The snow slowly fell on their heads as they marched to their predetermined victory. The crunching of the snow softened their steps as they paced in rows upon rows, not alerting anyone to the drastic changes that would suddenly befall the Empire within mere moments. With Andrieu Anahera up front, his face half disfigured but equally beset by an expression of determination and revenge, hundreds of Anahera soldiers and sellswords marched up to the Ullenwalder Castle, the seat of the Regalian State Council. The Council was in session and had no way of knowing what was about to happen. The interior of the Castle was one of the sturdiest built locations in the Empire, housing the central body of governance both in the case of an emergency and the regular day to day activities. The Council chamber itself was at the heart of the complex, sealed away by thick massive doors that could make these meetings as truly private as those partaking in them wanted them to be. The guards at the front of the castle didn’t understand what was going on, but they weren’t about to make a fuss. The four or so odd guards who held the gatehouse simply stepped aside and let the formal Arch Chancellor through. The Anahera soldiers marched into the courtyard, taking up a variety of strategic positions along the walls and towers. When the officers secured the entire building, Andrieu took another series of soldiers with him and marched into the central complex itself, on his way to the State Council Chambers. The servants inside were horrified at the disfigurement on his face, but drew no actual alarm as he was still the legal head of state in the Emperor’s absence, even if his mother was temporarily his regent. Andrieu burst into the Council room with the heavy oaken doors slamming against the walls. Some plaster twirled down from the ceiling frescos while the echoing sound of Andrieu’s riding boots broke the silence that had befallen the gathered Lords and Ladies. Andrieu looked down the faces of Adelheid Ivrae, Lady Fong, William Coen, Ulric Typhonus, his mother Theresa Anahera, his niece Camila Anahera, the Supreme Reverend Wolffram Ultor and finally the newly raised Lady of Dorinn Astrid Kade, with her guardian Cedric Kade standing behind her chair. Moriarty broke the moment by standing up, his chair almost falling over behind him as he exclaimed “What is the meaning of this!” The soldiers behind Andrieu started motioning the guards out of the room before closing the door, taking up positions around the windows and forming a ring around the councilmen. Andrieu took off his riding gloves slowly, before tossing them onto the table. He spoke with a certain tone of snobby pride: “The State Council wishes to inform the people of the Empire that it has unanimously voted to invest the Power granted to itself into a single person, being Andrieu Anahera.” At this point Ulric already started pulling his sword, but Andrieu quickly finished: “Andrieu Anahera is hereby raised to become the Lord Protector of the Regalian Empire, dismissing the Chancellor’s position and the Entire State Council.“ Lady Fong was first to speak up exclaiming “I signed no such document sir! What game are you playing?”. Ulric pulled out his sabre and started swinging it in the air as his face ran red, yelling various Alt-Regalian obscenities usually interrupted by the usual “Traitor!” “Slanderous Vermin!”. Andrieu motioned for guards to seize Ulric, while also piling a few onto William who had started verbally attacking the soldiers behind him as traitors and honorless pigs. While William and Ulric were being dragged out of the room he continued: “You are all being placed under house arrest within the confines of this castle for your own protection as you have just witnessed”. Theresa, his mother, stormed from her seat towards him as she yelled at Ulric who was still being dragged out of the room “I bloody told you our lives were in danger, and now you’re part of it too! We’re all part of it!”. She paced up to a foot away from her son before she started yelling “You are no son of mine!”. Before she could even properly finish her statement, Andrieu slapped her in the face with almost enough force to launch her sideways. Lady Fong again spoke up: “How dare you, you little viper! Even commoners know enough not to lay hands on a Lady!” Andrieu replied in turn, gesturing to his face, “And common mothers do not indoctrinate their grandchildren to attempt to kill their fathers.” Astrid was meanwhile sunken into her seat, the situation becoming a bit too much all of a sudden. She had been looking forward to taking office and learning the ropes of governance at her own pace. Yet now she was suddenly thrust into a violent change of governance and what’s worse, everything was taken away from her. Cedric grabbed her hands and tried to calm her down squatting down next to her, forgetting for a moment that imprisonment would drive him utterly mad. Their pause was followed with Camila standing up, marching towards her grandmother while she exclaimed: “No, this is not happening again, Don’t you dare lay a hand on us again you kinslayer!” Before she finished her pace towards her grandmother who was still stunned from the slap, her knees weakened however and the thought of going back to the treason cell became too much. She collapses onto the floor crying as Lady Fong quickly stepped from her seat to comfort her, sitting down next to her. Moriarty and Adelheid were equally still stunned, Moriarty’s face more with surprise, Adelheid Ivrae’s face more with fire and anger. She started stating a whole bunch of political nonsense about how her allies would hear about this and the whole of Ithania would stand up against him, but Andrieu paid little heed to her words. Between Camila on the floor crying, Astrid stunned, Ulric and William being given a beating to subjection, Theresa completely defeated and the political heavy weights completely at his mercy, the situation was a little all too perfect for him. William and Ulric were eventually tossed back into the State Chamber as Andrieu left, with some bruises to boot. Their weapons had been confiscated and the