Welcome back. After yesterday, you should be well aware that major historical events might happen for the tiniest of reasons. Today, I will try to prove that once again. We will discuss an event of major significance whose background was not as major. It started centuries ago…
***
Cerbane, year 834 of Era II
There is one thing nobles certainly do flawlessly: showing off their wealth and power. And there is no better way to do that than building palaces. Under Emperor Faetho, the important figures of his court could not complain about the lack of opportunities to do so – the ruler was generous to his close subordinates, and so allowed his two closest advisors, Naman Katha and Gote Samar, to construct a new magnificent residence for the two of them, all using the imperial treasure. There was only one simple condition: they had to share it evenly and oversee the construction together.
For the first few months the plan worked perfectly. The workers were busy constructing the magnificent residence, and the two nobles would take turns supervising the work. However, the more the construction progressed, the more difficult the situation became. Every now and then, the advisors started to argue about the details – shape of windows, design of columns, width of doors and the like. For some time, the tension was manageable. It was only when the construction reached the top part of the building that it changed radically.
The original design, fully embraced by Gote, featured a slanted roof with gold-framed windows, sculptures and numerous ornaments. Naman, however, was not satisfied with the concept, and hired a second architect to create an alternative design, with a flat roof bounded by a small stone wall and with plants on top. Gote was strongly against it. The construction had to be stopped, as the future owners were utterly unable to reach any consensus. Not a long time later, the disagreement reached a critical point, and turned into an open conflict. The nobles eventually engaged in a fist fight, and soon after Gote left Cerbane and travelled here, to Hennigath.
After this event, the conflict became public, and caused great disturbance in the Empire. Many people would see more than just a simple roof in the feud, and started to draw ideologies around both advisors. Thousands joined one of the self-proclaimed parties, even though Naman and Gote refused to support any of them. In a matter of weeks, the country reached the verge of a civil war.
The Emperor had to act swiftly to mitigate the incoming conflict. He sent an ultimatum to both nobles – they would either come to the imperial court immediately and resolve the situation, or be charged with treason and prosecuted accordingly. Even though angry, the advisors were not insane – they accepted the offer and arrived at the Emperor’s palace within a few days. The ruler was furious. He decided to revoke the privilege given to them – by finishing the new mansion to his own liking and claiming it for the country’s needs – and removed both from his council, reducing them to mundane noblemen. Unrest remained in the Empire for several months, but eventually it became peaceful again.
As you see, small details can influence major events in ways that are hard to predict. With that, I will finish this lecture. Thank you.
Aedilër 