The people of Cyrene have spoken, and we embrace a new place in the world.

Two thousand years ago, refugees from Ashtan and Shallam's endless wars came to the Vashnars to find a future without endless bloodshed and death. In this valley we built Cyrene, and hoping that pacifism and isolationism would give us the future we sought, we observed a changing world.

We watched as the battles we escaped continued on, and from those wars that birthed our city came another: Seleucar. This city, too, was built on the hopes of a future free of the wars that raged on, but where Cyrene had chosen isolation, Seleucar chose to go out into their world to try and build that future. We watched as Sapience was brought under a single banner and the centuries of prosperity that followed. A golden age that brought Sapience to heights we have never seen since. And we watched as the empire abandoned the reason it was created and fell to ruin.

Cyrene's secrecy would come to an end, and still we chose to stay watching, looking on as the world fell from its zenith. Cities that were once able to come together in common causes were again swallowed by hate. Where mortals once led every city, we saw Mhaldor rise, Shallam fall, and even Hashan turn to zealotry. Where there was once unity and growth across our continent, city after city has chosen to destroy and enslave, to ally with powers below and beyond who would end life on this continent as we know it.

Cyrene can watch no longer. Our isolation has come to an end.

If the world is to fall farther from the ideals that created that golden age with each passing year, then the only way to find the future we seek is to be the ones who build it. The faith in the basic goodness of all mortalkind of Nicator, the nobility of Catarin, the honour of Damen Kephry, the justice of Davis Kephry - we can not stand by to watch as the values that once guided our continent to its greatest heights are lost, replaced only with bloodshed, zealotry, and death.

Cyrene, born of the same conflicts and hopes, must rise to carry on the values and visions lost to the past. We will take up the torch abandoned at Seleucar's fall, to find the goodness and the potential of this world, and bring a better future into being.

We now stand at the start of a new era, seeking to build a future beyond what our world has seen. To guide us, we have forged a new Ethos to record and share our values, to call ourselves and the world to new heights.

Now, before Sapience and the wider world, the people of Cyrene raise up our Pillars of Silver and Steel.

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THE PILLARS OF SILVER AND STEEL

We aspire to build a better world with mortal hands, to reach heights of culture and glory unseen even at Seleucar's zenith. We seek to create and unite, not destroy and conquer, raising an enlightened civilisation to surpass all that have come before.

We hold compassion over cruelty, decency over division, peace over needless war. What knowledge and power we gather exists to edify and unite the world, not to hoard in our valley.

We strive to perfect our crafts and share artistry across Sapience. Through industry, academia, and the arts, we uplift our community and expand the collective body of knowledge and culture, now and for the generations that follow.

We assert absolute sovereignty over our mountain home and tolerate no threats to our independence. Within our walls and abroad, our blades will not waver against those who seek their ends by sword and shackle.

We oppose any who threaten the greater world through wanton destruction or oppressive zealotry--these only serve to undermine mortal civilisation. With silver and steel we will forge a better path for all.

We employ our influence to better all of Creation, to build the foundations for a just and peaceful empire that offers a new future for the world. We look at the past and see how far Sapience has fallen from its peak. We look to the future and the greater heights we will yet ascend.
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Our Pillars stand as the foundation of Cyrene's goals and vision as we take our place in the world we have watched for so long. They stand as words to inspire us to new heights, to push us when we fall short, to bring the people of Cyrene together through the triumphs and hardships to come.

The people of Cyrene have spoken, and we ready ourselves for what comes next. To raise a new Ethos is the easy part, now we must make it a reality.

It is not enough to simply repeat our history. From Seleucar's own bloodshed and conquests to its fall, we learn from the mistakes of the past as well as its glories. For we know that mortals can reach greater heights beyond what has been reached. We have stepped foot on worlds and planes far distant from our home, we have walked the streets of Nur and seen what hands turned to creation, not destruction, can build. We must always reach for new heights.

As we take our steps forward into this new future, we do not seek to do it alone. Sapience will never truly move forward so long as division and war is all that we share. We raise our banner not as a call to arms, but as a call to come together for a better future. This path will be long, and we invite all others who seek to champion the goodness of mortals and the potential of our world to walk it with us.

For all who seek a better future for this world while still caring for the others who make it home. For all who wish to better Creation without pledging themselves to zealotry. For all who wish to follow in the footsteps of Seleucar, of the Aldar, to see what heights that mortals can reach, we invite you to join us. Even if you do not wish to be a citizen, whether you are a rogue or a member of another city, you may become an ally of Cyrene and work with us to build the world we wish to see.

Let our words today resound throughout the ages as the start of a new future. Together, we can build beyond the heights of the past towards a world we cannot yet imagine. With silver and steel we will forge a better path and a better world for all.

Ever Loyal,
Imperiate Keorin


Penned by my hand on the 24th of Aeguary, in the year 846 AF.