Iron Throne

The Iron Throne (鐵座, qlik-dzwal) is a monicker for the reinforced Canopy Throne made for ceremonies that the Themiclesian emperor attended during the Pan-Septentrion War, when he was subject to several assassination attempts.

Cause

After formally declaring war on Menghe in 1936, Emperor Shljaps-tsung was evacuated from the capital city at Kien-k'ang to the Rjem-hme’ Palace for safety precaution, as Kien-k'ang was nearing the reach of Menghean and Dayashinese bombers. Themiclesia and Hallia's combined efforts finally stopped the invaders' advance at Kien-k'ang in 1941. The Dayashinese, dissatisfied with the lack of progress, began a campaign to demoralize the Themiclesian public by attacking symbols of national importance, such as the main palace (Hian-lang Palace) in Kien-k'ang and eventually resorted to assassination attempts on the Emperor himself, residing in the rear. To this end the Dayashinese Imperial Special Operations Group (D/ISOG) infiltrated the Themiclesian Marine Corps for its access to weapons and legitimating appearance to be armed near the palaces. On two occasion, disguised D/ISOG operatives successfully came into the royal presence and caused massive casualties before being foiled, and on a third, they killed a stand-in who was sitting in the Canopy Throne when the actual Emperor was moved into a room built into the palace's enclosed sewer system to conceal his whereabouts. However, it proved too embarrassing to receive diplomats, host banquets, and give royal assent to acts of parliament and ordinances (which the emperor was duty-bound to do) in the sewer saferoom, so the Emperor still held court before an assembly of legislators, judges, ministers, and senior civil servants frequently but irregularly. The Canopy Throne was therefore sent to be reinforced to protect the Emperor against a hypothetical assassination attempt occurring when he held court.

Structure

Unlike in most Casaterran monarchies, the throne in Themiclesia is not a chair, but a dais with a rectangular wooden frame above it, shaped like a house's hip roof, supported by pillars on its four corners. On the dais would be a mattress for sitting and sleeping and sometimes a desk. The brocade canopies were draped over the frame, in several layers, to give it the appearance of a tent. Canopies were not only draped on top of the frame, but suspended under the frame to conceal it, attached by ribbons. Additional fabric concealed the pillars. There was enough loose fabric to enclose the structure to the outside, but it was usually drawn up like stage curtains to reveal the monarch inside. Excess fabric and fabric used to secure the frame was allowed to drape downward as decoration. As the Canopy Throne hosted the emperor, the dais had not one but two frames over it, and both frames would be draped for a particularly impressive appearance.

The challenge was therefore to suspend a number of steel plates between the layers of fabrics to encase the monarch in scale armour without sacrificing the appearance of the throne. This was eventually done by using leather straps, reinforced with iron chains, onto which steel plates (1/4" thick and measuring 4" by 6" in dimension) were arranged with a slight overlap. These were then suspended from the wooden frame of the canopy. Half-way through the modification, the wooden frame was found too weak to support such a large number of steel plates, so thick steel beams were added under them; eventually, the wooden pillars were also hollowed out, and steel pillars inserted into them. The wooden roof framing was entirely subsumed with a steel frame that could better support the presence of steel plates on the overhead panels. This was done to both frames by the end of 1941, and the canopies were fitted over them at the same time. While some courtiers noticed the throne had a strange shape, with its fabrics not as free-flowing as before (as the walls had essentially become solid), most agreed it was still a plausible throne to be used in public proceedings.

Preservation

The Iron Throne today is preserved in the Royal Museum.

See also

• Themiclesia