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Could it be possible to be two characters? or maybe change since i dont think i chose the character that is directly involved in the power struggle.
Better to have one, but I have no problem with you switching as long as it doesn't become a character-a-day thing.

I have a question on religion. Has the Protestantism Reformation happened yet or has the threat of a large pagan nation suppressed it?
In MEIOU the Protestant Reformation has a range it can happen in. It hasn't started yet. I would be interested in what Protestantism has to say about Catholicism's failures again the pagans.
 
I will be available for quite a while. You won't need to worry about me. :)
 
((The game has begun! If your character dies, or if you'd still like to join please PM me with a new character.))

The game is supposed to be slow paced so be careful with the flow of time. I will probably keep track of that in my posts. Take it is easy, make plans find allies, plot, back stab, double-cross. You can talk in private using PM (but don't let your inbox fill up). There is no real goal, but the leaders of the different states must try to make sure their country is better off at the end than they were at the beginning.


March 1st, 1523 - Noonish
A March snow covers the ground and buildings of Doneckas (Donetsk), a fortress town on what used to be Lithuania's border with the Blue Horde. The city, a once-proud Crimean settlement is a very different place then it was only on hundred years ago. The Mosques are gone, as are the Crimeans. Instead there stand pagan shrines, and a small Ruthenian community is growing around the fortress. These are settlers from Galacia, removed from their homes to allow for Lithuanians to settle the more "civilized" lands near the old-Polish border. Poles, too, make up a large number of the people in Doneckas. They have traveled far to get away from the constant fighting between Catholics and Pagans in the west. Lithuania is a very cosmopolitan nation. So many languages and religions in one house. It took several strong Kings and great military tacticians to build the Empire up from a Pagan backwater. Their work, as always, is on-going. Catholicism and Orthodoxy have tried, several times, to wipe out the Pagan influence in Europe. But so far they have only failed.

But Lithuania isn't interested in wiping out Christianity outside of its borders, or at least it seems. Recently they have seemed to stop expanding, and instead started building roads and trading posts. They have also started sending great sums of money to the Russian states of Moscow and Murom to fund their wars against the Mongols. The newly formed "Russian Expedition Army", lead by General Giedrius Paras was able to quell a pretender uprising in Murom and a massive peasant revolt in Moscow. It seemed that Lithuania was true to its word, they wanted to help the Russian states resist the Mongols. So, Emperor Kazimieras I Gedminai called a great conference to discuss the future of the Russian states.

Attending from Lithuania are: Baron Wladyslaw Vadeytius, the trusted ambassador to the Russian states and land owner in Lithuania's Livonia province; General Giedrius Paras, the commander of the Russian Expedition Army; Vaidila Kaributas Kęsgaila, a Pagan priest and personal friend of the Emperor; and lastly Emperor Kazimieras I Gedminai himself, to lead the Lithuanian side.

Representing the Russian states are: Voivode Ilya Muromets Glebovich-Muromets, the ruler of Murom and the great enemy of the Mongols; Ambassador Jaroslav Ivanovych, the trusted right-hand-man of Voivode Yuriy III Mustislavski of Moscow; General Arkadiy Kolzof, commander of Moscow's western and northern armies; General Sergey Lagunov, commander of Moscow's battle-hardened eastern armies; and Nobleman Stylianos Ioannidis, a refugee from the Roman Empire.

Also attending are: Papal Ambassador Giovanni Decocco, sent east to combat the influence of Paganism; Crown Princess Anastasiya Asen, representing the Tsar of Bulgaria; Margrave Sebastian II von Wittelsbach-Brandenburg, ruler of Lithuania's neighbor Brandenburg and contender for the crown of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire; King Gustav I Gryf; Sebastian's rival in the Holy Roman Empire and King of Sweden and Finland; and King Ludovicus Árpád, ruler of the great Catholic state Hungary, looking to gain dominance over the Balkans.

Things begin quietly as guests and their entourages mingle in the main hall of Doneckas. The Lithuanian chefs are careful not to offend anyone's tastes, serving only the best from East and West. At the far end of a great oak table sits a tall man, in his mid thirties. On his head is the double crown representing lordship of Lithuania and Poland. When it seems everyone has settled down, he turns to his steward and nods gentle.

"Attention lords and ladies, attention. His Imperial Majesty: Emperor Kazimieras Gedminai, first of that name; son of the Great Emperor Augustas Gedminai, conqueror of Poland; wishes to speak at the start of this momentous gathering!"

