CFP Archive: The Death of Echo VII

This is Castra

Mundos, the 16th of Melia, 610. Special report out of Carvenac.

Queen Echo VII of Great Caltania is dead, assassinated in her palace late last night. Her subjects and the world at large are shocked at the announcement, which came early this morning.

We received a dispatch at 6:25am, detailing the full statement of Lord Dissentor Ihren Mercuza. The statement was brief, but we learned that the Queen’s body was found in her gardens at approximately 3:30 in the morning. The suspected cause of death was a poisoned fruit tree.

No statement was given regarding who the assassin might have been or how they infiltrated the palace grounds.

Lord Mercuza now holds stewardship over the Empire until Queen Echo will be succeeded by her niece, the Princess Ariane.

This is the Celthestan Free Press. Wireless.

More from our Carvenac office:

The Caltanian capital is in an uproar. Thousands of citizens line the streets of the central district in mourning. Still more are heard on the outskirts shouting in celebration.

Riots have broken out on the west side of the city. The colorful mosaics and gold inlaid facades, famously restored by Echo’s initiative are being defaced with stones and hammers. Along the lakeshore, the twelve obelisks, symbols of the Byruedon dynasty, are torn down, the crowds cheering as they fall.

The late Queen was both celebrated and feared at home and abroad. Her ascent to the throne marked the beginning of a tumultuous period for the largest Celthestan state. She was the eldest, but illegitimate daughter of her predecessor, King Theori II, who faced considerable opposition during her succession. She took the throne 10 years ago after a bloody conflict.

Echo is remembered as a modernizer to some, a champion of industry and of the common people. Early in her reign, she abolished the rights and privileges of local Lords. In turn, she empowered the Diceriat, Caltania’s national democratic body. Abroad, she waged wars of expansion against her neighbors.

To others, Echo was a tyrant, who ignored her poorer subjects and mistreated her own Oinosi people. The Queen’s most controversial act came three years ago when she ordered the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Oinosi people to their ancestral homelands. This was her statement at the time:

“At this day, I now address my brothers and sisters of significant Onosh blood, residing in my home territories. The time has now come for you to return to our Southern Kingdoms, the ancestral lands of we Oinosi people. I bid you go and restore our Empire once again to its natural, harmonious state.”

The order was met with fierce opposition and resulted in hundreds of casualties.

No word yet from the heir apparent, the Princess Ariane, herself among those forced to journey south. She was last seen two months ago at a hotel in Bastista, Bathica.

This is the Celthestan Free Press. Wireless