Diplogame HOTW XII Ragnarok - Story Thread

[Diplo Mali]

To: The nations of Terra.

From: King Mansa Mari.

We see, yet again, the lies and deception which have become part & parcel of American "diplomacy".

Firstly, the city of Atlanta is a direct violation of the long-standing border agreement which existed between our two nations. However, we were prepared to overlook this transgression in the interests of better relations.

Instead, the American "king" (merely a despot with a fancy title) chose to abuse our trust by attacking the long-established city of Goa-a city that stands no further north than Kumbi Saleh, & which lies firmly on the Western Side of the Endless Mountains (or should I say, laid? Oh, how I hear the moans of the innocent dead of Goa calling for JUSTICE).

This he did AFTER securing a secret technology from us. The baseness of the betrayal is clear for any fair-minded nation to see.

The city which America asked for was not Goa, but Walata. We were prepared to give up that city in return for Atlanta. Failing that, we gave the secret technology-and a promise to leave Atlanta unmolested-in return for peace. This is the peace AMERICA chose to break with their cowardly sneak attack.

They offer to help "rebuild" Goa, but how can we trust the words of a treacherous snake who has already stabbed us in the back?

No, we Malinese are a peaceful nation by nature, but we will not endure constant betrayal. We shall have peace & good relations with the Americans again, but only when Atlanta is a smoking ruin.

[Diplo Mali]

Addendum:

Another matter which the Mali wish to correct for the sake of our fellow nations is the idea that America sought to make reparations for the destruction of Goa in the form of technology. This is simply not the case. Though we are still angry at Carpathia for exploiting our preoccupation with Goa & Atlanta, at least they could make an historical & cultural claim to the city of Bacau, something the Americans could not do in regards to Goa. Also, at least the Carpathians had the decency to compensate us in no small fashion for the loss of that city. The Americans have not been as kind or forthcoming. Indeed, as a technologically inferior nation, America has precious little to offer that would be of any use to us anyway.
Indeed, perhaps had America's territorial ambitions been less....grandiose, then its economy would be stronger & its level of advancement better.

Regardless, the Goan dead demand more than America could ever give as reparations for their brutal murder. No, blood shall be paid for blood, & Atlanta shall pay the price of Arnold's duplicitous treachery. I hope it is a price that the American people take from his own body.

King Mansa Mari I.

[Diplo Holland]

Do you think you could post some maps to clarify all this?

Hollande will be posting maps regarding the conflict with Mongolia.

[Diplo Inca]

Peace Negotiations

To King Mansa Mari I and Secretary of State William Manning, the Inca appreciate you entrusting us to host the peace negotiations. The city of Cuzco would be the right place to sit down and iron your differences. We both see you as friends (look the latest relation index), so this will allow us to be unbiased to both sides into finding a solution to the current conflict. Cuzco is a city of peace, we hope when both diplomatic envoys arrive they will uphold to our local customs and enter unarmed into the city. This will only show the other side that you seek peace and come forward with open arms.

The Grand Master of Cuzco will personally mediate the negotiations, this is a great honor. Due to his falling health and many years in office he has been seen very rarely personally involved in foreign affairs. His last foreign visit was to the great plains of Mongolia where he meet with the former Inca prince Vehekorai and members of Tribesmoot to talk about the future of both nations and their relationship, due to the importance of this meeting he went in person.

He also has assigned a great task to the people of Cuzco. The task is to build a great building which will host these negotiations. The Grand Master of Cuzco also invites other foreign representatives who are willing to aid these two great nations into finding a fair ending to their hostilities to join us.

[Diplo Mali]

The Mali-American wars pt.1

It started so simply. After having narrowly avoided war with Carpathia, & having seemingly dispatched the barbarian menace, King Sosso felt like he could finally relax.

Then, one day, he received a message from one of his scouts on the Frontier.

"Sire," said the scout "we encountered a group of paleskins, claiming to be from the American Empire, who want to meet with you."

Sosso was greatly intrigued. He had heard rumours of these people from his predecessor-Chief Koboku-& well remembered their avowed desire to settle East of the Endless Mountains (land which the Mali had no desire to settle anyway).
"Very well," said the King "invite them to visit us in Timbuktu so that we may discuss future opportunities."

