A Golden Crow Marches South

[Ark 2835]

 

Siguine Barbanov arrives in Brelus from Haense with little pomp and celebration, atop a sable black destrier in ferrum barding. Accompanying him are the men of the Brotherhood of the Golden Crow. He hails the gate guard and enters, dismounting his horse and approaching the cathedral of Brelus in measured stride. He greets those he passes with polite nods, and knocks upon the cathedral doors.

 

They open to his entrance, and he unhooks his saber from his belt, resting it outside the place of worship. His men do the same, and he enters to find a room filled with the leadership of the Ducal Coalition. After making pleasantries with the assorted men, he approaches the altar, where, standing upon the first steps leading up to the plinth, he calls for order and speaks to the gathered crowd.

 

---

 

When the first sovereign, King Andrik Vydra, of our Reformed Kingdom of Oren united the feuding and independent nobles of the Canonist League, he dreamed of a nation of unity, prosperity, and honorable leadership. The years following his ascension to the throne were blessed by martial cooperation, shared purpose, and the radical idea that humanity could be greater than that which came before.

 

When King Andrik was assassinated in cold blood during a diplomatic mission, the elves were subdued, Oren was weakened, and none benefited except for Ashford. The crown’s sworn vassals were left in disarray, and from amongst themselves Duke Olivier Ashford de Savoie snatched for the crown. The Lords wearily watched him take up the mantle of King Vydra, and call to carry on the legacy of King Andrik Vydra’s idea of an Oren united both in name and in spirit, blessed by noble cooperation, and in virtuous service to the ideals of the Exalted Saint Siegmund, Owyn, Godfrey, and Horen. Yet a decade hence, no trace of our Blessed Sovereign’s soul remains in our Oren.

 

Instead of a meritocracy, our privy has evolved to be composed only of Savoyards and their supporters. Instead of justice and unity, we have seen only unpunished bloodshed. If any man should doubt this, he need only look to the massacre of unarmed men at a trial of the King’s justice that received no punishment, at the assassination of the High Pontiff Sixtus III and the Lord Justiciar Adam de Gleveisen, at the murder of Castor Chivay in a session of court, and most recently at the brutal butchering of our own Duke Hugues Sarkozic. Not one of these heinous crimes has seen the light of the King’s justice, for there is none to be had. These men have been made footnotes of the Ashford regime, written of in the pages of the same books of fallen martyrs as King Andrik himself.

 

If the members of the ducal coalition relent now, and bow and break as another of King Olivier’s assassins deal the crown’s justice in the only way it knows how, we resign ourselves to another decade of fear, of terror, and of idleness and of injustice. We resign ourselves to the complete decay of any Vydrian values which remain in the parts of Oren which are not too scared of the Ashen dagger to forget them. This is not the legacy King Andrik wished upon his people. This is not a regime which continues in his image and spirit, this is a regime which, despite their own calls for ceasefire, assassinates their dissidents in the night and divides humanity even further than before.

 

This reign of terror has cast a dark shadow over the Orenian people, a long night that has kept the virtues of humanity hidden like a young child in her house - too scared to venture into the moor in fear of the snakes she knows lurk in the grass. But the people of the Coalition are neither frightened little girls nor Ashen snakes. We are the flicker of the first light in this long night, a unity of spirit and virtue and voice unseen since the times of King Andrik. If we are to let this spark burn out, we bow to hearth-slayers, to assassins, to pretenders, and to a crown that rests not on a man, but on a snake.

 

The shadowy machinations of the Orenian monarch sought to break us by taking our leader, Duke Hugues Sarkozic, but the Ashford regime made a fatal error. In the place of one fallen man, a thousand more rise to take his place against injustice. We will not bow. We will not be broken. We will not only endure, we will triumph. There is no place for fear, there is no place for injustice. Stay strong my brothers, and match my sword with your own. We have taken upon our shoulders the future of humanity, a fearful girl afraid of snakes, and we fight on until the snakes are dead and the night is over. It is for this reason that I, Siguine Barbanov, announce my candidacy for Lord Paramount of the Ducal Coalition. Together, let us end the fear.

 

I will seek to emulate the leadership and values of the great King Andrik. In all matters of statehood I will seek to be collected, diplomatic, decisive, and never weak. Life doesn’t forgive weakness. I will return us to the unified and strong nation we once were, and put in power those who deserve power and responsibility, not those who are simply born to it. Together we can bring Oren to heights it hasn’t seen for a decade. If I may have the gift of your vote, you have my word. Nothing will stand in our way.

 

For Hugues, For Vydra, For Humanity.

[Fireheart 2777]

Franz nods

[epix37 62]

"AVE BARBANOV!"

[Devland99 180]

Constantine smiles

[Hammer4_ 166]

Upon journeying from Haense to Adria, Roric, with the rest of his men would shout "CARRY ON CARRION!"

[giambro 612]

"God bless you.." Ulric says with a smile.

[Demonify 0]

Draud grins and nods.

[Halsi 381]

".. Why not just end the war?" Camile merely states.

[Rael 935]

"The only thing we learn from history, is that we do not learn from history." Kovir states.

[wolfdwg 2677]

 

".. Why not just end the war?" Camile merely states.

 

 

"Most of Adria's people will be put to the Sword, to simply put it." States Easil

[Cleggmire_ 130]

Bangs his pommel against his shield, a smug grin on his face "Bring me all you have, it will just be another Barbanov on the pike"

[Pureimp10 5691]

Bangs his pommel against his shield, a smug grin on his face "Bring me all you have, it will just be another Barbanov on the pike"

"Wow! So honorable and valiant!" comments Britannus.

[Blanchables 528]

Sporan plunges the tip of his sword into the ground, nodding in approval

[jamyei 45]

"FOR DA BARBANOVS!" Horik would yell while punching into the air,

[Guy d'Yood of Mann 39]

"The only thing we learn from history, is that we do not learn from history." Kovir states.

A certain midget nods to these words of wisdom and historical aptitude. In his wee head, what little cells remained operational were sleepily trying to regroup, like a banner of routed footmen. How was Camile and others capable of hearing that speech? One being eloquently mumbled out with several logical mistakes all the way over in Brelus? Halfling had no doubt that might have been dark magic. Or maybe telepathical abilities of a certain Orderman rubbing off on his fellow loyalists.