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BirdNES 3: When Worlds Collide

To: Ferdinand of Naples
From: Charles VIII, Emperor of France, Brittany, Burgundy, Naples, and All Those Lands Which We Hold By Right


It pleases us greatly that you have proven to be a wise man, knowledgeable of not only true repentance, but also of more worldly things, the treatment of vassals and the resolution of claims. As such, we have deemed you worthy of being crowned by our hand King of Naples under our own beneficent Empire. If you wish you may come to us at a time and season which is convenient for you to receive your crown from our hands. However, knowing the burdens of state, we allow you to stay at your court, and we shall crown you King of Naples by proxy.

With the crown of Naples, we do also invest you in all the ancient rights and privileges of the same, save where they are abrogated by your duties as a king under the Empire. As for our part, we hereby agree to invest in Naples all the rights of being in the Empire, including rights to protection of her borders from all enemies. As such, we counsel you to withdraw your request for alliance with Milan and others. For France is your shield, why need you any others? Would you rather trust in armor made of silk, or armor made from Hephaestus’ forge? Knowing that you are a wise king, we know your answer to this before you give it.

This has been written and sealed by our own hand, the Emperor of France, Naples, and all our other territories. Let the one who loves me hearken unto my words. Sit on the throne which we have given you as a righteous man and fear God. I speak these words to you as a brother, springing from the love which I hold for you. Farewell.

If His Holiness has no objections, I shall. The offer of alliance is withdrawn.
 
I don't see why there would be objections to diplomatic correspondence between Naples and France. But let me warn you that your reconciliation and my request to France was done at great spiritual expense. I have trusted both Naples to act as good Christians should, and I trust France to allow you, Frederick to sit on the throne.
If either party tries to abuse this, we will not be very amused.

Da Pope
 
To His Holiness, Pope Innocent VIII, Bishop of Rome
From Maximilian von Hapsburg


Your Holiness,

As is the tradition of those who have come before me, I humbly seek your blessing, and I seek to be crowned as King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor.

Your servant,

Maximilian von Hapsburg, Archduke of Austria

To Maximilian von Hapsburg, Archduke of Austria and Joint Holy Roman Emperor

As you may recall, Your father and you have received the Papal blessing to rules the Empire jointly several years ago. Has something occurred to your father which I know not of that you are Holy Roman Emperor by yourself?

Il Papa, Innocentus VIII
 
From Janos I Corvinus
To Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan


You may well remember that a short while ago my father (may he rest in everlasting peace) had sought to arrange for the marriage of your daughter, Bianca Maria, to me. I would like to inquire whetever you are still interested in such a union.

We have no daughter by the name Bianca Maria, much less a daughter, though my wife is pregnant, so one can hope. So you must be mistaken.
 
To Maximilian von Hapsburg, Archduke of Austria and Joint Holy Roman Emperor

As you may recall, Your father and you have received the Papal blessing to rules the Empire jointly several years ago. Has something occurred to your father which I know not of that you are Holy Roman Emperor by yourself?

Il Papa, Innocentus VIII

OOC: I'd been assuming that we were rolling with Old Fred being dead, since Max is listed as my leader, and Max was never crowned Emperor IRL, so, you know...

Maybe I'm just getting ahead of myself, haha.
 
We have no daughter by the name Bianca Maria, much less a daughter, though my wife is pregnant, so one can hope. So you must be mistaken.

I apologize: my royal scribe seems to have made a mistake in translating my letter to Italian. No such error will occur again. The letter, translated as it should be, is enclosed.
From Janos I Corvinus
To Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan


You may well remember that a short while ago my father (may he rest in everlasting peace) had sought to arrange for the marriage of your niece, Bianca Maria, to me. I would like to inquire whetever you are still interested in such a union.
Once again, my sincerest apologies for this clerical error. It is my hope that it will not disturb the friendship of Hungary and Milan.
 
An ageing, yet good looking and charming man, smartly dressed in the latest fashion, has been travelling throughout Europe and the Near East, mingling with the nobles and patricians at the various royal courts. He is the head of a wealthy merchant family, master over a great deal of wealth who is rumoured to be interested in acquiring several royal bank charters.

The ambitious monarchs with a keen eye for talent now have the oppertunity to recruit this man, his family and their wealth for their cause.

OOC:
Bird, I'm interested in playing a bank. I assume that's no problem and I can participate in the next turn?

To the other players: I haven't decided yet where I want to set up my offices. Feel free to PM me and convince me that setting up an office in your nation will be profitable for both you and me. I am most interested in settling near the Mediterranean Sea, but I can be convinced otherwise by a particularly convincing and intelligent PM.
 
