There Will Be War - In The Balance

[King of Men]

Treaty of Viken

Signed.

(x) Seal of the Norwegian Chancellery

(Personal postscript: As a gesture of friendship, give these Georgians some good and creative torturers. Whipping until sunrise? Really now. An aperitif is well and good, but it is not the entire meal even if you serve it in quantity!)

 

[Gollevainen]

Treaty of Karelia

We Imperator Mikula I, King of Finland, Grand duch of Novgorod, Tsar of Khazaria and Emperor of all Rus here by present these following clauses:

1) The province of Karelia shall be returned to Russia from Norweigian possession and the Russian ownership of that province shall be reckocnized. All lands and titles shall be given to its rightfull owner.

2) The Norweigian and Russian monarchies both recocknize each others as the rightfull supremes upon the lands they rule and territorial sovreigns.

(Focog paid by russia)
________________________________________________________________

(Seal of Imperator Mikula I, King of Finland, Grand duch of Novgorod, Tsar of Khazaria and Emperor of all Rus)

 

[King of Men]

Golle, did you by any chance mean the county of Karelen? Because that's what we agreed to ingame.

 

[Gollevainen]

...(goes trough the documents...)

Indeed savo, karjala...who counts them all...(A fin that get confused of finnish provinces) Yeas a mistake indeed, Karelia was in question.

I'll edit the treaty.

 

[King of Men]

Ah so. Splendid. In that case:

Treaty of Karelia

Signed.

(x) Seal of the Norwegian Chancellery

(Personal postscript attached to the Norwegian copy: Johannes, you idiot, don't put orange drops in the beer we give to allies! Yes, I know it's standard procedure; that's because we generally negotiate with enemies, and treat them accordingly. Use your brains for a change!)

 

[ulmont]

Personal postscript: As a gesture of friendship, give these Georgians some good and creative torturers.

Blood Eagles for all!

 

[Gollevainen]

Wiseman crying
Tears fills his eyes
Wiseman crying
His darlene is gone
Wiseman denying
His time is not done
Wiseman lying
His time is to go

Oh this sorrow. Endless sorrow
Oh this missery land
No more the merrily tunes echos these woods
Oh this missery land

And he takes the mighty stallion, and ride troughout the lands
And it was said his spirit rages, bringing desperation upon the lands.

And he raised the mighty warriors and swarm troughtout the plains
It was even said, that the death exscaped, leaving the living to defend the lines

Youngman rising
Hate fills his eyes
Youngman rising
His beloved is gone
Youngman deciding
Take his bow and show
Youngman rising
Its his time to go

Oh this sorrow. Endless sorrow
Oh this missery land
No more the merrily tunes echos these woods
Oh this missery land.

And he takes his mighty stallion and rides against the swarms
And it was said that his spirit rages, bringing victory to the men

And he fought against the savages, and he fough against the swarms
It was even said that the death himself couldn't tie up his hands.

He marched on, he raged on
And his mother forbids to kill
But the man is driven, from reason, turned away
Wiseman sang, turned water to sand and drifted away
But the rage he brought is turned back to his hands.

They met on the ruins of golden hordes, they were all and none at all
It was seddled for good, disolved for bad, riped from the souls of the men

The heart of the land was tored and down, they cared none but were all
How can one heart bring so much bad, if its claimed by two strong hands?

The wise stroke first, but was left for the worse, the young raised his bow
first one was too high, seccond one too low, third was aimed at his soul

It hit to the heart, the wise lost his stand, oh this missery land
No more those merrily tunes echoes these woods
Oh this missery land

Forgotten and condammed is brought
The seals of the chest is found

What is forged and what is spoken is shown
By word by songs and no unknows

To gain her heart and never to be left alone
The sun and the moon turned into stone

He conseals it and deny but they know
It is his eyes that reveals the lie, they almoust clown

Youngman fighting
Tears fills his eyes
Wiseman trying
but his power is gone
Youngman Rising
His time is to show
Wiseman leaving
His time is to go

***********************
AAR reward, Piety to my king, Mikula Rurikovich, as much as possiple

 

[fasquardon]

The Bagratuniad:

Kings:
​

A complete list of Georgian Kings, to help give people something of an overview into Georgian affairs since the beginning.



