The empire plans seemed to change and become more fleshed out as time went on. What Valakyrie said to Malice in the beginning and what she was saying later on varied quite a bit. There were definitely some crossed wires as for a little while we were operating under the assumption Oritolon could join the empire even if she didn't divide. I know it was an oversight, but it did lead to a bit of confusion.
Once Oritolon had voted no, there was no more discussion to be had. At least, as far as Malice was concerned. What happened with Thorbjorn later was, I think, a surprise for everybody. He campaigned for office saying he opposed the empire then suddenly became a supporter of it almost overnight. But by then there was a feeling in Oritolon of 'well, we've already made our bed' and talk of temporary ceasefires didn't sound right given that this was Lukon. When Thorbjorn attempted to exile Actrial, Oritolon passed the point of no return, if she had not already.
Robin was the ringleader of the protests and ruckus. He basically rallied most of the younger nobles behind him. People that hadn't even been around for the war with Minas Thalion (and, crucially, to witness what a great friend Lukon could be). It really wasn't your usual suspects. I think Robin was a very active character behind the scenes who had probably been cultivating relationships with our younger nobles for a long while on the sly. In hindsight I think he seized upon Lukon's proposals as an opportunity to try and unseat Malice but it was bad timing as Malice felt he had to do everything he could to cling on in the circumstances. Maybe this is all Malice' fault for having such a poor relationship with such an ambitious fellow?
I suppose Malice could have become a ballsy Spearhead-type figure who would stop at nothing to deliver for our Lukon friends, but Malice is a survivor who has learned to change with the weather. He made a good fist of convincing Oritolon to back the empire but once it became obvious that Oritolon wouldn't do it or that the price would be too high in delivering it, he belatedly did what Oritolon really wanted and that was to start preparing for war. And now that the war is actually happening, I can't complain too much. It has been good fun. A nice change of pace!
I still expect that eventually Lukon will have the opportunity to get the empire off the ground (and I think it will be cracking when it does) but at least we're having a good time. I tell you though, I cringe every time our forces meet. Lukon bring a lot of soldiers to each battle. I think every engagement so far I have said 'we don't have enough men, this is going to be a disaster' but we've gotten through it. The Blinded God is clearly keeping an eye on us somehow :-P
