Imperium Offtopicum: The Peshawar Lancers

[Lord Haldane]

On The Second Mutiny:
Being a Pamphlet For Arrivals

By Arthur Conan Doyle
Distributed by the Calcutta Refugee Relief Society, 1880

We face a crisis of proportions unknown to the annals of human history - stricken by cataclysm, you have left the Homeland for the exotic shores of our far-flung dominions. Your ordeal, however, is not yet over.

Barely twenty years hence, we overcame the brazen revolt of brigands and Thuggee known colloquially as the 'Indian Mutiny'. Many of you will now be called forth to crush another, far larger in scale. A few words on the current state of affairs will, it is my hope, lend you a greater understanding of the titanic struggle into which we have all been drawn.

Minor uprisings began as soon as the extent of damage in England was realised, but they were put down without great difficulty, as more and more of the British army and large numbers of refugees capable of bearing arms arrived. The first serious outbreaks of unrest occurred when it became clear that the 1879-1880 harvest would be catastrophically bad throughout India; crop failures were worst in the mountain valleys of the Himalayas and the northwest, but flooding and unseasonable rain also damaged fields throughout the Indo-Gangetic plain. Only south of the Deccan and in Ceylon were yields sufficient even for subsistence levels, and there was no surplus for non-agricultural populations at all.

Contrary to rumours among our native subjects, little if any food was shipped to Britain. However, the Imperial administration did obviously give first priority to refugees streaming in from the Home Islands, and to those martial races of proven loyalty - for example the Gurkhas, who have been forced into the lowlands until it is possible to recolonise Nepal. Rumours that food was plentiful in 'some other province', and that the ships returning to England were stuffed with grain, spread like a plague and inflamed tensions among the suggestible peasants.

Rejecting pleas for calm by Imperial authorities, many in the northern lowlands, and particularly the Princely realm of Hyderabad, have raised the blood-soaked banner of Mutiny. This great swell of rabble soon overran rural garrisons, and presently we find ourselves besieged within the great cities of the sub-continent. Our surviving colonies in Africa and Oceania are of late weighed down by their own chaotic affairs, and indeed, until this insurrection is suppressed, it will not prove possible to restore regular travel and commerce between the corners of the Empire. We must fight - all of us, we men of fair Britannia.

We shall see tyranny and barbarism civilised only by the exertions and virtue befitting a governing people. We have faced an Armageddon in which the seas of the round world ran purple with blood and flame, and - it may be that this is not beyond the bounds of possibility - it may be that we should succumb. If so, we would use language which Nelson and his marines and blue jackets would understand; we would fall as they fell, and die as our fathers died, with the Jack still floating nailed to the mast, leaving a name without parallel, and which never could have parallel. Much more likely, we shall send the cut-throats skulking back to their proper station, and make the three crossed flag still more the world's flag of freedom.

This Empire will go forward, becoming greater in power and a still greater blessing to mankind: a federation of free nations. The centuries will make millennia, and yet it is my belief, and hope, and fervent prayer that beauty's ensign will be purple on those Imperial lips, and the day beyond the forecast of man when death's pale flag will be advanced on the Imperial brow.

Orders: Invest 2 IP in constructing 1 Army.

[Hyzhenhok]

The West Treaty

The treaty is accepted in full, with the slight amendment that clarifies that the territories of New Mexico and Arizona, as well as the State of Texas, are participants as well. Given the weakened state of Utah and New Mexico, and the vast distance between California and Texas, all three have asked the Utahn government to fully represent their interests.

The treaty has been signed as follows:

Signed by Governor John Tyler, Governor of Utah
Signed by Lew Wallace, Governor of New Mexico. New Mexico grants Utah the right to represent New Mexican interests in regards to all treaty elements.
Signed by John C. Fremont, Governor of Arizona. Arizona grants Utah the right to represent Arizonan interests in regards to all treaty elements.
Signed by Edmund J. Davis, Governor of Texas. Texas grants Utah the right to represent Texan interests in regards to all treaty elements.

