House Ashford de Falstaff

‘Peccata patris...’ - ‘Sins of the father...’

HOUSE HOLDINGS

The County of Leuven, Holy Orenian Empire

The Barony of Guise, Kingdom of Kaedrin, Holy Orenian Empire

The Barony of Guise, Kingdom of Oren

THE FALSTAFF HOUSEHOLD

LORD CONRAD ARMANDE, Patriarch

-his wife,  IOANNA ELISHEVA

-his son, LEUFROY OLIVIER

-his daughter, MATHILDE EUPHROSINE

-his daughter, EMÉLIE FRANCESCSA

-his daughter, OPHELIE ELEANORA

-his daughter, MANON YVAINE

-his daughter, SYLVIE ESMERIE

-his extended family,

-his cousin, LYSANDER YVES

-his cousin, CHANTAL LYVAINE

-his court, ruled by the Baroness-consort, IOANNA ELISHEVA

-his ward, [VACANT]

-his farmhands,

- THEODORE ASHES

- NIKOLAOS ASHES

- [VACANT]

HOUSE RELICS

Sword of Saint Lothar de Balain - The reputed sword of the famed crusader Saint Lothar, a companion of the Prophet Owyn, which was reclaimed by Ser Baldwin during the Tarchary Crusades. He used the blade in the assassination of his famous kinsmen, Guy de Bar and his many kin; leaving the sword reportedly cursed. To common legend, the sword grants swiftness in thought, but leaves its wielder inevitably mad.

The Himmel Statue - The stone husk of famed crusader Stefan Himmel, former companion of Ser Baldwin the Black during his Tarchary Crusades, who was turned to solid rock following a fight with a pagan mage. The statue was kept and maintained by Baldwin and his successors, with the common belief that it will return to life during a period of great turmoil.

Widowslay - The proud executioner’s blade used to destroy the wicked witch Ceriwyn. The blade feels slightly cold to the touch. Saved from the burning ruins of Aldersport by Guildenstern Ashes, and left to his only kin, his nephew Rosencrantz.

Eleanora’s Comb and Spoon - A fine ebony comb with gold enamel trimming, and a single Helvetian silver spoon. Both were given as gifts by the madam Eleanora Reneé Helvets to her suitor Duke Jon Renault de Savoie, then hastily given to his baseborn daughter Amelia.

The Vawdre Jewels - The former jewels of the d’Vawdre family, formerly a rich and powerful gentry heartland clan known for their wealth and opulence. When the house was put to the sword by the Romstun armies, Ser Rosencrantz secured many of his wife’s (a member of the d’Vawdres) family riches, including their iconic set of jewels. They include three large green emeralds and five smaller sapphires, cut into separate brooches of silver and gold.

The Signet of Ser Adelric de Bar - A delicate golden band with the heraldry of the House de Bar stamped into the seal. A treasure of a late ***** and concubine; mother to the baseborn Ser Thomas Wettlock, known by his epithet ‘Ironsides’. A former servant and longtime friend, the ring was entrusted to Albert Louis de Falstaff for safekeeping.

HOUSE TRAITS

The mainline of House de Falstaff has a rather distinct look in comparison to other Heartland houses. While the lord passes on his dark hair from his father and grandfather, his progeny share their unifying traits of thick blonde hair coming from their Rovin origins.

Members of the Ashford family find themselves cursed with traits of ambition, accompanied by their ancestors' rise and fall in the political dynamic of humanity.

RECENT HISTORIES

The chronicles of the House Ashford de Falstaff, from their arrival upon Almarisan shores.

The recent history of the de Falstaff line revolves primarily around their demanding transition into the heart of Providence and their eventually cumbersome involvement in the Sedanian war. 

The tenure of the Count Albert of Leuven found itself returning the Ashford family to a relative state of normality following the Reclamation of Leuven that had so increased tensions between the Imperial Crown and its Haeseni vassal, as well as resulting in the disappearance of the previous count, Armande. The Count of Leuven operated a tulip field and pearl-harvesting business in the region surrounding Whitecombe, and served as a judge in the Courts before transitioning to a long tenure in the House of Lords. After Albert's death in a freak boating accident, the County of Leuven would transition into the young hands of Emil-Dardot.

While Emil was known by his peers as an ambitious visionary, the Imperial hegemony would remember him as a traitor. Having been rejected by John VIII in his proposal to ally Southern lords into an economical and social alliance of culture, the Count of Leuven would enter into close intimacy with Louis de Joannes, landowner of Sedan, who soon entered into a state of rebellion upon proclamation of their inheritance to the Principality of Sedan. The young Falstaff count, in great opposition to the centralization of the 8th Empire and its associating dissemination of vassal autonomy, allied his family and brothers within the Sedanian host. With him, stood Conrad Nicholas The Elder, and his cousin, Daniel de Falstaff. The three brothers would soon make up the privy of the Sedanian host, rallying support against the Crown.

What followed next was tragedy; from the heights of their initial successes on campaign they fell, for as time wore on the Falstaff lineage was slowly culled by a mixture of losses in battle. By the Siege of Sedan, Whitcombe’s flower fields were salted and the manor abandoned - the fate of its residents worse. Emil-Dardot was stripped of his county and banished, Daniel de Falstaff mercilessly murdered without trial; Conrad Nicholas, once an officer of the ISA, found his own exile and escape from Oren with the help of those scant few trusted contacts that remained. The defeat of the Sedanites cost the Falstaff family four-fifths of their wealth, and all of their land and titles; indeed, those of that storied lineage would not rise publicly for a generation.

MEMORIA PATRIS

The origin of this cadet branch of Ashford is stooped in betrayal and wrought from the brink of ruination. It is said, nonetheless, that an Ashford heir will come to break this ruination and absolve the curse of its first ancestors.

Ser Baldwin ‘the Black’ (1500-1528) @yopplwasupxxx

One must first look at the tragic tale of Baldwin de Bar, the progenitor of this line. His very birth the result of Savoyard political machination, Baldwin was thrust into a life of intrigue and paranoia that would haunt him until the day he died. He was born from the unhappy matrilineal marriage of Frederique de Bar and Otto Rovin, part of a cruel plan of Guy de Bar in hopes of embarrassing the dubious Rovin line, whom, as stalwart Chivay loyalists, had never forgiven the Savoyards for their complicitness in the coup of Emperor Robert I and Chivay dynasty. Given him being the subject of a matrilineal marriage, Baldwin oft found himself scorned by his haughty Ashford kin, and found that he identified more comfortably with his noble highlander and Kaedreni lineage. Thus he took little part in the Duke’s War, only nominally supporting his ruling kin, by necessity more than anything else. He saw the whole debacle as trivial and needless, however, becoming further disenfranchised from his kin at two key events - firstly the burning of the Brelus Cathedral, as by this point Baldwin was a very pious man (which would prove evident soon after), and then the subsequent mass culling of the ruling Sarkozic line of Adria. Soon after he joined in service to the Church under Daniel II, and participated in the Tarchary Crusades. For his service therein he was given the title of Holy Ser and lordship over the colonial city of Luciensport.

During his crusading career, he came into contact with the Aeldinic agent known at the time as ‘Brother Polycarp’ (who would later turn out to be Charles Henry Horen). Through this associate he would become involved in the conspiracy to restore the Holy Orenian Empire under John Frederick Horen, Polycarp’s son. Originally refusing participation, he changed his mind in 1525 when his uncle and then King of Oren, Guy de Bar, refused to imprison both his son and courtier Sergius de Bar and Arstan Bedell for war crimes during the Dukes’ War. And so in 1526, Baldwin lured his begrudged uncle Guy outside to the chessboard in the Praha palace gardens, where the King was stabbed to death by Baldwin’s fellow co-conspirators. John I swiftly rose thereafter to the newly-restored imperial throne, and in recognition for his service the Emperor granted Baldwin the title of Imperial Spymaster on his small council. During this time, Baldwin married Elaine Briarwood, a minor Kaedreni noblewoman, with whom he had one son and heir, Albert Louis. Through his short career in the Johannian court, he orchestrated numerous assassinations of potential claimants, including four of his cousins and two sons of former King Guy, Sergius and Ferdinand. However, Baldwin’s betrayal of his kinsmen would eventually catch up to him, and he would meet his end not two years later in 1528 in a duel against his uncle and cousin Adrian and Adelric de Bar respectively, who sought vengeance for their fallen kinsmen (the latter of whom he slew, but falling to Adrian’s blade after).

Ser Albert Louis de Falstaff (1524-1573)

Born into the looming halls and echoing staircases of the Imperial Palace of Ancelcourt, Albert Louis knew little of life outside it. Given his father’s service in the installation of John I to the throne, the Emperor did in turn allow Baldwin’s widow and newborn son to remain in the palace. Thus he grew up amongst the nobles of the court, allowed a single servant in a simple farmboy; yet given the ties his father had burned with the rest of his kin, he was oft alone. Again, due to the actions of his father, when he grew of age, the Emperor did decree that he would squire under the Grand Knight Maric Horen-Vimmark, and so he did. Thus he moved to the pearly shores of Dragon’s Roost, and spent most of his days jousting or sparring, living a pleasant, gentle life there where he was instilled with and educated in the Knightly virtues. Then upon the day of his Knighthood, at the Imperial Palace, as he prepared to take his vows before Emperor and God, Adrian de Bar out of vengeance publicly denounced him from his familial roots, recompense for the actions of his late father Baldwin. Albert Louis then served in the last two years of the Eighteen Years War against the dwarves (from 1545-1547), and for his service to the crown was granted the fiefdom of Falstaff in the conquered lands of Cascadia (only miles from his father’s original hold of Luciensport), from where he would derive his name and found his cadet house, the House Ashford de Falstaff. Not long after he married Karoline Barrow, the bastard daughter of Duke Otto II of Carnatia, and had two sons, Barnabas Cedrik (known to most as ‘Bors’) and Odo Hugh, he reclined to a life of simplicity and farming on the frontier. Content in his fiefdom, he died in 1573.

Ser Barnabas Cedrik ‘Bors’ de Falstaff (1546-1607)

Bors was never going to be as content as his father. He had not grown up in the leisure of an Imperial Palace, rather the small and humble demesne of his father. From an early age he pursued ambition and quickly found a place and friendship with the young Jon Renault, Duke of Savoy, his distant kinsman. He made his home in the Blackwald and served as Chamberlain of Aldersport. There he stayed idle, but content, fighting in the War of Orcish Submission and the Rurikid Uprisings. When Emperor Philip Frederick I summoned the Savoyards to his court, Bors stayed behind to maintain the city and guard Jon’s wards, his bastard twins Guildenstern and Amelia Ashes. Once he heard the news of the last charge of Savoy, he quickly stole the girl out of the city, watching in the dark as the Imperial hordes came and burned the city to the ground.

Enraged by the death of his friend and seeking refuge for himself and Jon’s daughter, he sought refuge with his old friend, and known anti-imperial Arthur Vimmark in his castle Ostwick. There, Arthur convinced him to join in a plot to rebel against the Emperor, and introduced him to the Staunton brothers. There, in the stronghold of Ostwick, Bors used his quick wits and silver tongue to help form and lead the rebel force that would go on to become victorious in the Coalition War. Upon their victory, and the establishment of the Kingdoms of Courland and Lotharingia, Bors held respective knighthoods in both kingdoms, eventually settling in Metz and becoming the pedagogue of the young Prince Lothar d’Amaury. He married Amelia, the girl he had saved from Aldersport and had a son, Rosencrantz. However upon Lothar I’s assassination by radicals attempting to put Princess Anna Sophia of Pruvia on the throne, Bors lost his political position at court and took young Hughes, John I’s youngest son away into hiding with the Bastard’s Band (a mercenary group that had been formed by Guildenstern, his once ward) for fear that the assassins would come after the boy next. However, he died shortly after from infection of a leg wound in 1607.    

Ser Rosencrantz Jon de Falstaff ‘the Hangman’ (1595-1643) @lev

Having grown up at the heels of his uncle Guildenstern, Rosencrantz came to idolise him, and it was therefore no surprise that when Guildenstern formed The Bastard’s Band, Rosencrantz ran off from his father Bors’ position in Lotharingia to join him. He roved around like this, fulfilling various mercenary contracts until his father brought the young Hughes, who was only a little younger than himself, and they spent two years becoming fast friends. Then shortly after the death of Bors, Hughes came before Guildenstern and his cohorts and requested they support him in reclaiming his rightful place on the Throne of Lotharingia, which had been taken, after the assassination of his other brother Philip Owyn, by his cousin Odo d’Amaury (styled Odo I, King of Lotharingia). What soon followed was a deft and quickly orchestrated coup d’état, as the young Hughes had much support within his cousins’ privy. Namely Hughes, flanked by the Bastard’s Band, having been smuggled into the palace by Odo’s very own marshal John Frederick de Capua. Where Rosencrantz, himself restrained Odo and cast him from the city. However, after the coup, in a gesture of good faith, Hughes I offered the position of chancellor on his privy to Odo, who courteously accepted. In thanks for his help and in a show of good faith for their many years of friendship, Hughes I knighted Rosencrantz, and gave him the moniker ‘the Hangman’ for he had been the executioner of many of Hughes I’s enemies in such a way.

With Hughes in power, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz set about re-establishing the Order of Saint Peter, an owynist military order created by the late Jon Renault, Guildenstern’s father. It was through the OSP that Hughes I first established military security within the city of New Metz, although as the new Marshal gathered more strength and increased his recruitment their power weigned, their final outing being at the Second Battle of Rothswood, where Lotharingian aide would help secure Ruthern independence from the Kingdom of Courland (who it was publicly believed at the time were involved in the assassinations of both Lothar I and Philip I), which lead way to the reformation of the Sixth Holy Orenian Empire, by John V. After he returned from the battle Rosencrantz proceeded to marry his Lotharingian sweetheart Alyda d’Vawdré posthaste. It was by this time that Odo left the court and was not seen again in Hughes I’s reign (he returned later in Leufroy I’s reign), some say he left because he did not agree with the decision to re-vassalise under Oren, others say he left when he saw the King take less and less heed of his council, turning to Rosencrantz instead. So it came as no surprise to any that almost no sooner than Odo had left the building, than Hughes I had named Rosencrantz as his new chancellor. 

