Turn 1 Results Part 1: The Envoy
- Location
- USA
"Please excuse the interruption, Lady Khas." The voice of your assistant came through the heavy stone doors that guarded the way into your personal office. Cocking an eyebrow at the surprising interruption, you return to your throne before raising the Heart and with an action that you had trained into your muscles over the course of months, slide the doors open.
As the stone rippled and shifted under the influence of the Heart, you pondered why your assistant would have come to you at this moment. They were generally a competent person that rarely had to bother you for things, and your advisors were more than able to request meetings with you in person without going through him. Leaving this interruption a strange event that you could not quickly decide on any possible reason for.
As the doors slide out of the way, their mass returning to the walls for now, you saw that your assistant stood nervously next to an unknown man that was clearly not of your nation. As you looked over their body with an eye towards figuring out where they came from, you noticed that they were taller than the average of your nation implying a nation that ensured nutrition for its people. In addition they wore cloths that would have been out of style in your lands, being much more ostentatious and fine than the more somber and subdued styles favored in the Umbral Lands.
"May I know your name and origin?" Based on the appearance of the man, you could make the inference that they were likely from Nord Merica, one of the largest nations on the world at the moment and one of the two to your direct north. But, there was a chance that the appearance was only coincidentally similar to that of Nathan.
The man smiled and bowed deeply to you before replying, "I am John Adam. I greet you warmly in the name of Nord Merica. I have been sent to your lands as a diplomatic envoy to ensure that in this current time of strife that our two nations need not be concerned about each other." You frown at his words, for you knew enough of the habits of Nord Merica that their professed diplomatic overturns were little more than subtle forms of enslavement to their whims over time.
"Why do you believe war is inevitable?" Modulating your tone to ensure that a skilled diplomat would hear the silent question in the seemingly innocent question.
John maintained his smile even as he gestured towards a chair in front of your desk, and controlling your emotions you nodded. Letting him stride across the room to the chair before he began to reply. "We don't believe that war is inevitable, otherwise why would I have been sent with gifts for you and your people. We simply dislike the current state of world tension with no firm alliances between any peer powers. This has lead to this meeting." John fell silent for now, even as he relaxed into his chair perfectly content to be within arms reach of a person able to tear his body apart without issue.
"May I know what you have brought to my lands?" You ask staring him in the eye, for this was not something you had expected to deal with so soon after your emergence from the shadows and frankly some gifts might be too good to pass up.
"Certainly, I have no reason to hide them for they are yours regardless of how our talks turn out. I have brought roughly five years worth of basic resources that any nation could need, and 3 years worth of technological supplies. In addition to the basic supplies, I have brought three items with me of note that I thought your nation would enjoy and benefit from." John opened a small briefcase he had brought with him as he began to pull out files.
"The first is a simple but comprehensive structure on which our basic schools work. It contains enough material to ensure all citizens can have at least basic literacy and general education in the lowest rungs of sophisticated work. The second is a gift for your military advisor, as he might have left our employ, but he was always skilled and loyal to those he choose to serve and we reward those aspects, this gift is a training manual that our Front Commanders receive upon promotion. It should help him in his new position, lastly we brought the basic blueprints and theory behind the telegraph." As he spoke of each one he placed a piece of paper down on the table facing you, so that you could read over the gifts he had brought with him.
Assuming nothing was a lie, which is the last thing you would, do the papers he gave you confirmed what he was saying. He had brought a basic gift of resource and production related materials, which would significantly impact the speed at which some project would be able to be done in the future. Along with the lump sum, he had also brought a manual on how to set up schools and train teachers, a primer for a military advisor position and a basic means of near instant communication that would tie nicely into how terraforming functioned.
"This is a significant gift. One might wonder what is expected in return for such a bounty of free resources." You reply hiding your emotions the best you can, even as you continue to read over the papers hoping to spot some flaw in their language.
"Of course, anyone sane in this world would be rightfully suspicious of our offerings and expect a viper to be lucking within. And you would be correct in that I did come here for more than to simply hand over these gifts to your nation and yourself." John leaned forward slightly as he brought out more papers.
"May I assume that this is the point where you ask me to devote my lands to the production of resources and technology for the benefit of Nord Merica?" It might have been a tad too pointed, but this was grating at you due to the way John had danced around your first question.
