A Call For Restoration: House Gwentyr's Path To Redemption

[Annie_Short]

In Response to the Petty Court Hearings of Lemieux v Gwentyr

Never did I imagine I'd find myself a need to address a matter such as this. Yet, witnessing the concerning lack of care exhibited by members of House Gwentyr, I feel compelled to voice the disappointment that many may share.

Regrettably, House Gwentyr has been drawn into the public eye for less-than-admirable reasons. Their recent trials, overseen by the esteemed Virdian Order in the Court of Petty Grievances, resulted in verdicts that found fault with House Gwentyr for the accused slights by the prosecuting Houses of Peirgarten and Lemieux respectively.

However, rather than calling upon rumors or slander, I advocate for acknowledging the core issue: the conduct of certain unruly Lords within the House, tarnishing its reputation and disrespecting not only the matriarch but the Empire.

I've not had the opportunity to speak with Countess Gwentyr since these hearings. Nonetheless, her allegiance to the principles upon which our Empire stands is noted in her status as an Everian. The title she holds is not granted to those of wavering faith but to those wholly committed to the Everwatcher's Path. This is not her only duty, however, she also serves as a trusted member of the peerage, appointed to aid in overseeing and governing our Empire.

The peerage stands as a beacon, meant to guide the populace and exemplify the model citizen of loyalty to the Empire. Yet, the actions of certain Lords from House Gwentyr have continually abused their positions, weakening the nobility at a time when unity should be our focus, aligning ourselves with the desires of the Emperor and Everwatcher. Countess Gwentyr, it is important to recognize that the actions of these Lords not only harm others, but also indirectly affect your esteemed standing. As their matriarch, it falls upon you to steer them towards success rather than allowing failure to repeat.

My plea to the public is not to condemn House Gwentyr but to extend a hand in reinstating their lost values. It is crucial that both the peerage and the public rally around House Gwentyr, aiding their reducation and quicken their return to serving the Empire as we are made to.

Remember, a House's strength is inherently tied to its foundation, Countess Gwentyr.​

I implore the public to reinforce the Empire's values and to demonstrate my commitment, I extend an invitation to House Gwentyr for a meaningful discussion on where their values may be lost and what steps we can take to being brought back into His Light.

May We All Walk In His Light,
Countess Tuija Vikström of Oxenfurd
Everian of Regalia
Imperial Hostess

OOC PINGS (Sorry if I missed you going off what I had): @canaaa @seoulmate @Daniel2stay @NebulaePrimo @Trackedpilled
Also credit to canaaa for the template I somewhat copied​

 

[Arhbi]

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Count Delmotte had two plants before him, both of them a strawberry bush, albeit one sickly and the other growing strong. His lordship had contemplated grafting them together, the healthy one to be made the rootstock and the dying one to be made its scion. A week had passed before any observations could be made; the parent had degraded and its orphan was all but dead. A disappointing result, but not one he was entirely surprised by. Markus was a mere hobbyist, new to this and certainly no green thumb, but he knew one thing to be true. If he wished to save what little he had left, he'd need to prune the decay.

A glance to the side at the Call for Restoration, conveniently published the same day and delivered to him by a courier, had led to another observation, one that humored him and one that he'd speak aloud to a nearby attendant.

"These strawberries and House Gwentyr have two things in common. Both are low-hanging fruit, and both adopted a malignant growth."

A snip of his gardening pliers was all it took to cut away the dead weight.

 

[Trackedpilled]

Snore

 

[NebulaePrimo]

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From the desk of Viviwynne Gwentyr

As you mentioned, I am both an Everian and a Countess. Allow me to answer from both perspectives.

As a fellow Everian, I would like to offer a suggestion on how to improve your responses to these matters. I presume you are trying to address this as an Everian, given the heraldry and tone you use. In order to minimize any unintended harm your messages could cause, I suggest you speak with the people you are trying to help before declaring a public position on the matter. This allows you to hear what they believe should be done, what they are already doing, and saves you from asking them questions in a public letter that you could have had answers to if you had asked.

