Fall From Heaven NES

[Immaculate]

Don't be that guy, the one that gives stuff away then tries to get it back...

Keep it 'in game' okay? My personal character is not the issue here.
Perphaps it would be more appropriate to suggest that the amurites are 'that nation' (as opposed to me- the guy)?



Anyway... onto the wartime rhetoric that makes these NESes so much fun:

From our (The council of seven's) point of view, and our lawyers agree with us, you were paid for a task you failed to perform and thus payment was rescinded (EDIT: corrected spelling- thanks orange!). You may argue that our declaration of war made our argeement null and void but our contract did not stipulate such a clause and thus you had no legal right to withdraw from the embargo.

Also- you turned our beautiful island into a cesspool of smugglers and servants of mammon and we could not allow that. Would you allow us to build a huge missionary colleage in the middle of your islands and export our faith and collect tithes from all your people- in your own backyard? i don't think so.
It doesn't make any sense for us to fight over an island thats very obviously mine. If you want to fight, its because you are a nation of bloodlusting warriors- with an eye only for the coin to be won... it is your greed that is leading you by your nose (into mammon's hell)- not any sense of teritorial 'integrity' (this from the nation that annexes territory left right and center everywhere it goes).

 

[orangelex44]

Hahaha... Sorry, mate. I meant the Amurites (or possibly whoever's leading them, I can't keep track), not you - no hurt feelings.


***********************

You make your interpretation of "the facts", and we'll make ours. If nothing else, it's still incongruous that only the Lanun are singled out for their actions in the embargo, while other nations have been ignored for doing the same as us.


As for Rinwel, I took a useless island and turned it into a Lanun heaven. Just because that's not something the Amurites enjoy doesn't mean it's wrong! Also, the smugglers were around well before Rinwel became Lanun; all that Rinwel did was ignore them, which made the smugglers very happy.

And, really, while the Lanun have annexed rather a lot of territory in the past few turns (actually, now that I think about it, even Marksman was pretty aggressive about it), we've been good rulers over it. The centuars of the Kuriotate lands are the safest people left in that destroyed country, the Grigori in Hammerfel aren't enslaved (yet, anyway - that's still up in the air, I guess), and the people of Rinwel were content in their lot. We weren't so vile as to cause virtually an entire city to pack it up and move to greener pastures.

Actually, almost every nation has expanded just as much and as quickly as the Lanun; the only exceptions are those who have been invaded recently. Just go and check back about ten turns, and it's obvious that everyone's growing steadily, so annexation's a moot point.


Greed... well, greed might perhaps be a point to you. Still, 'tis better to be greedy than rightous - you never know what a rightous man will do "in the name of the gods", while you can ensure that you know what a greedy man will do. Just ask the Calabim of Acaia for confirmation of that fact, or perhaps the Khazad dead at the Grindstone Plains.


[It's rescinded, by the way.]

 

[Immaculate]

End of Turn 17
Start of Turn 18​

Coup d'etat
Movement spreads like fire, especially in Hippus and former Kuriotate and Grigori lands. Brandon was well informed about Mithril Guard in advance – he ordered his troops to stay down and to wait until things are clear again. However, warlords were outraged by this conspiracy. War Council chamber was crowded, Brandon spoke before enraged warlords. One of them, by the name Khuut, son of Lehten, called Brandon a traitor, and seconds later, hidden dagger flew straight at Brandon.

[snip...]

Warlords elected their new leader – Khuut, and marched upon the Mithril Traitors....

We would like to take this opportunity to reflect upon the meaning of sovereignty and of vassalage.

The Hippus, whom we, the Khazad, the Luchuirp, and yes, even the Lanun have always considered friends and have, until this moment, always supported as independent and strong-willed people capable of forming their own decisions and of governing themselves have spoken for themselves. They have voted upon their fate and chosen to be governed by their traditions and long-held ancestral customs, by their council of warlords and their leader, the chieftain Khuut.

This is the path of sovereignty, of independence and of a proud and honourable Hippus people who bend to no foreign will, no prince with nothing to connect him to the people, the heart and soul of the Hippus tradition beyond being born to the right political Machiavellian breeding. This is the path of Tali and of freedom.

There are a few Hippus who have much to gain from selling their people’s freedoms to a foreign buyer. These are the few who would sell their people’s culture, independence and yes, even children into the chains of vassalage for a privileged position amongst the mass of servants. These are those who would ignore the will of the chieftains and of the people.

When we look upon the lands of the Hippus we see a land torn asunder. On one side the vile Patrians attempt to erect their vile empire from the hardwork and sweat of others when we all know full well that the true remnants of Patria lie in Calabim rule. On another we see the true and freely elected rulers of the Hippus fighting tooth and claw to retain their traditions and their way of life, led by Khutt and lastly we have the foreigners. When I look upon the foreign faction I do not see rows of proud Hippus cavalry, I see weak-kneed seamen, Lanun sailors who would lay claim to the Hippus throne (though indirectly) and turn them into a puppet state.

Khazad, Luchuirp, others, who have always stood by the true Hippus way, who have learnt with them, have traded with them and who have even bled with them, I ask you to mouth your dissent. You have invested much in the government and people of a free and noble Hippus- will you see that investment, will you see that goodwill swallowed by the imperialistic tendencies of a pirate nation?

I do not ask anyone that they fight with me or serve with me under a common banner. I ask only that each nation recognize what they see when it lies bare before them, recognizes their efforts and investments, their toil and tears as they are swept away so that a freedom loving, proud and honourable tradition bend a knee to a foreign oppressor.

You will notice that no where do we ask that the Hippus serve us or any other nation; our interest in this is to stop an imperialist- not to be one.

And Khuut, what of you? We hope that you can gather your warriors and eject the foreign occupiers from your lands? At the end of the day, that’s what I see- I see proud Hippus warriors clad in green uniforms and I see tyrant Lanun soldiers clad in blue. Will the hippus discard their green for blue or will they be true to their honour, their freedom, to Tali and to their own culture?

The nations of Erebus, Will you see your proud friend submit to vassalage or will you assist them to retain their sovereignty?

from the pen of the amurite grand rhetorician​

 

[TheJopa]

A bit of note- Khuut was voted for by warlords, who were his supporters, not by populace. It's a bit of a moot point- it's like saying that a chairman of communist party is elected.

Some Hippus tribes in fact vote for their chieftains, some highly value inheritance. Even more than this, some support Patria and some are fond of their own culture. Each can argue his own facts.

 

[orangelex44]

(First, a long OOC comment:

I don't understand this obsession that people have with elections and votes. Democracies and republics are a very new type of government in the world; sure, the Athenians had what they called a democracy but in reality, many were disenfranchised of the vote and most of the power was consolidated in the hands of a few powerful faction leaders. Most governments before the modern era were monarchies, aristocracies, basic tribal systems, caste systems, or a few exotics like oligarchies, religous rule, and true military states. The idea that the "common man" could vote for their leader would be met with confusion, disbelief, or even horror by most people - and not just from those in power, but from that "comon man" himself. I make the claim that this is quiate representative of Erebus. Sure, the Amurites managed to cobble together a working system (for a while), but by no means would that be seen as a good idea by the rest of the world. The point is, there is no reason to assume that because a leader was "chosen" though a vote of some kind, that the leader is more legitimate than one who makes his claim though other means.

Now, that "[snip]" that was so casually made in the above letter includes a very pertinant statement: "By the tradition, Brandon throne was to be inherited by his offspring...". Now, this is quite in line with monarchial ideals, and indicative of some kind of popular support by that "common man" for one who makes a claim based on inheritance. Much more support, I claim, than one who was "voted" to power.

As I see it, the political situation in the Hippus lands has four rough factions:

1) The pro-Patrians. They have most of their support from the newly-rich, merchants, Amurite immigrants, and conquered peoples. This is a measurable part of the population, but not necessarily large.

2) The followers of Khuut. He's supported by chiefs that want more power or were displeased in general with Brandon's rule. Thus, they have a decent army base solely from those chief's personal armsmen, but don't necessarily have widespread support.

3) The supporters of Granmir. This is trickier, because I'm sure Immacwill dispute me on this, but I claim that this is perhaps the largest group by the numbers, with a possible plurality. The true traditionalists, farmers/herdsman, some of the regular army, some of the eastern traders, and anyone who has close ties to the Lanun support this group due to the legitimate, inheritance-based claim to the High Chiefdom.

4) The neutrals. This group is steadily growing smaller, as the situation becomes more and more critical, but there is still a large group of people who are undecided. Priests, dwarven immigrants, a few chiefs, some civil authorities, and small craftsmen are the main ones here.