In accordance with the treat, Three armies attack Northern Mexico to secure the area, especially for the Mormon colonies located in Chihuahua. Northern Mexico of late has been covered in dangerous banditos, who have begun harassing and attacking Americans on American soil. This threat must be contained at once.

We would also ask that you modify your marching plan; there is no need for the Californian troops to march through Nevada to reach Chihuahua to support our bandit suppression efforts there. (OOC: This is mainly for clarity's sake; as far as the rules go, there is no reason for such a complicated order; "3 armies support Utahn invasion of Northern Mexico" should be sufficient. I will also PM straightforward orders to the GM and ask that you do the same.)

[Hyzhenhok]

The following is an excerpt from The Mormon Tribune, printed in Salt Lake City, in 1881.

Utahn Army Defeats Massive Bandito Invasion!
Hundreds convert in Sante Fe after Mormon Army breaks siege

SECURITY in New Mexico has been precarious since the Fall, but few of us here in Salt Lake City truly understood what that meant. The public had assumed tales of bandits, mostly from Mexico, stealing cattle and murdering children, referred mostly to smaller, more isolated bands. Only recently did it become clear that wide areas of New Mexico and Arizona have been claimed by a large, coordinated Bandito Army from Northern Mexico. They have grown bolder and bolder in recent months; we all recall the shock when we heard that Sante Fe had been besieged.

But the Utahn Army has marched southward, and has found victory! All reports say the Mexican bandits were routed easily, and hundreds captured. The Utahn government has stepped in to support the New Mexican government's stretched resources and feeble bureaucracy. The army reports it is in the process of ebbing ever southward, securing more and more territory as it moves rapidly towards the Mexican border.

Residents of Sante Fe are enormously grateful for the well-timed rescue of the city. They recognize that it was largely Mormon soldiers and officers who saved them, and recognize that this was only possible through the grace of God. Missionaries from the LDS Church have arrived to spread the word and welcome these willing souls into the fold. There is even talk of converting Saint Francis Cathedral into a Temple of God. The Zion's Board of Trade has also sent representatives, who are coordinating the renewed construction of the Sante Fe railway. They say, resources and manpower willing, it will reach Sante Fe from Texas by the end of the year, Salt Lake City by 1883, and might even reach California by 1885.

[madtemplar0]

OOC: It turns out my homework is keeping me up much too late. Also, by Utah I meant your de facto rule. And do you think it is safe to consider North Mexico conquered before the RNG has been run? Who knows whats going to happen.
EDIT: ah, should have read that better. NEW Mexico. yes.

***

Miguel Francisco, speaking for the Californios, accepts this amended treaty. As amended, Three armies sent south after Utah military to North Mexico.

[enkhuush]

From diaries of Hamilton Bower (British military officer)

Part I

When I heard about my assignment, I was uneasy. Why I have to go to so called newly declared "Kingdom of Mongolia" instead of quelling mutinies. And "after all they are uncivilized barbarians", I have thought...

But I think my opinion regarding them is changed a little bit. Now I think they are uncivilized barbarians who can fight. Although they lack modern technology, they have decent generals and army. The first general I have met here is Magsarjav. Here is my opinion regarding him.

Khatanbaatar Magsarjav (Khatanbaatar means Flexible Hero) is a noble. He rose to his current position in the battle against Uyghur patriots (Officially they are rebels in Kingdom of Mongolia) where he led rearguard in Kashgar battle.

The Kashgar garrison army, at first, defeated the Mongol rearguard. They have immediately pursued the Mongols but they have left Kashgar wall. The Mongols have been waiting for this opportunity, so they stopped and assumed battle formation. The commander of Kashgar garrison attacked the Mongols without waiting for the rest of the Kashgar garrison and were defeated. In the ensuing confusion, several other Uygurs' vice commanders were defeated, thus Kashgar garrison lost all their commanding officers. The Magsarjav demanded surrender from remaining Uygur forces in Kashgar with the promise of guaranteeing safety of their life and Kashgar citizens. Remaining Uygur forces didn't surrender and fought till last man, because they didn't believe Mongols.

