AMIA ARCHIVE • View topic - [To Various Places as Noted] A "Game" of Diplomacy

Last edited by Nivo on Sat, Apr 23 2011, 10:51 AM, edited 1 time in total.

Envelopes bearing waxen seals depicting the symbol of Mystra are sent out from the Monolith of Mystra late in the night, shortly following the exodus of wizards and apprentices from the lonely Ruathym isle.

Their destinations are various leaders, factions, and municipalities of the region. These letters are sent to the following, and the letters therein contained would have the appropriate salutation as a header.

- Lord Justicar Marinsbane, of Kohlingen
- Lord Yaston Sylgerand, the Order of Triadic Knights, in Kohlingen
- The Monolith evacuees, in Kohlingen
- Jud'Vardas Kenlyl, of the Shrine of Eilistraee
- Mayor Lyle Torrowfire, and the Council, of Bendir Dale
- Archdruid Malandria, of the Grove
- Willow Maynare, of the Grove
- The Council of the Commonwealth of Cordor, Commonwealth Center, Cordor
- Minister Xaviera Xuider-Xee, Temple of Love, Cordor
- Posted outside the now-evacuated and locked-down Monolith of Mystra
- The Council of Winya Ravana

~~~

For some time now, tensions between Cordor's Ministry of Magic and the Monolith of Mystra have been rising. This is unfortunate, as the Monolith has ever-remained friendly towards the Commonwealth, our neighbors by the ley-lines. We have been and will remain ever-well-intentioned, and willing to render assistance to our neighbors. Furthermore, we are ever-respectful of Cordor's sovereign rights as their own city and government remain in the hands of its people.

The following information bodes ill for the future of relations between the Monolith of Mystra and the Commonwealth of Cordor as represented specifically in their Ministry of Magic. And it is by this division of Cordor's own actions that such is so. Following an extensive investigation conducted by the guild of the Mystran Monolith, the following has come to light:

Upon the evening of the seventh of Tarsakh, members of Cordor's Ministry of Magic, as well as agents contracted by the aforementioned Ministry, launched an attack upon the Monolith of Mystra. In this attack, the construct guardians were rendered inoperable, and per the Ministry of Magic's orders, witnesses were slain by its agents.

Among the casualties:

- Newly selected Provost of the tower, Zenith al'Nazir was assassinated by agents of Cordor's Ministry of Magic, and her remains are currently still missing.
- Tower engineer Kimli Wakenel was murdered by agents of Cordor's Ministry of Magic, her remains still remain missing.
- Guilds-member Tuomas Valo was murdered by agents of Cordor's Ministry of Magic, and his memory tampered with by the Ministry.

If any should have information to the bodily whereabouts of our provost and/or our engineer, please come forward to aid us.

Additionally, the agents of the Ministry of Magic performed sabotage upon the Monolith of Mystra. A machine, known locally and colloquially as "The Device," within the Monolith was tampered with - secretly sabotaged; the intention of this has been discerned to allow interaction with ley-energies. Furthermore, it has been ascertained that the aurora borealis, the night lights seen in the skies of late, that originate from Cordor, and now head towards Ruathym, after extensive research done by the Monolith, have been determined to be comprised of highly concentrated ley-energy. Considering the prior attack upon the Monolith, the Ministry's sabotage of the Device, and this latest development, such can be logically deduced in one manner: this is another attack upon the Monolith by Cordor's Ministry of Magic.

Sworn-statements and accounts attest to these.

Sabotage, the tampering of the sanctity of mind; murder, and assassination. This is intolerable behavior. This is the behavior of brutes and tyrants, vilely inflicted upon their neighbors. This institution and this Administration shall not abide this affront, nor remain quiet while the Ministry of Magic pursues a course that can only be likened to madness.

Therefore,

- The Monolith of Mystra calls upon the Council of Cordor to respond to these actions, which are nothing less than an act of war upon the Monolith. We demand that the Ministry of Magic is held accountable.

- The Monolith of Mystra requests our friends and allies to join us in condemnation upon the Council of Cordor which allowed these attacks to occur, and the corrupted Ministry of Magic that instigated them.

- Further, the Monolith of Mystra asks our friends and allies join in our demands that the Ministry of Magic is investigated and purged of the fringe fraternity of magicians known as the "Arcanum," whom our evidence, which we shall publish, indicates are responsible for instigating the attacks upon the Monolith.

The Monolith of Mystra does not desire war, nor conflict, with the city of Cordor itself. However, we will not stand by idly as corruption eats at the heart of the greatest city of the Amia isle. The heart of corruption is the Ministry of Magic itself, and the heretical and malign Arcanum who-so rule the Ministry, and those who have set themselves to be not only the enemies of the Monolith by their actions, but accord themselves in an affront to the dogma of the gods of magic. To those who doubt the possibility of this: recall well late Minister of Magic Reyes' challenging of the gods - of Talos - in the northern farmlands of Cordor. Recall well your history.

This corruption is no surprise to many of the isle. This corruption is already well-known by many; though many have kept silent for long. Too long. No more shall it be tolerated.

We await the Commonwealth's response.

