Proddy

I’m proud of you for having the courage to come out and being able to speak publicly and very candidly about all of this. Were I in the same shoes, I daresay I wouldn’t posses half the bravery that you do. For what it’s worth; I don’t think and have never thought you were ever a bad person. We’re all human and do things we come to regret, it’s about how we recognise these mistakes and we grow as a person from them. I think this is the never-ending challenge of life and morality. You come across a hurdle in the road and it takes a real strong human being with true conviction to consider how they’ll overcome it, not about how high it is or how impossible it is to face up to the challenge. I’ve faced my own challenges and tribulations in the past several years that I still deal with even to this day; former drug addiction, an estrangement from my family and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. I think it’s easy to become so deeply engrossed into this mineman world we’ve created for ourselves during hard times because unlike reality, it’s a ‘perfect’ utopia. Unlike reality we can shape how this world changes and what happens within it. It makes you lose a lot of the perspective of what’s really important in life. Keep on keeping on.

Peter Amadeus de Sarkozy of Pompourelia looks down from the Seven Skies with his mother Henrietta of Alstion, the woman who had shared the same unfortunate fate as he so many years before. And for the first time in a long time the two of them rejoiced – the tyrant of Sutica shall face a swift justice at last. No longer would he be free to oppress not only the Orenian people within his state but his own people. They would be saved from the shackles of dictatorship from their terrorist, authoritarian leader at last. ”I tried to warn you.” the deceased Pompourelian heir hums coyly, a gleeful grin stretching it’s way upon his lips. ”You have killed me, and now I have become more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I would say I shall see you soon Alstreim, but your only destination is straight to hell.”

FATE AGAINST YOUR WILL After so many years of tribulation over the matter, Peter Amadeus de Sarkozy finally grasped the circumstances behind his mothers death. The truth had tore his spirit asunder and weighed heavy upon his heart for the majority of his visit to Sutica; even now dried tear stains still grazed his cheeks, his eyes glazed and misted from the waterworks that had run from them earlier. It was heavy truth, and hard to handle; his mother the Princess Henrietta Alstion had come to Sutica not to see his grandfather at all. She had came to die by her own hand, discontent with the many griefful circumstances of her life; her unhappy marriage to his father, the near extinction of her house and family as well as her own social status and position with the Orenian Empire. It made him consider, even for a second, that she didn’t love him and his siblings enough to even entertain the idea of staying alive, just for them. A mother's love for her son is endless… his brain echoes the thought to him. A sentiment a good friend had once told him, not so long ago. The Sarkozy would rise steadily to his feet, content with the time he has spent at his mother’s grave. He had got to say a proper goodbye, and that was that. He turns then to face his chaperone and accomplice; the Trade King of Sutica, Corwin von Alstreim and his Elfess bodyguard. Though this was only his second time meeting the man yet he couldn’t help but have a small amount of respect for him already - in their meeting today he had granted him the story, told him exactly of what he’d known in extensive detail. Was there anymore he could have done beyond that, to cool the heart of the ill-tempered and brooding young Pompurelian lordling? There was no telling, though the revelation would allow Peter Amadeus closure; a bridge to look to the future and not to the past any longer. As Peter would walk away, having given his thanks to the Sutican monarch for his honesty, he paused. One question still lingered in his mind… he had been told that his mother wrought to take her own life, yet when he’d asked how she did the deed before, the question was quickly avoided and the subject changed. A nascent feeling in the youth’s gut would begin to stir at that instance… one of mistrust and wary. Stopping in his tracks, he spins back around to face the Trade King and his accomplice. “How did she do it?” he questions at once, noticing a rapid shift in demeanor from Corwin after that. A nervous and even weary expression taking the monarchs face. He would open his mouth to speak. “I was under oath to kill her as a traitor to the Aurelian Empire, and so I did - I assisted her in her suicide, though rather than give her a traitors death by beheading, I pierced a blade through her heart.” An intense anger began to burn and scorch hot then as a realisation struck him; a terrible reality, yet a reality all the less. Through this whole exchange he had been vehemently lied too; this ‘suicide’ story had been a lie concocted to cover up the great crime of this despicable man that stood before him; that he had murdered a mother, a daughter and a wife in broad daylight with little remorse or second thorough. The Sarkozys hand began to quake and writhe with wroth, his digits curling inward to form a balled fist. Murderer, murderer…. His mind began to chant and scream on it’s own. Murderer…. Peter Amadeus would succumb to his rage on that unfortunate day, and his vision would turn red. Some moments later…. “Fine. Don’t duel me then. Only know that one day, I will kill you. You won’t know when it’s coming, or how. But when you are laying there bleeding out on the ground as my mother was, you’ll know it was me.” “I’ve made preparations to live for a long time. I cannot say the same thing for you.” At once the King of Sutica’s gauntleted hand would grasp Peter by the scruff of his collar, throwing him to the ground. The Sarkoy would try in vein to slice into the monarchs arm with his dagger, but he would be too late; his knife being thrown from his hand as he’d be shoved to the floor. Peter would have little time to react to the act of aggression; the tyrant of Sutica would pin his foot down hard onto his legs so that’d be unable to move. With his zweihander clutched in both hands, he looms over him and thrusts the blade down into the gut of the sixteen year old. Watching him as he’d cry and shriek in anguish. So then did his bodyguard come hither; the Elfess. Her black mace clenched tightly within her hands, she brings it up skyward; and then downard, pummelling it mercilessly like a barbarian against his skull. The Count Pompourelia’s son would let out a pained cry, a nasty, bloody gash forming on his face his his features would fill fresh blood, the flesh beneath the skin on his face bared for all to see. “P-please…” he’d whimper, almost as though reverting back to a frightened child. “D-don’t kill me… I won’t tell a soul you killed her, only let me live.” “Rest with the maggots now.” the brutish Elfess would murmur, positioning her mace as she swings it at his head, cracking his skull and bringing his life to an end. A young life with a bold future ahead of him, full of endless possibility brought to an abrupt and brutal close without any consideration for life and liberty. Back in Helena within the courts of the Palace de Novellen, rumours would begin to circulate like wildfire on the whereabouts of Lord Pompurelia’s eldest son. Many knew that he had gone on a short trip, but where and the nature of it would be unclear to the vast majority… If one dared to search the chambers of Peter Amadeus and rummage through his cabinet, they would find an open letter - unsealed and folded-over, yet distinctly in his handwriting. To whom it may concern, If you come across this letter and I haven’t returned to Helena after a Saints Day, my trip was to Sutica to speak to the Trade King Corwin von Alstreim about the circumstances regarding my mother, the Princess Henrietta of Alstions death. If I have not returned within a Saint’s Day, I am likely dead also or within the Trade King’s custody, as he is the only person in Sutica I’ve scheduled to visit and I make plans to depart swiftly once my business there has concluded. I urge whoever finds this letter to turn it into the relevant authorities if necessary. I also urge the Ministry of Intelligence to speak to Tatiana Lorina d’Arkent immediately, as she can confirm the details of my trip as I have documented here. Yours in trust, -P.A Sarkozy.

