Destiny of Empires [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 3 - December 2010]

[Inca (DoE)]

Inca christmas present: smallpox. So kind, English.

[Israel (DoE)]

The book of Judges chapter 4
1. High Priest Samuel had ruled Israel fourty-eight years when he died.
He had assigned Othniel to rule Israel in his place.
2. Othniel had ruled Israel thirty-two years when he died.
He had assigned Ehud to rule Israel in his place.
3. Ehud had ruled Israel twelve years when he died.
Shamgar then prophecied the word of G'd, saying that Shamgar should rule Israel in Ehud's place.
4. Shamgar had ruled Israel three times seven and five days when he died.
Jair then prophecied the word of G'd, saying that Jair should rule Israel in Jair's place.
5. Jair had ruled Israel two days when he died.
Jephthah then prophecied the word of G'd, saying that Jephthah should rule Israel in Jair's place.
6. Jair had ruled ISrael four days when he died.
Then the prophet Nathan placed Gideon to rule in Jair's place. Nathan blessed Gideon who would continue to rule Israel in the spirit of Samuel.

[Israel (DoE)]

The book of Isaiah chapter 25
18. In the fourth year of Gideon, Judge of Israel, word came to Nathan, who was plowing the field.
19. Nathan laid aside his tools and departed as ordered by G'd. He traveled to Moscow. There he spoke as been told by G'd.
20. Citizen of Moscow, G'd Adonai brings you this message: Depart your wicked ways and cast out those who blaspheme his Name.
21. Do leave the path of christianity and stone those who follow this faith.
22. If you discard this word then doom will be upon you.
23. Do you however follow the teachings of G'd, then you will be blessed.

[Germany (DoE)]

Snarg Itza

Snarg succeeded!

He was more than powerful now. Snarg Itza of Nordica.

[Mongolia (DoE)]

There was a hurried meeting of chief's in Karokorum. They wanted to know how they could be at war with China, after all we had been at peace with all. They questioned the small brigade that was sent to raze a barbarian village. All we done they said was followed orders and burnt the village to the ground. The first assault failed to take the village, so we rushed it again killing the troops inside. Only after taking the village did it become apparent that a small number of Chinese soldiers had moved into the village taking advantage of the destruction of the barbarian units by our Keshiks, this fact was unknown to the lowly ranked soldiers in charge of the operation.
There was widespread anger that the Chinese had interfered inappropiately in our military operation and therefore it was decided no apology or recompense would be given to the Chinese people. They must wear the crown of thorns they have inherited from this interference in Mongol affairs.

[Russia (DoE)]

After thousands of years being pagans and worshiping the trees, the sun and the sky, the Russians were ripe to accept a more complex set of beliefs and the most wise Catherine saw the benefit in adopting Christianity.




She loved the story of the God himself sacrificing his own son for the sins of the humans, but more than that, as she was practical and cunning to degree, which earned her the familiar nickname, which her court was whispering - "The Cat", she saw fit in the dogma, which said that the Queen's power is from the God. Now she was crowned officially by all canons.



All hail the magnificent and wise Queen Catherine of all Russia and Russians!











Also, she organized the religion and started to spreads it through all the vast Russian kingdom, so she to benefits from it the most.






She was advised to adopt a bit different version of the Christianity, which is closer to the origins and fits more the wide soul of the Russian people - they called it Orthodox Christianity.



The new state religion and organization was adopted on a Christmas day - the biggest Christin's holiday - another of the little Catherine's tricks to help things goes smoothly.

The baptism was made in the icy rivers and lakes, which cross the country. The freezing cold could not scare the Russians, nor chill their religious zeal.






Thanks to the cares of our Queen Catherine and the mercy of our savior Jesus Christ, the Russians adopted the new religion and loved it from all of their hearts and souls.





From now on, all of the Russia was Christian kingdom, ruled by the Queen Catherine by the God's will. She is now protector of all the Orthodox Christians.

God save the Queen and our mother Rus!

[China (DoE)]

Great Leader! Scouts have arrived in the capital with news of the Mongols declaring war on us!

"War? Why on earth would the horse-loving Mongols declare war on China, we have done nothing to provoke their hostility, in fact, all we have done is invite them to our Asian Summit and they have not replied!", Great Leader Xi said.

Xi's advisor replied, "apparently they are angry that Chinese soldiers razed a barbarian village, it seems they wanted to raze it themselves."

Xi: "Then why didn't they??? Don't they know that Chinese soldiers are trained to kill, and will on site of an enemy?? These Mongrols have made a grave mistake for I have been working hard to unite this region. We count the Japanese and Indians as our friends and I am certain that they will support our reaction to this unprovoked killing of Chinese soldiers. The cowards only could kill our wounded soldiers, they dare note face us in a fair struggle on the field of war."

"Dispatch an army to burn all Mongrol lands and claim as many lives as possible. Our reaction will be both brutal and exemplary of anyone who dares kill Chinese men."

"Send a message to the Mongrol leader, if they even have one, that they will live to regret this action in more ways than they can imagine. At the same time, send a message to all world leaders to notify them of this unjust act of violence and remind them that China is a peaceful nation that seeks good relations with all others. We will, however, be forced to react with violence against the murdering Mongrols and we ask that any just-loving nation in this world, who is an opponent of war, support our efforts and teach a lesson to those that wish to promote violence."

[France (DoE)]

The Hagia Sophia - Calais



Joan gazed up at the beautiful vaulted and domed ceiling. It was as awe-inspiring as they said. She was only now able to make the trip from the capitol to see this marvelous creation that had been completed two months earlier. The builders of Calais, world famous for their architectural and construction skills, had outdone themselves.

