World Building with Martin O’Bannion
Issue 2
Major Shake, Commence De-Terraforming!
I realize I’ve just started with this project, but due to certain unforeseen circumstances I’m afraid I will be changing course somewhat from this point forward. You will recall that I said that there was a great deal of backstory to plow through before reaching my story proper. This indeed was a true statement, but the division in this case between foundational detail and narrative action was not at all immutable. In fact, the whole reason why I was anticipating such a gulf between the two was due to a decision I made long ago to push my starting point forward, well beyond its initial position. That choice made plenty of sense at the time; by beginning later I felt my story would have a more purely upward swing from desperate beginnings to a qualified, but most certainly victorious conclusion. Honestly when I started dabbling with this graphic novel idea this is exactly what I had in mind.
However, when this was going on; hell even when I began with this forum thread I was operating without direction, without inspiration. I pressed forward because it was necessary, not because I was inspired. This is a key reason why I’ve found it so difficult to get my act together. Fortunately this disagreeable situation resolved itself recently, and in a way that I could not have anticipated. Like everyone else I took a look at the new Star Wars teaser trailer and while I did find it quite nostalgic I became much more interested in the music and actually set about drafting and roughly storyboarding my own trailer to go along with the cues provided. I have no idea how common a practice this is but I often use music when designing and choreographing scenes for my work. Usually it doesn’t change my perspective, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything. At any rate this detour proved to be fruitful and thereafter I knew, with a kind of certainty I haven’t had in the past, what I needed to do.
As a result, I’ve decided to begin presenting content that actually includes my protagonist much earlier than anticipated. This won’t mean abandoning the World Building aspects of this thread; I consider it really more of an adjustment than a wholesale revision. This change also means I will be required to engage in substantial rewrites going forward, which means you’ll be getting new content as I generate it as well. I can’t see any drawbacks here, so it’s full speed ahead.
I will still require an update or two to cover some relevant historical stuff, but from this point on everything will be solidly tied into my narrative. Which is just as well because I had very little written between the aforementioned Great War and events of the present day. I’ll continue making posts up to the point that I complete this first story segment in its entirety, at which point I’ll decide if I want to continue, or not. Seems like a logical thing to do, with any luck the feedback will be good and that will certainly keep me interested in continuing with this venture. Now, let me find my notes from yesterday…
VII. William XIV - Last of the Sarrazin Emperors
• As Charles Albert Sarrazin entered upon his 90th year, he was faced with two major difficulties which would have pressed dearly the faculties of a much younger man. On the one hand, his House, which had monopolized the throne for nearly two centuries, had spent its strength. The old Emperor had no heir; he had outlived his wives, all his children and most of his close relatives. More importantly, the power and prestige of the Crown had been sapped by long years of stagnation and benign neglect. Indeed the situation was becoming critical and there were those within the Senate and within the ranks of the Nobility who were preparing to seize the remains of Dagobert’s ancient legacy for themselves. William was no fool, but age, fatigue and the lack of allies placed him in a most difficult position.
• The question of the succession was of course the most immediate and the most pressing. Imperial Law had long prohibited passing the Crown to great-grandchildren, so although the Emperor might have maintained his lineage in this way, he was unable to do so. By tradition this would mean that upon William’s death, an Interrex would be appointed by the Senate and an election held within a year of his decease. Indeed preparation for this eventuality were already underway and an impressive field of candidates were already preparing to campaign for the Throne.
• Despite his conservatism and his long devotion to carrying forward the policies and prerogatives of his predecessors, William balked at the idea of giving up his birthright to the Senate; particularly in that he had learned of their nascent treachery. He was also loathe to allow one of the other major Houses to move into the position vacated by his own bloodline. There could be no doubt that the Emperor’s mind was no longer as sharp or as keen as it used to be, but as he made no outward sign of dementia or maladjustment there was little that could be done. His paranoia grew with each passing day to the point that he cloistered himself up in the Palace and refused to take part in the affairs of state. For some months the Imperial government was held practically in abeyance as no solution to this rather unprecedented problem could be found.
• Eventually, and quite unexpectedly, William (acting purely on his own authority) announced that an obscure man by the name of Ferrand Valcourt had been offered, and accepted, the position of Imperial Heir. In addition to this, the Emperor, citing age and infirmity, unilaterally devolved his existing powers onto his new protégé, who would from that point on act in the capacity of a Regent – albeit one with no constitutional legitimacy. The resulting conflagration took the Empire by storm and there were many recriminations flying between the various branches of government. Even the Admiralty remonstrated against this flouting of civil order. That a real Civil War could erupt out of this chaos was a terrifying possibility; one that became ever more likely as the crisis wore on.
