Earthhardle's Avernal Defiance Speech

This is the message from Senate Leader Tasos Earthhardle to the people of K'ul Goran, read out across the land after the horrendous events of the Avernal Invasion.

People of K'ul Goran - we have survived an apocalypse. The mouth of Hell itself opened up beneath us, and instead of cowering in fear, we charged headlong into that fiery maw and rammed their planned apocalypse down their throat. I have never been more proud of our people, our armies or our new allies, than at this moment.
Yet at the same time I have never been more concerned for us as a nation. You have no doubt heard various versions of what we have learned, so let me tell you plainly. We have discovered that the origins of K'ul Goran - the reason a large group of Minotaurs founded a nation in a land of such wind - is that it was ordered by one of the rulers of Hell - the Archduke Zariel. She orchestrated this in the hopes that - when the time came for her great invasion - we would be holding the door open. Instead we shut it fast, slamming it in her howling face.
This is alarming news - it should alarm you, but it should not make you question who you are. You are a citizen of K'ul Goran - proud, strong and true. You are who you have always been, the great deception in our history is meaningless in the face of our truth - we thrive in conditions that would blow all other civilisations away. When the wind blows, we may bend but we never break.
Now this has not gone hidden for so long without help - for the past several months we have been rooting out these stewards of evil - a vile cult known as the Vanguard, and we are confident that only a handful remain and will soon be dealt with. Our scholars are also working hard to uncover the full extent of their influence, since the founding of our nation.
We have a long road ahead of us - we are still rebuilding from the war with the giants, and now we have the greatest project of our time - understanding and coming to terms with our origins. But know this - it does not define us - since our arrival here we have created a civilisation that is the envy of all who see it, our triumphs and our failures are ours, Hell has no claim on them. Zariel designed us to be the heralds of the end of days. Instead, we were the first line of defence against her, and through our collective struggle and sacrifice, we stood strong against hordes of devils. The world continues because of us - never forget that.
I have never been more proud to be a citizen of K'ul Goran, and I hope, as you reflect on these terrible events of the last year, you feel the same way. The wind may howl, but we howl back.

Type

Decree, Governmental