yopplwasupxxx 5665 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Arik Vanir (Naumarian: Arik Vanir) was a Haeseni nobleman, courtier, writer, and commander of the Vydran era, serving under King Andrik ve Vydra in his rule during the Schismatic War and later was one of the principal rebelling lords of the War of the Ducal Coalition. He escaped in exile following the latter’s conclusion, returning after the Horen Restoration though retained a minor role in politics, though his sudden assassination in the court of Lord Alexander de Staunton would be one of the principal reasons for the start of the Riga War during the Anarchy. In his life, he was also a prolific essayist, making numerous treatises against the rebelling Schismatic League and later against the royal government of King Olivier. (OOC: Full credit to @Ser Paul Ryan who wrote all of these, posting them here for easier access.) --- THE SELECTED WORKS OF ARIK VANIR WRITTEN BY THE HAND OF ARIK VANIR PUBLISHED BY HIEROMAR LUDOVAR THE ELDER, SSE --- ON THE EARTHLY AND ENLIGHTENED ACTS OF CHARITY On helping one achieve grace, perform penance, pay their dues to charity, and enlighten themselves to shine in the light of the Creator. These charitable works, while practiced often by men of various faiths, are often the staple of what I see as community, compassion, and often times, faith itself. By adhering to these works and partaking in them on a frequent basis, struggling acolytes and the ignorant-of-faith both can, in due time, understand what it truly means to be a member of the church community. It is with that in mind that today, I propose to you the follow acts, named after your holiness’ office, as well as what it takes to truly reach “enlightenment” in faith. While I am but low in office, I would make the recommendation to utilize them as such; Acolytes, whilst studying to further their careers in faith, are to embrace the Earthly Acts of Charity, to better involve themselves in worldly-matters. When these acts have been memorized, and, more importantly, worked tirelessly at within one's community, it would then be a suitable time for this acolyte to advance into the ranks of the faith, then taking on the enlightened acts of charity, which focuses on our spiritual integrity. Below inscribed are these acts, and how novices and masters both, as well as laymen, should see and carry them out. --- The Earthly Acts of Charity To Feed the Hungry A basic task, yet one that is shunned by even the wealthiest of our world often. It is an integral part of community building and spreading the Creator’s love to feed our brethren upon this earth, both literally, to sooth their physical pangs, and spiritually, to ease their spiritual woes. To Grant Drink to the Thirsty A rival to the spiritual act of comforting the afflicted, granting drink to the thirsty is parallel to the above act in eliminating worldly poverty. Clothe the Naked It is our faithful responsibility to grant dignity to the unclothed; in this comes the act of clothing the naked. Be it a child, woman or man of poverty, or other tragic circumstances, it is a basic right to be robed. Shelter the Homeless Homelessness stands as one of the greatest fixable tragedies of man, one the church stands readily able to tackle. The dignity of the Creator’s spawn deserves the basic right of a roof over their head, making it a charitable act of great importance. Visit the Sick and Imprisoned No matter the level of crippledness, we are all of one ilk. It is a responsibility of a man of the faith to visit our brethren who are fast leaving this world, and those who must take time imprisoned to reflect upon their purpose on the natural plane. This Charitable Act closely parallels its spiritual partner, admonishing and counselling sinners, something that is oft done inside prison facilities. Bury the Dead In due with our natural dignity, the bodies of the descendants deserve more than to be left to rot. If the dead are not to be taken into the gracious hands of the monks, it is then the responsibility of the clergy above all else to see their rights administered, and their spirits set to peace. --- The Enlightened Acts of Charity To instruct the ignorant It is perhaps the greatest of responsibilities of the clergy to instruct the ignorant. In both spreading the faith about and furthering the education of the laymen populace, the clergy stands as the Creators hand on earth to spread his seed of grace. To counsel the doubtful In crises’ both worldly and spiritual, counseling the doubtful is one of the foundations of faith. To address woes of a lack of faith, or to aid an ignorant layman in a material decision, counseling the doubtful marks a clergyman's transition from novice to capable. To admonish sinners Admonishing the sins of the ignorant on earth has always been of the chief most importance. To grant grace and divinity throughout