Briefing on the State of the Empire

Author: Gavin Lok’ri

Original post: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TuXYs1rX-MIy2Wp0YUctEq129Q-AUBdz/view

Entry for YC124 New Eden Capsuleer’s Writing Contest in the Academic category.

Briefing on the State of the Empire By Chapter Master Gaven Lok’ri Excubitoris Chapter of the Order of the Sacred Throne MAY 20, YC 123

Over the reign of our current Emperor the Sacred Throne, the Empress Catiz I, the state of the Amarr Empire has shifted dramatically. Externally, we face both new threats and revitalised old ones. Internally, we are in the midst of a process of mass militarisation and reorganization, the likes of which have not been seen since the Moral Reforms. We also face a variety of new heretical challenges to the sanctity of Holy Amarr. The future of Amarr remains bright, but we must remain vigilant and adaptive. This document is intended to bring those new to the pod up to date on the current state of the Amarr Empire. 1 THE REUNITED EMPIRE AND THE MILITARY CIRCUITS The single largest change in the state of the Empire is the promulgation of the Pax e Kilizhe Do “The Peace of Two Swords” on September 27, YC 121.1 This document represents a sweeping reorganisation of the Empire. It replaced the centralised naval structure developed by the Emperor Heideran VII, blessed be his memory, which had been in effect since YC 105 and prioritised a strong centrally organised Imperial Navy and a restriction on the naval forces of Holders and Heirs.2 The changes caused by this shift represent a radical reorganisation of the Empire and mean that much of the CONCORD provided information accessible from the capsule-interface is out of date. This section outlines the major changes that have resulted from that shift.

1 Lina Ambre, “Empress Catiz I Revokes Heideran Decree and Announces Sweeping Territorial and Military

Reorganization,” https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/empress-catiz-i-revokes- heideran-decree-and-announces-sweeping-territorial-and-military-reorganization/ (Last accessed 20/5/123).

2 CONCORD Historical Database, “Heideran Decree,” https://fiction.eveonline.com/new-eden/lore/heideran-decree (Last accessed 20/5/123)

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1.1 THE SHAPE OF REORGANISATION

Figure 1 Political Map of the Military Circuits. Map made by Amicia Cora. The Pax e Kilizhe Do reorganised the Amarr Empire into seven Military Circuits. These circuits are constituted as follows: • The Throne Military Circuit. This consists of the Throne Worlds and the Norgoh Imperial Zone. It is directly under the command of the Empress, who is the official Sword Marshal of the Throne Military Circuit. Our organisation falls under this Military Circuit. • The Ardishapur Military Circuit. This consists of Lower Domain, Derelik, and the Lower Rebel Provinces. This is overseen by Sword Marshal Arim Ardishapur. • The Sarum Military Circuit. This consists of Upper Domain, Bleak Lands, Devoid and the Upper Rebel Provinces. This is overseen by Sword Marshal Arrach Sarum. • The Tash-Murkon Military Circuit. This consists of Tash-Murkon, the Jakemhih-Kashag Development Zone and the Providence Marches. This is overseen by Sword Marshal Tunir Tash Murkon. • The Kador Military Circuit. This consists of Kador and Lower Genesis. It is overseen by Sword Marshal Hamideh Kador.

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• The Kor-Azor Military Circuit. This consists of Kor-Azor and Upper Genesis. It is overseen by Sword Marshal Ersilia Kor-Azor • The Khanid Military Circuit. This consists of Khanid and Arida. It is overseen by Sword Marshal Farokh Khanid. 1.2 REINTEGRATIONS This change means that the CONCORD sovereignty information for the regions of Khanid and Derelik is no longer accurate. The Ammatar Mandate is now a direct vassal of the Ardishapur Military Circuit, rather than a semi-independent entity. The so-called Khanid Kingdom is also no longer in rebellion and has been reintegrated into the Amarr Empire command structure as the Khanid Military Circuit. 1.3 MASS MILITARISATION Each of the Sword Marshals has been given a mandate to build up their navy to the point that it can provide a substantial aid to the Amarr Empire in times of war. The Khanid Navy is the most far along on this process, as it was never subject to the Heideran Decree, but all of the other Sword Marshals have spent the last two years catching up. This represents a major shift in the vibrancy of the navy’s loyal to the Throne, but also means that each Sword Marshal now has substantially more personal military power than they did three years ago. 1.4 INCREASED REPUBLIC TENSIONS The inclusion of the Lower and Upper Rebel Provinces in the organisational system of the Pax e Kilizhe Do represents a claim on territory that currently is part of the Minmatar Republic. While the Ardishapur Military Circuit has mostly handled this through peaceful negotiations, the Sarum Military Circuit has escalated the conflict with the Republic by restarting slave taking operations in Republic Space. The largest flashpoint for this new conflict has been the system of Floseswin, which has seen major planetary military conflict over the course of YC 122. 1.5 INCREASED IMPORTANCE OF MILITARY ORDERS One of the changes that has occurred in the last few years is that the Military Orders have seen a revitalised role in the defense of the Amarr Empire. The Order of Tetrimon, a conservative order that is associated with suicidal zeal and a strong resistance to change has been given an Empire wide mandate to seek out and destroy

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Heresy.3 Also, in YC 120, the Empress created a new Chapter of the Sacred Throne Order, an old order that was no longer militarised, and granted the Emperor Family loyal Paramilitary PIE Inc. membership in it.4 This gives the Sacred Throne Order a great deal more firepower than they have had for some time. While these are significantly smaller militarisations than the ones seen with the Military Circuits, they are part of the same trend of the Empire arming against threats both internal and external.

