Please bear in mind that this is a work in progress and may change as the story develops. This is also a work being prepared for publication and is presented here for use with the Mesogea modification for TES IV Oblivion. If it appears in any other form or place for non commercial use I dont mind as long as credit is given and a link provided to the original source. Any other use is prohibited.



Hectabian

1947 - D 21 0 - 21

Popularly credited as the founder of the Western Empire, Hectabian was not the first Emperor to land on the shores of the popularly named Agalien peninsula. His family were however popular and influential in the east and his shameless self promotion combined to eclipse the early landings by Comitatis Ist and the numerous low key visits to curry trade rights and favours with the tribes of the Western shores financed and commissioned by Emperor Senecurba. It is a fact that prior to this concerted settlement by Holorian citizens several trade towns had arisen along the eastern coastline. An estimate of this population is at least 11,000 citizens, approximately 90,000 inhabitants - hardly a meagre number by any standards. However it is to nit pick to deny Hectabian his due accolade. There is an enormous leap from scattering of coastal settlements beholden to the Eastern Empire to the western Empire in its own right. Hectabian was the cousin of the then Eastern Emperor, or Amagus, Surcabarius - and was granted property rights to the West so long as an annual tribute was paid to the East. For this endeavour he was provided with a fleet of some three hundred and seventy ships including almost a hundred of the huge sea garrisons. His invasion force numbered thirty thousand, a determined force., though not invincible.

Kaeso 1960 - 42 22-35

Brother of Hectabian and Nalae Alscoriate of the invasion Army. He promised Hectabian that he would continue to extend the lands of the Western Empire and to hand power to Nicasus who was at that time too young to rule. He was faithful to his word. He died of natural causes. His tomb was initially in Kavarn bay where he fell fighting against Karithian raiders, however in Domie 73 the Emperor Caricia ordered its relocation to the Capranecurum.
A plynth beneath the Middenstal records what is considered to be the greatest victory of the Western Empire, the destruction of the combined armies of the Suturan of the Iska, Bejuma and Sothate who at that time held control of what would later become Demetanica and southern Torvanica. Refusing to surrender, he killed Magzuthasama Suturan of the Sothates with a spear through the chest It is said that the battle ended when he raised the Magzuthasamas limp corpse up on his spear and thus saved his army from a very pyrhic victory indeed. He had already lost more than a third of his men and the hold over the conquered lands would have been tentative indeed if the tribes had gone on to fight further. After his defeat the Suturan of the Iska handed his ancestral sword to Kaeso and thus signified the subservience of his people to the conquerors from the East. The sword remains at the Middenstal and is set in a stone beneath the Emperors plinth in a golden cage through which it was actually possible to reach and touch the steel.

Kaeso took this sword. Conquered the great Suturan and thus obtained this land. Kaeso manidut atequit. ac Apeverus copimarus Uthca Sotha | at ad oquam humut.

Nicasus the Pius and Just (35-48)

Son of Hectabian and upon reaching the age of lawful right to rule attained the throne that was willingly presented to him by Aurius Kaeso. Nicasus was a highly religious leader who commissioned architects from the Eastern Empire to erect the first city of Illusidum and Temples to the Holorian Gods in the mountains surrounding. Initially the city was a single walled affair and located where the Inner City would eventually stand on the Epernian Hill. Nicasus was highly loved by the military and although he did not take the field with them in person, preferring gentler pursuits such as song and the arts he threw much effort into continuing Kaeso’s extension of the Alscoria raising no less than seven during his lifetime in office from the enormous number of Holorian immigrants from the East, and raising the pay and pension rights to being in line with their standing and worth. Nicasus was a gifted orator and during his two visits to the Eastern Empire encouraged migration to the West. He chose the site of Hithorion and eventually moved his seat of power there during the building of Illusidum. It was a sensible move when Illusidum was suddenly sacked by the Iska ruining much of the work that had already been completed. Following the chasing of the savages back over the Efail Nicasus finally entered Illusidum and dedicated a Temple there to the Deonna, has favourite goddess. The Temple was not completed until D 53 under the continued patronage and funding of his son Lentius, who it is said was so favoured of Deonna was of good health until his sudden death at the hands of assassins. Nicasus died in Hithorion from a sudden illness contracted during a visit to the garrison at Talath Lindum which then marked the Western extent of the Imperial border. He left two sons, Leontius and Leontidus both of whom would go on to become Emperor when Leontius was sadly killed during fighting with the Karith.

Leontius I 48-61 beloved of Deonna: raised the Deonic Temple to the West of Illusidum in D 53)

Son of Nicasus and similar to his father in that he was considered not of sufficient constitution and health to regularly lead the Army on campaign. During his reign he faithfully continued his fathers work and instigated the adoption of the Consulori system of dual government that was to be both a huge boon and detriment to the Empire over the following centuries. Leontius did eventually enter military life but preferred strategy to tactics in that he led from the safety of the camp. He was no coward and when he was called upon to fight on more than a few occasions he accounted himself well. He was eventually killed when Karithian mercenaries reached the headquarters of the Field Army he was directing on campaign. Leontius was in tent suffering another bout of the disease he seemed to have inherited from his mother and father (she had suffered it during childbirth) and his father had been infected during the early years of Leontius life. Several of the Karithian mercenaries found and entered his tent and although during their assassination managed to find his dagger and to kill two of them, he died from his wounds two days later. He was succeeded by his brother Leontidus Ist who was only a month from the age of lawful right to rule.

Leontidus Ist 5 - 97 61-72

Younger brother of Leontius and although a willing soldier he was destined to be no commander of great renown. His period is considered one of consolidation rather than expansion. He split the Alscoria into Field Army (Alscoria Maeperae) and Garrison Army (Alscoria Fimitara) The latter were trained and equipped to man the fortresses along the borders of the Western Empire. They contained amongst them engineers and architects. The Maeperae were trained and equipped for campaign work, that of responding to raids within the Empires borders and conquest of lands without. Leontidus Ist initiated his reign by taking a three year tour first of the interior garrisons and border regions, then of the exterior and adopted lands. He is responsible for many alliances most markedly that with the Agalien tribes who would later provide many invaluable mercenaries who could tackle the Karith on their own terms and take the wars into the deserts and arid regions where the Karith had thus far found safe haven. Leontidus retired from office through illness though he continued to hold a seat on the Consulori.

