Domination of Barbarians [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 6 - September 2012]

[Celtia (DoB)]

King Ire fumes with the news that Brennus killed Artair. After chasing off all his loyal clubbers, the whole of Vienne began to follow Brennus. To top it off, word comes from England about a new religion, Tao. It sounds wrong, far from the Rightousness of Christ! Stomping out to the training ground, he subsided a bit. The training was going well. With a little help from the english trainers, his men now formed the first Chariots into a circle, practicing how to use the club while guiding the horse. Those rebel scum would piss themselves by the first charge, and be running home before the second. Ire smiled, and the troops close by left him well alone as he started to chuckle to himself.


Meanwhile, in Vienne..


Brennus listened to the english messenger, about Lao Tzu and his Tao Te Ching, and smiled. He asked for good quarters to be given to the messenger, and food be brought to him so he could rest and be well. He made a point to tell him, that the Tao of Lao Tzu would always be welcome in Vienne, and in all of Celtia as well, as soon as the reign of Ire was ended. It would happen soon, this was a promise.

He also sent messengers to the leaders of all tribes known by Celtia, apologizing for his long absence. He would soon return to the throne and then he would be able to respond freely. The Return of the King was the greatest importance right now, and no full reply would come at this point, without his knowing the full capabilities of the Celtic tribe after his long absence.

[England (DoB)]

Commerce was returning to English lands after several years of strife. When the Christians priests in York moved to establish and organized the Church of England, it was not long before the Muslims in Nottingham reacted with the establishment of their own Shura. Meanwhile, in Hastings Lao Tzu had continued his teachings and accrued a growing body of followers for the god of Tao; while in London most continued to follow the old gods. All trade in the land was stopped as the four cities each barred travelers and work stopped as refugees moved across the land fearing prosecution for their respective faiths.

Elizabeth rode the length of lands meeting with the followers of each faith and ensuring them that, while the state gave an official mandate to the Church of England—for it had the greatest following in the lands—none from other faiths would be put to the sword and all would be free to practice and spread their beliefs. In the end life returned largely back to normal, and any revitalization or renewal that was sought was but naught.

While on her journeys Elizabeth heard word from a Taosit traveler back from Vienne that Brennus of the Celts again walked the earth. The return of an old friend would be welcome news, but in these times of turmoil could it be true?

[Celtia (DoB)]

Word has come to King Ire from other tribes, questions of Brennus, is he alive, are you still king, and other nonsense! He sends out messengers of his own to all the tribes, in strong words denouncing the false Brennus and his obvious lies! Any who believe he has returned must consult a priest at once! Only through the blessings of the Lord Almighty will such lies be removed and true vision restored! He also asks his messengers for news from the other tribes, making them figure out who listens to him, and who thinks Brennus may actually be alive.

He then orders his newly formed Chariots of Ire to sail on the Pride of Ire with utmost haste towards Vienne, and capture or kill Brennus at all costs! His nervous men follow the order, and when out of sight, talk amongst themselves about the King's strange and erratic behaviour of late..

[Japan (DoB)]

The Chasers of Sunset

After many years of helping the Porto people with their travels, the last one as an escort of Shankar's Last Journey, Chasers of Sunset are moving through waters belonging to beautiful spanish people. Their suntan skin and well-cut clothing pleases the eyes from both near and afar. They learn their moves from Himilce herself, making them graceful and a wonder to behold. Koji, now the leader of the ship after the passing of his father, holds to the promise made so long ago to Tokugawa, to move through all waters, chasing the sun to find new tribes and new friends for Japan.

Sailing past the first spanish village, they come to a place where there is new land to be seen further north. From talks among the Porto and Spanish, they have been told about Celtia, England, and the Nether with the Vikings even further on. Unfortunately, the French have been given several greatships by Porto, making any travel north very difficult. But through this strait between the large mass of land called Africanus and the Spanish Main, there are those known as Romans, Holy Romans and Greek.

