Domination of Barbarians [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 18 - September 2013]

[Persia (DoB)]

A story of belief

Mughni walked into the city, noticing the guards at the gates and the crowd of farmers, traders, travellers and wanderers. A thick crowd this day as any other, according to his last guesthouse. Another day in the busy life of Nether Kingdom. "Praise be to Allah" he said to himself, woving to find a good spot to make his own for the sharing of belief and acceptance of those interested in hearing the words of the Prophet. Shah Jahan had already given him instructions by letter for his way to the right official, and he walked there with a steady pace, thumb gliding over the seal of Jahan in his pocket.

[Greece (DoB)]

Eastern development, Greek missionaries have reported seeing a build-up of Ottoman armies in the northern region. Knowing how secretive the ottomans have been in the last few centuries Greek armies have been dispatched to the Town of North to secure the Greek borders of any possible ottoman aggression. We hope this to be some sort of local ottoman military exercise and nothing more.

Also we the Greeks send the Ottomans an open letter of advice:

"We have noticed your intel build-up against us, please be advised do not surpass the intel we currently hold vs you. We welcome you to balance our intel, but do not continue to invest any further than that!"

[Persia (DoB)]

A story of belief, part 2

Walking through the streets of such a large city was not unusual for Mughni, he was accustomed to different practices in the way roads and houses were made to reflect their national pride. The illustrated marble on nearly every wall of a Greek metropolis, the fanning brickwork typical in Romani construction and their careful painted style decorating the uppermost rafters surrounding all houses. It was different from how Persian homes were made with whitebrick and sculpted domes atop important personal palaces and religious buildings, something Greece had taken to heart when building their Taj Mahal. Almost a reflection of Persian greatness and a study of how two parts came together to make one whole.

In his thoughts, surroundings momentarily slipped his mind and he was nudged aside by some stranger and fell flat in the mud with a squeal coming from a group of pigs that were scared off. Confused, he got a rough call from the man he bumped into and turned, surprise lighting up his face. "Jamaal!" Indeed, the two were known to eachother from their first year of study in Mecca. Mughni belonging to the dedicated in Adrianopolis, where Jamaal was from the city of Jinjan far to the east. Being helped up, they shared a cup of warm cocoa at a nearby tavern. Their stories mingled and their friendship renewed after many years apart. Time went quickly with tales of woe and joy shared, until the evening fell and they were to part again. "I will walk with you to your destination Mughni, my friend among friends, and Allah willing, we will see eachother soon enough." So they made their way towards the place where Mughni was told to go..

[Persia (DoB)]

Oceanic development, Persian knights have been chased away by Greek knights in temper tantrums, claiming land set aside for Persian settlers which was formally shared with Greek authority. Now, this authority has jumped ahead of Persian settlers and claimed it for Greece without notice or agreement. A query has been sent to Greece asking for the peaceful resolution and liberation of said settlement. It is hoped that no long term damage to relations will ensue from this apparent misguided action and failure to communicate properly from Greek authority.

There is no reason so far to judge Greek actions as that of a bully who has too much power and not one voice states that this may cause serious trouble if continued without reassurance, reparation and apologies.

[Greece (DoB)]

The Greek citizens were shocked to hear the threatening cold and demanding Persian tone, was this normal for an ally to publicly harass an ally and friend. It is unclear what contract we have broken with Persia? Did we sign up somewhere that we will split the continent of Australia? For centuries the Persian have neglected this strip of Australian soil, when they had multiple times the opportunity to bring small families to settle whatever spot they wish, especially this on. Seeing this Greek families from the Darwin region of Australia have sailed many days to bring light and humanity to this forgotten corner of Australia and settle the village of Downunder.

Harsh words coming from a civilization with the greater number of cities, how this specific small greek dwelling threatens your size i do not understand.

For the record a letter has already been dispatched to Persia to seek balance and fair conclusion of this matter for both sides.

We ask with respect Persia to not use any propaganda, your knights were last seen in the village of Downunder and are welcomed by our people.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

Notice sent to all nations-

Netherlands has offered a simple Open Borders agreement to attempt to bring an end the tensions between England and Netherlands. We have even recalled our SoJ from English lands and announced our assurances to England that we are no longer using SoJ or our Netherlands informants to learn their technology, as Netherlands already knows all the useful technology that England posses anyway.

All nations are notified that England has refused to Open Borders and chooses of their own will to continue the hostilities between our countries. England has an agreement with Persia to have their Galleys upgraded to Galleons and so they feel that they no longer need Open Borders with Netherlands.

