@Dog The first hider reveals the current story of what is going down. As for backstory, there is a lot of free reign in what you want to do. Just post some ideas you have and we can give you feedback.
@Steel Legion I like the idea. Our current characters are headed to the land of Roh. A desert like place filled with merchants. Read up on it within the races and places to get a feel of how he travels there. I look forward to reading his backstory.
Chapter 0: Therian III, The former ruler of Alvion has been assassinated, the city is in panic as they search for his killer: Sir Cicero Bladewalker and his accomplice, an elven wizard from Ispar by the name of Gwyneira Elfreda.
They were last seen falling into a watery abyss outside Alvion but the council spares nothing to chance, word is sent out and the whole land will soon know. The winds of war drift ever closer as former and new enemies of Alvion stir from the shadows, guided by an unseen hand. Gwyneria and Cicero have set sail for the land of Roh in order to discover the only lead they have regarding the king’s assassination.
What this very next Chapter will be about: As the duo arrive in the land of Roh, their next steps are uncertain. They have very little leads as to the mysterious hooded magic user that framed them in the first place.
What does it mean for new players: As we introduce new players aka LOTR style, we likely tie their stories into the active plot and with it - world building.
Who will be storytelling this chapter: Myself and current co-host, she will be helping writing out the environment which our characters play in, while focusing on the other characters and not his/her own, as this roleplay takes a turn-based approach to who is the storyteller by giving players a chance to narrate every new chapter. Then tying things as necessary into the plot.
The meat and potatoes to any good RP is dedicated players, interesting characters and an active plot. This shouldn't be hard to achieve at all. So I propose to keep things nice and simple (at least to start with).
First, clear choices in a 'Choose your own adventure' style will be given at the end of most of the narrator's posts. You will still have a free agency within the posts to act and say whatever you wish, but to keep the story focused I will employ this technique.
Second, there won't be any long waiting period to start or prologues to pour over. You will have a world, and a starting location and you will figure out the world and the plot from the IC as you play it. Choices and survival will be difficult and combat will challenge you as a character and a player.
Third, we only need two players to get started, the rest will join the party 'fellowship style' as the story advances. The writing level will be low-advanced. Let's have some fun!
(Click the image for theme music)
The Fantasy World of Terraixa
A traditional sword, sorcery and savior setting where I base all my high fantasy stories and characters.
Welcome to the lands of Alvion, the 1st of the main provinces, you can find this area of land in the north east part of the world. The Alvion Kingdom is a living example of a fairy tale royal city. The Country has mainly forests and plains and the neighboring towns mostly deal in horses and tools. The very mixed communities are moderately integrated with each other. Although elves prefer to live in forest towns, the majority of dwarves live underground. Halflings seem to live quite closely with humans, and even the demon folk are generally left to their own business.
Chapter 0: Therian III, The former ruler of Alvion has been assassinated, the city is in panic as they search for his killer: Ser Cicero Bladewalker and his accomplice, an elven wizard from Ispar by the name of Gwyneira Elfreda.