windows and doors of the place barred. Even the ceiling hatches and windows had been bolted down, with the fore knowledge that Cedric was a good climber and could escape through there. The Lords and Ladies who were known to a comfortable living of gold and glitter now had to spend their nights together in a large hall, with improvised beds made of massive curtains and pillows, no gender separation, no toilet and no privacy under the constant watch of dirty stinking sellswords. As soon as the events in the State Council had taken place, messengers were dispatched from the castle to all corners of the Imperial administration in the city. The harbor was put on lockdown in the name of “catching the would be assassins of the Emperor”, severely restricting movement in and out of the city to just approved personnel and the smugglers in the sewers. The Violet Order’s Lord Commander was replaced with a loyalist, seizing most of the records and guard loyalties who still favored Gustavo Anahera over William Coen in prime positions to retain control of the city defence apparatus. The city thus looked at if it had never changed, though radical changes were taking place just under the surface. Several messages even reached the Imperial Palace where the Grand Eckhein still guarded over the Emperor in his coma. Without further notice, all Imperial guards were recalled to the Imperial Palace and the gates of the Palace shut and barred. Archers were positioned all along the walls and no further communication came from the Imperial palace. In fact the entire Imperial district had gone silent. With the Lords and Ladies of the realm in prison, an abrupt halt came to the Ithanian lobby soiree’s and the Calemberger club gatherings, their head members effectively severed from them. The Imperial Admiralty offered more resistance than the rest of the city had. Grand Marshal von Treppewitz had drawn his sword on the messenger and a struggle ensued that bled into the streets. Eventually the Anahera soldiers and pro-Andrieu Violet Order guards seized most of the personnel inside and imprisoned them for pending investigations to their loyalty to the Empire. Similarly, the shield maidens of the Viridian Castle closed shut the gates and the Primae of the order ascended the stairs of the aft tower of Chivalry, that dusty tower that had not been opened for decades, only to be used in extreme emergency situations. At the very top, he raised the purple and red banner: the Viridian signal for “Resist the Government. The Government has fallen”. Most of the woodcutters working in the area saw the flags, but paid no attention to it. After all, the Viridian Order flag signals were closely kept secret to only Viridian Knights. Anahera soldiers knew better than to besiege the Viridian castle however, what with hundreds of the Empire’s most trained Knights within. As such, they simply chose to barricade the entire castle with a surrounding cordon, making leaving the castle impossible. With all strategic placements across the city now in Andrieu’s control, the entire Empire was effectively at his feet. Within hours he had seized all assets of the Government apparatus, more successfully than anyone else could have done in the past. All Lords and Ladies official seals supported Andrieu’s messages and the fact that he was still legally the Arch Chancellor made accepting the change all the more easier for the common people. In fact the common people barely felt a thing, that which caused shockwaves in the political scenes and nobility did nothing to affect the ones below. From the State Council Chambers, messages were sent to the Kade, Typhonus, Coen, Anahera, Ivrae and Fong to inform them that “Everything was perfectly fine, and that they would stay in the State Council Castle until further notice to ensure the safety of the Empire.” They would also inform their families that they were perfectly out of harm and that the Anahera troops would put up extra protection of the Castle to ensure no unruly commoners or would be assassins could harm them. The letters would also call for calm among the nobility and to simply work with the change of government as best as they could to ensure the future stability of the Empire. Andrieu immediately went to work to draft new laws and bust old laws that would grant him more galvanizing support among the common people. He elevated the Diviner and Vultar heresies to official state religions, contracting a whole host of Diviner and Vultar cultist militias to flock to his banners. They flooded into the city proper like fleas on rats, scurrying about and trying to gain new souls for their beliefs to try and strengthen their stance within the religious circles of Regalia. The Supreme Reverend was called in sick from the Council Castle, informing the Sancella of Union that his Supreme being was unable to fulfill his duties and a pro-Anahera Minister would temporarily take over his position This extra layer of control within the State Church allowed Andrieu to silence any resistance against his moderate stance on Religion, imprisoning all Holy Ministers who spoke out against him. Some common folk felt uneasy with the cultists walking around Regalia, but in the end the people seemed to not be bothered by the political changes. The aristocracy of Regalia was often so far removed from the common people that the average baker and soldier didn’t even know the names of the State Councillors. In the outlying provinces, nobody really noticed a thing either. Everyone who was previously in control of various sectors of governance outside of the city remained in power. The source of their upper control simply shifted, but nothing drastic happened to them personally. If one were to consider this a coup, it was a very effective coup. Not a single person had actually died; some were wounded at the Grand Admiralty, but those wounds were minor. No major riots erupted. No protests occurred. The Winter Festival had just begun and the people were celebrating, oblivious to the changes in government. Back in the State Council Castle, however, they weren’t celebrating at all. There wasn’t even a tree with presents inside.
