Phillion’s Proclamation
"It was with heavy heart that I penned the verdict and death sentence of the only nation I have ever known. I pray to Sol daily that in the ashes of her death will arise a new hope for humanity."
The Text of the Proclamation of Dissolution
Whereas, the people of Eryia have granted the greatest trust, authority, and wealth to the House of Eryia, shedding the blood and labor of our forefathers, ourselves and our children to establish and maintain it, and in so doing, making it the most powerful government in the history of humankind, and
Whereas, it is the primary purpose of said government to protect it's citizens from those who would engage in harmful acts detrimental to them and to their posterity, and
Whereas, it is the responsibility of this government to protect the rights of its citizens including the rights of life, safety, property, liberty, justice, and the opportunity to pursue their purpose as determined by their own volition and efforts, and
Whereas, it is the role of the government to establish, enforce, and adjudicate the laws of this country in service to the rights and responsibilities of all its citizens, and to resolve conflicts amongst people within it's borders according to a fair and impartial common standard or mutually agreed upon contract,
Whereas, it is the obligation of a government to speak truthfully and accurately to it's constituents within the constraints of it's knowledge, and
Whereas, it is the duty of the Government to ensure that necessary non-excludable public services are provided to all her citizens, and thus provide a society that provides the opportunity for a worthy future to her people,
Upon such a time that this contract is substantively breached, the government must be made accountable for it's failures and the will of the people be enforced.
Therefore, in light of the catastrophe of the Jordbani and the ensuing hundred years of government mismanagement and incompetence that has resulted in the death of millions of Eryian citizens and is leading to the possible extinction of humankind,
It is the demand of the Eryian people that the House of Eryia, as the duly established government of the people of Eryia, answer for it's actions during this period.
And so, we, the representatives of the governed lay before ourselves and the house of Eryia the charges, and the verdict of the people.
- For the crime of indolence and failure to restrain curiosity, risking cataclysm, we pronounce the House of Eryia and ourselves Guilty.
- For the crime of deceit, for lying to the people through omission of known facts and comission of lies in the face of an existential threat that cost millions of lives, we pronounce the House of Eryia and ourselves Guilty.
- For the crime of incompetence, for continuing to fail to act to protect the entrusted wealth, resources, lives, and rights of Eryians, we pronounce the House of Eryia and ourselves Guilty.
- For the crime of corruption, for permitting our allegiances to be divided between our own self interest and those of the governed when we gave solemn oath to be worthy and honorable custodians of Eryia and the powers of her greatest nation, we pronounce the House of Eryia and ourselves Guilty.
- For the crime of indifference, for the hardening of our hearts, souls, and minds against the suffering our actions and inaction have cost this nation, we pronounce ourselves Innocent- though it is unlikely even Sol will have mercy on us for the rest.
In light of the severity of these charges and their verdicts, there is but one fitting sentence.
The Great House of Eryia is hereby is Dissolved, and her powers, rights, resources and responsibilities are returned to her citizens who first granted her these to fulfill the responsibilities that she has failed to perform.
May you, the Governed, be granted the courage, wisdom, and competence that we so dearly need in these end-times.
Sol have mercy upon us all.
Phillion Raidelle
Signed by Philion Raidelle and 65 other signatories,
comprising a supermajority of Representatives of the Senate of the House of Eryia
The Ending of an Empire
Phillion’s Proclamation as it became known to history was the last official document crafted and passed by the Senate of Great House of Eryia and is the only formal unforced dissolution of a government in human history. Phillion’s Proclamation was a move by representatives and their constituents who were enraged by the ongoing chaos caused by the detrimental impacts of the Jordbani and the Magichem Poisoning that followed. With the likely extinction of the humans race in process, and the Eryian society and economic systems in complete disarray, people rioted. Murder, rape, and pillage went unchecked, and general lawlessness prevailed. The government was perceived as corrupt and completely ineffective, and the people rose up through their own elected representatives to dissolve the House of Eryia for failing to prevent the Jordbani, and mismanaging the aftermath of that failure.
The Beginning of ...Nothing
In the dissolution of the House of Eryia, the expectations amongst the rebelling representatives was that new, more local government structures would rise to replace the giant moribund House of Eryia. This thinking was futile. The societal fabric that arose because of the Jordbani and the lack of a governmental structure when the House of Eryia fell was narcissistic and extremely tribal, consisting of rival gangs and warlords who vied for power through force of arms. For hundreds of years, tribal warfare and military dictatorships were the norm in large metropolitan regions, and it was only as trade became a stabilizing factor in the world economy did some form of peace begin to emerge.
Phillion Raidelle
Phillion Raidelle was a quiet unassuming man in his mid twenties when he architected the demise of the Great House of Eryia. His compatriots, leaders of the Great Rebellion, included the charismatic Johannes Engleman, Sheri Faulkner, and Graham Klikrya. Of them, Phillion was selected to write the Proclamation of Dissolution because he was the most literate of the group having been born to a wealthy family and graduated college, an extremely rare accomplishment by the time of the dissolution.
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