March into eternity
Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:09 am
People of Anikar, the left-handed; saurids of Kalee, scaled warriors; denizens of Baramua, minds of the sea; and all other thinking beings of the Arizona Novanian demesne, hearken to me! You have lived to the fifty-ninth year of our reconstitution, but in so doing have done so much more than that. You have labored, sweated, and built, you have fought, bled and conquered, you have witnessed, wrote, and proclaimed all the great achievements you now witness before you. What was rightfully ours has been regained, and the heart of this nation now beats strong and true once again! From Varanar to Noah our banner flies proud once more. Where others have fallen into obscurity and stayed there, by the strength of our own hands we have clawed our way back from the brink, in an age where social entropy has condemned a thousand thousands of nations to death. All will know that the heart of the empire the Anikari forged beats true, and will go on beating to the end of all things!
But do not become complacent! The deaths of those who came before, yea, even up to great Ilë Sornë, all oblivion has had one common, vile root. Complacency! Stagnancy! Indolence! Content with the fires they stoked, they fooled themselves into thinking that coals serve just as well, and wasted their efforts on petty matters when there was history to be made!
We live now in a historic hour, my peoples. The galaxy stands as nothing short of a blank slate before us; empty and vast, and of the thousands of great empires which once called it home only pockets and handfuls remain, in these days, and of them only a few precious examples retain any of their ancient fire. We sit here, within the confines of our old empire, a nation of over thirteen billion full sitting in territories claimed when we had but a quarter of that number!
We have stoked a mighty fire by our industry and our unity, and now is the time to spread it! It is our right, nay, it is our responsibility to do so. And you have been chosen for this hour! The time has now come to spread our fire outwards; the time has come to pave the way through the great forest of the night for more settlers to wend, to dispel and root out the darkness, and to light fires under our enemies!
Some would call this war and aggression; they would decry us, hurl names and accusations too terrible and ridiculous to name; what of it? From laziness, shame, ignorance, and fear they speak, for if they do not do the same, they are lazy, shameful and ashamed by their lack of strength, ignorant of our great history, and fearful of what they do not know. Our civilization has ever been a beacon in this galaxy, and the rights of all thinking beings have ever been held in sacred guarantee! We are, and ever will be, more than conquerors, and have set forth and do set forth now, not only with the sword but also with the olive branch.
So let not your hearts be troubled! Stand up, stand up, my peoples, and be counted worthy in these times! Whether you go forth now to fight, to build, or to learn, that your service will be remembered for all time, and the empire you build will last even to the death of light. Go forth! Go now! March into eternity!
~Shilmastak Square Address, August 2, 2158 A.C.E.
The speech which started the Second War of Expansion (post your interest here).
But do not become complacent! The deaths of those who came before, yea, even up to great Ilë Sornë, all oblivion has had one common, vile root. Complacency! Stagnancy! Indolence! Content with the fires they stoked, they fooled themselves into thinking that coals serve just as well, and wasted their efforts on petty matters when there was history to be made!
We live now in a historic hour, my peoples. The galaxy stands as nothing short of a blank slate before us; empty and vast, and of the thousands of great empires which once called it home only pockets and handfuls remain, in these days, and of them only a few precious examples retain any of their ancient fire. We sit here, within the confines of our old empire, a nation of over thirteen billion full sitting in territories claimed when we had but a quarter of that number!
We have stoked a mighty fire by our industry and our unity, and now is the time to spread it! It is our right, nay, it is our responsibility to do so. And you have been chosen for this hour! The time has now come to spread our fire outwards; the time has come to pave the way through the great forest of the night for more settlers to wend, to dispel and root out the darkness, and to light fires under our enemies!
Some would call this war and aggression; they would decry us, hurl names and accusations too terrible and ridiculous to name; what of it? From laziness, shame, ignorance, and fear they speak, for if they do not do the same, they are lazy, shameful and ashamed by their lack of strength, ignorant of our great history, and fearful of what they do not know. Our civilization has ever been a beacon in this galaxy, and the rights of all thinking beings have ever been held in sacred guarantee! We are, and ever will be, more than conquerors, and have set forth and do set forth now, not only with the sword but also with the olive branch.
So let not your hearts be troubled! Stand up, stand up, my peoples, and be counted worthy in these times! Whether you go forth now to fight, to build, or to learn, that your service will be remembered for all time, and the empire you build will last even to the death of light. Go forth! Go now! March into eternity!
~Shilmastak Square Address, August 2, 2158 A.C.E.
The speech which started the Second War of Expansion (post your interest here).
