In the interest of peace ... we go to war!

[da_Vinci]

The crowd is noisy out in the Grand Courtyard of the Holy Temple of Shaolin. Then, a hush falls, as a six foot five, 275 pound figure ascends to the podium to speak.

Woo Li, a mammoth of a man, and Chief Monk of the Shaolin, wears a somber expression as be begins to speak ...

"The peaceloving Monks of Shaolin and People of Wie have watched with anguish the relentless pursuit of the Interminable War.  The Founder Alliance pointed its finger of destruction at Carolus Maltman and the Carolingian People.  The alleged injustices used by the FA to rationalize their war were found wanting in the meditations of the Holy Monks of Shaollin.  Our Greek bretheren bravely took up the cause of the defense of Carolingia."

"In concert with our Greek bretheren, and in order to defend the weak and the innocent, as is our way, we chose to aid Carolingia in ways short of war, in the hope that a firmer resistance would lead to peace on our continent."

"Our young men volunteered to serve under the banner of Carolingia.  And the FA hordes came, capturing and razing cites."

"We donated our treasury to Greece, to help them match the military might of the FA.  And still the hordes came."

"And now, even as there are talks about talking of peace, New Aachen is razed, and Pisa is razed by the FA."

"Distraught over this endless war, the Monks retired to the holiest recesses of the Temple, and performed the most sacred Cannabis Incense Meditation."

"On the thrid day of fasting and prayer, an apparition of the Buddha appeard in the smoke.  The Buddha spoke thus:

'Do you wonder, my dear Woo Li, why the Founder Alliance will not make peace?  It is because for them, the price of the war is too cheap.  I commission the Monks of Shaolin and the People of Wei to bring peace to the continent by raising the price of war to the Founder Alliance, by waging terrible war upon them!' "

"I replied to the Buddha 'We are a poor and backward nation, and lack the military might to be effective in the task you set before us.' "

" 'I shall give you the tools you require', the Buddha replied. 'Buddha make three miracles' "

" 'The first miracle is the animation of the emperor's Terra Cotta Army, to march upon the Founder Alliance and coerce them into peace.' "

" 'The second miracle is the construction of the Terra Cotta Navy, to sail the Terra Cotta Army to the battlefield.' "

" 'The third miracle is that the Terra Cotta Navy will float.' "

"With that, the Buddha vanished from our sight.  We concluded the holy ritural, and broke our fast with Cheetos and Doritos."

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the name of the third miracle.  Name of third miracle is 'Buoyancy.' "

"Since that day, we have been preparing to implement the Sacred Quest recieved from Buddha, to bring suffering, mysery and death to the Founder Alliance, to make them remember the value of peace."

"As a peaceloving people, we are not skilled in the arts of war on a grand scale, even though our skills in single combat are legendary.  Therefore, we see it as another miracle that a wander from Greece, who does have these skills, has come to join us as our Minister of War."

"Welcome Paraneus (pa RAN e us) of Greece, Weian Minister of War!"

The crowd roars as Paraneus, in his traditional Greek armour, ascends the podium and waves to the people ...

[Fosse]

Paraneus, a veteran of several battles near Pisa and Florence, was recently promoted to the rank of General when his company of Riflemen were able to safely escort -- at great personal peril -- over two hundred Carolingian women and children to a village outside of Prague when their city was razed by the Founder alliance.

He was sent by the Greek Parliament to conduct the the Ceremonies of Guardianship and Suffrage, by which Greece has long signified their nation's acceptance of alliance, friendship, and protection.  The laws establishing the new status of Wei as a member of the Greater Greek Protectorate along with Carolingia were passed weeks ago, but it is this rite that makes the matter official in the hearts and minds of many Greeks.  Paraneus gave Woo Li a gift of a Phalanx shield and an olive branch, signifying the right of Wei to elect or appoint several Senators for their delegation in Parliament, to sit beside the Carolingians.

After the ceremonies concluded he spoke briefly to the assembled crowd:

"My brothers and sisters, companions under the light of the Buddha, and fellow Republicans of the Protectorate.  I have been sent by the Greek Parliament to be not a man of Greece or a man of Wei, but a man of our Friendship and Alliance.  With your help and your sword, we will protect this world from an evil which would slay us for our faith, burn us for our virtues, and condemn us for our justice.

"The path of intolerance and bloodlust is not one upon which I will lead us.  Instead, the road I ask to walk alongside you on is that of vigilance and valiance, against a murderous scourge that has for a generation sought the extinction of our neighbor; fought the justice of our law; and wrought the despair of our Buddha.  Let us begin to repair the damage done.

"I humbly submit to Wei that Wei may join us in victory."

[DribNairb]

After our initial peace talks gave some optimism that peace may in fact be a possibility, I am unhappy to hear that a new nation has chosen to wage war and use political wrangling to achieve that aim:

The two 'cities' recently destroyed by the FA (as you call us) were 'New Aachen' and 'Pisa'. Both of these quite clearly were not civilian settlements but were created during wartime as frontline base camps for use by military forces. Any attempt to suggest they housed innocent civilians is ridiculous at best (unless said citizens were forced to live there as human shields to the carolingian army, in which case while i regret any loss of life, their deaths are on your conscience).

The Wei dynasty appears to be entering into a war they do not understand. The fact that Leonardo is currently questioning the reasons for war show this. All the statements for war declaration are available in the archives. A summary of the situation has been re-stated several times. I suggest my learned friend read these statements and be certain of what he is entering into before he commits his people to a life of war against The Path. It appears to me that, yet again, a small minority of leaders will bring misery upon their own population due to their ignorance/arrogance or plain stupidity.

OOC: I haven't logged in yet but I assume that even if you haven't officially declared war we will need to keep the turn order. As far as I know the turn order is now:
Fosse/DaVinci/Maltman
followed by
DribNairb/IanDC/Bjarkekr/Hoplosternum/Grenlock/Rennald/WarningU2

[Fosse]

Many refugees who stayed in and near the ruins of their homes in the cities of Florence, Aachen, and Pisa rebuilt and were residing in New Aachen and the rebuilt city of Pisa.  The Carolingian government may have better estimates than the Greek generals in the area, but make no mistake that more civilians have been put to the sword.  That they lived in a war zone does not make them combatants.  War does not afford refugees an easy flight away from the battlegrounds when they are constantly besieged by the enemy.

Further, Greece has not left the table.  We are still willing to negotiate terms of a Cease Fire, and a greater Treaty.

You cannot continue to wage war, attack our troops, and burn our cities, and then accuse us of derailing the peace process when we fight for our survival.

OOC: The turn order should remain the same, yes.  da Vinci played before I did, so it's preserved.  Praise to Buddha and The One that we don't have to deal with a turn order headache! 

[DribNairb]

I am not attempting top blame greece for derailing the peace process. It is da Vinci/Leonardo who clearly have no idea about the situation and then try to use it for their own ends.

If peace is your agenda, I suggest you come up with your proposals for how peace can be achieved. We have stated since the beginning our requirements and have had no concrete alternatives put forward. This is why military action will continue.