This proves that they never wanted to end tensions or hostilities with Netherlands, all they even cared about was access to Americas. This notice is being sent to put all nations on notice that Persia is allied with England and helping to fuel their tyrannical dominance over the Atlantic, and that English bully-State refuses to cease hostilities towards Netherlands. All nations should be aware that your actions to help England are the same as helping them to oppress Netherlands.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

The travels of Cardinal Sean Jean and Sir Aaron the Relentless, part 2



Eron (pronounced EE-Run) of the Aaron (pronounced AY-Run) clan was a skilled trader, and he enjoyed wearing the ornate, gold embroidered, Chinese silk robes of a nobleman, but he was no nobleman. Eron Aaron was also a known thief, swindler and rumored meddler in the black arts. So unsavory was his reputation, that he had reputedly no hope of gaining any title of nobility despite his talents, and was thus an embarrasment to his family. Thus It was an even bigger scandal when Eron Aaron was elevated to a knight, than when Shah Jahan was elevated to Cardinal. They were indeed an unlikely and unconventional pair.

According to legend, Eron paid handsomely a dark magician skilled the old Du-cha French death magics and Nether Fire mysticism. It was said that he got the mage to make a spell that would heal his wounds no matter how severe, and some even claimed that this power made him immortal.

Whether immortal or not one thing was certain. Aaron's charlatan ways and sharp bargaining made him enemies whereever he went and he was constantly fighting duels and fending off assasins. Some speculated that this was the reason he was chosen for the mission, if he was killed in some duel or barfight, it could be easily blamed on his antics instead of on the Persian govenment, and would thus not lead to the Aaron clan calling for an international incident.

Another reason for his selection was obvious, the constant dueling made Eron Aaron a deadly skilled fighter, and particularly adept at the healing arts. Indeed, it was possible that some of his reputation of being immortal was in fact due to his amazing ability to use local remedies and potions to recover from battles with seemingly superhuman speed. Overall, he was an excellent bodyguard on one of the most important missions in Netherlands history.

[Greece (DoB)]

To the Ottoman Empire, you have not responded yet to our public request about your increasing intel gathering against Greece. You have neglected our request and have already surpassed our intel towards you. We ask again please do respond to this growing political problem between our two civilization, many in Greece are starting to fear that the Ottomans have not the best intentions towards Greece.

Greece

[Holy Roma (DoB)]

Faint smile appeared on the face of King Charles the Bald he read intelligence:
Finally, my sword will be able to dive into the blood of circumcision. Assemble Swing army and Christian banners let the hearts of our enemies be instilled fear.

[Netherlands (DoB)]

The travels of Cardinal Sean Jean and Sir Aaron the Relentless, part 3

Holy Roma

Upon departure, everything seemed to be going smoothly. The Relentless Aarons were appeased for the moment as the most scurrilous member of their family was now suddenly a lesser nobleman with a Royal Assignment of national importance. Advance negotiations for safe passage were conducted with the Greek governors to be certain that there were safe lodgings in the city of Crossroad, where the first set of trade negotiations were to be held. The journey was underway.

They had to cross Holy Roma lands, first visiting the very primitive, but very friendly city of Berlin, where it was said the people were more Netherlanders than Netherlanders themselves. Berlin was so populated with natives of River Village and their relatives, that the city had already petitioned twice to leave the Holy Roman Empire, and join Netherlands. This was the one place where the caravan was most welcome.



Next they traveled south to the famous Wall of the Alps set deep in the mountain. The city carved into the mountain itself and was an impressive spectacle. A mining stronghold, the Copper ore that came from The Wall's many hillside mines made it a production powerhouse. There was very little enjoyment to be had here as the people were a sour, serious lot, hardened by the harsh conditions of the mines, and always covered with soot from the smoke of the mines and forges. The soot covered everything in this city, and everyone, giving the city a dingy dreary appearance. but it was strange that the normally well garrisoned stronghold was almost empty, with only a few Archers manning a couple lookout towers.

When Sir Aaron inquired as to the whereabouts of the huge army that is normally stationed there, he was met with a gruff "Mind yer beezniss!" by one of the soot-faced guards. However, Sir Aaron learned from a tavern wench that the army had moved to Aachen to prepare for a suspected invasion, she did not know from where. It was a happy sight to look over their shoulder and see that dismal place disappearing over the horizon as they left for Greece.

