464.12 // Protest on Regium!
Crowds filled the central plazas of Oryza today as thousands of citizens gathered to protest the rule of Regium’s elected king, Althorin Crest – marking the largest public demonstration the Republic planet has seen in a century. The protesters, largely drawn from the planet’s rural areas, were joined by a visible minority of wealthy landowners and merchants, signaling a rare cross-class alliance. Chanting against inequality and rising taxes, demonstrators carried banners depicting broken plows and overflowing granaries, symbols of what many describe as an economy straining under unfair burdens.
Not often in the spotlight – Regium is an agriculture-based world on the edge of Republic territory (R-17) whose vast farmlands supply grain, livestock, and processed foodstuffs to nearby systems. For generations, small farmers have formed the backbone of the planet’s economy, while a comparatively small elite in the planet’s capital – Oryza, controls transport, storage, and off-world trade. Protest leaders argue that this imbalance has worsened under the current monarch, whose recent policies have shifted more financial responsibility onto those least able to afford it.
At the center of the unrest is the king’s decision to raise taxes on farmers to fund expanded planetary defenses against Outer Rim pirates. While pirate raids have increased in recent years, many protesters say the new levies are crushing already thin margins. “I’m more worried about King Crest stealing from me more than any pirate!” said one farmer at the rally.
Several prominent landholders have publicly criticized the king’s approach, warning that destabilizing the agricultural base could damage Regium’s long-term prosperity. Though not all of the aristocracy support the demonstrations, their participation has given the movement added legitimacy and political weight ahead of the coming election.
With that election fast approaching, analysts say the political landscape is shifting rapidly. Polls and local forecasts suggest growing support for the king’s chief rival, a woman whose platform centers on tax relief for farmers, redistribution of political influence, and social protections for the poor – Talyra Renne. As campaigning intensifies, today’s protest may prove to be a turning point—one that signals whether Regium’s future will remain in the hands of its traditional elite or move toward those who have long worked its soil.