As a Countess, thank you for your kind words. I am aware the actions of my grandchildren reflect on my own shortcomings and we are all working on addressing these flaws in our character together. I'd be happy to accept your help, please come speak to me and we can discuss this further. The public is no stranger to seeing those accused of everything from misconduct to treason become more loyal and productive citizens, so I am sure as we continue to improve, the public will take note.
I do wish to draw attention to something you said, however. To say the petty grievance courts "resulted in verdicts that found fault" with our house may not be accurate. As the Viridians have told me, petty grievance courts are not legal trials, so "verdict" and "fault," which are terms for criminal or civil trials, are probably not the correct terms here. Furthermore, the Lemieux case, resulting from simple miscommunication and misunderstanding, was about accusations of slander and defamation. It is my understanding that the Viridian judge did not ask House Gwentyr to do anything about that. The lessons on manners were a result of Lord Lieven's initial behavior and his request to take some, not what the Lord Aldane said at the party which was the matter at issue. So unless I misunderstood the result, according to the way you put it, no "fault" was found.

To conclude, the Breizh people have many stories about the Weard, great heroes who struggle with their flaws but ultimately overcome them and succeed in their divine mission. We may not be Weard, but may we all take inspiration from these stories and strive to do better each day, until we fulfill the task the Everwatcher has set before us.

As we walk along the way,
Everian Viviwynne Gwentyr
Countess of Alstyr

@Annie_Short

 

[Rowet]

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To the darling readers of these missives,
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I hope you all took note of the Lord Lieven & Lord Aldane's unprofessional demeanors that they have upheld during the Petty Grievance Court. If you were not present, allow me to shed light: They were smiling and laughing, at the Honorable Fiorenza's testimony - and made a point in smiling & laughing throughout the entire time that the Court took place.

They both did not take her or the honorable Viridian Knights who upheld that Court seriously. To them, that was all clearly but a joke. Never - not even in my tenure as the former Law Minister - have I seen something so contemptuous & so utterly disrespectful. I understand this was a Petty Grievance Court & not a trial, but if they had laughed & smiled during a Petty Grievance Court - could you imagine the Lord Aldane & Lord Lieven during an actual lawful trial?

Following this, I would like to speak to a Viridian Knight who was present during this Petty Grievance Court.

I pray that House Gwentyr is imparted with the wisdom on how to conduct themselves in their everyday lives & especially during a Petty Grievance Court. This kind of conduct is absolutely unacceptable for a member of the Peerage.

May the Great Librarian, Aseia, enlighten you with the wisdom you need,​

Suzanvëillea Eyfa Felariell Bel-Ireavaal-Solleria Elasis
Countess of Ireavaal in the province of Solleria
Matriarch of House Felariell
Third line of Representatives in the Sacred Winds Guild
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[Aesukimx]

[!] A neat scrap of paper is pinned alongside every missive the young countess could find.
-=[]=-​

The idea of not allowing people to change immediately after their punishment has been dished out doesn't at all seem to hold any value to the argument. You can't watch the trial, see that the punishment is behavioural lessons and come out complaining that their behaviour is unacceptable when there's already been moves to fix that.

There is a word I adore called patience, apparently our beloved peers and nobles of the city aren't well acquainted with it or have forgotten the concept entirely.

If you want change, you will wait for it. Don't bash them hours after the petty grievances trial has been concluded, have some decorum.

Because at the end of the day, what do you truly want? Do you want them to host another disingenuous party, making a grand speech about your achievements to boost your ego? Do you want them to pay a fine? Make a slight dent in their wallet so you can add to your already too full own?

Or is this some long winded way of saying you want them stripped of their titles so you can snort and laugh and act as though you are the almighty who control the strings of other nobles around you?

I think them being taught to change is the greatest punishment of them all because unlike the saying, you can teach an old dog new tricks but only if you try hard enough.

