[!] The declaration would be spread throughout the Empire of Hadriana, for its citizenry to read. It showed the crests of the Order of the Golden Rose, and the Herdorf family crest. [!]
A declaration to all Hadrian citizens,
I write this letter to you as the Hochmeister of the Order of the Golden Rose, as I feel like I have been derelict in my duties. I have remained silent on the issue for the duration of what has now come to be known as the ‘Flüssland peasant revolt’, the issue being the existence and following betrayal of Zladimir de Tiri who served as my squire and was anointed as a Ritter of the Order of the Golden Rose. In many ways, I consider myself to be partly at fault for the events that transpired over the course of these two years. Replaying over and over what I could have missed, that I had misread the young and charming, yet ambitious lad that had first found his way to my doorstep. I consider it my duty to foresee these things, after all.
As Hochmeister, I see many young men come and go. Some are cut out for the work, some do not have the stomach for it. Some are talented enough to live on the battlefield, some are better served practicing politics at court. Zladimir de Tiri was a young man of plenty of talent with the sword, but as I mentioned before, he was ambitious. He wished to climb up in the world, claiming it to be for the good of his family. When he swore the oath to me, promising eternal fealty to his Imperial Majesty, the Kaiser, and his Empire, it was a bond created before Alder, and he had shown no indication of being an oathbreaker. The following years after his anointment saw him gain influence until eventually he was granted the fiefdom of Lünburg by Herzog Janczyk-Mariusz Tzyrnowski. But, as most of us know, power and influence can corrupt. Such was the case for Zladimir, delusions of grandeur allowed him to stray from the oath that he had taken before Alder, the Sentinels, and his comrades. It allowed him to be influenced by Dolus, the influence of whom he had been warned about so many times during his training.
It was from then on, that his soul became reserved for the Ashen Abyss. It is now that I come to the essence of this declaration, to put right a wrong. Something I should have done the moment news reached my ears of his betrayal, though I had always hoped he would come back to his senses and seek forgiveness with his Imperial Majesty. He did not, and he died a traitor, not only to the Kaiser and his Empire but to his brothers as well. Let it be known that from this day forth, Zladimir de Tiri, is denounced and stripped of all titles and honours normally befitting a Ritter of the Order and be removed from our histories. He will be removed from our archives, and any mention or evidence of his existence within our prestigious Order will be scrubbed out and destroyed. Future generations of Ritters will not know his name, his ties to us are forever cut, and any who share the traitor’s blood or share his sentiments will be turned away from service in perpetuity.
Let it be known that Zladimir ‘Oathbreaker’ de Tiri was never a true Ritter of the Golden Rose, and let us pray he is being judged justly in the afterlife. And to those who might now doubt the resolve and passion within the members of our Order, this betrayal has only strengthened us. Naivety and comfort can creep into even the most wintered of soldiers, and measures will be taken to ensure history does not repeat itself. The Empire of Hadriana should be a safe haven for all privileged enough to call it home, and the Order continues to work to that end.
A declaration to all Hadrian citizens,
I write this letter to you as the Hochmeister of the Order of the Golden Rose, as I feel like I have been derelict in my duties. I have remained silent on the issue for the duration of what has now come to be known as the ‘Flüssland peasant revolt’, the issue being the existence and following betrayal of Zladimir de Tiri who served as my squire and was anointed as a Ritter of the Order of the Golden Rose. In many ways, I consider myself to be partly at fault for the events that transpired over the course of these two years. Replaying over and over what I could have missed, that I had misread the young and charming, yet ambitious lad that had first found his way to my doorstep. I consider it my duty to foresee these things, after all.
As Hochmeister, I see many young men come and go. Some are cut out for the work, some do not have the stomach for it. Some are talented enough to live on the battlefield, some are better served practicing politics at court. Zladimir de Tiri was a young man of plenty of talent with the sword, but as I mentioned before, he was ambitious. He wished to climb up in the world, claiming it to be for the good of his family. When he swore the oath to me, promising eternal fealty to his Imperial Majesty, the Kaiser, and his Empire, it was a bond created before Alder, and he had shown no indication of being an oathbreaker. The following years after his anointment saw him gain influence until eventually he was granted the fiefdom of Lünburg by Herzog Janczyk-Mariusz Tzyrnowski. But, as most of us know, power and influence can corrupt. Such was the case for Zladimir, delusions of grandeur allowed him to stray from the oath that he had taken before Alder, the Sentinels, and his comrades. It allowed him to be influenced by Dolus, the influence of whom he had been warned about so many times during his training.
It was from then on, that his soul became reserved for the Ashen Abyss. It is now that I come to the essence of this declaration, to put right a wrong. Something I should have done the moment news reached my ears of his betrayal, though I had always hoped he would come back to his senses and seek forgiveness with his Imperial Majesty. He did not, and he died a traitor, not only to the Kaiser and his Empire but to his brothers as well. Let it be known that from this day forth, Zladimir de Tiri, is denounced and stripped of all titles and honours normally befitting a Ritter of the Order and be removed from our histories. He will be removed from our archives, and any mention or evidence of his existence within our prestigious Order will be scrubbed out and destroyed. Future generations of Ritters will not know his name, his ties to us are forever cut, and any who share the traitor’s blood or share his sentiments will be turned away from service in perpetuity.
Let it be known that Zladimir ‘Oathbreaker’ de Tiri was never a true Ritter of the Golden Rose, and let us pray he is being judged justly in the afterlife. And to those who might now doubt the resolve and passion within the members of our Order, this betrayal has only strengthened us. Naivety and comfort can creep into even the most wintered of soldiers, and measures will be taken to ensure history does not repeat itself. The Empire of Hadriana should be a safe haven for all privileged enough to call it home, and the Order continues to work to that end.
Your humble servant,
