Domination of Barbarians [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 2 - May 2012]

[Netherlands (DoB)]

France has build a massive stone temple to the Earth mother, in the image of a swirl of Earth mothers dung. Inspired by this creation Dutch are flockieing back to France to rejoin their French relatives. Even the Dutch clam fishers have joined France. So many are they, theat they outnumber the Nether clam fishers, and now France controls the clam. We can only foresee thing getting worse as the word of this great monument spreads.

There is great distress in Nation of Fire, Nation of Water. How can we stop these defections? What can we do? The people are saying that because of this monument Earth mother is more powerful that Ocean mother. Of course this is blasphemies but how can it be proven. This great monument of stones plucked straight for the bowels of Earth mother looks exactly like the swirled excrement of Earth mother and it is a intended by the Franch to focus her power against the Nether, and seduce the Dutch back to France.

We must act soon or all may be lost

[France (DoB)]

The Dutch refugees have swarmed across the border in huge waves, some are seeking salvation for their spirits from the Islamic spirit of eternal torture but most just want to flee the tyranny of Trotseer's rule. The number of refugees is so great that the mystic council of elders has decreed that Chief Benoit has ordered the French tribe to expand it's borders to accommodate the newcomers.
The majority of the Dutch and Netherlanders have grown fearful of their future under the tyrant Trotseer. The refugees tell tales of how Trotseer and his "braves" had been bit by a few wolves while trying to follow The Great Valley Seekers and had immediately slunk back home afraid of big bad wolves!

Ashamed of their cowardice, Trotseer and his "braves" hid in their village and overcompensated by molesting the women and children to make themselves feel powerful. Trotseer's bully squad had forced most of the tribe to build fishing boats and fish to feed their less deviant appetites.

It was bad enough that the tyrant Trotseer's gluttony and slothfulness had led to the decline of the Netherlander tribe but now there are rumors that Trotseer is beginning to treat his people like property and threatening to work them to death. The rumblings of discontent are in the air in the Netherlands so the wisest of their people are fleeing now before Trotseer's sadistic intentions come to fruition in a violent revolution.

[Arabia (DoB)]

Arabia reminds all those seeking to learn the true way of Islam that you must have the knowledge of Writing so that we can sign a formal Open Borders treaty. Then our Islamic teachers can come to your lands and teach you our ways.

[Vikings (DoB)]

Ulfs men patrolled the forests around Nidaros. It has been a while since Ragnars return from his exploration trip, and now the two men switched their place. Ragnar remained in Nidaros, and Ulfr led the exploration party.

One sunny day he came to a glade in mid of the mountains. He was alone, his men were underway, doing their tasks. Suddenly he heard a loud roaring, and saw a huge bear breaking out of the thicket. The bear quickly approached. Ulfr clutched his club and looked around, but he had been caught off guard. He stood face to face with a monstrous animal, that was threatening his life. A chasm was in his back and dense brushwood to both sides, not a good place to escape. Ulfr decided to go down fighting and raised his weapon, awaiting the attack of the beast.

The very moment he was expecting the monster striking, he sensed a whirring sound, and he saw a long wooden stick striking in the right eye of his attacker. The bear roared in pain, and Ulfr barely avoided his onslaught. Suddenly another whirring sound, and a second wood piece stuck in the bears left eye. Ulfr used his chance and struck his club on the head of the blinded beast, again and again avoiding his mighty paws, that were hitting around helplessly and without aim. After a short, intense battle the bear fell, and Ulfr looked out for his unexpected rescuer. But nobody was even near.

A third whirring sound, and another wooden stick hit the trunk of a pine right next to him. Ulfr turned and looked in the direction, where this strange stick apparently had come from. On the other side of the gorge to his back stood a maiden. She wore a helmet made of a gleamy matter, with the statue of an eagle on its top. In her hands she had a bent wooden pole, both ends of which were connected by a long animal sinew. On her back was a quiver with some more of those strange sticks. Apparently she had shot the sticks with the bent pole in her hands.

"Thank you for the rescue, fair maiden", said Ulfr. "Without you interfering, I'd be in the beasts stomach by now."