When Mongolians have captured Kashgar they didn't harm any citizen and gave defenders proper burial in the order of Magsarjav. Also they have appointed new governor from Kashgar citizens.

Order: Invest 2 IP in constructing 1 Army. Send 3 armies to Central Asian brothers.

[Donnie D]

March 16th, 1883

Imperial armies enter former serbia!

Hundreds of enthusiastic citizens of serbia yesterday greeted imperial soldiers on their march trough their cities as our glorious troops liberated Pirot and Negotin. Only the most rural of people even dared speak out against our patriotic rescue of our sisters and brothers in the old byzantine territories. These traitors has been made an example of. The high command has stated that the liberation will continue in th coming weeks with only minor resistance expected among the ruins of the former ottoman oppression.

Parliamentary debate devolves into fistfight

Constantinople - During the debate about the question of tariffs for economic purposes of strengthening the hegemonial manufactories against many of the recently sprung up lower quality goods coming from several of the neighbouring city states on the edge of our nation. Just short of finishing his 2 hour speech, MoP Ioannes Megastates was suddenly and without provocation attacked by MoP Alexandir Ganchev, which was shortly therafter defended by MoP Chaudrescu while Ganchev was joined by MoP Viktor Romanov and MoP Konstantin Palaiologoi. It took the parliamentary guard several minutes to stop the infighting. MoP Megastates has announced of bringing the matter before the Emperor while MoP Ganchev continues to speak of Megastates as a traitor to the idea of the hegemony.

All hail Emperor Julian I of House Komnenus!

Edit: I have thus fulfilled the necessity of informing my fellow players about my troop movements

[Lord Haldane]

OOC: Are you still soliciting rules additions or suggestions? I have been mulling over some thoughts on investing CP in Research and marching armies across Ice, which I posted but then deleted for fear of starting up a moot discussion.

[Verenti]

THE DECLARTION OF FREE MEN
OR A MANIFESTO FOR THE REGIONS OF OCEANIA

THESE ISLANDS OFF THE SHORES OF EAST ASIA IN THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM, DO DECLARE THAT THEY ARE NOW AND FOREVER MORE FREE FROM THE YOKE OF TYRANNY, BE IT FROM GOD, MAN OR BEAST. ANY MAN WHO DO SETTLES IN THESE LANDS SHALL BE UNTO HIMSELF A SOVEREIGN, AND MASTER OF HIS OWN DESTINY. TO THIS END THE PEOPLES OF THIS REGION DO AFFIRM THAT A NEVER SHALL A KING, OR PRESIDENT RULE THESE FAIR ISLANDS. THOSE WHO WOULD CLAIM THEMSELVES LORDS OF THESE ISLANDS SHALL THROUGH COMMON DEFENCE THEIR REIGNS QUICK DISSOLVED AND FREEDOM RETURNED TO THOSE SUBJECTS ONCE ENSLAVED.


So read the Declaration of Free Men, a document much praised for its brevity, which became something of a grand strategy and unofficial constitution for the Tannermann holdings. It pledged an absolute absence of government for its people, but this was not entirely the truth. The Company collected no taxes, and made its revenue on its business practices, namely the shipping of goods, for which it held almost a monopoly. Not because the Tannermann-Bigby Company prevented others from shipping from other sources, but rather because that same freedom that attracted adventerous men and entrepeneurs to the Tannermann enclaves attracted pirates and brigands. Indeed, often they were the same men, and those who were once company men, might take up some measure of piracy between their official workings, and those pirates would sometimes work in official capacity on a company ship. This was but one reason why the pirates usually left the Tannermann shipping alone: because they knew the quality of the crew and his aptness for combat. The other reason was the Tannermann navy had warships in its employ, unlike the pirate vessels and should a pirate seek to harm a company vessel, the reprisal came swift and vengeful. Indeed, if a pirate got too large for the region, sometimes the Company would send ships, flying no flag, to deal with them permanantly. This way the pirate lords would not hurt the prosperity of those free towns aligned with the Tannermann cause too greatly. The Declaration also meant that the land a man could live on was the land that a man could hold, as there was no property laws or government to issue deeds, so many came to the region to try their luck, as was the nature of young America. Many saw the Free Islands as a brave experiment of liberalism unrestrained and would see if it through to its conclusion.

