Mit Segen und Benediktion Reverential Address ~ Broken Whispers Reverend-Minister Aelfric Harhold I hear whispers. Whispers in the last few days. “We lost.” “What is the point?”. Hope in our home has seemingly been lost. This seemingly is a repeat of the Pessimism we faced many years ago. A time of a distraught and sad people. I shall not sit here in my room, writing to you about how wonderful everything is. I shall not brush aside your problems. Your loss. We have all lost something. Family. A friend. A simple stranger, yet a fellow member of the Unionist faith. This was not a pretty victory. Not a beautiful time for our Empire. Yet to say we lost? We are what we say we are. If you say we have lost. We have lost. If you say we have lost all hope, we have lost all hope. If this continues, it shall be written down in the annals of history that we did lose for our word was carried to those pages and scribed down by scholars. They were simply penning what they heard. If you noticed, in the first few sentences, I stated seemingly. Seemingly we have lost. Seemingly this is a repeat of the Pessimism. Yes. The people of our great Empire make it seem like we have lost and make it seem like this is a repeat of the Pessimism, but what if we opened our eyes and noticed that we have had victory? Our enemy is in disarray. Many of our soldiers return home, having fought valiantly for the cause. And those who sadly fell in battle have ascended to the Everwatch. Your family, friends, and brothers and sisters of faith look down upon you. They watch alongside the Spirit and all those who came before. They are safe up there. Yet shall we let them watch us tear ourselves apart? Watch us lose hope? Let their deaths have been in vain? No! No to that! That is a preposterous construct. We shall not let them have died for nothing. We shall not let them watch us fall after they brought us victory. They spilled blood for us. They fell on those grounds for us and we think we can sit here and ponder if this was worth it? No! We must push forward! We must continue to fight! Fight in the name of the Spirit! Fight in the name of the Emperor! Fight in the name of them! Do not lose hope. Do not say we have lost everything for if that is said, we have. Let those who have fallen look down with a smile. Look down and see us carry the banners of purple and gold towards our enemies. Let them see us spread the Empire and faith to all corners of the world, as was their dying goal. They made a milestone in that goal. They brought us victory against the void infested nation and with that help. With that bump in the road smoothed down for all of us to easily trek past and take on the other mountains past that. Bless them and may the Spirit Bless us as we continue their work! Oratario Paean, brothers and sisters! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire! And may their names and legacy be retold time and time again afterwards. May the names of all those who fought and toiled and died in the wars waged be called out in celebration and our rejoicing and may they smile down upon us as their victory is not for nothing! For we have victory in our grasp now and we shall be victorious in the future. Aelfric Harhold, Reverend in the Archrevery of the Lay, Father of the House for the Synodical Council, Reverend-Minister of the Guiding Eye of St. Manfried, May the Spirit above, Upon the radiant Imperial Throne, Protect us against all evil, Until the day where we his faithful, Bring forth Paradise to Aloria, When his light shall shine upon all, Oratario Paean.
