Beyond the Pit [Pitboss Diplomacy Game] [Story Thread] . PART 5 (December 2008)

[Pitboss Greece]

[OOC]For those who care....
This entire storyline of Kings was borrowed in a little altered way from the true line of Kings of Macedon (sorry, not Sparta)

Read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_Macedon

Some name were inserted by me, earlier or later, to keep the story fluent to the game.

The story of Archelaus is obviously most interesting, till his dead (including the uncertain way he died, to which I added a 4th option, suicide in Rome )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archelaus_I_of_Macedon

It all started with Alexander

With the new King, Orestes, this line is still in tact!
And just beware, one day Alexander the Great will be born

[Pitboss Rome]

Very interesting, just remember that Alexander decided not to go towards Rome but instead attacked the Persians!

A quick search on Wiki will reveal the next step in Roman governance and leadership.

[Pitboss Greece]

I've always bended truth too much into my 'reality' for that

[Pitboss Rome]

The death of a traitor

The knights from Princeps Octavian's new personal guard arrived at night at the camp of Consul Gaius Vibius Pansa commander of Rome's Northern Forces facing the Portuguese.

Within minute Vibius had been proclaimed a traitor to the people of Rome and arrested. Vibius' servant later claimed that the knights accused him of intercepting and forging correspondance between Princeps Octavian and the Portuguese; and that Vibius had announced proudly that Princeps Octavian should not write to the Portuguese without his agreement - after all he was the Commander of the North. Maybe this is why the knights proclaimed mockingly 'Behold the Traitor of the North' before they hung him.

Some old republicans looked on in horror at the fact that a consul could be treated this way by mere soliders working for the low-born officer Octavian. Most however rejoiced that perhaps Octavian would be the strong man Rome needed to bring the anarchy and revolution of the past years to an end.

[Pitboss H Roman]

A Response From The HRE

Frederick should have been relaxing on this day after Christmass; the day on which Christians celebrated the birth of the Great Prophet Christobal. But there was much to do. It would have been busy enough with Operation TIAL RUVAP in full swing. But then there was the flurry of public statements from the Metalheads just before Christmass. He slowly shook his head.

The information regarding the Metal civil war was neither here nor there. The Metals were a very odd people and few Holy Romans were surprised to hear about the chaotic and violent internal dynamics of the nation to the west. Hard music would do that to a people, to say nothing of the rampant drug use. However, the information regarding the recent war and the very unsatisfactory peace arrangement was something else entirely. And something that needed to be addressed publicly.

He wondered to himself why fate had placed the Holy Roman civilization next to the Metals, and not the more amiable Celts or Americans, or even one of the distant nations he had heard about – the peaceful Natives, or the honourable Koreans or Japanese. Only the Good Lord could answer that.

Frederick reread the public statement he and his advisor had drafted. Looking up, he met Simon’s gaze and nodded. “Post it immediately.”

To the Nations of the world.

The Metalhead nation recently made numerous public statements regarding the recent hostilities on our continent. As is not uncommon for the Metals, their communications are often aimed at swaying world opinion, and they frequently omit facts or bend the truth as convenient. The Holy Roman Empire would like to set the record straight, once again, on a number of items.

Item 1: The Matter of Provocation.

The Metals stated that the recent attack on Metallic and Led Zeppelin was "without provocation”. It was earlier explained that the provocation occurred many years ago with the placement of these two cities very close to our capitol; a capitol which is on the coast with no room for expansion eastward. Again, so it is noted, the eastern cultural border of Metallica is a mere 3 tiles from Aachen. How this could not be seen as unfair, or un-provocative, is both unclear, and surprising.

Item 2: The Question of Nation size and fairness.

The following statement was also made:

The Holy Romans and Metalheads had virtually the same score and development, and in fact the Holy Romans had more cities.

Two of our cities, built with Holy Roman settlers were to be turned over to the Americans. Furthermore, had the Metalheads put an earlier effort into settling the land between the offending cities and their capitol, tracts of land which remained unsettled for centuries, this question of the number of cities would never have arisen. Also, our cities are more closely ‘packed’ than is optimal. Again, this is the result of the placement of your early cities, and the need to maximize every tile that was available to us. For the record, the Holy Roman Empire is 14th in land area.

Item 3: The Myth of Khmer involvement

Another Metal Statement:

The Khmer... so are you telling me we face a war with the Celts, Americans, Holy Romans, AND the Khmer? An unannounced, unprovoked war from this entire continent against us?

The insinuation was that the Knights and Elephant troops used by the HRE were supplied by the Khmer for such use.

