[Spoilers] Peace and Purity - Einion Logos of the Elohim

[WarriorKnight]

Nothing happened on turn 5.

Since PB asked so nicely () here's where the Unique Features are:



Maelstrom in the bottom left corner, Ring of Carcer at the top and Mirror of Heaven on the right.



Bradeline's Well in the top left, Mirror of Heaven at the bottom left, Pool of Tears at the very top, Pyre of the Seraphic below that, Guardian of Pristinus Pass south of that and Remnants of Patria right below the Guardian.



Remnants of Patria at the very left, Tomb of Sucellus in the middle and Letum Frigus at the bottom right.



Yggdrasil at the far right, Dragon Bones at the bottom, Standing Stones at the top left and Broken Sepulcher just below that.



Maenalus at the far left, Seven Pines at the top and Odio's Prison below that.

[WarriorKnight]

So, diplomacy has begun:

Greetings!

the age of ice has passed, and this land is coming to life again. Finally, we can settle down, and thus do the first step in allowing our people to thrive again. We are pleased to have received reports from our scouts stating that the same holds true for your people!

We, the Ljosalfar, believe that the best way towards a blooming of the new life of both of our nations is to leave the ruthless, warlike spirit of the age of ice behind, and enter a symbiotic coexistence. There are certainly many ways for us to benefit from each other. For instance, one immediate possibility to do so would be an exchange information about this land. We will go ahead and share some of our knowledge with you: our settlement is located to the north east of yours. Apart from some goblins in the far north (whose aggressivity unfortunately did not decrease with this new age), you are the first foreign people we meet.

wishing you the best,
Nyktorion of the Ljosalfar

Bordering the elves is a mixed bag. On one hand, they're a builder and Elohim fare particularly well against them thanks to Treetop Defense and the Chancel. On the other hand their worldspell will stop any rush attempt.

More concerning is that he has apparently found my capital, and my warrior is 3 tiles away from my city. Being an elf, he can double move on forests and since he only has scouts he has 2 moves, which means he can kill me if he wants to. The only defense I have is sanctuary, but I really, really don't want to use that and even then he can negate that by being on 3 of the 4 corners.

[WarriorKnight]

I sent this back:

Welcome!

The order of the Elohim is always pleased to encounter new civilizations. May the wisdom of Sirona be with your people as you rebuild your civilization to its former glory.

We also believe that we need to enter a peaceful co-existence in order for us both to survive in this world. I need to see the next turn before I can say more but I'll share with you that you are also the first civilization that we have met.

WarriorKnight
Elder Monk of the order of the Elohim

So yeah, I'm not saying much for now but I really need to see where his unit is before I do anything else.

[Mist]

Bordering the elves is a mixed bag. On one hand, they're a builder and Elohim fare particularly well against them thanks to Treetop Defense and the Chancel. On the other hand their worldspell will stop any rush attempt.

He needs Way of the Forest for that if I remember correctly, so if you want to squash him before that, it's by all means possible.

[WarriorKnight]

He needs Way of the Forest for that if I remember correctly, so if you want to squash him before that, it's by all means possible.

True, but I'm certain he'll have that tech by the time we're ready to attack. If he doesn't, well then there's a possibility there.

Speaking of which, I'm sidetracking too much with non-essential techs. I should probably just get Mysticism, Crafting, Agriculture and Education before going after Priesthood.

[WarriorKnight]

Just as I feared :



I have no idea what I should do. Should I contact Nyktorion? Should I cast Sanctuary? Or should I just ignore it knowing full well that I'll probably be eliminated?

I'm currently leaning towards threatening Nyktorion with Sanctuary and at least get out of this with my worldspell intact. Or I could cast it but then I would be down one awesome spell.



Mist, any advice?

[Mist]

Ehh, this sucks. Firing worldspell at this point would hurt a lot. Try to bribe him, or just agree to NAP, alliance or whatever he wants. Fire sanctuary only if negotiations break down, but make him aware it makes him first, main and only target for the remaining of the game.