House of Commons Committee of Petitions, 1770 As mandated by the Sixteenth Imperial Diet, the Petitions Committee, composed of both Everardine and Josephite Members of the House of Commons, is charged with the oversight of passing or denying petitional legislative bills from the general public for the House to review as well as drafting these bills in their official capacity. It is also the duty of the Petitions Committee to respond to public protest and consensual opinion regarding an existing bill or a prospective bill and vote on the acceptance or denial to bring forth the proposition to the House consensually. Composition: MHC Winston Rothesay, Chairman; @Proddy MHC Amadeus d’Aryn, Member; @Caranthir_ MHC Angelika Bykov, Member; @AnonymousAlexa MHC Konstantin Wick, Member; @Xarkly MHC Sigmar Baruch, Member; @Drew2_dude Annual Agenda: To meet and assess future prospective petitional bills and legislation from the general public. To convene and vote on whether a petitional bill should be passed or denied review in the House of Commons, once it has reached a minimum of five signatories. To draft legislative petitional bills to present to the House of Commons should it be passed by the Committee or reach a minimum of ten signatories - in which the bill shall be passed for review by default, though a hearing may still be required with the bills creator in question to detail its major points and contents. Petitional Bill Format Find attached below the Petitional Bill Format which should be used to write petitions and should be submitted to the Committee upon reaching a signatory count of approximately five. Please keep in mind that for a petitional bill to be valid for consideration, it’s writer must be a registered citizen on the most recent Imperial Census. Signatories must also be registered Imperial Citizens or else their signatory will be counted as invalid.

What are these super secret line of Carrions from other servers? Sounds very intriguing and I’d love to know more!

”Oh bully to you, you belligerent beast” Winston Rothesay groans are he overhears of Cyrus’s response, lighting a cigar using a lit candle on his desk. ”To point out the fact that the Josephite Party Chair resigned his post in the Imperial State Army a day before a battle is not a reflection of our views on the fantastic work and sacrifice the ISA does for our country every day. Whilst I thank him for his service, it would be to the benefit of all if Mister Basrid tendered to his retirement and left the business of politics to more stable men.” ”That’s because it’s the truth” Winston refutes this point, shaking his head. ”We’ve had numerous reliable sourcest that government figures have openly and publicly backed the Josephite party and strongly encouraged that their loyal subjects and followers vote this way. If the Emperor were to openly endorse one party or the other, would people not call this biased and undemocratic? Will people not be encouraged to vote one way because his Imperial Majesty believes that they should, therefore destroying the ideals of free-thought and opinion? Why should any representative of a governmental or monarchial medium be allowed to do this without scrutiny? It’s an absolute disgrace to the institution of the Monarchy and his cabinets and the role it should play in this day and age.”