Bagrat IV (Bagratuni)

1027-1077

Non-Prophetei

Deeds: Ended a pernicious state of civil war (most of his life pre-game start was actually spent in exile), launched a successful series of Crusades, establishing Abghazia as a regional power. Almost saw his realm destroyed by the Cumans.

Character: A decent man, one of the finest, and most energetic, war-kings in Georgian history so far.

__________________________________________________

Kvirike IV (Bagratuni)

1077-1122

Deeds: Established Propheteocracy, crushed Cumans, established Abghazia as a diplomatic power, discovered the Yngling and Chinese time agents.

Character: The biggest prick to sit on the throne of Georgia so far, he stole the credit for his uncle Bagrat's deeds, executed his first wife, murdered his second, kept numerous mistresses, all of whom were terrified of him, even Anja, the psychotic she-bitch from the future.

__________________________________________________

Evstati I (Bagratuni)

1122-1153

Deeds: Liberated Jerusalem, destroyed the Seljuk Turks, established alliances with the Yngling and Chinese time agents (or perhaps more correctly, alliances with the institutions these time warriors created). Became a Russian vassal, rebelled, became first universally recognised King of Georgia, established Georgia as a great power. Crushed the rebellion of his nephew, Adarnase.

Character: A good man, and a wise king.

__________________________________________________

Adarnase III (Bagratuni)

1153-1194

Deeds: Rebelled against his uncle, was crushed, succeeded him anyway. Became filthy rich, established the Roman Commonwealth. As the leader of the League of the Tapestry, broke the Western aggression against Russia. Got assassinated.

Character: A modest man, and a just ruler, the first Propheteocrat to be beatified.

__________________________________________________

Demna I (Bagratuni)

1194-1198

Deeds: Saw out his uncle Adarnase's schemes, got assassinated.

Character: He could have been a second Evstati - Demna showed much promise before his reign was cut tragically short.

__________________________________________________

Vasilii I (Rurikovich)

1198-1200

Non-Prophetei

Deeds: Fomented revolution against the Propheteocracy, assassinated Adarnase III and Demna I, caused a massive revolt when he tried to impose the Vasilian heresy on Georgia. Executed in Moscow.

Character: A shy and kindly sort, Vasilii's strong ideals and heretical beliefs turned him into the most dangerous enemy the Propheteocracy would face in a dozen generations. Close examination of the man reveals a portrait of someone with the potential to be a hero-king, who just took a wrong turn somewhere...

__________________________________________________

Giorgi II (Bagratuni)

1200-1200

Deeds: Had a long and distinguished political career before he became Propheteocrat (a leader of the Blood party, and first Georgian representative to serve at Mesembria). Brought Vasilii to justice. Got assassinated.

Character: Hawkish and honest.

__________________________________________________

Afsin I (Seljuk)

1200-1202

Deeds: First non-Bagratuni Propheteocrat. Kept Georgia stable even in the midst of economic collapse. Gave away much of the royal estates to buy the loyalty of the Pilegeshim. Exiled most of the royal court of Adarnase III for cowardice and replaced them with members of his family. Re-established the Seljuk Empire, or simply re-named the Georgian one, depending on ones' perspective. Died of old age.

Character: Long-time friend of Adarnase III, and an ambitious Seljuk partisan, Afsin both fought to preserve the legacy of his dead friend, and re-mould that legacy into the Seljuk image, leading to a somewhat contradictory impression. .

__________________________________________________

Alexios I (Diogenes)

1202-1219

Deeds: Wasted eighty thousand gold talents on the botched war with Arabia. Got himself adopted into the Bagratuni family in an attempt to achieve a stable succession of power. Failed miserably, when his chosen successor died in battle, leaving the worm-eaten Giorgi III to succeed him. Survived an assassination attempt, only to die of his wounds a week later.

