[Spoilers] Pericles of the Graeco-Mayans

[Sylon]

Rhodos is founded. An updated look at the borders reveal that that with circumnavigation, I can strike at Arad without Mackoti even seeing my galleys beforehand.

Speaking of Mackoti, it would appear that he is spending all his EPs on me- Our EP ratio is 61-49, a difference of 12 points in his favour. I still have vision on his graphs, however.

Pegasus seems to be building his military- his power is equal to mine at 54000 soldiers. To recap, I have three warriors and four chariots, three of which are accompanying the settler to the drop zone. Neither Kodii or Mackoti have shown any signs of a build up. Kodii, in particular, has a low power graph, meaning he hasn't built any skirmishers yet.

I am second to my fourth city, and would be first to my fifth had I founded Korinthos this turn, but as I happen to be gunning for Wonderland that will have to wait. Alas, I am last in food and population, as a result of all my whipping.

Also, it appears that the long delay before Ruff's second city was his building of Stonehenge.

[Sylon]

Here you can see my three planned cities. Olympia, my original planned city, was decided upon way back, when I started building the chariot in Sparte. New City was my next planned city, upon learning of Second and exploring Wonderland a bit more.

Today, however, I thought about it a bit more, and decided that the Non-intrusive city spot is better. It is fairly rich (Though not Olympia rich) and worth settling, yet unlike Olympia it does not wedge itself right between Kodii and Mackoti. With the N-I-C, I can play Mackoti and Kodii off each other, while Olympia will serve to create a MacKodii alliance. And no matter how nice the alliance name might sound. I'm not sure I can hold onto a combined assault of both of them at once, this far out, even with Olympia's resources.

My three chariots are on their way to safeguard the Settler, and afterwards take Vandal. Thanks to the Noble difficulty barb bonus (I suspect Kodii may have overlooked this) they have a good chance of winning.



Here's the power graph for today. Kodii has no skirmishers (Or he might have one, that blip on the power graph near the end), and I know for sure he has a spearman in his core, since my workboat caught sight of it, so I doubt he's ready to assault Vandal just yet. Skirmishers, by the way, make huge power blips on the soldiers graph.

Speaking of which, I wonder what Pegasus is doing? Maybe he got Iron Working or something.



And finally, to sign off this segment with this screenshot of the Roughlands. I'm pretty sure that Quecha was meant to be headed in my direction... Speaking of which, it's already 10 exp

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Finally, I have a question for you chaps in the audience: Do you think I should settle the N-I-C, or should I stick to Olympia and honor the home of the gods? I've got archery and Olympia has a river connection to the sea back home, meaning it has copper, and if I settle it on the hill it is nearly impregnable. Nevertheless, the long-term consequences could be fatal.

[Sylon]

And on to diplomacy. Continuing on from the last message to Kodii:

[COLOR="LemonChiffon"]Sylon,

Thank you for the offer of Open Borders. You may have noticed that my warrior has entered your borders, as per what we discussed earlier. I hope you do not mind that I explore your wondrous lands, and in exchange, you may do the same with mine.

Out of curiosity, why is it that you are cut off from the islands? Surely if you have accessed them with your workboat, you must have at least some claim to them?

- Kodii[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Cyan"]Dear Kodii,

Mackoti's borders have cut me off from the islands- or more specifically, the archipelago. More specifically, during my initial explorations of the island chain to my NE (N of Mackoti) my workboat was pushed to the East by the third border pop of Mackoti's capital. I could, in theory, still settle the islands North of Mackoti's lands, but they would be far flung out and a logistical nightmare, as I would have to loop around Mackoti's borders to send troops back and forth. As such, I am effectively cut off from them. I do, however, have a single island, disconnected from the rest by said borders- that would be the newly founded city of Rhodos.

Feel free to look around in my lands. Alas, they are considerably less glorious than I have hoped. This does not exactly bode well for my future prospects.

Sincerely,
Sylon[/COLOR]

Which culminated in this interesting reply:

[COLOR="LemonChiffon"]Sylon,

I am saddened to hear of this map misfortune. I do, however, congratulate you on your successful expansions thus far!

mackoti is in the process of negotiating a NAP with me. I certainly hope that does not interfere with our own positive relationship, as it seems that the relationship between you and mackoti could become strained. Let me know if you have any particular stance on the agreement between myself and mackoti.

