Hask'Zamik

Hask'Zamik was born to Hask'Mezak and and unknown mother in 1751 CE on Tzynnia. Details of his earliest years are scarce, but it is known he travelled with Hask'Mezak's army as he finalised his conquest of the planet, before residing at the new Imperial Palace. Hask'Zamik was one of many children of Hask'Mezak, who had fathered at least ten with the various women of the Imperial Harem. Although the newly-crowned Emperor had banned the ancient practice of fratricide (killing any disfavoured heirs), competition was fierce between his children to become the Crown Prince.

Most of the other children received primarily martial training, learning to become generals and fierce combatants. Hask'Zamik learned of this, as all noble Tzynn did, but his education was primarily focused on administration, economics, and politics. This quickly set him apart from his siblings in the eyes of his father. Hask'Mezak had won the wars and conquered Tzynnia, and was now looking for an heir to win the peace. Shortly after Hask'Zamik came of age, he was selected as the crown prince by his father.

In order to further his training as the presumptive Emperor-to-be, Hask'Zamik was assigned to be the governor of a distant, yet economically valuable region of the world. Hask'Zamik performed well in his role, increasing the tax revenue sent to the capital and putting down a number of rebellions against his rule. According to official Imperial history, when a group of nobles approached the Crown Prince to suggest a coup against his father, he personally beheaded them on the spot and paraded their remains throughout his capital.

Upon his father's death in 1796 CE, Hask'Zamik, his harem, and his advisors returned to the Imperial Palace for the coronation. The transition of power was smooth, as any plots were swiftly eliminated by the Imperial Guard. Hask'Zamik's reign was much like the latter half of his father's, primarily focused on administrative matters and leading troops against the occasional rebellion or slave uprising. As he grew older and the Imperial system became firmly entrenched across the planet, Hask'Zamik increasingly left governance to the military and his wives. He threw increasingly lavish parties for the nobility, and according to some accounts, had a harem so large that he fathered over fifty children (most modern scholars agree the number is closer to twenty).

Despite the decadence that increasingly defined the final years of Hask'Zamik's reign, he passed a number of important reforms that solidifed Imperial rule. Most importantly, he was able to curb the power of the nobility by restricting hereditary titles, elevating the urban merchant class, and further increasing the power of the military. Hask'Zamik would die in 1823 CE, with a relatively stable succession despite the number of potential heirs. His legacy in stabilising Imperial rule and continuing his father's reforms is considered among the most important of all Tzynn Emperors by scholars, as a less capable Emperor during the time period could have easily caused the collapse of planetwide Imperial rule.