Hadrian History Quiz PDF

# Founding of the Hadrian Empire (1524 AFS) - The Hadrian Empire was established in 1524 under the guidance of the first Emperor, Matthias Joseph I of House Withmond after the collapse of the kingdom of Veronia. - The Hadrian Empire was named after the nation that unified the fractured human realm...

# Founding of the Hadrian Empire (1524 AFS) - The Hadrian Empire was established in 1524 under the guidance of the first Emperor, Matthias Joseph I of House Withmond after the collapse of the kingdom of Veronia. - The Hadrian Empire was named after the nation that unified the fractured human realm left behind in the wake of the second Hadrian civil war. - The first Hinterlander republic was absorbed after it collapsed in on itself. - The Nordic realm of Królestwo Ràdymie followed shortly after. - Matthias was officially crowned Emperor by the Vater of the Alderist Church, Vater Ferdinand. - A golden crown decorated with two great stallions inherited from his relative and last Hadrian King, Roderick Withmond, was placed on his head. - The new Emperor was gifted an ivory staff inscribed with the crests of all the great houses through which his rule was cemented. - Matthias' rule was one of peace and growing unity within the new empire. - This new age for the empire would be brutally disrupted after only three hundred days. - Matthias opened his eyes and found himself terribly weakened without any clear explanation as to why and was swiftly bedridden. - The only one allowed by the Emperor's side during these days was a young prince and ward from the old von Lichtenfelts dynasty, Philipp. - The people of the Empire prayed to Alder and Mortius to spare the young Emperor yet behind closed doors, Matthias' condition only worsened. - Matthias would die peacefully two nights later. - He was buried after a week of mourning in the Grand Cathedral of Alder in Adelsburg. - His body remains in the Adelsburg crypts to this day. ## Restoration of the Von Lichtenfelts Dynasty & the First Luminion Crisis (1525 - 1526 AFS) - Shortly after Matthias died and was buried the self-proclaimed heir to the throne, Philipp Wilhelm von Lichtenfelts, ascended with the help of the army he was the commander of through his position that was equivalent to the modern Reichsmarshall. - Though his claim based on Matthias' last words can easily be questioned, his bloodline's claim is one that cannot, for it was House von Lichtenfelts that was overthrown by House Withmond during the first Hadrian Civil War. - It was through this claim that he met very little resistance when taking the throne. - As Philipp took the throne he was quickly informed of rising tensions in the east as Lord Arnoud van Leuveren of Wakkerdam called the wrath of the High Elves of Luminion upon himself by insulting and threatening the crown princess, Cirlia Zaithrall, and disrespecting the royal family as a whole during a meeting in an attempt to resolve the matter. - The Elves claimed that Arnoud lost his patience during that meeting and threw a chair through the meeting room, destroying it in the process. - The Elves threatened with war if justice was not served and upon this threat, Arnoud requested that the Emperor mustered his forces to face the Elves on the field of battle. - The Elven armies rallied to Luminion, patiently awaiting the Emperor's response to the chaos. - The forces of the Hinterlander duchy of Wakkerdam did the same, resulting in a standoff between the two sides that would result in an all-out war if the Emperor would not intervene, and intervene he would. - Kaiser Philipp openly denounced the actions of Arnoud in an effort to ease tensions and ordered Arnoud's arrest to have him stand trial in the capital to find out if the Elven claims were true. - When this grim news reached Arnoud through his spies, instead of facing the Imperial High Court, he decided to not become an Elven martyr through that trial and he fled to the court of Sultan Sig'vyl Al-Buthara in the Empire of Anjyarr where he was accepted with open arm by the Dark Elves who ruled those lands. - The Sultan, a former ally of the Hadrian nations since the rule of Roderick Withmond, seemingly out of nowhere accepting political refugees was seen as a betrayal by the Emperor and relations quickly soured while relations with Luminion increased, the Therri'cill, Aldir'tor Zaithrall ordered the forces to stand down and a meeting was organized between the parties to resolve the issue. - During this meeting between the leaders, Kaiser Philipp swore to find and capture the now-branded traitor, Arnoud, and bring him to justice for attempting to provoke conflict between the empire and Luminion. ## Arnoud's Trial - Arnoud remained in exile for the remainder of 1525, hiding from agents