Honestly, Huseby, I feel like you're being willfully ignorant as some type of bad diplomatic gimmick. I appreciate your dedication to sticking to the party line, but I don't think you're fooling anybody.
We sent someone to talk to you guys (me, to Valdien and Peppo). They assured me that someone would get back to us that night. No one showed up. Less than an hour before the battle the next day, you demanded we retreat (essentially disbanding our largest force and arming your castle to the teeth) for a mere 10k gold or you'd declare war. Of course we refused, instead asking to continue work on a deal after the battle, still considering the fief 'yours' for negotiation purposes and avoiding having to deal with a transfer at a later date.
I came back to IRC after the battle, found you'd disconnected and made this thread. It's painfully obvious to the most casual observer that you guys really just wanted to cut your teeth on something, and we were the first opportunity presented. We know it, you know it, everybody knows it. Just admit to it and give up the pretense of some kind of justified war. You're only doing more damage to your own credibility by refusing to acknowledge it.
I'm not being ignorant at all here. Yes, we were to get back to you guys that night, which apparently never happened (me and Devilize are the diplomats, and neither of us was available later that evening). That didn't happen the night before. But you were aware at that time that if we were unable to come to an agreement, and you didn't retreat from the battle, or didn't return it immediately afterwards, then we would be at war with you. That was your choice to continue the attack, was your choice to tell us that you would keep the castle if we didn't come to an agreement.
An hour before the battle I started talking to Shik and then about 30 minutes before talking to Tydeus. We were unable to come to an agreement, and anything we agreed to, Tydeus made a stipulation that he'd be keeping the castle.
We weren't looking to cut our teeth on anything, I explained in the original thread what we wanted for the castle. Unriya village and 250,000 gold. That was our starting offer, Tydeus came back with Unriya and 30,000 gold, which is not going to fly for giving up a castle without a fight.
At any point in time you could give us back the castle and we'll call off the war. I said that from the very first war declaration. The ball is entirely in your court. Give us back the castle, and then we can try to negotiate for it. If we can't come to terms after we have the original castle that was in control of our vassal, then we'd trade it over to you. If not, then we'd keep it. But at least we wouldn't be at war over it. Until we get control of it, or come to a negotiation that both parties accept, we will be at war.
This isn't our hostilities that caused it...and that is the only thing that should be painfully obvious. You feel like you're being oppressed, which is understandable when the 400 lb giant is sitting your chest, but you're the one who took our little brothers bike and have refused to give it back. Give it back, and we get off your chest.
