Vege

The Emperor signs.

Godfrey smiles as he looks over the war map.

Godfrey’s mother bought him a dictionary for his birthday

AN ADDRESS TO THE EMPIRE OF HAENSE [!] A missive is sent out to the denizens all across the waning Haeseni Empire. Both myself and my council have written to the denizens of the Haeseni Imperium on multiple occasions before, filled with threats and warnings of what will come to those that attempt to rebel from the rightful rulers of Pertinax. This past Saint’s Week has shown that our threats are not idle and baseless, they are true. Many have born witness to the crimson ichor pooling the roads from Haense to Adria with no mercy to be offered. That is, until today. A good ruler must be strong, yet wise enough to offer those who have fallen ill to the corrupting whispers of Haense a second chance to serve under Our Empire. This has been seen, missives have been sent out as men of Curon have been welcomed under our banner with a jovial acceptance. Now, this is no longer an address to the leaders of this pitiful rebellion, this is titled to the men of this rebellion who have been deceived. We offer out to you an olive branch to put down your swords and kneel before me and mercy shall be offered. To the nobility of Curonia, For long Curon has stood as a bastion on the borders of Our once expansive empire, holding true to Imperial values. Yet your Kingdom has fallen to disarray. Naught but fuel for ambitious men. The regent who sits on your throne whispers poisonous lies to the impressionable ear of your young Crown Prince, disillusioning him from fulfilling the legacy that his grandfather left behind. The Empire you now follow purposely left the Adrian people, their vassals, to safeguard their own secular interests. To the nobility of Hanseti-Ruska, Not all of your ilk are malignant, despite such accusations; Videcilet, both the House of Stynor and the knight paramount, Ser Rodrik of Kovraia, saw the errors of the Marnan rebellion; Your intent was clear: to diverge a once prospering imperium for a taste of glory. Return to the fold, and recognise the true King. To the nobility of Ves, The king, who so indifferently undertook the mantle of Adrian Dukedom, is misguided and unable to distinguish the needs and wants of Ves with his own. It is he who idled whilst your bustling city scorched to ashes in order to preserve Reza. Ask this of yourselves -- Is this who you wish to serve? You have all been misguided; Let us usher you back into the fold, where you may assume your rightful place under the watchful eye of the Imperium Renatum. And to you, Joey, While mercy has been offered to those misguided souls behind your lies - there can be no redemption, no mercy and no negotiation offered to you. You berate us for our inflicted grievances, for our sins? You should consider your own; you come from foreign lands and perpetuate a false claim on titles you hold little claim to for your own ambitious gains. You plunge the continent in blood and you have men sally forth and fight as a means to propel your own endeavours. You slander my family, speaking of a brutal massacre within Sennisten that prompted the theft of infants from their mothers. Perhaps if you were not idle in the realm of Men for your entire life, you would be aware that it was a peaceful transfer of power from your family to mine. But if we are to speak of the slaughter of innocent babes, perhaps we can investigate the sudden disappearance of the Crown Princess, Lady Valera Varoche’s, firstborn son when she was declared a bastard of my grandfather. You speak of the great wrongdoings we have inflicted upon Ves and the men of Adria, yet who marched alongside us to burn their city? The men of Curon assisted the Dragon Knights in the throne room; the King of Haense allowed Renatus & Curon to raze Ves, their illustrious capital. There is no overarching innocent in the politics of mankind; there is none less accountable than the other. You are a pretender and a disgrace with no presence other than those scribed unto your missives. You ignore the superior claim of the Johannians, violating your own lauded laws. It is fitting that you write love letters to those who are afar: if you were so confident in your rebellion, they would be by your side and not fleeing to another land. Our family, Our princes -- they fight with no fear on the battlefield. Where do your Kings and Princes fight? Those who would style this as a war of two emperors - or a fight of two dragons are ill-informed. Joey is no dragon and no emperor. He is a dead man walking and a traitor to all Men. Long before his arrival on the continent, the Reivers have been a long established enemy of the people you so vehemently claim to defend. Alas, you hired them as you began to comprehend you do not have a chance; Do you truly have no integrity? Enjoy your rule, albeit self-proclaimed, while it lasts for it shall not persist much longer. Woe to the empire of Haense.

Clive the Jester begins to sing ”Roses are red, This battle isn’t real, Haense has already lost, Joseph’s about to kneel.”

“Making up battles now are we?” says the Emperor. “Classic Haensetic Empire behaviour.”

“Turn on your own and you will surely fall.” proclaims the Emperor of Man.