the descendants ranks, an annual confession of one's errs and faults is required. To bear wrongs patiently Temperance, as we know, is one of the most important virtues. It is then important that we practice this in our daily lives, bearing the wrongs against us, most importantly the accidental ones, patiently. To forgive offences willingly As the Creator forgives us for our transgressions, so too is it our responsibility to forgive or brethren on earth. Spite brews conflict, and conflict sin; stem the hate at the root, and make concessions freely. To comfort the afflicted Those spiritually and physically impaired are in the most need of our aid. It is in comforting the afflicted that we show our love to the creator, and our brothers. As one of the foundations of community, the clergy must be open to all who are in distress. To pray for the living and the dead Our foremost responsibility on this earthly plane; prayer guides all decisions. To grant the souls of the living and the dead mercy in their woes, prayer from the clergy is needed. It is our duty to the laymen, who have no time nor carnal knowledge of true meditation and reflection, to perform this feat. --- It is my hope that the charitable acts may further our endeavors in this world to spread grace and reach spiritual peace. Should there be any edits your holiness wishes to make, such are entirely up to him to do so, and I would welcome the opportunity for such advanced advice. May your days be plentiful and happy. --- ON THE TRAGEDY OF IGNORANCE It is often said by scholars that the trials of kingship drive men mad, the duty of the highest office often costing even the most staunch of men their sanity. Such sayings must be true; for only in madness could a man like Arn Rovin stand by declarations of separation in the matter of which he does. It is of great cost to men everywhere, this schism; one of blood, faith and truth. It is with a heavy heart that I even contemplate it, and a heavier one with which I write about it. Yet such actions must be taken in these times, such words of mine written, on this tragedy born of ignorance, greed, and abandonment. It is but my hope that these words will be taken to heart by true men, and mercy can be shed upon those who would abandon the path of the one true god so easily, embarking instead on a dim road of heresy in their quest for power. Let us begin with the hypocrisy of the self-entitled “Apostolic” Kingdom; one which so easily disregards the natural law of the creator, and insist upon spreading their subjective reality into the ignorant hearts and minds of its populace. An interesting title to grant oneself, Apostolic, especially from a nation which abandons the pontiff and his apostles, effectively rendering such null by very definition. Though, truly, it comes of little surprise; lucienist-based culture is well known for its anti-popes and manipulation of religion in order to instate legitimacy, which it grasp at with little success from other sources. More so; this bastardization of logic is continued with the ceaseless spewing of obscenities and theories regarding a “Raevir led” opposition. The Waldian stance on what they see as a “Raevir Dominated” and “Bandit-led” Canonist Church is well known, and very similar to that of their thoughts on the Kingdom of Akovia. Interesting claims to make on an organization such as the church, which has but a single Raevir man in its ranks, and on the Akovian populace which, contrary to the rantings of Waldian supremacist, boast a population of 3/4ths non-Raevir people. But can they be blamed? The population of the Konigreich has been deceived by a master of propaganda; a man who cares so little for his nation he would bar them from the seven skies by leading them like lambs to the slaughter away from the grace of the creator. This schism and its backers do not stop at mere hypocrisy; they continue on to defy logic itself, abandoning the principles and tradition of hundreds of years in their severing of ties. The men of this schism claim rationality and disparity as their moral cause for a veritable crusade on the true faith, yet they ignore all rational thought and reckoning. They turn from the divine sources of wisdom in this world, the Natural Law, and institute their own fallacies in its stead. Under even the lightest scrutiny, the Waldian schism holds no legitimacy. Their sources of faith are morally bankrupt, their source of scripture abandoned, and their interpretation of divine law ludicrous. Look, instead, to the Canonist Church: A holy organization that has evolved against the tide of years, developing a conscience, a process of formation, and a logical and spiritual foundation of which we call our rock. In the true faith, we take our learning from the sources of natural law itself; The Creator, The Prophets, The Canon, and the Godhead. In this schism, these anchors of truth are abandoned, the flames of reason extinguished. It is only through the formation of conscience and divine revelation that we come to know the Objective Reality of our world, yet the Waldian Schism seeks to usurp these in their title of reason, and, in their place, enthrone itself on a mountain of lies. Such men like Arn Rovin seek only to manipulate the masses through his pocket-priest, ‘men of god’ anointed by coin, not clergy, turning an autonomous faith into a blade to be held to the throats of the masses. It is with this great betrayal that the moral character and spiritual integrity of this “Konig” is itself called into question, and it is with basic evaluation seen that the coffers of faith of the Rovins runs dry. He empowers himself by enslaving his people, controlling a reign of terror by painting the demonic image of a persecuted people; one he claims evil, whilst he himself orders their women and children to be bled in the street like dogs. Free thought, free prayer, the last dying light of the candle of truth, all are casualties in the world of the hound Rovin, who takes it upon himself and himself solely to pass the word of God and the presence of the clergy to the common people. He has taken his world view; a twisted, broken thing, a motley canvas of bigotry and hate, and woven it into the lives of his people, turning the unbreakable truth of the natural law and crushing it in his hands. It is a logical fallacy to fight for this man; it is a suicide of faith to believe in him. Above all else, too, they are quick to judge, yet slow to act. The Konig in his keep shuts his gates in the face of his people, dining on their toil whilst handing out paltry sums to his own church, which resides deep in his payment. Anointing his own priest, bishops and holy legislature, this farce of faith presented by this schism poses as one of the greatest tragedies to ever befall mankind, perhaps even on par with the reckless slaughtering of King Francis and his noble court, an act entirely plotted and carried through with Lucienist goals in mind. They do not deserve it, his people. Taking no example from mother church on her pleas for reunification and logical talks, in order to preserve the spiritual integrity of humanity and the salvation of the souls of Horen’s ilk, this mad king instead turns his back on the grace of the father of creation. Ignoring the silence held onto by the Canonist when the Pontiff Regulus abandoned the church for a period of nearly a decade, ignoring the facts that innocent folk who are labeled as “Raevir” (though they hold no such allegiance or blood) are slaughtered mercilessly and without cause, ignoring the very cries of “Gott” himself, the Waldian king treads the path of damnation, accompanied by his dark posse of cronies seeking his favor. He scrambles for control and shuns enlightenment, driving rational thought and peaceful contemplation to the dogs. It is clear, after examining a flood of evidence, that in this schism there is no legitimacy, there is no faith, and there is no love; there is only heresy, desperate vies for power, and the shunning of the Creator. The Caesaropapism crowned by King Rovin, a miserable state in which men of god are appointed from the favors of court, and the canon of the faith is written by royalty, not divinity, is undoubtedly a tragedy of spirit and a crisis of spiritual unity. The self appointed God-King Rovin ignores the Theological Virtues of love, faith and hope, casting them into the cold and instating instead in their legitimate place greed, lust, and envy. The Pontifical Virtues are shunned, each systematically ruined or ignored in the Schism’s rise to power. Prudence is abandoned; with reason itself cast aside and logic laughed at. Justice fares as rain in a drought, with the innocent lives of men, women and children put to the sword, and their faith to the flames. Fortitude has been compromised, with the hearts of the faithful bought out by the God-King’s coin, or silenced with a veil of ignorance. Temperance lies unchained, with the lust for power and hero-worship of the God-King reigning supreme in a land that lies barren in drought from the rain of grace sent by the Creator. It is perhaps in this abandonment of virtue that the final stake is set into the ground, the backs of Aesterwald turned forever from the light, nursing their heresy. In this examination of conscience, we have seen the morally bankrupt God-King ascend to power on a wave of ignorance and brutality. We have witnessed the Canon of the one true god cast aside, and his clergy appointed by the golden hands of royalty in the divine’s place. The shunning of the Pontifical Virtues, Theological Virtues, and quest to turn our subjective reality as close as possible to the Natural, Objective Reality of the creator stand testimony to the illegitimacy, and sheer heresy, of this schism. The God-King Rovin has extended his umbrella of sin over the heads of his people, blocking them from the sunlight of spirit and raindrops of grace sent from above. In times like these, there is but one duty left to those true of heart; to pray. Pray, my flock, for the innocence of man to return, for this madness to cease, for a unified front against the forces of Iblees, unsabotateured by Schism and lies. Above all else, remember the greatest of teachings; be merciful, be loving, and be mournful, for this great tragedy of ignorance. --- AN OPEN LETTER TO KING OLIVIER To my Adrian Brothers, It is with my sincerest condolences that I petition you today, knowing that your tears lay still wet upon your cheeks, and your heads hang low in mourning. It is duly right for you to be in such fashions, for the most atrocious of tragedies that has beset you remains, to this day, unanswered fairly by the crown. His Majesty, Olivier, has seen fit to spurn your pleas at every turn, and oft now even avoids direct communication with myself, whom has so long counseled him. What little condolences I may grant you is perhaps legitimized by the thought that I, too, share your grief. I have only recently been dragged from my bed in the faint hours of the night, to be told mine own nephew had been apprehended by a villainous band, composed members of the king’s own retinue, and some amyasmen. Britannus, my eager if young nephew, was merely in a state of travel to the Cloud Temple when he was set upon by these brigands. He was savagely tortured for crimes that were absurdly fabricated, and still wears his bruises as evidence of these deeds. His beating, I am told, was in response to his marriage to Emilia. I now know firsthand, my lords, of the slights you have ceaselessly suffered at the hands of the Savoyards. I have harshly realized that words cannot soothe a dog, and he must, instead, come to fear the boot. There is no word of complaint to be pled, no petition to be made, nor any satisfactory response that can be offered by any mortal force for these heinous actions. I am thus turned to more drastic means, to bid thee a question that I believe shall echo in the course of Orenian History for the weight that it carries. Yet as I sit here, my repeated letters to the crown unanswered, your people’s pleading cries for justice ignored, or at best tabled to some foul place of vain indifference, I pen these following words with no regret. The question before us is one of great magnitude; the fate, I may dare say, of our kingdom lies in its answer. It is with this caution and tentativeness in mind that I nonetheless must speak freely, and show to the world that the despicable actions of as late have set us upon a course that we have so long attempted to avoid, but, nonetheless, must traverse. I speak to you, my lords, of rebellion. The passions of late have stirred the once noble people of our kingdom into a righteous frenzy, setting brother against brother, father against son. From the four corners of the realm, blades are placed to the throat of one’s own kin, and more banners rise daily in defiance of the crown. This is without a doubt due to the reprehensible actions of our King, whom has seen fit to ignore the cries of his people, and, with his response to your ultimatum, extinguished the noble flame of unity that has for so long guided us. With this vile response our King has set our course to oblivion, and it is clear to me now that there is no redemption to be found, no solidarity to be achieved. Look, I plead, to the arrogant dismissal of your lawful petition! To his continued ineptitude to listen to his own people! With each passing morn we wake to find ourselves that much deeper into our own graves, that much further shackled into the cages of tyranny! The penned words of His Majesty lay unadorned with law or truth, but sink further, weighted by its own villainy, into the murky depths of sinful anarchy! As I learn further and further of the extent of the crown’s disdain for those who themselves established it, as I observe the ever increasing lengths to which Olivier will go to shun those who placed him upon the throne, I feel naught but righteous anger at his own conceited selfishness! To the cries of justice and honest reparation, he delivers in return only decrees of oppression and hidden scheming! Each sentence of his reply bears with it the increasing burden of despicable dread - “How!” I rage silently, “How many it grow worse? How might Olivier desert further the cause of justice, the values of nobility, and the pleading cries of mercy from those who have for so long loyally served him?” Will we permit ourselves to be bound eternally to a throne that neither respects nor represents us? Shall we wait until a Savoy bears judgement over each and every one of our marriages, until men who massacre innocent courts place upon us the shackles of slavery? Never! To