Carricia 72-80

Carricia was handed power by his cousin who was rendered incapable through illness. Carricia was an architect by trade and highly religious and who continued with vigour the building of Temples to the Gods and extensive road building throughout the lands of the then Empire. His was a period of peace with the Karith being for a time quiet following defeat in numerous minor battles that each alone is not worthy of a page in the Imperial Histories but taken as a whole were extremely noteworthy. During his reign the Eastern Empire suffered civil war causing a huge influx of migrants that necessitated the building of a further two towns that eventually grew into great cities. (Caleda and Galisurum). Deborium and Duvarium were both founded at this time, becoming the major ports of the Western Empire. Carricia resigned the throne to return to the Eastern Empire following the defeat of the pretender Emperor Arteru Luqutitus. He did not return to public life preferring to manage his estates. He has a memorial upon the Capranecurum. It was at the same time as the influx from the east that Holorias nemesis first appeared from the north. Caravacca, warlord and briliant general brought his armies to the very gates of Illusidum. He was driven back only when his supply lines were threatened by a ship borne force under ------ Caravacca then spent nine years in occupation throughout the western Empire winning a series of victories until he died of fever. His army under lesser commanders was destroyed at

Autatian Beloved of Midius 81-97

Following the end of the civil war in the East and the sudden departure of Carricia a gap was left which the only ruler by right was not of sufficient age to fill. Autatian was Nalae Alscoriate of the Alscoria Maeperae Covanicara, the field Army of the Eastern provinces known collectively as Covanicia. Bitter fighting ensued with many political and military leaders rising to the fore to demand the throne. Autatian took it because he simply had the loyalty and trust of his men and being a Field Army not tied to any province or garrison he was able to within a few weeks bring them to the gates of Illusidum after routing the hastily gathered and ill equipped Maepare Torvanicara led by Consulor Alscoriate Adema Murrus at Caleth Fail and forcing the issue. Immediately he placed the Ist Alscoria within the city walls, splitting the docks into two halves, civil and military and placing a secondary barracks at Turum half a mile north on the Great Causeway, thereby securing all entrances to the city. The Ist Alscoria had been the backbone of his army being the remnants of the XXXth Alscoria of the East which had been stranded in the West during the civil war and the majority of whom decided to remain being absorbed into the Maeperae Covanicara. The Ist Alscoria had at that time been massively reduced to being an ineffectual organisation by the need for officers and veterans to bolster the other Alscoria now scattered throughout the Western Empire and being mostly of new stock. Autatian decided that rather than let the Ist Alscoria remain as a unit on paper he would raise it again with its remnants and the men of the XXXth. This bought him their utter loyalty nor would it be the last time that the Ist Alscoria embarked on an episode of “Emperor making”. Autatian rewarded the senior officers of his loyal Army with Consulor positions, foremost being the Alscoriate of the Ist. As position of Consulors could be as hereditary as that of Emperor, the Ist Alscoria continued to have a commander of Consulor rank throughout much of its history. Autatians time in office was one of consolidation of his position with the removal of numerous persons both Consulor and other who he considered a threat. He was no dictator and suffered many to continue in their position simply because they were good at what they did and their removal would have harmed the Empire as much as made his life easier. In this he was a patriot to the end which was not long in coming once he left Illusidum on campaign. During fighting in the south against the Karithian tribes he was stabbed with a poisoned dagger whilst walking through camp. His assassin was found and tortured to reveal his employers and his identity. He was a one time thief in the employ of the Consulori though he did not know their names only those of a third party who had already fled the Empire.

Leontidus IInd 97-98 (Petty Emperor)

First Emperor Elect there being no other of the blood of Hectabian in the Western Empire. He was then Nalae Alscoriate under Autatian and at the head of the Maeperae Covanicara and auxiliary units he marched from Karithia intending to wreak revenge on the entire Consulori for the murder of a much loved commander and Emperor. His hand was stayed when the Consulori declared him Emperor elected by the people. He left his Army billeted on the River Efail and continued into the city with a small sized force, accepting the seat of Emperor the following day and ruling for eighteen months during which time plague struck the Empire brought across from the East by traders. He quickly found the difficulties of managing a sick and hungry nation preferring to die at the head of his Army rather than waiting for the plague to find him in his bed. He handed power entirely into the hands of his cousin Romadus who was in no state to decline and continued to serve as Nalae Alscoriate until his retirement to the Island of Sarathuna where he died old and content

Romadus 98 (Petty Emperor)

Already severely ill when he took power Romadus rule was short as it was chaotic. Famine and disease was already rife throughout the major provinces. Frequent corn riots at the capital, a feast of suspicious deaths and Inner City intrigue plagued his few months in office. Through weakness of health and spirit he was Emperor in name only and during this period the Consulori gained a great deal of influence and power. He was killed by officers of the Ist Alscoria who attempted to raise their own commander Marius Carva to Imperial office. The coup was initially successful however when Marius did not make good his promises of wealth and power to those officers supporting him he was assassinated and replaced by a second hopeful who rather than suffer the same fate of his predecessor (the Covanician and Torvanician field army under the command of a Consulori union of fifteen officials led by Tarma Subramecamus, decided to flee the capital. Tarma and his forces arrived and very quickly restored order and control to the Middenstal though it was too late to save the lives of many Consulors who had been put under house arrest by the Ist Alscoria and had either taken their own lives or been murdered. The retribution meted out to the rebellious soldiers and officers was swift and total. Over three hundred were put to death before the Middenstal, their corpses being hung from the walls of Illusidum.

