The Past Thirty-two Years

Much has changed in Diablotin, and the rest of the Empire, since the last campaign. Emperor Marl and his government have pushed forward a huge amount of technological development and social change, but it comes at a price.

Political Developments

Marl Kizer remains Emperor; he is 63 years old and appears to be in good health. His wife Yanina passed away some eight years ago, to much mourning from their family and the Empire's citizens at large. The strongest efforts of his reign have been directed towards facilitating and funding the development of new technology, and trying to implement it as efficiently as possible. He has particularly been interested in methods of bringing the vast Aveyrone Empire closer together, via communication and transportation.

Marl's Inner Council has remained largely unchanged throughout his reign, with a few exceptions here and there, which has helped with the overall stability of the government. However, some would say that such long-term office-holders can also lead to stagnation, or an inability to see new ideas. This is not completely accurate - Lord Treasurer Aden Olivier and Lord Chancellor Guillame Rionet in particular have been active voices for governmental reform.

One of the major reforms that has been instituted is the increased amount of representation in the government for non-nobles. The Great Council now not only includes those who hold noble titles, but a number of elected representatives from the Empire at large: two from each duchy (or equivalent countryside area), two more from each large city (the ones marked on the map count as 'large'), and four from Diablotin because it's special. These Councillor positions are elected by adult (over age 15) human male or female property-holding citizens of the respective districts, and serve for three-year terms. They hold equal voting rights to the nobles in the Great Council, and in fact outnumber them.

The Imperial Succession is a matter that has been debated at some considerable length. The current plan is to have the Councils approve nominations as usual, vote on them using a ranked list, and present the top candidate only to the Arch. If the top candidate proves unable to serve as emperor, then the second candidate will be passed through the Arch, and so on. However, until the end of Marl's reign, this is a theoretical plan at best, and what the results would be are uncertain.

Bringing the Empire closer together may be a laudable goal, but there are some parts of the Empire that don't necessarily wish to be more closely connected to the capital. After many years of tension, Psyra and its neighbouring duchies (the remains of the former Kingdom of Psyra) finally broke into open rebellion on the 18th of Sixth-month of 2277, marking the start of the Second Psyrene War, during which time most of the south-east of the Empire was the scene of numerous battles. Soldiers were brought in from across the Empire to fight, but the Psyrene rebels knew the territory better, and had a stronger will to fight despite being outnumbered. The war dragged on for two and a half years, until finally the Psyrene side was defeated and forced to surrender and rejoin the Empire. The official surrender was signed on the First of Second-month, 2280, and the war was over - on paper.

Religious Changes

- Inquisitors - Church of Serpent (various branches) - Arch/new temple

Technological Advances

- bicycles, automobiles, trains, telegraph, telephone, airships, firearms, etc. - factory work and unionization

Social Changes

- Shadar-kai immigration - racism - crime