OOC INFO: For all characters who are registered Viridian Knights: Your grandmaster has announced that the government has fallen trough secret signals. This means you shouldn't go around informing everyone of the situation, just taking whatever actions are necessary to preserve the state and the Imperial family. For all Violet Guards: You will continue to function like normal. The events inside the State Council are not common knowledge for anyone. Those inside the State Council cannot be reached by anyone. The Imperial Palace is now closed shut, all Imperial Guards have disappeared from the city proper. If you are a merchant or city official you can still go and leave the city, but you cannot leave the city as a "normal" person without proper permission. As a commoner or military person, most of these changes will have literally passed you by, and in most situations won't affect you. Still, someone has just usurped the government and put the entire upper nobility out of power. The Emperor has been secluded and by all means the city is being flooded by heretical cults. React as your character would.
jeeez.... That night when the frost gathered on the cobble stone, Lithiel had seen Cedric by candlelight walking down the path onward to his fate- unaware something would befall her friend in the hours to follow. She hurried onto the clinic to tend to a cluster of gaurdsmen who were beaten down by a group of rampaging wulong. Meanwhile. Having avoided the thread of the angry monkeys, a solitary Scuffs- also known as Jia Zan, returns to her wards abode. She brought a new basket of roasted chestnuts and left them by Williams front door before going home with his servent. "-Oi- fink miss Milady Dianne will be alright, today was a real sparky eve'nin yah?" The servent said nothing, but took the child home to be warm and fed, and tutored under Williams secret patronage. Scuffs felt only a chill go down her spine. That was all, and she continued on home, expecting to see her idolized parton in the morn later.
My wife, Lady Bethany, didn't come home last night. I don't care what this letter says. I smell a rat. I am trying to keep the clown under control, but he is very protective of his family and is growing worried. Something strange is happening in Regalia, but I have faith in Lady Bethany's abilities. Come home to us safely dear sweet wife. • All FongCo employees are discretely instructed to keep their ears open for rumors about the whereabouts and condition of Lady Bethany Fong.
Don Wang walked about his kitchens, pondering what to cook for Arlesse Moseburg's breakfast the next morning, totally unaware of anything happening. Even if he was told, even if he was the only one in the city who knew, he wouldn't care, after all this doesn't concern him. To long life and happy cooking!
The bastard's heart sank at the sight of marching men and for what he already was lacking sight of; guards. It had seemed as though every time he cooked another experimental dish, which only took perhaps four funeral prayers, another man knocked upon his door, baking up trouble and an attempt to convert him to some new hoohah. Each one was for the glory of someone new, stemming from Nelfin, Qadir, Nature, and for some reason, a carrot. Not even a full day passed before the rats bit down on his heel, gnawing at his faithful nature. Running a hand through his greasy hair, he could not help but let his mind chug to life with a question he hoped to never ask; "Vhat in Aloria has happenede to us...?" And at that, he merely silenced himself, splashing a plate with water in a fritz as he watched the mutton light ablaze in quite the beautiful (and at the same time, terrifying) display from yet another failed dish. After all, from all his time spent trying to learn how to be a better man of unionism, who was he to question their god? Back to his old ways, he went, letting these morbid thoughts leave him. At least for now.
