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

[France (DoE)]

The Coronation of Franzen in Venitii

Joan was exhausted.

The ceremonies had been very nicely done, as she expected. It was good to see her friend Franzen crowned. He seemed very pleased with the days events.

But she was exhausted. It was not so much the ceremonies, but the travel to Venitii, being away from her family, and the many issues that needed her attention. Just before the ceremonies she had signed her letter of condolence to the Ottoman.

Dear Suleiman

It is with great sadness that I heard of the death of your father. I never met him, but I felt I knew him through his deeds, his history, and his friends. He was a great man who accomplished much during his reign. More importantly, he was a spiritual beacon for those who followed the faith of his heart and mind, that of Judaism. Suleiman the Pious will long be remembered, and will long be loved, by his people.

I offer my condolences and those of the Gallic people. May your heart find comfort in the greatness of your father's life.

Sincerely, Joan, Princess of Gaul

Thinking of that letter brought Joan's attention back to spiritual issues, those facing Gaul. The people were restless. They wanted something, but knew not what they wanted. Taoism and Islam were practiced in various cities in Gaul, and Christianity was prevalent in many neighboring areas, including here in Venitii. Various advisers and priests had approached her with their thoughts on what would be best for Gaul. How did they know what was best? How did she know what was best? Her mind started racing again, weighing the pros and cons of adopting an official state religion. She just did not know what to do.

Joan took a walk just outside the east gate, where a Christian chapel stood.



She stared up at the chapel, hoping some divine presence would give her the answer. She stared for some time. After an hour, she gave in to her exhaustion. She needed sleep. And she missed her husband and her children.

[Germany (DoE)]

The crowning glory

Franzen the First of the Neandor



Many great dignatories attended, including Suleiman the Eagle (!), Princess Joan and Edward of the Damnanglais. It is thought that Kondio may have been in the crowd of the newly built Christian Monastery although news from the Vikings was scarce. The High Priest and the Cat did not come, nor did Snarg...

[England (DoE)]

The Great Debate and the Conversion of King William

Time passes quickly in the kingdom of England. The glorious golden age of art and science begun with King Edward would not finish with him. The popular king who took the throne at an old age and is known variously as Edward the Elder or Edward the Philosopher has died. He was interned in the great mausoleum alongside his father, Alfred. Lacking any surviving sons or brothers, the throne passed to Edward's grandson, William. A dashing 28-years-old, the young William had grown up in a world that looked to England as its leading intellectual and cultural light. London fashions were copied on the streets of Boulogne-sur-Mer and Istanbul alike. English poems were recited, English books were read, and English philosophies were debated throughout the western world.

Edward saw himself, as king, as the highest ideal of man, and thus pursued the highest ideals of man: art and philosophy. William was raised with such a view, and his skill for oratory and logic was surpassed by few. Edward personally chose him as his successor due to his interest in and success with intellectual pursuits. William never missed an opportunity to debate. Many philosophic schools had emerged and were gaining popularity in England in his day. One such school of thought was based around this new religion, Christianity, which had taken solid hold in Ireland and Carthage and had begun trickling into the rest of the kingdom. William was intrigued, so to test its mettle, he organized one of the nation's most famous debates between Anselm of Canterbury and Geoffrey Chaucer with the young King William moderating.

King William - It is well known to all that England is at the center of the world's attention. All look to our beautiful art, our captivating literature, our groundbreaking philosophies and sciences. Has my grandfather, and thus all of England, achieved the highest ideal of humanity?

Geoffrey Chaucer - Yes, my liege. Our wondrous art, music, literature and philosophy demonstrate the high point of man's achievement. The tanned men working in the fields lift their eyes inspired by the golden domes of the mausoleum. The dusty merchants occupy their time discussing the grand ideas produced in our great library. Our noble families minds are uplifted by the great music and literature produced in our lands. Their lives are enriched by them, and our great achievements give all men something to aspire to.

Anselm of Canterbury - How enriched would the average man's life be by a beautiful fresco and statue when the great expense spent on producing them could be directly applied to putting food in his belly and a roof over his head?