~~~

*Included in all letters are copies of the following statements.*

Yossarin wrote:

Guild Members,

I would advise you to gather a quorum together to handle what I believe to be a major internal problem of our institution. Although the popular rumor is that our Engineer flubbed the Monolith's constructs and fled from the scene, I am dubious regarding this assumption.

For you see, in the moments before the constructs went inactive, I was lured to the grounds outside of the Monolith to discuss secret and private information with alumni of this very institution who belong to a certain worldwide cabal known as the Arcanum. They promised me valuable information regarding some of my own private research projects, but our conversation turned into little more than their prolonged attempt to woo me into their cabal and accept their rather archaic and outmoded methods of wizardry.

After half an hour of conversation, they abruptly fell into a silence that I interpreted as "defeated" and simply left. When I returned, I found that all of the constructs were only just returning to functionality.

As the Tower's chief Diviner, I am well-versed in my field, and I do not need the aid of magic to determine that I was intentionally lured out of the Monolith so that I would not foresee or detect something that went on within these walls.

I do not wish to cause strife in our institution, but this demands not only investigation, but immediate action.

Professor Meram
Divinations

DustSpray101 wrote:

Cordor's Ministry of Magic commissioned the Sireling and myself to infiltrate the tower of the Monolith of Mystra and install a component, a new lens, to the device seated in the labs with the caveat that no witnesses were to survive. The Golems were disabled upon our arrival and mages wearing the ministry's robes were everywhere to be seen at the institution, and so we set to work upon the device. With great skill I nimbly dismantled the foolish Gnomish engine to accomplish our goal. We succeeded in the task and escaped via the roof. Next I saw, we were within an inn in Cordor, and soon were speaking to someone from the Ministry of Magic about what had occurred.

We informed him of the three witnesses to this event were slain as per our orders: A fat Gnome, the Gnome Tuomas, and the one known as Zenith. We left out the fourth witness, a Golem, that had been immune to the effects of what had disabled the others. The Ministry Mage asked to see the witnesses corpses and set to the task of impaling their heads with black spikes and preforming an arcane ritual. We were then escorted from the room and went upon our way, only to discover they had betrayed us and the cause of Io the next morning.

~Ascalon *Three claw marks made from a Kobold's hand dipped in ink are placed next to the name*

Grymia wrote:

Here is my accounting of what happened on the evening in question

That night, I had come to the Monolith to check in on guild affairs and to update myself on any notations that had been sent out. Seeing the Golems disabled save one which was out of control partially, I had assisted in temporarily subduing the Golem, after realizing that would be the best course in order to allow for analysis of what happened, and repairslater.

Remembering the Golem sentry upstairs, I travelled up there after and then found myself facing two individuals, a human male with brown eyes and bare-chested with pants, and a kobold manipulating the machinery within. I did not get a good look at the Kobold regrettably, however the human figure rather promptly quaffed a potion, and then rushed at me with incredible speed disabling me.

I woke up later in my Monolith quarters with the feeling that my memories had been somehow tampered with, and got on with my day.

Later, the human figure whom I described came to me. At that time I hadn't recognized him given the memory loss, so I spoke with him, where he transformed into his true form, that of Rras Rrarri and explained that there were Moles in the Monolith working for the Ministry of Magic, who were acting, due to certain ties Mister Ulrik was claimed to have had. He explained that myself, and another Magi (A female Elf whom after the mention of Shadowdancer and a very basic description made me immediately think to Zenith) , and an Engineer had been forcibly neutralized as we'd discovered what was happening.

At about that point, my mind seemed to rather.. suddenly be filled with the memories of what was happening. Connecting speed, physical power and combat prowess with what I'd seen of Mister Rras in the past, my mind realized he was the culprit and my defensive instincts took over from there and rapidly extricated myself from that situation.

It seemed Rras had a device, a copper tube with plugs at both ends that he used to appear human.

Tuomas Valo

Nivo wrote:

- Posted outside the now-evacuated and locked-down Monolith of Mystra

Zelly, on one of her stops to check on the sign she had left outside, sees the publicly-posted sign and nods. When she's outside the Monolith and asked why there was an evacuation, as tends to happen, she simply gestures to the posted letter, no matter who it is.

Bold move, The black figure shakes his head after reading the sign posted outside the Monolith and turns away with a heavy sigh. But I already have a war to fight.

Suffice it to say, the Commonwealth Center in Cordor goes into a tizzy, and many, many closed door meetings are going on.

A black clad figure sighs in irritation, a small, decidedly feminine hand coming up to touch a brow hidden by shadow and silk.
"We go back to the City. Let us listen for the whispers within. All is not finished there..."

And with that, a royally aggravated Katsumi stalks away from the empty Monolith, having returned once a day for nearly a week, for some reason.
Opening a greater gate, she vanishes.

