The Blood Eagle

## History

### Rise to Power

After 139 years since the Scream had occurred the Empire still remained Emperox-less, with many of the noble houses proclaiming their own Emperoxs for the throne. It was during these trying times when tensions finally climaxed in 2804 into what would be the century long First Imperial Civil War. The war finally came to an end in 2901 when the ruthless ruler of House Aquila, a woman known as Alejandra Ari, reunited the rest of the Empire through military conquest - after 236 years the Empire finally had a new Emperox.

### Second Imperial Civil War

Imperial unity did not last long, as after only a single year under the reign of their new Aquilan empress did the noble Houses come to regret their decision to crown Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari. The Second Imperial Civil War soon broke out between the newly formed Council of Houses and the Empress' loyalists.

**Notable Military Engagements:**

* First, Second, and Third Battles of Imperial Prime
* Liberation of Kerdava (2923)
* War on Thorg (2924 - 2928)
	+ Battle of Isadava
	+ Evacuation of Thorg
* Suppression of Gleipnir
* Bombing of Cabina
* Withdrawal from Echo
* Siege of Diomikato (2954(?) - 2955)

The Second Imperial Civil War would come to an end, after 54 years, with the death of the Aquilan empress who the Council of Houses came to only refer to as the Blood Eagle. Though the exact cause of death is unknown and her body was never recovered from the Bloody Ruins the noble houses were still satisfied that the Blood Eagle's infamous reign was over.

### Aftermath and Impact

The Blood Eagle is remembered throughout the sector with infamy, but perhaps no group of people hold her in vile contempt more than the very House she came from - House Aquila. House Aquila knew the mistake they had made in supporting their now dead empress, and though the Blood Eagle had reformed them into the legion system they are today, the house knew they must further separate themselves from her image. The noble house took three major steps in their reformation:

1. Left leaderless after the Blood Eagle's death, but weary of installing a single military leader as the head of their house, House Aquila created the Convocation - a military council - to rule over them.
2. Seeking to atone with the High Church after the Blood Eagle sought to limit the Church's power, House Aquila adopted the use of the Latin language as a show of good faith.
3. As a show of good faith towards the other noble houses, House Aquila outlawed Blood Eagle symbols and other iconography. To this day usage of such material is offensive to most Aquilan house members and even the Blood Eagle's name is only ever spoken in whispers.

## Imperial Policies

The Blood Eagle's reign was one of great religious and class turmoil because the policies that she enacted threatened the authority of both the High Church and the Imperial nobility. Though the specifics of the Blood Eagle's laws and decrees have been scrubbed from the annals of history, some basic understanding is still known today.

* The Blood Eagle sought to limit the powers of the High Church of Messiah-as-Emperox - perhaps to rid their authority and involvement in the Empire's succession to allow House Aquila to singularly control the Empire.
* Noble privilege was undermined and ignored by the Blood Eagle's government; no longer were nobles above peasants in the law nor were they allowed free thought, especially if it was anti-Blood Eagle. The Blood Eagle's policies meant that if anyone was considered a threat to her rule - no matter their station or privilege - they would be sent to Gleipnir or even executed. Part of this suppression of thought was enforced by the Blood Eagle's secret police/intelligence agency - which is rumored to have become the PRISM Network of today.

## Blood Eagle Cults

Blood Eagle cults, sometimes referred to as Neo-Eagleists, are an ever present stain on the House Aquila. These cults, societies, organizations, or whatever else they may call themselves are numerous but usually unrelated - the only unifying belief they share is their want to bring back some aspect of the Blood Eagle. And while some of these cults are more radical than others, all of them are frowned upon - if not actively suppressed - by the rest of the House Aquila.

### Descendants of the Blood Eagle

While the generally accepted record states that the Blood Eagle had no direct descendants, there are some Neo-Eagleist groups which claim otherwise. Some groups claim they are preserving Empress Aquila Alejandra Ari's bloodline through direct descendants or through distant relatives, while other cults work to track down her blood relatives in hope that they can reclaim the throne. Whether or not any human can claim blood relation to the Blood Eagle - descendant or otherwise - has yet to be corroborated by Imperial authorities.

### Imperial Restoration Initiative

IRI is an umbrella term, for a loose group of independent cells, organised by a central group shadowy individuals (The Central Authority) that seeks to meaningfully direct discontented groups to replace the current government with one of their own choosing.

Generally speaking, the organisation seeks to replace the current form of government with an autocracy, implement the policies of the Blood Eagle and militarize the empire. Almost all cells in the IRI admire the Blood Eagle in some form. Some cells literally worship her whilst others merely look to her policies as a guideline to make a better empire. All groups inside the IRI believe in strong authoritarian leadership under a single monarch, preferably an Aquilan.

To insure the organisation reaches its goal, a wide variety of differing groups operate in IRI: terrorists, literal cults, bloodline fanatics, public charities and even legal institutions. These groups are offered protection and resources to act in whatever manner they see fit; in exchange they complete the objectives sent to them by the Central Authority. If they don’t follow Central or become a liability to the IRI at large, the individual cell is rooted out by a high ranking member of the IRI. Central thereby gains influence by destroying the disobedient cells.