JACKAL AMONG SNAKES

Epilogue 3.1: Preface

Ultimately, though the Age of Fury had its troubles, there’s no denying that the Blackgard Union emerged from the other side of it better than they did the years before. The Great Chu had been cemented as an economic dependent, and trade agreements were made that favored the Blackgard Union. The population continued to boom under the imperial court’s stewardship as the children of the last age began families of their own. Advances in technology permitted such large families, and new, burgeoning fields rose up to offer new opportunities just as old ones died.

The Blackgard Union was highly dynamic, and its younger generation were open—even pursuant of— changes far unlike those seen before the Last Calamity. A great many traditionalist values had been rejected—the notion of staying in the same farm generation after generation, tilling the soil until one day your children pick up the plough had died. The Age of Revolutions was the great explosion that brought to attention this trend, which before had been bubbling under the surface.

Cities in particular became larger than they ever had been. Large urban centers—the most prominent of which is the city of Blackgard—came to dominate society, in stark contrast to how rural landholders once did. No longer did nobles claiming vast tracts of farmland have unilateral influence on society—rather, things were spread out among a far larger number of people, each of whom could pursue amenities that were only the privilege of nobility. Cities were the highest expression of that change.

If what Argrave said all those years ago in the Age of Reclamation is true—that he and his wife had always intended on stepping aside—then the point could easily be made that the Age of Revolutions is the crowning achievement of their government’s reign. If that was merely something he said to persuade people, then the fact stands that the people made his words manifest. This time period marked a shift where power was increasingly stripped away from the imperial court, and the Blackgard Union turned to a different manner of governance altogether.

This came to be from a myriad of factors, foremost among them being the notions of philosophy and culture sown in the last age and the rapid advance of technology supported by the crown. Productivity increased tenfold, allowing one man to do what once would take ten, or taking one hour to do what once would’ve taken ten. The Age of Revolutions is named thus because it is not merely one revolution. Rather, it encompasses the cultural, political, financial, and industrial changes of the age that buoyed not only the nation itself, but the entire world.

Age of Revolutions, 38-92 AC

Stolen story; please report.

The importance of commerce and industry cannot be overstated as a force for the changes of the time. It marked the creation of entirely new classes in society—classes that would prove to be infinitely more productive than those of the past, but also vastly larger. Society in the Berendar of yesteryear was largely focused around agriculture. While farmland remained prominent, it no longer held the heart of the nation in its grasp. Rather, those engaged in commerce and production rose to prominence.

Also of note is the shift in culture. The rise of cities had the side effect of changing the mindsets of the malleable youth. The Age of Fury in the Blackgard Union stood as an example of standing up to the authority of the government. The faiths of the day often directly resisted interference from the government, furthering the idea that governmental authority was not unquestionable. Moreover, some bore skepticism that the war in the Great Chu had been handled properly.

Art, literature, and more expressions of creativity than came be named transitioned from being expressions of beauty to expressions of life’s deeper complexities. Works of the day came to question life, death, and all that takes place between those two states of being. This represented, once again, the sea change away from the past. Gone were the days where only lords and ladies could support art, and only in service of ideas they wished promoted.

With the rise of a far larger class of powerholders came the recognition of a need for a new style of living. As people became better educated, more knowledgeable about the happenings of the world, they began to form opinions on what was happening. The natural result of those opinions came the idea that they, themselves, might have a better solution to the problems of the day.

But before they could even demand liberties... they found them granted. The government of the Blackgard Union, like a master gardener, had been carefully tending this growth. It cut away the excess elegantly, provided water where it was best suited, and above all, had amply invigorated the soil from which these revolutions sprung.

In 38AC, the imperial court was perhaps at the apex of its power. The imperial army was incredibly large, and had many able-bodied veterans in its ranks. By 92AC, the entire political landscape had shifted. Those changes are best illustrated through the lens of the imperial family, however, and so I shall save the specifics for next section which detail their changing role.