Geoffrey Chaucer - Momentary comfort for the peasant rabble is surely not the highest ideal of humanity. The great mausoleum could be torn down and its materials sold and the proceeds distributed among the masses, of course, but what would that amount to? One extra meal for every man woman and child in March only for them to die of starvation in April? Yet the splendor of the mausoleum endures through all ages. It will inspire the noble and common alike for generations to come. And as they admire the marble floors and gold ceilings they give those artisans and architects immortality. The work of our hands today will survive for hundreds of years and other people, other nations, and untold generations yet to be born will be in awe of us long after we are dead.

Anselm of Canterbury - Is awe our goal? Is the highest purpose of man to make others jealous of him?

Geoffrey Chaucer - Jealousy is a sign that we have achieved something great to be jealous of. It is the necessary consequence of success. Were we poor and backwards, other nations would not look to us with jealousy. The brightest minds from foreign shores would not flock to our banks. It is merely a demonstration of our power and wisdom.

Anselm of Canterbury - And when others covet our wealth, what then? Power and wisdom do not go hand in hand.

King William (with a small chuckle) - I hope the Archbishop does not intend that as a slight on my intelligence.

Anselm of Canterbury - Surely not, my liege, though it may perhaps be a slights upon your power.

All present were silent, waiting fearfully for a response from the young King. As the silence bore on, Anselm too became concerned. But the King was no despot and enjoyed challenging debate.

King William - Please explain...

Anselm of Canterbury - I surely do not intend to challenge your power or authority here in England, of that there can be no doubt. But what of the Gaul? What of the Neandor? What of Russia? Their power grows every day.

King William - We have all heard the rumors of their military might to be sure, but we are safe behind our waters. Our newly signed peace treaty with the Gaul guarantees it. We retain a superior navy and have no fear from any opponent.

Anselm of Canterbury - What of many opponents? As strong as England is, surely you could not expect us to defeat the combined might of the Russians, Ottomans, Gaul, Neandor and Viking? No matter our strength, we could not repel them all, we could not avoid death at their hands.

Geoffrey Chaucer - Is your argument then that military might should be our ultimate aim? That power and force of arms should replace beauty and science?

Anselm of Canterbury - I do not. I argue instead that the beauty of our gilded halls and ornate tapestries is fleeting. You see them as enduring through countless generations, you see the artisans as achieving immortality, but were there not beautiful structures in Jerusalem? A great temple, a golden arc? Nothing but dust now. Whatever temporal beauty and wealth we acquire, there is always someone able to destroy it. Nothing on this Earth is lasting.

King William - What then is lasting? What then is the highest ideal of mankind?

Anselm of Canterbury - Our flesh is destined to rot, our buildings destined to crumble, our great deeds destined to be forgotten. Our spirit though, our soul, that my liege is eternal through Christ. His body was pierced and broken, and died upon that cross, but he rose from the dead! In his sacrifice he conquered sin and liberated all mankind from death. All of us then have eternal life in the kingdom of God. To live for God then is the true path to immortality!

Geoffrey Chaucer - Certainly a compelling story, and one all here would love to believe. But what if it is all lies? A fairy tale? How can we at all believe God exists? I have never seen this "God" nor have I seen this "Christ" you talk about.

Anselm of Canterbury - A worthy question, to be sure, though we could all be spared your obnoxious "air quotes". Putting aside, for now, whether you believe or not believe God exists, can you imagine a being than which none greater can be conceived?

Geoffrey Chaucer - I can imagine it, yes.

Anselm of Canterbury - Ok. As we look around London we see many beautiful buildings. Wonders of architectural achievement and engineering. Tell me, which is greater, the mausoleum of gold and marble or the mausoleum of thought and sketch?

Geoffrey Chaucer - The built mausoleum which towers over the city.

Anselm of Canterbury - Yes, absolutely. We know certainly that existence in reality is greater than existence in the mind alone. Therefore, if the being you imagine exists only in your mind alone, it is not a being than which none greater can be conceived. A being than which none greater can be conceived must also exist in reality.

King William - And if it doesn't?

Anselm of Canterbury - If it doesn't exist in reality, then it fails to be a being than which none greater can be conceived. Thus a being than which none greater can be conceived must exist, and we call this being God.

