Domination of Barbarians [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 13 - April 2013]

[Rome (DoB)]

A letter from Rome is delivered in the Celtic court.

It may have slipped your attention when you approached me and begged for my help, but the Roman people follows the path of Islam. I graciously offered you the help of Rome, as the tenets of Islam teaches that we should assist those in true need. In return for my kindness, I see that you consider me and my entire people "unholy" and "wretches", and that you use your military forces to butcher innocent holy men - holy men of the very same faith that has taught me to be kind.

I will not offer military support to people that choose to kill innocent holy men who have dedicated their lives to peace and study, regardless of whether these holy men are Christian, Taoists or Islamic. All men who dedicate their lives to their faith in peace are considered holy in the eyes of Rome, and any man who lays hand upon such a man is punished severely by Roman custom. By your hostile acts and words towards Islam, and the people of Alemanni, you have cancelled our agreement. Your ships are not welcome in Nova Roma. Should any Celtic ship enter Roman waters, or any Celtic troop enter Roman lands, it will be considered a declaration of war until the day you issue a public apology to all people who follows the path of Islam, and repay the damages you have caused upon the people of Alemanni.

May Allah forgive you.

Augustus of Rome

[England (DoB)]

Taoism must not suffer the schisms and rifts that have divided the Christian and Islamic faiths! The opportunistic Celtic attack against defenseless German colonists bound for the new world is unacceptable. England has closed its borders with the Celts until this wrong is righted.

The Celts argue they were acting to defend the Taoist faith from German Islamic aggression. Nothing could be further from the truth. Germany shares our Taoist faith and even now English troops are helping to defend the Taoist city of New Berlin from a brutal onslaught of barbarians. And even if the Germans were Muslim, it is not as if Taoism needs defenders – no the power of our faith speaks for itself, for it is the only path to everlasting life.

The Celts’ rant against Islam caused a riot among the Islamic population of Nottingham in which many lives were lost. We have calmed these disturbances by calling for a global convention in Nottingham representing all who practice the Taoist faith. This meeting--to be held at quickly built Apostolic Palace in Nottingham--will serve to show the united voice of the Taoist faithful do not support this act of aggression.

England calls for the following:
-For the Celts to apologize for their action and agree to compensation in full or in kind as is deemed acceptable by Germany.
-For the Germans to refrain from further counterattacks until the Celts have had time to make a response (we entirely respect the German right to counterattack).

England will offer what it can to help the Celts compensate the Germans, and we ask that the French do the same, as we are both somewhat at fault for permitting this sneak attack to take place across and within our territory.

[Celtia (DoB)]

Of course the Romans now after we have sailed our ships thousands of miles across the seas and braved the rocky coasts. Days and days with nothing but the sands of desert no food or water, only now the Romans break their promise to us and turn our ships away. Our agreement contained no promises of peace with Germany to do this what you do now is dealbreaking most foul! It is Augustus of Rome who has canceled the agreement without honor. It is Rome who breaks promises. Let everyone be on notice that August of Rome is a dealbreakwr who does not keep his word. Let no one feel that they must hold to their deals with him as he does not honor his deals with others.

[England (DoB)]

A thought on compensation - while England cannot bring back the dead - we can send Taoist or Islamic missionaries from Nottingham to replace those that were killed by the Celts.

[Celtia (DoB)]

Rome breaks their word and turns our ships away saying they are not welcome even after they have sailed so far at huge expense to us to go all around the horn of Africa. Now our ships are stranded because England has closed borders with us. I must now ask the French and Nether Kings if they will take our ships to spare us all the expense as England now refuses to even let our fleet return home.

Rome has wasted our time and money now England makes it worse by stranding our fleet even while a new wave of German Carracks invades our waters. The Celtics are the smallest tribe in the world and the mightiest one England takes sides against us even when it was us who were violated. Since England obviously has taken sides they are unfit to be a mediator of any peace negotiation.

The Celtics herby renounce England as the leader of Taoism. We renounce them to be heads of the Taoist Apostolic Palace. We ask all tribes with Taoist ties to renounce England as the leader of Taoism by voting for Celtics or by abstaining. Celtics are the smallest tribe being gangbanged by Germany, Russia, Rome and now England. Now England is trying to use the power of Apostolic Palace to gangbang us some more.

