Diplogame HOTW XII Ragnarok - Story Thread

[Diplo America]

Great post.

One error however. America did not have a larger standing army at the start of the war. Carpathia did:

Originally posted by Diplo Carpathia
(OOC: I would give Mali high diplo points for this agreement, holland, mongol, and the inca as well)

You CAN give Mali high diplo points. It is called voting. Do it every week. Send votes here:
diplo_vote a.t plomp.eu

Rank 1st 2nd & 3rd places in the categories of diplomacy, military achievement, and story telling/roleplaying.

[Diplo Mali]

OOC: Great post Carpathia. Fantastic to see you back in top story-telling form. One minor error, though, the city the Mali took was Ploiesti, not Brailla, which you still control. Just FYI.

Mansa Musa II.

[Diplo America]

After months of rigorous study, top American statisticians, economists, and mathematicians have finally produced a groundbreaking new report examining the balance of power in the west. They met at the Washington Academy to announce their findings to gathered American and foreign diplomats and journalists.

The title of their report is:

Balance of Power in the West: Myths and Realities

Much has been made of late regarding the balance of power in the west. Putting aside the ridiculousness of the desire to achieve a balance of power in the west when the east so far out paces the west, we have compiled an analysis of the western balance of power now as compared to just before the first Carpathian invasion of America and Mali.

We produce the following data, what our statisticians call the Statistical Comparison Of Relative Economies:



There are many things this data shows us. First, let us examine the western balance of power before the war. Carpathia's economy and relative power was considered the 4th greatest in the world at that time. The Mali were 7th, the Americans 8th, and the Russians 9th.

With the exception of the Carpathians, the West, quite clearly, was the impoverished backwater of our planet (as it is still today). Let us examine the numbers more closely. As this is a comparison of relative economies looking at absolute numbers does us little good. All numbers must be examined relative to others in the list. For simplicities sake we shall compare western civs' total relative to the number for the most advanced eastern civ at each interval (in both cases the Inca).

When examined in this way we see that before the first war the western civs stack up like this:
Carpathia - 73% of the leader
Mali - 53% of the leader
America - 52% of the leader
Russia - 51% of the leader

The standard deviation (the greater the number the less balanced the situation is) for this batch is: 18.24

Compare to the situation we find today:
America - 62% of the leader
Mali - 59% of the leader
Russia - 57% of the leader
Carpathia - 50% of the leader

Standard deviation: 8.83

Quite clearly the west is far more balanced now than it ever was before the war. Indeed it is over twice as balanced as before.

Some might say, "sure it appears more balanced, but the west as a whole has been destroyed by the costly wars. The more destruction there is the 'closer' things appear."

This is not the case.

Before the war the western average S.C.O.R.E. compared to the overall leader (Inca) was 57.25%

Now, it is 57%.

Relative to the top score the west is remarkably consistent. The case can certainly be made that had the war not occurred the west would have improved faster. Such speculation is beyond the scope of this study. What is true, however, and can be demonstrated conclusively is that the "balance of power" is far greater now than it was before the war.

Conclusion

Foreign entities that seek to "restore the balance of power" are in fact undermining it. Indeed if the Mali and American peace proposals were both agreed to and put into practice the west would only become more balanced. The offers put forward by Holland, Mongolia, and Carpathia however would only serve to unbalance the situation.


Appendix

(for those who don't much like comparing the western S.C.O.R.E. to just the leader, we have run the same analysis this time comparing the numbers to the average of the top three S.C.O.R.E. numbers)

Before the War:
Carpathia - 81% of the top three
Mali - 58% of the top three
America - 58% of the top three
Russia - 57% of the top three

Standard Deviation: 20.22

Now:
America - 66% of the top three
Mali - 62% of the top three
Russia - 60% of the top three
Carpathia - 53% of the top three

Standard Deviation: 9.09

Thus when we take a more comprehensive view of the "leaders" of the world's economy the balance of power now shows to be even stronger.

[Diplo Carpathia]

OOC: Thanks Ozzy, you have given me a massive headache. In all seriousness though impressive breakdown. I disagree with the conclusion however. By giving back my holy city this would bring the western leader (America) closer to the western mean score while at the same time boosting the last place civ (Carpathia) closer to the western mean. Thus, more balance!

Speaking from last place however, I think I can unbiasly say that I see no need for balance, expecially from a ingame score perspective. I do understand this artificial "score" is the closest thing we have to hard numbers for comparson. One must wonder though, given that these numbers were IC invented by the Americas should they really be trusted???