She laughed and, to Ulfs surprise, jumped over the gorge with one leap. "You'd better don't try the same", she said. "It's too wide for you mortals. By the way, I am Skadi. Your ancestors called me goddess of the hunt."

"My name is Ulfr", the warrior replied.

"I know who you are. Odin sent me, to have a look how you're doing. So, there I am!"

"And not a moment too late. I still can't believe I lived through this. What's that interesting weapon you were using?", Ulfr asked.

"It's called a bow and it is shooting arrows. A person using a bow is called an archer. A unit of archers can cover its enemies in a hailstorm of arrows." Skadi pulled the arrow out of the trunk and put it back into her quiver. The arrows in the bears eyes had been broken in the fight.

"May we use that knowledge for our tribe?"

"Of course. It will help you in the upcoming fights against the giant hordes. And believe me, from my own youth I know the destructive power of rime giants." Skadi jumped back over the gorge. "Farewell Ulfr. I'll keep an eye on you. Even though you may not see me." She laughed again and soon disappeared in the thicket.

After the unit had returned to Nidaros, Ulfr told Ragnar the incident with the bear and Skadi. And both friends decided to name their peninsula after her, Skandinavia.

[England (DoB)]

Even as generations of her people came of age, bore children, grew old, and passed into the next world - Elizabeth remained as she always had, steadfast and ageless. In her many years she had see London grow from a small coastal settlement into a bustling and wealthy town. But even as her people went about their lives as they always had, Elizabeth sensed a time of great change was coming upon the world. Some of the youth in the village--inspired by tales of adventure from other nations on the mainland--were clamoring as never before to set off and build lives outside of the confines of Paris. This greatly pleased Elizabeth as she knew from her druid seers that, despite England's island confines, her people's destiny was to be one of exploration and conquest of lands yet unknown. Yet at the same time new threats and dangers loomed in the future. Although Elizabeth had always enjoyed peaceful relations with all of her neighbors the French had nonetheless used some of their fearful dark magic in creating a great monument of stone in a ploy to steal away London's rich fishing grounds. At the same time, some of the men in Paris, corrupted by gifts of French wine, spoke of their right "as men" to rule England as was the practice in France.

[France (DoB)]

The Great Valley Seekers hunt down a lion pride and a wolf pack in the dangerous plains on the cold winds side of China. Nearly half of the warriors are lost clearing the area of the dangerous predators however the warriors manage to make it to a forested hilltop which gives them an excellent view of the entire plains to prevent any more predators from spawning. The Great Valley Seekers send word to China to let them know that if they wish to cross the great plains to meet their elusive neighbors now would be the time to make the journey as they will need many winters to recover and during that time the plains will be kept free of predators.

Meanwhile the campfires of Paris are spreading the news that France's uncultured neighbors are jealous of France's Stonehenge and seeking to undermine the glorious achievement by proposing sinister motives for the hard work and sacrifices of the French tribe. The Netherlands subversive tales had been the norm from the beginning of time however the English subversive lies by an invasion of spies took the French by surprise.

The French had viewed the English favorably and there had been a no espionage agreement between the two tribes for more winters then anyone could remember. The English had even encouraged the French to build "Wonders" and had said they were going to do the same, hinting at building some sort of great wall. The English had broken the no espionage agreement and were accusing the land-bound French of stealing English fishing grounds despite the fact that the fishing grounds were still firmly under English control and the French had no knowledge of how to fish!

[Arabia (DoB)]

The Most Evil of all Tribes, the French, are once again plotting against the true faith of Islam. It is not enough that they make war on the true faith, now, armed with their evil monument to their heathen Earth Mother She-Devil temptress, their Evil energies are more focused and amplified by the Evil powers in the Unholy monument, called Stonehenge. As we speak, this great amplifier of Death and Necromancy is sucking the souls from the countryside, preparing to annoint one Frenchman as the Unholy Anti-Prophet, the Great Evil One who will arrive to oppose the true faith of Islam. Soon the Anti-Prophet will be upon us, and the reign of French terror will begin.



We have discovered that by stealing the souls of their neighbors, a trick they learned from the Dutch necromancers, the Evil French can then feed the bodies to the insatiable blood-hunger of their Earth Mother. Even now the French necromancers are creating a new magic, where they enter a trancelike state of pseudo-death. In this state, they can more easily extract the souls of their victims and hypnotize them to merge into the Evil Necropolis. Scores and scores of bodies are being buried within their Earth Mother by the Evil French necromancers, feeding her bloodlust, and adding more and more power to their unholy Monument of Evil. Assisted by the power of their Evil Necropolis, Stonehenge, the French are spreading their venomous lies all over the world, corrupting man and child alike.

To make matters worse the Evil French hypocrites are secretly plotting to create a new false religion to compete with the first and only true faith of Islam! The French lied when they condemned religion and lied when they said they declared Holy War on Islam to protect the worship of the Elemential Spirits. Because truly they only wished to distract the world while they create a new Unholy Religion, aided by their Evil SheDevil- EarthMother. Soon the Evil France necromancers will have perfected their unholy trance technique and they will begin seducing all their neighbors into their Unholy influence.

No one is safe from their lies and blasphemies! No one is safe from the greed of the Evil Tribe as they seek to greedily steal the rightful lands of other tribes. All peoples of the world who believe in truth and harmony and peace must unite against the Evil French Tribe before it is too late! If France consumes their neighbors in their Evil death sacrifices there will be no one left and the armies of Evil France will rule over us all!

[Celtia (DoB)]

After Cuidightheach's death, the tribe had been in mourning for a long time. The Celts were still a small tribe, with few achievements to boast - but they were proud of what they had achieved. Cuidightheach had been an important part of their community, and his guidance was sorely missed. Brennus had decided to not appoint a new advisor yet, as he felt that nobody could really fill the emptiness he felt by not having Cuidightheach at his side.

Some of the tribesmen had, after some time had passed, told Brennus that he was being unreasonable about it and that he needed to return to his duties - but Brennus was in a mindset where they understood that they could not change his mind. As they did not wish to create any more trouble for the tribe, they had asked Brennus for permission to leave the village for some seasons, to scout.

One day, as the tribesmen were sitting by their campfire eating the sheep they had butchered in the wild by the river, they noticed a log floating down the stream. Gaeth, one of the tribesmen, had pondered this for some days until he suggested that maybe they could make some device that they could float upon the water by using wood strapped together. And the first Celtic boat was made! Albeit, this first boat was a shoddy little construction that had Gaeth falling into the water several times, but the idea was sound. They spent several seasons experimenting, trying and failing at making the boats - but in the end they had actually created a vessel that was quite capable of floating on even the vast masses of bad-tasting water around the land, known as the sea. They had even learned how to steer it, using large wooden sticks that mysteriously made the boat turn when held in different angles in the water.

-----

The villagers of Bibracte were going about their day to day tasks, as usual, on the day the tribesmen returned home. Just about everyone stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the odd contraption they were standing on, out in the sea! Gaeth called to the villagers, and smiled and laughed, and he had even brought fish from the sea for the people to eat! No more would they have to spend long hours at the beach to gather fish - now they could create boats and sail into the sea and catch them there!

As Brennus saw the looks of joy and wonder in both Aithe's and their son's face, he finally relented. Gaeth was the right person to be his Advisor now.

The Celts are hard at work crafting more boats now, under Gaeth's careful supervision! More food will be very welcome!

[France (DoB)]

The euphoric unity in France after the creation of the Stonehenge marvel has gradually slipped away into various factions. The Elder Mystic Council still speaks for Chief Benoit and has advocated making peace with the Arab tribe so that the mystics can return to focusing on traditional wine magic and espionage towards their traditional enemies, the Netherlands, since the Nether tribe is posturing for war. The perpetual Nether threat of war is taken even more seriously since it appears the English have fallen under Nether influence and broken the ancient peace treaty.