They were last seen falling into a watery abyss outside Alvion but the council spares nothing to chance, word is sent out and the whole land will soon know. The winds of war drift ever closer as former and new enemies of Alvion stir from the shadows, guided by an unseen hand...Population: 50% Humans 20% Elves 10% Dwarves 10% Halflings 5% Demonfolk, 5% Other
To the south of Alvion the landmass is connected to a harsh desert area known as the domain of Roh, the sun has scorched most of the land into endless miles of desert and savannah the Royal City of Roh is run by the beautiful council, a group of 6 beautiful women said to be over 1000 years old but never age. The Country has very few natural resources so makes most of its income through trading exotic spices, cuisines,tourism and assassins. Human's make up the vast majority of the land and there are some tensions between those and the Demonfolk who are known to be murderers and thieves, the other small pockets of races keep to themselves and dont have established communities. Population: 70% Humans, 5% Dwarves, 20% Demonfolk, 3% Elves, 2% Other
Across The Grand Ocean Past the Bishop and Knight Isles in the North East is the ice capped region of Ispar. This nation takes pride in it's highly developed democracy, technology and education, the people of this nation are also very studious and well versed in magic, which contrast to the large burly Dwarves and Human lumberjacks who harvest the Frostwood, some of the finest timber to survive in such a cold country. The region is home to many mountains, ice caves, and frozen rivers, the main city of Ispar is controlled by the Greater Ispar Government. The diverse racial makeup of land is very well integrated and all beings live together in the advanced cities. Population 30% Dwarves, 30% Human, 35% Elves, 5% Other
Population: Humans 75%, Elves 15%, Demonfolk 9%, 1% other Finally in the south west of the world you will find the Gothic Empire of Naveroth, a very ancient and secluded nation made up of swamps, and very urban towns with stone pavements. The Naveroth main city, is home to the Empress and very little is known about her beyond her solitude, independence and authority over her people. The few large business chains in the land specialize in weapons and the notorious bio-pit is home to some of the most dangerous creatures who are thought to be bred and mutated by Naveroth's highly developed but unethical science community. The City's are almost all Human and the Elves have been driven out to live in small towns in the middle of the swamps. Segregation and Racism is a huge issue here.
The Costa Islands are dotted around the south cost of Roh, where the weather is more tropical than desert-like, although technically owned by the Roh council the Costa is generally seen as 'free islands' where most of the tourists come to relax and Inns and markets flourish at this beautiful resort land. There is no real ruler but the very rich Halfling produce merchants have a lot of control of what goes on and generally keep order. Population: Always changing but the main inhabitants are currently humans and halflings.
Population: No offical demographics, but home to many demonfolk. These very small islands in the center of the map fall under two different controllers, the Knight Islands Port towns are run by pirates and organized criminals from around the world, and the Bishop Isles are run by insane cults and mystics. The Islands are generally considered dangerous places to be and the 4 kingdoms have largely turned a blind eye to the dealings of the two communities mainly because they are contained in the center of the world map where they are surrounded and generally inactive globally. The Pirates sell stolen goods and train deadly mercenaries while the mystics of bishop will sometimes part with their ancient artifacts for the right price. Tensions are obviously very high and the communities are unstable at best.
Races & Variants
Humans: The sons and daughters of the ancient 'gatherers' have established themselves in this world as a fascinating and diverse people. Over the last 500 years or so, they have become the most populous race on terraxia by a small margin. They also have more religions than any other race, which has lead to isolation and tribalism in some cases. Known as the most effective politicians.
Elves: Also known as 'Province Elves' to describe the basic and non variant versions of elves. These usually are seen in cities living alongside humans and city dwarves in relative peace. Because of lack of exposure to magic and natural energies, they have a shorter lifespan than wood elves and dark elves but are somewhat hardier too. Agile and quick witted, they make excellent hunters. Their variants are Dark Elves and Wood Elves.
Dwarves: Known as 'City Dwarves' to describe the folk who live among other races in large cities. They are few in number but have very established cultures and traditions. Also living shorter lives than their other variants, but enjoy a less rigid lifestyle and are amazing merchants and builders. Their Variants are Chaos Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves.
Demonfolk: are essentially low powered demons who roam the mortal world, their demon blood is heavily diluted with human and dark elven blood but they have demonic markers such as scaly skin or red/yellow eyes. Sometimes tails or horns too. They are said to all be the descendents of one demon family who escaped from the underworld , others claim they are just mutant dark elves whose radical appearance can be explained with inbreeding.
Places Of Interest
(WIP)
Character Sheet
Name: (Full Please) Age: 15-70 Height: Weight: Class: (knight, wizard, thief. assassin, berserker, etc) Race:(Dwarf, Human, Elf, Halfling,) Weapons & Equipment: (details but fairly brief) Skills and Abilities: (expertise, techniques, and magic go here) Bio: (must be AT LEAST one paragraph long, please use the small amount of lore that I have provided in the lands and intro to help shape your background and backstory)
Combat
Combat follows the Arena-style method of engagement. You declare attacks but you cannot auto hit. You can attempt to dodge/block/defend but the circumstances of the attempt must be reasonable or your action will be overruled by the GMs (If you get shot at by a hail of arrows, don't attempt to Neo-dodge the projectiles or you will just get torn up).
