Red Star Courier

The Red Star Courier Price: One doughnut "All the muse has seen fit to print" August 2006 Printed in Hamadan
The Red Star Courier would like to thank the Old Rancaguan Press and the Rampant Lion for the layouts of their respective papers, from which we have borrowed rather heavily. Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed in this paper do not reflect the opinions or views of Yssaria, its leaders, its nobles, or its sheep.
Editor: Aeillien Mandraken
Articles		News in Brief
==== Learn from History, or Repeat it ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, August 3rd, 2006 Editorial In a response to this paper’s editorial regarding the ceasefire between Yssaria and Caligus, the The Rampant Lion responded in an article, dated August first, stating that “At its core, the article makes the claim that Caligus is a dishonorable realm for several reasons. Among them is the fact that those scurvy scalliwags in Caligus won't just lay down and die.” It then also argues “Let's leave aside for a minute all the issues of who started what, and who attacked who/when/where. The peace treaty Yssaria is offering Caligus really isn't a peace treaty at all.” (emphasis in original) I should first state that I have respect for the editors of The Rampant Lion. Nonetheless, they seem to have missed the fundamental point of my editorial. I did not go into “those issues of who started what” for my own amusement, or even for the edification of this papers readers, rather I brought them to put the situation in context, and prove my argument. The Rampant Lion states the “peace treaty Yssaria offers is not a peace treaty” but rather a “death warrant.” But what, exactly, was the peace treaty, hmm? This alleged death warrant did, in fact, include handing over Domus, but would insure Caligan survival at Perdan’s expense, through the handing over of Partora. The fact that there is now a wide gap between the terms of this peace treaty and the reality of Caligan actions, not to mention the apparent situation, are what led to this paper to state they had a choice between "some honor in defeat, or total dishonor leading to total destruction." Yssaria did not demand this peace agreement, this agreement was, as its name implies, an agreement, between Caligus and Yssaria, as to how to bring peace between those two realms. The only unilateral “agreement” Yssaria can reach without the cooperation of Caligus is, in fact, their total conquest. Instead of this, Yssaria abided by the agreement. But it seems clear, based on the evidence, that Caligus negotiatiated in bad faith. Either Vlad lied when he offered that agreement, or both Vlad *and* Clarissa lied. There is still the small possibility that Vlad had Perdan's agreement to this scheme, but all indicators point against it. If Perdan did not agree or know about this plan, whose fault is this? It is the fault of Caligus, it is the responsibility of Vlad, their ruler. Are we to believe that Yssaria is more responsible for the lack of a mutual understanding between Caligus and Perdan? Caligus could have (it still can, in theory) hold and fufill the terms of the ceasefire agreement between those two realms and see peace. But instead, the evidence on the ground indicates that the peace agreement was naught but a lie, or a farce, inflicted upon Yssaria, perhaps to gain time for Caligus to strengthen its position. If that is the case, and this paper believes it had proven that this is what is transpiring, then Caligus has shown it can not be trusted, that it has not changed. That this is the same realm that started the war against Yssaria, with an aim to destroy it. A realm that repeatedly refused several entreaties of peace. The same realm that has broken two previous ceasefires, and is now on its way to not fulfilling the terms of a third. Is it any wonder, in light of this, that certain realms wish to forget and dismiss history? Why should Yssaria go out of its way, if hostilities resume, to reach a generous peace agreement with Caligus, as The Rampant Lion urges, in light of this? Why should we give them the opportunity to backstab us and lie to us again? The Rampant Lion comfortably predicts that Caligus would be no threat to anyone, and ignores their past behavior as irrelevant, when their behavior is central to the threat Yssaria feels to its safety. Realms can, in the fullness of time, recover even from serious wounds. The actions of Caligus now suggest that if Yssaria were generous today, it would sow the seeds of some future war of aggression from its northern neighbor. Furthermore, why is the onus on Yssaria to find a way for Caligus to get out of its predicament? Especially considering the past history that others seem so eager to forget? Caligus’ current state is one of their own making, they made their bed, and they should sleep in it. The Rampant Lion urges that we reach an agreement with Caligus as we did with Ubent. In fact, as the Itorunt Informer demonstrated we have offered terms to Caligus terms more generous that Ubent received in the last few months, with much the same situation we have now, and they were rejected. Vlad, and Caligus, waited too long, in this editors opinion, to reach for peace, and as it stands, they do not have much to give that would not effectively end them as a realm. Their position is not a good one. But how is this Yssaria’s fault, exactly? Again, the example of Ubent is educational. Ubent understood that it did face destruction if it did not make an agreement commensurate with the threat it faced, namely, non-existence, and it made such an agreement. Thus, it lives on. But my discussions with King Eleran lead me to believe that Vlad offered terms that more closely resemble a situation where some minor war was being resolved, rather than terms that acknowledge the fact that the very survival of his realm is on the line. It’s not Yssaria’s job to ensure Caligan survival, it is Caligus’ job to ensure it survives. When the shoe was on the other foot