Greece



Crossroad was the Mediterranean port and only access point to the prosperous fishing lanes of the Black Sea. It was therefore one of the largest, most expensive cities in the world and was crawling with mercenaries, assassins and all sorts of for-hire killers from all over the world. It would be a perilous destination for such a famous caravan, but there was a long journey to get there. Once they arrived they were given excellent deluxe accommodations and a visit to the royal baths to wash away the soot of The Wall and the grime of the mountain road, a truly welcome respite.

Greece was a stark contrast to the backwards and spartan military towns in Holy Roma. There were theaters, aqueducts, running water, numerous temples of all different faiths, bustling marketplaces, banks and so much more. This place was a trader's mecca and both esteemed members of the caravan set to work setting up lucrative trades and attracting investors to give huge sums of gold to gain a share of the riches that would be garnered on this trade mission. After getting all the needed investors, Cardinal Sean Jean conducted a private negotiation with representatives of the Greek government, discussing all manner of State business, and making many treaties and agreements to secure Netherlands future for years to come.

After business was concluded in Crossroad, it was time to begin the second leg of the journey. The caravan was to travel across Asia to Shanghai, China and meet up with the Captain of the Galleon "Athena's Word" who would then ferry them to Japan. This was the King's idea, to avoid English Pirates, the ship would depart from its dock in South America, and travel the pacific, while they moved across land to China.



Other than a couple card games which inevitably ended with Sir Aaron killing a man in a duel for accusing him of cheating, and adding another scar to his already battle-haggard face, the rest of the journey through Greece passed without event. The only curiosity was the marvel of Greek technology. Their centers of learning were amazing, and were a good explanation for their technological advancement. There were schools of higher learning and buildings called observatories that enabled the study of the stars and constellations. Sean Jean, smiled to himself, knowing he had done well, as through his negotiations, the Greatest Scientists of Netherlands would be sent to learn in Greece, and sent the fruits of their studies would propel Netherlands scientific advancement in ways the previous efforts never could.



Science in Greece was far advanced and was unlike that of any other country in the world. In the city of Old Constantinople, conquered ages ago from the Byzantine barbarians, the garrison was armed with a weapon many in the caravan had never seen before, called a musket. Cardinal Sean Jean was able to arrange a paid demonstration, and the party was astounded at the power and range of the weapon. The loud sound was like the clap of thunder as the weapon discharged, using a substance called gunpowder, the explosive power of the shot was obviously strong enough to kill a man at fifty paces.



But this paled in comparison to the weaponry and ship technology they witnessed in East Coast, the former Byzantine Thessalonian city. The 'grenade' as it was called, was best described as a giant ball of iron packed with gunpowder and lit with a rope fuse. This weapon had unbelievable explosive power and seemed almost supernatural to the members of the caravan. The "Grenadiers" who wielded these weapons were military engineers of sorts, and were gunpowder experts. Sir Aaron took a trip down to the docks to see the Grenadiers loading weapons onto ships, and he saw new kinds of ships, similar to Galleons but much larger and more menacing. When he asked what they were, a man on the dock said "That big one there, she's a Frigate, and that huge one with all the guns, she's a Ship-of-the-Line. She's new, maiden voyage is today. Sir Aaron sat on his horse and watched in awe as the massive vessel put out to sea.



As the caravan departed Greece, Cardinal Sean Jean looked at Sir Aaron and said "Our scientists have a lot of catching up to do don't they?" Sir Aaron replied "I'm embarrassed, our military is pathetic compared to this." Both men looked out the window of their carriage as a fleet of mighty Ships of the line sailed out into the Mediterranean. They still had a lot of work to do on this voyage, but it had been very educational.

[England (DoB)]

Notice sent to all nations-

Netherlands has offered a simple Open Borders agreement to attempt to bring an end the tensions between England and Netherlands. We have even recalled our SoJ from English lands and announced our assurances to England that we are no longer using SoJ or our Netherlands informants to learn their technology, as Netherlands already knows all the useful technology that England posses anyway.

All nations are notified that England has refused to Open Borders and chooses of their own will to continue the hostilities between our countries. England has an agreement with Persia to have their Galleys upgraded to Galleons and so they feel that they no longer need Open Borders with Netherlands.

This proves that they never wanted to end tensions or hostilities with Netherlands, all they even cared about was access to Americas. This notice is being sent to put all nations on notice that Persia is allied with England and helping to fuel their tyrannical dominance over the Atlantic, and that English bully-State refuses to cease hostilities towards Netherlands. All nations should be aware that your actions to help England are the same as helping them to oppress Netherlands.