Character: Initially crippled by excessive ambition, Alexios was able to recognise his mistakes after the Arabian war, and repair much of the damage he and his immediate predecessors had inflicted on the country.

__________________________________________________

Giorgi III (Bagratuni)

1219-1259

Deeds: Killed an assassin with his bare hands, ran the economy into ruin, fixed it again, repealed the ban of Afsin, leading to the Return of the Exiles (officially the end of the Assassin Wars). Brought the Pilegeshim back under control, reformed Seljuk law along Breton lines. Crushed the rebellious Deputies in the first and second Worm Wars, crushed the Mongols, winning one of the greatest battles of all Georgian history against them at the Bitter Lakes (in the province of Maverannahr). Died of old age.

Character: Sickly and quite mad for much of his childhood, Giorgi would become known as the "Worm King" for his habit of holding conversations with his intestinal worm. Recovered to become an able king. A Russophobe, only the able diplomacy of the Novgorodian Tsars and his greater hostility toward the HRE kept relations as warm as the were. Initially strongly pro-Western in bias, the Cypriot crisis would permanently sour him against the Holy Roman Empire, though he would maintain strong links with Brittany and Norway until his death. A military genius, the finest war-king in Georgian history to date. Was a loving and loyal husband. Famous for his macabre sense of humour. The second Propheteocrat to be beatified, the cult of Saint Giorgi would eventually eclipse even that of St. Agsartan.

__________________________________________________

Hovhannes I (Bagratuni)

1259-

My current King as of 1281.

Deeds: Killed an assassin with his bare hands, ran the economy into ruin, fixed it again, won the Second Worm War (a civil war he had inherited from his father, Giorgi III).

Character: The biggest womaniser since Kvirike. Very fond of hunting.

fasquardon

 

[King of Men]

Some notes on the equipment the various Ynglings are bringing down from the uptime: First, weapons. The Secret Hird is quite careful to exclude obvious anachronisms such as automatic firearms - although of course, their guess as to what is anachronistic will get increasingly worse as time progresses - but that is not to say that no improvements can be made. For example, Geir Jonsson's axe Manbiter, which has now passed from father to son for six generations, is as sharp as it was on the day Geir brought it down from Dovre. This is because it is not made of steel, but of a high-density, vacuum-forged titanium alloy. What's more, the balance of the axe has been improved by the addition of ball bearings to the hollow shaft, such that when the wielder is merely holding the axe, the bearings' weight is near the hand, balancing the head; but when he strikes, they run up into the head, lending weight to the blow. Such an axe is of course completely useless for any society with the technology and the understanding of mechanical advantage to produce it; but very useful for a single agent being sent into the past. What's more, it would require a quite careful examination by a well-educated chemist to determine that the axe-head is not just very good steel. A downtimer looking for evidence of sorcery, or even an uptimer searching for anachronisms, would pass the axe by without a second glance; but it lends its wielder a quite considerable edge in personal combat. Similarly, Geir's mail brynje is made of the same metal, with the loops much smaller than what downtime smiths are wont to produce, and triply rather than doubly linked. And thus with all the personal weapons the uptime agents carry: They look just like other weapons of the period, but have five to ten times the cutting or protective power.

Next are the drugs. All kinds of interesting interrogation and war chemicals can be carried in a plastic five-ounce bottle. Each agent carries a few dozen of these; with twenty-third century science, their shelf life is effectively indefinite and the required dose for effectiveness is tiny, so that over the centuries a quite impressive, though irreplaceable, arsenal has been built up at Geirvirke. The Ynglings usually refer to them by the colour of the bottle, thus:

• The yellow: An interrogation drug to make the subject suggestible, lowering his inhibitions on doing what other people tell him. A single dose will wear off with no noticeable side effects, but if used for long-term control as was done to Folke of Sudrey, there will be severe effects on his intelligence and self-control.
• The purple: An assassination drug. Tasteless, scentless, and essentially undetectable to anything but a twenty-third century forensics lab, it kills by inducing strokes between five and ten days after it is ingested - giving the assassin time to get well away.
• The grey: A pheromonal cocktail, not ingested but worn as a perfume, which signals (to the male brain, or rather to the vomeronasal organ) fertility, sexual receptiveness, and attraction. The effect is to make the female wearing the scent extremely attractive, to the point of producing instant erection in susceptible males. Because the vomeronasal organ is rudimentary in humans, the effect is somewhat unpredictable; the grey works best in enclosed spaces, on teenaged males, and on subjects who are not aware of its existence.
• The orange: A drug to inhibit the higher cortical functions, in effect rendering the subject stupider - less able to think critically or abstractly. A subtle poison, initially intended for distribution into Chinese reservoirs, thus enabling Norway to win the Long War fifty years later through faster technological advancement. The project failed when Spanish agents infiltrated the strils of the janitorial staff, found the plans, and sold them to China, which rapidly developed a method for detecting the drug and threatened to retaliate in kind. It was eventually used as a punishment for rebellious and intelligent strils.
• The red: A combat drug, causing the subject's adrenaline and endorphin production, among others, to go into overdrive. The intended effects are berserk strength, imperviousness to pain, and a slowed perception of time. The unintended effects are a vast strain on the heart, to the point of a 10% fatality rate in men over thirty, and occasional broken bones and snapped tendons when the subject's body fails to warn him of the damage his overstraining muscles are doing. The red is a drug of desperation. Intended to make Hird soldiers invincible in the constant border skirmishes of the Long War, it was never used for that purpose due to the side effects; instead it found a black market among Ynglings challenged to duels they had no chance of winning.
• The black: Not a single drug, but a catchall colour for biowar agents. Weaponised smallpox, air-transmitted HIV, improved influenza, stabilised Ebola, and those good old standbys antrax and Y. pestis - any of these can be found in a black bottle. It is not clear whether these weapons are practical; disease knows no flag and no border, especially in a medieval world with no paranoid public agencies looking for evidence of attack. But the Ynglings are not ones to leave a weapon behind merely because they cannot see an immediate use for it.
• The blue: Another interrogation drug, this one producing truthfulness and garrulity. The effect is a little like being drunk, but rather more so, except that speech centers are unaffected, so the subject's words remain clear.
• The white: The distant descendant of steroids, the white exaggerates the effect of exercise, causing the subject to build much greater amounts of muscle mass than he otherwise would. The fibres thus added are twitch fibres, giving immediate strength but not much endurance; thus the white tends to produce weight lifters and sprinters rather than long-distance runners.
• The green: Actually two drugs, a male and a female version. The male cures erectile dysfunction, and increases sperm production. The female makes the cervical wall more receptive to fertilised eggs, stabilises chemical conditions in the vagina to make it as hospitable as possible to sperm, and increases the fertile period. Both versions increase the libido. The proverbial Uptime Fertility Drug.
• The pink: From penicillin onwards, a catchall for antibiotics and other modern antibacterials.
• The mauve: Produces a feeling of religious ecstasy in the subject. Used for long-term conditioning, with care; although it has no physical withdrawal symptoms, the psychological addictiveness is greater than that of tobacco and heroin combined.
• The gold: Used for surgery. The subject loses consciousness, his heartbeat and metabolism slows, and his blood coagulates faster. Further, scarring is inhibited, allowing surgical wounds to heal fully.
• The silver: A painkiller, roughly as powerful as morphine but without the detachment and the physical withdrawal symptoms.

Finally, the minds of the downtime agents are themselves a weapon and a resource. Ynglings are trained all their lives to consider problems in terms of power relations, means and ends, threat and counterthreat and acceptable casualties. In a world of men who consider problems in terms of honour, glory, personal loyalty, and the Christian faith, this ought to be a large advantage. Somehow it hasn't worked out that way.