sent by Kaiser Philipp to retrieve him and take him back to Adelsburg and attempting to block any attempt by the empire to retrieve him through diplomatic means with Anjyarr. - Arnoud was surprisingly effective within the Anjyarri court as his friendship with the Sultan grew quickly throughout his exile, though the entire ordeal had a rough mental toll on Arnoud who was now cut off from his home, family, friends, and people started to feel terribly homesick, tired of the constant game of cat and mouse between him and the Hadrian government. - This prompted him to send a missive to the Hadrian Empire requesting safe passage into the empire and to the capital where he would stand trial in exchange for the promise that Philipp would spare his life. - The Emperor swiftly accepted this offer and protected by an Anjyarri escort led by the sultan himself did Arnoud make his way to the capital through the passage of Al-Jabrid and Ceril's Keep. - As he arrived he was swiftly arrested by the Emperor's men and brought to the courthouse to await his trial. - The sultan who wished to be present at the trial was denied entry into the courthouse, enraging him and his troops. - After continuous efforts by the Sultan to negotiate his way inside he lost his temper and Sig'vyl who was also a Pyromancer shot a fireball at the courthouse, burning part of the entrance before he ordered his men to stand down and make camp outside the city. - Arnoud's trial was led by Lady Judicar Ma Belov and was attended by Emperor Philipp and his retinue personally. - Arnoud denied any legal aid offered by the Hadrian state, instead choosing to lead his defense himself. - Arnoud held a long speech in which he ridiculed the treatment of Hadrian nobles, the weak response to the Elves, and how he believed him standing trial proved that the Hadrian Empire has devolved into little more than Elven puppets. - Sadly for him, his words fell on deaf ears and Ma Belov who was said to have a personal grudge against Arnoud quickly found him guilty of treason, evading trial, and inciting a war between the Hadrian Empire and Luminion, and against Philipp's promise, he was sentenced to death by hanging. - Guards emerged from behind Arnoud and quickly restrained him. - Arnoud was quickly dragged from the courtroom as he screamed for Philipp to stop this madness and allow him to live, though his pleas remained unheard and the Emperor sat by as he was taken away. - The guards took Arnoud to the eastern gate, opposite of where the Anjyarri escort was camped, and quickly carried out his sentence, hanging him by the neck just outside the city walls. - Royal knight Cedric Reinhardt decapitated the corpse shortly after Arnoud was assumed dead, though it was unclear if the noose or Cedric's blade ended Lord Arnoud. - The last words uttered by the lord were recorded as being "Alicia.." followed by Emperor Philipp stating "Maker guide du, sweet fool." before returning to the palace, leaving Arnoud's headless body by the side of the road for all to see. ## An Empire Forged Through Blood (1526-1528 AFS) - After peaceful relations were restored with the High Elves of Luminion and Arnoud's death, an era of peace seemed to be on the horizon for the Attians for the first time since the civil war ended. - There were no direct threats on the borders, trade was flourishing, and the voidal powers were kept at bay or destroyed wherever found. - The new Kaiser, Philipp, cemented his power throughout the realm and pacified Arnoud's last few supporters around Wakkerdam. - As the year 1526 came to a close, the Kaiser married the commoner Anzhelika Rozhdestvenskij after meeting her at one of his Kaiser's Courts, having children shortly after, and the Imperial Duma was established to involve imperial citizens more in the ruling of the Empire. - Under Philipp, Hadriana no longer solely relied on a government only made up of Imperial Nobles and Clergymen, but the citizens of the Empire were both workers and rulers besides the nobility and clergy. - This sparked some unrest within the upper class of Hadrian society. - Philipp and his newly formed Alderian Council, a body of imperial advisors to the crown, relentlessly continued on the path of tightening the grip on the Empire, devoting themselves to ending the feudalistic society the Empire has been in and transforming it into a modern nation-state such as many of their neighbors. - Since Matthias formally achieved unification in 1524, many of the provinces of the empire were still mostly ruled locally or influenced by bishops of both the Makerist and Alderist temples through Vater Factorius. - Philipp ensured the Duma got more power on a national level and disbanded the Holy Legion of the Alderist Church, while simultaneously reducing the