Jackal Among Snakes

Epilogue 1.2: Parents of the Empire

Argrave of Vasquer and Anneliese of Vasquer, known by enough titles to fill a book on their lonesome, proved to be as able in the restoration of Berendar as they were in its defense. From the outset, their rule was a triumvirate, comprised of this couple and Prime Minister Elenore. While Elenore was undoubtedly pivotal, she seldom appeared in public. Emperor and Empress were the public-facing rulers, and the focus of this section.

From the outside looking in, it would be difficult to find a single blemish in their conduct. Those closest to them say that they did very little besides work. They were energetic, ambitious, and generous monarchs, who fostered a culture of cooperation in their court that, while not entirely democratic, certainly heeded the advice of those gathered to serve them.

They received heavy criticism for the suspension of the parliament and other institutions in favor of a highly-centralized government. In response to a delegate of a coalition of former nobility and dwarves who protested the autocratic government in 12 AC, Argrave is credited to say this:

“It took you twelve years to gather a coalition threatening enough to protest our government. In that time, we’ve rebuilt many of the cities that fell and founded new ones entirely. We’ve built a network of roads spanning the southernmost tip of the Burnt Desert to the coldest city in the north. We’ve provided tens of thousands of families deprived of house and home land of their own to develop. I won’t deny that I’ve not put a vote before all of the people, letting them decide if we’ve the right to do these things. I would expect the same courtesy from you in acknowledging democracy would’ve been impossible in the aftermath of the hell we all endured. This nation has just been born. As its parents, my wife and I shall teach it just as we teach our own children. It only now begins to walk, and soon, we intend to teach it to run. When we believe it can survive on its own, we will step away and let it live its life. On this point, you have my word.”

This was the only legitimate challenge to imperial authority in the first twenty-five years of their reign, and it ended bloodlessly in 13 AC with the formal annexation of the dwarven city of Mundi. Given the city had ceased existing long ago, it was merely a ceremony to indicate the dwarves would be given the same rights as other citizens of the Blackgard Union.

This incident earned them their most popular nickname: ‘Parents of the Empire,’ or Father and Mother for the emperor and empress individually.

It stuck, in part, because of the fecundity of their marriage. Between 1-25 AC, Anneliese gave birth to thirteen children. If not for the Age of Fury, Prince Garm believes they would’ve had more. For an elven woman especially, the rate is notable. Some believe they wished to stand as an example to their own people, but Prince Garm expresses skepticism, deeming it ‘…a natural consequence of an often annoyingly infatuated couple.’

Beyond their fertile marriage, they treated their empire as thoughtfully as a parent should their child. They were not given to displays of wealth or elaborate ceremonies. Any festivals held were paid at their expense and provided to the people. Any buildings built were not their personal property, but property of the nation or the public.

Indeed, for a long while, ‘the court’ was a concept rather than a place—Argrave and Anneliese were itinerant monarchs, travelling Berendar together and employing every effort to raise it up from the ash. It was only in 21 AC that they had a true palace where Blackgard had once stood, but it was a mere extension of the capitol housing the bureaucratic apparatus of the state, and dwarfed by several buildings around it.

While indulging in very little extravagance themselves, they made some notable exceptions for their children. Argrave in particular foisted gifts upon his children, such as in 18 AC when he gave Sophia an island which the princess subsequently repurposed to a headquarters for relief efforts venturing toward different continents.

They were extremely well-loved monarchs who built not only the civilization they presided over, but the culture that came to inhabit it. The governors took example from them, and the officials beneath the governor further distilled that spirit toward the people. Their people, regardless of any deliberate effort to provide example, took many traits from the emperor and empress.

There was a remarkable sense of community and solidarity that could be felt as clearly in the arid Burnt Desert as in the very heart of the rebuilt Blackgard. I write so having spent some years among both. The shared nightmare of the calamity gave everyone a commonality—a commonality which the Blackgard Union used to unite people that before would regard one another with mutual distrust.

Parents of the Empire proved to be incredibly adroit at minimizing it, instead uniting those they could toward the shared goal of picking up

die at their behest, I can think of no battle I felt was unjustified—not even the controversial Seventy Second Skirmish that marked the end of my service in 20 AC, where we disbanded a faction of centaurs that wished to raid lands neighboring those allotted to them. Though a brutal incident, it was

As such, Second Prince Garm graciously agreed to my request to describe his childhood. I believe his words speak for themselves, so I’ve

can speak for all my brothers and sisters in saying our childhood was rather joyous. Our parents made as much time as they could for us given the gravity of what they did, and it was rare for us to go a day without seeing them. Despite this, the Blackgard Union often came first. Fortunately, Sophia was the best sister any of us could ask for, and acted as something of a second mother to all of us

is not meant to

true in everything they did. They had a weight, a vitality,

own way. At the end of it all, each of us found a route that we were happy travelling. We accepted we weren’t entitled to anything simply because of the womb we jumped out of. Our parents remained supportive and loving, but we did sometimes joke amongst each other that

the pair had fourteen

Princess Sophia

Born between 10-8 BC

she was shown, some allege that she was Argrave’s first child by another woman. Given he would’ve been, at best, in his early teens, most historians agree the claim has no merit. Moreover, her magical

groomed as a successor. She remained in the royal court to help raise her brothers and sisters, but also came to take the office of grand almoner. She

Prince Castro

Born 2 AC

however, and as he was introduced to magic, he calmed. He was said to take to magic with the same fervor that his namesake did. He proved exceptionally talented, and ended up being

to be indulged by the steadfast work of her son as she governed the Blackgard Union. Rumor swirls to this day that he’s particularly interested in magic involving the sun of Argrave’s creation, but as of

Prince Garm of

Born 4 AC

merely prefer to stay in the background, watching, documenting. Some find it dull, but I prefer my boring life. I knew early on I had no desire to lead

of his lineage. Garm feels the need to inform the

Prince Enrico of