500 BCE RP

I salute thee, dear friend and neighbor! My name is Theron, of the city of Acragas. You have doubtless heard of my victory in the Olympic chariot race.

It is my good fortune to share a border with so wise and illustrious a ruler, and I consider that it will be mutually beneficial to come to an understanding. Be it known unto you, that I have no designs upon any of your territories, indeed I desire only the closest friendship and cooperation, and therefore I lay open to you my innermost desires.

My city, as you know, is ruled over by the cruel tyrant Loki Odinson. But it has been revealed to me by the Oracle that I am to liberate my city and become its ruler, and it is my divine mission to bring this to pass. Indeed, my desire is to unite all of Sicily under a single crown. Alas, my forces are too weak to face the vile Loki alone. I ask therefore for your assistance. Of course you will expect something in return, and I am prepared to negotiate. I could offer, for example, to raise a part of my army, should you require, to assist you in your wars. Naturally, any such agreement will also include unrestricted access and preferential treatment for your merchants. What say you?

Oh yes, I have heard of you and your victory from the old and wise Lucumo of Vetulonia. He is wiser than many and knows alot others don't - results of chariot races and much other about you Greeks as well as much about other nations and peoples, although I don't believe you are interested in the old and wise Lucumo of Vetulonia.

You, Theron of Acragas request aid from the Rasna to fight against Loki Odinson, the tyrant of Syracuse and Gela, promising you only want good for us and the people of Acragas being told by the great Oracle that you will liberate your dear city? How do you fit the interests of the Rasna into this?

Lars Porsenna, the greatest of the kings of Clusium still bitterly remembers how Cumae came to the aid of his Latin enemies an the old and wise Lucumo of Vetulonia still remembers how the Etruscan army was destroyed in Cumae 24 years ago. Why should we help you?

Even if you, Theron would promise to make up for the crimes of Cumae, the Lucumo of Vetulonia knows one truth better than others, Lucumo is a king of peace, so why should the kings of peace support your war?

If your answer are satisfactory, I will non the less consider joining you.

I think we should first evaluate the options and our situation, before decide. My personal opinion is about that:

In either way, I have to keep some of my troops in Ionia, as a precaution against a Persian attack. So, it means that if you attack Thrace, unfortunately I may not probably be able to send support you much in terms of military.
On the other hand, if we fight on two fronts, we can defense on one and attack on the other one, so basically it gives us flexibility. But, we're outnumbered against the Persians and our forces may not be as huge as we can do this, so fight on two fronts might be risky as well. Also, if we would choose this, we would be have to choose if we would attack from where. Because the Persian navy is numerically superior than ours, and it might be a problem for us.

If we all fight on Asia Minor, we would have concentrated our forces in one front. But we shouldn't forget that the Persians are numerically superior, so then we should find another advantage (and/or plan) to defeat them in a standard battle. Though, I think this option looks reasonable.

By the way, one of the disadvantages of Persians is their huge territory. They have to keep some of their armies on their other territories against a possible attack. We can use this too.

Also, in all options, as a precaution, I agree that we should keep some of our forces in Greece and the Aegean Sea, as Manfred von Richthofen has already suggested.

And what are your opinions?