However, where this differs from Arena is that all of your encounters will be PvE (unless you and your team want to have a scuffle). So while you can't auto hit us (the GMs) we can Auto-hit you if we feel necessary. We also calculate how much damage you suffer and how much you inflict. Instances where you can auto-hit the enemy is against 'horde' type enemies like mindless zombies ,low level bandits/gangsters or stationary defense towers if they are part of a siege.
Please note YOU CAN DIE in this game, this is part survival and although GMs won't kill you for something minor 'like oops you stepped into a pit'. We will announce deaths if we feel you fail a combat encounter bad enough to warrant death being necessary. If you die your character will not come back, but you as the player will be given a grace period where you can 're-join' the waiting line with another reserve character later in the story. So write well, think logically and you will most likely live to see another page of IC posts.
Magic
Magic is not a cure for everything. In fact, a common principle to Magic is that it takes as much effort to do something by spell than to do it via conventional methods. Such as a wizard tilling the earth with a geokinetic spell, will tire as much (if not more) than someone who dragged a rake across the field by hand. Especially if he took less time than usual. Maintaining fire will burn your own reserves and that could lead to fatal exhaustion, which is why spellcasters and magicians are usually smart about it.
A witch would rather start a fire on something that can burn by itself than maintain a fire in her hands unless truly necessary. Magic of someone's own, is borne entirely by themselves, body and all. Which is why magicians of all sorts are constantly trying to find new ways to improve their existing spells or new ones.
Individual spells are like skills, not just an incantation or a simple ritual. Learning to throw a fire orb takes as much effort as learning how to be an archer, learning how to create fire in the first place; is like learning how to craft a proper bow and arrow set from scratch. It often takes more than just effort too, many Magicians will carry materials to help them. Every spell is a skill, every act of Spellcasting tests how good the Magician is at said skill. Like how someone may not learn a brand new skill overnight, they may not learn a brand new spell overnight.
Keep this in mind when creating your characters. Magic does not happen by 'magic'. Magic has a cost, Spells are a specific skill. Practice makes perfect, and Knowledge takes time.
The knight Cicero Bladewalker of Alvion, home from a long campaign against demonfolk, was invited by a mysterious dark cloaked figure to participate in a nearby tournament against the demonfolk berserker Rakkath. In the process, he met Gwyneria of Isper, a mage searching the world for more knowledge of spells, while she was employed as a tournament healer. The two resolved together to find out more about the mage after the tournament was done, but then the king was assassinated with Cicero’s sword, leaving the two accused of his murder.
With the help of the mysterious Graves, the two escaped the arena and wound up on a pirate ship, where they helped the infamous Dalious retake his ship from his mutinous crew then sailed with him to Port Raventine on the Knight’s Isles. There, they set out to find out more about the bounties on their head and what leads they should follow elsewhere, but Gwyn and Cicero became separated from the other two which leads to this very moment.
The cloaked duo made their way through the muddy streets of Raventine. The market was bustling with commotion. The man asked, "Do you sense them?" A small pause before he heard a feminine voice reply, "They are here." He nodded with a glint in his eye, "We'll have them before supper, dear sister." Her eyes began to emanate an aura of power as she managed to spot them. Energy slowly oozed out from her, "No unnecessary casualties." She said with venom in her voice, "The king must be avenged."
(Roll d20+4 to sense the power 21, success)
Gwyneria stilled a moment, feeling the magic waft through in its approach. Far too soothing and far too…draining. She quickly grabbed Cicero’s hand. “We need to get out of here.” Then started to run.
Cicero raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but nonetheless followed with haste. He clutched his head of lettuce like it was some precious artifact. He whispered, "What's going on?"