The Emperor stands, "It seems that many in Europe are suspicious of the East. They fear that grow too powerful, that we wish to conquer the breadth of Christendom. But I must say that this cannot be further from the truth: we guard Europe. The Russians, the Alans, the Lithuanians and the Romanians... we have protected Europe from the greatest of evils that the world has every seen. Past our furthest seeing stones, past the walls and forts of Murom and Moscow lay the endless steppes of the hordes... Their troops are without number, their resolve an endless river, their mercy non-existent. My people spent two hundred years fighting back these barbarians, a thankless task and now on the verge of our victory: the west seeks to weaken the dykes... letting the flood back in. It was my hope to fuel the fires of Russian industry, keep their armies marching on full bellies and with the strongest of weapons. To keep their homes and farms safe while the men were away. But everywhere I turn, there is no trust any more. Not from the Russians whom we've helped and turned the other cheek in the face of their insults, and certainly not from the Catholics who look only to split the East like they did the Roman Empire. Weakness, weakness is rampant in the East. And we must be strong. We must come to terms with the future and we must work out an arrangement that suits all."

You are free to mingle again.
 
Wladyslaw looked around the table.Good,they all cames.It was perfect.His functions,as representative of the Emperor,obliges him to use jointly soft lies and hard truths.So for,that delicate alchemy works, a certain degree of tension is necessary.And what better to create this tension that a multi-confessional meeting ?
When the emperor's speech ends,He dashed into his own monologue :
"Powerful and honorable lords, the menace in the east is each day more disturbing.I hear soldiers rapporting plunders and raping in borders villages,I see hardenned soldiers tremble when they speaks of the bloodthirsty madness of the mongols.
So, lords of the east and of the west, followers of Jesus, put aside your hates, for Europe, for your christendom.
"
He sees some men frawns,and he smiles.Well,they ask themselves why they should listen to a heathen.They'll soon understand.
 
King Gustav I Gryf counters the heathen's statement:

"You say that the new heathens coming from the east plunder, rape and pillage the Russians. I have no doubt that is true but. . .why should I doubt that coming from an older one? I myself have heard that the great pagan Emperor himself has ordered Polish Catholics and Ruthenian Christians to be forced out of their homes and sent to the for front. The Emperor says that he isn't interested in seeing Christianity wiped out, but he sure isn't interested in seeing them survive.

I sadly must agree with the great pagan Emperor though that the mongols are the biggest threat. Their first invasion was seen with great horror and anger and I would like to see them pushed out for good. However that does not mean that once the new threat is gone, the old threat will be too. The Lithuanians have expanded greatly and have only now just stopped. The Polish have fallen, and who is to say who'll be next?

Again though, I must agree that the more heathenish mongols are the worst threat to Christendom. Still, once the new threat is gone, what will come of the old threat? What does the great Pagan say to that? What could you say, Kazimieras, that would lull us into a greater peace?
"

The Swedish King sits down, looking carefully at the Lithuanian delegation and what they will say next.
 
The great Pagan Emperor lowed his glass, which had only made half the journey from the table to his lips.

"You accuse me of the deeds of many a great King... including your father, King Gustav. What happened to the Finns after their great revolt? Or those who resisted when your ancestor Erik XII seized the throne of Sweden from his father? Or those who opposed when the throne was offered to House Gryf? Yes. We've converted many a 'faithful' Christian to the light. But I've also spared many too: I've protected Hungary from the hordes and I've defended even you; for if it were not for our defense of Moscow, the Hordes would have had a straight march into Finland."

After a drink he continued, "And why should the Russians trust you? Sweden's claim on Ingria and Kola is well know. I've seen how your ancestors eyed us enviously when we sacked Novgorod during their treacherous back-stab in 1497."
 
King Gustav smirks. Just like temporary civilities, to be broken by the jabs and counter-jabs of the separate parties.

"I will not deny that any high Leader would be out of his right mind not to punish people who revolt, within reason, but I personally do not remember my ancestors forcing them out of their ancestral homeland. Do not the Finns still live in the province of Finland? As well, the opposition's descendants still live in my state do they not? I can not say the same for the Poles and Ruthenians who now find themselves in new and alien territory.

You say you fight the hordes to defend us, but why would a pagan do such a thing? I think inside you, you yourself fear them. If the horde takes the lands of the Rus, they will look towards you first. The barbaric hordes still have a brain as any other human does. Why would they head north into an even colder and inhospitable cold when they could just advance southwards like they did a few centuries ago?

But still, you did not answer my original and most important question. By your apparent confidence, you no doubt think that you can easily beat back the eastern hordes. If you do, what would be able to stop that confidence from spreading from the east to the west and north? My only being here is to find out your motives. If I did not think that in the future, my sons and their sons would have to face your sons and their sons, I wouldn't be here. While we may currently be. . ."


King Gryf pauses to search for the right words.

". . .politely sitting down around a table, what goes to say that a few years or decades from now that we'd be able to do this again?"
 