Later the next day, the pale-skinned strangers stood before the King, obviously in awe of this modern, wealthy & well-run city.

Language was an obvious barrier, for the American dialect was like no other they ever heard in all of Terra. Fortunately, though, scholars had been breaking down the syntax of the messages sent by the Americans decades ago-which made the going somewhat easier.

"My Lord," said the leader of the party-or words to that effect-"we greet you on behalf of our ruler, Benedict Arnold, and were curious as to any 'border arrangements' you might have had with his predecessor?"

King Sosso was confused, he thought he understood most of what was said, but he confessed that some of the words could have meant anything. As his cousin once quipped "its all Carpathian to me."

The king leaned over to his advisor, and asked him to repeat what had just been said....slowly . Mana Massari leaned over & whispered the greeting to the King &-confident he finally understood what was asked-he answered "why, good sir, tell your king that we have the same 'Border Arrangements' as we do with all nations. Our borders are open to all-comers, as we welcome open trade & the spread of knowledge between our neighbours."

The leader of the group suddenly beamed, then bowed deeply & said "My lord, Arnold will indeed be happy to receive this news, but now we must bid you farewell & leave this fine city."

With that, & before the King could offer them any hospitality at all, the American party left & were never again seen within Malinese borders.

"Well," said the king, feeling very pleased "that seemed to go well-didn't it?" Massari shrugged, but deep down he felt that things had not gone as well as the King had thought, & he was certainly distrustful of the intentions of these strange paleskins with their odd language. Still, he had no desire to break the kings obvious good mood with these doubts, & so Massari remained silent.

About 1 month later, news came which rocked the King & his subjects to their very core. Malinese scouts came to Timbuktu to report a major incursion over the Endless mountains.

"Not barbarians again?" asked the king, feeling decidedly nervous.

"No sire," said the Chief Scout. These people are paleskins bearing the standard of the American Empire. They have built a heavily fortified town within the Desert of Illusions."

"What?" said the king "This is an outrage , after their assurances that they only wanted to settle East of the Endless Mountains, they now build on territory which Koboku himself warned them was sacred ground!"

The scouts were nervous, for they had never seen their king so purple with rage before. Then after a moment, he calmed down & regained his center.

The king stood up & went to his chambers. When he returned he came bearing several very important looking papyrus scrolls.

"Take these earlier communiques from the Americans to their new leader, & remind them that their new settlement stands in violation of our past understandings. Tell him, though, that we are reasonable people & are prepared to come to some kind of agreement over this."

With that, the messengers departed, with scrolls in hand, & headed to the lands of the Americans.

[Diplo Mali]

The Mali-American Wars Pt.2

King Sosso was feeling furious, but he was trying to stay as calm as possible. Reports indicated the City of Atlanta was heavily fortified, so a military option was currently out of the question, but he still hoped that diplomacy would win the day.

He had sent messengers bearing the correspondence sent by Arnold during the reign of Koboku:

As you may or may not be aware, American settlers have taken to settlement in the south along the coast of the great sea and in the area of the jungles east of the great Rocky mountain range. This is a formal declaration of American claims to this region, which will, for our intents and purpose encompass all lands east of the great Rocky mountain range and as far south as the end of this range.

as well as the copies of the replies Koboku himself had sent:

Firstly, it is clear that news travels slowly, particularly to lands with whom we have no regular diplomatic contacts. It is with regret, therefore, that I inform you that Chief Soumaoro is no more. The "Bear Slayer" met his end in a dire battle against barbarian hordes who were threatening to pillage our lands. I, Chief Koboku, now sit in his place & hope that I can do honour to his memory.

The land of which you speak is little known to us, for it lies over the almost impassable mountain ranges. I am suprised that the peoples of that land have such strong memories of Malinese culture, as our scouts have not been through that land in many decades. However, as said scouts were led by "Bear Slayer" Kaniaga-or Chief Soumaoro-that is probably not suprising. He was, after all, more legend than flesh & blood mortal.