Tarma IInd (Tarmus Niarius) (Tarma the Envious) 65 - 104
98-104

The first two years of Tarmas reign were unremarkable considering his memorable appearance upon the scene. He was a strong willed man but quiet of demeanour and prone to long bouts of brooding solitude that if broken prematurely would result in a fit of temper that could take days to subside. His wife had died in childbirth bearing him a son (Colucarnus) who lived only unto his twelth birthday. Tarmas father had been advisor and friend to the preceeding Emperors until his death at the hands of the rebellious officers of the Ist Alscoria. The two men however proved to be considerably different in that Epericus wielded considerable power in the subtle manner of a true Holorian, Tarma emerged as if from a two year hibernation like a bear with a sore head which eventually transformed to the psychopathic. In D 100 without any warning he decreed that the Gods had not followed the Holorians in their expansion into the West and had forsaken them to reside with their brothers in the East. His first physical act of defiance was to abolish the festival of Harma, stating that the Goddess had offended the people by sending a plague upon them. An outbreak of Cholera in the south had killed thousands. He demanded the tearing down of her temples and the raising of shrines to his own wife who he declared had been born of the Gods. The people took this with brooding disquiet. His second sacrilege was to clear the Temple of Idria and to have the doors boarded to prevent entry, stating that if the Goddess had any power in the West she would have the doors broken open. The doors remained shuttered, an indication Tarma claimed of the weakness of the Gods. This galvanised him to further acts of holy defiance and the destructuion of the statues of the Gods that ringed the Middenstal Temple. Their ruins were thrown into the Lake and left to gather moss. He declared that if the Gods could rise from the waters and set themselves upon their plynths then he would worship them as they deserved. The population began to simmer, led by the priesthood of Idria and Deonna whose influence went into every home (Idria was a female deity reserved for worship only by females and her followers numbered the tens of thousands. It was said that behind every commander, governor and wealthy man stood an acolyte of Idria. It was no wonder that Midius and Idria were man and wife. The final desecration was the abolition of the festival of coronation, replaced by a two year festival of to the Emperor and his family. Tarmas own coronation was repeated in D 104 when he led a procession through the streets of Illusidum. Soldiers were posted along the route to prevent trouble and the procession went ahead with Tarma in his chariot leading. The culmination of the days supposed festivities (a quiet and sombre affair by the mood of the populace) was Tarma proclaiming himself born of the new Gods of the West who had revealed their names to him in a dream and to whom new temples would be raised in the mountains overlooking Illusidum. This of course meant the destruction of the old buildings and the end of religious life as the Holorians then knew it. It was too much. Tarmas building works began but were delayed through all manner of procrastination by the workmen. Several dozen were put to death for sacrilege to the new Gods whose names had not yet even been revealed, Tarma claiming that they would appear within each of the new temples and speak to the population in person only when the great works had been completed. This was not the least of his boasts, he followed with a proclamation that when the last stone of the last Temple to the new gods was laid, the roads of the Empire would transform into gold ,that the rivers would yield precious stones and that the harvest would be bountiful for a thousand years. Tarma lived for one month more until he was poisoned in his own bed by a female servant and follower of Idria and assisted by his own bodyguards who drawn from the Alscoria were of course devout worshippers of Midius. Both the Goddess Idria and her husband Midius thereby had a hand in his demise. His works were never completed and his succesor Diacletus ordered made good all that had been ruined by Tarma. Tarmas son could not be Emperor until his sixteenth birthday at the earliest. He died one year later, his death unexplained though it is said that he had grown to consider his father true to his word and was thereby an almighty risk to the well being of the Imperial nation. He disappeared along with other members of his family and although rumours continued that he had taken residence on an island off the coast of Picurnia in the eastern Empire it is more likely that they were murdered. Of course no one wanted a return to the strange and unpleasant days of Tarma and any successor or family member likely to seek vengeance was a risk. Suspicion as always lay in the direction of Diacletus and the Consulori though no-one cared much to investigate further and would not have been thanked for turning out the criminal who despite having killed a 12 year old child was considered more of a hero. During Tarmas reign children, at first beggars and the dispossessed, had gone missing from the capital. It was later found that they had been given in sacrifice to these “new gods”. This practice did not end even after his death and still continued long afterwards in secret.

Brusus Diacletus Covanica 72 -138 104 -118

Inheriting the legacy of Tarma, his cousin, and with the spectre of Tarma hanging over him in the shape of a child displaying the worst of his fathers traits and already proclaiming to have justice on his fathers murderers Diacletus was not a man to envy. He brought troops into the city to quell the rioting and set guards upon the temples and monuments to prevent Tarmas supporters from ruining the restoration. A cult had grown around his false gods with all manner of charlatans claiming they had been visited with the same dreams. Human sacrifices were being made and children going missing from the streets of the city. Following the mystery of the disappearance of Tarma’s son and family, a line was gladly drawn under the entire episode and entirely unsavoury episode in Imperial family history), Diacletus used Tarma’s remaining wealth to make good all that he had destroyed. Tarma’s tomb was initially placed upon the Capranecurum however when human sacrifices were discovered having been murdered at the door to his tomb the entire excavation was emptied and Tarmas remains moved to a previously abandoned tomb under the gaze of Talath Comium, though this did not entirely stop the sacrifices taking place outside his tomb door, especially after Talath Comium was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Ironically this tower once vacant became the location of cult gatherings and finally was resided in by some of the cult’s highest order who came to the fore during the Great War when they attempted to murder Tassius, commander of Illusidum during the siege. Diacletus had enough trouble sorting out the mess left to him than to go increasing the Empires borders. It was entirely fortunate for him that the numerous enemies of the Empire did not do more to seize the opportunity civil unrest presented to them. Diacletus had family in the East, one of whom, Bacchus, had arrived in the West in D 100 during the height of Tarmas reign. He assisted Diacletus enormously and took command of military matters ensuring that the borders were guarded and that civil unrest did not occur in the provinces. He was therefore in a position of enormous power having kept the military stable throughout and his ascension to Emperor was guaranteed even if Diacletus had not handed over power directly to him. His tomb is extensive and although plundered still retains many of its secrets, artefacts of Tarmas reign amongst them.

Bacchus Essedarus 75 -164 118-162

Longest ruling and second only to Valisarius in the adoration of the people of the Empire. Bacchus arrived in the West in D 100 as an assistant to the then Ambassador of the East who was not at all impressed by Tarma’s herecy. Immediately Bacchus was requested by the Nalae Alscoriate of the Maeperae Covanicara to assist in the assassination of the lunatic Emperor. Bacchus understood the reasoning but feared that if he were found out then the Ambassador would also be implicated and the fury of the people directed not at Tarma but at the Eastern Emperor for becoming involved in the politics of the West (There would have been many who would have thanked him enormously for this but Tarma had sufficient backing with the Consulori, though it is more likely they backed him hoping that he would forever sully the office of Emperor and leave the way clear for its abolition, to have used the propaganda of an Eastern assassination attempt to direct attention from his own activities. Bacchus instead offered to assist with maintaining stability in the army and was given the temporary position of Alscoriate of the Ist, enabling their own commander to remove himself from the city whilst the plotting continued. Bacchus sensing the danger of being within the city itself kept his office at Turum. He immediately set out to spend two years at the borders, quelling rumour and keeping the civil strife from permeating into the Alscoria. He was entirely successful and following the assassination of Tarma was given the position on a permanent basis, working alongside the Nalae Alscoriate of the Maeperae Covanicara. When Diacletus offered him the Imperial throne he declined several times but with Diacletus in failing health and desperately seeking a replacement so that he could retire, Bacchus accepted. Bacchus at once set about increasing the wages and privileges of the Alscoria ensuring their unfailing loyalty whilst he turned his attentions inward and began a large series of building projects, raising a city and founding a number of towns throughout newly settled regions. He recognised swiftly that immigration from the east was rising annually and that soon the scramble for land would bring confrontation. He needed secure borders and to make use of land previously considered a risk because of cross border incursions by neighbouring tribes. He threw much effort into driving into the Karithian heartlands, reaching Scatha and defeating the Karithian pirates in a series of brilliant campaigns on the Middle Sea. Following this was a time of peace and wealth for the Western Empire. He was an excellent politician, keeping the Consulori in a position of appearing to be entirely unreasonable whenever they vied. His tomb is both lavish and large.

