The Ghost Ship Message Board: A War of Words (Venway Splits)

Contraversy. Conflict. Intrigue. It was all wrapped in a sugar-coated package by the bloodthirsty scions of a media which served to protect the freedoms of the Confederation's people through information and critique, and to damn those same freedoms by injecting propaganda into every ear and eye and mouth of every person who read the Sunday papers, who listened to the subversive political programs that silently filled the air until projected by radios, who paid a portion of their weekly wages to go to the theatres.

The Capitol Building's Theatre of State Affairs shook with applause and discourse as two speakers squared off to begin a duel of words as the entire Parliament met together to discuss the future of the Venway Confederation. On the top of tonight's agenda was the issue of war with the malevolent Iron Nation. The recent skirmish with the tiny "rogue state" had pitted a giant against a rat, an empire against a single city. It was surprising to some in Venway, that so many people even knew, much less cared, that the threat of war with the disparate troll nation existed. The media had fufilled their office well.

Amongst the more prominent spectators for tonight's affair was Cypress Dreadslay, Leader of the Mutiny Alliance - a faction which had come to symbolize the military might of the Confederation. It acted openly as the "personal army" of Venway's dominant Nationalist Party, something which gave the politicians hailing from the rightist camp a defined edge and a visible presence of intimidation in nearly every matter brought to the Parliament floor.

But there was a new movement which was taking the Confederation by storm, especially in the heart of Nationalist power - the capitol of Venway herself. They professed to represent the liberal philosophers and humanitarians of the aristocracy, and the working class citizens who's labor fueled a war machine instead of a country. They claimed to desire peace with even the Warlock Order and their satellite states, and though the ideologically-driven Nationalists were growing more and more aggressive in their attempts to silence the dissenters, they only found more rhetoric for their propaganda-cannons and more fist-waving followers for their political mob.

They were animals bred by a destructive war and they wanted to end it all, but their naive ideals were too good to be true. Weren't they?

We are a future of peace and unity. The Nationalists are a past of war and bloody discord. You make the choice. The decision to excel in the future or to drown in the past rests with each of you. As individuals we are nothing, but as one, we are unstoppable. Van Dresden assures me that Kislev is burning! And why? Because the whole of the East continues to bow down before Vennish Nationalism, before Vennish HYPOCRICY. Before the the Vennish ELITE. Tell me, glorious people of Venway, will you continue to let the decisions of the FEW dictate your lives? Or will you stand up as one yet speak as MANY and make decisions for YOURSELF!

Words of Ozkar Veiko, leader of the upstart political party and Socialist extraordinaire.

This was the age of decadence, of nihilism. Nietzsche had seen it and so, too, did Cypress Dreadslay and the inner circle which truly ran Venway.

Prime Minister Matthew Van Dresden was still the man behind the greatest victory in Vennish history. From occupation to empire, he had lead a revolution of paperwork and words while his point-man, Cypress Dreadslay, fought with sword and fire and Van Dresden had emerged as the elected head of state for the most powerful country in the East. His speeches before the Parliament and before the Vennish public had captivated and mesmerized a nation during a time when her survival was at stake. He advocated everything which the Mutiny Alliance fed upon - aggression towards the enemies of Venway, militarism as a means of security, and a take-no-prisoners mentality when it came to punishing those who had wronged his people. His charisma was a scepter which commanded the swords of his knights. His persona was cold, lofty, detached and cool. Yet he was passionate when it came to his country. He was the type of man one seemed to just want to have as the leader of the country. His smile was the type that one saw only once a century.

I have a small quarrel with Veiko as a moralist. His politicking is the type which poisons nations. The kind of viperous dissent which has, since antiquity, cast empires under the shadow of liars and bureaucrats. For the people, Veiko, you claim to act. For the people, Veiko, you fund your campaign with money garnered from bankers and industrial barons in Galen Thal who have dealt with the Warlock Order. For the people, you oppose retaliation against the Iron Nation so that every OTHER nest of vagabonds and disenfranchized bandits will see our resolve caving in on itself and put BULLETS into the bodies of our children as they use YOUR NAME as a warcry. Speak not to me of MY people, you base political animal.

Cypress Dreadslay smiles as Van Dresden delivers a rebuke to Veiko's opening statements, beginning with a calm, detached smile of derision and ending it with a climax of verbal blows which fling the Socialist ringleader upon the ropes. He nods his approval and rises to his feet with the rest of the Nationalist camp, who disrupt the debate for a good five minutes of cheering, name-chanting, and relentless applause.

The Prime Minister nods politely, maintaining a solemn expression until the cheers subside once more into an undertone of whispers and discourse. Matthew smiles politely to the crowd, and then nods to Ozkar - keeping an impecable veil of civility raised even to his rival.