[madtemplar0]

OOC: Shall we be notified every time a turn ends? I would like to know the results of my battles and when I could post new information.

[Seek75]

El Imperio de Colombia

Capitol: Bogotá

Government type: De jure parliamentary monarchy, de facto military dictatorship

Head of State: Emperor Inca I

Head of government: PM John Cook

A week before the Fall, American explorer and adventurer John Cook had a dream. He dreamed that the Heavens would rain down destruction upon the world, and that God would choose him to, in the aftermath, lead a new state made up of the former Spanish-speaking nations of South America. Cook ran throughout Bogotá, Colombia, telling all he encountered about his vision and how the end would soon come. Many saw him as a madman, but a few, claiming to have similar visions, followed him, attempting to spread the word. When the Fall came, tsunamis wrecked hundreds of coastal towns and cities in Colombia and Venezuela. Those who did not believe Cook at first raced to him now, begging him to share his vision with them so that they may endure. Cook therefore took the lead and rallied as many soldiers and volunteers as he could to create rescue parties in order to find any survivors of the tsunami strikes throughout Colombia and Venezuela. At the same time, Cook went about establishing his new state in the absence of the old oligarchic dictatorship, which had long since fled. He placed an Indian whom he believed to have been a descendant of the old Inca emperors on the throne of his new Colombian Empire, and assembled the Colombian Congress, made up of the Common Assembly and the Senate. A Constitution was then written by the Emperor and Cook, and examined, edited, and approved by the Congress. Although the Constitution called for an equal separation of powers between the Congress, the Emperor, and the Prime Minister, whom was to be appointed by the Emperor and approved by the Congress, the Emperor was essentially Cook's puppet and the Congress was dominated by Cook's supporters and his new military, serving as little more than a rubber stamp. Now, Cook intends to expand his Empire into the remaining Spanish-speaking territories of South America.

[GBIT]

My troops can walk across the Ice right.

*
I give out Culture Points when I post the turn update, so the earliest anyone could do a CP-dependent action is next turn. PM me after that to talk about spending them on crossing the Ice to Korea.

OOC: Umm, I would like to be centred in Teheran, and Perisa, not Damascus and the Crescent, since I'd like to roleplay the Returned Twelfth Imam of Shia Islam (as loosely as possible). Is this possible? Sorry for the late entry.

Persia it is. Welcome!

Spend 2IP on an Army, and move it to the Middle East.


Territories held: Persia
Armies: One
IP left: 0
IP/turn:2 (Persia: 1+1)

*
I just wanted to note that you actually start the game with two armies, so if you build one you have three total.

OOC: That's something I'm hoping to find out.* * I could see a few different outcomes:

1: Extra IP (either one time or per turn)
2: A one-time prize of CPs that I can spend on other things
3: I wasted my first turn but learned a valuable life lesson.

*
No humiliating life lessons here, but no you can't directly convert IP into CP. (Yet, maybe. I'm still working out some late-game opportunities or challenges you can invest in/bid on.)

You can send in a new order.

OOC: New questions: how many people are in each "blank" territory? I would assume it changes from one to another. This raises the question: is it possible to explore and check how many armies that place has, in order to know what to plan for?

It also appears that I post way too often in here. I'll try to cut down my postspam.

*
It does vary. When a nation invades a neutral territory, I roll a die to see how many armies rise up in its defense. These various factions are far from toothless, even though they're too disorganized to conquer other provinces. You could check with CP, if you wanted.

The same applies to Wasteland...only scarier.

OOC: Are you still soliciting rules additions or suggestions? I have been mulling over some thoughts on investing CP in Research and marching armies across Ice, which I posted but then deleted for fear of starting up a moot discussion.