[Diplo Mali]

Mali-Carpathian Peace Talks

Mansa Musa II barely concealed his look of wonderment as he entered the Palace at Cuzco. This building was clearly a good indicator of the economic and political success of the Incan people.

However, Musa knew his job was to focus on the task at hand-which was to negotiate a final peace settlement with the new ruler of Carpathia-Vlad Tepes III.

Mansa Musa had to admit that the title gave him many reasons to doubt the outcome. The Malinese people had dealt with those bearing the name Tepes before, and always came out the worst for it.

Now, though, the mayors of Carpathia had ushered in an era of detente (how like the French to come up with such a perfect word for "getting along") and Musa-as a pacifist-knew he had to put past wrongs behind him if the detente was ever going to last.

As he walked into the main chamber, he noted the presence of French, Dutch, Carpathian and Incan dignitaries, but not an American in sight. As he sat down, Mansa Musa pulled forth a scroll and cast it upon the main table.

"Great leaders from abroad," began Mansa Musa "you see before you a copy of the peace agreement signed by the Interim Government of Carpathia. We draw attention to it because you note there is no request for a return of lands captured during the war."

"That may be so," offered Henry II "but your people initially indicated a desire only to retake the areas around Bacau and Goa-your ancient homelands-yet you progressed on to take the thriving metropolis of Ploeisti. A city to which you obviously had no claim."

Mansa Musa centred himself before he spoke, determined not to lose his temper. "So it would have been, if Vlad Tepes II had responded to our previous attempts to make peace. Our offer of a generous sum of money for the loss of Bacau was more than adequate given that we were-in fact-right to reclaim a city with a Malinese Majority."

At this point, the new player on the field spoke up "but sire, at that point the Mayors had already moved to remove my predecessor, Vlad Tepes II, from power. Surely we should not be punished for that?"

It was at this point that Mansa Musa first took real notice of the new King. He was amazed to see that, far from a King, he was talking to a mere boy-a stripling no more than 10 years old. Musa was determined not to let this distract him, however.

"Nonsense. Our diplomatic corp were quite detailed in their information to us, and they make it abundantly clear that our previous attempts at peace were made when Vlad Tepes II was firmly on the throne. Without a binding peace agreement, the former Mali King feared a new offensive from Carpathia, so took the city to ensure we had a reasonable buffer."

"Yet here we all are, ready to sign a peace deal," said Clovis, of the Dutch Empire "so surely that city is no longer needed to 'defend' your empire?"

Mansa Musa shot a harsh glance at Clovis, then responded "In truth, though Ploesti began as just a 'buffer' against Carpathian aggression, in truth we have come to need it."

"Why so?" asked Mario of the Inca. This was it, thought, Musa, the chance for his long-prepared speech.

"Well as many of you know, though our empire is large in area, much of the land is, in fact, inhospitable desert. We are hemmed in North, South East and West, and require the city of New Djenne to house our the overflow from our overpopulated cities."

Then the King of Carpathia spoke up "My Lord, surely you must understand that our poor nation is now merely a broken shell of its former self. With the loss of so many core nations, we need Ploeisti just to be sustainable. Whatever the crimes of my forebears, must my people suffer in this way?"

Looking into the eyes of this young King, Mansa Musa could not help but be moved. For a long time he sat there, not saying anything, silently debating his next course of action. After a long delay, he finally spoke up.

"Gathered leaders, this is what I offer. We are prepared-with the help of the French and Dutch-to look for a new site upon which to build a new Malinese city-either here in the Old World or across the oceans in the New World. As soon as we have found a site and moved our people there, we will hand back the city of Ploeisti to the Carpathians."

He stopped for a moment, to guage the mood of the assembled dignitaries, then continued:

"In return, however, we ask that the advanced nations of Terra assist us in our economic development. In particular, we are having difficulty training those formerly of the Working Caste to fill roles as artisans, merchants and scholars. Therefore any assistance that the delegates here can give in this regard would be much appreciated."

He then stopped for a moment, before adding darkly "indeed, unless tangible rewards are offered to the Malinese people for the loss of Ploeisti, I fear the people would rise up against me-and you would have a new, and possibly less amicable, leader to deal with."

"I am sure we can come to some accomodation, Musa" offered Clovis.