all my brethren, Adrian and abroad, I can say but this! Beware, ye of truth! Abandon hope, thou of faith! Seek not justice, for thou shalt find only a desert of inequity, a drought of lawfulness! Pray not for mercy, for you shall receive only the lash! You are left only to have faith - not in the righteousness of our king and cause, but in the assurance that you shall be left low, whipped and disheveled by the hand of the court! What hope have we? What dreams may we keep, we who cherish the thought of one day receiving redress? There is no hope! There is no mercy here! My brothers, there is no salvation to be had in inaction! Under the rule of the Sun, the man who lives by the crop of hope shall only die of hunger! Endlessly, we petition the king, who busies himself holding court with schemers, malcontents and rogues! We seek justice every day from the crown, but in return are granted naught but the promised whispers of an inept puppet, and dealt only the scraps fit for a punished child! Turn not to the Savoy dog! Kneel not before the throne that subjugates thee, the chains that bind! Rise, thou who have for so long been forced low! Stand, those who have known only the bent knee! Shall we lay supinely before the throne, submitting ourselves to an eternity of bondage? Must we endure a boundless, infinite rain of injustice and despair? Shall we, brothers, submit meekly to the authority of a crown vacant of one noble enough to wear it? Such actions of late have proven one thing, and one thing only: Justice, my lords, is dead! It lays in its grave more crippled than the noble August! It rest in its tomb more silent than than the late Kozlovskii and Johann! To petition our noble God in granting us restitution is naught but a waste of breath; it is only through swift and sure actions that we may now have our say! We have pled, we have petitioned, we have knocked upon the gates of the court, only to be dismissed at every turn! Whilst Savoyards feast in their bejeweled halls, Adrian children are left starved of justice, Vanir men beaten savagely low! whilst schemers and foul plotters whisper into the hearts of our king, our dead lay unburied, our loves ones unmourned! The desertion of justice upon our royal house grows more evident with each passing hour! Look upon his works, below, and see for yourselves the disgusting truth that lurks hidden behind the shadowed words of Savoy! --- An analysis on The Crown’s Response to the Ultimatum of Redmark is affixed below To all those concerned in the composition of the Ultimatum of Redmark, dated 1516 - blessings upon you and your House. [“And God’s mercy to thee, momentarily.”] [His Majesty the King deems this matter to little to even address personally. Our noble institution of Kingship is held, not by an individual of our appointment, but in the clutches of the extended Savoy tree, rooted and spread deeply within our government, intent on never ungrasping their power. ] We, the Crown of Oren, have grown concerned over what takes the appearance of, to the realm and to Ourselves, a major dereliction of duty by a diverse assortment of Oren’s sworn nobles. [A hypocritical statement were there ever one - His Majesty speaks of the shirking of responsibilities, whilst he himself avoids his duties as ruler of a unified realm at every turn. He lectures the nobility on their obligations, whilst never fulfilling his own. A feeble gust amid an even more pitiful storm.] Those in question hail from distinct sectors of the realm and they levy each their differing interests, but they have shown that they have in common a cunning to avert both the will and the dignity of the Crown. [How fitting! The fine nobles of our realm take lessons directly from our great king, and, following his example, avoid their responsibilities. In setting precedent by ignoring the wills and whims of his vassals, our wise king has instilled his traits of apathy and lethargic indifference upon his willing followers. Long may he reign!] Such is the offense when these in question go further as to make demands of Us, to whom they owe their allegiance, to the point of threats, as if they have forgotten what it means to be noble. [Let us not forget, noble comrades, that it is to the entirety of the Savoy breed we owe our allegiance - not to the crown of Oren itself. Our singular love for our ruler is selfish, and instead it is our noble duty to pledge direct fealty to every runt borne into this world with the name “Ashford”. We have so pitifully fallen from the graces of nobility - we, who so savagely sought justice through peaceful petition, rather than adopt the Ashford way of fire, sword and the butchery of innocence. May we be forgiven for such heinous trespasses! Pathetic drivel, the lot! Our sincerely earnest king grants us discourse on what it means to be nobility, while he himself forgets by the day what it means to adopt the