Year 3460 after Rostdor's foundation, via Austfen, heart avenue of Rostdor.
Claudia could not help but to make a stern face. Right now, she was not the heiress aide, but the official Captain of the Knights of eternal peace. She was wearing her uniform: a lorica musculata (full plate with depictions of glory and the history of her knighthood) and was to guard the most important person on the planet: The emperor himself. Her father.
It was also the person she hated the most.
She didn't hate her father for being a bad parent, on the contrary, her father always showered them with love and attention to her and all her siblings. But she hated the Emperor.
The emperor was a weak and passive ruler. He let everyone else make whatever they wanted. He preached to the prole but did nothing in front of their suffering. The emperor did tours around the empire "blessing" the poor people and the refugees, but did nothing with his actual political power to better their lives.
And Claudia wasn't dumb. She knew that the political state of the empire was difficult and complicated. But she was a firm devout believer in righteousness and everything it entailed for her. Her upbringing taught her that she was born blessed. To guide and provide for the empire and it's people.
Even if it meant pushing the limits and getting scolded by the nobles, her father just... Didn't care. He performed his duties as the emperor and religious figure, but he made sure to take as many days off and vacations as possible. He just put an act in front of the people, and then went to play around. Despicable behaviour from the man supposed to be half divine.
But her duties were her duties. She believed in the law, even if she thought it ought to be changed, she thought that it should be done within the system. Otherwise it would lead to destruction and chaos. So she supported someone with power that for once actually wanted to use it for the greater good.
Right now, atop her horse, she walked down the Magna Via, the main Street of the capital of the world, leading the annual parade in celebration of the unification of the mainland. Every third midweek, on the 13th and last month of the year, the emperor and it's closest knights made a royal parade to celebrate the millena spaning history of the empire.
All the citizens were clapping furiously and enjoying the parade, as it was one of the only times the emperor was so close to it's people. The knights doubled as the personal guard of the emperor, although the emperor himself having royal blood was as skilled as an average knight.
-IMPERATOR LAUDE! IMPERIO AETERNI!
-PLEASE BLESS MY CHILD YOUR HOLINESS!!
-GLORY TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE!!
Everyone kept screaming and cheering again and again and they've had been parading for an hour already. She began to feel the exhaustion pent up on her body.
-GREATNESS BE TO ALL! PRAISE THE DIVINE!
-HURRAH FOR OUR BRAVE PROTECTORS!
-YOU MONSTER.
She heard the insult, and immediately jumped from her horse and apprehended the one shouting it, the people got excited, almost as if seeing a show. It disgusted her.
-You are therefore apprehended for blasphemy of the first degree, you will be treated to punishment of the higher order. Any last words?
As she imbued aura on her body to make it impossible for the man wearing a weathered down trenchcoat to move, she calmly performed her duty. That's all she had to do.
-YOU -screamed the man with bloodshot eyes - YOUR BROTHER TGE CROWN PRINCE CURSED BE HIS SOUL, RAPED AND MURDERED LADY CASSIA. SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE... -he started sobbing and crying- the only one... That cares for us common people.
Claudia froze on the spot. Lady Cassia? Her eldest brother? But suddenly stopped thinking. It was a ruse. A distraction. Surely the man had gone mad.
But the crowd grew silent. Suddenly, no one was cheering anymore. Only whispers were heard.
-For doubling down on your blasphemy, you'll be judged immediately -Claudia said as she unseathed her saber, while tightly grasping the man with her hand.
-Your father let it happen... And even covered it up -the man spat on her face.
-Enough.
A solemn voice that belonged to a man that resembled a lion resonated through the entire avenue.
-You have lost your mind and now you are not only insulting myself, something I can tolerate for it is in my nature to forgive your sins, but you are defamating the very nobles that provide for you.
The emperor's voice seemed to have actual physical weight behind it.
Claudia let the man go, he stumbled and fell to the ground, the mere presence of the blonde and blue eyed massive figure that had walked from a royal limousine overshadowing him.
The man screamed and took a gun out of his pocket. But everyone knew that a single firearm could not scratch the emperor. He shot a couple times but the emperor's aura stopped the bullets.
-You, who has tarnished such a holy day with such blasphemous remarks shall not receive the God's paradise. -the emperor stated.
-You will die a heretic in the hands of the absolute judge. Myself.
As the emperor slowly approached, from nothing, something came to be. A sword made entirely out of light. This was the divine judgement that condemned one's soul to eternal suffering on the Tartarus. It was said that the first emperor used it to end the lives of the 50 corrupt heads of every patrician house, making them submit to him.
He was divine.
The man, before surrounded by people, was now alone. A big circle was made surrounding him, no one daring to get close to the judgment.
But for some reason when the emperor was one step away from the man, who had his gun ran out of bullets a while ago, the man smiled.
