Reactions in the Amarr Empire were mixed following the PIE Inc. sponsored Memorial for Doriam held in Amarr on March 30th. The memorial, ostensibly in memorial of the 1000th day since the death of Emperor Doriam II, has drawn commentary from a variety of sources in the Empire.
"It's shameful," said Holder Touraj Miyan. "These pod pilots know no respect for their betters. Not only did they invoke our late Emperor's name in an attempt to drum up outrage at the lack of an Emperor, they did so in the middle of Amarr itself! Don't they know it is not their place to comment on such matters? The Empire is currently running smoothly - unfortunately without an Emperor - and we can't rush things! Lord Kor-Azor and his staff have kept our region stable and safe. God will ensure the selection of an Emperor in good time, for in God we trust."
Miyan's reaction seems typical among the Holder community. "While it is admirable that our pod pilot loyalists show such passionate interest in the affairs of the Empire, they should realize that things do not work in the airs of nobility and royalty the way they do in capsuleer affairs," commented Holder Iraj Darabi. "They are used to things happening in weeks and even days. Their 'super powers' of last year are gasping their last breaths this year. Meanwhile, the Empire endures and always will. We shall have an Emperor when the time is deemed right. And in a thousand years - a truly Imperial time scale - scholars will barely remember that there was a gap."
Not all reaction was negative, however. "I applaud them," said retired Naval Commodore Telim Harkan. "God mandated that an Emperor would lead and the Empire strength suffers for it. Five houses are no match for one Empire. Now, we are not there yet, as the Court Chamberlain is dutifully holding us all together. But he is not God's chosen vassal in this world, only the Emperor can be that. The day an Emperor returns to the throne will be a great day."
Other Naval officers were not so quick to agree. "These pod pilots could better spend their time attacking the enemies of the Empire," read a statement from Admiral Vanazir Saracens. "We all ache for the loss of Emperor Doriam II, but most of us have the sense to leave it in the appropriate hands and focus on matters of this world."
Reaction among commoners has similarly been mixed. "It certainly was an interesting show," said Tandiras Al-Sandar, a Ni-Kunni trader who works in the Tash-Murkon region. "But I don't know what they hoped to accomplish. I want an Emperor as much as any man, but I trust the Chamberlain to keep things steady until we get one. Besides, what would happen to the prosperity of the Tash-Murkon region if Lady Tash-Murkon were to lose the Trials? I'd hate to see her die before her work is done."
Faith in the job being done by Court Chamberlain Dochuta Karsoth, the acting head of state for the Empire, was a theme in many of the comments. "Under Chamberlain Karsoth, the Bleak Lands are safer than ever," said Santivar Khazhad, a prospector working in the Bleak Lands. "Sure, there are those Defiant types, but the Navy has kept them occupied for the most part. Though the Scriptures mandate an Emperor, they certainly don't say anything about specific time frames for such an event."
No official reactions from the Heirs, the leaders of the Theology Council, or the Court Chamberlain have been made. Some sources do not expect them to, while others hold out hope they will.