and Yssaria was a realm that consisted of Isadril and Hamadan and not much else, neither Caligus or her allies were so magnanimous as Perdan suggests Yssaria should be. The very opposite, in fact. This reporter has witnessed how eager a significant majority of Yssarian nobles are to finish Caligus because of its past crimes, and this is an understandable opinion in light of the past. The results of the last few months give testament that, however slowly, Yssaria can destroy Caligus. If Caligus cannot, truly, come to grips with this fact, it will be destroyed, barring some radical realignment of the power balance on the island. If it cannot come to grips with that fact, it will have chosen death, much as Avamar, Oligarch, and Perdan's other allies have done. This reporter does not know what terms, exactly, in the current situation, Caligus can offer to avert their destruction, it is perhaps the case that some of the terms The Lion lays out might have worked. This reporter did not suggest otherwise. Caligus' choices were not, as The Rampant Lion suggests, to give up and die, or keep fighting and die. Rather, their choices were to offer a agreement in good faith that ensured their survival, or fight honorably. Of course, Caligus did offer something that would prevent their destruction, and Yssaria agreed, and now it seems Caligus was lying. This final insult, perhaps, will simply be too much, and this may poison any future peace agreement Caligus offers. Caligus, if it negotiated in bad faith, will have proven they are not to be trusted, and that their word of honor is as nothing. This alone would justify their destruction, in my opinion. You cannot negotiate peace with those who negotiate in bad faith, to do so is to invite betrayal. Time and time again, Yssaria has reached out and offered Caligus a way out of a conflict they have been losing, time and time again; Caligus has refused, or pretended to accede and shown their true colors by later violating the agreement. Caligus must prove that history is not about to repeat. Further repition may lead Yssaria to conclude that it should finally learn from history, and not be doomed to repeat it, and thus that it should strive to consign Caligus to the dustbin of the past. Update: Further discussions with King Eleran as to the contreversy as regards this plan, led to this statement by my King: "Clarissa, of Perdan, and Vlad came to me with the transplant arrangement. I did not come up with this. If they are complaining, they should ask their leaders why they did this. And, as noted prevously, this agreement, which they presented, was agreed to by us, and now it is Caligus and Perdan who do not seem to abide by it. This editor is, shall we say, unsurprised. ==== Meet the New King, Same as the Old Queen ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, August 1st, 2006 Editorial Is Vlad Nosferatus, King of Caligus, who led a rebellion against the former Queen with the stated goal of achieving peace with Yssaria, negotiating in bad faith? While only the man himself, and perhaps his inner council, can know for certain, certain indications suggest that this is in fact the case. Since the rebellion, this reporter has been in touch with the King of Yssaria, Eleran, about the ongoing negotiations with Caligus that started with the aforementioned rebellion. From the beginning of the negotiations, there was trouble. Eleran described to this reporter the process of the negotiations in light of the renewed Yssarian offensive as July rolled by thus: Caligus has declared neutrality, however, they need to realize that the realms they war with need proper concessions or surrenders. I am currently working with Vlad on this, however, nothing seems to be working. His surrender terms are less than favorable and do not seem like surrender terms, they are more like ceasefire terms. Either way, this is all I can divulge right now as they are still hot issues. This paper did not report this at the time in order not to harm the negotiation process, and it, and the war, continued apace in an indecisive lurch fueled with blood. The walls of Domus would resist two more assaults by Yssarian forces before a cease fire would be agreed on late last month, as reported by this paper as well as the Itorunt Informer. Before going any further in describing the anomalies with the current situation, it is worthwhile to stop and consider Caligus’ past history as regards ceasefires. Namely, they seem to have made a habit of violating them, which is part of the intense enmity Yssaria has developed towards that realm, and why our trust for them is so low, on top of the older issues that gave birth to the current war when Yssaria was first founded. The King described one of these incidents aptly in his interview with Fontan’s Fundemental Freelancer: Eleran the Count died in the battle for Winkimus as the late Eagle's Reach, high marshall of Caligus killed him. ……. Caligus interrupted their ceasefire by attacking the evening of my Father's burial. There is also the ceasefire that was declared during the winter holidays, which again was violated by Caligus as it grasped (short lived) victory at the price of their honor. These things were done under the authority of the previous ruler, it is true, but as this paper noted in its article covering the rebellion, Vlad, and many of the other nobles who took part in the rebellion, were in the upper echelons of power in that realm. Recent events suggest, it seems, that the more things change, the more they stay the same. And now, to the present. The current ceasefire is based on a timetable and a process for bringing peace between the two realms, and all seemed well at first. As the days went on, Yssaria entered what can only be referred to as an odd dance with Caligus to confirm if they were in the process of going through the peace agreement. First we pretended to move towards Domus, presumably to see if they would withdraw, and then moved into Aestus to see if they would withdraw from that province and allow Yssaria to take the region over, as per the ceasefire agreement.