//------------------------------//
// Treaty (edited by Cakebomb) 
// Story: Rise of an Empire, Fall of Another 
// by Kyuubi325 
//------------------------------//

Minyororo Kuvunjwa
3 hours after successful sneak attack on trade caravan
Farming Chamber
Lawrence and Ivo sat at the table, watching the zebra elders and Shujaa go over the reports of the attack. They were also going over piles of folders and photographs that depicted the military equipment that was loaded only a few kilometers off shore. The eldersseemed interested in the few weapons they had brought with them; they spent hours trying to find any sort of enchantment or magic on the weapons their solders were given, despite Ivo explaining that the weapons had none. They looked closely at the weapons, trying to understand where their killing power came from. It was at that point Shujaa spoke up.
“Kwa miaka pundamilia mlionifuata wamegundua kwamba njia pekee ya kupambana na wababe wa vita wengi katika nchi yetu ilikuwa na msako barabara na potions yaliyotolewa na waganga wa asili na kisha kwa savage nini tunaweza kutoka wreckage. Lakini leo naweza kusema sisi kuwa na ushindi kweli kijeshi. Kwa mara ya kwanza tulikuwa na uwezo wa kuchukua chini msafara wa biashara kwa kutumia silaha. wakati wengi wa watu wangu bado ni hofu ya mambo yajayo Naamini kwa msaada wako tunaweza kuacha kuishi na hatimaye kuchukua kupambana na makambi Balsams na si tu kuifuta mbali yake mbaya lakini wababe wote ambao hata siku moja hajaona kurejea majumbani mwetu kwa majivu. Kisha kwenda kwenye kuniambia kwamba mbali mataifa yetu mwambao kuwa kuna Navy kusubiri kubeba kwa melini na silaha hata hatari zaidi na askari. Mimi katika hasara, kwa nini kutusaidia? Fedha? Rasilimali? Power?”
(For years the zebras who have followed me have found that the only way to fight the many warlords in our country was by trapping the roads with the potions made by the herbalists, and then to salvage what we can from the wreckage. But today I can say we have had a true military victory. For the first time we were able to take down a trade caravan using weapons. While many of my people are still scared of what is to come, I believe that with your help we can stop surviving and finally take the fight to Balsam's camps. We can not only wipe away his evil, but we can crush all the warlords who have seen it fit to turn our homes to ash. Then you go on to tell me that off our nation's shores there is a fleet of ships waiting, loaded to the decks with even more dangerous weaponry and soldiers. I am at a loss; why are you helping us? Money? Resources? Power?)
Ivo was the first to answer, standing up tall and looking directly into Shujaa's eyes. He took a deep breath and appeared to be in deep thought, trying to choose his words and translate them at the same time.
“The reason we are helping you is because you remind us greatly of ourselves. I have heard that your people have had run ins with the descendants of those who fled from our land. Do you ever wonder what they were fleeing from? A few years ago we finished the bloodiest war in our empire's history against the cruelest of this world's creatures. I see that in your eyes you can guess what I am taking about; our people fought the dragons…. Long before the war truly started my people were but slaves to them. We were forced to toil in their mines, mining precious metals and gems for their consumption. They used us like livestock, like we were animals! They enslaved our people and destroyed many of our achievements, simply because they were beasts who knew only greed and hunger! It was during the great revolt when my people discovered how to fight them: taking advantage of their weakness, Valdium. To this day we don’t fully understand its properties, but with it we were able to pierce their hides like a sword through fabric because it negates their internal magic. Even when my people pushed them back with the discoveries left behind by our ancestors, they continued to fight, refusing to except their loss, even when we pushed them back to their homeland. We continued to advance in technology even as they sent raiding parties to destroy us and our homes. After nearly 200 years we were able to push our way into their homeland destroying their nests and children. But it was also at that point we learned why they enslaved us….. Their entire land was little more than rocks and ash. Thanks to their own greed they destroyed their homeland and reduced it to ruins. We realized what we had to do; they would never stop spreading, and their kind can only destroy, so we resorted to desperate measures; we wiped them off the face of our continent. When my people look at your's it reminds us of the struggles we have faced, and when we look at the many warlords we see the same cruelty and greed the dragons had. When we look at you we see ourselves….”
Ivo looked around the room to see the reactions of the different Zebras, and then focused on Shujaa. He seemed surprised to hear what he had to say; he looked at the documents that they had spent the last few hours going over. While cut and dry it had a great many things tied to it, including the future of his people and how they may be seen by the others up north across the badlands in Equestria. Ivo watched as Shujaa took a deep breath of his own and signed the paper. He passed it to the elders, who then signed it themselves. Shujaa finally spoke up.
“Wewe na kuthibitika wenyewe kwetu wakati hata mimi mwenyewe sioni ni ajabu kwamba kuvuka bahari kuu kuna nchi kubwa ... ..an himaya kwamba dunia yetu bado kuona, mimi kupata mwenyewe kulazimishwa kuona kwa macho yangu mwenyewe jinsi kubwa duniani kweli ni na wakati sehemu ya mimi ni hofu ya nini mkataba huu utaleta mimi sioni kwamba ni katika watu wangu maslahi bora kutia saini yake. Wakati wengi wa watu wangu hofu nini baadaye ana kwa ajili yetu mara moja kaskazini kujua kuhusu hili naamini kwa watu wako kusaidia tunaweza kufanya Zebrica taifa kwamba kufanya nao kufikiri mara mbili wakati wao kuangalia nchi zetu fadhila kubwa na utajiri. Kwa muda mrefu watu wangu ilibidi taabu kwa wababe mkono na dada mbinguni tu hivyo kuna nchi inaweza kufanikiwa. Kwa muda mrefu wamekuwa akapata utajiri wa nchi yetu kwa msaada wako tunaweza kujenga wa jiji hilo ambayo nje kuangazia yao wenyewe!”
(You have proven yourselves to us. While I myself find it unbelievable that across the Great Ocean there is such a great country…..an empire that our world has yet to discover, I find myself forced to see with my own eyes just how big this world truly is. While part of me is scared of what this treaty will bring, I find that it is in my people's best interests to sign it. While many of my people fear what the future holds for us, once the Northerners find out about this I believe with your people's help we can make Zebrica a nation that will make them think twice when they look at our lands great bounty and riches. For too long my people have had to toil for warlords supported by the Celestial Sister's just so their country can prosper. For too long hae they reaped the riches of our lands; with your help we can build cities that will outshine their own!)
After Shujaa's speech, Ivo and Shujaa reached out and shook, paw to hoof. Smiling, they walked onto a stage, showing to everyone that the treaty had been signed. It was at this point Lawrence excused himself to send the all clear to the fleet off the coast, and gave the order to prepare their F.O.B.