Hucbold Trying to Drag TCol into Server War?

Her Imperial Majesty, Zenorra of TCol has today forwarded me a message from His Most Serene Grace, Hucbold, Duque de Bragança, Víðarr of the Æsir relating to the recognition of the TCol's establishment of a Kingdom of Mal Moshta
The message goes as follows:
Greetings Your Imperial Majesty

The last time we spoke, I indicated that it might be possible for The Æsir to recognise your claims on Mal Motsha. However, you cut the discussion short with an ugly and unnecessary act of ethnic cleansing, wiping out our two peaceful towns in the territory. As this was our only communication, I have been somewhat surprised at the negative and aggressively hostile attitude taken by you and your ambassador towards me in GC. However, I am a forgiving lord and sufficient time has, I feel, passed for us to tentatively explore the possibility of recognition of Mal Motsha as a Kingdom in its own right.

Obviously, at this stage I have very many venerable and ancient allies and friends who are also interested in this situation. For some time I have been nudging them towards the benefits to global peace and prosperity which nations states can bring. I have to be honest and say that not all agree. In truth, some are vehemently opposed to the idea. I do feel, however, that I can represent a significant number of alliances and that given the right conditions it may be possible for us to reach an agreement that would involve the recognition of Mal Motsha by peacable and respected Elgean alliances.

Here are the issues of concern:

1. The 'newb ring' now touches Mal Motsha. We want new players to be able to choose their own direction and allegiance. We would therefore expect that towns spawning in Mal Motsha would be allowed to stay unless and until they join other alliances and that they would be allowed to settle another town within a reasonable distance of the first.

2. We believe that players not alligned with an alliance should be able to settle anywhere there is space, subject only to clearly established local custom and practice. That would include a limitation on army size and a ban on scouts to enable local authorities to verify army size.

3. We believe the territory of Mal Motsha is the limit of the land claim. Mal Motshans are free to live outside Mal Motsha but are subject to local laws and customs.

4. In furtherance of point 3, we believe TCol should rename itself Mal Motsha.

5. We note the declaration by the Empress that she is responsible for all military action in Mal Motsha and accepts responsibility for all military actions by Mal Motshans. We trust that this means that any military action emanating from a confederated town in Mal Motsha is a military action by Mal Motsha.

6. If this agreement were to happen, we would expect Mal Motsha to enter NAPs with all participating alliances.

If Your Imperial Majesty believes that it might be possible to address these concerms to our mutual satisfaction and is prepared to indicate that to us, then I will more strongly persuade my colleagues as to the wisdom of this action and would indicate to you the alliances that might be interested in pursuing this course.

Given in friendship, this 18th Day of December, by His Most Serene Grace, Hucbold, Duque de Bragança, Víðarr of the Æsir


TL;DR version:
Hucbold begins talking about Aesir recognising TCol's claims on Mal Moshta, accuses them of ethnic cleansing and then forgives them for it because he's such a nice guy
He says a lot of his friends don't like the claims but he might be able to pacify them
Hucbold then states that noobs and unaligned players should be allowed in Mal Moshta
Next he confirms that TCol will be allowed outside Mal Moshta and asks that they rename themselves Mal Moshta
Hucbold then asks for NAPs and a confirmation that Zenorra is responsible for the actions of TCol and its confeds.
In return for all he asks, he says he will try to convince his friends that the TCol claims on Mal Moshta are OK.



Attached with the message was TCol's response:
Hail Hucbold (Spartacus?),

Let me begin by complimenting you for the effort of writing such an embellished mail. Tcol is always happy to hear from alliances that recognize its rights as a sovereign state. However, the remainder of your writing seems to build on a flawed foundation; that is to say, the belief that recognition of our sovereignty is subject to negotiations. 

Given the abrasive nature of your IGM, which seems to belie a great deal of underlying grievances, we sincerely considered replying with the utmost brevity. However, we will give you the courtesy of replying to some of your points, if only to correct any false assumptions you may hold.

Everything that happens in MM is dictated by TCol. Our sovereign borders are absolute. No neutral entities are suffered on our soil. Your sincere concern for newer players is noted, and we assure you that they are treated fairly. We will not, however, suffer outside meddling in our business with them. We do not judge the rest of your Issues of Concern worthy of a serious response. 

Due to the tone of your writing, a new grievance has arisen which should be addressed. Tcol does not engage in acts of ethnic cleansing, and we will require an apology for any suggestion to the contrary. Furthermore, we would like to inform you that we do not require your forgiveness for an event that stemmed from your own lack of leadership and communication. 

We hope this answers any questions you and your...erm...very many venerable and ancient allies and friends might have had. We realize you will probably decide to rescind your offer of friendship, and feel additionally grateful for our own allies, who have seen fit to recognize our sovereignty without precondition. 

Grombrindal and Zenorra

In IGMs with me, Zenorra stated that she believed this was an attempt by Hucbold to 'drag us [TCol] into the war'. This could be due to Hucbold's statement that he has 'very many venerable and ancient allies and friends who are also interested in this situation.' 

Given that this is likely the same set of allies and friends who are fighting the current server war, one must wonder at the wisdom of Hucbold risking a new enemy given that the war is far from conclusion, especially given that TCol are on Aesir's doorstep.

When asked to comment on this IGM, he first tried to suppress his publishing and then stated that there had been 'alterations to the text'. However, he refused to state what these alterations were.

It should be noted for those who attempt to suppress the publishing of IGMs on this site, in the past I have had problems with the DEVS in relation to the publishing of information related to the DEVS punishments of players. I was informed during these problems that as long as there was no link to articles breaching the rules in the forums, it was permitted by former Community Manager, GM Rikoo. 

-Eowan The Short