To Be Dutiful (chancellor Mandate)

[Birdsfoot_Violet]

FROM THE DESK OF HER HIGH EMINENCE
THE LORD CHANCELLOR OF THE REGALIAN EMPIRE
4th of February, 310 AC
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For some time now, even before my time as Lord Chancellor, I have established the cornerstone of my ideology to be 'duty.' Such a word, as I have come to learn, means a number of different things based upon those who hear it. Whether this is due to willful misunderstanding or ignorance, or perhaps a more neutral framing of one's perspective, I cannot say. This requires an understanding of one's inner guiding principles, which can unfortunately usually be dissected into simply "whatever is best for myself." To hold oneself to a principle of 'duty,' however, requires one to temporarily disregard the principle of self. Culturally, and even personally, such a prospect may seem immediately unthinkable. What are we, if not ourselves? What connections do we have, what priorities, what needs, desires, and wants drive us without the defined 'self'?

We must consider that we answer to, and are then defined by, a higher and equal power. Above us, our Empire, and at its head, His Imperial Holiness. And as our equals, our community, and the peoples of this Empire. For what are we, as its Aristocrats, and Nobles, but members of the community lifted up by the grace of His Imperial Holiness? To act, in His name, and with His graces, to guide those around us. It is often I find this connection ignored. To only acknowledge His Imperial Holiness, and refuse to acknowledge His subjects, to favor one's self, is to commit a grave act of disservice. To shirk one's duty. For we are nothing without all these aspects intertwined in harmony. An individual cannot ignore the authority of His Imperial Holiness, and pay homage only to one's self or community. Conversely, to revere His Imperial Holiness but turn a blind eye to the suffering and needs of His subjects is to lack true reverence. Ignorance of one's self, and one's place in between is another such failing. We are defined by the Empire and its peoples within. To ignore it, in favor of the self, is to act ungratefully. To fully ignore the self, is to act dishonestly, for our own personal wants can never be thrown away, only tempered by higher judgment.

To be dutiful, then, is to act with these in perfect alignment. To trust the words and guidance of His Imperial Holiness above all, then to take the needs of one's community and subject peoples, and then to consider what one's self desires. Any other order of action is failing to exemplify our positions. It is failing duty. Equally, however, must we acknowledge our personal imperfections. That we cannot, in perpetuity, uphold this ideal standard. Nor should we use our inherent failings to justify an inability to execute upon this standard when the time comes. There are pivotal moments, when we must consider our duty, and in spite of any personal hesitation-- act on it.

We failed to decide, when this moment passed us by. Even now I look back upon my own cautions, and wariness, as a sickly byproduct of selfishness. No longer, however. Power may be returned, not taken. Willfully, by the position of Lord Chancellor, which acts with the assent of the Nobility.

It is with all of this weighing upon my mind that I petition, as Lord Chancellor, His Imperial Holiness to create the Bill of Protections and Rights for all peoples of this Empire, regardless of the split 'vote' within the Assembly, and with full understanding of its meaning.

SIGNED AND STAMPED,​

Her High Eminence Madelyn de Azcoissia, by the Grace of the Everwatcher​

Lord Chancellor of the Regalian Empire
Grand Duchess of Azuvela, Marchioness of San Selin​