You have come to power by way of election, and we honor you, as the selected master of our people. You are the Vergobret, chief magistrate of the Aedui, and the leader of all fair and just tribes of Gaul. The lesser magistrates, the representative chieftans, and assemblies of the people, have declared you as our leader in this time. As such, you have been found to be the most wise, most skilled, and most forethinking of all of our aristocracy. Let us hope that is true, because we need you. We are threatened. The Arverni, with their heathenous god-king, wish to incorporate all of Gaul under his rule, and claim we are weak. The free tribes are ever looking to expand their lands, and have turned away from us after the disasterous events of war with the Arverni. The Germanic tribes are expanding rapidly and overrunning the edges of the lands, and the Romans, still angered by the sack of Rome, wish to exact revenge upon all Gauls, regardless of their loyalties. We must be prepared to fight, and we will need a cunning leader. We are the rightful heirs of the Bituriges, Gaul passed to us. The rebellious criminals of the Arverni have beset us; they plague our merchants in clear defiance of all laws. They are little more than thieves, but they are thieves with an army. The wars with them have drained us; our armies are weakened, morale is low, and more tribes abandon us or flock to the cause of the wretched Arverni. This has been our fault, in many ways, but we have chosen you, Vergobret, to remedy this.

Our immediate concern should be the nature of Gaul itself. While the Arverni are sometimes open to reason, they are power hungry. The free tribes we can buy or conquer, and incorporate them into our greater whole; with a display of strength, they should return to us without great issue or dispute. I'm sure many will prefer the path of joining us, and will see it as their greatest option, once we reassert ourselves as the masters of Gaul. However, open war with the Arverni again is inevitable, and will almost surely be devestating, even in victory. If we can postpone it and build our army, perhaps we can reconquer Gaul while at great advantage. We have a fair mix of soldiers at our option. They are brave; good infantry and quality cavalry, capable of defeating many foes when properly led. A problem of expense must be expressed, however. Gaul is rich, but we control too little for it to be of great good to us. Our client tribes in the south are endangered. Cut off from our bulwark, they cannot defend themselves long, and reinforcing them will require either long roads through rebellious or indepedent tribes, or trying to pass directly through Arverni territory. We should be forethinking, of course, and see beyond the immediate conflict as well. With the Arverni subdued or conquered, our most immediate concern may then turn to the Germanic tribes. They are good for trade and business, but they are viciously expansionist, and wouldn't have need of trade with us if they conquer Gaul; and they know this. If we do not conquer them outright, we should at least enforce our borders. The Belgae, the Sequanes, the Bononae; they all report the brutal raids and invasions of the Germans. Taking the Belgae and using them to strengthen our borders against invasion may be a path to explore. The eastern tribes aside, the Romans may be a threat. They may not seem a huge issue at the time, but they yet harbor resentment against Gaul. Perhaps we could take advantage of their current situation; they may have a number of potential enemies. We could ally with them long enough to destroy the Romans, but in doing so we risk strengthening a potentially unforeseen enemy. Alternatively, we could seek to ally with the Romans and use them against the Arverni, but opinions of that matter are quite split. In the north, the Britons do not seem much of a problem, but sometimes they get ambitious. The British isles are rich, and northward expansion is not ill-advised; an island fortress against the expansions of enemies will at least provide us with a final redoubt if our plans fail.

There was a time when Keltoi controlled great amounts of land. They were confederated, allies. But that fell apart, and all we are doing now is holding onto the last strains of a great history. That can be changed, though. We still have life in us, and great smiths, warriors, and a glorious culture. We deserve the glory that was robbed from us by centuries of collapse and infighting. Uniting Gaul is only the first step in forging a grand empire. Our people have a great system of leadership. We elect great leaders, we select our own kings and judges and chiefs. We allow people their own lives. Our gods demand it. And that is good. They also demand the utter destruction of our enemies. And that is also good. Those who oppose us, who try to destroy us, are evil. There can be no argument of this. We act in accordance of the divine laws of the gods. Those who act against them must be destroyed. Those who offend the gods, must be eliminated. We must crush them, and do so devoid of mercy for them. Such enemies are below swine, and should be slaughtered in the manner befitting them. And our enemies are numerous, and your warriors' thirst for the blood can be sated a thousand times over. However, their impetousness can be a threat. While your eldest and best trained warriors are disciplined, the younger have the tendency to dash headlong into the path of the enemy, and replacing the dead can be difficult; it is expensive, and only so much of the population is available to fight. To truly forge an empire, you will have to press every advantage as far as you can. You will have little opportunity to relax until you can establish a united, strong, country with strong defenses. It seems almost impossible, but all great undertakings should be. The impossibility of this situation is what makes it glorious, and will ensure our dominance for centuries to come.