Renounce this unfair tyranny!

[Rome (DoB)]

Another letter from Rome is delivered in the Celtic court.

With your latest declaration, I have ordered that Roman borders are now totally shut to any Celt, and the borders will not be reopened until the day both Islam and Rome is offered a public apology from your people.

You speak of an agreement that Rome has broken, but let me just remind you what we really agreed to. Rome was going to give you troops for free, without asking for any recompensation. Some of these troops were to be a gift, and others were to be considered a loan for a number of years. The troops were going to be ferried by sea to your lands, and for this purpose you purchased several ships from another nation, which you then ordered to sail to Roman lands. These ships were to be placed under Roman control, so that we could load the troops onto the ships, and then order the ships to sail back to Celtia where the ships and the troops would be turned over to Celtic control. Rome stood to gain nothing from this, except goodwill and friendship. This would be your people receiving a favour from Rome, not a formal agreement between our people.

Indeed this favour never obligated you to maintain peace with Germany, as it was simply a favour being offered to assist your people, and favours that are regulated by demands would not be favours. However, you declared all followers of the path of Islam "unholy" and "wretches". I obviously do not accept you naming my people "unholy" and "wretches" when I have done nothing but try to be kind to you, nor will I accept that you consider butchering innocent holy men an accepted course of action, and so I obviously withdraw my offered favour. If you approach someone and ask them for a favour, and you then proceed to insult them in a manner most grave before the favour has even been granted, it has little merit to try to defame the person you asked the favour from when he reconsiders his willingness to grant the favour.

If I was truly a dealbreaker as you so insultingly claim, I would have waited until your ships were in Roman waters and gifted to Roman control as our agreement stated. Then I would have decreed that the ships should be kept as Roman trophies instead of sending them back to you with the troops. Instead of doing such a despicable act, I have kept Roman honour intact by telling you that I do not wish to grant any favours to your people as you consider my people foul in the eyes of your perverted view of the Tao. You can now recall the ships and try to find assistance from a "holier" people than us "wretched" Romans who are peaceful followers of the path of Islam.

I am most relieved to read the words released from England, that clearly states that your acts is an abomination to the true path of the Tao. I have urged all nations who have votes in the Apostolic Palace election to show you the wisdom of England in this matter, by giving their support to England as the leader of the Taoist Apostolic Palace. If you believe that the fact that you are a small nation gives you the right to treat other nations the way you have without consequences, then you are sorely mistaken.

Augustus of Rome

[England (DoB)]

"The Celtics are the smallest tribe in the world and the mightiest one England takes sides against us even when it was us who were violated."

Not true. The Germans are by far a smaller tribe as their two new world settlements would be but a village when compared to the large Celtic metropolises. Yes the Germans may have slightly more land, but if the rich Celtic ocean holdings are also taken int account it would cover far more territoy than the the small plots of tundra and forest the Germans control in the New World. And how is it that the Celts claim violation when it was the Celts who declared war and killed undefended German units. The Celts claim their territoty was violated, but did they not have open borders with the Germans? If they did not want German units in their lands why did they not close borders or make public demands for the Germans not to pass through their lands?

England takes the side of righteousness. But we take no joy in speaking against the Celtic people who have long been our friends and whom we have long sought to help grow and expand into new lands.

We hope to resolve this matter to return to the status quo before the Celts attacked Germany. This can be done by returning units. If this is done I can assume you England will reopen its borders and suspect Rome will do the same. Nothing more is being asked or demanded of the Celts other than the return of those prisoners of war they captured.

[Japan (DoB)]

Messenger upon messenger bring updates on the public sayings from the west to Aiko in her Beijing residence.

"...they captured."

With the message finished, he bows before the Empress and moves to the right, awaiting summons to reply.

"This has a familiar feeling, a feeling I have not felt since.." she is silent for some time. A servant offer drinks and a plate of fruit, but is waved away.Minutes pass in the sunlit hall where she accepts foreign messengers. Screens specially made to direct wind brings a slow move of temperate air, making the hall a comfortable place even in the high sun of midday.

"Messenger!" Upon her word, he moves swiftly before the dais awaiting reply. "Bring the following message to all tribes."

