The Iron Surgeon

[Nectorist 12871]

 

The Iron Surgeon

 

The rule of the Heartlands, and those acquisitions east and west, must be undertaken by a surgeon whose will is as strong as iron. It must be one who knows the fleches of our humanity and feels, in their heart, a ceaseless and infinite sorrow for the condition that they have inherited.

 

The disarray that the weaker parts of humanity found itself in, though cloaked in the shining cape of its Covenant, was revealed by the most minimal application of pressure. The castle of Barbanov, and those houses which took shelter beneath its roof, had its door kicked in at Koppány, then had its foundations ripped from the earth at Cordelie. If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that unity cannot be derived from signatures on a treaty, but it instead must be the culmination of the collective will of humanity to align itself in the direction of its own betterment. As stagnancy and status quo became hallmarks of the Covenant, they soon became a rot which grasped at the heart of all those who embraced it. This rot weakened their spirits and resolve; even if they still made feints for true power, they lacked the will to grab it.

 

We are a sickened humanity, plagued by a disease of sloth and ineptitude. In this dark hour, where the faintest rays of light have broken through the storm’s clouds, it is imperative that we turn to the few who may excise the illness of weakness and enable us to find the strength that was taken for granted in our past. It is our collective responsibility to obey their command and take heed of their wisdom, for if we repeat the mistakes of the past three centuries, we will soon again find ourselves thrown into an era of disunity and dissolution. Sacrifice, the kind which humanity cannot stomach, will be the bitter medicine that heals us, for duty, honor, glory, and those other ideal pursuits, cannot be reached without it.

 

It is in His Majesty, Tiberias, that the Lord blesses us with the iron surgeon, an agent whom we may entrust to put himself at the disposal of the Almighty and serve as the instrument of humanity’s rejuvenation. He and his principal officers, the few healthy stalks of our wilted crop, shall right the wrongs of our recent past and instill within us the values that have been lost. No longer will blind adherence to the comfort of the status quo stifle the natural ambition within our souls, but we must endeavor to perfect ourselves and improve our constitution nonetheless, for it is our duty as subjects of Burgundy to aid our king in his most holy mission. I implore thee, my fellow Burgundians, to live as men and women of a new era, for at this moment forward, it is in our hands that the new age is charted. Obey our master, King Tiberias, and better thyself so that good, dependable subjects of the Heartlands can be the steel of his tools. 

 

Cassius Mareno

 

[Chorale__ 2147]

The Baron of Artois read the contents of the missive as he nestled into his family’s new arrangement, opting to descend upon a moving crate with sweat beading his brows from the day they’d endured.

 

”Diu protège le Roi,” Charles tutted with patriotism for his Burgundian counterparts. “God save the King,” he clarified for his young children and proclaims further, “Long may he reign. Tiberias— the Iron Surgeon.” a military salute rendered.