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The Conspiracies and Puppet Masters A letter arrives for the respective heads of state for the Imperium, Urguan, the Rexdom, Alras and Haelun'or. Copies of the document are posted about the towns and cities of Athera. You have been blinded, men of the Empire! Blinded by the trickery of those who pull the strings of rebellion, who wield influence without right, power without title! The *****-Witch The destruction of Vittoria Horen... Wife to the late Emperor Robert Chivay. Nothing more than an effort to sever the link between the last of the High Pontiffs, a Horen, and the Emperor, Chivay. Through trickery and deceit, Lother of Jrent, a bastard of Horen legitimized, abusing his power as Lord Justicar and along with the silent and malicious assistance of Robert himself for, conspired to rid themselves of Vittoria. And so, they fabricated evidence! Evidence that Damien Crowley and Marcellus Basileus laid with the woman! Through this, Vittoria was burned, setting the stage for the Bastard Lothar and his cunning allies to take their next step. Vasilip the Scoundrel Vasilip... The man who all thought saught to cure the church of it's ailiments. Yet have you, the men of the empire, been witness to improvement? No! Priests are few and far between, piety is non-existent among the denizens of the Empire save the few who save face; the men of Aesterwald! Even Prince Boris himself, baptized under Ruskan Orthodoxy, held the station of Emperor; a station which Vasilip suggested should be granted divine authority, and which was indeed granted just that; even when the Exalted Siegmund himself dissolved the title when it was not divine, for he felt it was far too close to divinity for any man! So, if the state of the Faith is in such dissarray, what could possibly have been the goal of these theses with which he motivated the church's reformation? Simple. Vasilip must have been an associate of Lothar Jrent; his goals aligned with Jrent's own in the dissolution of Horen's influence over both the throne, and now with Vasilip's aid, the church. Together they had successfully dissolved Horen influence, and Lothar Jrent became directly involved in the reformation of the Church; a reformation which, as previously explained, failed miserably. The Dogs Called de Savoie The conspiracy is missing a third party, though. A rabid dog, Olivier de Savoie, and his de Savoie kinsmen. The men who whispered in the ear of our illustrious God-Emperor-Elect, Boris Carrion, before his departure. The men of de Savoie and de Bar, known to have ties to the imperial military and to the oathbreaker, Vibius de Sola, schemed quietly with the Marshal on a coup for years before the journey to Athera. Only when Richard de Aldersburg, a man of Aldersburg (the County ruled by de Savoie) had constructed the formiddable Order of Saint Amyas did the schemers of the line of Ashford, whose influence over Richard was equal to their influence over Boris, knew that he could make his move, and put his favorite puppet on the Imperial throne. And so rebellion; yet Vibius dissappeared soon after. A convenience for the Dogs, who could use their new power to do as his co-conspirators had always hoped to do; take hold of the Empire's throne. A much easier task for a man so close to the current Emperor, especially after Vasilip's actions towards making the head of the Church to be the Emperor. And so the dogs of the line of Ashford conspired. Their own levies weak and towns empty of peasants, they could never take the throne by force; so they devised the Electorate and manipulated Boris into proclaiming both Richard de Bar and Olivier de Savoie (of the line of Ashford both of them, laying in bed together as partners in their conspiracies) as two of the five electors, regardless of the insignificance of their levies and coffers. And now, using their bloated power as Electors, they dare vote one of their own, unknown and untried, for the glorious title of Emperor. They vote Gwenael de Bar. So Lothar weakened the High Pontiff, Vasilip removed him and made the Emperor head of the church, consolidating a great deal of power. This left the path wide open for the de Savoie dogs to motivate a rebellion with their influence over Boris and Richard, and his relationship with Vibius. And now, the weaklings proclaim one of their own as Emperor. Who shall bend the knee to such men? I ask you.