Scollis D70 - 185 162 - 173

With the death of Bacchus there was no immediate successor. The arrival of Scollis was a surprise to all for the Consulori were putting forward the then incredible notion of electing an Emperor from their own ranks. During a particularly vociferous and almost bloody debate at the Middenstal Scollis arrived having landed in secret with a guard of only thirty men and entering the Inner City as an ambassador from the East. He physically threw Consulor Duma from the chamber and ordered the council disbanded until it came to its senses. After cries of outrage from the citizens he went to the gates and explained to the nearly riotous masses that the Consulors had been threatening to each raise a levee of peasant troops from his province/s to take the throne by force. This quickly quietened the citizens whose businesses would have been ruined and who for many of them the resultant civil war would have spelled starvation, depravation and even death. The Alscoria were immediately loyal to him and the Consulori left licking their wounds and returning with their tails between their legs to beg forgiveness and the return of dual rule. Scollis allowed this under strict terms creating a law that only the presiding Emperor could raise an armed levee of any kind and that weapons other than those carried by the Alscoria, were outlawed in the cities. He chose to give up the Imperial Throne to return to the East where he outlived the following Emperor. During his brief reign he rarely left the city though he did lead many a foray into the bordering provinces and led an attempted subjugation of the Soth, the nearest Karithian tribe, though this was not as successful as he would have liked it did obtain for the Empire great swathes of land and some strategic fortress locations that kept the Karith under some loose control. His successor Valisarius considered Scollis in high regard indeed and commissioned the raising of a monument along the Caprenecurum so that his time as Emperor would be remembered, though he was not favoured amongst the Consulori nor with the majority of the people who were by and large unaware of his efforts, which is often the case with those who win the silent wars that threaten a people but which never openly flare.

Vissiana 102 - 184 173 - 182

Highly capable as a politician and soldier, Admus Vissiana was a loyal worshipper of Dionna and Midius, his marriage to Carela Suvamagomara cemented the bond between the settled Holorians and those born of their joining with the indigenous tribal leaders. The consulori were split in their support of Vissiana which was enough to keep them from fermenting unrest and making his rule any more difficult. He sired only three daughters and no sons, though one of his daughters would go on to wed his successor Gavian who Vissiana tried diligently to assist in government. Ill health forced his retirement from the Imperial Office though he continued to guide his cousin Gavian until he must have finally simply given up. During the period of his rule the Western Empires borders were extended to encompass all of Sarachia and Andeburg. During the last two years of his reign the building of the Valdensaga was begun and extensive work on the northern border fortresses. He sent embassies to north and south, forming a treaty with the tribes of Aldaran.

Gavian 129-203 182-203

Father of Valisarius and Etemus. He is renown for having handed almost his entire power to the Consulari whilst he expended most of his wealth on lavish spectacles for the people. His death is debated. He died whilst bathing and may have been poisoned though no assassin was ever found or plot uncovered though he was of an age where weariness and weakness of the flesh may very well have led to his demise. During his reign several border skirmishes occurred to the north and Talath Vidris was built on Lake Arias. The Valdensaga was completed and further defensive works raised in Andeburg which was foreseen to be the starting point of any campaign upon the north. Gavian was doubtless harbouring intentions of expanding the Empire in that direction and refused to treat with several embassies from Faranor, Aldaran and the tribes of the Tammarii. Gavian was doubtless beloved of the people during and for many years after his reign, though the legacy he left his sons was not one to be envied. The Consulori were of such power that a head to head between Emperor and Government was innevitable. Gavian's tomb is highest and at the end of the Caprenecurum, though not through any conscious design of the Emperors architects. It was simply found that the mountain rock was through landslip and natural faults too treacherous for further extension. Following his death with Valisarius and Etemus considered still too young to attain power he was succeeded by his cousin Casto Risuna.