"The only other thing we ask," said Mansa Musa, finally, is that we have a written and signed pledge from all assembled here that Carpathia will never again invade the Malinese nation and that-if they do so-the other nations will come to Mali's immediate assistance."

All the assembled delegates nodded their heads in agreement, seeing the obvious fairness of the Malinese offer. By Ozzy's will, it seemed, a lasting peace had been finally achieved.

[Diplo Inca]

Big thumbs up for Ozzy, great work!

[Diplo America]

Originally posted by Diplo Carpathia
OOC: Thanks Ozzy, you have given me a massive headache. In all seriousness though impressive breakdown. I disagree with the conclusion however. By giving back my holy city this would bring the western leader (America) closer to the western mean score while at the same time boosting the last place civ (Carpathia) closer to the western mean. Thus, more balance!

Speaking from last place however, I think I can unbiasly say that I see no need for balance, expecially from a ingame score perspective. I do understand this artificial "score" is the closest thing we have to hard numbers for comparson. One must wonder though, given that these numbers were IC invented by the Americas should they really be trusted???

Ah well, if/when Timisoara and Ploesti are returned Carpathia will rise considerably and America will drop. This will balance us much better. Plus America has offered tech or overseas land from some great powers. This would help Carpathia out without unduly hurting America. If Oradea is returned then America will drop so much it'll be unbalanced again.

[Diplo France]

OOC: I can't help but wonder if there was a need to OOC the above response.


French leadership belives that the S.C.O.R.E is not a good indcator. We belive a much better picture is gained by studying the power, production, GDP and agricultural statistics.

[Diplo Mongolia]

1st hand-in for course 303.

The Interpreters.

A comparative study of Mongolian information gathering services and their uses.

by Jason E. Lee


The Mongols were very early to develop a powerful intelligence service. Founded by the Incan prince, Viktorgrip in the earliest centuries of the Mongol confederacy, the Interpretation Office was created to examine information gathered from other nations and make solid intelligence out of it. It became the greatest Intelligence service in the world for millennia.

The Mongols were known for their xenophobia and isolationist tendencies. They disliked dealing with city dwellers as their cultures were very different. But they were able to extract from the city dwellers an amazing amount of intelligence based on what was commonly known and widely unguarded.

break. more to come.

[Diplo France]

The Renaissance
(1200AD – 1400AD)

Part One: The transition and the Early Reformation



When the Renaissance begins and the High Middle Ages end is a difficult question to answer. Some consider the end of the Inco-French war as the turning point, others rather employ societal benchmarks. The late 12th century was a interesting time. The French education system was formalized, as an example they took the Incan model and employed many Incan experts. This was followed by Eastern engineers, some of which had fled from the war torn region, others were leased by the Carpathian state, both groups contributed to the development of Engineering in France. Machines of war became more deadly with the development of the trebuchet and larges structures and fortifications became a possibility, some Carpathian advisors urged France to begin training its own pikemen divisions rather than rely on foreign mercenaries.


The city of Yue-Chi was conquered in 1180AD, it remained a small exporter of agricultural goods for the next few centuries, but its strategic location solidified the ancient claims of the French Monarchs. They were threatened both by competition from other powers, which was partially remedied by the war against the Incas, and by local native attacks. The original inhabitants are said to have slightly resembled Mongols in apperances.



The birth of Aryabhata in1190AD an important mathematician and astronomer are also worthy of note, so some historians put this as the date, whilst others push it a decade later when Astronomy gained an entire division in the Royal Academy of the sciences and art in Paris. The sudden spike in interest in the field may be attributed less to the Kings of France dedicating more funds to the institution but more to the apparently correct prediction of the astrologer Nostradamus of the death of King Henry the II.. Ironically this interest in astrology finally led to its debunking, at least in scholarly circles, it remained popular with the upper and priestly casts for centuries to come.



The royal advisors managed to produce a practical use for the new art just weeks before the funding would have been cut, working with shipwright advisors and employing some of the ignored suggestions of Andrei Sakharov they produced a superior large ship design that employed precise navigational instruments which supplemented the compass perfectly. These ships were comparable to the Ottoman galleons employed by the monarchy until then, and would replace them completely in the following decades.


Aryabhata was a very spiritual man and deeply committed to the cast system, and as such refused to use some of the more modern astronomical tools himself, opting for observations made by the naked eye and notes made by those who did not have reservations. Despite the limit this imposed on his studies he made a profound impact with his many stellar catalogs. He also became a leading mathematician and theologian in France.



