Parthia's Speech



"Women and men of the former province of Androcles! I, Queen Parthia, welcome you to the birth of the Lamian nation. Let this day hail not only a new way of life for our people, but a change in the order of Ereth itself.

"In the days since our decision to secede from the Oligarchy, advisers have approached me with questions about the name of our new country. 'Why,' they ask, 'have you named us after the terrible she-beasts of ancient myth? Why do you risk not only our Aechean rivals, but potential outside friends as well, viewing us as the monsters we have taken as our emblem?'

"And my answer to them is simple. I do not fear being seen as a monster. I do not fear this because to them, that is what we already are.

"I look out upon this audience, to all the women young and old, ugly and beautiful, and I ask you: When was the last time a man described you in terms besides young or old, ugly or beautiful? How many of you have heard a man say you are intelligent, or wise, or gifted, or talented, unless those talents served them between the sheets of their beds? How many of you know someone who could be bold and brilliant, a credit to her family and society, with a mind that is nothing less than a gift to her people, and thought, 'If only she were a man... oh, the things she could do!'"

"But she cannot do those things. Could not. Until today.

"We have heard for long and longer about the natural order. Men rule the world, women rule the roost, yes? Quite a pithy phrase. A slogan sharp and quick enough to mask its inequality. Forget the inability of women to live outside their little homely boxes. What good is it to rule the roost when a man owns it? When the woman makes the decisions only until the man finds something to be unhappy about, who is truly in charge? Women have power to the extent the men in their lives allow them to possess it, and no more. That is no power at all. And that is the 'natural order' under the patriarchy which has dominated us since the beginning of civilization.

"When did we last see a woman on the national council? Do you not remember? Of course not, because it has never happened. Who was the last woman to rule any of the provinces? You probably do not remember that either, because that also has never happened. Even before the Rhozanni, we have never been offered power. Katerini, our northern neighbor, technically allowed the widow of an assassinated king to rule for a few months back in the twelfth century. They paid no attention to her decrees, blamed her for any misfortune to befall the state, and the elites who maintained actual control congratulated themselves on anything that functioned as intended. That has been the extent of female leadership across the entire history of Aechea.

"And see the outcome! A fractured government, a collapse into the old ways in a world demanding progress. We, however, cannot afford a return to the old ways. Now we aim to create something very, very new.

"But first, look around. Look around, women of Lamia, at the men in your presence. I see you, gentlemen of good nature, who are wise and just, and understand we are all equal under the sun and sky. You listen to my words calmly, knowing yourselves to be on the right side of history. But I see others of your sex, the ones shifting from foot to foot, looking like thin metal is slipped beneath their nails with every word. This order to which they have been so accustomed, which has brought them such privilege that they are blind to it one and all, is collapsing around them, and now they fear.

"What do you think will happen to you, gentlemen? Or are you worried because you do not know? A disconcerting feeling, is it not? I promise, if this is new to you, that every woman here can empathize. The girl left alone with her uncle, who secrets away his lewd thoughts from all but her. The wife whose husband could beat her at a moment's notice without repercussion, providing he does it, according to Androclesian law, 'within the confines of the family home'. The young lady coming home late from market, concern weighing on her shoulders for no reason other than the slight darkening of the sky, and its shadows deepening across unavoidable alleys along her path. The middle-aged woman who dreads her husband's return home, not knowing what he will demand she do to please his fat, disgusting body that night, with no chance of reprieve from the task. The adolescent, safe thus far, who has heard the stories and knows she must fear these things happening to her someday- and knows if they do occur, she can rely on no one but herself to survive. None of them quite sure what may come. The way you're feeling right about now.

"Fear not, however. We are not here to beat you, rape you, torture you. Dehumanize you. Make you less than us. We know that feeling, and while some may reasonably seek an eye for an eye, such a mindset will not serve us well. The fact is, gentlemen, we still need you. Women of talent may be the way forward for our nation, but those women lack experience- experience you have. And I assure you, I am not blind to the fact some of you are quite able yourselves. We will need you going forward, and as your queen, I vow that the law of the land will not seek vengeance against you for the sins that have held our sex in a hellish second-class state for the entire existence of Aechean society.

"But know this: Our laws are going to change. Drastically.

"If you cannot abide women living in equal stature; if you cannot abide a wife telling her husband no in the bedchamber; if you cannot earn your coin while respecting the women you will soon find in your workplace- much less refrain from dreaming up ways to take advantage of them- I recommend you pack your belongings and find your way to Patras. The Rhozanni still hold sway there, and I am certain their idea of a pristine society, where women are either wives, prostitutes, or dead, will be more to your liking.

"Here, in Lamia, the days of unpunished molestations are over. The days of women as servile and diminished in the eyes of society are over. The days of fitness for tasks judged on any criteria other than a person's applicable skills are over.

"The specifics of these laws will be set into place over time, but I am not here today to preach policy. This is, first and foremost, about our future. A future where Lamia becomes the most important nation in modern Ereth.

"Do you not believe me? Consider: Two hundred years ago we sailed ships across the ocean. Today we travel the air in sleek metal birds, shining chrome against the blue sky. I do not doubt that, in time, we will venture further, into the stars.

"Someday, many generations from now, a woman will travel high above Ereth, exploring the vastness of that space. She will look down on our world and remember a history lesson from long ago. No matter her nationality, she will know of old Lamia, how it started on this day in 1891, how their citizens were the first to truly crack the wall between the sexes and allow women into government, into science, into adventure on par with men. How, without them, she might not be the one soaring at that moment through the fantastic gaps between worlds. She will not know their names, the ones who did the hard work of accepting where acceptance had never existed, of showing respect where respect had never been. But she will send a quiet thank you to them, through time and space, for the opportunity they gave her to be great herself.

"Those people, citizens of Lamia, will be you.

"Today we begin laying the foundation not just for our nation, but for our world. Join me in this task, and find your place in history."