Friends, Countrymen, Loyal Citizens:
I implore you to read the following closely, and to make your peace with your actions, be they of cowardice or of bravery. You live in a pleasant lie, the tapestry cast over your eyes slowly parting at the seams as time assails it.
It is the sovereign right of those young scions of Dementlieu to act in the interests of their beloved République as blessed and bestowed by Léon the Great since times of antiquity to progress and grow into a prosperous and illustrious nation - of which the Western Core would grow into abundant prosperity under the leadership of. To serve no Emperor, nor Sovereign, or King, who would declare upon us the shadow of complete and total dominion of submission. To this end, our beloved Léon the Great rose to unite the quarreling Houses and States of our ancestors under his unified rule - to only then resign his rule as Emperor, to bestow upon us the Council of Brilliance, the Lord-Governor, and our system of governance.
It is under this system of governance that we have grown to prosper and flourish as the dominant power of the West, and we have acted as the warden of the Mordentish Nations in guiding and leading the efforts against the KingFürher Vlad Drakov and his relentless legions. It is under this system of governance that it which we, proud Dementlieuse Citizens, have been filled with a love and loyalty unlike ever seen before within this decrepit rock we find ourselves reared to. It is through this system of governance that which we have elected rulers, deposed rulers, and entered into terrible Civil War to protect our rights, to protect our freedoms, and to protect our families.
Yet, in the wake of this terrible Civil War we find ourselves entering a period of stagnation and misery. We have been told time and time again that the Falkovnian Menace is a threat of a magnitude and priority so high, so severe, that our lives as we once knew them must stop. We have been told that our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, must be conscripted against their will into a nationalized institution under the command of an unelected official to be sent East, to allegedly defend their homeland. Yet, are we ever sent?
Among those of common birth, they are but menial laborers who serve in expectation of return and compassion from the Nobility, to be protected and to be cared for. A hollow promise that had rung to such a loud note that our nation had fallen into civil discontent to the extent of bloody Révolution. Lady-Governor Hélène DuSuis understood that the vestiges of Nobility have eroded considerably since such august times, and with the growing population and ever-present industrial expansion of our nation, the manfiestation of our destiny in prosperity and trade, that no-longer could we simply rely on the archaic notions of serfdom and lordship to see to the needs of our Citizenry in this modern age.
It is through the wisdom of Lady-Governor Hélène DuSuis that she has permitted not merely the vaunted Nobility to vote for the office of Lord-Governor, but that the commonfolk be granted their say, to peacefully organize and protect, and to be granted the right to have local representation before the Magistrate to have their concerns and needs met by the Government. Peace, however strange, settled upon the République with a calmness that had not been known in some time. National pride, even for that of a meagre farmer, bustled to the brim and Dementlieu proceeded to execute its role as warden against Falkovnia even to its cousin countries to ward off the perfidious influence of KingFürher Vlad Drakov. The Treaty of Four Towers had never been stronger, and our unity, unlike any period before in history.
Now, we stand on the precipice of annihilation - not merely at Ameranthe - but for the identity and rights of our Citizens and Nobles whom of which have sold their lives dearly to give us the dream we sought. By misusing the name of Léon the Great, whom the Provisional Government so dearly espouses their affections and reverence for, we have been defanged.
It is the sovereign right of those of titled land and holdings to raise and maintain a levy of retainers and soldiers to engage the enemies of our state, to protect those whom are their charges of common birth, and to prevent insurrection both domestic and foreign. It is the sovereign duty of those of titled land and holdings to answer the calls of the Lord-Governor, to marshal beneath his elected General and to perform his duties as a Noble without failure.
The Comtesse d'Azerac Michelle de Froissart and Sieur Jean-Michel Bedard are little more than fervent fanatics who, beyond constitution and beyond reason, serve the absolute monarchial power of the Duc d'Ameranthe Marius de Mortigny. Who, under threat of losing influence, leveraged his sole asset against the Free People of Dementlieu - his bannermen, his retainers, his soldiers, his resources. These resources were granted to his ancestors and inherited as he served as the Warden of the East, to ward the République of invasion from Falkovnia, and to protect his charges of those of common birth from pillaging, from rape, from torture, and from murder.