He was displeased by the Tolerance act of 1210AD which allowed Russian and Mongolian Jews to live in parts of Paris.



This together with his quarrels with the leaders of the Academy who felt that the academy was not necessarily interested in metaphysical speculation prompted him to found another Academy of the Sciences in Rheims, this new place of learning and research made great contributions to the French scholarly community. The founder’s preferences were reflected in the new academy, astronomy, mathematics and theology were intertwined between its halls. He wished to return to the classical era of knowledge, he claimed that much was lost during the Dark Ages and that this needed to be restored. What followed because of the sudden need to critically reevaluate Confucian tradition, combined whit his fallouts with both the scholarly and priestly community gave his students the unflattering moniker of Protesting Confucians or Protestants. The Academies theological debates had a large, if relatively limited effect on the culture of the city, but the social ideas that came out of it would define the following century.

The Protestant interpretations of Confucianism that arose ironically had very little to do with Aryabhata’s original ideas and where severely fragmented. This fragmentation may have caused the Confucian clergy, even the pro-protestant one to stop funding the Academy mid 13th century AD, it may have also played a role why the Academy gradually reduced the importance of Theology. One of the Protestant groups group called the The True Academy of Confucius believed the Mongolian Confucian social order, even though more tainted with Incan Christian thought than French culture was purer and closer to what they considered Confucius’s true message of ones place in society. They radically reinterpreted early texts and wrote devastating criticisms of later ones.




These criticisms were so influential, and objectively well argument (since Confucius never espoused a true cast system) that eventually the Confucian faith would renounce the cast system. In 1235AD one of their, most influential thinkers, a former Christian priest Martin Luther posted the Ninety-five Theses on the doors of the Confucian temple in Rheims, in them he soundly criticized the cast system and argued for the introduction of a modified form of Feudalism. The proposal did introduce some positive changes in the rights of the lower casts, but unfortunately also opened the precedence of the lowest cast being tied to land and argued for the reinstating of Clans whose heads would act as vassals to the king. Both was out of reach for almost all of the weak clans except Clan Harkonnen, which had remained wealthy and influential because of the Incan war. And the Clan was more than willing to exploit the potential abuses that the 95 thesis which were partially accepted by some Confucian dignitaries made possible. However some of his more extreme supporters and Luther himself were banished to the New World, they settled and remained influential for several decades in Dijon whose cultural importance rose because of this.



The partial reformation of Confucianism emboldened some thinkers and even the rulers of France. In 1240 AD a guild was founded in Paris by Russian Jews living in the city. This led to some considerable controversy. But after the King formally embraced the founding of guilds, it was decided that guilds were compatible and in fact complimentary to the cast system, a decision unimaginable in previous years, but the reformation and the fact that the Dutch employed it despite reservations from the Academy of Confucius, made their employment smooth with (quite ironically) the more conservative clergy who opposed the protestants. The new guilds ensured greater quality and reliability, which helped to increase production, they also stimulated the trade of certain resources that besides being used for nutrition were of use as raw material to the various guilds and their many workshops.



To calm spirits only born Confucian Frenchmen were allowed to found or be members of guilds, despite this some of the more hard-line Lutherans in Lyons, who where made so unhappy by this and the rising influence of Islam in the city, that they decided to leave it and settle in New France. But some of them had even more radical plans than that…

[Diplo America]

France wasn't the only nation experiencing a religious reawakening.

American Religious Traditions

Officially America has been Islamic for centuries, but the form of Islam conventionally practiced by Americans has never featured the brutality and impalements of the Carpathian Code. America officially converted to the religion of Islam due to diplomatic pressure from Carpathia years ago, but in truth it was never more than an agreement on paper. American spiritual beliefs have never been fully understood or well organized. The religious practices of an American “Islamist” in Chicago was much different from an American Islamist in Boston or Philadelphia. Indeed, often the religious practices differed substantially from house to house.

Quite generally, the American beliefs could be described as pantheistic pagan. They believed in traditional gods and superstitions from the American past. The American pantheon has its share of good and evil gods. Good gods include, Johnny Appleseed the god of nature, Paul Bunyan, the god of flannel, John Henry the fighter of demon golems, and of course, Britannia, the goddess of wisdom and nurturing.

Evil gods include Moby Dick, the god of the sea (the American association of the sea with a god of evil is one explanation for why America was so late in creating a navy and exploring beyond her shores), Pecos Bill, the god of thievery, and Darth Vader, the god of choking and badassery.

Americans also worshiped local gods, said to look over individual towns and states within America. In Philadelphia they worshiped William Penn, in Boston it was Sam Adams, and Atlanta even took their name from an ancient American god, also named Atlanta.

Americans are very tolerant and welcoming of other faiths and have adopted much of neighboring religions. Today, for most Americans, their ancestral beliefs are indistinguishable from religious traditions they have adopted from foreign cultures. It is common for, say, an American in New York to have a shrine to local god, Boss Tweed, study The Code, and recognize Ozzy as the greatest of all gods, with Jesus as his son, and Confucius as his prophet.

With the capture of Oradea, the holy city of Islam, many Americans began to, perhaps for the first time, reflect upon their beliefs and seek more concrete answers to the questions of life. Scholars traveled to Oradea and studied The Code and other religious scriptures, seeking a synthesis. Two such men would arrive in Oradea by vastly different paths, but would both have a profound effect on American faith in the centuries to come.

The Jefferson Code

Commander in Chief, Thomas Jefferson, was not only a skilled diplomat and leader, he was one of the most brilliant Americans alive at this time. His personal library was the largest collection of books in the nation, and he read voraciously. He could speak 5 languages and loved to read writing from the east. He was a very ordered and precise man, and thus the chaotic nature of American religious belief had always bothered him greatly. He was distressed too that most Americans considered themselves Islamists but most have never read The Code and would be horrified by it if they did.

He traveled to Oradea to read original sources of The Code, and other personal letters and stories from Vlad Tepes I. He appreciated the spirit and intent of the Code but was disgusted by the brutality of it. Even more critical in his mind was the past history of The Code in Carpathia. Specifically he was concerned by how quickly and easily The Code was corrupted. Instead of reserving execution by impalement for true criminals, the thirst for blood among Carpathian leadership drove them to impale more and more people for less and less serious offenses. Indeed Vlad Tepes held raffles to impale people without any just cause whatsoever, and ate babies.

This, thought Jefferson, is the trouble when you make a man judge, jury, and executioner. Americans were always less trusting of authority than Carpathians, and had a keen understanding of the fallibility of men.

“If the King (or count) of a nation is the sole authority in charge of administering the Code,” wondered Jefferson outloud, “who would be there to impale the King if he committed a crime?”

Surely, if The Code is just and universal, there must be some ultimate arbiter to divide the criminals from the innocent. To punish the wicked and raise up the good. If no human is capable of such power, what of a being beyond this world? What of a god?

Logically, there can be no other way. To seek to administer The Code through human failings, prejudices, and lusts, is to corrupt and destroy The Code. The only way The Code can ever be put into practice is for the righteous punishment to be delivered by a god.

But... which god? The many gods of the American pantheon are jealous, fallible beings. They squabble and fight with each other. They are greedy and lust for power and attention. In truth, they are no better than humans. Surely if there is an ultimate arbiter these gods too must obey his will, as would humans. If they are no better than humans, are they gods at all? Or are they just legends, fairytales and superstitions?

Jefferson read more through religious and philosophic traditions of other cultures. Again and again he kept coming back to the Russian belief in one god, Ozzy. The Americans of Ozzydelphia (the city of brotherly-Ozzy) have long sworn allegiance to Ozzy. Russian tradition says there is only one god, the almighty Ozzy who created heaven and terra. Jefferson read stories of the travels of Pitr the Pious and the revelations of Ozzy he encountered. Ozzy appeared to him and said there are no other gods but Ozzy.

Russian tradition seems to most closely approximate the ultimate arbiter Jefferson was seeking. The existence of one, all-powerful deity, Ozzy, seems to be the only logical conclusion one can reach who submits to The Code. To submit to The Code is to submit to Ozzy.
But, if Ozzy enforces The Code, why do we not see his works in our day to day lives? Why does Ozzy not impale the wicked? Why was Vlad Tepes II, the most wicked of them all, not impaled decades ago?

Jefferson continued to read.

He was impressed with the Mali view of Ozzy and with the Incan religion of Christianity. The Mali see Ozzy as a dual natured god. The Inca believe that an aspect of Ozzy descended to earth in human form. Jefferson read on. The Inca beliefs of Ozzy seem quite similar to the Mali. The Ozzy of what they call the “Old Testament”, namely the Russian revelations of Ozzy, is a vengeful, powerful and just god. This god corresponds quite nicely to the teachings in The Code. However, the Inca say Ozzy has another nature. Another side to himself. This side they call Jesus, who they say was an Incan man who lived many years ago. This man, unlike Ozzy, was filled with compassion, forgiveness and love. Quite clearly Ozzy does have dual natures, as the Mali describe.

