Record of Imperial Succession

Guide to Dates
Before the formation of the empire is Mythic Era (ME), after is the Imperial Era (IE), and after the Elves leave is the New Era (NE). For a full explanation, see Timeline of the Lyric Empire.

271 - 314 NE
Name: Empress Theodora (Prev Theodora Dalassenos)

Theodora is a female dwarf. A Cleric of prodigious skill, dedicated to the Lady of Light, she proved herself at an early age by leading a party of adventurers to eradicate the death cult known as the Scions of Scorah. At the urging of her grandfather, she undertook the trials and, to the surprise of many, passed, though with some difficulty. When Empress Clara was removed from her position by force, she was put forward as candidate and, by one vote, became the youngest dwarf ever elected to the office at the age of 49.

Many were suspicious of her capabilities. She immediately butted heads with the dwarf High King who, despite Theodora being the only dwarf candidate, had abstained from the vote. This was mainly attributed to her modern, liberal sensibilities. She rarely visited the homeland, and was known to cut her hair in a modern fashion, eschewing the traditions of dwarf society. Moreover, being the first dwarven candidate in human memory immediately set tensions high. Nevertheless, she acclimatised well to the life, and took to statecraft with aplomb.

It was during the invasion by Trygon the necromancer that Empress Theodora finally had her chance to prove herself. Though the Empire as a whole was slow to respond to the undead invasion, Theodora was not, putting her best generals in charge of the resistance effort while personally overseeing turning the rest of the Empire's economy toward support for the war effort. All the while, she undertook personal research and training to combat the undead threat directly, working closely with the best minds of Kingspire University. At last, she took the field herself at the battle of Lake Tremere, and through her efforts Trygon was defeated and the day was won.

With her status as a seasoned veteran of both war and peace lending her more public support than any Emperor since before the Elven exile, despite still being relatively young for a dwarf, she had turned her mind to keeping the trade structures of the Empire working smoothly while opening discussions with Nor Cened. However, her plans were thrown into disarray when the spectre of Trygon rose again to trouble the Empire.

Although the second undead invasion was repelled, thanks in no small part to the timely intervention of Empress Theodora, the damage done to the infrastructure of the Empire was terrible. Soon after, the revelation of the drow enclave lurking below the surface and the deft political maneuvering that followed set Theodora on the back foot, and she was forced to make compromises with the now-allied Elven Nations that lost her much of her carefully accumulated political goodwill.

With its population decimated and its armies depleted, it was becoming clear to Theodora that the Empire could not survive in its current form. Too unweildy to govern from her palace in White Haven, and too politically divided to bring to heel, the Empire would soon crumble. Under pressure to resign her post, and with the integrity of the Empire fraying at the seams, she instead took an unprecedented step.

She declared the Empire dissolved. From that time forward, the old regional divides would govern themselves. She would step down from her position of power, and this time there would be no replacement.

Fifty years later, her proclamation still stands.

Consort: Dynat Paramenedes

269 – 271 NE
Name: Empress Clara (Prev Clara Halfpenny)

Clara was a female Halfling. At the tender age of 25, Clara convinced the council that her experience of life in Nor Cened and family history of shipbuilding would lead to a new era of trading prosperity, like that enjoyed under the reign of Emperor Bryan. Clara was notable for having the votes of everyone except the Halfling Elder – who warned against this young upstart, saying that she was filled with false promises.

As it turns out, the Elder was right to be cautious. Clara immediately began spending the Empire’s money on projects to increase trade, including a massive amount towards rebuilding the imperial navy. This continued for several years, during which time the aristocracy became increasingly suspicious when no ships materialised – Clara deflected this by blaming elven saboteurs, who were supposedly jealous of the Empire’s new nautical strength. Eventually though, due to the heroic actions of the dwarven family Dalassenos, Clara was found out – she had been embezzling a substantial chunk of the Empire’s wealth and had been preparing to flee south with it.

Clara was imprisoned aged 27 and executed aged 35 after a lengthy trial process.

Consort: None known

234 – 269 NE
Name: Emperor Gawain (Prev Gawain Greengird)

Gawain was a male human. A deeply religious man, Gawain pledged to reduce unrest within the Empire by being harsh on crime and reducing the danger of outside threats. A great deal of money was spent on increasing the range and scope of the Church of the 9, as well as combating bandits and pirates. However, his fear of outside threats meant that trade suffered, especially with Nor Cened. Harsh restrictions on trade in the north also caused problems, leading to attacks on dwarven towns by starving orcs.