"No, nothing of the sort. I won't ask where you got such a twisted idea of what Nord Merica is like, but I will say that the only thing I wanted to have on the treaty was you refusing to form any joint wars against us. In the current climate of the world, having certainty that only individual nations would engage in war against us would be a relief to our civilian population."
You frown at John as his words seemed to hold a large gap in their reasonableness. "I raise a point against that claim, you would only ensure that the Umbral Lands would remain out of battle. If I am not mistaken you are to the south of Albia, and close enough to Hy Brasil along with the Pan-Pacific Bloc that you could very easily find yourself in a three way war if all attacked you at once."
"Yes, it does seem as if we are in danger of being attacked on three directions, but only the Umbral Lands, Pan-Pacific Bloc and Albia are the nations that we need concern ourselves with. Hy Brasil and our other neighbors are too weak to affect the state of a war. This means that if you sign the treaty, we can reduce the focus on the southern border to shift troops and defenses to the north and eastern borders to defend against possible aggression on those sides easier." John replied as he leaned back in his chair sliding a piece of paper with the title of it marking it as a preliminary list of points that a treaty would entail between the Umbral Lands and Nord Merica.
Reading over the paper, the list was remarkably fair, too fair. It was suspicious in terms of how unsuspicious it was. The aforementioned forbiddance on attacking Nord Merica forces in case of them being under attack by another peer force, the promise of payment if the Umbral Lands came to their aid in a peer war and nothing else was currently listed.
"Why are there points currently unlisted from this sheet?" You ask pointing towards the rather obviously missing lines of information.
"Because, those two lines are your side to be filled in of course. No treaty worth the name only ever gives one side a say in the matter, except in cases of unconditional surrender. This isn't that of course, so you get to add in your own points to help us come to a fair and balanced outcome for both our nations." John responded without losing his smile, even as he pulled out a pen to lay on the table.
"What is Nord Mercia accepting for this treaty?" You ask even as you refuse to move towards the pen offered, "And where is the full write up for the treaty?"
"Nord Merica trusts me to find the best possible deal with the situation at hand and due to the nature of the world I am in charge of the treaty, in short my word is binding. As for the second, it does not yet currently exist, as the points of note haven't been decided upon there is no point in coming with a treaty that would be without a doubt rejected several times over before being approved in the end. As such, once we come to a conclusion of points I would work with your legal department to help craft the treaty here with your legal oversight." John replied even as he shrugged as if to say what could he be expected to do, but you very much doubt he lying in any sense of the word when he said that he was given full authority in this matter.
"What if I refused to accept a treaty between the Umbral Lands and Nord Merica? Or asked for something that you could not meet?" You prod at him even as it become more clear that you were on the backfoot even as you asked the question.
"It is your right as the ruler of this land to refuse a treaty, in that case I would simply return to my nation and the matter would be closed. Of course, such a refusal would dampen relations between our nations, and I for one do believe that working towards a mutual goal is a better plan of action in this age than trying to survive Independent of all others. After all, Albia has just made a blunder in trying to infiltrate all of their peers, for what can only be the prelude to the ignition of wars. In the case of you asking for something we could not meet, I would stay and work to bargain for a fair deal for both our nations, for crippling one side of a treaty that is meant to aid both would only result in negative outcomes would it not?" John stated with sadness apparent on his face, the first sign of true emotion that he had shown in this matter so far and it made you even more distrustful of him and what he presented to be.
"Either I refuse and you return to Nord Merica and unofficially officially label my nation as a foe on your books, or I do not reject your offer and you instead remain in my capital to try to form a treaty until it is done. What surety do I have that you won't spend your time infiltrating or subverting my populace to serve your will in the case of you remaining here?" You could tell you were scrambling, but this was not where you were skilled. This was the furthest thing from a place of skill for you, you were good at crafting, terraforming and generally skilled but this specialized area was beyond you for now.
"In a twisted view that is correct. Although, I find it sad that you are so against Nord Merica's efforts to reach out to your nation with my presence here. I came bearing gifts and am met with open hostility from you. I can't level blame on you for I am somewhat of a horror story among the world, I know my reputation, but I always hope that one day I will find a way to bypass it. As for your concern about me subverting your people, simply provide me with psyker or blank guards. Either one would defeat or otherwise ensure that I would not be able to engage in any unwanted schemes." His doubtlessly fake sadness became even greater as he spoke, his earlier smile now gone from his face.
