She was the only one who could reunite the Empire and restore to its citizens the security that this brought. Without any doubt she was, singularly, the most important being alive. She and her cousin were the last of an Imperial bloodline. But her cousin could not easily supplant her. For Hial to sit on the Imperial throne she would need to be victorious in a bitter and bloody war. Such a war was to be avoided if at all possible. Therefore the primary task for Empress Morturina I, and those who served her, was to ensure her survival - at least until she had borne an heir to the Imperial throne.
A bitter and bloody war was inevitable.