THE TRAITOR AND THE QUEEN: IMPERIAL LETTERS FOR THE KINGDOM OF CURON, 1715 Issued and confirmed by His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Imperium Renatus, Godfrey III of the House of Horen, 15th of Tobias’ Bounty, 1715  TO OUR BELOVED SUBJECTS, The traitors EDGAR DEVEREUX and ECBERT DEVEREUX have betrayed the Empire and have declared themselves for the false pretender Joseph Marna, declaring war upon our very own loyal subjects. It is such that the Imperial Crown has decided on the lawful decision to revoke the KINGDOM OF CURON from these false pretenders, henceforth exiling each of them and their loyalists from the Empire and its domain. It as such also pleases the Imperial Throne to reward the service of Our loyal subject, with a tenure in fealty to Our Imperial Crown, beneath His Imperial Majesty, Godfrey III Horen. Accordingly, with this grace of God and the counsel of Our court, We do enfeoff ANABEL HOREN-DEVEREUX to the KINGDOM OF CURON as Queen, a role they and their legitimate issue shall hold in trust to Our throne for the duration of their loyal service. They are enjoined to maintain the law of Our realm, to abide peacefully by Our rule, and to rise to Our defense when necessary. In return, and as a sign of Our august graciousness, We do privilege their head to levy law and taxes upon their vassals. IN NOMINE DEI HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Godfrey III of the House of Horen, Emperor of the Imperium Renatum, King of Renatus, Marna, Mardon, Salvus, Seventis, Savoy, Courland and Santegia,, Duke of the Crownlands, Avar, and Frederica, Count of Helena, Alamar, Frederica, Thesmer, Thelen, Lorath, and Cantal, Baron of Darkwood, Gravelhold, Fidei Defensor, Protector of the Heartlanders, Highlanders, Farfolk, etcetera. 

A RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED JOSEPHITES From across Arcas comes word of this ‘Nenzing Proclamation’ - a so-called list of decrees from the fale-lord Joseph who sits within Reza or Leuven or Ves, too weak to hold lands of his own - and feels bold enough to offer honeyed words and commanding decrees. To this he appends a list of petty grievances: some manufactures, some simple occasions when our soldiers have triumphed over treasonous agents. To this list we shall append a hundred new-fold grievances for these rat’s wives and mothers to weep and lament over; the punishment for their treason shall be sweet death lest they repent. Already near a half-dozen signatories lie dead, choking on their own blood. Our soldiers shall not rest until this fate befalls all who break their ancient oaths. Yet more than simple death there is a better refute to this proclamation - its own words are false and either misled or simple lies offered by a deceiving lord who seeks to rise above his own station. This ‘Joseph of Marna’ bases his claim to Oren upon his position as the most senior descendants of the House of Horen before the House of Pertinax ascended to the throne. This is false. The blood of John still runs in the veins of the descendants of Charles Elliot; the Prince of Alstion is father of Godfrey III’s bride and serves loyally the Emperor of the Imperium Renatus. They accept the primacy of the Emperor and serve him loyally, not lying for power but instead offering true and real fealty. While these Johannians live the Horen-Marnans shall remain a lesser line. They attempt to base their rule upon a social contract and supposed rights, yet hold none of the rights to control of their lineage which would enable this proclamation to be true. There is no claim to be had in descent from the Marnanites. As rebels always do, cloistered away in dark corridors with their bitter tongues flapping, they attempt to rewrite history. The Empire they seek to do away with and replaced was preceded by the Crown of Renatus-Marna, a dual monarchy held by Aurelius I. The men of Marna accepted this claim and obeyed him, for it was only through unity that strength came to the Kingdoms of Men, and only now cast this off in a brazen attempt for power. Behind this claim stands an old, creaking Church unfit to walk in the footsteps of its holy forefathers. This modern Church has always been a political body, devoid of any spirituality. Have-beens walk its halls, desperate to cling to some form of temporal power whilst garbed in the plain clothing of those who pretend to abstain from it. The Church has bent to the will of Horen for gain before, deposing Pontiffs at the request of a King, and they now attempt to return to it again. True Canonists know them to be manufacturers of the false. His Imperial Majesty Godfrey III stands beyond the bounds of this crumbling edifice, a representative of the Creator in His power and majesty. Once the rats and heretics who have overtaken the Church are cleared out and trialled for their falsehoods and desire for temporal peace can be restored. Here, again, a Horen uses the Church for his own gain - it is simply the case that now he abandons ‘Horen’ and goes only by ‘Marna’. It is this fact which reveals to us the very truth of the matter. This Joseph has no miraculous claim to the Throne; history has not been misled and he is no saviour here to correct its cause. He is the standard-bearer of the embittered and weak, he offers a list of grievances that are in truth naught more than falsehoods and punishments. With their every word and proclamation - with every whispered lamentation and haunted scream of Renatian tyranny - they reveal the truth of this matter. They are the defeated. Their cause is that of the spurned and the weak; the plotter who has been revealed from behind the shadowed curtain and punished. We shall destroy this rebellion of men who do not even hold the claim they pretend to have and restore order to these lands. We shall destroy the snakes and knaves who gather, attempting to use this usurper to further their own gains. We need to look no further than the men who place their name upon this proclamation to see the weakness and falsity of this host. The men of Ves, burned for their treachery. The men of Leuven who descend from the bastard Baldwin and falsify their noble heritage. Marius who did nothing to aid the Adrians in their hour of need and now, when he sees the spectre of opportunity and a greater chance of victory, hoists his false-banner behind this claimant. Beware, Joseph, for these ghoula shall one day attempt to betray you also. The Imperium Renatus still reigns supreme, and shall continue to do so. Those who have been deceived by the honeyed words of the traitor are welcome amongst our loyal allies. Those who persist in their treason shall see their names added to the 90 Grievances.

”Their lands will be burned, their leaders purged, their name forgotten and their future destroyed.” Proclaims Godfrey. ”Let the bonfires begin.”

“Letus make it 100 before the year is out.” says Godfrey, Emperor of Man.

The Emperor changes the law to hold legal authority over the church.

The Emperor fires the High Pontiff.

Remus Godfrey smiles.

u got me

Percival Staunton lights his cigarette.