The Eighteenth Century, Part II: 1725-1750

This covers the second quarter of the eighteenth century. For the third quarter, see The Eighteenth Century, Part III: 1750-1775.

=The Eighteenth Century (1701-1800, Part II)=

1725

 * January 1-January 1, 1725, marked the termination of the first quarter of the eighteenth century. As the century now reached its 25th year, the position of the Laurasian Empire had been strengthened, via-a-vis its rivals in the Galactic Borderlands, and in the Great Amulak Spiral. The Emperor Neuchrus had commenced, and his son Antigonus III had completed, the destruction of the Vectorian Empire, which had been such a major enemy to the Laurasian Empire throughout the seventeenth century. Furthermore, Laurasia's victories in the War of the Dejanican Expedition, King Jamsius IV's War, and the First Laurasian-Marasharite War had allowed for the Empire to make territorial acquisitions in the Wild Marshes, Galactic Borderlands, and along the Galactic Frontier Route, thereby strengthening its overall strategic and political position. As the second quarter of the eighteenth century commenced, the Empire found itself engaged in simultaneous military conflicts, against Franconia and the Marasharite Empire (with its vassal state, the Haynsian Despotate). The new Duke of Norfolkius, who had further burnished his military reputation through his victories against the Marasharites in the Tof Borderlands, Muggal Cluster, and Wild Marshes, now pushed the offensive further. On this day, he encountered and defeated Marasharite General Al-Tarik again in the Battle of Kagul. Kagul was at this time a petty Marasharite outpost, and did not have the major prominence which it would obtain late in the century. Here, forty-five years later, a far more famous battle would be waged which would play a major role in the final Marasharite expulsion from the Galactic Borderlands. Yet this Battle of Kagul allowed for Norfolkius to intensify the Laurasian offensives in the Northern Reaches. Bucharina, which had been threatened by raids of the Imperial Laurasian Navy for months, was now finally exposed to a direct Laurasian assault. On January 5, 1725, the Battle of Bucharina commenced as Rumanstevius, Sharman, and Norfolkius launched a joint land and naval assault against Bucharina's defenses. The 19th and 20th Imperial Armies proved instrumental in overwhelming the Bucharianian Capital District, and in outpassing the defenses of the inferior Marasharite garrison. In spite of the efforts of Al-Tarik and of Budik-Pasha, Governor of Bucharina, the world ultimately surrendered (January 13, 1725), thus constituting a major victory for the Laurasian Empire. On January 18, 1725, Tessy, which found its supply lines under threat of severance, and understanding that resistance was futile, surrendered to Rumanstevius without a fight. Marson followed on January 24, thereby granting the Laurasians control of all the major strongholds of the Northern Reaches. Bendery and Quickbey were both subdued on February 1, 1725, and Laurasian forces now reached the Haynsian Slave Highway for the first time ever. From Quickbey, a Laurasian expeditionary force (a portion of the 41st Imperial Fleet), under the command of Commodore Sir Domitius Prales, advanced across the Galactic Void to the Great Tesmanian Cloud. In February and March 1725, the outskirts of Kolzuduzha, Duros, Del Valle, Fidonsi, Ochania, Kuchuk Kaynarca, Silistra, Ruse, and Shumen were harried by Laurasian naval forces, who inflicted damage upon the defenses, supply lines, and hyperspace transit terminals of these particular star systems. This was, up to this point, the farthest that Laurasian military forces had advanced in a combat action against the Marasharite Empire, and marked only the second time in history that Laurasian forces actively campaigned in the Great Tesmanian Cloud (following the later campaigns of the Dejanican Expeditionary War).
 * January 15-Birth of the one of the most prominent military commanders of the Empress Aurelia the Great’s reign, Field-Marshal Baron Demetrius Rumanstevius. Rumanstevius was born at Braclaw, in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was the son of Lieutenant-General Sir Antiochus Rumanstevius and his wife Marina (d. 1788), the daughter and heiress of Baronet Andrew Matervia of Conservan.
 * February 5-March 29-On February 5, 1725, Imegina (formerly known as Verdorium during its time of possession by the Amelianians), finally fell under siege by the forces of the Laurasian Empire. The Duke of Norfolkius, as supreme commander-in-chief of the Laurasian military forces, provided the main direction for the offensive; General Rumanstevius, the Earl of Sharman, and Rear-Admiral Sir Xenocrates Madich (1674-1731), served as his chief subordinates. Al-Tarik, who now assumed the direct command of the defenses and garrison of Imegina, launched repeated offensives across the Imegina Straits, the Barricades of Torclorum, and the Celestial Bases, attempting to repel the Laurasian besiegers. Furthermore, Haynsian Despot Shannai II Karany launched ambitious raiding expeditions into Laurasian territory, crossing the Galactic Frontier Route and sacking Roxuli, Abraham, Valeris V, Massanay, and Huerta Mongol (February 12-17, 1725). Ultimately, however, these lame Marasharite defensive and counter-offensive attempts failed, and by the end of February 1725, all Haynsian moves into the Wild Marshes had been firmly repelled. Norfolkius then captured Diana, Anslea, Pearce, and Jevette (March 2-7, 1725), and blockaded the defenses of Cabrany, thereby preventing for Marasharite and Haynsian reinforcements to arrive at Imegina. The Duke then imposed his starships to suppress the system's supply lines, and on March 12, 1725, he defeated Al-Tarik's leading subordinate, Jabul-Kaboom, in the Battle of Verdorium Minor, thereby consolidating Laurasian hold of that stronghold. Finally, on March 27, 1725, the defenses of Imegina were breached by the constant Laurasian assaults; the world's garrison capitulated two days later, constituting a major humiliation for the Marasharite Empire. Al-Tarik was able to retreat to Quinta-il-vily in the Galactic Void, but Laurasian forces now dominated the heart of the Muggal Cluster. Cabrany finally succumbed on April 9, 1725, and more than 200,000 Marasharite troops there became Laurasian prisoners of war.
 * February 28-
 * On January 7, 1725, Spamalkan General Lannoy's forces in Lombardy were reinforced by the 9th and 10th Regiments of the Durthian States Army, commanded by Georg Frundsburg. This allowed for Lannoy to renew the offensive against the Franconians. D'Avalos captured the Franconian outpost of San Angelo (January 11-14, 1725), thereby cutting off the lines of communication between Pathia and Milania Prime, while Belgiojoso was occupied by Durthian and Spamalkan forces, in spite of a Franconian counteroffensive. By February 2, Lannoy was only ten light years eastwards of Pathia. King Franjak had stationed the great majority of his naval forces at Mirabello on the eastern outskirts of Pathia, placing them between the star system's garrison and the approaching relief forces of Lannoy. Skirmishing and sallies by the garrison of Pathia continued throughout February 1725. Giovanni d'Medici, commander of the Black Bands of Milania Prime, was forced to retire to Piacenza, and King Franjak was compelled to strengthen his besieging forces by drawing units from Turin and other strongholds. It was on February 21, 1725, that the garrison commanders, who were now running low on their energy supplies, and who mistakenly believed that the Franconian forces were more numerous than their own, decided to launch an offensive against Mirabello, so as to save face and to provide the way for their withdrawal. During the early morning hours of February 24, 1725, Spamalkan turbocannon opened breaches in the outposts of Mirabello, allowing for Lannoy's forces to make their entry. Levya, at the same time, sortied from Pathia with what remained of the garrison. In the ensuing confrontation, the Franconian dreadnought corps, which had proven effective at Marginano ten years earlier, masked their own artillery by a rapid advance, being surrounded and destroyed by d'Avalo's frigates and corvettes, and by the Durthian States Regiments.
 * In the meantime, a series of protracted infantry engagements on the surface of Mirabello resulted in the utter rout of the Franconian-Heletian forces. The Franconians suffered massive casualties, with more than a million troops of the Franconian Royal Army being killed or wounded in the confrontations. Bonnivet, Jacques de la Police, La Tremoille, and the Laurasian pretender Ricomedius Polsius (brother of the executed Duke of Sufforia), were executed, while the Duke of Montmorency, Robert de la Marck, and King Franjak himself were taken prisoner along with a host of lesser nobles and military commanders. The Duke of Alencon, now left in command of the remaining Franconian military forces, withdrew them back to Lyon (March 1725), although a small Franconian garrison continued to hold the Capital Districts of Milania Prime. The Battle of Pathia had therefore ended in a decisive victory for the Holy Spamalkan Empire. Emperor Antigonus, when he learned of his erstwhile Spamalkan ally's smashing victory over the Franconians, expressed his official congratulations. In reality, the Emperor of Laurasia was angered that Char'va had managed to secure such a victory, whilst the Laurasian Empire's forces continued to be bogged down in the Franconian Royal Dominions. Franjak's mother, Princess Louise of Savoy, who governed Franconia as Regent during her son's absence, was utterly distressed by his capture, and she resolved to obtain her son's release as soon as was possible. Louise also sought to provide for the defense of Lorraine, Burgundy, and Provence against any further Spamalkan offensives.
 * Furthermore, she now became determined to reach peace with the Laurasian Empire, so as to turn her attention to the question of her son's captivity. As for Franjak himself, he was convinced that he could regain his freedom if he could obtain a personal audience with Char'va. He therefore pressed d'Avalos and Lannoy, who had originally intended to imprison the King of Franconia at the Castel Nuovo in Naparia, to send him to Spamalka instead. The two commanders, concerned by the constant scheming of the Duke of Bourbon, agreed, and in May 1725, he would be allowed, with a Spamalkan military escort, to depart for the Spamalkan Hereditary Dominions. Franjak arrived in Barcelona on June 12, 1725, and was held initially at Benisano. Emperor Char'va, however, urged to negotiate a settlement by Montmorency and Lannoy, decided that the King of Franconia should instead be transported to Madrid, and imprisoned there. However, Char'va adamantly refused to meet Franjak until the King agreed to conclude an agreement to the interests of Spamalka. He also continued to be vexed with the matter of Navarre, with "King" Hensios II of Upper Navarre remaining at large, and continuing to challenge Spamalkan jurisdiction over the region. The matter of King Franjak would continue to vex all courts through the end of 1725.
 * March 20-Birth of the Marasharite Emperor Abdulahamid II (1774-89), the younger brother of Mustapha III, and son of Ahmed III by his second wife, Rabia Sermi.
 * April 26-
 * By April 1725, Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III and his Grand Council had grown tired of the war against the Laurasian Empire. The Emperor of the Marasharites sought to turn his attention to the worsening relations with the Vendragian Confederacy, which were connected to disputes over Lower Persia, Qatar, and the Arabian Potentates; furthermore, the capture of his erstwhile ally, Franconian King Franjak I, in the Battle of Pathia rendered Marasharite involvement in the military conflict ineffective. Laurasian Emperor Antigonus, on his part, sought to bring an end to the conflict, and believed that he had inflicted enough damage upon the Marasharites to stymie any threat which they might pose to the Empire in the near future. Antigonus was also determined to focus on internal governmental affairs; specifically, the question of his marriage, which was now starting to bother him considerably. It was thus that, on April 26, 1725, that the Duke of Norfolkius was commanded to send an offer for a military armistice to Marasharite General Al-Tarik, and for the convening of a diplomatic conference in order to terminate the Second War. Al-Tarik quickly informed the Grand Council of this offer; on April 29, Grand Vizier Nevershli Davat ordered for Al-Tarik to accept the offer, and to suspend military operations promptly. On May 5, 1725, the two commanders convened with each other at Sackrandis; after several hours of discussions, the Truce of Sackrandis was signed, thereby suspending all military hostilities until a formal diplomatic conference could be held. From there, the Imperial Laurasian and Marasharite Governments immediately focused their attention upon the conclusion of peace.
 * Chancellor Wolesius made it clear to the Marasharite Government, on May 11, that his master was willing to return to the status quo ante bellum as regards to territorial matters, if in turn the Marasharites restored all goods, captives, and equipment seized in the campaigns; recognized the sole right of navigation by Laurasian merchants and starhoppers along the Galactic Frontier Route; and agreed to compensate the Imperial Laurasian Government for any violation of treaty terms in the future. Emperor Ahmad accepted these terms, and on May 24, 1725, a conference between delegations of the two governments convened at Pruth. Then on June 4, 1725, the Treaty of Pruth was signed, thereby officially terminating the Second Laurasian-Marasharite War of the eighteenth century on the basis of the status quo ante bellum. By the terms of the treaty, all goods, captives, and equipment seized by Marasharite and Haynsian forces since October 1, 1723, were to be restored to the Laurasian Empire; the prohibition against Haynsian expeditions and raids into Laurasian territory was reaffirmed; and Laurasia was assured control of all territories acquired as a result of the Treaty of Imegina. All Laurasian military forces were to evacuate the Muggal Cluster, Northern Reaches, Tof Borderlands, and Galactic Void by no later than January 1, 1727; in exchange, the Marasharites promised to demolish all colonies, survey outposts, and terminals along the Galactic Frontier Route, and to make border revisions at Meneia, Poloa, and Sly James in favor of the Laurasian Empire. Diplomatic and economic relations were to be restored; furthermore, Laurasia promised to remain neutral in any Marasharite conflict with Vendragia. The Treaty of Pruth was ratified by Emperor Antigonus on June 19, 1725, and by Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III on July 4.
 * June 16-
 * By 1725, the Neuchrian Dynasty had been established upon the throne of the Laurasian Empire for forty years. What this dynasty had to show for herself, therefore, was the termination of the Crisis of the Seventeenth Century; the reformation and reorganization of the Empire's military and administrative structure; the restoration of general peace and tranquility to the Empire's realms; and the further extension of Laurasian territory within the Caladarian Galaxy. Emperor Antigonus was beloved and respected by his subjects, and he was considered to be one of the most vigorous rulers in the Empire's history. Yet cracks had begun to appear in this facade of glitter and glory. By this, the sixteenth year of the reign of Antigonus the Extravagant, he was a thirty-four year old man still in his prime; however, he lacked a male heir with his now forty-year old wife and consort, Katharina of Shenandoah. They had, in fact, ceased sexual intercourse with each other by June 1724, and the Empress Consort was already beginning to experience the signs of premature menopause. Furthermore, she had lost much of the beauty which had so attracted Antigonus to her at the beginning of his reign; she was tending to fat, had a double chin, and had developed a fondness for food and drink. Their only surviving child and heiress was Grand Princess Didymeia, who was only nine years old at this time. To make matters worse, the Emperor had no surviving younger brother, or any close male relations from his father's family.
 * The Emperor did, however, have an illegitimate son: six-year old Antigonus Lutheranis. This child, whom Antigonus had publicly acknowledged as his son as early as March 1720, had some importance to Antigonus, considering his lack of legitimate male heirs. The boy was never overshadowed by legitimate siblings, for there was only Grand Princess Didymeia. Furthermore, Antigonus was the only surviving son of his father, Neuchrus I, and therefore had no close male relations who could be called upon to govern in case of his death or incapability. As Antigonus and Katharina's marriage remained sonless, the Emperor's only living son became more attractive for onlookers to observe. Chancellor Wolesius took a deep interest in the boy's personal welfare, and in November 1724, had arranged for him to be granted Durhamia House in Crystellae, which thereby became the boy's official residence. Furthermore, young Antigonus was given his own household, and was treated more like a legitimate prince rather then as an imperial bastard. Yet Emperor Antigonus, on June 16, 1725, decided to reward his son. The boy was brought to the Public Chambers of the Quencilvanian Palace, and there, his father showered honors upon him. Young Antigonus departed from Lamabathian Palace and proceeded to the Quecilvanian Palace, in the company of a host of knights, gentlemen, and attendants of the Imperial Household.
 * His repulsorlift arrived at the public gates of the Palace, and his entourage then made their way to the Public Chambers. The Chambers were richly decorated, and virtually the entire Imperial Court was present to see Lord Lutheranis's elevation. Among them were many of the Almitian Church's prelates, as well as the Duke of Norfolkius, the Earls of Malaria Prime and Americana, and Sir Thomasius Morius, who had recently become Vice-Chancellor of the Empire (January 9, 1725). All the members of the Councils of State (Privy Council, Governing Senate, Holy Synod) were also present. The boy was created Duke of Conservan and Reoyania, Earl of Notthamia, and Marquess of Venasia Minor, thereby elevating him into the highest ranks of the Empire's nobility. A great feast and a series of jousts, dances, masques, and banquets followed during the course of the next several days. Emperor Antigonus conferred various offices upon his young son in September 1725, including those of Warden of Garama; Proconsul of the Neo-Merlite Provinces; and President of the Suffects' Council of Heliotrope. For the next decade, Antigonus was to consider the possibility of legitimizing the now Duke of Conservan and of naming him his heir apparent. These plans, however, would never come to fruition.
 * August 30-
 * By August 1725, the Laurasian momentum in the Serene Kingdom of Franconia had stymied, in the wake of a series of Franconian counteroffensives, and as the attention of the Emperor Antigonus shifted more and more to the internal affairs of his own Empire. Lassay and Le Mans were recovered by the Duke of Anjou in a surprise offensive (January 7-9, 1725), and on January 14, the Battle of Angers resulted in another decisive victory for Franconian forces. The Duke of Sufforia, who had already lost control of the Channel Provinces back to the Franconians, now attempted to redress these recent losses in Maine, Poitiers, and Anjou by launching a series of renewed offensives in the Parri and Orleans Regions. He stormed Sens (January 27-February 4, 1725), and on February 11, defeated the Duke of Chateau-Thierry in the Battle of Barisis. St. Menehould then capitulated to Laurasian forces (February 17, 1725), and by the end of the month, Laurasian units were blockading Reviny, St. Dizler, and Bar le Duc. Yet the Franconian counteroffensives in Maine and Anjou proceeded apace. On February 18, the day after the Laurasian conquest of St. Menehould, the Duke of Anjou obtained another victory in the Battle of Craon; he then drove Laurasian units from Le Lude, Bauge, Pouance, Richelieu, and Saumur. On March 3, 1725, he decimated a Laurasian expeditionary fleet under the Commodore Vagranius in the Battle of Rochefort. Royan and Niort both fell back into Franconian hands during March 1725; then on April 3, Chateau-Thierry and Longueville launched a coordinated offensive against Abbevile, Montreuil, Cantiny, Vimy, and Lens. Within seven days all of these strongholds had been recovered; Sufforia found himself having to strengthen the garrisons of Douai, Hazebruck, and St. Omer in the wake of these Franconian assaults.
 * It was thus on May 18, 1725, that Emperor Antigonus announced to the Imperial Court his intention to conclude peace with the Franconian Royal Government. Chancellor Wolesius, himself convinced that the Empire's strategic diversions in Franconia were dangerous, proved instrumental in the negotiations which followed. On June 6, 1725, the Chancellor sent an offer for a military armistice to the Franconian Estates-General. The Regent of Franconia, Princess Louise of Savoy, who has explained above sought to focus on the release of her son King Franjak from Spamalkan captivity, persuaded the Estates-General to respond positively to the Laurasian offer. It was on June 11, 1725, that the Estates-General did so, issuing a resolution declaring that the conflict should end. Subsequently, the Dukes of Sufforia and Longueville met at Nancy (June 22-24, 1725), to conclude the Armistice of Nancy, which thereby suspended military hostilities between the forces of the two realms. The two governments now made their preparations in earnest for a diplomatic conference. Emperor Antigonus designated the Duke of Sufforia, the Earls of Tommy and Chandlier, and Chief Procurator Warhamius as his plenipotentiaries; while Princess Louise of Savoy selected the Count de Rocheville, the Duke of Nemours, and the Marquess de Pontfract as the Franconian plenipotentiaries. The actual conference convened at the More Asteroids on July 4, 1725, and negotiations continued for nearly two months.
 * Ultimately however, on August 30, 1725, the Treaty of the More Asteroids was signed, thereby ending the Third Laurasian-Franconian War. By the terms of this treaty, peace was restored between the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Franconia. All Franconian territories occupied by the forces of the Empire, including Maine, Brittany, Normandy, Artois, Picardy, and Gascony (along with parts of the Orleans Region, Poitiers, and Touraine) were to be restored to Franconian authority by no later than January 1, 1727; all Laurasian military forces and garrisons were to withdraw from those regions by that date. Furthermore, the Imperial Laurasian Government agreed to compensate all property owners who suffered damages at the hands of Laurasian troops. In exchange, the Franconian Royal Government agreed to release the remaining dowager funds owed to Emperor Antigonus's sister, the Duchess of Sufforia (formerly Queen-Consort of Franconia), and to compensate the Emperor of Laurasia, to the tune of €300 trillion dataries, for all military expenses incurred since December 1, 1723. The Laurasian Empire agreed to deploy all diplomatic resources at its disposal to helping secure the release of King Franjak from Spamalkan custody. And finally, the matter of the Duke of Albany was settled.
 * Affairs in Scottria had evolved further over the intervening years. The relationship between Dowager Queen Constantia and her husband, the Earl of Angus, became frayed. For a time, Constantia even considered divorce, but was ultimately persuaded from this by the entreaties of her brother, Emperor Antigonus. Yet Angus and the Earl of Arran engaged in numerous disputes. Furthermore, Albany took long sojourns to the Great Amulak Spiral, thereby effectively leaving government affairs in the hands of the Scottrian Estates. In January 1721, Albany even suggested that the Dowager Queen resume the regency; this was while he was at Parri, in the Serene Kingdom of Franconia. Yet in November 1721, the Duke finally returned to Scottria, and was received by Constantia warmly. Rumors abounded that the two were having an affair; these were encouraged by Albany himself, to keep his enemies off balance. Yet each was intent on using the other for their own self-interest. Albany continued to keep a vice-like grip over the affairs of King Jamsius, and restricted Constantia's access to her son. Moreover, in December 1721, Albany fined Angus, and used his control of the Estates to keep the ambitious Earl under control. Yet Constantia and her supporters, now including the Earl of Arran, built their base further. Finally, in June 1724, the conspirators acted. Albany had once again departed from the realm, having returned to Franconia in April 1724.
 * Dowager Queen Constantia now took custody of her son King Jamsius (who was now twelve years old), assumed control of his household, and moved from Stirling to Ediania. She appealed to the Kingdom's subjects, declaring that Albany was not considered about the realm's welfare, and that he needed to be deposed from his position of power. It was on August 9, 1724, that the Scottrian Estates formally dismissed Albany from his duties as Regent, an office which he had technically held for nine years, and the King was officially proclaimed to be of age. Yet Constantia now became the dominant influence over her son; in November 1724, the Dowager-Queen was made the King's Household Governor, and her position as the head of the Council of State was recognized. Constantia now relied upon her alliance with Arran to maintain her own position. Albany, on his part, realizing that he could do nothing to regain his position, accepted his deposition from the Regency.
 * In January 1725, King Franjak named Albany a Marshal of the Franconian Royal Army; the Duke then commanded support operations near Turin, and was one of the first to receive word of the King's capture at Pathia. On February 9, 1725, the Earl of Angus, the Dowager Queen's estranged husband, was admitted to the Council of State; this was after the Queen had ordered the turbocannon of Holyroodian Palace and Ediania Fortress to be fired upon her husband's supporters. Yet Angus took advantage of the dissent against Constantia to have himself named Lord Chancellor (February 21, 1725), and to take custody of King Jamsius. Constantia, frustrated again, was forced to accept this. It was Angus, who in March 1725, urged Emperor Antigonus to demand of Franconia that Albany be kept restrained in the Great Amulak Spiral. Antigonus, himself amenable to this idea, agreed. Thus it was that the Treaty of the More Asteroids provided for Albany to remain in the service of the Franconian Royal Government, and to not be permitted to leave Franconia unless if he received permission from the governments of Laurasia, Franconia, and Scottria. Thus was the place of Angus secured in Scottria, at least for the time being. The Treaty of the More Asteroids was ratified by Emperor Antigonus on September 4, 1725 and by Princess Louise of Savoy (in the name of her son, and with the Estates-General), on September 11.
 * October 9-Death of Alcetas Simnellia, the figurehead of the Licantorian Rebellion. Antiochus Polsius, the Earl of Licantoria, had used Simnellia, who had been born into poverty on Merandaz, claiming that he was the Earl of Sarah. Licantoria had been killed at the Battle of Anusia in June 1687, and most of the leaders of the Licantorian Rebellion had been executed for their defiance. Simnellia, however, who was only ten years old at the time, and who was widely viewed as a pawn by many at the Imperial Court and throughout the Laurasian Empire, had been spared by Emperor Neuchrus from death. The Emperor, had, instead, given the boy a position within the Imperial Household; provided for his education and up-bringing; and assured him a comfortable position at the Imperial Court for the rest of his life. Simnellia had graduated from the University of Darcia in 1702 with high honors, obtaining bachelor's degrees in administration and business law, and he had, from 1717 until his death, served as Financier for the Howardis family. Simnellia married in 1713 and was the father of Antiochus Simnellia (d. 1783), who eventually became Dean of St. Ostyh's Cathedral on Andriana. Simnellia's death, however, was little noticed in the Laurasian Empire.

1726

 * January 14-
 * As had been mentioned above, the last half of 1725 had been occupied by the diplomatic entanglements between the Holy Spamalkan Empire and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, principally over the question of Franconian King's captivity, in the hands of Holy Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I. In August 1725, the Spamalkan Emperor had demanded that Provence, Lombardy, and Franconian Burgundy all be recognized as being under the jurisdiction of the Holy Spamalkan Empire; this had forced King Franjak to argue that Franconian law prevented him from surrendering any territories possessed by the Franconian Crown without approval from the Estates-General and the Parlement of Parri, which would not be forthcoming. Then in September 1725, Franjak fell gravely ill, and his sister, Princess Marguerite de Navarre, journeyed from Parri to join him in Spamalka. The Spamalkan physicians who examined the King believed that his illness was in part, due to anxiety over not being able to receive the Emperor, and urged Char'va to visit him. Char'va, against the advise of the Grand Chancellor of Naparia, Mercurino Gattinara, who argued that seeing Franjak on his deathbed was an action motivated by mercenary concerns rather than by compassion, and was thus unworthy of the Emperor, consented; Franjak soon made a complete recovery. Marguerite returned to Spamalka, and the King of Franconia remained at his Spamalkan counterpart's mercy. Yet by the beginning of 1726, Char'va was faced with demands from the Haxonian Confederacy and the Holy Austarlian Empire (which now controlled the Duchy of Parma), to restore Fransisco II Sforza to the throne of the Duchy of Milania. He was anxious to achieve a settlement with the Franconians before another military conflict began.
 * Franjak, who had tried to retain Burgundy and Zeeland without result, was now prepared to surrender these territories in order to achieve his own release. Thus, on January 14, 1726, the two monarchs agreed to the Treaty of Madrid, by which the King of Franconia renounced all his claims to Lombardy, Zeeland (thereby conceding Ypres, Passchendale, Ostend, Sluis, and Niewpoort to the Holy Spamalkan Empire), and Artois; surrendered Franconian Burgundy to the Emperor of Spamalka; agreed to dispatch two of his sons to be hostages at the Spamalkan court; and promised to marry the Emperor's sister, Eleanor of Austarlia, and to restore to the Duke of Bourbon the territories which had been seized from him. Franjak also agreed to support Spamalkan claims to Navarre. The Treaty of Madrid was ratified the day that it was signed, and on March 6, 1726, Franjak, escorted by Lannoy, journed thenceforth to Fuenterrabia. On March 18, he crossed the Biadsoa Straits into Franconia while at the same time his two sons, brought to Bayonne by Louise and Lautrec, crossed into Spamalka and thence into captivity.
 * Franjak, however, had no intention to comply with the remaining provisions of the Treaty of Madrid. On March 22, 1726, he proclaimed that he would not be bound by the Treaty because it had been signed under duress. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, convinced that the Holy Spamalkan Emperor's power was a threat to his own position, sent communiques to both Franjak and Emperor Antigonus III of Laurasia, suggesting a potential alliance against Char'va. Emperor Antigonus, who was angered that Char'va had not attempted to obtain any concessions for Laurasia, was at first receptive to the offers. By June 1726, however, he had changed his mind, and declared his intention to remain neutral in the ensuing conflict. And indeed, it was in August 1726 that the War of the League of Cognac erupted, named after the place where the alliance between Franconia, Tuscany, the Haxonian Confederacy, Florence, and Milania had been signed. The conflict was to continue for nearly four years, while the Laurasian Empire remained aloof from it.
 * February 6-By February 1726, the attention of the Emperor Antigonus had become focused on one matter of overriding personal importance to him: his marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah. The previous year, the Emperor had honored his illegitimate son Antigonus Lutheranis, who was now Duke of Conservan and Reoyania. Yet Lutheranis was not his legitimate heir, and he was not a Grand Prince of the Laurasian Empire. Thus it was that Antigonus had to grapple with the fact that his wife was now a heavyset, unattractive woman who was beyond her childbearing years. But combined with this was Antigonus's newly developed obsession, which became obvious to the inner circles of the Imperial Court as early as this, February 6, 1726, with Lady Anna Boleyenia. As explained above, she possessed, due to her long years in the service of the Franconian Royal Court, an elegance and self-assurance that matched or exceeded those of the grandest noble ladies in the Empire. It was on February 6 that the Emperor first confided to his intimates, including the Duke of Sufforia and his Gentleman Usher, his long-time friend Sir Willanius Bretonia, that his conscience was suffering painful doubts about whether Katharina was actually his wife. Antigonus was partly motivated in that Anna would not merely give herself up to him, and would give him the prize only if they were to marry. Yet there was also a growing conviction in the Emperor's mind that he had no Empress, and therefore was free to choose one. Antigonus now decided to use this passage from the Book of Leviticus, in the Almitian Scriptures, to justify his claims: "If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an impurity: he has uncovered his brother's nakedness, and thus, they shall be childless." To Antigonus, that seemed conclusive: his marriage with Katharina had violated the law of the Lord Almitis, and they were now being punished for it. Almitis was angry because the Emperor, in his earlier years, had been made a victim of the mistakes of his father, and of his own councilors. It was therefore his duty to set Katharina aside; she could resume her rank as Grand Princess of Shenandoah, and be acknowledged as the Dowager Grand Princess of the Empire, thereby freeing her from her sinful relationship with the Emperor. Yet the Emperor was also confronted with the fact that Katharina of Shenandoah was not Laurasian-born; she was a Spamalkan Princess, and her nephew, Char'va I, was one of the most powerful monarchs of extra-galactic civilization. Thus it was that Antigonus decided to tread carefully. He found support in his ventures from Chancellor Wolesius. Wolesius, however, sought to marry his master to a Franconian or Pruthian princess, believing that would better secure the Empire's position. Yet he also hated Empress-Consort Katharina, who had long criticized his grandiose lifestyle. Thus, the so-called Great Matter of Emperor Antigonus's marriage began.
 * March 4-Birth of Antigonus Caranius, 1st Baron Husadarania, cousin of the Empress Aurelia the Great and one of the most prominent figures of her reign. He was the second child (and first son) of Lady Anna Boleyenia's elder sister, Antonia Boleyenia, and her husband Sir Willanius Caranius.
 * April 15-Death of the Earl of Herbetia, Imperial High Chamberlain of the Laurasian Empire. Herbertia was succeeded as High Chamberlain by Sir Willanius Fitzalleria, who had become the Earl of Americana (restored) in October 1724. Americana would hold the position for the next four years.
 * July 5-On July 5, 1726, Holy Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I, who sought to secure the Spamalkan Hereditary Dominions, and who needed an heir apparent to his extensive realms in the Great Amulak Spiral, Little Amulak Cloud, and Crone Galaxy as soon as possible, married the Princess Isabella of Portugallia. He thereby spurned his long-time "engagement" with the daughter of Emperor Antigonus of Laurasia, Grand Princess Didymeia. Char'va could not wait for Didymeia to mature, and was especially concerned to strengthen his own position in the face of the relentless Franconian threat. Despite this setback, relations between the two governments, at least at this stage, generally remained correct. Emperor Antigonus vented his anger on the failure of the marriage against his wife, Empress Consort Katharina, who had taken a leading role in the negotiations for the union. That served to intensify his desire to dispose of her yet further.

1727

 * April 30-The Treaty of Chancia was signed by the Laurasian Empire and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, providing for a economic free-trade union between the two realms for a period of fifteen years; the rights of merchants from each dominion to conduct their business without molestation in the territories of the other; and a program of cultural and intelligence exchange between the two governments. Chancellor Wolesius, who had little faith in the relationship with the Spamalkan Empire, was instrumental in negotiating this treaty.
 * May 17-
 * By May 1727, the question of the Emperor Antigonus's marriage to Katharina of Shenandoah had become one of yet greater concern. In seeking to end this marriage, the Emperor had enmeshed himself in an impenetrable tangle of political, diplomatic, religious, historical, and philosophical complexities. In seeking to impose his own way in the matter, Antigonus found that he had to contend with his own subjects; with those in the Almitian Church and Imperial Government who were supportive of the Empress-Consort; and with the Holy Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I, who remained loyal to his aunt. Yet it was Antigonus's triumph which again displayed the strength and endurance of the Empire's autocratic system. For the Emperor himself, the question of his marital status was not complicated with any difficulty. He believed that the injunction in the Scriptures against marrying the widow of one's brother was divine; therefore he and Katharina were not married, and never had been. To everyone else, however, the situation was far more complicated. First and most fundamental was the question of whether or not Katharina had actually been Grand Prince Craterus's wife. There had been a wedding ceremony, but under the canon law of the Empire, that was not enough to constitute marriage. Physical consummation was required, and the question of whether Katharina and Craterus had actually done so made matters mysterious.
 * Yet Katharina, from as soon as she became a widow, and indeed, to the end of her life (a period of thirty-four years), not merely asserted but swore under oath that she and Craterus had never had sexual relations. Not even the Emperor's most ardent champions attempted to deny that Katharina at all times and under the most trying circumstances revealed herself to be a woman of great integrity. Moreover, the scriptural passage to which Antigonus alluded had its own issues. Bishop John Fisherius of Constantia pointed out that nothing in the passage pointed to a dead brother's wife. Furthermore, he pointed out that Antigonus and Katharina did indeed have a child, Grand Princess Didymeia. Antigonus, however, made the absurd claim that the scripture had been mistranslated. Furthermore, most of the commands given in Leviticus were not adhered to by the Laurasians, or by the Empire's subjects; for millennia, the Church had held the view that it should only be interpreted in regards to the circumstances of the times in which it was composed. Furthermore, the Almitian Book of Deuteronomy declared that it was not only permissible but an obligation for a man to marry the childless widow of his dead brother. Severe punishment was proscribed for those who did not.
 * And by the end of 1726, Antigonus's ideas had become known to his wife, who now blamed Wolesius for planting such thoughts in her husband's mind. The Imperial Court began to divide into two factions, one supporting the Empress Consort, and the other the Emperor. Among the most ardent supporters of the Emperor was Sir Thomasius Boleyenia, now Viscount Ralanchaford (he was elevated to that rank on June 18, 1725, a reward from the Emperor for his diplomatic services in Durthia and Franconia). In January 1727, Antigonus declared to the Privy Council that such a matter as this could not be taken lightly. It was not until April 5, 1727, however, that the Emperor, on Wolesius's advice, ordered Chief Procurator Warhamius to establish a secret commission of inquiry, comprised of members of the three Councils of State, and of the clergy of the Almitian Church, to investigate the validity of the Emperor's marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah. The Chief Procurator was commanded by the Emperor to search for any legal documents which could prove that their marriage was not a lawfully contracted union; furthermore, he was forbidden to hear the testimony of any who may be "appointed" by supporters of the Empress Consort to state that marriage was valid. The commission, which was to be composed of twelve members, did not assemble until May 28, 1727. During the next several months, Emperor Antigonus himself engaged in a campaign to secure the support of his subjects.
 * He was not willing to cause for a rebellion against his authority to erupt, and he sought to be cautious, lest he be compared to Honorius the Terrible, who had in the twelfth century become notorious for his constant marriages and divorces. Antigonus knew that he would need the cooperation of those whom his subjects trusted to prevent this from happening. Katharina was a popular Empress, much loved for her kindness and generosity and admired for the fortitude with which she had borne the disappointments of her life. Word that she was to be divorced because the Emperor wished for a new, younger wife, aroused much foreboding. Antigonus now turned towards two men to whom he had been close. Bishop John Fisherius of Constantia, confessor and chief counselor of Grand Princess Margarina Beaufatia during the latter years of her son's reign, was hailed by Antigonus himself, early in his reign, as one of the most learned clerics in extra-galactic civilization. Vice-Chancellor Sir Thomasius Morius, who was nine years younger than Fisherius (he was born in 1678), had become known as one of the Empire's best known thinkers and authors, particularly for his work Utopia (1716). In January 1723, on the initiative of Wolesius, he had become Vice-Chancellor of the Empire and Minister of the Imperial Chancellory. Asked for their views on the marriage question, Morius and Fisherius responded characteristically. Morius declined to give an opinion, asking to be excused on the grounds that he was not qualified to deal with such matters. Antigonus was displeased by this, but accepted it nevertheless. Fisherius, on the other hand, declared that Katharina was the Emperor's legitimate wife. To claim otherwise was outrageous. This was definitely not what Antigonus wished to hear, and he now became alienated from Fisherius. The proceedings of the investigative commission dragged on for the rest of the year, as Emperor Antigonus's attention was fixed upon events in the Great Amulak Spiral, and as Warhamius, along with his agents, conducted a thorough investigation of the Empress Consort's activities and finances during the course of the preceding three decades.
 * May 21-On May 21, 1727, the future Holy Spamalkan Emperor Philicus I (1756-98), the eldest child and only legitimate son of Emperor Char'va I by his wife, Princess Isabella of Portugallia, was born at the Palacio de Pimentel on Valladolid, one of the chief star systems of the Spamalkan Hereditary Dominions. Philicus was destined to become the bitter enemy of the Laurasian Empress Aurelia the Great and one of the most important figures in extra-galactic civilization during the latter half of the eighteenth century. His birth was greeted with apprehension by Franconian King Franjak I, who realized that Char'va's Empire had now been made more secure, and with irritation by Laurasian Emperor Antigonus, who was still angry that Char'va had betrayed his betrothal obligations to his daughter, Grand Princess Didymeia, the year before.
 * June 11-On June 11, 1727, King Georg I of Vendragia & Irvania and Elector of Hanover, died at Osnabruck, in the Electorate of Hanover. He was sixty-seven years old, and had ruled over the Vendragian Confederacy since 1714. King Georg, who had never become accustomed to the customs and language of his adopted realms, and who was considered a stranger by many of his subjects, had always preferred to reside, and to travel, through his hereditary realms of Hanover. He visited Hanover in 1716, 1719, 1720, 1723, and 1725. The King, nevertheless, actively involved himself in the affairs of government. In Hanover, he ruled supreme, and did not brook any challenge to his personal authority. In Vendragia, however, he had to cooperate with the Vendragian Parliament, and he had to wheel and deal his way through the mechanics of politics. Georg, nevertheless, revealed himself to be a conscientious, relatively restrained sovereign in both of his realms. He was now succeeded by his eldest son and heir apparent, who became Georg II of Vendragia & Irvania, as well as Elector of Hanover.
 * July 27-Birth of one of the most powerful and wealthiest noblewomen in the Laurasian Empire during the reign of Empress Aurelia the Great, Lady Aurelia Talbetius, Lady Cavendia, Lady St. Loe, and Countess of Aretha. Born at Hardwickan Estate on Ietas, she was the daughter of Sir Demetrius Talbetius (1692-1732) and his wife Lady Crateria Talbetius (1694-1766).

1728

 * June 23-Death from Marsian fever of Sir Willanius Caranius, the husband of Lady Antonia Boleyenia and father of the Baron Husadarania. By the orders of the Emperor Antigonus III, he was given a state funeral at the Westphalian Cathedral.
 * October 2-Sir Willanius Tyndalis's work The Obedience of Proper Almitians and the Duties of Autocrats was published; for this work, Tyndalis was praised by the Emperor in a public manifesto and awarded a imperial pension.
 * October 5-On October 5, 1728, Antiochus Foxius, Archbishop of Winchestrius and Dean of the Holy Synod, formerly Imperial Privy Seal (1687-1716) and Archbishop of Taurasia (1687-92); Vetta (1692-94); and Aquilionia (1694-1701), died at St. John's Priory in Winchestrius, Taurasia. He was eighty-one years old at the time of his death, and was one of the last remaining chief ministers of the Emperor Neuchrus the Reformer who was still in active service with the Imperial Laurasian Government. As explained earlier, Foxius's influence over the affairs of state had declined considerably following the rise of Thomasius Wolesius to the Chancellorate and Procurator-Generalship of the Empire in 1715. His own resignation of the Privy Seal, in 1716, had been indicative of his loss of influence, and his dissatisfaction with the course of affairs which the Imperial Laurasian Government was now taking. Foxius devoted the last decade of his life to his episcopal duties, which had taken a back-seat to his responsibilities as Imperial Privy Seal. He declared his anxiety for reforming the morals, finances, and administration of the Almitian Church, but was too old to accomplish much himself towards the way of remedying the clerical and monastic "depravity, license, and corruption" which he deplored. Yet Foxius proved to be a devoted Archbishop, and he built a strong relationship with his own parishioners. His sight failed, and in November 1727, Chancellor Wolesius attempted to convince Foxius to retire from the Archbishopric of Winchestrius. Foxius refused, and declared that only his own death would result in the vacation of the office. And indeed, that was what occurred. Foxius was succeeded as Archbishop of Winchestrius by that very same Chancellor, who thus further accumulated his collection of titles, bishoprics, and estates within the Empire. Foxius was interned at St. Marmarus's Priory on Mercedes, on October 14, 1728; his burial was attended by Chief Procurator Warhamius and by many of his colleagues on the Holy Synod.
 * November 5-
 * By November 1728, the matter of the Emperor's marriage with the Empress Consort Katharina had proceeded further. Chancellor Wolesius and his cronies, especially the Archbishop of Iego, the Haxonian emigree Lorenzio Campeggio, tried everything possible to change the Empress Consort's mind. Campeggio himself, who was one of the most respected members of the Holy Synod, held a series of meetings with the Empress Consort, with her supporters, and with the supporters of the Emperor. He suggested to Katharina that she should enter a convent, take religious vows, and thereby free the Emperor to marry; Katharina replied that she would do so as soon as Antigonus himself agreed to enter a monastery. This was obviously something which would never happen. He suggested to the Emperor that he merely have Katharina imprisoned, and that he take Anna as his wife in consequence; this was a suggestion of bigamy, and one which the Emperor could not agree to. At times, everything seemed to be a farce. At the same time, events were occurring within Scottria, which proved ironic, and seemed to cast a joke upon Antigonus's own ambitions. On March 3, 1728, the Emperor's sister, Dowager Queen Constantia, married Sir Henry Stewart. This followed her final divorce, in December 1727, from her estranged husband, the Earl of Angus. Antigonus, in a hypocritical and folly manner, burst into an outburst of anger at this.
 * Instead of congratulating his sister, he accused her of violating the "divine order of inseperable matrimony" and "warned" her that her marriage would do no service to herself. Constantia ignored her brother's complaints, although he did threaten to cut off her annuity as a Grand Princess of the Empire (a threat which ultimately came to nought). Her marriage came a month after her son, King Jamsius V, who was now fifteen years old, finally overthrew the influence of the Earl of Angus, and assumed the reins of government in Scottria into his own hands. Yet Constantia's marriage, an example of hypocrisy by the Emperor, quickly gave way to other events. On November 5, 1728, the Emperor, who was annoyed by public demonstrations of support for Katharina (he actually banned joy from being expressed at the Imperial Court whenever his wife was in residence at the Quencilvanian Palace), summoned a special assembly of the Councils of State and of the Empire's most prominent nobles, regional officials, diplomats, and military commanders to the Audience Chamber of the Palace.
 * To this august body, he delivered an address, much of which was devoted to praise of his wife, whom he described as a "woman of most gentleness, humility, and buxomness." He declared that if circumstances had been different, he would not separate from Katharina. Yet Antigonus then claimed that if it was determined that their marriage was unlawful, he would "in sorrow" part from her. He even shedded tears, declaring that he could not bear the thought of leaving Katharina. He told the assembled dignitaries of his willingness to accept the findings of the special commission which he had appointed more than a year earlier. Then, in December 1728, the Emperor ordered for Wolesius to circulate an anyomous petition among the Empire's nobles, with the contention that his marriage with Katharina was unlawful. When the petition came to the Emperor, it had only three signatures: those of Viscount Ralanchaford, Sir Georgius Boleyenia, and the Duke of Norfolkius. This humiliated Antigonus, and made him determined to make his subjects understand the necessity for his divorce.

1729

 * June 21-
 * By June 1729, the "Great Matter" of the Emperor Antigonus's marriage had developed yet further. On January 5, 1729, in a proclamation to his subjects, the Emperor Antigonus declared that if the Investigative Commission determined that his marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah was unlawful, then he would take swift and prompt action to "redress the wrong of the matter" and to find for himself a wife and consort who would provide the Empire "with a legitimate, healthy male heir." Both the Emperor and the Chancellor were now growing ansy, as Chief Procurator Warhamius, who had some sympathy for the Empress Consort, tried everything in his power to investigate every "avenue" of the Empress-Consort's history, and to keep the investigation prolonged for as long as possible. In February 1729, Antigonus erupted in an outburst to the Imperial Privy Council, declaring that the sooner this matter was resolved, the sooner his subjects would have relief. Yet it was not until April 7, 1729, before the Chief Procurator and the Investigative Commission finally reported their findings to the Holy Synod: they could not determine any episode, or incident, in which Katharina had been unfaithful to her husband. Furthermore, Warhamius stated in the report, there was no evidence to suggest that the Empress Consort was lying about whether or not she had sexual relations with Grand Prince Craterus. This was not what Antigonus wanted to learn, and in spite of the commission's findings, he decided to move forth with the proceedings. Katharina of Shenandoah herself, with the assistance of Bishop Fisherius of Constantia and of lawyers dispatched by Margaret of Austarlia, who still served as Regent of Durthia in the name of her nephew, Emperor Char'va, had prepared her defense. Katharina, however, had now lost any hope of obtaining an impartial hearing. From Wolesius, she could expect nothing; Campeggio, on his part, seemed to Katharina a complete stooge of her husband's, and one who could not be trusted.
 * Thus it was on April 14 that Katharina asked for the Holy Synod to issue an injunction expressing its support for the dismissal of all proceedings against her. The Synod denied this appeal, and on May 28, 1729, the Emperor Antigonus ordered for a special ecclesiastical tribunal to be convened to try the marriage. The tribunal, composed of virtually the entire Synod, and of representatives specifically chosen by the Emperor from among the nobility, officials, and prominent personages of the Empire, first convened at the Senatorial Palace on June 1. On June 18, 1729, the Empress Consort made a dramatic appearance before the Court, repeating her complaints about the unfairness of the tribunal, and declaring that she intended to offer no defense. Three days later, the Emperor ordered for his wife to appear before the tribunal, and to justify her reasons for why the marriage should not be annulled. Emperor Antigonus, from his throne, delivered an oration to the tribunal and his other assembled subjects, declaring that Katharina was a good wife, but that these proceedings were necessary, and claiming that nothing would make him happier than a finding of innocence for his wife. The Empress Consort, hearing her husband's words, now resolved to make her response to them.
 * She rose from her place, crossed the chambers to where the Emperor was enthroned, and dropped to her knees before him. She now began, in the heavy Spamalkan accent which had not left her over the preceding three decades: "Sir, I beseech you to pity me, a woman and a stranger, without an assured friend and without an indifferent counselor. I take Almitis to witness that I have always been to you a true and loyal wife, that I have made it my constant duty to seek your pleasure, that I have loved all whom you loved, whether I had reason or not, whether they were friends to me or foes. I have been your wife for many a year. I have brought you many children. Almitis knows that when I came to your bed, I was a virgin, and I put it to your own conscience to say whether it was or was not so. If there be any offense which can be alleged against me, I consent to depart with infamy. If not, then I pray you do me justice." Antigonus did not reply to his wife, and looked out with a blank stare. The Empress Consort then stood, bowed deeply in Antigonus's direction, and exited. When an attendant attempted to call her back, she paused and spoke again. "I never before disputed the will of my husband. I shall take the first opportunity to ask pardon for this disobedience."
 * With that she left, ignoring further demands for her return. The Emperor never attempted to contradict Katharina's assertion that she was a virgin on the day they were wed. Katharina herself now refused all further summonses to appear or to send representatives; she refused to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the tribunal to try their case, leaving that decision in the hands of the Lord Almitis alone. The tribunal declared her contumacious; it now proceeded that the Emperor's agents presented his case, and received no rebuttal. The case rested on three main points: that the marriage of Craterus and Katharina had been consummated (unproven); that the Holy Synod's special order dispensing a bar of marriage between them had been obtained under false pretenses; and that a document produced by Katharina to provide that her father knew her first marriage was unconsummated was a forgery (also unproven). The inquiry itself ultimately disbanded on July 4, 1729, with nothing having been accomplished. Emperor Antigonus now began to believe that Cardinal Wolesius was responsible for the delays.
 * August 5-As regards to the conflict in the Great Amulak Spiral, much had transpired, all of it to the favor of the Holy Spamalkan and Holy Austarlian Empires. In May 1727, Spamalkan and Austarlian forces had conquered Roma, thereby inflicting a major humiliation upon the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. At that same time, King Franjak dispatched forces under Odet de Foix and Pedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto, to Naparia Prime, which was besieged beginning on June 3, 1727. The siege lasted for over two months, and ultimately failed when Geonese Admiral Pedra Doria, who had previously supported the Franconians, abandoned them for Char'va. Doria then broke the blockade of Genoa by Franconian forces, and in September 1727, forced the surrender of Franconian forces at Savona. Throughout 1728, Franconian offensives into Navarre, Catalonia, and Lombardy were repelled; on June 21, 1729, the Battle of Landriano resulted in the destruction of the Franconian forces under the Comte de St. Pol, thereby ending Franjak's hopes of regaining his hold over Milania. Following this reverse, Franjak sought peace with Char'va. It was in July 1729, just as the special inquiry into the Emperor Antigonus's marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah was rapping up, that diplomatic negotiations commenced at Tournai between Franconia and Spamalka. Franjak's mother, Princess Louise of Savoy, conducted the discussions with Char'va's aunt, Regent Margaret of Austaralia. The Treaty of Cambrai (August 5, 1729), removed Franconia from the war. Franjak again surrendered all claims to Flanders, Zeeland, and Milania; agreed to the partition of Navarre with the Holy Spamalkan Empire; and was obliged to pay a ransom of one trillion ecus before his sons would be released. Burgundy, however, remained with Franconia, and the confiscation of the Duke of Bourbon's territories (his death on May 6, 1727, had thereby terminated that point of contention between the opposing realms), by Franjak was confirmed. Peace between Tuscany and Spamalka would be reached in October 1729; it was not until August 11, 1730, before Florence and Haxonia agreed to the Treaty of Apulia, thereby formally terminating the War of the League of Cognac.
 * October 17-
 * By October 1729, the position of Chancellor and Procurator-General Thomasius Wolesius, Archbishop of Winchestrius and Cardinal of the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, had deteriorated. The termination of the special tribunal concerning Antigonus's marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah, the conclusion of the Treaty of Cambrai between Spamalka and Franconia, and Wolesius's own unpopularity all played a role in this. It no longer mattered that the Empress Consort held him responsible for the Emperor's rejection of her. What did matter was that Lady Anna Boleyenia and her family had, with little reason, persuaded themselves that Wolesius was not only failing to pursue the divorce with all possible vigor, but was severely undercutting Antigonus's own efforts. The nobility had always despised and resented Wolesius for being not only a lowborn upstart, but an insufferably haughty one, while the Empire's subjects at large rankled with the taxation and judicial policies the Chancellor had favored. In 1728, Wolesius had earned the further ire of the Boleyenias by preventing the appointment of Lady Eleanora Caranius, an in-law of theirs notorious for her sexual promiscuity, to the Abbacy of Wiltonia Convent on Sauvania. By doing this, he had given the Boleyenias fresh reason to regard him as their enemy. Furthermore, Wolesius had no friends among the foreign ambassadors, or in other states; they would suffer no disadvantage if he were removed from his command of Laurasian diplomacy and foreign affairs. Wolesius had therefore become dispensable, a convenient scapegoat.
 * Yet for the Emperor, however, it was not enough merely to dismiss the man who had served him so faithfully and for the large part, so effectively during the preceding two decades. He wanted, and needed, his humiliation-his public humiliation and total ruin. Thus it was that on October 9, 1729, just as the Chancellor opened up the fall session of the Court of the Star Chamber, that he was suddenly charged with several dozen crimes. He was accused of praemunire (that is, of allowing foreign influence to dictate Laurasian policy). Furthermore, Wolesius was accused of corruption, conspiracy, and les-majestie, and of inciting "dissent" against the Emperor. Antigonus moved swiftly to punish the man. On October 17, 1729, the Emperor formally dismissed Wolesius from his positions as Cardinal of the Purse Region, Chancellor and Procurator-General of the Empire, and Abbot of the Windowia Photis Monastery. Wolesius's honors were stripped from their stall of office, and they were degraded in a formal ceremony. In a humiliating ceremony at the Post Settlement, he was formally banned from the Imperial Court; deprived of his cardinal's hat and robes; and denounced as a "betrayer" to the Emperor.
 * November 5-
 * Emperor Antigonus wasted no time in finding Wolesius's successor. On November 5, 1729, the Emperor formally elevated Sir Thomasius Morius to the Chancellorate and Procurator-Generalship of the Laurasian Empire. Morius, who was one of the most prominent intellectuals in the Empire, was considered by Antigonus to be the perfect choice. Yet as regards to his religion, he was a traditionalist. He loved and revered the Almitian Church, and the traditional order of administration and practice which had now existed for centuries. Furthermore, Morius believed that the Emperor's place as Autocrat had to be paired with his duties and obligations towards the Empire's subjects. Yet by 1729, Emperor Antigonus had arrived at the conviction that he needed to reassert his direct dominion over the affairs of the Almitian Church, and that in ruling his Empire, he required the consent of no one else except for the Lord Almitis. This had been strengthened in Tyndalis's work, The Obedience of Proper Almitians and the Duties of Autocrats, published the preceding year. Tyndalis claimed that "Almitis has made in every realm a sovereign who is the judge over all, and over him there is no judge." Furthermore, Tyndalis stated that "He who judges the Emperor judges Almitis; and he who lays hands upon the Emperor also lays hands upon Almitis; and he who resists the Emperor resists Almitis, and damns the laws of Almitis."
 * Antigonus was absolutely charmed with this, and declared that he was Almitis's unique representative in the Universe, and had to be obeyed in the same way Almitis was obeyed: absolutely, at all times, and in all things. Morius, on his part, had different views. On November 14, 1729, just nine days after being appointed Chancellor, he delivered a speech to the Governing Senate. Drawing upon the ideas he had espoused in Utopia, upon philosophical thought, and upon materials from his unfinished biography of the Emperor Antiochus the Mad, which would not be published until 1796, Morius invited his listeners to learn the answer to the question of where princes derived their power. Geniune and legitimate power, Morius said, comes from the Prince's subjects. Society functions when the sovereign acts in accordance with the populace's demands. When on the other hand the sovereign acts in contravention to the mandates of his subjects, the result is chaos and disorder. These words were not made in challenge to the Emperor; Antigonus actually watched these proceedings by Holonet. Morius praised the Emperor for his wisdom, his mercy, and for his ability to see through the schemes of ex-Cardinal Wolesius, and to cast him aside. Antigonus loved flattery and mistook it for truth; he did not even notice what Morius said about the true source of his power. This, nevertheless, was a clear signal that, even at the start of his chancellorship, Morius was too out of step with the Emperor's viewpoints to ever be as powerful or as useful as Wolesius had been. The gulf between Emperor and Chancellor was wide, and would only worsen in the next few years.
 * November 24-Birth of perhaps the greatest military commander of the eighteenth century, and one of the leading commanders of the Empress Aurelia the Great's reign, Generalissimo Alexander Surovius, Baron Suvorius of Rymnik. Suvorius was born at Novgradian Mansion in Constantinople, Laurasia Prime. He was the son of Major General and Governing Senator Sir Vessanius Surovius (1705-1775), and his wife, Lady Anna Surovius (1706-1789).

1730

 * January 30-On January 30, 1730, Anna, Duchess of Northania and Semigallia died at the age of thirty-seven. She had ruled since her elevation to the Northanian throne in 1711 following the death of her husband Frederick William Kettler. The Northanian Diet now elects the late Duke’s uncle, 74-year old Prince Ferdinand Kettler of Jelgava, as the new Duke of Northania and Semigallia. Kettler was childless, and this would become a point of contention in the looming War of the Dejanican Succession.
 * February 24-On February 24, 1730, Char'va I was finally crowned Holy Spamalkan Emperor at Bologna, in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, eleven years after acceding to the Spamalkan throne. Through this coronation, Char'va intended to display to his subjects, and to all foreign powers, his power and magnificence. The Emperor's coronation was a lavish occasion indeed, attracting diplomats, nobles, and other personages from throughout the Holy Spamalkan Empire's realms, and from foreign powers. The Laurasian Empire was the only foreign power which did not dispatch a representative to the ceremony.
 * March 7-
 * On December 12, 1729, the Emperor Antigonus announced in a manifesto to his subjects that he was authorizing a special commission, comprised of members of the Councils of State, to issue recommendations related to the administration of the Almitian Church, and on the question of how the Emperor should proceed with Katharina of Shenandoah. This was done on the advice of Chancellor Morius, who sought to strengthen the Church and to assure the Empire's subjects that all actions taken by Antigonus, as regards to his wife, would be taken with caution. The commission was formally convened at the Diplomatic Palace in Christiania on January 5, 1730, and over the course of the next ten days, was issued a series of instructions by the Emperor. Finally, on January 24, 1730, the commission recommended to the Emperor that he obtain the approval of Katharina's nephew, Emperor Char'va, for an annulment of his marriage, and it provided him a list of necessary changes to the Church structure. Antigonus wasted no time in acting upon the latter set of recommendations: on February 1, 1730, he issued a series of decrees in response to the commission's recommendations. The first placed strict limiations upon the fees which could be charged for the probation of wills, which had traditionally been the responsibility of Church courts.The second specified how much could be charged for baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The third imposed restrictions on pluralism (the practice of multiple assignments or offices by one churchman), on nonresidence (failure to be physically resident in one's diocese or at one's occupation), and on the involvement of the Almitian Church's monasteries and estates in certain merchantile activities.
 * Stern penalties were imposed for violation of these conditions: a fine of €10,000 for violation of the nonresidence terms, and of €45,000 for requests by monks, members of lower orders, deacons, and reverends to hold more positions than allowed. These measures were aimed at the correction of real abuses within the Church, but nevertheless aroused dissent from the clergy. Antigonus, by taking these measures, demonstrated that he was indeed the ultimate head of the Almitian Church. Yet his attention now turned to securing Emperor Char'va's agreement to a annulment of his marriage with the Spamalkan Emperor's aunt. On February 14, 1730, the Emperor named the newly elevated Earl of Redia (Sir Thomasius Boleyenia, raised to that rank in December 1729) and the Archbishop of Christiania as the chief plenipotentiaries of a special delegation to Char'va, who was still in Bologna. They were attended by a coterie of legal scholars and lesser clergymen. Among these men was Thomasius Cranmerius (1689-1756), who was to emerge as one of the most important figures of the eighteenth century. Born on July 2, 1689, in Askrania City, Charasia, Cranmerius was the namesake son of Thomasius Cranmerius (1658-1701) and his wife Agnatia (1660-1722). His elder brother Demetrius inherited the family estates, and thus, both Thomasius and his youngest brother, Edmundis, were placed on the path to a clerical career. He graduated from the University of Charasia in 1707 at the age of eighteen, receiving his BA in Literature and Classical Sciences.
 * Cranmerius then obtained his MA in Theological and Spiritual Studies from the Ecclesiastical Academy of St. Peter and Paul (1715), and was shortly afterwards made a Fellow of the University of Americana. In 1716, however, he married Diantha Wresios (1692-1718), and as a result, was deprived of his Fellowship. On June 7, 1718, however, Diantha died after giving birth to a stillborn daughter; Cranmerius, who had become a reader at Magadelene Hall, found himself reinstated in his Fellowship. He now studied forensics, theology, philosophy, and the natural sciences; he was ordained in 1720, made one of the preachers of the College of Theology of the University of the Empire; and in 1726, received his PhD.d in Divinity and Comparative Theology. That same year, Chancellor Wolesius selected Cranmerius, his personal secretary Stephanius Gardinerius (who thus enters our history for the first time), and Aegius Leius to be dispatched on diplomatic missions to the Amulak Spiral. It was in November 1729 that he first came to the attention of Emperor Antigonus. Gardinerius (who was now a personal secretary of the Emperor's) and his almoner, Edwardis Foxius, were lodged at Walterian House, where Cranmerius happened to be in residence. They fell into conversation with him, and he made clear his support of the Emperor's position.
 * Furthermore, Cranmerius suggested that the Emperor obtain statements of support from the universities and chief theological sects throughout his Empire. When Gardinerius and Foxius mentioned this to the Emperor, he ordered for Cranmerius to be brought to him at Gilbertine Palace on Tudoria (where the Court was lodged at the beginning of 1730). When Antigonus heard Cranmerius, he developed an immediate respect for the man's abilities. Cranmerius, then forty years old, suddenly found himself vaulted from obscurity into the imperial service, and was thus one of those assigned as part of the Earl of Redia's special delegation. Thus was launched a career which would catapult Cranmerius to the top of the hierarchy, change the character of the Almitian Church, and take many turns before coming to a crashing halt. As for Boleyenia and his delegation, things went wrong from the start. The Earl's suitability for the mission had been questioned (due to the fact that he was Anna's father), but Antigonus had insisted that no other man could help him achieve his goals. The special delegation departed from Belkadan on March 7, 1730, and proceeded to the Barbarossa Wormhole; from thence, they reached Bologna on March 14. Upon arrival, the delegation found Char'va assume the mask of a cold and arrogant Emperor. Char'va, who did not know his aunt well, nevertheless had taken it upon himself to defend her. The Holy Spamalkan Emperor declared himself offended by the presence of the delegation's leader, the father of the woman who was causing all the trouble. When Redia tried to speak, the Emperor cut him off, telling him in Franconian that his "colleagues only" should speak. Redia responded in the same language, declaring that he had come not as a father seeking favor for his daughter, but as representative of the Emperor of Laurasia, who hoped for his Spamalkan contemporary's support but would proceed whether he had it or not. In return for his friendship, he told Char'va, Antigonus promised to respect all Spamalkan territorial gains from Franconia, and to provide for Katharina's expenses, as a Dowager Grand Princess of the Empire, until her death. This proposal gave Char'va a new excuse to take offense. He proclaimed that he was not a tradesman and that his aunt's honor was not for sale. The discussions continued in vain for more than month. Finally, on April 18, 1730, Redia and his fellow delegates were recalled back to the Caladarian Galaxy by Emperor Antigonus; they arrived on Laurasia Prime on April 25, having achieved nothing.
 * March 22-The Haynsian Despot Shannai II Karany, who had disappointed the Marasharite Emperor Ahmad and the Great Council, was, on the advice of the Marasharite Grand Vizier Neversherli Davat, forced to abdicate his throne. Emperor Ahmad now restored the former Haynsian Despot, Qaplan-Empi I Karany, to the Haynsian throne. He had been in exile at Rhodes since his second deposition from the Haynsian throne in 1715.
 * May 14-While the Earl of Redia attempted in vain to change the mind of the Holy Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I over his aunt's marriage to Emperor Antigonus, the Emperor of Laurasia himself pursued Cranmerius's idea of obtaining the support of learned opinion, both in his Empire and without. His agents, supplied with their master's theological arguments and funds, were dispatched to the universities of Italiania, the Germanian Principalities, and Franconia. What ensued reflected badly upon the Emperor of Laurasia. Laurasia proved to be easy, and all of the Empire's universities and institutes dutifully proclaimed their support for Antigonus. Yet overseas, matters were far more difficult. By May 1730, Antigonus claimed to have the support of the Universities of Bologna, Ferrara, and Padua, but the process had been so stained with bribery, and the reality of the support so dubious, that no one could take it seriously. The Universities of Angers, Toulouse, and Orleans gave a favorable opinion to the Emperor's claims, and he was supported in his efforts by Franconian King Franjak (on May 14, 1730, Antigonus thanked Franjak for his support). The Emperor was frustrated nevertheless, and in June 1730, declared that he would not utilize the academic judgments rendered as justification for annulling his marriage. Nevertheless, on July 8, 1730, the Emperor issued a proclamation providing for harsh penalties for the publication, distribution, or promotion of any work which defended his marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah, or condemned his wish to obtain a "proper union" to find a legitimate male heir. Chancellor Morius, who was now beginning to grow more and more opposed to the Emperor's measures, found that he could nevertheless do nothing about them.
 * July 9-Sir Willanius Sandys, Lord Sandys of the Cron Drift, became Imperial High Chamberlain of the Laurasian Empire, succeeding the Earl of Americana, who resigned from the position due to personal concerns.
 * September 21-In September 1730, Emperor Antigonus took a shocking step, which startled many of his subjects. He ordered Morius, in his capacity as Procurator-General, to charge fifteen of the prominent clerics of the Empire with having violated the praemunire statutes by conspiring with former Chancellor Wolesius. The concept of praemunire remained vague to many, and in the century since the first such statute had been passed (during the reign of Emperor Caracalla), they had almost never been employed. Yet Antigonus now implied that those who opposed him were in league with his enemies, and that they needed to be dealt with in such a matter. By extension, therefore, anyone involved in the administration of the Church's courts and bureaus was liable to punishment. Almost all of those accused (which included seven archbishops, one bishop, and three abbots from the Laurasia Prime Purse Region), were opposed to the Emperor's Great Matter. Fisherius of Constantia was one of them. Praemunire was indeed a serious offense, for which one could be imprisoned and lose all of their possessions. Furthermore, matters were complicated by Wolesius's abject submission to Emperor Antigonus. In January 1730, he had begged for mercy from the Emperor, and was allowed to resume his duties as Archbishop of Winchestrius. Wolesius now traveled there for the first time since becoming Archbishop, and had made plans for a grandiose consecration ceremony. Yet his acceptance of guilt created a presumption that the others were equally guilty. Yet in October 1730, the Emperor decided not to proceed with trial proceedings, and allowed for Fisherius and the other defendants to pay a series of fines in return for the dismissal of the charges.
 * October 2-Marasharite Emperor Ahmed III, who had grown increasingly unpopular with his subjects due to the excessive pomp and luxury in which he and his chief officers of state lived, was deposed in a coup'd'etat by the Elite Guards led by Patrona Halil, who had been instrumental in Ahmed's own seizure of the throne 27 years earlier. Ahmed was forced to abdicate his throne in favor of his nephew Sassas III. Sassas permitted Ahmed to retire to the Topacian Palace on Marsrr. Ahmed's deposition therefore left Grand Duke Vasily II of Masacavania as senior monarch.
 * November 29-
 * As mentioned above, Thomasius Wolesius had, in January 1730, been allowed to resume his duties as Archbishop of Winchestrius. Emperor Antigonus, who still felt some affection for his former Chancellor, occasionally sent him gifts and encouraging little messages. Wolesius entertained hope that the Emperor would bring him out of the depths of humiliation and restore him to his former position of prominence and prestige. Yet the former Chancellor's hopes for rehabilitation were reduced by the number and influence of his enemies at the Imperial Court. Almost everyone with access to the Emperor's ear-Lady Anna Boleyenia, along with her father and brother; Anna's uncle the Duke of Norfolkius; and the Emperor's old friend and brother-in-law, the Duke of Sufforia, detested Wolesius and understood that they would lose out if he returned to power. Furthermore, Antigonus himself, in March 1730, ordered for Wolesius's correspondence and personal records to be examined and vetted by his agents, therefore indicating the Emperor's distrust of the man. Wolesius, when he arrived in Winchestrius in April 1730, proved to be a diligent Archbishop. He visited his churches routinely, dispensed alms to those in need, looked after his dioceses's finances and daily operations, and counseled those who needed aid. Yet he described himself as profoundly miserable. In June 1730, nevertheless, Wolesius was ordered to affix his signature to a manifesto of support for the Emperor by the Privy Council; Chancellor Morius and Bishop Fisherius of Constantia were both conspicuous in that they did not sign the document. Wolesius, for his part, made the plans for his consecration ceremony, which was to be held on November 7.
 * Furthermore, the Archbishop ordered that his Convocation was to convene on that day. But on November 1, 1730, on the Emperor Antigonus's orders, Wolesius was formally arrested at Chilisia. He was charged with high treason, and accused of engaging in "presumptuous practices." Upon his arrest, Wolesius realized that the end had been reached. He stopped eating for a time, declaring his willingness to have a natural death than to be executed. His health worsened, and on November 14, as he was being escorted back to Laurasia Prime, the Archbishop suffered a fainting fit. He was now taken to the Palace of the Greats on Americana. There, Wolesius was seen by Sir Antoninus Kingstia, one of the lieutenants of the Fortress of Baureux, which he himself had appointed. Wolesius now told him: "Master Kingstia, I pray that you have commended me to His Majesty, and beseech him on my behalf to call to mind all things that have passed between us, especially respecting good Empress Katharina and himself, and then shall his grace's conscience know whether I have offended him or not. He is a prince of most royal courage. Rather than miss any part of his will, he will enlarge one part of this Empire..If I had served Almitis as diligently as I have served the Emperor, he would not have given me over in my gray heirs. But this is my just reward for my pains and study, not regarding my service to Almitis but only my duty to my Emperor." On November 29, 1730, Thomasius Wolesius, formerly Chancellor and Procurator-General of the Empire, Cardinal of the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, and Archbishop of Winchestrius, died, aged 57. His death was received by Emperor Antigonus with some regrets; on the Emperor's orders, he would be buried at Leicesterius Abbey on Jean (December 14, 1730).