His time as chancellor, however, would be met with immediate turbulence; shortly afterwards, the Romstun hordes declared war on the duchy with the ambition of wiping it out (although they claimed a vague casus belli dating back to his grandfather Augustus d’Amaury’s slight of the Dunamis mercenary company). It was at the site of Castle d’Vawdré (the seat of Rosencrantz’ father in law) where tragedy struck, and the castle was taken and burned, and Hughes I, captured by the Romstun men, and later executed. In the absence of the King and no natural heir to be found, the privy and lords of Lotharingia declared a state of interregnum and Rosencrantz was declared Regent of the Kingdom. However this only went on to last for a few months as from out of the woodwork Leufroy, Odo’s eldest son came and since he was the only available and eligible candidate, the Lords of Lotharingia had no choice but to bow to him and declare him King. However, Rosencrantz was less than impressed, finding great fault with Leufroy I’s path of appeasement to the Romstuns who had just murdered the previous King, and it was after such toils  of character that Leufroy I relieved him of his duties as Chancellor. Finally, when Leufroy I declared the Lotharingia-Romstun Accord of 1615 in which peace was bought through the ceding of land and handing over of coin, Rosencrantz up and took off, absconding with his then ward Leufroy’s younger sister Raclette d’Amaury, taking with him the last vestiges’ of the Order of Saint Peter and the Bastard’s Band.He eventually settled in Adelburg, after the condemnation of the Romstun’s by Emperor Peter II Horen and participated in the succeeding war against them. He proceeded to fight in the War of the Beards, finally leaving and joining Frederick I, King of Marna in the construction of Sennisten, where he later died.                       

Leontes Hughes de Falstaff (1615-1692)

By the time he had reached his first birthday, he was already on the road. Having grown up motherless, he quickly became bereft of both softness and direction, becoming a rabble rouser and general miscreant, often stealing purses from the gruff savoyard soldiers of his father’s company, which would be met with swift beatings from Rosencrans. His father quickly began to notice his lack of decorum, growing dissatisfied with the man he was becoming. His father decided to enroll him to study in Oren, around the time of his 16th birthday. He was sent to the Imperial Court to learn under the counsel of the 6th Empire, for a short period of time until it's inevitable collapse. A few years passed without much of note before Leontes found his way into the court of Peter Sigismund. In his late twenties the Emperor grew fond of the advisory roles Leontes had taken up. Peter saw fit to give him a more appropriate title, granting him the role of royal advisor, a position underneath the Archchancellor, Heren of Metterden.

After a few years in the Imperial Court Peter Sigismund disappeared, leading way for his son, John Maximillian, better known as John VI to take the throne. Leontes remained loyal to the new Emperor. During this period he married his childhood sweetheart, Raclette d’Amaury whom they gave birth to two true sons, Lysander Albert and Bernard Titus. Leontes was also remembered for his lustful nature. On top of his two trueborn sons he had a bastard known as Banquo with a mysterious courtier.

After the ill-times assassination of John VI, Lysander left the Imperial court and his position as advisor, making way with the rest of his Heartland contingent to join his close ally Frederick Pius, helping him form the Kingdom of Marna.

Lysander Albert de Falstaff (1643-1704)

Lysander found prominence within the Kingdom of Marna very early in his life. Born into nobility the child spent his early years studying Marnantine law, quickly impressing his peers and the King himself, Frederick I. Lysander’s father Leontes proved rather frivolous with his spendings, leaving Lysander deeply in debt by the time of his death. Despite his misfortune Lysander showed himself to be an acute statesman, quickly working his way out of debt with the help of Owyn Leopold, the Seneschal of the Kingdom.

Lysander did not have the same relations as his father within court, finding it difficult to rise up in stature. From a very young age he grew up reading of the exploits of former Emperors, wishing a similar life for himself, despite his family’s denouncement. Although he never found the success himself he instilled the same values onto his sons, Conrad and Laertes. Soon after Lysander and his wife, Jeanne Antoinette de Valois had their first children he enlisted them into the service of Bernard Titus, an acute statesman and diplomat within Marna. Their early years were spent studying the intricacies of court, and the intrigue that enveloped the grandiose lifestyle. Conrad quickly rose up in political relevance, his brother Laertes more interested in a life of cloth and sword than the politics of the realm.

Conrad Baldwin de Falstaff (1680-1725) @cruzazul

Conrad’s life began in Sennisten, where his family found prominence. Whilst well-learned there, the state of the kingdom was rapidly devolving - and so he and his brothers were sent to the realms of their Aeldinic cousins, where they grew up alongside their cousin, the imperial pretender Joseph Marna. There his marriage with Elizabeth de Poussey was arranged, with whom he had three daughters (and with whom he would find reason to divorce after no heirs were born). Four years before the beginning of the War of the Two Emperors, he would return, sent to garner support among the Highlanders of Hanseti-Ruska for the Josephite cause. In Haense he found countrymen and ample allies, and was granted the County of Leuven. In Arcas he met and married Vesna Ostroborovich, with whom he would have a son, Armande. There, in Leuven, began many of the conspiracies that would mark the beginning of the Josephite Rebellion against the Pertinaxi Empire. The most significant meeting in the wake of the rebellion was the Council of Nenzing, held between the Falstaff family and the King of Haense, Marius Barbanov, and the Duke of Ves, Albert Myre. At the subsequent meeting the group proclaimed its intent to rebel against the empire due to the evils committed by the arbitrarily inclined Pertinaxi regime. Perhaps most unfortunately for the House de Falstaff, their integral part in the Josephite rebellion was duly noted by the Pertinaxi imperial class; in the last years of the war, Conrad was found and slain by a roving band of Pertinaxi dragon knights. He left behind one son, Armande, from his marriage with Vesna ‘the Younger’ of the Ostroboric Carrion line.

Laertes James de Falstaff (1684-1736) @lev

Laertes’ youth in the Marnanite court was similar, if not an exact mirror, to that of his brother Conrad. Whilst Conrad would stay in Aeldin with their cousins for an elongated period, Laertes returned to the Orenian mainland, where he would infiltrate the Nauzican Brigade of the Pertinaxi Emperor Augustus. His mission would be cut short, however, upon the disbanding of the unit - with its removal, so too did he lose his position in the Pertinaxi court, and so he was prematurely reunited with his family abroad. There, he began an ongoing tryst with his cousin, Cesarina Louise, before returning once more with his brother Conrad to establish a foothold in Arcas. As a courtier in Leuven, Laertes tutored the young Helton Helvets, who would eventually go on to be King Adrian of Kaedrin, in martial studies, and upon Joseph’s landing and the Council of Nenzing was made a knight in the Order of the Golden Lilies, where he was tasked with guarding the pretender’s family. Whilst he took part in the first engagements of the War of the Two Emperors, he would spend the rest with Joseph’s extended family - including during the climactic Siege of Helena, which saw the pretender defeated and his host scattered.

The tragedy of the de Falstaff line can be seen truly from the number of murders witnessed by Laertes; first was Banquo, then his cousin Armande the Elder, caught on the highways; next was his younger brother Alexander, then his sister-in-law Vesna, her young son taken by Pertinaxi dragon knights; after that, Conrad and Susanne too would not see the end of the war. At the Battle of the Silversea, Laertes watched the final remnants of the Josephites fall, and knew there was no further place for him in Oren as it stood. He stayed with his cousins, then, until he was called upon by the High Pontiff to bring Cesarina’s child, the young Alexander II, to Helena to become the Emperor. There, he rapidly rose to prominence as the Imperial Spymaster, rescuing Simon Basrid from Ba’as assassins, and claiming a place in the imperial court for his newly found relative Lucille. It was in this time frame, as well, that he found the last of the Falstaffs of Guise; Henry de Guise, a drunken, crazed husk of a man, lying on the floor of a remote Haeseni tavern.

While the Imperial Spymaster, Laertes was able to stop a series of attempts on Alexander’s life; at the same time, however, he publicly feuded with the Archchancellor, Ser John of Nowhere. Upon Cesarina’s tornado of an entry into the Orenian court, which culminated in her announcing Laertes to be the father of her unborn child and promptly being murdered by Ser John’s wife Vespira, Laertes was cast from the upper echelons of court. When Alexander II, whom he believed to be his child by one of his many affairs with Cesarina, grew sickly, he was convinced by Simon Basrid to write a public letter announcing it, the purposes twofold; the first to relieve Alexander of his stresses as emperor, and the second to seek forgiveness from God. The letter fell on deaf ears, as Alexander soon passed. Within three years Alexander’s younger brothers were assassinated and Laertes’ last child by Cesarina drowned, purportedly at the command of John of Nowhere.

For years, Laertes would wander the land as a drunken sellsword, pawning off heirlooms when his rapidly-degrading swordsmanship could not cover his tavern bills. He would do so until a retired man of the Pertinaxi imperial circle, William d’Aanen, brought news that the young son of Conrad, whom all had thought executed by the roving band of Pertinaxi dragon knights that had taken him, had been left alive in a cottage far from noble courts and politics. There, Laertes found Armande, who knew not even his own name, and gave him a letter confirming his heritage. Fulfilled, Laertes returned to Helena, where he was slain in a duel by Sir Thomas Raleigh of Haense, prior captain of the Nauzica Brigade of Alexander II, with whom he had spent many nights in camaraderie. That fateful knight soon after to have been found to take his own life.

Armande ‘the Baby’ de Falstaff (1718-1789) @cruzazul

When a baby, Armande was captured as a prisoner of war following the inception of the War of Two Emperors. He was taken during the event of the Burning of Ves, where his mother safeguarded him alongside her Carrion familiars. An orphan without a home, the baby was made a ward to the Empress Adeline for some time before the Empire’s crumbling at the hands of John VII, when he was sent away to be stowed at a nearby monastery, hardly past his toddler years. When the young Alexander II was crowned Holy Orenian Emperor, Armande’s sister became Alexander’s betrothed. Armande’s education at the monastery become patroned by his brother-in-law to-be and several remnants of the Josephite cause that clung to the throne, including his uncle Laertes himself and his Marna and Helvets cousins in the newly reconsecrated Kingdom of Kaedrin. He would be raised with a bevy of scholars for his tutelage, though he would not appear in the Holy Orenian Empire until well after the reign of Alexander, when the foundations of Peter III’s Josephite reformation of the Empire had begun. 

His first position in the Empire was beneath the wings of the Ministry of Civil Affairs as Undersecretary of Education, rapidly receiving a Doctorate in Judicial Studies and being accepted into membership in the Imperial Association of Saint Pontiff Everard IV, alongside the Lord Palatine of Haense, Konrad Stafyr, whose daughter, Isabel, he would marry with haste. He’d then be confirmed as a Judge in the Central Circuit Court, stationed in Kaedrin after its conversion into the Commonwealth. His labor for the Empire afforded him the lands of Guise just beside Kaedrin’s city, Ves, and the neighboring Rubern. There, he would erect the Varendoz Adventurer’s Guild, which grew alongside the fledgling Northern Geographical Society, both of which stood famous for their great excursions into the occult unknown and the arcane. Rumors say that the institution was the reason for why Guise looked akin to swamp town.

THE LEUVEN AFFAIR

The political prominence of Armande de Falstaff rose during the Leuven affair and his ancestral title’s restoration following the end of the Rubern war. The Leuven doctrine, issued by Peter III, saw a demand that the hostile Ruberni rebels and vagrants that inhabited the region be eviscerated from their land.

What followed was nothing short of political turmoil between the Crown and its subservient vassal, the King of Haense, Sigismund II. Upon the securing of the region, the Emperor tendered Armande de Falstaff as the Count of Leuven, and for his hereditary land to be secured in the former Rubern warhost via the Leuven doctrine, which was formerly agreed upon by the Crown of Haense and resolved in the House of Lords. As Armande traveled to Haeseni court for his oaths to be sworn, in a grand display, Sigismund II hindered his word, declaring that the region was instead to be titled the ‘Grand Principality of Muldav’, and the County of Leuven supposedly given a small partition equivalent to a landlord’s manor.

The Crown and the Basrid Ministry were quick to nullify this err, demanding that the Aulic government apologize for their seditions transgressions, and return the land to its rightful owner, the Crown. Nonetheless after years of failed discourse and whining by the young King, in a show of diplomacy and clemency, Peter III allowed the land to be restored subservient to the Kingdom of Haense, and instead tethered the County of Leuven as a direct Imperial vassal.

The Count of Leuven would then disappear after an excursion into a safari, being presumed dead many years thereafter.

Albert Arthur de Falstaff (1765-1808) @bickando

Raised in his youth among the equestrian Kaedreni courts of Arcas in a time of marshal and political prowess but internal decadence, Albert was made ward of Richard, Count of Rochefort, and left Guise at the age of only six for the golden fields and colorful streets of Owynsburg. Albert’s early years were spent playing chess with the Duke of Cathalon, making and playing violins, and being tutored with the Helvetii litter. His father’s disappearance, however, had left his inheritance in question - and with a sickly, comatose brother and a sister that - rumor had it - was monstrous in size and appearance, the nobility of the empire saw the line as cursed more often than not. A close alliance was made closer with the Helvetii when Albert entered into a political marriage with Theodora Helvets upon the recommendation of the Count Rochefort, allowing the young man also to secure Leuven in a sudden - no doubt “influenced” by the Kaedreni elite - ruling by the Imperial Courts.

The landing of the bulk of the Empire in Providence saw his, and his family’s, fortunes grow exponentially. Gathering allies and business partners especially among the women of the palace, Whitcombe and its flower fields soon became a summering destination for many of the old, landholding nobility - his protégé and closest companion Petra Vimmark among the most frequent. Many thought the man had dodged his family’s insistent curse - four healthy children, a beautiful County deep in the heart of the coastal eastern Empire, and a tenured seat as an Imperial Grandee. Further reinforcing that belief, he held membership in the most exclusive social circles of the time, was known to be associated with much of the Council of State and the high nobility, and accumulated wealth both in Imperial Marks and in rare and exotic artefacts far faster than his peers. Twenty years of steady growth of the family had left it confident, secure - perhaps overly so. Albert, too, found the Falstaff due eventually - the greatest storm of the decade landed off the coast of Whitcombe whilst he was aboard his ship, the Hope’s Haven, sinking it without a single survivor and giving the Sedanites the chance to sway his mourning son without interference from the staunch Imperial loyalist.

Emil-Dardot de Falstaff (1791-1852) @Publius

Born and raised among the glamorous heights of the nobility of Providence, Emil-Dardot was afforded the best tutelage money could buy, and was known to be prodigal at wordplay - perhaps partially because of how often he was touted as such by his proud father. That talent turned, eventually, into delinquency - the teenage boy preferring to spend his time picking flowers and writing poems for the young maidens of the other respectable houses of the Empire. The blind eye most took (perhaps balking at a confrontation with his well-connected family), however, led him towards more and more dubious connections, until he eventually became acquainted with the landholder of Sedan, and was drawn into their malicious plots behind his father’s back.

Conrad Armande de Falstaff (1844-Present) @Chennster

THE EVILS OF TRUTH

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." 

~

1862

“We must speak,” uttered the aster-clad woman, of onyx hair and distinguished scarred features. Across from her, a broadly built soldier-like man inclined his head. The two whose reign started with chaos continued with it, and their faces told the story of it: the occasional greyed hairs that fell in front of the empress's eyes, or the wrinkles that collected on the emperor's skin. It is always an interesting question: how does someone sleep at night, knowing all of the deaths on their hands? How can a person make such decisions, knowing hundreds will be sent to their end? For good or for evil, no matter, the decision weighs heavily. 

