diplo Mali]

To: King Vlad Tepes of Carpathia

From: King Mansa Sosso of the Mali.

King Tepes, greetings & may the blessings of Ozzy the Dual Natured be upon you. I apologise if my previous message appeared "brusque" in any way, we just thought you would want these criminals & slaves dealt with in a most expeditious fashion. However, I fully understand your desire to deal with them yourself. That said, I certainly hope that we can come to some amicable arrangement over the land-be it cash, resources or knowledge which you desire. Certainly we were under no illusions about getting the land for free.

The land was mapped out for future expansion by Chief Soumaoro himself-back in the days when he was 'merely' Kaniaga "Bear slayer". We would have settled that land long before we ever met you, but had been distracted by ongoing battles with nomadic hordes. Indeed, as I recall, our soldiers gave your people great assistance in laying claim to a barbarian settlement beyond the Jungles of Despair.

We did make our intentions to settle these lands clear to your allies, the Americans, with an undertaking not to expand any further than that point. We thought this information would have reached your person, yet clearly it got waylaid-for which we apologise.

As I said above, we would dearly love to settle the lands upon which Bacau now sits, & hope that we can reach a deal that shall be mutually beneficial. Certainly, though we can muster the forces to take the city militarily, our people have grown tired of war & wish only for peace with her neighbours.

I look forward to your response in due time.

King Mansa Sosso.

[Diplo Carpathia]

responce

TO: Mansa Sosso
From: Vlad Tepes

Greetings again good King.

There are fears that Carpathia grows too unweildy for our level of government. Losing a city would benifit our economy at this point, however the long term benifits of that local are also a priority.

I will sell it to you for three tech trades. One now, two at the time of my choosing regardless of our political standing.

Let me know. I may be willing to barter from here.

[Diplo Ottoman]

The people of the Great Rivers have gone through a turbulent time in their history. As King Sulamein the 8th was aging his eldest son Crown Prince Sulamein died, result of a suspicious accident, but no proof of murder was uncovered. This was soon followed by the death of King Sulamein the 8th and the ascension to the throne of Constantine to become King Constantine the 1st.
King Constantine had while prince siphoned government resources off to spread the Christian religion and quickly once King declared the People of the Great Rivers to be a Christian nation and he used state resources to spread the religion to all cities, the result is the whole nation quickly united behind the new King to become a strong nation no longer subject to religious tensions.
In his last days King Sulamein founded a new city south of previous ottoman lands near the Incan lands as agreed with the Incan people, King Constantine followed this with another city close to existing ottoman cities and also near Incan lands as previously agreed with the Incas. The Ottoman people now have 7 cities tightly packed with overlapping boundaries and are utilizing the land with great efficiency supporting a number of specialist workers.
This ability is of course enhanced by the developing government beauracracy which a number of nations have been envious of.
We responded to urgent pleas from the Holland Empire for advice on developing a government infratructure providing trainees in Civil Service management and engineers from the dutch lands taught us much about Machines. Likewise the Inca people also sought Civil Service management advice which we gladly provided in return for philosophers who taught our people a great deal, particularly in regard to a pacifist lifestyle which was adopted by our peaceful Christian people. Earlier in an agreement with the Mongol Empire, books were swapped at the border, as we cannot trust the Mongols in our country (they have sent a number of spies which we have caught and beheaded) from which we learnt how to build forges and cast metals, while our books taught them the basics of a monetary society.
A powerful forces of horse archers from Attilla the hun appeared at our Borders, but sighted our elephants and spears in the distance and ran for it, falling straight into an Mongol ambush it is believed. They can tell that story.
In general a strong and united Ottoman Empire has made great progress exploring both the land and sea and building a strong defence. King Constantine has ordered that the oceans be explored and land found for more cities as our land area is almost fully populated. The nation is eagerly awaiting a report from these ocean going explorers.

[Diplo France]

The Book of Ages
Volume one: The Age of Kings
By Almundo the Wise


I Almundo the court historian, have compiled the following tomes on the history of the great French people and their sovereigns. I have tried to the best of my abilities, to ascertain what really happened. My intention is not to sing praise or to recite legend, those are things that need be done by writers and bards. Our gracious Queen, may Ozzy bless her, fully understands my position and knows that an accurate history will do much more for France than any false praise might. She has allowed me access to the state records. In this light I do dedicate my work to the great Nols the XII, Queen of France.


