Down with the peace keepers!

[BardicNerd]

I haven't heard anything about a rebellion in Cathay . . .

. . . if you're referring to the rebellion in Kindara, though, curious to see how that plays out and affects things.  Don't know that it's actually all that good for conflict, though, the reason it succeeded was due to most of Kindara's army having already marched off to go to war (or so I hear).

[Bedwyr]

Kindara was indeed the most annoying.  James at least recognizes that war is indeed a valid response to treaty breaking.  Ziode didn't.

[BardicNerd]

Ziode was getting involved in the current conflict, though, which gave me hope . . . Cathay just makes me sad, though.  I'm not on the ruler channel, but the impression I've gotten is that they've done a bunch to stop a number of possible conflicts.

Though Kindara stopping us from killing C'thonia was annoying, but I can't blame them, because that's a balance of power issue and simple self-interest rather than killing conflict out of hand.  Not that we had enough nobles to control C'thonia's lands, anyways.

[Bedwyr]

Yes, Ziode was getting involved because "violence is never the answer".  Made me angry every time I saw his letters.

Cathay didn't want a war where they'd have to choose between their alliance with Arcaea and their alliance with Aenilia, and neither of those two were willing to push Cathay toward the other until Xarnelf threw up his hands and did it.

[BardicNerd]

Interesting.  The things one misses without the full picture. . . .

[Bedwyr]

Oh, I know.  It makes such a difference having more information.  Even I don't get the full picture, but I know that a lot of the stuff that goes on with FEI politics makes no sense from the outside.

[Lefanis]

Looks like things are turning out more or less evenly stacked for both sides. Should be fun 

Still waiting for Ohnar retaliation to our northern foray 

[Gloria]

Looks like things are turning out more or less evenly stacked for both sides. Should be fun 

Still waiting for Ohnar retaliation to our northern foray 

Heehee.  There won't be.  With Taylin founding a new army to fight in the south, the army assigned to the north is left with only 3 knights.   And as of now, it is super incompetent. 

[Bedwyr]

Heehee.  There won't be.  With Taylin founding a new army to fight in the south, the army assigned to the north is left with only 3 knights.   And as of now, it is super incompetent.

Yeah, I wonder why.  Maybe because they've left the blatant Arcachonian sympathizer as the Marshal.  So bloody tired of incompetent allies...

[Velax]

Wait...the Arcachonian sympathiser was put in charge of the army tasked with defending against an Arcachonian attack?

[De-Legro]

To be fair, sympathizer or not, the northern army would appear to be completely under resourced to defend against aggression from the Dark Isle.

[Heq]

That and, to be honest, Arcachon fights a very face-paced war with high stakes and Ohnar West is not a nation that likes to gamble so there's really no fear of chaotic attacks.

Ciann is insane by any modern definition but half of her ideas come from essentially nowhere ("There is a raven on that pole, we are meant to invade this land"), which actually makes her rather unpredictable, though I suspect it's going to wear thin on the Holy Legate really quick.

Cathay can't defend itself so it's just worried about picking the wrong side.  It hasn't fought a competent war in ages and if Ohnar West capitulates it would find itself absolutely screwed.

[Bedwyr]

Ohnar West isn't even close to capitulating.  One city sacked does not a war end, as you should know full well.  Honestly, I think attacking OW instead of Arcaea was a big mistake.  You just might have been able to talk them into a peace treaty if someone besides Joseph got elected, but the nasty looting and public torture and such is not going to help Arcachon's cause in the slightest, and it's giving all kinds of fuel to the anti-Arcachon camp.

[Heq]

Ciann's motivations don't make a whole lot of sense from the point of view of a ruler, but she's not thinking like a ruler so much as a straight up religious zealot.  She's decided that if Arcachon is going to be destroyed she's going to destroy as much of Ohnar West as she possibly can first.

Really, without Dormondt around to tell her right from wrong she's just a rabid dog, but she's got one of the larger networks of spies and traitors around which is really all that keeps her alive.  I'm well aware OW probably won't capitulate, but Ciann isn't.

Personally, I don't get the squeemishness about torture, as torture was common troughout the middle and dark ages and everyone should be using it pretty much all the time.  Especially theocracies, as conversion and cleansing via torture was understood as perfectly sensible and logical.

Mind you Ciann's goal of killing Tilted Brim has nothing to do with Xarnelf at all and everything to do with an internal religious purge she's got on her mind.

[Bedwyr]

The Order of the Hawk didn't clue you in that everyone was moving in the direction of at least a modicum of chivalry?  And, heck, the game even tells you that torture is the most vile thing you can do to another noble.  Torture of commoners was certainly a regular occurrence, but nobles are another matter.  Not to mention that Jenred has it as a hot-button ever since he was tortured by Keffer, and a couple of other Rulers are the same.