The two departed from the echoing chamber of the throne room and across the hall. Servants passed by, rushing with platters as quietly as a mouse. They were meant to be left unseen, twisting and turning through the crevices of the palaces unknown yet the empress took particular notice of them that day. 

There, at the table in the room opposite the great hall, the Archchancellor had been sifting through a large stack of papers in front of him. There is no stop, only work, continuous work, only work. Joseph had taken brief notice to the imperial pair as he nodded them along. There was no need to practice such formalities in the comforts of a secluded room, where no lingering eyes could watch their interactions as researchers to their subject. 

It had been some years into their reign; greyed skinned of exhaustion was a common cosmetic of all officials who had been following the Aster monarchs through their tumultuous reign, like when a courtier would color their lips red and blush their cheeks. Schisms, war, death, betrayal. Assassinations and their attempts. How many times had it been now that she dodged death? At first, the weight of the world's eyes upon her had caused such intense convulses of pain in her heart that she could barely manage enduring a public speech without intense panics that controlled her way of thought. To see the people devastated without any internal reform left them all in a losing game pulled by a string - a string of international relations and the whims of foreign influence. Would there ever be peace in her time, as the youthful her had desired? As Anastasya Ruthern desired, yet Anastasia I was forced to resist? 

As the two climbed the stairs of the Tower of Sir Walter, a singular word rang in her head akin to a mother's lullaby to a sleepy child. Abdication. Abdication. Abdication. Abdication. Anastasya, why do you not abdicate and save thousands of lives? Why do you bring so many to early graves? Do you care not for what the nuns taught you, the values you were raised with? You fight religion. You fight your God. You fight yourself. 

She shook off the thought. Already, she had gone too far to look back, and had no assurance from the enemy nations that abdication would do much of anything besides boost their egos. Perhaps years ago, she could have trusted Sigismund III when she was still friends with Moliana, too. Yet now, after having begged him for peace and seeing him ignore it, she knew his words and promises meant nothing but more death and turmoil for her people. To abdicate would only satisfy him, and do nothing for her people. She could not think of herself, her salvation. She had to consider the well-being of her people. Likely she would be damned to hell, to a fiery or freezing eternity, but they would not. 

You are evil, cruel, ruthless, a voice so similar to her own whispered from the depths of her consciousness. Her reflection looked back at her, a shimmer in the pane windows. A scarred woman stared back at her with resentful eyes. Were they wrong to compare her to the demons of the Scrolls? To think of the remarks from John VIII, who claimed her to be the spitting image of Saint Julia many moons ago, was so silly now. 

Beyond the edges of the tower, Orenian peoples and perhaps foreign and local merchants went about their daily business. Courtiers crossed the small bridge leading towards the imperial palace, and their escorts were close behind or flanking near their side. The sea of buildings, particularly their colorful roofs, painted a picture before her very eyes. The air was colder, although not too much so, this high. Philip had also been watching the passerby, and what itched his thoughts brought such curiosity to her. Anastasia focused on every inch of otherness besides her thoughts, besides the very reason as to why she climbed all those steps and ladders to a place of utter solitude. For if someone was to hear this, all would be doomed. Or perhaps she had been hoping to have a beautiful sight of what they had built before she was killed.

"It was me," she said. “We never spoke of what happened in those haste months. We only acted, without speaking often to one another. Yet I admit it. Perhaps you knew. Perhaps you assumed. It was me who ordered the death of your father, and me alone.” Philip did not turn to her, nor question what she had meant by that. There was only silence from the two, and the wind filled the emptiness between them. "Although it was a letter to Mary, the governess. As far as I am aware, Olivier was not involved. I do not know what happened beyond the letter's delivery, who was spoken to, who was there." 

Metal smoothly crept out of its resting place and a cold weight brought shivers across all her skin. Her eyes laid on the city as she thumbed a pocketed letter; this letter which had been worn until the script was almost unreadable. A particular corner of the paper had been rubbed a strange tint as her fingers used it as solace for her nerves. The paper was unsigned, unfinished, yet addressed to "Victoria" - a little girl with an unwanted first name by her mother and bestowed by her stubborn father. 

Anastasia turned, and moved until the point of the sword pressed gently to the soft skin of her throat. Without saying, she beckoned him to do it. To end it. To send her to the place where she would be, one day, whether it was now or in several months, years. Yet it was not regret that she felt in her heart. She had never regretted writing the letter, for the future she forged for her children and the Orenian people mattered more than her guilty conscience. Guilt, disgust, resentment - yes. Regret? No. Death would be sweet in this moment, her life taken by the blood of who she took from. Eye for an eye, perhaps some may call it. 

Do it, she wanted to shout, Kill me. The thought alone brought her relief, as her shoulders dropped and her heart no longer raced. What happened from then on would no longer concern her, and Philip would reign as a monarch greatly as he had before. It was not the leaders, after all, who made things run, who made the economy stable, who housed the people. The leaders only inspired, and the empire had a spare. Inspiration of the masses didn't need to come from a duo, it never did before. Even under the reign of Joseph II and Anne I, they managed to uphold the country on their own. 

The sword was sheathed, and all of her relief left with the sound of the metal slipping into its scabbard. She wanted to scream, to rise further anger in him to lash out and strike her down, yet the subtle anger that was left in his eyes subsided. He hadn't anger in him at all; it was duty and necessity, perhaps knowing that the past was unchangeable and the future was where all value should lie - only speculation. 

His movements were slow, calculative, and he had no intent on avoiding eye contact with her either. He made certain to meet her eye, as she did his, with no hate or resentment as she had imagined in her nightmares when she admitted the truth to him again and again in an endless cycle with thousands of different endings. There was a mutual understanding that remained between them then, but the feeling of love and a joyful marriage was gone. This was not unfamiliar, however. They had let go of this feeling willingly, together, when they stepped on the ship to send them to Almaris. As they discussed the potentials and plans of revolution and the ship gently rocked closer to their homeland, the happiness sucked out of the room like clean air in an enclosed space. These were the sacrifices for changing the course of an entire nation to be that of something it never was before; of an empire whose foundations were so deeply rooted in slow bureaucracy and gentle military, in calculative actions and subtle outspokenness - especially in relations abroad. 

Philip climbed down the ladder and into the tower, where she could see him no longer. She followed soon after.

"Are you well, Your Imperial Majesty?" Joseph asked as she passed by the table. This time, he stood from his place of work. Anastasia opened the letter from her hand, and stared down at the disappearing script of her mother's cursive;

Dearest Victoria,

Childe, you know I was remiss upon hearing of your betrothal - I do not blame you for failing to tell your poor mother, however, given my reaction when I did learn of it. Please, though, think of your own future - with Philip, you shall be shackled by the bonds of my relatives - and I fear you shall find yourself damaged in the process. With

The letter was unfinished and unsigned.

"Yes," she affirmed with a nod. "I am well, thank you." 

OPERATION AUGUSTINE

"When you are a mother, you are never alone in your thoughts."

1849

The Duchess of Furnestock woke in the midst of the night with only an hour of sleep. That singular hour had been the most significant amount of time in weeks she dedicated to the endeavor that is resting. Since her first footstep upon Almaris soil, she had refrained from eating. Anastasia claimed it was fasting and a display of her piety, and perhaps some of it was. The strength she was required to display in the face of the world would not allow her a moment’s respite; she could show no weakness. 

Yet each time her eyes clamped shut in hopes of acquiring a moment’s slumber, or even amidst her prayer in the San Luciano cathedral, the faces of her children as they left Ulyssa port haunted her. These faces had been frozen. Catherine was five years old; scared, trembling, yet stalwart for the little princess who was being sent off by her parents to attend to her title’s royal duties. This was a falsity of the mind, a trick, for her cheeks likely hadn’t remained as chubby and her auburn brown hair had grown in length. Victoria clutched a wooden sword as if it had been Anastasia’s own hand - she could see it still, she could see it always. Peter outlined the embodiment of royalty, as much as could be possibly exhibited in a child. 

Anastasia tossed in her bed sharply, as if an assassin entered her private chamber in the Palazzo Aggarde and twisted a serrated knife into her stomach. Her throat constrained as guilt strangled her and suffocated her of any air. She prayed that their eyes still remained the same; their big, beautiful eyes full of wonder and excitement; joy and happiness - and horror, abandonment, as the ship continuously left when each child was of age. 

They are in the palace, her consciousness reminded her with temptation. They are in the Augustine. 

Sweat poured into her palms and anxiety rushed through her bones. Whilst Philip slept at her side, Anastasia slipped the covers and blankets off of her and grabbed a tattered blue robe to cover her nightgown. Her heart sank as Philip stirred.

And she released a stiff sigh as he hadn’t woken to the sound of her rustling. She could no longer feel her fingers and wondered how the blonde wig had snugged its way onto her hair, how the cosmetics were horribly plastered onto her face, how she appeared as the handmaiden Angelica without remembering any of her preparation. Feeling came back into her hands, tingling bit by bit until touch was as real as it always had been to her. 

Then she was out the door, breathing erratically, unrhythmically, and hadn’t remembered her paces to the grandeur exit that led to the outdoors, where a beautiful garden and the city of San Luciano had been. The buildings looked as if they were from a novel now, painted, rather than a realty as they flashed by. Her heart pounded through her chest and thumped in her ears. By God, she could feel the blood pulsing in her fingertips as she reached for the reins of a horse she stole from the stables. Something had taken over her, an instinctive feeling that she must find her children. They would be held hostage. They would be prisoners. Not my children. Not my children. 

Whether the ride had been short or long, she hadn’t known. The unruly men, bandits, she passed on the street had not brought her any worry as she rode past them without a chance to see more than a fast blur of their muddied expressions. My children. Her thoughts were split, barely managing coherent sentences or phrases. The gates of Providence were upon her now as she rode up the stairs that dipped her mind into nostalgia unlike any time before. The pristine, pearl white walls were not as welcoming as they had once been; now they held her children behind them. Now they were an obstacle. A kind woman she could not remember the name of let her inside - let Angelica inside, that is, not the Duchess - where had the horse gone? She moved forward, step after step after step. The streets were longer than she remembered, and greyer. The buildings were taller, the houses were brighter. Or were they duller, grimmer, given what was to occur in only a few saint’s days? 

The elongated walls of the imperial palace beckoned into her view. These walls were now the iron bars of a prison, in which it held her children as its hostages. She moved down from the horse and tied it, somewhere - she had not known where, as her feet led her onwards into the courtyard. A red-headed child halted her. 

“You look lost!” The little princess exclaimed. Underneath her arm was a book tucked away, and on her face was a beaming smile. Anastasia grasped the shoulders of her child as she rushed forth, frightening the young girl, as the Duchess fell to her knees. 

“Katyushka, Katyushka,” the mother cried out in a pained whisper, her fingers tightly holding onto her shoulders still. “We must go. Quiet now. It is me. It’s Mother. I’m home, and Father is too. Come now, let’s go. Where are your siblings?” Confusion sprawled over the princess’s features; happiness, relief — yet confusion more than anything else. 

“But Father, he died—”

“He is alive, Katya, it was fabricated by your great grandfather—”

“We buried him, we had a funeral—”

“It was all a lie!” She muttered to her daughter in a hushed voice, yet it raised in intonation as her voice, in her pleas, broke. “Listen, Katya,” she ran her hands over the back of her head, combing desperately through her hair in some attempt to comfort yet with little to provide in her own fears of what was to come and swirling thoughts of the danger ahead. 

“What’s going on here?” A courtier approached, seeing the blonde woman grasping onto the royal before her, perhaps with —from a perspective of the unknowing eye— a strange unwillingness to let go. Anastasia froze, her entire body stiffening at the foreign voice behind her. When she rose, she stood upright and proper at the princess’s flank. And she prayed.

There was a brief silence, and they could hear the gentle chirp of the insects in the early morning. “We’re going through a night stroll, sir, and I got a bug in my hair,” the child displayed a smile. The man, whatever be his occupation, only offered the two a little nod and continued on. The knees of the duchess crashed into the hard cobble as she lost her balance as soon as there was the sound of a closed door behind her. 

“My sweet Katya, I have never needed you to listen to me more than I do now.” The thick smoke that consumed her head began to dissipate and her thoughts came to her in precise sentences rather than jumbled words. “You and your siblings will become hostages, do you understand? You will see your father soon, but we must move quickly.” Disbelief, hesitancy - she could see it all so blatantly displayed on her daughter’s features. As soon as Catherine moved, Anastasia followed in tandem. 

Those glittering walls that towered high above had always resembled no more than an illusioned prison, and now the decorative painting of a lie had fallen further from any inkling of respects she may have held. The only detail that was no longer an illusion was the matter of it being a prison, for in fact now it held her children as hostages against the regime. It all passed in subtle blurs in the corners of her eyes, and the deeply red carpet turned to white stairs that echoed each footstep. And with each sounded footstep, she winced. It felt no less than bile that tightened her throat with anxieties. 

Catherine opened the doors to the imperial quarters, a part that even the Duchess had never seen throughout her life as the daughter of Princess Helen nor after her marriage to Philip. Perhaps it was the situation that made such secretive apartments have no shine, no godly appearance that marked a regal reign under divine right, or perhaps her views were skewed with desperation to seek out her children and hatred for the population that was suffocated.

“Victoria? Peter? James?” Catherine called out, and one by one the three peaked their heads out around the grandeur door. And their eyes widened at the sight of their mother. There was no time for anything more than a short reunion, no time for the warmth of an all-embracing hug that she dreamt of with all her children together. 

One was missing. 

“Where is Julia?” She asked so quietly, and suddenly that all held back feeling of bile resurfaced. “Where is your sister?” 

“She’s away, as a ward,” the little princess, blonde as akin to her grandmother Amadea, voiced. 

Anastasia could feel a wobble in her stance, a pressure in the corners of her eyes as she fought tears. A scream was muffled in her throat, suffocated out, until it was nothing. She pressed her shoulders back as though to straighten her posture, resolute, and she gestured the children on. “Let’s go, quickly and quietly now. Not a sound from any of you, and follow me exactly. It’s-”

“A game,” the young Catherine chimed in, and Anastasia nodded in assurance.

“It’s a game.” 

Eyes of the paintings lining the wall stared down at her as she rushed down the steps and across the red carpet once more. The people of the past; relatives, leaders, soldiers - all of them stared at her as if they knew what she and Philip intended to do. Emperors and empresses and archchancellors watched with careful eyes until one by one her children ran from the palace as the prisoners they had become and into the carefully lit night.

