The Emperor

The Emperor is the highest authority in the Old Empire. He became the head of state in 1902, after the illness and death of his mother, who had ruled the Empire for more than 60 years. The Emperor's family traces its ancestry back to Byzantine Emperor Leo VI, who, according to the Imperial Archives, sent his illegitimate son away from the capital but helped him establish his own kingdom.

During his reign, the Emperor has not achieved any significant accomplishments. According to contemporary accounts, if not for his decision to enter the Great War, the Old Empire might have experienced relatively steady development.

The Emperor is a patron of the arts and culture, and even when the Great War began, he continued to host costly entertainment and popular science festivals that were open to all citizens of the Empire.

Some people in the Empire still remember how the young Emperor saved a child from a burning house during a trip to the far east of the Empire. The entire country was impressed by his bravery and many predicted a bright future for him.

The Emperor also participated in the campaign of the King of the United Kingdom in Africa (who was a distant relative of the Emperor). The Emperor personally fought against local tribes that opposed the colonial ambitions of the United Kingdom. The two kings had a great time, except for a brief incident involving one of the Emperor's adjutants. The King shot the man when he was returning from a romantic excursion in one of the local villages. The adjutant was running in just a shirt along the path next to which the King was holding a night hunt. As compensation, the Emperor was offered a rapier encrusted with precious stones from India. The head of the Old Empire accepted the compensation.

The love for the ruler lasted for several years, until it became clear that the Emperor enjoyed exploits, adventures, and grand gestures but had no interest in the actual business of governing the country. Long meetings and debates with imperial officials and experts tired the Emperor, and some issues remained unresolved for years. In an absolute monarchy, the ruler's lack of attention to important matters meant that key areas of the economy, science, and industrial development made no progress. This was especially true in cases of emergencies, when swift decision-making and dealing with disgruntled citizens was required.

As Wojtek Wojciechowski, the editor of one of the oldest imperial newspapers, The Word, put it: "The front pages and publications of newspapers from the African period up to the beginning of the revolution can be divided into two groups. The first group tells about another boy, girl, soldier, mother, or grandmother who received an apartment or a lifetime scholarship from the generous Emperor, who opened a new school building, which the Emperor sponsored a new laboratory in, in which a scientist works, who personally received a new car from the Emperor for outstanding service. A photograph where all these recipients gifted by the Emperor are standing is necessarily added to the publication. The second group of publications is another scandal, thanks to which it was revealed that half the money for the new school building was stolen. The car for the scientist was assembled from shit and sticks and it really can’t drive. And a lifetime scholarship for boys, girls, and other lucky people is given out regularly, but it only covers food, which rises in price like crazy every year. But often they can't even spend it on food because their house burned down, and the law according to which they can receive state insurance has been lying unsigned on the Emperor's table for the fifth year already."

Before the revolution, the Emperor was most often referred to as "mama's darling." This nickname became widely used after the publication of the testimony of one of the Emperor's advisers who fled abroad. The adviser claimed that the Emperor does not make a single decision without first consulting his mother's diaries to find a similar situation or case and following the course of action described by his mother. This scandal greatly affected the Emperor's personality. He lost trust in foreign partners and hated journalists who dared to publish such information.

The war, famine, and unsuccessful decisions made by the Emperor provided a basis for protests that eventually evolved into a full-blown revolution. Now, the Emperor and his inner circle of close associates have virtually lost control and have been forced to flee deep into the country. There, they are attempting to gather remaining loyalists and resist the revolutionary forces that currently hold sway over the capital and most of the central regions of the Empire.