civil rights of Makerists to besides national unification, also promote religious unification through these reforms. - Those who opposed these reforms were swiftly dealt with through either banishment or the sword. - The refugee waves coming from banished citizens, mostly Makerist Hinterlanders, greatly aided Arnoud's nephew, Silas, to form a second independent Hinterlander Republic in the northern reaches of Eden to oppose the empire which would formally become a recognized authority in 1529. ### Leod's Betrayal - The first real challenge to Philipp's rule came in the form of a thrust from within, as the general of the Hadrian armed forces, Leod lomharach, was rumored to have an affair with the Hadrian Empress. - When the rumours reached the kaiser's court, the empress spoke to Emperor Philipp and explained where the rumours hailed from, though strongly rejected any of their truth. - The Kaiser was enraged by this news and immediately summoned Leod to the Imperial Palace for questioning under the guise of a simple meeting regarding defensive matters. - General Leod came to the palace as he had done many times before for he was considered a friend of the Imperial Family and of Emperor Philipp in particular. - As Leod entered, he was led to the eastern balcony where Philipp after briefly playing as if they had a simple meeting and confronted Leod with the matter at hand. - Leod attempted to deny any claims of having slept with the empress and simply expressed they were good friends. - These words fell on deaf ears and Philipp had tremendous trouble controlling his anger towards his former best friend. - Leod noticed that things were swiftly moving south and he decided to act first, in an act of impulse, he drew his sword on the Emperor and challenged him to single combat to resolve the matter. - Philipp replied by drawing his own sword and the two were quickly clashing their swords on this balcony. - The two friends both had lots of military experience, yet Leod was the better swordsman and as the fight went on, Philipp started to tire, leaving openings in his defense that were exploited by Leod, he slashed Philipp across the face, hitting his right eye and hacked him in the leg, rendering it useless. - As the Emperor collapsed, the imperial guard led by Lady Judicar Ma Belov who heard the struggle outside finally broke down the door to the balcony that Philipp locked and saw the onslaught caused by the struggle. - The entire balcony lay covered in blood and the Emperor sat blooded and beaten in the corner, yet still having his sword raised in defense against Leod. - Ma and the Imperial Guards swiftly came to Philipp's defense and cut down Leod, not killing him, but leaving him to die after a slash to the throat that made him collapse. - This slash was delivered by Ma, who Leod refused to fight due to their personal relations. - Ma though did not hesitate to put the man down, and as a single tear rolled down his cheek, Leod was beaten. - Philipp was swiftly taken care of by imperial medics who were able to save his life, though at great cost. - The Emperor was now without a leg and missing an eye, crippled and weakened for the remainder of his life. - This had a heavy mental toll on the Emperor for not only was the always agile Emperor now chairbound and missing his half his eyesight, he was also betrayed by those closest to him, his best friend and his wife. - Most of the ambitious projects that the empire was working on came to almost a complete standstill as without the Emperor's guidance and direct involvement, it was incredibly difficult to get the nobility and clergy to live by the new reforms. - Leod never truly faced justice for his crimes as he was abandoned after being cut down. - Yet, he was not mortally wounded and when he saw the opportunity, he lunged off the low-hanging balcony and fled Adelsburg, never to be seen again besides rumors of him having settled down in Anjyarr like many traitors of the Hadrian Crown before him. ## The Second Luminion Crisis (1528-1529 AFS) - The years directly following Leod's betrayal were relatively quiet by Imperial standards. - The Kaiser was slowly but surely recovering from his trauma and the empire as a whole kept on moving steadily for there were no real threats to disturb it. - The one noteworthy event of early 1528 was the coup attempt by Herzog Janczyck-Mariusz Tzyrnowski who deemed the Emperor weak in his current state and wanted to take his place, though sadly for him he had no support so his plan quickly fell apart and he asked for an imperial pardon for his actions against the crown, which was granted by Philipp. - This relative peace was occasionally disturbed by the rise of the so-called Lord of Bones, a voidal entity that was sending his emissary, Mordazan