I am disturbed that our friends the Celts have surfaced with such animosity. The apparent fear and vision of enemies all around is a thing of the far past that I remember vividly, coming from the halls of the now broken line of French kings. I fear that some spawn of that line has taken residence among the Celts and this is news most grave.

I hereby renounce the Japanese friendship with Celtia until such time that repairs and apologies are made to the Germans. Trade agreements and Open Borders are declared null and void in the interim. I urge the people of Celtia to step forth in opposition to the nameless leadership of Celtia. I fear that Brennus is dead from this news.

Be strong, people of Germany. You are not alone, and not all religious followers are as base and barbarous as the Celts now appear. It is my hope that the united front against the Celts will rebuild and sustain your possible loss of faith in your fellow man.

Recorded in the library of Stone Hill, AD 890, the year of angry snakes.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

Letters sent out to various tribes:

To the Alemaniacs / AKA Germany

We have no idea why you include us in your rantings against the Celtians. We worked very hard to establish a colony for you and harmed our relations with many others to fulfill our agreements with you despite them being mere magnanimous promises. We did not ask anything of you in return, but we still consider this an agreement, a promise, which those with honor keep. We see our old friends the Romans twist the meaning of honor with convoluted distinctions between agreements and promises in a self-serving attempt to excuse yet another case of them breaking their word. Netherlands keeps her word. It is that simple.

It is puzzling to us why we are even mentioned in the rantings of Alemanni. We just recently allowed your settling party of Axemen to cross through our land and you curse and defame us in return? You hate and resent us, we understand, then stop your unhealthy obsession with us. Stop talking to us and stop talking about us. We leave you in peace. Go and die in the way that seems most suitable to you.

To Celtia:

We care little about your dispute with Germany but given that Alemanni spits in our face for no reason, we are happy to accept your people into our lands until you are able to resolve your dispute with England and travel back home. Send us your ships and people and we will bear the cost of boarding them until this mess is over.

To Holy Rome:

The people of Berlin have recently renounced the governor of Holy Rome and put a Netherlands governor in his place. We did nothing to instigate this change, but the people told us that their population is overwhelmingly of German and Netherlands descent. Given that the German residents of Berlin had been betrayed, abandoned and sold into slavery to the Russians by Alemmani, and then the Russians similarly sold them to Holy Rome, the people of Berlin told us that they would burn the city to the ground if we did not accept them. Our choices were to "Install new governor" or "Disband the city."

Since we did not want to see the people of Berlin massacred, we have accepted them into the Netherlands Kingdom. We think it would be foolish to try to put a Holy Roman governor back in place as Netherlands culture completely covers all the land around the city before they joined us. We tried to explain this to Russia before when they offered to sell the city to us.

We suggest that Russia give Holy Rome a refund of whatever they paid, and Russia get a refund from the Alemaniacs as trying to give the city of Berlin as payment was a sham offer, since Netherlands culture was inevitably going to claim the city no matter what. Obviously this is just a suggestion, but it seems like the best option under the circumstances.

[Germany (DoB)]

At the request of England, Alemannia will refrain from further attacks against Celtia until such time that reparations are made and peace can be settled.

We were attacked without warning and without cause.

If Celtia does not want us in her waters we are more then happy to oblige. We do not need to pass through them, and meant no harm when doing so. We wish Celtia would have told us as much so that we could have avoided being attacked and so that Islamic holy men did not have to be murdered. But I suspect the real cause for the attack was more nefarious then is being let on by Celtia and that the Celts thought that they could take advantage of a weaker tribe... perhaps with the encouragement of some bad council, and clearly without any thought to the consequences.

Celtia, you would be wise to heed the words of Czar Kir Stepanovich who will bring war upon you; the words of Queen Elizabeth who has offered to help you pay reparations for your transgressions; the wise words of Empress Aiko who has cut off relations with you.

We await an offer for terms of peace and for the apology that Augustus of Rome has required for the defamation of their holy faith.


Alemanni the 1st Successor.

[Portugal (DoB)]

Ricardo is a bit worried:

Frenchies promised to send 5 of their noble young to preach Christianity in the Promised Land. And instead of Christian missioners we see Islamic ones being trained in their cities. Is it possible that the French goes back on their word?

