The Silkenvault Comedy

'The Silkenvault Comedy' is a colloquial term for the events surrounding the assassination of the Emperor of the old Voxelian Empire and his vassal kings in 8390 AX.

The Conflict

Prelude

The line of old Voxelian Emperors oversaw the rise of the New Voxelian peoples to geopolitical primacy in The Human Arc in the aftermath of the Old Voxelian Conquest.
After destroying or driving out almost all members of the proto-Elovisian who had once occupied Medial A, the early Emperors found that they were without a strong external enemy which might serve to unite the fledgeling nation. They did, however, have the spectre of lurking pro-Elovisian individuals within their communities to serve as a scapegoat for a variety of social ills, from crime to poverty to sedition. During the early Imperial period, the feudal lords of the Empire stoked discrimination against those with Elovisian or Lost Tribes heritage, seeking to drive their own public approval up at the expense of these individuals. After a few centuries, this meant that all non-Voxelian blood had either been driven out of society, diluted into the population such that it was no longer visible, or simply went into hiding in the unseen parts of society (i.e. the criminal underworld).
The authoritarian apparatus which had been built to harrass these minorities, however, had become too ubiquitous and useful for the lordly class to be easily disposed of once the threat of mythical internal enemies was gone. Tests of ethnic purity soon gave way to ones of political loyalty, religious peity, and adherence to Imperial decree on all things.

Seal of the Unexpected by BCGR_Wurth

Privately, many citizens whose ancestors had fought to take the land on which they now lived found themselves mired in socioeconomic immobility. At the same time, with no strong enemy, the ruling classes became increasingly soft and decadent aristocrats who bled their subjects dry for every bit of resources which could go towards luxuries. Public appeal of the Emperor and the vassal kings as conquerors began to wane.
In the Imperial Court, the jesters found themselves increasingly aligned with the plight of the civilians rather than their employers. Most jesters were themselves drawn from the lower and middle classes - as, culturally, the kings of this period preferred humor based on the follies of the 'simple folk' and sometimes even respected the ability of the jesters to speak the truth unvarnished with obsequiousness - though they were also increasingly folk educated at state expense for just such a profession. As their education and prestige within the court rose, the jesters often became known as spymasters, a reputation which they still hold to this day. In any event, as public perception of the ruling class waned, their leadership abilities stagnated, and their martial prowess receeded into the background, the jesters percieved that the Emperor and his men had become too weak to protect the realm in the event of an Elovisian resurgence or similar outside threat. They also came to believe that chaos would ultimately ensue when, decadent as they had become, the leading Imperial families finally elevated a true imbecile or sociopath to the throne. In short, they believed that the Empire had to be deposed for the sake of everyone else living within it.

Deployment

Behind closed doors, the jesters - some of whom had already taken to referring to their clandestined cadre as the 'Council of Liars' - approached and developed positive relationships with many high-ranking military and church officials. The Council did not express their intentions at this time, but did so simply so that it would be more palatable when they siezed control.

Battlefield

GAV Seal by BCGR_Wurth

The Council of Liars waited for one of the annual meetings of the vassal kings with the Emperor in the Imperial court to make their move. In a carefully coordinated first strike under the cover of absolute secrecy, each jester came upon their assigned vassal king in their visitor suites and struck them down simultaneously. These assassinations were accomplished through the use of poison-tipped daggers and ether-soaked rags used to muffle the cries of their targets. Court officials who had been corrupted by Council members aided in concealing the bodies while the assassins made their way to the throne room. Emperor Martram I was no push-over in a fight, but he could not defeat more than a dozen men with the element of surprise on their side. Alone and abandoned by all but two of his bodyguards, the Emperor was bested and met his end.

Outcome

In the short term, the Council of Liars found that their only remaining opponents were the assorted lesser lords of the realm. Low-level public functionaries and many military officials, either having been previously persuaded into the jesters' point of view or having come to the same conclusion about the degenerate state of the Empire, quickly fell in line with whom they percieved to be the new 'interim kings.'

Aftermath

While most New Voxelians trace the origins of their nation in its current state to the moment that the rulers of the Empire were assassinated, the newly-minted Council of Liars took several more years to consolidate power, with certain feifdoms acting as holdouts even as late as 8397 AX. This period was marked by a combination of republican political reforms, punitive actions against holdouts, public relations programs, and intensive efforts to crack down on court intrigues which might serve to reverse the Master Harlequins' gains. Most serious opponents to the new political order died gruesomely in the shadows, though the Council was very careful not to make examples of citizens unable to make good on threats; even this early in their reign, the Council of Liars demonstrated their affinity for keeping the most unsightly aspects of maintaining stability in a medieval society out of the public eye.
The feudal system of the old Empire was formally abolished in 8401 AX, making way for a less centralized form of government. Each jester (hereafter reffered to as Master Harlequins) and his subordinates were made answerable by the right of the public to oust them from office by democratic vote should they prove too unpopular or overstep their legal bounds. This system, while still featuring hereditary oligarchical power structures, also featured a lengthy written charter of rights and priveleges bestowed upon the people which were beyond even the Master Harlequins to abrogate: the first true constitution in the Manifold Sky setting, at least as far as humans were concerned. The creation of various elected local offices at the municipal level further granted the public the sense that their voices were, finally, being heard.

Historical Significance

Legacy

Coalition Insignia by BCGR_wurth

By the time of the War of Reunification, Voxelia was unrecognizeable by the Elovisians who had been exiled from their land millenia before. Further democratization at the local level and an expansion of the rights of self-expression in Voxelia - especially in the form of the arts, media, and entertainment industries - had made the nation which now simply called itself 'Voxelia' a much more appealing place to live. Nevertheless, while it had liberalized somewhat, the nation still hadn't become as free and democratic as the Elovisians had in their Free Faces League, Commonwealth of C, and Craterhold. Similarly, Voxelia was expanding again, its old hunger for resources merely tempered by the brief time in which it ruled the human-known world unopposed.
Ultimately, though more sympathetic to most in the modern era, time will tell if Voxelia will continue down the path of civic liberty started in the blood-soaked throne room of the Imperial Court so many years ago.

Voxelian Standard by BCGR_Wurth

Conflict Type

War

Start Date

8390 AX

Ending Date

8397 AX

Conflict Result

The Emperor and his vassals are deposed and the Council of Liars reconstitutes Voxelia under a somewhat more representative government.

Belligerents

Voxelian Imperial Court

Court Jesters and Supporters

Led by

• Council of Liars

Strength

Casualties

Objectives

Maintain control of the kingdom despite falling public support, waning military and economic spirit, and an increasingly decadent ruling class.

Remove the Emperor and his vassal kings from power and institute popular reforms.