Now, I can't be too definate about my number estimates since I haven't cleared this with Jopa, but I would guess that the neutrals are about a fourth of the people, the Granmiris are at least a third, the Patrians are a sixth or so, and the Khuuts have the rest. Note that this is purely by the numbers; influentially, many chiefs are Khuuts, the Patrians are pretty rich, and the Granmiris probably have the best military (even excluding my own Lanun troops, who at the moment are doing no more than hold Altheriol-ta-Mealthiel and some surrounding areas).

Geographically, the capitol (Altheriol) is obviously Granmiri; elsewhere, it's tough to say. The Patrians have rough control over the areas Jopa specified, but there are groups of various factions scattered everywhere. The Khuuts hold Mabdon-Marrachir, albiet with lots of neutral influence, but thier control doesn't really extend past the walls. The further east you get, the more Granmir gains support - and, notably, my buddy Hybor has solidified a good part of the area between the Darkwoods and the Upper Fannir for Granmir as well.

And, finally, to conclude my little monologue here, the fighting situation is rather clouded at the moment as well. All three warring groups are mainly concerned with consolidation right now, so there hasn't been much fighting. The Khuuts and the Granmiris are officially ignoring each other for now, and have an undeclared and tacit agreement to stay that way until the pro-Patrians are dealt with. This may change, and in fact I was intending to do so right now, but I spent too much time writing this and won't be able to finish like I wanted to do. Thus, all you'll get for the moment is this OOC explanation of my view of things, with a hopeful IC story (or eight) coming later today (or, if homework gets in the way, tomorrow).

Cheers, all.)



quick EDIT: I note that Jopa already commented whilst I was working on this, and I my opinion is that he'll agree with the spirit of this all if not with all of the letters. My main points are, to me, pretty valid.

 

[Immaculate]

OOC:
my IC comments will always be over the top- thats the reason i sort of (tongue in cheek) signed it 'the grand rhetorician': what i was writing was empty war-time rhetoric.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

Jopa. Answer my pm please

 

[LDiCesare]

I don't understand this obsession that people have with elections and votes. Democracies and republics are a very new type of government in the world; sure, the Athenians had what they called a democracy but in reality, many were disenfranchised of the vote and most of the power was consolidated in the hands of a few powerful faction leaders. Most governments before the modern era were monarchies, aristocracies, basic tribal systems, caste systems, or a few exotics like oligarchies, religous rule, and true military states. The idea that the "common man" could vote for their leader would be met with confusion, disbelief, or even horror by most people - and not just from those in power, but from that "comon man" himself. I make the claim that this is quiate representative of Erebus. Sure, the Amurites managed to cobble together a working system (for a while), but by no means would that be seen as a good idea by the rest of the world. The point is, there is no reason to assume that because a leader was "chosen" though a vote of some kind, that the leader is more legitimate than one who makes his claim though other means.

OOC:
Wasn't Karimir elected a leader himself?
Immac said vote, he didn't speak of democracy. Historically, I dare say vote of some kind has been the oldest way to find a chief, and a very common one at all times. It's very common in small tribes, it's also been used in the Vatican for the Pope and all the Church positions for obvious reasons, and bishops and such were powerful leaders. Roman senators and consuls were elected. The first Frank kings (Clovis, first French king for instance) were elected. The Holy German Roman Emperor was elected too. These kings/emperors were elected by a limited number of people. If you consider the election of the Holy Roman Emperor and the way Khuut was elected leader, they are very similar: Chiefs of the Empire voted for their leader. I do not think Immac was saying anything aout democracy.
The Amurites are a Republic, where not everyone has the same rights to vote. It is natural for them, and I dare say for the Khazad too, that a leader be elected. It is also natural that not everybody should be allowed to vote (for Amurites the mages and the priests get more votes, in Khazad only citizens -former soldiers- vote, and then their votes depends on their wealth). So, to an Amurite or a Khazad, the fact that Khuut has been elected by a few aristocrats makes him more legitimate a leader than someone who was just "born". It's highly likely that the Lanun share the same views, given the way they chose their High Captain.
So, I disagree with orangelex44 concerning the votes. Republics and even Monarchies (Roman Republic, Frank kings, Holy Roman Empire, Papal State,...) have had their leaders elected for more than two thousand years. They were not democracies, but elections by a council of nobles/aristocrats, so totally similar to what happened in Hippus lands.
I think you are taking Immac's speech out of context. I think his text IC is very good and his arguments are compelling to Republicans like the Amurites or Khazad, and I dare say even to the Lanun, for Karimir was elected in the exact same way Khuut was.
Now, in Hippus lands tradition goes the inheritance way, which means the Lanun tradition of electing a leader may not be applied to the Hippus. The Lanun are thus defending a tradition which is contrary to theirs, which probably means the Hippus may not resent that as a foreign intervention as much as Amurites.
And very obviously, each people reacts depending on their own interests: Khazad don't care who leads the Hippus as long as they are not Patrians and agree to the old traties. They consider this whole thing an internal matter of a foreign state and will refuse to comment on who the right Hippus leader should be.
Lanun people probably don't care much about the way the leader becomes a leader, they just want a half-Lanun to be the chief, even if it is through that foreign inheritance thing instead of a vote like the one which appointed Karimir their leader.
Amurites, having a recent grudge against Lanun, see the Lanun intervention as meddling in external affairs, and overthrowing a government that was elected the way Amurite government is (by votes). So they feel that Lanun are imperialistic, and that the government elected legally (from an Amurite standpoint) is attacked by them. Their speech makes sense IC, and they are trying to convince Khazad and Luchuirp, some of whom elect their leaders, that a leader-elect is the right leader for the Hippus. They use arguments that are definitely good for convincing fellow Amurites. I can't see why this should be taken OOC or be considered as talking of democracy when it is not.
/OOC