around the human states, seeking support for his cause of rebuilding the bridge of souls to allow passage for the dead onto the afterlife once more. - A cause the imperials did not trust at all, they rejected the creature and dug in against some minor undead incursions after. ## Cedric's Expedition - It was only when Eden's Shine came around that the peace was roughly disturbed again. - This time the knight and professor Cedric Reinhardt, who was of the Imperial College wished to organize an excursion to the Glade of Dragons to seek out magical creatures and study them. - A request was sent out to the Enlightened Kingdom of Luminion to enter with the study group, this request was granted on the condition that the humans only went into the wilderness with Elven guides with them to ensure their and the local wildlife's safety. - As the two sides were attempting to arrange a date on which the excursion was to take place, Cedric ran out of patience and organized a second secret excursion by himself. - Cedric alongside a class of students crossed the eastern border in secret and traveled to the glade, avoiding any High Elven patrols or border guards as best he could. - Eventually, his party found itself in the vast magical forests just south of the Elven capital city of Luminion. - The party prowled the forests for a few days, marveling at the creatures, structures, and beauty in the region. - The mission seemed to be a success until on the way back to the border, the party ran into an ominous-looking ritual site just south of the city of Luminion. - Against better instincts, Cedric wished to investigate this site and found a mysterious necromantic artifact. - Upon closer inspection, it seemed like a magically charged item, and Cedric tried using it to see if it did anything. - This naive mindset quickly resulted in disaster as the artifact suddenly awoke and possessed one in the party, this person started chanting voidal gibberish that awoke those buried underneath the ritual site. - Skeletons and specters arose from the depths of the soil and relentlessly attacked the party. - The lightly armed group stood no chance against this onslaught and many were slain and wounded. - This went on until the group somehow managed to disarm the voidal artifact, making the undead crumble back into the ground once more. - The battered remnants of the party quickly collected their wounded and made way for Luminion City in the hope that the Elven medics would be able to save their wounded. - The Elves did everything in their might to save as many people as they could while the Therri'cill, Aldir'tor Zaithrall was summoned to assess the situation and figure out what led to this disaster. - When asked, Cedric claimed they were ambushed by a voidal creature on the road as they traveled, and when asked what triggered the attack itself, Cedric claimed innocence and that nothing, in particular, seemed to have attracted any voidal activity. - Cedric's party was sent on their way home after a few days of recovery while the most severely wounded stayed behind for further treatment. - The party received a signed letter from the Therri'cill requesting an audience with Kaiser Philipp to discuss a proper punishment for the trespasses of the Imperial students. - When the meeting was eventually held in Adelsburg, Philipp accidentally told the Therri'cill about the voidal artifact that Cedric instead of leaving behind, decided to hide and take with him back to Adelsburg. - Aldir'tor was furious at this remark as he was lied to by Cedric and claimed that withholding crucial information like this severely endangered the Enlightened Kingdom. - Philipp too was baffled for Cedric told him that the Therri'cill was made aware of the whole incident, including the fact that it was triggered when investigating a necromantic artifact. - As this lie was uncovered it was swiftly decided that Cedric deserved severe punishment, the Therri'cill demanded death, yet Philipp was unwilling to execute one of his knights for in his eyes a minor incident and ordered him to be whipped fifty times instead. - The punishment was carried out before the dissatisfied Therri'cill's eyes and he went home swearing he would serve justice in his own way for no one lies and endangers the Enlightened Kingdom and gets away with it. ## On the Brink of War - The High Elves swiftly took action after this as they hired a group of mercenary orcs to abduct Cedric and return him to Luminion to stand trial in the Elven court. - It then did not take long before Cedric was ruthlessly taken from a feast in Norbüren and taken to the Orcish holdout of Zadh-Nadrozz. - It was here where the nature of the abduction was revealed as when Cedric was brought forth to be tortured, he found an elven