The Khmer are more than capable of defending themselves publicly on this matter, and the Empire has previously addressed this issue as well, but if the Metals continue to flog this issue publicly, we will address it each time.

To start with, The Khmer were NOT involved in the planning of the attack on the Metalheads, and in fact, I believe the alliance that had been organized against the Metals surprised them. The elephants used to build our first mounted units were obtained in a luxury-for-luxury trade with the Khmer many turns before. The Elephant Corps used in the attack were produced by Holy Roman cities. The two Knight regiments were in fact gifted by the Khmer. This was the culmination of an age old agreement that saw the HRE supply its only iron source to the Khmer for centuries. This severely curbed our ability to create axes, which is what we would have done had we had iron. The Khmer did not know of the use for the Knights. Also, there was no “limited use” clause attached to the trade. And finally, the catapults used were produced by the Holy Roman Empire, at great cost to the population.

So whether the Metals are trying to “stir the pot” by implicating the Khmer, or simply too embarrassed that the Holy Romans were able to amass an army capable of inflicting great harm on them, is not clear.

Item 4: Pursuing the siege of Metallica

The Metals stated

The Celts and Americans took the honorable route. Once the Hastings Conference began they suspended their assault of Led Zeppelin. They did not withdraw their troops, but they held off on attacking to allow diplomacy to run its course.

The Holy Romans were another story. Their attack continued.

The Holy Roman Empire firmly believed that the Metals dedication to, and fervour for, the peace protest was simply a way of weaselling out of a weak military situation. As will be shown shortly, this was in fact the case.

Item 5: The Battle

The Metal account of the battle is highly colourful, and attributes much of the Holy Roman success to ‘good luck’.

Despite the great efforts by Burton & Hammet, the Holy Romans were simply too powerful. The Khmer-trained knights were simply too strong to hold back. The elephants too large. The Metalheads took considerable losses. It seemed fate itself had turned its back on them. The streets were full of chaos, blood and death. The Holy Romans seemed to be charmed.

We fully agree that it was a hard-fought battle of blood and death. But it was also very well planned and executed, and in fact, luck was on the side of the Metals. General van Heusten has provided a very detailed record of the battle, which I will summarize here.

On the first turn of the siege, five regiments of Holy Roman Artillery (catapults) reduced the defences of the city to nothing but rubble.

On turn two, the same five regiments attacked the defenders. The attacks had odds of success of 8%, 8%, 9%, 23%, and 23%. Considerable damage was done to the defenders, but no Holy Roman catapult survived or retreated.

Then the second wave of the assault went in.

Knight versus wounded mace. 99% Mace destroyed.
Knight versus wounded longbow. 99% Longbow destroyed.
Elephant versus wounded longbow. 94% Longbow destroyed.
Elephant versus wounded longbow. 93.4% Elephant destroyed!!
Elephant versus wounded crossbow. 93.9% Crossbow destroyed.
Mace versus wounded axe. 100% Axe destroyed.

This left 3 very severely wounded units in Metallica facing two unwounded Knights, and two relatively healthy Elephant regiments, and the mace. The city would easily fall the next turn.

So, we acknowledge General Burton’s bravery in bringing down the elephant, but as can be seen, he was very lucky in that he only had a 6.6% chance of success, worse odds than those that destroyed all of the Holy Roman catapults.

So, yes, the attack was highly successful, but its success owed less to ‘fate’ and ‘charm’ that has been implied, and more to good planning and sound execution. In fact, had luck been on the side of the Holy Romans, the siege could have been even more disastrous for the Metals.

Item 6: The Peace Agreement and the Perfidy of the Metals

As General van Heusten systematically reduced the defences of Metallica, frantic diplomatic efforts were underway by neighbouring nations to resolve the conflict. The Holy Roman Empire was under intense pressure from the Khmer to back down. The Funglish were also lobbying the Empire hard for a cease fire. In fact, the late Emperor, Otto I, informed me personally that he called a cease fire, not because of the diplomatic pressure, but because the Metals finally agreed to hand the city over. He knew the Army could easily walk into the city the next turn – the Metals new-found gun-powder technology, nor any replacements, could reach Metallica in time.

But Otto would rather see the city handed over as part of a peace agreement, rather than taking it by force. This would save face for the Metals, and is what the lobbying nations were asking for.

In our archives, you will find the letter the Metals wrote to the nations involved:

Is everyone aware that while Celtic, American and Metalhead troops have stopped attacking while we negotiate, the Holy Romans continue to attack our cities? This is a lack of good faith and says to us that they have no intention of negotiating or accepting any kind of deal.

