[The Panther]

The Great and Most Powerful Ruler of All, the King of Flames, the holy dragon Smaug himself is going to start his own little war in approximately two turns.

A certain annoying pretender, who stalled the game for several early turns and was summarily booted, has left behind a stupid enemy composed of Chinese weaklings. That worthless pretender does not deserve to survive unbloodied in the Land of Karan.

My advisors tell me that the stupid Chinese enemy has somehow managed to build a powerful force of celestial soldiers. However, we of the mightiest race of them all, the one-and-only true god of Pythium, knows that those celestial soldiers will melt before our might.

Even knowing that simple fact, the Great and Powerful dragon Smaug will offer the nearest neighbors (such as the peaceful sailors of Vanheim and the fliers of Caelum) the golden opportunity to carve into this wimpy Chinese empire.

However, the Great Dragon Smaug does hereby claim the capital of the Chinese, plus all five provinces adjacent to said capital as his own. This even includes the watery province numbered 142. Let it be known to all parties concerned that Smaug will fight bitterly for these claimed provinces.

But Smaug has grwqaciously allowed the lesser nations of Vanheim and Caelum to fight among themselves over the other provinces which will soon no longer be owned by the weaklings of T'ien Ch'i.

Smaug does reserve the right to also annex a couple more provinces in the far NW corner of the map if the battle for the T'ien Ch'i capital goes well and quickly. However, due to the peaceful nature of his neighbors, Smaug hereby promises that he will not take those provinces if said neighbors manage to grab them before before Smaug gets around to annexing them.