Emperor Louis Viromaro

Official coronation portrait of Emperor Louis Viromaro, age 39.

Emperor Louis Viromaro, known as Louis The Builder and later Louis The Warrior during his reign, and Louis The Unfortunate after his abdication, was the Emperor of the Kythiran Empire during the last two decades of the Fourth Era. The start of his reign was considered a golden age of Kythiran absolutism, during which House Viromaro gained incredible wealth through mass taxation, the then-six provinces were losing more and more of their sovereignty, and the imperial city of Helmira received her largest expansion ever.

"Emperor Louis looking towards the Reich" Imperius propaganda painting produced during the start of Louis' reign, when several skirmishes occurred between Kythiran and Imperius forces.

"The Former Emperor at the Narrow Sea" portrays former Emperor Louis, age 61, at an unknown residence, in deep contemplation. In the distance, across the sea, are the white cliffs of the Raggisar Republic.

At the end of his reign he was partially responsible for the Dervich Incident, the following Raggisar Revolution, and most importantly the Kythiran Invasion of Imperius, the failure of which led to the Reforma Carta, the end of Viromaro absolutism, the end of the Pax Minecraftia that kept the peace in Minecraftia since the late Third Era, and his forced abdication in favour of his daughter, Empress Theodosia Viromaro.

Youth

Louis Viromaro was born in Ardoragh, in the Skaði Palace, when his father, Emperor Alexander Viromaro was using the then brand new palace for his monthly hunting trip. His younger brother Amantis Viromaro was born three years later in the same palace. They both grew up in Helmira, until he was seventeen, when he was send to study at the University of Helmira. Amantis joined him three years later. During their studies Amantis met Freya Hjarta, a woman of low Ardoraghi nobility. They fell deeply in love, and after their studies were completed got married and stayed in Ardoragh.

Lousi meanwhilst went back to Helmira after his studies, using Fort Winterhal as his private residence. Here he would throw lavish parties with many esteemed guests from across Minecraftia, including Duke Thomas Mace of Lotric, who was a personal friend of Louis and his best man at his royal wedding to Empress Prisca Viromaro when he was 27 years old.

Reign

The reign of Emperor Louis Viromaro started when his father, Alexander The Peacemaker Viromaro, died in a hunting accident when Louis was 39 years of age. His brother, Prince Amantis, drowned on his way to the coronation. Tragedy struck again when the Imperius Reich used the change in leadership in the Empire to wipe out the rebelious Duchy of Lotric in the Lotrican Genocide. Although he tried to send aid to the Lotricans and Duke Mace, he struggled with the bureaucracy and the unwillingness of the provinces to send aid fast enough.

Following his coronation, he immediately initiated policies that focused on expanding the powers of the Crown, whilst repealing laws and decrees of his father that gave more independence to the Six Provinces. In order to fund his ambitious goals he increased taxes on the provinces ten-fold, draining their coffers. With the incredible wealth this gave him he ordered the renovations and expansions of the imperial city of Helmira, the largest construction project in history, even needing to hire labourers, craftsmen and architects from Imperius to make sure the project met his tight deadlines.

He also ordered the construction of the Sanssouci Palace in Attica, one of the most lavish and expensive palaces of Minecraftia, but only visited it three times.

The elderly High-Lord of Ardoragh tried but failed to return the autonomy of his province, much to the displeasure of his eldest son, Lord Whazajottom IlIlIIlllI Von Roterstein. When the latter became High-Lord at age 35, when Louis was 55, after the retirement of his father, the leaders instantly clashed. Emperor Louis began to seek a House to replace the Von Rotersteiners as rulers of Ardoragh, whilst the Ardoraghi ruler began to close border crossings and evading taxation.

Revolution, War & Reforms

Prisca was assassinated by Kythiran anarchists.

Post-Abdication

After his abdication Louis left Helmira and public life for good, first moving into Fort Summerhal. With the younger Viromaro princes wanting to use the palace as a hunting lodge again, he was forced to move to the more remote and tiny Villa Isla de Peligro on the Narrow Sea. Other than his full private battalion of the Kythiran Legion and staff, he lives alone, refusing to see guests. His memoirs "Treason Within", where he blamed House Von Dragestein and the iniators of the Reforma Carta for the failure of the Kythiran invasion famously flopped.