The crunch of gravel was not alone this time as it was in the approach towards the palace. Now the sounds of little feet shuffling through the pebble paved path coincided with Anastasia’s, and in that sound alone her shoulders drooped. There was one missing from that queue, and in each step she could hear it. Or perhaps it was her imagination that tortured her. The horse would have to be left behind, for there was no way for her to gather all her little ones atop it and the noise - she couldn’t risk it. She untied it, hastily, to at least be free of its bindings. 

Leaving felt simple; she gathered her children and walked now as she saw no guards in sight. It was strange, to never see a soldier of the Imperial State Army about, and to see the streets so desolate. Never were they empty at dark; the setting of the sun hadn’t an effect on the city’s liveliness. She gathered Victoria under one arm, and Peter on the other. Catherine tailed close and James wandered a little further until the eldest of the lot gathered him back in. The gates remained open, and out they stepped on their long journey through the early morning and into the sun’s rise. 

It was picturesque when the sky was gently painted in light reds and oranges that stroked the rippled clouds and shimmered over them in a warm blanket as the sun crawled higher. Tiredness caught in her throat, as it did the children, yet they still walked along that quiet road with quiet yawns and slow steps. Home, where they would at last reunite with their father, not a gravestone, and to meet the youngest of the family; Anna, and the newborn Frederick.

A Thesis on selfishness in three acts

Penned by Sister Helen

Published 1879

CAST

Michael – An old, selfish merchant. Witty and often sarcastic and unserious.

Alessandra - Michaels wife, worrying, pious and devout to Michael. Often warns him of his selfishness and what trouble it could cause.

Esmeralda – A beautiful young witch clad in extravagant robes– she offers Michael immortality, only for him to turn into a ghoul.

ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

The title of Count of Halstaig originates from the Sixth Empire under Peter II when he ennobled Braehn Elendil An'Hiraeth as the first Count of Halstaig. However, Braehn’s title did not surpass his death as the infamous Coup of Adelburg restructured Orenian nobility and restricted Braehn from continuing to hold his title and all associated lands. The title was thus placed in absence.

It was not until two centuries later that the title resurfaced. In 1781, Peter III bestowed the title of Count of Halstaig upon Oisin Seamus O’Rourke, a highly-regarded Adunian politician and commodore from Kaedrin. Upon assuming the comital title, he was given the formal name, John I by Imperial Administration, a tradition which all future title holders underwent upon assuming peerage.

Braehn I
of House Elendil
(1629-1639)

Braehn Eldenil An'Hiraeth
@Braehn Elendil An'Hiraeth

    Being entitled as the first Count of Halstaig by Peter II during the reign of the Sixth Empire, Braehn was responsible for the construction of much of the Imperial-Adunic culture still seen in the modern era. He placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of education as he was notorious for supporting the construction of several academic institutions in his first rendition of Halstaig on Axios.

    Brahen’s reign as Count did not last long as a decade after his ennoblement, the Coup of Aldersburg was launched which saw the subsequent removal of several Imperial Noble Titles - Braehn’s title included.

John I
of House O’Rourke
(1781-1788)

Oisin Seamus O’Rourke

@Areon

Oisin grew up in Brolwic, Aeldin. Upon news of his father's death in 1756, he and the rest of his family sailed back to Arcas. As the new Patriarch of House O’Rourke, he was to take care of his family, settling them down in The Commonwealth of Kaedrin. Once purchasing a house he began a printing press to further take care of the family, thus creating the O’Rourke Company.

Whilst achieving noble status for the family, arguably his most notable achievement was founding the Imperial State Navy. Alongside George de Sarkozy, he constructed a base for the navy within Kaedrin, beginning a large-scale recruitment drive. After being denied the ability to blockade Sutican Ports and trade routes in the Sutican War due to the ocean froze over, he lived out his final years peacefully. His title passed onto his brother Patrick…

Patrick I
of House O’Rourke
(1788-1791)

Padraig Pious O’Rourke
@Mandalore1

Padraig grew up in Aeldin alongside his family. He too sailed back to Arcas in 1756 when news of his father's death spread. As a famed politician of the Empire, after the Imperial Diet reform in 1764, he dived headfirst into his career, by joining the Josephite party. Having lived in Kaedrin for a decade and building his social standing, he decided to run for Lord Mayor of Owynsburg.

After the hardships of a supposedly rigged election, he finally found himself in charge of the city. Reopening the mines, ceasing taxation, and reforming mayoral elections. With great success as the mayor, he was invited to be the Minister of Labor within Ves, allowing him to affect Vessian vassals on a large scale. The years of his life came to a near end after being promoted by the Archchancellor to the role of Secretary of the Interior. He left his title to his daughter Anastasia…

Anastasia I
of House O’Rourke
(1791-1828)

Anastasia Cassia O’Rourke
@Asutto

Also known as Azariah of Halstaig, the Countess was born in Owynsburg, Kaedrin. Her backstory being that of a vagrant and bandit, set straight by the Imperial State Army. Being forced to conscript after being captured, she spent her time reuniting with her family and studying the blade. She chose to then follow in her family's footsteps by running for Alderman of Helena. Later on she became a city clerk of Helena and continued to climb the ranks of the I.S.A despite having passed her required years of service.

After Padraig’s untimely death, she took on the title of Countess as the eldest of her sonless father. Reaching the near peak of her military career during the Inferi War, she became a guardian of Orenian and Adunian people alike. After joining the legions of descendants in fleeing Arcas, she established a small town within the Daeperician Archipelago before continuing to Almaris to construct the famous Erin Hall with the aid of her grandfather. She went on to participate in many wars and events in Orenian history and achieved the rank of Lieutenant in the ISA to then retire. In 1828 she died in an assassination attempt, to which her body was never found. She bore the title(s): Dame, Anastasia Cassia of Halstaig,  Countess of Halstaig, Magistrate of Providence, and Knight Commander of the Order of the Lion.

Iduna I
of House O’Rourke
(1828-1849)

Iduna Anne O’Rourke

@Itz_Cookie

The White Rose was born within the confines of Halstaig’s white marbled walls, where she was ordered to remain. Though that did not stop her, the future Countess, a free spirit in her younger days, spent her days wandering the realm. After a mortifying bandit encounter at a young age, she was placed under the care of a bodyguard, increasing the time she spent at Halstaig significantly. Taking an interest in the arts would later influence her career as an adult.

After an arguably scandalous marriage, she began a new generation of O’Rourke’s with a Haenseti as her spouse. Whilst achievements were minor in her time, she procured the future of the family and spent her time working as the Mistress of the Arts and Culture in the Augustine Palace. An unfortunate death besieged her as she and the head maid of Halstaig attempted to leave on the sea for a brief trip to Aeldin. The ship sank at the cause of a corrupt pirate, and Iduna’s legacy was left to her eldest daughter Theodosia…

Theodosia I
of House O’Rourke
(1849-1876)

Theodosia Illaena O’Rourke
@RaindropsKeepFalling

Theodosia ‘The Black’ was a momentous figure in modern Oren, both the Empire and Kingdom. Her upbringing was relatively simplistic, surrounded by the tenets of Halstaig and her family. Influenced by a great lack of parental guidance, she brought herself to mature at a young age to then take on the Comital Title sooner than expected. Not more than a month after she had to face her first decision as Countess in the Aster Revolution…

After pledging fealty to Philip Amadeus alongside an escort of O’Rourke bannermen, many reforms were to then come. The first reformation of many to influence the County was that of free companies, and after rigorous application, the Westguard was formed under her supervision. Meanwhile, her cousin and the Arentania Construction Corporation were hard at work designing and constructing the Fortress of the West, the new design of Erin Hall. Upon the perch of Erin Hall, the first and only Lady Vicar of Arentania was elected into this position, leaving her to reside over the noble families within the western region of the Empire. One of the Countess’ final reforms she had left in her legacy was the original draft of the Peerage Reforms, responsible for fixing the bloated population of peers. Theo had found the end of the road much too soon, just like those before her. Most were unsure of the origin of her death, although letters of her last will and testament were left behind to her children. Theodosia had left Calahan O’Rourke as her Regent in absence whilst her daughter Sadie Cristonia O’Rourke waits to take the title…

Sadie I
of House O’Rourke
(1876-present)

Sadie Cristonia O’Rourke
@Moenah

A flaxen-haired child of Rourke, Not known to say much, the road before her is not straight. To be raised by her family, there is not much else known…

Orenian Culinary History

The Orenian people have an immensely unique and diverse culture. This fact translates into their culinary cuisine as well. Spreading across a vast selection of dishes, cooking methods, and ingredients, the Orenian cuisine is far different when compared to other nations of humanity. Hearty meals are a majority of the dishes served within Orenian cuisine. Big portions and high calorie foods are often the favorites of the people of Oren. It is believed that this strong taste for hearty meals originated from the ideal that an excess in body weight is acquainted with wealth. Subsequently, the most common cooking practices in Orenian cuisine are boiling, frying, and baking. All three of those methods retain a high level of nutrients and content within the food, in turn creating a hearty and calorie rich meal. Soups, grains/doughs, and large portions of beef, pork, and chicken are the most common types of dishes within Oren. The drinks within oren are also quite diverse, ranging from fruity juices, strong liquors, and aromatic wines. The main portion of drinks originating from Azor, such as Orange Juice, Azor Merlot, Carrion Black, and more.   

Common Orenian Dishes

Oren as a nation doesn’t have very many dishes itself. It’s true cuisine comes from the medley of various dishes stemming from the people and families. This creating a unique and diverse world of culinary pieces within a single nation. The most common dishes shown in almost all the sub-groups of the nation are:
 

Pottage

Pottage, a stew made from oats, broth, and vegetables. A simple dish, often a common food of peasants. This stew is started by bringing broth made from bones up to a boil. Vegetables and occasionally meat are added to the broth. Just as they start to finish oats or grain is added to thicken the soup. This thick porridge consistency stew is very hearty and high in protein and other nutrients. Keeping peasants awake and energized for their long work days. 

Dark Grain Bread

This bread made of rye is often considered food of the poor. It’s rather bland, however quite soft and has a strong grainy flavor. This bread is served alongside almost every peasant meal. It’s rather easy to make and is inexpensive. The rye grown in the yards or plots of the peasants, berries foraged for, and the other ingredients could be bought or found. This bread is made in a similar way to other breads, consisting of making the dough, letting it rise, kneading, proofing and then baking. The dough is made with rye flour, water, malt syrup, rye berries, and sometimes other ingredients like sunflower seeds, cocoa powder, and espresso beans.

Mardon Roast

A simple dish, at its basis it's rare steak grilled with a medley of herbs, slathered in lemon and brown sugar, then served upon a slab of spruce bark. This is a staple within Orenian cuisine, showing the common features of an Orenian dish. The hearty beef, with a contrast between the bitter herbs and the sweet sugar creates a wonderful aroma. This creates a powerful but simple flavor profile delivering an excellent dining experience. 

Barszcz/Borscht

Borscht is a beetroot soup in its simplest form. However, it differs from a traditional soup rather drastically as it does not use the usual mirepoix that soups usually follow. Instead it’s simply a beef or chicken broth, and consisting of a main ingredient of beets. Sometimes a Borscht will be made with a substitute from beets, such as tomatoes. The Borscht is made by boiling a broth and some protein, creating a stock. Afterwards, adding roasted vegetables, and the second most important ingredient, cabbage. Once boiled for a little longer the dish is served. The soup can be made with pureed ingredients or not, with protein or not, and can be changed about to the desired taste. This ability to be changed around makes it a staple in the Oren cuisine. 

Sausages

Simple, yet incredibly delicious, the sausage is a mandatory piece of the cuisine in Oren. While only a protein within a pork intestine casing, it can come in all shapes and sizes. Usually being a blend of pork and fat, occasionally beef, the filling can be anywhere between vegetables to rice. Spices, fat to base ratios, and other fillings can be interchanged to fit the desired taste. They can also be cooked in a variety of ways. Boiling, pan-frying, frying, steaming, and stir-frying are the most common cooking methods for these delectable tubular links. This versatility allows the sausage to be placed within virtually any dish. 

Unique Dishes of Orenian Peers 

The peers of Oren all have their own unique culture, and cuisine. All having their own basis on what makes their culture unique. Some having emphasis on beets, others following a finer life of wine and cheeses. This all pours into the city of Vienne, creating a medley of many different cultures. 

Grodno

The Margrave of Grodno is heavily based on soups, and pastry. Most common dishes within the Margrave involve boiling. Cabbage, like within most other cultures in Oren, is a vital part of the Grodno cuisine. 

 Pierogi

The Pierogi is a traditional dumpling, made of thinly rolled dough, with various fillings. They can be filled with meat, with potatoes and cheese, or with fruit. To make these dumplings, one forms a piece of dough into a little circle, placing the filling within the middle, and folding the dough over before sealing it. The dumplings are then boiled within water, and occasionally broth, until they float. The floating being the indicator of readiness, after they reach this point, they can be served, or lightly pan-fried to add a crunch and crust to them. These little fried pastries are often served along side a helping of sour cream.

Golabki

Simply just meat and rice, wrapped in pre-boiled cabbage. Golabki is a traditional dish within Grodno. The way these simple wraps are made is equally as simple. Starting off by boiling, or baking a piece of meat, before slicing it or shredding it. Having a portion of rice made, by boiling the grains in water, and boiling leaves of cabbage. Taking these 3 parts, you lay the rice upon the boiled leaf, then place the meat, then either fold or roll the leaf into a wrap. Other things can be added to this dish to add spice, or savoriness.

Azor

The people of Azor participate in an elevated cuisine. Heavy emphasis on the finer dishes and drinks. Wines, juices, fowl, and cured meats are the main diet of the Azor people. Azor doesn’t have very many unique standard dishes, however their drinks and cheeses are far more in depth. 

Orange Cake

A cake made with oranges in its simplest form. As usual the cake is made with a simple yellow cake batter, with either chunks or zest shavings of an orange. These cakes are very versatile, and don’t have a set recipe besides pieces of orange being included. Having a sweet and sour contrast between the zestiness of the orange and the sugary flavor of the cake. This creates a delicious blend of fruity flavor with sweet dessert. 

Azor Merlot

 The Azor Merlot is a staple in the catalog of drinks within Azor. It's a wine made with Azor grapes. Mashes and fermented within massive barrels to make a fruity, sweet, and smooth wine. Lacking potency this wine goes well with strong cheeses, such as smoked gouda, muenster, or feta. Glasses of this wine are also served alongside charcuterie boards. 

Corwin

The cuisine of House von Alstreim and the Barony of Corwinsburg primarily corresponds to culinary traditions of southern Aesterwalder regions and that of Aesterwald's former capital, Vanderfell, with certain unique quirks owing to the House's tenure in the tropical reaches of Sutica and Almarian Savoy. Beef dishes with a side of potatoes and beets, usually sausages served with beer are common; where available, Sutican lemons and southern spices are added to enhance the meals.