1731

 * January 5-On January 5, 1731, Lady Katharina Howardis's mother, Lady Livillia Plausia, died at Oxon Heatheria, one of the Howardis family's estates, on Tyleria Perea. She was fifty-one years old at the time of her death. Katharina's father, Lord Edmundis Howardis, younger brother of the Duke of Norfolkius, nevertheless did not have the financial resources, or the time, in order to support all of his children. Consequently, he decided to send Katharina and her other younger siblings off to wealthier relatives. In February 1731, Lady Katharina came to live with her step-grandmother Agrippina Tildania (1677-1745), Dowager Duchess of Norfolkius, and widow of the 2nd Duke. The Dowager Duchess's central residences were Chesworthian House on Fitzsimmons and Norfolkius House, in Lambarthia, Soria. These households comprised her own personal servants, attendants, and guards, and her numerous wards, primarily the younger children of minor nobles from throughout the Empire. The Dowager Duchess, however, was much involved in the affairs of the Imperial Court, and consequently did not pay much attention to the care and upbringing of her step-grandaughter, or of her other young female charges. Consequently, Katharina was left in a lax, unsupervised household. Her education was neglected, and she became associated with the irresponsible, giddy, and vivacious girls who flocked at her step grandmother's household. Over time, she developed into a flirtatious, self-confident, snobbish woman with a great fondness for beautiful clothes and for exotic food, jewellery, and goods.
 * January 22-
 * As 1731 began, Emperor Antigonus proceeded with his plans to prosecute the entire clergy of the Imperial Almitian Church, with violation of the praemunire statutes. On January 19, 1731, the Conference of Almitian Prelates, an annual assembly of all the major officials and clergymen of the Church, assembled at the Westphalian Cathedral in Christiania. Word soon arrived of the Emperor's threat to lay them under legal charges. They were thrown first into confusion, and then into a frightened and angry debate. They had before them the uninspiring example of the late Chancellor Wolesius, who had been so destroyed by the Emperor. And their own primate, Chief Procurator Willanius Warhamius of the Holy Synod, was urging them to submit. Warhamius was a respected and wizened figure; he had now served as Chief Procurator for twenty-seven years. But he was seventy-three years old, weary, and himself unwilling to directly oppose the Emperor's efforts. Eventually, on February 3, 1731, the Conference of Prelates sent a petition to the Emperor. They offered to provide for all of the expenses of the divorce proceedings this incurred, and to support Antigonus's resumption of the title of Pontifex Maximus (Highest Priest) of the Almitian Church, left in abeyance by his father Neuchrus I in 1686. They asked His Majesty to issue a general pardon to them, and begged him to explain what praemunire was, so that they could avoid provoking him in the future.
 * On February 9, the Emperor responded to the petition, which had been phrased so as to confer obedience to his wishes "as allowed by the law of Almitis." Antigonus granted the requested pardon, and he had Chancellor Morius issue an explanation of praemunire to the Governing Senate (February 18, 1731). On March 4, 1731, however, the Archbishop of Almastead, Caelius Tunstallia (1674-1759), submitted a letter to the Emperor, recognizing his authority as Autocrat but nevertheless attempting to assert that the Lord Almitis held ultimate authority over the Almitian Church. Emperor Antigonus responded rapidly, declaring that as Autocrat, he was Almitis's representative; consequently, all of his acts, and all of his decrees, were issued in accordance with Almitis's will. Antigonus demonstrated this by rigorously enforcing conformity with the Church's customs, confirming the privileges of the ecclesiastical court system, and in May 1731, ordering for the heresy of the Rigerians in the Morganian Provinces to be denounced and suppressed by the Holy Synod.
 * February 16-On February 16, 1731, the Emperor Antigonus formally established the Imperial Cadet Corps, to be headquartered at the Quencilvanian Palace. The Cadet Corps was intended as a military academy for young men of the nobility, gentry, merchantile circles, and upper middle classes within the Empire, from the ages of 17-25, in attendance at the Imperial Court. The academy's curriculum was to include tactics, military discipline and etiquette, simulations, military and political history, rhethoric, operational sciences, weapons practice, physical exercises, and other fields considered necessary for a career as an officer of the Imperial Laurasian Military. The establishment of the Corps followed that of the Gentleman Pensioners (1726), organized by the Emperor as his vehicle and elevated guards regiments, to complement the foot units of the Yeoman Guards. This second innovation was due to the Archleutan Lieutenant-General Burkhard Christoph von Munnich. Born on May 9, 1683, at the Archleutan colony of Neuenhuntforf to the Archleutan Count Anton Gunther Munnich (1645-1721) and his wife Alebertha of Archleuta Minor (1649-1729), Munnich had enlisted in the ranks of the Imperial Laurasian Army in 1702, on the insistence of his father, who sought for his son to gain experience at military arms. During the course of the next three decades, Munnich had risen progressively through the Army's ranks, becoming especially known for his exploits during the Dejanican War of the Expedition and the War of the Conquest of Vectoria. He also served during Emperor Antigonus's campaigns of the Second Franconian War, participating in the siege of Theouranne. Munnich reached the rank of Colonel by 1716; Brigadier-General in 1720; Major-General in 1725 (a reward for his service under the Duke of Norfolkius during the Second Laurasian-Marasharite War); and Lieutenant-General in 1730. From 1721, he commanded the fortification of Kronstadt (which became a major Laurasian shipyard and colony by the end of the eighteenth century) and in 1727-1729, he took charge of the Annekrone Fortifications on Castellum Dimiddi, in the Garaman Provinces. In 1728, Munnich became Governor of Archleuta, and would serve in that position until 1734; in November 1729, he became Count Munnich of Neuhenhuntforf, in the nobility of the Laurasian Empire. Munnich became a consultant for the Imperial General Headquarters in October 1730, and came to the Emperor Antigonus's attention from then. From that point on, Munnich gained increased favor with His Majesty.
 * July 14-
 * As mentioned above, the Emperor Antigonus continued to assert himself over the Imperial Almitian Church, and to demonstrate that he would brook no opposition to his policies. Yet the Emperor at the same time sought to assure his subjects of his intentions, so that they would not be totally alarmed at the innovations which he was introducing. In a speech to the Councils of State on May 14, 1731, Chancellor Morius declared that the Emperor’s actions, and his determination to find the truth about his marriage to Empress-Consort Katharina, was due to his desire for self-preservation, and not to any selfishness or willfulness on his part. Antigonus also was engaged in the task of filling numerous vacancies within the hierarchy of the Imperial Almitian Church; more than three-fifths of all Almitian dioceses fell vacant in the period from 1729 to 1736, due to death, resignation, or removal from office. Among the Emperor’s most prominent appointments were those of the Secretary of the Privy Council, Stephanius Gardinerius (now forty-seven years old) to the Archbishopric of Winchestrius (November 7, 1731) and of Edwardis Leesius to the Archbishopric of Christiania (December 7, 1731).
 * Furthermore, his fascination with the Lady Anna Boleyenia continued. On June 28, 1731, the Emperor celebrated his fortieth birthday. He was at this point strong and boastful, but was already beginning to tend to the fat which would become notorious in his later years. The Emperor suffered from routine headaches and ulcers, yet still fancied himself as the most elevated man in the Empire. Yet he continued to keep his eyes upon Lady Boleyenia. Her temperamental behavior and high-spirited demeanor were becoming more and more prominent; already Antigonus complained that Katharina had never spoken to him as brazenly as Anna did. And indeed, throughout the first half of 1731, all three of them continued to reside in the same Imperial Court, with the Empress Consort attempting to keep to her official duties and to remain with her husband. Anna found this intolerable, treating Katharina and her servants with contempt and utter disrespect which many found to be inappropriate towards an Emperor’s wife.
 * Yet from December 1730, Anna had possessed her own personal bedchambers in the Quencilvanian Palace, adjacent to those of the Emperor’s, and she, to the anger of all, now had a larger allowance and household than the Empress Consort herself. And she insisted to Antigonus that he sever his public ties with Katharina. Finally, on July 14, 1731, the Emperor relented. On that day, the Emperor retired with his court to the Gilbertine Palace on Tudoria, commanding Katharina to remain away from him, and refusing to have any direct contact with her in the future. They were never to see each other again. On July 17, the Emperor formally commanded Katharina to retire to her estates on Shenandoah, and he now awarded her position at the Imperial Court to Lady Anna. Yet Antigonus still did not take action to annul the marriage, for he was still weary of the possible reaction of Spamalkan Emperor Char’va I, and of his own subjects.
 * November 19-By November 1731, the position of Chancellor Sir Thomasius Morius had become more vulnerable than ever. The Emperor Antigonus’s demand that his subjects all be in accord with what he believed, and his rejection of all those dictates and directives which were in contravention to what, he believed, was the “law of Almitis”, unsettled many of the sects, both Almitian and non-Almitian, throughout the Empire. Chancellor Morius was one of those who was unsettled. He had never wished to become Chancellor, understanding that his own thoughts on Almitian theology, and on the Emperor’s marriage, diverged from those of Antigonus. Morius was convinced that the Church should not be changed except for “significant circumstances”, and that what was being argued now was “light” and “transient”. As a consequence of this, and of his own lacking for Wolesius’s craving for power, Morius found himself out of the Emperor’s inner circle. Indeed, on November 19, Morius found that he was denied access to the Emperor’s correspondence with foreign ambassadors, on the grounds that such matters were “too sensitive for his knowledge”. Thus, as the year of 1731 drew to a close, another crisis was building.

1732

 * January 9-On January 9, 1732, the Archleutan Lieutenant-General Burkhard Christoph von Munnich, who had been instrumental in the foundation of the Cadet Corps the previous year, and who as previously mentioned had arisen to fame due to his service in the Laurasian Empire’s various military conflicts during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, was promoted to the rank of Field-Marshal and appointed Minister of Defense and Imperial Works and Holdings by the Emperor Antigonus. Furthermore, Munnich became the Chief of Staff of the Imperial General Headquarters, being given precedence over all other military officers. This made him the highest-ranking military commander in the Empire, below only the Emperor. Munnich immediately devoted his efforts to improving Laurasian military flexibility and efficiency, and to draw upon lessons learned in the Franconian and Marasharite conflicts of the 1720s to vastly expand the Empire’s military forces and to make them more disciplined in battle. And indeed, a flurry of innovations followed Munnich’s appointment. The first was the manifesto of February 2, 1732, by which the salaries of all officers and military personnel in the Imperial Laurasian Army would be increased by 30%. Furthermore, the Imperial Army Munitions Office underwent a substantial reorganization, intended to more effectively distribute supplies and necessary pensions to the personnel of the Laurasian military forces. This measure would serve to improve the professionalism of the Empire’s units. In March 1732, Munnich implemented a reform of the procurement and military supply system for the Imperial Laurasian Army, requiring for contractors and for imperial arms factories to provide their goods to garrisons, military fortifications, and outposts at equitable rates. He also introduced a uniform budget for the General Headquarters and sponsored the establishment, in July 1732, of the Commission on Economics of Military Sentient and Health Services.
 * January 17-Birth of the last King and Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Stanis Vorrust I (born as Stanis Poniatowskia), at the Grezina House on Wolcyzn, in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was the fifth son of the Dejanican Prince Stanis Poniatowskia (1676-1762, after whom he was named), and his wife, Konstantia Poniatowskia (1700-1759, formerly Czartoyskia). The Poniatowskia family was one of the most respected and wealthy noble families in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and had great prestige among the Dejanican Diet. During the first few years of his life, young Stanis would live at Danzig and then Dejanica Major.
 * February 16-Birth of Sir Caligula Walsingis, Chancellor and Director of the Imperial Intelligence Agency of the Laurasian Empire, and one of the leading ministers of the Empress Aurelia the Great. He was born at Christulerian Colony, Lusculum, the son of Sir Willanius Walsingis (died 1734), a barrister, and his wife Januaria (died 1763), the daughter of Sir Leonidas Dennius and the sister of Sir Antoninus Dennius, who was the principal gentleman in the privy chamber of the Emperor Antigonus III.
 * March 9-
 * By March 1732, the Emperor Antigonus’s cultural innovations and reforms had progressed further. Indeed, as the year 1732 had begun, all at the Imperial Court, and many throughout the Empire, looked anxiously towards the Emperor and what more he was going to do. And on January 3, 1732, the Emperor dispatched a delegation of Governing Senators, nobles, and Privy Councilors to Transmarta Estate on Shenandoah. They were instructed to inform Katharina that a panel of eight distinguished men, four lay lords and four clergymen, was to be established in order to complete the investigation on their marriage. They told Katharina that the Emperor’s command would serve to alleviate his own conscience. Katharina, however, replied: “I am his wife, lawfully married to him by treaty and by the laws of this Empire, and so I will abide until it has been agreed by the Lord Almitis himself, and the agents of my ancestors, that this marriage was not lawful.” Enraged at this, Antigonus commanded that Katharina be forbidden to move from Shenandoah without his permission; in spite of this, she declared that she was still his lawful wife. Therefore, the Emperor’s “great matter” continued to hang in the balance.
 * And so it was on January 17, 1732, that the Emperor ordered for the Almitian Conference of Prelates to meet for a special session at the Westphalian Cathedral. In a speech delivered to the Conference by the rising Privy Councilor and Minister of Regional and Provincial Administration, Sir Thomasius Crownapoulos (1685-1740), who had been appointed to the Privy Council in September 1731, it was declared that the purpose of their meeting was to “consider the will of the Lord Almitis in regards to His Majesty’s happiness, and to the happiness of this realm’s inhabitants.” Then on February 8, the Emperor had twenty-three officials of the Imperial Almitian Church, including virtually all members of the Holy Synod, indicted on charges requiring them to explain to the Conference and the Privy Council the basis for their authority. The Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, Willanius Warhamius, was among those indicted; this was stunning to all, for this man possessed an unimpeachable reputation and unquestionable loyalty to the Imperial Crown, and yet he too was at stake.
 * Another shock was delivered by the decree of March 7, 1732, by which the Emperor banned the practice of annates (that is, clergymen paying dues to the Holy Synod). The same decree required all prelates of the Church to report their financial affairs not only to the Synod and Senate, as had been typical, but also directly to the Imperial Chancellory. Then on March 19, the Privy Council introduced to the Emperor the Supplication against the Ordinaries, which condemned abuses and corruption among the Church administration; it was Crownapoulos who took the initiative in drafting this manifesto. Antigonus soon ordered the Conference to receive a copy of the Supplication, and on March 25, they were compelled to issue a declaration affirming their support for the Supplication’s statements. And then, on April 12, 1732, Emperor Antigonus ordered Crownapoulos and the Privy Council to issue three conditions to the Conference: one, that all future ecclesiastical regulations passed by the Synod remain without effect unless the other two Councils of State had agreed to them; second, that the Conference submit all then-existing regulations to review by a commission of officials appointed by the Emperor; and third, that the Conference’s statements were not to be taken as valid unless Antigonus gave them his personal sanction.
 * May 6-
 * During April and May 1732, the situation with the Holy Synod and the Imperial Almitian Church worsened. The Emperor’s own personal relationships had frayed. His younger sister, Grand Princess Octavia, Duchess of Sufforia, who had always supported Empress-Consort Katharina, was ardently opposed to any notion of divorce, and angered by her brother’s “charade”. Her husband, the Duke of Sufforia, who privately supported the Emperor’s claims, nevertheless found that his wife’s outspoken opposition compromised his own public position; in May 1732, Antigonus even ordered Sufforia to withdraw from the Imperial Court to Fulcania, for a time. The Duke of Norfolkius, whose wife was also opposed to the Emperor’s policies, found himself strung. Gardinerius, Archbishop of Winchestrius, was damaged by his unwillingness to aggressively support the Emperor’s policies in the Conference. Yet other things were happening. On April 24, 1732, Bishop Fisherius of Constantia narrowly evaded being poisoned; most of his household attendants fell ill, and thirty of them died. The Emperor’s response was unusual. He immediately rushed out a proclamation condemning the attempt, and on April 30, had Fisherius’s cook, Richardius Roosius, who was accused of being complicit in attempted murder, attainted and executed by incineration at the Fortress of Baureux. Then, on May 1, 1732, the Emperor attended Easter mass at the Old Royal Palace. Willanius Petous (born in 1672), a former warden of the Gilbertine House of Richmond on Tudoria, was the preacher for the occasion. Petous had once served as confessor to the Grand Princess Didymeia. Emperor Antigonus assumed that the man would deliver an oration on the good merits of the season, and would refrain from partisan statements.
 * Instead, the Friar stated in the sermon that the Emperor should not end his marriage, and that there was no way to do so except by proving that his wife had consummated her marriage with Grand Prince Craterus. He begged the Emperor not to follow the example of the Jatherian King Ahasherus, who had brought down ruin by his dominions through his own “unlawful” marital pursuits. The Emperor, who could have commanded Petous to cease his sermon, instead sat through it, even talking to the Friar afterwards. On May 4, 1732, however, in an act of petty vengeance, the Emperor had Dr. Antiochus Curwenia, one of the chaplains of the Imperial Household, deliver a sermon in order to rebut Petous’s statements. Curwenia, to the shock of many and the delight of the Emperor, harshly condemned Petous, denouncing him as a “dog, slanderer, base, beggarly friar, rebel, and traitor.” Yet when Curwenia accused Petous of acting out of cowardice, Sir Craterus Elestonia spoke up and defended the Friar. Antigonus was angered by this, and he had both Elstonia and Petous called to appear before the Privy Council, in order to answer for their actions. The Earl of Estatius was among those who condemned the men, exclaiming that they should both be executed.
 * All of this served to intensify tensions; then on May 6, 1732, the Emperor subjected the Holy Synod’s authority to arrest and prosecute heretics to the approval and ratification of the Privy Council, an action which was not supported by Chancellor Morius. The Conference of Almitian Prelates, in the meantime, continued to remain in limbo. Chief Procurator Warhamius, who himself opposed the Emperor’s policies, and was becoming more disenchanted with his sovereign, nevertheless kept his silence.
 * May 15-It was on May 15, 1732, that the ultimate climax came. Emperor Antigonus was determined to compel the Conference of Almitian Prelates, and the Holy Synod, to confirm his renewed title of Pontifex Maximus, and to formally denounce all opposition to his religious policies. Therefore, the Emperor sent the Dukes of Norfolkius and Sufforia to the Conference, ordering for the prelates to deliver him a response to the earlier conditions laid before them. Chief Procurator Warhamius, understanding that resistance was futile, decided to capitulate. On this day, therefore, the Chief Procurator became the first to sign the so-called Submission of the Almitian Church; ultimately, more than 150,000 of the highest-ranking Cardinals, Metropolitans, Archbishops, Bishops, and Deacons of the Empire affixed their signatures to this document. The document declared that the Emperor’s title of Pontifex Maximus was valid; that no one should challenge it thenceforth; and that anyone who dared to lay challenge was to be excommunicated. The document, furthermore, subordinated the Holy Synod to the Governing Senate and Imperial Privy Council; for the first time in four hundred years, the Synod and Senate did not enjoy equality in precedence, rank, and influence within the Empire. To the Emperor, this was a victory, reversing the corruption and the excesses of the Church which had ensued during the seventeenth century. The following day, May 16, 1732, Sir Thomasius Morius, who could no longer tolerate the Emperor’s religious measures, and who had developed a great sympathy for Empress Consort Katharina, formally resigned from his positions as Chancellor and Procurator-General. Emperor Antigonus accepted his resignation at the Hampsonian Palace on Jared, and expressed his dismay that Morius had decided to depart from his service. Nevertheless, Morius was allowed to retire to his home, Chelsea Manor, on Atticus.
 * June 5-Hansius Holbienus entered the service of the Imperial Court as a painter in the Imperial Household, with the patronage of Lady Anna Boleyenia and Sir Thomasius Crownapolulos.
 * July 17-Death of the former Haynsian Despot Bryan IV Karany at Navarino in the Great Tesmanian Cloud.
 * August 22-
 * On August 22, 1732, the Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, Willanius Warhamius, died in the Laurasian City of Hackingrae on Selena. He was seventy-five years old at the time of his death, and was the last remaining of the Emperor Neuchrus the Reformer’s leading ministers and advisers. Though as primate of the Church, Warhamius had long been friendly towards the Crown, his great age had reduced his ability to be useful, his swings of opinion since the Emperor Antigonus first questioned his marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah had made him less dependable, and his unhappiness with the direction of the imperial policy was becoming worrisome. Warhamius’s death was a great stroke of luck for the Emperor, both because it freed him to appoint someone who would support his policies without obstruction, and because of the danger terminated. Warhamius had been a man of exceptional abilities and much education, holding a Ph.D. in Theological Sciences and Legal Studies, a J.D. in Legal and Administrative Studies, and a Master of Arts in Sociology and Political Science. It was his early performance in the imperial service, particularly his role in negotiating the Treaties of Ayton and Almastead that had brought him to the attention of Emperor Neuchrus. Unlike Wolesius, however, Warhamius had always maintained the highest standards in both his professional and political life.
 * It was discovered by the Emperor’s agents, shortly after Warhamius’s death, that the Chief Procurator had been intending a bold, and outspoken, criticism of the policies being pursued. Warhamius would have called upon the example of Thomasius Becketius, that Chief Procurator of the fourteenth century who had come into conflict with the Emperor Antiochus the Great in the 1360s. He had been assassinated in December 1370 by Praetorian Guards angered by Becketius’s actions. In his prepared oration, the Chief Procurator had pointed back to the reign of Honorius the Terrible, warning that the treatment of Pope Philip during the 1160s would, if repeated again, bring “great ruin upon the Empire”; he also drew upon Pope Nikon, who had openly defied King Artabnus the Gentle in the 1250s, and recycled Nikon’s statement that “It is not within the place of the sovereign, or of any earthly authority, to take that which belongs to the celestial power.” Warhamius, furthermore, declared that Emperor Antigonus would be following the example of the despicable Judas, who had betrayed Paul the Prophet; or the example of the Brethalian King Ptolemy X, who had been responsible for persecuting and oppressing Almitians. Thus, it was a boon to Antigonus that Warhamius died when he did.
 * Emperor Antigonus now strained himself to appoint a successor. Gardinerius, Leesius, and Tunstallia were all disqualified, because the first two had failed to vigorously defend the Emperor’s policies, while the last had openly condemned them. Therefore, the Emperor Antigonus’s attention turned to one man who was not an archbishop or bishop, had never before been considered for any such position, and was unknown even by reputation to most of the clergy in the Empire. It was thus, on August 31, 1732, the day after Warhamius’s burial at St. Jerome’s Crypt in Hackingrae, that the Emperor recalled Thomasius Cranmerius, assigned as a consul at the court of Spamalkan Emperor Char’va I, back to the Empire. Cranmerius was supported by the Boleyenias; the Emperor himself found Cranmerius to be intelligent, learned, industrious, and conscientious. He gave no evidence of seeking to enrich himself or to push any personal religious agenda. He seemed happy to embrace the Emperor’s objectives, and to acknowledge that his only role was to enforce them. Yet Cranmerius had married again. In June 1732, he had secretly married the Germanian niece of Andreas Osiander (1698-1752), who was one of the most respected theologians and scholars in the Autocratic Pruthian Empire. Cranmerius kept this marriage secret, which was in violation of his solemn vow of celibacy. It was not until 1743, in fact, before Cranmerius confessed his marriage to the Emperor. Antigonus, who was always insistent on the celibacy of his clergy, nevertheless decided to allow for Cranmerius to retain his marriage, as long as he kept this secret. Cranmerius received his formal letter of summons on October 1, 1732, but it was not until November 19, 1732, before he departed from Mantua. Delays in his journey would keep him from arriving until the New Year.
 * September 1-Emperor Antigonus, who now felt confident that he would finally push forward with the business of divorce, and terminate the proceedings which had dragged on for more than five years, decided to raise his mistress to the nobility of the Empire. On September 1, 1732, barely a week after Warhamius’s death, the Emperor raised her to the rank of Marchioness of Pembrokia. She was granted estates on Fulcania, Tarravania, Little Mexicana, Darsis, Americana, Chilsia, Wallachia, Charasia, Clackimaris, Apathama Vixius, Oxia Vixius, Volta, and Taurasia, among other strongholds in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region; furthermore, she received the rights to one-third of the tithes and offerings in the Diocese of Winchestrius. Her title was also made hereditary, to pass to all her male heirs. Anna’s title now made her a more suitable companion for the Emperor; on October 14, 1732, she was formally presented to the Imperial Court alongside the Emperor, and in the place of the absent Empress Consort, greeted the Franconian Ambassador to the Court of Christiania, the Monsieur de Lasgeys.
 * September 13-
 * By September 1732, the situation in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth had further attracted the attention of the Laurasian Empire, and of the Commonwealth’s other neighbors. Ever since the Silent Diet of 1717, King Vorrus I had been engaged in vain efforts to strengthen the Commonwealth, and to ensure his son’s succession to the Dejanican throne. In 1722, his attempt to reform requisitions and taxation on royal estates, corporations, and guilds had been defeated through Laurasian and Austarlian bribes to the Diet; in 1726, the King’s effort to revise the procurement procedures for his retainers, to encourage renewed colonization efforts in Lesser Dejanica, and to improve the state budget, were also rejected by the Diet. Vorrus’s health began to decline during the late 1720s; four times in 1730 and 1731, the King experienced a minor stroke, and for a time, was obliged to retreat from public appearances. By March 1732, the King was unable to walk, and found himself immobilized within his personal residences. It was thus Emperor Antigonus’s intention to insure for Laurasian control of the election process. On April 19, 1732,  Antigonus declared to Chancellor Morius and to the Duke of Norfolkius that the Empire’s position “shall not be secured unless we take action to destroy all opposing influences to our power in the Commonwealth”.
 * Two months later, he ordered the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sir Willanius Pauletius (the future Lord Treasurer Winchestrius) and Minister Crownapoulos to open negotiations with the Holy Austarlian Empire. Holy Austarlian Emperor Char’vak V, who had in March 1731 been forced to suspend Austarlian commercial activities in the Crone Galaxy due to the Treaty of Vienna, and had struggled in vain to gain recognition of his Pragmatic Sanction, was also concerned about the situation in Dejanica. Raids by Dejanican nobles, confederates, and freebooters into Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Royal Hungary during the 1720s agitated the Austarlians, and Char’vak believed it was necessary to secure his own influence in Dejanica, particularly in Galicia. It was thus, on May 28, 1732, that he responded positively to the Laurasian requests. Franz Ludwig of Mainz, Chancellor of the Holy Austarlian Empire, declared in his response to the Imperial Laurasian Government’s entreaties that Austarlia and Laurasia would “through faithful cooperation and coordination, assert our rightful place in the election process in Dejanica”. It was on June 15, 1732, that delegations from the two governments convened at the Favorita Palace on Vienna, in the Holy Austarlian Empire, in order to devise the terms of the treaty. Chancellor Ludwig of Mainz, assisted by the Austarlian Count Herman von Borich and the Hungarian Prince Franz Stepherjag, negotiated with Crownapoulos, Sir Pauletius, and the Earls of Oxfafia, Americana, and Aretha.
 * Finally, on September 13, 1732, the Treaty of the Two Eagles (named after the black and golden eagles of the Holy Austarlian and Laurasian Empires, respectively), was signed. By the terms of this treaty, the Emperors of Laurasia and Austarlia came to the understanding that the affairs in the Commonwealth were the “concern of our two realms”, considering the elective process for the Dejanican Monarchy and the “constant instability” of these dominions. They agreed that they would oppose the candidacy of Vorrus I’s son, also named Prince Vorrus, and also that of General Stanis Morgar (1677-1766), a veteran of the Great Marasharite War, War of the Expedition, and Smolensk Wars, who was seen by many in the Commonwealth as a leading contender for the throne upon the death of Vorrus I. Therefore, it was agreed between the two governments that they would support either the Infante Manuel, Count of Ourem (1697-1766), who had fought under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the military campaigns of the Austarlian-Marasdharite War of 1716-18, and who was well known at both the Imperial Laurasian and Holy Austarlian Courts, or a member of the former Piast dynasty of Dejanica as the next King and Grand Duke of the Commonwealth. Furthermore, it was understood that it was in the common interest of all powers that the constitutional situation within the Commonwealth, as it then existed, should be retained; that its elected monarch should be friendly towards them; and that Dejanica refrain from any foreign alliances adverse to its interests. The Treaty of the Two Eagles, ratified by Emperor Antigonus on September 22, and by Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V on October 1, proved satisfying to both governments. Pruthian Emperor A'rua II, who was determined to secure his own interests in Northania, Semigallia, and Royal Pruthia, and fearful of the prospect of a Dejanican-Saxonian-Franconian alliance, decided to join the treaty in November 1732. On December 13, 1732, after a further round of negotiations in Christiania and on Berliania III, the Autocratic Pruthian Empire formally became a party to what was now termed the Treaty of the Three Eagles. Emperor Antigonus was pleased by all of this: furthermore, he now conferred the supreme reward upon Crownapoulos. On December 22, 1732, Crownapoulos was formally named a Knight of the Imperial Household. He was also appointed Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire, Imperial President of the Privy Council, and Minister of the Imperial Chancellory, thereby formally becoming the Emperor Antigonus's chief minister.

1733

 * January 25-1733, the 33rd year of the eighteenth century, commenced with the Emperor Antigonus, who had suborned the clergy of the Imperial Almitian Church, and thereby given to his subjects a demonstration of his autocratic authority, was now determined, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to terminate his marriage with Empress Consort Katharina. The Emperor now understood that his Spamalkan counterpart, Char'va I, was too focused on his Franconian adversaries, and on military conflicts in the Great Amulak Spiral, to even be contemplating war against the Laurasian Empire. Furthermore, Antigonus found that a substantial minority of his most influential subjects now favored the termination of the marriage, and that he could now proceed with the minimum of friction. And there was another, more pressing reason: on January 5, 1733, Antigonus and Anna finally had sexual intercourse. Lady Anna, who was confident and assured of her own position at the Imperial Court, decided that the promise of a imperial son was well worth the act. She of course, immediately became pregnant, in spite of the fact that she was nearing her thirty-second birthday. Anna's pregnancy now accelerated the pace of everything which the Emperor was doing. It immediately gave rise to a need to ensure that her child, the Emperor's son, would be legitimate. Thus it was on January 25, 1733, at the Boleyenia Family Estate on Fulcania, that the Emperor was secretly married to Marchioness Boleyenia in an impromptu ceremony. One of his imperial chaplains, Dorus Leesius, performed the marriage. Leesius had to be hurried into the conference chambers by means of the palace's underground turret system; this was to ensure that his presence would not be detected. Two ladies of the Imperial Household were the only witnesses to the wedding; not even Anna's father, the Earl of Redia, was told of the ceremony. As for Antigonus, he now had the wife he craved, and she was delightfully pregnant, with what he believed was a son. Laurasian royal custom decreed that the child's gender was not to be known until the moment of birth; thus, fervent prayers were made by the Emperor and his new wife. Yet Antigonus realized that the marriage with Katharina still needed to be annulled, and he now proceeded to that order of business.
 * February 1-
 * On February 1, 1733, Vorrus I, King and Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, who had ruled for eighteen years (since 1715), died in Warsaw City, Dejanica Prime. He was sixty-three years old at the time of his death. King Vorrus, was, by the time of his death, even more submissive towards the demands of the Laurasian Empire, and was growing increasingly unwilling to condone any governmental policies adverse to the interests of his protectors. Emperor Antigonus received the news of King Vorrus's death with some "restraint" and consideration. In reality, Antigonus was pleased that Vorrus was dead, and proceeded promptly to his plans for asserting Laurasian influence over the election process. On February 5, 1733, the Emperor issued an official imperial manifesto from the Quencilvanian Palace, expressing his regrets for the death of the King of Dejanica, and declaring that his demise had left his subjects "bereft of a caring and considerate ruler." Vorrus was officially interred at Wawel Cathedral on Krakow, on February 15, 1733. Two days later, King Franjak I of Franconia, who was determined to assert Franconian rule over the affairs of the Commonwealth, ordered for the garrisons of Alsace, Franconian Burgundy, Artois, and Provence to be strengthened, and for naval exercises to be conducted in the Northern Straits of the Amulak Spiral. Furthermore, Franconian convoys monitored Dejanican traffic from Pomerania, Royal Pruthia, and Samogitia.
 * In all of this, Franjak was encouraged by Andre de Flury, Archate of Frejus (1653-1743), who had served as the chief Minister of State since 1728. Frejus was determined to strike against the Holy Austarlian Empire, and viewed intervention in the Austarlian conflict as a means to an end. He cared little for who would become the King of Dejanica, but sought to consolidate Franconian rule over the Duchy of Lorraine, whose duke, Fransios Stephen, was expected to marry Emperor Char'vak's daughter and heiress, Mar'va Tarvania. Thus it was that the King, in his own manifesto of condolences, declared that the situation within the Commonwealth needed to be "redressed" to the benefit of all parties. On February 26, 1733, Holy Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V, who was alarmed by this Franconian move, issued his own manifesto expressing his support for a "speedy succession to the Dejanican throne." Austarlian troops were now actively being assembled in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Royal Hungary, and Transylvania for a possible move into Galicia, Lodomeria, and the Vistula Colonies should the need arise. Laurasian Emperor Antigonus, on his part, had come to the conclusion that Prince Vorrus should be allowed to become the next King of Dejanica after all, and resolved to work towards that end.
 * March 9-
 * By March 1733, the situation in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth had evolved further. Minister Flury had convinced King Franjak that the only way to ensure Franconian influence in the Commonwealth, and to weaken that of Austarlia and (consequently) Laurasia, was to actively support and cajol the factions which were now competing for the Dejanican Crown. As early as December 1729, the Marquis de Monti (1674-1740), the Franconian Ambassador to the Court of Dejanica, had been holding conferences with Dejanican magnates on Poznan, Lodz, Wroclaw, Dejanica Major, Kalisz, Lublin, and Danzig, in an attempt to gauge their opinions, and to assure them of Franconia's friendly intentions towards them. In November 1732, de Monti had begun distributing bribes to the members of the Dejanican Senate; the magnates of Greater Dejanica, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Belarania, and Ukraine profited the most. It was thus on March 9, 1733, that de Monti held a conference with the powerful Potockia and Czartoyskia families, two of the leading noble houses within the Commonwealth. The Czartoyskia family was descended from the younger son of the fourteenth century Lithuanian Grand Prince Algirdas, Constantine, who became Prince of Chrotyrsk in Volhynia; they became more prominent over time, and by the late seventeenth century, had firmly consolidated their place among the ranks of the Dejanican nobility. The head of the Czartokyskia family at this time was Prince Kazimeriz Czartoyskia (1674-1741), who had assumed his place of authority in 1704; his nephew was Prince Michal Frederyk Czartoyskia (1696-1775), who was Duke of Klewan and Zukow, and as Steward of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1720.
 * The Potockia family, on its part, originated from Potok in the Krakow Voivodeship; their origins debated back to the twelfth century, with Alexander Potockia, Castellan of Sandomierz (died 1167), becoming the first prominent member of the family line. Teodor Potockia (1664-1738), who on February 7, 1733, became Interrex of the Commonwealth, served as Primate of Dejanica from 1723-38; Jozef Potockia (1673-1751), marshal of the Crown of Dejanica, was one of the Commonwealth's leading military officers. It was with all of these men that de Monti conducted his parleys, and successfully. On March 15, 1733, after six days of meetings, Prince Czartoyskia and Primate Potockia agreed to throw their support to the claims of General Stanis Morgar. Two days later, on the persuasion of the Ambassador, the Dejanican Diet passed a resolution forbidding the election of previous dynasts and of foreigners to the Dejanican throne, thereby making Prince Vorrus ineligible to run as a candidate for the Dejanican Crown. Morgar, on his part, was now assembling military supplies and retainers at his estates on Mir, Bialystok, and Brest-Livotsk, determined to leave nothing unturned. The Laurasian Ambassador to the Court of Dejanica, Sir Aelius Marconius, Baronet Marconius of Samantha (1667-1763), tried and failed to reverse this resolution of the Diet.
 * March 30-On March 30, 1733, after a delay of many months, with Emperor Antigonus and Chancellor Crownapoulos engaged in their efforts to ensure that no opposition to their plans would arise from the clergy of the Almitian Church, and that the Emperor's subjects would accept the course of events, Thomasius Cranmerius was finally appointed Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod. Six months had passed since the death of his predecessor Warhamius. Cranmerius received his robes of office, procuratorial miter, and staff of authority from the Emperor in a ceremony at the Westphalian Cathedral. He now wasted no time to act in his master's interests. On April 4, 1733, the Chief Procurator closed all outstanding investigations by the Holy Synod and other Almitian bodies into the matter of the Emperor Antigonus's marriage with his Empress Consort. Then on April 18, the Chief Procurator convened a special panel of experts, including clergymen, Privy Councilors, nobles, and prominent magnates of Laurasia Prime, and of the Purse Region, to make the final "recommendations" on the subject of the marriage. Cranmerius himself issued a manifesto expressing his support for "His Majesty's wishes to obtain for himself a lawful, Almitis-ordained union."
 * May 23-On May 23, 1733, the special investigative court convened by the Chief Procurator Cranmerius, declared, to the surprise of none, that Antigonus and Katharina had never been married. Furthermore, the Chief Procurator and his colleagues issued their opinion that the Emperor's union with Anna Boleyenia was valid, and sanctioned by the law of Almitis. On May 26, the Senate and Privy Council issued a joint manifesto declaring that the marriage of Antigonus III and Katharina of Shenandoah was "wrong from the beginning", and strongly recommending that the Emperor divest himself of his barren wife. It was thus, on May 28, 1733, that the Holy Synod formally annulled the marriage of Katharina of Shenandoah with the Emperor of Laurasia. Emperor Antigonus himself, revealing that his hand was in play behind all of this, now formally deprived Katharina of her title and position as Empress Consort; revoked all treaty committments made to Spamalka in regards to Katharina; and confiscated all properties and estates which had been conferred upon Katharina as her dowry. He reduced her to the rank of Grand Princess Dowager of the Laurasian Empire, as the wife of his late brother Craterus, and revoked her rights of precedence. The Emperor then formally proclaimed Anna Boleyenia to be his Empress Consort; the long wait was finally over. On June 1, 1733, Anna Boleyenia was formally crowned Empress Consort of All the Laurasians at the Westphalian Cathedral on Laurasia Prime. The Empress Consort, who was by this point visibly pregnant, was crowned by her husband Emperor Antigonus with the Smaller Imperial Crown, and was invested with the honors and privileges of an Empress Consort. A public manifesto commanded all Laurasian subjects to abstain from any further reference to Katharina as Empress Consort. Anna, however, was unpopular with the Empire's subjects; many at the coronation were not fervent in their expression of joy for her crowning. Then on June 11, 1733, the Emperor forbade Dowager Princess Katharina of Shenandoah from seeing their daughter, now simply Lady Didymeia (she was declared illegitimate by the Holy Synod), again. Katharina refused to sign a proclamation acknowledging her loss of the title of Empress Consort; thus she lost access to her daughter. Didymeia, furthermore, was removed from her position as heiress apparent.
 * June 24-Birth of the future Earl of Leicesterius, Lord Antiochus Dudley (destined to become chief favorite of the Empress Aurelia the Great). He was the fifth son of John Dudley, future Earl of Sarah and Duke of Northumberlais, and his wife Messalina, daughter of Sir Demetrius Guildfadia. He was born at St. Katherine's Hospital in Constantinople, Laurasia Prime.
 * June 25-On June 25, 1733, the younger sister of the Emperor Antigonus, Grand Princess Octavia Brandeis, Duchess of Sufforia and Dowager Queen of Franconia, died at Stanhalian Palace in Vervasia, Augis II, due to complications from the Marsian fever. As had been noted previously, the Duchess of Sufforia remained supportive of the now-former Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah; she utterly despised Anna Boleyenia, who had once been one of her attendants. Following the birth of their eldest daughter, Lady Franconia Brandeis, in 1717, the Brandeises had had two more children. These were Lady Eleanora Brandeis, born in Westhrope Hall in Westhrope City, Meris V on June 28, 1719, and Antigonus Brandeis, 1st Earl of Licantoria (born on March 2, 1723, at Abraham). During the last several years of her life, the Grand Princess had remained largely on her husband's estates, and appeared at the Imperial Court for only the most formal occasions. She was only thirty-seven years old at the time of her death; her decease occurred thirty-one years following the death of Emperor Antigonus's older brother, the Grand Prince Craterus. Antigonus himself was devastated by his sister's death, and in a proclamation on June 29, commended her for her "merits and endearing traits, which have exalted her in the eyes of the Lord Almitis." He ordered the Court into two days of mourning for his sister, and himself donned black. Octavia was buried in a lavish ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Xenobius on Augis II, on July 19, 1733. The Emperor did not personally attend the funeral, but was represented by Chancellor Crownapoulos. The death of Grand Princess Octavia came less than three months before the birth of her niece, Empress Aurelia the Great.
 * July 7-In April 1733, Emperor Antigonus, who was enraged that the efforts of Ambassador Mardonius to influence the Dejanican Diet had failed, and that the Franconian ambassador, the Marquis de Monti, was winning the battle of influence and diplomacy within the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, decided to open a direct avenue of communications with Prince Vorrus, son of the late King. Chancellor Crownapoulos himself was determined to secure some advantage for the Empire, and to provide direct support to a candidate who could be relied upon to support Laurasian claims to "protectorship" of the Commonwealth. It was on April 22, 1733, that Chancellor Crownapoulos first contacted Prince Vorrus, declaring his sympathy for his plight and that the Imperial Laurasian Government would be willing to utlize all of its resources to his benefit. Prince Vorrus, who himself was now organizing his supporters, and seeking out all possibilities, to assert himself upon the Dejanican throne, proved receptive to the Laurasian communiques. In his response (May 12, 1733), the Prince declared that he would be more than willing to accept the "generous aid of His Imperial Majesty of Laurasia" and that he was also amendable to providing for favorable commercial relations between Laurasia and Dejanica. Yet it was not until May 28, 1733, before the Prince agreed to actual negotiations with the Imperial Laurasian Government. Chancellor Crownapoulos did not waste any time, and he dealt directly with Count Arnold von Shockrohm, the Saxonian aide to the Dejanican Prince. A secret conference convened at Riga, a Dejanican colony in the outskirts of the Great Tesmanian Cloud, on June 4, 1733. Negotiations continued for over a month, until the conclusion of the Treaty of Riga (July 7, 1733). By the terms of this agreement, the Prince agreed to affirm all the territorial arrangements of the Treaty of Szembslikia (1708) and the Eternal Peace Treaty (1686). Laurasian jurisdiction over the Rogerian Cluster, Homi Provinces, and the Eastern Billian Provinces was affirmed by Vorrus. Furthermore, he pledged to ensure the continuation of all Laurasian commercial and transit privileges within the territory of the Commonwealth. Furthermore, Vorrus promised to the Emperor of Laurasia his choice of a successor to the Dejanican Duchy of Northania and Semigallia, upon the death of the childless Duke Ferdinand Kettler. The Treaty of Riga was ratified by Emperor Antigonus on July 13, 1733, while Prince Vorrus, who had no ratifying authority of his own, promised to adhere to the arrangements. Then on July 22, 1733, the Treaty of Chocim was concluded with the Holy Austarlian Empire, by which Vorrus, in exchange for recognizing Austarlian jurisdiction over the Nograd Region, and over the Principality of Transylvania, obtained Austarlian support for his claims. Furthermore, the Prince agreed to honor Char'vak V's Pragmatic Sanction (1713), which had overturned the Salic Laws of the Holy Austarlian Empire to permit for a female successor upon his death (in the event, his daughter Mar'va Tarvania). Both of these treaties, taken together, strengthened Vorrus's position and made him more confident in regards to the enforcement of his claims.
 * August 19-
 * Events proceeded rapidly following the conclusion of the Treaties of Riga and Chocim. On August 5, 1733, nearly a month after the conclusion of the Treaty, the Elective Diet of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally assembled at Wola, a Dejanican colony located near the outskirts of Dejanica Major, for the first session of the election process. During the course of the preceding two months, the local sejimiks and nobles' confederations, of both the Kingdom of Dejanica and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, had conducted their traditional selection procedures for the electors of the Diet. All total, more than 12,000 individuals, from throughout the Commonwealth, assembled as members of the Diet. Primate Potockia, who as explained above was closely aligned with the Franconian Ambassador de Monti, presided over the opening of the Diet and reminded the deputies of their duties and responsibilities. Yet just six days later, on August 11, 1733, the Laurasian Empire's military forces unilaterally violated the territory of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Ever since February 1733, Emperor Antigonus had been assembling military forces in the Hypasian, Kelvanian, and Angelican Provinces for the purpose of a swift military operation into Dejanican Lavella. He had placed these forces under the command of General Peter Lacius. Lacius, who had been born on September 26, 1678, at Kileedy near Limerick, in the Angelina Spiral, was the son of Sir Chrysaor Lacius (1643-1729), a Laurasian engineer and starhopper in the service of the Scottrian Estates, and of Maureen Lacius (nee O'Hara, 1652-1734), daughter of the Scottrian Lord John O'Hara of Limerick.
 * He was therefore of partly Scottrian descent. Lacius's family had moved back to the Laurasian Empire in 1687, and in 1696, upon graduating from St. Valen's High School on Morgania Minor, he had entered the service of the Imperial Laurasian Army, graduating from the Imperial Academy of Military Sciences on Laura in 1700. Lacius then served during the Vectorian War of 1702-05, earning distinction for his valor in the Battles of Hannah, Tiesting, and Ghaza, and at the Siege of Skyriver. By 1706, he had risen to the rank of Colonel; he commanded Laurasian forces in the vicinity of Novella and Nelson during the War of the Expedition, and in 1708, was wounded in a confrontation with Dejanican marines on Marvald. Lacius's service in the Vectorian War of Conquest (1710-11) and in the Second Franconian War (1713-14), brought him to further prominence, and in 1716, he was promoted to the rank of General. Lacius then became Castellan of the Fortifications of Scanlan (1718-21), and in 1723, assumed command of the garrisons of the Hutsite Reaches, before suppressing the Chobanian Revolts (1725-26). He was then promoted to Brigadier General in 1731. Thus, the Emperor Antigonus looked to Lacius; he did not fail him. Within days of leading his forces across the Laurasian-Dejanican border, Lacius occupied Sissy, Spacek, Irving, Novella, Nelson, Denizel, Antwone, Dejan, Washington, the Dvina Straitsd, Vitebsk, Marvald, and Lovevold without resistance; Antigonus was clearly determined to assert Laurasian influence in Dejanican space.
 * At the same time, and from July 18, 1733, the Imperial Laurasian and Holy Austarlian Governments were engaged in diplomatic negotiations on Beatrice, in order to revise the terms of the earlier Treaty of the Three Eagles. It was on August 19, 1733, that Lowenwolde's Treaty was signed by the delegations of the two governments. The Treaty was named after the Archleutan diplomat Count Karl Gustav von Lowenwolde (1656-1735), who had been in the Imperial Diplomatic Service since 1686, and was its longest tenured diplomat. By the terms of Lowenwolde's Treaty, Emperor Antigonus III pledged himself to provide troops to ensure the election and coronation of Prince Vorrus, while the following conditions were confirmed: 1) all Laurasian territorial acquisitions made during the preceding two decades were to be acknowledged in full by the Diet 2) all Dejanican claims to territory in the Hypasian Provinces and the Wild Marshes were to be relinquished and 3) Laurasian rights to the succession of the Duchy of Northania were affirmed. The Autocratic Pruthian Empire, under A'rua II, remained opposed to the election of Prince Vorrus, and used its own influence to cajol members of the Diet into supporting the claims of General Morgar. On August 26, 1733, nevertheless, Emperor Antigonus issued a public declaration from the Quencilvanian Palace, declaring that he would not recognize General Morgar as King-Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth if he were elected by the Diet. Holy Austarlian Emperor Char'va made a similar declaration on August 28. However, on September 4, 1733, King Franjak I of Franconia made his declaration of support for General Stanis Morgar. As a result of this, the Laurasian Ambassador to the Franconian Court, Sir Ahenobarbus Nartha (1675-1756), was, on September 6, 1733, recalled from Parri by Chancellor Crownapoulos. Diplomatic relations between Laurasia and Franconia were effectively severed.
 * September 7-
 * On August 26, 1733, in accordance with the customs of the Imperial Laurasian Crown, Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, attended by her ladies-in-waiting, maids-of honor, and maternity nurses, entered her formal confinement chambers at the Imperial Hospital of the Quencilvanian Palace. Wine and spices were enjoyed by the company before the Empress Consort's household chamberlain, Sir Dorus Marsius (1693-1738), read a formal prayer for the success of the Empress's delivery. Several days then passed; then at 1:00 p.m., the afternoon of September 7, 1733, the Empress Consort went into labor. Two hours later, she successfully gave birth, without complication, to a healthy and vigorous child. Both Antigonus and Anna had been eagerly in anticipation of their first child being a son, a Grand Prince who would continue the Neuchrian Dynasty and be a worthy successor to his father. Court astrologers had constantly predicted that the child of the Emperor and Empress was male. A celebratory tournament had been organized, and a formal proclamation announcing the birth of the Empire's Grand Prince had been drafted. As soon as word of the daughter's birth was received, the proclamation was modified so as to announce the birth of a Grand Princess. Emperor Antigonus rushed to his wife's chambers upon receiving word that she had successfully delivered.
 * Although both parents were disappointed at their child's gender, they nevertheless resolved, in unison, upon a name for their daughter: Aurelia, after both of her grandmothers, Empress Consort Aurelia Zemakala (who had already been dead for thirty years by the time of the Grand Princess's birth), and Lady Aurelia Howardis, Countess of Redia (who was fifty-three years old at the time of her granddaughter's birth). Thus was born one of the greatest monarchs of all of Laurasian history, the greatest monarch of the Neuchrian Dynasty and of the eighteenth century, and the longest effective-ruling sovereign in Laurasian history. At the time of Aurelia's birth, however, no one suspected that she would become Empress. Both of her imperial parents confidently expected to have a son afterwards, and believed that Aurelia was destined for life as a Grand Princess and a bride for some noble or foreign personage. Nevertheless, great festivities were held to mark her birth, with a herald announcing that this marked the start of a "legitimate" line of heirs. Three days after her birth (September 10, 1733), Grand Princess Aurelia was baptized at the Imperial Chapel of the Quencilvanian Palace. Her godparents were Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod Thomasius Cranmerius (who presided over the baptism ceremony); Antigonus Courterania, Marquess of Constantinople (1698-1738); Aurelia Howardis, Duchess of Norfolkius and sister-in-law of the Countess of Redia (1697-1758); and Lady Damaria Worrtonia, Dowager Marchioness of Harmonia (1687-1741), the mother of the ill-fated Antigonus Greysius, Duke of Sufforia. Of these, the Duchess of Norfolkius would be the only one to live to see her godchild become Empress.
 * September 11-On September 11, 1733, the day after the future Laurasian Empress Aurelia the Great (1758-1803) was baptized, the Dejanican Diet, by an almost unanimous vote, formally elected General Stanis Morgar as the new King and Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Morgar's election occurred because of the overall weariness, and distrust, by the Dejanicans towards the Laurasian and Holy Austarlian Empires; Franconian bribes and favors to members of the Diet; and Morgar's own popularity with the Dejanican noble elites, and among the subjects of the Commonwealth. Morgar declared that, as King, he would vigorously defend the Commonwealth's "rights and liberties", and would not submit to any future demands which might be made of him by the Imperial Laurasian Government. The Emperor Antigonus was enraged by this, and on September 16, 1733, ordered the Imperial General Headquarters to draft plans for formal military operations in the Commonwealth to remove Morgar from the throne. Then on September 22, a group of Dejanican nobles, led by Prince Michael Wiesnowskia (1680-1744), Field Hetman, Great Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Marshal of the Lithuanian Tribunal, and Teodor Lubormiskia (1683-1745), the Governor of Krakow, along with Primate Stanislaw Horucz of Poznan (1673-1740) and Primate Jan Lipski of Krakow (1687-1776), all refused to recognize the election of Stanis Vorrust as King of Dejanica. They soon decamped to Dequan, and on October 5, 1733, formally elected Prince Vorrus as Vorrus II, King and Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although they were in the minority, the Emperors of Laurasia and Austarlia both announced their support for them, and denounced the election of Stanis Vorrust. Emperor Antigonus extended his diplomatic and military protection to Wiesnowskia and his confederates, refusing the demands of the Diet to hand them over. On October 11, 1733, Wiesnowskia, Lubormiskia, and their associates held a conference with General Lacius at Polotsk.
 * October 26-With these hostile actions having thus been taken in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, King Franjak I of Franconia resolved not to wait for any longer to take action. On October 10, 1733, the King of Franconia formally issued a declaration of war against the Holy Austarlian Empire and the Electorate of Saxony, thereby formally commencing the War of the Dejanican Succession. The Laurasian Empire followed with its own declaration of war against Franconia on October 14; then on October 19, it launched a full-scale invasion of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth's territories. Dejanican Lavella was already in the hands of Laurasian and royalist Dejanican forces; thus, the attention shifted to Dejanican territories in the Great Tesmanian Cloud. On October 22, 1733, the Battle of Kaniev ended in a decisive victory for Laurasian forces under General Lacius and Rear-Admiral Sir Agamemnon Thathon; by October 29, Bila Tsarveska, Drabiev, and Janow were all in Laurasian hands. Then on November 4, 1733, Lacius defeated a Franconian expeditionary force, under the command of the Duke of Narbonne, in the Battle of the Upper Bug Dial, thereby preventing Franconian auxiliary support from reaching Belarania, Ukraine, and Tesmanian Dejanica. Fastiv and Brovary were both stormed by Laurasian units (November 5-9, 1733), and on November 14, Lacius obtained another victory in the Battle of Talne, capturing more than 75,000 troops who were loyal to King Vorrus. On November 22, Uman surrendered to Lacius without a fight. And on November 28, 1733, Duke Ferdinand Kettler of Northania and Semigallia, under immense pressure from agents of the Imperial Laurasian Government, announced his support for Vorrus as King and Grand Duke of Dejanica-Lithuania. He now permitted Laurasian military forces military access across his dominions. Operating from Libau, Goldingen, Mitau, Pilten, Windau, and Dunaburg, Laurasian units quickly secured Kaunas, Klaipeda, Silauai, and Vilinus (November 29-December 6, 1733). On December 4, 1733, the Battle of the Steffal ended in another decisive victory for Laurasian military forces and in the conquest of Homer's Gateway on the Bug Trade Route.
 * December 7-On December 7, 1733, the Grand Duke of Masacavania, Vasily II, died at the Palace of the Kremlin on Moscow Prime. He was fifty-four years old at the time of his death. The Grand Duke had felt a great pain while he was hunting near the grounds of his palace; it was discovered by his personal attendants to be an abscess. His condition declined rapidly, and he was transported first to the city of Krupp, and then back to the Kremlin. His Haxonian physicians tried a number of remedies and treatments to stop the infection, but all of these failed. The Grand Duke then asked to be made a monk of the Masacavanian Holy Order before his death; he was given the name Varlaam. Vasily was now succeeded as Grand Duke by his son, Prince Dmitri, who therefore became Dmitri I of Masacavania. He would be buried at the Archangel Vault, on Moscow Prime, on December 17, 1733. As a result of Vasily's death, Emperor Antigonus found that he was now the senior monarch of extra-galactic civilization. For the first time in 344 years, since the end of the reign of Antiochus the Great, a Laurasian Emperor assumed the senior rank. Antigonus would remain senior monarch for the last thirteen years of his reign.
 * December 27-December 1733 witnessed further progress by the Laurasian Empire's military forces within the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the military operations of war in the Duchy of Lorraine, and elsewhere. By December 14, General Lacius's units had secured Smila, Kolotchen, Maltyn, and Zhaskiv. On December 15, 1733, the Battle of Tskia resulted in the suppression of the final pro-Morgarian holdout in the Galactic Borderlands. Two days later, the garrisons of Biaylstok, Brest-Litvosk, Minsk, and Praga surrendered to General Lacius, thereby giving him a foothold within the Amulak Spiral proper. On December 21, Lubar and Polonae both fell into Laurasian hands; at the same time, Prince Wiesnowskia's forces secured control of Lublin, the Vistula Colonies, Drybin, Kilchaw, and Hrbosk; Birzai, Ingalina, and Moletai also fell into their possession. Then on December 24, Lacius and Wiesnowskia combined to hand a decisive defeat to Dejanican forces under Marshal Wordylack Jaruelskia in the Battle of Bernandino; Mir, Kaunas, Trakai, and Ukmerge fell into their hands as a result of this decisive victory. And by the end of December 1733, Laurasian forces were penetrating into the Lodz Voivodeship, against Krakow, and in Greater Dejanica. The Franconians, in the meantime, invaded the Duchy of Lorraine and besieged the Austarlian stronghold of Kehl in Austarlian Brussalia (October 14-28, 1733), securing it with little effort. By the end of 1733, Franconian forces had occupied Nancy, Luneville, Charmes, and Blarmont, and were actively threatening Trier, the Grand Duchy of Wurttemberg, and the Heletian Provinces.