The Duc d'Ameranthe betrayed his duties as Nobility to engage in open and bloody Civil War against his own people, to brutalize and demolish the foundations of society as we knew it. With total disregard for the constitution of the Répubique, he has performed the following actions which must be noted and must be viewed as abhorrent by any Citizenry whom pay heed to this declaration:
- The Duc d'Ameranthe has suspended the lawful elections of a successor of Lady-Governor Hélène DuSuis without sufficient explanation. Initially, it was due to the concern of civil unrest. We never saw civil unrest, and certainly nothing to warrant the suspension of election. We saw the suppression of candidates under threat of imprisonment and the attainment of their status as nobility. Speak out, and lose your lineage. To cower the Nobility.
- The Duc d'Ameranthe united all of his bannermen into a rebel alliance known as, 'The Solemn Covenant,' who declared war upon Lady-Governor Hélène DuSuis following his failure to see sufficient democratic support for the revocation of Universal Suffrage in the Council of Brilliance.
- The Duc d'Ameranthe has retreated to Castle Ameranthe since his conquering of the Capital, and has proceeded to remain in sparse contact with the outside world. Ameranthe has been under siege, but should be noted that his province is the only major province currently under assault.
- In the months following the Dementlieuse Révolution, the conflict with Falkovnia ended within a few short months, resulting in Port-a-Lucine being sacked. Ameranthe is an impregnable fortress which has never been breached. The Duc d'Ameranthe neglected his obligations and left the Capital to its fate, and later declared war against the duly elected Government as a result. He is not a loyalist, he is a traitor to his oaths and to his ancestors.
- What transpired in a matter of months then, now remains locked in a brutal siege for nearly two years, with the refusal to deploy assets to aid and end the war. There is an ulterior motive to extending the conflict, and they do not believe themselves accountable to the public opinion of Citizens or Nobles. Yet, we have all remained cowards and we have all refused to demand answers.
- During this protracted siege, the Duc d'Ameranthe's ministers, the Comtesse d'Azerac Michelle de Froissart and Sieur Jean-Michel Bedard have issued two major pieces of legislation that have restricted the rights of Citizens and Nobility, and have nationalized the industry of the nation.
- The Extraordinary Levy of 773 which pertains to the mass conscription of Dementlieuse Citizens of common birth between 18-25 years of age. A militia was raised, and it was never sent to war. The restrictions of this edict remain in place to this date.
- The re-activation of the Extraordinary Levy of 773 in 774, a militia is raised with all due haste and is sent twice to the East. Once, to bring a Falkovnian Turncoat into Dementlieuse hands, which yielded no results. Once, to proceed to protect a small shipping depot known as Chasseigne from Falkovnian raids. The depot was already raided, the Citizenry enslaved and raped, and impaled on spikes which were aligned along the river my ship ferried us along. We were sent into a trap to die by incompetent military leadership that thought a small fishing village was a supply depot, and suffered severe losses, but won the day against numbers seven-to-one. A single engagement with no more than ten men.
- The Extraordinary Levy of 775 which pertains to the mass conscription of Dementlieuse Nobility and their Household Retinues upon threat of a tax of 10,000 Dementlieuse Solars per head (equal in price of Noble, or Retainer) and the dissolution of the organization of Household Retinues under the colors of their respective leaders and sons, thus forbidding them of their duty to prevent insurrections domestic and foreign. This act of legislation prevents the Nobility from rising against the Duc d'Ameranthe as he once did them, to ensure that his absolute authority is without opposition as he proceeds to delay the elections. To this date, La Jeune Compagnie has neglected to be marched East, and their numbers dwindle as deserters lose interest and resign from the Households they were sworn to, wisened to the truth.
We are being told to wait for a war, and slowly, but surely placated into the debasement of our society into little more than an Empire. I, Capitaine Alix Sinclair Martineau, former Sargent of the Provisional Government's Gendarmerie Nationale have been forced into hiding and have been forced to escape under threat of murder by the hands of the Provisional Government. I have been signed the warrant of my death for nothing more than the crimes of knowing the truth and having refused to remain silent. My detractors seek intelligence and ask for me in pubs, and hunt me like a dog for bloodless crimes of opinion and I watch quietly from the shadows with an unerring eye. They hunt me, not out of conviction for their morals, but because they have been beaten, threatened, and intimidated to do so. They hunt me because they are traitors to their Countrymen. They are cowards. Unlike those who have accepted their place in this new system and have quietly accepted their cowardice over their hearts and morals, I have not.
I will not surrender myself to an Empire, and I will not bow to our new false Emperor.
Will you?
Signed,
Mlle. Alix Sinclair Martineau
Capitaine de La Grâce de Damon
Citoyen fidèle de notre République(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/586555296265142285/633053136973594645/alixcompanyseal.png)