Casto Risuna 159-219 203-218

Cousin to Gavian and puppet of the Consulori who it later become known had prepared him to take power upon Gavians death which was always considered suspicious. Risuna raised troops and began to build upon the successes of Vissiana and Scollis by making war upon the Karith and provoking a massive confrontation with the Suturan of the Iska, the by far largest of the Karithian tribes. An enormous force of nearly sixty thousand Karithian and allied troops arrived at the banks of the River Efail to be met by five emissaries despatched by the Emperor. Their efforts were wasted as the Suturan would hear nothing from them and ordered them be gagged whilst he decreed his terms. Already one Alscoria had been utterly destroyed in its fortress north of Scatha and three more were pinned down by civilian revolts arranged by the Suturan. A scratch force was despatched by Risuna, led by Consulori Caramundas of Coritanicia. Four Alscoria and auxiliary troops numbering in total nearly twenty five thousand men were force marched along the Efail then turning southwards attempted to assault the enemy from the rear after first infiltrating and disrupting the supply lines with cavalry raids. It was a poorly led expedition of untried troops led by a man with a highly inflated opinion of his skills as a military commander. In order to properly consider the following disaster we must first look at the character of the land between the great Karithian tribal areas and the Empire itself. This region spans nearly nine hundred miles from east to west and at its narrowest point more than a hundred miles wide, rising to three times that size as it extends to meet the western sea. Bordered to the north by the Rivers Efail and Soth and to the south by the Agalien plain, the mountains and the vast Gal am Blennau marshes. It can hardly be described as a no mans land, being home to numerous small tribes mostly of Karithian and Hannic extraction and of no particular loyalty, but for its enormous size having large areas populated sparsely or only occasionally by nomadic pasturers. The region is generally referred to in Imperial texts as the Inusaria, the place beyond the river. A highly diverse landscape, the western expanse bordering the Blennau marshes is surprisingly arid, its populace being highly nomadic and chiefly goatherders, however the expanse bordering the Efail from Setantia to southern Torvanicia is markedly different. Rock strewn, sudden valleys and narrow ravines crisscross the landscape creating barren and dust caked islands like plateaus with frequent salt flats and stagnant poisonous lakes across which the Suturan had brought his army and into which Consulor Caramundas now led his expedition. Roads were non-existent, paths few and choked frequently by sheer sided passes and guides as likely to abandon their charges as to cut their throats and rob them of their belongings. Caramundas employed thirty of the indigenous goatherders to bring his troops into the rear of the Karithian lines and for once in their long history these hardy, proud and thoroughly disreputable scoundrels provided the service they were employed for. It would have been better for Caramunda and his men that they had not. Crossing the Efail by boat over a three day period Caramunda assembled his force and ordered it into a single convoy marching with the baggage train in the centre and flanked by infantry with a cavalry screen to the front and it was cavalry that made up the bulk of his Auxiliary force, chiefly Aldarric light cavalry and horse archers. Two days into Inusaria Caramundas force began to redeploy, being forced by lay of the land to stretch into linear formation to facilitate passage through the first of the narrow passes. There had to this point been no sight of the enemy and one can only assume that bolstered by this apparent fortune Caramunda and his officers felt confident to push on without re-deployment. Caramunda is recorded by the chronicler Avidarus as being a disciplined and organised man, not prone to bouts of temper but to weighing his considerations “as if he were a merchant of the Hamirna at Farnos (the huge market/docks area of Illusidum monopolised by the Hamirna, a tribal branch of the Holorians renown for their thrift and intense bargaining.), but being bereft of that usual sense common to us all for it was often said at Middenstal that Caramunda would be first to predict the rainfall but last to get out of the storm. Avidarus is trying to tell us, with his usual literary excess, that Caramunda was a highly intelligent man but suffering a dearth of wisdom. In common with many commanders in the later Empire, Caramunda was politician first and soldier last, an amateur who won victories generally by luck and the courage and training of his men. I feel certain that if not his senior officers then certainly those of middle rank would have voiced their concerns regarding the manner of the advance. It was one thing to try an ambitious plan against the odds but to do so through a hostile land, guided by natives of uncertain loyalty, with minimal precautions common to an Imperial army at march was entirely another. It seems astonishing that given the contemporary history of the Alscoria around this time and their apparent willingness to mutiny for any reason no matter how daft (and here I am considering the infamous occasion where the exiled Consulor Trecavarian in a vain and ultimately disastrous attempt to attain the Imperica supported by several of the Faranorian Alscoria), that Caramunda had his way and kept it. Because of the absolute destruction of Caramunda’s headquarters not a single papyrus remains of the expeditions records so this is complete conjecture but given the rumoured wealth of the Suturan any victory would have netted an enormous sum and it is highly probable that Caramunda, true to character, would have promised his followers literally a fortune in spoils. Emperor Risuna’s overall plan was to plunge Caramundas force into the heart of the enemy and then launch a massive assault with the remainder of the army that would pummel the more numerous but lesser armed and trained Karithians onto Caramundas prepared defences, between the hammer and the anvil. The Karith were not renown for their courage when things looked less than entirely favourable and had no qualms about deserting their leaders in their thousands if the mood had them. However Caramunda appears to have had other ideas from the outset, or at the very best . With his force therefore strung out and apparently progressing safely, if not as quickly as he would have liked, Caramunda would have been wringing his hands together at the prospect of not driving for the heart of the Karithian army but straight at the great Suturans pockets, doubtless with the intention of nabbing the Suturan for a hostage along with his family, close friends and the leadership of the tribes. If this incredible gamble had paid off then not only would the battle be won at a stroke with the enemy leaderless and demoralised, but would more than likely slapped down any hopes of the Karith coming north again for a good long time. If of course the gamble paid off, but the Karith were already holding all the cards. The warning signs were there to be read, and if only Caramunda had the understanding of military matters to recognise them then he could have taken steps to extract his force. Maybe he had been warned, or maybe he already knew the danger he was in but considered his force enough to deal with anything the Karith could throw at him. It was often a failing of Imperial commanders that they overestimated their own strength rather than underestimated the enemies. Firstly we are told by survivors that a number of guides deserted with the remainder becoming nervous, demanding payment immediately rather than when their task was completed, which is unlikely to have been met. Secondly tracks were found by these same guides showing