The cloaked man sighed in annoyance. "They aren't easy to sneak up on are they?" The half elven woman's eyes glowed in rage as the power shot out like a torrential downpour. Most of the crowd collapsed to the ground immediately. A few individuals struggled to remain standing, but there was an open path for them to catch up. As well as allow her brother his opportunity to strike.
The brother smiled. “Great job, sis.” Then drew his longsword, his eyes smoldering like hot coals. Then with a roar, he charged forward, holding the longsword in both hands.
Cicero’s eyes widened as he spotted the hooded figure dash across the market sword drawn. He released himself from Gwyn's hand. He himself felt a little slower than before for whatever reason. Cicero took a single bite from the lettuce and threw it at the assailant. Then he drew his longsword and continued to follow Gwyn, guarding their rear. "We've got company!" He yelled in between chewing.
“I know!” She cast a small sheet of ice down on the ground behind Cicero’s steps. “Just, whatever happens, don’t fall asleep!”
The half-elf followed her brother and began chanting in some ancient elven tongue.
Gwyneria rolls 1d20 hearing gets a 17 success)
She recognizes the language as that of a very powerful weapon enchantment.
Twin Brother rolls 1d20 + 4 to avoid the ice, getting a 23 success
The brother sliced through the thrown cabbage, then gripped his sword tighter, he leapt over the ice he spotted out of the corner of his eye then lunged for Cicero. “Stand and fight, traitor!”
“Watch out for his sword!” Gwyn called out.
Cicero nodded and turned his shield which was on his back toward the lunge to absorb the strike.
Rolled an 8 Strength, failure.
Unfortunately, the enemy was too fast and by the time he began to turn, the lightning from the enemy's blade made contact with Cicero’s cloak. A powerful stream of electricity shot through the knight. His magic resistant shield helped to absorb some of the power, but Cicero was stunned.
The half Elf snickered to herself, "You're next, witch! I saw how you started the rain that fell and cloaked your murderous intent on our honorable King!" She drew her own short sword and began to enchant it as well. Muttering to herself.
Gwyn's eyes widened. What to do, what to do? Whatever they did, they certainly couldn't stay here. She wrapped an arm around Cicero as the man raised his sword to strike again. She focused on the sunlight around, then had it explode into a blinding light in front of the twins before teleporting with Cicero up to the nearby roof. She breathed heavily from overexertion. That illusion before had been the right move in hindsight, but it left them vulnerable here. If she couldn't figure out what to do before the enemy realized where they were now…
Aldebrand: 1d20 + 2 = 14 for blindness, only blind for a second. Seeing where they are: 1d20 + 3 = 11, failure.
The man quickly shook off the blinding light, only to look around in surprise. "Where'd they go?!"
Girl rolls 1d20+3, 10 failure
"Ghahh! That witch! I'll have her head!!" She screamed, clutching her eyes. Then she stumbled in the general direction of her brother.
Cicero shook off the electrical stun muttering, "Thanks." He glanced down at his companion with concern. She was gassed from the quick succession of spells. Without another word he hoisted her over his shoulder and ran across the rooftops toward the harbor.
(1d20, 11 fail)
Cicero mis stepped and fell over between a larger building gap. He just managed to grip the side of the next roof, clutching Gwyn in his other arm as he smacked against the side of the building. "Ugh!"
"Cicero?" She scrambled up to the roof ledge, then reached down for him. "You alright?"
"Cyrano, and I’m fine." His pride smarting as he took hold of her forearm. Then he hoisted himself onto the roof looking back, "We'd better get moving."
"Right." She looked towards the harbor. "Back to the ship?"
Cicero nodded, running once more. Gwyn ran with him as they made their escape.
The man grabbed his sister's hand, staring in concern. "You okay, Astrae? If that witch hurt you, I swear…"
"I'm fine!" She shrieked, "Did you see where they went, Aldebrand? Their auras are getting further from us!"
"I didn't." He spat out, looking around. "That light flashed and they just vanished."