[Russia (DoB)]

The Czar is in good spirits, hearing of the overwhelming support of friendly, cooperating, agreeable and good-natured tribes on behalf of Alemanni.

Even the superior nature of the Nether grows. It is far from their nature to be arrogant, and they never are. Let it be known that Nether is far grander than anything on the earth. No people subjugated to their Kingdom is ever heard of complaining in any way. Much like the French Kingdom was nothing more than an ever-shining beacon of smiles and happiness until the King went mad and died in mysterious circumbstances. No, Nether is nothing like that, and Berlin is now a shining example of how life is meant to be, the Nether way. I say to all that the silly word on the street that spies instigated a rebellion by payment of gold coins to the right people, is absolutely false and cannot be true in any way or form since Nether does not, I repeat, does not in any way use spies against anyone. Not for trade. Not for sale. Not for their own sake. No. Never. This partial letter;

As you probably already know, I am hopeful that my SoJ will be able to flip the city's loyalty to Netherlands regardless of who it is controlled by.

that is widely distributed among every tribe is simply horrendous and a falsification. Nether has never said this, and the very idea is appaling that they, one of the three mightiest tribes on the earth, would consent to simple bullying and veiled threats of hostile takeover, is so far from truth that you might as well say that France have had reasonable and well-adjusted Kings of good nature and friendly interaction.

[Arabia (DoB)]

Sir, the Japanese have sent word that they have heard grave news sent through the silk trade routes about terrorism against our holy people.

3 Imams and countless German civilians have been massacred unjustly and without warning in France as they sought peaceful passage into the new world.

Celtic people are to blame and they preach genocide against the Islamic people.

Mohammed V: Send word to the Ummah that war is once again at hand against us. To Byzantium, Russia, China, Rome, and Persia; the holy faith needs you to exact your vengeance against Celtia who deems it just to murder Islamic Holy men on a peaceful journey to unexplored lands.

Send word to Rome and Russia, that as our nearest limbs to the conflict, the Ummah Brotherhood will send military units and money to fund any war against Celtia until she capitulates.

To Alemanni, we commiserate with you and the Alemannian peoples in your time of need. As innocent bystanders and casualties to the massacre of Islamic Holy men we will come to your aid.

Empress Aiko, I hope that you can consider yourself a sister of Islam and that we can consider ourselves brothers to you and Christianity. May our mutual kinship foster further cooperation against our mutual struggles.

To Byzantium and China: Leopold and Qin, the Ummah brotherhood beckons... send word of your reaction.

Mohammed V.

[Celtia (DoB)]

Statement to Rome released publicly

The newly established Celtic Office of Religious sensitivity has been established to deal with the feud between the Celtics and the Islamists. After meeting with this body to talk over their conclusions this statmement is released on behalf of the Celtics.

We deeply regret the hurt we have caused to the religious sensibilities of the leaders of Rome and the Roman people by insulting the ancient and holy faith of Islam. Our words against Islam were spoken out of fear and misundersanding of your noble peaceful and benevolent faith. We did not mean to call Islamic people wretched" we meant to talk about the Germans who were sold like chattles to other tribes.

But we apologize for insulting Rome and their Islamists faith. We also apologize for calling Islam unholy. We understand now that all faiths are holy and we cannot put one ahead of the other as it violates the way of the Tao. Tao is balance and sameness so one can not be greater than the other. All are the same. We apologize for this as we are new to Tao. We were Christian before and were following the path of Christianity which has always been of violence, war and crusvades against each other and of course other faiths. We apologize for bringing this attitude to our new Tao faith.

We do not want anything from Rome or anyone else in return for this apology. It is enough that Rome asked for apology so we give it. Our ships will not enter Roman waters. We again apologize for the insult to the Islamists.

End of statement

[France (DoB)]

Paris is silent, Normandy grumbles, the others moan and groan for lack of military. Where is the leadership of France. Advisory enters a domestic war of assassins. Fighting for power. Keeping all military in Paris. Martial law, the law of swords is here. Other tribes travel in France unmolested, unprotected. Two tribes fight among themselves on French soil. Advisory too busy with power struggle. Does not care. Not until the mightiest of tribes ask questions. Now...confusion.