Livia Korlat

Livia Korlat, also known as Madame Caesar is a Yutemond general and stateswoman as well as a brief dictator, she was a member of the powerful and developed Korlat dynasty. She was the third Duchess of Korlat. 
She was the daughter of Aurora the Sweet and her husband, Galerius Korlat and succeeded her mother in 725 AC upon her death, Livia led the Yutemond armies in the Noble Wars before defeating her political rival, Olga of Volkov in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 745 BE until her assassination in 755 BE.
She played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Yutemond Republic and the rise of the Yutemond Kingdom, her role would later lead to the union known as the Yutemond Empire only a generation later. She helped established the Yutemond Senate, which would later become the Imperial Privy Council under the Korlat empresses.
In 739 BE, Livia, Constinina, and Olga formed the First Triumvirate, an informal political alliance that dominated Yutemond politics for several years. Their attempts to amass political power were opposed by many in the senate, among them was Maul, the Ruling Prince of Pithia with the private support of Pissaco, the King of Reovell. Livia would later kill Maul however and destroy the Principality of Pithia.
Livia rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in Yutemond ,through a string of military victories in the Noble Wars, completed by 740 BE, which greatly extended Yutemond territory. During this time she both invaded Lewen and built a bridge across their capital river. These achievements and the support of her veteran army threatened to eclipse the standing of Olga de Volkov, who had realigned herself with the Yutemond Senate after the death of Constinina in 742 BE. 
With the Noble Wars concluded, the Yutemond Senate ordered Livia (now known as Madame Caesar) to step down from her military command and return to Yutemond. In 745 BE, Livia, Madame Caesar openly defied the Senate's authority by crossing the river and marching towards Yutemond at the head of an army. This began Livia's civil war, which she won, leaving her in a position of near-unchallenged power and influence by the end of 746 BE.
After assuming control of government, Livia began a program of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Korlat calendar. She gave citizenship to many residents of far regions of non-Yutemond citizens. She initiated land reform and support for veterans, in addtion to centralizing the bureaucracy of Yutemond and was eventually proclaimed "dictator for life."
Her authoritarian reforms angered the elites, who began to conspire against her. In March 755 BE, Livia was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators led by Olga's supporters, who stabbed her to death.
== Appearance and Character ==
=== Appearance ===
Livia had lively eyes and silver-gold hair. She was small at birth, but happy and healthy. By the age of fourteen, Livia had grown into a beautiful young girl.
Due to numerous betrayals and tragedies in her later life, Livia became withdrawn and detached. In her last years, her hair turned completely white.
=== Character ===
Livia was a shy, dreamy child, more comfortable with animals than other children. She would often hide behind her parents and governesses as a child when near strangers, and never warmed to any of the female companions her governess presented her with. She much more preferred books.
When Livia ascended the reins of Korlat, she began to outgrow her shyness. After she had flown for the first time, though she remained a quiet child, she could no longer be considered timid. Shortly thereafter, Livia made her first friend. Numerous favorites would follow throughout her life.
Livia had an exquisite singing voice. At eighteen, Livia was considered brave, fierce and headstrong. As an adult, she was sometimes stern and sometimes shy, frequently brooding. Livia had no interest in other people's children, but was possessive of her daughter, and of people she loved. She was furious when betrayed, and scornful of those she did not trust.
== History ==
=== Origins ===
Livia was a descendant of the Korlat family that had been rising to prominence over the past few years; during Livia's early reign the Korlat Council constructed the Korlat Palace, used as a successor residence of Korlat Castle - but otherwise the castle had been pending a revamp for many years due to it's neglect and the politics that tenured throughout the reigns of Livia and later her daughter, Ulpia I. Her ancestors include Namidia the Cruel, Thaddeus of Dalmacia, Amalia and Korlat.
==== Duchess of Korlat ====
Livia was the daughter of Aurora Korlat, the second duchess of Korlat by her legal spouse and brother, Galerius Korlat. She had a younger sister, Anastasia. Due to the fact that she was the eldest female descendant born to the union of Aurora and Galerius she was declared heir presumptive and later assumed the title Duchess of Korlat. Livia was 25 years of age when she became Duchess of Korlat and instantly continued the development of Korlat Palace and constructed roads and towns in Korlat properties.