I agree that we need to work together. As for my trade, I have a large and advanced army assaulting my most important cities, and while we talk here they insult us all and this whole process by continuing to attack. We have to defend ourselves somehow since the Holy Romans don't seem at all interested in negotiating.

We are absolutely prepared to hand over cities peacefully, but HRE MUST stop their attack. If the nations here are at all interested in a peaceful resolution to this, then they can't allow one rogue nation to continue the attack while we talk.

Please stop the attack HRE so we can discuss.

So, for one turn the Empire did stop, as the Metals indicated that they would “hand over cities peacefully”. However, no cities were handed over, and on the turn after that there were some 9 units in the city of Metallica, including muskets. And then “cities” (plural) is now simply Iron Maiden in the far west, which would be handed over to the Celts. And the infamous Ozzy the Bateater (now also known in the Empire as Ozzy the Weasel), now knowing we could not take the city, says that he never meant that to include Metallica.

We learned a lesson regarding the Metals; one we felt we should share.

Item 7: The Portuguese Involvement.

The Empire took some solace in earlier statements out of Portugal that they were of the view that the Metal city placement was unfair to the Holy Romans. We looked forward to someday meeting that great nation, a nation which appeared to understand foreign matters and was sympathetic to the Empire’s concerns. We then find that the same nation supplied military technology to the Metals, thus helping thwart our attempts to rectify the inequity they expressed sympathy for.

Either the Portuguese, like the Metal, cannot be trusted - or - the Metal convinced them of the myth of Khmer involvement, and the Portuguese felt obliged to balance the scales; some sort of bizarre proxy war. It is not clear which it is. But as far as the Holy Roman Empire is concerned, Portugal should now explain its actions.

Item 8: The Future

The Holy Roman Empire remains disgruntled by the results of the recent peace agreement. And as can be seen from both the public statements of the Metalheads, and our response here, there remains much healing to be done given the diplomatic wounds inflicted and the casualties on both sides. However, a peace deal has been agreed to, one which the Empire has signed and will abide by.

We have had a rocky relationship with our neighbours the Metalheads. But we have agreed to work with them toward the future. This we will do. Over time, trust and understanding can be restored. And who knows? We may even come to like them.

Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor

[Pitboss Rome]

A Hero's Death

Consul Aulus Hirtius commander of the Roman forces in the South, victor of the relief of Viroconium and the destruction of the Maya at Satricum, led Roman knights including a new contingent send directly by Princeps Octavian to hunt down the last remaining Maya, hiding in the jungles near Neapolis.

The battle was hard fought - the Mayan Macemen making the most of the cover the jungle provided forcing the Roman knights to fight on foot, but time afer time the Roman knights broke though. As the last Mayan formations were surrounded, a cry went up from one of the officers of the new knights "the consul is dead". As his veterans ran to the scene, they found Consul Hirtius lying mortally wounded, protected by a group of the new knights who had fought off the Mayan ambush in the trees.

Many of the old Senatorial familes mourned the loss of Consul Aulus Hirtius bitterly. As the bringer of great victories to the Roman people, and a senator, he was seen as the embodiment of the ideal of the Republic. But now, With the executed for tretchery just months earlier of the other consul, Consul Gaius Vibius Pansa, people began to wonder how the old order could be re-established.

[Pitboss Rome]

Across Roman lands great celebrations broke out.

The slave revolt had finally been put down, and every foreign army sent in Roman lands had been eliminated. Not a single foreign solider remained.

The priests were even starting to murmur that the King of the West had indeed brought peace between Roman and Sparta.

The people rejoiced. Rome was safe again. Princeps Octavian proclaimed a new degree that all freemen who lived in Roman territory were Roman Citizens, which brought a new unity and spirit to the people. No longer were they desert people, mountain people or people from Rome, but a single united nation.

But how was this nation to be ruled? The old world seems to be collapsing, the senate was dead or dispersed, the consuls were death, the only strong man at the centre seemed to be Princeps Octavian.

[Pitboss Greece]

New Years eve 1321.

Orestes enjoyed a good bottle of Spartan Wine.
He looked over the city from the back of his garden.
The weather was pleasant, a bit warm even.

"What will 1321 bring us?" he wondered out loud.
"It'll be the first year without a war.... for a long time!" his wife responded.
"Peace for Sparta! At last!" Orestes sighted. "They'll call me the king of peace!" he smiled.

He looked at his wrist. A fine golden watch was on it.
"Roman gold...." Orestes said softly.