- Kodii[/COLOR]

My first thought upon reading this was 'How can I use this?'. Truly, such thoughts are a testament to the deviousness of my mind. In the end, however, I decided to respond with the truth-

[COLOR="Cyan"]Dear Kodii,

Relations between Mackoti and myself are fine at the moment. I am, myself, not particularly interested in the islands; even if Mackoti's borders were not in the way, they would still be fairly far-flung out. I intend to focus more on the mainland- a more 'French' doctrine than 'British' one, I suppose.

I do not have any particular stance on agreements between Mackoti and yourself, and can assure you that it will not affect our relationship in any way. Unless, of course, the agreement happens to include a 'gang up on Sylon and plunder his cities' clause.

Unusually sleepy,
Sylon [/COLOR]

An interesting thing to note here is Kodii's seeking of my viewpoint on an NAP between Mackoti and himself. This could mean that either he is not particular keen on an NAP with Mackoti, to the point that he is willing to let someone else influence it; or that, at this point in time, I am the closest thing he has to an ally and does not want to alienate me. I suspect I'll find out more once I open diplomatic channels with Pegasus.

On a separate note, the 'focus on the mainland' statement will prove to be fairly prophetic. If I am France, does that make Rhodos Corsica, poised to strike at the heart of Italy?

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Speaking of which, I need to hear from you- does this diplo color scheme work, and does it make reading it easier?

[Sylon]

[novice]

Olympia looks fairly suicidal N.I.C looks nice. Maybe 1S or 1SE of N.I.C. is better - I always like my aggressive settlements to be on a hill.

[Sylon]

I agree that Olympia is suicidal. The thing is, N.I.C. or Cyan dot is, well, not Pink. That is to say, it falls entirely within my jurisdiction and I have a valid claim to the land. Or rather, it's on 'my side' of Wonderland. Which kind of defeats the purpose of a Pink Dot.

Also, moving S will cause me to lose the dyes, which would be my only source if I settle N.I.C. And since it's not aggressive, there's no problem there. Though, now that I look at it, moving SE will help if I grab Vandal, since that means I can place a stack between the two cities in order to respond to enemy movements. Even better, thanks to the Silver Hill tile, it's not forkable by enemy cavalry.

[Sylon]

Thessaloniki has been settled. My chariots march (drive?) onward- but it seems I am not the only one looking to vandalise the Vandals.

Also, despite the whopping ten turn delay, I am still first to my fifth city. Unfortunately, Thessaloniki has a maintenance cost of a whopping 7 gold per turn at Size 1. In any other situation, this would be a Very Bad Move- but thanks to Thessaloniki's gold tile, I should be able to recoup my losses easily. Same with Vandal's silver.

Amusingly enough, Thessaloniki shows up as 'City of Thessaloniki (Liberate)' on the trade screen with Mackoti. Wretched trade screen.

Oh, and of course, you already know this, but Kodii built the GLH. Pegasus is still at three cities, which means he was either going for the GLH or the Oracle.

Or, perhaps, he's trying to rush Kodii or Mackoti, judging by his still-growing power graph.

[Sylon]

The Vandal Question has been resolved. I was one turn- One measly, wretched turn too late.

Now, on to diplomacy. I've been working hard to make sure Thessaloniki was not perceived as aggressive, and to maintain my diplomatic standing, and I'm glad to say it turned out well.

First, the Kodii correspondence.

[COLOR="Cyan"]Dear Kodii,

Congratulations on the Great Lighthouse! This is sure to tip the trade deficit in your favour- I might have to ask you to raise the value of your currency one of these days!

Greetings aside, you will notice when you get the save that I have founded the new city of Thessaloniki. This city is located on the western periphery of the Wonderland- that is to say, the central area.

Our relationship thus far has been characterized by openness and has benefited greatly from the free exchange of information, and thus I shall continue to speak openly and frankly.

The city of Thessaloniki is a landgrab. Undoubtedly, you would already have realised this, judging by the distance between Thessaloniki and my other cities. The lay of the map has forced me to be more aggressive than I would like in securing land, as I do not have coastal islands to fall back upon after mainland expansion is finished. Nevertheless, I do not intend to antagonise anyone, and sincerely hope that our new proximity will lead to greater cooperation, not antagonisation.

Which leads me to the next point. The Vandal question. Right now, as is stands, I have a chariot in range, Mackoti is sending an axe south and will arrive in several turns, and for all I know you might have a skirmisher in the fog preparing to attack it. Whichever way it ends, it will leave one or more parties unhappy.