It was there that the debate ended. Won over by the logic of Anselm's argument, King William converted that day to Christianity. He established Christianity as the state religion of England and began organizing it throughout the land. As he grew in his faith, he contacted church elders in Dublin and Carthage and instruct them to strengthen their missionary work to the rest of England. King William would later become known as William the Conqueror for his goal of conquering the hearts of all for Christ. Tales of the debate spread all through the English Kingdoms and many were swayed by Anselm's ontological arguments. The golden age of art and beauty begun under King Edward would continue under King William as a golden age of faith and reason.

[Inca (DoE)]

Voyage of the IES Capaco

The Capaca ship sailed on through new waters and past new shores and peoples. A completely absurd and irrational tune announced its coming to these natives on the land, and the tune trailed behind as they passed on, slowly drifting in and out of the minds of the bewildered inhabitants. The ship itself was an extremely bizarre sight: battered and barnacle-covered, the sails painted in brilliant if not surreal colors. The crew manning it an equally strange sight to the simple farmers and nomads whose lives and histories were of almost completely closed natures: circular, primitive cultures. On occasion, upon finding a settlement of significance, or simply when the captain of the day (for this position changed on a daily, if not hourly, schedule with little rhyme or reason to the succession) decided "this is a good place to visit," the ship would set in for a safe beach or cove and the crew would disembark to share and trade with the locals. The ship would usually offer fresh seafood as a gift in exchange for local meats and grains (as typical human custom in primitive places is to offer such to benevolent travelers). In addition, it would trade exotic luxuries, grains, and handicrafts with locals for further grains, meats, their own local arts and such, or anything the "captain" saw fit to jury rig onto the vessel. In addition, the "captain" would typically offer a very small quantity of preserved maize grain.

The ship itself was more than a typical traveling or trade ship of the day. On board the main deck the past crews had constructed a simple garden, having little else to do with the space or their time as their original supplies had run out. They had not managed to retain any usable maize seeds, however, so now they planted whatever caught their pallets as worthy of their precious garden space. This way they were able to carry fresh exotic fruits, vegetables, and other flora to distant shores. Some scholars believe this was extremely crucial to the flourishing of certain coastal peoples during this portion of history, peoples who had previously had only poor local varieties of grains or vegetables to rely on, and who therefore hadn't the productivity of farming to afford excessive expansion, specialization, or any of that good stuff.

In addition to their purported role in spreading labor-efficient and nutrient-rich crops to far-off places, the crew also spread culture. Their own ship's culture had become a true amalgam of Asian cultures, with a particularly heavy Chinese influence. But all of that was a distant second to their own culture, itself a distorted form of ancient Capacan people's. Still, it is doubtful any contemporary Capaca would have recognized the crew's culture as anything other than dangerously foreign. The crew's long period of isolation, foreign interaction, and heavy psychedelic drug usage had created a revolutionary and entirely eccentric sense of self, community, and expression. The increasingly hierarchical, centrally-driven, and commercial culture of the homeland Capaca was at the same time suppressing such innovative, trendy, and individualistic forms of identity and art. This mainland art was at this time focusing on straight lines, basic geometric patterns, unflinching symmetry, a simple color system of red, green, and gold (the colors of the aristocracy), and generally depicted the powerful kings and leaders of the day in glorified and totally white-washed appearance. On the other hand, the IES Capaca's art rarely involved symmetry of any sort, and in fact sought to avoid it at all costs. They also utilized every dye and pigment they could come across, and sought the creation of new and exciting shapes. Their "subjects" were the land, the universe, and on the odd days of the week appear to be completely abstract in nature (a first in the ancient world).

Some scholars argue that the true gifts of this crew were not so much their vegetation but the seeds of radical cultural change and perspective that they delivered to the Asian and African continents. For many of the small kingdoms and tribal lands knew only of the typical and stifling forms of organization as existed throughout their histories: nepotism, seniority, and tribal/familial allegiance. To come across a ship -for these people a thing of extreme wealth and importance- that was controlled not by an aristocrat or hand-picked admiral, but instead communally controlled with no clear hierarchy or organization, where each man's role may change from one day to the next, and where the more skilled chose to assist those of lesser means rather than use it to their personal advantage; where art, song, dance, and story-telling were more important to each man than his position in the order or his abilities to crew the ship; where there was no family or tribe, but rather a whole made of many unique and valued parts; to come across this completely shattered their impressions of what was possible and what was inevitable. In the ships wake, many cultures flourished not only due to new-found crops of great worth, but due to a new-found sense of freedom and hope for a better, or at least different, society.