Knowing about the french greathships, after knowledge of the sea was passed from Japan to Porto and improving their ships, Koji makies up his mind to sail to the Romans first.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

Strange man arrives in River Village

In ancient proud River Village, a strange man arrives in Green and gold robes. He says that he is come from the Great Island across the great Northsea. He goes around to teach the people of Nether Faction a new ways to see the world around them. He teaches them that all the great spirits, Mountain Father, Ocean Mother, Gaia Earth, and Wind Sky are all truly different parts of the One Greatness. He say that there is two sides to everything, black and white, light and dark, day and night, good and evil, fire and water, hot and cold, summer and winter, sun and moon, but the two sides are of the same One Greatness. One side goes up and the other goes down, and then back again. As one get weak the other strong and then around the cycle continues, over and over like the seasons are always changing, but always coming back.

When the people ask him what does it all mean, he says that it is Yin and Yan, the One Greatness that is all things. By understanding this the people can at last acheive great power by unite with the world around them in true harmony and truth. And then he takes a stick into his hands and closes his eyes.

Then, with eyes closed, draws a perfect circle in the sand.

There are gasp from the crowd at how easy he make such flawless shape with one flick of his wrist. Then with the same precise moves, he fills the circle with symbol in the sand in perfect precision, his hands as steady as a rock, all the time eyes closed.



It is the most beautiful display of balance a control that the people have ever seen. None of the tablet writers in River Village have ever show so a steady hand. So perfect and fluid his motion is that many people are just gasping in awe. And he does it all with his eyes closed.

Right away the people are so inspired by his display that many grab their own stick and some just with fingers begin to try to imitate what he has done.



So crude are they imitation that even more the people are convinced that this man must have some true divine power. Even the tablet writers try, but they can not imitate it, try as they do.



They are sloppy even with eyes open. Even with the writing skills they can not do what he has done, with eyes closed they dare not even to try. Now they think it must be some trick and they dare for him to do it again. This time the man does not even use a stick, just his finger, eyes closed, and he draws again the same symbol, a perfect match.



Now there can be no doubt. This strange man is onto something. He must be a divine spirit! There is such an uproar and commotions that no one sees where the man went! He is gone like the wind. Some say he must be Lao Tzu himself, some say he is the Fire father, some say Wind Sky, but the teaching he made spread like wildfire in River Village, inspiring many works by writers, metal-makers and stone workers alike.



The new faith of Daoism it is called has come to Nether Faction.

[France (DoB)]

King Louis XVII, the Beast Tamer, is dead and is succeeded by his son King Louis XVIII. King Louis XVII's reign was peaceful but most French advisors consider the Kingdom in a much weaker state then it was when King Louis XVII inherited it. On the positive side, King Louis XVII domesticated the horses and boars in French lands and he strengthened the archer garrisons by expanding their number and equipping them all with pigskin suede leather armor. The archer garrison armor provided a modicrum of additional protection but was mainly considered a fashion success.

On the negative side, relations with neighboring tribes deteriorated under King Louis XVII. King Louis XVII's main foreign policy objective of getting the Portuguese Christian leaders to proclaim slavery a sin was a flop, with Chief Porto merely expressing a weak sentiment of possible regret over the loss of slave lives. Meanwhile, the English had established a new false religion as a fall back plan in case the Christian church proclaimed slavery a sin. The new false religion was quickly spreading amongst the Western Slaver Alliance tribes since the new religion would presumably support their slavery agenda.

In addition the English had built up a navy comparable in strength to the French navy in preparation for their next invasion of France. The English had also attempted to outflank French forces by sneaking through Roman lands preparing to attack from the south. King Louis XVII managed to negotiate weak assurances from the Roman tribe that they would warn foreign tribes to not attack France from Roman territory but the Romans would still allow enemies of France (such as the English and the Japanese) to sit on the Roman-French border positioned for a surprise attack!

The Nether forces had also built up a huge force of axemen and attempts to negotiate an alliance with the Holy Romans as a defense had gone unanswered. Finally even the once peaceful Celts broke the no-espionage treaty between the Celts and French, which had stood for over a 1000 years, when France offerred to open their borders to the Celts, as soon as they had researched the appropriate technology, for keeping the treaty for so long!

King Louis XVIII was inheriting a foreign policy and military defense nightmare and his advisors wondered if the young King was up to the task!

[Japan (DoB)]

Chasers of Sunset

After passing through Rome, it was not thought that anything would surprise the Koji and his crew.

