TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE FOR SO LONG BORN THE WEIGHT OF ARISTOCRATIC OBLIGATION, greetings. I write to you today not only as the Marquis de Sayriac, but as your peer, your cousin, your companion in this dignity which places so heavy a burden on all of us. I write to you both to make my mind known and to assure many of you, most of you, I believe, that the thoughts that have lurked in your mind for so long are shared by me as they must, indeed, be shared by all who can reason and despair at the state of this, our once-glorious Republique.
FOR TOO LONG WE HAVE DENIED that the recent insurrection given the all-too-dramatic name of "revolution" has dealt a grave, perhaps permanent wound to the fabric of our society. The concessions forced by these criminals in the chaos and carnage that followed the brutal invasion of our lands by the Hawk have overturned the good and old ways that were handed down to us from the days of the Emperor Leon, and given power to those who do not understand how to wield it, condoning the vicious excesses of that turbulent time just as they caused the city to turn its back on its oldest, noblest, and best-equipped citizens to guide us through this maelstrom. The wound threatens to turn mortal.
PRESENTED WITH THIS SITUATION the Council hides behind a shield, the blue-uniformed warriors of the Company of the Fox. Unlike some who have written in these pages in recent days, I do not detest our friends to the west. Certainly, they are for the most-part base- or foreign-born, and certainly, they have caused certain problems with disorder in the city. But they have also fought to defend us and protect us against myriad threats that are far beyond the comprehension of most of the common folk here. But they also insulate the Council against having to deal with the will and the desires of we, the nobility, who have for so long been the Council's electors and most loyal supporters.
IT IS THIS THAT PRESENTS THE GREATEST CURRENT THREAT to the Republique. When, in the aftermath of the orgiastic violence of the insurrection, they took away from the nobility our greatest and most sacred duty, the election of a Lord-Governor, they allowed the people to elect a woman with little taste for real governance. The common folk will never support someone who takes an action that will inconvenience them in the short term, no matter the long-term vision. Thus they view the levies, the taxes, the refortification of this our once-glorious Republique as an onerous burden, the acceleration of manufacturing schedules for arms and armaments, let alone foodstuffs, garments, and all the other materiel of war to be unfair. Only a strong Lord-Governor can effect the changes we need and restore the nobility to its place. Only a strong Lord-Governor can stand up to Falkovnia and the menace of the Hawk, and bring the curs of the Company of the Fox to heel while using them against the enemies of the State.
THEREFORE I AM COMPELLED TO CALL for a new election; it is time for the Lady-Governor to stand aside; it is time for aristocratic privilege to be restored; it is time for this Republique to be made glorious again. While I would never advocate for further disruption of our State, I must sadly add that it is only a matter of time before someone does.
M. le chevalier Vincent Poul Poissier, Marquis de Sayriac, Seigneur de Chabrol