Jackal Among Snakes

The Vasquer Standard

Elenore saw the completion of the capitol of the Blackgard Union during the Age of Revolutions. The Bastion, as it was later named by the people, came to embody the significance of her station by sheer force of necessity. The position of prime minister came to have so many offices serving it that the building needed to be enlarged. The bureaucracy that Elenore had established at the very beginning of the Blackgard Union did not stagnate where it’d been born—rather, just as the society had grown, so too had it.

Her reforms of the era split the power of her seat, but her workload had grown so intense it was necessary. Even despite this fragmentation, the last vestige of truly imperial power can be seen in the prime minister’s office. Every position that received some delegated authority remains directly appointed by the prime minister, and that seems unlikely to change. In practice, the prime minister still dictates the direction the government takes.

Elenore became an unwilling icon to the working women of the era. In civil service, where women had become extremely prominent, she set the standard that many of them aspired to. In wider intellectual movements, too, her continued quiet and skillful reign was heralded as the epitome of excellence. Elenore’s complete avoidance of these movements has ensured they never reached the heights of others of the age, but Prince Garm says their affection ‘wasn’t entirely hated by the esteemed prime minister.’

On the personal front, Elenore and Durran continued to raise a revolving door of orphaned children. Prince Garm deemed it ‘a hobby of theirs, wherein they would take in those young children visited by a great tragedy, and then expend their efforts toward ensuring the children achieved both great happiness and great success despite their misfortunes.’ When asked, Elenore merely claims it to be ‘small recompense for the good fortune I had to experience firsthand such a reversal of fate.’

Elenore and Durran had no more trueborn children after Therese, which was a point of small friction between the pair that nonetheless never amounted to genuine conflict; only a ‘few snide comments,’ according to Garm.

Sword and Shield

Galamon and Orion, once called the sword and shield of the empire, adapted to their changing roles well. The army, for its part, became far closer to something of that of state-funded workers. They still saw action, at many points—the imperial fleet, for its part, was constantly hard-pressed to keep the waters safe as trade began to explode. By and large, the soldiers engaged in far more acts of public benefit, such as laying out the railroads or expanding the sewer systems.

The Order of the Sun under Orion, meanwhile, expanded massively. They faced innumerable challenges as they did so. Anti-traditionalists decried the dated role of knights in an enlightened society, while instances of excessive force drew close scrutiny from the public eye. In the face of all that, the people constituting the order changed just as society did.

It can be very difficult not to break beneath that strain. It very nearly did break me in 72AC, and led to my retirement in 73AC.

Nevertheless, the Order grew into a fixture of the Blackgard Union, and knights themselves a very prominent and celebrated citizenry. Orion, as their leader, dispelled the notion of superiority of arms entitling one to superiority of rights. He seemed the very ideal of the knight they all aspired to—protector of the weak, unfailingly virtuous, and pursuant of the truth no matter the cost.

It came as an immense shock, then, when Orion retired as grandmaster in 81AC. His son, Argrave—better known by the nickname Archie—took his place. Such a thing might’ve been controversial had his son not proven amply able of filling the role. He possessed the same bravery Orion did, while inheriting his Great Chu mother’s talent of magic. Archie beat the emperor himself in a sparring match, once, with the caveat that the emperor refrained from using blood magic. In leadership, too, Archie proved his father’s peer.

Nation’s Architect

During the Age of Revolutions, the name ‘Artur’ became synonymous with that of a great creator or artist. It’s no wonder why—travelling through the Blackgard Union, should one see a piece of architecture or a monument that’s particularly striking, the name of its creator in almost invariably the same: Artur. And if it isn’t, the likely case is that it came from one of his direct students.

A list of all his great works of the age would be as long as this entire volume in itself. Suffice it to say the revolutionary constructions he produced in the Age of Reclamation continued on ad nauseum in the Age of Revolutions. He continued to receive innumerable honors from the crown, going through ceremony after ceremony in which another medal was pinned to his cloak, or another title appended to his name.

In 87AC, two days after his two hundred and twentieth birthday, Artur stopped working altogether. He retired with a woman of uncertain background, presumed by many to be a former goddess who survived the Last Calamity. When asked why, Artur simply said, ‘I have to be miserable and envious to produce good work. That’s a lot harder for me, now.’

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

As a final honor for all his good work, the date of his birth was declared a national holiday revolving around the arts.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Princes and Princesses

The children of the imperial court diminished in prominence, somewhat, as their parent’s power waned. The Vasquer family achieved a great deal of harmony after the unrest they endured during the Age of Fury. The fifth princess, Gisele, proved to inherit her father’s radical anti-monarchism. She renounced her last name altogether—not out of malice toward her parents, but out of idealism—and went on to focus deeply on the education of the nation. Elenore appointed her as the Master of Public Education—a new office, revolving around the increasingly important role education took in the Blackgard Union.

