Falasan Inquirer/June07
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| Price: 15 silver | Editors: Rathkanouros Kalantis | Date of Issue: June 2007 |
Editor's note: While other papers may employ sorcery and witchcraft to instantaneous transport their news across the continent, the Falasan Inquirer refuses to stoop to such a level and contents itself with simple carts and wagons. As such, do not be surprised if you encounter new articles that are released at an older date than is current.
 Darka: Puppetmaster of Atamara?
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June 20th, 2007 Darka. A land of mercenary warriors, strong, bold and fierce. They fight for gold, and their loyalty is to the highest bidder...or is it? Does Darka's loyalty truly follow the ring of gold? Or have they decided to maintain their illusion of neutrality to prevent any form of retaliation? After all, what better than to attack your most bitter enemy under the guise of aiding a "client": should the war turn badly, you need only point to your mercenary neutrality and your loaded purse...but would such a purse truly be loaded? For if a neutral mercenary can have enemies, why, the reverse can also be true: the neutral mercenary also has allies! It is indeed a good idea to maintain friendly relations with potential clients, but outright alliance, even after the task has been completed, can do naught but indicate that there is more to it than simple friendliness. What would such a neutral realm do with its allies? Preferable treatment, most likely: preference in bidding, reduced to no payments asked, continued support even after the contract has terminated...the possibilities are endless. In contrast, what might occur to an enemy of Darka? Firstly, the enemy is likely to be immensely challenged in such a war; Darka's use of a mercenary cover requires it to have a partner before it will attack (Do you recall that long ago Darkan retaliation against Redspan? They awaited a Cagilan contract before acting), so that enemy will be forced to call allies. Furthermore, Darka has one of the most highly trained and equipped armies in Atamara, enabling it to destroy armies rallied against it despite being outnumbered. But that brings up the question...how did Darka acquire such well equipped and highly trained men in the first place? After all, their charter explicitly states that they fight at the minimum price required to maintain their men (although I suspect that in the case of some realms, that price may be lower--or nonexistent). The answer is truly quite simple: they obtain their training from fighting others' battles, and obtained such high equipment because they used their mercenary neutrality to prevent any attacks on their lands. Such a peace--in war!--has allowed them to scour the lands for the greatest weaponsmiths and armorsmiths to be had for their soldiers. |
While the realms of Atamara sweat and bleed, Darka sits back and laughs, as its soldiers get stronger and its swords sharper. As the realms of Atamara fight amongst each other, Darka's chosen are aided, by way of being the "winning bidder". Can this truly be a winning bid, if their client pays nothing at all? What points to my belief that Darka plays favorites? In spite of the fact that it explicitly states in their charter: "We also require a local army meat shielding us. I won't take deals where that piece is not sufficient. That also cuts off trying to hire us for going in to some distant place for a suicide mission." Darka has repeatedly sent their men on suicide missions with little to no support, notably on the Second Battle of Menedor, where they even continued for a second round with an incoming wave. Evidently they counted on the treachery of Makaran guile, only to find that that same treachery fell upon them! Another suicide mission occurred in the Fifth Battle of Nazgorn, sending a small force against walls. Why should Darka continue with such pointless attacks if Eston is just a "client"? To produce such efforts, one can only conclude the Eston is not just a client, it must be an ally. When facing a realm which plays realms off against each other, supporting some and destroying others at will, avoiding all penalties through its "mercenary" status, one cannot help but wonder: how did such a situation come to be? Perhaps Darka was a true mercenary realm in its heyday, but that has evidently changed. With Darka's neutrality suspect, can any realm unallied with Darka ever remain safe? Can even Darka's allies remain safe, if this dark and shifting world? I say, to ye, Darka: off with the sham. Stop hiding behind your mercenary veil and face the world like a real man. |
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| Eston Plots Destruction
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June 20th, 2007 Eston's plan to subdue Falasan appears quite simplistic. Ravage the regions surrounding Barad Falas, slay the peasants, burn the village and loot everything to the ground. And it must be admitted, that they are doing quite a good job with that. Galadia has been looted and razed too often to count...it no longer has any buildings worthy of note: no fortifications, no recruitment centres, no workshops nor temples. Nazia's shrine was looted and burned, and Belegmon's walls have been utterly destroyed. Even Nazgorn has felt the effects of the Estonite ravagers. Is this behaviour truly what the rest of Atamara expects from Eston? Is this behaviour what Eston expects from itself? The realm which, self-proclaimedly underwent the "Northern Renaissance"? Which proclaims in its realm announcement "Duplicity is highly discouraged here and our nobility strives to be socially responsible."? How long will the nobles of Eston continue to acknowledge the orders of leaders who so blatantly betray their ideals? And such worthy leaders they are, particularly Andrew and Basil. Andrew: the king of Eston...the one who manages its diplomatic dance...and blunders. While Falasan declined to attack Eston while it was weak from the ravages of the monster and undead assaults in February, he has declined, in the wake of the appearance of more such sorcerous creatures, to form a cease-fire. (For the relevant letters, see Page 111) A mute who had little to say to Queen Cathrine during the beginning of this war, who left his general to do all the talking. And what a general is Sir Basil! A man who has become well known for associating politics and war with lies. Indeed, near the beginning of the war he wrote a letter to Queen Cathrine stating "I will not insult you by playing political games any longer." (for the full text, see Page 13) Would this not imply his lies and the "political games" he played before finally revealing his true intentions? |
And Basil's string of deception continues: promising peace to King Tank, he treacherously sent his forces into Belegmon without any warning whatsoever...before even formally declaring war! Lulled by his promises, Falasan's forces lay scattered and unable to defend from such an attack. (See Traitor finally gone, good riddance! and Guile and deception abound amongst Estonite leaders The falsehoods spouted by Basil are limited not only to Falasan: he continues such with his insults to Kronos, Carelia's king. (See Page 7) Not simply satisfied with his slanderous words, Basil compounds his error with another fabrication "Eston will now almost certainly have to accept federation with the Cagilan Empire and Talerium." Perhaps I am deaf and blind (which, admittedly, is indeed approaching, at my age), but about three fortnights have passed and I have yet to hear of any such news. Finally, Basil topped the cake of his deceit when he looted the temple of Magnus in Galadia, and announcing his "benevolent" intentions. (See Page 111) Can we truly trust the words of such a relentless liar? Although I have yet to see the bodies, I think it much more likely that Basil let loose his men upon the temple's followers...and perhaps even encouraged them in their efforts. After all, what a delicious irony it must be, to commit an atrocity and blame the victim for it! Perhaps Eston's Royal Treasurer Logan and its Archpriest Torik are more trustworthy...but given the record of their fellows, I would remain suspicious. With such leaders to be proud of, can the rest of Atamara trust Eston's word? Can one depend on Eston's honour? I leave it to the reader to determine the evidence. |
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