Eirik stacked a few boxes onto each other and climbed to the top, he called out to the gathered crowd around him and recited his speech to the gathering masses.
(This would be heard by most to all Rothburg inhabitants for IC purposes)
(I also encourage replies but do try to keep the negativity away)
Lord Commander Coen, Commanders of the town of Rothburg, and most importantly the people of Regalia. We observe today not a victory of morality, but a celebration of freedom - symbolising an end, as well as a beginning - signifying renewal, as well as change. For it has been shown before you and the Imperial Spirit the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of poverty and all forms of life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forefathers fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of the living come not from the generosity of that of the palace and the sword, but from the hand of the Spirit and the self.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first war. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Regalians - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this empire has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every usurper, corpse, or anarchist know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of this Union.
This much we pledge - and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in the face of terrifying odds. Divided, there is nothing we can do - for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds within ourselves lest the enemy strike at the weakness.
To those new to life, whom we welcome to the ranks of the living, we pledge our word that our way of life will not be controlled by the dead, nor shall it have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect you to support our views. But we shall always hope that you fight for them strongly, to support Regalias' own sanctity - and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the planks of coffins shall never stand victorious.
To those people in the huts and villages, palaces of gold or sand, trees of green or hills of fire, who are struggling to break the bonds of this mass resurrection of decayed life, we pledge our best efforts to help them return to the coffins and the breeze, for whatever period is required - not because the people need it, not because we seek your affection, but because it is right. If an occupied state cannot fight to return itself to sovereignty, it cannot save the ideals it was built upon, our very ways of life to be buried by history's pages of the reign of Lo.
To our Empires vassal nations, we offer a special pledge: to convert our honest words into honest deeds, in a renewed vigor of union against the coffin climbers we pledge to assist all men and creature to help in casting off the chains of oppression. But this Resistance, this mark of aggression against the Deathling plague within our revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbours know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in Aloria. And let every other power know that the living intend to remain the masters of the planet while the dead rot away in the ground.
To that combination of houses that bent the knee to Queen Lo we ask you to cast away your fear of life, your duty to family, you who have want for power and look to the truth and see it. where the tools of war have far outpaced the hands of peace, we ask of you to see reason- to prevent the land from becoming merely a stomping ground for the dead, to strengthen soul and the souls of the new and the frail, and to free the lands of the Deathlings and all those who oppress the common man.
Finally, to those houses and individuals who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that you cease your opposition against those who deserve to live and return your sights to the ending of a tyrannical reign of monarchy, before the dark powers of magic unleashed by Queen Lo engulf all of humanity in chains of iron and bonds of steel. We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be let to stand victorious forever.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of freedom take comfort from our present course - our side overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, we who are rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deathling threat, yet all racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of Freya Lo's slow but sure enslavement of the living.
So let us work to end this - remembering that our side of sovereignty that which holds its civility is not showing a hand of fear or call for help but an honest and righteous call to arms. Let all living people see and understand that the problem derives from the usurper Freya Lo. She who disturbs the slumber of our dead and gone and forces them to bend to her will and whim and fight against their families for absolute control of the Imperial City. Let our Empire, for the first time, formulate serious and proper distain for those who wish to oppose the rights of the living and the peace of the dead, and bring the absolute power of the Spirit to destroy all of the Deathlings under the spells and hexes of the Corpse Freya Lo. Let us all rise up to seek a swift end to this occupation of our Holy City and invoke swift justice upon those who worked to see it become as such in this way.
Together let us explore the lands, settle new coasts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let us all unite in absolution and heed, in all corners of Aloria the need to be as one as said by my forefather and his people so long ago, "We are herein a dire state of dismay. We are no longer who we are and we are simply what they wish us to become." So people of Regalia, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the rise of the corpses, let us all unite join in creating a new endeavor - not a new balance of power, but a new world of law - where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in a week. Nor will it be finished in the first battle, nor may it be finished in the presence of our children but merely as spirits in the presence of our childrens children, But let us begin to fight, and never look back upon what could have been. To fight for not our sanctity but the security of our children who may be let to stay free from the clutches of the Deathlings.
In your hands, my fellow Regalians, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this empire was founded, each generation of Regalian has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Regalians who answered the call to service surround the globe now, disturbed by the dark magics of the Lo. Now the wardrum summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation", a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, treachery, disease, and the walking dead themselves.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global resistance, north and south, east and west, that can assure a more fruitful life for all of the living? Will you join in this historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it.
I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our Empire and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Regalians, ask not what your Empire can do for you; ask what you can do for your Empire. My fellow people of the world, ask not what the death of the Deathlings will do for you, but what, together, we can do for ascertaining of that goal.
Finally, whether you are citizens of Regalia or the people of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking the Spirits blessing and pray for its help, and with knowing that here in Aloria, our fight must truly be our own.
And with that, he climbed down the boxes, and moved off to return to work on the catapult.