Weisswurst

The staple meal of Corwinsburg is Weisswurst, a Waldenian white sausage made from minced veal and pork and encased in pork skin. It is traditionally eaten before noon with a side of Aesterwalder sesame-topped pretzels and wheat beer. Both pretzels and wheat beer are produced locally, within Alstreim holdings.

Whisperwood Cake

A unique feature of Alstreim cuisine is the Whisperwood cake, named in honor of the Sutican-Alstreim victory in the Merryweather War, achieved at the Battle of the Whispering Woods. It is a chocolate cake served with sweet cream and Sutican cherries, with cherry spirit added to the cake. Sutican lemonade or a mixture of beer and lemonade is also served alongside this dessert.

Pompourelia

Pomporelian cuisine is similar to Grodno’s. Consisting of soups, portions of meat, and hearty meals. Boiling is a staple in the cooking of Pompourelian cuisine. Having cabbage as a staple for their cuisine as well. 

Bigos

Bigos, also referred to as Hunter’s Stew, is a stew made with various types of game meat, sauerkraut and boiled cabbage. Having other ingredients, like mushrooms, berries, tomato stock, this stew is incredibly hearty and is a staple in Pompourelia. This stew is made by boiling roasted game bones, in water to make a broth, before boiling the harder and denser vegetables, adding the meat, and other vegetables. Once done boiling, seasonings and spices are added. Once this is complete it is served hot. 

Makowiec

The Makowiec or Poppy Seed roll is a yeast bread roll, sweet in nature, filled with a bitter and rich poppy seed filling. This dessert is a simple yeast roll, baked and made the same way as a dinner roll. The dough is made, kneaded, proofed, then kneaded then proofed again. Once this is completed it’s rolled out, lined with filling and then rolled up. Baked for a while then served hot or cold. 

Halstaig

Adunian dishes are often quite strong, usually consisting of game meat. This fact spreads even to their drinks, which happen to be bourbons, liquors, and rums. This combination creates a resounding and powerful taste within your mouth.

Bear Jerky

A dry aged meat cured in salt. A chewy snack for the road first fashioned by the Barkeeps of Paddy's Pint - Made of Arentania Grizzly, Bear Jerky is prepared by the hunters of Halstaig after a day's kill. Cured for a week in bear fat then coated in salt, it can stand the test of time.

Adunic Stew

A beef broth stew of rabbit, potatoes, carrots, and herbs. Deeply connected to the ancient culture of Adunia, utilizing the simple things found in the local terrain. - The rabbit is cooked at a low heat before being placed into the broth on a low flame. The carrots should be diced to chunks then softened in the stew along with the potato's. Last the herbs are grinded on with a healthy amount of salt, delivering a plentiful dish.

Antonious Bourbon

An aged and distilled liquor with a flavor implicative of caramel, rather sweet. Procured by fermented barley, whence left to age with barrels, fresh sugar added thereafter. Foam floats across the surface tension against the hazel colored contents. Best served at room temperature, all ingredients are sourced from Arentania.

Ames

Based upon a finer life, the Asmeian cuisine is often clean and clear soups or broths, as well as heartier cheeses and sauces. Another common part of the Ames cuisine is bread and grains. The sauces,cheeses, and bread and grains often go hand in hand. 

Fondue

Fondue is melted cheese or occasionally chocolate served in a pot alongside bread, crackers, fruits, amongst other dipping items. The warm cheese compliments the cold bold flavors of the dipping items. The cheese can be changed around or spiced to appeal to a specific flavor or dipping item. This can serve as an entree, or a dessert.

Gulasch

This stew of meat and vegetables is similar to a curry. Strong in spice and bold in flavor this is often served with pasta and bread. The bold spice compliments the gentle and soft flavor of the pasta or bread. The meat is often sausage, however it can be chicken or beef as well. Occasionally the meat is removed and it becomes a vegetarian stew. 

Acre

The cuisine within Acre is very simplistic, similar to common peasantry food. Consisting of breads, potatoes, and cheese. Simple yet delicious, while being hearty and calorie packed.

The Cheesebeast

A classic cheese wheel, perpetuated by generations of cheese-making in the most traditional parts of the de Vilain family, nowadays passed onto the farmer's of Acre to produce. These giant cheese wheels are of cylindrical shape, with a diameter of 17 inches and a height of 10 inches, these wheels are robust weighing in at around an average of 92 pounds per wheel. The rind is a natural golden yellow in color. The cheese is firm, but with a subtle, closed texture. Note the full, imposing flavor with notes of nuttiness, citrus, and hints of onion. The full-cream used to make Acre's Cheesebeast gives it a rich and buttery taste, and a flaky texture. Not as firm as cheddar, Acre's Cheesebeast is still firm and biteable, like hard chocolate. It has a mellow, nutty character with an orange-zest tang.  Additionally, it melts well, making it perfect for cooking - easily served alongside a variety of fruits and wines - dry, or sweet. Some Savoyard Smirk may just be a good compliment to it, too. A massive cheese is perfect for a massive occasion, and so the cheese is celebrated in a grand event where the cheese wheels are rolled down a steep hill and chased by the village folk. The one who manages to stop the wheel gets to take it home. This event is held for a good harvest, and to hail continued prosperity in the community. It is recommended for the cheese to be kept in a cool, dry place, if so the massive cheese wheel can often last for up to two years in proper storage.

Raisin Bread

A staple, traditional food made with wheat flour bread, dried raisins, and sometimes flavored with strokes of cinnamon or wild pepper, the bread itself is coated with powdered sugar or raw flour. Traditionally, it is given as a wedding gift to wish good health and tastefulness in life. Wedding couples usually split or cut the bread, and it is good luck to get the half which has the most raisins within. Usually, the bread is branded with the baker's mark, and for weddings the couples' initials are included as well.

The Baked Potato

An unpeeled potato, cut through the middle and baked in an oven until tender, this filling dish is a staple food for laborers, men of trade, and Barons alike. Traditionally, the potatoes are wrapped in a tough baking linen as they cook in the hot stone oven. The oven itself is periodically misted with water to keep the potatoes moist under the cooking process. Once removed from the oven, the potato will have bloomed, with the skin now being crisp and unblemished from the cooking. Before serving, the inside is exposed more and basted with a gentle serving of cold butter, or oil of one's choosing. It is then ready to be eaten, providing a rich and adequate meal to sup. The Baron's baked potato is a variation of the dish, it is cooked traditionally aside from deviating by scooping out the interior after baking, leaving the skin as a shell. Its interior flesh is then used to contain ingredients such as hard cheese, meaty bits, and corn before the interior is re-added to the baked potato and served with a good helping of melted butter over the top of the hot potato.

Common Drinks of Orenian Peers

The drinks of oren are quite diverse, ranging from grungy rums to high-life  . The most common drinks are usually the strongest or the most fruity. Depending on the basis of the meal being served and the time of day. 

Carrion Black

A potent jet black liquor, having deep hints and tastes. A staple within human culture. This drink can be found in almost every tavern within Oren. Its among the favorites of all, and the strongest of beverages.

Pruvian Port

A fruity mixture of cherries and wild berries of the Mardonic forest hills, Pruvian Port is a light delicacy intended for the casual drinker. It is a party drink, typically reserved for large parties, fancy dinners and feasts.

Wines

As wine is a major part of Oren, there are hundreds of types of wines. Too many to list upon here. Each wine being unique in its own way, sweetness, bitterness, fruitiness, and more. These are factors that make each and every wine an experience in its own self. Grapes being in huge supply within Oren, wine easily climbed the ranks of one of the best drinks within the kingdom. 

 

Written, Edited, and Published by

Head Chef of Oren, and Lieutenant of the Petran Legion

His Royal Majesty, Frederick I on horseback, c. 1878

To the loyal subjects of the Orenian Kingdom, to commemorate the reformation of the Orenian Kingdom, the Stassion Court will host festivities in honor of Frederick I. From the advent of Oren’s era of rebirth, Frederick I has demonstrated monumental intrepidity and fearlessness during the reclamation of the Vienne and has existed as a manifestation of societal grandeur. In a jubilee-like ceremony, citizens will herald their newfound sovereignty, as also those who have roused such. The Stassion Court merrily extends an invite to those desiring to attend.

TIMETABLE:

i. The King and Queen’s Addressing:

His and Her Royal Majesty will commence the revelry by addressing all attendees with a speech in which they will express all gratitude and proceed with a grand toast.

ii. The Regnant March

Succeeding the King and Queen’s addressing, a lively parade will be led through Oren by His and Her Royal Majesty on horseback. Attendees will have the opportunity to merrily stride alongside the royal duo and their pedigree, whilst victory chanting and singing celebratory melodies in the presence of one another. The crowd should end up back at Oren grounds.

iii. The Plum Bacchanal

Once the march concludes, attendees will be offered the finest delicacies and large mugs of wine. They shall gorge on beers amidst each other’s laughter on tourney grounds and taste an assortment of uncommon wines that will be offered in keg stands, set up by Oren’s very own winery business’ and beer-makers! Those who wish to participate will have the chance to wrestle in the tourney’s sand pit while enjoying bard and troubadour pieces. 

iii. The King’s Hunt 

The final activity provided at Kingstide will be a large-group hunt, in which will be led by His Royal Majesty’s honormen. All participants will be led into the woods where they will be tasked to take down the first creature they lay eyes upon, before being sent off back to their common duties.

SIGNED,

THE LADY SENESCHAL, Lady Mathilde Cyprielle Pruvia

THE TROUBADOUR, Lady Elisabeth von Preussens

[OOC]:

Date: June 27th - June 29th

Time: The Address & Regnant March on Monday at 4PM EST, the Bacchanal on Tuesday at 5PM EST, and the Hunt on Wednesday at 6PM EST

Location: Begins in Vienne's Square

THE NATURE OF THE HIGHEST ESTATE

Penned by

Her Excellency The Lady Privy Seal, Claude Pruvia

Printed in 1877 by Falcone Publishing Co.

CONTENTS

I. HISTORY & CONTEMPORARY

II. ENNOBLEMENT

III. RANKINGS

IV. OBLIGATIONS & PRIVILEGES

V. TRADITIONS

            The estates of man predate Oren’s conception, rendered corporeal by the will of God himself at the dawn of time. The Canticle of Fidelity as written in the Scroll of Virtue, to be endowed upon Exalted Horen, establishes the nobility’s empyrean primacy: 

“I ordered the estates of the earth, and I have set a path before you. And as I have ordered the estates of the earth, so have I ordered your path as well, and established the powers of My world. For I have ordered your station and birth, and I have established the order of things.” (Virtue 6:4-6)

            The blood of Horen was the first noble blood, made royal and imperial through the kingdom and conquest of his descendants. A majority of noble houses can trace their lineage to some or another descendant of Horen and Julia, the first coupling.

THE FIRST KINGDOM

            In the first kingdom of Oren, the nobility was composed of men’s anaemic testimonies towards higher birth, few sanctioned by true flows of divine blood. The game of men was to inspire the patronage necessary to legitimise autonomous ennoblement. The original Lords would be the strongest fighters, the most educated or the most charismatic - qualities that promoted them to positions of leadership over less endowed peons. When finding themselves equipped with a position of command, they would then be privy to privileges that allowed the education of their sons and daughters into their same competency of character, chambering the traits of aristocracy within their own walls and never in the lower class. 

            When St. Daniel abdicated the throne of the Kingdom, he left it in the possession of House Perea, an action that instantly elevated them to the ranks of the highest estate via the sanctity that was the Horen King’s command. The same would later occur with Houses Sheffield and Marius; undeterred by a lacking ancestry, they would be ennobled simply by authority’s direction and the nature of the crown.

            The Phoenix Revolution of the early to mid 14th century divulged man’s avarice for power, creating a vacuum for fledgling nobles to suppose themselves heritors of Oren. The first to see true glory were the rulers of the split provinces (in no particular order), the Houses of Tarus de Renatus, Marius de Hanseti and DeNurem de Hanseti. Be that as it may, the Phoenix Revolution also crippled the Orenian nobility when it split the realm. Nobles lost a significant amount of vitality, and surplus amounts of land were marooned in stagnation. 

Godfrey is crowned as Holy Orenian Emperor, his vassals oathed to bend the knee.

FEUDAL VASSALS

            When Exalted Godfrey returned to restore Oren’s ancient dignity, he declared the genesis of the feudal system. Nobles would now bear obligations to the crown as well as exclusive privileges, and could themselves act as liege lords to lower nobles. The ultimate creation of the Empire made even Kings into the dependents of Oren’s supreme crown. 

            Under Godfrey’s feudal society, the distinction of upper and lower nobility emerged, those that led realms and those that led hamlets. This distinction was cultivated for the next 400 years, noble blood became something coveted yet rare, an enterprise of displays of strength and influence. Upper Lords such as Dukes held their own court, standing levies, and populations, some even ascending to the calibre of royalty (well-known examples being Ruska, Courland, Curonia, Haense, etc). 

            Withal, such grandiose exertions of power artlessly produced instability; the game of power produced the several consecutive falls and restorations of Oren- both as an Empire and a Kingdom -under the Carrion, Chivay, Vydra, Ashford de Bar and Johannian dynasties. Conflict became larger by virtue of an Oren rife with armies of varying cultures and beliefs: wars were rhythmically waged between vassals. The crown monarchs had to ensure the satisfaction of their nobles to avoid those wars and, too, coalitions that frequently splintered Oren into independent states with little success for long-term existence. Thus, feudalism is infamous for exacting a cycle of entropy fueled by the fatigue of the nobility under prolonged (and ofttimes constraining) regimes. Power became concentrated not at the hand of the monarch but at his nobles’ compliance.

            To combat this, the administrative militarism of the 17th-century Pertinaxi government- ruling over the Empires of Man and Renatus -enforced a burdensome command over its populous vassals that constituted the threat of a culture and title’s annihilation, leading to widespread understanding of feudalism as brewing tyranny and maelstrom. Near the end of the Pertinaxi regime, the Josephite ideals of human dignity (created by Joseph I in his campaign for the return of Oren) overwhelmed the concept of disciplinary rule, and would be adopted fervently by his successors in their bid to see the end of feudal culture.

PEERAGES

            In the year 1737, the Lord Protector of the reinstituted Holy Orenian Empire fell ill and abruptly died. His tenure had been the beginning of the destruction of the renatian legal codes, the same that had relegated their vassals to foible. With some irony of contradiction, his chosen successor, Peter III, is remembered for the confiscation of all those major vassal titles into his personal demesne- such as the Kingdoms of Kaedrin and Curon-, appointing Lord Governors in the stead of reigning houses. His daughter, Anne, continued this policy by granting independence to the Kingdom of Haense, nullifying the feudal system in Oren absolutely.