I want to also make clear that this work is merely an interpretation of events in that period, I may be mistaken, with regards to the history of our own kingdom, let alone others. I shall begin by writing an introductory chapter for those who know little of the period. Leaving out all but the most vital details, and restricting myself to simpler words, for those who have only recently learned how to read. My account shall begin with the death of King Remi II, the last King of the Clans.



The Late Iron Age (750BC-50AD)



King Remi II died at the wrong time, a time of internal instability in France. This was made quite apparent by the brief seizure of power by an exiled Dutch noble. Following his assassination, which is rumored to have been carried out by the very same generals who helped in into office, Queen Isabella was elected “Queen of the Clans” by the augustus assembly.



She rewarded the dear generals who helped her into office, by extending their influence over civilian administration and policing, while at the same time increasing the size of the military considerably. With their support and that of the clergy she wielded enough power to, in 610 BC, disband the assembly of clans. This resulted in a civil war that dragged on for some time, reducing the civilised land to anarchy. It is to her credit that no major casualties were sustained by the armed forces of France in the “transition” to a full hereditary monarchy.



Her actions proved to be most wise indeed, since it was because of her resolution alone that France could defeat the massive Philistine army, headed by a treacherous disgruntled French noble. The armies of the 5th century BC, were the first in French military history to employ bows. It is rumored that at the time the Queen held under her command more than 30,000 archers.

Her first successor was her much younger husband King Arnaud the IV, who continued to bolster the military, but unlike his wife was quite aware of how empty the state coffers were. To remedy this he freed many slaves and encouraging them to migrate into the cites for employment, This made trade through French lands much more lucrative. He also encouraged people to settle French lands that had been left to the wilderness for centuries. He died after a long reign in 450BC. Since he outlived his direct heirs, he donated the royal houses secret trade records and ancient manuscripts to the library of Paris. He also appointed his young cousin, who later took up the name Arnaud the V, as successor.



Arnaud the V was forced to marry an influential noblewoman, to solidify his claim. And which bride could be more fitting than the direct descendant of Remi II? The fact that she was only seven years old, made little difference at the time. His reign saw the acquisition of great wealth to the state. This occurred, not so much because of his skill but because of the exportation of French statues from canceled public works his predecessor had commissioned. The remainder of his reign was not worthy of note.

The reign of his wife Queen Isabella the II was another matter. She outlawed the minting of coins by nobles and restored that privilege exclusively to the royal house. The new currency even found use abroad with trading partners such as Holland and Mongolia. In 290BC she conferred city rights to the town of Tours. The new city quickly grew, in 210BC, just a few decades after her death, the city already had its own Confucian Master.



Under the reign of Isabella the III common law was abandoned in favour of codified law in 70BC, many of the laws of neighboring countries were simply copied. But several were unique to France, many of these were slave welfare laws, other detailed the rights of citizens. Historians agree that this was done to further undermine the nobility in the hopes of completely eradicating any trace of the college of clans. The first records of a play being preformed are dated to 30AD as part of the festivities that followed the proclamation of the settlement of Marseilles a city. Confucianism was by then firmly established as the state religion, so it is no surprise a Confucian Master was appointed a mere decade later to serve the cities spiritual needs.

But by far, her most noteworthy was the capture of the barbarian city of Thracian. Its capture signaled the end of the age of barbarians in France.

[Diplo France]

Primary School History Textbook (1703)
Chapter 5: Late Antiquity
By Marie Bernot


Late Antiquity (50AD-400AD)


The coat of arms employed by the hereditary monarchy.

The power of the monarchy was unquestioned during this period; French that could be understood even in the present, was spoken across the kingdom of France. This meant the systemic assimilation of other languages. The Germanic dialect, which would later develop into German, was only to be heard on the Eastern coast and near the Dutch border. Aquilanian was no longer spoken, it was a dead language by 300AD, save the peculiar pronunciation of the inhabitants of the region of Rheims, little remains of it remains today.