The fact that he'd been denied a cheery Winter Festival Celebration with Astrid had been the worst of Philip's concerns for a fair bit of time, with the young Kade sulking about. It was only when he opened his eyes to the world around him that the learnt strategist felt something.. off. Like a shift in the wind. Minuscule, but ever present to the attuned sense. At first, even he paid no heed to it. But soon his separation to Astrid drove him to process his misplaced thoughts; the minor details on the streets. The details he otherwise zoned out. The pro-Anahera activity was expected, but the rate at which it occurred surprised Philip - the Lord Commander wouldn't have backed down as easily as that, would he? Was the Lord Typhonus a man who willingly hid behind the forces of other houses? A day or two passed, and amidst one of his frequent chess spars did Philip realise, daydreaming back to his harsh days attending the L'école de l'esprit féminin Supérieur, that a situation much like the one he resided within had been proposed - on a boring, cold day, nonetheless. The religious indoctrinations, marching from door to door, with a newly elevated centrepiece masterminding it all; almost seemed like a work of fiction. But Philip's paranoia held the better part of his judgement - something was abnormally wrong here. Wasn't there? Philip's gaze returned to the chess match before him, his gaze squinting after a moment of fluster. "Did. Did you move the pieces whilst I wasn't looking?" He asked, brow raised. He'd almost missed it, too. A chuckle passed his lips, and he picked up his favoured Queen piece; a quartz crafted White Dove. His opponent was, naturally, himself; a figment of his imagination the noble schizophrenic conjured up to occupy his private time. Looking down to the board, it clicked to him that in the midst of his studies and distraction, he'd almost missed it. All of it. "I wonder if Thomas has any idea of that new banner they've started flying.. hardly Anahera colours like the rest of them.." <-> <-> <-> @Teddie000
Something along the lines of the message above was given to the Violets, and something along the lines of the message above had a group of four quietly asking just one question between them for the present: "What happened to William?" @Jared4242 @Suzzie @darkarely
At first, nothing seemed to be odd for Sophia when the newa reached her that Andrieu was now in full control of the empire. It was a rather expected step of him, and in these hard times, a dictator could do more good to the empire than a council ever could. She wasn't worried about her normal life, until she noticed something which did worry her. Why was William replaced? Did he not mention it to her? They hadn't spoken that much lately, which might explain why she didn't know of this. That same afternoon, after being asked to convert to another religion for the third time, Sophia decided to make her way to the hostess estate, for some peace from the changes that had taken place. It wasn't until Sophia passed the Viridian Castle, that she noticed something was off. Besides the weird flag combination she hadn't seen before, the castle was boarded up. Now she started to notice the large amounth of guards which had taken place near the castle. Of course, this could also be extra protection for the winter festival. Although something was off, Sophia didn't look like she minded it, or maybe she didn't even notice it.
When Charlotte learned what happened next morning, she uttered a muffled 'Scheiß' before storming up to her study to think. She had the tools and power to prevent this, but hesitated too long. And when she finally seemed to have gathered enough support, Andrieu fired his 'surprise' to get ahead of her. She'll probably spend the next day looking for either Thomas, Ulric or William, with little chance to find the latter two.
The rise of Brotherly Leader Colonel Gaddafi Anahera!?! What's next, an Amazonian Guard and the Green Book? Oh boy oh boy.
What happened to the Azure Spire? What of the Witch-Hunters? What of all the officials from across Aloria who are still in the Palace due to the poisoning investigation?
Streako sat there dumb-founded, rereading the forums post several times before the information finally set in. His blood was chilled, running fast at the same time, as adrenaline pumped through him. He began studying every word of the OOC carefully, weighing its value as he searched for a way to make himself relevant in this matter, but he knew he was grasping at straws. Nevertheless, he would find a loophole to become relevant!