The Tsarina was not interested in the prattle present. As they squabble amongst themselves, and towards the Emperor of a nation whom can wipe them off the map. No: the Tsarina was smarter than that, at least in her mind she was. But. As the Lithuanian king himself mentioned saving the Hungarians. Her mind set off
"Your Majesty, as a Child of the Bulgarian State. I am both obliged to thank you, and condemn you. The people of the Balkans will thank you for your protection against the hordes, whom otherwise we would have surely gone through much more strife. Before peace were to come again. However: You wonder why we also condemn you? It is because in your saving of the Balkans from the Mongol Threat, you let loose one which is even worse. The Kingdom of Hungary. I am not afraid to say this in the face of their king. They are a stain amongst the landscape of the Balkans. Conquering and demanding conversion from a populace of people whom just want to live in peace. The Catholics shave our priests, and force them into a schismatic religion that we Cannot believe in. We have rejected it, yet they choose to force it back upon us.

The Tsarina walked around the table to sit closer to the Emperor, wanting to get close to him before saying, "We Don't hate you, we just wish you had left the Hungarians with an ill-guided sense of revenge. Lithuanians are generally viewed favorably in Bulgaria, Hungarians however. Have proved untrustworthy, and are not."
 
The Russian Expedition Army General saw himself forced to break his silence.

"Gentleman, please, we are not here to bash each other. A great common enemy at the russian border is ready to attack and there is no time to waste.

My expedition has brought stability to the russian realms at the expense of the Lithuanian treasury and soldiers. It is hard for me to see the Empire so harshly thought of after so many good deeds without asking nothing in return.
" after a brief silence, he continues, "But I swallow my pride, because this is not a small religious war between the christian and pagan world, this is a fight for the future of the humankind.

With this conflict, the Lithuanian Empire is not seeking to grow in power, but simply to help Europe be free from those Sunni animals. Lets leave this meaningless conflicts behind and focus our heads, our hearts and our forces to get rid of this mongol menace.
"

Gledrius Paras slowly sits down and takes a deep breath. He let himself get a little carried away, but hopefully the people present also will understand the reason the General is so upset.
 
Gustav replies to the general.

"Please try to understand the political situation though general. While the hordes are indeed the more dire threat, if our gathering goes away with only the idea of a temporarily common threat and nothing else, there would be nothing to stop us from going at each others throats. While most Christians can barely stand to tolerate our heretical cousins, all most every Christian could barely stand to eat dinner with a heathen. I might also say that from the ancient conversions of the early Christians to Islam, some Christians would rather turn to Islam than turn to paganism which the early Christians suffered so harshly from.

It is a miracle itself that the Papal ambassador hasn't gotten up and spit at Kazimieras' feet. This isn't just a situation of an external threat, it's a chance for talks between temporary listeners who would rather be at each others throats if they didn't know better.
"
 
Kaributas sat quietly in his chair. The Emperor's speech was short and frankly, he was not too happy with it. It didn't really say anything solid. He is an Emperor, for the sake of the gods, he is supposed to use his power to force a decision! But... Perhaps I underestimate him. The Scandinavian king's speech only strengthened this idea. Already, there were many voices murmuring all around the table. The Vaidila had a point of his own to make, even though his goals were far from matching:

Great King, your worries are unnecessary. It is true, that the Poles and Ruthenians have been forced to move to these unforgiving lands, however, I believe there is a saying from your Bible: "Let he, who is without sin cast the first stone". Was that right? I apologize if my knowledge of your Holy Scripture is limited, as I have not had much chance to study it.

But I digress. We, the Lithuanians, are a noble race, however, we are very few and can be influenced easily. Even His Majesty has a Polish name and so do many nobles. The Crimeans rebelled and thus had to be subdued, however, we had to deal with a labour shortage once the deed was done. What we did was not an act of cruelty, nor was it directed against your religion. It was merely an act of self-preservation.

And let it be noted that only were few conversions were forced. Why, we even let Christians live as free citizens, even though they can't get noble titles! And we allow them to practice their beliefs! So, which is worse - those that encourage their religion, but tolerate those that see differently or those who brutally murder their own fellow men for a different view on some ancient texts that are, might I add, very vague? Our two religions are very similar. Is it not true that St John's day and the birth of the one you call Christ happen to match our summer and winter solstice celebrations? Our main difference is that you have many Saints and one God, while we have many gods who fulfill the same purpose. Our religions are similar, you have simply had more time to practice yours. We still lack centralization. Even I, a member of the Council, have no idea how many priests we have throughout the whole country. If I knew, perhaps I could tell you how many peaceful conversions we have each day.

So, honorable Lady and Lords, I ask you: is a civilized religion like ours is a threat to you?"


With that being said, he sat down, leering at his religious opponent, the Papal Ambassador.
 

OOC: I might suggest reading further. This AAR is beginning to heat up and we might want to make sure nobody has posted while we have been writinng. I would suggest reading mine and Camoes' posts before doing anything else.

This AAR will no doubt be filled with Emus.
 
OOC: I might suggest reading further. This AAR is beginning to heat up and we might want to make sure nobody has posted while we have been writinng. I would suggest reading mine and Camoes' posts before doing anything else.

This AAR will no doubt be filled with Emus.

I read it and I do not find it to conflict with any of the previous posts. I didn't get a chance to read your second post before posting, but it looks all good to me.