party led by Aldir'tor himself present to collect him after the faulskins were done with him. - The chieftain of the hold, Gaerth, took Cedric's hand as a trophy after degrading and torturing him for a while and then handed him over to the Elves who swiftly rode him to Luminion, patched him up, and brought him before the citizen council to stand trial publicly for his transgressions. - The elves, demanding justice to be served ordered that Cedric's eyes are to be ripped out before being sent back to Adelsburg as a warning. - A horrific fate, yet he could call himself lucky as the elf in charge of carrying out his sentence outside the city felt pity for the already severely wounded Cedric and only took a singular eye before releasing him back into the empire. - When Cedric was found and brought before the Emperor, he was horrified at the sight and almost couldn't fathom how this could be the so-called divine justice the Therri'cill was looking for. - Cedric's wounds were festering and would start to infect during his recovery, making him lose half his face and develop a terrible condition known as leprosy as a result. - The Emperor was enraged by the sight and sent an ultimatum to the Enlightened Kingdom, demanding they repay the damage done, or face war so the empire will serve justice itself. - This ultimatum was met with the usual pompous derogatory speech that was to be expected from the High Elves of Luminion and after this brief exchange, war seemed inevitable. - Both sides started mustering their forces and the occasional skirmishes at the border were reported swiftly after. - A company of knights who crossed into Luminion were captured and high elven border patrols were snatched off the road by imperial ambushes and put into captivity. - While this was going on, Emperor Philipp had drafted the war declaration on the High Elves and was about to send a bird to deliver the formal declaration as the conflict was abruptly halted by the sudden rise of the armies of the Lord of Bones to their south. - This new and far more dangerous foe that appeared all over their lands out of nowhere turned the two rallied armies into uneasy allies for the time being. - The two sides managed to put aside their differences and eventually, the situation calmed as the need for a unified mortal stand against the rising forces of the undead greatly overshadowed the need to fight for the pride against one another. - The unified war against the undead scourge came to a head towards the end of 1529 when the forces of life led by Emperor Philipp and A'mos Zaithrall of Luminion clashed with the undead armies of Mordazan in the battle of the black obelisk where they after a long and grueling battle failed to stop the summoning of this so-called Lord of Bones to the mortal plain. - A defeat that would haunt them for years to come. - Another thing that would haunt the empire for years to come was the establishment of the new Hinterlander Republic of Raevendrecht in the north. - A process that was sped up immensely as during the tension of 1528 and 1529, the High Elves allied themselves with the scattered Hintish forces led by Silas Moetiour- van Leuveren, aiding them to establish the new republic to make a stand against the Empire. ## The Hadrian-Raevendrecht War (1530-1532 AFS) - After a shaky peace was established with the Elves after the battle of the Black Obelisk, Emperor Philipp turned his attention northwards to the newly established Hinterlander Republic. - Raevendrecht branded itself as a free state where every man was a king and equal rights for everyone is kept in high regard. - A pathetic structure from an Imperial perspective. - Emperor Philipp devised a plan with his council to absorb the hinterlanders back into the empire as they had done many times before and through that realize the vision of rebuilding in his words "Großhadriana". - An empire stretching from the sandy borders of Anjyarr in the south to the icy gates of Dar-ach Denur in the north. - All that stood in the way of this vision was the new Hintish Republic. - Philipp's government led by the new head of the Imperial Duma, Sine Verrador, a refugee from the republic, presented a plan to realize the imperial vision of the Emperor and send an ultimatum, demanding the Hinterlanders to rejoin the empire, to the Stadtholder's office. - The proposal was presented at the perfect moment for only weeks before, the northern border bridge had allegedly been attacked and vandalized by the Republic's forces, enraging the public and local nobility. - The proposal of forced annexation was one many voted in favor of in a day and age where nationalism was a strong factor as a result of Philipp's early reforms. - And so it was done, the ultimatum was sent out the next week. - A