Compagnon d'Érudits
Presented by the Société des Érudits
In conjunction with Howle Obtenir
Periodical publication of Scientific and Academic Happenings & Occurrences
From the Desk of the Editor
It has been a week of fascination, from the heart pounding performances of the Theatre, to the sudden barricades surrounding our fair city. Not to mention, the second issue of Compagnon d'Érudits! So even if the Falkovnians have been yet to be removed from the Musarde and the Towers have yet to rise up to our aid, at least you have us, letting you, the learned people of the Serene Republique share your thoughts with each other. Remember, ideas are only as strong as the arguments they stand against.
~Ronan Howle
The Nobility of War
Dementlieu continues on its path of warfare oblivious towards the greater cost that is being paid. Lives lost in the war of ideals towards goals that affect each of the citizens of the Republic, the question must be asked however as to why it has remained so, for so long.In the face of this, we must acknowledge the fact that the nobility was, in the most recent conflict, offered a way to pay for the chance to avoid the obligatory levy to the war against the Falkovnian menace.
It can be argued that wealth affords such privilege. It may also be argued that the nobility, representing the best of our society polite or otherwise, are better served living rather than being wasted in yet another conflict seemingly without end. Both of these ideals are foolish, not to mention cowardly.
No. These are the very people who, by their station, can be best trained in the arts of war. At our university there are prestigious places that one can study not just military tactics but also in the martial art of combat as well.
A budding genius may yet dwell in this very city, who could by force of will, personality, and strength of arms, wield the art of war against our foes, end the conflict within our border, and at last restore the Republique to a state that it should be in.
The means to end the wars and conflict that Dementlieu has suffered through, regardless of so called Treaties, lies in its people. Those who cannot fight shall need to contribute. Those who cannot contribute are what hold our nation back. If we seek peace, we must become strong. If our nobility are to lead, they must learn to fight. The levy must be enforced, our soldiers must be trained, and taught. Make study at the university in the art of warfare compulsory, and under its teachings, create leaders and soldiers that are the awe of the Core.
~Submitted Anonymously
An Argument for Peace
It is perhaps one of the most paradoxical things about this country that I have noticed – why is it that Dementlieu, a wellspring of culture that other countries frequently seek to emulate when looking to fashion and the fine arts, so frequently immersed in strife and conflict; not just in repelling its barbarous neighbors to the east, but also in equally brutal and horrific in-fighting? It is approaching the point where one cannot say “the Serene Republique of Dementlieu” with a straight face, because there is little serenity to be had.
A friend of mine and I have spoken for some time on what ought to happen when the Falkovnians are finally forced back to their side of the Musarde River and away from Dementlieuse soil. His answer didn’t surprise me. He believes that we ought to gird ourselves for the next conflict we’re to have with them; that in times of peace, we ought to prepare for war. While I certainly don’t believe we should let ourselves go undefended and simply roll over the next time the Falkovnians pass through, neither do I think we should do as we have done in the past.
First, it appears as though war is frequently used as an excuse to promote austerity measures designed to keep the common-folk from receiving higher pay and fewer hours. We saw it once before in 770 B.C., both during the Falkovnian invasion and after, and we saw it again some months ago, with Jacques Varteur and others brought their petition for laborers’ rights to the Provisional Government, where it was then summarily ignored. What excuses were offered, this time? The same ones that were given before, that better living conditions for the common-folk of Port-a-Lucine and elsewhere in the country can only be made possible when the war is over and done with, and our swords can be beaten into plowshares.
It seems to me that one conflict merely leads into the next, and still onwards into the next, and I believe that part of the reason as to why this is so has largely to do with our focus, our obsession on preparing for whenever next the Hawk will invade. While the ranks of the Gendarmerie should certainly be bolstered, the Serene Republic of Dementlieu should be focused on caring for all its citizens, now; else, a dangerous demagogue may work to exploit how the average Dementlieuse man and woman feels and use it to introduce yet more conflict and strife into all our lives.
It is a pointless waste of resources that is being spent killing one another, when it could be used for the public good instead.
