THE IMPERIUM V1.01
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THE IMPERIUM v1.01 THE IMPERIUM The pre-eminent power in central Europe, the Imperium is a mighty colossus that spans the continent from the shores of the Baltic to the warmer climes of the Adriatic. From its capital in Berlin, the network of industry, rail and military might is harnessed for the good of its citizens. The Kaiser and his supporters, the enigmatic and powerful Teutonic Knights, are surrounded by enemies but are confident in their ability to marshal their forces and destroy utterly those who would threaten their glorious realm. Let them come and break their strength upon the bulwark of civilisation; the Imperium shall not go shrinking into the darkness like some thief in the night. Blood and Iron! v1.01 THE IMPERIUM [Decoded on the 21st May 1869 From the files Each of these nations, whilst nominally of the Deuxième Bureau.] an equal partner in the affairs of the Imperium, are in reality subservient to Mme. Ombre, the will of the dominant power of Prussia. Apologies for the unorthodox method of The Prussian King is also the Imperium’s transmitting this information to you, my Kaiser, the absolutist and authoritarian normal contact with the Second Bureau has monarch whose enlightened despotism been interrupted after an encounter with vouchsafes the security of Europe against our Teutonic friends. I have spoken to the the decadent western powers and the Professor as you requested, and liaised with tyranny of the Russian Commonwealth our mutual contact with the Lodge, but do to the east. [Deuxième Bureau Note: Of not have anything to report on the particular course, Agent Renard paraphrases their questions you asked. propaganda here.] I was, however, able to complete the task you The current Kaiser, Friedrich Grunder, assigned me in Heidelberg, and will despatch is lauded as the “Grandfather of Europe” the result through the secondary channel. by the patriotic Imperialists of these four nations – but the monolithic edifice he The watchword, as ever, will be and his forebears constructed is anything “Represailles”. Our usual cipher will suffice but. There are weaknesses that could be this time. exploited by a well-funded and equipped Sincerely, foe, and only by carefully examining the Le Renard nations’ and the Imperium’s history can we hope to exploit. [Deuxième Bureau Note: [Deuxième Bureau Note: The papers Appended to the original report was a hastily arrived via Geneva two days later. We have, scribbled note where Agent Renard requests unfortunately, not had any further contact funds to cover a debt he owes to the local with Agent Renard in Heidelberg. Either he police constable after his last breach of curfew. remains under observation or has been seized Perhaps this oversight caught up with him?] by the Teutonic Knights. Recommendation for further action has been passed to the Bureau NEITHER HOLY, NOR ROMAN Chief. The decoded papers are attached below.] Over one thousand years ago, His Holiness THE CROSS OF EUROPE the Pope crowned the Frankish King Charlemagne Kaiser of the Romans. The Imperium is a super-state that bestrides This act revived the long lost Roman central Europe like a colossus, composed Empire in Western Europe, and after a of the hereditary domains of the Kingdoms four hundred year hiatus, gave Europeans of Prussia, the extensive territories of an “Imperator” once again. This was the Confederation of Scandinavia, the a politically calculated move, granting Royal House of Bavaria and the Austro- Charlemagne the sovereignty he claimed Hungarian Empire. over other European rulers, whilst simultaneously giving the Pope great temporal as well as spiritual power. THE IMPERIUM v1.01 Of course, the reality was rather different On several occasions the Holy Roman from the propaganda. Charlemagne’s Empire fell into civil war, with the “empire” was hardly deserving of the term, various German states and greater powers and whilst unchallenged in his own day, competing with one another for territory, his successors were never truly recognised wealth and divine favour as they sought as Kaisers in the sense that they were ultimate mastery over their neighbours. superior to any of the kings and queens who In the end, a curious form of natural selection surrounded them. No attempt was made to eventually won out. The major dynastic truly revive the traditions and structures houses, who could command greater wealth, of the Roman Republic or its Empire, and military forces and loyalty from their whilst Charlemagne passed into history, subjects (regardless of religious confession – the state he left behind was little different many were to enforce compromises on such from the feudal kingdoms that surrounded issues), absorbed or dominated the latter. it. [Deuxième Bureau Note: Imperium By the time of our Revolution, the Holy propaganda is similarly grandiose in style, but Roman Empire was officially dominated by