 

[fasquardon]

Kings is complete, read it now!

fasquardon

 

[fasquardon]

The Treaty of Lesbos

The following to become vassals of Byzantium:

C545
C741
C742
C750
IKON
C746
C487
C755
C758
C749

FoCoG cost to be split between Byzantium and the Seljuk Turks.

fasquardon

 

[fasquardon]

The Treaty of the Moon

• Cyprus to Byz, Culture swaps to return the Italians home
• Skane and Halland to Norway
• Estonia (Baltic KoFinland) to Russia
• Jerusalem to the Seljuks
• Italian France and the DoConstantine to Brittany
• Right of Germany and Italy to recompense (up to 77 hundreds worth) from Bohemia recognized, and Seljuks to stand ready to protect Germany and Italy should any power seek to interfere in this process
• Brittany to recognize Italian right to the Canary Islands for all time
• The pre-existing deal to exchange Auvergine for Venaissin after the Pope of Rome has established himself recognized

[Precise province ids to follow]

fasquardon

 

[ulmont]

The Treaty of the Moon

Brittany ratifies the Treaty of the Moon, and looks forward to the day when the von Zahringens rule only the Canaries.

 

[Gollevainen]

We Imperator Mikula I sighn this treaty of Moon.

 

[OneiricRose]

I Henry de Hauteville King of Arabia and Official Protector of the Holy Sepulchre
sign this treaty,on the condition that the Seljuks won't abuse our catolic brothers in Jerusalem
[Seal of the Kingdom of Arabia]

 

[hyme]

The Treaty of the Moon

• Cyprus to Byz, Culture swaps to return the Italians home
• Skane and Halland to Norway
• Estonia (Baltic KoFinland) to Russia
• Jerusalem to the Seljuks
• Italian France and the DoConstantine to Brittany
• Right of Germany and Italy to recompense (up to 77 hundreds worth) from Bohemia recognized, and Seljuks to stand ready to protect Germany and Italy should any power seek to interfere in this process
• Brittany to recognize Italian right to the Canary Islands for all time
• The pre-existing deal to exchange Auvergine for Venaissin after the Pope of Rome has established himself recognized

[Precise province ids to follow]

fasquardon

77 each is a little bit high don't you think.

 

[carillon]

Germany places its seal on the treaty of the moon. (I will in all likelyhood be away this Saturday, as I just got a call from AT&T and they said they would be activating my internet on Monday, not Friday as previously agreed upon. Thus unless I find a sub in a very short period of time, or through the miracle of miracles, I find another internet source (one which I can hook up my machine, not this library internet) I authorize Italy to take and hold lands in trust for Germany until such time as I see fit to reclaim them (if they accept that is) Sorry for such a long parentheses, )

 

[Varyar]

Italy signs the Treaty of the Moon.

77 each is a little bit high don't you think.

It's 77 in total, not each.

 

[fasquardon]

The final draft:

The Regulations of the Roman Commonwealth​

Current Membership (From 1266):

The Caesar of Romanium
The Caesar of Russia, and Vice Hegemon
The Caesar of Hispania
The Caesar of Georgia, and Hegemon

Offices:

The Commonwealth will maintain two offices, the Hegemon, to be elected from among the Caesars by a simple majority vote, and the Vice Hegemon, who shall be appointed by the Hegemon upon his election.

Any Caesar may receive votes during the election for the Hegemon.

The Hegemon shall be elected for a period of 5 mifkads, during those 5 mifkads, should the Hegemon die during his term, the office of Hegemon shall pass to his successor as Caesar.

The Hegemon shall have the power to speak for the Commonwealth as a body, and has the power to sign deals in the name of the whole Commonwealth as well as declare wars in the name of the whole Commonwealth, should war be required to protect the Commonwealth or the interests of the Commonwealth.

Any member may call a vote against a decision of the Hegemon, and if the vote passes by a simple majority, that decision shall be struck down.

The Council of Caesars, may, at its recognisance, dismiss the Hegemon with a simple majority vote.

Should there be no Hegemon, it is incumbent on the Council to immediately elect one.

The Vice Hegemon may act with the full powers of the Hegemon in those times of emergency when the Hegemon is unavailable.

The Council:

The Caesars will meet in Mesembria, where they shall debate the matters of the day, and render their decisions. Each Caesar will maintain in Mesembria one representative, empowered to speak on their behalf, that the Commonwealth be able to make swift decisions unhindered by the weighty matters of state and great distances which serve to absorb a Caesar's own energies.