Even from far away, the genius of Roman construction was visible. A single wall built on top of the hills around the entire city of Rome! The Church of Shankar may have been beautiful, but no match in scale compared to the Great Wall! Truly, Romans are a people to behold with awe and respect.



Their friendly faces and open demeanor to visitors reminded Koji of the Porto, but no crosses were seen, and Christ was a curious subject among villagers. It became evident from their descriptions of the French.

How France proclaimed their view as the only correct view of the world, deferring only to Porto since Christendom came from them. Koji listened to stories from Romans, how French villagers claimed more and more land from them. With larger claims repeated as truth, even when it was visibly not so. There existed a peace between their people now, but it appeared to be a fragile thing, held together among Romans more from love of their leader than trusting the French.


After passing through Roman lands, the Chasers of Sunset met their first Greek.


From the first meeting, Greek men and women are seen as the very embodiment of grace. Indeed, from first hearing this word described by Porto and Spanish people, it is now clear that it must come from Greece! A single word to describe a people. Grace from Greece! The fair Himilce of Spain is the only leader so far that compares to them.

The crew learns many things from these people. Some have fallen in love and bonds are being formed, with permissions of marriage being seeked from the elders of Greek villages. It is hoped that they do not object to this.



After all these years, the crew are truly happy. Their mission is becoming more meaningful with each passing day. By meeting new tribes and learning new customs, gaining friends and learning about Main Land, it is as if a veil has been lifted from their eyes and they can see the world again. Koji and his crew look forward to each morning, wondering who they will meet, and what they will learn.

[Celtia (DoB)]

King Ire has the French messenger chased from his house to the awaiting boat with these words:

While I had my men searching for supporters of that liar Brennus, I have been able to single out how many men you have in Bibracte my dear, French, friendly King. No less than 21 men and women of different families have been found sending stories to you. Knowing this, I have sent enough men to your lands that we stand equal once more. Whatever deal was made by the weak and foolish Brennus, heed this: I am not beneath any leader in this world, and certainly not beneath you! However, I will send no more men to your lands now that we stand equal. If you have any sense, you will accept this and send no more men to my lands.

[France (DoB)]

King Louis XVIII's religious advisor left the French Royal Court in disbelief. He had informed the King of the recent spread of the Slaver Religion, Taoism, in Freedom Point and had gone to great extents to explain the threat to the Kingdom that this posed. The significance of the Taoist symbol, of two fish perpetually feeding upon each other while encased in a slaver's manacle, had been explained, along with the Taoist rationalization that there needed to be "balance" of good and evil in the world which they used to justify the "necessary" evils of slavery!

The fact that the many english Taoist agents had found such a fertile ground for their beliefs in Freedom Point which was composed of descendants from former slaves was troubling. Freedom Point had been the settlement of the more militant slaves though, who wanted to fight back against the slavers instead of "turning the other cheek" and forgiving as per Christian teachings. The Freedom Point populace had whole heartedly embraced the tenants of Taoism since they wanted to completely turn the tables on the english and other slavers by enslaving all the slavers!

It was a dangerous situation in Freedom Point but King Louis XVIII had just casually dismissed the advisor with a bored wave of his hand.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

Top of the World

Fire Mystics split up into two groups to complete the mission faster and both are having success. The first group led by the Fire Mystics Captain has continue to push East throught the treacherous Barb infested woods on mission to make contact with the rumored tribes in the East. The second group led by the man Bede has headed back north to discover what lies beyond the frozen woods after Captain's group was turned back. Bede is determine to prove his mettle as leader and someday surpass the Captain.

Bede's Fire Mystics travel to the edge of the frozen notrhern woods and into the barren lands of frozen rivers. But soon after this make a shocking discovery. The way is blocked in all direction by massive impassable wall of galcier ice in every direction to the North. This must be the top of the world, that no man can go North of.

[England (DoB)]

Lao Tzu had barely aged in the many years since he had started recording the voice of Tao. The immortal Tao fulfilling both his spiritual and physical needs as it had for mankind in the old days before the exodus.

His disciples had grown and spread the word of Tao from Hastings to Celtic, Nether, and even hostile French lands where on still nights the devotions could be heard across the narrow sea. But as the word of Tao spread, many grafted old beliefs on to the new.