1734

 * January 6-
 * 1734, the 34th year of the eighteenth century, commenced with the Emperor Antigonus III having finally annulled his marriage to his Spamalkan Empress Consort, Katharina of Shenandoah. His new wife and consort, Empress Anna Boleyenia, had given birth to their first child, Grand Princess Aurelia; both parents hoped that there would be many more children to come. Furthermore, the Laurasian Empire's military forces were now engaged in the War of the Dejanican Succession, and were making substantial progress within the territories of the Commonwealth. On January 2, 1734, General Lacius and the Earl of Aretha (who had been assigned as his chief field subordinate on New Year's Eve, 1733), defeated Saxonian mercenary-General Hermann von Bittinghofen (1690-1762) in the Battle of Elbing. With Elbing now in his hands, Lacius quickly subdued the Pomeranian bases of Malbork, Dirschau, and Puck. Then on January 6, 1734, the Battle of Torun resulted in another decisive victory for the forces of the Laurasian Empire; that stronghold, one of the Commonwealth's leading commercial and naval strongholds, was now occupied by the Imperial Laurasian Navy with little effort. The Dejanican colony of Balbork followed (January 8, 1734). On January 11, 1734, after repelling usurpationist offensives against Ukmerge, Siauluai, and Klaipeda, General Lacius held a conference with the magnates of the Confederation of Little Masovia. The Confederation had been organized on December 14, 1733, by the magnates of Plock, Radom, Siedlce, and Ostroleka.
 * They were opposed to the authority of King Stanis Morgar I, and sympathetic to the cause of Vorrus I. Lacius quickly gained assurance of their full military support; with their aid, Laurasian forces conquered Opsa, Stolpce, and Zielence (January 12-14, 1734). On January 15, 1734, an attempt by Franconian naval forces under the Admiral de Lahey was blunted by the Earl of Aretha and Commodore Sir Demetrius Whittia in the Battle of Frombork. Franconian attempts to run supplies through Konigsberg in the Duchy of East Pruthia were blunted by Laurasian naval forces. Plonsk, Gostynin, and Pulutsk then fell to Lacius's forces (January 18-19, 1734), and by January 21, his units were approaching the outskirts of Dejanica Major. All of General Bittinghofen's attempts to rebuff this string of Laurasian offensives ended in failure. On January 22, 1734, Emperor Antigonus, in a gesture of "solidarity", and a demonstration of his will over the Dejanicans, formally received "King" Vorrus II at the Methellian Palace on Metallasia, at which the Imperial Court was stationed during the first months of 1734. The Emperor embraced the King of Dejanica, and in an official proclamation, announced his public support for the "restoration of order" to the Dejanican Crown's dominions.
 * January 26-February 5-As mentioned above, General Lacius's forces were, by January 21, approaching the outskirts of Dejanica Major. On January 22, 1734, Lacius and the Earl of Aretha, having secured Sochacxew and Zyradow, defeated General Bittinghofen again in the Battle of Drahim, capturing 25,000 retainers of the Dejanican Royal Guards, consolidating the Laurasian-Royalist hold of the interior portions of the Netze Region, Greater Kuayvia, Pomerania and Royal Pruthia, and preventing Bittinghofen from reinforcing his forces in Greater Dejanica. Then on January 23, the Battle of Praga resulted in another victory for Lacius, who coordinated his troops in a successful, two-pronged offensive against Praga's barricades and operational outposts (this was the precursor to the more famous victory obtained here by Field-Marshal Surovius sixty years later). Finally, during the early hours of January 26, 1734, the Battle of Dejanica Major commenced, as the naval forces of the Laurasian Empire and King Vorrus II's supporters formally imposed a blockade on the star system. Stanis I of Dejanica, determined to give no space to his enemies, organized a vigorous defense. He rallied the nobles and retainers of Warsaw and of Dejanica Major's other cities to his cause; issued manifestos decrying the cause of his rival Vorrus, and denouncing the Laurasians as foreign interventionists; and urging for his loyal subjects to resist their onslaught. He also laid a series of mines around the outskirts of the star system and installed new turbocannon generators on the surface. In spite of these efforts, however, he found himself overwhelmed by the superior mobility, flexibility, and numbers of the Imperial Laurasian Navy and Army which were arrayed against him. It was on February 3, 1734, that the defenses of Dejanica Major were breached, and finally, by the early afternoon hours of February 5, Warsaw had been secured. Dejanica Major was now occupied by the Laurasian Empire; for the first time ever, the capital world of an Amulak Spiral power had been occupied by a state from the Caladarian Galaxy. King Stanis I was able to flee from Dejanica Major, along with a number of his troops and General Bittinghofen. Vorrus II arrived at his capital world on February 17, 1734, and was formally installed at the Branickia Palace by General Lacius.
 * February 7-
 * While these events were ongoing in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, others had taken place, on the other fronts of the War of the Dejanican Succession. On September 29, 1733, King Franjak had concluded the secret Treaty of Turin with the Duchy of Savoy; Duke Char'vak II Emmanuel of Savoy pledged his support to Franconia in all military campaigns against the Holy Austarlian Empire. By the end of October 1733, Franconian-Savorian campaigns into the Austarlian territories of Italiania had commenced. The Siege of Pizzightettone (November 11-December 9, 1733) resulted in a decisive victory for Franconian forces under the Count of Charolais and the Duke of Longueville. During December 1733, Urbino and Anti were both stormed by Franconian units; the Austarlian strongholds of Asssi, Spoldio, Toldi, Narni, and Amelia were in their possession by February 1734. The Vatican Circles were now under serious threat by Franconian forces; the Austarlian garrisons of Gaeta, Upper Ravenna, and Cilmbio were blockaded by Franconian, Savorian, and Haxonian units. The Haxonian Confederacy, however, did not formally enter the conflict until April 7, 1734; Istria, Trieste, and the Duchies of Salzburg became the stage of confrontation between Haxonian and Austarlian forces.
 * In the meantime, in the Duchy of Lorraine, Franconian forces under the Count de Villars continued to threaten Philipsburg, Trier, and the Tyrol; Chatel, Breuyeres, and Epinal were all seized in January 1734. It was thus under these circumstances that, on February 7, 1734, King Stanis I, along with General von Bittinghofen, managed to flee to Danzig, located in the northern outskirts of Royal Pruthia. Danzig, which by the second quarter of the eighteenth century possessed a population of more than four billion, had for centuries been one of the leading naval, commercial, and industrial bases in Pomerania. It was colonized as early as AH 997, controlled by the Sambordies Duchy of Pomerania from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, and then seized by the Teutonic Knights in 1308, before returning to Dejanican possession in 1411, with the First Peace of Thorn. Capture of this world, with its substantial Pruthian and Germanian minority, would prove a boon to the Laurasians and the Royalists. King Stanis, assembling the remaining military squadrons left to him, the militia forces of Danzig, and the guards provided to him by the Franconians, sought to make his last stand here against the Laurasian Empire's forces.
 * February 22-With Dejanica Major now in the hands of the Laurasian Empire, and of the supporters of King Vorrus II, General Lacius proceeded immediately to consolidate the Laurasian position in Masovia and Greater Dejanica. Wolomin and Mlawa were secured (February 6-9, 1734), and on February 10, Lacius inflicted a humiliating defeat upon Prince Volodov Kalarciz in the Battle of Nasielsk. From Nasielsk, Lochow capitulated to Laurasian forces (February 14, 1734), and by February 16, Lacius had secured the Dejanican colonies of Adelnau, Kowal, Gostin, Zregriz, and Brechin, thereby securing the Laurasian hold of Kalisz and Gnienzo. Then finally, on February 19, 1734, with Laurasian units securing Konitz and Chelmno, Lacius began his advance towards Danzig. He commanded the 37th, 38th, and 39th Imperial Fleets, the 40th and 45th Imperial Armies, and the 2nd Dejanican Crown Army, with detachments from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and from the Royal Retainers of Dejanica Major. Lacius's chief Dejanican subordinate was the Duke of Walcz and Kamien, who assisted him in maintaining effective strategic and disciplinary coordination among the combined ranks of the allied forces. Finally, on February 22, 1734, after storming a Dejanican operational outpost at Stlum, Lacius's forces approached the outskirts of, and imposed a blockade around, Danzig. Although Lacius enjoyed a five-to-one numerical advantage over the garrison of Danzig, and had nearly twice the number of turbocannons, ion cannons, and other offensive weapons, the Laurasian blockade nevertheless entered a stalemate. Dejanican partisans loyal to King Stanis harried the Laurasian positions from both inside and outside of the siege lines; the King's troops were able to maintain communications with Franconian forces in the Northian Straits; and Lacius's efforts to suppress all traffic into the star system failed, as smugglers and other navigators managed to deliver supplies, food, and equipment to Danzig's besieged garrison. The siege was destined to drag on for more than four months.
 * February 25-
 * 1734 witnessed the continuation of the Emperor Antigonus III's religious reforms, as he sought to throughly "cleanse" the Almitian Church of the defects and excesses from which suffered, and to amplify his own authority over his subjects. No where was this the situation than the case of Aurelia Bartonis. Bartonis, who had been born in Aldington Colony, Darsis, on June 26, 1706, was the daughter of a plumber, Antiochus Bartonis (1679-1728) and his wife Lydia (1684-1731), who worked as a maid and a house attendant in the household of the Earl of Darsis. Bartonis herself, who graduated from St. Astare's High School in 1725. She then became one of the ladies-in-waiting to Lady Apamea Dorothania (1681-1749), who was one of the most prominent arts and sciences patrons in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region. She owned a lavish mansion, Hyde Place, on Charasia; resort properties on Darsis, Jenny, Kelby, Chloe, Chesham's Star, Sapphire, and Merandaz; and operated art galleries on Kendra, Burris, Kamachina, Bolgrahay, Jem, and Dill. It was while she was in Lady Dorothania's service that she became violently ill with the Angrames malady; she recovered, but began falling into trances, and claimed to be able to predict the future. This caused her to become famous first in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, and eventually throughout the Empire. She became revered as the Holy Maid of Charasia; Chief Procurator Willanius Warhamius of the Holy Synod and Bishop John Fisherius of Constantia both became aware of her piety, devotion to Almitis, and her visions.
 * She urged the faithful to pray to the Virgin Didymeia and to undertake pilgrimages. In November 1727, Warhamius arranged a commission to ensure that none of her prophecies or visions contradicted with the teachings of the Church. Once the commission had found no fault, the Chief Procurator agreed for Bartonis to be admitted into St. Sepulchre's Priory in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. Bartonis continued to say visions, and she made a favorable impression on virtually everyone who met her; Wolesius, Warhamius, Fisherius, Morius, and at one time in January 1729, even the Emperor Antigonus himself, were among the guests she received. Tragically for herself, however, Bartonis began making prophecies about political affairs, and the affairs of the Empire. By 1731, she was making pronouncements on the Emperor's halting measures towards divorcing Empress Consort Katharina, warning that evil would befall him if he did not desist. She even petitioned the Holy Synod, declaring that all Almitian clerics would be cursed if they took no action. Bartonis's fame, therefore, made trouble inevitable. Chancellor Crownapoulos was among the very few who did not like or admire Bartonis, and he was determined to suppress the "challenge" which she posed. Therefore, on July 7, 1733, the Chancellor had her arrested and imprisoned at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia. There, he and Cranmerius questioned her at length; then in August 1733, he had her transferred to the Fortress of Baureux. She was imprisoned with a number of deacons, parish priests, monks, and friars who had made themselves her supporters. The whole idea of this was to discredit Bartonis. In November 1733, the Nun and her adherents were put on public display, made to listen to a preacher who ridiculed and vilified them, and finally (on November 17), she was required to confess that her entire career had been a fraud intended to mislead the gullible.
 * These confessions, however, were not the end. Crownapoulos now moved to formally charge Bartonis and her companions with treason, conspiracy, and les-majestie. He told the Senate, on December 7, 1733, that Bartonis had prophesied the death of the Emperor, and therefore had effectively threatened his life. Furthermore, anyone who encouraged or listened to her without reporting her words would be liable to the same charges. The Chancellor then decided that, instead of having the group placed on trial before the Special Court, he would have them attainted for their crimes. On January 7, 1734, Emperor Antigonus signed a bill of attainder which was drafted by Crownapoulos and his subordinates in the Imperial Chancellory, declaring Bartonis and her six closest associates guilty of the associated charges and condemning them to the full penalties of a traitor's death. Then on January 14, six other individuals, including Sir Thomasius Morius (who had been under investigation by the Imperial Ministry of Justice since June 1733) and Bishop Fisherius, were attainted for misprison of treason-that is, for knowing of the person's treason and failing to report it. From the Emperor's viewpoint, all of this was convenient. Not only could Bartonmis and her cohorts but several of the most eminent personages in the realm could be disposed of in prompt manner.
 * Morius and Fisherius, both confined at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia, attempted to defend themselves. Morius requested permission to appear before the Senate in order to address the charges against him. Upon being refused, he wrote to Crownapoulos and the Emperor (January 18, 1734), explaining how, in his meetings with the Nun of Charasia, he had refused to hear her opinions of political matters and had advised her to share those opinions with no one. He told them also that when visited by admirers of Bartonis who wanted to discuss her visions, he had not allowed them to do so. Crownapoulos advised Fisherius to throw himself on the Emperor's mercy-but in predictable manner the Bishop refused. He said that he had been told by the late Chief Procurator Warhamius and others that Bartonis was an honest and virtuous woman, and that his willingness to believe them, whether wise or foolish, could not possibly have been a crime. He said he had talked with Bartonis on three occasions, but only because she visited him uninvited. He had not reported her dark predictions because he knew for a fact that she had already reported them to the Emperor.
 * None of this had any effect upon the Emperor, who was not interested in the guilt or innocence of the accused but in their elimination. The Emperor's subordinates, by the beginning of February 1734, came to realize that the Emperor was in danger of overreaching. The Duke of Norfolkius, Chancellor Crownapoulos, and Chief Procurator Cranmerius worked together to convince the Emperor to remove Morius's name from the act of attainder. This was done at an official audience (February 8, 1734), in which the three named officials got down on their knees and implored the Emperor to permit this. They did so only because they knew that if Antigonus destroyed Morius in such a fashion, than some of his more rebellious subjects might be driven to rebellion. Fisherius's name remained on the act, and he was on February 12, transferred to imprisonment at the Fortress of Baureux. In March 1734, however, he would be allowed to pay a fine of €575 billion dataries (virtually the entire income of the Diocese of Constantia), and was released. Bartonis and five others-two monks of the Benedictined Order, two Observant friars, and her confessor-were, on February 25, 1734, brought to the Public Execution Grounds of the Fortress of Baureux. Bartonis's penalty had been reduced by the Emperor to one of a simple fire squad. The others, however, were hanged, disembowelled, quartered, and incinerated. All of this took place before a crowd of more than 500,000 persons. No one knew what they had done, or what offense they had committed; the execution was solely by the Emperor's will.
 * March 17-By March 1734, the Siege of Danzig had dragged on further, for both the Dejanican garrison and the forces of the Laurasian Empire. A series of confrontations at Gdynia, Sopot, and Cassubia (February 27-March 4, 1734), witnessed the Imperial Laurasian Navy suffering severe casualties, losing more than thirty offensive warships and nearly 50,000 naval personnel. General Lacius's attempts to break the minefields and the barricades of the Danzig star system failed; on March 7, 1734, Saxonian Admiral Baron von Stackelburg, who was King Stanis's chief naval subordinate, commanded a successful thrust against Zipsa, capturing more than 15,000 Imperial Laurasian Marines, destroying a number of Laurasian shield generators, and seriously damaging the defenses of that operational outpost before retreating. Then on March 14, the Skirmish of Tricity resulted in further losses for Laurasian units; Lacius was forced to sacrifice 35,000 troops in order to execute a retreat from the outpost. Emperor Antigonus, irritated by the slow pace of the siege, and seeking to hurry events along, dispatched, on March 1, 1734, Field-Marshal Munnich. Munnich, who continued to direct the Imperial General Headquarters, had himself petitioned for a direct assignment to the Dejanican theater of combat. He believed that he would be able to revive the Empire's offensive. Munnich proceeded to Belkadan, and from thence to the Bug Trade Highway. He finally arrived at Danzig on March 17, 1734, after a long and arduous journey, and immediately assumed the supreme command of all allied forces at the star system; Lacius became his chief field subordinate. The Archleutan Field Marshal now vigorously reorganized the Laurasian command lines, ordered for the outposts of Rudinki and Suchanino to be strengthened, and brought in a number of new Ferrus-class ion missiles, determined to bombard Danzig's defenses from afar. He also brought with him reinforcements, in the form of the 47th Imperial Army and detachments from the 32nd Imperial Fleet and 1st Galactic Void Patrol Division. This amounted to more than 200,000 personnel with some one hundred warships. With this new and vigorous direction, the Laurasians were able to make some advances. By March 24, Laurasian units had stormed Matarnia and Molynskia. On March 29, 1734, Field Marshal Munnich stormed Sommerzanz and the Garrisons of the Mists of Allol, thereby terminating the most-trafficked smugglers' route into the Danzig star system. Then on April 2, 1734, Count Adam Tarlo of Jaslo (1713-44), one of the most prominent figures in the Lublin Voviodeship, who supported King Stanis, attempted to relieve the garrison of Danzig. He was surprised however, by detachments sent from the siege lines, and under the command of General Lacius himself. The Battle of Berent (April 3-4, 1734) resulted in a decisive victory for Lacius, who captured 25,000 Dejanican retainers and compelled Tarlo into a disastrous retreat.
 * March 23-
 * While the Siege of Danzig continued, and as the proceedings against Bartonis and her accomplices reached fruition, the Emperor Antigonus turned his attention to other matters. The future of the Neuchrian Dynasty was a question which continued to vex the Emperor. The birth of Grand Princess Aurelia had done nothing to answer it, and now that he was forty-two years old, the Emperor was giving evidence of being more seriously concerned about his lack of a male heir than he had ever been before. On November 28, 1733, his illegitimate son, the Duke of Conservan and Reoyania (then fourteen years old), had married Lady Didymeia Howardis (1719-57), the second daughter of the Duke of Norfolkius, and cousin to Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia. The Empress herself supported the marriage, and convinced Antigonus to permit for it to proceed. The Duke of Norfolkius was also an aggressive sponsor of the marriage; he even entertained faint hopes that Emperor Antigonus might legitimize Duke Antigonus and make him his heir. But on January 9, 1734, it was revealed that the Empress Consort was pregnant again. As preparations began for the arrival of a prince-Antigonus was always certain that his next child would be a boy-the Emperor took as his mistress another of the Boleyenia cousins, Lady Didymeia Sheltonia (1710-71), who had served her cousin as a lady-in-waiting since February 1733. By this point, the magic was already starting to go out of the imperial marriage. The increasingly insecure Anna clashed with her husband over his dalliances, while the Emperor turned his back on her in mute disbelief. The situation was worsened when on March 1, 1734, four days after Bartonis's execution, the Empress Consort miscarried a daughter. Antigonus was angered by this, but Chancellor Crownapoulos, seeking to secure his master's position, was hard at work on a Statute of Succession. On March 23, 1734, Emperor Antigonus (after he had made extensive revisions), formally promulgated the First Imperial Statute of Succession.
 * This law confirmed the annulment of the Emperor's marriage with Katharina of Shenandoah, and validated his second with Anna Boleyenia. The former Grand Princess Didymeia's bastardization and demotion to the status of Lady were enshrined, while harsh penalties were proscribed for any who continued to acknowledge Katharina of Shenandoah as Empress Consort. Furthermore, the Statute asserted that the Emperor was to be succeeded on the throne by the children "of his most dear and entirely beloved lawful wife Empress Katharina" did not surprise anyone. Anyone who acted in defiance or rejection of the Emperor's marriage became subject to treason. Antigonus also added the requirement that every subject "observe, keep, maintain, and defend this statute and all the contents and effects thereof, and all other Statutes and Decrees made during the preceding four years". To ensure compliance, every subject was to take an oath of allegiance not only to the Emperor but to his heirs by Anna, and refusal to swear was made treason. The statute did not proscribe the form of the oath; this freed Crownapoulos and his subordinates to bend the oath of allegiance to their own purposes. This law was the first of many measures implemented by the Emperor. The Statute of the Clerical Submission (April 14, 1734), formalized the Emperor's renewed title as Pontifex Maximus and bound all clergymen of the Church to direct allegiance to his person. The decree of April 21, 1734, abolished the Holy Synod's right to confer dispensations; instead, only the Chief Procurator could now issue them, with the Emperor's express prior authorization.
 * Then by the manifesto of April 28, 1734, Emperor Antigonus modified the criteria for archbishops, bishops, abbots, and other officials of the Church, requiring them to take a series of evaluations, and to receive an express warrant of approval from the Imperial Chancellory, before they could take office. All monasteries, citadels, and estates, previously under the authority of the holy orders to which they belonged, and subject to the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod, were transferred to the oversight of the Imperial Commission of Economy, which was reestablished by the decree of May 4, 1734. All of these changes immeasurably strengthened the Emperor's oversight over the Almitian Church, and they also startled many of the Emperor's subjects. Katharina of Shenandoah's continued popularity and the widespread sense that she had been dealt with unfairly ensured that many would be skeptical, and that some would even turn to rebellion. Such outbreaks were not far from happening; and the Emperor Antigonus's regime of terror and oppression over his subjects had begun.
 * April 13-
 * Emperor Antigonus was driven by his compulsion to dominate, his hunger for admiration and approval, and the dangers to which his needs were drawing him, to become a practitioner of the art of political propaganda. He knew that his demands could not be achieved easily, and that the price of failure was high. Discontent could turn into rebellion, and the Emperor knew that he to secure the acquiescence of his subjects. They had to be won over. Where they could not be won, they had to be frightened into conformity. By the middle of 1734, therefore, Emperor Antigonus undertook to both terrify and to convert his subjhects. A national propaganda machine was therefore required. The Holy Synod, on the Emperor's command, issued instructions to clergymen, reverends, and priests throughout the Empire to praise Antigonus's merits, and to condemn those who would think otherwise. Chief Procurator Cranmerius told a congregation at the Westphalian Cathedral than any who disputed the Emperor's authority could be called a "Horseman of the Apocalypse". He then required all priests in the diocese of Christiania to obtain licenses to preach; in January 1735, the Holy Synod would issue an injunction extending this requirement to all clergymen in the Imperial Almitian Church. Cranmerius also brooked no opposition. In June 1734, a incident occurred on Jadia, when a monk of the Monastery of St. Pearl laughed at Cranmerius and called him a "fool Procurator"; he was imprisoned at the Cron Drift for his antics. Furthermore, the media reported that the Chief Procurator needed personal bodyguards to ensure his safety while he was in Christiania. The Governing Senate issued instructions to all Justices of the Peace and praetors throughout the Empire to arrest any preacher who spoke against the Emperor's authority. The imperial hammer now began to descend upon any whose words, acts, or omissions might, in the opinion of the Emperor or his ministers, serve to encourage disobedience.
 * On April 7, 1734, the Imperial Privy Council published the "general" version of the succession oath. It acknowledged that the Emperor was right about his annulment, his marriage to Anna, and his supreme authority-that he was right about everything. Throughout the Empire, judicial, administrative, military, and civilian authorities saw to it that the oath was taken in every star system; every municipality; every outpost, garrison, colony, and installation throughout the length and breath of the Empire. Anyone in a position of authority, anyone whose decision would become widely known, automatically became a prime target. Any such person likely to be perceived by the public as not in agreement with the Emperor received even higher priority. No one had higher priority than Sir Thomasius Morius, the former Chancellor and Procurator General, and Bishop John Fisherius of Constantia. Fisherius and Morius both received summonses to appear at Lambathian Palace, the Christiania residence of both the Chief Procurator and the Archbishop of Christiania, on April 13, 1734. They both knew what to expect. Morius spent his time with his family before leaving, telling them that he was likely bound for prison and might never return. Upon their arrival at Lambathian Palace, he and Fisherius found themselves in a long procession of men marched one by one into the presence of Crownapoulos, Cranmerius, Sir Thomasius Audelius, 1st Baron Audelius (1688-1744, who had become Procurator-General, Minister of Justice, and Privy Seal in January 1733 upon Crownapoulos's urging), and the Dean of the Westphalian Cathedral. All were asked, when their turns came, to sign the succession oath.
 * Almost all did so and were therefore sent away. Fisherius refused and was escorted to the Fortress of Baureux. Morius asked for time to read what he was being asked to sign, and having done so, observed that by signing he would be accepting not only the succession rights of the Emperor's offspring with Anna, but also the Emperor's claim of absolute jurisdiction over all matters in the Almitian Church. He therefore refused. When asked to explain himself, he declined to do that as well, saying only that in signing he would be violating his conscience, and thereby endangering his soul. He had already offended the Emperor, and in giving his reasons could only give further offense. Morius was then told that all judicial officials in the Empire had signed the oath. He was shown the signatures and asked how he could oppose his conscience to those of so many others. He replied that he had no quarrel with those who elected to sign, but that he himself could not do so, and that he had on his side most Almitians living and dead. Morius was therefore arrested, and spent the next four days in the custody of the Dean of the Westphalian Cathedral. On April 17, 1734, he was imprisoned alongside Morius at the Fortress of Baureux. They were kept apart in comfortable quarters. On April 23, Morius and Fisherius both offered to swear to the succession. They both said that the Emperor had the right to decide such matters in whatever way they chose, and they could have no difficulty in acknowledging that right if they were not required to repudiate the traditional customs of the Church. Cranmerius looked favorably upon this, urging the Emperor to accept it and to make much of the fact that Morius and Fisherius had done what he required. Chancellor Crownapoulos, however, was opposed, and the Emperor agreed with him.
 * May 11-
 * By May 1734, the Siege of Danzig had progressed further in the favor of the Laurasian Empire's military forces. Field Marshal Munnich seized Kolbudy and Rumia in April 1734, thereby further threatening the supply lines of Danzig. The Field Marshal proved to be a vigorous and alert commander in the field. He expertly coordinated the actions of his Laurasian and Dejanican troops, and inspired in his men a selfless devotion, and a considerable level of morale. On May 4, 1734, however, the Field-Marshal suffered a reverse in the Battle of the Hagelburg Straits. Laurasian units attempted to storm the thirty outposts of the Straits, and found their efforts strung by the offensives of Baron von Stackelburg, who proved to be more than a capable opponent to them in that theater. Munnich lost more than one-third of his offensive couriers in that operation, and was forced to temporarily suspend all direct offensives into the outskirts of the star system. This gave the garrison of Danzig some renewed hope; hope also emerged on Parri, as King Franjak, whose military forces were tied in Lorraine, the Heletian Provinces, Savoy, and the Vatican Circles, sought to continue the support to King Stanis which had been the chief factor in the whole conflict. In March 1734, a Franconian effort to garrison the Dejanican strongholds of Leba, Wicko, and Krokowa was blunted by General Lacius; then on April 19, 1734, the Franconian Ambassador to the Court of Dejanica, the Count de Plelo (1674-1734, who was in Danzig with King Stanis and his supporters), requested to the King of Franconia and to Minister Fleury that they provide reinforcements to support the usurpation's cause.
 * The King agreed, but at first he dispatched only an expeditionary force under the command of Commodore Jean Andre, Marquis de Baraillh (1686-1742), who was a veteran of the Italianian Wars. The land units of this force were commanded by Franconian General Rochon de la Perouse, Comte de la Motte (1671-1737), who had previously served as a mercenary with the Autocratic Pruthian Empire and Haxonian Confederacy. This force arrived at Weicshlemunde on May 11, 1734, but La Motte abandoned this stronghold only four days later, deeming it untenable. Count de Plelo, determined for the offensive to be pushed forward, was able to obtain more couriers, frigates, and corvettes from Brest, and to add these to the strength of the expeditionary force. On May 24, 1734, de la Motte arrived in the Danzig system. Field Marshal Munnich found himself blunted at Dest, being unable to intercept Franconian armored convoys there, and could not prevent the reinforcements from arriving to the garrison of Danzig. On May 27, 1734, Laurasian and Franconian units clashed at Weichslemunde, as Count de Plelo was determined to regain and to secure that stronghold. The ensuing Skirmish of Weichslemunde proved to be a tactical victory for Laurasian forces; de Plelo was himself wounded towards the end of the confrontation, and died of his injuries. Following this, Laurasian forces under Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gordon (1658-1741), a Scottrian officer who had defected to the Laurasian Empire in June 1717 and quickly risen through the ranks, arrived at the outskirts of Danzig on June 1, 1734, bringing more than 75,000 troops and a number of higher-end siege turbocannons. This allowed for Field Marshal Munnich to launch vigorous offensives against Franconian positions at Dest and Little Danzig.
 * June 30-Field Marshal Munnich, with the assistance of the seasoned Admiral Gordon (who was seventy-six years old and had been in military service since 1688), was able to quickly turn the tables against the Franconians and the Dejanicans loyal to Stanis I. On June 6, 1734, the Battle of Rast ended in a decisive victory for the Field-Marshal. General La Motte was seriously wounded in this confrontation; his flagship was destroyed by a series of blasts from the Imperial Laurasian Navy's destroyers, and La Motte himself barely evaded capture. As a result of his serious injuries, he was forced to hand command over his units to his subordinate, General Louis Poulliah (1689-1759), and to retire from the field of combat. He managed to evade Laurasian naval units, reaching Abbeville in Franconia towards the end of June 1734. On June 9, Little Danzig finally capitulated to Munnich's forces; Admiral Gordon impounded nearly thirty Franconian transport vessels, and imposed an automated barricade at the outskirts of the system, thereby finally depriving the garrison of Danzig of all remaining outside support. The Franconians were now desperate. On June 12, 1734, the Duke of Orleans launched a surprise raiding offensive against Abrianne, Natalie, and Tiona in the Caladarian Galaxy; this attempt came to utter ruin in the Skirmish of Pevlet. Dest was securely in Laurasian hands by June 20, and on June 23, 1734, the Battle of Nowy Port ended in victory for Munnich and Gordon. The following day, Stanis I, who disguised himself as a merchant, managed to flee from Danzig with a retinue of his most trusted advisers and confidants. He managed to bypass the Laurasian siege lines on a commercial freighter, and to proceed thence to Konigsberg in the Autocratic Pruthian Empire. When Field Marshal Munnich learned that the claimant King of Dejanica had fled (on June 26), it was too late for him to do anything; Stanis was in Pruthia, which was neutral in the War of the Dejanican Succession, and therefore beyond the reach of the Laurasians. His flight now deprived the forces of Danzig of all remaining hope. On June 30, 1734, after weeks of unrelenting bombardment and blockade by the forces of the Laurasian Empire, General von Bittinghofen and Baron von Stackelburg formally surrendered, along with the garrison officers and troops, to Field Marshal Munnich, General Lacius, and Admiral Gordon. The Laurasians had lost 3,000 starfighters and 55 major warships in the long Siege of Danzig; the system of Danzig itself suffered considerable damage. Of the 300 million people who lived on Danzig, more than twenty million had died, either due to war confrontations or to starvation, for the planet depended heavily upon agricultural foodstuffs and industrial goods imported from other star systems. Munnich, acknowledging the situation which thus existed on Danzig, ordered for emergency food reserves to be employed for Danzig's inhabitants, and forbade his troops to ransack or quarter on the properties of Danzig inhabitants. The conquest of Danzig therefore eliminated all remaining cells of resistance to the Laurasians and to Vorrus II within the Commonwealth proper; by the middle of July 1734, his authority was acknowledged throughout the Commonwealth's realms.
 * July 18-
 * Events in the other theaters of the War had continued to proceed during the long Siege of Danzig, and once the Siege was over, they took the forefront of attention. Gaeta, Upper Ravenna, and Climbio all succumbed to Franconian forces in April 1734; that same month, the Count de Villars obtained a decisive victory over Austarlian-Germanian forces in the Battle of Karlsrushe, thereby securing Trier, Coburg-Gotha, and Augsburg. Austarlian Field Marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy, veteran of the Great Marasharite War, Bavarian War, War of the League of Cambrai, and the Austarlian War of Olthenia, assembled his forces at Heilbronn in order to blunt further Franconian offensives. The Battle of Bitonto (May 25, 1734), fought after a series of offensives by Prince Eugene in Brussalia and Charolais, resulted in a victory for the Franconians; the Count de Villars humiliated his Austarlian adversaries. Earlier, on May 2, 1734, the Siege of Trarbach had ended in victory for Franconian units under Marshal Belle-Isle, who captured and plundered this Austarlian stronghold in Sponheim. Attention now focused upon Philippsburg, which had been in Austarlian possession since 1718. Franconia had controlled the stronghold twice during the seventeenth century: once from 1644-76, and again from 1688-97. It thus had a long history of dispute and of strife.
 * From December 1733, Philippsburg's defenses had been the responsibility of General Gottfred Ernest von Wettegnau (1692-1769), who with the aid of Chief Engineer Gerhald Cornelius von Walrave (1679-1754), made every effort to strengthen them in light of a possible Franconian offensive. By May 1734, these preparations were largely complete, although the garrison's stock of firearms and torpedo shot was not considerable. It was short on experienced artillery personnel and engineers. It was on May 27, 1734 that the Franconian forces began to blockade Philippsburg. 46 batallions of the Franconian Royal Navy deployed, with half dedicated to conducting the siege and the other half to defending the siege lines from any offensive. The Scottrian Duke of Berwick (1670-1734), who had been in Franconian service since 1691, commanded the siege until he was killed by Austarlian Marines on June 12, 1734. General Claude d'Asfield (1665-1743) then assumed command of the Franconian forces. On June 19, 1734, Prince Eugene, under orders from Emperor Char'vak, began moving his forces to relieve Philippsburg. Bruschal was reached on June 27; D'Asfield now stengthened his defensive lines and diverted some of his units to face the Austarlian threat. Eugene was forced to halt his offensive, and to withdraw his forces. Wuttegnau surrendered on July 18, 1734, after nearly a month more of the Franconian siege. The fall of Philippsburg confirmed that the trend of the war outside Dejanica was in the favor of the Franconians. In Italiania, Count Wirlich Philip von Daun, Governor of Cospaia and San Giustino, was able to pose some resistance to Franconian assaults throughout the first half of 1734. At the beginning of May 1734, Austarlian forces under Count Claude Florimund de Mercy (1666-1734), veteran of the Great Marasharite and Olthenian Wars, crossed the Alpian Nebulas, threatening thereby to close in on the Franconian units' rear by a flanking maneuver. Villars, who had gained such success at Bitonto, now sought to blunt Mercy's moves. He failed, and died at Turin on June 17, 1734, after a short illness. Mercy's forces now advanced against Mantua, but Franconian units under Marshals de Broglie and Coigny intercepted them at Crocetta (June 29, 1734). This battle resulted in a decisive victory for Franconian forces, with Mercy being killed and his subordinate, Prince Frederick of Wurttemberg (1690-1734), being wounded. The Austarlians were forced to retreat, and were placed under the command of Field Marshal Lothar Joseph von Konigsegg (1671-1751). By the end of August 1734, Franconian units had conquered Cospaia, Narni, Gubbio, and Norcia, thereby further consolidating their hold of the Vatican Circles. Franconian moves into Salzburg and Styria, however, were blunted, and King Franjak was forced to strengthen the defenses of Strasbourg.
 * October 2-
 * September 1734 witnessed a series of further reverses by the Holy Austarlian Empire's forces in Italiania. It also witnessed the diversion of Laurasian miltiary resources from the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the theaters of conflict in Lorraine, Italiania, and in the Franconian Royal Dominions. On September 15, 1734, following two months of skirmishing and confrontations along the Secchia Barriers, Field Marshal Konigsegg exeuted a raid upon Coigny's headquarters at Quistello, almost capturing the Franconian Field Marshal and taking a large amount of industrial goods, military equipment, and civilian captices. Two days later, the Franconians withdrew to Guastalla in response to Austarlian maneuvers, but one detachment was surrounded and captured by the advancing Austarlians. On September 19, 1734, the Barttle of Guastalla occurred as Konigsegg launched a series of offensives against the Franconian positions there. The ensuing battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Franconians; Prince Frederick of Wurttemberg was among those killed. The Austarlian Field Marshal then retreated to the Po, adopting a defensive position. Charles Emmannuel of Savoy now withdrew his forces to Cremona, while the Austarlians advanced as far as the Adda.
 * Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III, who continued to watch these events closely, now decided that the time would be ideal for the Empire's military resources to be directed once again against the Franconian Royal Dominions. He had abstained from following this policy earlier, upon the advice of Chancellor Crownapoulos. Crownapoulos had wished for Stanis Morgar to be defeated, and for Vorrus II's place on the Dejanican throne to be fully secured, before any further action was taken in any other theater. And his plans had worked, for the Franconians proved incapable of launching any serious counteroffensives across the Galactic Void at this stage. July and August 1734 witnessed Laurasian units clearing the Franconians from Tarnow, Bulow, and Qulow, thereby ending their involvement in Dejanican space and keeping "King" Stanis I tied up in East Pruthia. On August 19, 1734, Emperor Antigonus approved plans proposed by the Imperial General Headquarters for renewed offensives into Normandy, Brittany, and Artois. On August 24, the Emperor named Lacius (now promoted to the rank of Major-General), as commander of the Empire's intended Franconian offensive. Yet it was not until October 2, 1734, with Laurasian units already active in the Gateway Provinces, that Lacius commenced the first moves into Franconian territory.
 * Guines and Hames were stormed by Lacius in short order (October 7-14, 1734), and on October 22, he defeated the Count de Gully, Governor of Upper Normandy, in the Battle of Bayeux. Evereux, Rouen, and Bapaume then fell into Laurasian hands (October 28-November 2, 1734); Stephani was besieged and conquered on November 6, 1734. Julianne proved to be a tougher nut to crack, but it ultimately succumbed to the Laurasian Empire's forces on November 17. Lacius and the Earl of Aretha then besieged and conquered the Franconian strongholds of Dieppe, Fontoise, and Reux (November 22-24); by the end of November 1734, Tournai, Abbeville, and Calais were all under serious threat. A Laurasian offensive against Rennes, Vannes, and Craon, however, ended in failure in the Battle of Quimper (November 31-December 4, 1734); Lorient and St. Malo also defied Laurasian attempts at seizure. Nevertheless by December 11, Lacius and Aretha had secured Finistiere and St. Bruiec, thereby consolidating a Laurasian foothold in Brittany. From Theouranne (captured on December 9), Laurasian units provided auxillary support to the Austarlians in East Frisia and the Ardennian Worlds; Tournai and Valenciennes were occupied by them on December 18, and on December 22, Austarlian units recovered Trier. They then stormed the Franconian bases of Malverz, Sttugart, and Martgart; by the end of the year, the tide was turning in the conflict.
 * December 25-
 * By December 1734, the Emperor Antigonus had further exerted his grip over the Almitian Church. During the spring of 1734, the attention of the Emperor and of Chancellor Crownapoulos had focused in upon the Observants. This order, which had been founded early in the seventeenth century, during the reign of Emperor Caracalla, was for a time favored by the Neuchrian Dynasty. Emperor Antigonus himself had been baptized in a service conducted by Observant friars, as were his short-lived son Grand Prince Antigonus, Lady Didymeia, and his youngest child, Grand Princess Aurelia. It was therefore a shock to the Emperor that many of the Observants refused to accept his annullment of his marriage with Katharina, and that they denounced his religious innovations in their sermons. It therefore became inevitable that he would move against them. Antigonus and Crownapoulos had no reason to dely. On April 25, 1734, a special version of the oath of succession was prepared for exclusive use by the Friars. It was even more comprehensive than the version Morius and Fisherius had been unable to accept. It required the Observants not only to swear allegiance to the Emperor and his wife, and the offspring of their union, not only to recognize Antigonus's rights to change the customs and theological thought of the Church, but to pledge themselves to do everything possible to persuade others to do likewise. To humiliate the Observants and underscore his unhappiness with them, Antigonus ordered that the oath be delivered to their six largest friaries by visitors selected from other, more cooperative orders of friars, the Augustinians and the Dominicans.
 * This was provactive, as there existed a degree of rivalry among the orders. These visits, however, were unsatisfactory from the Emperor's viewpoint. The Christiania friary had the least disbobedience, with only two members refusing to take the oath. On Darcia, however, almost all the friars refused. At Tudoria, the Observant establishment with the closest connections to the Imperial Family, refusal was again almost unanimous. Thus it was that on June 14, 1734, on the Emperor's orders, that the members of all the order's houses, including those who had taken the oath, were arrested and imprisoned at the Secret Prison of Ipsus V, the Fortress of Baureux, the Monastery of Windowia Photis, and Jenny Prison. The friars were not given the gentle treatment accorded to Fisherius and Morius. Many were chained to the walls of their cells; many were tortured; many were starved. Out of more than 7,000 friars thus arrested, nearly 4,000 died in confinement. Eventually, in 1738, those still alive were released and exiled from the Empire; most went to Franconia, Scottria, or Dejanica. The clerics of the Almitian Church did not lose sight of the lesson; by October 1734, all had taken the succession oath. In November 1734, the Emperor Antigonus promulgated several more measures. The Imperial Statute of Supremacy (November 6, 1734), made it a treasonous offense to deny the Emperor's position as Pontifex Maximus; eliminated the autonomous discussion and conference privileges of the Conference of Almitian Prelates; and codified in law, the Emperor's final say over all matters of theology. Then Antigonus implemented the Treason Statute (November 15, 1734). This statute made it a treasonous offense for any to deprive the Emperor, Empress, or their heirs of the "dignity, title, and name of their imperial estates." To be guilty of treason, one could have "wished willed, or desired, by words of writing, or by craft imagine" harm to the state, and to thye Empire. Mere words, even mere thoughts, would now be punished with execution. Finally, and absurdly, the new statute made it a capital offense to call the Emperor a tyrant, a heretic, a schismatic, or an infidel.
 * All of this greatly strengthened Emperor Antigonus's grip over his subjects. Yet by December 1734, he was growing tired of the Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia. He was still hopeful, and continued to have sexual relations with his wife so that she would become pregnant. He was becoming weary, however, of her tantrums, jealousy, and of her failure to produce the desired heir. He began to wonder if something was wrong with Anna or with their union. He began to suspect that his second marriage was as displeasing to Almitis as the first one had been. Fisherius and Morius were still refusing to conform. They sat in their cells in the Fortress of Baureux and under the closest scrutiny said nothing and did nothing that could have been construed as treason. Emperor Antigonus, therefore, on December 4, 1734, had them attainted for misprison of treason. Fisherius was now formally deprived of his position as Bishop of Constantia, which he had held for thirty years; Morius's household was reduced to destitution. The Emperor confiscated all of their properties, bank accounts, and revenues, and had them condemned to perpeutal imprisonment. Morius, furthermore, was no longer allowed visitors or access to the Fortress gardens. Thus, as 1734 ended, Antigonus and Crownapoulos were sitting at the crest of affairs in the Empire.

1735

 * January 1-
 * 1735, the 35th year of the eighteenth century, commenced with the Laurasian Empire still fully engrossed in the War of the Dejanican Succession, as the Empire's forces under the command of General Lacius were tied down by combat within the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, and as Field Marshal Munnich remained with his units within the Commonwealth proper, in order to secure the position of King Vorrus II and to prevent any threat from being posed against him again. Emperor Antigonus, who had accomplished his own goal of strengthening his authority over the Almitian Church, was pleased that his military commanders in the Great Amulak Spiral had obtained this string of victories, and that the Empire's position in Dejanica had been definitively secured. Thus, as part of the New Year's Festivities for the commencement of 1735, the Emperor conferred the Order of St. Antiochus the Great, which was the fourth highest military honor in the Laurasian Empire (following those of Honorius the Liberator, Seleucus the Victor, and Arasces the Founder), upon both Field Marshal Munnich and Major-General Lacius. In his proclamation to his subjects, Emperor Antigonus declared that the Empire would soon be victorious in this conflict with the Franconians. And indeed, throughout the early months of 1735, Laurasian and Austarlian forces obtained a succession of victories in Italiania, the Duchy of Lorraine, and within the Franconian Royal Dominions. On January 3, 1735, the Battle of Tournai resulted in a decisive victory for General Lacius's forces. This stronghold fell into Laurasian possession as a result, allowing for Lacius to threaten the defenses of both Boulougone and Breuteuil. Soissons became the next target of the Laurasian offensive (January 6-7, 1735), and fell after a vigorous confrontation between Laurasian and Franconian units in that star system. Breuteuil was then secured in short order, and on January 12, 1735, Lacius and the Earl of Aretha inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Duke of Avignon in the Battle of Epernay. Hazebruck, St. Omer, and Neuve Chappelle then fell to Laurasian units in succession (January 17-22, 1735).
 * At the same time, Laurasian and Austarlian forces, under the command of Admiral Gordon and Austarlian Field-Marshal Frederich Heinrich von Seckendorff, successfully repelled a Franconian offensive against Saarbrucken (January 7-9, 1735), and then drove Franconian units from Darney, Vittel, and Mirecourt (January 24, 1735). On January 28, 1735, Field-Marshal von Seckendorff inflicted a humiliating defeat upon the Count of Poitou in the Battle of Dieuze, thereby maintaining that stronghold for the Duchy of Lorraine. By the beginning of February 1735, Laurasian units, having seized the Franconian colonies of Colmar and Freiburg, were actively provisioning Austarlian troops at Basel, penetrating to the Wederian Straits, and providing reconnaissance aid for Austarlian garrisons in Parma. Marshal Konigsegg was therefore able to recover Cospaia and to siege Gubbio (February 5-14, 1735); by the end of February 1735, Norcia, Assisi, and Spoleto were also back in Austarlian hands. On March 5, 1735, the Battle of Revernay ended in a decisive victory for General Lacius, thereby allowing him to seize Amiens, Beauvais, and Cantiny; he also blockaded Meaux, Provins, and Montrmrail, thereby hampering communication lines between the Orleans Region and the Ardennian Worlds. Quiebron and Brest then fell to a surprise offensive by Admiral Gordon (March 9-13, 1735), and by the end of March 1735, Nancy and Luneville were both being besieged by Laurasian-Austarlian forces, who were on the verge of expelling Franconian units from these central systems of the Duchy of Lorraine.
 * May 4-
 * By March 1735, the Carthusian Order had become another target of the Emperor Antigonus and his chief ministers. The case of Antiochus Houghtonia (1686-1735) was what brought down the Emperor's vengeance. Houghtonia was so obscure that no one at the Imperial Court knew of him or his reputation; he professed absolute loyalty to the Emperor, asking for nothing except for his order to be left alone. If Bartonis and her accomplices had been victims of judicial murder, than Houghtonia's murder was atrocious and reprehensible. Houghtonia was, in the year the First Statute of Succession was implemented, forty-eight years old and had been Prior of the Christiania Monastery of the Carthusian Order for four years. The Carthusian Order was one of the oldest Almitian orders then in existence within the Caladarian Galaxy, having been founded on Dearton's Gateway in 1084 by Brutus of Coligna (1030-1101). During the course of the next six and a half centuries, the Order spread throughout the Caladarian Galaxy, to the satellite galaxies, and even, in the early eighteenth century, to the Great Amulak Spiral.
 * By 1734, there were more than twenty thousand Carthusian establishments throughout the territory of the Laurasian Empire and beyond. All of the Carthusian monasteries in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region were known as Charterhouses, and their inhabitants as Charterhouse monks. The Carthusians were remarkable in never deviating from their original rules; they preserved a way of life focused on solitary prayer, contemplation, study, and work. Their daily routine remained identical in every detail to that established by their founders. As late as 1798, it would be remarked by Sir Antiochus Harringtia that they were "never reformed because never deformed". Houghtonia, who had been born on Lomanis I (September 12, 1686), was the only child of Sir Aelius Houghtonia (1652-1725) and his wife Demetria (1656-1730). He had graduated from St. Aletis's High School in Capital City, Lomanis I before attending the University of the Empire, earning a B.A. in Professional Administration and Business Sciences (1708). To the disappointment of his parents, however, Houghtobia elected to take holy orders rather than embark on the kind of career which would raise his family's fortunes. Houghtonia therefore transferred to the St. Peter and Paul Ecclesiastical Academy, graduating with a B.A. in General Theology. In 1712, at the age of twenty-five, he was ordained into the secular priesthood of the Almitian Church.
 * Then in 1715 Houghtonia entered the Christiania Charterhouse. He found contentment in this place, where the monks dined twice a day; held regular Mass, as well as prayer sessions in their own chambers; and worked upon Almitian scriptures, crafts, and other goods. There was much contemplation, and it was a life stripped down to the essentials. Only the roughest cloth was used as clothing and bedding; no silver or gold ornaments, except for the chalices were permitted; and contact with family and friends was closely monitored. Houghtonia progressed through the ranks, serving as a postulant and then a novice. In 1719, he took the "simple" vows of poetry, chastity, and obedience, and then in 1721, the "solemn" vows which bound one for life. In 1723, Houghtonia became sacristan of the Christiania Charterhouse, with responsibility for the vestments and paraphernalia used in worship services. Three years later, he became Procurator, supervising the monastery's financial affairs and managing its corps of lay brothers, nonpriests who performed the necessary labor for the monastery. In 1731, Houghtonia, whose reputation had spread among the Carthusians, was elected Prior of Beauvalian House on Tifenlium.
 * Later that same year, he returned to Christiania when receiving word that his former associates had unanimously elected him prior there. Houghtonia was, according to the testimony of one of his former subordinates, Pompey Leardus (1700-69), a man "admired, revered, and humbled by all..." The Charterhouse, unlike the Observants, did not raise any objection to the policies of Emperor Antigonus or his annulment of his marriage with Katharina. They modeled themselves on the desert fathers of the first Almitian centuries, and sought to avoid entanglement in politics. Yet this was not to be, for the Emperor was determined to have the active support of everyone in his Empire. In April 1734, two of Chancellor Crownapoulous's subordinates appeared at the Christiania Charterhouse and demanded to see the Prior. They told Houghtonia that they wanted his signature on the succession oath. Houghtonia, in the most inoffensive way he could muster, declined to sign, saying simply that the Emperor's matrimonial affairs were his business and had nothing to do with the Charterhouse or its monks. This was not the response the imperial commissioners were looking for-they therefore demanded to meet with the full chapter of monks. The result was a general discussion during which Houghtonia said more than before: that he could not see how the Emperor's marriage to Katharina, having been confirmed by treaty and by Almitian injunction, and lasted for so many years, was now invalid. When the assembly expressed its agreement, Houghtonia and the Procurator of the Charterhouse, Heredotus Midloria, were taken away under guard.
 * For a month, they were kept in the Fortress under the harsh conditions that were becoming standard for clerical prisoners-neither warmth nor bedding nor sanitation, little food-but were visited by Archbishop Lesius of Christiania and Bishop Stockrania of Quencavania City, that if imperial marriages were not their business, then they should not be something that a monk should sacrifice his life over. Having accepted this line of reasoning, and indicating their willingness to encourage the community to accept the oath, Houghtonia and Midloria were allowed to return back to the Charterhouse. Houghtonia then told his fellows that he believed signing the oath would save neither him nor them for long. Their response was to argue that in that case there was no reason for any of them to sign. Their resolve weakened when the commissioners returned, bringing with them the Mayor of Christiania, a corps of Yeoman Guards and Christiania Police, and the threat that if they did not sign they would all be taken into custody. Houghtonia, Midloria, and fourteen others signed with little delay; the others followed. In doing so, they attempted to create a loophole for themselves, attesting that they accepted the Statute of Succession "as far as it was lawful." In the months that followed, the Carthusians, like other religious communities and sects throughout the Empire, were kept under constant pressure. Those most likely to be persuaded to take thew oath were interrogated and preached at by the Empire's leading clergymen, including members of the Holy Synod.
 * The passage of the Imperial Statute of Supremacy (November 1734), sealed the fate of those unwilling to comply. The monks of the Christiania Charterhouse all understood this. When Houghtonia lamented that he didn't know how to save them, they replied that all of them should prepare to die together. Houghtonia agreed, making his resolution to die with them. All the monks agreed that escape was improbable and began to prepare themselves for death. In December 1734, one of the monks did write to Chief Procurator Cranmerius, offering to take the oath if in turn he would be released from his vows. Nevertheless, from the beginning of the Chancellor's campaign, the harshest punishments were given to those houses where the strictest rules were most faithfully observed. The only complaint made against Houghtonia during that interlude was that discipline was too strict under his leadership. It was on January 22, 1735, that Houghtonia was visited by two other Carthusian priors, Balarcus Laurentia of Beauvalian House (1691-1735) and Augustus Wesbteria of Anxholmian House (1684-1735, on Lusculum). The three decided not to await the turn of the imperial commissioners but to go and see Crownapoulos. There was no meeting however, for the Chancellor had his visitors taken to the Fortress of Baureux and imprisoned there. In the days that followed, they refused to take the oath and were joined by a fourth prisoner, Ricomedius Reynoldia (1679-1735), a monk of Syon Monastery on Greenia, which belonged to the Bridgettine Order. Reynoldia was a highly educated scholar; he was Professor of Ancient Languages at the University of Colsonia and was proficient in Arachosian, Dasian, Lacian, Brestord, Halegothican, Rudorite, Jarjanican, Alexandrian, Melorkian, Devianiani, and Amelianian. He had helped transform Syon Monastery into one of the Empire's leading academic institutes; therefore, Chancellor Crownapoulos had focused especial attention upon him.
 * Throughout February and March 1735, the priests were interrogated vigorously by the Chief Procurator, Archbishop Lesius of Christiania, and by other prelates of the Almitian Church. Through all of it, Houghtonia and his accomplices refused to renege on their beliefs, and asserted their willingness to die for them. It was on April 28, 1735, that they were formally indicted by the Governing Senate on charges of heresy, corruption, treason, les-majestie, and conspiracy. The following day, they were brought before the Court; all four men pleaded not guilty. The trial lasted for only three hours, and all four were found guilty on all charges. Then, on May 4, 1735, Houghtonia, Laurentia, Websteria, and Reynoldia, joined by a fifth man, a parish priest of Christiania named Antiochus Halius (1684-1735), who was a friend and neighbor of Reynoldia's-were tied to hurdles and brought to the Public Execution Grounds of the Fortress of Baureux. They were given a final offer of pardon in return for swearing the oath, and all refused. To the astonishment of everyone, they were dressed in clerical garb; until that point it would have been unthinkable to execute a priest in the habit of his vocation, or to execute a priest without first degrading him from the clerical status. Even more remarkably, among the more than 400,000 individuals assembled to witness the executions were Antigonus Lutheranis, Duke of Reoyania and Conservan, the Emperor's illegitimate son; Empress Anna's father the Earl of Redia, and his son, Viscount Ralanchaford; the powerful Duke of Norfolkius, Lord Treasurer of the Empire; and most of the chief magnates of the Imperial Court.
 * This happened at the Emperor's instructions, and its purpose was to discourage expressions of discontent from the large crowd that such an execution attracted. Houghtonia died first, and in keeping with custom, he was allowed to speak before doing so: "I call Almitis to witness, and all good people, and I beseech you all here present to bear witness for me in the day of judgment, that being here to die, I declare that it is from no obstinate rebellious spirit that I do not obey the Emperor, but because I fear to offend the majesty of Almitis. Our holy mother, the Almitian Church, has decreed otherwise than His Majesty, and therefore rather than disobey the Church I am ready to suffer. Pray for me and have mercy on my brethren, of whom I have been the unworthy prior." The four suffered the full penalties of a traitor's death: hanging, drawing, quartering, and incineration. This was carried out with exceptional energy. Reynoldia was the last to die, offering encouragement to the others as they climbed the platform, and before presenting himself for execution, asking the crowds to pray for the Emperor.
 * The quartered, incinerated bodies of the four men were put on public display at various places throughout Christiania. In the weeks that followed, twenty more monks and lay brothers of the Charterhouse would be executed at the Fortress of Baureux, including Procurator Midloria. Another ninety would be starved to death in prison; iron collars around their necks, their feet in shackles, stripped naked, they were chained to upright posts in such a way as to be unable either to sit or lie down and left to slowly die. Crownapoulos installed a new prior, Germanicus Lutherius, over the Charterhouse; they were subjected to a harsh regime of surveillance and oppression. Furthermore, he had arranged for Morius's daughter, Margarina (1705-44), to visit her father on the morning of Houghtonia's execution. She had long been asking him to accept the oath of supremacy and therefore save his life. From a window, they were able to observe the condemned priests as they were taken off to be killed. This was part of the continuing effort to use every tool at the Crown's disposal-terror, persuasion, the promise of a swift return to imperial favor-to induce Morius and Fisherius to submit. This latest gambit did not work. Morius offered comfort to the young woman to whom, of all his large family and circle of friends, he was closest. He told her that she should see his own death as a deliverance, even as a cause for celebration.
 * May 15-As mentioned above, Nancy and Luneville in the Duchy of Lorraine were both under siege by the forces of the Laurasian and Holy Austarlian Empire by the beginning of April 1735. On April 2, 1735, the Duke of Fontainebleau attempted to launch a counteroffensive against Laurasian units in the Ardennian Worlds. He managed to storm the Laurasian operational outpost of Mezireres (April 2-4), to blockade the Laurasian repository on Sedan (April 6), and on April 9, 1735, to defeat Admiral Gordon in the pitched Battle of Verdun. Major-General Lacius, however, whose units now controlled Mont Blanc, Revigny, and Bar Le Duc, managed to keep up the pressure against Franconian forces in Lorraine; on April 12, 1735, he defeated Fontainebleau and the Prince de Coligny in the Battle of Gaspard, thereby forcing them to terminate this offensive. Nancy's defenses were finally breached by Austarlian Field Marshal von Seckendorff on April 18, 1735; the world surrendered during the early hours of the following day. More than 95,000 Franconian troops became Austarlian prisoners of war. Luneville succumbed shortly afterwards (April 23, 1735). General Lacius and Field Marshal von Seckendorff now cooperated in expelling the Franconians from Saarlauis, Bitche, and Wissenbourg (April 24-29, 1735); Karlrushe was once again firmly in Austarlian possession by May 2, while the defenses of Philippsbourg were now seriously threatened. On May 1, 1735, the 44th Imperial Fleet's 2nd and 3rd Squadrons executed a daring offensive against Reunion, Mauritius, and Seychelles, three Franconian colonies in the Southern Africianian Regions; all three systems were seized within four days, thereby hampering the flow of bullion, spice, and of agricultural goods into the Franconian Royal Dominions. This was compounded by the Battle of Vervins (May 5, 1735), in which Lacius stormed three Franconian strategic positions, captured 75,000 Franconian marines in a piencer maneuver, and destroyed the star system's defenses. Conflans and Brley fell to Von Seckendorff on May 8, 1735; then on May 11, a Franconian offensive against Parma, Mantua, and Coggaria was blunted by Field Marshal Konigsegg in the Battle of the Alto. The efforts of the Duke of Noailles, who was now the Franconian commander-in-chief in Italiania, to recover Franconia's position in the Upper Romagna and at Anti failed (May 1735). On May 18, 1735, the 6th Imperial Regiment, 4th Infantry Division of the 49th Imperial Army, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Suris Vamaus (1705-68), penetrated to Rzalah, which was located more than 55,000 light years into the interior of the Great Amulak Spiral; this marked the farthest in the history of the Laurasian Empire that Laurasian military forces had ranged from Laurasia Prime. Rzalah was a Franconian colony in the Louisiana Territories. Although Vamaus was soon afterwards compelled to retreat because of supply difficulties, the Raid of Rzalah nevertheless represented a major exploit. Vamaus would, on June 2, 1735, be promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General by the Emperor Antigonus, even though he was only thirty years old. Then on May 22, Guise and Le Cateau both capitulated to General Lacius, who was now launching expeditions to the outskirts of Orleans and of Parri itself. On May 29, 1735, the Franconian colony of St. Pierre et Miquelon was sacked by a Laurasian naval expedition; more than thirty million tons of agricultural and industrial goods were seized. By the end of May 1735, Arras, Lille, and Maubauge were all under siege by Laurasian units.
 * June 17-
 * By June 1735, the matter of Bishop John Fisherius of Constantia and of Sir Thomasius Morius had come to a head. The Emperor desired for the submission of these two individuals, their acknowledgement that he was right and that they were wrong. But if he could not have that he would take their lives instead, as yet another warning to anyone who had not paid sufficient attention to the fate of the Observants and the Charterhouse priors. And by this point, his patience was wearing then. A long procession of eminent churchmen had been sent to reason with his two most famous prisoners-more than seventy archbishops, bishops, and metropolitans had called on Fisherius, but all of their arguments and commentaries upon the ancient texts had accomplished nothing. The conditions of Morius's and Fisherius's confinement had been made progressively worse, until by January 1735, Fisherius (who was then sixty-six years old), was begging for help. But harshness did not produce any results either. The prisoners continued to refuse to submit, but continued also not to do or say anything that could be openly construed as treason. Under repeated questioning, they refused to express any opinion about the Statute of Supremacy. Fisherius refused to believe that the Statute required him to reveal his views. Morius, on his part, declared that since he had been attainted, he no longer enjoyed the protection of the law.
 * It was on June 17, 1735, following a round of further futile interrogations, that the Emperor finally had Fisherius formally indicted and placed on trial before the Special Court of the Empire for treason, les-majestie, heresy, and insubordination. His conviction, as with every conviction within the autocratic Laurasian Empire, was a foregone conclusion, but Antigonus sought to make the proceedings seem as legitimate as possible. The Crown's best weapon was its key witness, Sir Ricomedius Richius (1696-1767). Richius, who was then thirty-nine years old, had become Solicitor General of the Empire in January 1733, and was also knighted that same year. Richius was utterly loyal to the Emperor, but also determined to advance his own position. His testimony, after all the long months in which the Emperor's subordinates had tried and failed to induce Fisherius to express himself about the Emperor's policies, proved to be nothing less than a bombshell. He told the Special Court that when the Emperor sent him to meet with Fisherius, the Bishop told him that he "believed in his conscience and by his learning knew that the Emperor neither was nor by any right could be the absolute master of the Church of Almitis." Fisherius, to the astonishment of all, did not challenge the truthfulness of Richius's testimony. He erupted with furious indignation, but his anger was aimed primarily at the fact that Richius had dared to say this in court.
 * Richius had in his visit to the Fortress told Fisherius that he had been instructed by the Emperor to ask of the Bishop's opinion of the Statutes of Supremacy and Succession, and to promise that nothing said would be used against him. He had added, Fisherius told the Court, that the Emperor sincerely wanted to know what he thought "for the great confidence he had in me, more than any other." There had followed an explicit suggestion that the Emperor, after taking Fisherius's opinion into count, would possibly retract much of his previous doctrine. To all this Richius had added his own promise not to repeat anything Fisherius told him to anyone, except for the Emperor. Fisherius had responded as any honest, trusting, and even moderately courageous subject would have under such circumstances. For the first time since coming under suspicion, he had revealed his thought. In doing so, he committed treason. Richius never challenged what Fisherius said. Fisherius raged that he had the Emperor's promise, and that it had been wrongly violated. Yet Richius's testimony was all the Special Court "needed" to "justify" its already decided ruling. Every other argument which Fisherius made was swept aside; Richius's assurances were ignored.
 * On June 18, 1735, Fisherius was convicted, sentenced to death, and returned to the Fortress of Baureux. On the Emperor's orders, the Holy Synod excommunicated Fisherius; formally dismissed him from the See of Constantia, which he had held for thirty years (he was Dean of the Holy Synod at the time of his conviction, having held the status since Warhamius's death in 1732); and deprived him of his priestly sacraments and robes. The Emperor himself signed Fisherius's death warrant within hours of his sentencing. Then on June 22, 1735, Fisherius was awakened at five A.M. and told that this was the day he had been expecting: he was to be executed at ten. Fisherius's response was to ask to be left to sleep longer: he was given until 8 A.M. When he arrived at the Fortress Grounds, the platform was not ready for him; he had to await for the preparations to be completed for an hour. The assembled crowd numbered more than 450,000 individuals, and, being sympathetic to the old man, markedly subdued. Before taking his position in the middle of the platform (Antigonus had reduced Fisherius's method of execution to one of death by firing squad), he asked for the prayers of the crowd, telling them that though up to this point he had remained unafraid, he feared that his faith might fail him at the last moment. He asked for them to pray for the Emperor, and to love and obey him. His execution was swift; only one round was required to bring him to his death. Fisherius's remains were then placed on public display at the Fortress. His death was the first of a Almitian prelate, by monarchical authority, in seventy-five years. Many of the Emperor's subjects were appalled by it.
 * July 1-
 * On July 1, 1735, Sir Thomasius Morius, dressed in a plain robe of the coarest wool, his once clean-shaven face covered by a long gray beard, and filthy after a long confinement, was brought from the Fortress of Baureux, under guard, through the prescients of Christiania to the Senatorial Palace. It was now Morius's turn, one week after Bishop Fisherius's death, to stand trial for treason, les-majestie, heresy, conspiracy, and insubordination. These charges had all been laid out in a two-thousand word indictment, issued by the Imperial Ministry of Justice, on June 28, 1735. Morius was taken through the public squares because the Emperor wished for him to be on display to his subjects; to display to them the consequences of insubordination. At the Senatorial Palace, he was presented before the Special Court. Chancellor Crownapoulos, Procurator-General Audelius, the Dukes of Norfolkius and Sufforia, the Earl of Redia, and Viscount Ralanchaford were among the personages who were judges of the Special Court. No longer able to stand on his feet, Morius was allowed to take a seat. Promised release if he would affix his signature to the oaths of succession and supremacy, Morius politely declined. He then listened as the indictment was read aloud by Procurator-General Audelius.
 * It piled item upon item and buried each in a heap of explanatory verbiage, but essentially came down to four main points: that Morius had committed treason by refusing during interrogation to acknowledge the Emperor's policies concerning the Almitian Church; by conspiring with Fisherius while both were prisoners; by describing the Statute of Supremacy as a "double-edged sword that killed either the body or the soul"; and finally by telling Richius that the act was not legitimate. Morius understood that this was a show trial, the outcome of which was already decided. In defending himself, therefore, he focused not on trying to save his life, but on creating an indelible record of the absurdity of the proceedings and his reasons for declining to swear as ordered. His best weapons were the power of his own mind and the fact that his case was being treated unfairly. He was able to dispose of the charges. He invited his accusers to show that he had ever uttered a word in opposition to the Statute of Supremacy; they were unable to do so. He asked for evidence of any conspiracy between Fisherius and himself, and was shown none. He acknowledged having described the Supremacy Statute as a sword that would destroy the soul of anyone who falsely swore to it-swore without believing it to be true-but repeated that he had never spoken against it. He pointed out it that it was not possible to construe silence as treason.
 * This left Richius as the Crown's last hope of making the proceedings seem legitimate. Richius told the Court of having visited the defendant at the Fortress, and of a conversation that culminated in a statement of opposition to the Statute of Supremacy. Richius, however, said that he had gone on June 12 to deprive Morius of his writing materials and books (Morius, until deprived of the means to do so, had devoted his time to composing two devotional works, A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation and the Sadness of Paul, both of whom would be completed posthumously by his family and published in 1796, sixty-one years after his death). Richius claimed that he had engaged the prisoner in a conversation to pass up the time. Suppose, he had said, that the Councils of State had proclaimed Richius Emperor. Furthermore, what if it had been declared treason that he were Emperor. Would he then agree that he was Emperor? Morius said that he would, because the Councils had that right in times of interregnum. Then he asked Richius if he declared that Almitis was not Almitis, and made it treason to say otherwise. Would he accept that? Richius replied that he would not-that "no sovereign could make that law." Morius did not dispute this. Richius then claimed that he asked Morius if he, as Emperor, had asserted his rights as Pontifex Maximus.
 * Morius, he said, stated that the Emperor could not do this. This construed treason as it was then understood. Morius, however, disagreed, vehemently denying having said anything to incriminate himself. Morius, a man of such intelligence and care, could certainly not have said something as this. Morius himself asked the court if they found it credible that he would have allowed himself to be drawn by Richius into revealing thoughts that he had been keeping secret. Regardless, he was on that same day found guilty. Before the sentence was passed, he requested and was granted the customary right of a convicted prisoner to address the Court. He argued that the statutes of the Empire condemning him were illegitimate "by the standards of the law of Almitis". Yet he offered his defense in a way as to address not the men who now judged him, but posterity, hoping to put himsedlf on record (and indeed, by the end of the century, his testimony would be taught in the Empire's legal academies). He said that no layman, not even an Emperor, could be the head of Almitis's church. He said that the Empire should not make laws contrary to the initial teachings of Paul, the Prophet of Almitis. He spoke for ideals that were now totally out of favor. When he was finished, he was condemned to death, being formally convicted on all charges laid against him.
 * July 6-On July 6, 1735, Sir Thomasius Morius was awakened early and told that he was to die at 9:00 A.M. that day. The day before, the Emperor had commuted Morius's penalty to one of death by firing squad, just as had been done to Fisherius. He was advised, on this morning of his execution, that the Emperor wished for him to say little before dying. He said that he was grateful to be so informed, because although he had planned to say nothing that would displease the Emperor, he had intended to speak at some length. "I am ready, obediently to conform myself to His Majesty's commandments." When it came time for the execution, he found himself too weak to climb the steps of the execution rampart unassistewd. He was hoisted to the rampart and kissed the executioner, telling him that "you will render me today the greatest service in the power of any mortal." He asked the crowd of onlookers (numbering the same as Fisherius's), to bear witness that he was dying "in and for the faith of the Almitian Church", and that he died the "Emperor's good servant, but Almitis's first." He then moved to the center of the rampart. His execution was, like Fisherius's swift, with only one round required to bring him down. His body, like Fisherius's, was put on public display. Eventually, Antigonus's elder daughter, Empress Didymeia, would pardon both Morius and Fisherius (September 22, 1753), and have their remains interred at the Cathedral of St. Euesbius in Colombia, Laurasia Prime.
 * July 24-
 * June and July 1735 witnessed further progress for allied forces against Franconia. On June 4, 1735, the Siege of Arras concluded with a victory for General Lacius and Field Marshal von Seckendorff; Arras's shield defenses were pierced by the relentless bombardments of allied turbocannon, and Laurasian troops took the initiative in seizing the Arras Military Citadel. Maubeuge followed (June 8, 1735), in spite of a vain effort by the Prince de Coligny to relieve the defenses of that star system. Lille, however, did not fall until June 16, requiring two frontal assaults by allied fleets before its defenses were penetrated. Then on June 19, 1735, Hirson and Rethel were stormed by General Lacius within one day; he was assisted in this venture by Brigadier-General Vamaus, who gained further renown for his successful resistance against Franconian troops assaulting Command Position #17. St. Menehould was then seized (June 22, 1735), the day of Fisherius's execution. At the same time, Laurasian forces under Admiral Gordon and the Earl of Aretha were making progress in Brittany and Normandy. May 1735 witnessed the fall of St. Nazaire to the Earl of Aretha, after a long and costly blockade which cost the Laurasians more than 100,000 troops. Nevertheless, St. Nazaire was shortly afterwards followed by Dinan and Fougeres (June 1-5, 1735); on June 9, 1735, Aretha humiliated the Admiral de Pleussy in the Battle of Guerande. He then seized Vitre and Plomerel. Rennes, Vannes, and Nannes, the capital star systems of Brittany, were all securely in Laurasian possession by June 18; then on June 21, 1735, Vernon and Fecamp were stormed by Admiral Gordon. On July 1, 1735, the Laurasians won the Battles of Argentan and Deauville, securing both of these major Normandian colonies. Fleurs followed on July 7; then on July 12, General Lacius penetrated to Chatedaun, thereby allowing for him to launch penetrating raids into Anjou and Poitou. Liseux and Tourlaville succumbed the following day.
 * Then on July 14, 1735, the Battle of Avaranches resulted in the destruction of the opposing Franconian force by Admiral Gordon, and the capture of the Count of Poitou and the Duke of Enghien. This secured the Laurasian hold over Caen, Rouen, and the Channel Provinces. On July 19, Herouville-St. Clair surrendered to Admiral Gordon, thereby extinguishing the Franconian position in Lower Normandy. Then on July 24, 1735, the Dejanican Diet, which had been convened by King Vorrus II on the "suggestion" of the newly appointed Laurasian Ambassador to the Court of Dejanica, Sir Calas Parchion (1694-1787) in April 1735, confirmed his election to the throne of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and formally repudiated the election proclamation for King Stanis I (who had now fled to exile in the Margarviate of Mecklenburg). Stanis was declared a pretender and a usruper by the Royal Dejanican Government, and a sentence of condemnation was imposed by the Diet on any who supported his future claims. By the end of July 1735, Commercy, Toul, and St. Oizer in Lorraine and Franconian Burgundy had been stormed by Laurasian-Austarlian units; Urbani was once again in Austarlian hands.
 * August 3-On August 3, 1735, the Emperor Antigonus and his wife, Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, along with the magnates of the Imperial Court, embarked upon on a progress in the Central Core. They visited Conservan, Reoyania, Condtella, Dramis, Brithum, Goss Beacon, Williams, Clancia, Marshia, Hannah, Teth, Elainsborough, Bainsborough, Constantia, Muppet, Olivia, Maxci-casy, Mommica, Carina, Seejay Prime, Melarnaria, Paradine, Pasqauarillo, Palmisiano, Goldaria, and numerous other strongholds during the course of the next two months. The couple appeared to be happy and cordial in public, but in reality, underlying tensions were threatening to tear apart their marriage. Empress Consort Anna had emerged from another miscarriage, at the Ice Palace of Iego, in March 1735; she continued to engage in bitter disputes with her husband, whose affairs with the ladies of the Imperial Household were becoming notorious.
 * August 14-The early days of August 1735 witnessed a string of victories for allied forces that finally convinced the Autocratic Pruthian Emperor A'rua II to change his mind about the state of affairs in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This, furthermore, pushed King Franjak I of Franconia into concluding his involvement in this fruitless military conflict. On August 2, 1735, the Battle of Pouance resulted in a decisive victory for Field-Marshal Lacius and Admiral Gordon; this stronghold, one of the chief military fortifications in the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, now came into the possession of Laurasian forces. Following this, Angers itself, capital of the Franconian Duchy of Anjou, came within range. The Siege of Angers began on August 4, 1735, and continued for five days; its ultimate fall on August 9, after more than 200,000 Franconian garrison troops and naval personnel had lost their lives, proved a major blow to the Franconian strategic position. At the same time, General Vamaus defeated Franconian units in confrontations at Vitry Le Francais, Acrus Sur Arbe, Nogent, and Troyes (August 4-11, 1735), inflicting a series of constant humiliations upon them. Furthermore, all Franconian offensives against Parma and into the Duchies of Salzburg failed; the Austarlians had managed to stabilize the front in those regions. It was thus on August 14, 1735, that A'rua II, Emperor of Pruthia, issued a manifesto from Potsdam finally recognizing the election of Vorrus II as King-Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He now denounced Stanis I as a usurper and a rebel, and ordered for all of his supporters to be banished from his realms. Furthermore, the Emperor of Pruthia issued a corresponding ultimatum to his Franconian counterpart, threatening to declare war, and to enter the conflict on the side of Laurasia and Austarlia, unless if Franjak recognized Vorrus II as King of Dejanica and took steps to terminate the war. King Franjak, whose forces were engaged in border skirmishes with Spamalkan units in Gascony, Andorra, Catalonia, and Navarre, and who knew that Spmalakan Emperor Char'va I (tied down by conflicts in the Barbary States and the Peruvian Colonies), would be soon turning his attention back to affairs in Italiania, decided to take the hint. On August 19, 1735, he sent a request for a military armistice to the Imperial Laurasian and Holy Austarlian Governments. Emperor Antigonus, who was overjoyed by this request, and himself in the process of drafting plans for a new military conflict with the Marasharite Empire (as will be noted below), commanded Chancellor Crownapoulos to accept the request. This was done on August 21. Holy Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V was somewhat more reluctant, and did not accept the armistice offer until August 28. On September 3, 1735, the Armistice of Noyon was signed, thereby suspending active military hostilities in the conflict.
 * October 9-
 * Following the conclusion of the Armistice of Noyon, the three governments proceeded immediately to the organization of the diplomatic conference to bring the War of the Dejanican Succession to an end. On September 6, 1735, Chancellor Crownapoulos proposed to the Franconian, Holy Austarlian, and Pruthian Governments (the last of which was now invited to participate in the conference) that it be held at Idyll, in the Caladarian Galaxy, known for its beautiful spas and resorts. Crownapoulos hoped that the luxuries accorded on such a world would induce the various governments to the swift conclusion of a peace agreement. Holy Austarlian Emperor Char’vak V, who was leaning more and more towards concluding a military alliance with the Laurasian Empire, accepted almost immediately. Franconian King Franjak I, already entertaining hopes of enlisting Laurasian assistance in any future military conflicts against Franconia, accorded his agreement to this proposal on September 11, through a proclamation issued by the Estates-General. It was not until September 16, however, before the more wary A’rua II, who sought to gain as much advantage for Pruthia as possible, accepted the Laurasian proposal. The Imperial Laurasian Government had already, from June 1735, been engaged in preparations for a conference to be held there. Thus, matters proceeded rapidly after all parties had agreed to the Chancellor’s proposal.
 * It was on September 21, 1735, that delegations from the Laurasian Empire, Holy Austarlian Empire, Autocratic Pruthian Empire, and Serene Kingdom of Franconia convened at Idyll for the peace conference. Chancellor Crownapoulos served as the head of the Laurasian delegation, which included the Dukes of Norfolkius, Sufforia, and Christiania; the Minister of Regional and Provincial Administration, Sir Titus Lyadrades; the Earls of Hepudermia and Oxfadia; and Procurator-General Audelius. Austarlian Vice-Chancellor Count Hermann von Regenforff of Carniola (1666-1739), Austarlian Prince Franz-Joseph of Wurttemberg (1670-1756), and Count Joseph Helockzy of Budapest (1697-1784) served as the Austarlian representatives; Pruthia was represented by Lord Frederick Dustenholm of Spitz (1693-1776), Ambassador of Pruthia to the Court of Christiania; and the Dukes of Nemours, Chatterlault, and Touraine served as the Franconian plenipotentiaries. Negotiations continued for the next few weeks, as the four delegations were able to rapidly come to an agreement; Chancellor Crownapoulos displayed an innate ability to compromise, to deal with the friction between the factions, and to drive a good bargain.
 * Finally, on October 9, 1735, the preliminary Treaty of Idyll was signed, thereby terminating the War of the Dejanican Succession. By the terms of this treaty, all military hostilities among the powers were to cease. All parties agreed to acknowledge Vorrus II as King and Grand Duke of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Franjak I pledged to terminate all support to movements or organizations who opposed Vorrus, and to refrain from dispatching any mercenaries or agents to the Commonwealth’s territory. Vorrus II was to reign, with all the rights and responsibilities of a King of Dejanica, until his death; the elective procedure for the Dejanican monarchy was to be honored. Stanis I was now compelled to formally denounce the Dejanican Crown (which he would do on January 12, 1736), and to pledge never to return to Dejanica again, although he was allowed to retain control of his estates, annuities, and business interests in the Commonwealth. The Laurasian Empire gained confirmation of its military transit and intervention privileges in Dejanica, and was permitted to maintain “diplomatic garrisons” at Danzig, Torun, Lodz, Krakow, and on Dejanica Major.
 * Furthermore, it became guarantor of the peace settlement, and was to take “all possible measures” to suppress dissent within the Commonwealth. Stanis, on his part, was now to become Duke of Lorraine and Bar, as compensation for surrendering the Dejanican throne. He was to swear fealty to the King of Franconia as his overlord; to submit his foreign policies to the approval of the King; and to allow Franconian military forces free passage through his territories. Upon Stanis’s death, Lorraine and Bar were to accede to the Franconian Crown. Fransios Stephen, the fiancée of Austarlian Princess Mar’va Tarvania, was to become Grand Duke of Tuscany as compensation. Finally, the Franconians recognized Austarlian hold of the Vatican Circles, Parma, and the Brussalian Duchies; Austarlia in turn, revoked its rights to Artois, Franconian Burgundy, Provence, and Genoa. The Treaty of Idyll was ratified by Emperor Antigonus III on October 14, 1735, and by all other powers by November 14 (with King Franjak I of Franconia being the last to do so).
 * October 25-
 * By October 1735, the Laurasian and Marasharite Empires had moved dangerously close to the outbreak of active military hostilities. For some years following the conclusion of the Treaty of Pruth, relations between the two powers had managed to remain correct, although only on a partial basis. By 1729, however, Marasharite and Haynsian violations of Laurasian commercial and territorial rights, particularly in the Galactic Borderlands and the Wild Marshes, had resumed again. In November 1729, Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III declared that it was against the policy of his government to countenance for "any equal treatment of Laurasian colonists, navigators, or merchants bordering our realms", and authorized for Haynsian Despot Shannai II Karany to launch renewed raiding expeditions into the Empire's territory, in violation of the Treaties of Imegina and Pruth. In January 1730, Haynsian raids commenced in earnest, and during the course of the next five years, they much provoked the ire of the Imperial Laurasian Government. The defenses of Meneia, Kia, Pelaski, Billy Gasis, Tokygang, and Sly James were plundered by Haynsian expeditions that month; further raids in June, July, and November 1730 penetrated to the outskirts of Immae, Carrhae, and Edessa, with more than €27.4 trillion dataries worth of damage being inflicted, and more than three million colonists captured and enslaved by the Haynsian convoys. In March 1731, the Imperial General Headquarters received reports of a planned Haynsian expedition against Xilania Secondary, Jin Minor, Xilania Minoria, Morg, King, and the Satellites of Ursula. Although this Haynsian expedition ultimately did not come to fruition, it nevertheless angered Emperor Antigonus.
 * From August to October 1731, Haynsian convoys struck at targets along the galactic dial. The Hutsite Reaches, Jarjanican Districts, Burglais Arm, and Galactic Barrier Provinces all reported sightings of the dreaded Haynsian scoutships; the raid of September 19, 1731, against Jamaia I, Brenda, Dickinson, and McEvlogue, inflicted more than €44 trillion dataries in damage and resulted in the capture and enslavement of more than ten million residents of those systems. Another raiding expedition in March 1732 managed to penetrate as far as Clarise, Jodie, Northrop, and Horne before being repelled by the Imperial Laurasian Navy. Further attacks against Eric, Giron, Morgania Minor, Morgania Major, Merlin, Gunievere, Lancelot, and other targets in the Angelican and Morganian Provinces during the middle months of 1732 caused Emperor Antigonus to order for the strengthening of the Lysimachid Barrier Defenses. In November 1732, a Haynsian expedition against Norah, Satie, Juxles, Simmons, and Bingley was successfully repelled due to the swift response of the Limes Saticus garrisons, and the sophisication of the fortifications themselves. Nevertheless, Haynsian raids continued sporadically; the raid of June 29, 1733, against Joyner, Scanlan, Garner, and Edmundia Major was particularly notorious, for the Haynsian destroyed seven civilian transport fleets without regard to their livelihoods or their safety.
 * That of September 6, 1733, the day before the birth of Aurelia I, saw Haynsian ships lay waste to the colonies of Lower Belkadan, Karkol, and Ulanbataar in the Dasian Heartland, forcing the temporary abandonment of those outposts. Then on November 4, 1734, Haynsian-Admiral Gur-Dur led an offensive against Huerta Mongol, Qu'emia, Morlan, and Hieshbig. The Haynsian offensive against K-555, one of the chief Laurasian outposts in the outskirts of that region, resulted in more than 700,000 casualties and the capture of all the garrison's military supplies, armor, and equipment. The total campaign itself seized €50 trillion dataries worth of property and goods, and more than 4.5 million captives. It was in January 1735 that Chancellor Crownapoulos froze the assets of all Marasharite financial institutions within the Empire; the Duke of Norfolkius, as Lord Treasurer, forbade the Imperial Treasury from making any contracts or deals with Marasharite brokers or agents. On January 14, 1735, the Emperor received the first strategic dossier from Field-Marshal Munnich and the General Headquarters, about a planned military conflict against the Marasharites. In this dossier, Munnich suggested that the Empire's military forces, assembled at the Galactic Frontier Route and in the Borderlands Territories, would launch a series of offensives to terminate Haynsian raiding expeditions, and to clear Marasharite units from the Tof Borderlands, Muggal Cluster, and Donnian Provinces. It was not until March 1, 1735, however, before the General Headquarters issued its final dossier on the intended military operations; this was approved by Emperor Antigonus on March 18. Munnich and his subordinates in the Imperial Ministry of Defense, and at the General Headquarters, proceeded immediately to the execution of the plans.
 * From April to October 1735, Laurasian military units assembled at systems as varied as Natalie, Tiona, Belaprasian, Adrianne, Abrianne, Chromy, Chappelear, Guthmiller, DeSimms, Xilania Major, Nandia, Calrissian, Orkhan, Juxles, Lynne, and Multan for the intended operations into the Marasharite Empire. The garrisons of Carrhae, Immae, Edessa, Zoe, Eaidon, Norah, Meneia, and Satie, among other star systems, were strengthened with the addition of reinforcements, shield generators, and other defenses. Field Marshal Munnich was encouraged that the Imperial Laurasian Military, which due to the reforms that he had continued to promulgate over the preceding two years, was now more elite, disciplined, and cohesive than ever before, could defeat whatever the Marasharites were fielding. He intended that his military campaigns would ultimately lead to the total expulsion of the Marasharites from the Caladarian Galaxy, and was also encouraged by Marasharite entanglements in conflicts with Vendragia, Haxonia, and the Grand Duchy of Masacavania over interests in Persia, the Arabian States, and the Caucasian Fiefdoms. Thus, it was on October 25, 1735, that Sir Agrippa Lagmariga (1682-1745), the Laurasian Ambassador to the Court of Topacia, issued an ultimatum to the Emperor and the Grand Council.
 * In this ultimatum, which was composed by Chancellor Crownapoulos himself, the Imperial Laurasian Government demanded for an end to all Haynsian raiding offensives into the territory of the Empire; for the Marasharites to compensate the Empire for all damages inflicted, and captives seized, in these expeditions; and for the whole of the Tof Borderlands, including Ra'dai, Illumis, and Ba'dai, to be conceded to the authority of the Laurasian Empire. Furthermore, the ultimatum also demanded that the Laurasians be granted military access and free transit privileges along the Haynsian Slave Highway, and throughout the Northern Reaches. All of these terms proved to be unacceptable to the Marasharites. Marasharite Grand Vizier Gurcu Ismail Pasha issued a condescending rejection of these terms on November 2, 1735, declaring that the "unworthy, infidel Laurasian power" did not deserve any compensation, and that the Marasharite Empire had not undertaken any violation of its obligations under the Treaties of Imegina and Pruth. This turned out to be the last straw.
 * November 5-With the Marasharite Empire having rejected the terms of the ultimatum, the Imperial Laurasian Government proceeded immediately to its plans for war against the Marasharite Empire. On November 5, 1735, the Emperor Antigonus, who sought glory for himself and for the Laurasian Empire, and convinced by Munnich and Crownapoulos that the Empire's military forces were in full readiness, issued a formal declaration of war against the Marasharite Empire, from the Quencilvanian Palace on Laurasia Prime. This was the first, and only time, in the eighteenth century, out of the five conflicts waged between Laurasia and Marasharita, that the Laurasian sovereign took the initiative in instigating the military conflict. Ambassador Lagmariga had departed from the Marasharite Court on November 3, before the declaration of war had been issued, and consequently, could not be imprisoned by the Marasharite authorities (as was their custom upon the instigation of war with a particular power). In his proclamation of war, the Emperor declared that Haynsian raids, "permitted by the Marasharite savages", could not continue, and that Laurasia deserved a sphere of influence in the Galactic Borderlands and Angelina Spiral. Furthermore, he now ordered Field-Marshal Munnich to take direct command of the Empire's military forces arrayed for combat against the Marasharite Empire, and was confident in his ability to obtain a crushing victory. He was determined that unlike the last war, the Empire would make territorial acquisitions and strengthen its political influence at Marasharite expense. The Third Laurasian-Marasharite War of the eighteenth century therefore commenced, and was to see a succession of Laurasian victories over the Marasharites and Haynsians, far more sweeping than in any previous Laurasian war with them.
 * November 7-
 * Even though the Emperor of Laurasia had taken the initiative in instigating hostilities, it was the Haynsian Despotate which made the first aggressive move in the war. On November 7, 1735, a Haynsian battlefleet, under the command of High-Admiral Bashim-Karany, launched a major raiding offensive against Andrea Doria, Theodore, Longmira, and the Corporate Sector. Previously, the Haynsians had managed to penetrate Laurasian defenses, and to inflict damage as they wished upon Laurasian military positions. But this time, however, the Laurasian were prepared. The garrison of Theodore, under the command of Major-General Lord Regeverannia of Cassie, launched an immediate counteroffensive against the Haynsians, luring them into a trap at Longmira. The ensuing Battle of Longmira (November 7-9, 1735), resulted in a decisive victory for the Laurasian Empire, thereby terminating any Haynsian threat to the Burglais Arm and the Eastern Wild Marshes. Out of fifty Haynsian scoutships, twenty-five were destroyed or captured by their Laurasian adversaries; more than 75,000 Haynsian Martial Warriors died. The Battle of Longmira was soon followed by another series of defensive victories, by Laurasian forces, in the Borderlands Territories. Marasharite moves against Kia and Pelaksi (November 9-11, 1735), were repelled; on November 13, 1735, Fleet Admiral Sir Aetius Lyasius (1679-1749), gained a decisive victory over Marasharite Admiral Al-Kahuk in the Battle of Esperanto Major. On November 15, Lyasius destroyed a Marasharite convoy at Ushney. The following day, General Lacius was formally recalled from the Great Amulak Spiral, back to the Laurasian Empire, by Emperor Antigonus, for his services were now needed for the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War.
 * Lacius, who had been engaged in securing the Empire's "diplomatic garrisons" in Royal Pruthia, and on Dejanica Major, departed from Torun on November 21, 1735; he would arrive at Belkadan on December 4. In that interim, the string of Laurasian successes continued. Laurasian military units stormed Wilson, Leanne, Barton, and Dodson (November 17-19, 1735); repelled a Haynsian raiding expedition against the Pargurs, Immae, and Edessa (November 20); and plundered the defenses of Ra'dai in the Tof Borderlands (November 21). On November 23, 1735, Field-Marshal Munnich, who had seven days earlier departed from Laurasia Prime, made his arrival at Norah, and formally assumed command of the Empire's forces. Munnich brought substantial reinforcements, pulled from throughout the Empire: this included the 27th, 29th, and 31st Imperial Fleets with the 8th, 10th, and 30th Imperial Armies. Military units still in Franconia, and in the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth, were being withdrawn in quick order back to the Caladarian Galaxy. On the day of Munnich's arrival, Marasharite forces again attacked the outskirts of Kia; they were crushed in the Battle of Sly James, losing more than 75,000 military personnel to a series of Laurasian surprise attacks. Hanoi, Scone, and Ho Chi Minh then became scenes of confrontations between Laurasian and Marasharite forces (November 24-29, 1735), and on November 30, 1735, Munnich himself obtained victory in the Battle of Perrini, capturing more than 150,000 Marasharite and Haynsian troops through a series of coordinated frontal attacks.
 * December 4-It was on December 4, 1735, that Major-General Sir Peter Lacius, hero of the War of the Dejanican Succession, made his arrival back in the Caladarian Galaxy at Belkadan. Lacius's arrival had been frought with danger, for the Marasharite fleets and armadas operating in the Galactic Void attempted to intercept his convoy. They failed at that attempt, however, and Lacius was able to make his arrival in due order. He then proceeded immediately to the Galactic Frontier Route, and was instructed to take command of the imperial armadas assembling at those strongholds for a series of strikes into the Marasharite Galactic Borderlands. On December 7, 1735, the Battle of Riababaia Mogila ended in a decisive victory for Munnich, who managed to overwhelm the star system's defenses in short order, and to expel the Marasharite garrison from the star system, with little casualties inflicted upon Laurasian forces. Pyongyang, Seoul, Diojong, and Kilojong were then stormed by Laurasian units (December 9-14, 1735), although on December 16, a Laurasian expedition against Ung and Kumong was repelled by Marasharite Subordinate Vizier Al-Verdum in the Battle of Crimea. Nevertheless, these units were able to gather reconaissance information for Munnich on Marasharite positions within the heart of the Northern Galactic Borderlands. On December 18, Ayensdord, one of the most important strongholds of the Muggal Cluster, became subject to a Laurasian offensive; its fall two days later constituted one of the Empire's earliest major victories in this conflict. By December 21, Donna, Teller, and Latrice Minor were all being besieged by Laurasian units. Then on December 22, 1735, General Lacius distinguished himself in the Battle of Pulliva, completely destroying the opposing Haynsian force under Kalga Nur-Karany and forcing them to suspend their expeditions against Simmons, Margery, and other strongholds in the Xilanian Provinces. Laurasian units then stormed the Marasharite outposts of Brasseca, Kilia, Cordell, and Va'Roth (December 24-29, 1735). On New Year's Eve, 1735, Field-Marshal Munnich obtained a further decisive victory in the Battle of Verdorium Minor, thereby threatening the communications and supply lines to Karlong, Imegina, and the Lower Dnieper Asteroid Bases. Sackrandis and Chardis were both being harried by Laurasian expeditions at the end of 1735.