 

[orangelex44]

I suppose I was a little obscure:

I was trying to differentiate between "modern" democracies (wholesale representation, every vote counts the same) and what I'll term "ancient" democracies (or more properly, republics, where a chosen few [via birth or position, never elections] get some opportunity of choice). I'll admit I was perhaps less than clear; to put things in perspective, though, I had halfway finished writing the whole spiel when I accidentally navigated away from the page and had to do it ALL OVER AGAIN, so I left some stuff out the second time.

Now, while I'll admit that there have been some situations in history where an aristocratic few have the vote of a leader, those situations occur in states that are generally disorganized/decentralized (HRE, Franks), or are extremely unique cases in and of themselves (the religous Papal States, Rome with it's dictators/consuls/etc.). The Hippus, to me, are neither decentralized (the Lanun, perhaps the Khazad) nor a special case (the Amurites), and can fall under my general ideal that a monarchal/inheritance-based succession of power being the norm.

As for whether the discussion is pertinent or not, well, I'm simply trying (underhandedly) to supplant the efforts of my colleague, though any means possible.


And yes, Karimir was "elected", per se: on the other hand, he was quite willing to take it to a coup and if he had, the Lanun would have accepted that as legitimate. The Lanun are relatively decentralized (think Greek states, though not quite as bad) and the central authority at the time was more of an alliance of states than a true united government. Karimir has changed that, and as of right now the Lanun are steadily moving toward a monarchial/dictatorial system. I haven't yet decided whether Karimir will go the full nine yards and turn the High Captainship into an inherited monarchy.

 

[orangelex44]

And, sorry to double-post, but I want to be sure:

Arcane Lacuna is done now, correct? Magic works for everyone?

 

[Immaculate]

Yup- arcane lacuna is over now.

 

[Tyrs]

I'll throw my civ's two cents in. Good birth is a primary virtue, surpassed only by one's ability to remove those above you and usurp their position. Oh, the good old days...

 

[orangelex44]

Just a little something I worked on last night... I was going to hold off on these until Jopa had read them, but since the thread's been quiet I figured I'd provide a little boost. I've spent just about as much time as I can away from legitimate schoolwork as I can, otherwise I'd have added on another two or three on the list. The Lanun live in interesting times, and I like to record that - getting any effects from the stories themselves is just a bonus.

That being said, enjoy. The second one is probably my favorite of the three - it was oddly fun to write something that dark. Perhaps I'm just a little twisted.

Spoiler :

Karimir had always hated horses, but being married to a Hippus chief’s daughter gave one all kinds of new skills. He’d learned to ride – not well, and not for pleasure, but enough to travel when ships weren’t an option. Like now; the army was finally marching, and it just wouldn’t do for the High Captain (or, to the Hippus, Captain-Chief) to walk like a common soldier. So he rode, and simply wished will all his heart that he could be walking alongside his men. He didn’t feel like it would be an insult. These were the troops that had fought for him for ages; the Landlubbers had gone by just a few minutes past, and now it was the Driftwood Legion that was trotting in front of him.

