Publius

"Our people have leeches bearing down from the north, it is time to pluck them off. God bless young Leufroy, God bless Lotharingia." Odo d'Amaury would say, sending a drafted letter to be reviewed by Leufroy. The revised version would soon find John of house Horen...

"Very keen of you," notes Odo

"Perhaps she broke under the weight of a heavy heart?" Odo would sadly muse to the servant who approached him with the news. "I worry sometimes on the thought of those who are not conditioned for war like a soldier, for we see so many distant gazes in the streets these days. Send my condolences, if Courland still lets any Tahnic ships land."

masterpiece/masterstroke

"Roswell's are men of undying loyalty; their service to Titus de Sola without question is stuff of fables, yet Courland fails to keep them under their yoke." Odo would say from Metz. "I must to send missives to these men, they ought not toil without brother's in arms."

7th of the Deep Cold, 1611... A blanket of snow covered Metz for the first time in decades, the weather itself seeming to express the bitterness of the world. From it, a courier would sally to the coast to set sail, seeking Aleksandria to relay a message. Copies of the letter would be sent by couriers heading north on horseback; there would be no mistaking Lotharingia’s position in the days to come. The letter would read as follows: To the King of Courland, Unbecoming of a sovereign is your hissing and ignorance. You cannot honestly claim faith in the Creator and a belief in humanity's divine nature therein, whilst simultaneously pursuing this regressive path with such zeal. Our request was simple; do not let the Dwarves meddle. Whence such insecurity is born from a rebellion that a man would act as a consort of other races, his nation is no longer sovereign. Congratulations though are in order; the Fenn and Dwed have recovered since John the Relentless smashed them alongside your ancestors, and have made vassals of old adversaries. Of course, that is good on them, not you. You have learned no lessons from the evils and follies of the Empire as you have antagonized the men of the north in the exact same way they had Courland. Far from you are the crusaders of justice and freedom you used to fashioned yourselves as, as your hearts were consumed first by wrath, and now seized by greed and fear. How cute, that you may now empathize so greatly with the Empire you lament our brotherhood stemming from destroying. Do not again speak on my people's history and call us hypocrites; we fought against Oren, as did every sovereign state on Axios. Our liberation came with our desire for self determination and against oppression, a plight the Ruthern’s relate well to. Before us both the ghost of Tobias proclaimed the world would know peace or death in reference to the Westerlands, yet the Dwarves waged war anyhow. Lotharingia has the exact same grievances against Norland - if they can even be called that - of once historically having their obligations as vassals broken. Our animosity for the Dwarves and their wickedness should be one we both share, alas, you have not the spine to stand up to someone half your size. In your place, we will though. Having abandoned Lotharingia in its war against Mardon during a succession crisis as well, I find it especially humourous you would even begin to talk on honour at all, nevermind in the same breath. Whether you thought we would sit and continue to get berated and support your claim quite genuinely, I must assure you this; we will not. Prepare for War. GOD bless, King Regent, Odo d’Amaury

Odo paces about the palace in Metz, his expression tense following the dispatch. "We looked to the Westerlands and saw what was a priority to all mortals, but the greed of the Stout knows no bounds; may this conflict of man end soon, so we may march against the true enemies of humanity." Without further elaboration, he would await in his chambers. These last days of his rule would determine his legacy, and no misstep could take place from hereon.

Dearest Hughes, Our history has seen our Goldfields finding consistent sustenance through the rain of blood. You may not now know the stresses I have witnessed, as you were but a boy, but the risk of a succession crisis and ruinous intra-state conflict is not possible to recommence in our current state. Within Lotharingia and our bloodline, we find a history of leadership and God graced grandeur that few can relate to. Whether it be in the empire, or our liberation, from de Sola to d’Amaury we ought not find ourselves toiling over anything beneath the Seven Skies. You are but a boy. In my near four decades of living, my eyes have beheld the fires that have set alight all we know, and for you to come ahead of a band who dares even spill blood in our court makes my stomach turn; you are not old enough to lead, and those who propose you do so seem untempered. May those men who bear over you see that my regency is nothing but legal, I can trust you are not a marionette of evil. Simply see one path as necessary for our people, that of which I see none able to dissuade another of; Our chivalry, adherence to our oaths and honour, and lastly, our protection of those who hold nothing dear but the Creator and his chosen people's betterment. For you I offer your birthright on a silver platter. More than you could have achieved without my intervention, for I respect the laws of our land. We need not toil; but I know not what is to come of the meeting we had since my assumption of Royal responsibilities. Such ungraceful entry into the court of Metz would be met with execution by any other lord, but my spirit imbues me with both great moral endurance and patience. I wish not to just hear from you among written correspondence, but from you as a boy budding into a man. What transpired the other day was beyond necessary, but I have ensured that my back may be stressed with a strenuous grace by assuming the path of the righteous. I await your pronouncement at Ostwick, so I may block the Bastard’s Band from flooding our lands otherwise. Should we find peace though, I pray it's by virtue of reason. God Bless, Odo d’Amaury