1736

 * January 1-The year 1736, the 36th year of the eighteenth century, commenced with the Laurasian Empire, having successfully concluded its involvement in the War of the Dejanican Succession, now at war with the Marasharite Empire and the Haynsian Despotate. In his New Year's proclamation, Emperor Antigonus expressed his fervent hope that the Marasharite "savages" would be expelled from the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy; furthermore, he wished for the Haynsian Despotate to be eliminated as a threat to the Laurasian Empire. Domestically, however, the Emperor's life was not as stable. Antigonus, by this point, had a great desire for a male heir, and he had come to despise his second wife, Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, for failing to provide him one. The Empress Consort had become pregnant (for the last time) in October 1735, but her husband had doubts that the pregnancy would be carried to term. The Empress herself threw her hopes on this pregnancy, and prayed constantly to Almitis for her to deliver a healthy son.
 * January 5-1736 commenced with the Laurasian Empire's military forces making continual progress against the forces of the Marasharite Empire and Haynsian Despotate. On January 2, 1735, Major-General Lacius obtained a major victory in the Battle of Khotyn, a precursor to the more famous Laurasian victory there which would be obtained thirty-four years later. With Khotyn in his hands, Lacius was now able to keep the Marasharite forces in the Northern Reaches tied down and distracted. Then on January 5, Field-Marshal Munnich stormed the Marasharite stronghold of Raku-ga in the Tof Borderlands. Raku-ga, which by 1736 had a population of more than seventy million, had been originally colonized by the Tof Hordes in the seventh century AH, and had at various times been under the rule of the Timurid Empire, Amelianian Kingdom of Hengist, Great Kingdom of Marcia, Kingdom of the Donathians, and Neo-Iffian Empire. Since falling into Marasharite possession in 1546, it had served as a chief military base for their operations into the Wild Marshes, and the Galactic Borderlands. Rak-uga's fall now compounded the strength of the Laurasian strategic position in the Tof Borderlands. Ba'dai and Styris V were now completely exposed to the assaults of the Empire's forces; both systems were assaulted by Field-Marshal Munnich's forces on January 14, 1736. The Marasharite High General and Pasha of the Tof Borderlands, Al-Tarik, proved himself incapable of repelling all of these constant Laurasian assaults. This was compounded by Munnich's seizure of Cusia and Brimonia (January 19-24, 1736). By January 26, Munnich had also secured Tokyang and Ra'dai from all further Marasharite offensives. On January 29, 1736, the Battle of Herculiania resulted in a victory for Rear-Admiral Sir Thomasius Saltarania (1675-1743), who captured more than fifteen Marasharite galleys.
 * January 7-By January 1736, the former Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah was on her deathbed. In June 1735, on the orders of the Emperor Antigonus, she was moved to Kimblatonia House on Nottingham; the Emperor was determined that she remain as far away from the Imperial Court, and from circles of public attention, as possible. Her servants and ladies continued to address and honor her as if she were still Empress, although Antigonus had forbidden for any reference being made to her in such a manner. Katharina now took to wearing the hair-shirt of the Order of St. Franconius, confined herself to one room, and fasted continuously. She was allowed to receive occasional visitors, but was still forbidden to see her daughter, the Lady Didymeia. Yet it was on January 5, 1736, that the former Empress Consort dictated a final communique to the man she considered to be her husband. In this communique, she touched upon many subjects, gently calling Antigonus to account for "having cast me into many calamities, and yourself into many troubles,", forgiving him for everything and asking the Lord Almitis to forgive him also. She asked him to be good to Lady Didymeia, and to provide for the dowries and expenses of her household upon her death. She closed her message with this: "Lastly, I make this vow, that my eyes desire you above all things. Farewell." The former Empress Consort, whose health had been in decline for months, then fell into a coma from which she never emerged. During the late hours of January 7, 1736, Katharina of Shenandoah died in her personal bedchambers at Kimblatonia House on Nottingham, just three weeks past her fiftieth birthday. At her deathbed, she was surrounded by her chaplain, her most intimate attendants, and some of her supporters.
 * January 8-During the early hours of January 8, 1736, the news arrived, through the holocommunications system, at the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime of Katharina of Shenandoah's death. At that time, the Court was at the Marian Palace on Ietas, which dated to the reign of Emperor Lysimachus I, and had been one of his most favorite off-world retreats from Laurasia Prime. The Emperor, who had read Katharina's communique the day before, now demonstrated his true feelings about the death of his former wife. He burst out in a fit of joyous laughter when told by Chancellor Crownapoulos that Katharina was dead, and within a short time, issued an imperial proclamation to his subjects, calling for public displays of joy throughout the Empire. The Empress Consort, on her part, publicly celebrated the death of Katharina of Shenandoah. The imperial couple adorned themselves in bright yellow colors, and displayed Grand Princess Aurelia, who was then in residence with her parents, to the innumerable nobles, courtiers, and servants of the Imperial Household. Katharina's death had removed one who had been dislodged from her marriage to the Emperor. Yet the death of the ex-Empress Consort also made Anna far more vulnerable than she had been before. Emperor Antigonus, whose marriage with Anna was extremely unpopular with his own subjects and at foreign courts, now found that he would be free to marry another without restraint, once he set Anna aside. And indeed, Antigonus already had a replacement in mind. In September 1735, the Emperor had visited Sir Damasias Seymouris at Wulfhall Estate on Volta; he had met his daughter, Lady Theodora Seymouris, for the first time. And indeed, Antigonus became immediately fixated upon Lady Theodora. By January 1736, the Emperor was actively flirting with Lady Theodora, and news of this had spread among the members of the Imperial Court. As regards to Katharina of Shenandoah, the Emperor forbade his courtiers to mourn her death, and issued a injunction prohibiting Almitian authorities and congregations from offering prayers for her soul. He did, however, decide to permit for a private state funeral.
 * January 29-
 * On January 29, 1736, the late Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah, Princess of Lesser Spamalka, and the first spouse of a Laurasian sovereign from the Great Amulak Spiral, was foramlly interned at Pelavian Monastery in Shena City, Shenandoah. The Imperial Privy Council, acting on the Emperor's instructions, refrained from issuing any formal condolences for the occasion of the funeral; the Holy Synod specifically commanded the officiating clergy to only refer to Katharina in their eulogy as Dowager Princess of the Empire and of Spamalka, but not as Empress Consort. Her tomb was engraved with the arms of Spamalka, but not those of Laurasia, so as to not suggest that she was an actual consort. The Emperor forbade his daughter, Lady Didymeia, to attend the funeral, and commanded for her to remain in her private chambers throughout the week of her mother's burial. Didymeia was devastated by her father's command, and she would never forgive him for depriving her of the chance to pay her final respects to her mother. Furthermore, the autopsy conducted on Katharina's body following her death discovered that her heart was covered with a black tumor, and that she had been suffering from undetected cardiac disease. This embittered Lady Didymeia further.
 * On the very same day of Katharina of Shenandoah's funeral on Shenandoah, the Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia suffered her final miscarriage at Sinclair Castle on Janesia (to which the Imperial Court had moved on January 22, 1736). It was discovered by the physicians of the Imperial Hospital that the Empress had been carrying a male child. Anna was sent into a fit of absolute hysteria and delirium, but when the Emperor visited her in her hospital chambers, he expressed more self-pity than concern. Anna attempted to rouse his sympathy by telling him that her miscarriage had been induced by the stress she endured following a shockball accident which he had suffered on January 24. But the termination of her pregnancy meant the end of her marriage, and in short course, her life. She now became a victim of her husband, of history, and of the demands of politics. By this point, the Empress Consort had come into serious conflict with Chancellor Crownapoulos. The Chancellor had embarked, from last year, a vigorous investigation of the revenues and state of affairs of the Empire's lesser monasteries.
 * In August 1735, the Chancellor appointed commissioners throughout the Empire in order to make formal visitations to religious establishments. What Crownapoulos and the Emperor intended in undertaking this program of visitation was to find out what was owned by the Empire's very monastic establishments and their annual incomes, so that the government could revise enumerations and contributions from the congregations and estates of the Church. Furthermore, the reduction in the number of the Church's establishments would deal a blow to the Church's wealth and influence. Everyone from Crownapoulos, to the Empress Consort, to the Dukes of Norfolkius and Sufforia, supported this. From September 1735 to March 1736, more than one million monastic establishments throughout the Empire were visited by the commissioners of the Imperial Chancellory. Each commissioner had with him eighty-six "articles of inquiry" (questions to which they were supposed to get answers), and twenty-five injunctions to which the establishments were supposed to adhere.
 * In reality, the commissioners did not deign to employ these documents, and they sought to make trouble, blacken reputations, and spread fear. Some of the injunctions sought to weaken the establishments; for example, the Chancellor reiterated the old requirements of Seleucus I that all those under the age of twenty-four, and those admitted before the age of twenty, should be discharged from the service of the establishments. This had a devastating impact upon the monasteries, abbeys, dioceses, deaneries, chantries, prayer houses, and other institutions: more than 30% of their staff numbers had been eliminated by the middle of 1736. Another injunction forbade anyone to enter or leave a monastery without explicit permission from the commissioners. Crownapoulos and the Privy Council received innumerable complaints from various institutions, complaining of the strictness of the rules. Thus, it was that Crownapoulos, on March 5, 1736, ordered the Synod to issue a manifesto requiring comprehensive reports from all lesser monasteries on their finances. While the Chancellor intended to use the vast resources of the Church for the benefit of the Imperial State, the Empress Consort advocated deploying those funds into the welfare, healthcare, and education budgets. Crownapoulos, therefore, had good reason to dispose of Anna. Chief Procurator Cranmerius was also alienated by the Empress Consort.
 * February 6-Laurasian military forces continued their progress in the Tof Borderlands, Muggal Cluster, and Northern Reaches while these events were ongoing at the Imperial Court. On February 2, 1736, the Battle of Zaporizhia resulted in a decisive victory for Munnich and for Rear-Admiral Saltarania; Munnich was now able to proceed to the outskirts of Donna. Donna, which by February 1736 had more than twenty-eight billion inhabitants, and was one of the most populous systems in the Galactic Borderlands, possessed impressive shipyards, including the Donnian Starfighter Production Yards; a extensive series of orbital defensive outposts, minefields, and shield generators; and the important Donnian Factories of Beit Shalom, one of the most extensive industrial installations in the Caladarian Galaxy. Conquest of this star system would therefore be essential to securing the Billian and Donnian Provinces. The Siege of Donna commenced on February 6, 1736, and lasted for seven days, as the Marasharite garrison of the star system, commanded by Pasha-Admiral Bahiram-Al Heddi, resisted the Imperial Laurasian Military's offensives fiercely. Nevertheless, Donna's defenses finally buckled, and on February 13, the star system capitulated to the Empire; Bahiram-Al Heddi was himself killed in the final confrontation. Laurasian units then seized the outposts of Soderhausen and Oderhausen, thereby preventing all Marasharite expeditions from being launched into the Wild Marshes. Sappho was stormed by Major-General Lacius on February 24; Kuban, Voronezh, and Thronton on February 27; and Cantella on February 29. By the end of February 1736, therefore, Munnich and Lacius had gained the firm advantage over their Marasharite foes.
 * April 4-March and April 1736 witnessed a series of further victories. On March 4, 1736, Field-Marshal Munnich reshuffled the military commands in the Galactic Borderlands. Munnich now entrusted General Lacius with the responsibility of completing the subjection of the Tof Borderlands, Billy, Donna, Latrice, and the Muggal Cluster; the Field-Marshal himself would command the Empire's operations into the Northern Reaches, and into the Galactic Void. Events proceeded swiftly. Lacius obtained a series of victories at the Donnian outposts of Ben, Michel, and Joey (March 7-11, 1736), before then repelling Haynsian expeditions against Billy Gasis, Meneia, and Pelaski. On March 13, 1736, Sissy was stormed by Lacius, followed in short order by Pod'ginay and the Colonies of the Irellia (March 15-18). Then on March 19, 1736, the Battle of Teller was waged between Lacius and the Haynsian Kalga Jay-Nester; the result was a decisive Laurasian victory. Teller fell within hours. On March 22, 1736, the Battle of Carly resulted in another decisive Laurasian victory. Munnich also gained a succession of victories. On March 10, he stormed Dianna, Digette, and Anslea; this was followed, on March 18, by the Battle of Umma, resulting in the fall of that major stronghold into the hands of the Empire. Thronton, Dunst, and Knouss were all in Laurasian hands by the end of March 1736; Bucharina, Tessy, Marson, and Merevop now found themselves in severe danger of attack. Munnich now moved his military forces in the direction of Tessy and Kerch. And on April 17, 1736, both strongholds were assaulted by Munnich's forces, in a two-pronged offensive. Within hours, Munnich had secured both strongholds; more than two million Marasharite troops were killed, in contrast to less than 25,000 casualties for the Laurasians. Ten days later, Bucharina in its turn fell to the Laurasian Empire; Marson was then besieged by the Field-Marshal's forces
 * May 2-
 * By the middle of April 1736, Chancellor Crownapoulos was ready to strike against Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia. On April 14, the Chancellor presented his report to the Emperor about the Empress Consort's alleged personal indiscretions and affairs. Emperor Antigonus now believed that he had grounds to move against his wife, and to formally depose her from her position. Yet he now decided to find a pretext, to arrest those who were accused of having been involved in a sexual affair with her. It was thus on April 30, 1736, that one of the musicians in the service of the Imperial Household, the commoner Markius Smeatonius (1712-36), was arrested on the Chancellor's orders and imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux. Smeatonius, who had entered the Imperial Service upon his graduation from the Imperial Academy of the Arts in June 1733, was considered to be one of the most talented, handsome men in the Household. He had earned the admiration of the Empress Consort, and of many of her ladies, through his skill with the piano, the lute, the flute, the trombone, the violin, the clarinet, and numerous other musical instruments; Anna proved to be one of his ardent patrons. Inevitably, it had come to be rumored that she had spied him playing upon the virginals, and had convinced him to have intercourse with her in her personal bedchambers. All of this had been reported to the Chancellor. Crownapoulos was now determined to wring a confession from him, which he could use against the Empress Consort. Smeatonius was placed on the rack at the Fortress, and he was tortured with electrical flares. This ordeal continued for more than six hours, until finally, he cracked under the relentless pressure and confessed to being the Empress Consort's "lover".
 * This most tainted confession was all that Crownapoulos needed. Sir Ptolemy Hycrani (1682-1736), who had been born at Kigonia, and served the Emperor Antigonus in succession as a Gentleman of the Bedchamber (1713-1719), Governor of Shiloh (1719-1731), Groom of the Stool (1726-1736), and Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (1726-1736), was one of the most respected men at the Imperial Court, and one of the Emperor's loyal servants. Yet he too was despised by Chancellor Crownapoulos, and was now used as another scapegoat. During the late hours of May 1, 1736, Hycrani was arrested on Maschinga and was accused of adultery, high treason, and conspiracy against the Imperial Laurasian Government. He would be transferred to the Fortress of Baureux on May 4. Then finally, on May 2, 1736, the Empress was herself arrested at her quarters in the Old Royal Palace, by guardsmen led by Chancellor Crownapoulos himself. She was told that the Emperor regretted their marriage, and that she was being formally charged with adultery, treason, conspiracy, and les-majestie. Anna protested her innocence from the first, but she was ignored, and was quickly committed to the Fortress of Baureux. She was permitted only a few of her servants, and was forbidden to conduct any communications with anyone outside of the Fortress. Then on May 4, 1736, the Empress Consort's own brother, Viscount Ralanchaford, another target of the Chancellor's, was arrested on Ipsus V, accused of the same charges as the other, and promptly transported back to Laurasia Prime; he now joined his sister, Smeatonius, and Hycrani in the Fortress of Baureux. The following day (May 5, 1736), Sir Demetrius Westonius (1711-36), who had been named a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber in 1732, was arrested in Celestine City, Calaxis I, Laurasia Prime, along with Sir Albus Brethon (1690-1736), who had served as Groom of the Emperor's Chamber since 1724, and was the heir to one of the wealthiest gentry families in the Empire. Thus, these five men were now accused of adultery with the Empress Consort Anna.
 * May 8-By the beginning of May 1736, Marson, which as had been mentioned above was under siege by the Empire's forces, was buckling in the face of relentless Laurasian assaults. Field-Marshal Munnich, supported by Admiral Saltarania, kept the pressure on the star system's supply lines, and prevented anyone from entering or leaving the system. A shortage of essential supplies and of foodstuffs then ensued on the surface; the inhabitants of Marson now clamored for the siege to end, and for the garrison to surrender to the Laurasians. Marasharite General Abdul-arhim was at first reluctant to surrender. But by May 4, he had changed his mind. On May 7, 1736, Marson surrendered to Field-Marshal Munnich's military forces. As a result of the successful conclusion of the Siege of Marson, all of the chief strongholds of the Northern Reaches proper were now in Laurasian hands. The following day, May 8, 1736, the 34th and 36th Imperial Fleets of the Imperial Laurasian Navy, under the direction of Munnich and Admiral Saltarania, clashed with the Marasharite forces of Grand-Admiral Ishak Pasha, in the Battle of Merevop. Merevop, of course, commanded access to the Haynsian Slave Highway, and was one of the chief Marasharite bases for operations in the Galactic Void. The ensuing Battle of Merevop witnessed Saltarania form his squadrons into an arching formation, thereby encrircling the Marasharite galleys, xebecs, and transports with the larger Laurasian dreadnoughts and battleships; Laurasian couriers, frigates, and starfighters then darted in and out of the Marasharite ranks, confusing them and inflicting severe damage on their numbers. Munnich, at the same time, coordinated land assaults against Merevop's defenses; his crack Imperial Marines and veteran troops stormed twelve of the twenty command positions on the surface, and defeated the larger Marasharite garrison through a series of surprise attacks and countermoves. By the end of the day, the Battle of Merevop had ended in a decisive victory for the Laurasian Empire. Grand-Admiral Ishak Pasha was mortally wounded during the battle, and died of his injuries shortly afterwards; more than two-thirds of the Marasharite officers also were killed, and virtually the entire garrison was wiped out. The Laurasians suffered only 50,000 casualties, compared to the total Marasharite losses of more than 150,000. With Merevop in Laurasian hands, Munnich was able to quickly secure Bendery (May 9, 1736), and to storm the Haynsian outposts of Rinta-il-villy, Quinta-il-vily, and Quickbay. Munnich's forces now made swift progress up the Haynsian Slave Highway, advancing all the way to the outskirts of the Haynsian Despotate, and of the Angelina Spiral, which had never before been reached by a Laurasian military force. At the same time, General Lacius secured Kilia (May 19-22, 1736), and isolated Stary, thereby preventing Marasharite units from attempting a counteroffensive against Dilojong, Kilojong, Ayensdord, Seoul, and Verdorium Minor.
 * May 13-Events related to the Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, and the five men accused of having affairs with her, proceeded quickly. On May 6, 1736, the Empress Consort, from her prison cell at the Fortress of Baureux, composed her final communique to her husband, the Emperor Antigonus. In this communication, the Empress Consort fervently asserted her innocence, pleaded with her husband to "look into his heart", and declared that the charges laid against her were "false and emanated from the doings of the Lord Almitis." Anna then claimed that it was not her fault that they had no sons, and expressed her hope that truth would prevail above all, and that their marriage would survive this "ordeal". Emperor Antigonus, when he read the communique, was enraged by its contents. The Emperor therefore commanded that his wife be deprived of writing materials, and he forbade her to make any further request of him again. He also forbade his wife from seeing their daughter, Grand Princess Aurelia, who was barely three years old at the time. Then on May 12, the Emperor issued the official instructions for the Special Court of the Empire to convene, in order to try his wife and the other men accused. The Emperor mandated that the trial of the Empress Consort was to follow that of the convicted men, and that their trial (with the exception of her brother's), was to be conducted the day after the issuance of the manifesto. And indeed, that was what happened. On May 12, 1736, Hycrani, Smeatonius, Westonius, and Brethon were all tried at the Public Council Chambers of the Quencilvanian Palace. Of the four men who were tried by the Special Court, only Smeatonius (who had been tortured), admitted to having sexual intercourse with the Empress Consort. The other four firmly maintained their innocence. There was no hope for them however, owing to the nature of the judicial system of the Laurasian Empire and the autocratic will of the Emperor. Within hours, they were formally convicted on all charges laid against them and condemned to death. The Special Court condemned them all to die by hanging, drawing, quartering, and solar incineration, a sentence confirmed by the Emperor. Furthermore, he set May 17 as the date of their executions.
 * May 15-
 * In the Public Senatorial Chambers of the Quencilvanian Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime, the trial of Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, which was considered by some to be the "Trial of the Century", was conducted on May 15, 1736. The Empress Consort's brother, Viscount Georgius Boleyenia, was also tried in the Public Senatorial Chambers on the same day as his sister. The Empress Consort's own uncle, the Duke of Norfolkius, in his capacity as Lord Treasurer, was one of the commissioners of the court sitting in judgment on her. Chancellor Crownapoulos and Lord Audelius (Procurator-General of the Governing Senate) presented the case for the Imperial Government, and made a devastating attack on the Empress Consort's virtues and her loyalty to her imperial husband. Crownapoulos denounced the Empress Consort as the "greatest whore in the realms of the Laurasian Empire" and presented his report on the Empress's infidelities, asserting that she had been despoiled of her virginity before even commencing her relationship with Emperor Antigonus. The Chancellor even alleged that she and her brother had always held a "secret passion" for each other, and that this unnatural relationship was one of the reasons for the failure of her pregnancies.
 * The Empress Consort, who was permitted no defense counsel (as was Laurasian judicial custom for high-ranking cases of state), defended herself in a calm and dignified manner, denying all of the charges against her. She declared the evidence was false and that she had remained loyal to her husband throughout their marriage. Her brother denied all charges against him and criticized the Special Court for being willing to listen to the Chancellor's evidence. Despite the eloquent defense conducted by the Boleyenia siblings, the verdict was not in doubt: after just two hours of deliberation, following the closing of their pleas, they were both pronounced guilty on all charges. The Duke of Norfolkius himself announced the court's verdict concerning his niece and nephew. The Empress Consort begged for mercy from her uncle, and asked him to examine the charges for himself. He refused. Emperor Antigonus signed the execution warrant of his wife and her brother during the early hours of May 16, 1736. He commanded that the Viscount be executed along with his wife's other "paramours" the following day, by the full penalties of a traitor's death, and that the Empress Consort herself should be executed on May 19, by means of a firing squad. On the same day that the Emperor signed the death warrant, Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod Thomasius Cranmerius heard the Empress Consort's final confession. Although the Chief Procurator had sat on the Special Court which decided her fate, and had conspired with Crownapoulos to bring about the Empress's downfall, he nevertheless had some sympathy for her plight. The Chief Procurator also heard the final confession of Viscount Boleyenia and of the other condemned men.
 * May 17-
 * On May 17, 1736, Viscount Georgius Boleyenia of Rachnalaford, Sir Ptolemy Hycrani, Sir Demetrius Westonius, Sir Albus Brethon, and Markis Smeatonius were executed by solar incineration at the Public Execution Platform of the Fortress of Baureux. All five men begged for mercy from the Lord Almitis, and asked the audience which watched their execution (estimated by observers to number more than 600,000), to pray for them. Viscount Ralanchaford, in particular, proved to be vigorous in his last defense, declaring that the Lord Almitis knew who was in the right. By command of the Emperor Antigonus, the Holy Synod passed a sentence of condemnation upon them, denying them burial at a Almitian cathedral or edifice. Their bodies were instead to be interred at the Prison Crypt of the Fortress of Baureux. Chief Procurator Cranmerius had managed to convince the Emperor from applying the full sentence of excommunication on them, which would have denied them any Almitian burial and would have left them to the fate of being dumped in the Pit of Traitors. Antigonus also issued a imperial manifesto confiscating the properties and wealth of the accused men, depriving their families of all honors and grants which had been conferred by the Imperial Court, and commanding for all references at the Court to these men to be eliminated.
 * The Holy Synod pronounced the marriage of Antigonus III and Anna Boleyenia to be null and void; it is now formally revoked. The Emperor therefore deprived Anna Boleyenia of her title as Empress Consort, of her noble position as Marchioness of Elvestia, and of all honors and favors which had been conferred upon her. The Emperor also deprived Sir Thomasius Boleyenia of the Earldom of Redia, banished him and his wife, Lady Aurelia Boleyenia, from the Imperial Court, and revoked all grants and loans which had been made to the Boleyenia family.
 * May 19-
 * On May 19, 1736, the Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia was executed at the Public Execution Grounds of the Fortress of Baureux. Anna's execution occurred barely three years after her marriage to the Emperor Antigonus, and just five months following the death of Katharina of Shenandoah. 1736 thus marked the first time in the history of the Laurasian Empire that two Empresses Consort died in the same year. To the last, Anna was defiant, asserting her innocence in her final address to the crowds. Some 750,000 people witnessed the Empress Consort's execution, including dignitaries and officials of the Laurasian Empire. Among the official witnesses to the Empress's execution were Antigonus Lutheranis, Duke of Conservan and Reoyania (Antigonus III's illegitimate son), Chancellor Crownapoulos, the Emperor's friend Carolus Brandeis, Duke of Sufforia, Anna's own uncle, the Duke of Norfolkius and Sir Julius Adarsius, Governor of Laurasia Prime. The Empress Consort's body was then interred in the Prison Crypt, alongside those of the condemned men; it was to remain there for the next twenty-two years, until the accession of Anna's daughter Aurelia the Great in November 1758.
 * On the same day of the execution of Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia and her brother Viscount Boleyenia, the Laurasian forces of Field-Marshal Bukhard von Munnich stormed the defenses of Perekop, a major Haynsian stronghold at the termination of the Haynsian Slave Highway. Perekop had boasted a garrison of 600,000 Haynsian troopers and 100,000 Marasharite Guards, and was known for its elaborate shield generators, minefield defenses, and ionization disruption cannons. The Laurasian force, however, was well-organized and well-equipped, and Munnich exploited weaknesses in Haynsian strategic dispositions to gain a decisive victory. Perekop was occupied by the Laurasian Empire, and for the first time ever in the 2,779 years since the Laurasians had first entered space, a Laurasian military force entered the satellite galaxy of the Angelina Spiral. This also marked the first time, in the two centuries which had passed since the first recorded Haynsian raid into the Laurasian Empire (c. 1531), that the Laurasians themselves invaded the homeland territories of the Despotate. Munnich, however, was unable to bring his foe to battle, as most now fled to the strongholds of the Brigoff Stellar Nebula. Nevertheless, he had established a foothold for Laurasian forces in the Angelina Spiral, and by the middle of June 1736, was bringing reinforcements up the Slave Highway to launch further offensives in the Despotate's territory.
 * May 30-
 * On May 30, 1736, just eleven days following the death of his second wife Anna Boleyenia, the Emperor Antigonus married his mistress, the Lady Theodora Seymouris, in a lavish ceremony at the Westphalian Cathedral. The two had been betrothed just one day following the execution of Anna Boleyenia. The ceremony was officiated by Chief Procurator Thomasius Cranmerius of the Holy Synod. The bride's father, Lady Damasias Seymouris, gave her away to her husband. In his marriage proclamation to his subjects, Antigonus ordered them to offer "vigorous" prayers to the Lord Almitis for the success of the union, and for public festivities, ceremonies, and parades to be held throughout the major star systems of the Empire, in honor of the Emperor's marriage. The Imperial Court would itself be taken up in a series of tournaments, jousts, masques, balls, banquets, dances, and other performances during the course of the next several days, as Antigonus delighted in his new marriage. Indeed, the Emperor found himself completely besotted with his new wife. He allowed his wife's brother, Sir Edwardis Seymouris, to have his own personal quarters in the Quencilvanian Palace. As for the now Empress-Consort Theodora, Emperor Antigonus did have some reason to be satisfied. She was now twenty-nine years old, experienced in the ways of the Court, modest in her demeanor, and far more submissive than the temperamental Anna had ever been. Theodora was known for his long, flowing blonde hair, her piercing blue eyes, and her graceful stature. Yet, as a longtime lady-in-waiting, first to Katharina and then to Anna, she had witnessed the fall of both, and had seen the Boleyenias raised so high by their Emperor only to be destroyed. Indeed, the Emperor issued a manifesto the day before his wedding, commanding for his subjects to celebrate the execution of the "adulteress Anna Boleyenia." It was forbidden for any of his subjects to refer to Anna Boleyenia as Empress-Consort, and all honors which had been conferred by her, or in her name, were revoked. Most of Anna's ladies-in-waiting, servants, and attendants were dismissed from the Imperial Household and either fined or commanded to return to their prior households. The Emperor had also instigated plans to revise the procedures of succession, announcing this to the Privy Council on June 2, 1736. This spelled ominously for Grand Princess Aurelia, who in spite of her mother's death, and the annulment of her parent's marriage, still remained the legitimate heir due to the First Statute of Succession.
 * On the same day of the marriage of Emperor Antigonus III and the Lady Theodora Seymouris, the Siege of Ung came to an end with a victory for the Laurasian Empire. Major-General Lacius, who was still engaged in the process of subduing the strongholds of the Muggal Cluster, had now focused his attention upon Ung, formerly one of the Torfian Throne Worlds. Lacius was determined to secure this major Marasharite system, understanding that its seizure would serve to strengthen the Empire's overall strategic position. Ung was besieged by his forces from May 24, 1736. Marasharite High-Admiral Koca Davud launched a series of counteroffensives against the Laurasian lines, threatening Poloa, Verdordium Minor, and Hengist (May 25-27, 1736), in a vain attempt to halt Lacius's siege efforts. In spite of all this, however, Lacius stood his ground; the Marasharite offensives were repelled with heavy losses, and nothing was accomplished in the way of relief for Ung. It was during the late hours of May 29 that Ung's minefield defenses were penetrated by the squadrons of the Imperial Laurasian Navy, thereby paving the way to the seizure of the star system by Lacius's troops. Lacius executed a series of landings on Ung's surface, and the cities of Sejong, Gawjanu, and Ulaan fell quickly into Laurasian hands. It was on May 30, therefore, that High-Admiral Davud was compelled to retreat from the star system on his personal starfighter, and that all resistance in Salliche City was completely suppressed. The conquest of Ung constituted a major victory for the Laurasian Empire; General Lacius's praises were now being sung in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, and throughout the Empire.
 * June 6-Following the seizure of Ung, the attention of General Lacius turned immediately to its sister world, Karlong. Karlong, with a population of more than eighteen billion by 1736, was considered to be a major commercial and agricultural hub in the Muggal Cluster. This world was one of the premier producers of foodstuffs, agricultural equipment, and wild beasts in extra-galactic civilization; its seizure would add to Laurasian military and agricultural resources, for the further pursuit of the conflict with the Marasharites. On June 4, 1736, Karlong's defenses were blockaded by Lacius's forces, and all communications lines into the star system were suppressed. Lacius now launched several attacks against the minefields and operational outposts of the star system, attempting to penetrate through them and to take the position of strategic importance within the system's confines. These first attacks, however, were successfully repelled by Marasharite units at Daejeon Ford, who employed a series of attacks with corvettes, cruisers, and xebecs to harry and repel the Laurasian moves. Lacius however, was now to enjoy an extraordinary stroke of luck. On June 6, 1736, two days after the commencement of the Siege of Karlong, the power generators for Karlong's shield defenses suffered a catastrophic reactor failure, rendering the planetary shields useless and leaving the world exposed to a frontal assault by Laurasian troops. General Lacius quickly took advantage of the opportunity thus granted, and the Laurasian forces quickly stormed the orbital defenses of the Karlong star system; the entire Marasharite garrison was left in disarray by the failure of the power generators. General Malik-Tarik of Mali (1691-1755), one of the many personnel from the Barbary States in the service of the Marasharite Emperor, and Commander of the Karlong Garrison, was able to quickly understand that resistance to the Laurasian onslaught was futile. On June 8, 1736, he surrendered unconditionally to Lacius, thereby bringing the Siege of Karlong to an end. Karlong was now in the hands of the Laurasian Empire, and became the chief operational headquarters for General Lacius and his chief subordinates. Lacius was now actively engaged in planning the siege and conquest of Imegina, the most populous of all the Marasharite holdings in the Caladarian Galaxy. Laurasian units occupied Incheon, Busan, Daegu, Gyonggi, Changowan, and Cheonan during the course of June 1736, thereby consolidating their hold over Ung and Kumong.
 * June 13-On June 13, 1736, the Emperor Antigonus promulgated the Second Antigonid Statute of the Imperial Succession, thereby superseding the First Antigonid Statute of 1734, and revising the procedures of succession for the Imperial Laurasian Crown. This statute now formally declared both of the Emperor's daughters, Didymeia and Aurelia, to be bastards. Aurelia was deprived of the title of Grand Princess, reduced to the rank of "Lady", and removed from her position as heiress apparent, exactly the same which had happened to Didymeia earlier. The Statute provided that the Emperor's legitimate children by his "wife, the honorable Imperial Consort and Majesty Theodora" would be the heirs to his throne. Neither Didymeia or Aurelia were to become eligible to accede to the throne in the future; it was now forbidden for any to acknowledge either of the two Ladies as heiress apparent, or to refer to them by the title of Grand Princess. The penalty for such crimes was to be imprisonment and confiscation of all "disposable properties, revenues, and honors." In order to magnify the effect of this new statute, the Emperor ordered, on June 22, 1736, for Chancellor Crownapoulos and the Imperial Privy Council to force Lady Didymeia to support her father's claims. She was now made to sign a public declaration, acknowledging her illegitimate status, the annulment of her parents' marriage, and the religious reforms which had been implemented by her father. This declaration was formally announced by the Privy Council to the Imperial Court, and on the Emperor's orders, was entered into the Imperial Statutes, thereby making it law. Didymeia was to regret this decision for the rest of her life, and upon her accession to the throne in July 1753, would have this declaration expunged and all copies of it destroyed. On July 6, 1736, at the insistence of the Empress Consort, Lady Didymeia met with her father, Emperor Antigonus, at Kostonos House on Meaganian. This marked the first time that father and daughter had seen each other in more than three years. The meeting was strained, with Lady Didymeia bursting into tears, and with Emperor Antigonus demanding his daughter's obedience. Antigonus ultimately ordered Didymeia out of his sight, and rebuked his wife Theodora for having suggested this meeting; this would prove to be one of the few arguments they would have during the course of their marriage.
 * July 1-Death of the former Marasharite Emperor Ahmad III at the Topacian Palace on Marsrr.
 * July 13-By July 1736, Field-Marshal Munnich felt confident enough to resume military operations in the territory of the Haynsian Despotate. Munnich had focused much of his effort, over the preceding month, on strengthening the Laurasian Empire's hold of Perekop, and of the Haynsian Slave Highway. Merevebey fell into Laurasian hands only on June 19, 1736, thereby terminating, at least for the time being, all Haynsian raids and slaving expeditions in the Galactic Void. But it was only on July 13, after Munnich repelled a series of Haynsian counteroffensives against Perekop, Quinta-il-vily, and the Angelina Gateways, that he advanced from Perekop. He stormed the Haynsian military arsenal of Bajday (July 13-15), capturing more than 75,000 Haynsian Martial Warriors and inflicting severe damage to the world's defenses. Munnich's forces then seized Little Boravia and Isis (July 17-19, 1736); then on July 22, 1736, he utterly destroyed a Haynsian Expeditionary Force, commanded by the Kalga of the Greater Boravia Regions, Hureem-Pasha, in the Battle of Baina. More than two-thirds of the Haynsian scoutships were destroyed by the Laurasians; furthermore, Munnich was able to blunt the Haynsian advantage in mobility by keeping his starfighters in strategic conjunction with his battleships, dreadnoughts, and armored transports. From Baina, Laurasian units seized Yevtaporia, Tivran, and Eudorpia (July 24-29, 1736), thereby consolidating control over the inner portions of the Brigoff Stellar Nebula, and penetrating into the Warrior Fastnesses. General Lacius, in the meantime, secured the Laurasian hold of Kumong (July 17, 1736), and proceeded to capture Getty (July 25), destroying a Marasharite military headquarters in the process.
 * July 23-On July 23, 1736, Emperor Antigonus III's illegitimate son, Antigonus Lutheranis, Duke of Conservan and Reoyania, died at the Old Royal Palace in Christiania. He was only seventeen years old. The Duke of Conservan had contracted the dreaded Meledian syndrome, which had wasted his body and had resisted the efforts of his doctors to contain its symptoms. At his deathbed was the Duke's mother, Demetria Lutheranis (who had been created Baroness of Osama by her ex-lover, the Emperor Antigonus III, in 1734), and his wife, Duchess Marcia Howardis. The Emperor, who was at Darcia at the time of his son's death, was utterly devastated by his loss. Antigonus was once again contemplating the possibility of revoking his son's bastardy and naming him his heir apparent, but was prevented from moving forward with this by his son's untimely death. Emperor Antigonus ordered the Imperial Court to mourn his death for two weeks and had bells toiled at the religious edifices of the Laurasian Empire, in order to honor his son's soul. The Duke of Conservan and Reoyania would be interred at the Noble Crypt of the Westphalian Cathedral on August 4, 1736, in a ceremony attended by all of the magnates of the Imperial Court and presided over by Chief Procurator Thomasius Cranmerius. Lutheranis's mother, Baroness Demetria Lutheranis of Osama, would die in Christiania on January 12, 1740, at the age of only forty-one.
 * July 29-On July 29, 1736, Haynsian Despot Qaplan-Empi II Karany, who had failed to prevent the advance of Field-Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Munnich's forces into the territory of the Haynsian Despotate, was formally notified at Doros that his suzerain, the Marasharite Emperor Sassas III, had formally deprived him of the Haynsian throne for the third and last time. Qaplan-Empi was considered a traitor and ineffective in the eyes of the Marasharite Court of Topacia, and he now fled to exile at Talinin in the Dejanican Duchy of Northania. He was succeeded as Despot by Ferrah II Karany, the grandson of Jay IX Karany. Ferrah, however, was destined to hold the throne only for a short time.
 * September 7-The advance of Field-Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Munnich's forces in the Brigoff Stellar Nebula, and in the Haynsian Despotate, continued through the middle of August 1736. Munnich, although he found the Haynsian forces to be elusive, was nevertheless able to inflict further damage upon them. On August 1, 1736, Ikkerman was besieged by the forces of the Laurasian Empire. The siege lasted for eight days, as Haynsian scoutships, moving through the siege lines, inflicted damage upon the Laurasian forces, and launched a series of raids against Laurasian operational outposts. Munnich ultimately overcame these troubles, and Ikkerman's fall on August 11 was considered a great triumph. Doros was then sacked by a Laurasian expedition (August 14, 1736), and by August 22, Greater Boravia and Chalaa were both under siege by Munnich's forces. Although Laurasian units were driven from Little Boravia (August 24, 1736), Munnich was able to maintain his hold over the Perekop Ramparts, and to storm Theodoros, New Genoa, and Semrnapoval (August 26-31, 1736). At the same time, General Lacius made further gains of note in the Muggal Cluster. He besieged and conquered Jimmie (August 5-8, 1736); repelled Marasharite moves against Ung, Kumong, Karlong, and Verdorium Minor (August 12-14); and sacked the defenses of Sackrandis (August 21, 1736). Crimea finally fell into Laurasian hands on August 24, 1736, followed in short order by the minor Marasharite colony of Kaidek (August 26). Iasi was then blockaded by General Lacius's forces; its fall on September 3, 1736, constituted yet another major victory for Laurasian arms in the Northern Reaches. Yet on September 7, 1736, Munnich suffered a major reverse in the Battle of Sernapoval; his attempt to seize this stronghold backfired, and the Haynsians made 75,000 soldiers of the Imperial Laurasian Army their prisoners. On September 13, he was compelled to halt his siege of Greater Boravia; Chalaa was then relieved by Haynsian Despot Ferrah II Karany (September 17-19, 1736). Lacius too, failed in offensives against Stary and the Marasharite Dniester Bases (September 22-23, 1736). By the end of September 1736, Theodoros and New Genoa were back in Haynsian hands, and Munnich understood that he would be unable to reach Balaclava, one of the chief Haynsian slave markets and economic strongholds in the Angelina Spiral.
 * September 19-
 * After several months of investigations, and of consultations by the Emperor Antigonus with his leading ministers, the Imperial Statute for the Administration of the Monasteries was promulgated on September 19, 1736. The Statute was drafted by Chief Procurator Cranmerius and Chancellor Crownapoulos, who sought to solidify the control of the Imperial Laurasian Government over ecclesiatical properties. The Statute formally reimposed the age limits of Seleucus the Victor in the fourteenth century, mandating that only Laurasian men over the age of fifty, and women over the age of sixty, could enter a monastery. Monasteries were now deprived of direct administration over their estates; the Commission of Economy, already responsible for church finances and salaries, now assumed this responsibility. All clergy and officials of the Imperial Almitian Church were forbidden to use any remaining ties, annuities, of offerings by their congregations for their own purposes. Furthermore, the Statute now established the Commission for the Augmentations of the Revenues of the Imperial Treasury, which became responsible for managing the new streams of income from the Church. All monasteries, abbeys, priories, chantries, houses, deaneries, and other church estates were now mandated to sell, or to "repurpose" at least two-fourths of the properties then in their possession during the course of the next seven years; all star systems previously allocated to religious purposes were now to be open to colonization by the Empire's subjects; and monasteries would be forbidden to acquire new properties in the future without the express approval of the Commission of Economy.
 * This statute thereby formalized the whole-scale seizure of church property and goods. It also permitted the Privy Council to choose which estates would be exempt from the statute's provisions, with the authorization of the Chancellor. Crownapoulos used this new power to his advantage, and extorted many church monasteries to pay in order to keep possession of their properties; more than 2,000 establishments in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region alone would be handled in this way during the next year. Yet more than 80% of the Church's total estates and establishments found themselves affected by the Statute. Between 1736 and 1740, the Church would lose more than half of its landed properties and holdings; 33% of its businesses and enterprises; and 25% of its total dependents, colonies, and dioceses. More than six billion clerics, of all ranks, would be forced from the service; that was nearly two-thirds of the entire Church structure. Spamalkan Ambassador Eustace Chapuys (1692-1756), who served as Ambassador of the Holy Spamalkan Empire to the Court of Christiania from 1729 to 1745, would report in June 1737 that "it is a lamentable thing to see a legion of clerics, chased from their monasteries, wandering across space and seeking means by which to rebuild their lives and careers; I have been informed that many have been reduced to destitution, and rely upon benefits from the Ministry of Sentient and Health Services..." The response of the clerics thus affected was almost universally passive, who received no support from the church hierarchy, or from those who they served. There were exceptions to this rule. Riots broke out on Alsora, Lomanis, and Isoter's Shaft, primarily in response to the confiscation of Chiweth Abbey in late September, 1736. The Alsoran Riots continued for over a month, and when they finally ended on October 28, had resulted in more than 250,000 deaths and €300 billion dataries in property damage. Tommy, Zennethia, and Durglais also saw disturbances related to the enactment of this Statute. Furthermore, on September 24, 1736, the Emperor revised the Imperial Statute of Treason, now penalizing anyone who refused to make known their opinions on the oath of succession (which had been revised since Aurelia was now a bastard), and provided that anyone who attempted to countervail the act's provisions would be automatically liable for treason.
 * October 3-
 * By October 1736, tensions in parts of the Laurasia Prime Purse Region had become inflared, due to the Emperor's religious policies, including his enactment of the Statute of Monastic Administration. Falloria Major was one of the chief hotbeds of "Traditionalist" dissent within the Laurasian Empire. It was on October 3, 1736, that the Uprising of Grace, the most serious internal challenge to Emperor Antigonus during his reign, commenced. The members of the congregation of St. Mary's Cathedral in Ladavras, Falloria Major, were particularly incensed by Emperor Antigonus's policies. Since September 21, their preacher, Sir Cleon Claranchia (1675-1737), had posted several protests to the imperial authorities on Falloria Major, demanding for an end to the confiscation of monastic properties, and for the Church's traditional holdings, services, and ceremonies to be respected. This demand had been ignored; the congregation therefore determined not to adhere to the dictates of the authorities any longer. Their defiance began as a riot; homes, businesses, and governmental edifices in Ladavras were destroyed by rioting protesters; civil unrest spread in the streets; and the police clashed, at first, with the protesters. But within one day, the situation changed. The notary public for the Chancellory of Ladavaras, Sir Robertius Askius (1680-1737), now arose to prominence. He was the namesake son of Sir Robertius Askius (1640-1706), of Javaria, was related to Antigonus Cliffordia, Earl of Cumbria (1717-70), and the maternal grandson of Lord Tiberius Raskrania, 3rd Baron Raskrania of Chilsia (1617-1714), who had become Baron Raskrania in 1674 and died at the age of 97.
 * Askius had graduated from the Christiania Inns in 1704, served as Recorder of the Municipal Court of Colombia (1709-1714); and then became Reader of the University of Falloria Minor Legal School (1716-31), before being appointed Notary Public of Ladavaras in 1733. He therefore had a distinguished legal record, and was of gentle heritage. It was therefore surprising that Askius decided to side with the rebels. He delivered a speech to the crowds at St. Mary's Cathedral, denounced the confiscation of the Church's estates, and the changes being made to the rituals of the Almitian Mass, and promised to fight for the "proper succession and order in the Empire." His oratory skills roused the crowds, and they now became a cohesive force. Furthermore, the law enforcement authorities and military garrison of Falloria Major found the goals of the uprising to be in accord with their own; they therefore defected from their allegiance (October 5, 1736). Falloria Minor joined the rebellion shortly afterwards, and Askius now composed messages to the garrisons of Tarravania, Chilisia, and Darsis, urging them to revolt against the "unnatural policies" of the Imperial Laurasian Government. These star systems responded in quick order; by October 7, the Uprising of Grace had become a major issue for the Empire's authorities in the Purse Region. Askius and his followers now had access to naval, land, and retainer forces.
 * October 7-
 * On October 7, 1736, the Emperor Antigonus, alarmed by the outbreak of the Uprising of Grace, issued an imperial manifesto in response to it. He now labelled Askius and his leading followers as traitors, commanded for all appporiate measures to be taken against the Uprising, and denounced all who participated with the uprising, or supported its goals. Furthermore, he derided Falloria Major as an "evil and beastly place", and that failure to comply with his conditions would result in the "utter destruction of them, their wives and children." He also ridiculed the rebels for presuming to offer advice on how to rule. The Emperor now commanded the Duke of Norfolkius, who had not commanded a military force in active combat for a decade (due to his entanglement in affairs at the Imperial Court), to assume command of the forces now being assembled to suppress the rebellion. Yet Antigonus and his government now suffered more reverses. On the very same day that the manifesto was issued, Augis II and Tifelium both declared their support for Askius. On October 9, 1736, the Battle of Louthrania, the first pitched confrontation between governmental and rebel forces, ended in a surprising rebel victory. Carseolonia and Fulcania were then seized, and on October 14, 1736, rebel forces reached Charasia. Two days before this, Askius and his leading followers formally published a Proclamation of Intentions. The notary and rebel leader asserted that he bore no ill-will against the Emperor, and that he was a loyal subject of the Laurasian Empire. He stated that he and his followers wished for an end to the confiscation of monastic properties; punishment of Chancellor Crownapoulos's notorious commissioners and agents; and the removal from office of Crownapoulos, Procurator-General Audelius, Sir Richardius Richius, and many of the Church's leading prelates, including Chief Procurator Cranmerius. The rebels, by this point, had adopted a banner to represent their cause; it depicted the eucharistic host, a chalice, and a figure of Lord Paul, bearing his wounds. The rebellion was therefore, from the start, proclaimed to be a religious uprising.
 * And indeed, the movement continued to make progress against the governmental forces and garrisons of the Laurasian Empire. During the early hours of October 15, Charasia's defenses were penetrated by the rebel forces, who proved to have a numerical and organizational supremacy over the world's garrison. Charasia was there occupied by the Uprising of Grace and Askius himself garrisoned St. Callus's Cathedral in Nova Constantinople, establishing it as his chief command headquarters. From Charasia, rebel units turned their attention towards Americana (October 16, 1736). Americana, which by 1736 had a population of more than fifteen billion, was one of the chief strongholds of the Laurasia Prime Purse Region. This was a prized possession of the Imperial Laurasian Government: the Palace of the Greats was located here, and Americana was renowned for its resorts, casinos, and the varied beauties of its countryside. It possessed a garrison of more than 175,000 troops, but this garrison proved to be ineffective against the much-larger, and more motivated, rebel forces. Americana's defenses were soon penetrated by the rebel destroyers and dreadnoughts; Askius himself, with the assistance of Spartacus Mertius (1691-1737), a veteran of the Second Laurasian-Marasharite War and the War of the Dejanican Succession, commanded the direct assaults against Americana's land defenses. Pontefractia Castle, which was the chief military fortification in the star system, proved to be a formidable obstacle; Major-General Sir Craterus Turus (1682-1745), who commanded the garrison of Americana, arranged his troops in formation and sought to pose the greatest resistance possible to further rebel moves. Yet in spite of his efforts, the sheer number of rebel troops assaulting Pontefractia Castle, the careful coordination of these troops by Mertius, and the support of the local populace for the offensives, determined the outcome. On October 20, 1736, Pontefractia Castle finally fell into the hands of the rebel troops; the remaining cells of governmental resistance on Americana followed shortly afterwards. Yet by this point, Emperor Antigonus, who sought to end this grievous rebellion against his authority as soon as possible, ordered the Duke of Norfolkius to proceed immediately to Sentinum, with the intention of preventing rebel moves against Augis V, Dearton's Gateway, Maroni, and Badragan. Norfolkius arrived at Sentinum on October 24, but quickly realized that rebel supply and communication lines were superior.
 * November 4-As mentioned above, the Duke of Norfolkius's arrival at Sentinum exposed him to the reality of the situation, as relating to the Uprising of Grace. And indeed, in the days immediately following the Duke's establishment of his headquarters there, rebel offensives continued. Sarai and Alanium were both stormed by rebel units (October 25-26, 1736), and on October 28, Askius obtained a victory over a government supply convoy in the Battle of the Brant Expanse, thereby threatening Venusia, Taurasia, and Clackimeris. All of this finally convinced Norfolkius that a policy of negotiation and of "deception" would be instrumental in securing the submission of the rebel leaders, and the termination of the active rebellion. On October 30, 1736, he sent a communique to Askius, who had then moved with his chief military units to Augis II. In this communique, Norfolkius requested for the rebel leaders to submit their terms for ending their defiance. The Duke made sure to obtain the Emperor's approval for making this request before-hand; Antigonus had no difficulty in seeing the wisdom of the policy now being pursued. Askius and his subordinates responded promptly to the Duke's request, and on November 2, sent him a full communication of their conditions: the removal of Chancellor Crownapoulos and Chief Procurator Cranmerius from office; the revocation of the Statute on the Administration of the Monasteries; and the confirmation of the Almitian Church's privileges, customs, and administration. Askius now offered to hold a conference, in-person, with the Duke, in order to discuss these terms further. Norfolkius accepted quickly; on November 4, 1736, the Duke met with Askius, Turus, and the other rebel leaders at Donacasteria, a Laurasian agricultural colony located ten light-years to the east of Alanium. There, Norfolkius offered to take the rebel demands, along with two of their representatives, to the Emperor personally. In the meantime, rebel forces were to refrain from further operations. The rebel leaders were skeptical, and agreed only to meet with Norfolkius again the following month, once he had returned from conferring with the Emperor. Norfolkius accepted this reluctantly, and on November 6, 1736, the conference disbanded. The Duke then made a hasty departure for Iego, to which the Imperial Court had removed itself, so as to be out of the range of the rebels. He arrived there during the late hours of November 7, and during the course of the next few weeks, would found himself locked up in a round of audiences and discussions with the Emperor and the Privy Council over the rebel terms.
 * November 22-
 * The last months of 1736 witnessed a series of further reversals for Laurasian forces in the Galactic Void and in the Angelina Spiral. On October 7, 1736, Haynsian Despot Ferrah II Karany inflicted a humiliating defeat upon Munnich in the Battle of Yevpatoria. As a result of this confrontation, more than 75,000 troops of the Imperial Laurasian Army were killed, and another 15,000 were captured. Furthermore, the Haynsians seized a number of Laurasian frigates, couriers, and ion cannons. From Yevpatoria, Munnich suffered a further series of reverses at Khurshev, Fedosiya, and Armyansk (October 9-15, 1736). Then on October 21, 1736, Haynsian Kalga Qaplan-Nester launched a series of surprise offensives against the Perekop Approaches, Karabusar, and Ikkerman; this offensive resulted in the reconquest of thirty Haynsian garrisons, previously occupied by Laurasian units. Furthermore, Karabusar fell back into the hands of the Haynsian Despotate, while Ikkerman's supply lines were dangerously weakened. Field-Marshal Munnich then suffered another reverse in the Battle of Quickbay (October 24-26, 1736), which resulted in more than 25,000 Laurasian casualties and in Laurasian units being compelled to abandon that stronghold. Then on November 1, 1736, the Battle of Tivran ended in another reverse for Munnich, who lost virtually all of the industrial and agricultural goods which had been seized by Laurasian forces from the outposts of the Warrior Fastnesses. Munnich was now compelled to begin a coordinated retreat back towards Perekop, suffering further reverses at Alusha (November 5); Dzankoy (November 11); and Yalta (November 13-14). **Finally, on November 22, 1736, the Field-Marshal made the strategic decision to abandon Perekop and the Perekop Ramparts, and to retreat with his forces back into the Galactic Void. By the end of November 1736, Haynsian forces had reoccupied those bases and the Brigoff Stellar Nebula, thereby leading to the end of the Laurasian Empire's first ever military offensive in the homeland territories of the Haynsian Despotate. Laurasian forces, by the end of the campaign, found themselves constrained by the length and the difficulties involved with the supply routes; by unfamiliarity with the star systems and stellar regions of the Angelina Spiral; and by the constant harrying of Haynsian war parties. Yet Munnich's retreat did not mean the end of Laurasian moves against Haynsia. On December 5, 1736, the Privy Council authorized for a renewed series of offensives into the Angelina Spiral, to take place the following year. Munnich and his forces had nevertheless inflicted severe damage on the Haynsian Despotate, having captured or ransacked five hundred Haynsian outposts and strongholds; recovered €950 trillion dataries worth of industrial equipment, agricultural goods, and raw materials, and liberated more than seventy million Haynsian slaves, including five million Laurasian colonists who had been captured and placed into bondage during the decade which separated the Second and Third Laurasian-Marasharite Wars of the century. A strategic stalemate ensued during December 1736, although Major-General Lacius did secure Laurasian possession of Ba'dai, Ra'dai, and Tokyang, the chief strongholds of the Tof Borderlands.
 * December 2-
 * On December 2, 1736, Askius and his fellow subordinates assembled at Pontefractia Castle on Americana to prepare for another round of negotiations. During the intervening weeks, the rank and file of the rebel forces had grown restless, and Askius had been compelled to maintain discipline and order among them. Askius took the responsibility for drawing up an even more comprehensive set of articles for presentation to Norfolkius, and through him, to the Emperor. There was much emphasis on reversing the religious innovations of the past several years, and a number of new items were added. They wanted the legitimacy of the Emperor's elder daughter, Lady Didymeia, restored; the Statute of Treason repealed; and a commission of representatives and officials from throughout the Empire to convene on Paradine, in order to discuss and deliver petitions and proposals from the subjects of the Empire to the Emperor and his ministers. Finally, they demanded a full pardon for everyone who had been involved in the rebellion. This was a startling document, and would have constituted a direct challenge to the fabric of autocracy, which had now been an enduring feature of Laurasian civilization for the better part of seven centuries. It showed the depth of Traditionalist unhappiness with the innovations of the 1730s, and popular awareness of how the Emperor and his ministers had further strengthened the central authority of the Imperial Laurasian Government. For Antigonus, these conditions were an abomination, a gross and unforgivable violation of his rights. For Norfolkius, who was a model of the warrior nobility of the Empire, they were an affront, a despicable attempt by presumptuous commoners to overturn the natural order.
 * It was necessary to stall, however, for the Emperor was aware of the tensions which existed on Caladaria, Darcia, and in the Malarian Provinces; the Empire's main offensive military forces were tied down in the Galactic Borderlands; and stirrings of rebel unrest were starting to emerge in other, more far-flung regions of the Empire. Therefore, when on December 6, 1736, rebel leaders met with Norfolkius as agreed, he accepted every demand. The Commission would be established; the Statute on Monasteries would not be enforced; and the rebels themselves would be pardoned in return for handing over all their strongholds back into the government's hands, and suspending all military operations. This, from all appearances, was a major victory, but there was skepticism among the rebels. Norfolkius had said nothing about when or where the commission would meet, and only the promise of a pardon had been made, not the actual pardon itself. Under such circumstances, some argued, it would be folly to suspend their rebellion. Askius, however, saw matters in a different light. He thought it inconceivable that the Emperor would not be as good as his word, and that he would honor promises made to loyal subjects to rid evil subordinates. When informed of the promise of pardon, Askius, to show his comrades that it was good enough from him, tore from his uniform the tunic the badge of the rebellion and declared that he would only wear the Emperor's insignia. This proved effective, and by December 17, 1736, all of the rebel strongholds had returned to their normal allegiance towards the Imperial Laurasian Government; rebel forces vanished almost overnight. Then on December 19, Askius received a communique from the Emperor, inviting him to spend Ascentmas Day at the Imperial Court. Antigonus claimed that he had "conceived a great desire to speak with you and to hear of your mouth the whole circumstance and beginning of the manner."
 * The communique repeated Norfolkius's assurances of "our general and free pardon, already granted unto you." Askius accepted-an invitation from His Imperial Majesty was considered to be a considerable honor-and made his arrival at the Palace of Placenta on Darcia (to which the Court had retired on December 9), on December 21, 1736. Throughout his visit, which lasted for nine days, he found himself treated with great honor. At the Emperor's request, he wrote an account of the rebellion, and received a gift of more than €500 million dataries from the Emperor. His Majesty also gave him an expensive suit and a number of smaller gifts. The Emperor received Askius in two personal audiences; permitted him to sit at the Imperial Seat of Honor during the Ascentmas Day banquet; and even allowed Askius to address the courtiers and nobles of the Empire in the Great Audience Chamber. By the time Askius made his leave from the Imperial Court, on December 30, 1736, he was convinced that the Emperor was his ally, supporter, and friend. During the course of the next few months, he would repeatedly show himself to be the supporter and friend of an Emperor who had concealed his hatred under a blanket of hospitality and was now waiting until it became safe to exact his revenge.

