From Gerald to Clementine

A letter written by Gerald of Coehorp, addressed to the Infernal Emperor Clementine Flame with his ideas of how the rule of the land should change.
He however died before he could deliver the letter, betrayed by his ally Rebekah Gludroww. Rebekah ultimately discovering the letter made sure that it made its way into the hands of the next Infernal Emperor, Mirna Flame, after she had assassinated Mirna Flame.
The letter would go on to inspire the Seraphic Rapture once the contents of the latter made it into the hands of the lower class, then it again gained significance from the Kyojin Kingdom as its prime inspiration.

Read the Document

From Gerald to Clementine

An argument for love, equality, freedom and 

the ending of the War of the Flying Baron

~ ~ ~

By Gerald of Coehorp.
To your Majesty the infernal emperor- Clementine Flame.

Brief

I feel deeply grateful that your Majesty would take the time to consider my suggestions. It would be arrogant for me to suggest that I can somehow totally inform your majesty of the ways as a ruler. Therefore, this letter is an opinion of mine on methods and values that I believe will benefit the empire and her people. In this letter, I present my arguments on four values that I believe ought to be treated as the most important: "love, equality, freedom and knowledge“. And the reason why I believe the War of the Flying Baron should be ended as soon as possible.

i. The importance of love, equality and freedom.

1. Love Love and compassion are what I believe to be the most powerful emotions. It is the feeling we have for our child, for our family and the feelings that led us to the path of Creeh. These deeds are powerful because they create a stable society, without the plagues of poverty, violence and angst. Contrary to love are hate and anger. These negative thoughts do nothing but harm us. If one hates and feels anger, one does harm to oneself and others. There is no winning. One could argue that such emotions helped them to climb over others and triumph in life, therefore not harming themselves but I believe this thought is deeply selfish. Hate creates nothing but an endless vicious cycle. A cycle many are stuck in, running like mice and trampling on each other for a few pieces of mouldy bread without realizing that a better world for all could be created through the practice of love and cooperation. It is also my belief that love should replace the old moral system of honour. We should not hold grudges and revenge in the name of honour but instead forgive and care for each other in the name of compassion. This may be too idealistic to be a foreign policy doctrine but I believe it should be promoted on a personal level.
2. Equality The implementation of a meritocracy in the legal system. Abolition of slavery Throughout my research and experience, I believe all intelligent creatures should be considered equal under the law. There should not be any discrimination between a noble birth and one in poverty. One does not control their birth and I think that it is critical for the good of society to only judge a man by deeds that he truly controls. As such, I believe that the Code of Red Law should be modified so that only qualified individuals, through rigorous examinations and regardless of birth or status, should be allowed to carry out law enforcement. I believe that every wise ruler would want their subject to be more skilled in their work. If the current way keeps going, it is going to be detrimental to our nation. Since talent is harder to find from a smaller pool. From my experience as a warrior who has interacted with nobles and the common folks alike, I believe the child of a poor lumberjack has essentially no different from that of an established noble. The difference is created in education afterwards. Slavery should also be abolished. The current system is limiting the potential of the uneducated populace by keeping them outside a barrier, I do not think it should be the case. It would be much more beneficial for the longevity of our nation if the populace become educated and lived up to their potential instead of being forced to labour.
3. Freedom of thoughts and ideas Like a child who learns from their mistakes and their parents‘ advice using an open mind. It is a society’s responsibility to learn from its history and adapt to new ideas. The freedom for every citizen to present and have their own ideas and thoughts is very important. The reason is that even if a commoner is not as educated as a noble, he can still present his view and his suffering. Through these testaments, even if they are unsupportive of our own doctrine we should still consider them. Sometimes, they can point out the holes that exist and help to create a better world for everyone involved. Of course, it is unrealistic to let every uneducated individual have their own impact on the system for it would be total chaos. But that is the reason why a monarch rules, to have a unified and complete system that does not have the chaos and stupidity created by a true democracy. But again, I think it is important to highlight the significance of listening to new ideas with an open mind, even if it challenges your own.
4. The promotion of knowledge For a free and productive populace to be possible, it is vital that they have a certain level of education. If the farmer’s son has the ability to learn the work of a blacksmith, a musician or a warrior. It leaves him with many more options to deviate from his father's path and follow his own passion. Society would be much more efficient if everyone has the ability to choose to do what they do best. It should also be considered that education in general is beneficial for everyone since they can adapt to new situations better and thus create a more efficient and elastic society that is able to cope with the hardship of life. For such reasons, public libraries and mandatory education should be the norm. The classes’ teachers should be taught by trained and qualified professionals of all birth. The first priority should be for everyone to learn to read and after that higher education. For libraries to be widespread, it is important for printing technology and paper production to be improved. Therefore, I recommend your majesty hold a nationwide competition for the invention of an efficient book printing machine if the situation allows it.

ii. The ending of the War of the Flying Baron.

The ending of the War of the FLying Baron is the first priority before any other changes are possible. From my research, I must conclude that it is unwise to continue the war. Started by the Pact of Flames, a past event that could never be changed. Continued by hatred and bad politics on both sides of the fighting. I believe that it is best for everyone to end the war at the negotiation table as soon as possible. I do not think that I need to inform your majesty of the loss of manpower and resources that our nation has been facing since the start of the war. The rate of crime has risen much higher than the pre-war historical records. Hunger and poverty are common sights throughout all of my travels. I believe your Majesty with benevolence also wishes to end this war to mitigate the suffering of our people. I must tell your Majesty a story to illustrate my point. I used to live with a young adopted daughter. She was originally a slave who I rescued from a goblin camp. The slave trader treated the girl who was only 9 years of age so poorly that with compassion, I spent quite a portion of my fortune to buy her. But when she was 16, she was killed by some thieves while I was away. I personally tracked down those thieves and in my rage, brutally avenged my child’s death. I later found out that those thieves were impoverished people. Desperate to make ends meet. No amount of hatred and revenge on those poor people is going to do any good. My child’s death and those thieves are only a symptom of a much wider plague that is harming our nation and her people. That plague is the poverty, and hatred caused by the war and the current system either directly or indirectly.

Ending words

Again, I thank your majesty to have spent your time reading my humble suggestions. I hope that you do consider my suggestions and make our nation a better place. I also would wish to speak to you in person after the dragon hunt on the Lamented Peaks to discuss these ideas.

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