2 EXTERNAL THREATS Over the last decades, a wide variety of external threats have threatened the Amarr Empire. These range from old threats—such as Sansha’s Nation and the Minmatar Republic—to new emergent threats such as the Drifters and Triglavians. 2.1 THE MINMATAR REPUBLIC The Republic that developed in the aftermath of the Minmatar Rebellion is also a signatory to the CONCORD agreement along with Amarr. Over the course of the last century they fought a long, bloody, war with the Ammatar mandate that only ended in YC 104. There were 6 years of official peace, followed by a coup that removed the less belligerent Minmatar from power. In YC 110 a group called the Elder Network invaded into Amarr space, after having disabled CONCORD, and were only stopped at the Throne Worlds themselves.5 Once defences were restored, the four CONCORD signatories agreed upon a limited war in set CONCORD mandate warzones. This conflict was designed to be an equal drain on all power’s resources, which in practice penalised the smaller states that had been the aggressors

in the war of June 10, YC110. While the Gallente-Caldari war has tended towards de- escalation, the Matari-Amarr war has heated up in the last year and looks likely to

keep escalating at any moment. Republic loyalists have also been repeatedly involved in attempts at causing internal strife within the Amarr Empire.6 While the Republic on

3 Lina Ambre, “Empress Catiz I Revokes Heideran Decree and Announces Sweeping Territorial and Military

Reorganization,” https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/empress-catiz-i-revokes- heideran-decree-and-announces-sweeping-territorial-and-military-reorganization/ (Last accessed 20/5/123).

4 Zara Serir, “Empress Catiz I Honors Amarr Loyalist Capsuleer Groups PIE And CVA, and Responds to Petitions,”

https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/empress-catiz-i-honors-amarr-loyalist-capsuleer- groups-pie-and-cva-and-responds-to-petitions/ (Last accessed 20/5/123).

5 CONCORD Historical Database, “The Elder War,” https://fiction.eveonline.com/new-eden/lore/the-elder-war (Last accessed 20/5/123).

6 Intergalactic Summit Thread, “Updated on the Security of the Empire,” https://forums.eveonline.com/t/update-on- security-of-the-empire/126657 , November YC118-February YC 119 (Last accessed 5/20/123).

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its own is not an existential threat to Amarr, the strong support they receive from the Gallente Federation forces this conflict into a dangerous stalemate. 2.2 SANSHA’S NATION In May of YC 112 Sansha’s Nation revitalised and launched a major series of attacks on the CONCORD states.7 They exploited weaknesses created by the development of wormholes throughout the cluster to attack the Empires. While the vibrancy of the initial attacks has passed, they remain a clear external threat against which we must stay on guard at all times. 2.3 THE DRIFTERS With the opening of wormholes in YC 111, the Empire encountered a seemingly Jove-related civilisation that ran automated ships throughout the wormholes. In YC 117, a more aggressive branch of this group known as the Drifters, launched an offensive against the Amarr Empire that culminated in the death of the Blessed Empress Jamyl I.8 The Empire declared war on the Drifters as a result, and seems to have successfully repulsed their attacks. However, we still do not fully understand this enemy and need to continually be on guard. 2.4 THE TRIGLAVIANS Over the course of the last year (YC 122) another Jove-related group started an assault on the CONCORD signatories. Using strange technology, they were able to effectively steal stars from our space and create a new region now known as Pochven.9 They were opposed by EDENCOM, a CONCORD organised defence group consisting of forces from all four Empires. In Amarr space, the Imperial Navy, well prepared for a threat of this nature after the Drifter War, did extremely well and only lost four systems. However, our allies, the Caldari State, were caught flat footed with devastating results, losing 15 systems. This represents a major blow to the much smaller entity and seems likely to destabilise CONCORD.

7 CONCORD Historical Database, “Sansha’s Nation,” https://fiction.eveonline.com/new-eden/lore/sanshas-nation (Last accessed 20/5/123). 8 Zera Senir, “Court Chamberlain Confirms the Death of Empress Jamyl I,”

https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/court-chamberlain-confirms-death-of-empress- jamyl-i (Last accessed 20/5/123).