that others of their folk had been abroad recently, also acting as guides though not to any Holorian force. Caramunda did at this time call a meeting of his senior officers but why he bothered to do so one can only wonder for he is reported to have immediately flown into a rage, decrying the guides as scare mongering for profit and threatening his commanders with field arrest if they did not stamp their authority and get on with the march. Finally two mounted patrols failed to return, a loss of probably no more than two dozen men at the most, but enough for any sensible man to call a halt and to re-evaluate things. In hindsight and to a modern reader Caramunda must seem like an absolute imbecile, but looked at from the angle of his contemporaries and with a more indepth knowledge of Holorian military affairs at this time he can possibly be written off as no different to many others o his ilk. Few scouts employed from indigenous tribes could ever be trusted and had little if any loyalty to the Empire simply acting out of personal gain. All manner of tricks and lies were employed to squeeze more money out of their temporary commanders and desertion was an all too common problem especially with highly mobile troops from the provinces, such as Setantian cavalry who could simply slip out of the Empire and back into the vast plains of their own lands with horse, weapon, training and pockets bulging with whatever they had stolen as they made their way westward. Caramunda was also not alone in his views of absolute right to command meant absolute power. Many Consulors were born to extremely wealthy families, quite used to having their every word not just obeyed but to be done without question. Even high ranking officials were subservient to those of Consulor rank and army officers, no matter what their skill and experience had no power to intervene lawfully and refuse to carry an order out, unless they had such patrons as were powerful enough to finance and speak in their defence. Nevertheless it was something beyond arrogance for a Consulor commander to totally ignore the advice of his officers and this was more than anything Caramundas failing. The fifth day saw the Holorian force nearing its destination and with its cavalry screen way ahead of the main body, conflicting reports say that this was as much as ten miles and as little as three or four, and whilst passing through a heavily forested and unnamed pass near to the seasonal settlement of Tarvo the trap was sprung. From the clifftops on either side arrows and spears rained down splitting shields and pinning feet to the earth, wounding more than they killed and causing utter chaos as much amongst the daft animals as the soldiers themselves. The infantry force, half at one side of the gorge and half at the other with the baggage train trapped inside it could now be dealt with piecemeal. For seventeen hours the Karithian soldiers, mostly archers and light infantry hiding out amongst the dense foliage where the Holorian heavy infantry could not maintain formation or utilise their superior training, poured a rain of death into the rear section of the Imperial force. Arrow, spear and slingshot and charge after charge until the dry soil was churned to bloody mud. Several units keeping cohesion managed to extricate themselves and disappear into the wilderness, between two and three hundred of them actually gaining the border, but the rest of the force were annihilated were they stood. One report speaks of a Senevate, his name unknown, gathering fifty or so men to him and one of the remaining standard bearers, making a final stand on a hillock in a clearing some half a mile to the south of the track. With the Karithian bodies mounting around them, shieldless and using whatever weapons were to hand they in the end collapsed under the sheer weight of numbers deciding to charge the enemy rather than be picked off with arrows. The western end of the pass fared slightly better, initially. The Karithian force attempted to pen in the Imperials until more troops could be
brought into play, but the Alscoria were not of a mind to go along with this lingering death. Quickly formed into a series of skirmish lines the Holorians threw all their weight into the northern rim of the encircling forces, bursting through and breaking into a region of open grassland where they could take formation. The Karithian force caught by this unexpected escape were at first frustrated and suffered substantial casualties, more so when they attempted to take on the now more ordered Imperial force in the open. Their charge was smashed, then thrown back, but there were simply not the number of Imperial troops to do much more than give the enemy a bloody nose. Suffering a deficiency of cavalry and missile troops the Holorians were encircled again, this time by the reinforcements that the Karith had been waiting for. Mounted cavalry and slingers poured a ceaseless hail of missiles into the Holorian ranks and little by little the shield wall was whittled down until burdened with the wounded and dying, their shields heavy with arrows and cracked by sling stones they were pressed upon from all sides in fierce hand to hand combat until Caramunda who had survived thus far and his army was finally snuffed out of existence. Three standards had been captured, nearly a thousand captives taken and a horde of weapons, armour and other stores rolled into the Karithian camps. Caramundas severed head was brought in a wooden box to the Suturan who set it on a pole outside the door of his pavilion along with the standards. However this trophy was not to remain for long when a deserter amongst the Karith pointed out that it was not Caramundas head but that of a lesser officer, the Alscoriate of the Vith, mistaken for the Consulor commander. Hugely bolstered by the victory the Suturan increased his demands for Torvanicia and great areas of Demetanicia to be given up in recompense of the lands stolen from them by the Empire. No mention was made of the decades of cross border raids and threats upon the Empire by his own people that had finally led to Imperial incursions into his lands. All appeared to be up for the Imperial cause and many amongst the Consulori were urging concessions to be made immediately to prevent the Karithians bursting into the Empire until onto the scene arrived Malae Alscoriate Kelimidus Mayar who hurriedly promoted by the Emperor led the hastily gathered Alscoria of the Field Army in a defence of the frontier resulting in the advance of the Karith across the Efail and the the battle of Mago Domitae which could so easily have spelled the end of the Holorian Western Empire. Shockingly Risuna then arranged for the victorious Mayar to be assassinated as his fame was a threat to the Imperial throne, or so Risuna thought. Those who knew Mayar knew that he had simply no intention of usurping the throne and yet Risuna was sufficiently jealous and insecure that he followed his own fools counsel, or more likely that of the Consulorii who had put him where he was in the first place. Risuna then went on to quite efficiently subdue Karithia and raised a number of Alscoria to bolster the armies strength as a force of occupation in Karithia, however in what may in hindsight be considered a just deserve Risuna was killed in Karithia whilst fighting there. An archer shot him from a hillside taking him full in the chest so that he fell from his horse and was dead before he hit the ground. The archer was never found. The arrow was overlaid in gold and kept in the Tower of the Dawn until Valisarius upon learning the tale of Mayars death and Risunas hand in it ordered its removal. The assassin had been a professional of his kind who had left instructions that upon his death being in any way suspicious and with links to any of his employers that his chattels be opened to public scrutiny, including details of the tasks he had undertaken. His journal named amongst
dozens, Consulor Sumbra, Emperor Risunas brother, as having paid him his fee for the killing of the famous Mayar.) The arrow now resides in Mayars tomb, which although poor by the standards of its neighbours is the only tomb of a non Emperor to be set upon the Caprenecurum in thanks for his defeat of the Suturan and the saving of the Western Empire from years of Karithian occupation. His tomb had been paid for by Emperor Risuna who had led the mourners. Another irony.