            Houses of confiscated titles would either altogether dissolve or- in the case of the House of Helvets-, take on a title as the Emperor’s Peer, a new term that aimed to reinvent the idea of Noble Lords as wholly under the jurisdiction of the crown, sans the privilege of sovereignty. Any land governed by a peer would thereafter be maintained on behalf of the crown and never at the peer’s own discretion. An example would be the title of the County of Dobrov, whose municipality was not necessarily inherited by the hereditary successor of the titleholder, and required a magistrate to be appointed by the Emperor as a representative of the crown within the province.

            The nobility’s rapid loss of feudal power created a shift into Petrine culture, inspired by the ideals of the Adrian republic: the empowerment of the commoner and elective government bodies. In its wake, peers became concentrated in the imperial capital as government, military, court and city proletarians, expediting the creation of a strong imperial authority that presented itself as substantially stable. They would be entitled to bear estates, yet many lamented the existence of little distinction between the nobility and the rising class of affluent lowborn families. Hence, it was said that the preeminence of nobility was sacrificed for the amelioration of feudal instability. 

Elijah Keen, Baron of Ames

            The nobility is presently condensed into a mix of the standing peerage system and a new configuration of feudal land ownership, with revisions that are obliged to restore noble opulence without forfeiting central strength. Their power remains to derive from the King, but land allocation now champions the nobility’s right to dynastic property, an example being the lands of the Barony of Acre, held in all respects by the House de Vilain.

            The major facets of contemporary noble life are the accoutrements rather than the authority, including addressments, fashion, headwear, estates, knighthood, and noble ceremony, particularly that which grants royal recognition. Gradually, the Kingdom treads towards the reinvigoration and fresh inception of highborn traditions.

            The process of ennoblement is no more an award of merit, but an evaluation of blood, virtue, strength and indelible potential, contingencies for the fruitful succession of the nobility. This policy thus supersedes the elevation of singular individuals that may administratively blunder in the leadership of abundant peoples. It exists in the interest of vitality: the nobility is obliged to cultivate the Kingdom’s lively prosperity by enriching Orenia’s local colour, alongside an adherence to royal traditions such as the Adriatic, Astercalia, Royal Court, etcetera. Without the nobility’s zest, these obligations would be trampled into obscurity, risking the dynamics of the Crown and its many vessels of influence.

The Seal of the Crown, used before house crests in the signing of Letters Patent to connote the rights of the house as derivative of the Monarchy.

QUALIFICATION

            The qualifiers that warrant ennoblement are numerous. Any significant contribution to the Kingdom can make one a candidate, but held ambitions will prove guileless without a strong basis of familial support. Houses may be rewarded when various members are active participants in the polities of the Kingdom (military, politics, court, privy, etc), or through sheer scale of influence. Having a surplus of family members without possessing social and political clout will amount to bantam recognition.

            Blood has always endured as the marker of nobility, with many extant families considering their connection to Saints and revered figures as the root of their preeminence. However, certain strengths, such as extreme contribution to the Kingdom’s welfare, have the possibility of contradicting the necessity for highborn blood, allowing class mobility to those of insubstantial birth.

ACQUISITION

            Nobility is no longer a matter of self-efficacy, and thus cannot be acquired through means of application. Furthermore, court petitions relating to ennoblement are inappropriate. The bestowal of nobility is wholly at the discretion of the monarch, who will gauge the value of families and their leaders in relation to the demands of the Kingdom’s available land area. When a new noble house is made, peerage letters that detail their land grant will be scribed by the crown and published by the Registry, then printed for the nobility’s safekeeping. A failure to produce one’s noble letters during certain events, such as the succession of the Kingdom, will warrant a fine of 100 minas for a new copy.

            The rankings of the nobility demarcate age, merit, and authority. It is tradition to grant fledgeling houses Baronies as opposed to predicting their success in a higher title, ensuring the quality of the noble rankings is not diminished by the sudden extinction of a new house that proves to be unqualified. Therefore, the highest of the nobility tend to be grounded in some factor that justifies their privileges greatly, such as historical prevalence (i.e, Cathalon as the former Kings of Kaedrin) or state dominion (i.e, the former Princes of Ebonwood).

ELEVATION & DEMOTION

            Houses that have been able to uphold vitality with a bevy of significant achievements will naturally rise in rank. Similarly, when a house finds itself lethargic in the Kingdom’s processes for an exaggerated length of time, the house’s rank may come into question. However, before a peer can be formally demoted- if a Baron, stripped of nobility -or elevated, the monarch or a fellow peer must raise the topic of their rank shift before the Adriatic (see: V. Traditions). If an overwhelming majority of peers agrees upon a rank shift, peerage letters will be constructed or revoked accordingly. On elevation, ceremonies and celebration will be expected (see: V. Traditions).

            The elevation of a house is dependent on a noteworthy increase in notoriety, and thus houses that have historically existed in relative obscurity may encounter adversity in rising through the ranks without grandiose shifts towards leadership methods. The most difficult position from which to rise is that of a Count due to the considerable gap between the obligations/qualifications of a Count and a Duke. In contrast, it is equally as uncomplicated to fall from a Duchy to a County, and a Barony to nothing, as demotion solely depends on the completion of noble obligations. The complete stripping of the titles of the higher houses is more grave, and is justified by absolute disintegration, treason, significant criminal activity and other such illegalities including those pertaining to the morals of the faith.

LIST OF RANKS

DUKE ; High Lord

Ducal House of x, possessing a Duchy. 

The highest in rank, a duke’s importance is equivalent to that of a prince or princess of the royal household, though they must still answer to the crown heir. Theirs is the house with the greatest consequence over their fellow nobility, commanding large quantities of land with equally remarkable populations as a rule.

Style: His/Her Grace, the Duke/Duchess of x.

Spouse: Duchess consort or Lord consort

Directly: My Lord Duke/Lady Duchess, My Lord/Lady, or Your Grace

Children: Lord/Lady

MARGRAVE ; High Lord

Marcher House of x, possessing a March.

Margraves/Margravines are those peers enfeoffed with defensive borderlands. Their duty is the protection of the Kingdom, thus they are entitled to higher respects than many other noble households, as unlike others, they are required to muster a great quantity of soldiers within their castle-bastions. Margrave is not a position that an already ennobled lord can rise to, as margraves are made margraves solely by the position of their land grant.

Style: The Most Honourable, the Margrave/Margravine of x.

Spouse: Margravine consort or Lord consort

Directly: My Lord Margrave/Lady Margravine, My Lord/Lady, or Your Lordship/Ladyship

Children: Lord/Lady

COUNT

Comital House of x, possessing a County.

The title of a county is the most optimal achievement of a moderately successful noble house. A great portion of modern comital houses have belonged to princely branches of the House of Novellen, now transformed into hereditary peerages. Others have progressed upwards throughout the eighth empire and become anchored in their rank. Bearing a county does not entail surplus lands or people, merely a landed history and culture alongside a viable presence of spirit.

Style: The Right Honourable, the Count/Countess of x.

Spouse: Countess consort or Lord consort

Directly: My Lord Count/Lady Countess, My Lord/Lady or Your Lordship/Ladyship

Children: Lord/Lady

VISCOUNT

Viscomital House of x, possessing a Viscounty.

A viscount/viscountess is a noble with varied prevalence who is not yet as installed into the nobility as a count/countess, but has a lengthier noble record than a baron/baroness. Often, viscounties are called ‘trial counties’, given to persons who have made themselves eligible for greater privileges and obligations.

Style: The Right Honourable, the Viscount/Viscountess of x.

Spouse: Viscountess consort or Lord consort

Directly: My Lord Viscount/Lady Viscountess, My Lord/Lady, Your Lordship/Ladyship

Heir: Lord/Lady

Children: Miss/Mister

BARON

Baronial House of x, possessing a Barony.

A baronial house is often endowed with little expectation, theirs being the mere upkeep of household estates rather than populations. Barons/Baronesses can either be new nobles or old nobles who have historically resented largesse. 

Style: The Honourable, the Baron/Baroness of x.

Spouse: Lady consort or Lord consort

Directly: My Lord/Lady or Your Lordship/Ladyship 

Heir: Lord/Lady

Children: Miss/Mister

BARONET ; Minor Lord

The Baronet of x, possessing a Baronetcy.

A baronet is a single person elevated to the rank of nobility by merit. Often, baronets are trial peerages, where men can hope to distinguish their house enough to raise it with them into the true ranks of noblesse.

Style: The Honourable, the Baronet/Baronetess of x.

Spouse:  Lady x, Lord x. Note that spouses of baronets are not themselves baronets/baronetesses.

Directly: My Lord/Lady or Your Lordship/Ladyship

Heir: This title is non-inheritable.

Children: Children of baronets are not nobility.

King Frederick, as Prince, is presented to the nobles.

            Obligations are the expectations levelled upon the nobility by the Royal Crown. They may be as direct as the annual noble land tax, or as vague as spirited participation in the origination of a widespread cultural enterprise. The obligations of the nobility stem from the feudal system, wherein lords owed tax and levies to their liege in return for protection from other realms during militant conflict. These obligations have since evolved to adopt several concepts of preservation and majesty. Listed are the obligations in full.

ALL PERSONS OF NOBLE BLOOD SHALL ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING OBLIGATIONS:

♢ TO PRESERVE THE TENETS OF THE FAITH

The division of the Estates of Mankind, the path of virtue as written in the Holy Scrolls, the rites of the faith (baptism, marriage etc) etc.

♢ TO PRESERVE & PROMOTE THE TRADITIONS OF THEIR HOUSE

Cultural documentation, ancestral documentation, the commemoration of house events, the safekeeping of heirlooms etc.

♢ TO PRESERVE & PROMOTE THE TRADITIONS OF THE NOBILITY

Evading abdication, arranging noble marriages, obeying rules of decorum, the noblesse oblige etc (see: V. Traditions).

♢ TO PRESERVE & REVERE THE MONARCHY

Obey the will of the monarch, defend the Royal Household, observe royal custom etc.

♢ TO ATTEND & PARTICIPATE IN THE ADRIATIC

Raise questions regarding the state of all noble households when necessary and respond to pressing matters etc.

♢ TO  ATTEND ASTERCALIA AS A RITE OF MATURATION

The ceremony of the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Attendance is compulsory, though some may opt out.

ALL PEERS SHALL ADHERE TO THESE ADDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS:

♢ TO PAY THE LAND TAX

Whether by minas or as otherwise arranged with the Lord/Lady Treasurer.

♢ TO SUSTAIN THEIR PRESENCE

Entertaining within their lands, participating avidly in the Kingdom’s many facets of liveliness, siring plentiful heirs etc.

♢ TO GIVE RESOURCE IN WARTIME

Whether by minas, advisory aid, raw resources, manpower etc.

DUKES AND MARGRAVES SHALL ADHERE TO THESE ADDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS:

♢ TO RAISE A FREE COMPANY IN DEFENCE OF THE STATE

The high lords merit their status by wielding the highest duty, that of protecting the orenian population, noble or otherwise. All nobles have the right to levies and court, but only the high lords are obligated towards it.

♢ TO HOLD COURT WITHIN THEIR CASTLE-KEEPS

The highest lords merit their status via leadership, which requires the attention of their subjects.

            The Privileges borne by the nobility are those that only they can be privy to. Tradition dictates that the actions that are exclusive to the nobility descend from actions which only they have historically upheld or afforded. For example, in times past, only the nobility could become knights because the expense of armour was too great for the common man. 

ALL PERSONS OF NOBLE BLOOD MAY PARTAKE OF THE FOLLOWING PRIVILEGES:

♢ TO HAVE PRIORITY BEFORE THE KING VIA THE ADRIATIC

The nobility’s greatest privilege is the presence of the King and the ability to petition him privately by attending the Adriatic.

♢ TO WARD UNDER THE HIGHEST TUTORS

Noble persons are well-connected by virtue of birth, permitting their tutelage under great persons of esteem, including the King and Queen themselves.

♢ TO SQUIRE UNDER THE HIGHEST KNIGHTS

Noble persons are duly encouraged to take up knightship, participating in the defence of the Kingdom while mounting the decorum of the highest estate. Knightship is one of the largest honours of the nobility.

♢ TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS VIA ARMED OR UNARMED DUEL

The nobility are permitted to bring an end to strife with duels, whereby both parties come to blows under the moderation of spectators.

ALL PEERS MAY PARTAKE OF THESE ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGES:

♢ TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE WORK OF LAYMEN

Mechanical labours are performed by the peasant subjects under a noble’s demesne, meaning any labours that a noble lord participates in are out of leisure, culture or religious necessity.

♢ TO BEAR PRIORITY IN THE KING’S PRIVY COUNCIL

Noble lords often preserve their titles not by supporting their own subjects but by supporting the primary state: Oren and her subjects. When a lord or lady seeks involvement in the Privy Council, their station marks their excellence, leading to- more often than not -a largesse of the nobility as members of the King’s council.

♢ TO RAISE A FREE COMPANY IN DEFENCE OF THE STATE

All noble peers may create companies beneath their banners. For baronets, they shall exist until their death.

BARONS AND HIGHER MAY PARTAKE OF THE FOLLOWING PRIVILEGES:

♢ TO BEAR A HEREDITARY FIEF OF LAND ATTACHED TO A NOBLE TITLE

Hereditary peers receive a plot of land by default for their family to wield in perpetuity. The regulation of land is regulated by the Viceroy of the Kingdom.

♢ TO BEAR JURISDICTION OVER THEIR LANDS & HOLDINGS

Including to erect farms, mills, and additional stations of commerce and bear profit from them, as well as erecting additional holdings, keeps, towns, etc.

♢ TO BEAR JURISDICTION OVER THE SUBJECTS OF THEIR LANDS & HOLDINGS

Including the privilege to levy law and taxes over their subjects, banish them, honour them, grant them minor titles, create a court of staff, etc.

DUKES AND MARGRAVES MAY PARTAKE OF THE FOLLOWING PRIVILEGE:

♢ TO BE EXEMPT FROM TRIAL IN A JURY OF THE COMMONS

Dukes and Margraves may singularly be tried before a judge of noble status, with the King in attendance.

            The nobility adhere to several ceremonies and rites in accordance with the preeminence of their endowed mien. Many of these traditions stem from the functions of the royal monarch and the necessity to legitimise oneself before their majesty, leading to several centuries of practised cultural events now installed into the regular existence of animated noble households under the banner of the Kingdom. All peers are encouraged to respect these traditions and facilitate them for future generations, performing with spirit and jubilation.

THE OATH OF FEALTY

            The Oath before the King happens immediately after the succession or elevation of a peer, wherein they make entry into the King’s court and petition with the desire to make their loyalty known. The King then requests that the court curator deliver the ring of the noble house- commissioned by the Crown at the creation of Letters Patent from this year and forth and returned to the crown upon the death of the ring bearer -upon a velvet cushion, having the lord swear the oath upon bended knee before installing the ring upon his finger. The peer, all the while, refrains from making contact with the King’s eyes. Thus the peer is oathed in privilege, but not yet given his obligations. The King is then permitted the improvisation of that final oath according to the culture or bearing of the new ring bearer's noble House, precedent forgone.

