Book IV: Empire Ascendant

Deochs 20 – 23

As Deoch 20 began so did Imperium. Ramanayan continued his studies as a priest and reached the 41st insight during Deoch 20. Gradually Imperium members became more and more active in Mileth politics and they meet resistance. Most aislings during this time period regarded Imperium and its leaders as little more then a joke.

At the heart of Mileth’s opposition to Imperium was the long time judge Bridseye, who many regarded as incompetent and corrupt. Eventually Bridseye was put on trial for his actions against Mileth guard captain Angelgal. In a very rare moment in Mileth history Omner, a demagogue, was chosen to preside over the trial. Even though Bridseye was found guilty Omner showed his true colors by saying the sentence (political barment) by the jury was to harsh and effectively Bridseye got off with a slap on the wrist.

When Imperium members were being removed from office for little or no reason Ramanayan posted an official complaint requesting information on why his members were being removed from office. Bridseye, back in office, managed to illegally convict Ramanayan of intimidation and had him exiled from Mileth for 40 days.

While in exile Ramanayan’s strategic advisor, BlueJeff, developed a new system of government for Mileth which hopefully would deal with much of the corruption present. BlueJeff went so far as to suggest Ramanayan ought to become the first Emperor of Mileth. In any case Ramanayan did adopt the title of “Emperor” for Imperium related matters. However his enemies often would jump on this claiming that he had crowned himself “Emperor of Temuair”.

This new system of government would require nothing less then a complete dismantling of the current governments of Mileth and later Rucesion. Ramanayan, Heiler, Topkyle, BlueJeff, and many others began what would later be called “the plot to take over Mileth”. In reality the “plot” was nothing more then an attempt for Imperium’s supporters to gain enough power in the Mileth government to enact real changes. However due to many enemies opposing Imperium the plan was kept top secret.

Rallies and information classes started to be held attracting new supporters to the new government and Imperium. During one of these rallies supporters of Imperium stormed the Mileth commons, severely crippling the government for a time. Burgess Feria’s attempts to stop the uprising failed and many aislings voiced their discontent with the Mileth government. Fynnius and Birdseye invented charges to have Ramanayan exiled for 80 days and because of their influence over the government nothing could be done.

After Ramanayan had his exile overturned the plans to reform the Mileth government continued. However, as Deoch 21 progressed Prime Minister Heiler and Councilor Topkyle began a long running conflict with each other. In early Deoch 22 Heiler resigned his post and left the guild, leaving Topkyle as the new Prime Minister. This transfer of power further delayed the Mileth government reforms. Finally Nukage, an enemy collaborator within the guild, obtained the rank of council and went on a mass exiling spree. This caught the entire guild by surprise and the damage, both physically and leadership confidence, took moons to repair.

Meanwhile in Mileth Bridseye continued his attacks against Ramanayan. When Ramanayan declared his intent to run for office Bridseye and Fynnius invented charges and succeeded in getting Ramanayan permanently exiled from Mileth. Topkyle soon after resigned his post and left the guild. Heiler, now known as Morfeen, returned to the guild and once again became Prime Minister in early Deoch 23.

As time went on the plot to overthrow the Mileth government faded and eventually was altogether abandoned by Deoch 24. The earlier attacks against Imperium officer holders had faded and slowly the guild gained more political power. Ramanayan’s “permanent” exile was overturned later that deoch and he returned to the city and resumed his attempts at public office.

While this period in time was most strongly categorized by the “Empire Era” of Imperium and the plot to overthrow Mileth several other important events also occurred. Ramanayan’s philosophical work “Grimloks & Goblins: Society, Social Structures, and Lore” was recognized, ironically while in exile. Two very successful Imperium events, the Hide and Seek Contest and the Abel Dock Auction were both held in deochs 20 and 22 respectivly.