[England (DoE)]

The Successful Fusion of Science and God

During the final days of William's reign, and the final days of the English golden age, scientific advances proceeded rapidly. A happy confluence of events brought together the best of many worlds to produce optimal advancement in England. Christianity rose and was officially adopted and promoted during a time of rapid cultural and scientific growth in
the country. The nation's greatest promoter of the faith, King William, together with Anselm of Canterbury, William of Ockham, Richard Fishacre, Alexander of Hales and others fused together the best of Christianity and intellectual thought & scientific advancement.

The halls of the Great Library filled with priests and monks diligently copying manuscripts of the nation's great literary works and books on philosophy. They worked also to push into new areas as well. English monks, impressed with the workings of various watermills throughout the land, studied them directly and intensively. They observed the forces involved to turn the bill, crush the grain, or whatever purpose the mill served. They wrote up principles of mechanics and others began to apply these ideas in new areas. Windmills were invented, crossbows were invented, new advances were made in shipping as well. Clocks and all manner of small, useful mechanisms were created during these years that made life and work generally easier on the farm, in the sea and elsewhere.

The merchants, a very strong and powerful constituency in the trading, sea-faring nation of England, were very interested in the application of mechanics and machinery in their ships. Great improvements were made to sails, rudders and general construction of ships. Oars, once necessary for propulsion, became less necessary as sails improved. With faster ships, the merchants began trading further and further away and pushed further into uncharted territory. They ran into difficulty however with navigation. As the season advanced, and cloudy nights outnumbered clear, it became impossible to reliably sail and navigate during the winter months. Alexander Neckam, a Christian theologian and Master of St. Alban's school, came up with a solution. He devised some early properties of magnets and invented the first compass. Merchants were able to sail now during the winter months and trade was able to increase because of it.

Advances were made too in optics. Robert Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln and the venerable Sir Roger Bacon made great breakthroughs in the field. They were the first in Europe, and no doubt the first in the world to invent magnifying glasses, eye glasses and telescopes.

Grosseteste said:
"This part of optics, when well understood, shows us how we may make things a very long distance off appear as if placed very close, and large near things appear very small, and how we may make small things placed at a distance appear any size we want, so that it may be possible for us to read the smallest letters at incredible distances..."

Altogether these great scientific advances propelled shipping, navigation and seacraft to untold heights. English seamen were the greatest in all the world and highly sought after for their skill and knowledge. England would only further grow their reputation as the world's foremost nation of trade, commerce and shipping. Joining together the philosophical and financial strengths of England, the day's of William's reign were indeed bountiful.

[England (DoE)]

William Organizes the Church

William shepherded his people through great changes as a nation. Early in his reign, after the great debate between Anselm of Canterbury and Geoffrey Chaucer, William converted to Christianity. As head of the nation his conversion wasn't a private one, he declared Christianity to be the official state religion of England. Ireland and Africa had already adopted it. As part of his zeal for the faith he set about with his goal to conquer the hearts of England for Christ. Under his watch Christianity spread and was widely accepted in Glasgow (and throughout Scotland), London and Plymouth. Missions were established in York and Iceland as well and significant minorities began to join the flock even though the majority in both cities were still committed to Islam and local pagan beliefs respectively.

With Carthage, Dublin, Glasgow, London and Plymouth solidly won for Christ, England was overwhelmingly a Christian nation. With all the scientific, cultural and infrastructure improvements made under William's golden age, it is this mass conversion his reign would be forever remembered for. The Church had been organized independently before William got the state involved, with leading arch-bishops in Carthage and Dublin. Having been so impressed by Anselm, the bishop of Canterbury, William directed Anselm to be made arch-bishop. Thanks to his patronage, the Archbishop of Canterbury became the head of English Christendom.

