A Plea by First General Lucan Schneefall

200 years ago, the Great Serpéan War was beginning to reach a turning point. For the first time since the war began, one of the five major factions was on the verge of collapsing. Attacked on all sides by the other factions, The Central Serpéans were struggling to defend themselves and their troops were spread too thinly. What made this worse was the fact that the other factions all smelled blood in the water and had halted their attacks on each other to focus entirely on the failing faction in the hopes of grabbing what they could of their land.
The soldiers of Central Serpé began to lose hope of surviving this onslaught and the officers saw no way out of the mess that they were in. Morale was at an all-time low, many within the faction contemplating turning traitor and joining one of the invading factions, others thought about ending it before their enemies had a chance to.
This was the state that First General Lucan Schneefall found Central Serpé to be in when he assumed the role. Lucan had always been a model student, performing at the top of his class in both Bootcamp and the Officer's Academy in every subject. An ambitious youth, he had always aimed to become the First General even when he was a child and was in fact the youngest person to ever attain that rank in all of Serpé. At the tender age of 27, Schneefall had finally reached his goal, but not in the way that he had hoped.
Following the sudden death of the previous First General, who had decided to end their own life rather than be remembered as the leader who led their faction to defeat, Lucan was elected to take their place. His promotion did not have anything to do with his exemplary grades, skills or achievements, however. Instead, the senior officers responsible for nominating and voting on the First General's successor needed a scapegoat, someone that, when they inevitably lost the war, the officer's could push blame on to and away from themselves.
Despite knowing this, Lucan was determined to save his faction, so devoted to them and his people was he. He enacted several reforms across the upper ranks of his faction, replacing many of the old officers who had lost their way and who were only out to save face with younger officers who still believed that they had a chance at victory. He would spend days and weeks at a time planning and devising new strategies without rest to find a way to outmanoeuvre the enemies at their gates. Schneefall was also responsible for reallocating the factions budget, moving as much of the funding towards militaristic pursuits as possible and cutting the rather large luxury budget.
Of all of the changes and decisions that Lucan made in order to push the other factions back, none was so effective or as revered as the letter that he issued to each of his factions citizens via the newspaper, The Central Gazette. This one move reignited the fighting spirit and fire in the hearts of his soldiers and prompted them to fight back against the aggressors with everything they had. History books teach us that this letter was the turning point in the war that kept the Central Serpéan faction alive and maintained its position as a major threat to the other factions. Even today, the other factions teach their soldiers of one of the continents greatest First Generals and how they suffered an impressive defeat. The events that spanned First General Lucan's tenure as leader of his faction were on the verge of being known as the Fall of Central Serpé but instead came to be known as Schneefall's War.

Purpose

The purpose of the letter written by First General Lucan and published by the national newspaper was to raise his citizen's spirits and morale. Lucan wanted to make his people believe in not just him, but themselves; that they could not just make the invaders hurt for every step they take into their land, but also to push them back and to win this pivotal moment in the seemingly never-ending war.

Historical Details

Public Reaction

The letter had the desired effect upon the troops. Upon reading it, they began pushing back the attacking faction as they fought like men and women possessed, filled with nothing but the determination to fight till their last breath in the defence of their homeland. Knowing that the First General and his advisors were fully behind them and doing all that they could to ensure that they were successful in this endeavour pushed this newfound fervour to even greater heights.

Legacy

The original draft of the letter can still be seen, framed and hung on the wall of the First General's office. It hangs there as a reminder to all that take that office of what the greatest of them had achieved, as well as the standard that had been set. Schneefall and his letter continue to inspire all would-be officers and First Generals to this day. Many of the Central Serpéan's military strategies still utilise the Schneefall technique, instilling the troops with a zealous belief in themselves and their faction.

Read the Document

A Plea by First General Lucan Schneefall

My Fellow Serpéans,
We find ourselves facing the darkest time in our factions history. The barbarians are at our gates and we have been found wanting when faced with such adversity. Your previous leaders failed you, leaving you to the fate they deemed inevitable and that you yourselves had accepted.
I do not say this because I am trying to insult you or blame you for the hopelessness that you feel. I instead only wish to remind you of who we are.
We are Central Serpéans. We do not quiver in our boots as the invading hordes march through our homes. We do not sit around, bemoaning our lot in life and wishing that it could have turned out differently. We do not turn on our comrades or abandon them when they need us most. We are fighters, who will not suffer the insult of these foreigner's invasion. We are the brave, who stand unbending, unbreaking before the combined might of four factions. We are the strong, who spit in the eyes of the enemy who wish to take our lives, our homes and our liberty.
These soldiers from the East, South, North and West will not find cowering children as they crest our walls, but lions, waiting for their prey to jump readily into their jaws. This I know, as you, my brothers and sisters, exemplify all that it is to be Central Serpéan.
In the coming days, the factions will continue their advance, but no more will we retreat deeper into the heart of our land. No more will we wave that white flag as we turn our backs to our foe in defeat. If those bastards wish to take our homes, they will not do so without a fight.
I will not lie to you, the coming days will be hard. There will be further loss and heartache. But I swear that we will make them pay for every drop of Serpéan blood that they spill with their own. For if we are to lose our homeland to those vermin, you can be damned sure that they will never forget what it cost them to do so. The whole of Aland will bear witness to the bravery of Central Serpé's soldiers and they will always remember. We will not go quietly into the beyond, we will go kicking and screaming and dragging every single one of those rats with us.
With that said, this will not be our end. This is simply the beginning. The beginning of a new age for Serpé. An age when each faction defines its place on this continent. And you can be sure that we will maintain our position as the central superpower of our home, and here we shall remain as a testament to the failure and inferiority of the other factions.
When you go out onto that battlefield next, remind the enemy of who you are, of what they face, and the mistake that they have made in coming here.
For The Serpent King, and For Central Serpé!

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Type

Decree, Governmental

Medium

Paper

Location

Serpé