She cursed their misfortune. "I must refocus to find their trail once more…"
As Cicero and Gwyn hopped over the rooftops, they spotted The Libertalia not far from them on the harbor. However…It was no longer docked. It had begun heading out to sea. Cicero groaned, "I was hoping our captain wasn't some backstabbing swindler like his crew. I hope Graves is okay."
"Graves should be able to handle himself." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to be alright though without your armor?"
Cicero sighed, "There are worse things. My steed for example. I can always get another set of armor. But Merlin is one of a kind. As for us.." He paused, "I think we should find another ship. I know just the place we could go for work." Cicero pulled his hood over his head and glanced at Gwyn with a smirk, "Tell me, Freda, do you like the sand?"
She tilted her head in curiosity. ”Sand…? I can’t say that I have much real experience with it to know either way.”
”You will.” He said with a grin, ”I know some folks.” He led the way toward the docks with Gwyn in tow.
We began began work in cleansing the crop yields of our island holdings. The fungal problem was sprayed with chemicals to limit the spread. Even emissaries from Rumanaya were petitioned to help aid in the removal of it by a priest. The priest would not arrive for some time if at all. It seems like a bunch of bunk to me. Talking elephants? But sure enough they exist.
As for the pest problem, our "indentured workers" or whatever sanitized name we give them were tasked with clearing out the deadly pests with primitive weapons and nets. The larger threats were taken down by human weaponry. Rumanaya was likewise asked for help as well in this area. We'll see if it bears fruit.
The supposed demonic portal that opened on the Protectorate’s island did not go unnoticed either. The Principal Admiralty and The Protectorate were doing joint exercises at the time of the intrusion. A single destroyer with 100 regular soldiers, and 50 gene modified ones were in the vicinity. The flagship carrier the P.A.S. Jackson was called to provide aid in closing the portal. It would take time to arrive, but when it did it would unleash a hell of its own with it’s powerful cannons. Demonic or not I would not want to be on the receiving end of the 406mm cannons.
Within the bridge, Admiral Hayward scanned the seas from their carrier flagship, P.A.S. Jackson. The single most advanced, and capable carrier from the former United States navy before the war. Parts were salvaged, weapons repurposed, and supplies were scrounged up to make this hopefully historic voyage. Other numerous ships dotted the waves of all types and styles. They were all there for the grand opening of one thing. The Gate. It took the collaborative efforts of every capable nation to construct a theoretical portal into another world. It would now be time to see if all the sacrifices would pay off. Not that it would matter if it did not. They collectively only had about 6 months of life left on earth. If those supposed scientific masterminds with Gaea Corp. were correct, it could be their time to begin again.
The Autumn, flagship of the ‘Red U.S’, is seen out in the distance - also awaiting the Gaea corridor to open its floodgates into the new world. Flying high on the cruise ship is the United States eagle holding a hammer in its right claw and a sickle in its left claw. A red star is above the eagle with a banner hanging in between the two entities - eagle and star - with the words, E Pluribus Unum. Of course no one can actually read those words as every ship is hundreds of meters apart from each other, but it is unmistakably their red cousins from the New York metro. The whole family is here for a good ol’ reunion, albeit two distant relatives.
Before the assembled ships and fleets and peoples waiting to get in, however, the Admiral’s eyes would ultimately fall on the truly titanic structure before them all. Indeed, the gigantic structure that was “The Gate” stood like a great arch out of the ocean, its hull of gleaming metal plates, windows from various facilities actually built into it all over, and otherwise sat almost glowing in the morning sun. Yet its terrible size spoke of a level of status that it seemed to carry, a certain reverence and grand majesty that would bring so many to awe. It was a veritable and literal behemoth in structure, and in the cruel reality for Earth the final great monument to the advancements of mankind.
