The Great Unification

The Great Unification of Directionland was the process—culminating c. 450 cycles ago—by which the scattered kingdoms and duchies of the United Realm of Directionland centralized under a single imperial crown and a bicameral legislature. The settlement followed years of administrative strain and mounting southern threats, and it concluded with the election of King Ethian IV of St. Stylinson as the first Emperor of the newly constituted empire. In many sources, the wider administrative overhaul that followed is remembered as the “Cycle of Formation.”

Background

By ~500 cycles ago, Directionland existed as a symbolic union (“United Realm”), with each member polity retaining its own administration. Friction increased as the realm expanded and as southern politics coalesced into the Southern Federation of Kingdoms. By ~450 cycles ago, Directionland faced the practical problem of four currencies, 15 administrations, and no unified infrastructure—pressures that led the Presidium of Directionland to convene representatives of cities, duchies, and kingdoms to consider full unification.

Constitutional settlement and election

The Presidium’s conference produced a centralized imperial constitution with three co-ordinate branches: the Imperial Parliament (lower house), the Imperial Senate (upper house), and the Imperial Crown. An election between King Ethian IV of St. Stylinson and Grand King Ultimer III of Gandry determined who would accede to the new Imperial Throne; Ethian won “by a landslide,” inaugurating the empire. The previously unicameral “Parliament” title—retained from St. Stylinson’s government—was kept for the lower house; the head of government title changed from Prime Minister to Chancellor, reflecting the new bicameral order.

Location of the chambers

In the earliest phase, St. Stylinson’s old Parliament building (a single-chamber hall) hosted imperial proceedings, with houses alternating use. As institutional frictions grew, the capital administration later relocated to Ironwood (officially ~350 cycles ago). Some cycles later the decision was made to rebuild the National Assembly in Ironwood, and the chambers were physically separated: the lower house in Ironwood and the Imperial Senate rehoused in St. Stylinson—a separation later justified as a remedy for “cross-chamber spying.”

The day of handover (“The Great Unification” ceremony)

On the formal handover day—the event most closely associated with the term “The Great Unification”—the Presidium of Directionland transferred authority to the new Parliament of Directionland at a public ceremony in the square before the St. Stylinson chamber. In attendance were the Imperial Family and the royal family of Gandry, along with the first cohort of Senators and Members of Parliament elected in the initial Imperial Election. During the proceedings, the Emperor appointed the first Supreme Judges; the flag of Directionland was ceremonially presented to the first Chancellor, Daric Thalbor, and raised above the building; and the Emperor swore his oath, taking the style:

“Emperor Ethian IV, Emperor of Directionland, eternal king of St. Stylinson and Gandry, defender of the faith, keeper of the Light, and protector of the realm.”

The imperial uniforms (formal and field) were unveiled, and the national anthem, “Our Sacred Land,” received its first public performance—the song is attested as having been written shortly before the Great Unification, but was later rewritten several times as the Empire 'settled'.

Implementation and reform

Following unification, the empire minted a single currency, the Gref (old Ruulden for “gold”), replacing local coinages; over time this standardized as simply “Gold", and the Imperial Mint later officially renamed the currency to Directian Crown. Provinces were established with Provincial Premiers, who sit as Senators to guarantee geographic representation. Financial and material support for the integration phase is recorded from several historic polities—Gandry (money), Simonville (money and food), and St. Niam (material support despite poverty)—reflecting a broad-based commitment to the new order.