~Xaviera LaFleur
Joachines Judgements: Anthropology
In my last column I wrote on a very old field. Here I write on a relatively recent development; the field of anthropology. Much has been made of the works of Robin Barbier and Bernarde de la Croix, delving into the many and curious forms of caliban that have been discovered. The varied internal anatomy and how it deviates from pure human has led to the works of Salvisius Imbrex and Yvain Garnier on the intellectual capabilities of caliban and their close cousins the Falkovnians.
We are gradually moving from study of the bizarre and fanciful to the differences between the peoples of the Core. Indeed, anyone familiar with the humors could tell you that it has long been understood that regional differences in humoral balances have a very real effect on temperament. There are, doubtless, many other anatomical features that are universal in some populations. The Falkovnian people are born uncivilised, brutish and with a lust for violence while the Dementlieuese are born fair with a mind for higher pursuits.
Of course, we cannot say for certain what truly causes these differences without a detailed anatomical study. For the consideration of our readership and proof of a need for such study I submit the curious case of the foreigner “Dame” Chantalyn. A woman who, ignorant of our laws, pretended to be of noble station. She is by all accounts as fair as any of the Dementlieuse and yet she behaves with an ignorance and audacity none born of Dementlieu would countenance. It is rumoured that she engages in violent, depraved delights in the employ of criminals abroad.
What peoples are born so fair with such a propensity for savagery? Can they be trained to behave like their betters? Can they be trusted around children and other vulnerable members of our society? These are important questions that only a thorough advancement in the field of anthropology can answer.
Let us never be ignorant of what makes us who we are as a people, or what makes others so misguided.
~Joachine Camus
Letters from readers
From Maîtresse Verinne van Haute
"To the Editor:
I had a rather superbly-written letter composed in response to Mme. Müller’s rather abysmal and astoundingly low-effort article within your publication; however, my elbow bumped up against the inkwell on my desk and spilled its contents all over the parchment I was penning my response on. I’m afraid I am a busy woman, and I haven’t a lot of time to waste on tiresome shrews like Mme. Müller -- I have actual work to accomplish beyond tearing down the achievements of others; for instance, ensuring that the numerous shows we put on at the Théâtre de la Cathédrale are free and that the hundreds we’re caring for in the cellars of House Jalabert’s estate are not only being well-treated and don’t go hungry, but that they have a future (and they do; we've successfully raised a million and seven hundred thousand solars for the construction of a village for those dispossessed by the civil war -- perhaps I will elaborate on that in a later issue of this newsletter).
As such, I will simply say the following: there are good arguments both for and against dramatism being considered a ‘science’, and yet Mme. Müller is not interested in either, nor is this piece of hers written in good faith. Rather, it is clear that she designed it from the get-go to serve as a polemic against the establishment I manage, and to impugn upon House Jalabert’s honor and my own, and so what she has to say about dramatism and the fine arts, and how they might compare to more empirically-driven studies like the natural sciences, is unimportant.
I am honestly unsure how many playhouses Mme. Müller has been inside of, but she is apparently of the belief that they should be operated like convents, with me serving as the abbess. One cannot help but wonder as to whether or not she has ever been inside a bawdyhouse either, or if only her husband visited in an attempt to get away from the frigid termagant he has for a wife.
Believe it or not, I was actually quite elated to learn that the Society of the Erudite had produced a newsletter; again, I am a busy woman and thus I haven’t had the time to produce newer issues of La Balise, which is a shame because the greatest city in the Core deserves a publication that isn’t some rag peddling salacious gossip. My excitement, however, quickly transformed into disappointment upon discovery of just how low the standards must be for the Compagnon d'Érudits’ contributors. Indeed, apparently, one needn’t possess a well-informed opinion, an open mind, or even a heart to write an article for this new publication.
~ ⚜ - Maîtresse Verinne van Haute"
From Petrified in Publique
To the Compagnon
I thought it would be a good question to ask why you smart people haven't questioned why its proper a certain Warden Gauthier has any influence in the Gendarmerie. Was it not so long ago that fanatic was willing to burn and behead the people shes now 'claiming' to protect? Theres only one reason she's there, and its not to protect us.
Petrified in Publique
From Charity Van Prue
To the readers.
Someone must tell us whom that giant madame with the matrisse is. Her striking figure and startling fashion has me a mind to dress the same but the Theatres madame is keeping her all to herself, it is not fair or proper and must be rectified.
Charity Van Prue
Waiting for the elections.
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