To the Nations of the World,
I, Albertiano Rochalva, Lord Protector of Beluna address you not in haste, nor with rebellious fervor, but with the steady hand of one burdened by loyalty too long misplaced.
I write not to raise a sword in ambition, but to raise a voice long silenced. We did not rejoice when Dom Afonso Miguel, a stranger to our laws and land, was declared King. We watched, wary but patient, as the Solar Ecclesiarch Helia I crowned him in the name of Solis, claiming divine sanction for what was, in truth, political intrusion. We gave him a chance, as Jaramid did, to walk the path of kingship with humility and reverence.
But the path he chose was conquest. He did not seek our counsel, nor acknowledge our inheritance. Instead, he began at once to repurpose the realm, reshaping it not into a new Kingdom, but into a pale reflection of the Western Empire from whence he came. Where once duchies debated and ruled their fates in council, now came only decrees. Where once Kings stood beside their peers, now rode envoys bearing demands wrapped in velvet threats.
But the final affront came when we were ordered - ordered! - to send our levies to the distant lands of Caorran, a realm that had shown us no enmity. We were told we must help subjugate this Kingdom, not in defense of Nova Lúria, but to please imperial strategists who know nothing of our valleys or our people.
We refused. And in our refusal, we remembered who we are. If the monarch no longer defends the balance of our ancient rights, then the covenant is broken.
Thus, as ruler of Beluna, in unity with the lords of my realm, and in solemn accord with the people whose loyalty I have earned not by force, but by service, I hereby declare:
Beluna is no longer subject to the crown of Nova Lúria.
We withdraw from its councils, its levies, and its claims of authority over our land.
We stand as a free and sovereign duchy, not in defiance of order, but in defense of it, allied in purpose with the Duchies of Jaramid and Rómenala should they choose to join us in this struggle.
Let no one mistake our cause for chaos. We seek not war, but the restoration of our voice. We claim not dominion over others, but the dignity to rule ourselves. We honor our ancient ties to all those who would rise with us, not as rebels, but as heirs of the true Lurian legacy.
For my people, their dignity, and for the memory of the true Kingdom of Luria: I have spoken.
Count Albertiano,
Duke in All but Name, Protector of the Belunese people.