As both a Caesar and their representative may be unavailable for certain urgent votes, the Council may make full and legal votes with a quorum of 3/4rds of the membership, excepting votes requiring unanimity, which must be referred to the missing members by the fastest means of communication.

Voting:

Each Caesar will have a single vote. The office of the Hegemon shall grant the power to break ties to its holder. If a Caesar is unable to cast their vote, then their representative shall do so in their stead. If neither Caesar or representative is available in time for the vote, their vote shall be counted as neither for or against the item being voted on.

In this manner, all votes shall be clearly won, or clearly lost.

There shall be two kinds of votes, those that require a simple majority, and those that require complete unanimity.

Let it be known that a Caesar may vote against any motion, even one that he has proposed himself.

Joining the Commonwealth:

A sovereign lord wishing to join the light of Roman Civilisation may do so by petitioning any Caesar they see fit. That Caesar is then bound to propose a vote to the Council on the matter of that sovereign lord's joining. If all votes unanimously favour the entry of the new member, that sovereign lord shall be made a Caesar of the Commonwealth, and receive the full benefits of membership.

Leaving The Commonwealth:

Upon the succession of a new Caesar to a member realm, that Caesar may choose not to renew their bonds to the Commonwealth, and leave the light of Roman Civilisation behind. However, the Caesar leaving the Commonwealth must make a clear statement of their wish, lack of such a clear statement shall be interpreted as a wish to renew the bonds to the Commonwealth.

Expulsion:

If a Caesar abuses their membership of the Commonwealth, or engages in the most odious and un-Christian deeds, then their fellow Caesars shall make every effort to get their wayward brother to repent his sins, and reform his actions.

If, however, these efforts fall upon deaf ears, and the wayward brother continues to demean his station as a Caesar of the Commonwealth, the Council shall have no choice but to begin expulsion proceedings against that unworthy one.

The vote to expel a member shall require the votes of all member Caesars, save that of the wayward brother, and they must be unanimously in favour for the expulsion to pass.

An expelled brother may, if he chooses, immediately begin the petition to rejoin the Commonwealth.

Should the Caesars of future years expel one of their brothers for their own temporal gain or apply less than the most sincere effort to avoid any expulsion, then we, their fathers in spirit, if not in blood, pray that God will enlighten their hearts, and inspire them to tear down the institution they so sullied and exile themselves into the deepest desert, where perhaps the most stringent hermetic life may save their souls.

War:

No member of the Commonwealth may engage in war against another member.

If they are attacked, any member may petition the Hegemon for the aid of the Commonwealth in a war.

The Hegemon may declare war on behalf of the whole Commonwealth. The forces of the whole Commonwealth will then march out, and force the war to a commonly agreed conclusion.

Should any member be bound by non-aggression pacts, the Commonwealth shall not force them to break their word. However, from 1237 AD, all non-aggression pacts signed between members and non-members must have a clause making the agreement void if the non-member attacks any Commonwealth member.

Foreign Policy:

Beyond those circumstances where collective action is mandated by the Hegemon (and, if necessary, confirmed by the Council), where the ability for collective defence must be preserved, and where collective peace must be maintained, the Commonwealth shall in no-wise limit the freedom of its members as the conduct their foreign policy. Any member may ally with any member or non-member they please, and the Commonwealth shall have no power to censure the wars of a member against a non-member.

Trade and Travel:

All member realms shall apply regularized tariffs and tolls to merchants and travelers from other Commonwealth members. Citizens of other Commonwealth members shall not be subject to arbitrary seizure of their property, and shall be accorded full legal rights according to local law.

Justice:

All members of the Commonwealth, and citizens of member realms, shall have the right to petition the Council at Mesembria as a court of last resort. Judgments shall be arrived at by a simple majority vote.

fasquardon

 

[hyme]

Italy signs the Treaty of the Moon.


It's 77 in total, not each.

77 is still pretty high