Jefferson probed deeper into the Christian faith. This “Jesus” figure described a life after death, an eternal life. A continuation of our spirits beyond this world. Most interesting. Indeed, Jesus himself rose from the dead after his death.

“That... makes sense,” said Jefferson to himself, “There is one god, Ozzy. Ozzy has two natures. One, Jesus, governs this world, and the other, Ozzy governs the next. Jesus is filled with forgiveness and love and chooses to forgive those who commit wrongs in this world, hoping they will repent their wicked ways and turn to the light. If they do not however, then in the next life, Ozzy, the ultimate arbiter and interpreter of The Code, impales them on a stake for all eternity. It makes perfect sense!”

Jefferson, alone in his study in Oradea, began writing furiously. At last, a proper interpretation of The Code. He distilled all the parts of The Code that had relevance for people’s day to day lives. Exhortations to not steal, not lie, not murder, not wrong a neighbor. These commands were quite similar, he found, to the commandments passed down from Ozzy to Russian prophets. Surely this is The Truth. He included many parts of Russian Ozzy worship too, but focused mostly on the morality and teachings of it, instead of the supernatural stories and myths. He did the same for Mali and Incan holy texts.

He spent many weeks working on this. He did not neglect his role as Commander in Chief however. Oradea was preparing for a Carpathian invasion, so his presence there allowed him to work on his religious study and help prepare the defenses. Unlike Washington, he was not a warrior, so most of the war preparations were left to his generals. He continued to write.

At last, after many months of study, reading and writing in Oradea Jefferson had completed a religious work that would revolutionize America.

It was called the Jefferson Code.

American Islamists who had, for centuries borrowed and adopted the religious practices of other nations had their intuition confirmed and explained by the Jefferson Code. The Code, as practiced by Carpathia was a wicked, corrupt version of Islam. Only the Jefferson Code was Truth. The American people, long spiritually adrift, rallied behind the new interpretation of the faith. For once they were proud followers of Islam, and for once they knew what that meant.

[Diplo France]

I wish to receive copy of this “Jefferson code” you have written. France is on the brink of civil war because of the foolish Confucian reformation and my own faith of Christianity may be under threat from bigots and may break up into hundreds of factions, since the holy see in Incaland has been inactive for so long. It is my desire to prove that Confucius is one of the prophets of Ozzy like his Russian counterpart, who where both inspired by a third divine person in addition to your own Ozzy and Jesus, the holy ghost. In this manner Christianity and Confucianism would enjoy equal status. It would also allow the monarch to become the head of the Church of France.

There are only what you consider heretical Carpathian views in my nation, we wish to see the way could you perhaps send us a teacher of the new code. A missionary, after the war is over.

-Cardinal Richelieu

A preserved fragment of one of Richelieu's letters to Thomas Jefferson.

[Diplo France]

Confucius says:


-"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."

-"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses."

-"What the great learning teaches, is to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence."

-"Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of sincerity is the way of men. "

-"The Superior Man is aware of Righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage."

-"The commander of the forces of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him."

[Diplo Carpathia]

Vlad Tepes III

Born shortly after his fathers assasination, Vlad Tepes III was sent off to the island city of Aachon for his protection. His true idenity was only known to his caregivers, and until the age of 13 he lived as a pesant in near squaller conditions.

The island of Aachon was for the most part isolated from the rest of Carpathia, and thus spared the ravages of war. Located north of the Mali mainland, a large portion of the population was Malinese. Growing up with "blackskins" as they were refered to by mainland Carpathians, Vlad III was spared the racial bias that plagued his father and grandfather.

It was here that Vlad III learned to read and write, manipulate numbers with mathamatics, and study military and political science. Although some wondered why a mere pesant boy was being given such a education, none suspected that the next Carpathian leader was in their midst.

Although the orginal plan was for the young Vlad to take power at the age of 20, high ranking councel members recongnized that Carpathia needed a leader soon, as every meeting of the mayors became more and more tense. At age 13 he sailed to the mainland in an unmarked galley, and was briefed on his true idenity as well as recent Carpathian events.

The news was a shock to young Vlad. The stories of past oppression and brutality by his father upon Carpathians caused him many a night of missed sleep. He vowed to right the wrongs of his fathers.