So let me pose the question, are you trying hard enough?

Signed,
Antonia du Roserei.​

-=[]=-
[!] After finishing her letter, she returns to her tea and only just resists the urge to pour alcohol into the beverage. This whole situation felt all too familiar to her.​

 

[Trackedpilled]

From The Perspective Of One Who Was Actually On The Defense

Pardon any informalities, this is my first time doing anything like this. For I am Lord Lieven Gwentyr, and though I am aware this was not a "trial" in the legal sense, merely a mediation, it was still rather exciting to go through such a thing for the very first time. I'd like to thank everyone who had to set it up for giving me the honor of being able to defend myself publicly. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I grew to adjust to it.


Though of course, I do wish to never have to be in the defense position again, even if the spectacle of it all wowed me due to it being my very first time. Better behavior, right?


I apologized to Miss Fiorenza after the judge ended things, albeit rather hastily and shouted from across the room. Though my apology was genuine, I recognize that the way I did so may not have seemed such. This I would like to do so again right now, more publicly:
Honorable Miss Fiorenza; there are no hard feelings. Misunderstandings happen, it is not your fault, nor the Lord Aldanes. I am far more at fault here than both of you combined. I apologize for not managing to clear up the confusion that started all of this sooner, I apologize for forgetting my newfound noble position and crawling around the floor, and I apologize if you ever took anything I've said to you outside of court as insulting or personal. They were never my intentions, as I never have had any personal issues with you.
Let the world hear: I am sorry.

Before I continue, I would like to direct everyone to the letter the Countess Antonia du Roserei has left around, as I believe she explained things rather bluntly and expertly, and I consider mine as a sort of add-on to hers.

That being said: as far as the consistent accusations I have seen about the behavior my fellow Gwentyr and I displayed, I of course feel obligated to defend myself.
To say that the Lord and I were acting immaturely is quite blatantly incorrect. And anyone who was there; in an unbiased manner; should know this.
Yes, indeed, the Lord and I smiled multiple times. Though the Honorable Miss Fiorenza smiled multiple times as well, not only did she smile, but she started her speech by playing up to the crowd, blowing kisses to and dazzling everyone in it. I wouldn't call that immature or unprofessional, in fact, I might take some notes on how she treated the public, she seemed to know what she was doing far more than me after all. But if blowing kisses at everyone, & waving at everyone, & playing up to the crowd for a full couple of minutes isn't to be considered unprofessional; then why is Lord Aldane and I merely smiling to be considered such? That is hardly fair, anyone can see that.


More importantly; the random rumor spreading saying that the Lord and I laughed throughout the trial is blatantly false. So blatantly false in fact, that it baffles me how this even started. Not once did we laugh, though, I will meet you all halfway and admit that when Miss Fiorenza mimicked a Breizh accent, the Lord and I almost did laugh. It was an amusing thing, it was comical, it was highly unexpected, and it was a very well done accent. It caught us two off guard, and almost made us crack.
Aside from that one instance of a near-laugh however, there was not one single instance where either of us laughed during the mediation itself. This rumor is so comically obviously false, for we did not laugh even once; let alone "during the entire trial" as some people like to spin the story.


Finally, and most-most importantly:
To all of the people who implore that us Lords of Gwentyr be taught how to better conduct ourselves, that we be taught what our values should be, that we be taught how to better behave ourselves:
I hate to have to repeat what was so loudly said by multiple people now; but that is quite literally what the Judge said our "punishment" would be. To be given lessons on these very things and then some to correct our behavior. Lessons that I specifically stated I'd be willing to take during my defense speech, and lessons that were granted to us.

Lessons that I for one, cannot wait to take. As stated earlier: I am new to all this. The idea of being given more lessons to help me better understand everything is more exciting than anything, and I can only hope biases may be put aside so my eventual growth as a person may be recognized.
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- <3 Lord Lieven Gwentyr <3

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