You say I undermine the military of the Confederation. You say that I would put the people of Venway in jeopardy. You say that I am funded by Warlock Order sympathizers. I say that is nothing but pure, unadultured SLANDER, Your Excellency. The Galen Thal Commerce Ministry, which I was employed by before my election to this council, has helped millions rebuild their shattered lives. They represent the liberated people of Galen Thal, not the dictatorship of the Order. We are at peace, yet we act as if we remain at war. Why? What keeps the swords of Venway brandished when, as the Nationalists continuously shout, "The Warlock Order has been defeated" ...? Why does the Mutiny Alliance have the power to conduct secret operations, at the obvious risk of innocent bystanders I might add, against fugitives that should be pursued by local police authorities. I question all of you, and charge you to provide ANSWERS. Not to me, but to the people I represent. The diverse, yet united, people of the Venway Confederation. But I already have the answers which they will not give to you. Fear is their greatest tool, my people! They want you to fear them, to see the blackclad, masked gunmen dragging bloodied prisoners out of the Ghost Ship and to feel like ants beneath the oppressive monolith that is their war machine. They are FEEDING upon the tragedy that just occured, calling it glorious and grand and a wonderful success - when in truth we only fought because we were forced, AS WERE THE SOLDIERS OF THE WARLOCK ORDER. It was a horrible calamity that left a deep and gaping wound that must be healed - NOT left to infect into what government of the Confederation has become!"

Now it was the Socialists' turn to make noise. Their radio stations blared the words of the party's Director into the ears of thousands outside the Capitol Building as well. Veiko's cunning riposte was perfect in timing. He had allowed Van Dresden to advance and make himself believe that he was winning, only to be brutally countered with a reminder of just how many of "his people" now stood behind his rival. The noise from cheering crowds of supporters and converted neutrals echoes even from outside the building. Inside, even some members of other parties also showed their support for Veiko's passionate speech.

Cypress remains seated, he lifts his chin thoughtfully as he hears Veiko condemn the Mutiny Alliance and brazenly tear into the Prime Minister's rebuke, comparing the Nationalist government to a rotting wound.

A revolutionary must have courage and conviction in his cause, above all things. He must not balk at the knowledge that his adversaries command great power and posess devestating capabilities to destroy. Although Cypress was a firebrand of a different sort, he knew a capable rebel when he saw one. Veiko was very dangerous.

Van Dresden remains stoic, not about to be trampled by the onslaught of the Socialist ringleader's counterattack. He knew he was trailing his rival in the game of debate right now, but for how long?

You desire answers, Mr. Veiko? Then I shall give them to you, and to the people whom you boast to represent. The Mutiny Alliance SAVED Venway from an enemy unlike any other, just as it has SAVED Venway time and time again from every foe who wished to take away her sanctity and strip freedom away from her people. You seek divide a solid house, Veiko. How DARE you attempt to blacken the name of courageous patriots who have made this city, this country, this Confederation the nation that it is today. Regarding the Mutiny Alliance's leadership of the campaign to rid the East of terrorists and criminals guilty of genocide, slavery, persecution, torture, and a thousand other unspeakable crimes against every culture that the Warlock Order sought to vanquish, I believe that Cypress Dreadslay has proven his capability in handling the Order's agents in the War, and should be trusted to continue to do so. The Iron Nation's callous attack upon the Ghost Ship was orchestrated by the Warlock Order for the sole purpose of aiding one of their most dangerous officers' escape from Venway. The M.A. special forces prevented, once again, what could have been a major loss of civilian life. And yet... you say they are here to make the people afraid of their government?

Ozkar Veiko takes a drink from the glass of water sat beside his podium, and adjusts his posture curtly. Van Dresden was a dragon in the political arena - a most deadly enemy, no matter how skilled the orator facing him might be.

Please refrain from placing words into my mouth, Your Excellency. I never claimed that the Mutiny Alliance's goals are not patriotic and that their service to Venway not admirable. However, I do question their current agenda. Their record is not impeccable. While the soldiers of Archos Godslayer were disciplined and benevolent in their liberation of the occupied lands - the Dreadslay family ordered execution after execution of Galen Thal nationals serving as officers in the Order's army. In the invasion of New Camelot, as well as many other chapters of the conflict, Cypress Dreadslay himself ordered that NO PRISONERS what so ever be taken by his troops. Conscripts of Galen Thal who tried vainly to run from Dragon Legion execution squads were gunned down and bayonetted mercilessly by the Mutiny Alliance forces. Others trying to run for their lives after seeing that the cause they fought for was futile were ruthlessly strafed by the M.A.F. It is no wonder that when Galen Thal finally fell, entire communities had fled in terror to surrender to Archos instead of to Cypress. THAT is why I say they are being used as a tool by the Nationalist party to inspire fear in others. While the Westlock regime was despicable, and the Order's war machine was far MORE brutal than any other involved in the hostilities, how can anybody condone this sort of behavior on the battlefield? Is that the sort of legacy that Your Excellency wishes Venway to leave upon the East? Be advised, YOUR PEOPLE do not share such a view.

Wartime censorship had left a mantle of silence over the brutal reality of the now romanticized "Great War."
Now that so many of the soldiers had returned and prisoners of war released back home to Galen Thal, the horror stories of what really went on began to surface more and more with an anger that had ensured that the Warlock Order's greatest legacy would be that the people of Galen Thal would forever loathe Venway for what had been done to them during the war. It was this bitterness that Veiko, who's mother hailed from Hagalz and father from Odindrust - both killed during the Great War, hoped to ease. But for any progress to be made, the M.A. had to take responsibility for what had been done.

