Theodore moved to the front of the dias and stepped up on the platform that was prepared for his use. He straightened his already straight tie, leaving it slightly askew. This would embarrass him later but for now, he was something unusual for the confident man. He was nervous. Apprehensive. This was the first step for the future of Breton. Glancing over, he nodded at his little girl, looking ridiculous beautiful and so grown up in her gown. He felt a rush of pride and a longing for his claim. How he wished she were here to see her girl grown into a beautiful woman. He turned his attention to the waiting crowd and began.

“Good evening and welcome to the 109th Pittengreen Ball. It is a night when we celebrate our continued freedom and honour our nation’s place in this world. It is a fitting night to recognize all who have come before us, to celebrate the people of Breton, and to welcome those who have reached their date of designation in the last year to our ranks.” He paused to allow the crowd to politely clap before he continued.

“Tonight we pay tribute to His Royal Highness. For over two decades, he led our country forward with utmost respect for all of his people. A man who welcomed the world and greeted the future while never forgetting the past. It is due to his hard work, we can boast of our arts, our industry, our environmental record and land use policies that people from around the world come to study. We have much to honour of our past but even still, I do not forget the lessons that he taught us. For Breton must never forget her past but to honour that past, we must move into the future with grace.

We are presented with a challenge, that is true, but in challenge there is opportunity. His Highness was both our liege but also our friend. He loved his people but he did not patronize them, nor fail to recognize their needs. So I will follow his example. His life was cut short through tragic accident and unfortunately, no heir was selected prior to his untimely passing.

That said ... good fortune smiles upon us because we have three worthy potential successors. I am proud to acknowledge the Duchess of Anjou, Amalie Dubois, the Duke of Maine, Cyrus Tanet, and the Duchess of Nantes, Katarin LeMeur. Each stand in equal rank to succeed the King. Each leads their House with passion, care and respect. Each is worthy. Still .... a choice must be made.

Therefore, I am proud to announce that I have been selected as the Interim Head of the Royal Council of Breton and will be tasked with selecting the next leader of our beautiful nation. I am proud and humbled to be so tasked. It is truly an honour. 

To begin our year, I wish to offer a challenge to each of our potential successors and their respective Houses. A leader has many patronages. Institutions, organizations and causes that are dear to their heart and speak to what each believes to be vital to the continued success of Breton. I ask each of the noble Houses of Nantes, Maine and Anjou to select one such patronage and organize a fundraising event for that patronage. Together they must collaborate to determine the date of their event but they alone must determine the patronage they will support and the nature of the event itself. There are only two caveats - they can only support one patronage with their event and the event itself must in some way be tied to that cause. They have until December of this year of our Lord 2022 to host their event.