25th of December, Space Era Year 105.
The twenty-fifth of December was not merely the birthday of Lord Aelyzabeth Thors, Supreme Ruler of Centory—it was the sacred Day of the Nation,a day on which the pulse of the Empire beat louder than the stars themselves.
This year's celebration eclipsed every festival in recorded Centorian history.So vast was the spectacle that countless starworlds halted all activity,their citizens turning their eyes toward the live transmission from the Imperial Capital.
The Parade of Dominion.
The skies above Berlyn were sealed shut by a fleet of two hundred warships,while the earth below throbbed beneath the march of five million soldiers,thirty thousand armored war engines,and every weapon of war the Empire possessed—all assembled "to display the might of loyalty to the nation."
Even the Thors Youth Corps, five hundred thousand strong,were summoned to join the greatest parade humanity had ever witnessed.
Three hundred million citizens—nearly one-third of the entire population—lined the Grand Boulevard in a wall of humanity so vastthat it resembled a river of living iron.
The government declared:
"This shall be the greatest parade in the history of mankind."
Sir Aerys Vilozyver.
The Thirteen-Year-Old Commander of the Cavalry
Among the machines of war and the legions of soldiers,the pride of Lord Aelyzabeth Thors was not the steel of tanksnor the engines of the fleet—but her son, Sir Aerys Vilozyver, thirteen years of age,heir to the title of Lord.
Aerys was entrusted with command of the 3,000-strong Honor Cavalry.Clad in obsidian-black formal attire,a snow-white Centorian coat,and a sweeping black cloak billowing in the winter wind,he rode at the forefront of the cavalry with regal stillness.
The sight of the young heir astride his war-steedignited a storm of admiration across the nation.
Among the crowds, voices rose:
"Behold the most magnificent young man of the age!"
The parade proceeded with flawless precision.The cadence of marching millions,the thunder of ceremonial rifles,the unbroken symmetry of the formations,and the Imperial Anthem soaring from the Grand Military Orchestramade hearts across the nation beat as one.
The World Government Reacts.
The Dawn of the Interstellar Cold War.
No sooner had the celebration endedthan the World Government issued a retaliatory declaration.
They announced the formation of a new alliance—The Democratic Allied Front—and condemned Centory as:
"The Axis of Malevolent Powers."
Centory responded immediately.
The government proclaimed the Empirethe Nation of Loyalty,and branded the World Government as:
"The Invaders of Earthborn Tyranny."
Both sides began mobilizing economic, technological,and commercial strength,each preparing for a conflict that neither yet dared ignite.
For now, it remained a Cold War of the Stars:
The World Government lacked the capacityto field a true interstellar army.
Centory, though its Lord hungered for war,had not yet prepared its forcesfor a galactic campaign.
A Rumor of the Heir
Aerys Vilozyver—Homosexual?
On the 27th of December, Year 105,a rumor swept across the Empire—
that the heir, Aerys Vilozyver, was homosexual.
To Lord Aelyzabeth Thors—herself an Asexual,and a believer in the natural diversity of humanity—such matters were irrelevant.She had once remarked that judging a leaderby matters of sexuality was absurd;if so, her own existence would be deemed a flaw.
Yet the conservative factions of the state clung to tradition,arguing that a ruler must marry the opposite sex"for the dignity of the Empire."
The dispute simmered for weeks.But Aelyzabeth punished no one.She allowed the people, and even politicians,to speak freely.
This was her unique brand of authoritarianism—one that tolerated criticism rather than silenced it.
4th of January, Astral Year 106
The Decree That Ended All Debate
At last, Lord Aelyzabeth Thors issued a decreethat silenced the Empire in a single stroke:
"The inheritance of the Lordshipshall be determined by capability and bloodline—not by sexual preference."
The halls of government froze in utter stillness.
She ended with words that echoedlike a blade driven into stone:
"I grow weary of answering what kind of personis worthy or unworthy.Aerys is the heir.Ask no further."
The debate vanished at once.The Empire returned to a tense, cold equilibrium—a calm painted over the surface of a worldpreparing for a storm.
For the stars themselves knew:
The Age of Axis and Allies had begun.
Thus ends Chapter C-XXIX.