The early Church was led by five patriarchs - bishops of their cities who were authorities on matters of faith. The bishops of Carthage, Venetii, Moscow, Dublin and Bethlehem were the oldest and most respected patriarchs of the faith. Their writings on matters of doctrine were discussed and followed throughout the Christian realm. In most cases they agreed and in most cases they worked to stamp out heresy and propagate the faith. There were however many disagreements and debates over a multitude of doctrinal issues. William made waves when he sought to elevate the bishop of Canterbury to equal status with the five patriarchs. Some were shocked and angered that he would interfere with Church business in such a way. Others were relieved that after many years of being barely tolerated - and in other cases persecuted outright (like in Israel) - there was a powerful monarch who was a believer who organized Christianity throughout his lands. Such powerful support could only be in the Church's favor they thought. Others warned against mingling with temporal authority. Give to William what is William's they said, and keep what is God's for the Church. Ultimately William won out. The five patriarchs became six. The Archbishop of Canterbury was held in esteem throughout Christendom.

William next sought to settle some of the differences that were dividing the early Church. A point of contention throughout the Church has been the nature of the relationship between God the Father, and Jesus the Son. One prominent local bishop, Arius of Arthurton, has been teaching that God the Father created Jesus as the first act of creation, and thus is above and older than Christ. Others argued that the Father and the Son were one, co-extensive and co-equal parts of the same Godhead. London was a world famous center for debate, philosophy and learning. Christian scholasticism was founded there and great scientific advancement was born there. Growing up in this debate and environment, William naturally believed a grand debate and council would solve this dispute.

In 325 AD, William called an ecumenical council at Bristol. About 300 bishops from across Christendom met to discuss the important issues of the day. Arianism, the scheduling of Easter and many other issues were up for debate. The council met and debated and discussed off and on for months. After much discussion the most contentious issue was resolved with an overwhelming vote. All but two of the attendees voted against Arius. The Council decided to put down the basic tenets and beliefs of the Church into a creed. The Bristolian Creed would be repeated in services in churches throughout the world and be a universal profession of faith.

The great Council of Bristol would be the William's longest lasting legacy as King, and one of the final actions of his reign. By 330, William was dead and entombed within the great Mausoleum, succeeded peacefully by his son Richard.

[Ottoman Empire (DoE)]

Suleiman the Eagle heard by fast messenger of the death of Great King William - trade flourishing between the Jewish East and the Christian West, particuarly through the port of Carthage in which people of many nations lived, followers of both Christianity and Judaism.

Immediately he sent a present for the new King Richard. Knowing the English aristocracy's love for hunting, he send a trained mountain eagle (and its handler) for the king.



English falcons could only hunt rabbits, foxes and pigeons. With a true Turkish eagle far larger prey can be brought down.

A glorious present for a glorious new king. Richard friend of the Turks.

[Inca (DoE)]

New Arrivals

In 370 AD, a great event occurred that was nearly unprecedented in Inca history: Europeans made contact with the continent. A further oddity of history, the English were the second civilization to make contact with the Inca homelands. As far as the natives of these lands were concerned, the elusive Aztec were the only other civilization in existence, assuming (as they did) that the barbarian migrants and bandits of the southern continent were not a civilization.

The initial contact was made by an English exploratory vessel that sailed into the waters of the Mancho regionate. The vessel was allowed to pass through the waters, solely due to the fact that the Mancha at that point did not have the means to claim any sea territory. Whether the governate would have allowed such a crossing with a proper navy at its disposal is unknown. Likely, some form of tax would have been applied, as was common later in the empire's history.

The first days of contact were marked by the English sailing off of the coast and turning into a tourist attraction for the local fishermen. Although they attempted to explain their situation to the locals, very little was possible through their foreign gestures and crude drawings. All the locals could surmise was that they were in a bit of a hurry and oddly anxious. This did not create an extremely positive atmosphere for these initial encounters, and provided a rather negative first appraisal by the locals.

As the English vessel waited in the waters, message was sent to Mancho for the governate to send official envoy to the area. Within a few weeks, such an envoy had arrived and sailed out to greet the English vessel in the deep waters of the Pacific.

Next, the English........ .... ..

