The Ducal Triumvirate

In the Ducal Triumvirate, comprised of the city-states of Eise, Yaibora, and Utmarscht, the instability of the Empire can be felt across the Albemarin Delta. With the tragic death of the former Empress Demara, her mother Empress Dowager Alacara has assumed the regency for her eight year old granddaughter, Alemora IV, who is the heir presumptive of the entirety of the Trio. What was once a steady and prosperous alliance now shudders under the weight of an Empress Dowager loathed by the bureaucracy and feared by the people. The factions within the Trio now vie for the favor of the Empress Dowager, with whispers of some seeking to claim the throne for themselves, which only increases the Empress Dowager's paranoia. In the city of Utmarscht, the proud and orderly city, rumors that the Archduke is growing increasingly ill and frail permeate the daily conversation of its people. And in Yaibora, the Prime Matriarch grows increasingly wary of the Empress Dowager and the Archduke's machinations, tightening her hold on the faithful of her city. Yet more worrisome are the whispers from Bazaan, the Great Market has closed its doors and refuses to sell to the Triumvirate over some perceived offense by the Empress Dowager; effectively cutting the Trio off from its vast trade network. And most heinous of all are the slanderous rumors related to Crown Princess Alemora's legitimacy-- some say that the late Empress and her wife were unsuccessful in bearing a child and had to resort to other means to acquire an heir. Where does this turmoil and instability leave the mighty Empire? Perhaps the Dowager's hunt for hired help is a sign of hostile intent, or perhaps more of her paranoia. Or maybe it is a sign of the times changing and the plot thickening, and the start of something that will shake the great Ducal Triumvirate to its very foundation.