The Royal Promise

[Olox_ 4318]

Spoiler

 

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TO OUR RESTORED REALM,

 

It has been for some time my earnest and heartfelt desire to share my considerations with you, in the same manner my Royal Grandfather had addressed the Realm nearly sixty years ago. Amidst a glum and sorrowful period of mourning, this change of generations that all inheritors of Horen must endure, I am unafraid to anchor my strength in the unbreakable bulwarks of our Commonwealth: our shared and storied history, our brotherhood of peoples, and the family by my side; to all our good and faithful subjects wherever they may be, and be they men or women, scions of the noblest bloodlines or hardy, common folk of the land, I pledge my commitment that we shall weather this storm together, and impart my sincere belief that the light of greatness shall soon dispel its clouds.

 

In his historic address at Florentine, my Royal Grandfather had displayed his unwavering belief in the resilience of our Realm; resolutely, he declared that our Heartlands shall endure forevermore. It was a creed that his heirs had taken to heart, and one that my late Father, King John, had pursued to the best of his ability, guiding the ship of our state through the many tribulations that had beset him. I know now that I am greatly humbled to stand in the footsteps of great and valiant men such as himself and his closest confidantes, and I pray to the Lord that He, too, shall be my guide and lighthouse in the dark.

 

I was born in a time of great strife and upheaval, which had threatened to unravel the very seams which held the tapestry of our Realm together. The bravery and sacrifice of my cousin, the late King Edmund the Second, which he had hoped would usher in perpetual peace was not enough. The vision of an enduring Heartland was threatened again by that perfidious hand of evil which had sought to debase it in the reign of King James. 

 

It was my Royal Father who then stepped to the threshold, knowing that this sacred pursuit required a sacred war. He cried out for justice, and the virtuous host of Aaun joined their brothers in arms of the Covenant of Man to answer his call. To these stalwart allies of ours near and far, compatriots in our struggles across Aevos, I deliver greetings as well. Although my childhood was spent in worry, the banners of the Covenant were raised victoriously over Breakwater, Brasca, Anthill, Drusco, and, at last, Winburgh - and the words of my Grandfather were proven prophetic in the momentous fall of an entity feeding itself upon oppression, lies and fear. 

 

My Royal Father was a champion of war, crowned in necessity and spurred to act out of love for his kindred Man, but the peace he bought mandated a heavy price; and though in the days following his victory he ruled with wisdom and compassion, this cost could never be forgotten. I have resolved to be a champion of peace, in full recognition that a day might once more arise in which it should be maintained in blood, not the least in holy martyrdom alike that of King Edmund; but my prayers are directed towards a future which shall never usher in that grim day.

 

The Petran people, our brothers of the Heartlands, have resolved to build this future by our side. I say that there is no greater love, aside from the adoration of our Lord, than brotherly love, and convey my earnest admiration to that storied folk which has chosen to once again write the pages of history alongside the denizens of Aaun. This Confederation of the Heartlands is a testament to the strength of united Mankind, and to the vision of King John shared with the late Queen of the Petrans, Catherine. I solemnly pledge to uphold our shared institutions and the bonds we had forged, until the very moment our Union is solidified in permanence.

 

An equal commitment to our Union of Realms, one truly thorough and much greater than that Union of Lords once envisioned by my Royal Grandfather, is shared by my closest family. My numerous siblings remain with me, and united in mourning, we shall remain united in our desire to uphold the sacred duty of House Alstion towards our Heartlands. My spouse, Hedwig, who now becomes Queen, has already displayed her unyielding devotion to our cause and the virtues expected of a trueborn Queen of Aaun.

 

This is my promise to the Heartland Realm: we endure, and shall endure thereafter, under God, as one:

 

 

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Given at Whitespire,

on the 10th of Harren’s Folly, 1979

 

 

His Royal and Apostolic Majesty, CHARLES II, King of Aaun, Prince of Alstion, Duke of Vienne, the Lowlands, Balemena and Corazon, Margrave of High Peak, Count of Whitespire, Enswerp, Florentine and Talentine, Baron of Blanchet and Virdain, Protector of the Realm

 

Spoiler

Huge thanks to @LithiumSedai for all the help with this post.

 

[ibiou 2397]

The wife of CHARLES II had watched him grow from a boy with the lack of knowledge on the world, to a monarch ruling his lands. HEDWIG OF WARSOVIA could not be more prouder, and ready was she as his Queen-consort to support him and his endeavours.

[EtowTheSaltyCat 574]

"Sitting in the gardens of the Chambery Chateaux reading the messive, Nicolas would rejoice about the commtiment of the new King to his realm, looking forward to a new eara of peace and prosperity"