Yet once opened it would be suitably well defended by the Gaea Corporation at the very least, as it already had been by the simply large fleet that had been assembled about it before the other had arrived. It would be the “last shining hope of mankind” that it had been advertised as. Only some time ago they had announced the date of the ‘grand opening’, leaving time for those who had contributed to get ready to send in their initial fleets as the Gaea Corporation prepared for the start-up. Even the prepared rules of the project had been sent, informing the ‘participants’ of the gist of how things would go down. Especially regarding the company’s neutrality and neutral zones on both sides. Even a docket of potential livable locations had been sent!
’THUUUMMMMM!!!!!!
A sudden hum would cut the air, breaching the very tension that seemed to build after the announcement had been made over a grand external loudspeaker system that all should prepare to go ahead as soon as it opened. No fanfare, no grand countdown, nothing of it was had. Yet before the eyes of all assembled, they would see the air under the gate’s arch begin to twist and bend and warp, before eventually a spark of light akin to that of the sun would begin to shine at the center of this spatial vortex. Slowly the light would grow, however, before suddenly collapsing outwards in a rapid spread and unleashing a blinding light.
...When said light settled, the seemingly impossible would have opened up before the Admiral and other fleets before The Gate. For what they saw was not the crisp sea air of Earth, but a different blue sky filled with clouds and seas that seemed to suddenly begin to mix within the portal and connect to Earth’s own. Even a pack of strange avians, bearing three sets of wings and long black beaks and four eyes, seemed to zip through the portal to Earth’s side with a strange spooked squawking.
Admiral Hayward's eyes widened in amazement at the colossal structure. He mouthed to himself quietly, "They were right.."
The old world nations made their way through the gate group by group. Overseen by the gatekeepers. A new day had dawned in a new world. Promises of resources, habitability and new beginnings beckoned them. What adventures would await, and could they let old rivalries lie? Only time would tell...
T.P.A. Fleet Log of Diplomatic Specialist Robert Flynn
Month 1: Exited gate. Scouted for suitable landing area. Observed sentient life with culture, class-based racial order with roughly medieval level of development. Fish a staple of sentient lizards, top of the pecking order.
Month 2: Dropped off sizable catches of deep sea fish at a border territorial island. Presumably harder to catch with lizard’s primitive boats. Came back to the same island spot a week later to make first contact with our linguist and two emissaries.
Month 3: Contact went as well as we could have hoped. These lizard folk are willing to make some form of trade with us and I believe they are appreciative of the sea-food we have acquired for them. Perhaps we can gain workers to help build our bases up.
Month 4: Entered presumed capital of lizard empire. Reminiscent of ancient Rome in certain respects. They were not altogether surprised at our arrival. Began work with resident linguists to begin communications between our people and establish trade.
Month 5: We have exchanged rough spoken language between ourselves. At this point, our linguists are able to understand and speak their language at a base level. They have proven excellent at learning our own as well. The long “ssss” are notable and hard to replicate. Trade has been agreed upon between the Lizard Emperor and Admiral Hayward. 300 guaranteed workers per month for quantities of deep sea fish. They are quite the specimens. Wolf like people and actual centaurs! They should make excellent workers. The short creatures and main lizard race we declined due to their limitations on stamina and size. I am returning home with 300 workers now to one of our claimed islands.
Month 6: More workers have been bartered for to be spread between our various holdings. If we can keep their numbers no higher than our own, perhaps we can better acclimate them to our ways and culture. Time will tell.
The court of Stevata is gripped by a fevered clamour. The war has been bloody for Stevata, thousands of sons, husbands, brothers and fathers cut down in their prime, never to hold their loved ones again, and for the first time in months, there is a glimmer of peace. The peace terms offered by Komentiolos are stark, calling for no blame to be leveled, and the foothold of Komentiolos in Kavatsona maintained, but that price comes in exchange for peace, an end to the bloodshed, and yet, Oswald's court has never been more divided. There are those who call for peace, and yet there are still those who call for war. Oswald is a young king, but is determined to not be manipulated, like the newly crowned King Niklas IV has been, to the south in Altenten, and so he makes a point of giving both sides the chance to argue their case. It is the ageing nobleman, Lord Witalis Tarka that steps forward as the spokesman for peace, and that in itself is little surprise. After all, it was still early on in this bloody war that Witalis lost his first-born son, cut down storming the walls at the second Siege of Kronik, and it was only in the last couple of weeks that news reached Oswald of the lord's second son also falling at the chaotic Battle of Chersonesus. Witalis is a man who has lost much in these wars, and he argues now that Stevata should take the opportunity for peace, so that those who have already suffered can finally grieve. And besides, Komentiolos has gathered a vast army, and to try and dislodge them from their stronghold, all while guarding against the hounding of Altenten and Kalseran's armies, would surely cost tens of thousands of Stevatan lives, and drag this bloody war on for months, if not years.