-FOR CASSIA! FOR THE PEOPLE!
As he screamed, he revealed that hidden in his trenchcoat were innumerable amounts of explosive.
Time froze. Claudia's head was racing and every muscle in her body went from 0 to a 100 in half a second.
Her father's surprised face.
The crowd's clear confusion.
The knights deploying barriers of aura as soon as they could.
The mages trying to suppress the sparks with magic.
But this were no usual explosives. There was no spark to silence.
And the judgment was passed down. Just as the emperor cut down the heretic.
A flash of light.
And Claudia lost consciousness.
She immediately woke up, five seconds had passed at most, she had deployed defensive magic instinctively, but the gore was all around. Her father's whole upper body was missing. The blast had thrown the knights away, but tore through the common people. A crater was formed in the middle of the street.
And panic immediately ensued. A stampede.
Year 3460 after Rostdor's foundation, Imperial palace a couple days after the Emperor's assasination. Royal office of the emperor.
-What is the meaning of this, Claudius?!
Claudia sternly reprimanded her twin brother, who was calmly sitting at their father's office, stamping documents with a seal.
-Relax sister, I've got much work to do and you are not being helpful at the moment.
-What?! We haven't even held a proper funeral for Father for Jupiter's sake.
-But the empire doesn't stop sister. Not even if it's emperor dies. I would even say I've got more paperwork now that he died.
-Where's Daedalus? He's the crown prince.
-And a hated man, sister. -His twin looked her dead in the eyes- He did it. The actual crazy imbecile did it. Under the pretext that they were going to marry anyway, in a drunk stupor in a meeting with cassia, he raped her.
Claudia's mind stopped working for a second. And went completely blank.
-Although in his defense, he did not kill her. She killed herself. And all of this happened around two weeks ago, while everyone was busy with the preparations for the royal parade. For fucks sake, do you know the amount of gold this loss of trust in the royal name is going to cause? And we need to make the new ceremonies for emperor and pontifex maximus as soon as possible.
Claudia could not hear what his twin was saying. Cassia... Her ideal, her lady, her everything. Dead. Dishonored. And so close... So close were they to their goal...
She stumbled a little, couldn't understand what was her brother even talking about. Everything was crumbling...
-So now we have a peasant revolt all over the country, our dearest Daedalus has swore to "retake" the empire with the help of most nobles to the south, the army is fighting itself and I've had to step so low so as to hire mercenaries. Claudia? Are you there? If you are not gonna help, then piss off.
-What about Pompeia? -Claudia managed to ask.
-Oh I'm so glad you asked sister, she's declared that the love of her live the king of Baretonia, former colony of ours mind you, is the one who'll bring peace and prosperity and surprisingly the nobles to the east have decided she's right and now they are waiting for that damn little dictator that uses the king as his puppet to land with an invasion on our lands.
Speechless was the only way she could react. Everything she built over a decade. Gone. In a single day.
-What... What are the estimates?
-Oh well the estimates say we are going to win. Now as soon as the northern provinces answer my damn telegraphs I'll tell you if it'll cost us a small or a big fortune to do so. We are lucky I have half a brain cell and managed to get the merchants on my side.
The very ones that made the people so angry to begin with, the ones that made the nobles take such drastic measures and the ones that polarised the whole country in the last three decades, she thought to herself. She said nothing, but as soon as she could, she would search for consul Selina and help the people. The times for emperors, kings and greedy merchants was over.
-My lord! An important message have just arrived.
-Well then, don't make us wait, come in.
As soon as he said that, a small one-eyed bald hunchback came in. Claudia couldn't help but to tense her expression.
-My Highness -said the hunchback once he saw her.
-Pray do tell my old friend.
-Well my lord, the nobles at the capital are all fleeing to their own territories, none seem too eager to do your bidding. We've managed to get the whole city under control and that's at least five of our elite legions. We could get twenty more with enough gold. Problem is, the nobles at the West are waiting to see which side benefits them the most, and I've got some contacts on the east and south. With enough money... We could get some of them to ... See reason, as you would say.
-Well, I'll be damned. That's wonderful news Viscu. What about the important one though, the north.
The hunchback gulped.
-Cicero Von Austfen has declared independence, my lord. The Archdukedom of High Scantia has been formed. Some international recognition has been already achieved.
-Dammned be that old wolf. I knew he wouldn't miss the chance to rule.
-And uhm. There's one more thing up north, sir.
-What? I'm intrigued now.
-Well... Uhm, uh...
-Spit it out, Viscu.
-Your little brother, he's been declared the true Imperator in the north. In High Martalaz. 5 Legions have pledged allegiance to him already.
-WHAT?! -Claudius screamed.
-WHAT?! -Claudia screamed.