Assassination!

[BardicNerd]

What Velax said.

Edmund was attempting to make amends, Galiard demanded entirely unreasonable things.  Yes, Cathay was the wronged party, they're also the ones that turned something that didn't need to be a war into a war.

And so we stand by our allies.

[Scarlett]

I guess this is how these threads go:

Blah blah justification for whatever my character is doing blah blah why he's right and everyone else is wrong blah.

Dude, forget that. Why do I care OOCly whether Kindara is great, sort of bad, or mostly bad? I had fun while Galiard was visiting. I was sorry that more of Cathay's nobles who came along didn't participate in the RP but I keep hearing 'well, FEI isn't SMA' so I guess that's to be expected now. Edmund is a great character and Rosalind too. What's happening in character is an entirely plausible scenario that might have happened in the middle ages, if you care about that sort of thing. Except that poor Victor probably would've had a better chance at his (brother's?) palace of murdering a guest than he did in-game.

I don't even know what yard stick to use to try and explain OOCly if Galiard is 'right' in a 21st century Internet forum posting, and even if I did I'd just be making this more 'us players versus them players.' He's a curmudgeonly old bastard who thinks that anybody born in the last 35 IC years has no idea what custom, chivalry, or manners are. In his lifetime he's executed two Dukes and un-Duked two more for various offenses real or imagined and he's banished lords because their knights were misbehaving. If I played BM like a team sport as seems to be more common these days, he'd be a lot more accommodating, Cathay would be more boring, and he'd never promote or support boat-rockers like William or Caspius.

So to whatever extent is possible, no matter how much Galiard bloviates to the contrary, I hope Zonasa and Kindara have a good time and enjoy themselves as I hope Cathay does too!

[Perth]

I guess this is how these threads go:

Blah blah justification for whatever my character is doing blah blah why he's right and everyone else is wrong blah.

Dude, forget that. Why do I care OOCly whether Kindara is great, sort of bad, or mostly bad? I had fun while Galiard was visiting. I was sorry that more of Cathay's nobles who came along didn't participate in the RP but I keep hearing 'well, FEI isn't SMA' so I guess that's to be expected now. Edmund is a great character and Rosalind too. What's happening in character is an entirely plausible scenario that might have happened in the middle ages, if you care about that sort of thing. Except that poor Victor probably would've had a better chance at his (brother's?) palace of murdering a guest than he did in-game.

I don't even know what yard stick to use to try and explain OOCly if Galiard is 'right' in a 21st century Internet forum posting, and even if I did I'd just be making this more 'us players versus them players.' He's a curmudgeonly old bastard who thinks that anybody born in the last 35 IC years has no idea what custom, chivalry, or manners are. In his lifetime he's executed two Dukes and un-Duked two more for various offenses real or imagined and he's banished lords because their knights were misbehaving. If I played BM like a team sport as seems to be more common these days, he'd be a lot more accommodating, Cathay would be more boring, and he'd never promote or support boat-rockers like William or Caspius.

So to whatever extent is possible, no matter how much Galiard bloviates to the contrary, I hope Zonasa and Kindara have a good time and enjoy themselves as I hope Cathay does too!

If it wasn't for Galiard, I wouldn't still be in Cathay.

[Velax]

I doubt anyone's saying, "This is horrible, we don't want war, Cathay is evil." It's a perfect excuse for a war, which the south has been lacking for quite some time. Arcaea was one of the realms most recently at war and already some of my nobles are getting itchy. I don't know how you southerners go for six months or a year with no war at all.

But we are still entitled to have an opinion on the severity of the demands made of Kindara.

[Scarlett]

It's quite all right if you want to say that. I think my problem with these threads is that they make it appear that the players necessarily want the same things as the characters and that they do the "right" thing by some standard that could be agreed upon on an internet forum.

As a player I was handed an opportunity for (at minimum) some drama and (more likely) conflict that FEI has been lacking. As a character, Galiard wants what's best for Galiard according to his Galiard-world-lens. Those two things do not always agree with each other.

It is obviously a rollicking good time when you have a despicable character AND a douchebag player and you can mop the floor with them. That's not the case here, is all.

[BardicNerd]

The problem is that many of the current rulers are actually reasonable people, and reasonable people generally find reasonable solutions to problems.  Usually, a war is not reasonable for both realms at once, if it is even reasonable for either of them.

As for the current (nearly) war, reasonableness of rulers might yet again nix it.  Which Morgan would very much like, because he wants a war, just not THIS war.  We were actually only a few days away from instigating the other war before this happened.  Though this incident might actually help us some if it is resolved.

As a player, I have mixed feelings about if this is the better war or not, though it probably is in many ways.  IC, though, Morgan thinks the other war would be much better for Zonasa.  And it probably would, but not definitely, however, I know things that Morgan doesn't.  Based on Morgan's knowledge, war with Cathay would be a bad thing, a certain other war would be a good thing.

EDIT: Reasonableness appears it will not rear its ugly head in one of the people who would need to be reasonable.  So war is almost certain to go ahead.  This is probably a good thing.  I honestly don't know how this will end, but I do think it will probably change the shape of the FEI, unless Zonasa and Kindara somehow bring a very quick end to it.  But I really do think it will be escalated to eventually include everyone.

[Indirik]

Yes, everyone will get involved. That's a foregone conclusion.

[Ender]

Hey, the Cathay state visit was a lot of fun. And honestly, so is this, at least for the player. Kindara hasnt had a war since the last Cathay and half the realm has been complaining that we needed a war since that one ended. I havent been tied in roleplays or anything this exciting in a long, long time.

Not to say this is the war Edmund wanted, but Edmund's gotta do what Edmund's gotta do and Kindara and Edmund are both angry.

[Indirik]

Mmm... war. I'm all for war. As far as the "We're right, they're wrong" stuff, everyone thinks their side is justified when you go to war. If not, you get protests and rebellions. Either the war ends, or those who don't agree with it switch sides, sometimes involuntarily.

[BardicNerd]

Yes, everyone will get involved. That's a foregone conclusion.

I'm actually not sure that's completely foregone.  I'm hoping I'm wrong, though.

Well, we'll see.

[Norrel]

I'm actually not sure that's completely foregone.  I'm hoping I'm wrong, though.

Well, we'll see.

How could Zonasa join the war on Kindara's side and then not expect everything to escalate further? Obviously now it's totally foregone.

[BardicNerd]

Oh, I fully expected it to escalate farther.  I'm just not entirely sure which realms will join our side, and how quickly.

[Arundel]

Oh, I fully expected it to escalate farther.  I'm just not entirely sure which realms will join our side, and how quickly.

Well, you know who's not joining your side, that's for sure.

[Penchant]

Yes, everyone will get involved. That's a foregone conclusion.

Sounds like a world war one thing is happening, someone gets assassinated (in this case only an attempt) and it escalates to include a bunch of countries (realms).

[Ender]

Well, you know who's not joining your side, that's for sure.

No surprise there. I'd have been shocked if Sorraine didnt declare for Cathay. It was obvious from the get go who would side with who. Even Edmund didnt harbor any illusions about that bit.

Aenilia has mostly laid out their stance, though it might change a bit. That only leaves Ohnar West at this point and they'll probably stay neutral and I dont blame them one bit for that.