[] Refuse anything and everything to do with him and Nord Merica
[] Let him remain in the Umbral Lands and continue working on the treaty
Gifts gained
127 production, 150 resource
Education manual: unlocks new actions related to schools and teaching
Telegraph blueprints: unlocks new actions related to integrating faster communication lines within the Umbral Lands
As the stone rippled and shifted under the influence of the Heart, you pondered why your assistant would have come to you at this moment. They were generally a competent person that rarely had to bother you for things, and your advisors were more than able to request meetings with you in person without going through him. Leaving this interruption a strange event that you could not quickly decide on any possible reason for.
As the doors slide out of the way, their mass returning to the walls for now, you saw that your assistant stood nervously next to an unknown man that was clearly not of your nation. As you looked over their body with an eye towards figuring out where they came from, you noticed that they were taller than the average of your nation implying a nation that ensured nutrition for its people. In addition they wore cloths that would have been out of style in your lands, being much more ostentatious and fine than the more somber and subdued styles favored in the Umbral Lands.
"May I know your name and origin?" Based on the appearance of the man, you could make the inference that they were likely from Nord Merica, one of the largest nations on the world at the moment and one of the two to your direct north. But, there was a chance that the appearance was only coincidentally similar to that of Nathan.
The man smiled and bowed deeply to you before replying, "I am John Adam. I greet you warmly in the name of Nord Merica. I have been sent to your lands as a diplomatic envoy to ensure that in this current time of strife that our two nations need not be concerned about each other." You frown at his words, for you knew enough of the habits of Nord Merica that their professed diplomatic overturns were little more than subtle forms of enslavement to their whims over time.
"Why do you believe war is inevitable?" Modulating your tone to ensure that a skilled diplomat would hear the silent question in the seemingly innocent question.
John maintained his smile even as he gestured towards a chair in front of your desk, and controlling your emotions you nodded. Letting him stride across the room to the chair before he began to reply. "We don't believe that war is inevitable, otherwise why would I have been sent with gifts for you and your people. We simply dislike the current state of world tension with no firm alliances between any peer powers. This has lead to this meeting." John fell silent for now, even as he relaxed into his chair perfectly content to be within arms reach of a person able to tear his body apart without issue.
"May I know what you have brought to my lands?" You ask staring him in the eye, for this was not something you had expected to deal with so soon after your emergence from the shadows and frankly some gifts might be too good to pass up.
"Certainly, I have no reason to hide them for they are yours regardless of how our talks turn out. I have brought roughly five years worth of basic resources that any nation could need, and 3 years worth of technological supplies. In addition to the basic supplies, I have brought three items with me of note that I thought your nation would enjoy and benefit from." John opened a small briefcase he had brought with him as he began to pull out files.
"The first is a simple but comprehensive structure on which our basic schools work. It contains enough material to ensure all citizens can have at least basic literacy and general education in the lowest rungs of sophisticated work. The second is a gift for your military advisor, as he might have left our employ, but he was always skilled and loyal to those he choose to serve and we reward those aspects, this gift is a training manual that our Front Commanders receive upon promotion. It should help him in his new position, lastly we brought the basic blueprints and theory behind the telegraph." As he spoke of each one he placed a piece of paper down on the table facing you, so that you could read over the gifts he had brought with him.
Assuming nothing was a lie, which is the last thing you would, do the papers he gave you confirmed what he was saying. He had brought a basic gift of resource and production related materials, which would significantly impact the speed at which some project would be able to be done in the future. Along with the lump sum, he had also brought a manual on how to set up schools and train teachers, a primer for a military advisor position and a basic means of near instant communication that would tie nicely into how terraforming functioned.
"This is a significant gift. One might wonder what is expected in return for such a bounty of free resources." You reply hiding your emotions the best you can, even as you continue to read over the papers hoping to spot some flaw in their language.
"Of course, anyone sane in this world would be rightfully suspicious of our offerings and expect a viper to be lucking within. And you would be correct in that I did come here for more than to simply hand over these gifts to your nation and yourself." John leaned forward slightly as he brought out more papers.
"May I assume that this is the point where you ask me to devote my lands to the production of resources and technology for the benefit of Nord Merica?" It might have been a tad too pointed, but this was grating at you due to the way John had danced around your first question.
"No, nothing of the sort. I won't ask where you got such a twisted idea of what Nord Merica is like, but I will say that the only thing I wanted to have on the treaty was you refusing to form any joint wars against us. In the current climate of the world, having certainty that only individual nations would engage in war against us would be a relief to our civilian population."