Imperial chroniclers agree that the rule of Risuna gave birth to the reasons for the later civil war. The Consulor class were at this time vastly wealthy and had direct influence over the military, being legally able to adopt and fund any number of Alscoria, in some cases as sole financer as in the case of Adumas Seld and Varas Licinurca who each had paid for and appointed family members as commanders to large armies on private venture. Seld’s five Alscoria leeched from the home field armies and garrisons throughout Karithia were in Massinia, looting neighbouring nations, who had never once pretended a threat to the Empire and its provinces, to absolute poverty. Licinurca meanwhile was plundering the region between Larandor and Faranor with twenty five thousand men, again a great many from the field armies that should have remained to guarantee the security of the home provinces. There is no doubt at all that if these two ventures had not been underway then the Suturan’s attempted invasion would never have occurred. It is a sure lesson that greed and an ability for the army to be used for private gain was the a fault destined one way or another to rip the Empire apart at the seams.

Karo Nebtatis 148 - 237 218-229

Temporary Emperor holding the seat in trust until Etemis, son of Gavian returns from war overseas and an education in the East. He was an able Trustee of the Throne and continued the Military efforts of Casto Risuna. Valisarius had already refused to take power. When Etemis returned in 228 he was murdered en route to the Middenstal. An attempt on Valisarius life was thwarted when Nebtatis sent warning. However Nebtatis was betrayed to the Consulori. These were the days of the Afetelis addirimat, The massacre of the beloved when the usurper Daras entered Illusidum in an attempt to seize power and killed Nebtatis with his own hand. Daro took the throne, backed by the Fimiteri Consularae the secret society of Consulors dedicated to eradicating the Emperors power base and handing power in its entirety to the Consulori. Loyal servants, guards, friends and family of Nebtatis were murdered in three days of blood letting during which period the army was incapable of action through its divided loyalties, many of the commanders having been secretly paid by the Fimiteri Consularae’s agents. The population also took sides and there was rioting and disorder throughout the Empire until in 230, three months after the Afetelis Addirimat the true Emperor Valisarius arrived Alscoria gathered on the long march. Backed by the Ist Alscoria who had been awaiting their opportunity to rebel against Daro opened the gates to the outer and inner cities and allowed Valisarius to take control. Daro was imprisoned, given a sword and left to starve or take his own life. He lived for many days having no courage to do anything other than rot. As for the Consulori he entered the Middenstal armed and stated that he would take his own life then and there if more than half of the Consulors would debrobe to prove they had no unlawful weapons. They refuse and he identifies the traitors by ordering them stripped and driven naked to the gates of the city where they are hung. Nebtatis tomb is located beside the monument to the Afetelis Addirimat.

Adarus Valisarius 201 – 288 230-286

Undoubtedly the West’s most successful general and politician and also the youngest to take office. He took power to control and raise Alscoria from the Consulari and removed the ancient law of first rights. He transformed the training and command of the Alscoria during the annexation of Faranor, Setanta and Aldaran. Created the Fimitierie Primae (the first and loyal), not aware that he had chosen the very name of the secret order amongst the Consulari who were endlessly working for the destruction of the Imperial system. He conquered the self raised armies of the Consulari in Aldaran and Faranor in 284. In 286 he disappeared with the XXVth Alscoria in Setanta. His body was not recovered until 321 when Emperor Tassius re-took Astaroth. He left one son and one daughter. Malentir and Valisara. Throughout his reign Valisarius was never free from the ghost of the Fimitierie Consulorae and finally they manage to kill him with poison.

Agrica Malentir 259 – 292 286-292

Son of Valisarius who inherited an Empire three times the size it had been prior to Valisarius. When the northern provinces were invaded by the Cymii and the Cobandii he successful campaigned, driving into Larandor and though he lost a major battle at Sulla he finally defeated the Cobandii and Tamari at Nuba Etemisum. However the victory was bitter sweet as it left the northern provinces greatly weakened. He had no choice other than to allow the Consulari to govern the new provinces again which they did well. However Malentir had by now given up Setanta to reinforce the south where the Keshim had been raiding deep into the southern provinces. Though he was in all cases finally victorious the losses and deprivations of the citizens especially in Illusidum who had funded his defensive wars and stoneworks gave the Consulari every advantage in undermining him. He was struck by an arrow as he rode alone as he liked to do in the woodlands north of Illusidum. His death was excused when the assassin could not be found by the Consulari stating that the gods had guided the hand of his murderer and had delivered the citizens from his costly rule. It is ironic that he died leaving no children, his wife having died in childbirth whilst he was on campaign in Faranor and having spent the majority of his time as Emperor defending the very people who rose against him. His body was never found and his family moved entirely to the East where they remained. His memorial stands under the shadow of that of his father.

Ullius Tectus 255 – 293 292-293 (petty Emperor)

Temporary Emperor and previously Alscoriate of the IVth who in a futile and ill timed attempt to emulate Valisarius almost plunged the Empire into civil war. The Consulorii were far too powerful and Tectus too weak and he was assassinated. Blame for his death was placed quite wrongly at the feet of Nalae Alscoriate Faltus Vallus who Malentir had made commander of the Fimiterie. Both Vallus and Tectus died in the same year Tectus funeral was also meagre and no tomb was granted to him, simply a monument along the Capra Ceneri Carisuram abr Caprenecurum (Road of the glorious Dead)

Sidus Bellatarius 235 – 295 293-295 Petty Emperor

Temporary Emperor who was formerly Consulari of Torvanicia. The throne vacated by Tectus was handed to the highest bidder and Bellatarius paid not only with his entire fortune but with his life when he did not honour the debts he had incurred in order to purchase the throne. He was granted the honour of a full Imperial funeral and following payment of his debts his family were still left with a considerable sum (which greatly angered his debtors who had been misled by the man who had amassed a fortune many times the size of that which he owed and which could have been paid back easily.) His tomb was plundered two years after his burial and remains open and empty.)

Diosis III ( 248 – 301 295-301

A thoroughly incapable politician who had until rising to Emperor incurred enormous debts. He was a blood relative of Valisarius and had served as temporary Emperor of the East for three years before the return of the true Emperor who had been captured by pirates and considered to be dead. On learning of the rule of Temporary Emperors in the West he set out for Illusidum where he was accepted and proclaimed Emperor. He arrived none too soon with the war brewing in the north. His abilities as a general are paradoxical in that he defeated the Alscoria of Faranor and Aldaran when the ruling Consulori attempted to create a breakaway nation. Diosis was however of such weak character that it is more likely that his battles were commanded by Alscoriates with his attendance only necessary to prove to the ranking men that the assault on the old provinces was morally just and lawful. His Eastern methods did not sit too well with many of his government and he is best remembered for turning the civilians and military of the two provinces into slaves of the Cobandii barbarians, something that the citizens of the motherland must have considered abhorrent. It is worth noting that he was openly backed by the Consulorii of the Empire proper whom he appeased by granting greater powers, though secretly many refused to be bought and disliked him intensely. (He can be said to have single handedly ruined the majority of Valisarius work). There were divisions amongst the Consulari to begin with but bribery, threat, corruption and the hand of the assassin (or simply the fear of it) was enough to keep the quarreling out of the Middenstal and to present a united front to the people. Diosis was usurped (influenced to release power) to Adarus Comitatis who was also of Valisarius line and who had until now been content as Governor of Scatha. He returned when the three Alscoria stationed there were rotated to the Field Army of Covanicia in 293 and within two years had made such an impression upon the people and the more moderates of the Consulori that Diosis was all but pushed out of the door. Diosis end is not known. He disappeared several years after returning to the East and accepting a position of ambassador to the Sibuli. The journey would not have been an easy one even during times of truce and it is most likely that he was murdered by his own men who returned claiming that he had dismissed them and gone forth alone. He was an arrogant man with greater ambition than his abilities and the story was not too unlikely, however it remains dubious. His monument stands with those of the petty Emperors. His wife, once a concubine of the East, was a woman educated and intelligent beyond her class and origins, was a prolific writer and must have suffered much being in the shadow of a man of infinitely more power but equally substantially less intellect. She was beautiful, again in opposition to Disosis renown ugliness. She completed many works, amongst which was the popular guide to travellers upon the Capranecurum. Her knowledge of the intertior of the many tombs, she being one of few allowed free wander beyond the old tomb doorways, being far in excess of what other writers could only speculate about. Her writings are a lasting tribute to Xathe Yularianis.