• Had anyone other than the young Ferrand been chosen for this task, the Empire might have fallen right then and there. As it turned out, William had chosen his successor very well. The Valcourt line was a very old one, harkening back to Dagobert and bearing by right the sign of the Cross of Lorraine as a family seal. This House however was small; belonging to no power bloc and holding no positions of authority. Ferrand himself had most recently been employed as a Doctor (of letters) and had expressed no inclination towards political life at any time in the past. He was indeed an unknown quantity, but his obscurity made him inoffensive and his affable and congenial nature put everyone (even his opponents) at ease.
• For long the young Regent refused to exercise his authority in deference to the Constitutional Order. He traveled around extensively meeting with Senators and the Duke’s Council and made himself available to anyone who wished to vet his past and his future. In time, cooler heads prevailed and the normal course of political and economic life began to reemerge. The Senate, at first so insistent upon holding elections, retreated from this position when Ferrand offered to resign and to present himself as a candidate; while this certainly might have vindicated the law, no one wanted William back as head of state. Indeed the Regent was soon pressed to exercise his power at his discretion, by the very persons who had not so very long ago called for his head as an usurper. In this the practical necessities of government trumped adhesion to legal precedent. Though no one knew it at the time, this would turn out to be a wound from which the Empire would never recover.
• For nearly four years Ferrand Valcourt lived and worked under the shadow of his still living benefactor. William never reemerged into public life, though he maintained continual contact with his one remaining confidant. The old Emperor even sought to provide his surrogate son with a suitable wife, another obscure figure by the name of Rene Souliere who disappeared from the public eye almost as quickly as she arrived. Her ultimate fate is unknown, but is believed she was (at the last moment) deemed unsuitable and sent away. Sometime later, the Regent was married to another woman by the name of Marie Gravios, a Botanist hailing from a family with close ties to the Valcourt line. The Emperor had no input in the matter, but was said to be suitably pleased.
• During William’s last days, his paranoia became acute. He spent hours feverishly writing whilst talking to himself, as though consumed with the illumination of some grand design. He would not speak to his subordinates nor would he allow anyone else to observe or comment upon his work. He rarely ate or slept and this caused his physical condition to deteriorate more rapidly. Eventually he was found collapsed on the floor of his study, alive but just barely. The Regent was summoned from the Capital city, where he had been living for the past several months. Upon reaching the Emperor’s bedside, Ferrand greeted William warmly, though time was obviously short. The Emperor, not quite ready to give up the ghost used his remaining moments to reveal to his successor the culmination of his life’s work; security, as it were, against the enemies of the Throne. At first Ferrand was quite unable to comprehend the meaning of what he was being told but following the Emperor’s passing things were soon made clear.
• For years William had been working, in secret, to develop a defense for the Emperor and his family against the machinations of the Dukes and the Senate. A way to ensure that, at the last extremity, the Crown would not be lost under a concerted assault from within. This plan, purely defensive as it was, called for the creation (in secret) of an army loyal solely to the Emperor himself. This force would be stationed upon several remote worlds, to be held in reserve and utilized only when all other courses of action have failed. The recent uproar over Ferrand’s appointment as Heir only convinced the late William of the need for just such a force and though this plan was certainly illegal, it could not be dismissed as practically unsound. Ferrand had the Emperor’s papers on this matter collected and concealed and explained away William’s recent erratic behavior as the result of mental instability brought about by age.
• Charles Albert Sarrazin was interred with the rest of his family within a grand Mausoleum on Morrigan. Ferrand for his part ascended to the throne without incident, taking the name Nicholas III and assuring everyone that he would govern according to the traditions, the laws and the needs of the Empire. By all accounts his Coronation was understated and his perceived humility made him popular with the people at large. Not long after assuming office, a boy (and potential successor) was born to Nicholas by the name of Louis Anjou. William had developed a reputation for parsimony when it came to rearing children and by producing an heir quickly Nicholas went far to differentiate himself in that department. Many hopes were riding upon the shoulders of the new Emperor and he would soon prove himself to be worthy of such praise. His children would fare much differently however.
More to come...
World Building with Martin O'Bannion - Updated: 24/05/15
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Have you found it difficult to keep track of everything? 
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Originally Posted by EmperorJulian