When Nether officials offered Open Borders England immediately requested assurances that Nether would not use the agreement to facilitate the deployment additional spies. Nether has not offered such assurances, and instead issues meaningless statements regarding its current espionage levels. In this context the above Nether message is likely an attempt to obscure the debate and defame England.

Nether can make repeated statements that they are not currently spying on England, however, England reiterates that it will remains steadfast in refusing open borders until Nether offers assurances it will not use the agreement to deploy its spys.

Meanwhile the Nether attempts to portray English actions as bellicose while leaving out the good will gestures England has already undertaken towards the Nether. Immediately after receiving the Nether open borders proposal England ceased its counter espionage activity against the Nether. England likewise refrained from calling an Apostolic Palace vote on returning the city of Uppsala to English control.

We ask the Nether – do you deny these good will gestures? And why do you refuse to offer assurances not to deploy spies into England?

[Netherlands (DoB)]

Response to England:

Yes Netherlands absolutely deny your supposed "goodwill gestures" these are just distraction tactics in pitiful attempt to cover your hostilities towards Netherlands.

First of all, our public statement speaks for itself. We have already given your silly "assurances" over and over in public and private. If you just learned Alphabet in England a few measley years ago and can't read well enough yet this is not our doing. England is just making excuses.

And England did not "ceased counter espionage activity" this is a lie. England continued espionage on Netherlands even after the Open Border offer and just recently stopped.

Next, England did not stopped its espionage for any "goodwill gestures" this is a preposterous monstrous lie. Any fool can see that England has over 7800 espionage agent against Netherlands compared to Netherlands some 220. England stopped because they don't need anymore espionage on us because they can already see everything. Saying it is for "goodwill" is an obvious lie.

England has been slowing down espionage on Netherlands since a long time ago, because they are so far ahead of us in spending and they only stopped because there is no point anymore. England has all the possible info they can possibly get because of the thousands upon thousands in spending, and Netherlands is obviously not sending any more agent to England. So England has no reason to continue, that is why they stop, not "goodwill". But they already have so much spies on us already that stopping now does no benefits whatsoever to Netherlands. We already told them this so it is ridiculous for them to try to repeat this farce again.

Last lie is that they ask us "not to deploy spies", they asked for assurance that we don't steal anymore tech which we have already gave them. Now they try to change it around to something new. It is ridiculous for England who have 7800 spies against us and can see even what pattern undergarments our daughters wear to ask us not to deploy spies to watch them. What kind of sick joke is that?

As for your Apostolic Palace resolution, we are certain that no one is fooled by this. England makes whatever resolutions you want that you think will succeed. You made no such resolution to steal our city, because the world knows that you have already stolen so much cities from us and would not allow you to do it again. Your resolution would fail, and you know it, that is why you did not bring it. Don't waste your breath lying that you did it for goodwill.

Another reason you would not dare make such a resolution is because putting a city on mainland Europe right next to SoJ offices would make it an easy target for the SoJ. Your 7800 spies worth of paranoia and fear of our SoJ makes it obvious why you don't try a resolution to get Uppsala.

- Netherlands Foreign Minister

[England (DoB)]

Response to England:

First of all, our public statement speaks for itself. We have already given your silly "assurances" over and over in public and private.

Last lie is that they ask us "not to deploy spies", they asked for assurance that we don't steal anymore tech which we have already gave them.

So perhaps it is all a misunderstanding. We take Nether at their word that they have no future intent of conducting espionage against England or using the open borders agreement as a ploy to deploy spies.

We will offer open borders with this assumptions. Should Nether begin spying on England we will consider this a breech of trust akin to an act of war.

(ps - England also offers multiple resources desperately needed by the Nether people).

[England (DoB)]

Response to England:

As for your Apostolic Palace resolution, we are certain that no one is fooled by this.

Nether should have more respect for English diplomatic acumen. An Apostolic Palace vote on Uppsala would have had high odds of success. While England has no need for the city, Holy Rome likely would be interested in trading for the city and its support would be all but assured. Likewise, England’s close relations with other major powers would give high odds that a vote could pass. Nether probably would have been forced to veto the resolution and suffer the negative repercussion of such an action. But all this is moot, England did not follow this course of action as England does not bear a grudge against the Nether people.

[Persia (DoB)]

Change in Persian leadership causes much delay in official matters. After a time of grief, Sayyadina Shamara takes over as leader of the Persian Empire, following the death of her father. Messengers are busy with increased reports and letters sent out to all nations.