He wondered what they thought of him. Some of them had spent decades away from the home islands; many had died miles away from water, denied their ancient right to a sea burial. They held much glory, but what was glory to a man who died to attain it? They had many riches from plunder, but what good is money to a soldier that is never home? Karimir’s name would be forever etched in the tomes of history, but not a single one of the men who had earned that for him would share in that honor. Had he been one of them, he would have surely hated the man that led them to such ends. Suddenly overcome with these thoughts, he reached a decision, and dismounted.

He walked over to the marching men, and indicated to the nearest sergeant that he should stop.

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Raphel’s jaw dropped. His High Captain – HIS HIGH CAPTAIN!! – was standing mere feet away from him. It was madness. Not only because the High Captain was right there, but because Karimir surely knew that you can’t simply stop a military column with no warning. Sergeant Allen knew that as well as anyone, but thinking fast, he gave the order for his boat to fall out instead of simply standing in place. Lieutenant Calm, not knowing what else to do, kept the rest of the ship moving and gave Allen a look of dismay. Trying to reunite the unit would be hellish while marching.

Not, of course, that it made any difference. If the High Captain said stop, you stopped, and that was the end of it. The boat lined up, with the Sergeant at its head, and Karimir calmly walked along the line in an impromptu inspection. The rest of the Driftwood Regiment marched by, surely wondering what astronomically terrible fault of the boat required the High Captain’s personal attention. So did Raphel, and the rest of his boatmates.

Karimir was even closer now. In fact, he was standing directly in front of Albott, right beside Raphel. The Sergeant was standing at Karimir’s elbow, anxiously awaiting whatever dire news had warranted this breach of military protocol. The rest of the boat was in varying stages of sheer terror, complete disbelief, and awestruck wonder. Albott, of course, was simply grinning widely like some Balseraph clown.

Karimir spoke. “How are you doing, soldier?”

Suddenly, everything stopped. It became dead quiet – the sounds of marching men faded away, and even the breath of Greygor to his left was silenced as Raphel awaited Albott’s reply.

“I’m doing like a soldier, High Captain!” Albott replied, and stood a little straighter. “I march, I sleep, and when ordered, I fight. What better life is there?” He really was insane.

“A soldier, eh?” Karimir gave an odd little smile. “You say you enjoy the life? Does that go for the rest of you, then?” He looked around at the rest of the boat. “You, too, Sergeant?” He turned to look at Allen.

“Of course, High Captain. I’ve never been anything else; I know that the sailors call us mudfoots, and little better than true lubbers, but I’d like to see them keep their heads when the fight blows good and hard. We’re good at what we do; isn’t that enough reason to enjoy it?” Allen looked surprised at his temerity, to ask a question of the High Captain himself.

Karimir simply laughed. “Indeed? I was once like you men. Not a true soldier, but I fought in many places, and know what it’s like to have to walk to where you’re going. Sometimes I look back on those days, and wish they’d come back.” He sighed, and Raphel wondered if his esteemed leader was just as insane as Albott. Karimir turned towards Raphel. “And you, soldier. I have a question for you too.” Raphel’s heart stopped beating. “What do you think of me?”

Raphel thought the world had stopped before, but he was wrong. Now nothing existed except for himself and Karimir, who was doing an amazing job of staring straight into Raphel’s soul. Karimir’s eyes lanced at Raphel’s, but Raphel wasn’t worried. This was an easy question to answer.

“You’re my High-Captain.” He said quietly, still looking directly at those stormy irises. “I march and fight at your command. Not because I must, but because you ask me to. I will fight whenever and wherever you wish, and even die to do so, if you ask it of me.”

Karimir’s composure slipped, just a bit. “And… why, soldier, why do you do this?”

Raphel was tied into a part of himself he’d never dreamed had existed. “Because I know that you will be there beside me, fighting. We cannot fail, since you will not allow it; none of us will ever truly die, since I know that I will always live on in your memory and the memory of my boatmates. To serve you is not a burden, but a joy. Should any of us fall, it won’t be forever. In the lands of Arawn, we will surely regroup, and follow you once again to defeat our enemies.” Raphel drew a deep breath.

“I… see.” Karimir looked down. “And you others agree?”

Raphel looked around. To the man, the rest of the boat was nodding. Allen, Albott, Wessale and Lex, Tom Clay and old Howser. Then Greygor spoke.

