Severan Dominate - Road to Secession: Knowing that the people of the Periphery were devout adherents to the Imperial Creed, Duke Severus had to manufacture a tale so that they would side with his desire for secession from the Imperium. Their faith was far too strong to have any hope of easily subverting it.When the Orks assaulted and the Astra Militarum responded, the duke's time line had to be substantially accelerated. He no longer had the time he had expected to use corrupting government officials and subverting the population of his worlds.Instead, he had to create a problem that would immediately unite the peoples of the soon-to-form Severan Dominate against the monolithic Imperium of Man. The motivation had to be extremely compelling, and all signs had to indicate that the time for peaceful negotiation had long since passed.With this philosophy in mind, the duke decided to spin a false tale about supply shortages. Severus carefully began to redirect the majority of all shipments of food, equipment, and other necessary supplies away from the highly dependent worlds of the Periphery.Without those imports, these worlds -- which were scarcely self-sufficient -- struggled to survive, particularly during some of the more treacherous seasons, when locally produced goods were in shorter supply.At the same time, he began to increase the tithes of military units and supplies demanded from those worlds. The duke began to expand the roster of his private armies, under the pretence of providing additional soldiers for Imperial levies.He selected the best and the brightest young warriors from numerous worlds, quickly growing his forces, while he also crippled the workforce for many of his own planets. In a few instances, he even coordinated his removal of units with new slaving strikes made by the Children of Thorns.This combination of events conspired to make life miserable for most of the Periphery's residents. Just as the inhabitants of these worlds saw their vital imports dwindling; their production capacity became crippled by the loss of much of their workforce. This created a dramatic sense of unrest.As some worlds suffered from famine, labour strikes began on others due to the extremely hazardous working conditions. In a few instances, cults emerged that preached about the evils of the Imperium, promising salvation for those willing to accept their unholy cause. In a matter of solar months, worlds which had been bountiful were soon approaching total political and social collapse.Through careful monitoring, Duke Severus determined when each of the worlds approached their tipping point. He had to be certain that the majority of each world's inhabitants were thoroughly disillusioned. These citizens had to be irate and prepared to take dramatic -- and irrational -- action, out of a legitimate sense of desperation.Once it became clear that the citizens were on the verge of revolution, the duke descended upon each world with a generous stopgap bounty of supplies and an adequate force of peacekeepers to both distribute vital goods and prevent a revolution.As Severus worked to assuage the populations, he made certain that any credit for the deliveries were placed squarely upon his shoulders. The generosity that he had so clearly engineered at each world's expense became a hallmark of his virtue rather than a sign of his treachery. All the while that his reputation improved among the population, the duke blamed the High Lords of distant Terra for the shortages and the endless tithes.In his earliest appeals, Duke Severus pretended to play the reluctant hero. He reminded the citizens of the nobility and necessity of the Imperial cause. He spoke at length of the inherent challenges of the galaxy, noting that it was only the grace of the Immortal Emperor that defended Humanity from the xenos and other horrors.Of course, this was just a first step. Invariably, worlds played into his hands, lauding the duke for his beneficence while decrying the seemingly endless greed of the Imperium. On some worlds, the duke's followers had to seed dissidents among the population to begin the cries of secession.Surprisingly, on numerous others, this was unnecessary. Even in these places where the citizens remained true to the Imperial Creed, there were many who were willing to remain true to their faith at the same time that they discarded their loyalty to the government of the Imperium.On each world in turn, the duke agreed to consider the possibility of secession as a last resort, only after all possibilities for negotiation had been exhausted.Then, as the emergency supplies that he had provided began to run dry, Duke Severus called for each planet's government to join him in the formation of a new government. Clearly a canny politician and a talented actor, the duke pretended that each world would be the very first to join in his new federation against the Imperial cause.In each instance, the population felt that they were investing their lives and their assets in a new worthy cause that they had personally helped to create. This provided a sense of ownership, which dramatically increased their willingness to sacrifice even more than they had previously given -- under the pretence that they or their descendants might someday have a greater degree of freedom than allowed by the Imperium.As the legitimate Imperial leader of the worlds within the Periphery Sub-sector, the duke initially had the full assets of the Imperium of Man to assist him in spreading his deceitful tales to the populace. This resource proved critical as he told his lies. Through his network of existing supporters, the duke was able to ensure that those within existing Imperial organisations continued to follow his directives -- or they were replaced by those willing to do so.He was able to limit off-world communication and trade, ensuring that the only messages which reached each world were the ones that he sought to deliver, and that the only goods shipped were transported with his permission. Ultimately, the duke had to replace a significant number of adepts who remained loyal to the Imperial cause -- even under the threat of death.In spite of this, he retained enough of the preexisting structures that word of the Imperium’s tyranny and his own just revolution were spread to the people of the worlds he had overseen.