Viceroy I
| Source: Relhan canon |
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| Leaders of the Empire | |||
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| Full Name: Emperor Viceroy I | |||
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Cullen Dragos was a member of the aging Ironclad I's court when one day, he received an incredible blessing from the old Emperor. The Emperor, in a stunning political move, named Dragos his successor over his old and inept son and young and inexperienced grandson. The Empire was still fairly young, and the shock of the pronouncement never faded. When, just over a year later, the Emperor passed away in his sleep, all of the objections nobles and courtesans feared to air in front of the venerable old Emperor were brought to the surface again. Nobody could believe that this man, born a commoner, was now Emperor Viceroy I.
The rule of Viceroy I was incredibly short-lived. Objections just short of outright rebellion in Aizo forced the Emperor to overextend his armies, and growing unrest in the cities of Solaria and Blackstone went unquelled. Viceroy I issued few edicts, and most were ignored by the people of the Empire. In 204 IE, with the Empire at a standstill, one of Viceroy's guardsmen turned on the Emperor and slew him while the rest of the guard stood and watched. The guardsman was in the pay of Bogdan Kesh, the Emperor's cousin, and both the guard and Kesh were executed. However, the assassination plunged the Empire into a civil war that would last 25 years, until Jehan Sol, head of House Sol, was crowned Emperor Ironclad II in 229 IE (see The Ascent of Ironclad II).