By the end of his reign, the middle of the Empire was safer than it had ever been, but tensions were high at the edges and on the outskirts. Merchants in particular were chafing under the restrictions, and the dwarven nobility resented that their safety was being threatened in order to make the humans more comfortable.

Gawain died in his bed of a heart attack, although rumours swirled at the time that foul play had been at work.

Consort: Gawain believed that his gods wanted him to stay ‘pure’ and as such, he never took a consort

221 – 234 NE
Name: Empress Mirijam II (Prev Mirijam van Erengaard)

Mirijam was a human female. Having brokered a lasting peace with the Goliath tribes in the north of Voronia, she assumed the throne amid a wave of positivity and progress. A master tactician and leader, as well as a trained diplomat, Mirijam II was a model Imperial candidate, and it was with this in mind that, just over a year after taking the throne, she turned her attentions to the problem of the lizard-folk raiders to the east.

What followed is considered one of the great disappointments in all of Imperial history. Beset by bad luck at every turn, it seemed that the Empress could do no right. Some diplomatic missions were lost en route, while others carried outdated information that ended up exacerbating the already bellicose intentions of the lizardfolk tribes. When war became inevitable and military force was authorised by Imperial command, things only became worse. An entire regiment was lost in an unseasonable storm, their transport ships smashed to pieces on the jagged rocks of the Straits of Solari. Another vanished without trace, presumed lost in a avalanche when trying to find passage across the Green Mountains. All the while, Empress Mirijam II was fighting a home battle against a hostile programme of propaganda, in both the standard press and pamphleting across the capitol. The true source of this remains unknown.

At last, under intense pressure from all sides, Mirijam II assumed direct command of the expeditionary forces herself, hoping that her extensive experience would finally provide some progress. In less than a year, she returned home on a bier, a poisoned dagger between her ribs.

Consort: Goran Espern

198 – 221 NE
Name: Emperor Kendrick (Prev Kendrick Greene)

Kendrick was a male human. He is popularly known as ‘Kendrick the Unready’ because he was not expecting to be made emperor. Kendrick was a monk who took the Tempest Isle trials because his adventuring party did – notably his then-partner Susanna. However, when it came time to choose the next emperor the Emperor’s Council could find no better candidate – particularly when Kendrick was personally known to the previous Emperor for saving his nephew.

The fact that Kendrick was elected rather than the ambitious Susanna sent her mad with rage, and Kendrick spent his entire reign defending himself from her assassins. Despite this, history remembers Kendrick as a good and steady leader, cautious in making decisions and kind to his subjects.

He was eventually found dead in the imperial suite, with the body of Susanna next to him. It appeared she had succeeded at last, but in the end she could not bear to part with him.

Consort: Susanna Albrech (in a manner of speaking)

167 – 198 NE
Name: Emperor Cosmin (Prev Cosmin Petrescu)

Cosmin was a male human. He became emperor at around age 45, based on his promises to maintain the peace and prosperity fostered by Emperor Bryan. Cosmin was more of a reactionary ruler, keen on tradition and maintaining the status quo. One of his more controversial edicts was to further disenfranchise the remaining ‘Remembrance’ elves, forcing them completely into hiding for fear of lynch mobs.

Cosmin was a military man from a long line of generals. Before coming to the throne, he was known for being a shrewd and capable general who could be relied upon to make the hard choices necessary to ensure peace. He became a decorated hero for his role in repelling the 141NE orcish incursions.

Cosmin ruled until age 70, outliving three wives, before finally passing away after falling from his horse during a procession.

Consort: Emilie Petrescu, Angelica Petrescu, Rosalind Petrescu

150 – 167 NE
Name: Emperor Adelbert (Prev Adelbert Gerhart)

Adelbert was a male human. A gifted wizard, Adelbert was elected as a more ‘intellectual’ candidate, who would be able to revivify the Empire’s economy with bright new magical ideas. Unfortunately for the Empire, Adelbert was far more interested in how his magical research would benefit him instead. Once in power, Adelbert retreated almost entirely from public life, choosing to sequester himself in his library with his books.

Despite Adelbert’s notable absence, his reign was technically not a bad one. A team of excellent advisors made decisions in his stead, generally enacting a laissez-faire policy of ‘live and let live’.

Adelbert’s reign came to an odd end – one morning, his maid was visiting his chambers to clean as usual, and found nothing but a single white rose, its thorns stained with blood. The palace was searched, but no clue as to Adelbert’s whereabouts was ever discovered.