[Pitboss H Roman]

Christianity – the teachings of Simon Christobal

Christianity is the third oldest religion and is practised by 9% of the world population. It was founded in Aachen in the Holy Roman Empire, in the 3rd millennium BC (Before Christianity: footnote 1). Based on the teachings of the prophet Simon Christobal, Christianity’s tenets found wide acceptance amongst the egalitarian minded Holy Roman population, as well as the like minded Funglish who converted to Christianity in 850BC. Many years later in 910 AD, the Spanish people converted to Christianity. It is also prevalent in a number of Metal and Incan cities.

Simon Christobal was born in a small village south of Aachen in 2616 BC. His childhood was not particularly noteworthy. At the age of 19 he had his first seizure, and went into an unconscious state for over a week. This was the first of fifteen seizures Simon would have in his life, and after each one he was unconscious for days, sometimes weeks at a time. After the first seizure, he described a dream he had, where he had met a wise and mighty being called the Lord, who asked of Simon that he share with the people of the world what the Lord would teach him. This Simon did, and received a fair share of both pity and ridicule for his efforts. He pressed on, explaining to whomever would listen, the existence of the Lord, the life after death, and the Code of Life as it had been explained to him.

Sometime after his 2nd seizure, word of the young man’s dreams and his teachings reached the palace in Aachen, where both the Emperor and his spiritual and research advisors took note. The Emperor, a very spiritual man, had long looked for a religious framework on which to base his beliefs, as well as that of the Empire. Specialists were sent to document Christobal’s teachings, and to try and make sense of what he was preaching. This ‘official’ attention to his dreams gave Christobal more notoriety, and soon word of his sermons would draw large crowds.

Simon Christobal, although not a physically strong man, worked tirelessly to spread the Lord’s word, as well as working closely with the Emperor’s scholars. It was after the 10th seizure, and the lengthy description of the afterlife, that the term Christianity was used to encompass the beliefs and the teachings of Simon Christobal. He did not awaken from his fifteenth seizure, dying in the 38th year of his life. Three years later, scholars completed the Tome of the Lord, 14 books which reflected as accurately as they could, the teachings of the Lord as spoken by the Prophet, Simon Christobal. In 2575BC, Christianity was adopted as the state religion of the Holy Roman Empire.

Christianity focuses on each person’s efforts during this life to better themselves, as well as that of all mankind. It stresses devotion through prayer, calmness and clarity of mind through meditation, education in both religious and scientific matters, and being open to the world around us. It is not a religion of exclusion, and in fact, portions of the population of Vienna as well as the Metal cities of Metallica and Led Zeppelin practice both Christianity and Hinduism(also known as Music). The Lord’s word also acknowledges that he is not the sole, singular higher being, although whether he is a single entity known by different names and worshipped in different ways, or whether there are in fact, multiple higher beings remains a point of debate amongst scholars and priests. What the Tome does make clear however, is that there is a single afterlife, but again, with different paths to access it – Christianity being the path chosen by the Holy Roman Empire.

Christianity led to the development of a religious class within Holy Roman society; a class devoted to teaching and spreading the word of the Lord, as well as to the continued interpretation of the fourteen books of the Tome. It also led to the construction of temples as both places of worship and education, the most shining examples being the temples of Metz and Dresden.

Footnote:
1. The dates of 1BC and 1AD were established some 2600 years after the spread of Christianity, with the zero line based on the date that Christianity became the Organized Religion of the Holy Roman Empire. The establishment of the calendar some 500 years later allowed the assignment of consistent dates to world events. Dates prior to zero were assigned BC (Before Christianity) and after as AD (anno declaro), being the year of the declaration of organized religion.The efficiency of this system is evidenced by its use throughout all of Meduian, and beyond.

Portrait of the Prophet Simon Christobal:

[Pitboss H Roman]

The Christian Temple in Dresden. The arches, domed roof and the single spire are typical of early Homan Roman temple architecture.

[Pitboss H Roman]

The Attack on Pepper Point

This should have been an easy attack as well. Sir Rupert, so succesful in the attack on the Flats, led his well armed knights towards the city and its single defender. The odds were heavily in their favor. Whether it was over-confidence, or new Incan tactics, we will never know as Sir Rupert and his regiment died to a man. Sir Oliver, on seeing the disaster, followed quickly to finish off the defnders and claim the city.

Oliver found Sir Rupert where he died. His sword through an Incan axeman, but the Incan's axe deeply embedded in the knight's neck. Oliver, on his knees, cradled the bloodied body of his good friend Rupert. He looked around the city square where this final battle had been fought, and at the now smoking city, firmly in Holy Roman hands. A victory, yes, but a costly one thought Oliver.

[Robert]

January 2009 thread: http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?t=182886