crown. ] We, the Crown of Oren, cannot accept the situation where members of Our most esteemed Privy Councillors sow dissent and foment rebellion. [“Those despicable creatures who title themselves Vladov, fomenting rebellion through their persecution of those who practice witchcraft, seek at every turn to overthrow our wise and passive government!” Let this be a lesson to thee, who seek justice -anger not our kind God, Savoy, lest ye fall under the gaze of his slovenly eye.] These figures of Our highest level of government carry the expectation to represent the Crown and its interests, and are obligated on both a moral and legal level to oppose and strike down any words spoken against the Crown or its interests. [It is the duty of the Orenian nobility to carry the words and weight of the crown - our poor, dear king’s neck hath grown far too tired for such, under years of stress from noble inactivity. The duty of diligence and passionate regality falls upon the backs of the Orenian Duke - our liege lord’s lies occupied, bent in lowly respect to the Ashford schemers that whisper plots and deceit into his ear.] In implicitly threatening bloody war unless the Crown acts in accordance with their wishes, in utter defiance of due process, the signatories of the Ultimatum of Redmark who hold seats on Our Privy Council have erred from their exclusive of due deference and diligent servitude to the Crown. [“Be shamed, ye who forget your place! Repent for your threats of war, and be issued only the command to fight among yourselves, instead! Defy due process, and, rather than appeal to his majesty in public and private on every occasion, instead raid the settlements of those whom you have just slaughtered without cause! Serve with undying loyalty to the crown, and reap the benefits of your harvest in the cold unresponsiveness of his royal grace! Ask not for the ripened grain of your labor - it is not yours to keep! Dare not demand what is yours by right; sit, instead, idly by, and witness the blood of your people water the earth that was purchased through the sweat of their brows!”] On the account of their failure to act as representatives of Us and Our royal interests, we do hereby strip Franz Vladov of his capacity as Lord Treasurer, as well as August de Montfort of his capacity as Lord Scrivener, striking them both from Our Privy Council. We advise them duly, in the future, to not presume to command Us. [“For their dastardly crimes of seeking justice, for their unforgivable mistake of relying upon the word of a Savoyard, these honest men are stripped of their long held duties and titles. Forget of their eternal service to Orenia, forget of their placing of our esteemed king upon the throne - remember only their grave crimes in presuming to tell the King of his duty to preserve peace, and distill justice! Do not, feeble lords, assume you may approach us as equals, nor even as servants! Instead, remember your place as slaves, serving at the whim of His Majesty, and receiving not his promised justice, but instead his furious anger, distributed not by laws or tradition, but by his iron rod!”] We, the Crown of Oren, instate Hugues Sarkozic, Duke of Adria, as the Lord Treasurer so as to replace the erstwhile Franz Vladov, and to provide an Adrian voice on Our Privy Council, with the condition that he henceforth recant his signature and support for the document entitled the Ultimatum of Redmark. [“We bring forth Hugues Sarkozic, the next name on an ever-growing list, to lie supinely before the throne, and kneel before the infinite wisdom of his absent Majesty. To him we duly charge the crimes of free thought and justice seeking, and to him we bind the chains of the Treasurer’s office, to be held closely to the bosom of the Savoy tree. To him, we demand the immediate cessation of his violent petitioning to the court, and upon him we place forth our brand: thou art ours, and no others.”] [brace yourself, noble reader, for the script that comes before you next shall soon have you howling with frenzied cries for redaction and apology, and set you into a blood crazed rage, such is the magnitude of its injustice!]We, the Crown of Oren, say this as cordially as we may to the House of Vladov [“Silence, ye Meek, and hear my decree!”]- We do feel that while the services your blood have rendered to the Kingdom of Oren over the years have been of an incalculable value, [“Our sincerest thanks for the throne, dear brothers - your swords polished it quite well for us!”] it is just as easy to apply this sentiment to the House de Sola, [“Now, however, it is time for us to build it higher, and how better than upon thine bones?”]whose blood you now clamour for, threatening to tear the sacred tapestry of Oren apart for the sake of an ethnic conflict [“And shame to you for it! You ravenous hounds, you bloodthirsty goons! Clamoring for the blood of the treasonous, pleading for the murderers to be locked up! You seek the blood of your kinslayers? The shame, the nerve, of thee!”]