Senator Anders Blaine, Chancellor to Emperor Hengist Duval has made a statement on the steps of the Imperial Palace-

.It is with regret I have to announce that his grace, Emperor Hengist Duval.s sickness has worsened, and he has fallen into a coma. His life is not in danger, he is stable, and his doctors are hopeful of a recovery. In the mean time I will of course continue in my role as Chancellor, and the Empire will continue to run under my day to day control, as it has done for the past decades, so nothing will change..

Rumours from anonymous Imperial staff are that Emperor Hengist is on a life support machine and perhaps unlikely to recover.

Shares in Imperial corporations have continued to fall on the news.