The French military continued to grow in strength, this militarization helped to keep the conquered province of Tracian under control. Despite this Confucianism only gained a clear majority in that region in the late 2nd century AD. The Kings and Queens of France of this time spent much of their time trying to think of new ways to fill the state coffers. This included the proclamation that the city of Paris has the right to hold fairs, the construction of a royal courthouse in Paris, the declaration that Christians had a right to settle in Rheims and the metal-works quality act of 300AD.



Queen Nols the II of the 4th century AD expanded the powerbase of the Monarchy by formalizing the law-enforcement. The Code of law was now widely enforced by many many new courthouses set up in all but the smallest towns. These royal courthouses had the authority to persecute local nobles, and as such increased the effectiveness of public administration greatly. Many of courthouses of the period also served as offices in the service of the queen’s advisors. Such positions would become very important in the following centuries.




OCC: Which is better the brief text book variant, or the kings and queens heavy medieval chronicle style? Am I using too many pics?

[Diplo Mongolia]

(the pics are good, so they're not too intrusive, but I would say that they are perhaps a bit excessive in number)



Mongolia in late Iron Age to early Medieval times.


Following the creation of an advanced representative clan assembly the Mongols grew greatly in number and prosperity. Many advances were made, official courts were established by the various tradesposts, many mongols specialised in smithing making metal casting one of the most common professions, and several Monasteries grew up on the vast plains. Confucianism became the main religion of the Plains alongside the tribal shamanists and Christianity, practiced mostly in southern lands. The Mongols conversion to Confucianism created a great tension however as many felt estranged by the Dutch refusal to allow pilgrims to travel to the Hague. This sense of deprivation would continue to grow over the coming years.

Notable occurrences of this time are few, except for the execution of classical writer and traveller Harrod. The Mongol's apparently gave Harrod permission to visit Karakorum on the condition that he did not travel further east within Mongol lands. However, Harrod having heard of France's location to the east decided to sneak his way into the Mongol heartland, a decision that cost him his life. The Mongols furiously hunted him from their homeland and then executed him north of Desert Lake. Carpathia as a result declared war on Mongolia again. A story tells of a Mongol punitive expedition headed west to punish the Carpathians for their disrespect for Mongol laws and according to the epic tale, this expedition reached as far west as the eastern Russo-American border. Many tales of faraway lands were brought back as the expedition did not find its way through other nation's lands to Carpathia, resulting instead in a grand epic adventure, some call it the great oddyssee. Ms. Summers will go into detail of this expedition later this week.


Following the implementation of the representative assembly, the power of the Wheelmasters waned to be replaced by other constellations of power. Specifically the Horse Lords. These consisted of influential families fielding armies consisting of the average Mongol man armed with bow and spear, fighting from Horseback. These were far superior to the older chariots as they were far more mobile than the wheeldrawn warriors, and Mongol endurance allowed them to cross any hostile territory faster than any enemy could expect. In addition it was far cheaper to field an army of such fighters as most Mongols already owned a bow, a spear and a horse equipped with the Stirrup and Saddle that allowed effective fighting from horseback. The smiths at Beshbalik forged hundreds of thousands of stirrups and horse shoes in this time period becoming in many ways an early industrial centre for the plains.


As the population boomed, new lands were settled, Mongolia Franca, Sheepswood Port, and Desert Lake are among the settlements established in this time period. More tradesposts would follow and further extend the Mongolian empire.

In matters of neighbouring nations, it seemed that many feared Mongol arms and developed specific military capacities to counter a mounted army. Relations with the Ottoman stayed tense, but knowledge seems to have crossed the Khentii mountains somehow. The Ottoman Metal casting techniques are clearly of Mongolian origin and the Mongol use of currency very likely based on Turkish traditions. Tensions between the Mongols and the Turks also ran high over an espionage incident following the Ottoman succession troubles. Mongolian leaders claimed that the Mongol's were not spies, merely travellers who became scapegoats for a disrupted turkish populace. The incident could have escalated had not the Mongol's been suddenly attacked by a vast horde of riders led by Attilla of the Huns, a people similar to the Mongols whom the Mongols had earlier defeated and displaced. The great horde of 30 000 horsemen were summarily defeated on the outskirts of Karakorum by Mongolian forces. The time of barbarian hordes was with this definitively over.


A final note concerning Mongolian culture is that the Mongol's were the first people to establish a sophisticated system of Music theory, greatly enhancing Mongolian cultural influence in the world.