Adarus Comitatis 265 – 317 R301- 317

The last of the noble Emperors. The term does not really reflect the true meaning, as it meant The last of the hereditary Emperors. Comitatis began nobly enough by taking back power from the Consulari as did Valisarius. Had there not been outside forces at work in the shape of the Lichelord of Andeburg and its masters he might well have succeeded, however a conspiracy amongst the disenfranchised Consulari using Imhrais of Greater Sarachia to pretend friendship and opposition against Comitatis enemies both inside and outside the Empire allowed the empire to be invaded and almost destroyed. He was killed by Consulor Darsus who attempted to open the gates of Illusidum to the besieging army of barbarians and Skaya, but who himself was killed by Tassius who Comitatis had put in charge of the defence of the city. Tassius was to become the first Emperor chosen by the citizens of Illusidum.

Tassius Sacudinarus 318-352 Tassius the compassionate

The first Emperor of the new order of Empire. During the siege of Illusidum following the assasination of Comitatis there was no Emperor and the state was presided over by the military in joint government with the leaders of the population. When the city was restored Tassius being the hero of the city after leading the defence of its streets in the final battle. During his reign he reconquered Sarachia and Setanta and made alliance with the Sheahlin sending the great fleet north to drive the Skaya from their islands. His son Acarus took a second fleet north twelve years after his death and driving southward as the land armies drove north he reconquered Faranor, drove the mercenaire Kings from Aldaran before he too was killed in battle at the White Pass when the Skaya emerged once again from Celes Tagrim. He was the last Emperor before the Great War.


#

##

#The end of Empire. Decline in the West, ruin in the east.


Recorded history, as described here ended with the last Holorian Emperor being succeeded by its first King. It was commonly held that when a King took crown over the Empire, the Holorian people would fall under the yoke of tyranny and know no freedom until the crown was taken. It was a prediction that would hold entirely true as the Holorian people became a scattered shadow of their former selves and arose in the guise of several Empires and nations that would over a further two thousand years wax and wane until their final decline.

With the passing of Tassius the compassionate a line of Emperors followed during a period described as the "long unity." Certainly war was no stranger to the Empire following Tassius death but it was never again fully threatened. Even the years of darkness during which time its borders were under constant siege and an army of eighty thousand was at march in the lands of the north were of no great threat to the homeland, other than if the Great Army had been overcome and the enemy had once more turned his full force upon the south. With the passing of the Vandur a so called golden age followed, and yet still the Karith and a host of other forces absorbed the Empires thoughts and strength. The long unity is a misleading term. Not all nations were in union and it merely relates to the allegiance of the Holorian, Sarach, Sheahlin and other civilised nations to make peace between each other. Thirty four years after Tassius the compassionate the Emperor Nicasus III was in an uncanny reflection of his namesake forced to undertake a great incursion into the lands of the Karith. His success was not nearly so marked and resulted in a stalemate along the Efail with border skirmish after skirmish finally resulting in a massive tresspass onto Imperial lands by the Agalien and Karith combined who this time had not come to assault and rob the Empire but to become a part of it, albeit on their terms. The nomadic existence of the Karith had lasted for nearly two thousand years, including the times spent wandering the seas and coasts searching for a homeland. Finally they did what was probably from the outset inevitable. They recognised the wealth of the lands to the north, the civilisation of Holoria and that they too could give up their pastoral existence and become governors of cities. Their assault was unstoppable. The Alscoria were a shadow of their former selves, reduced to Seneva of six hundred men bound to border and garrison duty and ruined by political waist clinching to constantly reduce cost both in money and manpower. There is no doubt whatsoever that the army of the reign of Bacchus or Valisarius would have smashed the enemy and ridden amok in their homelands to teach them the lesson of assaulting a stronger neighbour, but the Western Empire had become so decadent and obsessed with appeasement and nicety that its soldiers had no stomach, training or equipment to fight a stand up battle. Run to the threadbare the garrisons capitulated as soon as the enemy came within sight of them. Talath Vidris held out longest, the Sarach having months of warning of the approach of the barbarians fortified the passes, strongpoints and even their villages until they were either burned or starved out. Illusidum, fell many weeks before suffering the ignominy of having a barbarian garrison turf out its wealthier citizens and claim the better houses for their own. It was a shameful but in truth much deserved end to a people who had become so convinced of their own success and that friendship and appeasement were better defences than a shield wall. By the time of the last defeat the western Empire was empire in name only. It was an eggshell with nothing behind its brittle crust. The courts had mistaken fairness for justice, fearing to offend they had capitulated to pressure from the masses who had no collective sense other than their own belief that they were too educated to be told anything was for the better. The Consulori convinced that granting all forms of concessions to neighbours, internal rivals and the masses should they bay for anything, was the better way to represent the state had given up whole regions to barbarian settlers accepting their mere word that they would not seek to usurp those who had shown them clemency. Of course these barbarians saw only weakness in this and when refused anything merely pleaded that they were being oppressed and were granted all. The army suffered its most serious defeat not at the hands of any sword wielding enemy but at the hands of its own people. When four Alscoria were called under one banner to mount a punitive assault on the barbarians of Faranor who were again slave trading within the Empires borders, rather than gather behind their menfolk and bid them the protection of the gods and a swift victory, thousands swarmed the streets of Illusidum, demanding the army be disbanded and the menfolk allowed to return to their homes as the northern provinces were just that, provinces and not worth protecting if it meant risking the lives of Holorians. That the Empire had granted protection for all regardless of race and standing did not seem to matter. If the government of the day had held fast the crowd would have as before dispersed and accepted the lot of the armed man, but capitulation was seen as the first response not the last and the Consulorii agreed en masse to accept the will of the people (albeit a vociferous minority rabble roused by a few speakers intent on political gain or merely being seen as the gifted intellectual, the individual as wiser than the state) and the army was disbanded only four days after the order to muster had been given. This set a precedent that would echo for a further sixty years until the Emp