Interlude - The Imperial Nightmare
Excerpt from 'The Fall of Giants' by Claude de Massigny (1958)
If the Atlantic Federation's collapse had been deemed by many as freedom's darkest hour, the collapse of the empire was the death knoll of Imperial and Monarchist ideas within the late Empire.
To try and explain the long-standing issues of the Empire, one has to go back to its original connotation. The Holy Imperial Confederation that existed centuries ago hardly resembled the autocratic and highly-centralized Imperial Alliance, with a degree of freedoms and rights guarantee through for a long time.
The major changes can be found with the rise of Republicanism and the formation of Secret Clubs that undermined aristocratic rule through the rising legal reforms for the merchant class. To counter this, Emperor Gunther II passed a special agreement with the various nobles within the Empire to 'attain absolute power to crush the agitators'.
In hindsight, this agreement birthed the Empire itself. The foundation were shaped through Gunther II's view of 'Enlightened Despotism with Imperial Characteristics'. Traditions were enshrined even more than normal rights. The constitution was constantly attacked and weakened, empowering the Emperor and the Imperial Council, before ultimately creating a major superstate that easily outmatched the more recent Atlantic Federation.
The EWI had been a test bed for the military acceleration going through the doctrinal advances in regard to mobility, providing the Empire with the much needed 'confidence' to strike the Federation in a lengthier and more destructive European War.
In this circumstance, however, the Imperial Clique failed to understand a few elements that would ultimately dismantle it even after conquering a great victory over the Federation:
1) Ambitions of various individuals, such as Prince Maximilian and future King Kurt I of Gallia, which would shift the chess pieces in a manner that severely weakened the Imperial momentum against the Federation through the invasion of Gallia;
2) The efficiency of the Imperial Secret Police as underground groups were able to acquire more equipment and funds through the United States of Vinland, which allowed for major rebellions to erupt once the Empire's rationing had reached critical levels and the 'field was fertile for revolutionary ideas to spread';
3) The lack of a proper government able to handle the affairs of state independently from the Emperor. This very element was originally a boon for the Imperial Dynasty to keep a leash on prominent members of the Nobility by tying them to the council and setting them up for limitations. When the Emperor died, however, this spelled the doom for the Imperial cause.
As mentioned a few lines above, the Empire successfully won against the Atlantic Federation in the EWII, but while victory lessened the anger to some extent, the overall malaise perceived by the peasants and workers together with veterans that were aware of a potential crackdown on revolts happening within the Empire led to a far bigger collapse compared to the one experienced by the Atlantic Federation.
The first collapse unfolded when the Emperor was confirmed as dead and the line of succession questioned by various nobles within the capital. Yet, no Regency Council came to be when the revolters stormed Schwartzgrad, executed the monarchists and installed the first ever Mackasian State under the name of Eastern People's Republic, renaming the capital as Mackasengrad in honor of their ideological creator.
The news of the capital's capture by Mackasian Rebels led to further damage to the Imperial Authority: the People's Republic of Longobardia manifested shortly after, far better armed due to the more extensive campaign engaged by the rebels; the Bogd-Alash Central Republic manifested too, curbing the Agricultural supplies provided by the Alashian fertile fields to the Imperial granaries;
Despite the execution of most members of the Imperial Dynasty, those of the Cadet Branch of Reginrave-Kryvia were soon sworn as the new main branch. This development wasn't as smooth as many would have hoped as Kryvia was soon subjected to a major civil war due to the formation of the Union of Livonian States which craved the integration of modern Kryvia into their border.
In response to the major rebellions, the 'Imperial Army District' was carved out of the core regions where the Military still held a considerable amount of loyal men and equipment pieces. Originally led by General Berthold Gregor, his sudden death in the Capital led to some delays over the needed interventions which allowed for major countries to form all around the Military District.