In France they had discovered the power of Tao but see only the dichotomy of good and evil in the balance of the Wu and Wei within the Tao. Belief undoubtedly taken from the Manichaean Christian faith with its two powerful gods ever locked in conflict. But no, Tao is neither good nor evil – it IS.

Those like the Nether, who had previously known only the old gods, were generally better able to grasp the real nature of Tao’s central unity. But Lao Tzu knew he had much more to teach and even more to learn if the true understanding of Tao was to spread across the world.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

New Friends

Meanwhile Captain's Fire Mystics keep pressing East. With his skilled hand and leadership they move swiftly, and they are skilled hunters and wodsman to find Deer plentiful in the more southern part of these cold northern woods. They sight barbarians everywhere, and are able to slay some, but most cowards and flee at the sight of Captain's ferocious warriors. Determined to complete the mission, Captains men move farther and farther east, and it begins to seem this woods never ends, but then one of the forward lookouts comes back to the main group with news.

"Captain, I spotted someone in the woods ahead"

"Arm Yourselves! Is it more Barbarians? They shall perish on th..."

"No Captain, I dont think. They wear strange cloths we never seen before and they dont have the look and markings of Barbarians. They seem civilized."

Captain thought for a moment, then his heart was proud. They had made contact with another new tribe! "We must prepare to make contact with them!" he said.

"There is more Captain I must urgently tell you. They are tending to their wounded. They have the look that they were in battle, and many of their number are injured and wounded. They armed with bows like the Norsemen carry. And..." his voice trailed off as if he did not want to say.

"What else is there? Tell me!"

"Captain, there are powerful barbarians nearby to them, better armed, with Axes like ours and they will most likely attack the camp of wounded. They will most likely be dead before we can meet them."

Captain did not say anything else, he ran to his Axe and taking it up in hand he charged off into the woods in the direction the scout came from. The warriors looked at each other, confused for a moment, then they all scoope their Axes and run as fast as they can after the Captain. They catch up with him not one moment too soon, as they find him fighting side by side with the new tribe men as Barbarians swarms all over their camp from all sides. With a yell, the Fire Mystics join the battle to defend these men they have never met, swinging their Axes as the men of the new tribe fire their bows. With their combined strength, the barbarinas are slaughterd and Fire Mustics chase down the ones retreating, killing them all to the last man.

When the battle is over, these new men called Japanese, they learn exchange tablet written in the Fire Mystic way, with deerskin marked with the writing of the Japanese. The two tribes are now friends and the two groups spend a little time healing and getting to know each other culture. Then Fire Mystics ask for directions to their lands and are told south. Also they learn that there is fierce and desperate fighting going on in the south against the Barbarians. The settlements in the south need assistance.

Captain and his Fire Mystics head south to aid their new friends in their struggle against barbarians. "The mission can wait" he thinks. "Good friends are worth more than shiny rocks."

After traveling some time, they soon see a sight that they thought they would never see. There is a clearing in the forest and from the edge of forest they can see a vast open plains that they have not seen in ages. "What new things await them?" thinks Captain

[Celtia (DoB)]

Word comes from France that the King is afraid to answer the strong words of Ire. That he has not the tongue to speak nor heart to stand up to the true words of a rightful king! It is said that the sleeping place of the french king is changed every day. "Hah!" King Ire exclaims to his comrades upon hearing this. "He wets his bed in fear of equal treatment!" and the rest of his men laugh with him..

[England (DoB)]

So it is confirmed the French fleet has sailed south. The news was both heartening and worrisome. The fearsome French fleet had lain off our costs for years, but now it had vanished for unknown purpose. If it were to return having extracted more tribute from Portugal it would present an even greater threat. Only time would tell.

[Greece (DoB)]

It is true what the Portuguese and Spaniards say, the African lands are infested with the barbarians they speak of. Not one, not a dozen but thousands rush from the dark jungles to extinguish all traces of any attempts to scout and settle. We the Greek advice all civilizations trying to send scouting parties to be protected by strong able men. The jungles are no place for unprepared expeditions, just recently a whole settlement party traveling south has been put down by the barbarians yielding giant rusted axes. Greek archers weren't strong enough to hold them back even fortified high into the jungle hills.