* There was some disagreement as to specifics of this point between Eleran and Vlad, but this reporter believes the basic version of events is the same. For Vlad's version, see the his letter to this editor. When this reporter asked Eleran about this point, he stated "Caligus would allow us to take the region. They did not allow it. That is something that did not work out. However, they were never going to hand it over to us. In that, Vlad is partially correct." Whatever the exact case may be, the fact is that two battles occurred there. The ceasefire already had its first drops of bloodshed on its promise of peace. The process whereby this ceasefire was to become peace was not assured by the compliance of Caligus alone, Perdan’s part in the process is central and unavoidable. According to the agreement, Perdan will give Partora and “connecting regions” to Caligus, and Caligus will in turn give Domus to Yssaria. Thus would Perdan cleave the half of their battered realm to save their allied realm. Were it true, it would be generious in the utmost by Perdan. Then, a curious thing happened. The Itorunt Informer reported the ceasefire, and mentioned its doubts as to Perdan doing its part. In an ensuing series of letters among the editors of this paper, the II, and The Rampant Lion, it was determined that the deal was not anywhere close to being as set in stone on Perdan’s end, and that Perdanese nobles had not been informed of this rather significant agreement. What conclusions can we draw from this? The options are not many. Either Clarissa and Vlad are negotiating in good faith, but have kept their agreement quiet (I should note that the specifics of this agreement have not, as of yet, been reported in the Caligan Courier), or Vlad negotiated away what is not his to negotiate without consulting his ally, or one, or both, of the realms are lying. This reporter notified King Eleran about what he had learned, and his response was thus: I have some doubts about the ceasefire ON DOMUS. Clarissa and Vlad are probably buying some time. That is why the rest probably do not know about the ordeal. Oh well, Vlad has eleven days to comply. He won't be able to and we simply go back to war. Because Yssaria is an honorable realm, I know that unless we are outright provoked or the ceasefire breaks down, we will give Vlad the full measure of the time we have given him to prove this paper and the Yssarian nobles who view Caligus with the utmost suspicion wrong. Tomorrow, one week from the inception of the timetable will have passed, and one week will remain. It is but a matter of time to determine if Caligus will, or even can, honor the agreement they bargained for, or if they will demonstrate that though the head of that realm may change, its corruption has spread to its very heart, and Yssaria must continue grimly to attack them until Caligus lies as dust. And do not doubt the outcome. With Itorunt having reached peace with Perdan, and Perdan itself having just had an army crash through its capital, Caligus stands alone, and Yssaria, if it re-engages, will re-engage the conflict with its full force of arms and fury, and with the aid of its allies. The choice for Caligus is clear, some honor in defeat, or total dishonor leading to total destruction. Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that one of the terms of the ceasefire agreement was that Caligus would hand over Aestus. Rather, the terms were that Caligus would allow Yssaria to take over Aestus. ==== Month in Review ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, August 1st, 2006 Feature July was a long, busy month. As predicted by this paper in June, it was especially busy for Perdan and her allies. Itorunt marched north along the western coast of the continent and has signed a peace agreement (search for the article dated 8/1/06). Ibladesh continues in its war against Perdan, not being part of the peace agreement with Itorunt, and also experienced some gains at Perdan’s expense during the month. Yssaria experienced the last offensive gain for the month in it's front of the war in Aestus. Shortly after this Caligus experienced a rebellion based around achieving peace. The month saw two unsuccessful assaults on Domus, after the second one an uncertain ceasefire was signed between the two realms. Ubent signed a surrender with the southern federation which is now completed, it is now diminished to a three province realm. The original peace agreement seems to have stipulated that each of the three federated allies would received a province, in the end, Yssaria received one and Ibladesh received two. Perdan experienced a painful assault from Fontan and Sirion, who successfully took over Bescanon and several other territories. Perdan recovered some of its loses while the northern allies regrouped, but in a second wave they have successfully attacked Perdan’s capital at Partora. The overthrow of the monarchy in the Kalmar Islands by troop leaders originally from Avamar finally resulted in a conflict between Old Rancagua and the newly minted realm, but the conflict ended in a peace of sorts when the former King Prometheus was elected as its chancellor.		August 3rd, 2006 Huge Battle Fought A battle occurs in Beziers: Perdan defeats Ibladesh Estimated combat strengths: 9000 CS vs. 7000 CS August 1st, 2006 Huge Battle Fought A battle occurs in Partora: Perdan defeats Fontan, Sirion Estimated combat strengths: 16000 CS vs. 12000 CS July 31st, 2006 Huge Battle Fought A battle occurs in Partora: Fontan, Sirion defeat Perdan Estimated combat strengths: 13000 CS vs. 5000 CS Huge Battle Fought A battle occurs in Brive: Perdan defeats Fontan, Sirion Estimated combat strengths: 18000 CS vs. 4000 CS Huge Battle Fought A battle occurs in Partora: Fontan, Sirion vs. Perdan Estimated combat strengths: 25000 CS vs. 17000 CS The battle ends undecisivily.
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