From: Portugal
To: Spain


Would you like for us both to sign an alliance to drive out all heathens out of North Africa and expand the Word of Jesus Our Lord through the whole world?

OOC: Yeah, unless Warhead says otherwise, I'm taking Portugal. I hope that he won't say otherwise...
 
To those in the Italian Defence Pact (Fancy Name for the MPP)
From Genoa

I would like to ask if it is possible to start trading enclaves in each other's cities. This will gain us more income through the more access for the traders and also bring us closer.
 
This is not the update, that is still quite a ways away. This is a pre update offering to open your imagination to what is to come: the hoped-for yearnings of eager kings.

Augsburg, 1491


Nicholas Verner stared out the open window of his study on a warm spring morning in May 1491. The winter had been a difficult one with the death of his father and the growing craziness of his mother. He had suddenly inherited the House of Verner at the age of 20 and the trading house staff of 10 looked to him for continued success. Indeed, so did his new wife, Helene. They had been married the previous summer and she had been adjusting to cosmopolitan air of Augsburg from her provincial upbringing in St. Etienne, west of Lyons.

From his second story window he could see the dye works, where his father had got his start some 20 years ago, and the complex of store houses that were his wealth today. Dispatches, both read and unread, littered the large desk. He had been working at his father’s side for most of his life, but now, to be in charge and alone was frightening. Helene would be a help and her brother, Jacques, was on his way from France. The dispatches, from all over the continent, were the life blood of his business and like his father he would preserve his contacts and work for the success of his associates who sent them. As he paged through them all afternoon he made mental notes about many; for others he scratched notes in the margins about questions for his associates to follow up on.

• Maxmillian of Austria had spent the past winter in the Netherlands overseeing the construction of his new palace there. Perhaps the Dutch will just burn it down next winter. They are a feisty lot.
• Closer ties that would bear watching were developing between Muscovy and the Sultan.
• Ferdinand and Isabella had laid siege to Granada in an attempt to finally oust the Moors from Iberia.
• The increase in piracy in the Mediterranean had him worried. The exodus of the Moors from Spain seemed to have created a new set of problems.
• Queen Beatrix of Hungary was traveling to Venice for reasons of “health”.
• Word was out that both Portugal and Spain were planning expeditions beyond the bounds of the known sea lanes. Ships and crews were being readied, but both nations were quiet on the particulars. Nicholas guessed that the pesky Genoese who had been begging for money all over Europe was involved.
• There were rumors of a peace between England and France and even Italy seemed to be winding its way towards some sort of stability. That was good news for trading.
• One of his contacts in the east had filched and sent a chapter of text being readied for the Muscovy archives. It was dated last year.

Spoiler :
Once upon a time in the Russian land there lived the Great Prince Ioann Vasilyevich of Moscow. He was a wise, pious ruler most skilled in martial affairs and governance. With God's help he had defeated the Tatars and built the Kremlin anew, and made many envoys from foreign lands come to his city to be amazed at its splendour and spread stories of its greatness far and wide, and called himself the free autocrat and tsar over all the Russian lands, having been crowned with the Hat of Monomakh; and he did many other glorious deeds as well.

Ioann had one son by his wife Maria Borisovna, the daughter of the Prince of Tver, whose name was Ivan, called the Young; and later Maria died and Ioann married Sofia Fominichna, the daughter of the Despot of Morea, and he had by her five sons: Vasily, Yuri, Dmitriy, Semyon and Andrey. Ivan the Young had already grown up to be a brave, strong and greatly learned man experienced in martial affairs, and many boyars said that he would be a worthy heir, and the Great Prince Ioann agreed; but others said that he was too frivolous and impious, and Sofia Fominichna agreed with them. And as for Ivan the Young, he had married Elena Stefanovna, the daughter of the Sovereign of Moldavia, and had by her a son, Dmitriy, called the Grandson.

And so by the Unclean One's command evil had taken root at the Court, and the boyars took the sides of Ivan the Young or Vasily the son of Sofia, and often lied and connived against one another, and so did Elena Stefanovna and Sofia Fominichna. It also so happened that when Sofia Fominichna first arrived in the Russian land she was accompanied by Greeks and Latins, and later the Great Prince had cast them away from the Court; and then they were replaced by the black monks and those boyar children who were more brave than wise and more greedy than rich. As for Ivan and Elena, they had surrounded themselves with dyaks, and with the white priests who some say were heretics what thought as Jews and some say learned wisdom from wise and Godly books; but one thing is certain that they were in a quarrel with the black monks.