A group of younger mystics have broken away from the Elder Mystic Council and have become known as the Stonehenge Mystics. These younger mystics have become known for their extravagant magic rituals involving many mystics at a time. The Stonehenge Mystics are focused on protecting the spirits of the deceased from the eternal torment of Jahannam. While the spirits of deceased French tribesmen have been protected since the creation of Stonehenge, the Stonehenge Mystics are concerned with those French spirits that were imprisoned in Jahannam before the creation of Stonehenge, including some of the past heroes of France. The Stonehenge Mystics are seeking to learn the secrets of Arabic magic to free those spirits and refuse to accept peace with the Arabs until all the French spirits have been released from Jahannam. The Stonehenge Mystics are overwhelmingly popular amongst the general French tribe which has caused tensions between them and the Elder Mystic Council.

A small third faction, mainly composed of Dutch and Nether tribesmen who have fled the Netherlands, are demanding the invasion of Netherlands to overthrow the sadistic tyrant Trotseer before his evil plans to enslave his population can come to pass. This faction is very vocal but does not have popular support at this time in France.

Meanwhile the Quest of The 18 Tribes continues...

The Great Valley Seekers have slain another pack of wolves while they were recovering from two previous attacks. Suspicion is that the frequent animal attacks may be caused by the magic of the Children of Barbarous and that the Great Valley Seekers may be near the exiled tribe's village.

Le Gaulois are growing increasingly frustrated trying to find the elusive Ottoman tribe. Where the F*** are the Ottomans has become a common phrase around French campfires!

While more agents have been covertly sent into England to try to pass word to the last tribe, which is now believed to be called the Celts, to see if they can be convinced to send a fishing boat towards France to make contact. The English appear to be actively trying to prevent the French from making contact with the Celts, probably preferring to keep the Celts as primitive as possible by denying them the research advantages of making contact with other tribes.

[Vikings (DoB)]

The Norsemen helt a thing assembly in Nidaros. Ulfr told Chief Ragnar and the men of the tribe about his observations in the south.

"The Nether people have recently expanded their territorial claims. It has become obvious, that they don't intend to honour our own rights to the lands given us by Odin himself. Especially the hill, where we suspect a deposit of the hard, shiny matter, has been put in danger."

Ragnar replied: "The Nether people are the friends of the Norsemen. We have no quarrel with them. However, there are things, that can not be trusted to anyone but ourselves, and one of those is the safety of our people. The hard, shiny matter is of vital importance for us, and unhindered access to it needs to be secured. I propose to send a part of our people from Nidaros under Ulfs leadership to the south. There they shall build a fence around the place so vital for us. It needs to be guarded by our warriors. The place should be called "Fenced hill", in our tongue "Tønsberg". The new town shall in the future be connected with Nidaros by a road, in order to secure the transport of the shiny matter to our weaponmakers in Nidaros, and also to quickly reinforce Tønsberg, should it be necessary, because not all people bordering the southern sound are friendly to us."

Nobody complained, and in a final poll an overwhelming majority of the Norsemen expressed their support for Ragnars plan.

Just as the thing assembly was about to be disbanded, a storm came up. Surrounded by wind and thunder, a huge eagle landed right next to the thingplace. After the storm, which had been caused by its gigantic wings, finally settled, the eagle turned into the old, grey bearded man in his blue cloak, wielding the spear in his hands. The men were struck with awe. Some fell on their behinds or even their knees. The old man came to the mid of the place.

"F... father... father Odin...", Ragnar murmured.

"Stand up, free men of Nidaros, and don't dare to fall on your knees ever again!", the god spoke. "I am not your lord, and you are not my servants. Remember that once and for all times!"

Odin turned to Ragnar. His face expressed appreciation and parental kindness.

"Chief Ragnar! You have not failed me and succeeded to raise your people from a bunch of drunkards into an organised nation, that is on the verge to turn from a mere city state into an empire. As sign of my approval I hereby lift the curse from your people and invite you, all free men of Nidaros, and the future citizens of Tønsberg, to Aegirs Hall to have a feast with your gods."

The Norsemen rejoiced. Odin continued his speech.

"Ragnar, for your deeds in service of your people I dub you Jarl of Nidaros, and your good friend and helper Ulfr shall from now on be the Jarl of Tønsberg. I propose to entrust Ragnar, Jarl of Nidaros, with the office of the High King of the Norsemen. Does the thing assembly approve of him?"

