Dread Emperor

"*Here is the truth of our dreadful crown: to claim it a declaration of war on banality, on mediocrity. The banner of the enemy is apathy, the slow grind of the inevitable. Victor or ruin, every Tyrant that ever lived bet their madness against the bridle of the Heavens.*"
―Dread Empress Regalia II

## General information

### Nation

Praes

**Dread Emperor** or **Dread Empress** is the Name claimed by the ruler of the Dread Empire of Praes. Tyrant is used as a gender-neutral shorthand and also as a ceremonial title. It should not to be confused with the Tyrant of Helike, which fills a similar Role for the City of Helike. It is one of the oldest Names in Calernia, being in use for over a thousand years.

## Abilities

As one of the older Names it carries with itself a huge cultural heft. This is compounded by its place in Praesi society - to be a Dread Emperor or Empress is to be the pinnacle of their society. Nonetheless, the method through which the Name's power manifests depends almost entirely on the holder. For example, we have seen Tyrants focused on:

* Magic and scholarship, such as Sorcerous
* Overwhelming might, such as Triumphant
* Military strategy in Teribillis I and II
* Statecraft, in Malificent I
* Court intrigue, in Malicia

It's clear that rather than being constrained to a particular skillset, the Name instead enhances the abilities of that allowed its holder to claim it in the first place.

## Role

The Role of a Dread Emperor or Empress is to lead the people of Praes. It's rarely held by someone who isn't accepted as the most powerful political figure in the Empire. It changes hands frequently, with the longest reigning Tyrant being Malicia. It is generally claimed following the death of the previous leader, frequently by someone involved in their death or in a succession war, when more than one Claimant appears.

## Historically

Led by various Emperors and Empresses, the Dread Empire has had a long and storied history. It has been noted that about nine in ten leaders are comical and harmless villains whose plans frequently backfire spectacularly without even needing much heroic intervention, but that the last one in ten are terrifyingly competent enough to make up for the lost time. These sorts have included Terribilis, Triumphant, Sorcerous and Malicia.

It would be tempting to believe that the Name is restricted to Praesi nobility by the virtue of its societal status, however this is not the case. It's true that the High Seats got it more often than commoners but there were many instances where a man or a woman with strong powers or a stronger vision had butchered their way to power.

There has never been an Imperial dynasty, the longest a family had ever managed to claim the Tower was three generations in a row. In turn the Yeboah of Nok were exterminated to the last and the Sesay were installed to rule the city. However, despite its meritocratic veneer there is a heavy cultural bias at play. Neither goblins, orcs nor ogres ever claimed the Name and neither did the Duni.

There exists a tradition where the same reigning names (Maleficent I and II, for example) aren't taken up unless the last holder has been dead for a solid century.

## References

1. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/chapter-47-offers/
2. ↑ WOG1.20: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZELWbRbQOjJW5Bd-c5yvMijXO8GffkuTQmO\_RKcwpKs/edit
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/chapter-15-company/
4. ↑ https://practicalguidetoevil.wordpress.com/2020/07/28/chapter-46-vestibule/
5. ↑ WOG: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/a-practical-guide-to-evil-web-serial-discussion-and-ideas-thread.521137/page-22#post-39686575
6. ↑ WOG2.43: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZELWbRbQOjJW5Bd-c5yvMijXO8GffkuTQmO\_RKcwpKs/edit
7. ↑ Book 7 - Interlude: Honour