The start of the Winter Solstice came that day, and the long night made for a peaceful walk. Everything seemed all well, but feelings of urgency seeped into Percy's mind. Similar to a cold too stubborn to rid of, the feeling ate away at him during what should have been a calming stroll. He neared the Viridian Castle, a sight he always held near and dear to his heart. For a moment, Percy looked away to the fields adjacent to the towering castle. He observed the wavering grasses, leaves, and flowers; all of the natural beauties were half encumbered by the thick pelt of snow blanketing over them. His head swiveled back to the castle, but found a grim sight replacing what should be a heartwarming one of nostalgia. He saw the familiar arrangement of banners wavering from the dust-filled towers never in use before. The pattern was beaten into his head by memorization and studying of the different ones during training. Quickly now, his gaze fluttered to the massive doors of the structure, which were bolted shut. Silence is what came next, eerie and thick, and was broken by his own swallowing. It had become quiet to the point that he heard the small crackle in his ears upon the gulp, and drew his right hand into a clenched fist. Another quick glance to the banners were offered before he turned away. A heavy and angry pace of striding followed soon after as thoughts flooded his mind. Names rattled off in his mind, and possibilities as well. In his own thoughts, questions harassed his train of thought: "What caused this?", "How could this happen?", "Who is responsible?". His face red with anger, and steps filled with purpose, a thought came to the knight's mind. He knew what he had to do, who he needed to talk to even. His direction changed from his own house to another's, and knew a conversation had to be had.
" And so the darkness drew closer, but the candle kept burning." She had just seen her brother. Nothing had changed in her eyes, same old day, same old people, but something had changed. The time at the festival was a happy one. Sitting together in the tavern with Christopher Black, Percy Ravenstad, and Erin Typhonus. Everything seemed normal until Jared and Kristoph showed up and pulled Christopher away. After a moment of talking, the three guards called her over. Nothing out of the usual, asking for William the normal questions. It was rather odd, why ask for him if they knew where he was. Dianne took no mind in that maybe William was just walking around, but she went to look for him at they request. After a encounter with her brother, Warren, and calming Christopher down, the two spoke of how the Lord commander position had been changed. "How could this have happened? Where was William?" Was all the echoed in her head. Same old city.... Same old darkness. @Film_Noir @Suzzie @Jared4242 @BillyTheScroofy
What was it? Erin had sat along Percy at the festival grounds, though after a bit, it was if the entire feel around him, around the guardsmen, changed. After seeing Christopher Black make haste to speak with a few other Violet Guards regarding a message he received, and having to call Dianne over with them to discuss things privately, it only rose her suspicion. Not to mention, Percy himself was acting anything but himself. "Are you alright?" she had asked him, but he had quickly tossed any sort of possible issue aside, and insisted they take a walk along the streets. Erin only grew more upset as his behavior, his dodging of lingering on a topic too long, was by far very unsettling. She knew something was up, but she didn't know what. This only irritated her further; why couldn't she be told what was wrong, or at least what was going on? She returned to the guest chambers Max and Pepin had offered her in terms of stay, perplexed, anxious, and upset. She wanted answers, and by the Spirit she would figure this out. @iMcMuffins
Für das abgefallen Imperium, kämpfe ich. There was unease with this announcement. Having heard other's concerns, a sense of worry formed- Something felt.. Off? Kristoph never knew that the Lord Commander was stepping down, resigning. In fact, discussions he'd had made him think entirely otherwise, but perhaps he didn't know the Lord as well as he thought. It was the desperate search for the ex-Commander with Christopher Black and Jared Silverhand that really pushed suspicion over the edge. In the search for answers, none were to be found. Only more questions were formed, causing the level of concern to rise. With the conclusion of the day, Kristoph found himself referring to how the ex-Commander was 'forced out'. He quickly stopped this, seeing as he had no proof. Yet tugging at the back of his mind, the idea remained. The only thing to do now was to wait for the new Commander, and see what answers could be gotten from him.. @darkarely @Film_Noir @Jared4242
Cecil Empolan, someone who has no bearing on this whatsoever! The Shendar grunted in frustration, looking down and ignoring the juggling clubs crashing to the cobblestones around him. Yet another obnoxious missionary had interrupted his street performance, stealing the attention of a particularly wealthy-looking Ailor and soon destroying his charitable mood. More profit out the window. Muttering in Elvish as he picked up his clubs, he spit in the missionary's direction, tossing one of the clubs upwards with a huff, "If one more of your bloody friends asks me to convert, I'll box him over the head with my clubs, you mad bugger!" Why had the Unionistseven allowed these idiots to turn public if they shunned their own Old Gods? He would have to write some foolish letters...And he hated writing..
The State Council has been replaced by the Lord Protector and the State Council, that is to say the 7 most powerful individuals besides the Emperor in the Empire, have all been secured in the State Council Castle "for their own protection".