reply followed quickly in which the Hinterlanders, as expected, rejected the ultimatum. - This prompted the Hadrian government to send a second ultimatum, asking them to either reconsider the offer presented or face conquest. - While this diplomatic back and forth was going on, Emperor Philipp employed the aid of a feared mercenary company known as the Order of Lazarus hailing from Castle Helstein. - They were to act as the fist of the Imperial armed forces against the Republic's defenses. - The second ultimatum was turned down as well and when that final republican reply reached the imperial court, both sides prepared for war. - The Hadrian government officially declared war on Saintsday the 1st of Firstseed, 1532. ## The Raid of Raevendrecht (Moonday 30, Highbloom, 1532) - The first strike of the war followed soon as the "fists" of the war, the Helstein company aided by troops from the Imperial Army under the command of Siegfried od Albion opened a surprise assault on the Republic's capital, Raevendrecht, on the 30th of Highbloom, 1532. - The attackers had been lurking in the forest around the capital for some time, patiently awaiting the perfect moment to strike. - This moment presented itself at nightfall on the 30th when most sentries returned to their barracks, leaving the western gate completely undefended. - A war horn was blown as the troops poured from the forests beside the gate, overwhelming the few active troops sent to defend the gate. - When the Hadrians poured into the capital proper, Stadtholder Silas ordered a retreat to the city castle in the hope to make a stand against the attackers there. - Many lone soldiers were stranded outside the closed castle gates as the attackers relentlessly cut their way through the city. - When the Hadrian force eventually reached the castle gates, they contemplated if it was possible to attack the castle to achieve their goal of capturing the Stadtholder. - After counting their troops, Commander Siegfried came to the conclusion that an assault is in fact possible and should be attempted. - And so it was done, the forces of the Hadrian Army attacked Silas' castle in the heart of Raevendrecht and managed to breach it by lockpicking through the side doors of the main castle gate which were not locked properly. - The castle was breached and the once quiet halls of the Stadtholder's personal headquarters were now filled with the sound of clashing swords and the screams of men, slain by the swords of the Hadrian Army. - The castle was occupied shortly after. - The raiders now searched in any nook and cranny of the castle in search of the Stadtholder. - They had little time to complete this mission as the uncle of Silas, Johann, was outside in the city, rallying the Raevendrecht garrison properly and prepared to assault the castle to retake it and capture the Hadrian military command. - Siegfried's company eventually reached the highest tower of the castle where behind a locked door, Silas was hiding. - When the Stadtholder knew he was found, he opened the door and made a valiant last stand against Siegfried and his two guards, killing one and wounding Siegfried before being taken out and captured. - Silas was put in iron cuffs and quickly smuggled out of the city alongside the remainder of the raiders, they escaped Johann's main force just in time as they swiftly rode back to Adelsburg carrying their prize. ## A Stadtholder in Chains - Back in Adelsburg, Silas faced Emperor Philipp as he was once again offered to surrender and join the greater empire as its vassal, Silas refused and was tortured for a week, losing an ear and a finger in the process before being sent home by orders of Emperor Philipp. - Why this was done is not particularly clear, but the general consensus is that it was an act of generosity and a way to induce fear when the Republicans saw their leader come home, beaten and battered like that. - This sudden release greatly annoyed Lord-Commander Siegfried for Silas' release felt as if all his work and the blood he spilled to achieve his goals were for nothing. ## Der Fluss Landing (Marketday 6, Greenfall, 1532) - After the release of Silas, both sides knew that the next major engagement would decide the fate of this war. - The Republic's army crossed into Flussland and besieged lord Janczyck's castle Lunburg, while the Hadrian army made a landing on the northern side of the river. - When news of the siege of Lunburg castle reached the Hadrian army command, a choice was made that before marching for the capital city of Raevendrecht once more, they should first turn back and rid their lands of the Republic's army whose way to Adelsburg would be open if they managed to take castle Lunburg. - The long march back south came to an end at the river Veine's