Post by Gamemaster on Jul 11, 2007 20:17:45 GMT -5
Vortelan looks at the map and says, "I tell you I'm against any rebellion, but just for discussion, let's consider how it might go if there were one. It has been nearly eight hundred years since we fought the Zekresh. The world has changed. The Zekresh ruled an empire in those days. Now they rule the world."
"We had a huge number of fishing boats. Now we have merchant ships and you say you will build a fleet of warships. In those days, we had no cities. Now we have stone fortresses guarding our cities."
Vortelan considers the map further, "If we assume that you finish contructing your fleet and that it is, in fact, superior to the Zekresh Navy, then we would have control of the seas. The full might of the Empire would be slow to mobilize as we see from what is going on now. It would be even slower if we could prevent them from bringing troops in from the rest of the Empire by sea. Their forces on the Southern Peninsula would be almost irrelevant for a long time. But their forces in the North Peninsula, the Northeast, the North River region and the Far West could all be brought to bear upon us sooner or later. If we were prepared for a seige, we could hold out for months, perhaps longer. How would it end, though? Would we not eventually be worn down? Starved out of our fortresses? Would we not again end up defeated and again enslaved and lose all that we have built in nearly eight hundred years?"
Vortelan does not answer his own question. Instead he goes on to say, "We could strike at Zekran first. It would be a long seige, but we might be able to take it. Does it matter? The empire can be run from some other place. Rubanya is running most of the Empire from Yishil even now."
Vortelan now looks at Kortelan and states his conclusion, "It would be a mistake. The only way it makes sense is if we have powerful allies. The Slythians and the Feryllians at the very least. To cover us from attack from the hinterlands, we would need alliances with the Otlesk, the Tanan and the Forest People of Lorekan. To defeat the Imperial forces in the North Peninsula, that might be enough if the Verronese were unified and strong. But to defeat the entire Empire, even that would not be nearly enough. None of those are strong allies, not even the Slythians, though they are the strongest of the bunch. The allies we need don't even exist any longer. In ancient times, the principalities in the South were strong. If they still existed and were on our side, that would be enough. In the Bear Wars, the principalities were conquered before we were, otherwise they would have been our allies and we would not have fallen. There is another power in the South. The Kikali. They still plot revolt or so I am told by very reliable sources. The Grogians as well. If the Kikali or the Grogians or the former principalities revolt, or any two of those three, that would be enough to keep the Empire from drawing reinforcements from the South Peninsula. We would also need the Empire to be unable to bring troops from the other regions. Control of the seas would make the Plains and the Southwest irrelevant to us. It would also mean that troops from the Far West could only reach us via a land route through the North River Region. Conveniently, there is rebellion in the North River Region already. If it spreads, if it cripples the Imperial authorities there and prevents them from bringing troops from there or from points more distant, then, if we also had all the allies I mentioned previously in both peninsulas, then we could do it, but even then, only if we were strong, united and defeated the Zekresh Imperial Navy."
"We had a huge number of fishing boats. Now we have merchant ships and you say you will build a fleet of warships. In those days, we had no cities. Now we have stone fortresses guarding our cities."
Vortelan considers the map further, "If we assume that you finish contructing your fleet and that it is, in fact, superior to the Zekresh Navy, then we would have control of the seas. The full might of the Empire would be slow to mobilize as we see from what is going on now. It would be even slower if we could prevent them from bringing troops in from the rest of the Empire by sea. Their forces on the Southern Peninsula would be almost irrelevant for a long time. But their forces in the North Peninsula, the Northeast, the North River region and the Far West could all be brought to bear upon us sooner or later. If we were prepared for a seige, we could hold out for months, perhaps longer. How would it end, though? Would we not eventually be worn down? Starved out of our fortresses? Would we not again end up defeated and again enslaved and lose all that we have built in nearly eight hundred years?"
Vortelan does not answer his own question. Instead he goes on to say, "We could strike at Zekran first. It would be a long seige, but we might be able to take it. Does it matter? The empire can be run from some other place. Rubanya is running most of the Empire from Yishil even now."
Vortelan now looks at Kortelan and states his conclusion, "It would be a mistake. The only way it makes sense is if we have powerful allies. The Slythians and the Feryllians at the very least. To cover us from attack from the hinterlands, we would need alliances with the Otlesk, the Tanan and the Forest People of Lorekan. To defeat the Imperial forces in the North Peninsula, that might be enough if the Verronese were unified and strong. But to defeat the entire Empire, even that would not be nearly enough. None of those are strong allies, not even the Slythians, though they are the strongest of the bunch. The allies we need don't even exist any longer. In ancient times, the principalities in the South were strong. If they still existed and were on our side, that would be enough. In the Bear Wars, the principalities were conquered before we were, otherwise they would have been our allies and we would not have fallen. There is another power in the South. The Kikali. They still plot revolt or so I am told by very reliable sources. The Grogians as well. If the Kikali or the Grogians or the former principalities revolt, or any two of those three, that would be enough to keep the Empire from drawing reinforcements from the South Peninsula. We would also need the Empire to be unable to bring troops from the other regions. Control of the seas would make the Plains and the Southwest irrelevant to us. It would also mean that troops from the Far West could only reach us via a land route through the North River Region. Conveniently, there is rebellion in the North River Region already. If it spreads, if it cripples the Imperial authorities there and prevents them from bringing troops from there or from points more distant, then, if we also had all the allies I mentioned previously in both peninsulas, then we could do it, but even then, only if we were strong, united and defeated the Zekresh Imperial Navy."