[thejeff]

What is your strategy that leads to having "no realistic ability to generate income"?

By year 2, you don't have enough provinces to have at least that much gold coming in? Luck events only affect one province at a time, so even if your capital's income was trashed, conquered provinces shouldn't all be.

By year 2, most people will have/be building a new fort/lab anyway. Lets you recruit more mages and insures against this kind of problem.

Abyssia does rely on gold. Are you doing something, massive blood hunting maybe, to crush your income and relying entirely on fire gems for gold?

In short, this seems a weakness in your strategy. You're gambling on this not happening, when there are reasonable ways to prepare for it.