[WarriorKnight]

Sent this:

Greetings

I find myself in the position of having to come to the negotiation table with you. Your scout is located in an extremely threatening position with the potential to knock me out next turn. Naturally I don't want that to happen, so I'm asking you what do you want in exchange for not killing me?

Keep in mind that if we don't reach an agreement, I can cast Sanctuary to protect myself. However, if I have to do that then there will be no turning back, and you will be my first, main and only target for the rest of the game.

WarriorKnight

Not the best message ever, but it should hopefully do.

[WarriorKnight]

OK, so I live and get a 20t NAP and he won't pop any dungeons 6 tiles from my borders in exchange for me not popping the broken sepulchar. Went just about as good as we could hope for. Also we got a contact agreement where we inform the other if we meet anyone.

I was kinda wanting to pop the dungeon with my scout but it's no biggie. Unfortunately my scout ended next to a griffon, so it might not live much longer. Better than dying though.

[WarriorKnight]

Greetings, WarriorKnight, wise elder of the Elohim!

indeed, neither of us would benefit from eternal hostility. Such a scenario would likely shrink both of us into insignificance compared to other nations in this land.

So, we would already see plainly signing a non-aggression pact (NAP), thus relieving your fears of our scout's ability to enter your capital, and building up a good relationsship, as a desirable result for us. In fact, we did not even know that your city was undefended before you entered these negotiations.

Still, since this situation already puts us into formal agreement negotiations this early, there is one more issue we would like to settle at this point. Between our two settlements, there exists a large dungeon called the "broken sepulcher", which is a bit closer to our settlement than to yours (6 tiles from us, 8 tiles from yours; and we started even closer than that before settling down). It might either contain a great treasure, or vile monsters, which would likely turn on us after being stirred up. Would you agree not to enter this dungeon (on the condition that the distance information we gave is truthful, of course)? In return, we would of course agree not to enter any dungeons in your vicinity, either, such as the one right next to our scout.

So what do you think of this: we sign some kind of NAP (what kind exactly would the Elohim like best?), the Elohim agree not to explore the broken sepulcher, and the Ljosalfar agree not to explore any dungeon in a 6-tile radius around the current Elohim capital?

best wishes,
Nyktorion of the Ljosalfar

me: hi
finally got here
20:11 nyktorion: So, what do you think about the suggestion I sent you?
20:13 I hope, the dungeon suggestion is nothing too much out of the ordinary (I would have even thought of making such a proposal in a stand-alone way at some point)
me: no, i'm fine with that
your proposal seems acceptable to me
20:14 nyktorion: I probably could have demanded more in exchange for sanctuary, but I'd rather get some good relationships in the beginning than earning me a grudge for too high demands
me: as for the NAP, i don't really know, how long would you like?
let's just quickly fill out the details so i can send the save on
nyktorion: since you're a builder, too, you can probably see the value of good neighbors, too
20:15 hmm...
we could either make it just 5 rounds, so you can be safe right now, or already think of something that we would have signed in the next 10 or 20 turns otherwise
me: i cant really imagine either of us doing a warrior rush or something like that
nyktorion: me neither
20:16 me: anyway, let's make it 20 for now so i can send the save on, is that ok?
20:17 nyktorion: ok, let's make it 20 turns for now, and then renegotiate some turns before it runs out
me: yep, signed
nyktorion: so 20 turns NAP, plus the dungeon agreement?
sign
me: yep
ok, now to play the save, brb
20:20 ok, save played
20:21 i appreciate that you didn't demand much for sanctuary
20:22 anyway, so the NAP is until t26
20:23 nyktorion: including T26?
me: sure why not?
nyktorion: anyway, we should start renegotiating some time between 20 and 25
20:24 me: yeah, that's a good idea
also, do you want a contact agreement?
nyktorion: you mean - if we find a new civ, we tell each other about it?
me: yeah
nyktorion: certainly
me: not sure what else we could do this early
20:25 nyktorion: seems to benefit both of us
me: ok, consider it signed
nyktorion: /sign
me: definately

Heh, Nyktorion thinks the Elohim are a builder civ. That might not end well for him. Of course, he chose not to eliminate me and gave me a generous deal, so I kinda owe him something for that.