All men stood up, expressing their support.

"So be it. And now let's have a drink!" The god rammed his spear thrice on the ground. The thing place disappeared from their eyes, and instead the Norsemen found themselves in a wide hall. The tables were full of ale and mead, roast oxen, boars and salmon. Around the largest table they found all their gods assembled. And after a long abstinence, the Norsemen had a great time with their ancestors.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

"Brave One! The Norsemen have arrive at the bank of our Northsea! They has tools for making huts and begin to make their homes! I think they making a city! They aim to steal Ocean Mother's waters from us! We must stop them!"

Trotseer sighs "Let them be. I have been learning of their 'Gods' is what they call them. It seem that one Gods in particular, the one called 'Low-key', is a maker of all manner of evils and mischiefs and troubles. I have heard that he is the one who sits across from the God they call 'Oh-den' who is the master of their gods. It was Low-key who made the idea to put such a city to try to provoke war with Nation of Fire, Nation of Water. He fills their hearts with greed for some silly magics shiny rocks. We will not let this troublemaker divide us from our friends the North. Send to our explorers far and wide, and see if are other places for our people to settle. Let each nation settle wherever they find land to do and we will be peaceful. Good friends are worth more than shiny rocks."

"You are wise and brave, Brave One"

[Vikings (DoB)]

The Norsemen are pleased, that the Nether people learned the word of the norse gods. May be, in far future, they will comprehend their greatness and turn away from their own false idols.

[Arabia (DoB)]

Arabia has taken to the seas. Our desert home is so barren and infertile that we have decided to take advantage of the boutiful seafood in the Red Sea. Do not be afraid if you see our boats coming, we mean you no harm.

[France (DoB)]

The campfire rumors around France are spreading out of control. The Stonehenge Mystics have learned the Arabic magic of entering a trancelike state to cross over into the spirit world and have been battling Arab mystics in the spirit world for over a generation, as they tried to learn the location of the Islamic spirit prison of Jahannam. Rumors are that the Stonehenge Mystics had finally found Jahannam and launched a successful raid to free many French spirits from Jahannam.



The Stonehenge Mystics popularity has soared as a result of their success while the Elder Mystics popularity has correspondingly plummetted. There are grumblings that the Elder Mystics have done nothing in the war against Arabia, even the Quest of 18 Tribes has been unsuccessful, while the Stonehenge Mystics have been saving the spirits of their fellow Frenchmen. Occassional hushed murmurs can even be heard that the Elder Mystics should step aside to let the Stonehenge Mystics lead the tribe.

Another rumor is that one of the spirits rescued by the Stonehenge Mystics was the previous Chief Andre and that Andre's spirit had told the Mystics that it was none other than Chief Benoit who had arranged for his assassination while framing the Nether tribe. There is a counter-rumor that this rumor has been planted by Nether spies as an attack on Chief Benoit...

[France (DoB)]

The campfire rumors around France were growing increasingly grim for the Elder Mystics, as news reached France that the Great Valley Seekers had once again been attacked by wolves and more troops had been lost.

Then some good news finally arrived as Le Gaulois had finally made contact with the Ottomans! Capitalizing on the popularity boost from the Quest of 18 Tribes success, the Elder Mystics have endorsed the Dutch Rebel forces plan to reclaim the Netherlands by overthrowing the tyrant Trotseer!



Dutch Rebels have claimed the highlands in the Netherlands and are making the following demands:

1) The tyrant Trotseer is to be publicly stoned to death for his plans to enslave his fellow tribesmen.
2) A Dutch Rebel leader friendly to the French is to claim the leadership of the Netherlands
3) Slavery is to be permanently foresworn by the Netherlands.
4) All espionage by the Netherlands against the French tribe is to be immediately stopped
5) The Netherlands forests south of Amsterdam are to act as a buffer zone between the two tribes remaining free of all Nether warriors and workers at all times (no building roads or cutting down the forests).

The campfire popularity of the Elder Mystics has brightened now that they are seen to finally be taking strong action against the ancient threat to France.