*
PM me if you have ideas and don't want to clutter up the thread now that the game is running. I don't really want to make revisions to existing rules, but I'm always open to new stuff.

OOC: Shall we be notified every time a turn ends? I would like to know the results of my battles and when I could post new information.

*
I actually make a big post with battle statistics and narrative, as well as an updated world map.

El Imperio de Colombia

The more the merrier! Go ahead and send in orders, since I'm going to announce that the

24 Hour countdown to turn end is now underway!

I believe the South African Free State and Imperio de Colombia are the only nations that need to send in orders.

[Thandros]

I give out Culture Points when I post the turn update, so the earliest anyone could do a CP-dependent action is next turn. PM me after that to talk about spending them on crossing the Ice to Korea.

Bah by next turn I'll have a fleet to land my troops in China or Korea so I'll use those culture points later to do something else.

[Seek75]

In the halls of the Colombian Congress...

The room is circular, with several tiers, all of which have desks and chairs. The various members of the Congress are situated in their respective seats. Papers are shuffled, whispers are exchanged between Congressmen. In the middle is a podium, currently occupied by Prime Minister John Cook. He looks much more like an officer of some sort than a politician; a few of the more out-spoken Congressmen would say that that is hardly surprising, considering Cook's position as de facto military dictator of Colombia.

Cook clears his throat, and the shuffling and murmurs stop. A minute passes by with complete silence; it seems to be an eternity. Finally, he speaks. "Members of the Congress, we are gathered here today to discuss our plans for the future. Not just our future, but the future of South America. Most of you know my plans...God's plans. I wish to accomplish what neither Francisco de Miranda nor Simon Bolivar were able to accomplish: the unification of all Spanish-speaking peoples of South America. In light of these plans, His Majesty and I have discussed what actions we must take in order to advance these goals. I hereby propose the formation of an army additional to the two we already posses, and the movement of this army, once it is created, to former Peru and Ecuador in order to establish Colombian control over these regions and to recruit anyone who proves themselves loyal to the Colombian cause."

[madtemplar0]

El Imperio de Colombia

OOC: Welcome to the game, we an always use more players. Just in the knick of time, too! Please do not take this letter the wrong way.

***

Emperor Inca I,
I shall not dither with aggrandized titles as I do not demand any for myself. As you speak for your people as I do for mine, let us correspond and treat, lest unnecessary death or hardship befall either of our people. I shall not speak for my allies, but us Californios would appreciate your prevention from straying into North America, as in turn we shall attempt to stay out of your South America. If you ever have need of assistance, perhaps a deal could be reached, but it would strain us if you chose to look north for land when there is a plentiful amount of territory to your south. Perhaps the region of Panama would be an acceptable addition to your empire, if you feel the burning need to act in such a manner, but anything further north than what was Guatemala shall be taken as an act of aggression until the interests of our people are decided. This includes the Caribbean, in which the Californios have an interest, and especially Northern Mexico, in which our armies march as this letter flies.

I simply wish to let you know the state of affairs in the land above you, to prevent your nation from committing some faux pas. I wish no ill will towards you or those you rule.

By the grace of God, with the authority bestowed upon a Chief among Equals,
Miguel Francisco

***

OOC: On another note, hopefully having 13 players does not doom us all! :0

[Deaghaidh]

Le Temps Nouveau
New 3e Legion Parades in Algiers

Elite Zouaves of the new 3e Legion
The Emperor presided over a grand review of the new 3e Legion of the French Imperial Army. The new Legion boasts a regiment of Zouaves, elite light infantry drawn from existing line infantry units. A new unit of cavalry, the Chasseurs d'Afrique will fill the light cavalry role, along with two regiments of native Spahi cavalrymen. Native infantry tirailleurs and a new regiment of the Foreign Legion will round out the force.

