Domination of Barbarians [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 9 - December 2012]

[Byzantium (DoB)]

A great schism has occurred amongst the Islamic people, after the Arabian tribe has broken the ancient Mecca Peace Accords that have united the Islamic Alliance by providing military aid to the English during their war against Byzantium. Having taken control of Mecca, the Byzantine leadership has cast out the Arabian puppet Grand Ayatollah Kulayni and his supporters into the desert to die. Byzantine friendly, Imam Ali is appointed the spiritual leader of Islam.

A large number of Arabians continue to support the Grand Ayatollah and this faction become known as the Sunni while those loyal to the new Imam become known as Shiat Ali, or Shiite. Imam Ali moves swiftly to secure Persian allegiance to the Shiite faith.

[Arabia (DoB)]

It appears that their is a great misunderstanding afoot.

Arabia and England have indeed traded with each other.

This trade occurred many, many decades before the war between England and Byzantium began.

Arabia could not have known that England was an enemy of Byzantium, because Byzantium had no enemies that Arabia was aware of other then the Ottomans.

The Mecca Peace Accords have not been broken by Arabia.

I implore you to look at the records kept by both our scribes. The records clearly show my archers going through Byzantine land (5 of them) before any war with England was started.

And again, Arabia did not know that England was an enemy to Byzantium in either case.

[Russia (DoB)]

Ever colder winds blew as the ship journeyed north to Ice Island, Nether village in the middle of inhospitable lands. Ice drifted on the sea, and men were frostbitten and some died from exposure to the elements. It was a beautiful and dangerous place.



Once arrived, the local scribes were superb in their hospitality, as happy and welcoming as a mother to her newborn child. With warm coats and nourishing fatsoup served, Leonid studied the works of local scribes, particular note being given to the history of Nether leadership, and the many infightings between Johannes, Greita and Christofoor. A small note was found hidden between two pages, depicting a man walking above the sea, with the name "Moses" written on the lower left of the note. Leonid dismissed it out of hand as a childish prank by a young scribe, and decided to tell the library head scribe about it afterwards.

[France (DoB)]

The multi-pronged attack on France continued even though the English war had ended. Nether trained spies seeking to destroy the production of Paris were uncovered while the Spanish sought to send 4 trireme flotillas through French territory to trade to one of the kingdoms north of France. The triremes would undoubtedly be used to invade France so King Louis XXIX immediately ended the open borders agreement with the Spanish. Spain arming would be invaders of France was a turn for the worst. King Louis XXIX was getting too old for all these intrigues, soon it would be time for a new king to take over.

[Japan (DoB)]

Aiko traveled to the southern borders to see for herself some of the famed Immortals of Persia. From the well-tended fields of China the transition was obvious. Garbage heaps and midden heaps were stacked without apparent order, the grunting farmers they passed were hideous to look at, with discoloured eyes in scarred, crooked-tooth faces that only a mother could love. Tilling the fields without enthusiasm, many coughed and showed sign of sickness as they moved about in a haphazard fashion more similar to wounded animals.



Arriving at the outskirts of the settlement, nothing about it suggested that it was the most freshly made home of persian families. Not one person wore clothes that were whole. Even with the excuse of working hard no Chinese or Japanese had ever been seen so dirty, uncaring and selfish in behaviour. She watched as two men -a girl of barely ten summers between them- began to fight. Flinging dirt around as they struggled on the ground, one of them got a hold of a rock and proceeded to bash in the skull of the other. Appalled by this outrageous behaviour, Aiko was about to take action when out from the settlement came riders in dark leather clothing with skull masks hiding their faces.

Relief was soon replaced with confusion, as they rode straight past the man with the bloody rock in his hand, and she could only watch as he grabbed the girl and walked into the village, shouting "Allahu Ackbar". Even from a distance, Aiko could see her eyes were empty, as if knowing what was to come. Disgusted with this display of barbarism, she looked at the Immortals as they halted mere paces from Aiko and her company. As they stopped, she felt a wave of nausea. The foulest stench she had ever known wafted from them, and their horses could not have been blamed for this sickly smell that filled the air like a bowl of rotted rice and human flesh left to rot in the sun all summer long.



The first rider spoke thus, with a whispering drawl like the sound of falling sand:

"Leeeeeeeaaaaaaaavvvvveeeeeeee uuuuuuuuusssssssss"

She walked up to him, and motioned for him to step down from his horse. He looked down on her, and spoke again:

"Leeeeeeeaaaaaaaavvvvveeeeeeee nnnoooooooooooooooooooooowwwwww"

Shivering from the proximity of the stench, she looked down at the horses' legs. Spikes emanating from their hooves, apparently to make their kicks even more deadly than they already were. On the ground she suddenly saw a snake crawling towards the horse, and in an attempt to save both horse and herself, she bent down and grabbed it in a swift move. As she rose up, the horse suddenly saw the snake and panicked! With a great roar it threw the rider off and bolted away to the treeline, leaving the rider on the ground, moaning in great pain. Before anyone could react she rushed towards him, lifting the mask off to help him get his breath back. Looking upon his face she was horrified.



Now she understood their need to wear the mask, as crooked teeth bit into uneven lips, scarring them even more, a moan of foul breath made her shy away from eyes that looked as if they tried to watch two directions at once. Then he spoke, and certainty was placed in her mind, as his squealing, high-pitched voice came out in a tinny whistle through blood-stained lips: "LEAVE US!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!"

It was like the chattering of squirrels in the trees, and from that voice she knew another fact; they were made to fight and not to love, for the real voice revealed that they were eunuchs. Truly hideous in their visage, the terror inflicted from the masks and their war-horses created an image of death personified, but it was all a ruse. A clever way to make a warrior feared before his arrival, and even more feared in close quarters. It would take truly disciplined warriors to take them down.

She backed away, smiling at the memory of his voice even as she knew it was bad form to do so. Returning to the escort, it appeared that nothing would halt these mongrels in their pursuit of new lands. Some form of message would have to be given to their leader Arsaces XLV. This visit only affirmed her suspicion that the new settlements were meant to provoke and not to be permanent in his eyes.

Passing the outskirts of the village, she felt a terrible urge to burn it all to the ground, and knew that this was the exact purpose. To invite war. Qin would be most interested in hearing about this. Swift travel would be needed, and she ordered a quick pace for her company to reach Beijing quickly.