FEALTY CELEBRATION

            The swearing of fealty is customarily succeeded by an event of jubilation held within the lands of the new titleholder, with the entire Kingdom revelling in the occasion. The scale of the celebrations is wholly by virtue of the wealth and attention of the celebrant and their household, and may range from year-long bouts to a single feast day. 

            Banners are hung along the province given in investiture, guiding newcomers into the decorated capital stronghold of the noble house shepherded. If lands are yet to be granted or inhospitable, these festivities may be delayed, but to withhold the celebrations in full may be received as a lack of care for the King’s sanguine subjects, needlessly besmirching the reputation of new and unaccustomed Lords. 

ASTERCALIA

             Astercalia is the nobility’s rite of passage, a tradition cemented more than a century ago under the reign of Emperor Joseph II as Holy Orenian Emperor. It includes the presentation of ladies and gentlemen aged 15+ before the Queen, with the hopes that she will seek to aid worthy debuters onto the world stage - whether that be her own court, the government, knighthood, etc. Astercalia is compulsory for the nobility, though commoners may debut with the grace of an Auspice, a noble patron’s recommendation to the Queen.

THE QUEEN’S COURT & THE KING’S HONORMEN

            The Queen’s Court is one of the largest facets of Orenian culture; Castle Stassion fosters the cachet of the royal household and nobility while appealing to creatives among the city proper for the inspiration and entertainment of the common mind. Several ostensive graces are by-products of court efforts including the Kingdom’s fashion and jewel industries, the Academy of Vienne,  the Adriatic, etc. A place among the Queen’s Council is a great honour for noble persons, tasked with ripening the heart of gentility. More than often, noble daughters are sent to the court to be trained in efficiency as a lady of culture and warden of her household. So, too, are knight-squires and young heirs encouraged to frequent the Castle to become acquainted with the Royal Household, for the purpose of networking and familiarity.

            The King’s Honormen are an additional segment of the court that function at the will of the King. The roles include the Masters of the Hunt and Horse, the Keeper of the Swans, the Kingsguard and the Crown Champion. These positions are exclusive to the King’s peers- except the Kingsguard -and conduct errands such as the protection of the Royal Castle, the defence of the Royal Household, the upkeep of the Adriatic, and the Adriatic’s merriments.

THE ADRIATIC

            Amid predicament and other aristocratic affairs, nobles will congregate in a single establishment in order to consult the next course of action. Whether it be in the form of a hunting occasion, sporting event, or a banquet, the noble peerage will assemble in order to compute what they must do in order to surpass any hindrance that stands as a blockade to the betterment of Oren. Though these occasions seem to imply merrymaking, it is essential for the noble peerage to retain the primary function of the meeting, whether it be auditing peers, patrician agenda, outlining proposed policies, or conflict among the peerage.

SQUIRES & KNIGHTS

            Prosperous coffers among the peasantry and common aristocracy have permitted the widespread purchase of armour plate and fleetly steeds, burgeoning knighthood beyond the barrier of the nobility. Withal, the memory of knights as men of regal blood performing the King’s courtliness whilst slaying beasts of legend (and men alike) remains with a grip on the modern noblesse. Lords are culturally issued to promote one or several of their children into the Order of the Red Eagle as squires, to be directed into the path of greatness by prevailing knightly figures. They may join from the age of 14, learning about the code of chivalry, history and literature.

ROYAL WARDS

            To be a ward of the King or Queen is to have the promise of a well-connected and rich education. In shadowing their royal majesties, developing students learn the intricacies of leadership in the respective areas that the King and Queen focus on. Only the nobility has this privilege, but only so many of the nobles may chance it, making it a prestigious childhood that produces the finest of young women and men for future positions in service to the Kingdom and monarchy.

NOBLESSE OBLIGE

            With the desire to foster the welfare of others through munificent courtesies, the aristocracy of the Kingdom will be anticipated to contribute benignancy to those in need. In the practice of magnanimity towards commoners, their Lord of Ladyship will annually either host charity affairs, such as auctions or donations, or directly aid the commoners through acts of service such as volunteering for miscellaneous occasions. The Noblesse Oblige is an honour and should be endured earnestly to the highest accord.

HEIRLOOMS

            The nobility keep precious items and commission precious items of great value in order to grow their prestige. These heirlooms are reflective of devices passed through hundreds of generations, often tethered to historical significance at the time of its conception. Antiques are inherently correlated with the rarity of which they were founded, and are expected to be thoroughly maintained, cleansed, and secured within a peer’s estate.

INTERNOBLE MARRIAGES

            To preserve their noble blood, the nobility almost exclusively marry amidst their ranks. To marry below the nobility is taboo, and often leads to annulment or loss of legitimacy for the children borne by the marriage. To remedy any possibility of marrying into a lower rank, the Queen will often moderate the marriage of the Kingdom’s various heirs male and female at the request of their lord father or lady mother. 

DUELS

            Man’s right of duel is a statue only afforded to the most upper echelons of proven aristocratic society, a duty reserved to only the noblesse and gentry of His Majesty’s realm. Oftentimes, duels will be conducted between members of peerage in order to settle the most egregious of grievances. Initiation of duels must abide by the Revised Orenian Code, and are often to the first blood - however, further circumstances must be ordained by His Majesty.

Penned 1877

We must inspire the greatest of our youth to continue our line,

continue our culture,

and continue our greatest love,

the love of Oren,

and her betterment in infinitum.

In lieu of the great reformations that have come to His Majesty’s Kingdom, the Stassion Courts have organized a great historical production, based on an unfinished transcript curated by Emperor Philip III. The play depicts a hypothetical conversation between King Guy de Bar, Duke Francis Sarkozic, and Emperor John I, on perspectives following the Duke’s War and Horen Restoration. The casting audition will be held on this Owyn’s Flame of 1867, and the play is to be held on this Tobias’s Bounty of 1867. 

Francis Sarkozic, Duke of Adria: 

Guy de Bar, King of Oren:

John I, Holy Orenian Emperor: Played by Cornelius Derfey @EX. DERFEY

THE SCRIPT

The curtain rises to reveal John I, Francis Sarkozic, and Guy de Bar, sitting around a table in the Seven Skies.

Guy: You ruined everything for me. A year's hard work. Diligent service. All for naught.

Francis looks around, trying to search for… something.

John I: Being monarch was a service, not a reward.

Francis finds nothing.

Francis: NOTHING.

John I: That's where you are mistaken in thinking you were deprived in anything! It's a job, a duty, not a payment.

Francis begins to search for a reward of his own, yet again finds nothing.

Francis: NOTHING.

Guy: Perhaps if you treat it like one. Over the years, I've learned that power is whatever you make of it. I am content with the barony I have acquired. To me, it was fun. Poignant, good fun.

Francis: With the wife I demanded. With the children I am rearing.

John I: You are twisted and evil.

Guy: Fun with friends. Fun with my brothers. The desire to keep on going, to beat the odds.. it kept us together. It was glue. It solidified relationships and allowed us to harmonize.

Francis: John.

Francis holds an Al-Farsi lyre up to the ears of John I.

Francis: Listen.

Francis begins to play the Al-Farsi lyre, looking to Guy.

Francis: It’s good, right?

Guy: Hrm? Aye. Al-Farsi mood music.

John I: Francis, support my published chronicle. I wish to only contribute to a community.

Francis: Too late.

John I: What devilry is this?

Francis: Yoink!

Guy: Pah! You wish only to better yourself, to achieve some scheme you've concocted. But you do not better yourself in virtue, only in title.

John I: You are paranoid. I cannot blame you for being so...but you are nevertheless, as always, wrong.

Guy: I was wrong when I trusted you, sought your counsel and obeyed it. No more.

John I: I've gone as far as I can go in politics. They're interesting to me, but I have no desire to be an active participant.

Francis: So you'll become a Striga and suck the blood of earnest Heartlanders?

John I: On the contrary Guy! You were the rightest you've ever been, then. Had you not replaced me for people like Ivar Vanir, you may not have met the end you did!

Francis: What the Devil is wrong with you, scum?

Guy: Is that what you tell yourself...

John I: Lackwits with not a brain cell between them such as Ivar Vanir, Gereon de Savoie and Denis de Bar...it was an insulting relegation.

Guy: Is that what you tell others?- to uplift your own faith and that of others. I do not speak of Gereon. That was Olivier's lad. Denis and Ivar had potential.

John I: I tell others the truth, which most of them believe.

Guy: Did I place them above you? No. I made you me heir.

John I: Augustus and Ivar have the competency of my great toe.

Guy: Ashford Tanistry.

John I: A poor system of succession. The throne would have gone to Ivar.

Guy: To you. I was always honest with you.

John I: He had a better claim, I even conceded that, under my system and that of the realm.

Guy: Perhaps you find that difficult to believe...

John I: And you refused to have him done away with, so thus you became an impediment.

Guy: You brand him incompetent. And yet... you fear him? You fear the hypothetical. You often called him doggedly loyal to me, foolishly so.

John I: Not him in himself. He's an idiot and a weakling. But the Savoyard levies...they would have followed him, not me.

Guy: And yet you did not believe me when I said I could control him. They would have done as I told them!

John I: I've my doubts as to that.

Guy: You could have had a better reign than you did as John Frederick Horen.

John I: As a weakling king?

Guy: And a cleaner conscience. A smoother political career. This, I know!

John I: Your people had the throne for nigh thirty years and kept it as a kingdom. Where's the sense in that? 'Tis reflective of some create weakness.

Guy: And yet, when Oren became an Empire it was weaker than ever. Gloop stains everywhere! Dwarves massacring Orenian citizenry, soldiery.

John I: Except, once again, you are wrong.

Guy: And look where the Empire is now?

John I: We conquered a third of the dwarven realm. Neutralized the Caliphate as a threat. Only we were forced to stop that… Because Denis de Bar didn't want to pay his taxes.

Guy: The people that Hughes fought for in the Duke's War turned against your son. And with such ardor. The people that you let back into the realm. You- who said never trust a Flay! You- who said never trust a Vanir!

John I: 21 years of John Frederick's rule created a stronger empire than Guy de Bar's petty kingdom. My son's mismanagement is nothing to do with me.

Guy: You compare decades of delegation via letters to three years of a reign doomed to fail from the beginning. And yet, during those three years I still did all I could in my position.

John I: And so did I! What do you think I only gave it a half-try? If I could achieve moderate success with a half-try, then you flatter me by intimating what my full potential is...

Guy: Believe me I do not flatter you! I say that you had all the opportunities that I lacked.

John I: Say what hateful words you want, spew your spite and bile at your “robbed” reward… But you can't change fact. And fact is, I was greater than you were. And that's why you're bitter.

Guy: You went to much greater lengths than I, covertly speaking.

John I: For part of that, you cannot be blamed. You only had people like Denis de Bar and Sergius de Bar helping you: halfwits.

Guy: Covertly speaking, obviously, because you hardly did a thing in person.

John I: In contrast, I had Augustus d'Amaury and Lord Rothesay. Of course you pull that card.

Guy: You threatened Adrian with humiliation and pillaging, is this not true?

John I: Desperate to find some criticism, you invent a fact: He didn't show himself! You cry like a mad dog, He didn't come around! Well, I did. I made it a point to make myself present on average at one interval every month. With the exception of the last year of my reign, I met that criteria. I walked about once a day, and managed things as much in person as I could, combining it with delegation via letter. If you have an insult, come up with a factual one, not one that is the product of your own mind. And no, that's not true. It's illegal to threaten other Ausbrig members with humiliation and pillaging. Ask any member. I would have been booted if that were true.

Guy: If one Ausbrig members shares the letter’s contents though, they are not exempt. And since that church plot was planned out in letters, purely in letters.

John I: The Ausbrig can punish a whistleblower, yes. But I didn't take it upon myself to have anything to do with that. At the most I would have just requested he be kicked from the order.

Guy: You say that now but I doubt you kept such a level-head in the past considering the rage over Gary’s Module.

John I: Call it what you want, and mock it: that ' church plot' still knocked you off your perch. To do that it must have been pretty effective! Especially since no such plot worked against me, and I was present all the time. I think you have no right to mock and jape simply because I beat you, Guy. That's why I was frustrated with your Gary’s Module 'jests'. It was an impotent jab at me because you couldn't accept that I had won...

Guy: Your rage was impotent.

John I: Not… really. The best revenge was succeeding in every aspect where you had failed.

Guy: You put on a great show, for sure.

John I: Say what you want, but you got yourself assassinated. You led a divided Oren. I survived, and I let a united Oren, and when it could no longer be united I resigned to let someone who could unite it again take control.

Guy: Eh...

John I: There is no point holding ill will against me. It's over. I have no desire to take control of anything politically in the near future. But you hold that ill will because - as I have said - you are very bitter that I got you killed and I succeeded in every field where you had failed. You claim you were deprived of your chance for greatness, but you're all talk. If you were truly great, you never would have been tricked into dying in the first place. I think the same thing about Franz. He wasn't ready to be king- because if he had been, he wouldn't have fallen into the trap he did.

Guy: Don't think yourself too clever. I realized it was all a trap when I was up on that staircase. When Baldwin suddenly wanted to meet with me… Feigning warmth when for years he acted disenfranchised and cold. I did as I would do. I was my best because even in the end I stayed true to myself.

John I: You must accept your failures and move on and reform yourself. The difference between you or I is what motivates us is different. Self-interest motivates you, but patriotic interest motivates me. If you became emperor and led the realm into great success, I'd be the first to commend you. I would definitely not oppose you there. But if I did the same, which I have done to an extent, you would spit on me, as you have done, because of your hatred for me. That is why you're weak. Being emperor wasn't a reward, it was a job, and I did the best I could with all the resources at my disposal.

Guy: What motivates me when I rule is... ruling.

John I: You didn't care for anybody except yourself!

Guy: If you genuinely feel patriotic urges and identify as an Orenian in death that's your choice, but I can tell you that self-interest didn't motivate me.

John I: I don't identify as an Orenian in death, but I do always act in the way that I see as being to the benefit of the Orenian state and will happily put aside my personal interests for the benefit of that state.

Guy: Again you contradict yourself, saying I uplifted people that were incompetent, which actually just needed grooming and nurturing.

John I: You wouldn't do that, to you Guy de Bar's interests always came first. 

Guy: If I was acting in self-interest, I would have just agreed to assassinating Sergius de Bar and letting you be my only heir. Surely!

John I: No because you obviously saw Sergius as a greater asset than me.

Guy: Not Guy de Bar's. Savoy's.

John I: Which got you killed

Guy; You're either delusional or you're a fool.

John I: And that's just as weak as Guy de Bar's.

Guy: Either way I don't see how you can call yourself a great man.

John I: “Savoy's.” What happens when Savoy's contradict with Oren? What happens when they can no longer be one in the same?