Cypress stares coldly at the upstart dissenter. He wanted to cut the fucking mage's throat so baddly, but he knew that unless Veiko instigated a true attempt to topple the government of the Confederation in any way save legitimate debate, that it would be futile to make him a martyr. He frowns, icily observing the conversation as it darkens, both sides using the Mutiny Alliance as a rallying cry. One calling them saviors, the other denouncing them as butchers. As the crowd murmers and debates within the hallowed halls of statesmanship, Cypress voice sifts into the Prime Minister's thoughts. Come on, Matthew. Defend me, as I've defended you. You know I have your back.

Cypress lights a cigarette. His example is followed by several other nervous Nationalist leaders, who pass notes and whisper like subdued school children as they plot to deliver a serious dose of political revenge for this outrageous display of blasphemy against the Confederation. War was murder. Sheer, bloody murder. If you weren't willing to be a killer then you might as well save your enemy the trouble and blow your own brains out. How dare this Socialist dog seek to damn the saviors of Venway with his bile of self-serving rhetoric.

Van Dresden stares his opponent down, coldly delivering a calm and resolved reply. This was for keeps, now.

I would like to caution the Director, that he is dangerously close to making himself appear as an traitor, a sympathizer to our enemies, and a blathering imbecile who believes the Vennish people to be an ignorant mass of collective screaming pawns. But I will save you the trouble, my friend, and hang you before you committ total political suicide.

Cypress Dreadslay's orders were severe, but they were given as part of a desperate measure in a very desperate time. As all truth-speaking war historians and informed citizens of the Confederation will note, the Warlock Order drove their troops into combat at gunpoint - forcing them to die for an uncaring dictator who sat complacently and securely in his palace and raked in gold from their spilt blood and shattered lives. The officers of the Order's army were the ones who made this possible. They are the ones who carried out Jaelen Westlock's heinous orders. The execution of officers was not unjust. These men were not innocent, they were not conscripted peasants, they were the willing participants in a machine of genocide.

As for the "strafing of defeated troops" well, they were not retreating, they were REGROUPING. This tactic employed by Cypress' MAF saved hundreds, if not thousands of Vennish lives. It IS tragic that such harsh measures were necessary. But I would remind you that we were in a state of war. A war in which the enemy had shown a willingness to kill indiscriminantly at every oppurtunity they got. It is logical to suggest, then, that the relentlessness of the M.A. served to save many Galen Thal lives, as well - as the FEAR engendered by it forced the Warlock Order to surrender long before they would have against a "benevolent opponent."

In other words, Veiko, there is only one way to deal with bullies. Become meaner, but still maintain adherence to one's ideals.

The "Take No Prisoners" policy was administered largely as a psychological tactic against the Order's troops in New Camelot. Archos' forces had already claimed much of the South, so the North was depleted of its reserves and left with plenty of places for unwilling soldiers to run. Logically, the only ones who ran forwards enthusiastically were Dragon Legion elite forces - fanatics that almost always prefered a fight to the death anyways. And, after they were eliminated, the "Take No Prisoners" policy was lifted and never put into place for the remainder of the campaign. YOU are twisting the truth to benefit your own agendas, once again. Exactly who do you believe you are debating with, Mr. Veiko?

Ozkar lifts his hands in a surrendering gesture to the rising tide of ominous boos and shouts directed to him at the Prime Minister's will. He takes in a deep, steadying breath and speaks.

I am not a military tactician. I have seen the ruins of Odindurst after it was laid to waste by the Order's villains. I have also visited Hagalz, and seen the backlash of Baron Doriztenz's Reign of Terror in Galen Thal. I am a humanitarian and a spokesperson of the common man and woman, not a general or a prince. I have no use for your rationalizations, Your Excellency. I will remain true to what my own conscience tells me. That war is a HORRIBLE THING. And that the duty of the Vennish government is now to avert it at all costs, and not to harbor it and nuture it. You can not stop war with violence, my friends, only with leniency and charity. I know that there will always be a necessity to have armed forces who are there for DEFENSE. But keeping a vast military machine ruled by a single ARISTOCRATIC family that is there for the preservation of violence and aggression is wrong. We are at a cross-roads, my people, I ask you to take the path of humanity and not of vengeance. It time for a change. And it is time for ALL OF US to rise up as ONE and DEMAND that our leaders make changes now... Or it might be too late tommorrow. Thank you and good evening, everyone!

At that was that. Perhaps a stalemate. The followers of both statesmen claimed a victory for their camps tonight. As Cypress follows Van Dresden out of the Theatre of State Affairs, the moment is captured forever by a hundred different flash bulbs. A conversation between the two men, shrouded in silence and secrecy. The contraversy was elevated to unparalelled demensions, now. Venway had not been so close to a civil conflict since the Clan of Mist was in power...