If we may be permitted to send either scouts or a small armed contingent, then we can ascertain the full extent of your claim-to ensure that it in no way conflicts with our future territorial ambitions. However, as our intent is to expand eastwards & northwards, we see this as highly unlikely.

The only thing we do ask is that you not expand into the area known to us as the Desert of Visions, as this land is most sacred to the Malinese people.

We aknowledge your courteous representations & hope that it marks the beginnings of a long friendship between our two empires.

Yours,

Chief Koboku of Djenne. Malinese Empire.

Not the mention the replies sent back by Arnold's then superior, Christopher the Yankee:

TO: Chief Koboku of Djenne, Emperor of the Malinese
FROM: Foreign Minister Jonathan Jefferson

Hail Koboku!

I respectfully apologize for an unauthorized missive sent to you by General Benedict Arnold pertaining to our land claims beyond the great Rocky Mountains.

While it is true that America does stand by these claims, and while it is true that we will continue to expand and settle these lands the tenor of General Arnold's missive was not the official stance of Christopher the Yankee. You have our word that, thus far, the notion that tribes in the surrounding areas have sworn allegience to your majesty and his Empire have been fabricated to further General Arnold's personal aims in this region. He intends to impliment slavery on the black "barbarian" peoples of this area, and hopes to foment distrust between our people towards this aim. We assure you that General Arnold will be dealt with accordingly.

The purpose of this message is to ease both of our minds as it pertains to long-lasting peace between our great people. We wish to send emissaries to your capital, as is our custom, in establishing future relations between our people. Hopefully this eases some of your concerns.

Please write back.

-J. Jefferson

All of which, Sosso felt certain, made abundantly clear the territorial desires of the Malinese people & the acceptance of these desires by the Americans.

However, when the messenger finally returned from America, he came bearing bad news.

"Sire, we have spoken to the American leader, & he assures us that all previous agreements were rendered null & void when you claimed that Malinese borders were 'open to all comers'!"

"What!!!" screamed the King "It was obvious that I meant our borders were open to future trade. What ruler in his right mind would give free passage for foreign settlers to settle anywhere within his empire?" The messenger knew better than to answer a rhetorical question, and King Sosso continued in his tirade.

"No, I understand what this is, this is a mendacious attempt to deliberately misinterpret my words." "Well Sire," interjected the messenger "Arnold did offer us unrestricted access to the incense that grows there."

"Oh, how very magnanimous of him," mocked the King "given that it was our incense in the first place-first discovered & used by "Bearslayer" himself. Indeed, we told the peoples of Terra that this was WHY the land was so sacred to our people. So why are they now seeking to invade our lands." Again, the messenger knew a rhetorical question when he heard one, & remained silent.

Then, the king had an idea. "Very well," said the king "if all agreements regarding the Endless Mountains are null & void, then we shall invade their territory, & see how they like it."

"Are you sure that is wise, my lord?" asked the messenger. "Oh what does it matter, any such settlement would be expendable &-at the very least-it might serve as a bargaining chip for future negotiations."

So it was done. Firstly, messages were sent warning the Americans that Mali territory was now strictly off limits to all Americans, on pain of death. Then King Sosso organised a party of settlers & sent them over the mountains to found the city of Walata on the shores of The Great Ocean.

Within days, the messengers arrived declaring that America & Mali were now in a state of war. It seemed King Sosso's gambit had back-fired.

[Diplo Mali]

The Mali-American Wars Pt.3

The next month was an exercise in furious shuttle diplomacy. King Sosso made it abundantly clear to Arnold in his communiques that he had not intended to spark a war over Walata, & that he was prepared to make a direct swap of that city for the offending city of Atlanta.

Arnold made it perfectly clear in his replies that he would accept nothing less than the city of Walata, but would not give up Atlanta in return.

King Sosso spoke to one of his retainers, saying "very well. Go to Walata & tell the people there to abandon the settlement. Don't leave anything behind for the Americans though. If they are not prepared to deal, then neither are we."

It was done exactly as the King had ordered. Though there were some casualties, the Americans gained nothing but burnt out husks & rubble.