1737

 * January 2-
 * As 1737, the 37th year of the eighteenth century, commenced, the Imperial Laurasian Government found itself grappling with two different issues at once. The first regarded the Uprising of Grace, which had upset the stability of several different star systems in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, and demonstrated the hostility evident, by many of the Empire's subjects, in regards to Emperor Antigonus's religious and marriage policies. Although the Uprising had, for the time being, subsided, due to the "concessions" made by the Duke of Norfolkius to Askius and his associates, great tension continued to persist. Emperor Antigonus, on his part, still desired for revenge against the rebels. The second issue was the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War. Field-Marshal Munnich's military campaigns in the Galactic Void, and into the Angelina Spiral, had constituted a historic moment for the Empire. For the first time ever, Laurasian military forces had reached and penetrated the Angelina Spiral, and into the homeland territories of the Haynsian Despotate. Although Munnich had then suffered a string of reverses, and was compelled to pull back, the balance in the conflict was in Laurasia's favor. Yet it was Chancellor Crownapoulos who now understood that the Laurasian Empire would enjoy even greater success against the Marasharites if one of their enemies, in the Amulak Spiral, could be convinced to align with the Laurasians, against them. Crownapoulos quickly identified this power as the Holy Austarlian Empire. As early as June 1736, Crownapoulos had, in a memorandum to the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed his desire to "negotiate with the Austarlian Empire against the Marasharite fiends, and to offer them particular concessions in order to win their support." Laurasia and Austarlia had already cooperated in the Second Franconian War and in the War of the Dejanican Succession; they therefore had experience of military coordination. Furthermore, Holy Austarlian Emperor Char'vak VI, who had experienced reverses in the Italianian Provinces, sought to enhance his own Empire's control over Hungary, Transylvania, and Croatia through making more acquisitions at Marasharite expense.
 * On November 4, 1736, Chancellor Crownapoulos sent a communique to his Austarlian counterpart, Prince Ferdinand of Auxburgh (who had become Chancellor of the Holy Austarlian Empire in March 1736), proposing for a conference to be convened in order to resolve upon "commons goals between our two governments." In this offer was implied a military alliance between the two Empires. Prince Ferdinand, who understood this well, responded to the offer positively; on November 19, 1736, Emperor Char'vak conferred his approval for the commencement of negotiations. Crownapoulos, who was working in conjunction, and with the approval of, Emperor Antigonus, now proceeded to preparations for the conference. He soon selected Bilirasi, once the home world of the Ecreutians, who had been such formidable enemies of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia in the fifth century AH. The conference itself, however, did not convene until January 2, 1737. Chancellor Crownapoulos himself served as the head of the Laurasian delegation; Procurator-General Audelius, Sir Thomasius Gagius, and Sir Willanius Pauletius served as his subordinates. The Holy Austarlian Empire was represented by the Austarlian Ambassador to the Court of Laurasia Prime, Prince Eric of Baden, Herr Freuder of Inner Austarlia, and Lord Daiesel Engislauft of Villach. Negotiations continued for more than two months, until a formal agreement was reached.
 * January 13-As mentioned above, the tensions associated with the Uprising of Grace continued to color matters within the Purse Region as 1737 began. Besides Askius, few of the leaders of the Uprising shared his enthusiasm. What they saw was that a new year had begun, and that nothing was being done to put into effect any of the promises which had been made by Norfolkius at Donacasteria. Crownapoulos, Cranmerius, and all the other officials of whom the rebels had complained all remained at their posts; the Imperial Laurasian Crown continued to conduct its appropriations of monastery properties and revenues; and the garrisons of such strongholds as Sapphire, Merandaz, Jenny, Chloe, Rainnan, and Chesham's Star were being strengthened. On January 5, 1737, Askius wrote to warn the Emperor that feelings were again running high, asking him to pardon "me in this my crude letter, and the plainness of the same, for I do utter my poor heart to Your Majesty to the intent Your Majesty may perceive the danger that may ensue; for on my faith, I do greatly fear the end to be only by battle." Yet in spite of Askius's efforts, rebellion again broke out against the Imperial Laurasian Government. Clackimaris now became the center of the new rebellion. Sir Franconius Bigodia (1707-37), who was one of the most prominent magnates on Clackimaris (owning more than 7,000 square miles of property estimated to be worth more than €30 billion dataries), was nevertheless angered by the Emperor's religious changes, and believed that the Almitian Church needed to adhere to its traditionalist beliefs and practices. Bigodia now, with the assistance of his chief steward Antiochus Hallamia, assembled his retainers and supplies in order to instigate a renewed rebellion. On January 15, 1737, he formally issued a manifesto of rebellion, declaring that the Emperor Antigonus's agents had continued to "stir up turmoil in this Empire, and to treat our Church and our society in a cruel manner." The garrison of Clackimaris, which had become more and more sympathetic to the aims of the Uprising of Grace, quickly defected to support Bigodia. During the following days, Bigodia managed to make some gains. Falloria Minor fell to his forces (January 16, 1737), and on January 19, Americana was stormed by rebel forces. Bigodia's subordinate, Sir Georgius Lumelius (1692-1737) then seized Augis II, Osama, and Augis IV (January 21-23, 1737). Yet by this point rebel momentum was already flagging. On January 25, 1737, Lumelius's attempts to storm Schahrmian Fortress on Sarai, one of the chief military fortifications in that system, were blunted. His assaults upon Guyah, Tyndaris, and Maroni also failed; on January 29, 1737, Lumelius was defeated by Commodore Sir Antipater Matius (1682-1763), in the Battle of Oxia Vixius.
 * February 10-February 1737 witnessed the culmination of the short-lived Bigodia Rebellion. On January 31, 1737, Aroest, which was one of the most unstable worlds in the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, erupted in revolt against the government garrison. The Governor of Aroest, Sir Leo Basilicus (1688-1737), was captured and executed in a gruesome fashion by the rioting citizens in Aroests's capital city, Gudall. Emperor Antigonus, angered by these events, issued a proclamation to his subjects from the Quencilvanian Palace, declaring that rebellion against "our lawful authority" was illegal and that all rebels would be punished swiftly. The Emperor now declared that it was beneath him to negotiate with rebels, although he "assured" Askius, in a communique to him on February 2, that he would remain immune from punishment, and that he would honor his earlier commitments. The Duke of Norfolkius was now ordered to show no mercy to the rebel forces. On February 5, 1737, he destroyed a rebel force in the Battle of Cumbria, repelling rebel offensives against Janesia, the Cron Drift, and Apathama Vixius. He then reconquered Falloria Minor (February 7, 1737), and on February 8, Augis II. Attempts by movements on Dearton's Gateway and Little Mexicana to rebel against those garrisons failed. Then on February 10, 1737, the Battle of Aeoleon resulted in a decisive victory for Norfolkius, whose units destroyed or captured more than a third of the rebel ships (nearly two hundred). Bigodia, whose momentum was collapsing, now sought a retreat back to Clackimaris. On February 17, 1737, however, Norfolkius lured him into a trap in the red-giant system of Mers Pollarium. The ensuing Battle of Mers Pollarium witnessed the comprehensive destruction of rebel forces; Bigodia himself was captured.
 * March 14-On March 14, 1737, after more than two months of negotiations, the Treaty of Bilirasi was signed by the delegations of the Laurasian and Holy Austarlian Empires. This treaty, which constituted the first direct military alliance, by the Laurasian Empire, with another power against the Marasharites, resulted in the formation of a formal diplomatic and military agreement between the two governments. Neither power pledged to make peace with the "Marasharite savages" without first consulting the other. The Imperial Laurasian Government, on its part, pledged to provide a corps of not more than 3.5 million troops of the Imperial Laurasian Army, and two fleets of the Imperial Laurasian Navy, to the assistance of the Holy Austarlian Empire in the Amulak Spiral. In return, Holy Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V promised to recognize all Laurasian territorial, diplomatic, and economic gains made in the Caladarian Galaxy and in the Galactic Void at the expense of the Marasharites and Haynsians (such as the Billian and Donnian Provinces, the Muggal Cluster, and the Northern Reaches). Furthermore, he secured a renewed Laurasian commitment to the Pragmatic Sanction, by which his daughter, Archduchess Mar'va Tarvania of Inner Austarlia, was to accede to the Austarlian throne in her own right, and Laurasian recognition to Austarlian rights over Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Macedonica, and the Lower Danubian Principalities (all of which Char'vak hoped to gain by war with the Marasharites). Finally, the Holy Austarlian Empire agreed to establish a schedule of duty-free trade with its Laurasian counterpart for a period of five years (to end on March 14, 1742), and to provide for all transportation and maintenance expenses of Laurasian units operating in Austarlian territory. The Treaty of Bilirasi was ratified by the Emperor Antigonus on March 17, 1737, and by Char'vak V of Austarlia on March 26.
 * April 3-
 * Following the capture of Sir Franconius Bigodia at the Battle of Mers Pollarium, the momentum of his rebellion collapsed, as the strongholds seized by his forces fell back into the possession of the Imperial Laurasian Government, and as his lieutenants were in turn, captured by Norfolkius's subordinates. Osama was stormed by Norfolkius's forces (February 18, 1737), thereby inflicting a humiliating defeat upon the arms of Sir Lumelius. Norfolkius then cleared rebel units from the vicinity of Carseolina, Fulcania, and Soria. On February 25, 1737, Augis IV surrendered to Norfolkius without posing any substantial resistance. Norfolkius ordered for the imprisonment of more than ten thousand rebel personnel from the garrison of this star system, thereby demonstrating that neither he, nor his master, would brook any dissent against the Imperial Laurasian Government. Then, on March 5, 1737, Lumelius and Sir Thomasius Percius, younger brother of the Earl of Malaria Prime, assembled their forces at the Laurasian colony of Abay, located thirty light years to the northeast of Augis IV. Here, they intended to obstruct Norfolkius's advance, thereby giving advance warning to the rebel garrison of Falloria Minor, and securing escape routes around the outskirts of Clackimaris. This would also hamper Norfolkius's offensive moves towards Americana. Norfolkius, however, with the assistance of now Fleet Admiral Sir Demetrius Stanleis, had no trouble in overcoming this rebel challenge. The superior discipline and organization of his forces; his reliable intelligence sources; and his use of overwhelming weaponry and numbers, all proved key to the government victory.
 * The Battle of Abay lasted for two hours and ended with a crushing rout for rebel forces; more than one-third of the rebel personnel in the confrontation died. Percius did not make it far, and on March 14, 1737, he was intercepted and captured by a government expedition near Rebecca. On Norfolkius's orders, Percius was bound in chains and transported to the Cron Drift. Americana now became Norfolkius's next target; the ensuing Siege of Americana (March 18-27, 1737), taxed the resources of his offensive fleet, but the Duke ultimately prevailed. Falloria Minor itself now became a direct target. Lumelius now sought to reorganize and to strengthen the defenses of Falloria Minor. He issued numerous manifestos, attempting to rouse the population of the Empire to rebellion against the authorities. Minor outbreaks of dissent did occur on Nezbit, Blackria, Chancia, Martina Mccasia, and Mariana Prime, but these were quickly suppressed by the relevant garrisons in question. On April 1, 1737, Norfolkius, having destroyed the rebel fortifications on Lucille and repelled a final rebel assault against Scout and Sapphire, approached the outskirts of Falloria Minor. This contest was already decided in favor of the Imperial Laurasian Government; Lumelius found that his own troops would not resist. The Garrison Commander of Falloria Minor, Sir Tycho Paradias (1679-1748), secretly contacted Norfolkius and offered to surrender the garrison to him if he and his immediate subordinates were granted pardon. Norfolkius accepted this request, and during the late hours of that day, Paradias lowered the garrison's shields and formally surrendered to Norfolkius. Lumelius, powerless to stop this, now attempted to flee from the star system. On April 3, 1737, he was captured at Jenny by a squadron of Laurasian starfighters.
 * On April 6, 1737, Reagan, the last remaining stronghold in the Purse Region held by rebel units, succumbed; the Uprising of Grace had therefore been finally suppressed by the Laurasian Empire. Nearly seven million individuals had been killed in the fighting, while another ten million had been seriously wounded or had went missing. The Uprising itself had demonstrated traditionalist Laurasian attitudes about religious values and religious organization, as well as opposition to the centralizing policies of the Emperor Antigonus and his ministers.
 * April 12-
 * With the Uprising of Grace now formally suppressed, and with his authority over his subjects magnified to an even greater extent, Emperor Antigonus now decided that the time was ripe to remove the mask of conciliation. Sir Robertius Askius, who had for the past two months been residing quietly at his estates on Maragovope, five light-years north of Clackimaris, and had continued to denounce the new outbreaks of dissent, now became the Emperor's first target. On April 12, 1737, Askius was arrested by the Governor of Maragovope, Sir Trachailo Cadsares (1692-1778). He was, on the Emperor's orders, bound in chains and had an insulting placard placed around his neck, with the words "Here is a Traitor: a Fiend, a Heretic, and Infidel." Then on April 14, the Emperor ordered for the arrest and chaining of Sir Thomasius Darcius, 1st Baron Darcius of Darcius (1667-1737), and of Antiochus Husseria, 1st Baron Husseria of Seejay Prime (1666-1737). Both Darcius and Husseria had a long, and relatively distinguished, career within the Imperial Laurasian Government. Darcius, who had been born on June 7, 1667, at Stenbock in the Central Core, had graduated from the Imperial Military Academy of Christopher in 1692 and then enrolled in the Imperial Laurasian Army. He became renowned for his exploits during the Scottrian War of 1696-97 and the War of the Grand Coalition (1698-99), rising to become a knight of the body to Emperor Neuchrus (1697); Constable of the Cavern Fortresses of Iego (1698), and Deputy to the future Emperor Antigonus, then Warden of the Cron Drift (1699). From 1698 to 1715, he served as the Commanding Officer of the Berwackian Fortress on Cydamus, and in 1705, a term as Warden of the Hutsite Reaches. In 1709, he was raised to the nobility as 1st Baron Darcius, having by that time acceded to the rank of Major-General in the Imperial Laurasian Army.
 * He would eventually be promoted to Lieutenant-General (1722), and from 1713, served on the Imperial Privy Council. From 1711 to 1713, Darcius served on diplomatic missions to Spamalka and Portugallia; he again contributed his military services during the Second Laurasian-Marasharite War of the century (1723-24), and in 1726, was named a Governing Senator. By the early 1730s, however, Darcius had fallen out of favor with the Emperor, for he criticized his marital policies as regards to Katharina of Shenandoah, and also disagreed with the religious policies. In 1734-35, he had contact with factions opposed to Chancellor Crownapoulos, and in late 1736, even exchanged correspondence with Askius. All of this convinced Antigonus of Darcius's guilt. Husseria, on his part, (born on September 7, 1666 at Clackimaris), was also a veteran of the Scottrian War of 1696-97, being knighted at the termination of that conflict. He became a Yeoman Guard in 1703, Master of Blackythe Preserves on Paramine in 1705, and Comptroller of the Imperial Household in 1709. In 1713, he was raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Husseria, and was appointed Minister of Imperial Works and Holdings in 1717. In 1726, Husseria resigned from the Privy Council, but became a judge of the Imperial Court of Requests. He also served as chamberlain to Grand Princess Didymeia (1727-31) and to Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia (1733-34). Husseria's involvement in rebellion was not as complicit: there was no evidence that he had any contact with Askius or the other rebels. Yet he, like Darcius, disagreed with the Emperor's religious policies, and this spelled his doom.
 * April 19-
 * On April 19, 1737, Sir Robertius Askius, the Barsons Darcius and Husseria, and twenty other prominent rebel leaders were trundled, on the orders of the Emperor Antigonus, from the Cron Drift (to which they had been temporarily confined) to the Post Settlement of Hepudermia. Emperor Antigonus was determined that these "rebels" be displayed to public ignominy, and that they be exposed to the Empire's subjects for their "heinous, vile actions". Darcius, Husseria, and the others were forced to wear the same placard as had already been tied around Askius's neck. The procession, on the Emperor's orders, went through Jadia, the two Calaxies, the Marsian Asteroid Belt, the Approaches of Christiania, and the City of Christiania itself, before arriving at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia. Crowds of subjects jeered Askius and his associates, denouncing them as "consorts of the Lord Almitis". Following this humiliating spectacle, two months of extensive and exhaustive interrogation, by the Emperor's subordinates and agents, of these accused rebels ensued. Sir Thomasius Percius and Sir Demetrius Constablia (1702-37), another accused rebel, were also confined at the Post Settlement. Chancellor Crownapoulos and Procurator-General Audalius took the lead in interrogating these men. Darcius took advantage of these interrogation sessions to express his contempt and utter hatred for the Chancellor.
 * He told Crownapoulos: "You are the very original and chief causer of this rebellion and mischief; furthermore, you are the cause of apprehension to the noblemen of this Empire, contriving to bring us to our end and execute us." He then warned the Chancellor, in what turned out to be prophetic: "You must not count on His Majesty's favor for long, for others have enjoyed such favor, and have been brought to such a ruinous end, as you have now contrived to do to us. Even if you strike off every noble in this Empire, there shall still be that one who will strike off you." Husseria was not as defiant; indeed, he turned out to be a coward, and on May 2, 1737, signed a confessional statement of his participation in the rebellion. In this statement, he begged for the "mercy and graciousness of the Lord Almitis". Askius, on his part, tried to beg for mercy from the Emperor, making reminders of "His Grace's earlier promises." These pleas, however, were ignored by Antigonus.
 * May 4-On May 4, 1737, Ferdinand Kettler, the Duke of Northania and Semigallia, died at the Artus Court, one of the chief residences of the Dejanican Crown, in Danzig, within the confines of the Dejanican-Lithuanian Commonwealth proper. He was eighty-one years old at the time of his death and had ruled for seven years, since his accession to the throne in January 1730. Duke Kettler, as was mentioned above, died childless. This was in spite of the fact that on September 20, 1730, several months after his accession, the Duke had married Princess Johanna Magadalene of Saxe-Weissenfels (1708-60), the daughter of Johann Georg, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (r. 1697-1712). The Princess bore no love for her husband, and Ferdinand Kettler, seventy-five years old at the time of his marriage, proved to be impotent. The death of Duke Kettler, which had been anticipated by the Commonwealth's neighbors for some time, thereby brought an end to the Kettler Dynasty of Northania and Semigallia. The Kettlers had (with the sole exception of the reign of Duchess Anna), ruled over the Dejanican Duchy of Northania and Semigallia for one hundred and seventy-six years (since the secularization of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1561 by former Grand Master Gotthard Kettler). Following the death of Duke Kettler, the Northanian Diet wasted no time in selecting his successor. On June 11, 1737, the Diet, in accordance with the Treaty of Riga and Lowenwolde's Treaty, elected the Northanian Prince Ernest Johnann von Bironia (1690-1772), as the new Duke of Northania and Semigallia. Bironia, who had been born at Kalcniems in Semigallia on November 23, 1690, had immigrated to the Laurasian Empire in 1714, visiting the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime and in 1718, graduating from the University of Laurasia Prime with a BA in Business Administration. He had then become a boardmember of Christiania Drive Yards (1723), and in 1728, obtained his master's in Business Articulation, also from the University of Laurasia Prime. Bironia had therefore come to the attention of Emperor Antigonus, who by 1732 considered him a good candidate for the Dukedom of Northania. He had thus returned to the Duchy in 1734, and had, with the assistance of the Laurasian Ambassador Sir Andresyes Ladersia (1684-1769), built up a corp of followers among the Northanian Court. Bironia's election, backed thus by the Ambassador, and by Laurasian bribes to members of the Diet, therefore proceeded smoothly. Bironia was confirmed as the new Duke of Northania and Semigallia by the Dejanican Diet and King Vorrus II on June 29, 1737.
 * May 17-
 * On May 17, 1737, at the Judicial Chambers of the Senatorial Palace in Christiania, Sirs Robertius Askius, Franconius Bigodia, Thomasius Percius, and Demetrius Constablia were tried by the Special Court of the Laurasian Empire (convened on the orders of Emperor Antigonus), on charges of treason, heresy, conspiracy, and "dissent against the authority of His Imperial Majesty." Askius, who was the chief defendant, and like the others, permitted no defense counsel of his own, defended himself vigorously. Falling to his knees before the Court, Askius declared that he was determined to only preserve the morals and practices of his ancestors, that he spoke for the "loyal subjects" of the Empire, and that their grievances were aroused by the corruption, greed, and oppressiveness of officials (alluding to, but not directly referring to, Chancellor Crownapoulos and Chief Procurator Cranmerius). Askius said that he wished for the Court to see for reason, and for the Emperor to consider the pleas of his subjects in reversing his earlier religious measures. In this, Askius was backed by Bigodia and Constablia, both of whom claimed that they had revolted "only to open the eyes of His Majesty to the groans and suffering of his subjects." Procurator-General Audalius, who was presenting the case for the Imperial Laurasian Government, seized upon their statements as evidence that they were traitors. He declared that Askius and his followers deserved no mercy, and that the Emperor was justified in revoking his "promises" to the leaders of the Uprising of Grace. The verdict was not in doubt, and after only one hour of deliberations, the Court convicted Askius and the other defendants on all charges, and sentenced them to death. Askius was not permitted the right of petition for life to the Emperor, and was given as his execution sentence the full horrors of a traitor's death: beheading, drawing, quartering, and live incineration.
 * The same sentence was meted out to the other rebels. Emperor Antigonus signed their death warrants three hours after the conclusion of the trial. He ordered that Bigodia and Percius were to be executed on June 2 and Constablia on June 6, at the Fortress of Baureux. Askius, however, was now to be trundled throughout the Purse Region, displayed to the subjects of the Empire as a traitor, and taken to Clackimaris; there, his execution was to take place. Askius, who was now a condemned felon earmarked for death, was on May 19, 1737, transported from Laurasia Prime to begin his humiliating journey through the worlds of the Purse Region. During the course of the next month, he was trundled to nearly five hundred star systems, all while wearing the placard denouncing him as a traitor and heretic. Askius, besides wearing the placard, and besides being in chains, was made to bear a Cross, engraved with the sayings of the Anti-Almitis, and condemnations of followers of that Lord by the Supreme Prophet Paul of Almitis. Then, beginning on May 22, 1737, at Falloria Minor, Clackimaris, and other systems, executions of rebel personnel, followers, and soldiers, who had participated in the Uprising of Grace, began. They were condemned to death by the Duke of Norfolkius, who had been given, through the patent of April 15, 1737, the authority by Emperor Antigonus to sentence and punish all of those complicit in the rebellion. Over the course of the next four months, nearly two million rebels would be executed by imperial authorities, in two hundred different star systems, for their role in the Uprising of Grace.
 * May 27-On May 27, 1737, in a proclamation from the Quencilvanian Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime, Emperor Antigonus III announced to the subjects of the Laurasian Empire that his wife, Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris, was pregnant with their first child. The Emperor, in his proclamation, reminded his subjects of the failure of Katharina of Shenandoah and Anna Boleyenia to bear him a male heir, and that "both of those women were whores and sluts, defiling themselves with other male personages and violating the laws of the Lord Almitis". He expressed his wish that the child in Theodora's womb was a son, and commanded all of his subjects to pray for her a safe, and fruitful, delivery. On the Emperor's command, a Te Deum was sung at the Westphalian Cathederal, in order to offer up blessings from the Laurasian Imperial Court for the Empress Consort's pregnancy. The Emperor and Empress, Chief Procurator Cranmerius, Chancellor Crownapoulos, Procurator-General Audelius, and prominent members of the Imperial Court attended this ceremony.
 * June 4-The siege of Imegina by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Field-Marshal Munnich commences. Munnich installed stockades and offensive minefields around the outskirts of the Imegina star system, suppressed all supply lines to the Marasharite garrison, and placed his starfighter squadrons at strategic points, blockading Marasharite patrol units and military stations. The garrison of Imegina is the largest remaining Marasharite garrison in the Caladarian Galaxy, and one of the largest and best-equipped in the Marasharite Empire. The forces besieging it, however, are well-organized, well-equipped, and enjoy a supremacy in both numbers and morale. The siege of Imegina, however, will drag on for over a month.
 * June 14-General Lacius obtained a victory in the Battle of the Upper Dial, permitting Laurasian units renewed access to the outskirts of the Angelina Spiral.
 * July 12-
 * In accordance with the Emperor's instructions, the executions of Constablia, Percius, and Bigodia proceeded apace. On June 2, 1737, Bigodia and Percius were both executed, through the full penalties of a traitor's death, at the Public Execution Grounds of the Fortress of Baureux. Their executions, which were staged simultaneously, were witnessed by a crowd of more than 175,000 persons, including many of the most prominent magnates of the Imperial Laurasian Court. In his last speech, to the audiences assembled to witness his death, Bigodia proclaimed that the Emperor Antigonus had been "influenced by the false designs of his advisers" and that he hoped that the Lord Almitis would eventually open his eyes. Percius, on his part, said nothing, enduring his death with brave silence. Constablia's, on June 6, was attended by a crowd of about 25,000 persons, for he had not played as prominent a role in the rebellion. Constablia, on his part, kissed the forehead of the chief executioner and told him that he was performing the "work of the Lord Almitis". Then on June 11, 1737, Barons Darcius and Husseria were tried by the Special Court at the Senatorial Palace. Darcius again repeated his dire prophecies about Chancellor Crownapoulos, and stated his belief that the Lord Almitis would deal all of those who mistreated him "in time". Husseria, on his part, again confessed to his crimes, weeping pitifully and begging for mercy. None was forthcoming, and within an hour, both men were convicted on all charges and sentenced to death; Emperor Antigonus ordered for their executions to also take place at the Fortress of Baureux, and for them to be executed on June 30.
 * He decided to spare them from the full penalties of a traitor's death; they were to be dispatched by firing squad. On June 30, 1737, Husseria and Darcius were both executed at the Fortress of Baureux, before a crowd of 270,000 persons. Although their executions were not as gory as those of Bigodia and Percius, they nevertheless attracted more attention because these men had, for four decades, been loyal servants and officials of the Empire. Their deaths were truly spectacular. Two days before the executions of the two Barons, Askius was finally conveyed to Clackimaris, after his "tour of a traitor", through the Laurasia Prime Purse Region. The Duke of Norfolkius, who had come to the star system in order to oversee the imprisonment and execution of those who had been involved in the Uprising of Grace, and who was supervising the re-imposition of the Empire's authority in the rebel star systems, commanded for Askius to be temporarily confined at the Leadah Tower in Agrimma, until the time of the execution itself. The execution of Robertius Askius finally took place on July 12, 1737. His execution, presided over by the Duke, was witnessed by more than 500,000 individuals outside of the Leadah Tower, and was, furthermore, broadcast across the Holonet. Askius, to the last, asserted his innocence and declared his willingness to die for the "true faith" of the Imperial Almitian Church. Emperor Antigonus, in his manifesto announcing Askius's execution, declared that "the rabid, rebellious dogs of this realm have been subdued and cast into the realm of the Anti-Almitis." Askius's body was, on the orders of the Emperor, incinerated in Clacki 1 (the star of the Clackimaris star system).
 * July 4-Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V announced the terms of the Treaty of Bilirasi and issued a declaration of war against the Marasharite Empire. The Austarlian Emperor believed that the Laurasian forces would continue to distract the Marasharite Government, and that Austarlia could therefore make gains at Marasharite expense. In this, Char'vak was to be proven mistaken. Austarlian military forces had declined, in terms of quality, technological advancement, and military effectiveness, during the course of his reign, and were no longer as formidable as they had been at the beginning of the century. The Austarlian Treasury was in a budget deficit, and Char'vak had expended all of his diplomatic resources in securing recognition of his Pragmatic Sanction from other inter-galactic powers. These weaknesses will quickly reveal themselves in the Austarlian theater of conflict with the Marasharites.
 * July 7-General Lacius stormed Perekop once again, and Laurasian forces regained that foothold in the Angelian Spiral.
 * July 15-General Lacius obtained a crushing victory over the Haynsians in the Battle of Palymer. As a result of this battle, the Laurasian Empire secures control of the Brigonid Star Nebula, giving it firm control of a territory in the Angelina Spiral. Lacius captured Haynsian troopers and military equipment, and sent these back to the Caladarian Galaxy as spoils of war.
 * July 22-The Siege of Imegina finally ends with victory for the Laurasian Empire. Laurasian forces breach the world's shield generators and quickly overrun the surface. The Marasharite garrison is overpowered and destroyed by the troops of Field-Marshal Munnich, and the world is now occupied by Laurasian forces for the second time within the eighteenth century. Field-Marshal Munnich established his chief operational headquarters on Imegina, but ordered for the planet's inhabitants (mostly Torfians, Tofs, and Amelianians) to be treated with commendable leniency.
 * July 29-The Haynsian military arsenal of Karasubusar is conquered by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under General Lacius. Lacius now plans for operations against Bachkisiray and Backlava, the two most important systems in the Haynsian Despotate besides the capital star system of Haynes itself.
 * August 4-The Battle of Banja Luka is fought between the Marasharite and Austarlian Empires in the Amulak Cloud. The Austarlian forces are commanded by Prince Joseth of Saxe-Hildenburgen, while the Marasharite forces were commanded by General Hemulgoku Asri. The result is a decisive Marasharite victory, as Prince Joseth proved to be an incompetent military commander who was unable to attack Marasharite military formations in battle effectively. Banja Luka, previously a Austarlian military base, was now secured by the Marasharites, who planned for offensives to reconquer the lost provinces of Olthenia and Belsuia, which had been conceded to the Austarlian Empire nineteen years earlier.
 * August 11-Field-Marshal Munnich destroyed the last Marasharite force in the Muggal Cluster in the Battle of Stary.
 * August 24-The Holy Synod of the Laurasian Empire, under the leadership of Chief Procurator Thomasius Cranmerius, published the Doctrines of an Almitian Man, one of the central reformation documents of the reign of Antigonus the Extravagant. The Doctrines consisted of fifty articles, outlining the Church's position on moral and ethical issues of concern, in regards to the conduct of behavior, the administration of households, and of services and sacraments offered by the Almitian Church. Emperor Antigonus III will ratify the Doctrines on September 4, and command for all Laurasian subjects of the Church to abide by its mandates.
 * September 4-Little Boravia, a Haynsian intelligence outpost, is overrun by General Lacius. Lacius goes on to shatter Haynsian positions at Semrnapoval, Semafpol, and Infirampol over the course of the next two months. Laurasian forces seize much booty in these campaigns.
 * September 14-Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris enters confinement at the Maternity Quarters of the Palace of Placenta on Darcia. The Empress Consort, attended by the imperial physicians and the best midwives in the Laurasian Empire, is now eagerly anticipating the birth of her son. Emperor Antigonus will arrive at the Palace of Placenta on September 22. He issues another proclamation to the Laurasian people, declaring that the Empire would soon have a proper male heir.
 * October 12-In the Maternity Quarters at the Palace of Placenta on Darcia, Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris goes into labor and gives birth to a healthy son. The Emperor Antigonus, who had been in his private quarters anxiously awaiting the news about his wife's childbirth, was overjoyed and exhilarated when he learned that the Empress Consort had given birth to his son. Antigonus expressed his utmost thanks to the Lord Almitis and commanded for all of his household servants to join him in celebrating his son's birth. The joyous Emperor Antigonus and his wife, Empress Consort Theodora, both celebrated the birth of their son, who was named Demetrius. Demetrius, now the heir apparent of the Laurasian Empire, was considered by many to be a blessing from Almitis. Massive festivals and celebrations are held throughout the Empire to commemorate the Grand Prince's birth, and Chief Procurator Cranmerius presided over a service of goodwill and thanks in the Chapel of the Palace of Placenta. Bells were toiled at all Almitian cathedrals, and proclamations issued by the Imperial Government, delivering the good news of the Grand Prince's birth to the people of the Laurasian Empire.
 * October 15-The christening of Grand Prince Demetrius, heir apparent to the Laurasian Empire and the long-awaited son of the Emperor Antigonus III, is held at the Chapel of the Palace of Placenta on Darcia. By the Emperor's explicit command, his daughters, the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, were made to participate as servants in the chirstening ceremony. The Lady Didymeia became one of the Grand Prince's godparents, while the Lady Aurelia carried the chrism. The Garter King of Arms affirmed the proclamation of Demetrius as Grand Prince and ordered all to express their joy for him.
 * October 24-Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris died from complications of the Marsian fever in her private quarters at the Palace of Placenta on Darcia. This was the same disease which had struck down Empress Consort Aurelia Zemakala, mother of Antigonus III, thirty-four years earlier. Empress Theodora had appeared healthy after the birth of her son, Grand Prince Demetrius, but this was only a deception, for the Empress's immune system was being ravaged by the fever, as a result of an infection during childbirth. The Emperor Antigonus was devastated when he learned of his wife's death, and ordered his court into a period of mourning. Theodora, was, perhaps, the only one of Antigonus's wives whom he truly loved (because she had given birth to his son and heir apparent), and he would hold fond memories of her in his heart for the remainder of his life.
 * November 4-Funeral of Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris at the Westphalian Cathederal in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. Chief Procurator Cranmerius presided over the funeral, and the Lady Didymeia acted as the chief mourner for the noblewomen and ladies of the Laurasian Empire. Emperor Antigonus was too shaken by his wife's death to attend her funeral, shutting himself up in his personal quarters at the Quencilvanian Palace. He will remain in such a state for the next two months, and will command all courtiers to mourn Theodora's death until the commencement of the new year.
 * November 14-Marasharite Emperor Sassas III, blaming Ferrah II Karany for the failure of the Haynsian military forces in the face of the renewed military offensives of the Laurasian Empire across the Upper Dial, formally deposed him from the Haynsian throne. Ferrah was now succeeded as Despot by his relative, the Admiral-Commander of Theodoros Jay, who assumed the Haynsian throne as Jay X Karany. The course of the following two years would see the tide begin to shift more in favor of the Haynsian Despotate, as Jay proved himself to be a more effective and competent military commander than his immediate predecessors.
 * November 16-Battle of Tirana between the Austarlian and Marasharite Empires results in an stalemate between the forces of the two Empires.
 * December 4-General Lacius repelled a Marasharite offensive against Donna and Teller in the Battle of Dejan.

1738

 * January 9-An Austarlian offensive against the Marasharite stronghold of Ragusa is repelled by Marasharite forces in the Battle of Ivill.
 * January 22-General Lacius defeats a Marasharite expedition launched from Ochania against the Muggal Cluster in the Battle of Lavtria.
 * February 9-The Emperor Antigonus III, under the influence of Chancellor Crownapoulos and Chief Procurator Cranmerius, authorized the official publication of the Revised Edition of the Almitian Scriptures, which had been originally published by Willanius Tyndalis a decade earlier. Tyndalis himself had died at Denver on October 19, 1736, and his protege, Miletus Covetaldia, took charge of the movement pushing for a revision of the Almitian Bible. Covetdalia had been appointed to a review commission by the Holy Synod in March, 1737, and had since then worked with the Commission and the Synod to produce a new and revised edition of the official church liturgy. The New Almitian Scriptures, as they will become known, will have much influence upon further reformist movements and will provide the Almitian Church with an updated curriculum for study, reflection, and meditation.
 * February 12-Marasharite General Malal-bek inflicted a crushing defeat upon Austarlian forces in the Battle of the Lower Pazak, occupying the Austarlian stronghold of Pest.
 * February 18-Field Marshal Munnich, at his operational headquarters on Imegina, drafted plans for a further Laurasian push into the Haynsian Despotate. General Lacius occupied the strongholds of the Brigonid Stellar Nebula and was preparing for offensive moves against Haynes, Balaclava, and the Lower Angelian Strongholds. Munnich believed that a final decisive push against the Haynsians would compel the Marasharite Emperor Sassas III to begin peace negotiations with the Imperial Laurasian Government.
 * March 4-The future Empress Consort, the Lady Katharina Howardis, begins her affair with Julius Dereanius, one of the pages of the household of her step-grandmother and caretaker, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolkius. Katharina's affair with Dereanius will eventually escalate to the point of the two engaging in sexual intercourse, and it will eventually be brought up by Chief Procurator Cranmerius and others to bring about her downfall.
 * March 13-General Lacius began his advance from Semafpol and Semnrapoval, storming Haynsian bases on Chalaa, Larger Borlavia, and Isis. The Laurasians seize agricultural goods, industrial equipment, mining tools, and 500,000 Haynsian captives as a result of this offensive and move deeper into Haynsian territory.
 * March 17-Death at Talinin, in the Dejanican Duchy of Northania, of the former Haynsian Despot Qaplan-Empi I Karany.
 * March 19-Emperor Antigonus III dispatches an expeditionary force under the command of General Mithridates Berevia in order to provide assistance to the hard-pressed Austarlians in the Amulak Spiral. This is in accord with the provisions of the Treaty of Bilirasi between the governments of the two Empires.
 * March 27-General Mithridates Berevia manages to defeat Malal-bek's chief subordinate, Shazzar-Iffur, in the Battle of Guinan. Guinan is a Austarlian stronghold located in the outskirts of the Amulak Spiral.
 * April 2-A Laurasian expeditionary force dispatched by General Lacius to storm Haynsian positions at the Comets of Lasar is defeated by Haynsian detachments in the Battle of Donetsk.
 * April 3-Death of Lady Aurelia Howardis, formally Countess of Redia and the mother of the Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia, Viscount Georgius Boleyenia of Ralanchaford, and the Lady Antonia Boleyenia. Following the execution of her two younger children, the former Countess had retreated with her husband to the Boleyenia Family Estate on Fulcania. Lady Aurelia's death received little notice at the Imperial Court.
 * April 17-Field Marshal Munnich repels a Marasharite counteroffensive against Bucharina, Marson, and Tessa, maintaining the Laurasian hold over that region in the Galactic Borderlands.
 * April 26-Field Marshal Munnich, who had established a secondary operational headquarters on Belkadan, gained permission from the Emperor Antigonus and the Imperial Privy Council to launch a strike against Marasharite territories in the Great Tesmanian Cloud, which had thus far remained out of the reach of Laurasian forces. Munnich convinced the Emperor and his ministers, especially a reluctant Chancellor Crownapoulos, that an offensive against Ochania, Bender, and Acostemen would inflict severe damage upon Marasharite territorial defenses and compel Sassas III into suing for peace. Antigonus, confident that a Laurasian strike into the Great Tesmanian Cloud would demonstrate the military prowess and offensive abilities of the Laurasian Empire, and that it would hasten the war to an end, approved Munnich's proposed strike two days later.
 * May 2-Field Marshal Munnich began to assemble military squadrons at Belkadan, Simmons, Adrianne, Bucharia, Tessa, Marson, the Galactic Barrier Outposts, Keeley, Natalie, Nandia, Calrissian, Varta, and other Laurasian strongholds in the Galactic and Outer Borderlands, in anticipation of his offensive against the Marasharite forces in the Great Tesmanian Cloud.
 * May 17-Battle of Conkura between the Marasharites of General Malal-bek and a combined Laurasian-Austarlian force under the command of General Mithridates Berevia. The battle proves to be inconclusive, and the Laurasians fail to reconquer Austarlian strongholds in the Pazak Cluster from the Marasharites.
 * June 12-
 * Field-Marshal Munnich, at the head of an Laurasian Armada, comprised of some 1,200 major warships, 5,000 smaller vessels, and a corps of 1.5 million troopers of the Imperial Laurasian Army, launched an offensive into the Marasharite territories of the Great Tesmanian Cloud. Defeating a Marasharite patrol force in the Battle of Wallachia, Munnich was able to begin threatening the supply lines of Ochania and to move troops in the direction of Jassy and Izmail.
 * On the same day of the Battle of Wallachia in the Great Tesmanian Cloud, King Jamsius V of Scottria marries Mariana of Guise, the daughter of the Franconian Duke of Guise. Their marriage had been formally arranged in January, 1738, by the Scottrian and Franconian Governments. Franjak I of Franconia, who had grown increasingly suspicious of Laurasian ambitions, and eager to secure for his kingdom an reliable ally, had taken the leading part in negotiating the marriage of Jamsius and Mariana. Jamsius would not be the most loyal husband, and would continue his infidelities, which had already resulted in the birth of several bastards. Emperor Antigonus III is alarmed by the marriage of Jamsius and Mariana, believing (rightly) that it was a sign of renewed Scottrian hostility with the Laurasian Empire.
 * June 16-19-Battle of Dubrovinik between the Marasharite and Austarlian Empires, resulting in the fall of that stronghold to Marasharite forces under the command of General Malal-bek.
 * June 22-Laurasian offensive against Ochio-Rios, an outpost world of Ochania, defeated by the Marasharites of General Talman Marik.
 * June 29-General Lacius fails to storm the Haynsian arsenal of Clure.
 * August 6-Marasharite Emperor Sassas III, who wished to turn his attentions to the Haxon Confederacy, and who believed that the victories of his generals against the Austarlians would counterbalance the losses in the Angelina Spiral and Galactic Borderlands to the Laurasian Empire, sent a request for peace negotiations to the Laurasian and Austarlian Courts. Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V, who sought to extract himself from this war which had resulted in humiliating losses for his government and the drain of his finances, accepted the Marasharite offer almost immediately. Emperor Antigonus III, however, weighing the possibility of further campaigns in the Angelina Spiral and Great Tesmanian Cloud, proved to be more reluctant. He consulted extensively with Chancellor Crownapoulos and the Imperial Privy Council about what course of action he should take.
 * August 12-Emperor Antigonus III, after several days of consultation and meditation, decided to accept the Marasharite offer for peace negotiations. The Emperor commanded Field-Marshal Munnich to halt all further military operations, and a ceasefire was called to terminate active war hostilities.
 * August 24-Delegations from the Laurasian Empire, Marasharite Empire, and Austarlian Empire convened at Nemirov, a Marasharite stronghold eight-light years north of the Austarlian Pazak Cluster. This world was chosen due to its easy accessibility to the Laurasians (who had to travel from the Caladarian Galaxy to the Amulak Spiral), and its pleasant features. Sir Laconius Varae, Baron Merldson, the Laurasian Ambassador to the Austarlian Court, represented Laurasian interests at the conference.
 * September 2-A Laurasian demand for the secession of the Muggal Cluster, Tof Borderlands, and Northern Reaches to the authority of the Laurasian Empire, the independence and disarmament of the Haynsian Despotate, and rights of Laurasian military access to the territories of the Great Tesmanian Cloud, is rejected by the Marasharites. The Marasharites also prove reluctant to terminate hostilities with their Austarlian adversaries on the basis of the status quo ante bellum.
 * October 19-The peace conference at Nemirov collapses amid the continuing disagreements of the three delegations, and in particular, Marasharite rejection of Laurasian territorial and military demands. Emperor Antigonus III issues a proclamation to his subjects announcing the collapse of the conference and that Laurasian forces must continue to fight in order to force an end to the war.
 * November 5-The Ceasefire of Nemirov expires, and hostilities recommence among the warring powers. General Lacius now plans a renewed offensive against Clure, and storms the Marasharite arsenal at Takrman IV.
 * November 11-Field-Marshal Munnich suffers a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Alexandrok, resulting in the termination of Laurasian offensives against Ochania, Jassy, and Izmail.
 * November 24-The Marasharites launch a daring counteroffensive to Houston and Tyson, harrying the outskirts of those major Laurasian star systems in the Dasian Heartland Provinces. Field-Marshal Munnich is forced to divert units to strengthen the defenses of Karakorum, Sernapasia, the Oirat Complex, Syr-Daria, Vandross, and Theodore, among other strongholds.
 * December 3-The Second Battle of Clure between the forces of the Laurasian Empire and the Haynsian Despotate (supported by Marasharite detachments), results in a decisive Haynsian victory. The Haynsian Despot, Jay X, captures a number of Antigonus-class corvettes and Theodora-class dreadnoughts, humiliating the Imperial Laurasian Government. As a result of the Second Battle of Clure, General Lacius is forced to abandon Takrman IV and to halt plans for offensives against Bakhirisiray and Balaclava.
 * December 11-Death of Andrea Gritti, Doge of the Haxonian Confederacy. He was eighty-three years old at the time of his death. Gritti is succeeded as Doge by Pietro Lando, previously Captain General of the Haxonian High Guard. Lando was sixty-one years old at his accession to the Haxonian throne.
 * December 14-The Austarlians are defeated in the Battle of Lura, and are forced to abandon the stronghold of Moesia.

1739

 * January 22-Ernestia Bironia, who had been elected by the Council of the Duchy of Northania to succeed Ferdinand Kettler, is formally invested as Duke of Northania at Mitau, the capital system of the Northanian territories. Bironia, however, is destined for only a short reign over the Duchy of Northania.
 * February 3-Haynsian Despot Jay X defeated General Lacius in the Battle of Caldwell, and as a result, the Laurasian Empire is forced to abandon its conquests at Semafpol, Semnrapoval, and Infirampol. Lacius, however, retains Laurasian control of the Brigonid Stellar Nebula.
 * February 11-Negotiations begin between King Franjak I of Franconia and Emperor Char'va I of Spamalka concerning the relationship of the Franconian and Spamalkan Empires with the Laurasian Empire of Emperor Antigonus III. Both Franjak and Char'va, so recently bitter enemies, were far more concerned about Laurasian ambitions in the Great Tesmanian Cloud, Caladarian Galactic Borderlands, and Angelina Spiral. They believed that it would only be a matter of time before Emperor Antigonus would turn his attention to the Amulak Spiral itself, and seek to acquire territories for the Laurasian Empire at the expense of the Haxons, Pruthians, and Austarlians. Char'va believed that Antigonus would eventually become his enemy, and that it was necessary to take precautionary measures in case a war broke out.
 * February 15-Johavar of Denver, the father of Annaliese of Denver, and one of the most prominent alien noblemen in the Laurasian Empire, dies in the Ducal Palace of Denver. Johavar is succeeded to the Dukedom of Denver by his eldest son, 23-year old Willar, the younger brother of the Lady Annaliese. Willar is determined to assert his family's position at the Imperial Laurasian Court and to acquire more honor and prestige for his household generally among the ranks of the Laurasian nobility and gentry.
 * February 22-Battle of Dumrovia results in the occupation by Marasharite forces of that stronghold. Emperor Char'vak V's plea to the Imperial Laurasian Government for the reassignment of General Lacius to the Amulak Spiral is met with delays by Chancellor Crownapoulos, who claimed that the Laurasians needed to maintain their position in the Angelina Spiral against the "Haynsian mongrels".
 * March 3-Field-Marshal Munnich is forced to retreat from the Great Tesmanian Cloud after a Marasharite victory in the Battle of the Bug Mist. As a result of this retreat, his prestige and position of favor with the Emperor Antigonus has weakened considerably, and many in the Imperial Court are beginning to secretly conspire for his removal.
 * March 12-Death of the disgraced ex-Earl of Redia, Sir Thomasius Boleyenia, father of the late Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia and her siblings Georgius and Antonia Boleyenia. Boleyenia had resided at Fulcania since his disgrace three years earlier, and was never able to fully recuperate from the disastrous collapse in his fortunes. His death is received with little fanfare at the Imperial Court, similar to the death of his wife, Lady Aurelia Howardis, the previous year.
 * March 14-In a session of the Imperial Privy Council at the Grand Palace of Way'tosk, Chancellor Crownapoulos suggests to Emperor Antigonus that he find himself a new wife, who could give birth to another male heir and could ensure the continuance of the Neuchrian Dynasty. Crownapoulos reminded the Emperor that Grand Prince Demetrius, who had been adored by his imperial father and provided with a household far larger than those of his half-sisters, could sicken and die, and that a backup heir was needed. Antigonus, himself desiring another female companion, and wishing to have more sons, eventually agrees to Crownapoulos's suggestion.
 * March 29-General Lacius repels a Haynsian offensive against Perekop in the pitched Battle of Yulia.
 * April 6-Chancellor Crownapoulos, acting on the command of the Emperor, orders the Imperial Ministry of the Chancellory to begin conducting a search, among the nobility and gentry of the Empire, for a possible bride for "His Imperial Majesty". The Ministry of the Chancellory looks at the registers of all noble and princely ladies in the Empire; the Chancellor also ordered that non-Laurasian brides be sought for as well.
 * April 17-Willar of Denver is formally confirmed as Duke of Denver in a ceremony on Decapolia Major by the Emperor Antigonus III, returning from his journey to the Millian Provinces. Willar learns of the search efforts of the Ministry of the Chancellory and conceives the idea of presenting his sister Annaliese as a potential bride for the Emperor.
 * April 24-The Marasharite Empire reconquers Merekop in a surprise offensive, breaching the Laurasian outposts of the Galactic Barrier. Field-Marshal Munnich, growing ever more fearful of his security and position of favor with the Emperor, and wishing to conclude the war with some territorial gain for the Laurasian Empire, drafts plans for a renewed offensive into the Great Tesmanian Cloud.
 * May 5-Duke Willar of Denver writes a formal letter of intentions to the Imperial Privy Council, offering his sister Annaliese, the Lady of Denver, as a potential bride for the Emperor Antigonus.
 * May 14-Chancellor Crownapoulos closes the search process for an imperial bride and reviews the Letter of Intentions written by Duke Willar. Crownapoulos, aware of the wealth and influence of the Clevian family, and believing that Annaliese (known for her subordinate attitude and humility) would be the perfect bride for the Emperor, decides that Annaliese will be considered a final option for the Emperor.
 * May 29-General Lacius repels a Haynsian offensive against Kerlop and Savachany, maintaining Laurasian control of the Haynsian Slave Highway.
 * June 3-Marasharite units reconquer Kerch and Marson, driving a wedge into the Northern Reaches.
 * June 17-Hansius Holbienus is dispatched by the Imperial Privy Council to Denver, in order to prepare official photographs and portraits of the Lady Annaliese of Denver and her family, for the use of the Emperor. Holbienus will complete his mission by July 5.
 * July 11-Field-Marshal Munnich, bypassing Marasharite units in the Northern Reaches, launches a swing offensive into the Great Tesmanian Cloud. He storms Focsani and Stalkisvik within five days.
 * July 22-23-The Battle of Grocka occurs in the Austarlian Homeland Territories, resulting in the annihilation of a Austarlian-Laurasian force by the Marasharite units of General Ivaz Mehmet. The way is now opened to a Marasharite siege of Austarlia Minor. Laurasian efforts to reinforce the Austarlians in the Amulak Spiral have ended in failure.
 * August 2-The Siege of Austarlia Minor by the forces of Marasharite General Ivaz Mehmet commences. Emperor Char'vak V, who has raised taxes on his subjects fourfold since the commencement of the war, and has tried in vain to reorganize the Austarlian military forces, sends another plea for assistance to the Imperial Laurasian Government. Field-Marshal Munnich, however, is unwilling to divert any military units from his campaigns in the Great Tesmanian Cloud, and he also needs to keep the Marasharites limited to the Northern Reaches.
 * August 28-Field Marshal Munnich launched a surprise offensive against the Marasharite military arsenal and headquarters of Stavuchany. He landed a diversionary blow to the Marasharite right flank, then massed troops on its left and smashed through the formations of the Marasharite force, capturing the Marasharite encampment, artillery, military supplies, 400,000 Marasharite troops, and the Marasharite Khotyn Asteroid Base. This battle will finally convince Emperor Sassas III to seriously pursue negotiations with the Laurasian Empire.
 * September 4-The Siege of Austarlia Minor ends when the Austarlian garrison of the star system is overwhelmed by the forces of General Ivaz Mehmet. Ivaz Mehmet has the world ransacked; Marasharite units now control nearly half of the Austarlian territories, and this will provide for a balance in negotiations with the Laurasian Empire.
 * September 12-Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V, who felt betrayed by the Laurasian lack of assistance to him in the Amulak Spiral, and whose dominions were being pushed to the breaking-point by the Marasharite forces, sent a request for peace negotiations to the Marasharite High Council. Sassas III accepted this peace request on September 14.
 * September 16-Armistice proclaimed between the forces of the Austarlian and Marasharite Empires. Laurasian protests at this unilateral Austarlian action, in violation of the Treaty of Bilirasi, are ignored by the Austarlian Bureau of Foreign Affairs.
 * September 30-The Treaty of Belgravia is signed by delegations of the Marasharite and Austarlian Empires, terminating the theater of operations in the Amulak Spiral. By the terms of this humiliating agreement, which severely damaged the Austarlian Empire’s prestige, Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V conceded the Pazak Cluster, the Banat of Temesvar, Olthenia, Belusia, and Banja Luka to the authority of the Marasharites, thereby surrendering not only the Austarlian gains of the Treaty of Passerwritz, which had been made twenty-one years earlier, but also acquisitions from the Great Marasharite War made by his father. In return, Sassas III restored Austarlia Minor and other Austarlian-occupied territories to the authority of the Austarlian Empire, and agreed to the withdrawal of Marasharite military forces from Austarlian territory in the next two years. Emperor Antigonus III, hearing of the Treaty of Belgravia, commands the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin preparing an armistice request to the Marasharite Government.
 * October 4-The Haynsians reconquer Brioffia, forcing General Lacius to retreat towards Perekop and the Mists of the Angelina Spiral. By now, Haynsian forces have recovered most of the territories lost to the Laurasian Empire, and are once again preparing raiding expeditions against Laurasian territory.
 * October 7-The Imperial Laurasian Government sends a armistice request to the Marasharite High Council. Sassas III, overjoyed by his victories over the Austarlian Empire, and knowing that the Laurasians were war-weary, decided to accept the armistice request. The Armistice of Jassy will be signed on October 10.
 * October 14-Negotiations between delegations of the Laurasian and Marasharite Empires, as well as the Haynsian Despotate, commence at Nis, a Marasharite base two-thousand light years west of Jassy. Field-Marshal Munnich heads the Laurasian delegation to the peace conference, while the Marasharite General Malal-bek represents Marasharite and Haynsian interests. Chancellor Crownapoulos, who had drafted the instructions for the Laurasian delegation, was compelled to drop Laurasian demands for the disarmament of the Haynsian Despotate and annexation of all Marasharite territories in the Galactic Borderlands, particularly as Marasharite units had been massed for a series of counteroffensives against the Galactic Frontier Route, Muggal Cluster, and Tof Borderlands.
 * October 29-After fifteen days of arduous negotiations, the Treaty of Nis is signed by the Laurasian Empire, Marasharite Empire, and Haynsian Despotate, thereby bringing an end to the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War of the eighteenth century. By the terms of the Treaty of Nis, the Imperial Laurasian Government agreed to acknowledge Marasharite acquisitions in the Great Amulak Spiral, and the termination of the Treaty of Bilirasi with the Austarlian Empire. As regards to territorial matters, the Marasharites agreed to the concession of Billy, Donna, Latrice, Teller, Ba'dai, and the Tof Borderlands to the authority of the Laurasian Empire. The Laurasian rule of Kia, Carly, Billy Gasis, Pelaski, and the Galactic Frontier Route is confirmed, and Laurasian subjects are to be able to reside or travel in those regions without "harassment or threat to their livelihoods". In return, however, the Laurasian Empire agreed not to install any military garrisons at Billy, Donna, and Latrice for a period of twelve years; to restore the Muggal Cluster, Northern Reaches, and Haynsian Slave Highway to the authority of the Marasharite Empire; and to abandon any claims to territory in the Great Tesmanian Cloud. The Imperial Laurasian Government was obliged to compensate the Haynsian Despotate for all damages inflicted in Haynsian territory, although Jay X swore to terminate Haynsian raids against Laurasian territory and to permit the Laurasian Empire to keep all slaves, prisoners, and spoils of war captured in the military campaigns. All military prisoners of war, however, were to be released immediately. Laurasia was not to be permitted rights of transit to the Angelina Spiral, and its subjects in Haynsian territory were to oblige by Haynsian laws and regulations. All Laurasian military units in the restored territories were to withdraw back to Laurasian dominions by the end of 1740. Although the Laurasians had failed to destroy the Haynsian Despotate or seize all Marasharite territory in the Galactic Borderlands, the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War did result in territorial gains for the Laurasian Empire. The Tofs, Billians, Donnians, and Latricans were now under the authority of the Imperial Laurasian Government.
 * November 11-The Treaty of Nis is ratified by Emperor Antigonus III. It will be ratified by Marasharite Emperor Sassas III and Haynsian Despot Jay X on November 16.
 * November 14-The Imperial Privy Council come to the agreement that the Lady Annaliese of Denver should become the next wife and Empress Consort of Antigonus III. The Emperor Antigonus himself, having seen the photographic collection prepared by Master-Artist Holbienus, and determined to procure for himself a bride as soon as possible, will announce his approval of the Council's selection on November 17.
 * November 22-Duke Willar of Denver is formally informed by the Imperial Court that the Emperor has formally selected his sister, Annaliese of Denver, to be his next bride. Annaliese is now commanded to put all of her affairs in order and to be ready for departure from Denver by the end of December.
 * December 14-Field-Marshal Munnich returns to Laurasia Prime, having overseen the withdrawal of Laurasian units from the Great Tesmanian Cloud. Munnich will be received by the Emperor and the Imperial Court coldly. Antigonus, who had once planned to confer upon Munnich the Order of St. Honorius the Liberator, is greatly disappointed in his commander, believing that he had let the Imperial Government and the subjects of the Laurasian Empire down.
 * December 27-The Lady Annaliese of Denver and her personal household depart from Denver, having set all of their affairs into order. Duke Willar of Denver, unable to escort his sister to Laurasia Prime due to pressing obligations, nevertheless wishes her well.
 * December 30-The entourage of Annaliese of Denver arrives at the Second Station of Callista in orbit of Laurasia Prime, and is immediately lodged there. The Emperor himself, who was at Darcia at the time with his son and the Imperial Court, now makes preparations for returning to his capital system, to receive his fiancee.

1740

 * January 1-The year 1740 commenced with the Laurasian Empire once again at peace, with the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War having ended. The Imperial Laurasian Government, on the command of the Emperor Antigonus, had ordered all Laurasian subjects to celebrate the new year with much vigor, to honor the victories of Laurasian forces over the Marasharite Empire and Haynsian Despotate. Despite this, however, the Emperor Antigonus was far from pleased about the war's outcome, and believed that Field-Marshal Munnich and General Lacius had failed to obtain all of the territory which could have been the possession of the Empire. Antigonus, however, was not eager at the present time for another war with the Marasharites, and in fact, was now concerned more about his own martial affairs. On the first day of the New Year, the Emperor and his personal entourage arrived in the outskirts of the Laurasia Prime star system from Darcia. On his command, however, the garrison of Laurasia Prime was not officially notified of his arrival, and Chancellor Crownapoulos was commanded to ensure that the Emperor's presence in the Laurasia Prime star system would remain unknown to the Empire's population. Antigonus now embarked at the Second Station of Callista, determined to see his fiancee, Annaliese of Denver. The Lady of Denver had not been informed either about the Emperor's arrival, and thus, the visit was meant as a surprise. Antigonus disguised himself, and entered with his courtiers into the Lady's allotted bedchambers. Annaliese, however, failed to discern the Emperor's face through the disguise. The meeting was not successful, for although Antigonus revealed his true identity to her thereafter (which resulted in her dropping to her knees and paying him the proper respects), he was disappointed that she could not recognize him in disguise. He also thought that Annaliese was boring, uneducated, and unattractive. He was already put off.
 * January 3-Official visit of the Emperor Antigonus III to Annaliese of Denver at the Second Station of Callista, after the Emperor's presence had been formally acknowledged by the garrison and authorities of Laurasia Prime. The Emperor began to express his doubts about the marriage to Chief Procurator Cranmerius and Chancellor Crownapoulos, but nevertheless decided to proceed forth with the marriage ceremony.
 * January 6-The marriage of Emperor Antigonus III and the Lady Annaliese of Denver is conducted at the Westphalian Cathedral in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. The ceremony is presided over by Chief Procurator Cranmerius. Although the Emperor did not love his new wife, and believed that the marriage had been a mistake, he nevertheless treated her with great respect in public and ensured that the marriage festivities at the Imperial Court were grand. Annaliese was formally proclaimed Empress Consort, although no plans were made for her eventual coronation (Antigonus had no intention of crowning her as Empress Consort). He does not consummate their marriage on the wedding night, admitting this directly to Chancellor Crownapoulos five days after the wedding.
 * January 14-The Haynsian Despot Jay X Karany, whose health had been in decline since the end of the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War, died at the Khan's Martial Palace on Bahkchisiray of complications from a attack of Vremiaes paralysis. His death was widely mourned throughout the Haynsian Despotate, for he was viewed by many of his Haynsian subjects as the man responsible for turning back the "onslaught" of the Laurasian Empire. Marasharite Emperor Sassas III elevated the youngest son of Jay IX Karany, Nathaliet II, to the Haynsian throne.
 * January 25-Birth of Sir Christopheus Hattonius, future Minister of Justice and Procurator-General of the Laurasian Empire, and one of the leading figures and favorites of the reign of Empress Aurelia the Great. He is born in Chancellor City, Katherine, the son of Sir Willanius Hattonius of Holdenby, Oxia Vixius (died 1746) and his wife Cleopatra Hayndsia (died 1781), the daughter of Lysimachus Hayndisa of Ralina Vixius.
 * February 12-Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver admits to her lady-in-waiting, the Countess of Reoyania, that the Emperor had not consummated their marriage, but that he was nevertheless a "kind and endearing" husband. The Countess of Reoyania warns her imperial mistress that if the Emperor has not expressed any interest in her at this stage, than the marriage would be terminated.
 * March 19-The Lady Katharina Howardis is appointed a lady-in-waiting in the household of Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver. This position as Lady-in-Waiting for the nineteen-year old woman had been secured for her by her uncle, the ambitious Duke of Norfolkius. Norfolkius and his faction at the Imperial Court were determined to gain the predominant influence over the Emperor Antigonus, and to bring about the downfall of Chancellor Crownapoulos, who had dominated the affairs of the Imperial Laurasian Government for nearly eight years. Norfolkius believed that Annaliese of Denver would not long remain Empress Consort, and he hoped that his own niece would displace her. Katharina's affair with Julius Dereanius remains unknown to him; he believes that his niece is still a virgin.
 * April 6-The Lady Katharina Howardis, serving as one of the ladies-in-waiting of Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver, catches the attention of the Emperor Antigonus III for the first time. Unlike Annaliese, Katharina is beautiful, vivacious, intelligent, and energetic. Antigonus was entranced by her love for life, her understanding of the rituals of the Imperial Court, and her youthfulness, which to him suggested that she would be capable of bearing many children. The Emperor therefore begins to court Katharina, sending her gifts and declaring his love for her. Annaliese has no idea of what is going on, and believes that her husband is still loyal to her.
 * April 17-Sir Thomasius Crownapoulos, the Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire, is formally created Earl of Estatius by his imperial master, the Emperor Antigonus III. The investiture ceremony takes place at the Diplomatic Palace in Christiania. Crownapoulos is appointed Imperial Privy Seal, making him one of the Six Officers of State of the Imperial Household. Officially, Crownapoulos was elevated to noble rank because of his "successful" arrangement of the Emperor's marriage with Annaliese of Denver, his hard-work in years of government service, and his ability to execute his master's policies. In reality, however, Antigonus believed that this marriage with Annaliese of Denver was his Chancellor's fault, and that Crownapoulos had failed to obtain advantages for the Laurasian Empire in the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War. The elevation of Crownapoulos is therefore, partially an effort by the Emperor to deceive everyone in the Imperial Court as to his true intentions.
 * April 24-The Lady Katharina Howardis is granted an annuity by the Emperor Antigonus III, a sign of his increasing favor towards her.
 * May 31-Death of Pruthian Autocratic Emperor A'rua II, who had ruled since 1713. A'rua II is succeeded by his 28-year old son Pru'a, who becomes Pru'a IX of Pruthia. The new Pruthian Emperor is handsome, energetic, ambitious, and intelligent, determined to assert the position of Pruthia in the Amulak Spiral and to limit the power of Spamalka and Austarlia. Pru'a IX was also interested in improving diplomatic relations with the Laurasian Empire, and fostering contacts with Franconia, the Haxon Confederacy, and other powers. He was determined to maintain Pruthian influence in the affairs of the Dejanik Commonwealth, but in cooperation with the Imperial Laurasian Government. He will be one of the longest-reigning sovereigns of the century, destined to rule for forty-six years (until 1786).
 * June 10-At a session of the Imperial Privy Council in the Private Council Chambers of the Quencilvanian Palace, Chancellor Crownapoulos is arrested on the orders of the Emperor Antigonus III. Antigonus was by now firmly determined to annul his marriage with Annaliese of Denver, and to remove Crownapoulos, whom he blamed for the marriage and for Laurasian reverses in the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War. Crownapoulos is imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux. On June 12, he will write a letter to the Emperor, declaring his innocence and begging for mercy. Antigonus, however, refuses to heed his pleas.
 * June 19-The Emperor Antigonus III issues an imperial manifesto depriving Thomasius Crownapoulos of the Earldom of Estatius, barely two months after his investiture as Earl. Crownapoulos is at this date dismissed from his position of Chancellor, deprived of all honors and grants conferred upon him by the Imperial Government, and formally denounced as a traitor to the Imperial State.
 * June 24-Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver is commanded by the Emperor Antigonus III to depart from the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime and to retire to her hereditary residences on Denver. Antigonus claims that this is for "reasons of security", and that the Empress Consort would be more comfortable on her home world. Everyone knew the real reason, however.
 * June 29-The Emperor Antigonus III, bypassing the normal judicial proceedings of the Governing Senate (as was his right by his autocratic authority), issued a imperial writ of attainder against the former Chancellor and Earl of Estatius, Thomasius Crownapoulos. In the bill of attainder, Crownapoulos was accused of les-majeste, treason, heresy, and corruption. The Emperor declared to his subjects that the former Chancellor had been "sowing discord in the Imperial Household", that he was secretly in favor of persons such as the late Bishop Fisherius and Sir Thomasius Morius (who had opposed the Emperor's religious measures), and that he had contrived the marriage of the Emperor with the Lady of Denver out of "spite for His Imperial Majesty". Therefore, Antigonus asserted, Crownapoulos did not deserve a trial, and consequently should be immediately brought to justice. The bill of attainder therefore condemned the former Chancellor to death and commanded that his execution would be deferred until after the annulment of the Emperor's marriage with the Lady Annaliese of Denver. On the same day as the Imperial Act of Attainder, Sir Eumenes Diadones, Baronet Diadones of Charasia, who had been the Minister of Energy and Planetary Resources since 1734, and had also served as Vice-President of the Imperial Privy Council, was appointed Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire and President of the Privy Council, replacing Crownapoulos in those positions. Diadones will retain his post for the remainder of the Emperor Antigonus's reign.
 * July 6-The Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver was formally informed by the Imperial Privy Council and Holy Synod of her husband's decision to reconsider their marriage. She is asked if they ever consummated their marriage. Annaliese, realizing that Antigonus did not want to be married to her any longer, and knowing the dangers of opposition, dutifully replied that the marriage had not been consummated. This gives Chief Procurator Cranmerius the justification he needs to move forward with an annulment.
 * July 9-The Holy Synod, under the direction of Chief Procurator Thomasius Cranmerius, declares the marriage of Emperor Antigonus III and the Lady Annaliese of Denver to be null and void. Annaliese is therefore deprived of the title of Empress Consort. However, the Emperor Antigonus decides to be generous to his now ex-wife. She is granted the honorary title and rank of "The Empress's Sister", with precedence above all other women at the Imperial Court with the exception of any future spouse whom the Emperor may marry. She is also created Baroness of Denver, given a lifetime Imperial pension of €1.9 billion a year, and awarded five mansions from the Imperial Estates, including Heverian Castle on Fulcania, once one of the chief residences of the Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia. Annaliese is then allowed back to the Imperial Court as a guest aristocrat.
 * July 13-The Emperor Antigonus III and the Lady Katharina Howardis, once one of the primary ladies-in-waiting of the household of Annaliese of Denver, were formally engaged to be married. The Privy Council, in its proclamation to the subjects of the Laurasian Empire about the annulment of the marriage with Annaliese of Denver and the Emperor's new engagement, declared that the "hand of Almitis" had showed the Emperor the light, and that he was now on the path to obtaining a truly fulfilling and fruitful marriage.
 * July 28-
 * At the Palace of Placenta on Darcia, the Emperor Antigonus III is married to his fiancee, the Lady Katharina Howardis, just nineteen days after the annulment of his prior marriage with the Baroness Annaliese of Denver. The Lady Katharina was, according to official accounts, "adorned in the most exquisite costumes" and for her youthful age, managed to conduct herself with decorum. The Duke of Norfolkius, who had become uncle-in-law to the Emperor Antigonus for the second time, gave the bride away to her imperial husband. The Baroness Annaliese of Denver herself, as well as the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, Grand Prince Demetrius, Procurator-General Audalius, Chief Procurator Cranmerius, and the Emperor's good friend the Duke of Sufforia were among those personages present at the ceremony. The ceremonies for the marriage were lavish. Largesse was distributed to crowds in star systems throughout the Empire; an official imperial proclamation enjoined all to celebrate the marriage and to wish for its success in yielding more children to continue the Neuchrian Dynasty; and a three-day public holiday was proclaimed. Antigonus was 49 years old at the time of this wedding, and had by this point clearly lost the athleticism and physical attributes which had been so endearing earlier in the reign. The Emperor's vanity, however, ensured that official imperial accounts would continue to praise his merits. Katharina would be formally proclaimed Empress Consort on August 4.
 * On the very same day of Antigonus III's marriage with Katharina Howardis, former Chancellor and Earl of Estatius, Thomasius Crownapoulos, was executed at the Fortress of Baureux. Crownapoulos conducted himself in a dignified and calm manner, and to the last, proclaimed his innocence. He declared, in the traditional speech offered to the witnesses of the execution, that he had remained a loyal and hard-working servant for His Imperial Majesty; that he was dedicated to reform of the Almitian Church; and that he had sought to strike against the Emperor's enemies without mercy. Crownapoulos was, by command of the Emperor, spared the full horrors of a traitor's death, and his body was buried at the Prison Crypt of the Fortress of Baureux. His execution, however, went virtually unnoticed in the festivities surrounding the Emperor's new marriage.
 * August 2-The Emperor Antigonus III commanded the Holy Synod to suppress the Imperial Shrines to the Saints, whom he considered unnecessary for the purposes of the Imperial State and detracting from "the duties of loyal subjects". Chief Procurator Cranmerius will oversee the dismantling of fifteen thousand shrines and pilgrimage houses throughout the Laurasian Empire during the next two years.
 * August 9-October 12-The Emperor Antigonus III and his new wife, Empress Consort Katharina Howardis (who at 19 was the youngest of the Emperor's wives), embark on a tour throughout the Laurasian Purse Region, both to commeorate the state of peace which the Laurasian Empire then resided in and to also present the new Empress Consort to her subjects. Over this period of time, the imperial couple will visit Caladaria, Darcia, Ralina Vixius, Oxia Vixius, the Cron Drift, Apathama Vixius, Augis V, Vetta, Aquilionia, Volta, Lusculum, Katie, Arias, Manil, the Station of Dosch, Janesia, Maroni, Dearton's Gateway, Aeoleon, Americana, Charasia, Katherine, Osama, Little Mexicana, Australasia, Rebecca, Metallasia, the Andrianian Cluster, Mercedes, Constantine I, and numerous other imperial strongholds.
 * October 20-Death of the Austarlian Emperor Char'vak V, who was 55 years old and had ruled since 1711. Char'vak, who had been the ally of the Laurasian Empire in the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War, considered himself to be betrayed by the Laurasian inability (and slow pace) in providing assistance to him against the Marasharites invading his dominions. At the time of his death, the hereditary dominions of the Austarlian Empire were financially and militarily exhausted. The Austarlian Treasury was virtually bankrupt, due to the Emperor's lavish courtly expenses and the Austarlian involvement in the Dejanik and Marasharite wars. Rebellion and civil dissent flared in the Austarlian dominions against the Emperor's government; the Austarlian Emperor had ignored the advice of Prince Eugene of Savoria to replenish his treasury and reorganize his military forces. He had squandered all of his diplomatic and financial resources on securing the succession for his daughter, Mar'va Tarvania. With Char'vak dead, his daughter, inexperienced in cares of state and pregnant with her first son (Joseth II, who would be born in March 1741), ascended to the Austarlian throne. She was twenty-three years old at the time of her ascension. The Austarlian Empress would soon be hard-pressed to defend her hereditary possessions, as the eyes of her contemporary, Pru'a IX, who was so recently established on his throne, alighted on her province of Silania, which had been disputed between the Austarlians and Pruthians for more than a century.
 * October 29-Birth of Sir Franconius Dracius, Fleet Admiral of the Laurasian Empire and one of the most prominent naval commanders in Laurasian history. He is the son of Sir Athanasius Dracius (died 1785), a minor agriculturalist and small goods businessman on Goodman, and his wife Mariana Ethalaria (died 1794). Dracius was born at his father's homestead in the Northern District of Goodman.
 * November 5-Duke Ernestia Bironia of Northania, who had been installed as Duke with the support of the Imperial Laurasian Government the previous year, is deposed from his position by those very same Laurasian patrons. Bironia had conspired with noble and governmental circles within his Duchy which were opposed to the influence and patronage of the Laurasian Imperial Court in his territories, and the dominions of the Dejanik Commonwealth. Emperor Antigonus III had learned of Bironia's machinations and had commanded the Imperial Intelligence Agency to stir up a palace coup against the wayward Duke. Under the influence of Laurasian bribes, the Dejanican Diet will condemn Bironia to life exile on Yaraslania in March 1741. The position of Duke of Northania will remain vacant for the next several months.
 * December 4-Death of Sir Willanius Sandys, Lord Sandys of the Cron Drift and Imperial High Chamberlain of the Laurasian Empire (since 1730). The Emperor Antigonus III, who had considered Sandys to be a loyal and efficient subordinate, did not immediately appoint a successor to the position. The Chamberlainship, in fact, remained vacant for the next three years.
 * December 16-Pruthian Emperor Pru'a IX, determined to extend the power and influence of his dominions, and believing that Mar'va Tarvania was weak and would not be able to halt his advance, launched an invasion of Austarlian Silania, instigating the War of the Austarlian Succession. This conflict will drag on for eight years (to 1748) and will ultimately result in the acquisition of Silania by the Pruthian Empire.
 * December 22-Emperor Antigonus III, in a diplomatic proclamation from the Quencilvanian Palace, announced his neutrality in the War of the Austarlian Succession. He was determined not to get the Laurasian Empire involved in this dispute between Austarlia and Pruthia, for he wished to focus his attention on internal matters and on absorbing territories conquered from the Marasharites into the Laurasian governmental structure.

1741

 * January 7-King Jamsius V of Scottria held the first in a series of consultations with his advisers on the Scottrian Council of State and in the Scottrian Estates, concerning the possibility of an offensive war against the Laurasian Empire. Laurasia and Scottria had remained at peace during the preceding twenty-seven years, primarily due to the influence of the Scottrian Queen-Dowager Constantia, the elder sister of the Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III. Jamsius V had refrained from war until this point and had focused his attention on domestic matters, in particular with financial, court, and religious reforms. The King of Scottria, however, like his namesake father, was ambitious, and believed that it was the right of the Scottrian civilization to regain territory which had been lost to the Laurasian Empire. Jamsius will gradually edge further and further towards the idea of war, despite his mother's efforts to persuade him otherwise.
 * February 17-The Earl of Anguia, the Scottrian Governor of the Districts of Rasdalla, and one of the chief proponents for a stable and peaceful relationship with the Imperial Laurasian Government, was formally dismissed from his post by command of King Jamsius V. Jamsius was by now determined to instigate war to recover the Western Hypasian Strongholds and the Rogerian Cluster from the authority of the Laurasian Empire.
 * February 22-King Jamsius V granted his official authorization for the war plan which had been prepared by the War Council of Scottria. This plan envisioned the reconquest of the Rogerian Cluster and Western Hypasia from the Laurasian Empire; the dismantling of Laurasian garrisons at Arachosia Prime, Ompus Septimia, Neustron, Sassi-ruuk, Ivanna, Nicole, Redia, Sejucia, and other strongholds in the Southern Galactic Borderlands and Wild Marshes; and the restoration, by the Imperial Laurasian Government, of all tributes exacted from the Scottrian State as a result of the disastrous war of 1713-14. Jamsius even harbored hopes of engineering rebellion in the Core Worlds against Emperor Antigonus III, and promoting the interests of the Traditionalist faction, which sponsored the rights of the Lady Didymeia to succeed her father to the Laurasian throne.
 * March 6-King Jamsius V appointed General Roan O'Nell as Governor of the Districts of Rasdalla and Supreme Commander of Scottrian forces in the Caladarian Galaxy, in preparation for the military campaigns against the Laurasian Empire. O'Nell will arrive at Rasdalla Major on March 14 and will begin preparations for assembling military forces, in anticipation of the offensives into Laurasian territory.
 * March 12-The Imperial Intelligence Agency, which had maintained its agents at the Scottrian Court on Ediania, and was provided information by Queen-Dowager Constantia, alerted Chancellor Diadones and the Imperial Privy Council of Scottrian war plans. Diadones and Field-Marshal Munnich informed their master, the Emperor Antigonus III, that war was on the horizon. Antigonus, who knew that Jamsius was eager for glory in battle, and who had expected that the King of Scottria would be motivated to war, authorized the Imperial General Headquarters to send instructions to Laurasian border units in the Barsar Regions and Rogerian Cluster.
 * March 22-Scottrian troops begin to deploy at the border fortresses of Vilmanstrand and Frederickshamm, located seven light-years to the west of the Laurasian-Scottrian Borderland Territories, intersecting the western outskirts of the Rogerian Cluster. Governor O'Nell appointed Baronet Rob McRoy of Testhulburne as Fleet Admiral of the Scottrian 1st and 2nd Armadas, and charged him with overseeing the preparations at the Border Strongholds.
 * March 29-Although General Lacius's favor with the Emperor Antigonus III had weakened considerably, due to the reverses suffered in the latter stages of the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War, he is nevertheless commanded by the Emperor to take charge of Laurasian forces in the Borderland Territories and to prepare for a preemptive strike into Scottrian territory. Lacius will arrive at Roger Major on April 4 and will oversee the mobilization of the task fleets of the Rogerian Cluster.
 * April 3-The Empress Consort Katharina Howardis, who had not yet become pregnant by her imperial husband, and who, barely out of her teens, was still vain and foolish, began involving herself in secret meetings with Sir Thomasius Culpeperi, with whom she had considered as a possible husband during her time as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Annaliese of Denver. Culpeperi, who served as Groom of the Emperor's Chamber, and was considered one of the most talented and handsome courtiers of the Imperial Household, thrived upon the Empress's attentions. Their meetings will be arranged by Lady Rachanlaford, the widow of Georgius Boleyenia, who served in the household of the Empress Consort. It will eventually be alleged that the two engaged in sexual intercourse with each other. The Emperor Antigonus III is at this point unaware of his wife's infidelities.
 * April 10-Battle of Molliwitz in the Amulak Spiral results in a decisive victory for Pruthian Emperor Pru'a IX, maintaining his gains in Silania against Austarlian forces of the Empress Mar'va Tarvania.
 * May 5-The Imperial Ministry of Space and Transportation, under the direction of Minister Cliethus Marsonius, sponsors the exploration of the Rikkid Mist, on the edge of the Wild Marshes, by Rebeccan Admiral Vitus Bering and his colonization corps. The Rikkid Mist, which was a dense stellar cluster, had been discovered by Laurasian probes in 1649, but had not yet been penetrated by a civilized force.
 * May 20-An epidemic of Merellian fever broke out at the Scottrian garrisons on Cania, Patricia I, Rasdalla Minor, Kathy, Vilmanstrand, Frederickshamm, and Devily. This epidemic will continue for the next month and will result in the deaths of some two million civilians and nearly 1.5 million Scottrian Army personnel. Among the victims of this epidemic will be Admiral Mccroy of Testhulburne, who died on June 6. The Scottrian forces are weakened as a result of the epidemic, and King Jamsius is forced to divert funds from the Scottrian Treasury in order to contain the outbreak of the epidemic. The Laurasian Ministries of Transportation and Commerce, on the explicit instructions of the Emperor Antigonus III, impose a quarantine in the Borderland Territories and suspend all Laurasian transit to the Scottrian dominions. Antigonus orders General Lacius to take precautions from preventing an epidemic outbreak among his forces, and the Emperor expresses his hope to the Privy Council that the Laurasian Empire would now have the upper hand in the conflict.
 * June 27-Louis Ernestia of Brunbilla is installed as the new Duke of Northania, after initiatives made on the part of the Imperial Laurasian Government in his favor. Duke Louis, however, is destined to remain in control of his dukedom only until December 6, 1741, when he will be deposed, again on account of Laurasian actions at the Dejanik Court. From December 1741 to November 1758, the Duchy of Northania will be ruled by the Ducal Council, in the absence of a Duke.
 * June 30-Emperor Antigonus III and his wife, the Empress Consort Katharina Howardis, embark on their formal royal progress, this time to the northern dominions of the Laurasian Empire. The Emperor Antigonus wished that this royal tour would demonstrate the Empire's strength and internal prosperity; he also wished to display his Empress-Consort to more of his imperial subjects, and to enjoy himself by examining many of the star systems under his rule. The progress will continue for the next three months. Massanay, Sassanay, Cibourney, Dennis, Rastaborn, Shannon, Rebecca, Martina Mccasia, Blackria, Nezbit, Mariah, Briannia, Nystadia, Vardar, Gdov, Alemeda, the Belts of Barton, Leopoldia, Frederickslandia, Big Twinny, Wendy, Michael, Deanna, Coen, Istantius, Sair, Roxuli, Abraham, Alexandria, Laronn, Sheryl, Methausalah, Xilania Major, Nandia, Calrissian, Varta, the worlds of the Galactic Frontier Route, Norah, Simmons, Keeley, Natalie, and Adrianne will be among the star systems visited by the Imperial Court during this progress. Katharina, however, continued her indiscretions with Culpeperi and with Dereanius, who was now one of the courtiers of His Imperial Majesty's entourage. Chancellor Diadones supervised government affairs on Laurasia Prime during the Emperor's absence, in cooperation with the Imperial Privy Council.
 * July 3-Governor-General O'Nell was ordered by King Jamsius V back to Ediania, in order to provide updates to the Estates and Privy Council about the situation of Scottrian forces in the Galactic Borderlands, and to receive his final instructions for offensives into Laurasian territory. The Imperial Intelligence Agency alerts the Imperial General Headquarters of this, and Field-Marshal Munnich obtains the Emperor's final permission for a preemptive strike into Scottrian dominions. Munnich orders General Lacius to assemble his units for a move against Vilmanstrand and Frederickshamm, and that such an offensive would be launched by the end of the month.
 * July 20-To the utter surprise of King Jamsius V, Governor-General O'Nell, and the Scottrian people in general, Emperor Antigonus III, then at the Palace of Sultans on Istantius, issued a declaration of war against the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. In his declaration, the Laurasian Emperor alleged that the Scottrians had been engaged in undermining "lawful agreements and treaties with the Laurasian Empire" and that his move was meant to preserve an equilibrium of affairs in the Caladarian Galaxy. Upon the Laurasian declaration of war, General Lacius and his forces, comprised of units which had been conscripted from throughout the Empire, advanced swiftly into Scottrian territory. Lacius, advancing from Vyborg (which had been colonized on the orders of the Imperial Laurasian Government in 1726), destroyed Scottrian outposts in the Berwick Barrier, and advanced towards Vilmanstrand.
 * July 29-August 5-Battle of Vilmanstrand between the forces of the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. The Laurasian forces of General Lacius, utilizing a nearly fourfold supremacy in numbers, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Scottrian garrison, which was commanded by General Montogomery Guiness. Vilmanstrand was occupied by the Laurasian Empire, and the military arsenal which had been constructed by Governor-General O'Nell was now redirected to Laurasian purposes. General Rian B'reilly, who was the Subordinate Governor of Rasdalla, was blamed by the King of Scottria for the loss of Vilmanstrand, and would be court-martialled and dismissed from his position on August 11.
 * August 14-Governor-General O'Nell arrived at Frederickshamm, having been dispatched by the King of Scottria for defensive operations against Laurasian forces. General Lacius had stormed Scottrian outposts on Ladoga, Onega, and Ranieda, and was preparing for a general offensive against Patricia I and Devily. O'Nell, over the course of the next several days, attempts to organize a counteroffensive by Scottrian forces against Vyborg, seeking to outflank the Laurasian garrison now implanted on Vilmanstrand. His effort, however, will come to a ruinous end in the Battle of Spurra (August 22).
 * August 27-Emperor Antigonus III, his wife Empress Consort Katharina Howardis, and the Imperial Court viewed an official procession of Laurasian troops and artillery on Abraham, an occasion which was recorded in the Imperial Annals and received much notice from the subjects of the Empire. In the late hours of this day, in an action which would spell bad for her in the future, the Empress Consort appointed her lover, Sir Julius Dereanius, as the chief secretary of her personal household. Dereanius and the Empress Consort had resumed their sexual relationship, although the former was unaware of Katharina's concurrent affair with Sir Thomasius Culpeperi. Rumors will begin to circulate among the ladies of the Imperial Household as to why the Empress appointed this handsome young man as her personal secretary.
 * September 22-General Lacius repelled a Scottrian force in the Battle of Sjorina and began to set up stockades along the High Route, which connected Vilmanstrand to Frederickshamm.
 * September 29-October 4-The Battle of the Bereoyeze Asteroids results in a decisive victory for the forces of the Laurasian Empire under General Lacius.
 * October 18-At the Methven Castle on Perevia, the Queen-Dowager of Scottria and Grand Princess of the Laurasian Empire, Constantia, the last surviving sibling of the Emperor Antigonus III, died at the age of 51. Constantia, who had tried in vain to maintain Laurasian influence at the court of her son King Jamsius V, and who had been devastated by her brother's declaration of war against her son, had seen a collapse in her health during the immediate preceding months. The Queen-Dowager had gradually lost her will to live and had accepted the embrace of her spiritual father, the Lord Almitis. King Jamsius ordered for a three-month period of mourning for his mother and commanded all of his subjects to "bear no malice against her on account of her race and origin". The Emperor Antigonus, when informed of his sister's death, was emotionally shaken. He also proclaimed a three-month period of mourning at the Imperial Court, ordered for a ceremony of honor to be conducted at all major Imperial residences, and commanded the Privy Council to begin drafting an truce offer to the Scottrian Court.
 * October 21-John Lascellius, Professor of Theology at the University of Laurasia Prime, learned of the indiscretions of the Empress Consort Katharina Howardis by means of his sister, Messalina Lascellius, who had been a member of the household of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolkius. Messalina had witnessed Katharina, when she was not yet Empress Consort, sending a letter of love to Culpeperi several years earlier. Lascellius, who considered adultery and pre-martial sexual relations to be sinful, wrote a letter to Chief Procurator Cranmerius, informing him of his wife's revelations. Cranmerius decides at this juncture to launch a private inquiry into the matter. The progress of the Imperial Court had ended on October 3, and the Household was once again back at the Quencilvanian Palace. Cranmerius could therefore proceed with the minimum of friction or difficulty.
 * October 27-Chief Procurator Cranmerius's private inquiry into the affairs of the Empress Consort Katharina Howardis conclude, as he learns of the rumors circulating about her relationships with Culpeperi and Dereanius, and also obtains confirmation from anonymous ladies-in-waiting of the Empress Consort's personal "meetings" with Culpeperi. Cranmerius informs Chancellor Diadones and the Duke of Norfolkius of the Empress Consort's infidelities. The Duke of Norfolkius, who had believed his niece a virgin, is devastated, and is determined to now bring about her downfall, if only to maintain his own position in the favor of the Emperor.
 * November 1-The Emperor Antigonus III is informed of the Empress Consort's infidelity by Chief Procurator Cranmerius and Chancellor Diadones, in a routine audience with him concerning the business transactions of the Privy Council. Antigonus is enraged when he learns that his "precious" young wife has betrayed him, and attributes the lack of a pregnancy to Katharina's "adultery and whoredom". The Emperor now commands for the Privy Council to conduct its own inquiry of the Empress Consort's personal affairs, and for Cranmerius himself, along with the Chancellor and a delegation of Privy and Synoptic Councilors, to interrogate the Empress Consort in her private chambers in six day's time. The Empress Consort, by his command, remains in ignorance of the inquiry and of the impending interrogation.
 * November 7-Empress Consort Katharina Howardis is formally interrogated by Chief Procurator Cranmerius, Chancellor Diadones, and a delegation of members of the Privy Council and Holy Synod. Cranmerius informs Katharina of his personal inquiry and of the ongoing official inquiry which had been ordered for by the Emperor himself. He tells Katharina that her adultery and betrayal of the Emperor's trust was "an act of extreme folly and of treason", and that she could not expect mercy from His Imperial Majesty if the rumors were proven valid. Katharina, knowing that the game was up, and that her life and position were now in danger, begged for mercy before Cranmerius and the delegation, admitting that she had indeed betrayed the Emperor's trust. Katharina, however, asserted that Dereanius had raped her before the marriage, and that he was blackmailing her into resuming sexual relations with him. She claimed that she had appointed him as her Personal Secretary in order to prevent him from "slandering her reputation". When Cranmerius brought up Culpeperi, however, the Empress Consort was at a loss for words. On the orders of the Emperor, Katharina was commanded to remain in her personal chambers, and all objects with which she could commit suicide were removed by the Valedictorian Guards.
 * November 12-Emperor Antigonus III orders for his wife, Empress Consort Katharina Howardis, to be formally arrested and imprisoned at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia. Cranmerius himself led the Guards who arrested the Empress Consort. The Duke of Norfolkius, who had betrayed one niece (Anna Boleyenia) now betrayed this one, as he, summoned to an audience with the Emperor, denied any knowledge of Katharina's affairs and declared that "His Majesty was right in ordering the actions against her person". Katharina herself was utterly shaken, and she had to be dragged out from her chambers to the prison transport.
 * November 16-The official inquiry into the infidelities of the Empress Consort Katharina Howardis concludes, confirming the rumors circulating about her and providing evidence of her previous dealings with both Dereanius and Culpeperi. The Emperor Antigonus III is sent into a further rage of anger, and he issues an official proclamation to the Imperial Court, announcing the inquiries about his wife's behavior and that she had been arrested.
 * November 19-Sir Julius Dereanius and Sir Thomasius Culpeperi were arrested on the orders of the Imperial Privy Council and formally imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux. They were charged with treason, adultery, lese-majestie, and "conspiracy against the Imperial Government".
 * November 22-The Holy Synod and Chief Procurator Cranmerius, acting on the direct command of the Emperor Antigonus, officially declared the marriage of Antigonus and Katharina Howardis to be null and void. Katharina was now stripped of her title as Empress Consort; deprived of all honors and grants which had been conferred upon her; and reduced to the rank of Lady. The Emperor orders for the continuation of her imprisonment at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia, but she is now formally deprived of her household and reduced to the status and privileges of any other prisoner.
 * December 2-The Emperor Antigonus orders for the arrest and detainment of the Lady Katharina Howardis's relatives, with the exception of the Duke of Norfolkius. The Dowager Duchess of Norfolkius are among those who are arrested and held at the Old Royal Palace, Post Settlement of Hepudermia, Secret Prison of Ipsus V, and Monastery of Windowia Photis. Antigonus, in a imperial manifesto, accused the Howarids family of "abetting their treasonous girl's activities" and ordered for the Governing Senate to begin preparations for confiscating all Howardis estates and property.
 * December 6-Sir Julius Dereanius and Sir Thomasius Culpeperi were tried and formally convicted by the Governing Senate on all of the charges laid against them. The Emperor Antigonus signed their death warrant almost immediately, and commanded that their execution was to take place at Tynburnian Stockards in the Cron Drift, in four days' time.
 * December 10-At the Tynburnian Stockards in the Cron Drift, Sir Julius Dereanius and Sir Thomasius Culpeperi are executed. Culpeperi, who was of higher rank than Dereanius, was executed by firing squad, while Dereanius was hanged, drawn, quartered, and incinerated. The Holy Synod had excommunicated both men, and they were therefore denied an Almitian burial. Both were dumped into the Yard of Traitors at Tynburnian Stockards on the command of the Emperor Antigonus. He also issued an imperial manifesto depriving the relatives of the condemned men of all estates, grants, and titles which they possessed; denouncing them for the actions of "their sons", and forbidding them to ever set foot on Laurasia Prime again. The Lady Katharina Howardis herself remains imprisoned at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia.
 * December 19-The Truce of Alkadaid is signed by the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, ordering for the suspension of all military hostilities until July 1742. General Lacius was instrumental in negotiating this truce.

