Codexia goes forth!
The treaty of friendship with the Phyr was warmly welcomed by most sections of Codexian society. It presented this young and vibrant people with enormous opportunities. A new market was now open to Codexian traders, and enormous quantities of goods poured over the rapidly lengthening mutual border almost immediately. The Phyr, for their part, were courteous and cordial enough. They proved to be a temperamental, boisterous people – braggarts, in truth – with some very strange tendencies. One characteristic they shared with Codexians, however, was that they hated losing. And Codexian intel services suspected that their war with the Turanei was not going nearly as well as advertised, from the get-go. As such, the frequently dropped hints regarding a possible alliance between the two peoples were politely ignored by Codexian diplomats.
The ursine creatures exhibited a great deal of patience, at the beginning. But that palpably turned to disdain and then outright scorn over a period of some years. Accusations of cowardice and intransigence were liberally thrown around, even as trade continued to flourish, and we began to understand the space bears more thoroughly. They seemed to be growing desperate. The Raumen agitated against the Phyr influence in Codexian circles of power, casting some aspersions of their own against the six-limbed critters. It was a tangled web these aliens wove. Matters would come to a head soon enough, in any case. In 202AU, Codexian border vessels received a number of distress signals. Automated outposts and individual explorer vessels were being picked off by an unknown enemy. The Phyr pointed their stubby little fingers at the Turanei – and, sure enough, video logs of what seemed to be Turanei warnings recorded in Phyr and Raumeni languages were left at a number of attack sites.
The situation was growing dangerous. If the Turanei were aware of human entanglements with the Phyr, they might assume that the friend of their enemy is their enemy. Were they behind the attacks? Or was it some kind of Phyr scheme? Shortly after the incidents began to occur, Raumen diplomats informed the Codexian government that they had convincing evidence that this was all, in fact, part of a Phyr plot to draw the Codexians into the Turanei war. Trust was quickly becoming a premium quality. The Codexian people, upon learning of the attacks, began vehemently calling for a decisive response. As the situation continued to unfold, a very interesting offer was laid on the table by the Phyr.
‘The lizard scum attack you. They attack us. We fight them together. You... you get our stealth technology. Much glory. Great riches. Do you not want great riches? We friends. Lizards have no friends. They make only enemies. Be wise.’
It seemed a simple enough offer. But its even more surprising Raumeni counterpart bore other enticements:
‘The Phyr are no friends of yours, human-clan. They are no victims in this war. Many apologies for not telling you sooner, but Raumeni have many disagreements with Phyr. A shameful history. They chose war with Turanei. Stay out of this fight. If you do, we provide you with favourable trade terms. You will grow fat and opulent – our promise to you.’
Myriad options suddenly present themselves...
Do you... trust the Phyr, and mobilize for war against the extremist Turanei?
OR
Do you... trust the Raumen and merely strengthen your border defences against further attacks from any party?
OR
Do you... take matters into your own hands and try to determine the intentions of the Turanei directly?
OR
Do you... take this opportunity to sever your ties with these treacherous alien creatures? Codexia the Brave, Codexia Uber Alles!