[Inca (DoE)]

Distant Neighbors



Still, at this late time, the Aztec and Inca had no official communications or even an open borders agreement for trade. The Talcha had clearly abdicated their responsibilities in the matter, having felt severely insulted by the Aztec's turning away their previous envoys. But the Capaca and central government couldn't be bothered to further explore these strange lands and to make contact with their people, having enough on their hands with the local invasions. For the central lands, a distant border people who showed no ill will and who insulted the Talcha were of no threat. The government was aware that their neighbors were no longer military lightweights or of lesser commercial abilities, and vaguely knew that they constituted a major empire, but they had better things to do.

The Mancha, however, ever interested in further commercial contacts, and isolated as they were in the south with no one to trade to but the fledgling eastern colony, and with no similar invasions to contend with, found themselves planning to make contact with these unknown peoples. The Mancha did have their own affairs to deal with first: completing the central government's orders to pacify and claim the eastern territories and bolstering the empire's defenses. But, these were not enough to keep them forever occupied.

It would be over a century before the Mancha sent their envoys to the Aztec lands. In the meantime, what contact existed between the two empires was simply the occasional sighting of foreign vessels in the tropical waters of the Pan Sea.

[Germany (DoE)]

It was bitterly cold as he left the icy North. He left behind a powefull force, strong and loyal - but news of better armaments developed in Venetii draw him there. He learned that Christians had been sent from Venetii to Nordica and had tried to convert his power base, whilst in the North Arctica had seen Buddhist Missionaries and Neandor City had seen Islamic missionaries.

He lay in wait in Venetii, securing information on new military technolgies. Snarg was no fool and yes, he grunts! The Neandor Line is dominant in his makeup.

At the same time King Franzen was ignorantly residing in Grunzen City overseeing the final stage of the construction of the great Maui Statue. All he could see was granduer after granduer - first Grunzossolus, then The Hanging Gardens of Venetii and now the Statue.

But Snarg had a plan and was ready to prove his leadership of the kingdom. He was concerned about the Christians but thought he could use them and organise them to increase production of City Walls and Barracks.

He subverted the proposed Christian Council in Venetii by waylaying messages from the now dead King William. He called him King William the Hasty for he expects dipomatic replies in hours when it takes weeks to travel across Europe. This played into Snarg's hands......

[America (DoE)]

The Man was rushed to the shore by his aides. A ship had been sighted. A large ship, larger than anything they had ever built themselves. He arrived at the beach, and as soon as he saw this great ship, he turned to his men and said: "Don't do anything. Follow my lead. Stand up straight. If they are gods, we will bow to the ground. If they are men, we will not."



Everyone gazed at the ship in awe. A small boat came off the ship. It rowed towards the shore. As they came closer, The Man started to make out figures. There were men in the boat, and they looked very white. Their boat arrived on the shore, and several men got out, three of which were dressed in strange clothes, all red. They came walking straight towards them. Their leader stopped, right in front of The Man, whose mouth was hanging open, a little bit of spit accumulating on his bottom lip.



Their leader said: "Spiffin'! Marvelous! What an interesting chap. Dear sir, I greet you on behalf of the English empire and our beloved King William! We will be staying, now please show us around old boy!"

The Man continued staring at this creature, having no idea what he just said. Eventually, he decided that these strange white beings weren't the gods, but that they should be invited to his city nonetheless. A rather uneventful afternoon ensued, with the white people constantly blabbering at him, repeating some word over and over again, "tea". Very odd, but they seemed friendly enough, so he offered them several huts and tents to sleep in. They took them, and it was clear they would be staying for a while, as their large ship sailed off to the South in the evening. The Man decided he would invite them to talk with him every day from now on. There was much to be learned...

[Native America (DoE)]

Prairie Hawk sat in his room, dispirited. For some time, all his grand plans had gone awry. The People worshipped as they pleased, to whatever god they wanted. His Golden Temple of the Gods was filled with small altars, rows of images, all manner of worshipful items, yet people eschewed the big altar he and his adherents had set up in there, to commemorate the Holy Pact they had made. Those who spoke of such things talked about the "freedom" of worship that they had, as if it had ever been chained in the first place. And The People shrugged off the strictures of Prairie Hawk and his faction, and did much as they pleased.

