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 Nôv(el)B\\jnn

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.

Still, even there it was partly about their role. It was on 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 as much an ideological issue for him as it was an emotional one.

Some of us agreed with Argrave, while others disagreed strongly. For the first time, however, the Parents of the Empire 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 eventually, Argrave was swayed.

In closing, I remember my father saying, ‘I’m not much for 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 more harm than good. I’m sorry that all of you have to deal with our past burdening you. You’re all rich, though, so we’re even.’

If a skeptical reader is to assume that my colleague, Prince Garm, is merely parroting the lines that the imperial family wishes for him to, I shall provide a very simple delineation of the gradual shift of power away from the imperial family.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

In 40AC, in response to a petition that formed after removing a particularly well-loved governor from his post, the right for the imperial court to unilaterally revoke appointed governors was surrendered. Instead, an independent arbitration board became required for stripping a governor of their post, to be chosen at random from qualified candidates.

In 41AC, two institutions were granted autonomy from the imperial court. The 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 Standards, or BES, which assumed sole responsibility for ensuring the qualifications for candidates of civil service.

The BES was notably founded by the fifth princess, Gisele, herself a 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 the government and ensure impartial, unbiased education persist today.

In 44AC, in response to the vehement 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 the Blackgard Union outside of the notable exception in the Bloodwoods.

In 50AC, democratic ideas had begun to take a deeper root in the country, spurred by philosophical movements of the age that the imperial court directly funded. Elections began to become more common in more and more local roles that required a BEST certification. The various small changes 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 wake of a rapidly-expanding population.

In 62AC, the imperial court, in an unprompted declaration, decided that the central 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 lives.’

In 70AC, the imperial court surrendered the right to command the general of the imperial armies, instead placing that responsibility in the hands of the prime minister alone. This decision was wildly unpopular, however, as the people knew and respected the martial prowess of both emperor and empress. In a compromise later in the year, the crown amended that decision, promising the crown would ‘aid in any situation in which the Blackgard Union was seriously threatened.’ Nevertheless, the heavy-handed move caused a surge in political factions attempting to recentralize power around the imperial court. Due to this factor, it would take a long time for another significant change to arise.

In 78AC, Elenore and the imperial court announced the title of prime minister would now be an elected one, with elections occurring every ten years. Qualified candidates were governors alone, of which there were seventy-two. Eight parties rallied behind eight candidates, each aiming for the title of prime minister. Elenore, without having ever spoken a single word in public after the announcement, won in a landslide. She ran a similarly silent ‘campaign’ in 88AC, where she again won without any significant challenge.

By 89AC, the responsibilities and powers of the imperial family had dwindled so greatly as to be relegated to ceremonialists. They remained vastly wealthy, possessing the most land in the nation and having a significant stake in booming industries around the nation, but their legal voice had become very minor. As people adapted to this dramatic shift, some factions desperately hoped the imperial crown would be reclaimed, and the Blackgard Union restored to as it was. No member of the Vasquer family ever tried, though many did see success in politics as donors or candidates.

At the end of 92AC, Argrave and Anneliese signed a formal decree vesting what few powers the crown still had into the office of prime minister. In a speech, Argrave declared that ‘[we] would be hindering the nation if we stayed on any longer, like a parent perching over the shoulder of their child well into adulthood. You’ve learned how to run toward the bright future on your own, and to keep reaching it, you must carry on without us.’

The imperial family remains well-loved, but the people have come to terms with their departure from politics. If I were to wax poetic, I would liken it to a child overcoming the death of a beloved parent. Despite their absence, life must go on.

The founding government of the Blackgard Union wasn’t entirely abolished, of course. Elenore of Vasquer remains prime minister to this day, dubbed the Vasquer Standard by her election opponents. Her legacy is such it seems highly unlikely any will overcome said standard—rather, the only likely scenario for another to become prime minister would be for her to refrain from reelection.

Many other such holdouts of the imperial court remain—the last of a generation. The next section shall cover some exceptional people who survived into the changing times of the Age of Revolutions, leaving their own significant mark.