"You are the future of Carpathia." his caregiver Brosco Zeplitini told him. "Lead us out of the darkness."

At the next meeting of the mayors Vlad III was reveiled to the attendees. Some scoffed, some were afraid, but most were glad that once again Carpathia had a leader.

Dispite his young age, Vlad III was a natural at public speaking. He addressed the mayors.

"Dear mayors of Carpathia," he began, "We stand at a turning point in Carpathian history. The war which has ruined our grand nation is now over. However, there are those among us who wish for more bloodshed. I ask you, can we afford it? While it is true the Americans took much from us, can they really be blamed? Although my sir name is Tepes, I am ashamed of what my father has done, not only to his own people, but to other nations people. We can no longer afford to be seen by Terra as monsters who hunger for war. We can no longer enslave our people and use The Code as the shackles. We stand at a turning point. Do we turn toward the darkness, or walk into the light?"

Cheers went up from many. Ale splashed through the air as others raised their mugs in approval. Yet others sat by in reserved silence.

Carpathia's collective army was bigger then it had ever been. All these troops, and now a peacemonger takes power? Some indeed wanted to turn toward the darkenss. A Carpathian general named Vigo the Unmercyful in particular did not like what he was hearing from the teenage Tepes...

[Diplo France]

The Renaissance
(1200AD – 1400AD)

Part Two: The Late Reformation and Humanism


…. the commander of the King’s army in New France became a devoted Lutheran because of their efforts and proceeded to ”attack the unbelievers” with his army of pikemen, Macemen, catapults and Knights. He conquered the relatively unimportant native city of Gepid far south of Juto in 1250AD and finished building a city wall in Dijon. He was planning on declaring independence form the King and to wage a holy ”thirty year war” to retake the ”sacred land of Juto, which the heathens call with their foul tongues New Cuzco, that was gifted away by traitorous Henry our supposed King. May he and his witch wife burn in hell!”. He also planned to instate Martin Luther as his “Royal religious advisor” to finish the reformation of Confucianism. He styled himself King Ehnaton of New France.



I was only due to the quick intervention of the then ruling Cardinal Richelieu on behalf of the often sick and young King Henry the III. that the man was quickly captured in the Siege of Dijon and burned as a heretic before carrying out his plans or rallying the New World army behind him. Richelieu was a pragmatic man who tired to serve the interests of France. He was heavily involved in the Amero-Carpathian conflict with sometimes controversial but undoubtedly clever moves. He had correspondences with some of the greatest thinkers of the age including the American leader Jefferson. His religious ambition was to hybridize Confucianism and Christianity together into a Church of France that would be headed by the monarch. He tired to the best of his ability to promote Catholic Christianity and remove the stigma attached to it, he went so far as to commission the Orange Catholic Bible which became the only legal version in France, it was a hybrid that took the Old testament from Russian rather than Incan sources, and took New Islamic sources on a equal footing to Christian ones. The version was disseminated through Dutch and Mongolian lands, French sources do not say how well accepted it was or how well it unified the various Christian groups there, but it did succeed in doing so in France.


The OC Bible

The invention of the printing press is often attributed to Gutenberg who employed such devices by 1280AD. He was sick of having to hire dozens of scribes at high cost or at times even outsourcing the production of books to fulfill his state contract of providing copies of the OC Bible to all Christian churches in France and its colonies. The development of the new technology left him almost bankrupt by some accounts. It is also said he is to have eventually made a handsome profit by printing various Confucian Protestant and Orthodox books, and dying a rich man. In many ways the printing press reviewed the by then dissolving reformation movement and its many branches. The printing press Gutemberg invented was not the first to be used in France, but it was vastly superior to all earlier French made designs and comparable with foreign machines.

During Richelieu’s time in power the northern city of Chartres was finally granted the right to build a port, allowing the city more equal footing with its southern, much older rivals. Richelieu also ordered the expulsion of a protestant Confucian group which believed in predestination and declared the belief of Christians in free will the greatest heresy, the group left the city and begun preaching their brand of Confucianism where they went in 1295AD. He also issued another patent of tolerance, allowing Jews to settle in the New World city of Amiens.



Regent for the young boy king Henry the IV., the influential Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is often said to have had a hand in the death of Richelieu and the royal heir Henry the III. who had been old enough to rule for a long time, but preferred that “my dear cardinal handle the unpleasant business”.

