Now Suenno Ciblon had heard rumours of such a plot, and suspected that the anniversary celebrations would be the occasion on which it would be put into action. He quietly warned the Emperor, as usual to no avail, so then made sure a loyal bodyguard stood near him. He then positioned himself in a relatively secure place, and ordered me not to attend the ceremony at all, under a pretext. Ciblon suspected many of the troops now massed about Cennatlantis were in fact loyal to the Brotherhood, but had ascertained the loyalty to the Emperor of some other units, with which he could try to fight back against a coup….. And so the terrible deed took place. In the middle of the military display, a unit of the troops, led by Rathayan, suddenly veered towards the dignitaries’ stand, and opened fire on them with their rifles. As Ciblon told me, he instantly ordered a small group of loyal troops there to fire back, and this temporarily surprised Rathayan’s forces. However, they soon regained control, and ruthlessly shot down as many people as they could. Many Ministers and members of the Government were wounded or killed, and the Emperor was able to escape with only minor wounds due to the self-sacrifice of his loyal bodyguards. Both Emperor Sualofo and Ciblon escaped.

The full weight of Rathayan’s army was now concentrated on Cennatlantis itself, and Ciblon and I, with some supporters, realised that we had to move out to find support for our cause elsewhere. We fled by devious ways to Atlantis, many times only narrowly escaping capture. We were finding it increasingly difficult to rally support, as we discovered how widely Rathayan had made sure of the loyalty of armies throughout the Empire. Many on frontiers were uncontaminated by Brotherhood infiltration, but they were unwilling to intervene to support a frankly not very popular Emperor. As soon as they heard of his death, and the promises of Rathayan that he would treat the Army well, and raise its pay, they all decided to accept the change of government as a "fait accompli"….Ciblon found that Atlantis too was swarming with Brotherhood members. He attempted to rally supporters outside the old Council buildings there, but opposition forced him quickly to move again outside the city to the Algrunix hills to the south.

Here ha and I and some others rallied perhaps a couple of thousand supporters, about half of which belonged to the army. These loyalists cheered Ciblon and proposed him as the new Emperor, but Ciblon modestly refused. Later that day (November 25^th), we saw masses of rebel troops approaching. Knowing he was sure to be defeated, Ciblon resolved to defend himself to the death. However, he told me to flee at once to Phonaria, in order to keep up the memory of the old Atlantis now being overthrown, and the chance of resistance against the rebels in the future. I tearfully asked to remain with him in the battle-line, but Ciblon was adamant that I should leave at once, with a small escort. And so I did, making a tortuous route to Atlantean Phonaria, and later into exile in the west of the island, in Noumandix territory. I have kept my promise to Ciblon by writing this history of the Fourth Empire, and its overthrow by the barbarians who are now running and ruining our dear Empire…. Ciblon meanwhile, as I heard from a survivor, was true to his word, and remained on the battlefield, fighting to the death. Most of his party was killed, many, as seems to be typical of these barbaric times, slaughtered in cold blood. Some were captured, and have been cruelly imprisoned ever since. Is there no limit to the depths to which this Tyrant can stoop?