And so it happened that Ivan the Young, who was nonetheless the heir, became gravely ill and barely able to move, and the Great Prince summoned forth Mister Leoni, a great healer from Venice...


When Helene came upstairs and put her arms around his shoulders, he knew that dinner was ready, but he savored the moment and let her read the missive from Muscovy herself.

“Who are these people, my love?” She whispered in his ear. “Are they real, or just some fiction of a writer’s dream? Can the Kremlin house be as fine a house as we have? Their names are strange and impossible to say.I think they cannot be real. Do you think that Elena loves her brave Ivan as much as I love you or that Dimitriy is as handsome our son will be? I would that you would put them out of your mind and come dine with me. Muscovy is far and not likely to come knocking on our door tonight even if poor brave, Ivan is gravely ill and Elena weeps for him.”

Asia and the Americas are not forgotten, it’s just that M. Verner does not currently have any access to those lands.
 
From: King Hans of the Kalmar Union
To Ioann Vasilyevich, Grand Prince of Moscow, Master of the Entire Rus


"Consider the gift that this messenger carries a sign of friendship between the peoples of the Kalmar union and the people of the Entire Rus. It is a fine jewel and it would honor Us if the Grand Prince himself would wear it.

The matters that We have sent a messenger for to discuss is of grave matters:
In the land of Sweden, currently under the Kalmar Union, and thereby Our Crown, an usurper known as Sven Sture with no royal blood in his veins has stated a claim to the throne of Sweden and has gathered a faction around himself, known to Us as the Swedish Seperatists.

We hope that you would support us against this infidel. What we propose is that you officially condemn the actions of this man, Sven Sture, and his followers, and announce your support to Our claim to the Crown of Sweden, as We are already crowned King of Denmark and Norway.
When faced with the power that is Our mutual forces and strong brotherhood, we hope that the ursurper will see reason and step down from the Swedish throne. If he does not, We humbly request military assistance in order to bring the land of Sweden back under the Court of the Kalmar Union.

In return for this favour, We shall send more lavish gifts like the jewel that has already been handed to Your highness, as well as a unique agreement of rights of passage for all Rus trade fleets and minor fleets of military vessels through Skagerrak and the Oresund Passage.

With the best of wishes,
King Hans of Denmark and under God."


(OOC: I have sent in orders to spend 100 Golden Coins on a lavish gift to Russia, that is the jewel mentioned in the letter)

From: Your loyal Son in Faith, Hans of Denmark
To: Pope Innocent VIII


"Dearest Father,

It is with great pleasure that We bring you news of Our most recent project:
We have sent for stonemasons and artisans to begin construction of a new church in the city of Copenhagen. We humbly request the permission to this project, and to dedicate the church to Saint Eric the Holy, the old king of Sweden who was brutally murdered centuries ago, and about whom history tells us that where his decapitated head landed by the hand of the assassilant, a spring of the purest water broke free.

If everything works out in best of order, the new church dedicated to Saint Eric the Holy will stand completed exactly three years from now. We will of course inform You of any eventual delay.

Your loyal subject in The Faith,
King Hans of the Kalmar Union and under God."
 
From: Ioann Vasilyevich, Great Prince of Moscow, Master of the Entire Rus
To: King Hans of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Sovereign of the Kalmar Union

We are grateful both for Your gift and for the honour of receiving Your envoy. In the past there had scarcely been any disagreements between our two crowns, and indeed the spirit of friendship and brotherly love had reigned even without any treaties. Even if You had not asked Us for this, We still would have condemned this Sven Sture and opposed him with all Our might, for We do not tolerate such oath-breakers and thieves.

Nonetheless, our friendship, though already strong, could stand to be strengthened further with a treaty of alliance and trade. The alliance will be such: We shall help you to Our utmost ability against Sven Sture and any other such rebels, and will never offer them any refuge or assistance, and will help against any other enemies of Yours if You but ask for such help, and You shall likewise not accost or hide any traitors or conspirators of Our land, and will help Us against our mutual enemies as will be agreed upon in advance. From such an agreement we will both benefit immensely, and between the two of us we will need fear no enemy on the Baltic Sea.

As for the matters of trade, We are most grateful for Your grant of privilege to the traders of Our land, and propose this in return: We have for a long time been planning to reform the matters of trade in Our city of Novgorod, which has been plagued by unfair German traders for a hundred years. Having heard of how disloyal and troublesome the Hanse traders have been to You as well as to Us, We have made up Our mind to expel them from the German Court (as their undeservedly lavish trading settlement in Novgorod is called), and to grant it to such merchants, whether Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or German, as will receive Your own charter. Thus We and You shall enrich both our lands and shall also tie them closer together, while removing the meddlesome, maleficent Hanse from trade entirely lest they agree to restrict their pride and beg for Your and Our mercy.