Consort: Angelica Gerhart

100 – 150 NE
Name: Emperor Bryan (Prev Bryan Caulder)

Bryan was a male human. He assumed the position around age 30 on the back of promises to open trade with the Southern Empire (Nor Cened). In the course of his rule he pioneered friendly trading relations with the Halfpenny halflings which allowed both continents to profit. He also made some efforts to connect with the elves, both on the new continent and within the Empire, but made little headway against the wishes of the dwarven High King.

Bryan was a third son from an ancient noble family who was famous for his skill with a rapier and his cool head under pressure. He increased his family wealth tenfold by reclaiming routes taken by pirates, using ships stolen from their very fleets.

He ruled for 50 years before dying of old age a few months after his wife. He is generally remembered positively, especially by the merchants, traders and aristocrats that his policies made even wealthier.

Consort: Evangeline Caulder

0 – 100 NE (Abby’s Game)
Name: Empress Eleni (Prev Eleni Andreadis)

Eleni was a female dwarf. She assumed the position after the previous emperor was assassinated, an act that was blamed on elven nationalists. Despite this, she was a surprisingly progressive empress who argued for greater integration between races, particularly with humans and halflings.

In personality she was often quiet and reserved, and she was famous for never raising her voice above a speaking volume. Despite this, she was unstinting in her support of what she believed in, and refused to back down on several policy points which the dwarven throne argued against – notably regarding allowing the entrance of halflings into the court.

On the subject of elves, Eleni was the one to sign the act which put them in exile. After that, she refused to have them spoken of – shutting down both any praise and any criticism of the new elven nation. This, in addition to her general quietness, has led to Empress Eleni being remembered as ‘Eleni the Silent’. She is particularly reviled by elven nationalists, who blame her for not speaking up for the elven people.

Eleni was around 250 when she came to the throne. As a younger dwarf (age 100 – 150), she had been part of an adventuring party called ‘The Revengers’ – formed of her, a dwarven cleric, Adresin, a dragonborn-elf bard, Dimitris, a dwarven monk, Irene, a Halfling wizard and Conway, a human fighter. On one of their many adventures, The Revengers completed the trials to qualify as potential emperors – but only Irene and Eleni passed. The party broke apart when Irene passed away of old age, and Conway retired to be a full-time grandfather. Dimitris returned to his clan to help settle an ancient clan war, and Eleni and Adresin both turned their hand to politics. They remained close until the elf/dwarf war, when suddenly they found themselves on opposite sides. Eleni herself was against the war, having known many good elves during her time as an adventurer. She rose to political prominence as a middle-ground/moderate voice calling for restitution and negotiation instead of war.

After the assassination of Emperor Emmanuel, and the deaths of many of the other dwarven heroes, Eleni was surprised to find herself suddenly appointed as the new Empress. Consort: Spiros Andreadis

2674 - 2694 IE
Name: Emperor Emmanuel VI (Prev Emmanuel Tethras)

Emmanuel was a male dwarf. He was the last of a long line of Tethras dwarves to hold the position of emperor, and he was appointed at the age of only 50. Trained from birth to the role of emperor, Emmanuel was much like his predecessors - a stoic and careful ruler who maintained the peaceful status quo. He ruled for 20 years, and in that time he was a skilled enough politician not to ruffle any feathers. Emmanuel mainly focused on expanding the Empire's infrastructure, notably expanding the Imperial Highway. His rule naturally had strong links with the dwarven monarchy, as well as the human aristocracy.

Emmanuel was assassinated at the end of the Elf/Dwarf War, an act which was blamed on elven nationalists. A powerful cleric and a seasoned warrior, Emmanuel must have been very difficult to kill - but details of the assassination are scant, and what few records there were have been largely lost to history. The one fact that is known is that the body was never presented or placed in state for mourning, and there is no tomb for Emmanuel Tethras VI in Pazak-Zetan - only a plaque.

Consort: Sandrine Tethras

Other Known Emperors
The First Emperor (full name contested): 0 IE - 13 IE

Vale, the Bold: 13 IE - 16 IE

Boreal, the Mighty: 16 IE - ?

Bael I, the Wise: ~35IE - ?

Elwynd I: >121 IE

Omund I: <1020 IE

Thrandir II: <1484 IE

Zardok III: <2598 IE

Boro, the Just: ? IE - ? IE

Others, by implication: Thrandir I, Zardok I-II, Emmanuel I-V, Mirijam I

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