Ideally, I would like this situation to be defused through diplomacy, as opposed to turning against each other over it. Alas, I do not have a clear idea of how to resolve it- and as such I will have to ask you if you have any ideas on it. I am sure that none of us would like our relations to be frayed over this.

Sincerely,
Sylon[/COLOR]

This was sent prior to my realising he had an axe just outside the city, naturally. At this point I was still expecting to be first to it.

[COLOR="LemonChiffon"]Hello Sylon,

I have not had the chance to look ingame this turn yet, but it is very logical strategically to place Thessaloniki near the centre. How close it is, I do not know, but I do not anticipate any problems. In fact, I hope we can benefit symbiotically from our closer borders.

As I did not expect Vandal to be of any issue, especially as my third city was initially intended to be in the exact location, I already have the city under seige and am in position to capture it this turn. I feel like this is fair for my share of the centre, and it would be too extreme of a land grab from either you or mackoti if you were to capture it. I hope you agree. It is also for that reason that I didn't think it necessary to contact either you or mackoti regarding the city.

I greatly appreciate your openness towards me, and I hope that this can continue in the future. I can tell you that I have founded my fourth city in a disputed location between myself and Pegasus. We will see in the next few turns what may happen of it, but it could entail war. I certainly hope not, as I like to play peaceful.

- Kodii[/COLOR]

Kodii's openness with his positioning of Boundary confirms my previous suspicions- that right now, he thinks of and wants me as an ally. More so now, since I can actually interfere in Wonderland.

Also, it would appear Kodii does not know the meaning of 'periphery'.

The part on having Vandal under siege was corroborated by my exchange with Mackoti:

[COLOR="Cyan"]Dear Mackoti,

As you would have noticed (Or will notice, depending on whether you read this before or after playing the save) I have settled in Wonderland. I understand you were planning to settle a second city in Wonderland- in which case I hope I did not accidentally settle in your planned spot- That said, perhaps you might have been planning to settle in Central or Eastern Wonderland, seeing as that is where the floodplains are concentrated?

It seems that we are now neighbours- May we continue to get along. I hope there's a housewarming party waiting for me.

Sincerely,
Sylon[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Yellow"]ITs allright i am not that greedy to want all for me, WE will have a litle border tension( as i will setlle on the top of the hill), i want like us to be freiends for a long period. Perhaps you notived that kodii did build the great lightouse, and he is about to get s free city(ye he has an axeman near that barbarian city where your chariot is). I realy dont know which is the order of playing but that one is a level 3 city , with 2 warioirn in it.So as a see things he has GL, same number of cities, so we need to work togheder in central area.
I have an axe and a spearman in central area , with the axe i was hoping to raze that city, but seems i am to late.
Hope this email will remain beetwen us.
regards,
Mackoti[/COLOR]

So far, so good. Mackoti trusts me enough to reveal his troop deployments, which says a lot. More importantly, he isn't trying to kill me as a result of my planting of Thessaloniki- though it doesn't have any overlap with Second.

Diplomacy continues, but for now I'll get some rest. I've been nursing a fever the past few days, which is why my diplo has been substandard lately.

[Sylon]

I hope you're not bored of it just yet.

[COLOR="Cyan"]Dear Mackoti,

May I be able to persuade you to settle a little further to the East? There is a site which has both gems and gold, along with two corns and a sheep tile just further East. It is just North of the city of First, and if you do not settle it I suspect Kodii will. And honestly, I'm not particularly eager to see that city in his possession.

There is, of course, the danger of Kodii settling on the hill while you settle further East, but the way I see it, it is fairly unlikely. To settle on the hill would be to create border tensions not merely with you, but also with me. Furthermore, the hill settlement will be of little use to him, surrounded on three sides and squeezed by the culture of our cities.

Therefore, I feel that the best course of action is to settle the Gold/gem site, blocking off Kodii's northward expansion and depriving him of a powerful city site. In order to dispel any suspicions between us, I will promise not to settle on or near the hill myself- indeed, I will not, and have no intentions, of settling any more cities in Wonderland. (More importantly, my finances will buckle under the weight of it).

I would very much like to hear your thoughts on this.

Sincerely,
Sylon[/COLOR]

The reasoning here is fairly simple- Gold+Gems+2Corns+Sheep= Holy mother of commerce sites. It's out of my reach, so I would rather see it controlled by the weaker and less skilled Mackoti than the veteran Kodii.