Compared to previous armies fielded by France, the 3e Legion is light on heavy artillery. According to its commander, Marshall Achille Bazaine, that is by design. "The need for mobility and flexibility is paramount on the frontier. The tribal forces and cannibal bands we will be facing are generally not equipped with heavy guns. A smaller field piece can be moved rapidly to where it is needed, and still provided the necessary fire support for the infantry." The Marshall denied that the decision to focus on light infantry was driven by a limited availability of heavy weapons.

Build one new Army

Jules Verne to Publish New Series
Le Temps is honored to announce that it will be publishing the latest works by acclaimed author Jules Verne. The author gave up writing after the Fall. He had recently published Hector Servadac, which was an account of survivors of a comet strike on France. The eerie coincidence of a real comet strike a year later left him deeply troubled.
But after spending the last two years teaching composition to children he's been inspired to take up the pen again.

His new work is called "Antifactual," a series of short stories that follow the adventures of Professor Emile Hugo. Professor Hugo invented a time machine in order to go back in time and save his love Colette. But instead of inventing a way to travel backwards in time, his machine takes him sideways in time; Emile is transported to worlds where history differs from ours in some way.

[madtemplar0]

Le Temps Nouveau
Build one new Army

OOC: Is this for next turn? Or are you revising your sanitation plan?

***

THEY MARCH!
Shawn Marian has begun deploying from Fort Bragg with the great majority of our military force today, totaling nearly three divisions. However, many of us have not stopped to wonder how it came to be that the Californios even have a military. Perhaps you could all use a brief history lesson:

After the Fall, chaos ruled in California, as the repercussions of that infamous event spread across the globe. The United States was unable to handle the stress of the situation, and succumbed to the will of the masses- anarchy. It was every man for himself, and most Californians left for a safer life southward. Not knowing of any other route, the Nevadans soon followed. The only people left were the willful and the ruthless. Soon, as is inevitable, people began forming themselves into local governments, centered around what used to be cities and towns. Most of the criminals, including most of those who qualify as ruthless, formed bands as well- roving hordes who burned whatever they didn't steal. Their headquarters was what once was known as San Francisco.

From this mess, Miguel Francisco came to power. His father, the baron of that madhouse, died from alcohol poisoning, and his men, knowing nothing else, placed his son in charge. This, however, only sealed their fate. Francisco, using no sword but his tongue, gathered good people to his cause, including the good folk of Holds nearby- forts constructed on ruined sections of civilization designed to keep the bandits out. Using his remarkable skill with words, greats such as Shawn Marian and Jack O'Neill joined his cause just as quickly as the lowest beggar. This ragtag force drove the bandits far and wide from the land, some north, some east, never south. Not towards the less hardy members of what used to be California.

As Francisco celebrated his victory over lawlessness, he brought together the leaders of each Hold. These most independent of men- and woman (you know her has Isabella Moore)- agreed to join forces for the betterment of all, with those obvious leaders of the community becoming heads of state. Although far from perfect, it would work for now. Divine providence appeared to shine brightly upon these Californios, for as the ink dried on their new compact, a wave of like-minded refugees flooded in from the east, led by Otto Schmidt. Relishing freedom, these settlers doubled the size of the Californios, choosing to bypass already-established post-Fall governments in the hopes of finding a place more to their liking. Finding what they wished in these Californios, they submitted under Schmidt's name to accept the Visible Best as their leaders, Schmidt among them, and took over the abandoned land of the Nevadans. The Californios were born.

You may be asking what this has to do with the military. The fact is, the band who drove lawlessness from the Californios became the guards and soldiers who protect us today. They still man the walls against the bandits, who wish to reap the rewards of this fertile land after being driven to the waste and desert. May they forever be looked upon with approval by the Lord.

BANDITS CLEARED!
As mentioned in the head article of this paper, the bandits were driven east and north from our lands. From reports from the front, a Utahn military force appears to have destroyed the bandits to the east, who seem to have joined with Mexicans into a formidable force. This will allow for guards to be moved north, where the cannibals, strengthened by the bandits, continue their attacks on civilization. It appears God still marches with our men.

-A.W.

