The Scales and Feathers Treaty
The Scales and Feathers Treaty is an agreement between House Avis and House Sauropoda that may or may not actually exist in written form. This agreement represents an alliance between the two Houses, but the details of it are debated between the two sides. There is even some question as to whether or not the document exists in a written form at all, or whether it was simply a back-channel verbal agreement that holds no legal water.
Purpose
According to Sauropoda, the Scales and Feathers Treaty was intended to reunify the two Houses. Avis isn't so sure. There are whispers among the Avisians that the purpose of the Treaty was to increase the Sauropodans' power base, and bind Avis into their service. Others are happy to accept that the purpose of the Treaty was to form an alliance against the Undead Horde for mutual protection, but aren't so sure about this "reunification" business.
Historical Details
History
According to Sauropoda, in prehistoric times, House Avis was founded by an offshoot of House Sauropoda, who was more interested in change and advancement than the traditionalist Dinos. Eventually, their descendents evolved into the birds, while the Dinos were knocked back to effective extinction when they could not adapt to the changing conditions of the world caused by a meteor strike. To King RPGDinosaurBob, his responsibility to reach out to House Avis in the hopes of reunification, especially since he was closer to the Avis philosophical bend, was clear.
He contacted Cryssalia, the Penguin Prinx and then leader of House Avis, to try to bridge the gap. Over a closed-doors phone conversation, he asked House Avis if they would return to House Sauropoda, at least for the length of the April 2022 Tourney of Tales, and he would make Cryssalia his Heir. They agreed, and the Houses reunified.
Then... the Penguin Prinx disappeared during the following Tourney. Conspiracy theories abound, especially since this did not happen during a Word War. While nobody knows the truth of the situation, there are suspicions on both sides. House Avis suspects the Dinos might possibly have had something to do with it, while House Sauropoda has their doubts about whether or not Regent EGryph, who assumed the Regency in Cryssalia's absence by popular acclaim, might have been clearing a path for her own ascension. As for the Regent, she has been chasing every possible lead in an effort to discover what, exactly, happened to the Penguin Prinx and the Avisians who were with them, although whether this is because she wants to avert suspicion, because she suspects Sauropoda suspects something, or simply because she is deeply concerned for her own reasons, is impossible to know for sure.
When Sir Egryph came to the Avisian Regency, she was stunned to hear of the agreement between Sauropoda and Avis, because this was not a matter that was broadly discussed among House Avis... although that might simply have been because whatever misfortune befell the House descended upon them immediately after the agreement was made. She demanded to know what the terms of the Treaty were, and basically, how this benefitted House Avis. She was overheard more than once calling the agreement a "back alley deal," and clearly had some reservations about honouring it.
Lord Captain Dazzlinkat brokered additional terms of the agreement. House Avis was ceded part of Sauropodan territory, which was formerly the Canadian province of Quebec. There was, however, even misunderstanding around this agreement; Regent Egryph got the impression that they had been given "the northern territories," and believed that ended at the former US border. She understood that Avis had been given a small strip of land beneath the Great Lakes, and had no idea this agreement included a vast swath of territory, part of the Northwest Passage and up to the Arctic Circle, until Queen Sable Aradia of House Lapin approached her to negotiate about trade and air traffic through the region. The Sauropodans said they had made this offer because the Penguin Prinx wanted a colder region with good migratory routes that would suit both the flying birds and their beloved penguins.
However tenuous, the Sauropoda-Avis alliance held through the rest of 2022 and The Third Word War, as well as early 2023, and was certainly a key factor in the victory of House Sauropoda and their claiming of The Iron Tome.
The conditions of the war, however, left a sour taste in Avis' mouth. King Bob's leadership style rubbed the Avis Regent, and other House Leaders as well, the wrong way. As Queen Sable put it, "he seemed to be more about giving commands than listening to suggestions." The Regent was offended, feeling as though her Birbs had been treated as an adjunct to the Sauropodans, not an ally. Further, technical difficulties with the Sauropodan drones during the war fueled suspicions, as the Avisians were promised drone support against the Undead, and often found the drones ineffective in the mists of the swamp in which they were fighting.
To make matters worse, several Literomancers simply disappeared during the Third Word War, including a number of Sauropodans and Avisians. To this day, what actually happened to The Missing is a mystery that confuses and alarms everyone. The Regent couldn't help but wonder if this misfortune was really unconnected to everything that was already ruffling her feathers.
Regent Egryph made arrangements for her Birbs to go on a Migration, which they hadn't done for some time, to House Chiroptera close to the start of The Fourth Word War. According to her, her reasons for doing this so close to November was simply that she lost track of time; but House Sauropoda viewed this, and the closing of the Avis Embassy in the Georgia Pines, as the breaking of the Treaty. The Regent claimed she had no intention of breaking the alliance, but "King Bob is not her King."
House Sauropoda fell early in Word War 4. They view their "abandonment" by Avis as one of the major reasons for their fall. House Chiroptera, with Avis' support, went on to win the war and claim the Iron Tome.
Things remain tense between Sauropoda and Avis... and now, the Regent has also disappeared without a trace.
Public Reaction
Public reaction, as might be expected in the face of such controversy, has been extremely mixed. Some hailed it as a historic event that was an important step in healing millennia old wounds. Others viewed it as a sneaky sellout.
Term
The length of the Treaty's term have never been fully specified, which is part of the source of the controversy. If the agreement was in perpetuity, then Sauropoda's claims that Avis violated the Treaty may be justified. If the Treaty was for a limited term, even if that term was the lifetime of the Penguin Prinx, then Avis is perfectly within rights to consider the agreement null and void. If the Treaty was simply an experiment for the April 2022 Tourney, the term of the agreement have long passed. Thus far, however, Avis says that they continue to honour the alliance. It is unclear where the Dinos stand, since they believe Avis has already broken it.
This article is a work in progress, and may be subject to changes.
This article is part of a series related to streaming the Game of Tomes. For more information, see Streaming Game of Tomes.
Type
Treaty, Diplomatic
Medium
Digital Recording, Audio
Authoring Date
March 13, 2022
Authors
Signatories (Characters)
Signatories (Organizations)
RPGDinosaurBob by RPGDinosaurBob
EGryph by HeroForge
House Sauropoda by DaniAdventures/ShyRedFox
House Avis by Misades
Comments