[COLOR="Yellow"]This site is very inportant for me, because ther are the only incense resorce and wheat from my side of the map, and beside that i have room for only 2 cities more, and i am happy with just getting like my first ring, and i am afraid if a im not doing that kodii will settle a city there too.
And now beeing honest with you I wasnt happy with you setlling there but was your righ move to do that so i think is a good play from you.
I want that hill and i want a city there becase my other city is seen by me like a production city, this one will took the gold, the gems,if i dont get that wheat because you are a creativ civ is still enough food for me there.
And btw i have no intencion in any agresion towards you for a very long time, hope you 'feel"' the same abot me.
Hope you dont see this like an agresiv move on my part but i have litle choise about that(you still have places for like 5 or 6) cities beyound the one from the midlle and Ruff seems veryy slow on geting land.
From what you played until now and developed until now i believe you are the strongest but dont forgot Kodii got GL.
Sorry about mixed message, and about diplomacy.I am just honest ( never done diplomacy before).
a good day,
Macedon(ye that my name)

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i wrote the message before opening the save, and i after i think is even more important to plant there , why:
if not kodii wil get the best to sites from game (ye just check that barbarian city is greater then my central one), and him getting all the tiles with no chalenge seem just stupid from my part.
At least i will chalenge him for incense and 1 or 2 floodplains.
regards,
Macedon[/COLOR]

His messages are getting harder to read, but his honesty is appreciated. Thanks to his frankness, I'll be aiming to get a holkan and archer in Thessaloniki sooner rather than later.

Well, I can't say I'm terribly surprised. If I were in his position... I would be a little miffed. Of course, I would be more worried about having lost Rhodos, but that hasn't came up even once.

Also, Second is better than Vandal by far. I'm not sure if it's simply a case of greener grass, or if he's trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

War forecast: Slightly cloudy with chances of rain.

[COLOR="Cyan"]Dear Mackoti,

I have no qualms with you settling on the hill, but was merely proposing an alternative choice. The wheat will go to your city, as it will be in your city's first ring of tiles.

It would appear that you see my placement of Thessaloniki as an aggressive move- that much I cannot deny. Our relationship thus far has benefited greatly from honesty and open flow of information, and as such I shall be completely honest with you here: Thessaloniki is a landgrab city.

As you know, and can easily confirm by exploring my lands, I am utterly cut off from the island chain to the north. Everybody else seems to have access to the island chain- at the very least, I can confirm that Ruff, Kodii, and yourself have access to it.

Due to the extra hammers and turns spent building galleys and ferrying settlers and workers to and fro the islands, most players would not bother settling them until the mainland is thoroughly settled. This means that every player will go for their share of their mainland, ending up with more or less equal land areas- then, and only then, will they go for the islands.

If I merely expanded at a regular pace, I would end up with more or less the same number of cities as everyone else on the mainland. At this point, everyone else will proceed to found more cities on the islands, while I... Do absolutely nothing, since I have no access to them. In the long run, I would end up losing out in sheer number of cities.

This forced me to settle Thessaloniki. By pushing my borders forward, I hoped to make up for the lack of island access. I can assure you, nevertheless, that I have no more intention of settling in Wonderland- one marker city is enough.

I hope my explanation wasn't too long and dull. I hope that the peace and cooperation that has benefited us so well will continue between us.

Sincerely,
Sylon[/COLOR]

He sent a reply several minutes later:

[COLOR="Yellow"]I see the city plant like a bold one and i congrat( i dont know the exact spelling) you for it, and you deserve that city because you went such a long way, and i am sure you are paying likje 8 gold per turn now for it, what i dont like is like someone to get a free city( ye no work for that) free experience and from what i know like 60 maybe 70 gold from taking that city.I see that you have open borders with him i will not open my borders for him.At some point i think you will put to choice what you gone do, i hope we will be good enough friends like you to choose "the right side''
regards,
Macedon[/COLOR]

Well, either he's playing a very complex bluff or relations between him and Kodii have tanked quite nicely. Oddly enough, Kodii appears to be more concerned with Pegasus- Much of the Mackoti-Kodii rivalry is actually imagined on Mackoti's part.

I'll post my communications with Kodii next turn or so, once the Boundary crisis plays out.

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Speaking of which, I've been wondering for a long while, but how do you check the event and combat logs?

[Jowy]

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