The man who steps forward to call for war comes as no great surprise either. In the aftermath of the dark riders, before even the war with Dorist, what already seems like a lifetime ago, it was Lord Andrzej Mrotek who had been one of the first to call for war then. Oswald may still be inexperienced in statecraft, but Andrzej is a man who has already caught his attention more than once. A veteran of the first Siege of Kronik, more than twenty years past, Andrzej is a man driven almost to ruin by the loss of Shardvul to Dorist, his families estates torn away, and in this hardship, the lord's resentment soured, and became a bitter hatred for Dorist, and all it's people. Even now that the war is Dorist is won, and Andrzej's ancestral heritage returned, the bullish man seems to have developed a taste for bloodshed. He claims that the alliance of Komentiolos is crumbling by the day, that the atrocities in Aegyptus will drive away Kalseran, Reria and Altenten, and without it's allies fleets defending it's shores, Komentiolos will be fighting a war on a dozen fronts, and even with their vast conscript army, they will be torn apart, like a stag by a pack of wolves. Both of these lords are well-respected, and they command significant influence, so Oswald is careful to thank them both for their insight, before retreating to his personal chambers. The decision rests squarely on the King's young shoulders, and whatever path chosen, it will surely shape the fate of not just Stevata, but perhaps of Europe itself...
Hours later... After what feels like an eternity, King Oswald exits the room. Immediately he calls the nobility to him and responds with as much grace and resolve the young king can muster, "My dear brothers and sisters of Stevata. This decision weighs heavily on my mind, but I believe that God has given me wisdom. My commands are thus; the terms listed by "Caesar of the South" are egregious and an outright travesty. After instigating the war against our allies of Khazaria, assaulting the lands of our allies at Paranas and forcibly taking them, now he graces us with his "terms?" And what are those terms? To cede our allies land to him without protest, and to not blame them for their sins in stoking the flames of war from the outset. This is not even to mention their known atrocities against their former colony Aegyptus. No. These terms will not stand...." A long pause stills the room. So quiet the sound of a pin drop could be heard. "However.." the young King continues, "I do not wish for any more of our people's blood to be shed on foreign shores, against foreign armies with foreign languages. New terms will be crafted with the agreement of our allies and the nations of the Western Alliance."
Oswald waits for some time to get an understanding of his noble's responses. His words are weighty, yet filled with the fire of passion. Whether or not they agree with his choices, his nobility knows he is looking out for their nation above all. After addressing any questions or comments from them, they are dismissed. Then he calls for a scribe.
Present day banquet Stevata...
"Indeed." King Oswald thinks to himself, "His response was not completely unpredictable. Yet, it is a travesty that more blood must be shed on behalf of a cruel dictator." He takes a sip from a golden chalice of fine red wine and sighs. After a few seconds he exclaims out loud in his banquet hall which includes leaders and delegates from most of the nations of Europe, "Even without the signature of Komentiolios, I ask that you will sign with us in the treaty outlined. And if necessary, supply us with the necessary materiel to end this war quickly and decisively. Call forth messengers to your respective leadership if they are not currently present. If they cannot aid us in this way, sign the trade agreements to increase commerce from West to East. War need not come between our two alliance blocs. Rather, trade, friendship and goodwill."
Member
Samara
Fetzen
Timemaster
