Letter of Governor Alexius

Can a letter ignite a civil war? Well, that’s what this letter ultimately did. It started a civil war that deposed one dynasty and gave rise to another.

Context

Around the 280s AP the Ikarian Empire was recovering from the disastrous war against the Seris Empire which ruined its economy and depleted its armed forces. The decades after the Seris-Ikarian wars were marked by increasing political instability and very incompetent emperors. This led to multiple usurpations and failed rebellions by various generals in the provinces.
In 276 AP a new emperor, Nicephorus II had ascended the throne after deposing the previous Emperor, Adlectus I, with the help of the army and the Senate. At first there was some hope that He would restore the Empire's power and prestige but most of his reign was defined by political apathy and instability at the western frontiers. It was around 279 when some generals began thinking about replacing Nicephorus, and one of them was Alexius, governor of Lower Cloudia. He was the nephew of Andronicus IV, who reigned briefly from 234 to 237 AP. His family had managed to occupy some of the most important positions in the Imperial Administration and army. His father was governor of Sinoria, west of his own province, his older brother was governor of Blati and his younger brother was governor of Vegus island. He also had married into the Imperial family by marrying Constantia, the niece of Nicephorus II. So, at that moment the Emperor consider him and his family as loyal. But a fail expedition across the Albine mountains that ended in an Ikarian retreat convinced Alexius of reclaiming the Imperial Throne for his family.
He could count on his family and their armies to support him, but in order to convince the Emperor to abdicate in his favour he needed to have his brother in law, Mauricius, Protector of the North (the military governor of the northern frontier of the Ikarian Empire). In order to do that he sent him a letter that reads like this:

From Alexius to Mauricius, Protector of the North, greetings:
Dear and beloved brother, for you've treated me all these years as if were born from the same mother, I write this letter to you in order to find peace in my soul telling you about a dilemma I have and that you, in your infinite wisdom, will be able to help me to put an end to it.
When we both study at school about the old kings of the past, who went to fight at the Siege of Dorstulon, the city of the Ten Walls we learned about mighty kings who respected oaths and look after their people. Many monarchs learned these examples and spent their years as sovereigns living according to these principles.
But nowadays we live at a time where most of these lessons about conduct and how to rule have been forgotten and those in power mislead our glorious nation and while they do that, they plunder the wealth of our fellow countrymen, they've let the treasure empty and sent our armies to death and... what is worse, nobody says anything! Tell me brother, how should a Ikarian of noble birth and patriotism behave, think or act while watching these things unfold? Shall we follow the example of our fathers and stay aside and let fate follow his path? or should we follow the example of the mighty monarchs of the past and fight to bring light to our people?
Tell me, most noble Mauricius what shall I do?, for my heart says me: go on, drawn you sword and reclaim the purple (aka: the Imperial throne) because you've been selected by the people and the army to lead them into a new era, but at the same time I don't want to offend the gods taken what is not legitimate. But were the almighty gods angry when Emperor Tiberius was deposed by Sabinus? or were they angry when my uncle took the throne? No, because the gods now about the fate and fortune of mortals, if the throne is calling me, I shall answer the call. My question is, would you join me? Will the Protector of the North protect its people and the entire realm from political apathy and mismanagement of the affairs of the State?. How a man with such a noble heart and impeccable morals, regarding of blood ties witness this tyranny and not answer the call of freedom? Together, Mauricius, we should bring light, a great golden future to our people, as the Prophet , gods bless his name, brought to us all and our souls. And once we have brought stability to the realm, we shall focus our efforts on the affairs in the West.
Needless to say that these plans must remain in secrecy for now as I suspect the Emperor might sent spies to my court at any given time. I only dare to speak to you of this because I know that we our heart and mind are the same and that everything that worries me, worriers you. I await your answer dear friend and brother, but please be careful and send only your most trusted man with it. I won't do any action without your answer and knowing that you fully support me.
Yours sincerely, Alexius and your sister Constantia Also sent my kisses and hug to your beloved wife and children

Consequences

The letter safely reached its destination. And, as Alexius suspected his brother-in-law was thinking like him and joined the Coup against the Emperor. They sent an ultimatum to Nicephorus to abdicate in favour of Alexius, but to their surprise he refused and thus a new civil war began, it lasted a year and ended with the triumph of the rebels and the ascension of Alexius as Emperor, starting the new Iulian dynasty that will last until the end of the Empire in 460 AP and will continue to be the ruling dynasty in the Blatian Empire and the Empire of Cloudia. Nicephorus was pardoned and forced to exile in a monastery at the island of Vegus where he became a monk under the name Leo.
Alexius named both his father Iulius and his brother-in-law Mauricius as consuls. The latter also became Master of Offices and served his friend and brother in law until his death in 310 AP. His son, Constans will be co-emperor alongside Alexius's son Heraclius until Constans death in 329 AP.
As a curiosity, the letter remained a secret long after Alexius had passed away. It was only after 400 AP when the letter was discovery among a bunch of papers at the Imperial chancellery that the letter and its content became public. Since then, the letter has been used by Ikarian and later Blatian jurist as an example of how to write a convincing letter or how to convince an audience.

Type

Text, Letter