(OOC: I can't do anything this turn, having already sent orders, so any actual military or economic cooperation will have to come later; still, you could say I have taken some measures to prepare for it already)
 
To: Ioann Vasilyevich, Great Prince of Moscow, Master of the Entire Rus
From: King Hans of Denmark

Dearest Friend, Great Prince of Moscow,

It is with great pleasure that We accept your proposal - We will fashion an official document and send it as soon as possible for your seal to be placed upon it (OOC: Next updates proposal, does this suit you?).

Furthermore, We are verily pleased that you have been this fast is replying and share our distrust of and annoyances from the Hanseatic league. We would be pleased to work together with the mighty Rus in this matter, and We thank you for the gesture that is opening the markets of Novgorod to the merchants of the Kalmar Union. We will make sure that this gesture will not be wasted, and will invest a considerable part of our future income in setting up the Kalmar merchants in the city if the Hanseatic league refuses Your and Our just claims.

The best of wishes,
King Hans of the Kalmar Union, and under God.
 
To: Rastam Aq Qoyunlu

We will be very frank here, for in the presence of vile enemies Allah does not smile at pretense and chatter. You are currently engaged in a bitter struggle of succession to succeed the Shah Y'aqub. The Aq Qoyunlu have fragmented and although you and your cousin Baysungur, son of the hated Y'aqub, command your legions, many governors and provinces have broken away. Your state is in chaos and any victory of yours, if it should ever come, will be over a broken country.

The red-headed fearsome horsemen of ours stand above in the mountains, ready to sweep down into Mesopotamia and harry your fortunes at a moment's notice. Not only that, but as we are at the beauty of peace to your bloody succession war, we have obtained weapons of great power and know now the secret of saltpeter and handcannon. Once when you were united, your numbers could compare to ours, but the anarchy of yours, which is to Allah's disdain, will surely collapse before the bravery of our devout horse.

But we seek not to remain the most loathed of your ever growing legions of enemies. The dissension of your ranks of your tired soldiers... who does it speak of? The hope of a new cause, the hope of the imams of Ardabil. And we invite you to join us to bring a new dawn over the land, from the hills of Persia to the plains of Mesopotamia to the mountains of Azerbaijan. For though it may not be known to you, I too am your cousin, descendant of our patriarch Uzun Hassan, the last of the righteous Aq Qoyunlu kings who was betrayed by the memory of his evil son Y'aqub.

The great Safavid knows that Allah is magnanimous and seeks to follow Him and His true example. Though your family has been hateful to us and ran the waters of our wells red with blood, we will forgive you and your followers should you choose to close ranks and join our cause. Surrender your cities and treasuries to the Qizilbashi and I shall not kill you as is my right by Sharia law for your treachery. Your options are easily visible here and illuminated by Allah's light: continue your obstinate servitude of Shaitan or repent to the wisdom of the Twelve Imams and assume the Magistrate of Mesopotamia under the New Empire of the Glorious Safavid by Allah's will.

Ismail I
Shah of Ardabil, Leader of the Safaviyeh
 
To: Delhi Sultanate
From: Gujarat Sultanate


The Rajput are Hindu idiots with their beliefs in elephants and cows. Lets destroy them, you from the north, and the Gujarat from the South. Islam is the true faith!
 
To: Gujarat Sultanate
From: Delhi Sultanate

[REMOVED FOR INACCURACY, THE RELIGIOUS MINISTER RESPONSIBLE HAS BEEN EXECUTED] As of yet, it is not in our best interests to declare war on any nation, especially a Hindu nation as we are currently trying to rebuild ties with our own Hindu population in Delhi. We will contact you in an appropriate matter should we need to discuss anything.

(AKA Private Messaging)
 
To Delhi Sultanate
From Gujarat Sultanate


Burn in hell, lapdog of people who believe in cows and elephants.
 
To: Sultanates of Sind, Malwa, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Berar, Bengal.
From: Sultanate of Gujarat


We just got betrayed by the "Muslims" of Delhi! If we continue to surrender to Hindu idiots like they do, we might be forced to believe in cows and elephants! Join Gujarat as Muslims and declare war on Rajput!

To: Rajput
From: Sultanate of Gujarat


We declare war on you cow-people. Prepare to die!
 
To: Egypt
From: Sultanate of Gujarat

We are at war with evil cow-people and ask for your help Muslim brother. Please help us with money and soldiers and we will give you good trade deals and some of what we loot from the cow-people palaces.

If the cow-people destroy us they might not want to trade with Muslims! Help!
 
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