Fearing a widening of the war, however, the King decided to swallow his pride & sent a messenger indicating a desire for a face-to-face meeting between Arnold & himself. In that message, he indicated that he was also prepared to meet in the city of Atlanta.

A week later, the messenger arrived back with a letter indicating that Arnold would meet with the King & so-with a large armed contingent in tow-King Sosso made the long & arduous journey, over the Desert of Illusions, to the City of Atlanta. It made him seethe to think that this was the land through which "bearslayer" had traveled, but he kept these feelings to himself.

When he met Arnold in the Conference Room, he took an instant dislike to the man. Firstly, he came to the meeting in full armour, hardly the act of a diplomat. Also, when they shook hands, Arnold insisted on grabbing Sosso's hand from the top.

However, in spite of his doubts, he knew how much was riding on this summit, & so he buried his feelings deep done & instead chose to rely on the presence of so many true statesmen in the room with them.

Though the majority of the summit will forever remain a secret, what is known to Americans & Malinese alike was that, in return for certain...."knowledge", America would sign peace with the Mali.

Additionally, America agreed that it would not commit any further violations West of the Endless mountains as long as the Mali officially recognized the City of Atlanta.

King Sosso, who was keen to prevent any further bloodshed, felt these terms were reasonable & signed the peace treaty-as did Arnold. Additionally, King Sosso told Arnold that he would grant official recognition of Arnold should he seek to become king of America (always keen, as he was, to oil the wheels of diplomacy).

So King Sosso returned to Timbuktu feeling that he had extracted a reasonable deal. Little did he know, however, that Arnold had no intention of living up to his end of the bargain...

[Diplo Mali]

The Mali-American Wars Pt.4

One Year Later.....

All seemed well within the Malinese Empire. Indeed, King Sosso was even considering thawing relations further with America and even re-opening its borders.

All such thoughts faded, however, when messengers came in reporting dire news.

Behind them were a motley contingent of skirmishers,. Their armour was burned in places & they were covered in bloodied cuts & gashes. One was even sporting a missing arm.

"What on Terra happened to you?" asked the King "where do you hail from?"

"We are from the city of Goa", said the leader of the group.

"From Goa, but what happened? Did barbarians attack?"

"Well...no, not barbarians. Though their conduct makes them no better than barbarians." said the leader, barely containing his anger.

"Then who did this?" asked the king.

"It was the Americans, they attacked the city by surprise & conquered it. It is now in American hands."

"What. This is a day that shall live in infamy!" cried the king. "I swear, by Ozzy himself, that these American traitors shall pay for their base treachery."




"Well, they didn't take the city without a fight" said the leader. Before they could get inside the city, we built some crude siege weapons which took out large numbers of their troops-including their leader-but their numbers were simply too great to overcome."

"Never fear," said the king "your heroism & sacrifice shall be honoured & avenged."

With that, King Sosso did an immediate call up of all able-bodied citizens-including some women. He sent out messages to his friends & neighbours, asking for assistance. Though no formal assistance was given, young mercenaries eager for blood were happy to join in the fray on the Malinese side.

They marched on the now captured city of Goa-spearmen, chariots, axemen & swordsmen-a vast array of soldiery dwarfed by the Mali's secret weapon-The War Elephant.

They took the city of Goa by storm, & captured it easily. Unfortunately, the Americans launched a counter-attack & captured the city again. Before Malinese troops could rally their troops to retake the city, however, the Americans slaughtered the inhabitants of Goa & burnt the city to the ground-clearly intent on building an entirely American city on it's ruins



In response, Mali forces slaughtered every single American soldier left on the field of battle-killing even those who had initially surrendered.

When news reached King Sosso of the Slaughter at Goa, he went intensely quiet. He sat upon his throne, head bowed very low. Then, without a word, he retired to his chambers.

It wasn't until the morning that his retinue found him dead-by his own hand-a note sitting beside him.

In the letter, he begged forgiveness for allowing himself to be so easily fooled by the treacherous Arnold. He also indicated his wish that rule over the Mali pass to the hands of Mansa Mari-the Duke of Kumbi Saleh.