1742

 * January 21-The Emperor Antigonus III promulgated the Statute of Martial Fidelity. By the terms of this statute, all women who were engaged to be married, whether they be of the nobility or gentry, or of common stock, were now obliged to provide information to their husband about any prior relationships which they may have been involved in; documentation concerning any previous marriages, if they had been married before; and proof that they would not "defile their honor" during their relationship with their husband-to-be. The Statute declared it to be treason for any female member of the Imperial Household to engage in adulterous relationships while married to a lawful husband; any future Empress Consort would be obliged by the provisions of this Statute, and was liable to execution if she did not prove faithful to her husband. The enactment of this statute was the Emperor's direct reaction to what had transpired between him and his ex-wife, former Empress Consort Katharina Howardis.
 * February 7-The Emperor Antigonus III, bypassing the normal judicial proceedings of the Governing Senate, issued an imperial writ of attainder against the Lady Katharina Howardis and her former Chief Lady-in-Waiting, the Viscountess Ralanchaford, who had been imprisoned alongside her for her complicity in the meetings between the Empress Consort and Culpeperi. In the Act of Attainder, the Emperor declared that a trial "by the normal processes of the Governing Senate" was not necessary, and that the crimes of his wife and her "compatriot" deserved punishment directly from his hands. Antigonus now commanded for Katharina and Viscountess Ralanchford to be moved from the Post Settlement of Hepudermia to the Fortress of Baureux in three day's time, and for the execution of both women to take place on February 13.
 * February 10-Former Empress Consort Katharina Howardis and Viscountess Ralanchaford arrive at the Fortress of Baureux, three days before their planned execution. On February 12, Katharina will make her final confession to Chief Procurator Cranmerius.
 * February 13-The former Empress Consort, Lady Katharina Howardis, and Atila Boleyenia, Viscountess Ralancaford and widow of the Viscount Georgius Boleyenia, are executed at the Tower Grounds of the Fortress of Baureux. Katharina had spent the night before the execution in prayer and practicing for the travail that was to come. However, she was overtaken by a surge of nervousness at the execution stand, and had a look of paleness and fear on her face. The former Empress Consort had to be helped onto the execution rampart by the officers in attendance. In the traditional speech to the crowds, Katharina described the punishment as "worthy and just", declaring that she had sinned in the eyes of the Lord Almitis by engaging in affairs with men "beneath her rank and position". She admitted that Dereanius had not raped or blackmailed her, and that she had conducted her relationship with him "on her own initiative". She asked for mercy for her family and prayers for her soul. Viscount Ralancaford, on her part, admitted her complicity in arranging the Empress's infidelities, and expressed her hope that the Lord Almitis would pardon her in the afterlife. Katharina and Atila were then both executed by firing squad, with a single barrage being all that was required to bring them to their deaths. The Emperor Antigonus had spared them from the full horrors of a traitor's death and had refrained from commanding the Synod to impose a sentence of excommunication on them. Instead, by his command, they would be buried at the Prison Crypt of the Fortress of Baureux.
 * February 26-Emperor Antigonus III, deciding to heed his former wife's last plea in her speech of departure, ordered for the release of all members of the Howardis family who had been detained by his command. The Emperor decided not to deprive the Howardis family of their properties and titles, and he commanded for the elderly Dowager Duchess, whose health had deteriorated during the imprisonment, to be treated by the Imperial Court with much decency and respect. Antigonus, however, had now developed a bitter distrust of the Duke of Norfolkius, and commanded the Lord Treasurer never to appear before him at the Imperial Court, unless it was for an official audience of the Privy Council. Norfolkius retired to his estate on Meaganian, seeking to avoid His Majesty's wrath.
 * March 5-General Lacius, on the direct command of the Emperor Antigonus III, reneged on the Truce of Alkadaid which he had negotiated with the Scottrian Government barely four months earlier. The Emperor Antigonus believed that conditions were ideal for a general Laurasian offensive into Scottrian territories, and he now commanded General Lacius to move his units with all haste. Lacius now began to advance against the Vilmanstrand Approaches, which still barred a Laurasian push to Frederickshamm.
 * March 5-Battle of Dreckel resulted in the storming of that Scottrian colony by units of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Brigadier-General Sir Achilles Plausius.
 * March 16-21-Battle of the Vilmanstrand Approaches between the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of General Lacius, and those of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria commanded by Governor-General O'Nell. The battle was particularly hard fought, as Lacius attempted to penetrate the formations of the Scottrian fleet. O'Nell proved to be a talented foe, and he launched numerous actions against the rear of the Laurasian forces, forcing the diversion of corvettes and starfighters in order to maintain his position. Lacius ultimately managed to secure a Pyrrhic victory, but the severe losses which O'Nell had managed to inflict upon the Laurasian forces resulted in Lacius temporarily suspending an offensive against Frederickshamm.
 * March 29-Laurasian couriers of Brigadier-General Sir Achilles Plausius stormed Scottrian bases on Crusher-VII, Wheaton, and McFadden, resulting in the Laurasians managing to consolidate their position at the Vilmanstrand Approaches.
 * April 3-Laurasian units, under the command of Briannian General Wolmendar Lowendal, fail to storm the Scottrian arsenal on Brisios.
 * April 13-Governor-General O'Nell, assembling his military units at Frederickshamm, Devily, Patricia I, McKellen, Frasier, Janeway, and Barching, began to make plans for another counteroffensive against Vyborg and Vilmanstrand. His goal was to dislodge the Laurasian units from those star systems, secure control of the Vilmanstrand Approaches, and threaten the Borderland Territories. This would be the precursor to a Scottrian offensive into the Rogerian Cluster, in pursuit of the ultimate war aims of King Jamsius V and the Scottrian Government. The Imperial Intelligence Agency, however, will catch wind of Scottrian war plans by April 29.
 * April 27-The Scottrian Government announced that Queen-Consort Mariana of Guise is pregnant with King Jamsius's third child. Both of their sons (Jamsius, Duke of Rothesay, and Robert Stewart, Duke of Tillae) had died in April 1741, and since then, the royal couple had made great effort in order to secure another heir. The announcement of the Queen-Consort's pregnancy is made in the midst of the ongoing Scottrian-Laurasian War, the second of the eighteenth century.
 * May 5-Governor-General O'Nell orders the personnel of the units which he had assembled to prepare for an offensive against Laurasian positions in the Galactic Borderlands by June 1742. King Jamsius V of Scottria, however, who had received communiques from the subordinate commanders of the Scottrian forces, and who wished to build up Scottrian defensive capabilities, commanded O'Nell, on May 11, to await the arrival of naval reinforcements under the command of Admiral Dian Pafadurr.
 * May 21-Field-Marshal Munnich presents his proposal for Laurasian offensives into Rasdallan and Canite territory of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, before a session of the Imperial Privy Council. The Emperor Antigonus, who for one of the only times in his reign, attended the Council meeting personally, granted his official authorization for these planned offensives. Munnich envisioned the capture of Frederickshamm, the Rasdallan strongholds, and the Canite Worlds. He believed that once these territories were under Laurasian possession, Kalbacha would be isolated and Jamsius V would be compelled to come to terms.
 * June 1-The 5th Scottrian Fleet under the command of Admiral Dian Pafadurr arrives at Rasdalla Minor. Pafadurr, who is not placed under the overall command of Governor-General O'Nell, is commanded by the Scottrian Council of State to ensure the security of Scottrian territories in the Galactic Borderlands and to prepare for counteroffensives into the Rogerian Cluster. To that end, Pafadurr and his fleet proceed to Aspo, a Scottrian base located in the Borderland Territories. They will arrive there on June 6.
 * June 3-A galley fleet, commanded by Scottrian Admiral Joah Vagrill, joins the 5th Scottrian Fleet of Admiral Dian Pafadurr at Aspo. The ships of Vagrill's fleet include 50 corvettes, a corps of 2,000 Edithian-class starfighters, and 100 couriers. Admiral Pafadurr plans on utilizing these warships to inflict severe damage upon Laurasian positions at the Vilmanstrand Approaches, and to bypass Laurasian units in the Berwick Barrier. However, a Laurasian fleet, comprised of 500 major warships and 4,000 support vessels, and under the command of Vice-Admiral Vevanthius Levashius, is also active, operating from its chief headquarters at Stunria. Levashius is supported by a Laurasian galley force under the command of Commodore Zadthanius Meservius. Both fleets are under the overall command of General Lacius, who directed Laurasian operations from his headquarters on Vilmanstrand.
 * June 5-Governor-General O'Nell holds a council of war at his headquarters on Frederickshamm, in an attempt to reconquer the Bereoyeze Asteroids from Laurasian forces. Admirals Vagrill and Pafadurr, however, who believe that such an offensive would be doomed to failure, and seeking to retain their influence over operations of war, manage to successfully block the Governor-General's plans.
 * June 13-The Imperial Laurasian Forces, under the command of General Lacius, launched a general offensive into the territories of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Lacius took advantage of the dilatory actions of the Scottrian forces in order to make a decisive push into Scottrian territory. Lacius defeated Admiral Vagrill in the Battle of Memathon, and continued the Laurasian advance towards Frederickshamm.
 * June 14-Scottrian counteroffensive launched by Admiral Pafadurr against Vyborg is blunted by the units of Vice-Admiral Levashius in the Battle of Estre.
 * June 16-McKellen and Janeway are stormed by the units of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Vice-Admiral Levashius and Commodore Meservius.
 * June 19-General Lacius stormed the Scottrian arsenal on McFadden and sent harrying expeditions against the Scottrian defensive outposts around Frederickshamm.
 * June 22-The Battle of Fraiser results in a decisive victory for the Laurasians under the command of Vice-Admiral Levashius. The stronghold is occupied by Laurasian units.
 * June 25-Governor-General O'Nell, who sought to maintain the integrity of his units, and who was aware of the advance of General Lacius and his forces, ordered for his formations to withdraw from the defensive stockades around the Frederickshamm star system. General Lacius and his units now seized control of the defensive outposts, and planned for a siege in order to compel Frederickshamm into surrender.
 * June 28-Governor-General O'Nell, seeking to preserve his forces for a future confrontation with General Lacius, ordered for Frederickshamm to be abandoned to the advancing Laurasian units of General Lacius. Frederickshamm was therefore occupied by the Laurasian Empire, and Lacius now established his new operational headquarters in the star system. The abandonment of Frederickshamm was considered shameful at the Scottrian Court, and King Jamsius V was now planning to take direct command of his forces in battle against the Laurasian Empire.
 * July 3-Devily was conquered by the Laurasian Empire after a brief battle between Laurasian and Scottrian forces.
 * July 6-August 1-Siege of Barching by the forces of the Laurasian Empire. Vice-Admiral Levashius commanded the Laurasian offensive, but he was resisted by the Scottrian garrison under the command of Admiral Vagrill. Scottrian starfighter squadrons constantly harried the Laurasian positions, and Scottrian strikes against McKellen, McFadden, and Wheaton disoriented the Laurasian units. Levashius, however, was ultimately able to bring his advantages (supremacy in numbers, better organization, and effective use of weaponry) in order to break down and to crush the Scottrian resistance. Barching was now occupied by the Laurasian Empire, and Admiral Vagrill himself became a prisoner of war. By the command of Levashius, however, he was treated with commendable leniency.
 * July 7-12-Governor-General O'Nell and General Lacius engaged in a game of cat and mouse along the Frederickshamm Loop and the Metallasian Trade Highway, as the Scottrian forces attempted to keep their distance ahead of the Laurasians. Skirmishes between Laurasian and Scoutrian corvette units occurred at Condraxat, Morley, and the Asteroids of Tion, resulting in severe losses for the forces of both sides, but in no change in the strategic dispositions. Admiral Pafadurr, on his part, maintained his chief offensive armada at Hango and Pellinge, which therefore hampered the provision of intelligence and supplies to the forces under Governor-General O'Nell's command. This proved beneficial to the Laurasians, as General Lacius planned for offensives against Patricia I, the Riverite Asteroid Belt, Partsia, Kania, and Kathy Minor.
 * July 15-The Battle of Bristain occurs between the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria at Noonan's Star, resulting in a decisive victory for the Laurasian forces under the command of Vice-Admiral Levashius. Levashius stormed the Scottrian outposts on Peggy, Littleton, and Marlton, and blockaded Scottrian supply lines to Kania.
 * July 22-The Skirmish of Sasha VI between the forces of Governor-General O'Nell and General Lacius results in a strategic victory for the Laurasian Empire. The Scottrian garrison of Sasha VI is compelled into surrender, and this major Rasdallan stronghold is occupied by Imperial Laurasian forces. Lacius ordered for the world's inhabitants to be treated with commendable leniency.
 * July 24-Admiral Pafadurr, seeking to withdraw his units back to Patricia I and the Riverite Asteroid Belt, and to blunt a further Laurasian advance into the Rasdallan Home Territories, began to dismantle and transport away the military arms, equipment, industrial goods, and agricultural stores at Hango and Pellinge. General Lacius, however, catches wind of the Scottrian tactical withdrawal, and dispatches starfighter squadrons under the command of Commodore Meservius to harry Scottrian transports. The Laurasians capture a Scottrian convoy near Demorne and manage to disrupt the Scottrian transfer of supplies to Patricia I.
 * July 28-Hango and Pellinge are occupied by the Laurasian Empire, in the aftermath of the ill-fated Scottrian withdrawal. Pafadurr, who had failed to transport all of the supplies and arms stored in those star systems, and who had lost numerous transports and corvettes to Laurasian attacks, was recalled by an indignant King Jamsius V and Council of State. Jamsius now appointed Grande Gordon, Earl of Kathy, as the new commander of Scottrian naval forces in the Rasdallan Districts. The Earl of Kathy now began to prepare a methodical strategy of defense against Laurasian offensives.
 * August 3-6-The Battle of the Riverite Asteroid Belt results in a victory for the Laurasian Empire. Commodore Meservius and Vice-Admiral Levashius storm the Scottrian naval headquarters on Troy and confiscate a large number of Scottrian supplies and armor. The Earl of Kathy, however, repels Laurasian reconnaissance expeditions against Rasdalla, Kathy, and Patricia.
 * August 11-Governor-General O'Nell arrives at Rasdalla Minor and establishes his command headquarters here, having managed to evade Laurasian pursuit units under the command of General Lacius. Lacius, however, had now penetrated deep into the Rasdallan Territories, and he had seized control of the garrisons of Councilen, Medina, and Alaska, thereby cutting off most supply lines to Rasdalla Minor. By August 13, Laurasian starfighter squadrons will have isolated monitoring outposts at the outskirts of the Rasdalla Minor star system, and Lacius will begin to install stockades to prevent travel into or out of the star system.
 * August 14-Wheaton and McFadden are raided by the units of the Earl of Kathy, who managed to disrupt the Laurasian strategic position at the Riverite Asteroid Belt. General Lacius was forced to divert units in order to maintain Laurasian supply lines, and the Scottrian Earl was ultimately driven back.
 * August 19-Governor-General O'Nell is summoned by King Jamsius V, to proceed immediately back to Ediania for an inquiry into his actions. The King of Scottria was humiliated by O'Nell's losses, and believed that the advance of the Laurasian forces should have been repelled easily. O'Nell is now disgraced in the eyes of his Scottrian peers, and Laurasian forces now hold a bridgehead in the Rasdallan Territories.
 * August 24-
 * Rasdalla Minor, under the command of Garrison General Jean Louis Bouquet (a Franconian mercenary in the service of the Scottrian Government), surrendered to the forces of the Laurasian Empire under General Petevuius Lacius. According to the terms of the capitulation agreement, all Scottrian officers and personnel of the garrison would be permitted either to leave the service of the Scottrian Armed Forces or to return, unmolested, to Scottrian territories in the Angelina Spiral. All military armor, weapons, equipment, and agricultural supplies were to be turned over into the hands of the Laurasians; Rasdalla Minor was to acknowledge martial law and the authority of General Lacius as Military Governor; and no resistance was to be posed to the Laurasian strategic position in the Rasdalla Minor star system. General Lacius now established his new command headquarters here.
 * On the same day that Rasdalla Minor surrendered to the Laurasian Empire, Scottrian forces under the command of the Earl of Kathy obtained a victory over the armada under the command of Vice-Admiral Levashius, in the Battle of Haddon Rig. Haddon Rig was a minor Scottrian colony located eight light years to the west of the Riverite Asteroid Belt. Levashius had been massing forces for an offensive against Patricia I and Kania; the victory which the Earl of Kathy obtained here inflicted severe losses on Laurasian offensive corps, and resulted in the Laurasian High Command being forced to put plans for this offensive on hold. Lacius, having established the Laurasian position at Rasdalla Minor, now had to divert more units to shore up the position of Levashius, and was forced to put his plans for offensives against Kathy on temporary hold.
 * August 27-Wheaton, McFadden, and McKellen are briefly reconquered by the forces of the Earl of Kathy.
 * August 29-General Lacius defeated a Scottrian starfighter squadron in the Skirmish of Moore.
 * September 3-5-The Earl of Kathy's counteroffensive against Barching and Partsia, both of whom were occupied by Laurasian forces, ended in failure in the Battle of Kelso, a confrontation in which Vice-Admiral Levashius managed to redeem his reputation. The earlier momentum which Scottrian forces had briefly obtained therefore dissipates, even though Laurasian troops are still prevented from assaulting Patricia I and Kathy.
 * September 12-The Scottrian arsenal at Aland is stormed by Laurasian naval forces.
 * September 23-Kathy Minor was stormed by General Lacius, who managed to drive the Earl of Kathy back to his operational headquarters on Kathy Major.
 * October 1-Vice-Admiral Levashius reconquers Wheaton, McFadden, and McKellen for the Laurasian Empire.
 * October 5-Laurasian troops storm Helingsia, a major Scottrian stronghold five light years east of Hidemnia Sauria.
 * October 11-17-The Battle of Patricia I takes place between the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, as General Lacius was finally able to overcome the Earl of Kathy's defensive positions and to lay this major Rasdallan world under siege. The Earl of Kathy nevertheless posed fierce resistance to the Laurasian forces, and Scottrian starfighter squadrons harried Laurasian supply lines ceaselessly. Repeated Scottrian counteroffensives against Frederickshamm, Vyborg, Hango, Noonan's Star, Pellinge, Frasier, Devily, and Janeway ended in failure, and on October 17, Laurasian troops finally breached Patricia I's shield defenses. The world was overrun by the Laurasian forces, and most of the Scottrian garrison was killed or captured. The Earl of Kathy was forced to retreat, and Kathy itself now came under a serious Laurasian threat.
 * October 31-King Jamsius V of Scottria, seeking to emulate his father Jamsius IV, and irritated at the continuing Scottrian losses to Laurasian forces, assumed direct command of the Scottrian armed forces, relegating the Earl of Kathy to a subordinate role. Jamsius joined with the Scottrian Army at Lauder, located in the Caladarian Galactic Barrier, and made preparations to advance against Laurasian positions at the Riverite Asteroid Belt, Rasdalla Minor, and Frasier.
 * November 2-King Jamsius V of Scottria defeated the Laurasian General Lacius in the Battle of Euther, preventing Laurasian units from advancing to Kania. Scottrian troops briefly stormed Laurasian outposts on Malgay, Sisko, and O'Brian, driving Laurasian troops back to the vicinty of Rasdalla Minor, Hango, and Pelenge.
 * November 6-A counteroffensive by Laurasian forces against Euther and Malgay ended in failure at the Battle of Tweed.
 * November 11-Laurasian troops managed to storm Sockoth, advancing ever closer to the outskirts of Kathy.
 * November 14-King Jamsius V of Scottria was forced to return to Ediania in response to the outbreak of the Taxation Uprising, which protested the exactions of Scottrian government officials from the populations of the Scottrian Homeland Territories. The King of Scottria, not trusting in the capabilities of the Earl of Kathy, instead entrusted command of Scottrian forces in the Galactic Borderlands to Robert, Lord Axwell of Shrandia, commanding him to employ "all available measures" in order to blunt and hamper the Laurasian advance.
 * November 18-General Lacius finally managed to storm Euther, in the face of King Jamsius's return to Ediania. Laurasian troops now penetrated to Rasdalla Major and the outskirts of Cane, sacking or blockading numerous Scottrian outposts, garrisons, and stations.
 * November 22-Lord Axwell of Shrandia and his 1,000-warship armada, seeking to disorient Laurasian supply lines and to strike a blow against the Empire directly, employ the use of the Canite Rapid Transit Route in order to penetrate to Solway, a Laurasian colony-world located in the Borderland Territories. Lord Axwell believed that such a bold strike into Laurasian territory, bypassing the Laurasian garrisons in the Rasdallan Territories, would strike at the Laurasian strategy and would force General Lacius to terminate his operations in the Galactic Barrier.
 * November 24-Laurasian forces under the command of Sir Thomasius Wortonius, Commander-in-Chief of the Borderland Territories, and the third ranking subordinate of General Lacius, intercept the Scottrian armada of Lord Axwell of Shrandia at the outskirts of Solway. General Lacius had been alerted to the Scottrian advance, and the Imperial General Headquarters had ordered for Laurasian units to be deployed in the vicinity of the border, in case of a Scottrian attack. This strategy worked brilliantly, as the larger and more effectively organized Laurasians inflicted a decisive defeat upon Lord Axwell. Axwell's chief subordinate in battle, Oliver La'Caman, and the Earls of Casilis and Glencarin were killed in battle, while Axwell himself was captured by Laurasian starfighter units. Nearly 700 Scottrian vessels were destroyed or captured in the Battle of Solway, which was a decisive victory for the Laurasian Empire. Wortonius received a formal congrualation from the Emperor Antigonus III, who in a proclamation to his subjects five days after the battle, would enjoin them to celebrate its results.
 * November 26-King Jamsius V of Scottria, having learned of the devastating Scottrian defeat in the Battle of Solway, commanded his subjects to lament the Scottrian losses and to offer up prayers for the souls of the Scottrian troops who had laid down their lives in battle against the Laurasians. The King of Scottria himself begins to enter a rapid decline in health, and a bout of depression, as the Scottrian worlds in the Galactic Borderlands were now falling like dominoes before the forces of the Laurasian Empire.
 * November 29-Malgay and Sisko are recovered by Laurasian units dispatched by General Lacius.
 * December 3-Kania is finally conquered by the Laurasian Empire; most of the world's garrison is slain in battle.
 * December 6-King Jamsius V of Scottria, then at Falkanian Palace in the Fifan District, falls deathly ill. The King suffers from a high fever and from other symptoms of disease. The royal physicians of the King's Household are baffled by his disease, and are at a loss to explain what he was suffering from. Jamsius's health declined ever further, and the King of Scottria was soon slipping in and out of consciousness. He realized that he did not have long to live.
 * December 8-At Linthigalian Palace on Lithiglow, the Scottrian Queen Consort Mariana of Guise gives birth to a daughter, the only legitimate surviving child of King Jamsius V of Scottria. The girl, who appeared to be a healthy and vigorous babe, was named Mariana after her mother. At the time of her birth, however, her father, King Jamsius V, who was only 30 years old, was on his death bed. Jamsius, in delirium at Falkanian Palace, was informed of his daughter's birth, which had occurred in a star system two thousand light-years away. Hearing of this, the dying King of Scottria ruefully exclaimed that, "It came with a lass, and it will go with a lass!" This was a direct reference to the marriage of Marjorent Bruce, daughter of Scottrian King Robert the Bruce, to Walter Stewart, High Steward of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria (an event which had taken place in 1515). The crown of Scottria had come to his family through a woman, and it would pass from his family through a woman. Jamsius's prophecy would turn out to be ominous, for just thirty-seven years after his death, after the deposition of his daughter, Scottria would lose its independence to the very Laurasian Empire now seizing its territories by force in the Galactic Borderlands.
 * December 14-Just six days after the birth of Princess Mariana, her father, King Jamsius V of Scottria, succumbed to his illness and died. He was aged only 30 at the time of his death, but had nevertheless ruled for 29 years, since 1713. Mariana, who was only six days old, was formally proclaimed Queen Regnant of Scottria, the first and only female monarch of Scottria in its 500-year history as an independent kingdom. Emperor Antigonus III, who had learned of first Mariana's birth, and then her quick succession to the throne upon her father's untimely death, declared to the Imperial Privy Council that "this was a great opportunity for the Laurasian Empire". Antigonus began to envision the marriage of his son, Grand Prince Demetrius, with the new Queen Mariana, and believed that by such means, he could secure the ultimate absorption of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria into the Laurasian Empire. For the time being, however, his immediate focus was on the military campaigns in the Galactic Borderlands.
 * December 22-Funeral of King Jamsius V on Ediania. At this date, the Scottrian King's will is formally announced, and the Earl of Arran, one of the most prominent nobles in the Scottrian Court, was formally appointed Regent of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Arran will hold this position for the next twelve years, but will be resisted during the early part of his tenure by the Archpriest Beatonius of Ediania, one of the leading religious officers of Scottria.
 * December 27-Kathy Major capitulated to the forces of General Lacius.

1743

 * January 7-The Battle of Hidemnia Sauria results in a decisive victory for the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of General Lacius. Hidemnia Sauria is occupied by Laurasian forces, and the strongholds of the Cane Cluster are now exposed to further Laurasian assaults.
 * January 12-17-Scottrian counteroffensive, led by the forces of the Earl of Kathy, fails to drive Laurasian units from Patricia I, Partsia, and the Riverite Asteroid Belt.
 * January 24-Vice-Admiral Levashius destroys a Scottrian convoy at Ella.
 * February 1-The Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for Any Almitian Man is formally published by the Holy Synod of the Laurasian Empire under the direction of Chief Procurator Thomasius Cranmerius. This work of official theology was written by the Emperor Antigonus III himself, and was a revision of his earlier work, The Institutions of the Almitian Man. The Emperor, who had continued to sponsor the reformation of the administrative practices and liturgy of the Almitian Church, and who delighted in explaining and expounding policies of state to his subjects, declared in this work that "all men under the name of Almitis have a duty towards him and towards their lawful sovereign." Antigonus claimed that his policies were only to the greater glory of Almitis, and that it was necessary for all men to adhere to the standards which he set. This work will become a major justification for the further religious reforms which will be enacted during the reign of Antigonus's son, Demetrius II.
 * February 4-Emperor Antigonus III, who wished to conclude the Laurasian-Scottrian War, and to bring about the engagement of his son Grand Prince Demetrius with Queen Mariana of Scottria, commanded the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send an armistice request to the Scottrian Government. Field-Marshal Munnich, who believed that further territorial gains could be made in the Galactic Borderlands, protested this move. The Emperor, however, overrode his objections.
 * February 8-General Lacius defeated a Scottrian expeditionary force in the Battle of Hikura, inflicting severe damage upon Scottrian positions.
 * February 13-General Lacius, acting on the commands of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sir Rudomentus Sadielus, made a formal armistice offer to the Scottrian Government. Regent Arran, who was ambitious and believed that the Scottrian State would prosper if it co-existed peacefully with the larger and more powerful Laurasian Empire, decided to accept the armistice offer. A truce will be signed on Hildakis on February 15.
 * February 6-The Baroness Katharina Latimerius (nee Parsius), wife of John Nevilius, 3rd Baron Latimerius, became a lady-in-waiting and governess in the household of the Lady Didymeia. Katharina's mother, Melinda Parsius, had been a close friend and attendant of Empress Consort Katharina of Shenandoah, Didymeia's mother, and the Baroness herself was on friendly terms with the Lady Didymeia. Latimerius, who was in her second marriage, thereby becomes one of the ladies of the Imperial Court, and in this position, will catch the notice of the Emperor Antigonus III.
 * February 16-The Emperor Antigonus III notices the Baroness Katharina Latimerius in the household of his daughter, the Lady Didymeia. The Emperor was now attracted by Katharina's beauty, intelligence, and "martial fidelity", as he considered it. He wished for a wife who was intelligent enough, but nevertheless utterly faithful to him and would not question his will or directives. The Emperor begins to contemplate the idea of Baroness Latimerius becoming his sixth wife, upon the death, fast approaching, of her ill and elderly husband.
 * March 2-John Nevilius, 3rd Baron Latimerius, the second husband of Lady Katharina Parsius, and one of the most respected courtiers of the Laurasian Empire, died in his personal bedchambers at the Quencilvanian Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. Latimerius was accompanied at his bedside by his wife, the Baroness Katharina Parsius, his son and successor, John Nevilius the Younger, and the servants of his personal household, among other personages. The Emperor Antigonus, out of respect for the grieving widow and her family, ordered all at the Imperial Court to mourn the death of Baron Latimerius, and issued a manifesto to the subjects of the Laurasian Empire praising the nobleman's merits and years of service to the Imperial Laurasian Government. Latimerius's death, however, will leave the Emperor free to make his martial advances towards Katharina Parsius.
 * March 9-Funeral of the Baron Latimerius at St. Paul's Cathedral in the Religious Quadrant of Christiania. The Emperor Antigonus III and Chief Procurator Cranmerius were among the leading personages present at the funeral. Antigonus expressed his condolences to Baroness Latimerius and in his funeral eulogy, declared that "never a more saintly man, dedicated to the service of his Lord and of his sovereign, hath lived within these dominions." In his will, Latimerius bequeathed his wife Katharina a number of properties, and entrusted the welfare of his daughter Scribonia to her. Katharina Parsius thereby became one of the wealthiest noblewomen in the Laurasian Empire.
 * March 17-A diplomatic conference between the representatives of the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria convenes at the Old Royal Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. The Emperor Antigonus III had proposed to the Regent Arran that negotiations be conducted on Laurasia Prime, and Arran had accepted. Chancellor Diadones served as the chief plenipotentiary for the Imperial Laurasian Government and as the official host of the conference. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sir Rudomentus Sadielus; Stephanius Gardinerius, Archbishop of Winchestrius; the Duke of Norfolkius; Thomasius Wirdilus, Bishop of Jadia; Procurator-General Audelius; and the Lords St. Johnasius (the future Lord Treasurer Winchestrius) and Gagius were the other Laurasian representatives at the treaty conference. The Scottrian chief pleniopotentiary was the Earl of Glencairn. The other members of the Scottrian delegation included Go'age Douglas of Pitterenich; Adam Otterburn; William St. Hamilton; and Lord Jamsius Delamarth of Behavris. In the opening speech at the conference, Chancellor Diadones declared that it was the intention and hope of his master, the Emperor Antigonus, to establish "cordial relations" between the Laurasian and Scottrian realms, and that this could be effectively secured by the marriage of Grand Prince Demetrius with Queen Mariana. The conference will drag on for the next four months, as the two delegations wrangle over the terms of the peace agreement and over the Laurasian proposal of marriage.
 * April 6-Emperor Antigonus III declares his intention to the Imperial Privy Council to procure for himself another wife and consort, one who will be more loyal and who would not betray him in the same manner as had Katharina of Shenandoah, Anna Boleyenia, and Katharina Howardis. The Emperor had decided that the Baroness Dowager of Latimerius, Lady Katharina Parsius, should become his new bride, and that she would make a worthy consort for the Imperial Court. He knew that there was little realistic hope of their having any children; for his health and physical condition had deteriorated considerably. Nearing fifty-two, the Emperor was overweight, suffered from numerous physical ailments, and had a short temper. He knew that he was incapable of sexual relations, and that there would be no further children of his blood. Antigonus therefore wished for a wife who would comfort him, be subordinate to him, and be at his side when he approached his end.
 * April 25-The Emperor Antigonus begins to send letters of affection and gifts to the Baroness Katharina Parsius. The Emperor declared to the Baroness that while he was aware of her emotional predicament, in the aftermath of her husband's death, that he himself would prove to be a worthy new husband for her, and that she would be honored by being elevated in status in the Imperial Court. Katharina was at first hesitant, knowing of the Emperor's reputation, his harsh and autocratic manner, and the fates of his previous wives. She did not wish to become another victim, and in fact had fallen in love with Sir Thomasius Seymouris, the brother of the late Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris, and one of the Emperor's favorites. Over time, however, Katharina will become convinced that it is the will of Almitis that she marry the Emperor Antigonus.
 * June 6-The Baroness Katharina Parsius finally submits to the entreaties of the Emperor Antigonus, and declares her willingness to become his new wife. Antigonus, who is overjoyed at the Baroness's decision, and believing that he had found the perfect consort for his waning years, declared to the Imperial Privy Council that the Imperial Household would once again be graced with the presence of an Empress Consort.
 * June 14-The engagement of the Emperor Antigonus III with the Dowager Baroness of Latimerius, Lady Katharina Parsius, is formally announced in a manifesto issued by the Imperial Privy Council. Chief Procurator Cranmerius declared his blessings for the marriage, and the date of the ceremony was set for July 12.
 * June 19-Death at Hawtharnia City, Apathama Vixius, of Lady Antonia Boleyenia, the former mistress of the Emperor Antigonus III and older sister of the late Empress Consort Anna Boleyenia and the Viscount Georgius Boleyenia of Ralanchaford. Antonia herself had been in disgrace at the Imperial Court following her marriage to Brigadier-General Sir Willanius Staffordius, the distant cousin of the late Duke of Americana, in 1734. Antonia had, however, received a pension from the Emperor during the last four years of her life, and was financially comfortable when she died.
 * July 1-After four months of arduous negotiations between the Laurasian and Scottrian delegations at the Old Royal Palace, the Treaty of Christiania is signed by the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. The treaty was comprised of two chapters: the first concerned the conclusion of peace between Laurasia and Scottria, as well as matters relating to territorial dispositions, financial matters, and prisoners/spoils of war; the second concerned the engagement of the Grand Prince Demetrius with Scottrian Queen Mariana. As a result of the terms of this treaty, the Laurasian Empire acquired Vilmanstrand, Frederickshamm, Patricia I, Barching, Devily, the Riverite Asteroid Belt, Partsia, Kania, the Vilmanstrand Approaches, Frasier, McKellen, McFadden, Wheaton, Frasier, Janeway, Sasha VI, the Berwick Barrier, Rasdalla Minor, and Kathy Minor, thereby extending its jurisdiction over a sect of the formerly Scottrian Galactic Borderlands. Rasdalla Major, Kathy Major, and the Galactic Barrier outposts were restored to the authority of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, although Laurasian units would be permitted to occupy Onasi for a period of three years, as surety for the peace arrangement. All prisoners of war were to be exchanged immediately, although the Laurasian Government would be permitted to keep all of the weapons, military equipment, and supplies captured during the conflict. Diplomatic and economic relations were restored between the two realms; the Laurasian Empire obtained the status of "most favored nation", thereby granting its merchants exemption from Scottrian tariffs and the right to trade and to transport goods in all Scottrian star systems. The Imperial Laurasian Government also gained the right to protect Almitian conclaves in Scottrian territory, and to monitor the actions of Laurasian nationals in transit through, or residing within Scottrian realms. In return, Emperor Antigonus pledged not to make any further territorial demands and to defend Scottrian realms from a foreign aggressor. As regards to the marriage pact, it was agreed that Demetrius and Mariana would be formally engaged at the age of ten, and that Mariana would reside at the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime until the time of her marriage. Demetrius was to become King-Consort of Scottria, as Mariana would become Empress-Consort of Laurasia upon the Grand Prince's ascension to the Laurasian throne. Their eldest child was therefore to become heir apparent to both realms, although the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria was explicitly confirmed in its independence, retaining its own government, currency, diplomatic affairs, and military forces. If no children were born of the marriage, the personal union was to be dissolved.
 * July 4-The Treaty of Christiania is ratified by the Emperor Antigonus III, who was confident that the personal union which would be established Laurasia and Scottria would eventually result in the annexation of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria by the Laurasian Empire.
 * July 7-The Scottrian Regent Arran and the Council of State, acting in the name of Queen Mariana I of Scottria, ratified the Treaty of Christiania. Arran declared that the Scottrian Estates would formally review and certify the Treaty in December, and that Mariana would be "in pledge" for marriage to Grand Prince Demetrius.
 * July 12-At Hampsonian Palace on Denver, the Emperor Antigonus III and the Lady Katharina Parsius, Dowager Baroness of Latimerius, are married. In a ceremony presided over by Chief Procurator Cranmerius, the aging Emperor declared that his new wife would prove a faithful and loyal consort, who would be at his side in his waning years. Among those in attendance at the wedding are Chancellor Diadones, Procurator-General Audelius, the Duke of Norfolkius, the ailing Duke of Sufforia, the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, Grand Prince Demetrius, Sir Thomasius Seymouris, and the new Baron Latimerius. Katharina impressed all at the ceremony with her dignity and bearing, and pledged herself to be a faithful wife to "His gracious Imperial Majesty". A three-day public holiday is proclaimed; largesse distributed to crowds in star systems throughout the Empire; and an official imperial proclamation of celebration issued. Katharina will be formally proclaimed Empress Consort on July 16. This is the sixth and last marriage of Antigonus III the Extravagant.
 * July 14-On the urging of his new wife, Empress Consort Katharina Parsius, the Emperor Antigonus III promulgated the Third Antigonid Statute of the Succession to the Throne of the Laurasian Empire, the final such measure of his reign. The Third Antigonid Law declared that "whilst the rule of the female gender is not the most desirable in the eyes of the Lord Almitis, it is nevertheless far from being an abomination, and may under certain circumstances be necessary and proper for the stability and prosperity of the realms of this Empire." Although Salic law had been formally repealed by Antigonus's father, the Emperor Neuchrus the Reformer, in 1687, there was nevertheless still the adversity to the prospect of a female ruler, which Antigonus himself shared. In this statute, however, Antigonus declared that "after legitimate male heirs, the female line may be vested with rule." Consequently, he restored both of his daughters, the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, to the line of succession. Grand Prince Demetrius was still heir apparent to the throne, and it was specified that the two Ladies were placed after Demetrius, any potential children of his, and potential children of the Emperor by the Empress Consort Katharina Parsius. Their illegitimacy was not lifted however, and it was declared that the measures taken were "out of necessity for the cares of the Imperial State." Nevertheless, the promulgation of the Third Antigonid Statute revealed that the Emperor Antigonus was willing to acknowledge the possibility of his daughters ascending to the imperial throne, and it was a step in the eventual renewal of his relationship with his daughters, as encouraged by the Empress Consort herself. The Third Antigonid Statute would remain in effect as the law of succession for the Laurasian Empire until 1803, when it was superseded by the Lysimachian Statutes of Succession.
 * July 22-The Haynsian Despot Nathaliet II Karany is deposed from the Haynsian throne by Marasharite Emperor Sassas III. Nathaliet II had, during the course of his three-year reign, been engaged in secret correspondence with the courts of Franconia, the Haxonian Confederacy, and the Vendragian Confederacy concerning a possible tripartite alliance against the Laurasian and Austarlian Empires. His intrigues had been in violation of his terms of vassalage towards the Marasharite Court, and of the Treaty of Nis which had been signed to end the Third Laurasian-Marasharite War. Sassas was not willing to embroil his dominions in war as a result of a vassal-state's intrigues. Nathaliet was now succeeded to the Haynsian throne by the Kalga Jay, who assumed the throne as Jay XI Karany.
 * July 27-The Earl of Lennaxia, acting on the orders of the Regent Arran, escorted the infant Queen Mariana and her mother, Queen-Dowager Mariana of Guise, to Stirling, officially for their "safety". The Archpriest Beatonius of Ediania was once again stirring dissent against Arran's administration, and had established himself at the head of the Anti-Laurasian Faction at the Scottrian Court. Beatonius sought to terminate the Treaty of Christiania, recover territories in the Galactic Borderlands lost to the Laurasian Empire, and align Scottria with Franconia. He envisioned a Franconian marriage for Queen Mariana.
 * August 4-At the Pillory of Traitors on Ediania, former Governor-General Roan O'Nell is executed for "treason, conspiracy, and tactical incompetence". O'Nell had been blamed for the reverses suffered by the Scottrian forces in the Galactic Borderlands, and Archpriest Beatonius, managing to assert his position on this matter, had convinced the Council of State to arraign O'Nell on charges of military incompetence. O'Nell had been sentenced to death on June 20, and the Regent Arran, seekng a scapegoat to blame for Scottrian military failures, approved the former Governor-General's death warrant. O'Nell died bravely, refusing to believe that he had not performed to the utmost in his military service.
 * September 9-At the Chapel of Stirling Castle, Mariana I, who was only nine months old, is crowned Queen Regnant of Scottria. The coronation is presided over by the Regent Arran, who declared to the assembled nobles present that Scottria, now with a matrimonial alliance with the Laurasian Empire, was entering a new phase of prosperity and internal strength. Mariana was held by her namesake mother as the formal blessings of reign were pronounced over her. Sir Ptolemy Yraudnius, the newly-appointed Laurasian Ambassador to the Celestial Court of Scottria, presented his master's congratulations at the ceremony and expressed his hope that Mariana's marriage with Demetrius would yield results for both Laurasia and Scottria. The anti-Laurasian Archpriest Beatonius, however, continued to gain influence and supporters within the ranks of the Scottrian Estates, and was now planning to hamper Arran's plans of matrimonial alliance with the Laurasian Empire.
 * September 25-Anti-Laurasian sentiments in the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria were inflamed by a serious diplomatic incident between the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. The Regent Arran, succumbing to the demands of Archpriest Beatonius and his supporters on the Council of State, authorized a Scottrian commercial expedition to Marasharite Ochania and the Duchy of Northania. The Regent also granted a license to the Corporate Alliance of Firth, conferring on them permission to conduct a trade mission to Franconia in the Amulak Spiral. The Emperor Antigonus, who believed that Scottrian trade should only be in conjunction with the interests of the Laurasian Empire, and feared the ties which could develop between Scottria and Franconia, ordered for the arrest and detainment of 500 Franconian merchants at Roger Major. The Regent Arran was enraged at this action, and demanded that the Laurasian Empire provide security for all merchants traveling from Scottrian space. Antigonus, on his part, would claim his actions were directed against "rogues" and that he wished to prevent the menance of piracy from emerging and disturbing the peace in the Caladarian Galaxy. Archpriest Beatonius would point to this incident as an example of Laurasian hostility.
 * October 27-Sir Hansius Holbienus, who had been granted a Knighthood of the Imperial House by the Emperor Antigonus in March 1741, and was now the Head of the Chamber of the Artisans and Vice-Imperial Steward of the Imperial Household, died at the age of 45. Holbienus had contracted Soplaies disease during a visit to Mercedes and entered a rapid decline in health. Holbienus's death is greeted with sincere mourning by many of his patrons at the Imperial Court, not least of them being the Emperor Antigonus himself. The Emperor would stage a lavish funeral for Holbienus on November 16 at St. Paul's Cathedral, and would command for his family to be compensated from the coffers of the Imperial Treasury.
 * November 29-The Scottrian Council of Estates convenes at Stirling Castle on the summons of Regent Arran. They are convened in order to formally condone the Treaty of Christiania which had been signed with the Laurasian Empire several months earlier. Arran, himself, however, has become largely opposed to the marriage arrangements of the Treaty of Christiania; he also held bitter memories of the Emperor Antigonus's violation of Scottrian trade rights two months earlier. Archpriest Beatonius, on his part, commanded a majority of supporters in the Estates, and was already planning on the rejection of the Treaty. Mariana of Guise, who favored closer ties with her home-country of Franconia, lent her support to the anti-Laurasian faction.
 * December 11-On the formal advice of Regent Arran, the Scottrian Estates formally rejected the Treaty of Christiania, declaring that its arrangements were "biased in the favor of the Laurasian Emperor" and that it would result in the loss of Scottrian independence. The Estates protested Laurasian interference in Scottrian affairs and the violation of Scottrian commerce by the Emperor and his government. It was declared that peace could only be made if the Laurasian Empire, without hesitation, restored all conquered territory (portions of Rasdalla and Cania) in the Galactic Borderlands back to its previous Scottrian rulers. The Emperor Antigonus was enraged when he learned of the Estates' decision, and commanded Chief Procurator Cranmerius to condemn the "perfidy" of the religious officials of the Scottrian State.
 * December 20-The Scottrian Estates and Regent Arran issued a formal declaration of war against the Laurasian Empire, barely six months after the end of the Rasdallan War of 1741-43. The War of the Rough Wooing had commenced, and was to continue intermittently for the remainder of the decade. The Scottrians, however, are weakened and disoriented from the earlier conflict, and Laurasian units in the newly-conquered Rasdallan regions have not yet fully demobilized. The Emperor Antigonus commands General Lacius and Field-Marshal Munnich to draft plans for renewed offensives into Scottrian territory, and he placed all Laurasian forces on formal military alert. He also issued a official manifesto of war to his subjects, declaring that he was determined to maintain the tranquility of affairs in the Caladarian Galaxy and that he would assert the marriage between Mariana and Demetrius, by force if necessary.
 * December 21-The Lord St. Johansius is appointed to become Imperial High Chamberlain of the Laurasian Empire by Emperor Antigonus III, succeeding the late Lord Sandys in the position. Johansius will hold the position for the next two years.
 * December 23-A Scottrian offensive, led by the Earl of Kathy, against the Riverite Asteroid Belt and Barching comes to ruin in the Battle of Dehner.
 * December 28-General Lacius, from his operational headquarters on Rasdalla Minor, sends a task force which storms the Scottrian military arsenals at Marcus and Cedric, in the outskirts of the Galactic Barrier.

1744

 * January 6-Secret negotiations commence at Celia between delegations from the Laurasian and Spamalkan Empires. The 1739 alliance between Char'va I of Spamalka and Franjak I of Franconia had soured, and was degenerating back into renewed conflict between the two powers. Char'va was therefore determined to obtain for himself other allies, and had decided to renew the military alliance with the Laurasian Empire. Emperor Antigonus, on his part, was eager for an alliance with Spamalka. The Franconian ties to Scottria, and the ambitions of Archpriest Beatonius for a Franconian marriage to be made for Queen Mariana, motivated Antigonus's decision to foster ties with Franconia's bitterest enemy. Antigonus had made the first offer, and the Spamalkan Emperor had accepted. Chancellor Diadones and Chief Procurator Cranmerius served as the chief plenipotentiaries of the Laurasian delegation, and as the official hosts of the conference. Emperor Char'va was represented by Fernsio Benedact, the Duke of Cadiza, who had served him well in diplomatic missions to Pruthia, Austarlia, and the Haxon Confederacy. Negotiations will continue for the next two months, and ultimately usher in a military alliance.
 * January 12-General Peteveius Lacius, in recognition of his achievements in the War of the Dejanik Succession, Third Laurasian-Marasharite War, and Rasdallan War, is promoted to the rank of Field-Marshal of the Imperial Laurasian Army by Emperor Antigonus III. The Emperor declared, in his proclamation of elevation, that Lacius had redeemed himself in the eyes of Almitis and that he was a loyal, effective military commander, determined to further the interests of his master. Lacius thereby obtained equal rank with Field-Marshal Munnich, but officially remained a subordinate to him within the command structure of the Laurasian Military. The newly created Field-Marshal Lacius was now making plans for a major offensive against Rasdalla Major and Kathy.
 * January 15-19-The Morlay Confrontations, as the forces of the Earl of Kathy attempt to block a further Laurasian advance towards that stronghold. Field Marshal Lacius, however, employing the superior mobility and the reconnaissance skills of his units, managed to push Scottrian units back. The Laurasians destroyed Scottrian outposts on Chang, Strathclyde, and Barhilde, paving the way to a siege of Kathy Major.
 * January 19-Birth of the future King of Franconia, Franjak II (1759-60). He is the first son of Franconian Dauphin Hensios and his wife, Catharina de’Medici. Named for his grandfather, Franjak’s birth came after his parents had already been married for over a decade. From his earliest years, however, he does not possess the most durable health.
 * January 22-February 1-The Siege of Kathy Major by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Field-Marshal Peteveius Lacius. The Laurasian units disrupted Scottrian minefields, isolated the flow of supplies and agricultural goods to the Kathy star system, and repelled frontal assaults by Scottrian defensive garrisons. The Earl of Kathy's attempted counteroffensives against Barching, Frasier, and Janeway ended in failure, as the Laurasian garrisons of those star systems repelled all Scottrian assaults. Kathy Major, whose inhabitants simmered in dissent against the Scottrian Government, and which could not survive long without interstellar commerce, capitulated to Laurasian forces on February 1.
 * February 7-Fleet Admiral Levashius (who had also been promoted by the Emperor as a reward for his military victories in the Rasdallan War), began to advance into the Scottrian Kalbachan Provinces. Levashius stormed the Kalbachan colonies of David-nay, Krasowia, and Vicara, weakening Scottrian supply lines and paving the way for Laurasian offensives into the Kalbachan Homeland Territories.
 * February 12-Cane capitulated to the Laurasian Empire after General Lacius's crushing victory in the Battle of Mortio.
 * February 19-A counteroffensive by the Earl of Kathy against McKellen and the Vilmanstrand Approaches was blunted by Laurasian units in the Battle of Northup.
 * February 22-The Battle of Jakarta occurs between the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Jakarta was one of the chief Scottrian strongholds in the Galactic Borderlands, boasting a garrison of 1.3 million personnel and some of the most advanced shield generators in the Caladarian Galaxy. This was the world where Kublai Khan's attempt to conquer Rasdalla had been blunted by the forces of the Mapurhait Dynasty in July 893. The Scottrian commander of the forces of Jakarta, the Count of Anslie, was determined to repel further Laurasian incursions and believed that he would bring Laurasian ambitions to ruin in this star system. His opponent however, Field-Marshal Lacius, had deployed his units in a triangular formation, and taken advantage of information supplied to him by probes in order to detect weaknesses in Jakarta's orbital defenses. In the ensuing battle, supremacy in numbers, organization, and tactics proved key to the Laurasian victory. Laurasian ion-disruptors paralyzed many of the Scottrian assault ships, while automated corvettes rushed through the defensive lines and disrupted the mines. Lacius then ordered for a hook maneuver against Jakarta's further side, and Anslie's position was breached by Laurasian starfighter squadrons. Jakarta's shield generators then exploded, allowing for Laurasian units to land quickly on the planet. Anslie himself was captured, and Jakarta fell into the possession of the Laurasian Empire.
 * February 24-Laurasian units storm Kuris.
 * March 4-The Battle of Hidemnia Sauria results in a decisive victory for the forces of the Laurasian Empire.
 * March 17-21-The defenses of Rasdalla Major are overwhelmed by a Laurasian expeditionary force, dispatched by Field-Marshal Lacius in order to gain control of that vital star system. Rasdalla Major was occupied by the Laurasian Empire, which now had a stranglehold on the Rasdallan Homeland Territories.
 * March 24-A Scottrian attempt to reconquer Patricia I is repulsed by Laurasian forces in the Battle of Barra.
 * March 25-After over two and a half months of negotiations, the Treaty of Celia is signed by the Laurasian Empire and the Holy Spamalkan Empire. By the terms of this treaty, a secret military and diplomatic alliance was concluded between the Emperors Antigonus III and Char'va I. The two sovereigns agreed to cooperate in all military campaigns conducted in Franconian territory. Char'va promised to compensate the Imperial Laurasian Government for military expenses, and to permit Laurasian units to use Spamalkan military bases at Dunkirka, Graveline's Mist, and Antwerp as bases of operation against the Franconians. The Emperor Antigonus, on his part, agreed to acknowledge Spamalkan rule of the Duchy of Milania, in the farther regions of the Crone Galaxy; to make no peace with the Franconians without consulting his ally; and to grant Spamalkan units rights of military access in the Galactic Barrier regions. The Laurasian Empire was to issue a declaration of war against the Stellar Kingdom of Franconia by June 1744, and to launch its military units in a two-pronged offensive into Franconian realms, in cooperation with the Spamalkans.
 * March 27-The Treaty of Celia is ratified by the Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III. It will be ratified by Emperor Char'va I on April 2.
 * April 4-Fleet Admiral Levashius destroys a Scottrian defensive fleet in the Battle of Iosta, and occupies that stronghold for the Laurasian Empire. From Iosta, Laurasian units will devastate the Kalbachan colonies of Ash-nay, Ashuria, and Chardwaice, inflicting severe damage on Scottrian tactical positions and terrifying the Kalbachan inhabitants of the central Galactic Borderlands.
 * April 17-Austarlis is stormed by Field-Marshal Lacius, driving the Scottrian units of the Earl of Kathy back to the Galactic Barrier. By now, all of the strongholds of the Cane Cluster have capitulated to the authority of the Laurasian Empire.
 * April 22-Edwardis Seymouris, the Earl of Heuthros, and elder brother of the deceased Empress Consort Theodora Seymouris, is appointed by the Emperor Antigonus III as one of the chief commanders of the Laurasian forces arrayed against the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Although the Earl of Heuthros was placed under the overall command of Field-Marshal Lacius, he was permitted to direct Laurasian tactical operations in the field and to threaten Scottrian positions in the Angelina Spiral directly. The Earl of Heuthros, who had petitioned the Emperor for months in order to obtain a military command, will prove to be an effective and competent military commander. He will arrive at Rasdalla Minor on April 30 and take command of his forces.
 * April 26-The Kalbachan industrial colony-world of Gwynne is seized by the Laurasian Empire.
 * April 29-The Laurasian forces under the command of the Earl of Heuthros and his chief subordinate, Viscount Liscilus, begin their advance from the Galactic Barrier regions into the Angelina Spiral. The Earl of Kathy was now isolated at Waxefield in the Galactic Barrier, and he would be blockaded there by the units of Field-Marshal Lacius. Lacius had given his permission for a daring expedition into the Scottrian Homeland Territories, even though Scottrian forces still held Kalbachan and Rasdallan territory in the Galactic Borderlands. The Earl of Heuthros and his units brushed aside Scottrian resistance, capturing 50 relay outposts on their way to the Angelina Spiral.
 * May 4-For the first time ever, a Laurasian military force penetrates the Scottrian Homeland Territories, as the Earl of Heuthros breaches Scottrian barrier defenses at Raindburgh and Morvay. The Laurasians swiftly subdued those outposts and captured a number of Scottrian warships, alongside military supplies, armor, and mineral goods. Establishing Morvay as his command headquarters, the Earl of Heuthros will now plan for an ambitious march to Ediania. Queen Mariana and the Scottrian Court remained safe at Stirling, which remained beyond the range of Laurasian forces (at a distance of eight thousand light years from Morvay).
 * May 9-Gadweria and Goriance were stormed by Fleet Admiral Levashius, whose units were inching ever closer to Kalbacha Minor.
 * May 12-The Earl of Heuthros begins his advance towards Ediania. The Imperial Privy Council had granted its formal approval to this expedition, and the Emperor Antigonus, on his part, wished to demonstrate the reach of the Laurasian Empire. Field Marshal Munnich's military reforms were now bearing their true fruit, as Laurasian forces had obtained a succession of victories in battle with the Dejaniks, Marasharites, and Scottrians over the preceding eleven years. Heuthros will storm St. Mynetta, a major Scottrian shipyard colony at the juncture of the Timlar Cluster, and will seize Scottrian transports for use in landings at Ediania.
 * May 16-Fleet Admiral Levashius destroys the Scottrian communications outpost on Richel V.
 * May 19-The Earl of Heuthros and his military forces storm the Scottrian base at Granthon, capturing the majority of the Scottrian garrison and driving a wedge into the heart of the Scottrian Capital Region. The Emperor Antigonus, at this date also, drafts a proclamation, which is to be issued upon the capture of Ediania by Laurasian units. The proclamation will denounce Archpriest Beatonius and claim that his "evil influence" had clouded the mind of the Regent Arran. It will also boast Laurasian accomplishments in battle over the Scottrians.
 * May 22-An attempt by the Earl of Kathy to break out from Waxefield is ended by Field-Marshal Munnich in the pitched Battle of Castlia.
 * May 26-The Laurasian Empire's military forces occupied Leith, that major Scottrian stronghold and outpost of Ediania. Laurasian units were now penetrating to Ediania's outskirts, and the Earl of Heuthros repelled all Scottrian counteroffensives launched against his positions.
 * May 28-Thomasius Writohelesius, 1st Earl of Southerton, is appointed by the Emperor Antigonus III as the new Procurator-General of the Governing Senate. He thereby replaced Lord Audelius, who had fallen out of favor with his imperial master and whose reputation had been tarnished within the Imperial Court. The Earl of Southerton is known for his fierce loyalty to the Emperor and the Neuchrian Dynasty; his determination to maintain political and civil stability within the Laurasian dominions; and his willingness to employ the Senate to ruthlessly punish all enemies of the Imperial State.
 * June 2-The troops of the Earl of Heuthros breach the Edianian outpost of Canongate, and penetrate into the Ediania star system. The Earl, whose instructions were to thoroughly ravage the star system and to ransack all Heuthrian government treasures, ordered for his men to lay waste to all properties whom they chanced upon, and to bear away goods for storage on the fleet transports. Ediania Spacedock managed to repel a Laurasian frontal assault, but Laurasian starfighters and corvettes blasted away Scottrian positions on Kingshorne and Holyrood, sacking the treasures of those worlds which included many artifacts from the Scotrrian Crown Estate.
 * June 4-Laurasian units penetrate Ediania's shield defenses and land on the world. The Earl of Heuthros, himself commanding the frontal offensive, storms the Governmental and Religious Districts. Laurasian troops destroy and ransack all structures which they encounter. The Holyroodian Abbey of Ediania and the Celestial Palace of the Scottrian Kings are among the structures looted by the Laurasian troops. The Earl, however, commands that no brutality is to be employed against the civilians of Heuthros directly, and lays a harsh injunction against rape and violent murder by the Laurasian troops. Nevertheless, despite these injunctions, Ediania will be in ruins by the time the Laurasian plunder expedition ends four days later. The proclamation of the Emperor Antigonus, denouncing Archpriest Beatonius and boasting about Laurasian achievements, will be issued on Ediania on June 7.
 * June 15-Obliging by the provisions of the Treaty of Celia, the Emperor Antigonus III issued a formal declaration of war against the Stellar Kingdom of Franconia from the Quencilvanian Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. In his declaration of war, Antigonus claimed that Franjak had "constantly attempted to stir up dissent against the authority of my government" and that he was opposed to the maintenance of peace among all sovereign nations. Therefore, the Emperor declared, peace needed to be re-imposed by force. Laurasian units, already assembled at Dunkirka, Graveline's Mist, and Antwerp, begin to launch expeditions against Franconian border outposts.
 * June 29-Laurasian units under the Earl of Heuthros begin their retreat from the Scottrian Homeland Territories, but continue to inflict damage upon Scottrian positions during their retreat. It will be claimed by the Imperial Laurasian Government that Laurasian units had stormed or ransacked the defenses of 3,000 Scottrian outposts and colonies; taken 35 million Scottrian personnel as prisoners of war; and recovered nearly a quadmillion dataries worth of goods, equipment, and military supplies. The Scottrian Homeland Territories are desolated from the Laurasian offensives, and the Regent Arran is now firmly determined never to have any matrimonial alliance with the Laurasian Empire henceforth.
 * July 6-The Emperor Antigonus III, in a formal announcement to the Imperial Privy Council, declared his intention to take personal command of Laurasian military forces in the Amulak Spiral, which were ranged against the Franconians. This decision startled many in the Imperial Court and throughout the Laurasian Empire. Antigonus was now fifty-three years old; he was overweight and physically ailing; and he had not commanded a military campaign in three decades. Nevertheless, the Emperor was determined to gain final glory for himself in battle against the Franconians, for whom he nursed a special detest. Reminiscent of what had occurred thirty-one years earlier, when Antigonus had embarked on his first campaign against Franconia, the Emperor announced that Empress Consort Katharina Parsius would serve as Lady Protectoress of the Laurasian Empire during his absence. The Privy Council, Governing Senate, and Holy Synod were to assume the duties of a Regency Council, assisting the Empress Consort until her husband would return from the military campaigns.
 * July 15-The Earl of Heuthros and his units arrive back in the Caladarian Galaxy from their incursions in the Angelina Spiral.
 * July 22-August 11-Kalbacha Minor is besieged by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Fleet Admiral Levashius and the Earl of Heuthros. The siege required the combined efforts of the two military commanders, for Kalbacha Minor possessed a sizable military garrison and a talented military commander in the firm of Lord Charles Go'soth. Several frontal assaults by Laurasian troops were repelled, and Levashius was forced to bring in substantial reinforcements of corvettes, starfighters, and ion disruptors in order to break Scottrian defensive positions. Ultimately, however, Kalbacha Minor capitulated to the Laurasian forces, and the stronghold now became Levashius's new operational headquarters. Laurasian units began to isolate supply lines to Kalbacha Major.
 * August 3-The Emperor Antigonus III departs from Laurasia Prime, in order to take command of the military forces. Empress Consort Katharina formally becomes Lady Protectoress of the Laurasian Empire at this point. Katharina will prove to be a vigorous and energetic Lady Protectoress. She handled finances and the affairs of the Imperial Court with great vigor; supervised military conscription and supply efforts; and cooperated with the Privy Council in order to supervise internal matters of state and to maintain a watch over Laurasian campaigns against Scottria. The Empress Consort will earn the respect of many throughout the Empire for her wise governance during this time.
 * August 13-Breuteuil, a major Franconian stronghold, is stormed by the Duke of Norfolkius, who was commanding Laurasian military forces in battle for the last time in his career. The Emperor Antigonus will arrive at Breuteuil on August 23, and assume personal command of his forces in the Amulak Spiral.
 * August 16-September 18-Bolougone, a major Franconian shipyard and military outpost, is besieged by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the personal command of the Emperor Antigonus III. The Franconian units of the Duke of Tourre resisted the Laurasian offensives fiercely, and Antigonus launched several frontal assaults against the Franconian positions that were repelled. Ultimately, however, the Emperor reorganized his military units and stormed Boulogone's orbital defenses, with Laurasian warships bombarding the planet from above. Desperation increased on Bolougone, isolated from its supply routes. Finally, on September 18, the Duke of Torre surrendered to the Emperor, and Bolougone was occupied by the Laurasian Empire.
 * August 22-Field-Marshal Lacius launched a frontal offensive against Waxefield, determined to finally capture the Earl of Kathy and to bring the whole of the Scottrian Galactic Barrier regions under the control of the Laurasian Empire. The Earl of Kathy, however, managed to repel this first Laurasian assault. Lacius is forced to intensify the blockade of Waxefield and to divert units for a second offensive against the Scottrian stronghold.
 * August 29-The last Scottrian enclave in Rasdallan territory is conquered by the Laurasian Empire in the Battle of Gunrahia. Alaska and Medina are firmly in the possession of Laurasian military units.
 * September 24-29-The Second Battle of Waxefield, as the forces of Field-Marshal Lacius launch a series of frontal offensives against the positions of the Earl of Kathy. The Earl of Kathy again proved his skill in battle, repelling Laurasian assaults and inflicting severe damage upon the Laurasian force. However, Field-Marshal Lacius enjoyed supremacy in numbers, and the technological superiority of the Laurasian warships ultimately proved decisive. Waxefield was finally stormed by the Laurasian Empire, and the Earl of Kathy himself was captured. Lacius, with the typical Laurasian respect for enemies who had fought bravely and well, ordered for the Earl to be treated with the utmost respect.
 * September 25-The Pruthian Emperor A’rua III the Lazy (1786-1797), is born at the Sradtschloss Palace on Berliania III in the Pruthian Empire. He is the eldest son of Prince Augustus William of Pruthia (younger brother of Pru’a IX, his uncle) and Princess Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Luneburg.
 * October 4-Field-Marshal Lacius conquered Zerba, the last remaining Scottrian outpost in the Galactic Barrier.
 * October 16-The Emperor Antigonus III, having secured Boulougone from the Franconians, began to make preparations for an offensive against Abrmandia. Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I, however, sent a request to his ally, for him to immediately proceed to an offensive against Parsi, the Franconian capital world. Antigonus declared that he would conteplate on this; in reality, he had no intention of overextending his supply lines.
 * October 22-24-The Battle of the Iswill results in a victory for the forces of Fleet Admiral Levashius. The outskirts of Kalbacha Major are now being constantly harried by Laurasian starfighter squadrons.
 * October 29-Emperor Antigonus III sends a responsive communique back to his ally, the Emperor Char'va I, who was then at the Spamalkan outpost of Helevire. In this communique, Antigonus claimed that the conquest of Abrmandia would yield results for the Allied Coalition, and that an assault against Parni would prove rash and foolish. Consequently, the Laurasian forces would not advance in that direction. Char'va, whose treasury was drained by the conflict (particularly from his obligations to the Laurasian Government), began to contemplate making an armistice offer to his enemy, King Franjak I.
 * November 6-Emperor Antigonus III obtained a victory over Franconian units in the Skirmish of Xello.
 * November 15-The Holy Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I, in violation of the Treaty of Celia, sent a offer for a military armistice to King Franjak I of Franconia. Franjak, who wished to turn all of his military resources to the Laurasian threat, will accept the armistice offer on November 19; the Armistice of Medium will be signed by the representatives of the two monarchs on November 24.
 * November 29-December 4-Laurasian forces conquered the Franconian colonies on Guersney, Jersey, and Yorthia; this marks the farthest extent of the Laurasian campaigns into Franconian territory.
 * December 7-The Siege of Kalbacha Major commences when Field-Marshal Lacius destroyed the Scottrian outpost on Vervia. Laurasian units isolated all supply lines to the star system, prevented Scottrian ships from providing support to the garrison of Kalbacha Major, and harried Kalbachan orbital defenses. The Siege will continue for the next three months.
 * December 13-A peace conference opens at Marsielles between the Holy Spalmakan Empire and the Stellar Kingdom of Franconia. Chancellor Diadones, acting on the instructions of Emperor Antigonus, sends a formal protest to the Spamalkan Court, demanding their adherence to the arrangements of the Treaty of Celia. Char'va I, however, ignores the Laurasian protest and orders his ambassadors to proceed with the peace negotiations.
 * December 11-Laurasian starfighter squadrons, commanded by Willanius Eure, 1st Baron Eure, begin to harry the Scottrian outposts of the Lower Angelina Spiral. The Regent Arran, however, has begun to muster his forces in order to pose a more effective barrier against Laurasian incursions.

