Markup View

Author: aurora369

Feb 23rd 2013 at 1:54:29 AM

'''Phase Four: The Long Night'''. What was once a mighty Empire is now a failed state, a gray zone of squabbling independent shards, or sub-factions. Only a small part of the former empire's territories are under control of the former capital, where utter ignoramuses try to simulate the old Empire in a CargoCult-ish fashion. The decadence of the old Empire is now concentrated around a few select oligarchs per shard, and the rest of the populace is struggling hard to get something to eat. The majestic and titanic constructions of the previous imperial phase turn into ruins or are resettled by bandit gangs, marauders or folks more sinister still. The Emperor of this era is AuthorityInNameOnly with a ZeroPercentApprovalRating. Adjacent empires can see the rotting carcass of the empire ripe for plundering; they may directly intervene, send troops and cut the dead empire into colonial or semi-colonial pieces, or they can use [[HegemonicEmpire hegemonism]] and make the petty states of the ex-empire their puppets. Eventually, the Long Night ends with either total disappearance of the empire, its shards growing from petty and self-proclaimed to true nations, or fading culturally and becoming just governorates of neighboring nations, or a climactic Civil War in which it is reforged in fire and steel and re-enters Stage One.