There was little time for mourning or thought. The newly crowned king knew what needed to be done, & he knew that he would have his people's unwavering support.

He mustered more troops in the cities of Djenne, Timbuktu & Kumbi Saleh, as well as calling back all the troops sent to sack the barbarian city of Hussian (now New Walata).

He built siege engines of deadly accuracy &, with the rest of his forces he sent them South. He knew what needed to be done. The lives of the Goan people & their former King needed to be avenged. The only vengeance that would do would be to destroy the vile city of Atlanta. Burn the city & murder its population just as the people of Goa had been so cruelly murdered at the hands of the Americans....

[OzzyKP]

Great stuff Mali.

[Diplo Inca]

I agree

[Heraclitus]

OCC: I just have a quick question, isn't the term shuttle diplomacy only used when a third party is an intermediary. Like if you want to make a deal with Taiwan or if peace is being brokered between the Israelies and Helzbolah? Or can it be used for negotiation between two parties too?


I'm not a native speaker and would realy appreciate an explanation. I'll later edit this into tiny size.

[Diplo Mali]

OOC: From what I understand, the term "shuttle diplomacy" came from Henry Kissinger flying between the various parties in the Arab-Israeli disputes. I felt it was a fairly accurate term in my story as it related to messengers travelling between the two parties in the dispute using the fastest mode of travel currently available. Hope that clears things up.

King Mansa Sari I.

[Diplo Mali]

To: The fair minded nations of Terra.

From: Mansa Sari I, king of Mali.

Let it be known that the Malinese people have no desire for further bloodshed. We certainly do not wish to kill the "blameless" citizens of Atlanta-after all it is their King whom we have our beef with.

However, nor can we simply allow the Americans to get off lightly in this matter, which is why a "promise" to let us re-settle Goa is simply not sufficient.

If America is prepared to meet the following demands, then we will be prepared to consider peace.

1. America will abandon Atlanta & hand it over to the Malinese people.

2. America will let us re-settle Goa, albiet 1 square to the NW of its old position. However, America will supply us with all the means necessary to re-settle the site.

3. The Americans shall make undertakings never to send settlers or military forces West beyond the Endless Mountains. Any such forces seen in our territory will be considered an act of war-& dealt with accordingly. Scouts, explorers & missionaries will be acceptable.

4. In return for these undertakings, the Mali give their solemn word not to expand further north or east of its current position. Nor shall we ever send military forces or settlers into American lands (except if they ask for them).

5. We insist that Benedict Arnold be handed over to the Mali to be tried &-if found guilty-punished for his crimes.

Should America be prepared to immediately accept these terms, without precondition, then we shall leave Atlanta unmolested. We are also prepared to consider re-opening our borders & even paying a cash "ransom"-both for the loss of Atlanta & for the hand-over of Arnold-to aid their struggling, war-ravaged economy.

I, King Mari, ask the American people to seriously consider this generous offer, for the lives of hundreds or even thousands of Atlantan citizens will depend on your response.

King Mansa Sari I. Malinese Empire.

[Diplo Carpathia]

Goa

To: The Americans and Malinese
From: Vlad Tepes II

There is no sense in fighting over this piece of land. Carpathia has laid claim to it and even now has sufficent military stationed there to defend it if needed.

Any settler seen within this region will be killed on sight.

[Diplo Mali]

Carpathia. Like your allies, the Americans, your betrayal of past agreements is legendary-I would definitely warn the nations of Terra not to enter into any agreements with either of these two nations. As you have never claimed this region in the past, one wonders what claim you could have to it now. The area of the city lies within range of the Cultural reach of Kumbi Saleh & so is clearly Malinese Territory-yet you think that you can spread your Carpathian plague across the length & breadth of Terra. If you insist on pursuing the settlement of this area, then I intend to send troops in there to tear down MY improvements. Indeed I should tear down the improvements I built around Bacau-which you also stole from me without any provocation.

Be warned, nations of Terra, that Carpathia & America are peas in a pod-they are rampant expansionists with no concern for the territorial rights of any other nation. Unless contained by the fair-minded nations of Terra, they will pose a threat to us all!