A DESERVED VICTORY

[Axelu 4333]

A DESERVED VICTORY

[!] The seal of the Dowager Countess of Temesch sealed this parchment with carmine wax. 

 

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To the men and women who fought for their country today, 

 

I was never one for prose but, on an occasion such as this, I will do my best to surpass my shortcoming. That was a skill best suited for the late Count of Susa, my brother Anthony, anyway, which he inherited from my beloved mother, Libby. Your grandparents of a similar age to mine might remember her as The Princess Imperial, daughter of Anne the First and Joseph the Second. While she still graced our world, and I was a girl in my prime, teeming with boundless enthusiasm for the rush of marching into battle, Oren had erupted into an unavoidable, great war. I had prepared since my young adolescence for it, understanding the great tensions between those at polar sides of what my underdeveloped mind likened to a tug-of-war. It was equally jarring and alleviating to see at my side, as I clad myself in armour, the men and women that followed in my stride; people of all backgrounds, wealth, constitutions, and faiths congregated to serve their country. I smiled at the Artisan Baker who stood beside me, stout and flimsily brandishing a sword. He smiled wistfully at me, knowing well of the high probability he would not return yet he was devotedly intent on fulfilling his duty regardless. He was just one of thousands who sacrificed themselves in service to an upstanding cause, a noble cause, and in my mind earned great honor. 

Today, while I was unable to fight among you (my left knee is not as it was, at my mature age of sixty and some over), I was privy to your spirit as a united front, a people instilled with a mission. Today, you embodied the spirits of your predecessors and, dare I say it, achieved a level of honor that trumps theirs for at your helm was my nephew, Emperor Philip, and Empress Anastasia who both carry within them the guidance of GOD and the four heads of state who came before them. This victory, however much it should be celebrated, should serve as a reminder to all of you about the work that is yet to be done and should inspire you to accomplish your vision, big or small, at the local or national level, as succor for the promising strength of our Empire. In turn, the Empire will promise, among many things and beyond the worldly material, a great path to Providence, which only the righteous can achieve.

 

Congratulations, and thank you. 

 

 

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Signed, 

HIH Holy Dame Helena, Dowager Countess of Temesch. 

[Cepheid 4304]

Vasileia Ekaterini smiled as her aunt emerged from her study within the Temesch Estate, inclining her glass of wine towards her. It was the subtle victories, and the true victories where where peace of mind was found. Happiness, and retirement after one has achieved all that they could was where her own victory remained in today's celebration. A good day at long last...