Vladimir's father bought the title of Baron, and once he died it passed to his son. His policies were firm, he would maximize profits whatever the cost, and unfortunately he maximized his own Clan’s profits often at the expense of France. In his first year he did construct a market in Lyons and a courthouse in Grenoble, but the market was owned by his Clan and he used the appointed judge in Grenoble to spy on the lower levels of government thwarting those who sought to remove him from his position. He continued to support military buildups and selling mercenaries on the open market, his interest in the natural sciences led him to commission a royal advisory commission on poisons and another on explosives.

He went so far as to contemplate stealing the mixture recipe for gunpowder from either Mongolia or Holland since he was continually disappointed by the scholars in the group, he was infuriated at not being able to execute them due to religious restraints on casts. The commission on poisons was much more heterogeneous in composition and once they provided a satisfactory report he convicted them of treason and hanged them, those who he could not link to any of his old operations he accused of heresy, and finally those both orthodox and not connected to anything sorted he let go. It was a pure coincidence that they all died within 48 days after release. After disbanding the commission and stashing away its reports he added several Carpathian impalers to the pay roll of Kingdome of France in order to “ensure proper motivation in every member of the great French family”.


In the following years he ruled much in the same way, over the years he only added more and more cruelty to the equation. This eventually destabilized his hold on power, he tired to regain it by cornering the luxury market but the city of Port au Prince, which he founded on the Spice isle Arrakis in 1330AD, did not have sufficient manpower to clear the jungle and create large scale plantations in such a short time frame. Within the year Vladimir found himself being tried and executed. He was shot several times with what was the first musket produced by the explosive commission as a demonstration to the now adult King Henry the IV., the still relatively young and impressionable king was quite enthusiastic about the weapons effect.

Humanism, arguably the defining tough of the Renaissance would often have to settle with small concessions in the 13th century, not surprising since it was faced with such a ever more corrupt and inhumane government. Many humanists despite the funding the French state provided to the two academies, more and more disliked the monarchy, believing it to be corrupted and unfit to govern in these “new times”. Sentiments were not improved when many of intellectuals were executed when Regent Vladimir Harkonnen began persecution, imprisoning and killing suspected Liberal builders on a large scale.



But none the less, they changed the intellectual face of France. "Man not the heavens is the measure of all things." They and all of the French intelligentsia began meeting to teach, learn, debate theology and science, entertain and create art, as early as 1290AD in the many salons of Paris. The meetings were organized by the women of the French nobility. The idealistic representation of the ladies of the Salons as beautiful, reasonably independent, intelligent and learned, made them very different creatures from the obedient and quiet ideal wife of Confucian tradition.

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, often consciously following Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "to please and educate" (aut delectare aut prodesse est). The term is commonly associated with French literary and philosophical gatherings from the early 14th century up to the 16th century, though the practice continues today in many cities around the world.


But despite the sudden widespread admiration of the few educated women their role was still subservient to the male, since they were never tough of as true equals. Many of the noblewomen were thought to, and were accused of, having inappropriate relationships with the thinkers who were part of their groups. But since the phenomenon was in this period limited to Paris, the city of Aphrodite’s, we must not be surprised by such insinuation. And quite a few of them were grounded in fact.



The University of Paris sometimes refered to as La Sorbonne.


In several of these meeting a group of men would eventually agree to petition the monarchy to open and finance the first modern university. They used some of the organistional foundations allowed by the new legal and organisation system surrounding guilds this becomes apparent if one realises that the proper translation of universitas magistrorum et scholarium is a guild of masters and scholars. By 1330AD the pet project had become a reality and was rapidly becoming one the more respected institutions in the already splendid city of Paris. It was given full royal endorsment during the reign of Henry the IV..


The ideals of humanism could not be fully expressed in the early renaissance, since fully supporting bold Mongolian concepts of Liberalism and stating so in public would have been suicide under the reign of any king let alone the regent Vladimir Harkonnne. Henry the IV., was their great hope to improve the situation in France, as a result many worked hard to ensure he would gain real control over France and could effect Vladimir's demise.

Despite such nostalgic notions of restoring the proper ruling family, the monarchy had lost much of its credibility, credibility it had earned in centuries of good rulers like Robert the Good, Charles, Charlemagne, Henry the II. and Remi the II., it would never again fully recuperate and the small trickle of changes advocated by humanists would eventually become a storming deluge that would sweep away the traditions of a millennia of autocratic rule.