shores as on the other side, the banners of the Republic's army dominated the field. - The entire province had by this time been occupied and the last Hadrian holdout remained in Castle Lunburg itself. - A long stalemate ensued, only broken when the Lazarus mercenary company under the command of Mordrael Morosov convinced the Hadrian command to conduct a landing operation. - The Hadrian army managed to land on the southern shores of the Veine just outside Castle Lunburg. - The Republic's cavalry who prowled the area declined to engage the landing force for they were extremely outnumbered and decided to retreat to the main fighting force, making the Hadrian landing go completely unopposed. - Proper fighting started in the thick vegetation of the Flussland hills outside the castle. - The Hadrian infantry was briefly surprised as the enemy levymen soared over the hill and engaged the Hadrian army frontally. - The Hadrians were forced to retreat after suffering heavy losses until a counterattack was ordered after the army managed to rally itself. - This counterattack managed to capitalize on the Republic's army overstretching itself after its initial victory, isolating small pockets of Raevendrecht's troops from the main force and eliminating them. - Through this tactic, the Republic's army started to disintegrate quickly. - The remnants of the Republic's army, after losing its capability to fight the Hadrians directly, engaged in hit-and-run attacks for a few more hours before a retreat was called by the republic's central military command. - The day ended in a decisive Hadrian victory, paving the way for the siege of Raevendrecht and the end of the Republic. ## Sine Verrador's Betrayal (1532 AFS) - The war was an astonishing success in the eyes of the Hadrian Empire, Emperor Philipp's vision of a greater Hadriana would soon be realized. - To celebrate the victory in Flüssland, the Emperor organized a medal ceremony to honor those who fought in the battle and led the Hadrian army to victory. - The ceremony was to be held in the Imperial Palace of Adelsburg. - Both Hadrian officials and Helstein's men were invited to take part in the celebration and ponder over the world that was to come after the war. - Though in reality, the fate of both the war and Hadriana as a whole took a terrifying turn during this event. - Not long before the celebration, Siegfried od Albion, Lord-Commander of the Hadrian army, and Sine Verrador, Head of the Imperial Duma, met with the leadership of Helstein's order, convincing them that the Emperor was low on Andros and ordered the two to not pay the mercenaries for their hard work on the battlefield. - A promise was made that if the mercenaries assisted the two in overtaking the reigns of the Empire, they would pay them double for their efforts, an offer the order gladly agreed to. - In reality, both Sine and Siegfried had been conspiring to take the throne ever since the Emperor allowed Silas to walk free after his capture, resulting in many more lives lost for in their eyes nothing but personal glory for Philipp. - They wished to rid themselves of Philipp, whose health had been declining for some time as both his old wounds and ever-increasing age started to catch up with him, crown-prince Karl, who they deemed weak and unfit to rule the empire, and the remainder of the living royal family, and so it was settled. - The mercenaries and Imperial Army positioned themselves in the throne room where the ceremony was to be held and after Sine's opening speech, all involved drew their swords. - Sine was the first to strike and with a single thrust into Philipp's chest, his life was ended. - In his last moment, a singular tear rolled down his cheek as he realized that he was once again betrayed by his closest friends and allies, yet this time, the only way out was death. - Crown Prince Karl, frightened by the sudden chaos, drew his sword in defense, this was then used to justify an attack against him. - Siegfried approached the young prince from behind and with a singular blow to the neck, separated his head from his shoulders, leaving him dead as well. - The last man standing after the imperial guard was cut down was Ser Wyatt, a close friend and ally of the throne. - While the imperial family and guard were cut down, he lunged himself at the traitors, cutting down eight of them before being overpowered and slain. - The traitors moved quickly after they murdered everyone in the room and captured any loyalist noble and knight present in Adelsburg. - Helstein's armies rode out to the estates of said loyal nobles and knights and occupied their holdings. - Most of the Imperial provinces were swiftly brought under Sine's control, yet his search for the remaining Lichtenfelts was far from successful. - While