“Yes, High Captain. None of us could have said it better; Raphel has a way with words. Every man in your army is glad to be a part of it, and none of us will allow failure.”

“Thank you. That will be all, Sergeant. I’m sure you must be getting back to the rest of your ship. Carry on, Lanun.”

Raphel was too busy wondering what sort of spirit had possessed him to watch his leader walk off, but Albott was paying attention. He knew why they were there. Karimir was foolish to worry over the soldiers, but it was one of the many traits that endeared him to his troopers. Albott glanced over at Greygor, and the other man nodded. So he’d seen the tears, too? Greygor managed to fool just about everyone, but Albott knew better. He knew that neither of them would ever tell poor Raphel that he’d made the High Captain cry, however good the reason had been.

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Spoiler :

Blood. It was amazing how much blood a single person could spill, much less half a dozen. It wasn’t anything more than a nuisance, though. The bigger problem was that he’d lost another couple soldiers, and he’d only had seven to begin with. He knew his own vast combat skills and experience, but he also knew his age, and that age outweighed the rest of it all.

He sighed. “We can’t afford the time to clean this up, gents. Do what you can for Carrl and Leni, but we have to be moving in five minutes.” He surprised even himself, at times. Who knew that he was still able to command a fight, after being landbound for three decades?

His sword was covered in the aforementioned liquid. So was his armor, and he suddenly realized he’d been wounded – again – this time in the arm. Flesh only, and the best he could do was bind it with some of the dead men’s clothes. It would be enough, for a while.

He looked at the sun, and considered his position. There was still too much daylight, and too many miles to go. He’d have to turn back again. Damn. He felt sorrow, not for himself, but for the men with him who were surely going to die like their fellows.

“Lieutenant!” It wasn’t his proper title, but he’d given up all others weeks ago. What was the point of keeping them? “Look here. This one has written orders.” That was interesting. Was it worth the time of investigating?

What the hells, he thought. We’re dead anyway, all I’ve managed is to delay the process for a while. He dragged his weary body over to the soldier who’d called him, and bent to read the orders. Then he read them again, and again. Parts of his mind that had been inactive for a while suddenly hauled sail. He was pissed, because now he was going to have to ask for even more sacrifices from these poor, bloodied men.

“Says here that there’s a supply depot only a league off. These men were going to reinforce it – apparently, there’s no more than ten men guarding it at the moment.” He looked at his five remaining fellows, and checked the sun once again. “There’s food and weapons for more than a company there, and it supports the soldiers occupying this entire valley. We can be there by midnight, if we hurry. Hyomer, do you know if Bar’nay and his boat are still trying to get to the shore?”

“No idea, Lieutenant, but they were two days ago. If we haven’t made it, though, I doubt that they have. I know my brother pretty well, and I think I can guess where they’ll be hiding out. Shall I leave, sir?”

He nodded. “’Do it, Hyomer. Take the orders, and tell them we’ll be attacking at false dawn come hell or high waters, and if they aren’t there we’re not going to last very long.” He watched the soldier lope off, and looked at the others. “Shall we leave, gentlemen? I’ve been having a delightful time on this island, and I’m not quite ready to leave yet. Let’s go visit the neighbors one more time, hmmm?”

The rest of the men laughed; it was a terrifying sound, equal parts exhaustion and despair. It tore him to the bone, but he was resolute. They might have given up, but he’d always been a stubborn bastard and couldn’t yet convince himself to do the same. At least he’d die doing his duty, which was amazing – he’d long ago resigned himself to a peaceful death in bed. Apparently the gods do answer some prayers.

The Lieutenant, once called Lieutenant-Governer Greyfauss, walked once again toward his doom. He might die – he’d probably die – but if nothing else, he'd get a little sleep out of it.

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Spoiler :

The Hippus were only newly introduced to such things as manors, but this particular chief had been quite enthusiastic about them. His palace occupied nearly as much area as the village beside it, and it was obvious that the man had garnished many riches in the Kuriotate Wars, since every single bit of wall was carved, gilded, painted, or otherwise decorated. The inside was no better. It was exactly the sort of thing most Hippus would prefer pillaging to owning, yet it was the current headquarters of the Khuut faction.