The Grand Duchy of Tursk managed to successfully pull out of the Imperial Alliance without suffering any worrying rebellion, yet quickly took for an isolationist approach which hinted to potential reforms within the country. Likewise, the Technocracy of Magnavirsk, the Duchy of Libeln, the Duchy of Lutzen, the Wendish Kingdom and the Kingdom of Fhirald all declared independence in a similar manner, yet they each adopted some specific alignments: Magnavirsk and Libeln pursued close Imperial assistance, while the Wendia and Fhirald were quick to formalize a defensive alliance with Gallia.
Out of all countries, Gallia was able to secure some splinter regions from other states and consolidate its domains by democratizing its government at the earliest. This limited the chances of radicalism from unfolding in those domains... where in other regions this was an inevitable matter.
The remaining collapsed pieces are, by far, those with the most peculiar forms of governments and ideologies within the heightened chessboard.
The Holy Eastern Regency was a cult-like state which was led by 'Grand Teacher and Supreme Regent' August von Bayerlin, former tutor to Prince Maximilian and the main believer that the 'Right Prince' was still alive and the rightful owner of the Empire- such a cult believed that Maximilian would have returned only after the Regency was done reuniting the Empire into an unitary and 'pure' state.
The Naval State of Sebasgrad was the result of the Imperial Fleet and the Marines creating a military dictatorship in the major port of Sebasgrad. It was led by a clique of naval officers that firmly believed that 'the army was to blame for this defeat, and as such the Navy had to claim full ownership of the military to fix this mistake for good'. Albeit not as hostile for people to live in like the HER, the NSS was reasonably guarded by a massive list of officers of the Secret Police that aided the government in purging potential radical elements, whenever the proof was confirmed or not.
Finally, the Technocracy of Uralvangrad led by Ultra-visionary Scientist Grigori Zhdanov. Shunned by many as a maniacs both in the scientific community and the Socialist camp he used to swear being a fierce loyalist of, Zhdanov's funds in high-risk projects had allowed him to successfully create a nation based around horrific scientific experiments for those deemed 'troublesome' or 'impure'.
And as the wrap up of the most horrendous collapse in human history is now complete, here's a Map to show the full extent of damage the Empire exposed itself to. Once a proud Lion, the Imperial Alliance was no more:
(MAP: i DOT postimg DOT cc / cJ53mDkx / Empire-Blowing-Up DOT png)
Dull Gray - Kingdom of Fhirald (Constitutional Monarchy)
Dark Blue - Bogd-Alash Central Republic (Aristocratic Republic)
Light Blue - Naval State of Sebasgrad (Navy-Led Military Dictatorship)
Dark Pink - Wendish Kingdom (Constitutional Monarchy)
Dark Brown - Eastern People's Republic (Mackasian Communist Dictatorship)
Light Red - Union of Livonian States (Mackasian Communist Dictatorship)
Burgundy Red - Grand Duchy of Tursk (Semi-Constitutional Monarchy)
Dark Red - Reginrave-Kryvia Imperial Territory (Absolute Monarchy)
Dark Gray - Imperial Military District (Army-led Military Dictatorship)
Green - People's Republic of Longobardia (Mackasian Socialist Republic)
Dark Green - Duchy of Libeln (Absolute Monarchy)
Light Green - Technocracy of Magnavirsk (Moderate Technocracy)
Light Pink - Duchy of Lutzen (Constitutional Monarchy)
Navy Blue - Technocracy of Uralvangrad (Ultra-visionary Technocracy)
Dark Violet - Holy Eastern Regency (Esoteric Ultra-nationalist Dictatorship)
AN
The Death of the Empire is indeed in part inspired by 'The New World Order' dismantlement of Russia. And remember... V̵̞͎̈́̑ḛ̶͗r̶̘̉ǐ̸͙̌ͅf̵̨́y̵̳̤̏̓ ̸̡̼͝͝Y̸͕͂ò̸̝u̵͖̍̋r̴̩̖̿̉ ̸̘̞̒Ç̷̑l̴̡̉͒ó̸̠̥͂c̷̣̥̀̾ḳ̷̱́.