likewise devoid of substance if you have the the House of Habsburg and the Prussian and wit to see through it.] Bavarian Kings. Nonetheless, the Holy Roman Empire he During the campaigns of the late Kaiser, formed would endure beyond his death, the influence and power of the Habsburgs bequeathed first to his own dynasty and then in Austria was greatly diminished. The to others. In time, the autocratic emperors Austrian claims to Northern Italy were who ruled it lost their overwhelming power. bloodily repudiated, and Napoleon I Each major city and province, as well as invaded Austria itself on several occasions. some bishoprics and petty kingdoms, were The pressure was maintained by his afforded the right to elect their Kaiser upon successors during the ill-fated reign of the death of his or her predecessor. Thus, “Emperor” Joseph, when the marshals the Holy Roman Empire became a multi- narrowly defeated Austria at the Battle layered and complex state of Free Cities, of Austerlitz in 1805. [Deuxième Bureau Principalities, Domains and more besides, Note: Although the subsequent defeat at Jena, all ruled by their own noble dynasties and despite the death of the Prussian King, was a with an overlord of their own choosing. major setback.] THE GREAT CONFLAGRATIONS THE RISE OF HEINRICH OTTO Such a complex mixture of feudal and With Habsburg power humbled, and the semi-democratic systems was sure to Prussian king dead, the French marshals create tension and division. As some wrongly believed that the power of the great houses grew in power (in particular Holy Roman Empire had been dealt a the Habsburgs of Austria) and influence, crushing blow. Of course, as we now know, others waned and grew envious. Throw that confidence was misplaced. into this mixture the heady emotions of reforming religion and you have a tailor In 1806, outraged electors demanded the made recipe for war and violence. abdication of the Habsburg Kaiser Franz, v1.01 THE IMPERIUM whose failure to defeat the French marshals military minds of the day: Blucher, had badly damaged confidence in the Clausewitz, Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and already weakened Austrian military. The more. These individuals were to form abdication of a Holy Roman Emperor was the Kaiser’s “braintrust” for a stunning not entirely without precedent, but it was a intervention in European affairs. dramatic turn of events that paved the way First, however, the Kaiser had to build up for the rise of a completely new leader. his military might after its bludgeoning With the death of King Friedrich Wilhelm at the hands of the French Grand Armée III at the Battle of Jena, the Prussian not two years earlier. Major new military crown had mysteriously passed beyond factories were established, with millions of the House of Hohenzollern to the, at that Marks invested in all manner of military point, obscure German aristocrat Heinrich designs. Across the territories of the Holy Otto. It has proven impossible to determine Roman Empire, a massive network of exactly how the succession was decided, but railways spread like some strange living his apparently limitless source of wealth thing, connecting every conceivable area and boundless determination to see Prussian in a world-class transportation network. glory restored no doubt inspired much of [Deuxième Bureau Note: Quite apart from the support. [Deuxième Bureau Note: There the military applications of swift lines of are Teutonic files on his succession, or at least supply and communication, the rail network that’s what Agent Renard’s source at the local served to make swift civilian transportation Lodge tells him.] from all the areas of the Empire practicable for the first time. Indeed, Agent Renard When the time came to choose a successor to reports that to travel on the Imperium’s high- Kaiser Franz, the new King Heinrich Otto, speed connections between Berlin and Vienna was the clear favourite. He was invested is quite an experience.] as Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day 1807. This was a meteoric rise out of Dwarfing all his other projects, however, comparative obscurity; so concerned was was the dramatic decision to revive (at the continent with the on-going French least publicly, more detail later) the famed Civil War that his coronation made only a Teutonic Knights of the Germanic past. few ripples in the international press. That Almost overnight, a whole infrastructure was to change. [Deuxième Bureau Note: of Lodges, Commanderies and fortresses Agent Belette in London has made it a habit to were established throughout the Holy study newspaper reports; she is attempting to Roman Empire under the new terms of create an analytical theory of deduction using an Imperial Charter for the Knights’ such things.] use. Whole factories worth of military material, some of it highly experimental, THE COMING STORM ended up in the hands of the new Teutonic military machine: the Ritterorden.