With the annihilation of the Imperial Army, the Empire was all but doomed. However, the Empire managed to regain its strength with the assistance in the form of military conscripts from a neighboring island state.

The islands were populated with a people whose cultures practiced primitive religions that focused mainly on war and conflict, thus providing a quick source of strength to the waning power of the Empire.

The archipelago state had long lost contact with the Continent, but due to questions regarding the proper succession of the throne, the heirs of the recently deceased king began to feud amongst themselves. The feud soon turned into civil war, and many of the people fled the islands to the Continent, in search of new homes.

The Empire was quick to seize the opportunity. The Empire was without an army, and the islanders were without leaders. At that point, an alliance seemed to be the only logical solution. An interesting side effect of the sudden influx of this new island culture was the effect it had on industrial design in the “new” Empire.

The dramatic styles of colors of the island people quickly permeated Imperial culture, and soon their cultural influences could be found everywhere. Yet, there were still fundamentalists, who still served in their hearts the deceased Seventh Emperor, within the Academy that shunned these new styles.

Their influence was strong enough that laws were passed restricting some design influences, and some laws went as far as prohibiting island folk music from being played in the Capital at nighttime. However, such absurd laws had no effect on the Capital Commercial District, as well as the Slums

The clamorous sounds of the native instruments could be heard filling the streets with their lovely sound, and people could buy wild and colorful baubles to decorate their homes, day and night.