Livia read A Necessity for Cruelty and reportedly she found no disdainment with her great-grandmother, Namidia but rather felt sorry for her predicament and believes that Claudus was the reason for the disgraced reputation of the Korlat dynasty during it's establishment.
Livia made an assessment and concluded at her school that her family was almost "torn part by a male prostitute." Those that knew Livia's family knew that since Namidia's mass conquest over the hill tribes and committing atrosicities to upgrade her status to that of a Duchess didn't wish to associate with Livia at first, however later they found her nothing like her ancestor.
== Duchess of Korlat ==
=== Negotations with the realm ===
After Aurora the Sweet died in 725 AC, Livia was orphaned and many people in the various regions of the realm were taking note of the Korlat armies conquering nearby territories, Livia was strongly rivalled by the Volkov dynasty; another noble family in Yutemond from an ancient noble lineage. Her primary rival being Olga of Volkov; however the bigger rival that completely outwitted both the Korlats and the Volkovs was the dictatorial Soureine dyansty and had a long line of politicians, military leaders and provincial governors.
==== Establishment of the Senate and marriage ====
Livia established the Yutemond Senate, after reaching peace terms with Olga of Volkov, Maul of Pithia, Pissaco of Reovell and Constinina de Castiligione and formed the Senate who had democratic authority and magistrate roles to dictate the governance of Yutemond.
Livia married Phillion, a member of the politically influential Souriene dynasty, producing – along with Livia – a daughter, Ulpia. Due to these relations she gained a fast promotion in the Senate she formed as a Dux (overseer) of the highest paramilitary; the Praetoria and later became the regional ruler of Yutemond.
==== Promotion and election from Rocol ====
While absent from Yutemond, in 734 BE, Livia was co-opted into the pontifices in place of her deceased relative, Aurelius de Soureine. The promotion marked her as a well-accepted member of the aristocracy with great future prospects in her political career. Livia decided to return shortly thereafter and on her return was elected one of the military commanders for 736 BE. 
There is no evidence that Livia served in war – even though the war on barbaric tribes in Rocol was on-going – during his term; she did, however, agitate for the removal of the the barbarian's disabilities on the Senate and for those who supported the revolt to be pardoned.
===== Negotiation with Olga of Volkov and election as entertainment officer =====
Livia joined with Olga in the mid 30s to support restoration of aristocratic rights; her support for the law recalling the exiles of the revolt may have been related to the same tribune's bill to grant lands to Olga's veterans. Olga also supported the lex Gabinia in 736 BE, granting Olga an extraordinary command against piracy in the nearby waters of the now centralised realm.
In exchange for their alliance, Livia promised her daughter, Ulpia to Olga's son, Alexei of Volkov who was intended to one day reign as Duke of Korlat. Four years after the funeral of Olga's aunt, in 739 BE, Livia served as entertainment officer and staged lavish games that won her further attention and popular support. This included making slaves fight for fun, even against animals such as tigers, lions and other types of "barbaric species."
==== Second term as regional paramount of Yutemond ====
In 739 BE, Livia stood for the regional leadership, one of the highest ranking officials in the Yutemond Senate. In the pontifical election before the tribes, Livia faced two influential senators: Lutatius and Isauricus. Livia came out victorious. Many scholars have expressed astonishment that Livia's candidacy was taken seriously, but this was not without historical precedent. Ancient sources allege that Livia paid huge bribes or was shamelessly ingratiating; that no charge was ever laid alleging this implies that bribery alone is insufficient to explain his victory.
During her year as regional paramount, Livia first attempted to deprive her enemy, Catulus of the honour of completing the rebuilt the Goddess of Nature, accusing him of embezzling funds and threatening to bring legislation to reassign it to Olga. This proposal was quickly dropped amid near-universal opposition. After her regional term was completed, she tenured as Governor of Lewen.
==== Governor of Lewen ====
Deeply indebted from her campaigns for the governoship and for a priesthood, Livia required military victory beyond the normal provincial extortion to pay them off. She campaigned against the Grouchy and Gobline tribes, bringing Yutemond troops and seizing enough plunder to pay his debts. Claiming to have completed the peninsula's conquest, she made for home after having been haileda a queen. When he arrived home in the summer of 739 BE, she was then forced to choose between a triumph and election to the consulship: either he could remain outside the pomerium (Yutemond's sacred boundary) awaiting a triumph or cross the boundary, giving up her command and triumph, to make a declaration of first state citizen candidacy. During her governing in Lewen, Livia built a popular bridge.
