Darius Black

Emperor Darius Black
Darius Geoff Black [October 3rd, 1872 - 1945] commonly known as Emperor Black or Darius the Excellent more recently, was the Emperor of Bearstin from 1908 until his death on December 6th, 1943. During his reign, the Carinian Empire fell and Bearstin nearly doubled its size by warring with its neighbors. He transformed Bearstin into an Imperialist power and used his absolute power to his advantage, managing to not be stalled by the aristocracy.

Historic accounts from the time portray him as an intelligent and kind leader. Darius was thought to have the highest IQ of all Bearstinian rulers. It was said that the poor had more influence over him then the aristocracy. This could have been because his wife devoted her life to improving the lives of the Bearstinian poor and decreasing poverty in the empire.

Darius was very fond of music, movies, and the arts. He had many paintings hung in his throne room, and frequently attended concerts and movies. He is often regarded as Bearstin's greatest ruler and has many songs, movies, and statues made for him. It is also said that he was one of few Emperor's to have the undying respect and loyalty of the Coytians.

Sobriquet
Darius had two sobriquets, each of which were well earned and one given during his lifetime. Most Bearstinian Emperors were called Emperor (first name). His first name, Emperor Black, is given because they felt he was the best of the Black Dynasty, and he had led them to the greatness they thought was destined for them.

Darius the Excellent was given posthumously and was used to describe both his success in the Carinian Revolution and Great Regional War.

Another sobriquet, Darius the Great, is used by some citizens, but is not common enough to be one of his main aliases.

Early Life
Darius was the only child of Derrick Black and Elle Geoff and therefore had no trouble finding attention.His father became Emperor when he was two years old. Starting at the age of five, he would often be taken into his fathers throne room and listen to his dad talk to his advisers. He was taught not to interrupt and proper throne manners from his father, who let him sit in his mothers throne when she was not present. He was curious and when his advisers left, would often ask questions about their intentions and why they requested certain things. His father would patiently explain everything to him and would even offer to have an adviser address him and request something from him (which was often just an act from a noble who wanted to gain favor and therefore entertained his son). It is often theorized that Darius was such a great ruler because his father was such an incredible teacher.

At the age of 14, Derrick began to take Darius with him to important meetings and teaching him how to rule. Usually he was taken to countries that they had good relations with, but when Darius was 18 he was taken to the Carinian Empire when tensions were increasing. Derrick had no idea that his son had studied continuously leading up to this meeting and when the Carinian Emperor offended his father, Darius lectured the Emperor on trade, domestic policy, and even criticized how his father wasn't given a proper welcome. Derrick didn't even try to apologize to the Emperor, he just led Darius out of the palace and they sailed home. Derrick later remarked in his memoir that, "I was so impressed with my son that I didn't scold him and even considered sending him in my place to my next meeting with a foreign leader."

At the age of 25, Darius started to take on more responsibilities as a leader. If Derrick was busy, Darius would be sent in his place. Derrick would only send Darius with their permission and he would apologize repeatably. Darius would bring some gifts for the leaders as "reparations" for Derrick not being to attend.

At the age of 27, Darius began to court Grace Stalick and three years later, they were married in the Bearstinian Royal Palace. At the age of 32, his daughter Aayla Black was born.

Carinian Revolution
In 1907, Derrick Black died and Darius ascended to the throne at the age of 35. The first thing Darius did as Emperor was strengthen the military as an attack by the Carinian Empire looked like a real possibility. But then in 1910, a rebel group called the Rising Sun started attacking multiple cities and Darius told his spies in Carinia to keep him updated. He placed an embargo on trade from the island and he sent fifty thousand troops to assist the Rising Sun in their freedom movement.

As the war carried on, the Bearstinian's deployed ten thousand more troops and continuous victories pleased the people. They blockaded the island and sold weapons to the Rising Sun which bolstered the economy. Thousands of jobs were created in factories that made tanks and firearms, a strengthened economy and falling rival excited the people and Darius became very popular.

Great Regional War
In 1941, the Imperialist Powers suffered a surprise attack by the Republic of Kaitani after the Imperialists informally declared war on Kaitani. Port Whalen, Port Bassia, and Walrin Harbor were attacked by Carinian planes. Darius ordered, in collaboration with Afrikaanzan forces, an invasion on the Carinian Islands. By early 1943, the Bearstinian forces had infiltrated the main island and were gearing up for a massive push.

Death
In early 1943, the Imperialists had infiltrated Kaitani's main island. Around this time, the Carinian government had hired a team of condemned Bearstinian Mercenaries, known as the Denounced Dozen (though only seven were available for the mission) and on December 6th, 1943, they assassinated Darius Black in his office. In the ensuing chaos, it was revealed he chose the Grand Marshal Frederick Wilson over his daughter Aayla to succeed him and the Grand Marshal was framed by Aayla for treason and fled the country.

Despite her anger, Aayla ensured her fathers funeral was extravagant and would encourage the Bearstinian people to persevere.