You frown at John as his words seemed to hold a large gap in their reasonableness. "I raise a point against that claim, you would only ensure that the Umbral Lands would remain out of battle. If I am not mistaken you are to the south of Albia, and close enough to Hy Brasil along with the Pan-Pacific Bloc that you could very easily find yourself in a three way war if all attacked you at once."
"Yes, it does seem as if we are in danger of being attacked on three directions, but only the Umbral Lands, Pan-Pacific Bloc and Albia are the nations that we need concern ourselves with. Hy Brasil and our other neighbors are too weak to affect the state of a war. This means that if you sign the treaty, we can reduce the focus on the southern border to shift troops and defenses to the north and eastern borders to defend against possible aggression on those sides easier." John replied as he leaned back in his chair sliding a piece of paper with the title of it marking it as a preliminary list of points that a treaty would entail between the Umbral Lands and Nord Merica.
Reading over the paper, the list was remarkably fair, too fair. It was suspicious in terms of how unsuspicious it was. The aforementioned forbiddance on attacking Nord Merica forces in case of them being under attack by another peer force, the promise of payment if the Umbral Lands came to their aid in a peer war and nothing else was currently listed.
"Why are there points currently unlisted from this sheet?" You ask pointing towards the rather obviously missing lines of information.
"Because, those two lines are your side to be filled in of course. No treaty worth the name only ever gives one side a say in the matter, except in cases of unconditional surrender. This isn't that of course, so you get to add in your own points to help us come to a fair and balanced outcome for both our nations." John responded without losing his smile, even as he pulled out a pen to lay on the table.
"What is Nord Mercia accepting for this treaty?" You ask even as you refuse to move towards the pen offered, "And where is the full write up for the treaty?"
"Nord Merica trusts me to find the best possible deal with the situation at hand and due to the nature of the world I am in charge of the treaty, in short my word is binding. As for the second, it does not yet currently exist, as the points of note haven't been decided upon there is no point in coming with a treaty that would be without a doubt rejected several times over before being approved in the end. As such, once we come to a conclusion of points I would work with your legal department to help craft the treaty here with your legal oversight." John replied even as he shrugged as if to say what could he be expected to do, but you very much doubt he lying in any sense of the word when he said that he was given full authority in this matter.
"What if I refused to accept a treaty between the Umbral Lands and Nord Merica? Or asked for something that you could not meet?" You prod at him even as it become more clear that you were on the backfoot even as you asked the question.
"It is your right as the ruler of this land to refuse a treaty, in that case I would simply return to my nation and the matter would be closed. Of course, such a refusal would dampen relations between our nations, and I for one do believe that working towards a mutual goal is a better plan of action in this age than trying to survive Independent of all others. After all, Albia has just made a blunder in trying to infiltrate all of their peers, for what can only be the prelude to the ignition of wars. In the case of you asking for something we could not meet, I would stay and work to bargain for a fair deal for both our nations, for crippling one side of a treaty that is meant to aid both would only result in negative outcomes would it not?" John stated with sadness apparent on his face, the first sign of true emotion that he had shown in this matter so far and it made you even more distrustful of him and what he presented to be.
"Either I refuse and you return to Nord Merica and unofficially officially label my nation as a foe on your books, or I do not reject your offer and you instead remain in my capital to try to form a treaty until it is done. What surety do I have that you won't spend your time infiltrating or subverting my populace to serve your will in the case of you remaining here?" You could tell you were scrambling, but this was not where you were skilled. This was the furthest thing from a place of skill for you, you were good at crafting, terraforming and generally skilled but this specialized area was beyond you for now.
"In a twisted view that is correct. Although, I find it sad that you are so against Nord Merica's efforts to reach out to your nation with my presence here. I came bearing gifts and am met with open hostility from you. I can't level blame on you for I am somewhat of a horror story among the world, I know my reputation, but I always hope that one day I will find a way to bypass it. As for your concern about me subverting your people, simply provide me with psyker or blank guards. Either one would defeat or otherwise ensure that I would not be able to engage in any unwanted schemes." His doubtlessly fake sadness became even greater as he spoke, his earlier smile now gone from his face.
[] Refuse anything and everything to do with him and Nord Merica
[] Let him remain in the Umbral Lands and continue working on the treaty
Gifts gained
127 production, 150 resource
Education manual: unlocks new actions related to schools and teaching
Telegraph blueprints: unlocks new actions related to integrating faster communication lines within the Umbral Lands
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