To be sure, they did not let Prairie Hawk off the Sacred Skin. He had offered more than once to let another lead The People, but every time they refused. He was the personification of the Pact, the Holy Alliance that would allow The People to grow to greatness. He could not be allowed to leave the Skin. And, so, of all The People, Prairie Hawk alone was not free.

Then there walked into his presence two of his "aides" (spies upon him, he chuckled to himself). They seemed agitated.

"What news, friends" he asked? "There is a man-thing come to us from SunRise, across the Mountains of the Sun, oh Skin Sitter." (So they mocked him, seeming to praise his position; he knew better).

"What does the man-thing want," Prairie Hawk asked? "How should we know," they replied? "We cannot understand the man-thing's mockery of our speech."

"Does it not point, or gesture? Do you have no way to tell what it is thinking?"

They stared at him. "How should we know what the beast means? It is a man-thing! It is but a mockery of man. Can a beast have the ability to think?" They laughed derisively.

"Then, why did you bring news of this to me?" His question skewered them with it's precise logic: if the man-thing had no meaning, then why was the leader of The People bothered? Obviously, there was more to this man-thing than they were letting on.

The aides looked uncomfortable. "It does not go away when we attempt to shoo it away, as the man-things before have done. It stands its ground, and makes more of its man-thing sounds. It points its fingers as if ..." Their voices trailed off.

"As if it really does have some message to convey. Yes, I thought so." Prairie Hawk rose. "Take me to the Skin, bring the man-thing. It is time." He walked out the doorway between them, ignoring their stares and whispers. It was but a short walk to the Skin. He seated himself there, and waited. People were passing by; many did not even bother to look at him. But a few stopped, saw him on the Skin, and began to collect around, murmuring. He smiled inside, a wry smile, that there should still be those interested enough to at least notice the Skin was occupied.

They parted after a bit, and through them came striding one of the man-things. This one was dressed much as the ones they had seen to sunrise did. It was but a bad imitation of how The People dressed, as the implements of war it had were but bad imitations of the ones the People used. It did not appear to understand about iron, yet; the axe at its side was bronze-headed. But it was most definitely a thing filled with purpose; that much was clear from looking into its eyes. It stopped before him, then leaned forward at the waist, making some unusual gesture with its arms and rising again. It then began to make man-thing sounds for a bit. It stopped, and waited.

Now, the dreams became clear. For weeks, Prairie Hawk had dreamed unusual dreams, dreams filled with man-things. Dreams that had made no sense. In the dreams, the man-things were speaking to him, as if they could talk. He had dismissed these as wild fantasies, products of his poor disgestion, an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato, perhaps. But it was now clear that he had been being warned by the Gods. He understood at last.

He stood. "Hear me, People. Here is a man-thing. Hear the man-thing. The man-thing speaks."

A gasp went up from the assembled people. "How can it speak" cried out one?

"It speaks because it was taught speech by some god which made it in mockery of us. I have seen this in visions. And if it speaks, it reasons. It thinks."

A silence fell. This was beyond easy understanding. He took advantage of the silence.

"We have always refused to deal with the man-things. This must stop. This man-thing is here to make it stop. The People must deal with this man-thing. It must be taught to speak as The People do."

A moment of silence followed. Then an uproar of voices surrounded him. The cacaphony was deafening. Clearly, The People were not willing to accept what Prairie Hawk said easily. He waited, wondering how to explain a holy vision to a people who had given up on such things.

Almost unnoticed, from out of the crowd around them, a man came forward. His clothes showed him to be from around the great lakes. He walked over to the man-thing, faced it, bent forward at the waist, and began to speak to it. Only, Prairie Hawk could not understand what the man said.

But the man-thing did. It's eyes widened, and it appeared to smile. Then it made man-thing sounds back to the man. The man listened, then spoke to the man-thing. Prairie Hawk realized that the things the man said sounded much like the sounds the man-thing made, only more cultured sounding, almost like speech. It came to him that the man and the man-thing were ... conversing.

The man turned to Prairie Hawk. "Truly, oh wise one, have you spoken. I, Swimmer With Fish, have learned to talk with these "man-things". They have a village not far from where we live; I have been there, have been among them, have learned their speech."

