Matthew Van Dresden, Hermetic disciple and political mastermind - the sorcerer who draped himself in an air ideological fortitude and an old school wardrobe conservative black and white suits, gleaming ebony top hats, and a mystickally-empowered swordcane, was perhaps the only hope for the Venway confederation. As the fickle tides of the playing fields of Ares turned yet again, this time against the Great Allies, it took a gamester who walked the shadowy roads of balance and control to hold the lines - on a different sort of battleground. The grim and intrigue-ridden arena of politics.
Van Dresden was not a revolutionary or a radical. He did not storm the fields of the Middlelands, the ice caps of Odindrust, or the high seas of this Otherworld demesne. But, while Cypress Dreadslay was off stacking a treachorous web of alliances for and against Venway to further weave the fate of the people into a possible road to disaster, the Prime Minister whom he used for mass-political support was off dealing with the consequences of his actions. Accursed vampires. No sense of propriety or, well, decency! Van Gessel sighs, as he steps out onto the stage set up outside the Capitol Building, amidst a dreary and brooding crowd. A few, muffled cheers and claps for those hardliners who profitted greatly from Ven Dresden's civil leadership, and quite a few more angered shouts of disapproval from through out the crowd welcomed the confederation's head of state as he prepared to deliver his message to the people of Venway.
"Sons and daughters of Venway. Sons and daughters of the freestates underneath our's - the banner of independence and liberation. The flag of liberty and defiance to the totalitarian imperial governments who would usurp this world in an evil maw of that beast of war. That black name - the Warlock Order...
"I call upon all of us, today, to.. first and foremost.. pay tribute to the brave souls who perished at Odindrust. I ask, please, for a moment of silence for these men and women of the Venway free states and her valiant allies - civilian and soldier alike, who have made the ultimate sacrifice on the alter of freedom." Van Dresden bows his head, his brown eyes, beneath a pair of polished and clarified spectacles, lowering in reverent observation of his own request - a botched attempt to manipulate the emotions of the crowd gathered outside the capitol building. Silence was murdered almost immediately, by angry and emotionally-charged screams and defiant curses. Vennish citizens even, at some fringes of the crowd, begin assaulting one another as politically-derived arguments turn into an epidemic of outbreaking street fights.
The prime minister lifts his chin, a sour and dissatisfied, if passively reserved, frown the only thing masking his inward disgust at these animals. Could they not put aside their torrid hatreds and prejudice for one fucking minute?
"Amen. God preserve and shelter the souls of the fallen patriots who give over their very lives for you, for this confederation, for everybody. How now, brave Venway? Do not allow the rain of hopelessness that callously falls upon all of our heads these nights to strike the foul epidemic of dispair into your hearts. Our banners were burned, our people were massacred, our lands were over-run, during the Battle of Odindrust. But, mark my words today, my friends, though our steps might falter at times - we shall not fall.
"Warlock Order dictator Jaelen Westlock, with his nihilistic sabre-rattling and constant hypocricy, would like each and every one of you now to believe that this 'invincible' army is at our gates. But are they? No! Are they even close? No! Will they ever take our country from us again? No! They shall not.
"Do I want to fight this war? No. I do not. Who would truly desire to engage in such a horrifying and destructive affair, when we should be working with one another in civility and brotherhood to build our society to greater heights. But such things to not come cheaply, my countrymen and women. There is an enemy out there, based upon nothing but war, murder, and aggression. These tyrants are attempting to take everything that we have ever held dear, forever - and they have done this within our once sister-nation Galen Thal. They have done this to so many nations, and they will not stop there. I do not care what type of peace-advocating socialist dreamers out there say this. I speak the grim reality and unadultured truth to my people, as always. And I tell you now, Venway... The Warlock Order is not going to stop, if we stop now. This was a war we were forced into - for our survival, for our liberty, for everything that we hold sacred. And, that, Venway, is why it is a war that I believe must be fought.
""No, I do not agree with the militant stance of Cypress Dreadslay or his family. We should not push other nations into war with us for the follies of pride or face. But Cypress Dreadslay and his family has organized the strategims that, until Odindrust, were highly successful in driving the Warlock Order from Vennish soil. When Cypress states that Jaelen Westlock is a murderous megalomaniac with a barbaric regime that espouses all of the worst elements of totalitarian government and the sickest perversions of nationalism - well, my good people, he is not exagerating the evils of the Warlock Order."
Matthew Van Dresden reaches onto his podium, which he had earlier abandoned in a flare of good statesmanship, strolling freely about his elevated stage and gesturing keenly to emphasize his point and glaring out over the crowd with intense focus to further drive his points home. The Vennish prime minister's fingers enclose about the thick surface of a newspaper, which he holds outwards, glancing up at it, then back at his audiance with a clean-cut, gleaming smile of finality.
"This newspaper tells the truth about this war. In the Middlelands, entire towns raised in a firestorm of enslavement and murder. The once beautiful city of Rurenburgh is now but a broken and hollow shell of ruins, even as the Warlock Order's ruthless shock-troops fight the armies of the Mutiny Alliance across the river. Rurenburgh is utterly desolated, and its citizens will likely never, ever be seen again - dumped in shallow, mass graves or sent to their deaths in the slave camps of Galen Thal.
"I want peace, as well. I want to be remembered as the man who was prime minister in a time of prosperity and not tragedy. But, even stronger than my desire to bring peace to these wartorn continents and nations, is my sense of duty. Peace can never be achieved while an empire of iron and blood can murder and torture with impunity. Peace can never be achieved whilest a beast of war eats everything in its path. Peace can never be restored until that empire is brought to its knees and its tyrannical rulers made to face the justice of those they have wronged. Peace can never be known, until that beast of war is slain by a hero with wits sharper and swords stronger than its instincts or fangs. You know who that hero will be, Venway? Hmmm?"
Van Dresden pauses, casting a wary and intense gaze of idealistic fortitude about his surrounds. From right to left, his dark brown irises and ebony pupils study the faces of those listening to him. Finally, he takes a shuddering, but inaudible breath, and finishes his climactic resolution to his speech's more militant cant.
"That hero is you," The prime minister points out to crowded streets, "Each and every one of you. Each and every man and woman in Venway who refuses to allow a mad devil from the Warlock Order devour all!"
Van Dresden's voice softens. He smiles, in a epilogue of sorrowful strength, as he takes his pointing forefinger and directs it against the front page of the newspaper grasped within his right hand.
"This is why we wage war, sons and daughters of Venway, because I refuse to allow this to happen to you."
((Okay. This speech will be broadcast across radios and catelogued in quotes within the papers the next day. It's assumable that any character in Venway can also be in attendance, at the stage errected for the speech outside the capitol building, in downtown Venway City.))
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