Thank you for this announcement, my Lord and my Lady. Given the diplomacy
that has been passing between us recently, I hope that you will forgive us
for our misunderstanding. When someone announces their intent to seize
your territory, and the next turn someone rides into that territory
attacking garrisons, you tend to assume that the two someones are the same.
But it seems we were in error, and we apologize to Lady Eowyn and Sir
Codric for being premature.
We also commend the Crimson Alliance for coming forward and taking credit
for the attack, instead of leaving us to blame it on those innocent of it.
For those keeping score at home, then, based on the LoC announcement
above, at this time the Inner Circle does NOT consider itself to be at war
with either the New Empire or the Lords of the Crown. Both alliances are
still asked to recognize our claim by Feb. 1; any GCA members who wish to
attempt to hammer out a diplomatic solution before that deadline are urged
to contact us. If the deadline passes without acknowledgement from them,
then we still will probably not "declare war" against them, but we may be
forced to conclude that they have de facto declared war against us.
Since Cendage of the Crimson Alliance has publicly admitted to attacking
our garrisons, evidently we ARE at war with them. If any other members of
"Operation Vulture" wish to reveal themselves, then we are probably at war
with them, also. Negotiations are underway. It is possible that all of
this has been the result of a huge misunderstanding, but that's only
speculation right now.
Our conditions for peace are what they have always been: recognition of
the boundaries we claimed in the Times on turn 39. We are not opposed in
principal to a rebuilding of the New Empire somewhere in the vicinity. We
are willing to act as a "buffer zone" between the New Empire and PLATO, or
to allow some neutral party such as the Rimmon Musketeers to come in and
administer such a zone (to name a few of the proposals we've heard bandied
about). We still believe that it is just barely possible for heroic
diplomacy on all sides to defuse this crisis. That is all.
The Illustrated Man, whose shop is now buried waist deep in maps, lead
soldiers, and diplomatic couriers