WORDS OF THE CHIEFTAIN

[Timer 1978]

 

ISSUED BY THE PRINCE IN REINMAR 

In the year of our Lord, 2023

 

Lo, grace upon all men who hold sword and scepter, law and writ, war and judgment. Let my words be heard among the hosts of the Covenant, among the great houses and the lesser, among the men of faith and the men of war.

It is known across the land that the Holy See of Lemon Hill has been raided, its halls defiled, and within them, the blood of a noble has been spilled. No warrior of worth calls this a battle. No man of order calls this righteous. It is not the clash of hosts upon the field, nor the contest of kings and captains. It is a thing done in darkness, a strike made in shadows where no shield may be raised, no answer given. It is shameful. It is without right. And I say now that I cast my voice against it.

Reinmar did not will this. Reinmar did not sanction it. And yet Reinmar’s name is signed upon the deed, as if it were ours to claim. The house of my fathers does not fight as thieves in the night. The sons of Reinmar do not take up arms against priests and men at prayer, nor do we wage war in the halls of the Almighty. When we make war, we do so with honor, beneath the open sky, where men may stand before their fates and meet them with steel in hand.

But who among us has forgotten this? Who among the Covenant strikes without order, without honor, without the burden of right? I look to my allies, and among them I see those who raise banners not for the cause, but for expediency. Those who ride not to forge a future, but to revel in the erosion of the present and past. Is this what we have become? A host of nameless killers, who know no law but the breath of the wind, no cause but living itself?

I say to you, men of the Covenant—if we fight, we must fight as men of order, not as marauders who stain our cause with dishonor. If we wage war, let it be a war where each deed may be stood by in the days to come, not one where shadows must be cast over the shameful and the reckless. If we are to be the makers of history, then let us not be dishonoured in its telling.

For this act, my name has been set to judgment. The Pontiff has cast me from the faith, yet the path to absolution is given: that I should stand against this deed and name it for what it is. And so I do. Not for my own sake, nor for the sake of those who think to break my will, but because I will not suffer my people to be bound to the dishonor of another’s hand.

Let it be known—I do not rebuke my faith, nor do I rebuke the order that binds men to righteousness. I rebuke the lawless, the faithless, the men among all of those who call themselves sons of Hörn, Us, Covenant or Church or elsewise, who see war as a feast, who wear the cause like a cloak, but underneath hold only hunger for blood and ruin. If we are to win, if we are to stand before history as more than a passing warband, if we are to be one, if we are to hold fast to the ways of the hallowed Hörn, then we must purge this rot from among us.

Let no man mistake this. I yield to no foreign will, nor do I falter upon my road. I remain as I am, a tribesman of the Reinmaren, a chieftain of my people. My cause does not waver, nor does my hand. But there is an order to things. And those who cast it aside will find they have no place in the days to come.

So let the judgment be rendered, and let it be just. I have spoken.

 

[Morphine 823]

Siegfried watched his father's hand and quill strike the parchment of this missive, and as his dutiful son, retrieved the birds from the aviary upon its completion.

[tasty_cheesecake 2298]

A brief, private note is sent to the Chieftain in response: 

 

“Greetings,

 

I am traveling right now, else I would immediately offer you a formal response. In the meanwhile, I will state this: Thank you, and sorry it took all of this to state clear terms between us. I look forward to meeting again soon, and you can expect our proclamation as soon as I have a sturdy desk to write on.

 

Enrique Pinieda”

[Ramon 5186]

Rudolf had never really been one capable of grasping and appreciating the power of the written word. Though, as with the last of the missives publicly distributed by his father, made sure to acquire a copy for himself so he could go and bother a retainer to read it to him in full. 

..Being mostly illiterate he had to figure out what their policy was somehow. 

[tcs_tonsils_ 3666]

Dietrich Barclay watched from his distance as the war faded. This was not a Thunderous Finale... this was a whimpering... echoing off the cave walls. But whatever happened with this nation, he trusted his Nephew. "Let us find peace in this." He then turned and showed the missive to Maebh @TaytoTot

[Reckless Banzai Screamer 15456]

An Oyashiman Reinmarenboo looked forward to peace, and looked upon the retro Oyashi-Reinmaren war poster of yesteryear on his wall with hope.

 

“Fifth Kretzenfest inbound…” He spoke to himself under bated breath.

[juliaINC 592]

The scent of incense must have lingered after Chieftess Wilhelmina for weeks—for so long had she knelt before the altar, murmuring wrathful prayers for those within the Covenant who had defiled a Temple of God.

 

When at last she stepped forth from that dim chapel and was told of her husband's writings, she allowed herself a breath of satisfaction. Amidst the disorder of war, a voice of sense had spoken at last.