The fourth prince who’d joined the army, Elimar, became the right-hand man of Lieutenant General Abadon, commander of the seventh imperial army. Political parties and prominent businessmen increasingly attempted to exert influence over the armed forces. Abadon and Elimar stood in stark opposition to this, ensuring that political allegiance stayed far removed from the army as legislation passed to ensure the army’s continued incorruptibility.

Seventh Prince Diedrich, Eighth Prince Yannik, and Sixth Princess Hannelore reached the age of majority during the Age of Revolutions. Unlike their predecessors, they were largely removed from the public eye as the majority of the family transitioned to the island estate of Goldrest. Very little is known of them. When asked, Prince Garm merely smiles and calls them lucky children.

Goldrest became the place at which the imperial family came to spend the majority of its time. The estate has year-long mild weather, a palatial mansion constructed by Artur himself, large orchards of myriad fruits, and warm, sapphire-blue waters that grace it shores. No vessels without permission from the imperial family can near, thanks to endlessly complex wards built into the island. Less than two hundred alive have ever seen its splendor, the majority of whom are either those of Vasquer or the small serving staff living there.

Prince Garm describes it simply: ‘paradise.’

Science of Magic, and the Magic of Science

Magic, fundamentally, could be said to have endured no major revolution. Its knowledge was spread, yes, but spellcasters had been probing the depths of magic long before the Last Calamity ended. It’s been the interweaving of magical and mundane that has produced the most significant steps forward. It began in the field of healing arts with Raven—his methods involved an all-too-clever combination of the magic of healing with the mundanity of surgery. That methodology spread to other fields. The combination of the forces of the world and the forces of magic have struck many as the future.

Raven continued this endless march forward with all the fervor of a sinner seeking penance. His advancements in the healing arts remain incredibly notable, even in this age—curing ailments such as arthritis, delaying the onset of dementia, and mitigating the negative effects of strokes stand as the most prominent examples. A great deal remains out of his reach of yet, and many of these treatments remain ridiculously costly, requiring the aid of an S-rank spellcaster. Nevertheless, people take strides toward making these methods more efficient, making the magical mundane so that all might partake in the fruits of knowledge. Things have advanced far enough even non-magical humans can breach one hundred years of age.

Other fields march forward in lockstep. The field of magical engineering is becoming particularly prominent, where boats that can sail in the air and other such impossibilities for the common man become closer to reality every day. Robust protections from government ensuring that the one who discovers these things can profit from them make many incredibly eager pursuers of the runaway future. Older methods are made more efficient day by day, and what was the privilege of mages yesterday becomes the pleasure of the common man today.

The dwarves, for their part, take part in this revolution with eager hands. Largely unblessed magically, they’ve long been applying magic in such conventional ways. Now, their methods are going through a rebirth in the forges of the Blackgard Union, making them one of the wealthiest classes of citizenry in the nation.

These successes, however, are shadowed by what some think is to be a grim future. Increasingly, a phenomenon known as Magical Scarcity has been observed. As the name suggests, the simple ramification of this fact is that magic, as more users arise, is not quite so plentiful as it once was. Magic itself hasn’t decreased, yet as more people use it, the primeval force is drawn thinner. While it’s far too early to know if this will be a prevailing trend or an anomaly, the fact remains that many see efforts toward efficiency in magic use as an inevitability if the population should continue to rise, which it seems like to.

Regained Nobility

Several noble houses that fell out of prominence in the past began to reappear, some of their status regained by merit of effort expended. Elias of Parbon saw the continuance of both the bloodlines of Parbon and Jast, alongside his wife Ridia. After achieving great success in resettling land near Relize, their family began the Parbon Foundation, an organization that funds research into healing arts.

Nikoletta of Monticci remains very wealthy, but the Monticci lineage seems likely to pass alongside her. The name lives on in the form of the many magic schools she founded alongside Mina of Veden, herself another noble. Rumors suggest both of their wills are entirely dedicated to a fringe movement promoting certain civil liberties.

Hegazar and Vera, former duke and duchess of Dirracha, continue their lineage as the only nobles appointed by Argrave himself. They were ornery at first, vehemently protesting the king’s decision to end nobility. Vera nearly divorced Hegazar, who’d lost all of his magic, but a firm rebuke for their protests from the crown made them unite closer than ever. By this age, Hegazar reclaimed what he lost, and the both of them were S-rank spellcasters. Hegazar is noted for a feat of magical engineering called ‘projections,’ which can display complex images on glass surfaces, enabling complex interfaces on devices. The potential of this invention has yet to be fully explored, but its patent has already earned them great wealth.

House Quadreign remains the only noble house in possession of what can be called a heritage—namely, their black flame. Vasilisa’s incredibly effective stewardship of the north also earned her family some wealth. Her daughter—which she admitted she never intended to have, if not for a touch too much to drink—stands poised to continue her unexpectedly brilliant political legacy as she campaigns for governor, today.