The inside of the building was just as embellished as the outside, although here it was obvious that there had been a lot of recent renovations. The former owner had been a Patrian sympathizer, the more fool he, and the Khuuts had sold or destroyed everything that they hadn’t actually needed to operate. It was still an active process, and occasionally a person would be seen trying to remove gild or tear up marble flooring.

The three Important Personages were a unique lot. Only two of them were men at all; one was an obvious Hippus, an Easterner by appearance, while the other was hard to place. Probably Lanun, due to the reason these three were here, but it was impossible to tell that from simply looking at the man. The third Important Personage was, surprisingly, a centaur, wearing heavily altered Kuriotate armor and appearing totally comfortable. He wasn’t, probably, but his attempt was admirable. Centaurs were to be respected, since they were the only known warriors on Erebus to match a full-gear Hippus on the warpath (except, possibly, for the fierce Bears of dwarven lore).

Hybor, Karl, and Applesby walked toward the throne occupied by Chief Khuut himself. None of the three had really talked to each other until the day before, which made the whole situation that much more tense. Each of them was confident in his own ability, but weren’t quite sure that the others were as competent as they appeared to be. Still, if Karimir had thought they were able to do this, then they would try to do so.

Applesby had been the designated ‘talker’ of the threesome. “Chief Khuut – Greetings in Tali! We three come to you today in the name of Karimir and his son, Granmir, claimant to the High Chiefdom of the Hippus. However, that isn’t why we are here today. No, today we have another matter we are to discuss. The Patrians.”

If the mention of Granmir had caused angry mutters from Khuut’s fellows, the mention of the Patrians created a visible aura of hatred from them. No one here wanted to become a mere province in a greater Patrian state; no, these men would die first for their independence. Khuut raised a hand for silence.

“The Patrians, you say? If that is the case, perhaps I can allow you three to leave today with your heads still attached to your shoulders.”

Applesby looked just a little flustered. It was an assumed emotion, but he judged that it would be the most effective in this crowd, and he was right. “Ah… yes… Our Captains have judged that while our two groups have many points of contention, when it comes to the Patrians there is some common ground. We propose a truce. No active combat between us until the Patrians are dealt with.”

Khuut simply waved him to continue.

“Right… no combat. We will move our forces away from your strongpoints in the north and west, you’ll move away from the south, east, and central lands. Our forces will jointly move against the Patrians, and when either side determines that they are no longer an issue, we will agree to participate in a round of talks. If no agreement is made there, only then will we resume the current… unpleasantness.” Abblesby looked pleased with himself, then seemed to realize what he was doing and wiped all expression from his face. It made him look ineffectual, which was pleasing to the chief before him. Really, the man was trivial to manipulate. Much easier than the centaur beside him had been.

“You understand, there can be no decision on this immediately? Of course you do.” Khuut visibly thought about the proposal. “Still, I can see no immediate reason why we cannot agree to this. I can see some changes that might have to be made, and this first attempt is rather vague, but the idea hold merit. Come back tomorrow, and you’ll have my reply.”

Karimir’s three allies looked at each other, then bowed and left. None of them showed it, but they all were ecstatic – they knew they’d get their deal.

They were right.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

Jopa, can i have my stats, please?

 

[Immaculate]

@ The Jopa:

Hey, i hope you are doing well. I know RL is busy fo you and you don't always have time to answer questions as fast as your players would like but for us, we need those answers to discuss our (military) plans and perform diplomacy; the answers to these questions determine what we are capable of doing and until we know that we can't really plan accurately.

Anyway, all just to say that i (and others i am sure) would appreciate some answers whenever you have free time.

If you want me to resend my questions i can do that also.

Gee- was that passive enough?

 

[thomas.berubeg]

TheJopa, when you have the time, I do need my Stats

 

[orangelex44]

Yeah, Jopa has been a little slow, hasn't he?


No problem, mate. Everyone's busy this time of year. Whenever you get around to it is fine with me, so long as the NES doesn't actually die...

 

[TheJopa]

Huh, I know, I know... But there is so little time

 

[vruchten]

Hey, just have been reading all your storys and diplomatic discussions and i`m overwhelmed(?)!
So now i want to try out NESing myself. But i`m not totally sure if i got the whole system yet. Does one of you know an good introduction into it?
I`ve been googleing, but there i endet up nowhere close to it.

edit: just found the FAQ etc. in the NES forum silly me

 

[Ekolite]

Yeah, you wouldn't find anything on google. NESing is specific to this forum and afaik doesn't exist anywhere else.