1745

 * January 11-The Laurasian forces of General Willanius Eure, Baron Eure, obtain a victory over Scottrian border forces in the Battle of Patrollia, storming that Scottrian military arsenal and giving them a vantage point in the Scottrian territories of the Angelina Spiral. Regent Arran, determined to maintain the integrity of the Scottrian realms, and to repel the threat posed by the Laurasian Empire, began to contemplate extraordinary measures in order to raise and maintain support for the Scottrian war effort.
 * January 24-Fleet Admiral Levashius captures a Kalbachan convoy in the Mountevar Pulsar, preventing the provision of military supplies and armor to the beleaguered garrison of Kalbacha Major.
 * January 29-Laurasian units storm Erith, a Scottrian military stronghold about eighty light-years north of Patrollia.
 * February 2-The Regent Arran, in an effort to maintain the integrity of the Scottrian military forces, and to revive the war effort against the Laurasian forces who were now launching incursions once again into the Scottrian Homeland Territories, reconciled himself with his long-time rival for political power and influence, Archilain Douglain of Lernax, the Earl of Angus (second husband of the now-deceased Queen-Dowager of Scottria, the Laurasian Grand Princess Constantia). Angus's estates on Melrose and Lernax had been plundered by Laurasian troops under the command of Sir Craterus Eure, Baron Eure's younger brother, and the Emperor Antigonus III was already beginning to contemplate plans of confiscating the estates of Scottrian nobles in conquered star systems and allotting them to loyal nobles such as the Eure brothers. Angus was therefore determined to maintain his own position and the independence of Scottria. He and his younger brother, George Douglain of Pitendreich, would be formally pardoned by the Scottrian Estates on February 6.
 * February 11-Archilain Douglain, the Earl of Angus, is formally appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Scottrian Armies by the Regent Arran and the Estates of State, charged with repelling Laurasian offensives and securing the Homeland Territories for the authority of the Scottrian Government. Appointing his younger brother George as his chief subordinate commander, the Earl of Angus assembled his units at Jexburgh, one of the most ancient Scottrian colonies.
 * February 16-Baron Eure and his forces begin their advance to Jexburgh, determined to storm that major stronghold, which would provide Laurasian forces a vantage-point from which to storm the outposts of the Highlands Military Highway, one of the chief routes in the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. The Earl of Angus, however, has reconnaissance units who keep him informed of Laurasian movements, and he has strengthened the forces under his command. The Earl of Rothes and his younger brother, the Master of Rothes, had both been placed under his command, bringing in substantial reinforcements and a number of Specialist Guards. Sir Walter Scott of Beuxuluch, who had also suffered from Laurasian depredations, pledged his services to the Earl of Angus.
 * February 21-Baron Eure storms the minor Scottrian stronghold of Branxholme, but units under the command of Sir Walter Scott continue to screen the Laurasian advance and to harry Laurasian troop transports, striking and inflicting heavy casualties before retreating again.
 * February 27-The Battle of Ancrum Moor takes place between the forces of the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. The battle opened when Sir Walter Scott launched a feint attack against the Laurasian encampment at Gershit's Moon, retreating towards the Palace Asteroids of Ancrum Moor. Much of the Laurasian force, commanded by Sir Craterus Eure, followed in pursuit, but as they reached the outskirts of the Palatial Households and chashed through the fields, they found that the main Scottrian force was hidden in the Veils of Ancrum, poised for attack. The Scottrians therefore had the element of surprise, and with their corvettes, soon launched a frontal charge which drove the Laurasians back in disarray. The superior Scottrian corvettes were employed effectively by the Earl of Angus, and most of the Laurasian units were soon destroyed or forced to disperse. Baron Eure tried in vain to muster his forces back to formation, but Angus's forces pressed too hard, and the Laurasian General was forced to order a strategic retreat from the star system. In the final retreat, Scottrian corvettes and starfighters continued to harry the Laurasian warships, and Sir Craterus himself was killed. The Baron was devastated but could not order his units to retrieve the body. The Laurasians then escaped into hyperspace. The Battle of Ancrum Moor was therefore a crushing victory for the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Out of the Laurasian force of 200 warships, 90 had been destroyed and 50 captured by the Scottrian units. 500,000 personnel of the Imperial Laurasian Navy were now prisoners of the Scottrians.
 * March 1-The Regent Arran visited the battlefield site of Ancrum Moor, congratulating the Earl of Angus and Lord George Douglain for their victory over the "Laurasian mongrels". It was during his visit that the body of Sir Craterus Eure was discovered floating in the vaccum of space. On the command of the Regent, Eure's body was lifted out of the space vacuum, placed in a coffin, and treated with "the utmost honor and care". The Scottrians, like the Laurasians, had a respect for defeated adversaries who had been worthy in battle.
 * March 4-The Emperor Antigonus III, enraged by the loss at the Battle of Ancrum Moor, dispatched a communique from his headquarters on Bolougone, commanding for the arrest of the Baron Eure and his dismissal from his post of command by Field-Marshal Lacius. This order was communicated to Lacius by Empress Consort Katharina Parsius and the Imperial Privy Council, who themselves expressed their outrage at the humiliating Laurasian loss. Eure was placed into custody by troops under the command of Captain Nicephorus Bramson, and was dispatched back to confinement at the Laurasian operational headquarters of Rasdalla Minor.
 * March 7-Scottrian units under the command of Sir Walter Scott reconquered Branxholm and Erith from the now isolated Laurasian military garrisons.
 * March 12-The Treaty of Beveria is signed by the Holy Spamalkan Empire and the Stellar Kingdom of Franconia, thereby terminating Spamalkan involvement in the Franconian War. The Treaty restored peace between Spamalka and Franconia on the basis of the status quo ante bellum; provided for the exchange of all prisoners of war between the two governments; and obliged Char'va to withdraw all Spamalkan military units from Franconian territory by the end of 1745. Emperor Antigonus was enraged when he learned of the Treaty of Beveria. In a manifesto to the subjects of the Laurasian Empire, Empress Consort Katharina (in her capacity as Lady Protectores) would declare that the Spamalkans had violated the most solemn military arrangements and that they were not a worthy ally.
 * March 19-The Emperor Antigonus, whose offensives in Franconian territory had been blunted, and who wished to turn his attention back to the affairs of the Imperial Laurasian Government, announced that he would be departing back to the Caladarian Galaxy by the end of April 1745. The Duke of Norfolkius was re-designated supreme commander of Laurasian forces in Franconian space by the Emperor, who commanded for him to maintain Laurasian territorial gains and to repel all Franconian offensives against Laurasian strategic positions. Empress Consort Katharina began making preparations for a formal ceremony of welcome on Laurasia Prime.
 * March 27-The last Laurasian units in the Scottrian Homeland Territories are defeated by Sir Walter Scott in the Battle of Aoforth, forcing Field-Marshal Lacius to temporarily suspend all further expeditions by Laurasian forces into the Angelina Spiral. Instead, the Laurasian Field-Marshal now intensified the siege efforts of Kalbacha Major.
 * April 6-Fleet Admiral Levashius stormed the Kalbachan outpost of Benson, capturing Scottrian intelligence files and most of the Scottrian garrison. By this point, Laurasian forces have overrun virtually all Scottrian territory in the Caladarian Galaxy, with the exception of the besieged Kalbacha Major, Palaris III, and Zannah, among other minor Kalbachan outposts and garrisons.
 * April 14-The Emperor Antigonus III officially departed from the Laurasian command headquarters on Bolougone, beginning his journey back to the Caladarian Galaxy. The Emperor's armada will be compelled to repel raids by Franconian screening expeditions during its route of progress out of the Amulak Spiral.
 * April 15-The Duke of Norfolkius repels a Franconian offensive under the Duke of Couter against the minor outpost of Jean-Paul.
 * April 22-The Emperor Antigonus III and his official entourage arrive back at the Quencilvanian Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. Having reached the outskirts of the Dasian Heartland on April 19, the Emperor and his armada were therefore relieved of defensive measures against Franconian expeditions. The Emperor's official arrival back at Laurasia Prime is a massive ceremony, having been arranged by the Empress Consort Katharina Parsius, Chancellor Diadones, Chief Procurator Cranmerius, the Governor of Laurasia Prime, and the Mayor of Christiania with much care. Crowds of subjects praised the Emperor's prowess in battle and his successful return from the theater of war. A five-day public holiday was proclaimed, and all subjects were enjoined to commemorate the victories which the Empire had achieved over its foreign adversaries.
 * May 6-The defenses of Kalbacha Major were finally breached by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Field-Marshal Lacius. Laurasian units landed on Kalbacha Major's surface and swiftly occupied the chief government structures, including the Great Palace of Kalbacha, which had served as the Scottrian administrative headquarters for the Kalbachan Districts over the preceding five centuries. The Scottrian commander of the garrison of Kalbacha Major, Malagan Rouglain of Pinkitt, was treated with commendable leniency on the orders of Field-Marshal Lacius. He would eventually be dispatched to the Post Settlement of Hepudermia as a formal prisoner of state on May 19. The fall of Kalbacha Major, which had never before been occupied by Laurasian military units, is a major event in galactic history. It marks yet another stage in the ascent of the Laurasian Empire, already 423 years old, to the status of sole galactic power. Pockets of resistance by Scottrian troops against the newly-established Laurasian garrison, however, will continue until September 1745.
 * May 11-The Lord St. Johansius resigns as Imperial High Chamberlain, having been appointed as Minister of the Imperial Chancellory and Assistant to the Procurator-General of the Governing Senate by Emperor Antigonus III. The position will remain vacant for a year.
 * May 14-Palaris III is occupied by a Laurasian offensive force under the command of Fleet Admiral Levashius. Laurasian units have by now suppressed supply lines to Zannah, the last remaining Scottrian stronghold of importance in the Caladarian Galaxy.
 * May 16-21-A Scottrian counteroffensive, launched by Lord George Douglain, against Patricia I, Barching, Devily, and the Riverite Asteroid Belt, is repelled by Laurasian frontier units under the command of Field Marshal Lacius's chief subordinate, General Antiochus Devreshius.
 * May 24-The Battle of Zannah, the last major confrontation within the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy between the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, occurs. Field-Marshal Lacius and Fleet Admiral Levashius served as the joint commanders of the Laurasian force, while the garrison of Zannah was commanded by Lieutenant-General Haiymon McCroy. Unlike Ancrum Moor, the Scottrian units did not hold the element of surprise, and the battle resulted in a victory for the Laurasian Empire. Zannah's shield defenses were easily breached by Laurasian units, and the world was occupied by the Laurasian Empire.
 * June 4-9-Laurasian units conquered the last remaining Scottrian garrisons in the Galactic Borderlands, including Palaris I, Bane, and Cognus. The greater bulk of the southern and central Galactic Borderlands are now under the rule of the Laurasian Empire.
 * July 19-The Battle of Portsuthia occurs between Laurasian and Franconian forces near the outskirts of Breuteuil, in the Amulak Spiral. The Duke of Norfolkius commanded the defense of the Laurasian garrison in the occupied star system, while his enemy, the Duke of Couter, commanded the Franconian assault forces. The battle ultimately resulted in a strategic victory for the Laurasian Empire, although the Emperor Antigonus's favorite warship, the dreadnought HIMS Octavia, was destroyed by the Franconians in battle.
 * July 24-Death of the Haxonian Doge Pietro Lando, who was sixty-eight years old at the time of his death. Lando is succeeded as Doge by the Haxonian Senator and Vice-President of the Haxonian High Council, Franceseco Donato, who was aged seventy at the time that he became Doge.
 * August 22-At Guildfadian Hall on Sufforia, the Emperor Antigonus III's close friend, Carolus Brandeis, 1st Duke of Sufforia, died at the age of 61. At his deathbed, the Duke of Sufforia was attended by his wife, Katharina Willoughby, Duchess of Sufforia, and by other members of the extended Brandeis family, including all of his children. The Emperor Antigonus, in a rare show of sadness, burst into tears when he was officially informed that the Duke of Sufforia had died. The ailing Emperor declared that all of his contemporaries had been stripped from him, and that the Lord Almitis would soon be summoning him to his death. Antigonus ordered the Imperial Court into three weeks of mourning for the Duke of Sufforia and issued a manifesto lamenting the death of "such a loyal and effective nobleman". Sufforia will be granted a state funeral by the Emperor, which will be conducted at St. Georgius's Chapel at the Palace of Placenta on Darcia, on September 2.
 * September 14-The Duke of Norfolkius, who had grown war-weary, and desired to return to the conduct of the affairs of his estates in the Caladarian Galaxy, was recalled by the Emperor Antigonus III from his command in the Amulak Spiral. Norfolkius will be replaced as Commander of Laurasian forces in Franconian space by the Earl of Sourania, who will assume his post on September 25.
 * October 6-The Battle of Outbound Point is fought between the Laurasian and Scottrian armies in the Galactic Void. The battle resulted in a strategic stalemate, although the Laurasian units of Field Marshal Lacius prevented a Scottrian advance to the Galactic Barrier.
 * October 29-The Empress Consort Katharina Parsius, already renowned at the Imperial Court for her intelligence and her insight into matters of learning, published her first work, Meditations on Almitis. In this work, the Empress Consort declared that all Laurasians could gain true salvation by turning to the service of Almitis and that only believers of Almitis would obtain their reward in the afterlife. The Emperor Antigonus will praise his wife's work in a imperial proclamation and will command the Holy Synod to provide it as standard issue to the congregations of the Almitian Council.
 * November 6-17-The Battle of Boulogone occurs in the Amulak Spiral, as the military forces of King Franjak I attempt to dislodge the Laurasian garrison from that major stronghold. Laurasian forces were now placed under siege, in the same predicament which they had laid their enemies under so often. The Earl of Sourania proved his ability as a calculating and willing commander, for he managed to maintain high morale among the Laurasian forces and to repel all Franconian frontal assaults. Ultimately, on November 17, Franjak will abandon his assault.
 * December 5-Field-Marshal Lacius repels a Scottrian expedition against Hidemnia Sauria and Waxefield.

1746

 * January 25-King Franjak I of Franconia, determined to hasten to an end to the long conflict between the Serene Kingdom of Franconia and the Laurasian Empire, and to inflict a blow upon his enemy, the Emperor Antigonus III, in his own dominions, authorized the assembly of a Franconian expeditionary force under the command of Grand Admiral Claude d'Annebault, one of the chief officers of the Franconian Navy. Annebault was to assemble his units at the Franconian strongholds of Arne, Walmer, and Dreux, and was to launch an invasion of the Burglais Arm, within the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy. Franjak believed that with his own territories threatened, Antigonus would have no choice but to sue for peace.
 * February 3-The Imperial Intelligence Agency caught wind of the machinations by King Franjak I and the Franconian Government for their planned expedition against the Burglais Arm. The Emperor Antigonus and the Imperial Privy Council were informed immediately. Antigonus was alarmed at threat which the Franconians could now poise to the Caladarian Galaxy directly. In reaction to the intelligence information provided to him, the Emperor commanded for the defenses of the chief strongholds of the Burglais Arm to be strengthened; for all Laurasian subjects in those territories to be alerted about the possible Franconian threat; and for all effort to be made by Laurasian forces in Franconian space to prevent a Franconian counteroffensive. John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, was appointed by the Emperor on February 7 as the commander of Laurasian garrisons in the Burglais Arm. Coronadia, Edmundia, English Star, Jacobs I, Scanlan, Theodore, the strongholds of the Corporate Sector, Mackenzia Major, Taraning, Ian, and other worlds were now under red alert.
 * February 11-The Battle of the Solent between the forces of the Laurasian Empire and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia. The Earl of Sourania attempted to block the route of advance of Admiral d'Annebault, determined to keep Franconian forces bottled up within the confines of the Amulak Spiral. The battle ultimately resulted in a strategic victory for the Franconians, who managed to continue their advance to the Caladarian Galaxy.
 * February 16-A Franconian effort to storm the Laurasian outpost on Jersey is blunted by the Earl of Sourania in the Battle of the Lizard.
 * February 24-The Franconian units under the command of Admiral Claude d'Annebault reached the outskirts of the Caladarian Galaxy. The Franconians, however, were immediatedly confronted with the resistance of the forces of Viscount Lisle. Over the next four days, a series of confrontations would be fought at Seaford, Beacheria, and Wight, as Franconian units attempted to penetrate Laurasian border defenses.
 * March 4-17-The Siege of Garner by the forces of the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, under the command of Admiral Claude d'Annebault. Garner was one of the chief strongholds of the Corporate Sector, being important to the Imperial Laurasian Government for its economic institutes, currency reserves, and strategic position in the outskirts of the Outer Borderlands. The Franconians desired this world so as to have a bridgehead within the Caladarian Galaxy. They attempted to storm Laurasian outposts at Bonchurch and Whitcliff, but this effort was blunted by units under the command of Sir Draco Morlais. Ultimately, the superior organization of the Laurasian garrison, the virtually non-existent Franconian supply lines, and the encroachments of Laurasian units under the command of Viscount Lisle forced Admiral d'Annebault to withdraw from the siege on March 17.
 * March 24-The Franconian Expeditionary Force begins its retreat to the Amulak Spiral, as the Franconian Admiral d'Annebault realized that the Franconian effort to storm into the Burglais Arm was doomed to failure. The Franconians are harried along their entire route of retreat by starfighter squadrons dispatched by Viscount Lisle. Franjak, whose treasury was exhausted by the conflict, and who wished to turn his attention back to internal affairs within his realms, was beginning to contemplate a military truce with the Imperial Laurasian Government.
 * April 2-The Emperor Antigonus III commands the Earl of Heuthros to begin preparations for departure to the Amulak Spiral, apparently to take command of the Laurasian forces there from the Earl of Southania. In private, however, the Laurasian Emperor was beginning to realize that the Laurasian Empire would not make any gains at Franconian expense, and that the territorial acquisitions in the Galactic Borderlands were sufficient. He also desired for peace, and wished to end his reign in tranquility and co-existence with the Empire's neighbors. Antigonus begins contemplating a peace offer towards the Franconian and Scottrian Governments.
 * April 17-Chancellor Diadones, acting on the command of the Emperor and the Imperial Privy Council, dispatched an armistice offer to the Franconian Court. Franjak I, who had been preparing to order his own government officials to extend an armistice offer, and eager to end this conflict harming the integrity and peace of his dominions, accepted the Laurasian offer on April 22. The Armistice of Vohlberg will be signed by the Earl of Southania and Admiral d'Annebault, on behalf of their governments, on April 24, terminating all military hostilities between the two realms until a peace conference can be convened.
 * May 14-Delegations from the Laurasian Empire and Serene Kingdom of Franconia convene at Ardres, a Franconian colony-world in the outskirts of the Amulak Cloud, for a peace conference in order to bring the hostilities between Laurasia and Franconia to an end by peace treaty. Viscount Lisle, who had arisen to much favor with the Emperor and gained his own faction of supporters at the Imperial Court, acted as the chief representative of the Laurasian delegation. The other Laurasian plenipotentiaries were Craterus Pagentia, 1st Baron Pagentia (later to become one of the chief ministers of the Imperial Laurasian Government during the reign of the Empress Didymeia) and Sir Nicholas Wortton. King Franjak, on his part, appointed Admiral d'Annebault, Pierre Ramon, and Gulliame Bochtetel as the Franconian plenipotentiaries to the peace conference; Admiral d'Annebault acted as the formal host of the conference. Negotiations will continue for nearly a month before the two delegations manage to strike an agreement.
 * May 26-In Christiania, Laurasia Prime, Anna Asklewia was arrested on the orders of the Judicial Chamber of Christiania, on charges of heresy, conspiracy, and "dissent against the Imperial Government". Anna had gained the notice of the Imperial authorities of Laurasia Prime due to her sermons concerning morals, the administrative organization of the Almitian Church, and faith in the works of the Lord Almitis. Her teachings were considered to be threatening by many of the Traditionalists at the Imperial Court. This included such prominent figures as Archbishop Stephanius Gardinerius of Winchestrius, Archbishop Edwardis Bonneris of Christiania, the Duke of Norfolkius, Procurator-General Writholesius, and Chancellor Diadones, among other such notables. Anna will be tortured on the command of the Privy Council during the course of the next month and roundly condemned by Writholesius and other Privy Councilors for her teachings.
 * May 29-At St. Andrews Castle on Fife, the ardently anti-Laurasian Archpriest of Ediania, David Beatonius, is murdered by Jamsius Kirclady of Grange and John Leslie of Parkhill, who had been recruited by the Imperial Intelligence Agency for this mission of assassination within the Scottrian realms. Both men despised the wealth and influence wielded by the Archpriest and his faction; and both believed that peaceful relations with the Laurasian Empire was within the interests of the Scottrian species. Beatonius's body is dismembered by his murderers, who then publicly proclaimed to the subjects of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria as to the deed which they had accomplished. The death of Beatonius was secretly welcomed by the Regent Arran, for it removed a major rival to his position of power. It, however, also enraged the anger of many Scottrians, who believed that the actions of the Laurasian Government were directly to blame for the Archpriest's death. Arran, however, had begun to contemplate making peace with the Laurasian Empire, so as to rebuild Scottrian military forces and foster closer ties with Franconia.
 * June 7-The Treaty of Ardres was signed by the Laurasian Empire and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, after nearly a month of negotiations. It was Viscount Lisle and Baron Pagentia who were ultimately instrumental in securing the terms of peace from the Franconian Government. By the terms of the Treaty of Ardres, all military hostilities between the Laurasian and Franconian realms were to cease. All prisoners of war were to be released immediately, and the Imperial Laurasian Government promised to restore all plunder and spoils of war which had been seized by Laurasian troops in the Franconian dominions. As regards to territorial matters, the status quo ante bellum was to prevail, with one exception. Boulougne was to be occupied by the Laurasian Empire's forces for a period of eight years (until 1754), as compensation to the Emperor Antigonus for the expenses he had lavished upon his military campaigns. Laurasian laws were to prevail at Boulougne while it was occupied by the Laurasian Army; Franconian subjects were to oblige by the "rule of nations"; and Franconia would not be permitted to station military garrisons within a ten-light year radius of Boulougne. All other Laurasian garrisons and forces in Franconian space, however, were to be withdrawn by the end of 1746. Full diplomatic and economic relations were to be restored between the two governments, and rights of free transit were guaranteed for the subjects of each government traveling in the territories of the other.
 * June 11-The Treaty of Ardres is ratified by Emperor Antigonus III. It will be ratified by King Franjak I on June 16.
 * June 24-The Regent Arran finally settled on a decision of making peace with the Laurasian Empire, and therefore sent a request for an armistice to Field-Marshal Lacius. Lacius, acting on the permission of the Imperial Privy Council, approved the armistice request. The Armistice of McFadden will be signed by Laurasian and Scottrian officers on June 30.
 * July 4-Procurator-General Writholesius and Archbishop Gardinerius, who were both opposed to the Empress Consort Katharina Parsius on account of her religious beliefs, and who sought to maintain the interests of the Traditionalist faction at the Imperial Court, ordered the Ministry of the Imperial Chancellory to begin an investigation of the Empress Consort's financial affairs and the condition of her properties. This was in preparation for charges of treason, heresy, and adultery which would be brought up against the Empress. Both were confident that the Emperor would agree to condemning his wife; he was in a irritable mood at the time, for his health was continuing to decline, and the Empress's religious views were disturbing her husband, who believed that she should be subordinate to his authority and his viewpoints.
 * July 16-Having been convicted on all charges laid against her by the Governing Senate, Anna Askewia is executed by solar incineration at the Fortress of Baureux in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. Procurator-General Writholesius, who had taken a prominent part in the proceedings against her, and believed that he was suppressing religious dissent against the authority of the Imperial Laurasian Government, presided over the execution. Askewia was excommunicated by the Holy Synod and her body was dumped into the Pit of Traitors on Jadia.
 * July 24-Delegations from the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria convene at Kinsgley, a Scottrian commercial stronghold in the outskirts of the Scottrian Commerical Territories. The Earl of Angus, the Earl of Rothes, Sir Walter Scott, and Lord George Douglain were the Scottrian plenipotentiaries to the conference, while the interests of the Emperor Antigonus III and the Imperial Laurasian Government were represented by Field-Marshal Lacius, Baron Pagentia, the Earl of Heuthros, and Baron Eure. Negotiations will continue for over a month, as the two delegations wrangle over the terms of the peace settlement. The Laurasians, controlling all Scottrian territory in the Galactic Borderlands, held the position of advantage.
 * August 1-The Emperor Antigonus is confined to his private chambers within the Quencilvanian Palace. His wife, Empress Consort Katharina Parsius, begins to nurse him personally. As she treated the Emperor, she began to lecture him on matters of religion, which was a mistake. The Emperor was in no mood to be lectured by his wife, and he considered it to be heresy. The Emperor now gave his authorization for an arrest warrant against the Empress Consort to be prepared; it would be placed in his official chambers two days later.
 * August 4-Empress Consort Katharina Parsius learned of the arrest warrant which had been drafted against her by Procurator-General Witholesius and Archbishop Gardinerius, who were eager to remove her from her position at the Imperial Court. Steeling herself, the Empress Consort immediately headed to the Emperor's personal chambers. There, he promptly began to discuss religion with her, contradicting many of her reformist viewpoints. Katharina, realizing that the Emperor was testing her, agreed with everything he said, declaring that she was only a woman and that he, the Emperor, had been raised by the Lord Almitis to supreme judgment above all of his subjects. This appeal to Antigonus's vanity was not enough, however, and he demanded his wife's loyalty. Katharina submitted even further, stating she had only discussed with him about matters of religion in order to "learn" from him and to distract his mind from his illness. Antigonus was pleased, and declaring her a loyal and faithful wife, promptly dropped all ideas of proceeding against her. Katharina had escaped. The following day, Procurator-General Wirtholesius and a detachment of guards arrived to arrest Katharina while she was in the Emperor's presence. The Emperor, however, personally beat them over their heads and ordered them away. He had Katharina's arrest warrant destroyed. Wirtholesius and Archbishop Gardinerius were displeased at their failure to dislodge the Empress Consort from her position.
 * September 2-The Treaty of Kinsgley is signed by the Laurasian Empire and Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, bringing an end to the Antigonid War of the Rough Wooing. By the terms of the treaty, the Laurasian Empire acquired all remaining Scottrian territories in the Galactic Borderlands. This included Rasdalla Major, Kathy Major, Homi, the Galactic Barrier regions, Kalbacha Minor, Kalbacha Major, Seeben, Sherry, Zannah, Palaris III, Gwynne, Godweria, Goriance, and Waxefield. All spoils of war captured by Laurasian troops during the war were to be retained by the Imperial Laurasian Government, though prisoners of war were to be released immediately. Provision was made for the return of the body of Sir Craterus Eure to the Eure family. As regards to the previous marriage contract between Queen Mariana and Grand Prince Demetrius, it was declared that the Scottrian Estates had the right to further deliberate the matter, and that the Imperial Government would undertake only to press for a possible marriage in a "peaceable, non-aggressive manner". Full diplomatic and economic relations were reestablished between the two realms. The Treaty of Kinsgley will be ratified by Emperor Antigonus III on September 6 and by Regent Arran (with the Scottrian Estates and in the name of Queen Mariana) on September 10. Peace will manage to hold between Laurasia and Scottria for a year.
 * September 19-Antigonus Fitzalleria, Earl of Americana (who had succeeded his father to the Earldom upon his death on January 23, 1744), is appointed as Imperial High Chamberlain by the Emperor Antigonus III. Americana, who is destined to become a prominent figure during the reigns of Demetrius II and Didymeia I, will hold the position for the next four years.
 * October 9-The Emperor Antigonus III suffers a minor stroke at the Royal Quarters of the Second Station of Callista. Throughout 1746, the Emperor's health, which had been in decline ever since his shockball accident in January 1736, had weakened even further. Antigonus was now well over three hundred pounds, being far in excess of normal body weight. He had surpassed Demetrius I, the Fat (1399-1416), as the most obese sovereign in Laurasian history. He suffered from high blood pressure, panic attacks and bouts of irrationality, and an ailment of the legs, which caused him much pain. Despite the antibiotics and the other treatments proscribed to him by the doctors of the Imperial Household, the Emperor's condition remained pitiable. This was also caused in part by his enormous diet, for he had refused to moderate his eating habits, even with the onset of illness. The Empress Consort Katharina Parsius continued to nurse her husband during this time, remaining loyally by his bedside for the next two months.
 * December 12-The Earl of Heuthros and Procurator-General Wirtholesius, who were now obtaining the predominant position of influence in the Imperial Laurasian Government, and who wished to rid the Imperial Court of their rivals, successfully prevailed upon the ailing, and ever more paranoid, Emperor Antigonus to move against the Duke of Norfolkius and his son Antigonus Howardis, Earl of Soria. The Emperor had grown suspicious of the Howardis family, and had never fully forgiven the Duke of Norfolkius for the failures of his marriages with Anna Boleyenia and Katharina Howardis. It seemed logical to him that the Duke of Norfolkius would be engaged in conspiracy against his person, and that he would seek to obtain the predominant influence in the Laurasian Empire upon his death. By the orders of the Emperor, both Norfolkius and Soria were arrested at the Howardis Quarters in the Diplomatic Palace, bound in chains, and imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux. Norfolkius was in utter terror for his life, and prayed constantly to Almitis that a miracle would spare him from a gruesome fate.
 * December 15-The Empress Consort Katharina Parsius is ordered to retire to the Palace of Placenta on Darcia, along with the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, officially in order to conduct Ascentmas celebrations. In reality, the Emperor Antigonus knew that his death was fast approaching, and he did not wish for his family members to be present in his last, agonizing moments. The last Ascentmas of the reign of Antigonus III would pass with the Emperor confined to his private bedchambers, and continuing to suffer panic attacks at intervals.

1747

 * January 1-The year 1747 commenced with the Laurasian Empire in a state of peace, internally and with its neighbors. The Laurasian-Franconian War of 1744-46 was now firmly at an end, and the two powers would not go to war with one another again for another decade. The Antigonid War of the Rough Wooing had also ended, although tensions simmered between Laurasia and Scottria, and the Imperial Laurasian Government still nursed hopes of a Scottrian marriage for the Grand Prince Demetrius. The Emperor Antigonus, in his last New Year's proclamation to his subjects, declared that the dynasty of his father was "firmly secured" and the dominions of the Laurasian race were truly blessed by the Lord Almitis. The Laurasian Empire had long since recovered from the travails of the Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, and had extended its rule through more territories in the Caladarian Galaxy. The health of the Emperor, himself, however, took a turn for the worse in early January 1747, and on January 5, he would officially be moved to the Hospital Quarters of the Quencilvanian Palace. On his direct command, however, the Empress Consort Katharina, his daughters, his son, and the imperial public were not informed of this.
 * January 6-The Emperor Antigonus III granted his official approval to his final will and testament, which would provide for the deposition of matters regarding the Imperial Government and Imperial Household upon his death.
 * January 10-Empress Consort Katharina Parsius returned to Laurasia Prime after her time at the Palace of Placenta with the Emperor Antigonus's daughters. The Empress Consort, however, is refused permission by the Privy Council to see her husband Emperor Antigonus, and she is not told that the Emperor has now been formally confined in the Medical Quarters of the Quencilvanian Palace. Katharina, however, is able to realize that her husband is dying, and that he wished for peace in his last moments. She was saddened at his physical condition, but also opportunistic, for when her husband died, she would finally be able to chart her own destiny and marry her true love, Sir Thomasius Seymouris.
 * January 12-Under interrogation by Chancellor Diadones, Procurator-General Writholesius, and Chief Procurator Cranmerius, the Duke of Norfolkius admitted that he had "committed treason against the authority of His Majesty" and that he continued to adhere to the traditionalist morals of the earlier Laurasian Church. His son, the Earl of Soria, was also compelled into making similar admissions. Norfolkius, hoping for mercy from the Emperor, offered all of his estates and properties to the Emperor, with only the pious hope that he would be set free from confinement. The dying Emperor, however, is far from a mood of mercy.
 * January 14-The Emperor Antigonus III grants his assent to an Imperial Act of Attainder against the Duke of Norfolkius and his son, Antigonus Howardis, Earl of Soria. In the Act of Attainder, father and son were accused of treason, corruption, les-majestie, heresy, and conspiracy against the Imperial Government. It was alleged that Norfolkius had arranged the Emperor's marriages with Anna Boleyenia and Katharina Howardis, and that he knew that both of his nieces were "whores who had forsaken their virginity in order to obtain personal pleasure." The Act of Attainder stated that Norfolkius was greedy for wealth and estates, and that he had duped the Emperor continually over the preceding years. His son, the Earl of Soria, was denounced as a supporter of Traditionalist values and of rebels such as Askius. He was also accused of engaging in adultery with the ladies of the Imperial Household, and of threatening the position of the Empress Consort Katharina Parsius through his indiscretions. The Emperor therefore sentenced both men to death by firing squad, denying them the right to a trial before the Governing Senate. It was claimed that their sentences needed to be imposed without these unnecessary judicial proceedings. The date of the execution of the Earl of Soria was set for January 19; that of his elderly father, for January 28.
 * January 19-At the Public Square of the Fortress of Baureux, Antigonus Howardis, the Earl of Soria, is executed by firing squad, on the basis of the Act of Attainder which had been imposed against him by the dying Emperor Antigonus III. In his final speech to the crowds assembled to witness his execution, the Earl of Soria firmly asserted his innocence and declared that "His most gracious Majesty" was misled by the advise of evil ministers within the government (alluding to, but not directly referencing, Chancellor Diadones, the Earl of Heuthros, and Procurator-General Wirtholesius). The Earl's body was interred at the Prison Crypt of the Fortress. The Duke of Norfolkius, himself awaiting death in his prison cell, was sent into a wailing fit when he informed of his son's execution. An imperial manifesto, issued shortly after Soria's execution, confiscated all estates of the Howardis family, deprived his father of the Dukedom of Norfolkius, and imposed a sentence of condemnation upon those connected to the Duke.
 * January 26-The Emperor Antigonus III suffers his final stroke in the Hospital Quarters of the Quencilvanian Palace. Lingering between unconsciousness and awareness, the Emperor mumbled "Monks! Monks! Monks!" under his breath and lamented the fact that the Lord Almitis had not blessed him with many sons, in order to continue the Neuchrian Dynasty. Chancellor Diadones, the Earl of Heuthros, and Procurator-General Wirtholesius were now in eager anticipation of the Emperor's death, and began to make preparations for the ascension of his son and the proclamation of the imperial will.
 * January 27-Death of Grand Duke Dmitri I of Masacavania, who had ruled since 1733. Dmitri is succeeded to the Masacavanian throne by his twenty-year old son, who became Ivan IV of Masacavania. Ivan will be the Grand Duke responsible for opening diplomatic relations with the Laurasian Empire a decade later.
 * January 28-On this day, January 28, 1747, Antigonus III the Extravagant, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Laurasians since 1709, son of Neuchrus I the Reformer, and second monarch of the Neuchrian Dynasty, died at the age of 55. He had reigned for nearly thirty-eight years, at that time the third-longest reign in Laurasian history after those of Honorius the Terrible and Seleucus the Victor. At the time of Antigonus III's death, the Laurasian Empire was a far stronger state, militarily and economically, then it had been at the commencement of his reign. The wise financial policies of the Emperor's ministers, such as Cardinal Wolesius and Chancellor Crownapoulos, had resulted in the quadrupling of Laurasian revenues, a budget surplus of €200 trillion dataries, and the stabilization of inflation rates at the very acceptable rate of 4%. Unemployment was 3.5%; the wealth of the nobility had increased fourfold; and the wages of commoners had risen by 500 percent. The Imperial Court now possessed more than ten thousand residences throughout the Caladarian Galaxy, and the Emperor's real wealth had increased tenfold. The Laurasian military, thanks to the reforms of Field-Marshal Munnich, was far more efficient. Conscription rates had risen by 50 percent; the Cadet Corps improved professionalism in the officer corps of the Armed Forces; and the strategies of the Military Command were now more streamlined and realistic. There were now 50,000 major military garrisons throughout the Empire, and fortifications existed at the Galactic Frontier Route, Dasian Heartland, Galactic Barrier, and Hutsite Reaches. The mobility and flexibility of Laurasian assault forces had been vastly improved. The Emperor's religious reforms had cleared much waste and corruption from the Church, and were in the process of aligning Laurasians closer back into the faith. These very policies, however, would arouse much dissent in the Empire's realms in the years to come. The Earl of Heuthros and the Imperial Privy Council agreed to keep the news of the Emperor's death shielded from the public, until a smooth succession could be ensured. The Earl of Heuthros himself departed swiftly from Laurasia Prime for Darcia, arriving there seven hours after the Emperor's death. He brought Demetrius to Caladaria, where the Lady Aurelia resided at her household. There, he informed the Emperor's two younger children that their father was dead, and announced to them the terms of the Emperor's final testament. He saluted the nine-year old Demetrius as his Emperor and made preparations to bring him back to Laurasia Prime. Lady Didymeia would be informed of her father's death on January 29, as would former Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver and most importantly, the Empress Consort Katharina Parsius herself. As a result of Antigonus's death, the execution of the ex-Duke of Norfolkius, which would have taken place this day, is delayed, and the Privy Council commands for Howardis to be kept imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux on an indefinite basis. It did not wish to open the new reign with the shedding of blood.
 * January 31-The news of the Emperor Antigonus III's death is formally announced to the Imperial Court and the subjects of the Laurasian Empire by Procurator-General Wirtholesius, who issued a imperial manifesto on the effect in consultation with the Privy Council, Governing Senate, and Holy Synod. Grand Prince Demetrius was now formally and publicly proclaimed Emperor and Autocrat of All the Laurasians. At just nine years old, however, he would not exercise the actual authority. Until the terms of the Emperor's will could be formally declared and put into effect, the three bodies of state assumed duties of governance and the guardianship of the new Emperor. On this date, the Earl of Heuthros brought the new Emperor Demetrius II and his sister, the Lady Aurelia, back to the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime. Demetrius was lodged at the Fortress of Baureux, according to custom, and the formal announcement of his ascension was delivered to crowds and officials throughout the Empire. At this date, now Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius vacated her consort quarters in the Quencilvanian Palace and retreated to her family estates on Kendalia. On February 1, the Emperor will receive the formal oath of allegiance from the assembled nobility and gentry of the Laurasian Empire. Condolences on the death of the Emperor Antigonus will be issued by Franjak I of Franconia, Vorrus II of Dejanica, Regent Arran of Scottria, Sassas III of the Marasharite Empire, Jay XI of the Haynsian Despotate, Mar'va Tarvania of Austarlia and her co-ruler Francios I (elevated to his position in August 1745), Pru'a IX of Pruthia, and Char'va I of Spamalka, among other rulers.
 * February 4-The terms of the Emperor Antigonus III's will are formally announced by the Imperial Chancellory. In his will, the Emperor Antigonus had designated the Imperial Privy Council, Governing Senate, Holy Synod, and sixteen prominent nobles of the Imperial Court as executors, who were to act as the Regency Council of the Laurasian Empire and govern the Empire's affairs until Demetrius obtained the age of eighteen. The Regency Council was to be assisted by twelve assessors of the Imperial Chancellory, who could be called upon by the Council at any time. The will provided annual allowances for the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, as well as the Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius. In fact, Antigonus had stipulated that Katharina should continue to be treated as if he were still alive, meaning she would continue to possess all of the privileges and honors of a normal Empress Consort. Katharina was to remain the highest-ranking woman in the Laurasian Empire until Demetrius himself married. Even then, she would still hold precedence over the Baroness Annaliese of Denver and over the Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia. Annaliese, on her part, was confirmed in her allowances and granted the new title of "The Emperor's Step-Aunt", in relation to her position towards the new Emperor Demetrius. When the will was announced, the Earl of Heuthros and his supporters on the now newly-constituted Regency Council were displeased. Heuthros believed it was his right to become Lord Protector of the Laurasian Empire and Chair of the Regency Council. This will soon usher in a unilateral revision of the will's provisions by the Regency Council.
 * February 11-The Regency Council, justifying this new course of action on the basis of its grant of authority in the Imperial Testament of Antigonus III, formally proclaimed Edwardis Seymouris, Earl of Heuthros, as Lord Protector of the Laurasian Empire and Governor of the Emperor's Person. Seymouris is also elevated to the rank of Duke of Volta and is granted properties from the Imperial Estate. Acting to consolidate his position of power, the new Lord Protector distributed titles and honors to many of his supporters within the Imperial Court. Among those to be so honored is Viscount Lisle, who will be created Earl of Sarah on February 27.
 * February 16-The state funeral of the Emperor Antigonus III is conducted at the Westphalian Cathedral. The Lord Protector Seymouris presided over the funeral ceremony, and led the massive procession of noblemen and noblewomen who prayed for the Emperor's soul. Among those personages who paid their respects to the Emperor were Chancellor Diadones, Chief Procurator Cranmerius (who delivered the eulogy and conducted the burial), Procurator-General Writholesius, Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius, former Empress Consort Annaliese of Denver, Lady Didymeia, Lady Aurelia, Sir Thomasius Seymouris, Field-Marshal Lacius, Field-Marshal Munnich, Fleet Admiral Levashius, Archbishop Gardinerius, Baron Pagentia, Franconia Brandeis (Duchess of Sufforia), the Earl of Heuthros, the Earl of Sarah, Lord St. Johnasius, and all of the members of the Imperial Privy Council, Governing Senate, and Holy Synod, alongside the chief courtiers of the Imperial Court and ambassadors from the foreign courts of the Laurasian Empire's neighboring states. The young Emperor Demetrius II was escorted to the funeral by the Valedictorian Guards, and was present for his father's burial. As had been provided for in the Emperor's testament, he was buried alongside his third wife, Demetrius's mother Theodora Seymouris.
 * February 20-The coronation of Emperor Demetrius II "the Boy Emperor", the second coronation of the eighteenth century, was conducted at the Westphalian Cathedral, just four days after the funeral and burial of his father Antigonus III. Because of the Emperor's youthfulness, the ceremonies for the coronation were considerably shortened, so as "not to tire the Emperor's young body or to impose too much exertion upon the courtiers of the Imperial Court." Demetrius was too young to crown himself with the Great Imperial Crown of the Laurasian Empire; nor could his head manage the weight of the ultimate symbol of sovereignty. Therefore, the crown was raised over the nine-year old Emperor's head by Chief Procurator Cranmerius, who intoned blessings for the new sovereign, and the Smaller Imperial Crown was touched briefly on his head. Ultimately, Demetrius bore a manageable coronet. Lord Protector Seymouris presided over the festivities of the coronation ceremony, and per the instructions in the Emperor's last testament, ensured that the coronation festivities were grand.
 * March 4-The Lord Protector Seymouris, Duke of Volta, secures letters patent from the Emperor Demetrius II. The letters patent grant him the almost monarchial right to appoint and dismiss the members of the Privy Council, Holy Synod, and Governing Senate at will, and to consult them only when he pleased. The Emperor Demetrius, when he would assume the reins of autocratic authority upon obtaining his majority, was to be assured the right to do the same, and any appointments which the Lord Protector made during the Regency could then be revoked at the Emperor's pleasure. Having secured this further authorization of authority from the young Emperor, Seymouris proceeded to govern the Laurasian Empire by proclamation, employing the Regency Council to merely rubber-stamp his measures after they had already been enacted.
 * March 7-Baronet Diadones of Charasia, who desired to retire to his private estates on Charasia, and to relieve himself of the responsibilities of government, formally resigned as Chancellor of the Laurasian Empire. Lord Protector Seymouris thereafter assumed the title and position of Chancellor himself, declaring that it was only logical that the Chancellorship was held by the same person who effectively governed the Empire's affairs in the name of the young Emperor. Procurator-General Wirtholesius, however, is alarmed by the Lord Protector's move, and begins to air his dissent with his policies within the ranks of the Imperial Court. Seymouris is enraged at this and moves swiftly to remove Wirtholesius from his position as Procurator-General.
 * March 16-Thomasius Wirtholesius, 1st Earl of Southerton (he had obtained that rank on February 17), is formally dismissed as Procurator-General of the Governing Senate by Lord Protector Seymouris. In his proclamation of dismissal, Seymouris claimed that Wirtholesius was "not the most reliable official in the service of His Imperial Majesty" and that the Procurator-General himself had begged leave from his duties. Everyone at the Imperial Court, however, knew that the Lord Protector had taken action against a political rival, and some suspected that he had compelled Diadones into resigning his post (which was untrue). Wirtholesius is also dismissed from the Imperial Privy Council and his post as Minister of Agriculture. Out of favor with the Imperial Court, he retires to his estates on Southerton, which had been so recently awarded to him by the Imperial Chancellory. The Lord St. Johansius (the future Marquess of Winchestrius and Lord Treasurer of the Laurasian Empire), was appointed as interim Procurator General. On March 27, the Lord Protector will designate long-serving Governing Senator, the Baron Ricomedus Richius, as the new Procurator-General of the Governing Senate.
 * March 31-Death of King Franjak I of Franconia, contemporary and great adversary of Laurasian Emperor Antigonus III and Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I. He was 52 years old and had ruled for thirty-two years since his ascension in January 1715. The death of Franjak came just two months after the death of the Emperor Antigonus III, and the closeness in time was considered by many within the realms of the Laurasian Empire as a divine coincidence of Almitis. Franjak had enjoyed far more robust health than his Laurasian counterpart, and had only been stricken down with illness during the last weeks of his life. He is now succeeded to the Franconian throne by his eldest son and heir apparent, Hensios II, whose birthday was the day of his father's death. Hensios II will rule to 1759 and become a adversary of the Laurasian Empress Didymeia I. Franjak had been senior monarch for the last two months of his reign, and was now succeeded in this status by his living arch-enemy, Spamalkan Emperor Char'va I. Char'va will remain senior monarch for nearly nine years.
 * April 5-Continuing his accumulation of the offices of state, Lord Protector Edwardis Seymouris, Duke of Volta, named himself as the Imperial Lord Treasurer of the Laurasian Empire. He therefore succeeds the disgraced Duke of Norfolkius in that Office of State.
 * April 12-Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius resumes her relationship with Sir Thomasius Seymouris, the younger brother of the Lord Protector. Ever since the death of Emperor Antigonus, she and Seymouris had exchanged love letters, and she eager to have a husband of her own choosing. Seymouris, on his part, was ambitious and believed that marriage with Katharina would further enhance his own position. He also held a genuine love for the Empress-Dowager, and had since before her marriage with Antigonus III. The Empress-Dowager and the Knight, however, keep their relationship secret from the knowledge of the Lord Protector and the Imperial Court.
 * May 4-At the Parsius Family Estate on Kendalia, Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius and her true love, Sir Thomasius Seymouris, are secretly married. The Ladies Aurelia and Minerva Greysius were among the few who were in attendance at the ceremony. The Empress-Dowager and her new husband knew that their union could not be publicly celebrated, and that the Lord Protector and others on the Regency Council would certainly be opposed to their union. She was determined, however, to follow her instincts, and knew that ultimately the Lord Protector would not dare to lift a finger against her. The marriage will be kept a secret from the Lord Protector, the Emperor, and the Imperial Court for the next several months.
 * May 5-The Holy Austarlian Emperor Lea’dus II (1790-1792), the younger brother and successor of Joseth II, is born on Vienna in the Holy Austarlian Empire. He is the third son of Empress Mar’va Tarvania and her husband-consort, Fransios I.
 * May 16-The Regent Arran, acting on the initiative of the Scottrian Estates, and responding to the clamors of the Scottrian population, formally condemned the murderers of Archpriest Beatonius for their "vile action" and demanded for them to be brought to justice. The murderers of the Archpriest Beatonius, however, were one step ahead of the Regent, and knew that they were doomed to torture and capture at the hands of the Scottrian authorities. Therefore, Jamsius Kirclady of Grange, John Leslie of Parkhill, Master Henry Balnaves, and Captain John Borthwick, mustering their supporters, who were opposed to the Regent's government, seized control of the garrison of Fife, the very world where they had murdered the Archpriest, and garrisoned St. Andrew's Castle. The Castilians, as they became known, received a secret letter of support from the Laurasian Ambassador to the Scottrian Court, Sir Ambrosius Melinia.
 * May 19-The Scottrian Estates reaffirmed its earlier declaration of condemnation against the murderers of the Archpriest Beatonius and decreed that none within the Scottrian dominions should provide those "rebellious gentlemen" any financial or military support. Despite the declaration, the Castilians were able to consolidate their grip over the Fife star system and to begin plundering surrounding Scottrian garrisons and outposts, seizing supplies, equipment, and military armor for their own purposes. Jamsius Kirclady, acknowledged as the general and supreme commander of the Castillian forces, continued to hold secret parleys with Ambassador Ambrosius over the possibility of military and financial aid for his men.
 * May 24-The Regency Council held a secret session within the Private Chambers of the Quencilvanian Palace, in order to discuss matters concerning affairs in the Scottrian realms. Ambassador Ambrosius had continued to send his reports to the Lord Protector and his ministers, concerning the disturbances in the Scottrian realms and the resistance of the Castilians to the regime of the Regent Arran. Lord Protector Seymouris, upon receiving these reports, believed that encouraging the Castilians would help to weaken the Scottrian Government and could ultimately pave the way to a Laurasian invasion of the Homeland Territories. His views prevailed, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was now commanded to begin providing military supplies and equipment to the Castilians of Fife. The Imperial Intelligence Agency made efforts to ensure that the Scottrian Court remained unaware of Laurasian machinations.
 * June 1-The Regent Arran began to make preparations to storm and reconquer Fife by force, and to uproot the Castilians who were established there. In accordance with this, the Regent had secured a financial levy from the Scottrian Estates. He also commanded all Scottrian nobles, monasteries, and estates to provide a allotment to the Scottrian Military Forces; forbade subjects from traveling in the vicinity of Fife; and assembled military units at Lithilgow, Stirling, Ediania, Holyrood, Ancrum Moor, and other strongholds in order to begin the subjugation of the Castilian forces.
 * June 11-The Regent Arran, along with members of the Scottrian Council of State, departs from Ediania in order to take command of siege preparations at Fife. He and his forces arrive at Fife by the middle of the day. Immediately, the Regent's interdictors began to lay minefields at the outskirt of the Fife system, in order to disrupt supply lines and harry the forward positions of the Castilian forces. The garrison of Fife, however, lays counter-fields, in order to repel the government mines and to secure their positions at Fife's outskirts. The rebel ploy works and Arran is forced to reorganize his assault squadrons.
 * June 14-Scottrian warships, acting on the instructions of the Regent Arran, blockade and begin to bombard the rebel outpost of Halahide. Admiral John Borthwick commanded the Scottrian effort to storm this major rebel garrison. The defenders, however, manage to employ surface-to-space rockets in order to severely damage many of the Scottrian assault vessels; Borthwick himself is killed when the bridge of his warship is struck by a rebel missile. Many of these missiles had been provided to the rebels by the Laurasian Ministry of Defense, as Arran was soon to discover.
 * June 26-Acting on the orders of Field-Marshal Munnich and the Lord Protector Seymouris, a Laurasian commercial convoy under the command of Admiral Demtraus Elmes and Andrew Dudleis is ordered to re-provision the Castilians of Leith. The Imperial Laurasian Government believes this decision is justified by the terms of the Treaty of Kinsgley, which had guaranteed the right of Laurasian merchants and navigators to free trade and docking throughout the Scottrian realms. The Regent Arran, however, is alarmed, and finally realizes that it has been the Laurasians stirring up rebel dissent against his government. He therefore commands the Earl of Angus, who had assumed command of Scottrian naval forces, to deny the convoy admission and to ensure that no freighters reached the Fife star system. Angus obliges by his orders, and Admiral Elmes is forced to turn back. Lord Protector Seymouris is enraged and begins contemplating a renewed war against the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, both to force the marriage of Queen Mariana with Emperor Demetrius, and to provide direct support to the Castilians in their struggle with government authorities.
 * July 2-The Regent Arran, who was drawing ever further towards the idea of a Franconian alliance, such as had been supported by his great-rival Archpriest Beatonius, commenced secret negotiations with the Franconian Government, now under the direction of King Hensios II. Hensios himself was determined to exert Franconian influence beyond the Amulak Spiral, and to contain the power and influence of the Laurasian Empire. The King of Franconia was also eager to secure a bride for his eldest son and heir apparent, Franjak. Negotiations proceed swiftly between the Franconian and Scottrian Governments, as Arran requested for financial aid and a Franconian mercenary force in order to suppress the Castilians.
 * July 11-After just nine days of negotiations, the Treaty of Berethre was signed by the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia. By the terms of this treaty, King Hensios II of Franconia agreed to provide a Franconian mercenary force, under the command of Admiral Leone Strazzi, in order to dislodge and defeat the Castilians of Fife. The King of Franconia also agreed to provide financial aid to the Scottrian Government; to acknowledge Scottrian rights to territorial integrity in the Angelina Spiral; and to make diplomatic protestations, on behalf of the Regent Arran and his government, to the Imperial Court on Laurasia Prime. Arran, on his part, confirmed the privileges of trade possessed by Franconian merchants; agreed to pose the matter of a Franconian marriage for Queen Mariana to the Estates; and to not conclude any agreement without first consulting the Franconians. He also agreed to provide for the military expenses of the mercenary force while they conducted their operations in Franconian territory. The Regent Arran will ratify the Treaty of Fife on July 13, and King Hensios II will follow on July 16.
 * July 22-The mercenary force promised by Hensios II in the Treaty of Berethre is dispatched by the Franconian Government to the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Admiral Strazzi, who had served in the Franconian Navy during the Spamalkan-Franconian Wars of the 1730s and 1740s, and had also lent his services to the Marasharite Empire, Haxon Confederacy, and Autocratic Pruthian Empire, asserted his firm command over the Franconian mercenary force. The Lord Protector Seymouris was informed at this date by the Imperial Intelligence Agency of the dispatch of the expeditionary force. Alarmed at the prospect of Franconian influence in the Scottrian realms, he began to draft plans for a preemptive war against the Regent Arran's regime.
 * July 24-The Franconian Mercenary Force of Admiral Leone Strazzi arrives at the outskirts of Fife, and immediatedly takes command of the blockade efforts. Franconian ships sweep the rebel minefields, bombard the defenses of Halahide and the Fifan Asteroid Belt, and firmly suppress all supply lines to the rebel garrisons. Jamsius Kirclady of Grange, who was still opposed to making peace with the Regent Arran, and believed that his cause was just, continued to direct defensive measures against the besiegers.
 * August 7-Sir Thomasius Seymouris, believing that his marriage with Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius was secure, and confident that his marriage with the Empress-Dowager would improve the fortunes of the Seymouris family, decided to reveal the union to his brother, Lord Protector Seymouris. Seymouris, who had somewhat of a distrust for his younger brother, and believed that it was within his rights, as the eldest sibling, to govern the affairs of the Seymouris family, was alarmed. The Lord Protector immediately informed the Emperor Demetrius II and the Imperial Privy Council of the marriage; the Emperor was very much displeased about this union. News of the marriage quickly spread throughout the Imperial Court, and soon, personages such as Chief Procurator Cranmerius and the Lady Didymeia were aware of the marriage. Didymeia, like her brother, was incensed, believing that Seymouris was not worthy enough for her stepmother.
 * August 12-The Imperial Privy Council, acting on the orders of the Lord Protector Seymouris, censured and reprimanded his younger brother, Sir Thomasius Seymouris, for having contracted his marriage with the Empress-Consort Katharina Parsius. Seymouris, alarmed at his brother's reaction, and wishing to avoid the possible consequences of imprisonment and confiscation of all honors and properties, wrote a plea for assistance to the Lady Didymeia. He asked for the Emperor's half-sister to intervene on his behalf, and to alleviate the wrath of the Privy Council. Didymeia, however, became furious at his forwardness and tasteless actions, and refused to assist him. She even went as far as to advise her half-sister, Lady Aurelia, not to interact with Empress-Dowager Katharina any further.
 * August 16-Admiral Strazzi, whose units had worn down the resistance of the Castilians, and who had advanced beyond the Fife Asteroid Belt, began a bombardment of Fife's shield generators. Although the Castilians had taken measures to secure their control of St. Andrew's Castle, and continued to inflict losses upon the Franconian squadrons, they were now overwhelmed by superior Franconian firepower, offensive capabilities, and tactical coordination. Within six hours, the shield defenses of Fife, not geared to withstand a long orbital bombardment, were breached, and Franconian troops now landed on the planetary surface. Strazzi's forces quickly overwhelmed the beleaguered and tired defenders, and by the early hours of August 17, St. Andrew's Castle will be secured by the Franconians.
 * August 18-The leaders of the Castilians, including Jamsius Kirclady of Grange, John Leslie of Parkhill, Master Henry Balnaves, and Captain John Borthwick, were captured by Franconian troopers of General Hensios Brathios. With their capture, the final pockets of resistance by the Castilians in the Fife system were suppressed. Regent Arran, who had returned to Ediania, and was supervising reconstruction efforts on the capital star system, in the wake of the Laurasian offensive of 1744, was exuberant over this victory. He sent his congratulations to Admiral Strazzi, and in a proclamation (issued in the name of Queen Mariana), declared to the Scottrian people that a "center of rebellion and dissent against our lawful authority has been suppressed". On the Regent's orders, the rebel leaders are bound in chains and placed on a prison transport. All officers and personnel of the Castilian garrison are either imprisoned, executed, or branded as traitors with electric irons. The news of the fall of Fife alarms the Imperial Laurasian Government, and pushes Lord Protector Seymouris to further action.
 * August 20-The Lord Protector Seymouris, although his anger with his younger brother Sir Thomasius Seymouris did not abate, decided to approve his brother's marriage with Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius. He did this on the persuasion of Katharina's ally and friend, Chief Procurator Cranmerius, who convinced him that continuing disputes over the matter would only result in further strain for the Imperial Court. It would also distract from "more pressing" matters. In this, Cranmerius was referring to the continuation of Antigonus III's religious reforms and also to the matter of resuming war with the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Despite this, however, the marriage of Sir Thomasius Seymouris and Katharina Parsius will never be fully accepted by the Lady Didymeia, the Lord Protector, or the Regency Council. Didymeia, however, repairs her relationship with the Empress-Dowager, and apologizes for her earlier demands.
 * August 23-In a session of the Regency Council, the Lord Protector Seymouris declared his intention to "avenge" the Castilians of Fife and to ensure the security of the Laurasian Empire's dominions by instigating renewed war with the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Seymouris declared that the renewed Laurasian military campaigns would be directed towards limiting Franconian influence at the Scottrian Court; securing the engagement of Queen Mariana with Emperor Demetrius; and forcing Arran to compensate those who had been affected by his suppression of the Castilians. Seymouris also wished for the mercenaries of Admiral Strazzi to be withdrawn, and for Laurasian commercial privileges to be ensured by the Scottrian Government. Field-Marshal Munnich, who had himself been created Duke of Almastead on July 29, supported the Lord Protector's initiative, and declared that Laurasian military forces would be more than capable of conducting the military offensives. Ultimately, the Regency Council expressed its support for the Lord Protector's plans.
 * August 25-The Scottrian Ambassador to the Imperial Court, Adam Otterburn, is summoned to an audience before the Emperor Demetrius II and the Lord Protector Seymouris. In this audience, Seymouris declared that the actions of the Regent Arran, against the Castilians, and his ties with Franconia were hampering the relationship between Laurasia and Scottria. Seymouris made demands for protection of Laurasian commerce, the engagement of Mariana and Demetrius, and the withdrawal of the Franconian expeditionary force. Otterburn attempted to evade the Lord Protector, pointing to the terms of the Treaty of Kingsley and declaring that his master, the Regent, only wished for peace between the two realms. Seymouris, who did not desire this response, dismissed Otterburn angrily from the audience. Otterburn, whose agents had informed him of the war plans being made by the Lord Protector, sent a communique to Arran and the Scottrian Estates, warning them of the test to come. Arran begins to increase conscription and orders Admiral Strazzi to remain on stand-by for further military operations.
 * September 3-The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting on the command of the Lord Protector Seymouris, recalled Sir Ambrosius Melinia, the Laurasian Ambassador to the Scottrian Court, from Ediania. Seymouris also commanded Scotrrian Ambassador Otterburn to depart from Laurasia Prime and to return to the Scottrian dominions. All were now in daily anticipation of the resumption of military hostilities between the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria.
 * September 6-Lord Protector Seymouris, acting in the name of the Emperor Demetrius II and on behalf of the Imperial Privy Council, issued an official declaration of war against the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria from the Quencilvanian Palace on Laurasia Prime. The Demetrid War of the Rough Wooing, the last effort by the Laurasian Empire to secure a personal union with Scottria, had therefore commenced. Laurasian forces, assembled at the strongholds of the Galactic Borderlands, were under the command of the aged Field-Marshal Lacius once again, commanding a military offensive for the last time in his career. Seymouris, himself, however, was eager for further military glory in combat with the Scottrian forces, and was now making preparations for his departure from Laurasia Prime to Rasdalla Minor, in order to assume direct command of the Laurasian military units.
 * September 10-The Battle of the Upper Void takes place between the forces of the Laurasian Empire (under General Lacius) and those of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria (under Lord George Douglain). It ultimately results in a victory for the Laurasian Empire, as Lacius disrupted the formations of the Scottrian fleet and was able to capture or impound a number of Scottrian warships. The Imperial Laurasian Navy is now poised for an advance into the Scottrian Homeland Territories.
 * September 14-Lord Protector Seymouris, seeking glory for himself, and to escape from the confines of Laurasia Prime, formally announced his decision to take supreme command of Laurasian military forces in combat with the Scottrians. He ordered Field-Marshal Lacius to maintain Laurasian positions in the Galactic Void and to launch harrying expeditions against Scottrian positions in the outskirts of the Angelina Spiral. Seymouris, however, also ordered him to abstain from direct offensives into the Angelina Spiral until he himself had made his arrival.
 * September 15-19-A counteroffensive by the Scottrian units of Lord George Douglain, aiming to storm Janeway, Onasi, and Frasier, is blunted by a Laurasian armada in the Battle of Reid.
 * September 22-Lord Protector Seymouris, having made arrangements for the security of the Emperor Demetrius and the administrative duties of the Regency Council, formally departed from Laurasia Prime with his entourage. The Lord Protector traveled on one of the fastest vessels in the Laurasian Empire, the HIMS Octavian, which served as the flagship of the Laurasia Prime Defensive Fleet. He arrived at Rasdalla Minor by the end of the day and formally took command of the offensives against the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Field-Marshal Lacius begged leave to return to his estates on Alemeda; the Lord Protector, realizing that Lacius was old and worn-down, would grant him this permission on September 26.
 * September 24-The forces of the Lord Protector Seymouris begin their advance into the Scottrian Homeland Territories. Seymouris's force was comprised of 150 major warships, 4,000 support vessels, and a squadron of 5,000 Neuchrus-class starfighters, among the most advanced assault craft then employed by any of the inter-galactic powers at that time. Seymouris's force also possessed 500 transports, carrying nearly two million personnel and officers of the Imperial Laurasian Army, and was supplemented by a fleet of Arachosian and Dasian conscripts. The transports and corvettes were commanded by Lord Greysius of Willonia, and the naval forces by the Earl of Sarah, Lord Dacre of Gitlandia, and the Lord Protector himself. Seymouris gradually advanced along the outskirts of the Angelina Spiral, in order to keep in contact with his supply lines. Scottrian Border Reivers harassed the Laurasian force during its route of progress, but they could impose no major check on their advance.
 * September 26-Sir Thomasius Whartonius and the dissident Scottrian Earl of Lennaxia commanded a smaller Laurasian expeditionary force of fifty warships and 1,000 support vessels in a diversionary invasion in the Scottrian Highland Districts. They storm the Scottrian outposts of Castlemilk and Annan, capturing a larger number of Scottrian personnel, military supplies, and equipment. Annan, in particular, was ravaged by the Laurasians, and suffered so much damage so as to ensure that the Scottrian Government could not employ it as a military outpost again.
 * September 28-The forces of the Earl of Arran are deployed south of Ediania. Arran had amassed these military units in order to oppose the advance of the Laurasians under Lord Protector Seymouris. This force was comprised mainly of mobile couriers and pike-fighters with contingents of Highland-class frigates. Arran also possessed a large number of turbocannons and ion disruptors, but they were not as mobile or powerful as those possessed by the Laurasians. His force also included a corps of corvettes and couriers under the command of the unreliable Earl of Home. Nevertheless, the Regent occupies the Asteroids of the Askian Belt in order to bar Seymouris's progress. Scottrian convoys were chained together at the Forks of Mail in order to protect his left flank, and the Outpost of Klevie was on his right flank.
 * September 29-The Scottrian outpost of Falaside is occupied by the forces of the Lord Protector Seymouris. Lord Dacre of Gitlandia proved instrumental in the seizure of this stronghold by Laurasian units. In an outdated gesture of chivalry, and aiming to obtain honor for himself in the eyes of the Scottrian people, the Earl of Home and some of his mobile corvette units charged close to the Laurasian encampment at Falaside and challenged a equal number of Laurasian corvettes to engage in combat with them. With Seymouris's reluctant approval, Lord Greysius (who had taken command of Falaside from Lord Dacre), accepted the challenge and engaged the Scottrian corvettes with 300 heavily armored Laurasian corvettes. The Scottrians, who were outgunned and badly at a disadvantage in terms of organization and armor, were soundly defeated by the Laurasians and pursued west for eight light-years. This action costs Arran much of his mobile offensive corps.
 * September 30-Lord Protector Seymouris sends a detachment of freighters and destroyers under Lord Dacre to occupy the Inversek Comets, which flanked the Scottrian strategic position. During this time, the Lord Protector received two more anachronistic challenges from Arran. One request was for Seymouris and Arran to settle the dispute by personal combat; the other was for twenty champions from each side to decide the matter. Seymouris rejected both requests.
 * October 2-During the early hours of this day, Seymouris advanced his main offensive force to the detachment at Inversek. He found that Arran had moved his forces across the Askian Belt and were advancing rapidly to meet him. Arran, who knew that he was outmatched in terms of artillery and weaponry, was attempting to force close combat with the Laurasian armada before the turbocannon could be charged and deployed for action. His left wing, however, was attacked by Laurasian starfighters, throwing them into disorder, and pressing those units into Arran's own divisions in the central positions of his offensive. On the other flank, Seymouris deployed his corvettes, most of whom were still intact after the engagements of Falaside, in order to delay the Scottrian advance. The Scottrian pike-fighters, however, drove the Laurasian corvettes away and inflicted heavy casualties upon their ranks; Lord Greysius himself was wounded in the confrontation. The Scottrian army, however, now stalled and under heavy fire on three sides, from Laurasian starfighters, artillery, barges, and ion disruptor units, to which they could not reply. They now began to disperse, attempting to escape into hyperspace from the battlefield. When the Scottrian formations began to break, the Laurasian corvettes, having reassembled, rejoined the battle and followed a vanguard of Laurasian cruisers under the command of Sir Demetrius Langravia. Most of the Scottrian warships were trapped by the corvettes and destroyers, and thousands of Scottrian military personnel were killed in battle. Arran's forces were annihilated, and the Laurasian Empire had gained a decisive victory. The Battle of Cleughia, as it became known, now permitted Laurasian units to swarm into the southern territories of Scottria.
 * October 9-Raindburgh and Morvay are stormed by the forces of Lord Dacre of Gitlandia, inflicting serious damage upon Scottrian supply lines in the Outskirt Districts and providing Laurasian units a more direct juncture into the Homeland Territories. Scottrian garrisons on McAleese, Cleese, and Vergesee are stormed by Laurasian starfighter squadrons during the next four days.
 * October 14-Lord Protector Seymouris destroyed a Scottrian convoy in the Battle of Muir, and as a result cut off the supply lines to Fife.
 * October 21-Fearing for the safety of Queen Mariana, the Regent Arran, whose reputation at the Scottrian Court had suffered as a result of his humiliating loss to the Laurasian Empire, ordered for the Queen, her mother, and the Royal Household to be lodged at Inchamolone Priory, located ten thousand light years to the north of Ediania, and in the Borderland Territories with the Haynsian Despotate. Arran declared that the Queen and her household could not be permitted to come in danger from the Laurasian offensives. The move will be made on October 24.
 * October 22-November 6-Broughty, a major Scottrian stronghold five-light years to the east of Ediania, is besieged by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Lord Protector Seymouris. Lord George Douglain attempted to lead the defense of Broughty, employing his corvettes and pike-fighters to some effect against the Laurasian units. Laurasian supremacy in numbers and tactical organization, however, proved to be too overwhelming, and on November 6, the stronghold capitulated to Lord Protector Seymouris. From this new outpost, Laurasian units sent by the Lord Protector harried Scottrian colonies at Albright, Albemaine, and Glasgow, inflicting severe damage upon the Scottrian economy.
 * November 12-Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius, who was firmly established with her husband Sir Thomasius Seymouris on Kendalia, published her second work, Lamentations of a Sinner in Almitis. She was assisted in her efforts by Chief Procurator Cranmerius, with whom she shared much commonality in religious views. The Empress-Dowager declared that any true believer in Almitis will not shriek from admitting guilt, and that Almitis was forgiving of those who begged for his mercy and abstained from "lewd and inappropriate behavior". This work further expounded the Reformist theories which were now in the ascendancy in the Almitian Church. It proved to be a critical and commercial success; even Lord Protector Seymouris, who had so recently denounced the Empress-Dowager's marriage to his brother, sent a message from his command headquarters at Broughty in the Angelina Spiral, praising her merits. The Holy Synod would proclaim this book part of its official liturgy on January 5, 1749. The Emperor Demetrius II also praised the work and conferred a monetary reward upon his stepmother for having published it.
 * November 16-The Battle of Derith took place between Laurasian units under the command of Lord Greysius (who had recovered from his earlier injuries) and the Franconian mercenaries of Admiral Strazzi. This battle occurred as a result of the Laurasian effort to storm Firth and to consolidate their position in the vicinity of Ediania. The battle resulted in a tactical victory for the Laurasian forces, but Strazzi was able to temporarily blunt further Laurasian moves in the direction of Firth.
 * December 2-Angus and Branxholme are occupied by the forces of the Laurasian Empire, in an operation led by Lords Dacre and Greysius.
 * December 16-Lord Protector Seymouris repelled a Scottrian counteroffensive, launched by the Earl of Angus, in the Battle of Misseldon.