. Nevertheless, the House of Vladov has also proved to be a hindrance to the Crown as of late,[“Furthermore, dear brothers, we’ve noticed a lack of “how high, m’lord?”’s when asked to jump, and find this disobedience to be most unforgivable.”] impeding Our acts of governance [A challenging task against a crown that makes no such acts!]and contravening Our Privy Councillors and middling and lesser nobility, laying bare their disrespect and flagrant insubordination in an effort, deliberate or incidental we know not, to threaten the stability of Our realm and plunge it into bloody turmoil[“Don’t you know, dear brothers? That’s our job!”]. We condemn this utterly [“Halfheartedly, and tarty.”], and if there might be any truth in this final allegation [Worry not, dear brothers; no sane man thinks such.] then We must so seriously question the House of Vladov’s good judgement [“Self preservation.”]and the self-discipline within the Adrian ranks as to raise serious doubts in the attitude of the Crown towards their future usefulness [“And to begin, perhaps window shopping for our next pet. How much, We ask, for that Bracchus in the window?”] . We, the Crown of Oren, condemn without [see: With] fail the actions of Titus de Sola, Baron of Dour Watch. We do not consider the disruption of a trial facilitated by Our privy councillors to be acceptable, nor do We consider the murder of noble scions to be permissible [“Though we accept it fully, punish it not, and bear great hostility to those ‘treasonous’ victims of it!”]. Though the House de Sola has borne its faculties well and possesses a record of military diligence and loyalty to the Orenian cause as a whole [“None such that we can name, nor any that we truly care about.”], such a transgression cannot pass not without the mark of infidelity to the Crown or Our interests [“Thou shalt commit treason, peasant, only when thine crown condones it!”]. We condemn the attempts of the House de Sola to destabilize the realm by slaying several of its nobility [“How presumptuous of thee, to assume the role of the crown!”] , and We condemn completely the attempts of the House de Sola, exercised in an official capacity by Titus, Baron of Dour Watch, to undermine and disrupt the governance exercised by Our Privy Council. For all men of Oren, obedience to the Crown is required[“Thine reward for such shall be the lash, and thy grievances caused by such, treason.”], and this obedience is diminished and decayed when the Crown’s authority is disregarded in such a murderous fashion [“Hast thou not yet learned? Diminished response, decayed obligations - such are the charge of the crown wewear!”]. [Allow yourself a gentle breath, dear reader - You’ve been granted a moment’s lapse in the chaotic storm of absurdity.] We, the Crown of Oren, declare Xavier de Sola’s positions within the realm to be forfeit and suspended, on account of his failure to meet the demands of a tribunal try him for the grave allegations against his name. On account of his disruption of a trial which resulted in the Massacre at Wett, his actions being borne of the most bloody murder and treachery, We declare him to be in contempt of Us. We declare that so long as he fails to hand himself into Our royal custody, he is to be tried in absentia within one Saint’s Week, deprived of the chance to defend himself, with the penalty of his determined guilt being death by hanging. We hence declare that it is Our royal desire for Xavier de Sola to be brought into Our captivity, alive and undamaged, post-haste. We, the Crown of Oren, declare that it is Our desire that any others involved and complicit in the Massacre at Wett, including but not limited to those who assert that their actions were solely out of deference and obedience to the Bloody Baron of Dour Watch, be brought before Us, to be tried and appropriately hanged. [Halt your cheers, my friends; it is but the cloak that hides the dagger!] We, the Crown of Oren, hereby declare that the matter of this feud lies beyond Our royal and temporal providence [“Our ability to care, govern and display strength being muted, it is our decree that we shall merely wear the crown, rather than use it.”], and so We henceforth sanction an intranational war of arms [“A cowardly, rambunctious slaughter - of which we shall take no part. A debauchery of justice, and a butchery of civility - of which we shall. Fear us, subordinates, for such is the might of ‘your’ king!”] , to the point of total domination of either party, between the House of Sola [“The chicken,”]and the House of Vladov [“The axe.], as in the days of the Empire of yore [“Of which we fondly recall, study avidly, praise fondly , and aspire to be - all with the typical force of effort we show to our underlings; none.”] , where Denurem and Blackmont feuded under the Horen yoke [“Long may they rest in peace, these ancient titans, and thank the lord above that indeed they slumber - a child of Godfrey’s day would possess the strength to topple a man of ours.”]