The Declaration of the Will of the Diet
*A piece of parchment has been nailed to the door of the Diet.*
Electors and Citizens of the Reich,
The Holy Roman Empire was born from the ashes of the Caesars. We are the heirs of Augustus, Trajan, Hadrian, and Constantine. In the mold of these great Emperors was our society built, yet we strove for more. We looked to the past and saw that we were also the heirs of Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus. For every beneficent Emperor, there were two cruel and ignorant counterparts. The Caesars created the Old Roman Empire, but they also destroyed it.
So it was that our wise and noble ancestors determined that they would create a New Empire, a Holy Empire, in a manner that would harness the good of the Caesars, while preventing the harm from that same source. They chose to prevent evil and negligent men from becoming King of the Romans, by requiring an election by the prominent nobleman of the various lands of the Empire. Thus were the Electors born.
For many years this system was used, and the Empire was ruled magnanimously. Our peoples prospered, justice was upheld, Christ's word was preached, and governance was fair and reasonable. Yet, as with the Old Empire, the Reich lost its way. No man alive today can remember the last time a Kaiser was elected in the proper manner. This law, designed to protect the people, has been taken from us. Whether by coup or bureaucracy, we have returned to the chaotic days of the ancient Romans.
This is seen in our very history and cannot be disputed. For every good Kaiser, we have seen an evil counterpart. Kaiser Heinrich exploited the law for the sake of a personal vendetta against Pope Gregory. With near unanimous opposition to his actions, Heinrich forced the Reich into excommunication and a period of immense hardship for nobility and commoner alike. The Diet was so outraged by his actions, that they immediately passed new laws to prevent such an act from occurring. Even then, it took a mighty Crusade to remove the stain of Heinrich's actions. The great bulwark of Christian Outremer was created to redeem the Reich for the sins of Heinrich.
Fortunately for us all, Kaiser Henry did not follow in his father's footsteps. He was a good and wise ruler, and the Reich benefited from his leadership. It is possible that Kaiser Jobst would have been such a man as well, but he was cut down on the field of battle before he could prove himself.
From that field of battle, a new Kaiser rose. Siegfried. Even today, that name brings bile into the throats of women and children across the Reich. Many still believe that it was Siegfried himself who killed Kaiser Jobst, and then used bribery and forgery to gain the throne. Still, even if true, that would be the least of Siegfried's crimes. We all know of the horrors that the Unification brought upon us. It was un-asked for and un-wanted. When proposed before the Diet, it was violently protested by nearly every Elector in the Reich. Yet he proceeded anyway, handing away countless territories bought with German blood to the corrupt Byzantines. Most outrageous of all, he attempted to systematically dismantle Christendom itself. His unification of the Church with the Eastern Blasphemers was nothing of the sort. It was a full-scale absorption of Christendom by Orthodox devils. Holy Outremer itself, the beacon of light in a world of darkness, was dismantled and given over to blasphemers without so much as a mourning prayer to mark its passing. Even today, over sixty years after Siegfried's death, we have yet to restore what his actions took from us. We will never be able to restore the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Germans who perished in the resulting Cataclysm. Nero may have fiddled while Rome burned, but Siegfried put a torch to the entire Empire.
Would that Siegfried's successors had compensated for his wickedness. Kaiser Elberhard was not an evil man, but he was a feeble ruler. When the Reich needed strength, he brought weakness. In such a time of need, that was the worst possible result. And so to Kaiser Péter the Hypocrite. Imprisoned for rebellion against his own brother, Péter passes judgment on those of us who also risked all to save the Reich. Péter was content to prevent the Unification with the slaughter of thousands and a war that cost many times that number, and continues to this day. Yet he proclaims as traitors those who sought to stop such tragedies with the death of a single traitor. With the cataclysmic period behind us, the situation in Swabia settled, he once again forces us into Civil War for the sake of a personal vendetta.
So, it is, good citizens of the Reich, that we look back on our history and see rot and decay where there should be glory and prosperity. The cause of this is obvious to all who care to look. Of the last six Kaisers, only two have benefited the Reich, and one of those reigned for only the briefest of moments. The fickle whims of the Emperors brought down the Old Empire. The fickle whims of the Kaisers are bringing down the Holy Empire.
Yet, not all is darkness. In the Reich there stands a beacon of light that shines the way. The Order of the Illuminati has aided the Reich for many years. We have brought stability where there was disorder, help to those in need, and religion to the blasphemers. All of this was done without regard for our own safety. Indeed, we consider it our duty to sacrifice for others. The Order of the Illuminati will fight for what is right and just, no matter the price we must pay.
The Brotherhood represents true egalitarianism in our very existence. Members are admitted on the basis of merit alone. Blood and hereditary title mean nothing to us. Every man who is a member of the Order has achieved that position through demonstrations of personal value. Such is the true measure of the worth of a leader. Yet, even with that monumental achievement in governance, we have gone further. The Order has titles and positions, but they are merely roles to help divide duties in an efficient manner. The Illuminati consider all members equal, to a man. The vote of the newest member carries as much weight as the vote of the Grand Master himself. A new member must receive unanimous approval before being admitted. When all members are wise, skilled, and worthy of esteem, there is no need for inequality and Lordship.
And so the Order stands today to make a public Proclamation. A new age is upon us. The ways of the Kaisers have failed. We summon all able-bodied men of the Reich to join us in the fight for a new Reich. We declare that we stand, not only for the toppling of Kaiser Péter von Kastilien, but for the toppling of ALL Kaisers. We unsheathe our swords in the name of equality and justice. We fight for a new Reich. We fight for a new Republic.
We declare that it be the Will of the Diet that the position of Kaiser be abolished for all time. We declare that henceforth, the Reich will be ruled by the Electors alone, free from the encumbrances of hereditary title. We declare that from this day forth, the Holy Roman Empire is no more. We declare that the birth of the Holy Roman Republic has begun.
Long Live Germany!
Long Live Rome!
Long Live the Electors!
Long Live the Holy Roman Republic!
Arnold Lothar Steffen Matthias Steffen Herrmann Steffen Elector of Austria Elector of Bavaria Elector of Bavaria Elector of Bavaria Duke of Austria Duke of Bavaria Viceroy of Outremer Count of Bologna Grand Master of the Illuminati Voice of the Illuminati Brother of the Illuminati Brother of the Illuminati Son of Rome Son of Rome Son of Rome Son of Rome
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Originally Posted by TosaInu
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