The crowd, which had grown slowly silent as they had watched the conversation with the man-thing, gasped in awe. Swimmer With Fish went on. "This is 'Davihd', and he brings us greetings from "The Man", their leader. And he has a message. Their people want to settle along the bay in the cold lands. They seek our agreement to this. They offer friendship if we agree, war if we do not."

Prairie Hawk felt his age. Things were moving too fast; he did not understand what to do. He needed to sit and think, but he did not think he had time to do that. Swimmer With Fish saw the doubt, the hesitation, and pressed his case. "Old man, Skin Sitter, do you not have an answer? Have the gods not told you what to say?"

Prairie Hawk opened his mouth to speak in indignation. He stopped. No words came out. He closed his mouth, slowly. He turned silently, and walked through the circle of people. His face was set to Sunset, and the mountains. He took nothing with him. The People understood; he was taking the Walk.

Swimmer With Fish walked to the Skin. Sitting upon it, calmly, he gestured to Davihd to sit with him. The man-thing did so. The crowd murmured, but it was the murmur of approval. One or two of The People came to sit with Swimmer and the man-thing. Swimmer and Davihd began to talk.

[Native America (DoE)]

Davihd and Swimmer stood at the edge of Cahokia. They looked into each other's eyes. Swimmer still liked what he saw there; a reserve, yes, as should exist between people who did not know each other, yet. But no guile, no deception, no dislike. He smiled.

"Take, then, to The Man, as he styles himself, our agreement. The lands around the bay, and the forests of the cold north your people may settle, if you desire them; we desire them not, for we are not a people of the woods. We ask only that the prairie North of us, along the mountains, be reserved to us."

Davihd smiled back. "I shall tell him. A good day to you, Fish Swimmer." He turned and walked away towards the SunRise.

Swimmer With Fish was pleased. They had talked of many things, of trading, of the wild man-things to the North, of the rumors of ships off the coasts. They had talked about the man-things to the South, beyond the hot sands and the Grand River. It would be a good friendship, he thought. He turned to walk back to his lodgings.

[France (DoE)]

Joan tried to look as solemn as she could. The new Monsignor of Calais was still reciting the Christian readings. This was taking forever. As the dialogue mentioned "the son, Jesus", Joan's thoughts wandered to her children. Genevieve was studying at the library in Lubeck. Anne-Marie was foot loose and fancy free, much to the dismay of her parents. Apparently she was close to an officer in the Morrocon Expeditionary Force. But that unit was headed back to North Africa, so only the lord - Joan bowed her head with an acknowledgement to the event she was presiding over - knew wher she was now. Phillipe was about to join the army. His younger brother Armand was jealous. And young Francine was more interested in chasing the dog around the garden. Joan had to stifle a smile at the thought of Francine and the dog rampaging through the well-manicured palace gardens.

She was not sure of this Christian conversion. Her advisers had pushed for it. As had Richard, who had several years earlier converted to Christianity. Joan was not convinced. She went through the motions, but did she believe this idea, this concept, this fanciful tale of an omnipresent being? It did not move her soul, in the same way that her children did. They were real. This god was not.

She had read the extensive debates and theologies from the Angles. She thought they were being very bombastic in both their conversion and in their preaching to the world about their advanced state of affairs. She thought back to the past when several military advisers had pushed for an invasion and the razing of London. And of course, that was when the Monsignor's sermon centered on "peace" and "turning the other cheek". All Joan could conjure up was "damn Anglais". And she did break a smile when she thought about spitting in the church.

[America (DoE)]

Davihd returned to The Man. He told him everything about his experience with the feather people. How they no longer asked how, but put greater emphasis on the why. How some of them could now talk with them, as they had live side by side for many generations. He told The Man about Fish Swimmer, a wise man, and how they had also not yet spoken to the other people in the South.

The Man was impressed. The feather people were nicer than he thought. He would send them some furs, and some crab. They probably have never seen crab, as they live inland.

Perhaps, now that the Ang-lish had arrived, things would change somewhat. But maybe it would be for the good. Already the Ang-lish were teaching them many things, another language, fishing techniques, boat building, and wondrous tales about another world, across the water, and their gods. The Man had so many things to think about, so many developments. Soon, things were going to change, that much was certain...