Emperor Zephyr I Veddusen

The successor of Emperor Arcus IV Zath-Garon, Zephyr I's reign (c. 1210-1234 GA) was a tenuous thing at best. Competing in a nobility election against his sister, Claudia Veristius, for the position when both claims by merit of blood were considered equally valid, Zephyr I found himself in the awkward position of being disliked by the general public, who viewed his anti-war stance as weak against the Nisani responsible for the Year of the Vanishing City and death of Arcus IV, but yet popular amongst the nobility who viewed him as frugal in the face of a bankrupt and fragile Imperial economy not able to take yet another war. In the end, it was his popularity with the nobility which would decide his fate and confer upon him the title of emperor. He succeeded to the throne officially in 30 Losaigh 1210 GA.

Dissolution of the Clergy and the First Sand War
In early Razal of 1215 GA, annoyed by constant inquiries on the status of rebuilding efforts courtesy of the Archbishop Celomir the Rightly-Guided, Zephyr I disbanded the interdisciplinary church and reclaimed the Temple grounds in Boundbrook as Imperial property. The role religion played in the Year of the Vanishing City was cited as justification (the fact that the religion in question was Nisani and not openly practiced in the empire notwithstanding). This would lead to Celomir and several other loyal members of the church leaving Boundbrook for Grafwyn, where they were approached by Zephyr I's sister and political rival in Sarilla the same year. In return for providing religious backing for her declarations of holy war against the Nisani, the church was allowed to establish a presence in Grafwyn.

Zephyr I faced a difficult choice following this. His sister's declaration, while technically illegal and potentially treason, was popular among the general public. Up to this point, he had faced some scorn for his focus on rebuilding as opposed to retribution and sweeping displays of military triumph favored by his predecessors. While aware that the empire couldn't quite afford another military campaign, Zephyr I caved several weeks later and issued a formal declaration of war.

Later known as the First Sand War, it wouldn't see its end until Losaigh of 1224 GA, ten years before Zephyr I's death in 1234 GA.