*A dark robed individual sits in a high back wooden throne, his figured hunched over and face covered by low set cowl. The room is lit dimly by a single flickering candle, the light flicks across a piece of parchment held by the dark robed man. Slowly he nods folding the parchment and tucking it into his robe*

"Tick, Tick, Tick" time grows short, an it seems that ulrik an his associates are finally acting publicly. Are they desperate, or do they finally see the threat for what it is"

*The dark robed man sighs deeply as he rises and moves to exit his dimly lit office*

"Perhaps the rebirth and plans set to be will not go as smoothly as many had anticipated"

After some preparations throughout the last tenday, and more, Captain Tarvencia approaches the Commonwealth Center, in spite of it being closed and meetings being had. She provides her proper clearance, citing she has important information for the future of the Commonwealth.

"....Allies? I'm surprised the Monolith even has any, given what they have done so far. Simply further proof that She has finally decided they aren't worth it anymore. And also that Trusting. Rras. Is. A. Bad. Effing. Idea. Bah."

Sand turned slowly on the spot to his nervous-looking companion.

"Come, Sasha. We have so much to do, and so little time."

With that, a portal opened, and the figures faded.

A few days later, such is sent to Winya Ravana's Council.

A blond haired elf laughs at the audacity and spirits the letter away to careful deliberations...

Last edited by Xaviera on Wed, Apr 27 2011, 0:10 AM, edited 2 times in total.

The text of Xaviera's announcement on behalf of the Commonwealth Council is made available to the public. Copies are also delivered to the Monolith and to Kohlingen Keep.

The Minister of Health & Public Welfare wrote:

The Commonwealth of Cordor wishes to express its shock and dismay at the allegations made by citizens of the Holy City of Kohlingen and members of the Monolith of Mystra's staff in regard to certain alleged actions attributed to employees of the Commonwealth's Ministry of Magic.

The purpose of the Ministry of Magic is to act according to the decisions of the Council and in the interests of the Commonwealth. The Council wishes to state emphatically that it has no knowledge of any of the actions referred to in recent communications from Kohlingen or the Monolith, nor have such violent actions have ever been authorized by the Council.

The Ministry's Secretary, Citizen S. Pelczukr, has further assured the Council that none of the alleged actions have been taken by or at the behest of the Ministry and that he is unaware of who might have been responsible for the alleged acts cited in the Monolith's statement. The Council also notes that the statements attributed to various staff members of the Monolith do not, unfortunately, provide any names or other concrete information that might be used to identify employees of the Ministry or members of the Arcanum.

While it is true that many members of the Ministry are also part of the group known as the Arcanum (as, for example, officials of Kohlingen may also be members of the Triadic Knights), membership in one does not necessarily equate to membership in the other.

"The truth is that our fraternity is traditionally misunderstood when it is politically convenient for us to be misunderstood," stated Secretary Pelczukr. It is possible that these accusations stem from ideological differences between the Mystrans and the Arcanum, which may have led to unfortunate and misguided attempts by those with certain vested interests to impede the progress of power and knowledge of others.

Nevertheless, the Commonwealth of Cordor values its longstanding friendship with the Holy City and undertakes to investigate this matter most thoroughly. Secretary of the Ministry of Law Jay Edgar Mover will therefore be appointed by the Council to lead an in-depth inquiry into the activities of the Ministry of Magic during the tenures of Ministers Reyes and Tytalus.

As well, the Commonwealth invites First Knight Yaston Sylgerand of Kohlingen to observe and to assist in a review of relevant records and documents, as well as to present any additional information that may be in his possession that might facilitate the identification of any Ministry employees who may possibly have been involved in any alleged wrong-doing.

Finally, the Council commits to disable the portal from south Cordor to the Monolith, at least temporarily, in order to reduce tensions between the two entities.

The Council is saddened that its excellent relationship with the City of Kohlingen has been marred by these specious and unsubstantiated allegations and wishes to resolve these issues with honesty and alacrity. "I do not expect that we will find anything untoward," said Minister Maximillian, on ordering the inquiry. "I believe that the truth will speak for itself."

The Council looks forward to putting this unfortunate incident to rest and reiterates the Commonwealth's desire to host a visit by the Justicar of Kohlingen. "We long for his Holiness to visit and see the many changes we have been through," said Minister Maximillian. "Our people are eager to have his blessing on their new way of life."

And yet, Captain Tarvencia still asserts that she shall meet with the Council rather soon. She does not seem to be willing to give up her position, and pesters about it at least once a day.

Word finally reaches the Monolith, but not by Commonwealth courier.

"So, the whore can dance, can she?"

No word of Winya Ravana's involvement comes forth...yet.

A dance, not unlike the dance of a bladesinger...

Ty mused as he read the various postings regarding the issue with the Arcanum.

Politics, like a game of chess, one move, then a counter. Nevertheless... If the Arcanum is really foolish enough to use the power of the Ley Lines as a weapon... Triune help us. They know not what they do.

He left the postings alone. Slipping on his hood, he took his leave from the City of Water, a frown of worry and concentration upon his handsome face.

A shadow-drenched magi does seem to be spending some time in Cordor, walking about. Stroking his chin, hours, if not days. Just walking about the city streets.

Though nearly always under the guise of Invisibility and Shadow-shield, and Mind-blank.

[To Various Places as Noted] A "Game" of Diplomacy

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