Battle of Infernal Fire

The Battle of Infernal Fire was an engagement that took place in RY707 on the waters of the eastern Inner Sea, between the Imperial Navy dragon ship Resplendent Protector of the Immaculate Faith and a First Age raiding vessel which was never identified, but suspected to be an artifact vessel out of Lookshy. The details of the battle are unclear, but the Resplendent Protector was sailing without picket junks when it was engaged and sunk with loss of all hands, the wreck showing some sort of essence weaponry had blasted deep holes through its outer hull and sealed bulkheads, though few bodies were recovered. The Imperial Navy blamed Lookshy for an unprovoked attack, but there was no evidence of the attacker’s origin. Lookshy itself refused to respond to the Realm’s accusations, but when their ambassadors were questioned on the matter by their fellows in the Confederation of Rivers they claimed that such an attack was obviously the work of an Anathema, for 'who else could stand against the mighty forces of the Scarlet Empire?'... the Navy took this as an admission of guilt, an insult to the Realm referencing its failed invasions of the Scavenger Lands early after the Scarlet Empress took the Throne, but the Empress herself did not speak in support of this position.

Amongst the Great Houses of the Scarlet Dynasty, particularly the Deliberative caucuses of House Tepet and House Cathak, it was suggested that the loss of the Resplendant Protector was due to the incompetence of its commander, navarch Peleps Ishikigoa, daughter of Navy meganavarchos Peleps Guansho and senator Peleps Ierana (who had pushed to have her appointed to command the vessel), who had made foolhardy choices in rushing to harass and attack an unidentified First Age vessel in an attempt to prove herself and had cost the Realm a dragon ship for her errors. The Deliberative debate was inconclusive, but saw a great deal of brawling erupt. The Scarlet Empress did not hold anyone accountable for the loss, but some felt they could see her displeasure: Senator Ierana died soon after, from what many said was a wasting of the spirit due to loss of her child and her own mistakes, and grand admiral Guancho was appointed to take her place in the Senate, an appointment which removed him from command of the Navy in favour of the less-politically-astute Peleps Sorugan. Not long after, in RY708 with the founding of House V’neef, the Imperial Merchant Marine was transferred from the Navy to the new-founded House, which some hold was punishment for the loss of the Resplendent Protector. The archinavarchos of the merchant fleet Peleps Danan (appointed to the Deliberative in wake of the transfer), was certainly known to have been a close ally of meganavarchos Guansho, and in both cases the removal of one from power in the Navy surely weakened the other’s influence.