Publius

"A signature so nice, you gotta write it twice~!" Says a flamboyant Lotharingian.

Jacques d'Amaury smiles broadly, readying his rhetoric for another round.

It isn't about getting along, it's about not persecuting everyone and their uncle using OOC means over RP

He lost his region to a 3 year old with no home grown support despite having the backing of at least 40 extremely active players and many more irregulars. He wasn't even allowed to keep one of his vassals keeps, despite having several who had owned the subregions and actively rp'd there. Since then he's never truly been given an opportunity to integrate, my own efforts to give him a chance in Azul ending up getting my regency of Lorraine revoked (that, and supporting Draeris for being heir ironically enough). The OOC persecution leads to stuff like that, and to having to fight if you have any ambition beyond being a wood elven rice farmer. Naturally, he is no friend of the empire that forsakes him, and it's finally at a cost.

I’m going to keep this brief so that the friendos can look this over front to back because this is pretty important to me. I hope I don’t come off as too preachy but I wanted to comment on a few points that led past wars (such as the Duke’s War) to be destructive despite being “settled.” Whether or not we like to admit it, loyalties in roleplay transfer into OOC. This truth applies to things such as moderating and people’s opinions. This can’t be prevented; however, actively pressuring people, gaslighting, threatening and taking each RP action as a personal slight can. These instigate some of the worst things to come out of wars such as this one. Chiefmost among these issues though is the rampant wariness of players. They become paranoid of one another. They begin to actively justify persecuting particular people over it by using any roleplay measure in their grasp. This causes genuine animosity and moves the war away from the server to skype and teamspeak. It has led to some of our lowest points of activity in LoTC history. I hope there is an opportunity available for the defeated community to establish themselves regardless of who wins the war. There is a reason the forums have blown up so much: Players have the right to continue playing on this server without fear of being harassed off of it. Both sides must de-escalate the intensity and pressure that has made past conflicts so detrimental and harmful to the server. I am calling for the staff to help secure the communities that have become disenfranchised from recent wars and events so that we don’t hit such deep lows again. I especially hope that some of my fellow screamers can cool their jets and show grace if this warclaim goes the right way; it's easy to get carried away.

Jacques d'Amaury laces up his boots, ready to run out and greet the hell out of his speedy 'lil nephew!

Publius Bracchus frowns from the Seven Skies, his choice of reason seeing all he ever worked for stripped from him as he became a footnote of history himself, drowned in milk and honey for an Emperor's entertainment...

"The Empire was so desperate for friends that they flooded our city with heretics. I hope they made many copies; it will act as the kindling to the pyre we toss the lot in." Jacques d'Amaury says with a frown, tossing a copy into the moat of Metz before riding further from the perimeter to inform his men on the announcement.

7th of Sun's Smile, 1593 "Stabbed in the back, not the spine my friend." On the morning of a warm summer day, of Northwestern Lorraine saw a small troop of men set off for the city of Krakow. The Great Golden of House d'Amaury rose high above an aged man with a determined look off towards the distance, thinking on his returning home. Home to the people of Lorraine, against the Empire; against his Horenian cousins. More cautiously they rode towards the city as men gawked on them, attracting the attention of many distrustful men and women. Hurt people, who now had besiege the heart of their very home, now bore witness to the founder of Metz and first Axiosi leader of Lorraine; Jacques d'Amaury. The tall and slender man greeted the onlookers with a broad smile, his pride overshadowing the pain of his departure. Just inside the city's gate he remained as his company sought out people to hear a declaration from the old d'Amaury man. From his horse, he looked onto the people, beginning to holler a rehearsed declaration; "Good people and better listeners, I come to praise you for your intuition." He would say, raising a finger to the air as he raised his voice. "You have helped to stimey the Imperial invasion of Lotharingian land before we had been perceptive enough to see the evil that has possessed the damned Emperor Philip I. Without provocation, Metz is contested by an over-ambitious, treacherous knight, who seeks to end the righteous and legal rule of my family. Rather than mediate and protect my dear nephew, the monkeys in the concrete jungle of Johannesburg have backed him. If they wish to act so hastily, then a hasty defense is necessary; we forsake our cousins and seek the spirited Courlanders and our Savoyard brothers!" Pulling the reigns of his horse, he'd begin to turn and sally out of the city. "Should they have us, House d'Amaury embraces the rebellion as it must to defend itself. May the corpse of Ser Otto feed the fish of Metz's moat, and I beseech you to help my people liberate their home from the invasion from the west!" Without another word, he sped off towards Metz to assist in expelling the invaders. The Great Golden Oak now had its roots in the soft soil of retribution.