Joan had seen the plans a number of years earlier and they had been impressive.



But the reality was something else entirely.





It was hard to imagine this had been made by men. Which made Joan remember that she had been staring at the building for a number of minutes and ignoring Lucien Bertrand, the chief architect, who had been standing quietly beside her.



"Monsieur Bertrand. I am sorry. But your building, your creation, your wonder, it leaves me speechless. It is beyond words."

"Thank you, your highness. That is good to hear. But it is not 'my' building. Many engineers and workers and craftsmen made this a reality. It belongs to the people of Gaul."

"You are too modest, my good sir. And I understand we have advanced our knowledge of construction in many ways."

"Indeed we have Ma'am. Even now, this information is being transcribed and distributed to cities and work forces throughout Gaul. We can now build roads and workshops more efficiently."

"This is all good Monsieur Bertrand. But tell me, the style, the influences, where did all this come from? I have not see anything like this before."

Lucien thought back to his good friend and mentor Gaetan, who had died the year before and did not see his dream completed. He fought back the tears as he explained to Princess Joan that Gaetan had traveled to the east, and came back with knowledge of Byzantine architecture, a form that had many influences, and which was married to Gallic engineering practices. There were also numerous engineering challenges during construction. Then there was the religious aspect. Calais had been predominantly Islamic prior to the conversion to Christianity. The two religions both influenced, and were reflected in, the interior styling. This was a reflection of the peaceful co-existence of the two religions currently in Calais.

Lucien explained various points of interest, including a beautiful wall mosaic depicting Christ.



It was then that he realized he had been talking for almost the last hour.

"I'm sorry Your Highness. I must be boring you with these details. My most humble apologies."

"Au contraire, my good man! It has been wonderful to hear you describe this building... this Hagia Sophia. Your knowledge and your passion are clearly evident and I feel fortunate that you have shared some with me. It has been inspiring to say the least."

Joan made her farewells and rode with her guard and entourage to the Royal Quarters near the barracks. It was now early evening, and the setting sun lit up Lucien Bertrand's masterpiece.



The sight of this magnificent work of engineering and architecture stirred memories. Memories of things she had dreamed of years earlier and before the demands of running a country and diplomacy and parenthood had overtaken her. She took one last look, and then turned and rode onto the barracks. Tomorrow she would be back in the capitol. Tomorrow she would start.

[England (DoE)]

King Richard the Lion-Hearted

Succeeding William the Conqueror was Richard the Lion Hearted. A brave, courageous and visionary King, Richard was the first English king to be raised Christian. Because of this he decided to change the English flag to better reflect its Christian character. A simple red cross on a white background was, he thought, the perfect representation for his nation. The new flag was:



Also, King Richard adopted an official royal standard to represent England and the monarchy:

[France (DoE)]

Joan awoke with a scream. The scream woke Richard who quickly looked around the room to see what was wrong.

“No dear. It is alright” said Joan. “It was a dream. A bad dream. Well a nightmare really”.

“Tell me about it” insisted Richard.

“It was awful. They burned me at the stake.”

“Who? The damned Anglais?”

“I’m not sure. It was here in the city, I think. It may have been Gauls.”

“Well that is not likely to happen, now is it dear?”

“Maybe it’s a sign. That my ideas, my plans, they are all wrong. The people won’t understand. Tomorrow will go horribly wrong and they will want to burn me.”

Richard laughed. “Where’s that strong and confident Princess I married so long ago?” and he poked her playfully in the ribs.

Embracing Richard she replied “She’s still here my dear General, and maybe you can send her back to sleep with more pleasant thoughts ……”

[France (DoE)]

The Next Day - Boulogne-Sur-Mer



"... and henceforth, the Gaul tribes, the Gallic Nation, will be known as France!"

As Joan finished her speech to the gathered throng, they erupted in applause and cheering. It went on for several minutes and Joan smiled to herself. Maybe they won't burn me at the stake after all she thought.

She rode her horse slowly through the crowd. Her guard was worried, but Joan was not. She reached down to touch and hold hands with the people as she made her way out of the Central Square. The cheering continued behind her. She reminisced; it was a bit like her wedding day.

The Civilization of Gaul had been set on a new course. The wonder of the Hagia Sophia had inspired Joan to see her dream through to completion, to finish the work she started many years before. Today was the culmination of two months of continuous effort by her, senior government officials, and numerous scribes.

The country was renamed France, an acknowledgment to the Frankish roots of a majority of the population. Gaul had been seriously considered as the name, but it was thought that would continue to reinforce the concept of 'tribes', which was clearly now a thing of the past.

Boulogne-sur-Mer was renamed Paris. This was long overdue given the historical presence of the Parisi Tribe.

The empire would consist of three provinces:

1. Gaul in the north, encompassing the cities of Paris, Calais and Lubeck. Calais would be the provincial capitol.

2. Iberia to the south, encompassing Valencia and Cadiz, with the latter as the provincial capitol.

3. Morocco in North Africa, encompassing Agadir and Tangiers, with the latter being the provincial capitol.

Hereditary rule and organized religion were entrenched in a code of laws that would govern the nation. Christianity was the state religion, but other religions were welcomed.

The Crown of France would also pass via inheritance, with the eldest child, regardless of gender, being next in line.

Military strength would remain a priority; the military being obligated to uphold the King or Queen's position, as well as the entire code of laws. There were numerous other legal and political matters covered by the code. It was simply titled: "Premier Defile de France" or the First Scrolls of France.

It set a new course for the civilization previously know as Gaul.