Winston L. Rothesay MHC reads over the latest publication of the Prince-Archbishop of Albarosa, nodding with great approval.

THE JOSEPHITES OF 1768 “What do you mean we can’t bribe the judiciary anymore, you baseborn cur?” The following picks at the vague points raised in the Josephite factional platform, with each section quoting the publications own headers. This is published with the intention of seeking truth, and to stop the Orenian people from being misled. ON ‘INNOVATION THROUGH INDEPENDENCE’ By Winston L. Rothesay It has become clear to both us and the wider general Orenian public that since the results of the last results of the National Election, a guarantee of a free market economy from the Josephites has been both failed in being delivered and ripe with inequality. Big corporations and industries continue to dominate the Orenian market, leaving smaller businesses not only isolated but unable to earn a proper living wage in exchange for their services to our nation. Beyond this, the inflation of the market has severely increased within the past several years: commodities on the market such as clothes, furniture, even food and drink are criminally deflated compared to the average income of an Orenian citizen. This leaves a broken and ultimately flawed economy that remains crippled by its own lack of earnings and profit that it can pull from the market per annum. Not only has this unfair and flagrantly biased balance of power on the market remained untouched and unaltered by the Josephites, but they presently have and have never had no set form or policies for what their proposition of a ‘laissez-faire’ free market entails. These are empty and useless platitudes that do nothing to stabilise the state of our economy nor give any hope or indication of what the market may look like in the future. The Everardine Party has established a set and clear path for the revitalisation and revolution of the common market. We want to see proper accountable checks and balances implemented into this system to encourage a fair dynamic market where all might have a chance to grow their businesses and expand. We desire to see this fiscal imbalance of deflated pricing imposed upon goods and wares be put to rest; we will put this plan in motion by making an honest conversation about raising the prices on general items such as food, tools for trades such as mining pickaxes, weapons and furniture be raised by a significant amount so that we may get the economy starting for all of us. To combat this rise however we promise a pay rise for the average Orenian worker as well as introducing a national minimum wage and pay-schemes for other public work sectors. ON ‘MAINTAINING OUR RIGHTS’ By Minority Leader Amadeus d’Aryn The Josephites claim that they are the party to reduce bureaucratic inefficiency and to maintain a “delicate balance of power”, yet they brush over the fact that they have been in power for three decades and counting, and have in their time never checked on the bureaucracy or held it to account. Committees did not efficiently function to scrutinise Ministers of the Crown, and the budget laws have been effectively forgotten. During the last session of the House of Commons, the Josephites did not establish procedure, did not establish committees, did not hold budget votes, and when the Everardine bench initially proposed a resolution to create the committees, it was overruled without a vote. The Everadines truly do care about the balance of power, and that is why we fight to get ourselves elected so we can fix the system. One third of all the Acts passed by the Imperial Diet have now gone defunct or redundant, which is good for no bureaucracy and does more harm than good with competing laws which confuse Orenians. There was no attempt to repeal or revise these laws, nor bring them into modernity through the House of Commons. They say that they are “committed to upholding and preserving these institutions”, yet their own Ministry of Education bill was denied assent by His Imperial Majesty on the basis it altered the Council of State - and thereby our institutions - in an unlawful and damaging way. ON ‘FEDERALISM AND THE BALANCE BETWEEN PROVINCES’ By Minority Leader Amadeus d’Aryn The Josephites say that they want to “mandate constabularies” in the provinces, thereby showing the Josephite tendency for big governments. This line is one that has been repeated through their politics time and time again, and the fallacy that the Josephites are anything but the faction of big government is untrue. The Everardines want an Oren that shifts the diadem from state action to social action, encouraging collective community responsibility whilst also enforcing tough new rules on incivility on our streets, increasing the power of all relevant authorities to issue punishment through on-the-spot fines. The Everardine Fixed-Penalties Act ensured that the ISA, provincial authorities and the constabulary would be given the power to issue fines for minor offences without waiting for lengthy court delays when it is obvious a crime has been committed. We have given all our policing authorities sweeping new powers to stop anti-social infractions on the streets whilst still guaranteeing the right to fair trial. The Josephites promise that they have “passed laws [in the House of Commons] that protect the citizens of provinces, guaranteeing fair trial of their peers and neighbours”. This is untrue. The Everardine Non-Partisan Judiciary Act introduced at the beginning of the session was overwhelmingly opposed by the Josephite benches, only for them to fall in line when a faction rebellion was threatened from within. The Josephites facilitated their friends and vested interests to gain positions within the judiciary, believing them to be ‘of the right sort’, from ‘a good stock’. They opposed judges that were without political affiliation - specifically their political affiliation. Indeed, they were overheard in the Commons as saying “if we have to make them [judges] nonpartisan, how will we get any of our judges confirmed?” Whilst the Josephites pretend to be the faction in the interests of the ‘common man’ the Everardines recognise that all Orenians are fundamentally of equal repute, and they genuinely care about the everyday issues that people on the street have. Be them small businesses, families, soldiers, veterans, or clergy. We believe in a big society instead of big government, where everyone is invited to take part in the job of government. Our clear and consistent message throughout has been to shift from state control into social responsibility, where we look after each other instead of using divisive, false, misleading, and hypocritical narratives. The following piece was submitted to us anonymously. On the 13th of Tobias’ 1764, Orenian forces marched upon the bandit stronghold of Boomhill, within their ranks was Ensign Jonah Elendil. After the battle while wounded men recovered and heroes celebrated, Jonah Elendil resigned his commission in the Imperial State Army having served as a fully trained officer for less than a year and fighting in one battle, he said he couldn't handle it. Numerous sources from the ISA past and present have reached out to us regarding the image the ‘Josephite hero’ praises himself as, a veteran he claims. The soldiers who fought with him however say otherwise… ______________________________________________________________________ ”Aye, Elendil... I knew him, he was an ensign when I was in. A soldier? I'm not sure. I know I fought in six battles, I held brothers dying in my arms. I fought until I lost my leg. Elendil quit the ISA after one battle. Make of that what you will.” “He graduated, but he was never any good in training, always mucking about. Like he didn't take it seriously? Our first engagement after that was Boomhill. I was there at the front, fighting hard I like to think, But I couldn't see Elendil on the line at all when the General called charge.” “We lost a hero that day, Private Vitaly, good man, and a better soldier. He was a hero, a veteran. Elendil… It makes me sick to see him present himself as a veteran when he couldn't serve for one year.” “Well you see, he was given a commission because he was in the gentry, when I was in the ISA I had to fight as a private. I wish I could have been given the opportunity Elendil wasted.” “... I remember after the battle, his first battle, we were all formed up at the bastille, the officers were tending the wounded in the hospital, we paid a price that day and paid it gladly. But Elendil, who wouldn't serve, ended up resigning that day.” ”Truthfully I'm not sure how I feel, If he couldn't stick it out and fight with us enlisted then, how will he fight for us in the commons?” ______________________________________________________________________ The Josephites say “The Josephite vision is one of merit” Yet Jonah Elendil used his family's name to secure himself a commission in the ISA, why did he not earn his position through merit? The Josephites Say “It is now our duty as Imperials to uphold the values he fought for, and fight for the rights we have yet to be given.” Yet Jonah Elendil wouldn't fight for them. He wants the common man to fight in his stead. People of the Empire, will you elect a man who wouldn't fight when his Emperor called? A man who cut and ran after his first battle? If Jonah Elendil couldn’t handle fighting for the Empire upon the field of battle, how will he fight for the Empire in the commons?

