The Powerless

Revenith, Both Capes and other states of our region have seen many powerful rulers. However, not every one of them was like this. Today I will tell you about the boldest example – Emperor Randon II of Revenith, who through his reign earned the title of Powerless. At first, nobody thought he would be called this way…

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Cerbane, year 899 of Era II

When Randon claimed the throne after the death of his old father, Emperor Hana III, the people of Revenith were really enthusiastic – the late ruler was famous for his generosity and care for the people’s wellbeing, so they were sure the son would continue this policy. And, by all means, he did – he would order his advisors to research the citizens’ issues and propose due solutions as quickly as possible. This approach paid off greatly – tax revenue would grow by as much as ten percent each year, and crime decreased greatly. Nonetheless, there was one issue he overlooked.

Hana was against the concept of warfare, and consistently avoided the necessity of resolving conflicts this way, in which he succeeded. Randon, however, took the policy a step further – he was a diehard pacifist, which led not only to the rejection of the concept of war, but also deep negligence of the army. Poor funding and reluctance to any improvement had a great impact on the soldiers’ morale, and a great decrease in public parades and other appearances did not help. The generals noticed it quickly. Two years after the new Emperor was crowned, they met him in a special audience that lasted for an entire day, where they presented the state of the army, as well as their demands and suggestions regarding possible improvement. After hours of listening, despite the opinion of his advisors, Randon politely refused everything the generals asked for. He thought it was a closed case – but he was deeply wrong.

Having failed the normal way, the generals started to conspire. They reached agreement that the situation could not be borne – and that they would use any means necessary to change it. And so, about two dozen days after the audience, the Emperor was captured in his own quarters, by one of the Copper Guards. He was locked in one of the rooms for a few hours. He tried to call help, but even his own court had betrayed him and joined the conspirators. He was sitting there hopeless and resigned. He thought he would soon meet his end, despite being a good ruler to his people. Fortunately for him, the generals were merciful. They came to the place and gave him an offer: surrender and do our bidding, or you shall disappear forever. Randon had no choice – he accepted without hesitation. Hence, even though people noticed nothing, the Emperor had lost his power over the state.

The shadow rule of the generals caused a sharp change in policies. The army became a priority, and the government would not focus as much on the citizens, instead putting effort into developing the industry. This sparked anger in many people of the Empire, and hundreds would express it openly – over the course of over thirty years, over six dozen attacks on government offices and facilities were recorded, varying from minor to very extensive. In the largest one, the governor’s palace in Carthen’s Hold was attacked by over a hundred men, causing at least fifty deaths on both sides. The shadow government responded to all incidents with repressions against the offenders, and often the whole town or region.

Randon noticed how wrong the actions were, but he could not do anything – he was well aware that any wrong action on his side might end his reign and life. And, ironically, it was only the end of his life that ended the situation. His oldest son, Aethan, knew about the shadow rule and upon his coronation publicly signed a long declaration, in which he pledged to respect people’s wellbeing, restore justice to the realm and bring the army back to its former glory.  This pleased the generals, and they allowed the young emperor to proceed, keeping a close watch for the first few years. He passed the trial, and returned power to the ruler.

That’s all for now, thank you.