County Text for Matilde de Cadenet

Now-Countess Matilde asked me to do her County text to fit a Russian icon-style scroll.   I generally don't like to repeat sources if possible, but Matilde really liked one of my previous Russian-inspired pieces (for Khioniya Ryseva's Silver Crescent), so I broke my usual rule and re-used the intro.  Sometimes you just gotta give the people what they like  :-)

And yes, this is a fairly long one.  Again, sometimes you just gotta give the people what they like.


Brennan and Caoilfhionn, Imperator et Imperatrix, to our servant Matilde de Cadenet, greetings.  The authority of the Crown of the East had its origin in Maragorn and Adrienne, founders of Our line, and the great Cariadoc, who declared war upon himself, and the valiant great Darius and Roxanne of blessed memory, who led Eastern armies against the sons of the Dragon, then it passed to the avengers of wrongs, our ancestors, the praiseworthy great Kenric and Avelina, who obtained great victories upon the fields of AEthelmearc, and to our father the wise Emperor Ivan, until it reached us, the humble scepter-bearers of the Eastern Empire. Here follows the command of the orthodox, truly Eastern Majesties:

Forasmuch as you have shown yourself to be of singular and remarkable worth; and having taken counsel from the boyar and boyar kinsmen of our Realm and having heard abundant and multifold praise and of your deeds and your character; and having by evidence of our own eyes avouched your quality; We do now by these present Imperial and unassailable letters bestow upon you the sign and insignia of a Countess, along with all rights, privileges, immunities, honors, and endowments of that rank.

If anyone, be a neighbour or a stranger, no matter what his condition or power, though any kind of wile, should attempt to do any act of violence contrary to this our Imperial edict, let God remove him from the land of the living and wipe out his name from the book of life, let him experience in his own body the torments of future damnation, unless he come to his senses and hail you as honorably excellent and excellently honorable Countess.

 Written in our great Eastern Empire, in the famous Shire of Quintavia, on the steps of our Imperial threshold, in the fifty-second year from the creation of the Society, the 7th day of April.