Erwin Josef II

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Revision as of 11:50, 7 January 2011

Kaiser Erwin Josef II
Gender:	Male
Affiliation:	Galactic Empire
Occupation:	Kaiser of the Galactic Empire (former)
Status:	Unknown
Born:	early 482 IC (791 UC / 3591 CE)
Father:	Ludwig
Played by:	Hiroko Emori

Erwin Josef von Goldenbaum II (Japanese: エルウィン・ヨーゼフ・フォン・ゴールデンバウム2世) was the 37th and final kaiser of the Goldenbaum Dynasty.

Early life

Erwin Josef was born in early 482 IC (791 UC / 3591 CE), the son of Crown Prince Ludwig — and therefore a direct successor to the Imperial throne. Ludwig died some time between his son's conception and mid-487 IC (796 UC / 3596 CE), leaving him with no influential parentage. (LOGH: 'New Trends')

Rise to throne and reign as kaiser

Friedrich IV, the reigning kaiser, died of a heart attack in 487 IC (796 UC / 3596 CE), having left no stated heir. This produced the possibility of a bloody power struggle amongst the various factions vying for power at the time. Specifically, Prince Braunschweig, husband of Princess Amarie, supported his child, the 16-year-old Elisabeth; and Marquis Littenheim, husband of Princess Christine, supported his own child, the 14-year-old Sabine.

The crowning of Erwin Josef II

Erwin Josef's much younger age might otherwise have made him an unsuitable successor given the more mature alternatives. However, his lack of strong parental support made him far more easily controllable, which appealed to both Reinhard von Lohengramm and Secretary of State Lichtenlade. The political alliance formed between these two ultimately led to the ascension of Erwin Josef II to the throne. (LOGH: 'New Trends')

Civil war

This was an unwelcome turn of events for Braunschweig and Littenheim, and the two vowed secretly to eliminate the Kaiser. News of this new alliance spread quickly throughout the nobility, with most of the high nobles ultimately siding with the Braunschweig/Littenheim faction. The resulting coalition became known as the Lippstadt Alliance. Although Marquis Lohengramm and his subordinates were able to detain many of the Lippstadt nobles before full-scale combat broke out, most of them — including Braunschweig and Littenheim — escaped to Geiersburg Fortress, which became their primary base of operations during the ensuing civil war.

In response to these events, Erwin Josef conferred to Marquis Lohengramm the title of Imperial Fleet High Commander and ordered him to subjugate the Lippstadt forces. Civil War officially broke out on 6 April 488 IC (797 UC / 3597 CE). (LOGH: 'The Lippstadt Conspiracy')

The war proceeded largely without the Kaiser's direct participation. Approximately 7 months after the war began, Marquis Littenheim, who had sacrificed some of his men to secure his own escape from the forces of Siegfried Kircheis, was killed in a suicide-bombing by a resentful subordinate. Prince Braunschweig died shortly thereafter, having been force-fed poison by Commodore Ansbach. Geiersburg was quickly taken by Lohengramm's forces, and the war officially ended in September 488 IC (797 UC / 3597 CE). (LOGH: 'Courage and Loyalty', 'The Fall of the Golden Tree')

Upon the end of the war, Marquis Lichtenlade began making plans to eliminate Lohengramm and his supporters and seize the Imperial government for himself. These plans became known to Lohengramm, and a contingent was sent back to Odin, where Lichtenlade and his family were arrested. Following this, Erwin Josef declared Lohengramm Imperial Prime Minister — nearly eliminating the Kaiser's own influence over the government. (LOGH: 'The Day Before Destiny', 'Farewell, Distant Memories')

Abduction and the 'legitimate' Imperial government

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Appearances