. We declare that the victor of this war, whoever it may be, [A hearty laugh, and a round of black!] yields the favor of God and Saint Owyn [“And the disdain of the crown.”], and so is guiltless in Our royal eyes [“Very much like our own selves.”]. We forbid the official ducal government of Adria, Vanaheim or Savoy from involving themselves in any capacity [“Tread cautiously, ye of Sarkozic and Vanaheim - it is ill advised to bite the hand you feed!”], official or unofficial, in this war of arms, and do hence ban them from yielding aid to either of the warring parties, under summary penalty of tax levies directed to the crown [“,Collected by yourselves, turned in to us, and ultimately spent on no one.”]. We declare that this war of arms is to be kept from the cities of Brelus and Felsen in all circumstances, under summary penalty of death by hanging for any found to be in contravention of this [“Those found not doing such, however, shall merely be stabbed in their own battles, as per tradition.”] To the victor of this war shall go the spoils [“, and to the dogs, Our Crown’s dignity,”], and the life ((permakill)) of the defeated party’s leader, that being Franz Vladov and Titus de Sola respectively.[“And duly to hell, our sensitude.”] Signed,[Penned in the office of a mad man, distributed to maniacal scribes, and distributed by fanatical lapdogs.] His Majesty, King Olivier de Savoie [Your God] --- It takes no scholar of high education nor noble with years experience in the court to see through this vain and sinful wording for what it truly is; a snare that lies at the feet of those who would curb Ashford power. Suffer not yourselves to be so easily swatted from the throne, to be so horribly betrayed! Each day the martial arrays of the crown strain at their chains, like the dogs of war they truly are, yearning to be set free upon the innocent folk of our Kingdom! This response is merely another ring of the hammer, but one more step the Savoys take to set upon us the chains they have so long been forging. Our supplications have been ignored with disdain by His Majesty, our cries for justice answered by a weak crown with a war inside of its own borders! There is no further action we may take, no other course we may seek - the time for hope, my brothers, has long since passed! For us, there lies no other path to take but that of defiance, no other appeal to be made save that to the God of Arms who has so long guided us! Whether we look behind us to the past, or ahead of us towards the future, the conduct of the Savoys remains hideous and revolting, unaware even of its own injustice and wrongdoing! Olivier has in his actions of late bound himself solely to the path of tyranny in the future, and stands as an immovable wall between our people and justice! Suffer not the fear of the crown! Wait not in worry of death; it is better to suffer a thousand deaths than to receive once more the injustice of the crown! Curse on the “peace” offered by Olivier! Curse to his vain arrogance that has torn undone what we have for so long in unity worked towards! My brothers, we may wait no more! There is no peace to be had! The stars shall fade away, the sun itself grow dim with age, the world we inhabit shall sink below the tide of years, before an Adrian or Vanaheimr receives JUSTICE, before a Savoy knows ofTRUTH! The foul head upon which our kingship rest mutually begets only with moral corruption, and produces only indifference to its people! We can no longer hold hope that Olivier may see the error of his ways! What an absurd thing to cling to; that a Savoy knows of integrity! Stand beneath the lash no longer! Endure no more the throne’s pressing weight! Abandon reason, abandon supplication, abandon the hope for justice: Our enemy knows it not! He knows only of the whip! Of steel, of blood! Of the fires of conquest! He yearns for these, as he has for so many years! Grant them to him!Upon the brink of a new age, a better age, we stand! It is within reach! All that is left, my brothers, is for you to take it! Carry these words with you in your heart, and march reassured that you do not go alone! We once carried together towards the resounding field of battle our banners united; let us do so again! March alongside us, and show the world once more what Adrians can do! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesmellypocket 1839 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Pius of Sutica grows half-mad having to make a history of Olivier de Savoie with nothing for source material but scathing polemics like these. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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