[Lord Haldane]

Letter to The Prime Minister of the British Raj

Dear Lord Salisbury

We Japanese have heard of your attempts to rebuild the British Empire In India and we Sympathise we your Difficulties you have having lost so much in the fall. While we could never know so much loss having come through almost Unscathed It is my Belief that working together is far better than opposing one another especially as you have to face in just the opening days a Major mutiny by your formerly loyal Sepoys and the Marauding Mongols who have seized land just to the north of Your borders and could well sweep south to loot your territory. It is in my Honest Opinion that working together as Allies for the common good could lead to many benefits for us all. So what say you? Do you feel Like I that a British-Japanese alliance is something so formidable that It'll make the mountains quake with fear? If so agree to our proposal and then we'll fight by your side until you say there is such a problem with good relations that they must be broken. The Japanese are honourable people and to break an alliance would be a bad and dishonourable thing to do. So do you agree to My simple Proposal?

From Tokugawa Yoshinobu Honourable Shogun of Japan

FOREIGN OFFICE PUBLISHES RESPONSE TO JAPANESE DELEGATION

In other various international news, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has released for publication the occurrences of his lately meeting with a legation from the Japanese Shogunate. Lord Derby briefly received the mission before returning to inform the Commons of recent developments in Malaya.

TO THE HONOURABLE TOKUGAWA YOSHINOBU
SHOGUN OF JAPAN

With no small sense of regret, and indeed no lack of due apology, I must inform you that Her Majesty's Government must decline your request to be invested as a protectorate of the British Empire. Imperial attentions are currently occupied with the relocation of our advanced industry to the Raj; while I understand that your traditional people have no acquaintance with such matters, I assure you that it is no simple affair to smoothly transition our commercial hegemony in such cataclysmic circumstances. Perhaps with the passage of time, as interest returns our gaze to the Far East, we may take your state under our military protection. Your legation, of course, is quite welcome to retain its current residence within Calcutta.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD DERBY
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Japanese functionaries, carrying a missive from their Shogun, reportedly found the climate of Calcutta decidedly undesirable. Several perished from malarial fevers.

[enkhuush]

From diaries of Hamilton Bower (British military officer)

Part II

Last week I received newspapers from British Raj. This is indirect result of relaxing martial law imposed earlier by military council of Kingdom of Mongolia. Anyway it was nice. The most interesting article was about neutrality of British Raj regarding Japanese offer, at least for me. I have to admit that I have relieved to read that because this will make my job more easier. I have asked some senior Mongolian military officials' opinion regarding this issue.

The Kingdom of Mongolia would like to have friendly relations with all nations around the world and neutrality of British Raj will help world peace.

[Deaghaidh]

OOC: Is this for next turn?

O o c: Im replacing my orders since my attempt to basically buy cp was disallowed (with good reason). Thus a more conventional first move

[Herbert West]

Background post for Twelfth House Of The People and His Imam

Society of the House

The Great Fall changed everything. This is, by now, a proverb, and a very overused one. Its is, none the less, true. No other country embodies this change so profoundly as the House, however. While other newly risen states have had established power systems, tiers of government and so on to call upon, or could return to something that was in their blood, like the New Mongols, the House has a completely new society. Or at least one not seen in hundreds of years.

The Famine was the first blow. Starvation and malnutrition lead to families being torn apart, children seeing their parents wither and die, and parents fighting loosing battles against the hunger. Those without families had no choice but to band together. The Mahdi's troops won many battles by simply giving their opposition food, and tools to farm, and to build. Your food became my food, and my food became our food. Everyone had to share, under threats, from their own kindness, or because his stocks were discovered. Those who shared their food willingly became celebrated as saviors, while food-thieves and unlawful hoarders became pariahs, to roam the snowy landscape and provide ample feast for the crows.

