Upon the Throne

[Kaiser Ometeotl I]

I stand before you now as Kaiser. Accepted from the capable hands of my predecessor, B'Caw I who was besieged in his reign by many dire events. I demand no oaths of loyalty to myself, I ask simply loyalty to Shireroth. I swear no oath of vengeance upon anyone, just an oath to see the empire prosper and maintained in these dark times.

I come into this reign knowing it will be hard, and it will be difficult. Yet I will not accept the loss of any citizens during this time. Each person lost, diminishes us, as each person gained, strengthens us. We have lost many in times past, more then we should have ever accepted. More than can ever be accepted again. Foolishly we accepted loss, accepted it as natural, as the course of things. But it was not and cannot be the way we view events. People will come and go for their own reasons, but that reason must never be of our own making.

The empire is dying. It has been dying for quite some time. The populous is angry at everything. The Nobility is crumbling, the lands are divided. Our systems have failed us, as have we failed ourselves. Trapped in chains of tradition and feudalism. Isolated in our own counties, segregated away from the needs of others and the empire as a whole. We cannot go on like this my friends.

Our brothers in Elwynn seek to be free of this dying system. With luck we can work with them toward reconciliation. Should this fail, we must seek all options open to us for our future, with them. No bridges must be burned.

There are those outside the Empire that look in with hope. Hope that we will fail, and that we will fall. The reasons are likely many, but we must not let that happen. We must be our own authors, or our own destiny. We cannot let ourselves fail in the coming times. We must endure and restore Shireroth to unity and prosperity.

The Houses have failed our empire, as has the Duchies of old. A new system of governance and organization must be found. One natural and beneficial to the people of Shireroth. Not imposed by the few upon the many. To this regard a convention shall be called. A convention to review and revise the Charter. A convention to review and revise the Lawbook, unified by my predecessor. A convention to reshape the Empire for its people and see it into a new era.

Yet, I know a speech is meaningless, and laws can only go so far. We have sickness at our heart. A Sickness that is eroding our very being, poisoning our nation. I am guilty as any. And I have no easy or quick solution. But I have ideas. I have ideas on what may be the cause, the continuation and the outcome. I also have some ideas on how we might combat it. But it's not something we can legislate. It's not something we can force. People will not always agree, will not always even like each other. Feuds will happen. But we must remain civil. We must step back and look at our action. Not just to recognize them, but to act on them. We must do more then admit to our flaws, and are mistakes. We must seek to rectify them. We must seek to make amends, and we must seek to see that they do not happen again. We must forgive, and seek forgiveness. We must seek both sides.

This is why I have chosen this name. I know the time coming must be a rebirth. A merging and blending of ideas. The Feudal nature of Shireroth may not survive in whole or even in practice in the face of a coming decentralization and democratization of our system. The anger must be set aside so we can seek to forgive and gain forgiveness from others. A duality, as my namesake as a god of duality, must be achieved. What this duality will be, I cannot as yet say. But I know it will be our finest time as a Nation. We have wounds and mistakes of years upon our hearts, weighing them down, beyond that of a feather. We must dress these wounds, and these mistakes, if we are to lift this weight. And we shall.

[Scott of Hyperborea]

Man, why'd I have to leave right before the awesome Aztec creation deity who is apparently Erik even though he sounds about a thousand times more eloquent than Erik usually is and plans to change everything takes the throne?

[Kaiser Ometeotl I]

Cause you felt... compelled. Actions and words of dubious natures transpired and you didn't want to deal with it. You'd been losing interest in Shireroth, tired of the drama and angst of Shireroth, and you saw a chance to break free from it. If you decide to stay, I would be most pleased, but the choice is yours.

[Ari Rahikkala]

Man, why'd I have to leave right before the awesome Aztec creation deity who is apparently Erik even though he sounds about a thousand times more eloquent than Erik usually is and plans to change everything takes the throne?

Because your beliefs about Shireroth didn't change, you just took the action of ragequitting. You'd likely have been happy with any Kaiser with any significant non-stupid reform plans. (not that there's anyone left with a single Shirithian citizenship who would actually be able to come up with a significant non-stupid reform plan, aside Erik)

Rest assured someone will come along and pick this apart soon enough, and then you'll feel bad about reacting positively and remember why you quit

(ninja edit: Well, except that now that I've mentioned it, they won't pick apart the plan, but they'll definitely complain about me being uncritical)

[Kaiser Ometeotl I]

Ari, you continue to confuse and amaze me.

[Malliki Tosha]

Did you get the avatar from Stormark?

[Harald of Froyalan]

Did you get the avatar from Stormark?

Erik has got better places to turn to when he needs a piece of drawn art representing the pair of Aztec gods known as Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl......

[Kaiser Ometeotl I]

Harald is wise in this matter. Those are of an Aztec nature Mike, not Norse. But I do hope you like it, I found it pleasing.

[Ryan]

That strange spelling makes my mind register it as Kaiser Oatmeal I. :P

[Jacobus Loki]

I was thinking Omelet, until I googled it.

[Ryan]

That too!

And would well explain what happened to B'Caw's heirs!

[Kaiser Ometeotl I]

LOL! Ruth said it wouldn't take long for that to come up. She was right.

[Jacobus Loki]

Oatmeal omelets, the new symbol of loyalty among the near sighted!

[Shyriath]

And would well explain what happened to B'Caw's heirs!

DEAR GODS, NOT THE CHILDREN!!!

[Jacobus Loki]

..,,,.a small peeping noise close to the stables was most reassuring.....