@BillyTheScroofy @MantaRey @deadfoe51 @FoxFlare
(This would be heard by most to all Rothburg inhabitants for IC purposes)
(I also encourage replies but do try to keep the negativity away)
Lord Commander Coen, Commanders of the town of Rothburg, and most importantly the people of Regalia. We observe today not a victory of morality, but a celebration of freedom - symbolising an end, as well as a beginning - signifying renewal, as well as change. For it has been shown before you and the Imperial Spirit the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of poverty and all forms of life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forefathers fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of the living come not from the generosity of that of the palace and the sword, but from the hand of the Spirit and the self.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first war. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Regalians - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this empire has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every usurper, corpse, or anarchist know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of this Union.
This much we pledge - and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in the face of terrifying odds. Divided, there is nothing we can do - for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds within ourselves lest the enemy strike at the weakness.
To those new to life, whom we welcome to the ranks of the living, we pledge our word that our way of life will not be controlled by the dead, nor shall it have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect you to support our views. But we shall always hope that you fight for them strongly, to support Regalias' own sanctity - and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the planks of coffins shall never stand victorious.
To those people in the huts and villages, palaces of gold or sand, trees of green or hills of fire, who are struggling to break the bonds of this mass resurrection of decayed life, we pledge our best efforts to help them return to the coffins and the breeze, for whatever period is required - not because the people need it, not because we seek your affection, but because it is right. If an occupied state cannot fight to return itself to sovereignty, it cannot save the ideals it was built upon, our very ways of life to be buried by history's pages of the reign of Lo.
To our Empires vassal nations, we offer a special pledge: to convert our honest words into honest deeds, in a renewed vigor of union against the coffin climbers we pledge to assist all men and creature to help in casting off the chains of oppression. But this Resistance, this mark of aggression against the Deathling plague within our revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbours know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in Aloria. And let every other power know that the living intend to remain the masters of the planet while the dead rot away in the ground.
To that combination of houses that bent the knee to Queen Lo we ask you to cast away your fear of life, your duty to family, you who have want for power and look to the truth and see it. where the tools of war have far outpaced the hands of peace, we ask of you to see reason- to prevent the land from becoming merely a stomping ground for the dead, to strengthen soul and the souls of the new and the frail, and to free the lands of the Deathlings and all those who oppress the common man.
Finally, to those houses and individuals who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that you cease your opposition against those who deserve to live and return your sights to the ending of a tyrannical reign of monarchy, before the dark powers of magic unleashed by Queen Lo engulf all of humanity in chains of iron and bonds of steel. We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be let to stand victorious forever.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of freedom take comfort from our present course - our side overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, we who are rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deathling threat, yet all racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of Freya Lo's slow but sure enslavement of the living.
So let us work to end this - remembering that our side of sovereignty that which holds its civility is not showing a hand of fear or call for help but an honest and righteous call to arms. Let all living people see and understand that the problem derives from the usurper Freya Lo. She who disturbs the slumber of our dead and gone and forces them to bend to her will and whim and fight against their families for absolute control of the Imperial City. Let our Empire, for the first time, formulate serious and proper distain for those who wish to oppose the rights of the living and the peace of the dead, and bring the absolute power of the Spirit to destroy all of the Deathlings under the spells and hexes of the Corpse Freya Lo. Let us all rise up to seek a swift end to this occupation of our Holy City and invoke swift justice upon those who worked to see it become as such in this way.
Together let us explore the lands, settle new coasts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let us all unite in absolution and heed, in all corners of Aloria the need to be as one as said by my forefather and his people so long ago, "We are herein a dire state of dismay. We are no longer who we are and we are simply what they wish us to become." So people of Regalia, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the rise of the corpses, let us all unite join in creating a new endeavor - not a new balance of power, but a new world of law - where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in a week. Nor will it be finished in the first battle, nor may it be finished in the presence of our children but merely as spirits in the presence of our childrens children, But let us begin to fight, and never look back upon what could have been. To fight for not our sanctity but the security of our children who may be let to stay free from the clutches of the Deathlings.
In your hands, my fellow Regalians, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this empire was founded, each generation of Regalian has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Regalians who answered the call to service surround the globe now, disturbed by the dark magics of the Lo. Now the wardrum summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are; but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation", a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, treachery, disease, and the walking dead themselves.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global resistance, north and south, east and west, that can assure a more fruitful life for all of the living? Will you join in this historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it.
I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our Empire and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Regalians, ask not what your Empire can do for you; ask what you can do for your Empire. My fellow people of the world, ask not what the death of the Deathlings will do for you, but what, together, we can do for ascertaining of that goal.
Finally, whether you are citizens of Regalia or the people of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking the Spirits blessing and pray for its help, and with knowing that here in Aloria, our fight must truly be our own.
And with that, he climbed down the boxes, and moved off to return to work on the catapult.
@BillyTheScroofy @MantaRey @deadfoe51 @FoxFlare