The second winter hit even harder. Many were already weakened by the hardships a year before, and the harvest was poor. Children, the embodiment of the future, died in droves, and their rotting corpses bread disgusting diseases. But in the hardest of times, Allah shines in the hearts of men. Now, parental obligations were shared. Each huddled mass of people took care of their own young, not caring who was the father, who was the mother, if they were still alive. Those, whose toddlers died gave the milk of their breasts to those who lost their mothers, and come spring, "mine" and "yours" had no meaning when it came to children, or to food. The seeds of the Great Families Of The House began to germinate in the frozen ground and the warm bodies.

Ten years after the Fall, each plot of land, each house, each street, each mine, factory, trench, everything under the sky and in the earth, lay in the hands of one of the Families. A family could number from a few peasants in the hills to entire cities on the Plains Of The Imams. By law, every citizen had an allotment of food, and every family was responsible to bring in to the table. Miners and those who could not grow crops or rear animals took their allotment from The House itself, in the system of the Two Fifths. Children of each Family were a shared burden and a shared resource. The old homes housing but a few people were rebuilt and refurbished, the new buildings now home to 20-30 people, with each resident permitted to leave for another home if he so desired. Wives and husbands form, in something that might seem to go against the grain of Old Islam, two types of unions. One is the traditional marriage, although with much more fluid divorce laws, allowing both husband and wife to terminate the marriage if they so desire. The other is the "Union Under The House", a form of temporary companionship and sexual union that lasts a couple of seasons, and can be parallel to a normal marriage. Since children are raised by the Family, not their mother and father, the traditional role of marriage has lessened, allowing the couples formed under stress in the first two winters to attain legitimacy in the Union. Jealousy, while still there under the skin, is fading fast, as each winter weathered in common erodes the boundaries between the members of the Families, and shelter, warmth, and love become as shared as food.

Economy Of The House:

One might think that while such a system of share and care seems befenitial to survival, it does not foster growth. In reality, there is a second current driving the growth and expansion of The House. Competition. Houses compete tirelessly to secure better harvests, better yields, more iron, more ores, more production from their allotted resources, and new, or newly unfrozen territories are up to bid, in a complex bidding and counterbidding system where the winner has to share the children of His, or Her Family from the last five years with the losers, and there are also other ballances to counteract the bigger families eating the smaller ones. Since the medium of exchange in these bids is the Families future, their children, rash expansion will lead to very few working hands in a few years, and a couple of stark examples have bred this lesson into the bones of The People.

Each Family grow, mines, or produces what they can on their allotments, and are free to use a set amount of that for themselves. One fifth of all their production, however, is returned as a tax in goods (First Fifth) to the state apparatus of the House of the People, where it is then refined, stored, or sent to those in need. Those failing to meet their quotas are given two years of rest, and then they have to pay punitive rates for three years, in the way of the Two Sixths.

Whatever is left after the First Fifth, the Families are free to use. If they sell it, the have to pay one fifth of the money as tax, this is the Second Fifth.

One fifth of all children born each fifth year may be collected as Children Of The People, the base for the bueroctaric and militaristic arms of the House Of The People

With this system, the House Of The People refurbished itself into an alliance of strong, fairly independent communities, with the main tenets being "share and compete". While the cash flow of the state may lag behind the supply of states like France-Outre-Mer or the Raj, the first of the two taxes means that there are warehouses full of food and materials available throughout the House, ready to serve The People who filled them.

OOC: I hope you like this. I wanted to create a mix between tribal federalism, share-minded apocalipticism and Islamic brotherhood, with a bit of Fremen and Ottoman thrown in there. I suppose its not too far into fantasy. "Hippie muslims" may sound strange, but I view the Fall as a sort of blank check. No society would survive unharmed.

Also, in the hopes of starting a trend, and to make it easier for other players, and myself, I will, in each of my turn, post the location and movements of my armies and navies, as long as I see no reprecussions and such from this. Once I see m gesture abused, I reserve the right to post misinformation.

With that in mind:

The armies of the House Of The People:
Persia-Teheran region: 3
En route to Damascus-Levant region: 1+1

+1 comes from move 1 army to support the one en route to Damascus.

I forgot about my starting armies.