=== First State Citizen ===
In late 739 BE after the elections, Livia reconciled with Olga and Constinina, two political foes, in a three-way alliance misleadingly termed the "First Triumvirate" in modern times. Livia was still at work in December, attempting to find allies for her stateship and the alliance was finalised only some time around its start. Olga and Constinina joined in pursuit of two respective goals: the ratification of Olga's eastern conquests and the bailing out of tax farmers in Roevell, many of whom were Constintina's clients. 
All three sought the extended patronage of land grants, with Olga especially seeking the promised land grants for her veterans. Livia's first act was to publish the minutes of the senate and the assemblies, signalling the senate's accountability to the public. She then brought in the senate a bill – crafted to avoid objections to previous land reform proposals and any indications of radicalism – to purchase property from willing sellers to distribute to Olga's veterans. It would be administered by a board of twenty, Livia would be excluded, and financed by Olga's plunder and territorial gains.
==== Retaliation in the Senate ====
Livia's co-citizen Amadeus threatened a permanent veto for the entire year. This clearly violated the people's well-established legislative sovereignty and triggered a riot in which her fasces were broken, symbolising popular rejection of her magistracy. The bill was then voted through. Amadeus attempted to induce the senate to nullify it on grounds it was passed by violence and contrary to the auspices; the senate refused.
===== Tax cut down for farmers and marriage of Ulpia =====
Livia also brought and passed a one-third write-down of tax farmers' arrears for Constinina and ratification of Olga's eastern settlements. Both bills were passed with little or no debate in the senate. Livia then moved to lift the extend his agrarian bill to Rocol some time in May; this may be when Amadeus withdrew to his house. Alexei of Volkov, shortly thereafter, also wed Livia's daughter, Ulpia to seal their alliance.
== Noble Wars ==
During the Noble Wars (consistent battles made by uncivilised tribes across the realm who declared the senate illegitmate)'', Livia wrote her Commentaries thereon, which were acknowledged even in his time as a literary masterwork. Meant to document Livia's campaigns in her own words and maintain support in Yutemond for her military operations and career, she produced some ten volumes covering operations during the Noble Wars from 739 to 740 BE. Each was likely produced in the year following the events described and was likely aimed at the general, or at least literate, population in Yutemond; the account is naturally partial to Livia – his defeats are excused and victories highlighted – but it is almost the sole source for events in this period.
Livia built a wall, she stopped rebel movements near Feileron and – after raising two legions – defeated them in at the Battle of Flees before forcing them to return to their original homes. Livia was drawn further north responding to requests of Feileron tribes, including the Lucretian family, for aid against Maul – prince of Pithia and a declared friend of Yutemond by the senate during Livia's own stateship.
Livia was initially defeated at Reovell before besieging Maul; after becoming himself besieged, Livia won a major victory which forced Maul's surrender; Livia then spent much of her time into 740 BE suppressing any remaining resistance to the Yutemond Senate. She later annexed the Principality of Pithia and brought the region under control of the senate.
=== Abolishment of the First Triumvirate ===
The three allies' relations broke down in 741 BE: one of Olga's allies challenged Livia's land reform bill and the allies had a poor showing in the elections that year. With a real threat to Livia's command and acta brewing in 742 BE under the revolt of the unfriendly senators, Livia needed her allies' political support; as it was reported that Constintina would not survive her pregnancy and Alexei of Volkov contracted tuberlucosis, causing Ulpia to return to Yutemond from central Rocol.
==== Death of Constintinaand dispute between Olga and Livia ====
Drawing in the support of Lucius Lucretius and his younger brother, Amalianus for the statesmanship of 742 BE, they planned second statesmanships with following governorships in the same year, for both Olga and Constinina, along with a five-year extension of Livia's command. From the period 742 to 745 BC, trust between Livia and Olga disintegrated and Rocol was slowly segregating itself from Yutemond; this was the polar opposite of what the Yutemond Senate was intended for.