1748

 * January 22-February 2-The Siege of Haddington by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of the Lord Protector Seymouris. Haddington was an important Scottrian stronghold, located fifty light years to the northeast of Ediania. Here, the Regent Arran and the Scottrian Estates had ordered the deposit of 200 corvettes, military arms, and intelligence files. Seymouris believed that the conquest of this stronghold would permit Laurasian forces to begin to threaten the outskirts of Ediania directly, and to send expeditions against Lithiglow and Forthfield, Scottrian military bases which could hamper Laurasian control in the territories of the Angelina Spiral. The garrison of Haddington was commanded by the Earl of Picta, who served as Secretary of State for Home Affairs on the Scottrian Council of State and was responsible for the defense of the approaches to Edingta. He posed a fierce resistance to the Lord Protector's forces, receiving reinforcements from Ediania and Mansia, and launched several attacks against the frontal formations of the Laurasian force. Ultimately, however, Laurasian supremacy in numbers and firepower told, and on February 2, Haddington capitulated. The Earl of Picta himself was captured, but was treated by Lord Protector Seymouris with much leniency.
 * February 4-On the orders of the Regent Arran, who was alarmed by the continuing Laurasian advances in the Homeland Territories, Queen Mariana (who was now five years old), her mother Queen-Dowager Mariana of Guise, and the Royal Household were moved from Inchamolone Priory to Dumbaline, which boasted one of the largest military fortresses in the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Dumbaline Castle was equipped with advanced repulsive shield generators, turbocannons, and targeting craft, which would provide it aerial and land protection against possible offensives. The Castle was also comfortable and deemed in quality condition for the Queen and her household. It was even further out of the range of Laurasian forces, being located nearly 12,000 light-years away from Ediania, at the very northern outskirts of Scottrian territory bordering the Haynsian Despotate.
 * February 15-The Scottrian Regent Arran, desperate to have the Laurasian threat to the Scottrian realms terminated, and wishing to provide security for Queen Mariana, sent a secret offer for a second round of negotiations to the Franconian government of King Hensios II. In his communique, the Regent of Scottria declared that the "Laurasian mongrels" continued to harry and threaten the security of the Scottrian realms, and that unless if they were contained, then they would pose a more grievous threat to Franconian interests in the Amulak Spiral than ever before. Consequently, Arran requested for a new treaty to be drafted, and for a formal military and economic alliance between the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia. He also proposed that Mariana could marry a Franconian prince, and that this would spare her from a union with the Emperor Demetrius II, who was under the control of his "vile" uncle. Hensios II, upon receiving the offer, declares he will consult with the Estates-General before making his final decision.
 * February 22-The Scottrian colonies on Dundee and Basinger are occupied by the forces of the Earl of Sarah, acting on the operational directives of Lord Protector Seymouris.
 * February 29-Sir Thomasius Seymouris, who desired for a higher position within the Imperial State, sent a communique to his brother, Lord Protector Seymouris, who was overseeing the Laurasian military campaigns in the Angelina Spiral. In this communique, Seymouris claimed as the uncle of the Emperor, he held every right to be a member of the Regency Council and to take charge of his nephew's education. Sir Thomasius asserted that he had always remained loyal towards his brother, and that he could "assist" him by presiding over affairs at the Imperial Court during his absence. Seymouris also requested for an increase in his allowance and for elevation to the peerage as Earl of Kendalia, in right of his wife, the Empress-Dowager. The Lord Protector, when he receives this communique, is alarmed, and sends a command to the Ministry of the Imperial Chancellory and the Court of Internal Investigations, ordering them to keep a strict surveillance over the activities of his younger brother.
 * March 14-The Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius, who was months away from her thirty-sixth birthday, and who had no children from any of her previous three marriages, became pregnant for the first time, after having sexual relations with her husband, Sir Thomasius Seymouris. The news of the Empress-Dowager's pregnancy will be formally announced by the couple to the Imperial Court and the subjects of the Laurasian Empire on March 17. It shocked many among the nobility, especially the ladies-in-waiting, among whom rumors had circulated that the Empress-Dowager was incapable of bearing children. This, however, put paid to the rumors. Katharina and Thomasius were confident that the child she was carrying in her womb was a son; Sir Thomasius, in particular, believed that the birth of a son would consolidate his position of influence at the Imperial Court and give him a lever in relations with his brother the Lord Protector. Lord Protector Seymouris sent his congratulations by communique to the couple, but in private, was alarmed and shocked that Katharina had become pregnant.
 * March 29-Death of the Haynsian Despot Jay XI Karany, who had ruled since 1743. From the beginning of his reign, Jay had earned favor with his Marasharite superiors and widespread acclaim throughout the Haynsian Despotate. The Despot had adhered to the terms of the Treaty of Nis, abandoning his predecessor's schemes with foreign courts directed against the Laurasian and Austarlian Empires. He had become known as the "hard" Despot, due to his political tact and his ability to keep the various factions within the Haynsian Court and Elite Guards under his firm oversight. Jay was now succeeded as Despot by his cousin Arbai Karany, the son of Neal IV Karany.
 * April 5-Sir Avitus Berowes, Commodore of the 5th Laurasian Mobile Offensive Corps, and one of the chief subordinate officers under the command of the Lord Greysius, was commanded to construct a military outpost and communications citadel for Laurasian forces at Lewder, which had been stormed by Laurasian units on March 29. Seymouris wished to gather intelligence about the strategic depositions of the Scottrian forces and to crack Scottrian intelligence codes. The outpost will be constructed largely by specialized construction robots and a taskforce of Army personnel, and will be completed on April 24.
 * May 4-On Pari, the Estates-General of the Serene Kingdom of Franconia officially announced its support for a marriage alliance with the Celestial Kingdom of Franconia. Simon de Jouneville, Speaker of the First Estate, and one of the most prominent personages in Franconia, delivered the Estates' verdict to the King personally, announcing that the Franconian subjects considered it expedient for the power and influence of the "overbearing" Laurasian Empire to be strictly curtailed. Hensios now had the official basis which he needed to proceed further in negotiations with the Franconian Government. He now formally approved Arran's offer for negotiations and designated Marville as the site of negotiations between the Scottrian and Franconian governments.
 * May 6-The Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius sends her stepdaughter, the Lady Aurelia, away from her household on Kendalia. Aurelia, who is fourteen and a half years old, is instead told to reside at the household of Sir Antonius Dennis on Chesham's Star. Over the past several months, the Empress-Dowager's husband, Sir Thomasius Seymouris, had developed an infatuation for the Lady. Seymouris, a romantic swashbuckler, and ambitious as ever, had begun to pay more and more attention to the Lady Aurelia. He whispered declarations of love in her ear, engaged in "romps" with her, and entered her bedchambers at night, sometimes wearing nothing but a nightgown. These indiscretions in the household awakened Aurelia's sexuality for the first time in her life, but it also alarmed her and made her feel uncomfortable. Rumors had begun to filter out from the Empress-Dowager's household to the Imperial Court, and some were even alleging that the Lady Aurelia had already given her virginity to Sir Thomasius (which was untrue). Nevertheless, the rumors alarmed the Empress-Dowager, and determined to preserve both her marriage and Aurelia's honor, she had sent her stepdaughter away. Aurelia would never see Katharina Parsius again, but would remember her fondly, and continued to correspond with her up until her death.
 * May 11-Leithia Redoubt was stormed by Laurasian military units under the direction of the Lord Greysius, who was now pressing to the outskirts of Leith. Counteroffensives launched by the Earl of Angus against Basinger, Richardson, and Dourif, in an attempt to dislodge Laurasian positions and disrupt the Imperial supply lines, are blunted during the course of the next several days.
 * May 14-Negotiations between the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia, over the terms of a military and economic alliance against the Laurasian Empire, commenced at Marville. Claude d'Annebault, Simon de Jouneville, and the Duke of Torre were the plenipotentiaries of the Franconian delegation, with d'Annebault serving as the host of the conference. Regent Arran, on his part, had designated the Earl of Shetland, Lord George Douglain, and Sir Walter Scott as the Scottrian representatives to the conference. On the first day of the conference, acting on instructions from King Hensios, d'Annebault declared that his master desired for a marriage between his eldest son, the Dauphin Franjak, and Queen Mariana of Scottria. Arran, who was informed by the Earl of Shetland (serving as the chief Scottrian plenipotentiary) of the declaration made by d'Annebault, was able to easily convince Queen-Dowager Mariana of Guise to the proposal. He promised to pose the matter before the Scottrian Estates in a few days' time.
 * May 21-The Scottrian Estates, summoned by the Regent Arran in order to respond to the Franconian proposal of marriage, declared its support for the matter. In its proclamation, the Estates asserted that the "security and person of the Queen Mariana" was the utmost concern of the Scottrian people, and that a marriage between her and the heir-apparent of a "reliable and trustworthy" state would reap benefits for the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Therefore, it authorized the Regent Arran to accept the offer, and granted him the prerogative to decide the terms by which Mariana's marriage to Dauphin Franjak would be conducted. Arran, upon receiving the declaration of the Estates, immediately approved the marriage proposal posed by d'Annebault and commanded the Earl of Shetland to begin arranging the terms of marriage with him.
 * June 4-The Treaty of Marville is signed by the delegations of the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria and the Serene Kingdom of Franconia. By the terms of this treaty, a formal military and economic alliance is established between Scotrria and Franconia. King Hensios II of Franconia agreed to expand the number of Franconian mercenaries in Scottrian military force and to assign a naval taskforce, under the command of a experienced and reliable Franconian naval officer, to reconquer Haddington, Lewder, Branxholme, and other lost strongholds from their Laurasian garrisons. The Franconian King also pledged to compensate the Scottrian Government for all military expenses and to assume the burden of providing for and arming all mercenaries. In return, the Scottrian Government confirmed Franconian commercial and transit privileges in Scottrian territory; reaffirmed the commitment to make no treaty adverse to Franconian interests; and finally, pledged Queen Mariana in marriage to the Dauphin Franjak of Fraconia. The marriage was to take place in eleven years' time, once Mariana and Franjak had both obtained suitable maturity. However, in order to provide for the security of the Scottrian Queen, so that she would remain beyond the reach of grasping Laurasian forces, she and her household would live in Franconia, with her education and care becoming the responsibility of her future father-in-law. Arran and the Council of State would continue to govern the Scottrian realms in her name, and her mother, Queen Mariana of Guise, would ensure that the position of her daughter at the Scottrian Court was unmolested. Franconia promised to take responsibility for escorting Mariana and her entourage from the Amulak Spiral. The Treaty of Marville will be ratified by King Hensios II on June 11, while the Regent Arran will confer it preliminary approval, pending its certification by the Scottrian Estates. The treaty's military arrangements, however, take effect immediately.
 * June 9-The Battle of Musselburgh is fought between the forces of the Laurasian Empire and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Lord Greysius commanded the Laurasian forces, while the Scottrian forces were commanded by Lord Charles Mccoy of Duxurh. The battle ultimately resulted in victory for the Laurasian Empire, as McCoy was compelled to abandon the Scottrian stronghold of Musselburgh. On the orders of the Lord Greysius, Musselburgh's military defenses were dismantled by the Laurasian troops, while its settlements were laid waste and its official treasury seized. It now became a operational outpost for Laurasian military forces.
 * June 12-Dunbar is seized by the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Lord Dacre of Gitlandia. As had happened to Musselburgh, Dunbar is ravaged by the Laurasian troops and stripped of its defensive outposts.
 * June 14-Obliging by the provisions of the Treaty of Marville, the Franconian Naval Expeditionary Corps, under the command of the Franconian officers Paul de Thermes, Andre de Montalembert, and Henri Cleuten, departed from Calasia, in the Amulak Spiral. The Naval Expeditionary Corps was comprised of 400,000 Franconian Royal Army personnel on 50 transports, three 500-starfighter squadrons, and 40 warships, ten of which were Duplais-class star dreadnoughts, which matched the size of the largest destroyers of the Imperial Laurasian Navy. The Naval Corps will arrive at Dunbarth two days later, with the Regent Arran himself greeting the Franconian commanders.
 * June 18-The Imperial Intelligence Agency officially informs Lord Protector Seymouris of the Treaty of Marville, and that the Naval Expeditionary Corps had been pledged by the Franconian Government to the employment of the Scottrian Regent Arran. Seymouris was enraged when he learned that Arran had negotiated the engagement of Queen Mariana with the Franconian Dauphin Franjak; this put paid to Laurasian plans for a marriage between the Scottrian Queen and the Emperor Demetrius II. The Lord Protector was now convinced that Hensios II had contrived a conspiracy against Laurasian interests in the Angelina Spiral, and that it was necessary for Ediania to be occupied, so that the Scottrians would submit to Laurasian viewpoints. For reasons unknown to his peers, however, the Lord Protector refrains from issuing a declaration of war against Franconia directly. He believes that Laurasian campaigns in Scottria will be sufficient to limit Franconian influence. Hensios II of Franconia, on his part, does not issue a declaration of war either, although he advises Laurasian subjects against traveling in his territories. Laurasia and Franconia, however, were in a de facto state of war, even though their respective ambassadors continued to reside and work at the courts of the two powers.
 * June 22-The Franconian Naval Expeditionary Corps, now under the overall command of the Regent Arran, but still retaining tactical autonomy, deploys its units near Haddington. The Lord Greysius, supported by Sir Aurelius Wilfa and Commodore Balbinus Palmeris, had supervised the strengthening of Haddington's orbital defenses and its shield generators. He had done so under the direct orders of the Lord Protector Seymouris himself. The Laurasians were determined to make the siege of Haddington as costly for the Scottrians and Franconians as possible, and to block a renewed push by Scottrian units in the Scottrian Homeland Territories. For the time being, the Expeditionary Corps refrains from assaulting the outskirts of Haddington, as Lord Dacre and the Earl of Sarah continued to harry Scottrian colonies in the vicinity of Ediania.
 * July 3-The Siege of Haddington, by the combined Scottrian-Franconian forces under the overall command of the Regent Arran and Lord Methven, formally commenced. For once, the Scottrians enjoyed a numerical supremacy, as many of Haddington's units had been redeployed by Lord Greysius to other theaters. The Lord Protector Seymouris himself had already begun making plans to return to the Caladarian Galaxy proper, and had retreated to his headquarters on Muxholm, in the outskirts of the Angelina Spiral. Nevertheless, Sir Aurelius Wilfa, who was now the chief commander of operations for the garrison of Haddington, was determined to resist all Scottrian offensives. Scottrian Lord Methven was obliged to bring turbocannon from Moore and Kelly to the Haven of Aberlady, in order to begin bombarding the outer defensive outposts of Haddington. The Scottrian turbocannon proved to be effective and began to inflict damage upon Laurasian positions. Methven will make a report about the progress of the siege to Queen-Dowager Mariana of Guise on July 5.
 * July 7-The Scottrian Estates, assembled at Dunkeld, formally ratified the Treaty of Marville which had been signed between Scottria and Franconia a month earlier. The Regent Arran, having secured the consent of the elected representatives of the subjects of the Scottrian Realm for his planned marriage alliance with Franconia, now commanded the Royal Household to begin coordinating preparations with the Franconian Court, for the departure of Queen Mariana for the Amulak Spiral.
 * July 9-Queen-Dowager Mariana of Guise, determined to observe the progress of the Siege of Haddington herself, and wishing to obtain a understanding of tactical dispositions, visited the outskirts of Haddington with her personal entourage, defying instructions from the Regent Arran to remain at Dumbaline. Her entourage, however, comes in the range of the Laurasian artillery, however, and sixteen of her forty-five escort warships were destroyed or damaged by Laurasian defensive fire. The Queen-Dowager was terrified for her life and immediately withdrew back to Dumbaline, earning a verbal reprimand from Arran for having defied his instructions. By this point, Laurasian units under the command of Lord Dacre were preparing a counteroffensive against Franconian positions at Aberlady and Tyneglady.
 * July 16-Admiral Paul de Thermes, highest-ranking Franconian officer in the Expeditionary Corps, launched a frontal offensive against Laurasian positions at Haddington Rig with a detachment of Scottrian corvettes and starfighters. The Lord Greysius, however, had been alerted by his reconnaissance units of Scottrian advances, and employing the still-superior Laurasian artillery, successfully hurled the Franconians and Scottrians back. De Thermes himself was wounded during this confrontation, and was forced to retire to the Hospital Quarters of Leith in order to recuperate from his injuries.
 * July 19-Realizing that the forces besieging Haddington needed to be reorganized, and having little faith in the capabilities of the Scottrian units, Commodore Andre de Montalembert ordered for all Franconian turbocannons and stealth-fighters to be withdrawn from the outskirts of Haddington. The Regent Arran, learning of this Franconian move, attempted to countermand Montalembert's orders. Montalembert, however, bluntly informed the Regent that an earlier decisive assault against Haddington, before the Laurasians had time to entrench, would have been the best action, and that he could not risk losing all of his artillery by continuing to besiege Haddington in such an ineffective manner. Arran reluctantly capitulated, and permitted Montalembert to remove the Franconian artillery from Aberlady and Tyneglady.
 * July 25-Scottrian Lord Methven, imitating the actions of his compatriot and co-commander Commodore Montalembert, ordered for the withdrawal of Scottrian turbocannon and ion disruptors from the Siege of Harrington. He now moved Scottrian artillery to Ediania and Leith, in order to fortify the defensive garrisons of those star systems against possible Laurasian offensives. Montalembert, however, maintained Franconian offensive units in their positions around the outskirts of Haddington and continued to engage in skirmishes with the Laurasian garrison.
 * August 7-Queen Mariana of Scottria, now almost six years old, and her royal household were formally escorted from Dumbarton by a Franconian fleet under the command of Nicolas de Villeganon, who had been dispatched from Breuteuil by King Hensios II on August 2. The King of Franconia had commanded Admiral de Villeganon to ensure that the safety of the child Scottrian Queen and her entourage was secure, and that the route of progress taken from the Angelina Spiral was as swift and effective as possible. Haynsian Despot Neal III, who had ascended to the Haynsian despotate four months earlier, and who was an ardent anti-Laurasian, offered to provide escort units in the Galactic Void, so that Mariana and her entourage would not be menaced by Laurasian forces stationed at the Galactic Frontier Route and in the northern Outer Borderlands. Admiral de Villeganon accepted, and with Haynsian assistance, the Franconian escort fleet made much progress in their journey back to the Amulak Spiral. Lord Protector Seymouris was enraged, but he dared not risk a renewed war with the Marasharite Empire and Haynsian Despotate, which would not prove beneficial to Laurasian efforts in the Angelina Spiral.
 * August 23-Laurasian units under the command of the Earl of Hannis, who had been assigned by the Imperial General Staff to military command in the Angelina Spiral, arrived at Haddington in order to relieve the star system of its blockading force. The Lord Dacre, who had been planning on relieving the garrison of Haddington, had instead been commanded by the Lord Protector Seymouris to occupy the Scottrian garrisons of Grange and Parkhill (both worlds would capitulate to Laurasian forces on September 9). Commodore Montalembert, realizing that his forces were outnumbered, and that they were now the ones under siege, prudently decided to withdraw from Haddington. Lord Greysius was now relieved from his post by the Earl of Hannis, and allowed to retire back to the Caladarian Galaxy. The failure of the Siege of Haddington disheartened many within the Scottrian realms, but Regent Arran was determined not to make any peace with the Laurasian Empire until all lost Scottrian territory had been recovered.
 * August 30-In her personal bedchambers at Parsius Family Estate on Kendalia, the Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius went into labor, which lasted for six hours, and gave birth to a healthy daughter, her only child, the Lady Didymeia Seymouris. She was named after the Empress-Dowager's elder stepdaughter, the Lady Didymeia. Despite the child's gender, both of her parents were overjoyed at her birth. The Emperor Demetrius II, upon hearing of the birth, expressed his joy for his stepmother, and with the assistance of Chief Procurator Cranmerius, composed an official letter of congratulations to the new parents. The Lady Didymeia herself expressed her happiness and joy for her stepmother, and asked to become the girl's godmother. Katharina accepted, and her daughter's christening date was set for September 9. However, the Empress-Dowager's health entered a severe decline from the early hours of September 1.
 * September 5-On September 5, 1748, Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius, the sixth and last wife and consort of the Emperor Antigonus III the Extravagant, died at the age of thirty-six. The Empress-Dowager expired at the Maclevian Hospital of Curthey City, Kendalia. As has been noted above, the Empress-Dowager's health had entered a severe decline on September 1; two days later, the doctors of her household discovered that she had contracted the dreaded bane of diseases, Marsian fever. This was the same disease which had killed the Emperor Antigonus's third wife and consort, Theodora Seymouris, mother of Demetrius II. Katharina's death, coming only one year and seven months after the death of Antigonus III, therefore left Annaliese of Denver as the last surviving of the Emperor's wives. The news of the Empress-Dowager's death alarmed and shocked many throughout the Laurasian Empire. Demetrius II burst into tears when he learned that his beloved stepmother had died of Marsian fever. It pained the Emperor even more to know that his own mother, whom he never knew, had died from the same disease after giving birth to him. The Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia were both devastated when they were informed of their stepmother's death. Didymeia bewailed her stepmother and declared her to have been the "most virtuous woman to have lived, save my own mother." Aurelia, on her part, wrote in her journal that the death of Katharina "has left a deep wound in my heart." Chief Procurator Cranmerius offered prayers for her soul, and the Regency Council ordered the Imperial Court into four weeks of mourning for the Empress-Dowager. Lord Protector Seymouris, on his part, sent his condolences to his brother and issued a proclamation praising Katharina as a "faithful wife, an intelligent woman, and a kind personage."
 * September 11-Queen Mariana of Scottria and her entourage, escorted by the Franconian Admiral Nicolas de Villeganon, arrived at Roscoff in the Franconian Duchy of Brittany, and were formally greeted by King Hensios II, his wife and consort, the formidable Catheria d'Medici, and the Franconian Court. Mariana, who had been instructed by her governess as to proper manners, bowed humbly before the King and Queen Consort, and declared her happiness to be able to reside at his court. The King of Franconia declared that Admiral de Villeganon would be rewarded for successfully escorting Mariana away from the Angelina Spiral, and that there was no time to waste in seeing to Mariana's welfare and education. The vast Franconian entourage, comprised of the Franconian Household and Mariana's Scottrian Household, will begin a slow progress to Pari, arriving there on October 4. News of Mariana's arrival in the Amulak Spiral, however, sends the Regency Council on Laurasia Prime into a flurry of debate about the consequences of her looming marriage with the Dauphin Franjak.
 * September 22-The state funeral of Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius was conducted at St. Sudelius's Chapel in Curthey City, Kendalia. Sir Thomasius Seymouris acted as the chief mourner at his wife's funeral, and according to eyewitness accounts, acted as if he were devastated by his wife's death. The Emperor Demetrius II, escorted by his tutor Johanius Chekius and by Chief Procurator Cranmerius, attended the funeral. The Ladies Didymeia and Aurelia, Baroness Annaliese of Denver, and the members of the Regency Council were among the many personages in attendance at the Empress-Dowager's funeral. Lord Protector Seymouris, still constrained by his duties of conducting the military operations in the Angelina Spiral, sent his eulogy for the funeral by hologram. Katharina is interred at the Tomb of Venerable Ones in St. Sudelius's Chapel, next to the bodies of her parents.
 * October 4-19-The Battle of Bunblarlin is fought between the Laurasian Empire's forces under the command of the Lords Seymouris and Dacre, and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria's forces, under the command of Franconian Commodore Montalembert. The Franconian Expeditionary Corps had sought to dislodge the Laurasians from their positions at Glasgow and Lithurvia, and to begin driving Laurasian formations from the outskirts of Leith. The battle ultimately resulted in a stalemate, and Seymouris was able to maintain Laurasian supply lines. Montalembert, however, succeeded in ruining Laurasian plans for an offensive against Leith.
 * October 26-Aberlady is raided by Franconian units under General Henri Cleutin. Lord Seymouris is forced to strengthen the defenses of that outpost, which had been reconquered by Laurasian forces following the Franconian withdrawal from the Siege of Haddington.
 * November 19-Lord Protector Seymouris, who had grown weary of the military campaigns in the Angelina Spiral, and declaring that his presence was needed on Laurasia Prime, officially announced that he would be departing back to the Caladarian Galaxy proper before the end of the year. Seymouris asserted that unless if he himself were monitoring affairs on Laurasia Prime, that the unity of the Empire's government could be threatened and that rouges would arise to threaten the Emperor Demetrius's position. In reality, however, Seymouris wished to halt the intrigues of those at the Imperial Court who were already seeking his deposition as Lord Protector.
 * December 6-A second raid against Aberlady by the Franconian Expeditionary Corps, this time directed by Commodore Montalembert himself, is repelled by Laurasian units in the Battle of Abernathy.
 * December 13-Lord Protector Seymouris departed from the Laurasian command headquarters on Branxholm, having designated the Lord Greysius as the new supreme commander of Laurasian forces in the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. This was because the Earl of Sarah had departed from the Angelina Spiral on November 24, and had himself returned to his estates in the Laurasian Empire. Seymouris's force will be harried by Scottrian pikefighter squadrons, but he will ultimately reach the Galactic Barrier on December 19. Seymouris will arrive back at Laurasia Prime by December 23.

1749

 * January 15-The Imperial Statute of Uniformity, which had been drafted by Chief Procurator Cranmerius and the Holy Synod, is promulgated by Lord Protector Seymouris and the Regency Council on the behalf of the Emperor Demetrius II. The statute codified all of the religious laws and regulations which had been passed since 1729, deprived the clergy of their right to interpret the regulations implemented by the Emperor and the Holy Synod on religious matters, and declared Laurasian to be the sole language of the liturgy. The same Statute authorized the Chief Procurator to decide on matters relating to religious festivals and services, and to devise new rules and regulations for the same. The Statute also abolished clerical celibacy, permitting the clergy of the Almitian Church to marry, the first time that privilege had been granted to them since the 7th century BH. This measure, one of the chief initiatives of the followers of Reformed Almitism, will arouse the opposition of many throughout the Laurasian Empire. This will range from subjects in the Malarian Provinces to the Lady Didymeia herself, who remained a strict Traditionalist Almitian.
 * January 16-During the early morning hours of January 16, 1749, Sir Thomasius Seymouris (who had been created Baron Seymouris of Kendalia in October 1748), the recently widowed husband of the Empress-Dowager Katharina, and younger brother of the Lord Protector Seymouris, burst into the personal bedchambers of the Emperor Demetrius II at the Quencilvanian Palace. Despite pleas and offers of reward from his brother, Seymouris had continued to intrigue, in order to advance his own position of influence and secure marriage with the Lady Aurelia, with whom he was infatuated. Seymouris believed that a direct appeal to the young Emperor personally would override the influence of his brother and allow him to obtain that position at the Imperial Court which he had long craved. In this, Seymouris was to be proven grievously mistaken. Seymouris, upon entering the bedchambers, stirred up noise in the household, as he had awoken one of the Emperor's pet spaniels. Seeking to silence the noise, he had foolishly discharged his blaster, killing the dog. Demetrius was stirred from his bed and surprised to see his uncle in his quarters. Seymouris attempted to make his plea before the Emperor, but the eleven-year old sovereign refused to listen, and soon summoned the Valedictorian Guards to his assistance. The Guards arrested Seymouris on the Emperor's orders and took him away from the bedchambers. Lord Protector Seymouris sent orders for his younger brother to be imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux, while charges of treason, conspiracy, and corruption were prepared against him. This incident, which had taken place in the dark, was interpreted in the most menacing light by the Lord Protector and the Regency Council. Moreover, the Lord Protector had learned of the rumors circulating about his brother's indiscretions with the Lady Aurelia, and was determined to assert authority over the Imperial Family.
 * January 18-The Imperial Privy Council, acting on the orders of the Lord Protector Seymouris, dispatched delegations of investigators and Agents of the Imperial Household in order to question those who had been associated with Sir Thomasius Seymouris. Among the individuals now to be questioned were the Lady Minerva Greysius, the members of the Parsius household on Kendalia, and the Lady Aurelia herself, along with her governess, Katharina "Kat" Ashleius. The first round of interrogations of the Lady Aurelia, conducted at this stage by Procurator-General Richius and Archbishop Ridilus of Terell, was to prove the preliminary to a long series of questioning, which was to last for weeks. Seymouris and the rest of the Regency Council were convinced that Aurelia had been engaged in sexual relations with the younger Seymouris, and that she had defiled her honor during her time in the household of the late Empress-Dowager. Aurelia, however, was to become engaged in a game of wits with her questioners, proving to be a master of logic, defiance, and shrewdness. Ultimately, the Privy Council will not be able to prove her relationship with Sir Thomasius (if there was any) and the Lord Protector would be compelled to step down.
 * February 6-The Lord Greysius defeated a Scottrian force under the command of Sir Walter Scott in the Battle of Anuklaird, maintaining the Laurasian positions at Dunbar and Haddington.
 * February 22-Sir Thomasius Seymouris was formally arraigned by the Governing Senate on charges of treason, conspiracy, corruption, and "ill intent against the person of His Imperial Majesty". The Privy Council, which had continued to investigate the associates and servants of Seymouris, had discovered that he was engaged in conspiracies to marry the Lady Aurelia, arrange the union of the Emperor Demetrius with the Lady Minerva Greysius, and displace his brother as Lord Protector of the Laurasian Empire. Seymouris, himself under interrogation at the Fortress of Baureux, had continued to deny all the allegations against him and refused to cooperate with the interrogators in answering questions concerning the rumors which circulated about him.
 * February 26-March 14-The Battle of Jexburgh was waged between the forces of the Laurasian Empire, under the command of the Lord Greysius, and the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, under the command of General Henri Cleutin. Jexburgh was vital to the Laurasian strategy of subduing the Homeland Territories, and its capture could weaken the supply lines of the Franconian Expeditionary Corps. Cleutin, however, had strengthened the world's defenses and employed his units effectively against Laurasian squadrons. The battle ultimately ended in victory for the Franconians, and Greysius was forced to put all plans for offensives against Leith and Ediania on permanent hold.
 * March 25-At the Senatorial Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime, Sir Thomasius Seymouris is tried and convicted on all thirty-three charges laid against him by the Governing Senate. The Senate condemned Seymouris to death by firing squad; this sentence was confirmed by his brother, Lord Protector Seymouris, who signed the death warrant two hours after it was issued. Sir Thomasius, when informed of the sentence against him, showed no remorse and declared that his actions had only been directed towards the maintenance of "tranquility and stability" in the Imperial Household. Seymouris's execution was scheduled for March 30 at the Fortress of Baureux. The Lord Protector, however, not wishing for his brother's betrayal to be publicly broadcast to the Laurasian people, commanded for it to take place in the Private Execution Chambers of the Fortress.
 * March 30-At the Private Execution Chambers of the Fortress of Baureux, Sir Thomasius Seymouris is executed by firing squad. The news of his execution spread quickly throughout the Imperial Court. Many believed that Seymouris deserved to be executed, and that his rashness would have doomed the Laurasian Empire. The Lady Aurelia herself, who was still under interrogation by the Privy Council as regards her relationship to Seymouris, showed no emotion when hearing of Seymouris's death. She declared that "This day died a man of much wit but very little judgment" and asserted her innocence in any dealings with him. Seymouris was condemned by the Holy Synod, and was therefore interred at the Prison Crypt of the Fortress of Baureux. All of his properties and estates were confiscated by Lord Protector Seymouris, leaving the Lady Didymeia Seymouris, who was seven months old at the time of her father's death, a destitute orphan. Didymeia, however, was taken in by the Dowager Duchess of Sufforia, Katharina Willoughby, who had been one of Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius's closest friends. Her predicament would soon arouse the concern of the Imperial Court and of the Ladies Aurelia and Didymeia.
 * April 4-Glasgow is reconquered by the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria. Commodore Montalembert and General Cleutin inflicted a humiliating defeat upon the forces of the Lord Greysius and forced him to terminate raiding expeditions in the Farther Homeland Territories.
 * April 26-The Second Battle of Bunblarin results in a victory for the Scottrian forces under the command of Commodore Montalembert. Bunblarin is reoccupied by the Celestial Kingdom of Scottria, contributing to the further weakening of the Laurasian military position in the Angelina Spiral.
 * May 20-Chief Procurator Thomasius Seymouris, acting under the mandates of the Imperial Statute of Uniformity, and having worked with a commission of clerics and laymen for months, officially announced the publication of the Common Prayer Book of the Almitian Church of the Laurasian Empire. The Prayer Book, which was the first such Laurasian theological treatise to be published in nearly three centuries, provided for a uniform liturgy and service roll for the Almitian Church. The Prayer Book provided the sermons and procedures for such church services as the Daily Offices, readings for Sundays and Holy Days, the Communion Service, Public Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony, The Visitation of the Sick, Burial, and the Ordinal. The Prayer Book maintained the form of the rites of consecration and communion, but for the first time, congregation parishioners were permitted to partake of the Holy Bread in both forms, but only on occasions of extreme importance. The Chief Procurator's work of simplification and revision of Church dogma was also applied to the Daily Offices, now reduced to the routines of Morning and Evening Prayer. All non-Scripture readings were dispensed with, and the curricula of readings was reduced from eight canonical hours to two. Readings were to come strictly from the text of the Revised Almitian Scriptures, and the priest would not be permitted to offer interpretations of the Scriptures in contravention to official doctrine. The implementation of the Prayer Book aroused the dissent of the Malarians and Malarian Laurasians, among the most Traditionalist members of the Almitian Church.
 * May 24-27-Musselburgh is reconquered by the Franconian forces under the command of General Paul de Thermes. The Lord Dacre is compelled to destroy Laurasian military supplies and armor in order to prevent these from falling into Franconian hands. Laurasian military efforts in the Angelina Spiral were hampered by the Lord Protector's own distractions and his concern on domestic affairs, the over-extension of Laurasian supply lines, and by the superior capabilities of the Franconian Expeditionary Corps commanders.
 * June 3-The Bishop of Malarian Timsies, Archaleus Memenius, had been commanded by the Holy Synod to employ the Prayer Book of the Almitian Church in his sermons and to enforce the procedures of the Statute of Uniformity among his congregations. Memenius followed the Synod's instructions to the letter, but found that his parishioners were not so willing to submit to the dictates of the Imperial Government. Callimachus Dunsey, one of the most influential members of the Almitian congregation of St. Semensey's Cathederal on Timsies, aroused the congregation in opposition to the directives of the Bishop of Timsies. Dunsey and the other leaders of the congregation demanded that Memenius oblige by the traditional services of the Church, and that he not disgrace "the House of Almitis" by using the order of service prepared by "corrupt and heretical officials". Memenius, however, refused, and Dunsey now declared that he no longer considered him to be the legitimate Bishop of Timsies.
 * June 6-Bishop Memenius of Timsies, alarmed by the opposition to his authority posed by the congregation of the world, and seeking to follow the directives of the Imperial Government, persuaded Governor Alcaeus Mevius of Timsies to compel the congregation to obedience by force. Governor Mevius dispatched troops to St. Semensey's Cathederal and to Dunsey's private residence, Cavarian Estate. A altercation then ensued between Dunsey's followers and the Governor's troops. Ultimately, the congregation managed to prevail over the troops and forced them to withdraw from their strongholds. Dunsey, now proclaiming himself the rightful servant of Almitis, and the protector of the Traditionalist liberties of the subjects of the Laurasian Empire, issued a declaration of rebellion. Over the course of the next three days, the officials and garrison of Timsies would defect to Dunsey and his forces; Bishop Memenius and Governor Mevius would both be arrested and imprisoned at the High Tower of Devonia (a prison and official armory which had been constructed by the Laurasian authorities of Timsies forty years earlier).
 * June 12-The Lord Protector Seymouris and the Regency Council, which had convened for a special session at Androvia Palace on Charasia, were officially informed by the Magnus of the Malarian Provinces, Sir Peithon Vevrasia, of the disturbances on Timsies and that there was much dissent against the religious reforms which had been introduced by the Holy Synod. The Lord Protector, determined to demonstrate his authority and the reach of the Imperial Laurasian Government, commanded Magnus Vervasia to take immediate measures to secure Odika, White, and Ularia against possible rebel offensives and to take action against any who may contemplate revolting in favor of Traditionalist Almitism.
 * June 14-The rebel forces of Timsies, under the direction of their leader Callimachus Dunsey, decided to march to Odika in order to present their complaints to Magnus Vervasia personally, and to announce, to the Imperial Laurasian Government and the subjects of the Laurasian Empire, their complaints about the religious reforms. Vervasia, however, was determined to have none of it. He issued a manifesto denouncing Dunsey and his followers as traitors; declaring that they would not have the right to present their demands before an official of the Empire "created by the will of Almitis"; and commanded all loyal subjects in the Malarian Provinces to resist the appeals of Dunsey. The Magnate's directives, however, would fall on deaf ears. The inhabitants of Ularia and White, in particular, began to stir up in their support for Dunsey.
 * June 17-At Bodmin, a Laurasian resort colony which had been established under the patronage of the Second Duke of Norfolkius in 1717, Mayor and Chief Administrator Antigonus Bracius declared his support for the rebel forces of Callimachus Dunsey. Bracius, who himself harbored Traditionalist sentiments, declared that he could not in his conscience condone the enforcement of the Common Prayer Book. Bracius now offered Bodmin's military supplies and extensive financial reserves to Dunsey and his forces. Dunsey also received the support of two prominent merchants, Sir Acacius Arundellis of Helland and John Winslgar of Tegarrick. Arundellis, in particular, was to become one of the chief commanders of the rebel forces.
 * June 19-The Battle of Inckeith was fought between the forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of the Lord Greysius and those of the Celestial Kingdom of Scotttria under the command of Commodore Montalembert. Inckeith, which had been colonized by the Scottrians as far back as the fifth century AH, had been seized by the Laurasian forces in November 1747, and had become one of their main military assembly bases. Its reconquest would permit Commodore Montalembert to storm Branxholme and Erith and to begin the process of finally driving all Laurasian units out of the Homeland Territories. The battle was particularly hard fought, and the Laurasians inflicted severe damage upon Scottrian warships with their superior turbocannon. Ultimately, however, Montalembert secured a victory, and Inckeith was reconquered by the Scottrians. The Lord Greysius was now largely disgraced in the eyes of the Imperial Court. Lord Protector Seymouris had begun contemplating sending the ailing Field-Marshal Lacius back into action for one last time, but was ultimately dissuaded from this step.
 * June 22-The commoners of Ularia, provoked by taxation and the religious changes imposed by officials of the Imperial Laurasian Government, erupted in full-scale rebellion. Sir Acacius Arunellis, who had been recognized by Dunsey as his chief operational commander on June 21, encouraged the outburst of anti-governmental dissent on Ularia. Under the leadership of Nicephorus Imposius, the congregations of Ularia soon captured and imprisoned the Bishop of Ularia, Peithon Yemengeven, and proclaimed the restoration of the Traditionalist services at all Almitian cathedrals on the world. The gentry and elites of Ularia now sought to withdraw into the strongholds of St. Michael's Mount, located in the Ularian High Plains. They were soon besieged by the rebels however, and ultimately would be compelled into surrender on June 26. Sir Richardius Grenvillius, one of the leading Laurasian knights of Ularia, found refuge in the ruins of Tremarton Armory; deserted by many of his followers however, he would be enticed by Imposius and then imprisoned in the Common Gaol of Ularia. Ularia will be firmly under the control of rebel forces by June 24.
 * June 27-White, under the leadership of the Merchants of the Consortium of Byron, defected to the rebel forces of Callimachus Dunsey and Sir Acacius Arunellis. The defection of White alarmed Magate Vervasia, who strengthened the fortifications of Odika and made preparations to expand the garrisons at Welch, Johnald, the Jar Asteroid Belt, Terell, Almastead, Kangley, Meehan, and other strongholds in the Malarian Provinces.
 * June 29-The Lord Greysius, who had suffered reverses in action against the Franconian Expeditionary Corps, and who wished to redeem himself, requested for a recall to the Caladarian Galaxy. Lord Protector Seymouris, who was ashamed of the losses in the Angelina Spiral, but nevertheless considered Greysius to be a loyal friend and associate, approved his return request. Greysius will depart from his command headquarters on Haddington and arrive back in the Galactic Borderlands by July 4.
 * July 6-In Kantana City, Teth, in the heart of one of the most prosperous and important worlds in the Laurasian Empire, Demetrius Webbus, who served as Vicar of the Laurasian Cathederal of St. Barbenius, began to encourage the congregations of Teth to resist the religious changes which were imposed upon them by the Chief Procurator Cranmerius and the Holy Synod, and to continue to adhere to their Traditional religious values and practices. Webbus's sermons begin to arouse the population of Teth in dissent against the Laurasian Empire; rates of crime and religious nonconformity will rise drastically over the following days.
 * July 11-The rebel forces of Callimachus Dunsey and Sir Acacius Aruellis finally arrived at the outskirts of Odika, having been diverted by the defection of Ularia and White to their cause. Dunsey sent a request to Governor Telemachus Machunrionos of Odika, offering him a position of command among the rebel forces and "great honors from the bounty of Almitis" if he joined their cause. Governor Machurionos, however, who was loyal to the Magnus Vervasia, and who believed that the rebels were doomed to failure, refused to comply. Dunsey, therefore, decided to subdue Odika by force and to establish that world as his chief operational headquarters, for further offensive moves against governmental garrison. Rebel forces cut off supply routes to the star system and imposed a blockade of its outskirts; the Rebel Siege of Odika had commenced.
 * July 14-Sir Galerius Caranius and his brother, Sir Seleucus Caranius, both of whom were the subordinate commanders of Johnald and among the most prominent personages in the Malarian Provinces, were authorized by the Magnus Vervasia to command military operations against the military units under the command of Arunellis. The two Caranius brothers assembled military units and supplies at Johnald, Welch, Terell, Timaslan, and Ettlemen, determined to crush the rebel forces.
 * July 16-Sir Acacius Arunellia stormed the government garrison of Evans and conquered the stronghold, which now became a major financial reserve and military outpost for the rebel forces. By this point, many were referring to the disturbances in the Malarian Provinces as the Traditionalist or Prayer Book Rebellion.
 * July 22-Tensions which had been boiling over in Kantana City finally erupted into full-scale rebellion against the government authorities of that world. Webbus had continued to conduct his sermons at religious cathedrals and edifices across the planet, denouncing the religious reforms of the Chief Procurator Cranmerius and declaring that those who were within the Imperial Laurasian Government were "traitors and agents of the anti-Almitis". This had finally aroused the notice of government authorities, and on July 20, Webbus was arrested and imprisoned at Melvine Tower, one of the largest prisons in Kantana City. His arrest, however, drove the Traditionalist inhabitants of Kantana City to action. Two days later, rioting broke out throughout the city. Surging crowds destroyed property, looted all of the arsenals and blaster armories, and butchered any police officer or garrison trooper whom they chanced upon. They soon stormed Melvine Tower, in conjunction with a prison uprising there, and freed Webbus from his cell. Webbus now proclaimed himself leader of the rebel forces and began sending messages to other Tethian cities, urging them to rise up. By July 27, much of the Teth star system will be engulfed in anarchy.
 * July 24-The Lord Greysius of Willonia, who had arrived back at Laurasia Prime two days earlier, was appointed by Lord Protector Seymouris to take the field against the rebel forces of Timsies in the Malarian Provinces. The Lord Protector had decided to give his friend and comrade another command, believing that the suppression of this rebellion would prove a far easier task for him than waging war against the Scottrians. He was to be proven correct in this guess. Greysius will arrive at Welch on July 26.
 * July 28-The Battle of Fenway Garrison took place between the government forces of the Laurasian Empire, under the command of the Lord Greysius of Willonia, and the rebel forces of Timsies, under the command of Sir Acacius Arunellia. Willonia's forces, comprised of 500 starfighters, 20 major warships, and a corps of transports, had operated from the Laurasian colony of Hointon and were beginning their march to Odika, in order to relieve that star system of the rebel blockade. It was Arunellia who had decided to attempt to block the advance of government forces at Fenway Garrison, a minor spaceport located about twelve light-years to the east of Odika. The Battle, despite the technological and numerical advantages enjoyed by the government forces, proved indecisive, and Arunellia managed to maintain rebel positions at the outskirts of Odika for the time being. Willonia returned briefly to Hointon in order to reorganize his forces and to receive reinforcements from the garrisons of the Maluyta Nebula.
 * August 2-The government forces of the Lord Greysius of Willonia were reinforced by 50 corvettes and 30 Antigonus-class frigates at Hointon; Greysius was therefore able to resume his advance against Odika. Bypassing Fenway Garrison, which had been seized by the rebel troops, he advanced to Woodenburthy Drifts. The Drifts, a ring of asteroids about eight light-years to the east of Odika, had been home to a Stellar Drift Research Outpost of the University of Malaria Prime from 1619 to 1654. The outpost had been abandoned by the University of Malaria in the latter year, due to the loss of interest by the University Board of Regents in studying the Drifts, and it had since been used as a layover port by merchants, government officials, and starhoppers. Arunellis, hearing of the advance of government forces to Woodenburthy Drifts, decided to launch an offensive against their positions.
 * August 4-The Battle of Woodenburthy Drifts occurred between the forces of Lord Greysius of Willonia and Sir Acacius Arunellia. Despite Arunellia's efforts to harry and disrupt the government formations, the battle resulted in a victory for the Imperial Laurasian Government. Arunellia and his units, having suffered heavy casualties, were forced to retreat.
 * August 5-The Battle of Cryst St. Didymeia, fought just one day after the Battle of the Woodenburthy Drifts, occurred as Arunellia's retreating forces were assaulted by government squadrons under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Willanius Furjure. A ferocious battle ensued, as Arunellia directed his starfighters and corvettes to harry government positions, and as interdictors were engaged in efforts to preventing rebel spaceships from jumping into hyperspace. Ultimately, the battle resulted in victory for the government forces, and nearly half of the rebel corvettes were recaptured by Eurjure. The following day, some 40,000 rebel personnel would be summarily condemned and executed by solar incineration on the orders of Lord Greysius at Clyst Heath, a neighboring sister world of Cryst St. Didymeia (both worlds had been originally colonized by a consortium of Laurasian settlers in 1604, abandoned in 1657, and then recolonized in 1683, the second time by a government-sponsored expedition).
 * August 8-On Teth, the forces of Demetrius Webbus managed to secure control of the Tethian Palace of Kings, cementing their dominance within the star system. Many in the Regency Council were now criticizing the desultory response of the Lord Protector, who was distracted by affairs at the Imperial Court and worried about the intrigues of rival factions. Field-Marshal Munnich had pressed for his assignment to the star system, in order to suppress the rebellion, but had been refused. Many at the Imperial Court now began to believe that Seymouris was incompetent, and that his removal was necessary for the restoration of order to the Imperial Government.
 * August 12-The Battle of Clyst Heath occurred between the government forces of Lord Greysius and the rebel forces of Sir Arunellia. Arunellia had been enraged by the execution of rebel personnel at the world six days earlier, and was determined to dislodge Greysius from his most recently-won position. The rebel forces attacked with great ferocity; Lord Greysius himself was later to comment that the fighting was even more fierce than that which had marked his confrontations with the Scottrians. During the course of the battle, some 40,000 military personnel, of both the military and government forces, died. Ultimately, however, the superior discipline and organization of the government forces won the day, and Arunellia was handed a decisive defeat. Government forces now advanced rapidly to Odika, determined to finally relieve the world of its rebel blockade.
 * August 16-Odika was finally relieved by the government forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Lord Greysius. John Winsglar of Tegarrick, who had commanded the rebel units besieging Odika, was captured by Laurasian starfighters. On the orders of Lord Greysius, he was bound in chains and imprisoned at Demonthe Complex in Riverapolis, Odika. The other officers of the rebel forces which had besieged Odika were either imprisoned or executed after immediate condemnation by the Laurasian General for their participation in the rebellion. On the same day as Odika was finally relieved, the Ministry of Regional Administration issued a proclamation from the Quencilvanian Palace, ordering for the confiscation of the estates of all who had been involved in the uprisings. Winsglar's properties were now awarded to the Caranius brothers, who had proven instrumental in the suppression of the uprising.
 * August 22-Arunellia, determined to make a last stand against government forces, began to assemble his remaining units at Samplaford Courtnay. The Lord Greysius, previously under the impression that Arunellia's forces had been driven to the breaking point, was forced to now divert his units for battle at Samplaford Courtnay. His forces were strengthened, however, by the arrival of a corps of frigates under the command of Provost Marshal Sir Antonius Kingstis. Lord Greysius and Sir Galerius Caranius now commanded the offensive against the rebel forces of Arunellia, and despite fierce resistance, overcame the rebel positions. Nearly half of the rebel units were destroyed or captured; some, however, such as Arunellia himself, managed to flee from the field of battle. He will be captured, however, at Glaunceston on August 27; on September 2, on the orders of Lord Protector Seymouris, both Arunellia and Winsglar would be placed on a prison transport and brought to the Fortress of Baureux on Laurasia Prime.
 * August 25-Ulara and White, realizing that the game was up, both surrendered to the government forces of Lord Greysius. Greysius and his units now marched to the outskirts of Timsies, determined to subdue that star system where the forces of the Prayer Book Rebellion had first arisen. Dunsey, the instigator of the rebellion, now took command of the garrison of Timsies and was determined not to surrender to the Imperial Laurasian Government easily.
 * August 26-September 9-The Siege of Timsies by the government forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Lord Greysius. Government forces suppressed all supply lines to the star system and were forced to employ harsh measures against rebel positions. Ultimately, however, Greysius was able to storm the world. Dunsey, true to his word, refused to surrender, and was killed in battle by troops of the Imperial Marines. Timsies was reconquered by the Laurasian Empire, and a spate of arrests, imprisonments, and executions now ensued, as the Magnus Vervasia and Lord Greysius sought to reimpose Laurasian authority in the star system.
 * August 29-Contrath, the last remaining rebel stronghold, surrenders to the forces of Lord Greysius. The Prayer Book Rebellion, also known as Dunsey's Rebellion, was finally brought to an end. Chief Procurator Cranmerius and the Holy Synod excommunicated Dunsey, Winsglar, and Arunellia; issued sentences of condemnation against all who had condoned the uprising; and praised the Lord Protector for having taken measures against the uprising. On the orders of the Regency Council, martial law was declared in the former rebel systems, and was to be maintained in those regions for over a year. Over the next six months, nearly 200,000 individuals at Timsies, Ulara, and White would be condemned to death for having participated in or provided support to the rebellion.
 * September 2-Lord Protector Seymouris immediately reassigned Lord Greysius to suppress the Disturbances of Teth, as the resistance of the followers of Webbus had become known. Greysius traveled swiftly across the Central Core and took command of government units at Hannah and Ruthania the following day.
 * September 5-The Battle of Enslath, the sole confrontation between the government fores of the Laurasian Empire under the command of Lord Greysius, and the Tethian rebel forces of Demetrius Webbus, resulted in a crushing victory for the Laurasian Government. Governmental forces did not lose any starships, and most of the rebel fleet was either captured or destroyed. Webbus himself was captured by Laurasian starfighters, and was placed in chains on the orders of the Lord Greysius. Greysius's forces now advanced swiftly into the outskirts of the Teth star system; Teth surrendered before the end of the day.
 * September 7-Martial law was officially declared on Teth, in the aftermath of the swift suppression of the Disturbances of Teth by Lord Greysius. Greysius, acting on the orders of the Regency Council, ordered for the arrest, interrogation, and condemnation of the leading officers and instigators of the Disturbances. Over the next two months, some 50,000 individuals will be condemned to death for their participation in the uprising, while the properties of 200,000 others would be confiscated and a strict curfew imposed upon the movements of all inhabitants of Teth. The curfew would remain in place until November 1751.
 * September 19-The Lord Dacre of Gitlandia, acting on the orders of the Imperial General Headquarters, ordered for all Laurasian units to be withdrawn from Haddington. By now, the defensiveness of that stronghold had become untenable, as the Franconian Expeditionary Corps had successfully reduced all Laurasian garrisons in the Homeland Territories. The Laurasian people now clamored for an end to the desultory military campaigning in the Angelina Spiral, and many blamed Lord Protector Seymouris for the failure of the operations, declaring that the Scottrians could have easily been defeated, if only all military resources had been thrown in the effort. The Earl of Arran and his squadrons occupied Haddington shortly after the Laurasian withdrawal, and in a proclamation to the Scottrian people, issued in the name of Queen Mariana, the Earl boasted that the Laurasians were cowards, incapable of maintaining their military gains. Laurasian troops, however, continued to occupy the Scottrian Borderland Territories and held a large number of Scottrian prisoners of war.
 * September 22-At Alysaborian Stockards, in orbit of Teth, Demetrius Webbus was executed by hanging, drawing, quartering, and solar incineration. Denied a trial in the normal judicial system, he had been condemned to death by Lord Greysius on September 20; this sentence had been confirmed by the Governing Senate, which had authorized for Webbus to suffer the full horrors of a traitor's death. To the end, Webbus declared that his uprising had been directed against the exactions of "corrupt" officials and that he had wished to preserve the Traditionalist values of the Almitian Church.
 * October 1-Lord Protector Seymouris, realizing that his rule was now under a severe threat, decided to make a tactical withdrawal from Laurasia Prime with the person of the Emperor Demetrius. He issued a proclamation from the Quencilvanian Palace, declaring that he had only intended to rule the Laurasian dominions "in good stead" and that his military campaigns had been pursued in the hopes of extending the Laurasian Empire's territory and prestige. Immediately after issuing this proclamation, the Lord Protector took possession of the Emperor's person and withdrew to the fortified Palace of Placenta on Darcia. The Regency Council, which was now under the influence of the Earl of Sarah, now began to draft preparations for the Lord Protector's removal.
 * October 9-The Regency Council published the results of an official investigation into the activities of Lord Protector Seymouris. The investigative documents had been drafted by Procurator-General Richius of the Governing Senate, the Earl of Sarah, and Chief Procurator Cranmerius (who had turned against the Lord Protector). In the investigative report, it was declared that Seymouris had wasted the revenues of the Imperial Treasury, schemed to extend his family's position and influence at the expense of the Emperor's well-being, and had been irresponsible as to the cares of government. It pointed out the failures and the inept manner of conduct of the military campaigns in the Angelina Spiral; the outbreak of rebellions and civil dissent against the authority of the Imperial Laurasian Government; and the declines which had occurred in the labor, stock exchange, and agricultural markets. Therefore, Seymouris could not be trusted any longer with the reins of state. The Council asserted that his authority as Lord Protector came from that body, not the Emperor Antigonus III's will, and that therefore, he was subject to removal by them. Seymouris, at the Palace of Placenta, received word of the Council's proclamations, and was utterly distraught.
 * October 11-The Regency Council, asserting once again its authority over the affairs of the Laurasian Empire, officially ordered for the arrest of Lord Protector Seymouris. The body also commanded for the Emperor Demetrius II to be brought back to the Quencilvanian Palace on Laurasia Prime. Seymouris had lost the support of his earlier favorites at the Imperial Court, and no one on Darcia was willing to assist him retain his position. Realizing these facts, the Lord Protector therefore surrendered to the Valedictorian Guards dispatched to place him into custody. By the end of the day, he had been imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux, while the Emperor Demetrius had returned to Laurasia Prime with his imperial entourage. The Earl of Sarah, whose ambitions increased daily, was now in the position to formally displace Seymouris as Lord Protector.
 * October 26-Sir Acacius Arunella and John Winslgar of Tegarrick were formally convicted by the Governing Senate of the Laurasian Empire on charges of treason, heresy, and "dissent against the Imperial Government". The Senate condemned both men to death, assigning them the full penalties of a traitor's death. Arunellia made a plea to the Regency Council for mercy, but on the urging of the Earl of Sarah, his petition was rejected, and the Council confirmed the sentence of execution which had been passed by the Senate. The execution of Arunella and Winsglar was scheduled to take place at the Fortress of Baureux on November 5.
 * November 3-The Regency Council formally deprived Edwardis Seymouris, Duke of Volta, of his positions as Lord Protector of the Laurasian Empire, President of the Privy Council, Lord Treasurer of the Imperial Household, and Governor of the Emperor's Person. Seymouris, however, was not deprived of either the Dukedom of Volta or his family estates; this was the doing of the Earl of Sarah, who still held sympathy for his former patron and associate. Seymouris, however, was to remain imprisoned at the Fortress of Baureux, and he was not permitted to see any visitors or to employ writing materials.
 * November 5-The execution of Sir Acacius Arunella and John Winsglar of Tegarrick takes place at the Public Grounds of the Fortress of Baureux in Christiania, Laurasia Prime. To the end, both Arunelia and Winsglar declared that their uprising had only been meant to preserve the customs of their ancestors, and protested the manner in which they were treated by the Laurasian Government. The Holy Synod had excommunicated both men, and on the orders of Procurator-General Richius, their bodies were deposited at the Pit of Traitors on Jadia.
 * November 6-At Tifenlium, a local festival became the cause of the third, and final uprising, of the year 1749 against the authorities of the Laurasian Empire. Every year, in Tifenlium's capital city of Wydominia, the Festival of Joy in Almitis was held; this was an annual tradition which had first commenced in 105 BH, and had continued without interruption for the preceding 1,854 years. The citizens of Wydominia, however, also honored the cult of St. Thomasius Becketius, that Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod who had dared to oppose the religious policies of the Emperor Anticohus I the Great and had been assassinated on December 22, 1370 at Hepudermia. The Shrine of Becketius at Charasia, which had been established on the orders of the Emperor Tiberius in 1420 in Becketius's honor, had been destroyed on the orders of the Emperor Antigonus III on February 15, 1738, having been one of the chief shrines of the Almitian Church for 318 years. Antigonus had also outlawed the cult of Becketius and ordered for his subjects to denounce him as a traitor and betrayer of his sovereign lord. In many star systems throughout the Laurasian Empire, however, the Emperor's command had been ignored, and many had continued to venerate Becketius as a saint. The authorities of Tifenlium intervened on this occasion, however, and ordered the Festival organizers to remove the celebrations for Becketius from their festivities. They complied, but this aroused the anger of many of the inhabitants of Wydominia.
 * November 8-A group of enraged citizens of Wydominia descended upon the property of the CEO of Wydominian Artistry, Sir John Flemendis, determined to ransack all of his properties and to inflict damage upon his residence. Flemendis, however, was able to bribe the mob to instead sack the home of his neighbor and adversary, Craterus Kettius. Kettius, who was 57 years old at the time, was the Chairman of Kettian Foodstuffs, one of the chief agricultural firms of Tifenlium. His family had been engaged in the agricultural goods and processing business since the reign of Arasces II the Patient in the early twelfth century, and had long since been established as among the prominent citizens of Tifenlium. The son of Sir Thomasius and Messalina Kettius, Craterus harbored Traditionalist sentiments and a distaste for the authority of the Imperial Government. He was now able to convince the rioters of his good intentions, and was able to recruit them to his cause. Joined in his efforts by his elder brother Willanius, Kettius now led the mobs in ransacking the properties of Flemendis. Flemendis was enraged and immediately appealed to the authorities of Tifenlium in order to suppress "this outbreak of violence".
 * November 9-Kettius, employing monetary bribes from his resources, was able to secure the support of Mayor Athanasius Cleos of Wydominia. Cleos, who harbored Traditionalist sentiments, and wished to preserve the Festival of St. Thomasius Becketius from changes by government officials, ordered all of the police and judicial forces of Wydominia to assist Kettius. By the end of the day, Kettius had also secured the support of Governor Marcus Aurelius of Tifenlium; the rebel forces were now being amplified by defectors from government garrisons at Lomarr, Anorr Minor, and Isolder's Shaft, and news of the uprising now spread throughout the Empire. The Regency Council was utterly alarmed by this latest outbreak of violence and defiance within the Empire's territories.
 * November 10-Kettius and his followers seized control of the outpost-world of Bowthropia, and were now approached by the Praetor of Tiflenium, Sir Eusebius Wyndhatia, who orders them to disperse. The response was negative, however, and the Praetor of Tiflenium, who had only been escorted by a honor guard, was forced to withdraw back to his operational headquarters on Lomanis. Shortly afterwards, the rebel forces of Tiflenium were approached by the Governor of Lomanis, who met a similar response. The following night, Kettius and his units would storm Anorr Manor and then cross the Mists of Hellesdon in order to establish a new operational headquarters at the minor colony-world of Draytonia.
 * November 12-The rebel forces of Craterus Kettius, having moved yet again, established a new operational headquarters, this time at Marvulum, which was located five light years to the northeast of Draytonia. This was to remain their chief base of operations against government forces for the next six and a half weeks. Kettius established his headquarters in St. Michael's Citadel, which was the central government headquarters of Marvulum. Mount Soria, which had lain vacant since the Earl of Soria's execution in January 1747, was also located on Marvulum and would be used by the rebel forces in order to imprison captives of war. Kettius and his followers, who had now constituted themselves in an administrative council, began to hold meetings at St. Michael's Citadel, issuing warrants to obtain provisions and arms and to arrest members of the Laurasian gentry and merchant elites who resided in the vicinity of Marvulum. Over the next four days, the camp of Marvulum would be strengthened by the arrival of recruits and mercenaries from Sentinum, Alanium, Luseulum, Volterra, Alicia, and Taurasia, among other Laurasian colonies.
 * November 16-Craterus Kettius, Mayor Athanasius Cleos of Wydominia, Tifenlium, and Governor Thomasius Coddius of Draytonia signed the Kettian Greviances and sent it by holographic communique to the Regency Council. The grievances were comprised of twenty-nine demands and would come to be viewed by historians of the Laurasian Empire in the latter part of the century, such as Viscount Haley, Gibbeneous, and Lady Vassalina, as being little more than a shopping list of demands. The grievances, however, also articulated the complaints that many Laurasians held about the actions of their government, demonstrating a desire to limit the power and influence of the wealthy elites, constrain rapid economic change, prevent the exploitation of planetary resources by "rapacious" imperial officials and corporations, and retain the Traditionalist morals of the Almitian Church. The rebels also protested the Imperial Edict for the Punishment of Vagabonds, promulgated by Lord Protector Seymouris June 22, 1747, which had provided for harsh penalties for those who refused to find employment after five consecutive months of welfare assistance from Imperial authorities. Kettius and his followers wished to provide for a reorganization of the welfare system and the relaxation of the harsh demands made of the unemployed by imperial authorities. The Earl of Sarah, when he received the Grievances, declared that they were the doing of "traitors and heretics in league with the anti-Almitis".
 * November 21-The truce which had been established between the rebel forces of Kettius and the government authorities of Lomanis expired, as on the orders of the Regency Council, Lomanis Herald Bartholomew Brastis, who had arrived at Lomanis from Laurasia Prime, went with planetary officials to Marvulum, proclaimed the gathering there to be a rebellion, and offered pardon to any who immediately surrendered their arms to the imperial authorities. Kettius rejected the offer, declaring he had no need of a pardon because he had not committed treason. Harold Brastis lacked the forces to arrest and disperse the rebel camp, and was therefore compelled to return to Lomanis with Governor Sevbraius. Kettius and his followers were now officially rebels; the authorities therefore began to lay minefields in the outskirts of the Lomanis star system and strengthened the planetary defenses. Kettius now faced a decision. He could submit to the demands of the imperial authorities, or he could renew his assaults by attacking Lomanis. He decided on the latter course, and during the late hours of November 21, rebel artillery positioned at Outpost Survis III opened fire. The bombardment and the response from the turbocannon outposts of Lomanis lasted through the closing hours of the day.
 * November 22-During the early hours of November 22, which was morning on Lomanis, Kettius withdrew his artillery. The planetary defenders had repositioned their turbocannons and were also preparing to charge their torpedo batteries. The rebels now feared that their frontal forces would be decimated. Under a flag of truce, rebel forces demanded access to Lomanis; this demand was refused by Governor Sevbraius. Kettius artillery, which was moved to the Marvulum Straits, opened another barrage against the defenses of Lomanis. The turbocannons of Lomanis, unable to strike the Straits, had now lost their purpose. Kettius then ordered a general offensive against the positions of Lomanis, and despite the efforts of Governor Sevbraius, the rebels overwhelmed the outer defenses. Herald Brastis sent one last demand to Kettius that he retreat, but the rebel leader refused. Soon, a Traditionalist sympathizer in the Planetary Garrison sabotaged Lomanis's shield generators, permitting Kettius and his troops to land on the world. Lomanis City was quickly overrun, and both the Herald and the Governor were forced to flee. Lomanis, which had a population of 50 million, was now in the possession of the Kettian Rebellion.
 * November 25-The Earl of Sarah, alarmed by the advances of the rebel forces, and acting on the orders of the Regency Council, dispatched the late Empress-Dowager Katharina Parsius's younger brother, the Marquess of Venusia, to Lomanis in order to quell the Kettian Rebellion. Because Lomanis was less than two thousand light years away from Laurasia Prime, it took virtually no time for the Marquess and his forces, which included elite Briannian Shock Troopers, to advance to Lomanis. As he approached the outskirts of the star system, he sent forward his herald to demand the surrender of the world. The Deputy Governor of Lomanis, Augustine Stewardis, responded to the herald's demands. Having managed to escape the grasp of the rebel forces, Stewardis conveyed that the rebels had retreated back to Marvulum and the Marvulum Straits. Kettius had already seen how difficult it was to defend Lomanis, with its shield generators and orbital defense outposts, and had decided to allow Venusia's milita force to defend the planet while he again laid siege to it.
 * November 31-The Imperial Army made defensive preparations and began to patrol the outskirts of Lomanis. Around midnight of this day, the planetary alarm system began to rang out, awakening Venusia, who had retired to his personal bedchambers on his flagship, the HIMS Stravutis. It appeared that dozens of rebel warships were using their superior knowledge of the Lomanis Stellar Drifts in order to launch hit-and-run attacks against the government forces. Lord Shervefield, who was the subordinate commander of the government forces, suggested constructing ramparts along the eastern edge of the star system, which was open to attack, and warned that rebel units could advance from the Marvulum Straits with ease.
 * December 1-By the early morning hours of December 1, the ramparts had been strengthened by the deployment of cruisers and corvettes, and Shervefield, who had overseen the re deployments, had retired to his personal bedchambers in order to take his breakfast. Some minutes later, Venusia received information that the rebels wished to discuss surrender and that some were gathering at the relay outpost of Northopria. Shervefield went with Herald Brastis, who was now under the command of the Marquess of Venusia, in order to discuss this apparent good turn of events with the rebels. On arrival at Northopria, however, Shrevefield found no rebels at all. It had been a diversionary tactic by Kettius, who had sent out communication relays to the Lomanis Outposts suggesting a parley. The main rebel force had begun to advance across the Marvulum Straits during Shervefield's absence. Venusia's main force was stationed around Lomanis itself. As the attack developed, he began dispatching starfighters and cruisers into a growing and vicious naval confrontation which developed along the eastern straits of the star system. Shervefield, having returned from Northopria, led his squadrons in an offensive against rebel positions at Catahlis III, the outermost moon of Lomanis. Rebel forces repelled his offensive however, and as he was retreating, his starfighter was destroyed by torpedoes launched from the surface of Catahlis III. Shervefield died instantly, and his body was disintegrated into stray atoms. Venusia was now forced to order a retreat, for the death of Shrevefield, his chief subordinate commander, had sent his forces into disarray. The retreat did not stop until the remnants of the Imperial Army of Lomanis had reached Cabravnia, some thirty light-years to the east of Lomanis. Lomanis was once again reoccupied by rebel forces. The Earl of Sarah and Procurator-General Richius, among others, blamed Venusia for the failures.
 * December 9-The Earl of Sarah, determined to employ his already proven military command skills again in battle, this time against the Kettian Rebellion, managed to secure the commission of command from the Regency Council for this expedition. The Earl realized that success against the Kettian forces would give him a strong leverage at the Imperial Court, and would finally allow him to carry his plans of becoming Lord Protector into action.
 * December 21-The forces of the Earl of Sarah, comprised of the 9th and 15th Imperial Regiments, departed from Laurasia Prime in order to suppress the Kettian Rebellion. Including Briannian Shock Troopers, Arachosian Elite Guards, and a detachment of Valedictorian Guards, this was one of the strongest forces to be assembled by the Imperial Laurasian Government for suppressing a domestic rebellion. Sarah, who had already proven his worth in the wars with the Marasharites, Franconians, and Scottrians, was considered by many at the Imperial Court to be the right general for suppressing the rebellion. Kettius, however, retained the support of his followers. By December 23, Sarah's forces will have reconquered Anorr Minor and Draytonia from rebel garrisons.
 * December 24-The Earl of Sarah launched a general offensive against the rebel positions at Lomanis. Attacking St. Stephen's Relay and the Lomanian moon of Bezeus, the government forces began to recapture operational outposts from the rebel units. Kettius commanded his units to retreat across the star system and from the surface of Lomanis, ordering for all residences and centers of financial, educational, and commercial importance to be ransacked and destroyed. The rebel units, engaged in a spate of looting and plunder on Lomanis and at Lomanis's moons, therefore attempted to halt the advance of Sarah's forces. Indeed, rebel units managed to seize a convoy of government transports at Catahlis III, and Sarah was forced to divert his units there, which resulted in a bitter confrontation lasting for almost four hours, with severe casualties for both sides. By the late hours of December 24, rebel units were landing on Lomanis again, and were beginning to attack command positions of government forces in Lomanis City. Sarah was now finding himself in the same predicament as Venusia, boxed in the star system by the rebel units.
 * December 25-Ascentmas Day was celebrated in most Laurasian worlds throughout the Purse Region, and at Laurasian enclaves throughout the rest of the Laurasian Empire. The Emperor Demetrius II himself, assisted by Chief Procurator Cranmerius and the Baroness Annaliese of Denver, presided over the festivities at the Imperial Court. Every Laurasian world celebrated, with the exceptions of Lomanis and Maruvulum. During the early hours of this most celebrated Almitian holiday, the rebel units again changed tactics. Their artillery bombarded the orbital outposts of Northopria, and soon seized the northern continents of Lomamis. Sarah launched a renewed ground offensive, and eventually regained control of the Northern Continents. Rebel units, however, continued to bombard Lomanis and the orbital outposts day and night.
 * December 26-Arachosian and Dasian conscript reinforcements, dispatched by Field-Marshal Munnich (still restrained by the Regency Council from conducting military campaigns in the field), arrived at Lomanis. With these reinforcements and conscripts from the planetary population, Sarah now had a force so formidable that he could no longer linger in efforts to retain Lomanis. Kettius and his followers were aware of this, and by the latter hours of the day, had moved out from Marvulum in preparation for a direct confrontation with the government forces.
 * December 27-The Battle of Dussindale was fought between the government forces of the Laurasian Empire under the command of the Earl of Sarah, and the rebel forces of Craterus Kettius. Dussindale was a outpost-world of Lomanis, located about two light-years from the Marvulum Straits. Government forces brought their supremacy in numbers, their tactical discipline, and their superior organization to bear, and now inflicted a crushing defeat upon the rebel armada. Nearly half of the rebel personnel who fought in the battle were killed, and of fifty rebel warships, 35 were destroyed. Another 13 were captured, with only three vessels managing to flee. Sarah's forces, on the other hand, lost only two couriers, out of a total force of 150 warships. Sarah now imposed martial law on Lomanis and issued an official proclamation to the inhabitants of the affected regions, declaring that all who had cooperated with the rebels would be punished, and those who aided the imperial authorities would be assisted.
 * December 28-The rebel leader Craterus Kettius and his elder brother, Willanius Kettius, who had managed to escape from Dussindale on one of the three vessels which had evaded government forces, were intercepted and captured by a starfighter squadron near the minor colony of Swavlum, located about two light-years to the north of Lomanis. Swavlum had been colonized by the Verbetnhian Colonization Consortium of Rebecca in 1695, and had a population of only about 40,000 colonists, mostly centered in its capital city of Lowington. Nevertheless, the Kettius brothers were, on the orders of the Regency Council, dispatched to the Fortress of Baureux on Laurasia Prime, in order to await trial for treason. They will arrive there during the middle hours of December 29. Sarah, on his part, ordered for 15,000 rebels to be condemned and executed by solar incineration at Lomanis, Dussindale, and Northopria for their part in the uprising. Over the next two months, a further 100,000 individuals would be condemned to death by the Regional Court of Lomanis for their part in the uprising and would be executed.
 * December 31-Marvulum and Tiflenium, the original center of the uprising, both surrendered to government forces under the command of the Earl of Sarah. With the capture of these star systems, the Kettian Rebellion had finally been completely suppressed. It also came just in time for New Year's celebrations at the Imperial Court and throughout the Caladarian Galaxy.