Reign of the Empyrean Autarchs - 6. Autarch Thenezort “The Unfortunate”
The days that followed Autarch Tenasar’s death plunged the Homeworld of Artiacar into a state of chaos, to the point that the records from that turbulent moment are often incomplete and even contradictory. Historians refer to this period as The Purgue, although this term has also been used to name the protracted, troubled and incomplete process of removal of the agents and power structures of the previous regime in the rest of the realm.
Composed decades later by Attidamana of Hipalan, and set in this time of tribulation, the hagiographic, but not without artistic merit Holo-Opera “Felgeda” reveals the enduring approval of the World-Burner in some regions of the Known Universe.
However for the majority of the population of the realm, this was a time of liberation. The priests of Magec were hunted down by the mob, their temples set ablaze and the massive faces of the Autarch carved into mountains blasted by any means available. To this day, mutilated stone faces still dot the alpine landscape of many worlds and most of their inhabitants ignore whom they portrait.
By the time the dust had settled and the corpses had been cleared from the streets, a new Autarch sat on his shaky throne, Thenezort, who in the years to come would earn the bitter sobriquet of “The Unfortunate”.
As a child he had been a timid prince often ignored by his father, who believing himself a living god found little use for an heir. He had grown to become a weak-willed man, now ruling over a realm in turmoil and haunted by the monstrous shadow of “The World-Burner”.
The situation was dire, with entire sectors in open rebellion and communication and trade routes cut off. After decades of constant warfare, the autarchic fleet had become a husk of its former self, and without its protection, pirates and warlords were free to pillage and carve their own petty kingdoms.
The task ahead of the new Autarch appeared insurmountable, even if he could live ten times the life of his father, he couldn’t undo a tenth of the harm done by him.
Defeated by this realization, Autarch Thenezort sought relief in the privacy of his chambers and the abuse of narcotics, which plunged him into a stupor free of thought and memory. He became a mere figurehead, leaving the actual governance of the realm in the hands of his younger sisters, the triplets Tinabuna, Tinguafaya and Tinizara.
To appease the remaining loyalist forces, led by House Achuguayo, the Autarch had to marry the eldest daughter of Viscount Egentire Achuguayo, Lady-Chatelaine Yballa, who nowadays is barely remembered.
Theirs was a distant marriage, filled with a cold, mutual contempt. Once Lady-Chatelaine Yballa became pregnant and gave birth to Gara, their only child, they would never share a bed again.
The political skill of the triplets, specially of Princess Tinabuna, the eldest, known as the “Shadow Autarch”, managed to avoid the complete dissolution of the realm, but there was still a steep price to pay ahead. In exchange for their military aid to restore order, the loyalist league and especially House Achuguayo obtained important concessions in terms of fiscal sovereignty and self-government.
The work of the triplets could have been remembered as one of the greatest feats in the history of statecraft, had it not been for the terrible scandal involving the youngest sibling, Princess Tinizara, that cost her exile and widespread repudiation.
The trail left by a series of heinous ritual murders led the secret police to discover her role as Great Mystagogue of a sect that practiced an extreme form of the faith of Magec. She managed to escape the planet, and the suspicion that she had received help from her sisters to do so was never fully cleared.
After this scandal, a group of political philosophers started voicing their support for the ancient drollery of democracy, another symptom of the weakness of the Autarch's authority, a far cry from the absolute power his father once had held. The secret police quietly silenced these radicals, but to this day their inflammatory writings still upsets the order of the civilized worlds of the Known Universe.
In the grand political scheme, Artiacar remained the nominal capital of the realm, and kept some importance as central node of the Wormhole Gates network, but its glory days were over. A clear example of this decline is the cessation of any repair work on the infrastructure damaged during The Purge, due to a chronic lack of funds. This effective transfer of power to other Houses marked the official end of the Golden Age, which had actually withered long ago, and the beginning of the Fall of the realm.
Around this time, the tech-men at the service of the Autarch issued a secret report about the deteriorated and aging state of the systems controlling the Wormhole Gates network. Their verdict was that if immediate and costly action was not taken to repair it, its malfunction could cause a massive rift in the space-time continuum in the years to come. These tech-men were soon arrested by the secret police, tried for treason and executed.
Autarch Thenezort died shortly after of an overdose, and the tears shed for him were few and false.
Events: (5) Golden Age: 1-6,1-3, 6-3, 3-1 Fall: 2-2
Autarch Thenezort “The Unfortunate” of House Xerax
His consort Lady-Chatelaine Yballa of House Achuguayo, co-regent during the brief reign of their daughter Gara.
His sister Princess Tinabuna of House Xerax, elder of the triplets, often called the “Shadow Autarch” for her crucial role in the governance of the realm during the reigns of her brother and niece.
His sister Princess Tinguafaya of House Xerax, middle sister of the triplets, also co-regent during Autarch Gara’s reign.
His sister Princess Tinizara of House Xerax, youngest of the triplets, forsaken for keeping her father’s faith and taking part in ritual cannibalism enhanced by analeptic substances.
