During the 1st Year of Emperor Shiro I
1445th Year of the Prophet (1673 AN)
Written, inscribed, and sent by the Emperor's own hand to his Court, in the Year of the Prophet 1445.To our Holy Ralgon Empire, to the Great Island of Dragos, and to the World at large:
We, Shiro, by right of Election and Conquest, have taken the throne as Emperor Shiro the First of this name. In keeping with the ancient tradition, our reign shall be recorded as beginning during the Standard Year 1673, and in the 1445th Year of the Prophet. On the traditional Calendar, the Imperial reign will begin exactly on the first day of the year 1445. We shall depart from the ancient tradition and adhere to the Emperor Emeritus's decree numbering system instead of resetting the count to zero.
In accordance with the will of the King and Emperor Emeritus, Nobunag'an IV, we have decided to cease the use of the ancient titles of "King of the Ralgons" and "Emperor of the Peoples of Dragos." Instead, we shall merge these titles and style ourselves as "Emperor" without regard to location, people, or clan. Our Imperial title shall henceforth carry itself under the assumption that we reign over the Ralgon Empire and its peoples, and in exercise of our hegemony over the Isle of Dragos (and any of its future dependent territories). Furthermore, the Emperor shall, from this moment henceforth, omit the ancient symbol of authority ('an or 'ar) from our Imperial name and solely retain our modernized title. We intend for this to be a gesture of pressing forward to include all of the peoples of Dragos in our proceedings. The new order we shall create will seek to embrace all peoples of Dragos, including those foreigners who have settled in our great nation to find new lives for themselves in the aftermath of recent conflicts and disasters.
In accordance of the wishes of the Imperial Throne's previous occupant, Nobunag'an Ral IV, we, Emperor Shiro, shall grant him the title "Emperor Emeritus," in great respect for his lifetime of service to our great nation and its peoples. The Emperor Emeritus shall receive the same honors, styles, and courtesies as We, the Emperor, currently enjoy. This shall remain so from this day until the Emperor Emeritus's last. This shall also henceforth be the prescribed precedent for any Emperor who abdicates freely and without duress. When referring to the Emperor Emeritus in relation to his historic reign, he shall be referred to as "Emperor Nobunag'an IV," instead of as "King," in keeping with the new precedent. Due to the great personal influence the Emperor Emeritus had on his great nation during his reign, his Imperial Era shall be named after him directly: it shall be called the Nobunag'an Era, beginning immediately.
Finally, we decree that, from now until the assimilation of the entire Island of Dragos, the term "Ralgon" shall henceforth be referred to as the territory covered by our current nation rather than referring solely to its people.
So say we all!