Epilogue 3.3: Relics of a Bygone Time, Working Well Into Modernity
The Vasquer Standard
Elenore saw the completion of the capitol of the Blackgard Union during the Age of Revolutions. The Bastion, as it was later named by the people, came to embody the significance of her station by sheer force of necessity. The position of prime minister came to have so many offices serving it that the building needed to be enlarged. The bureaucracy that Elenore had established at the very beginning of the Blackgard Union did not stagnate where it’d been born—rather, just as the society had grown, so too had it.
Her reforms of the era split the power of her seat, but her workload had grown so intense it was necessary. Even despite this fragmentation, the last vestige of truly imperial power can be seen in the prime minister’s office. Every position that received some delegated authority remains directly appointed by the prime minister, and that seems unlikely to change. In practice, the prime minister still dictates the direction the government takes.
Elenore became an unwilling icon to the working women of the era. In civil service, where women had become extremely prominent, she set the standard that many of them aspired to. In wider intellectual movements, too, her continued quiet and skillful reign was heralded as the epitome of excellence. Elenore’s complete avoidance of these movements has ensured they never reached the heights of others of the age, but Prince Garm says their affection ‘wasn’t entirely hated by the esteemed prime minister.’
On the personal front, Elenore and Durran continued to raise a revolving door of orphaned children. Prince Garm deemed it ‘a hobby of theirs, wherein they would take in those young children visited by a great tragedy, and then expend their efforts toward ensuring the children achieved both great happiness and great success despite their misfortunes.’ When asked, Elenore merely claims it to be ‘small recompense for the good fortune I had to experience firsthand such a reversal of fate.’
Elenore and Durran had no more trueborn children after Therese, which was a point of small friction between the pair that nonetheless never amounted to genuine conflict; only a ‘few snide comments,’ according to Garm.
Sword and Shield
Galamon and Orion, once called the sword and shield of the empire, adapted to their changing roles well. The army, for its part, became far closer to something of that of state-funded workers. They still saw action, at many points—the imperial fleet, for its part, was constantly hard-pressed to keep the waters safe as trade began to explode. By and large, the soldiers engaged in far more acts of public benefit, such as laying out the railroads or expanding the sewer systems.
The Order of the Sun under Orion, meanwhile, expanded massively. They faced innumerable challenges as they did so. Anti-traditionalists decried the dated role of knights in an enlightened society, while instances of excessive force drew close scrutiny from the public eye. In the face of all that, the people constituting the order changed just as society did.