9 Lina Ambre, “The War in Delve and the Formation of Pochven,” Scope Video Report, https://updates.eveonline.com/card/7tkbe/the-scope-war-in-delve-and-formation-of-pochven/ (Last accessed 20/5/YC123).

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The height of the conflict seems to have settled for now, but the rescue of Kuharah, Harva, Raravoss, and Niarja from the Svarog Triglavians should be an operation of utmost priority. 2.5 NEED FOR MILITARISATION The sheer number of external enemies we face at this time demonstrates the absolute importance of the Pax e Kilizhe Do’s call for mass militarisation of the Amarr Empire. We have more untapped resources than any other state in New Eden and we need to take full advantage of that to survive in this unstable and dangerous environment.

3 INTERNAL ENEMIES The most dangerous threats to the Empire, however, are not the external ones, but rather the internal threats of disorder and heretical corruption. The main internal threat to the Empire remains the Sani Sabik heresy, especially Omir Sarakusa’s “Blood Raiders,” but recently the Equilibrium of Mankind has joined them in creating major internal problems for the Empire. 3.1 THE BLOOD RAIDERS The Sani Sabik have been a threat to Amarr for millennia. In their most recent incarnation, that of the Blood Raiders, they have cut a swathe of destruction across several regions and have even been responsible for the death of an Emperor. In YC 107, the Blood Raiders attacked the planet Mabnen with a psychoactive agent that drove the planet into mass rebellion. When this rebellion was repressed, the Empire declared war and drove the heretics out of the Bleak Lands. However, the Sani Sabik had suborned the Imperial Chamberlain Karsoth and were able to assassinate the Emperor Doriam.10 The Blood Chamberlain remained in control for the following three years, and was only ousted with the events of the Elder Invasion of YC 110. While the Empress Jamyl I led a major purge of the Imperial Bureaucracy, cells of Sani Sabik supporters must be assumed to still be active at all levels to which Karsoth had access.

10 CONCORD History Database, “Modern Era of the Amarr Empire,” https://fiction.eveonline.com/new- eden/lore/modern-era-of-the-amarr-empire (Last accessed 20/5/123).

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In YC 118, the same tactic was repeated on a much larger scale, with major attacks hitting six planets.11 It is still assumed that these attacks were caused by Blood Raiders, though the recent events with the Equilibrium of Mankind throw that hypothesis into doubt. 3.2 THE EQUILIBRIUM OF MANKIND The Equilibrium of Mankind is a 1500 year old heresy derived from an extreme set of beliefs that demand for the destruction of all of humanity. While they are much smaller in scale than the Blood Raiders, they have recently managed to do a great deal of damage and forced a major escalation in tensions between the Empires. On May 5 YC 123, a set of Equilibrium of Mankind dreadnaughts and a Titan piloted by the Khanid Duke, Khanid Plenipotentiary Spokesperson, and Theology Council Member Alar Chakaid attacked the Planet Kahah III.12 This was after a series of false flag operations that were clearly intended to force an escalation into outright warfare between the CONCORD signatories. While this escalation seems to have failed, the unmasking of Alar Chakaid as a major heretic leader is at once unsurprising and chilling. The Excubitoris Chapter has suspected Alar Chakaid of Heresy since the Succession Trials before the beginning of the Empress Catiz’s reign, and evidence has steadily piled up since then. Despite this, he was promoted repeatedly into ever more prominent roles within the Khanid Military Circuit and Theology Council. Uncovering and destroying the network of support that enabled him to act in such a horrific manner for so long needs to be a primary objective for maintaining the stability of the Amarr Empire. 4 CONCLUDING REMARKS The reorganisation of the Empire outlined in section one is an important positive development for hardening it against the threats outlined in sections three

11 Alton Haveri, “Multiple Terrorist Attacks against Amarr Empire as Privy Council Meets”

https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/multiple-terrorist-attacks-against-amarr-empire- as-privy-council-meets/ (Last accessed 20/5/123)

12 Ret Gloriaxx “Minmatar Republic Presents Inner Circle Evidence EoM Doomsday Cult Behind Dreadnaught Attacks,

https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/minmatar-republic-presents-inner-circle- evidence-eom-doomsday-cult-behind-dreadnought-attacks/ (Last Accessed 20/5/123); Lina Ambre, “Breaking: EoM

Avatar and Revelations Fleet Destroyed Following Superweapon Bombardment of Kahah III”

https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/world-news/breaking-eom-avatar-and-revelations-fleet- destroyed-following-superweapon-bombardment-of-kahah-iii/ (Last Accessed 20/5/123).

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and four. We must rise to these challenges and continue to work to create an Empire that is too strong to successfully be attacked. There will be many hardships in our path. Many threats and challenges that we must face head on. But we will do so. We will surround ourselves with the faithful and we will stand firm against the dark. If we maintain faith, we can only succeed, for we have the Empress to lead us and destiny to follow. -Chapter Master Gaven Lok’ri May 20, YC 123.