=== Battle of the Volkovs ===
Livia defeated two of Olga's legates at the Battle of the Volkovs before forcing surrender of the third; her legates moved into Boustare and into Lewen, though the Boustare expedition failed. Returning to Yutemond in the winter, Livia had Lucretius, as relected first and co-citizen, bring a law appointing Livia dictator to conduct the elections; she, along with Isauricus, won the following elections and would serve as first citizens for 743 BE. Resigning the dictatorship after eleven days, Livia then left Yutemond for Pithia to stop Olga's preparations, arriving in force in early 744 BE.
Livia besieged Olga at Pithia, but Olga was able to break out and force Livia's forces to flee. Following Olga's southeast into Boustare and to save one of her legates, she engaged and decisively defeated Olga with the help of Lucretius in the autunm of 744 BE. Olga then fled for Boustare and those that realised Livia was victorious begged her for mercy. Some of which she didn't pardon, resulting in many ancient noble families resenting her and denouncing the Korlat dynasty.
Olga was killed by Glabius, a Yutemond officer and former colleague serving in Livia's army. Her body was cremated by two servants, while the head was kept as evidence.
==== Return to Yutemond ====
Livia returned successful, however she made a great many decisions that caused the Yutemond Senate to cause an uproar, this was because Livia undid the efforts to create a staunch democracy and later embraced herself as dictator of the realm, the Yutemond Senate secretly forged a coup to denounce Livia and declare her an unlawful criminal who manipulated the senatorial system to have her own way in politics.
Extrodinarily there were a number of symbolic honours which saw Livia's image put onto Yutemond coinage – the first for a living mortal being in the realm – with special rights to wear royal dress, sit atop a golden chair in the senate, and have her statues erected in public temples. The month in which she was born was renamed Livian (now July). These were symbols of divine monarchy and, later, objects of resentment.
== Assassination ==
Prior to Livia's assumption of the title dictator in February 756 BE, she had been appointed dictator some four times since her first dictatorship in 746 BE. After occupying Yutemond, she engineered this first appointment, largely to hold elections; after 11 days she resigned. The other dictatorships lasted for longer periods, up to a year, and by April 748 BE she was given a new dictatorship annually.
The decisions on the normal operation of the state – justice, legislation, administration, and public works – were concentrated into Livia's person without regard for or even notice given to the traditional institutions of the republic. These type of decisions without senatorial involvement eventually led to her downfall.
The plan to assassinate Livia had started by the summer of 754 BE. An attempt to recruit Lucretius was made around that time, though he declined and gave Livia no warning. Public comments at Yutemond were condemning Livia as a tyrant and insinuating the need to remove the dictator. The ancient sources, excepting Lucretius, are unanimous that this reflected a genuine turn in public opinion against Livia.
Livia entered the Senate House without security, approached on hergolden chair at the foot of the statue of Olga, the conspirators attacked her with daggers and each and according to Lucretius - every one of the attackers stabbed Livia at least once. Many of the supporters of Livia attempted to rescue her from the predicament, however only to end up being stabbed alongside her as they were cornered; one of the notable martyrs include Livia's mother-in-law, Aurelia.
=== Aftermath ===
Livia was not declared a tyrant and the conspirators were not punished, she was granted a state funeral. Devastated, her daughter, Ulpia inflamed the public against the assassins, which triggered mob violence that lasted for some months before the assassins were forced to flee the capital and Ulpia then finally acted to suppress it by force.
By 755 BE, Livia's daughter, Ulpia had taken sole control of the empire, ejecting her triumviral rivals after two decades of civil war. Pretending to restore the democracy, hermasked autocracy was acceptable to the war-weary Yutemond people and marked the establishment of a new Yutemond legacy.
It is also recorded that an angry mob burnt the Senate House, in which all records were lost.
== Legacy ==
Livia is widely credited for the expansion of Yutemond territories, glorifying the Korlat image and paving the way for Korlat descendants to assume their role in the future as Queens and later ruling Empresses of Yutemond as a united empire.
Livia is also credited for annexing Pithia and Rocol under the Yutemond state, however she is disdained by some noble families because of her authoritarian habits during her lifetime.
She is popularily known as Madame Caesar, which is native Yutemond (latin) for the one chosen by gods.
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