Jackal Among Snakes

One of the most hotly contested points of the age revolves around the debate between the idea that the imperial court ceded power deliberately, or were forced to surrender it and couched it in noble rhetoric to preserve their image. From my perspective, there are valid arguments for both.

As an argument for abdication, the simple fact is that the imperial court remained incredibly popular throughout the whole of the age. To illustrate that point, ‘Argrave’ and ‘Anneliese’ both remained the single most popular names for newborns in the Blackgard Union, a trend arguably started by Prince Orion. Moreover, there’s evidence in what they said in years past.

The argument for usurpation, however, is also feasible. The economic recovery of the Great Chu following the Age of Fury was felt clearly in the Blackgard Union. In the first half of the Age of Revolutions, the vast majority of high-quality goods used in the nation came from the Great Chu’s workshops. Their manufactories were initially far ahead of the Blackgard Union’s both culturally and technologically. The vast majority of that came from the simple fact that the Great Chu had inherited a solid foundation, but some people of the Union attributed it to their style of governance. Once this idea took root, it spread like wildfire in intellectual communities.

Prince Garm, when asked, tells all.

Of course they abdicated. Speaking firsthand, I can say my parents had accumulated intense fatigue after near a century of shepherding the unruliest herd animals of all. They enjoyed their role immensely, but Argrave in particular held certain ideals about how a truly fair and free society should function. Anneliese, meanwhile, wanted more time to delve into other hobbies, but held no such ideological bent. Elenore was entirely neutral toward the arrangement, following along with Argrave’s desire perhaps out of obligation alone. To say the least of my aunt’s ability, she certainly could’ve kept them in power if she wanted to.

But above all… there was a trace of regret in them for having so long devoted time to the empire before their children. They only came to terms with Enrico’s death once everything with the Great Chu was put behind them. As their grandchildren came into this world one-by-one, their priorities shifted, life put into perspective. I say this not because of speculation, but because they expressed as much to all of us themselves.

The Retirees

After the end of the Age of Fury, marked by the signing of the Treaty of a New Dawn at the very end of 37AC, the change in attitude of the imperial court could be seen immediately. For the first time in their long reign, the imperial family took something of a vacation. All, even Elenore, came to an event on a temperate island southeast of the Burnt Desert. Prince Garm recalls the event fondly.

family stood in place to be painted. It was unusual, both for them to do something like this and to spend so much money on something for themselves alone. In the end, the painter

that supposed ‘retreat’ they announced their plans to abolish the imperial family. Argrave was extremely firm on the subject. He hated the mere idea of a monarchy persisting. He thought it was a tremendous joke, a laughingstock, for a nation to cling to something that had so often been a tremendous detriment to the people. It was

gave us a voice in the fate of the imperial crown. The fact its role would be diminished wasn’t up for debate, but whether or not to persist as the recognized imperial family did. There was a shouting match between Elimar and Argrave, at one point… but

tradition. They hold you back more than they prop you up. But Elimar’s right. It’s an insult to the memory of those who died in our service. Trying to escape what we did does

assume that my colleague, Prince Garm, is merely parroting the lines that the imperial family wishes for him to, I shall provide a very

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right for the imperial court to unilaterally revoke appointed governors was surrendered. Instead,

first is the Union Reserve, the independent central bank watching over the economy. It handled both minting coins and producing bills of credit, and oversaw the gradual transition between the two. The second was the Body of Educational

somewhat controversial figure for persecution of Arcanists. She spearheaded the program known as BEST—Body of Educational Standards Training—that all candidates, even those of today, must pass to be considered eligible for governance. Her efforts to totally separate the BES from

and violent rejection of an unpopular local appointment, small scale elections began to creep in around the nation. When implemented, citizens gained the right to choose which BEST-certified candidates would act as the local justice. It was the first introduction of democratic ideas to the wider populace of

are too many to list, but suffice it to say that the decade was a period of rapid change. The most consequential change was the development of political factions that represented the push and pull of various groups whose interests now clashed ideologically in the

government could ‘no longer adequately assess the particular needs of each increasingly complex region constituting the Blackgard Union.’ The citizens were thusly ‘privileged and obligated to decide who can best govern the province in which they reside for the sake of continued progress in the union and their