I think the main conflict with the Dwarves is that both Cyl and them are to stubborn and unwilling to let things go. Once we go to Leath we could probably salvage relations though. Since Leath seems to be the type that just wants to keep the peace rather than expand or get revenge like his father. At least that is how he comes off to me.
+1
Cyl does not have a personality that is real or stable in the normal sense, but I have been trained by the course of his reign to play Cyl more aggressively than I would/will with Leath. This informs my pattern of votes. Thus when we did play Leath I sided against Cyl even when I think Cyl's actions were fairly defensible, because Leath's mind is not Cyl's mind. Even if you consider this sort of imputed stuff to be pointless, then mechanically Leath's charismatic trait is better suited to pursuing negotiations on every side than to losing yet another war against the dwarves.
Which surprises me that you people don't take the easy route and just butter dwarves up with cash v;
Which is why it is dangerous to omit the discussion of money in dwarven dealings. Then we are only left with an disastrous cycle of hatred.
Replacing it with an apparently endless cycle of extortion is barely more palatable, though.
And more specifically to the vote at hand, I just don't understand what purpose is served by making a history of our lands into an anti-dwarf screed. If the book has no effect (unlikely in this game) then we wasted an opportunity to glorify ourselves instead of dwelling on our enemies. If it has a bad effect, our pettiness may go so far as to trigger a third invasion,
when the army is in the same shape as during the second. But what is the good effect?
(Serious question. I don't have a guess.)
If we must have revenge, well then revenge is a dish best served cold.
We, the brain trust of Methiant, are hardly likely to forget. We don't need to remind the NPCs before we have the means to follow through.
Maybe they feel threatened by human nations now that they've started advancing out of medieval stasis? Humans destroying Zasitost would have been unthinkable not so long ago.
And I would suggest that Zonalath
seems to be a softer target than Ankurvat in case our future bends toward a more dwarf challenging status. And when Ankurvat has no backup . . . . We'd have to be very strong but we are innovating.