Charles Lothair Pruvia-Albarosa shudders and sobs quietly as he shall be forced to contend with two of his greatest fears once again; large crowds and lots of obnoxiously loud chatter.

Peter would sigh as a servant of the Novellen would bring his personal invitation to him in his chambers. His immature and poorly-tempered mind still taking the late invitation as a slight, he would begin to crumple up the parchment, moving for the fireplace to scorch it like the other.... but just as he would go to throw it, he pauses. Pocketing the creased invitation into the front of his crimson frock coat with a minor change of heart.

Peter Amadeus de Sarkozy, the eldest son of the Count of Pompourelia sneers as he finds his name missing from the invitations list. He ponders whether this was purposeful or not as he reflects on his recent disagreement with Captain Peter Baldwin d’Arkent in Owynsburg, pushing his fingertips against his temple in annoyance as he tosses the missive into a nearby fireplace.

A pale and sickly Charles Lothair ruminates on his familial history shortly shortly after viewing it with his sister Hildegarde Amalie and the rest of their siblings whilst he lays in his bed, recovering from one of his usual common colds. He gains +1 learning.

A long dead Richard Ambrose de Bar smiles down from the heavens, stood beside his bastard son Robert with whom he had met and connected with in the afterlife. The father and son would be watching the actions of their distant cousins with eager excitement until the very end of time itself.

Hi. Basically the issue I’m having is that I’m trying to enter my username into the payment portal and it comes up with ‘the username is invalid’ everytime despite the username being 100% correct. Unsure why this is happening and I’d like a bit of guidance. Thank you.

Peter Amadeus de Sarkozy frowns deeply as he finds himself, his father the Count of Pompourelia and his siblings to have been omitted from the special invitations list. He makes the snap decision to attend regardless, having a stableboy of the Novellen prepare his pony for him for the short ride to Selm.