Ermor please. This sounds like it has the makings of a great game. I'm thouroughly enjoying our role played diplomacy in the Greenrow game Tifone, I look forward to more of the same here.
I've read Machiavelli's
The Prince, it's a great book although personally I prefer Sun Tzu's
The Art of War and the lesser known
The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracion.