Post by Trent Kaliba on Jun 20, 2017 18:24:29 GMT -8
New Arisalon had not fully recovered the next morning. Memory of the attack was raw and fresh, and The Paxium for all it stood for was a symbol now of war. It was released that Lathon, a Magister and wizard of the Arisalonian Magistry had acted with a cabal of conspirators to release an artifact from the old empire with the sole goal of destroying the Paxium. Their manifesto had been distributed by magical means, raining crimson sheets of paper trimmed in gold with black ink bold against the red.
Citizens of the Empire,
Know that the days of idyllic peace come at an end, the price no longer small enough to pay. We have lost our way, lost our First Citizen, our Consul. He perished not in battle with even foes, but with supposed allies. Mordred Vargo, Betrayer.
What weakness is it, to embrace them? What weakness is it, that our namesake bears so little resemblance to what we have become? Great sacrifice carried the legions this far, defending a land which has never thanked them. Great victories in our past, but weakness in our future…
I, Lothon have perished in service to the idea that guided so many before me. Imperii nostri in aeternum. I gladly shed my blood and forfeit my life to wipe away one of the signs of our decadence. A school dedicated to our ‘understanding’ of those who would see us return to insignificance, those that fear our rightful ascension, those who know the The Arisalon is without equal. It was the goal of our beloved First Citizen, his dream to spread the Arisalonian idea- the pursuit of excellence as society. He did so, in those later years as a philosopher, as diplomat. But our ancestors, those who came before- the Giants upon the shoulders we stand did no such thing.
Philosphy is earned. Diplomacy must be backed with blood. The Paxium is not the only blight we will remove. I die, and I know brothers rise from my blood. Sisters rise from final breath. Cast off the chains of this false peace and awake.
Imperii nostri in aeternum
Arisalon Aeterna
The letter circulated far and wide and in many stirred fear. But in the powerful, in those who had followed Arc through the darkest places, it stirred a discontent already building. Showing a shinning example hadn’t worked. Neither had being Tyran’s sword and shield. The majority of the military having great love for Laelia Kaliba felt almost betrayed at how Tyran stole her from them, how the Vargo’s stole her from them. That loyalty had been twisted to a resentment in some.
No small surprise that the letter put life to the dark whispers that had began even before Arc’s disappearance (as some called it). Whispers soon turned into conspiracy. Conspiracy soon turned to rage. Two days from the attack, a bureaucrat by the name of Clayton Marsellis was stoned by an angry mob when he announced the reasoning for the increase of grain prices. Fires and bandits to the south had squeezed the farms affecting the price of foodstuffs. It was to the shouts of “ New Arisalon, First!” that the stones were hurled.
New Arisalon provided most of it’s own food, but imported enough to keep the farms to the south rich enough to continue their growth. This business practice had been something Raelle had suggested before her ascendancy to Queen of the Raven Islands. It had been popular...until Tyran’s instability caused it to be otherwise. In that stoning, four citizens were killed, and twenty two were arrested.
Theodas Donnel was one of the first to sound the outcry, and bring a sudden and frightening legitimacy to the idea that New Arisalon should only care for New Arisalon. His soaring rhetoric earned him followers among the dissatisfied, those who would gladly send sons to fight at the borders. He loudly decried trade deals, flouting his business sense to all who would listen.