he managed to place Empress Anzhelika under house arrest in the imperial palace, the remaining three children were smuggled out of the city by loyalists, Helena and Hugo were brought to Luminion, while Katherina was smuggled into the Republic of Raevendrecht. - Meanwhile, Philipp's brother, Diederick-Gobel, was stationed in Castle Lunburg together with Lord Janczyck-Mariusz Tzyrnowski and did not attend the ceremony. - When news reached them of what happened, Janczyck cursed at the usurper's envoy who came to demand Janczyck's loyalty and Diederick's delivery to the capital. - In response to the chaos, the last bastion of the loyalist faction split off from Hadriana, standing defiant against Sine's new imperium. # The Rise of the Electoral Imperium of Hadriana (1533 AFS) - As the imperial provinces were being consolidated by Sine's usurper armies, they sent a Helstein company to besiege Castle Lunburg to force them into submission. - Though they greatly underestimated the strength of the northern bastion. - Any attack launched at the castle did not even manage to breach even the outer walls. - The frustration of failure combined with pressure from a reforming Republic's army that was rumored to have aligned with Janczyck's remaining forces eventually forced the traitor legions to retreat from the province. - Sine quickly opened peace negotiations with the Republic and now that he had pretty much lost his entire dominant negotiation position through this action and instead of a grand conquest, the empire was forced to give up the rebellious province and accept a meagre white peace besides that. - The imperial province officially joined the republic officially shortly after the Peace of Luminion was signed. - The months following this peace were relatively quiet, yet very stressful for the new so-called Supreme Chancellor of Hadriana. - Many of the populous and the established nobility and clergy did not support his rule so most of the year 1533 was spent ridding the empire of every relevant person who had any sort of criticism towards the regime. - Even the Vater of the Alderist temple was replaced with who would be known as the false shepherd after he was driven out. - Another subject plaguing the Imperium is the complete lack of any foreign relations due to them going unrecognized by anyone. - The Enlightened Kingdom of Luminion against everyone's expectations refused to recognize the rule of Sine and saw Diederick or Hugo as the rightful ruler of the empire. - This may naturally be fueled by the fact they held two of Philip's children in Luminion. - This blockade on the international playing field placed the Imperium practically in isolation together with the Helstein mercenary company, whose only employer from that point on would be Sine and the Hadrian usurper government. ## The Rise of Diederick and the Restoration of The Hadrian Empire (1534-1535 AFS) - While Sine's government was struggling to settle itself as a legitimate political body on the content, an army was gathering in the separated province of Flussland. - Diederick-Gobel von Lichtenfelts unveiled himself and placed himself as a rallying point for any old loyalist to flow to. - And throughout the year, many citizens, soldiers, clergymen, and exiled noble families rallied behind Diederick and joined his liberation front. - This naturally did not go unnoticed and many of Sine's agents attempted to infiltrate Diederick's forces to sabotage the cause, this had limited effect. - Besides these infiltration missions, Helstein's forces often patrolled the region and attacked isolated loyalists to widdle down Diederick's numbers. - This initially was a successful strategy, yet as more raids happened, the loyalist forces adapted and captured and executed more and more of Helstein's mercenaries, drastically reducing the already dwindling numbers of Sine's army even further. - The loyalist front was growing quickly, yet with that came an increasing difficulty to be allowed to remain within Lunburg. - Not because lord Tzyrnowski was against the cause, but because housing "rebel groups" went directly against the treaty of Luminion and therefore could be used as a casus belli to attack the Republic who currently ruled over Lunburg. - Diederick pulled on all political strings he could find within the republic in an attempt to extend his stay for as long as he could. - This time was used to grow his loyalist group into a formidable army and when the time came to strike, a message was delivered by Cain Eldrick, one of Sine's government officials who had flirted with the idea of defecting before, stating that Sine's government and Helstein had abandoned Adelsburg in the wake of the invasion and vanished south, never to be seen again. - Internal division