Guy: Well, at the time there was nothing to Oren except Savoy.

John I: As they were at the end of the 18 Years’ War. You throw Oren under the cart, hence my point.

Guy: But do not forget that I tried bringing in old Adrian veterans... for the sake of the former, not the latter

John I: Maybe I'm not great.

Guy: That's actually why you broke off contact with me

John I: But I'm a good deal greater than you.

Guy: Do you remember that?

John I: That's for certain

Guy: You're a good deal better than me, by your own standards.

John I: Do you actually genuinely believe that shite?

Guy: Believe what shite?

John I: If I cared about Adrians coming back why would I immediately let them back myself? I was angry and frustrated at, in my eyes, being relegated for people like Ivar.

Guy: Gah! We talked about this in the past!

John I: I never forgot how he struck me in the street that one occasion...

Guy: I ******* know that it was a ruse. At the time I believed it.

John I: And I could never forget how he didn't get any punishment. 

Guy: Obviously it was a ******* jest! Considering the first day of your reign you said "A realm for all, Adrian, Savoyard, etc. alike.”

John I: That wasn't reflective of a change in policy

Guy: Yet before that you had quite a contrasting narrative. It's you who acts in self-interest.

John I: Oren’s interest.

Guy: Your patriotism for Oren is just self-interest evolved.

John I: I left Oren stronger than it was when I had came to it.

Guy: Think about it this way, John.

John I: If I cared more about self-interest than Oren's interest I would not have assassinated you.

Guy: You schemed, plotted, calculated your moves so as to gain power.. so as to gain the throne of Oren.

John I: Do you not think it could have saved me a great deal of trouble to just wait for you to die and accede afterwards?

Guy: That was not for the betterment of Oren, that was for your betterment! That was to gain the throne of Oren for yourself! Then once you had the crown upon your head, once you became Oren...

John I: Because I was the best emperor there could have been at the time, plain and simple.

Guy: Your interests became that of Oren's: they aligned.

John I: It was for the betterment of Oren. They had always aligned.

Guy: I don't think you were the best Emperor.

John I: I took the throne because I knew I was the best option.

Guy: The only asset you had that I lacked was a brace of advisers at your side.

John I: Better than anyone at the time, for certain. Much better than you, Ivar, Gereon, or any of the other farcical candidates. Titus de Sola would have been better than I, but he didn't want it. Same with Lord Rothesay.

Guy: You're no inspiring personality, no brilliant strategist in war, you're "not a likeable person" in your own words.

John I: And yet I was still the best possible emperor. How is that?

Guy: I pitied you for most of your reign because of the prayers you sent me. “And yet I was still the best possible emperor.” How is that? You said it yourself: “I had Augustus d'Amaury and Lord Rothesay.”

John I: And here you are, desperately grasping for excuses to undercut me to undermine any success I experienced. It's the mark of a madman.

Francis: Cool it.

John I: Of course I couldn't be expected to fully share the load Guy but...

Guy: I seem desperate?

John I: Again, it doesn't change fact.

Guy: John, your words are empty.

John I: Even if I didn't have the advisors I did, you would find another.

Guy: You made me feel sorry for you when you were emperor.

John I: Not quite. They carry with them the weight of twenty-one years of hard work and success. Your’s carry with them 3 years of failure and endless failed subterfuge.

Guy: You tried garnering my sympathies by setting yourself out to be some pitiful figure.

John I: It evidently didn't work. I tried, though...

Guy: Now that it's all said and done you gloat and pat yourself on the back because of the work that your privy council and the dwarves did for you.

John I: Doesn't change the fact the truth was very different.

Guy: Orenians would rally under Siegmund Corbish if there was an external enemy that threatened their sovereignty, believe me. You are no great leader, you are no great man. I am not angry that you did as you did.

John I: Maybe I'm not, but as I've said and as I will continue to say, I am still an infinitely greater leader and man than you. I am still an infinitely greater emperor, and until you're in the position I'm in you'll never prove me otherwise.

Guy: What position is that?

John I: That of a ruler of course.

Guy: You’re not alive anymore. Neither am I! We are in the same position.

John I: I understand you are still bitter and you lash out to me to try and undercut my successes to make yourself feel better about your failures.

John I: "John doing well as emperor doesn't count anyway because he had Rothesay and d’Amaury."

Guy: Well obviously it does count. Your reign was memorable, but the fact remains that John Frederick Horen was not memorable. You were not memorable except for the brazen covert letters.

John I: I say both were more so than Guy de Bar and Savoy. A sad young man still infuriated at how he was rendered bereft of his chance to rule. It's what I was for a few years as well, so I don't blame you. But people will remember the first monarch of the Fifth Empire who beat the dwarves into relative submission, the coward and the craven who was a soldier when he had to be.

Guy: Do not put yourself in my boots, and do not liken me to you. that is the most insulting thing you have done this evening.

John I: More than they do Guy de Bar, the petty Savoyard monarch. Take it as a compliment.

Guy: I don't see anyone talking about John Frederick anymore.

John I: Because as I've been saying you'd be less of a disgrace if you were as capable as me.

Guy: That's the truth of it, really.

John I: And I don't see anyone talking about Guy de Bar anymore either.

Guy: Francis! Back me up on this one.

John I: So what kind of standard is that?

Guy: I have an abundant bias, obviously. Francis! 

John I: Regardless, you revile my actions, but why do you revile me is the real question.

Guy: Francis is asleep, but I will break it down.

John I: I forgave everybody involved in the assassination of Franz even before I returned from Aeldin.

Guy: Hold it. You forgive when it suits you. You hold grudges when it suits you. You're a very pragmatic man, I do not revile you for it… But on a moral level, I wouldn't stoop to that level!

John I: What difference does it make, honestly? Jack Rovin, August de Montfort, Decterum, Lord Rothesay, I held no ill will against them. I did for a while after the event, but I forgave them as of 1520. Rovin, granted, I still don't like, for different reasons though, he's very difficult to work with.

Guy: That was not what you said during 1520. You forgave them once they could be of assistance. I don't give a ****, though!

John I: Lord Rothesay wasn't even around until my reign began.

Guy: It doesn't matter by then you had an external enemy knocking on your door. Actually, doing more than that. They were knocking down the door by then.

John I: You've got your chronology wrong since I had forgiven Lord Rothesay by the time he was praising Godfrey of Petrus of the late 1400s.

Guy: You had an external enemy people were anxious to rally against

John I: Even if I did disagree with his politics. Again, another attempt to undercut my achievements. It's reflective of your self-interest.

Guy: Eh?!

John I: Because if you had achievements worth noting, I can assure you I would not undercut them in such a fashion, since after all they'd have been performed in Oren's interests.

Guy: Prithee! In the words of Marcus Rubicon...

John I: The rape of the orc lands for instance.

Guy: Stop ramming this down my throat.

John I: Twas commendable.

Guy: First off, how do I have my chronology wrong?

John I: And I shan't say "No, it wasn't you, it was your advisor." I had forgiven Lord Rothesay by the time he was praising Godfrey of Petrus of the late 1400s.

Guy: Ah, ah? What has that got to do with anything? You can't prove that you mended your relationship with Rothesay just like I can't prove I would have made a good king, nay, emperor if I had the chance. But regardless… by then you had an external enemy knocking on your door. Right, so Lord Rothesay was already around for that?

John I: I'm saying that I had forgiven Lord Rothesay long before I had need of his assistance

Guy: I see… so my statement stands

John I: And long before I had any sort of enemy around. Long before I was emperor.

Guy: Back to your mention of the orc lands, though… I'm characterizing the reign of John Frederick, whereas you're referencing a very specific occurrence in which, with Vladov assistance, I had men trained and recruited by me against an enemy that I was on the frontlines against. I'm sure you thought up or were directly responsible for a commendable deed yourself during your reign, but for the most part I suspect that other factors were at play. Without those factors you would be, as Uthor Silverblade summed it up, armorless, naked, worthless.

John I: What I mean is that your hatred for me and your bitterness at being assassinated has left you blinded and unable to recognize a single good thing about my reign, where countless others even in your general camp can recognize that. Your attempts to undercut me, undermine my efforts and portray me as categorically inept are merely a reflection of your own self-interest - it's in your own interest that you would have been monarch, not me, and so you attempt to rationalize that by deriding my successful efforts, efforts which a wide number of individuals accept were successful. In contrast, I would not dream of doing the same thing for you - you had several great accomplishments, I just don't think you had many during your three years as king. It shows that I'm looking at these things from an objective, Oren-centred viewpoint whereas you're looking at them from a self-centered, Savoy subjective viewpoint where ”I didn't get what I wanted so it's therefore bad”. Was I angry Franz was assassinated? Very. Does that mean Peter Chivay's reign was shite? No, it wasn't. I'm not half as great as he is. He was a much better emperor than I ever could have been, and for that reason it could be argued it was good he was assassinated. I've never claimed that Peter's reign was poor, not even directly during it or after it. Robert's is another story but for different reasons. That's where I think the fundamental difference is between you and I in terms of self-interest and Oren's interest. If I took the throne again and led Oren into a golden age, you'd claim it was a dark age. If you took the throne and led Oren into a golden age, I'd say it was a golden age, what it was. It's a difference in perspective that until you learn to get over compromises your abilities totally.

Guy: thank you for restating your general musings in different words, the same musings you've expressed throughout the conversation. You make an interesting point with Peter and Robert Chivay, the latter of which still had far more potential than both you and me.

John I: Mock me all you want but you cannot refute it.

Guy: And yet still you spoke ill of him.

John I: I agree, but I didn't think highly of him at the time. I was wrong.

Guy: I can't peer into your consciousness or your mind.

John I: I thought he was weaker than Peter, I only really realized he was infinitely stronger later on.

Guy: I can't prove your narrative twisted, designed to cast you in a better light.

John I: You can't prove it wrong, either.

Guy: But anyone with half a brain and as much experience with you as me definitely will agree with what I've said.

John I: I have my doubts as to that.

Guy: And if you intend to demoralize me with telling me a few people in my camp spoke against me, such as Axel Franz, it's not working.

John I: I'm not attempting to do anything such as demoralize you, I'm merely telling you the truth. I haven't once lied to you in this conversation...

Guy: Because at least I have a people I can turn back to and enjoy other passions with, enjoy the afterlife with most of all.

John I: So do I. Ausbrig are the only helpers I will ever need. They're inviolable and will never betray me.

Guy: On threat of pillaging and humiliation.

John I: They know the penalty.

Guy: Very... effective. Regardless, I must retire for the night.

John: What's wrong with having rules? I will say, though, I never threatened Adrian with pillaging or humiliation.

Guy: I have a game of water rugby in the morning.

John I: As I said, that's highly illegal, it's against the Ausbrig codex. I would not be able to have gotten away with that. All he would have needed to do was tell Zacharias and I would have been kicked forever.

Guy: Aye, Adrian didn't warn me because he figured that'd be whistleblowing most likely.

John I: Well he's right, it would have been, but has he claimed that I said if he whistle blew he'd be humiliated? Because that's a complete fabrication.

Guy: We haven't spoken of it, really.

John I: I said if anyone whistle blows they'll be kicked but I've never threatened that.

Guy: What's done is done. If our roles were reversed, he could have counted on being warned, though. I will say that.

John I: That's not my issue

Guy: Right. Good night.

Francis awakens, looking to the ashes of a tavern in the distance. He then scrawls something in his notebook.

Francis: I think we know who the real winners are.

All bear the same rambling essay:

'The lion earns its mane not from sweet deception and false promises to his pride, but through might and blood. A lion earns its mane through strife and conquest; we men know the lion to be fierce not because he is born ferocious, but because through ferocity alone he survives.
 

The folly of our species in recent centuries would have meant extinction, were we lions. Yet - upon the backs of our forefathers' efforts - we, men, have survived the scourge of 'democracy'. We have endured this affront to nature itself, and it has left its mark upon us. Now, through immense effort, we must rebuild. We must rebuild, for treasonous politicians have led us astray.

Human monarchs, anointed to lead on God's temporal behalf emerge not only from victorious conquest, but as an organic manifestations of our race's blessing: ambition. The righteous desire to use our own years - so few in number compared with the other beings that populate our world - to achieve a better standing for ourselves, and to earn a brighter tomorrow for our children to outlive us. 

It is the fire of ambition that led Owyn to triumph over the dead, so that they would haunt his brethren no longer. Ambition was the concrete with which Guy held together a kingdom divided, in the hopes that man would never again consume itself. Ambition alone was John's tool with which all races were conquered beneath the heel of the last true empire of men.

With ambition, like the lion, the hundreds are guided to greatness and millions are emboldened to carve their names in the annals history, both in recognition and preservation of their contributions to our species. 

Without ambition and its bedfellows - war, competition, hunger - Horen's flock would have died in the old lands a hundred times over. We would be lost to the obscure chapters of memory along with the likes of pigmen, drow, and the last great dynasties of cat and ape folk. It is our greatest asset, and we must cherish it always.

Though natural to all men, the gift of ambition is still fallible. For when humanity recieved this gift so too did iblees afflict upon us another bane. Its brother: envy.

Envious men seek to claim the powers of a crown without a head strong enough to wear one. They lack the ability to lead, or to create, only to plunder what has been made before them and twist it to their will.

They squabble amongst themselves, caked in perfume and dress of faux finery. They supplant the nobles of yore - men with the ambition and sense to guide their peers - with celebrities and bards, who care for naught but the adoration of the simple minded. 

Woe to the 'enfranchised', drunk on dreams of unneeded and unearned liberty that they stumble out of reality altogether. Their stupor leads them through the ages toward anarchy, and in turn a new slavery. Drowned by a burst dam of ideas which hold no water. They handover their countries willingly, not to the stock of emperors, kings nor princes, but to orators, self-proclaimed academics and actors.

Shame upon the 'politicians' of the last Imperial Age. Powdered men in tights that. A band of childish, useless and ultimately weak minded egotists that drove Orenia into one crises after another that culminated in the Aster Revolution. These wretched folk, who bloated the aristocracy, crippled the military spirit of Owyn and perhaps irreparably undid the unification of the Haeseni, Rhoswenii and heartlander cultures with their own sickliness. Their names bust be forgotten, their propaganda burned from every library. Yet their crimes must not be forgiven, lest history repeat itself.

Without the natural order anointed by God - monarchy, and its clerical cousins - there can be only chaos.

Lord above, let mankind be governed only by he who is worthy to rule, and his delegates. For nations rise from might and ambition, and are doomed to fail once the mob is led astray. No country is 'voted' into existence. 

Lord above, protect us from democrats. For their lust for unearned power, their craven obsession with mass praise and the wanton degeneracy and decadence of their past courts serves Iblees alone. 

Preserve the Crown and we preserve Mankind.

-Bogdan Bani.'
 

Before your eager canvases lay a dexterous collection of poems composed and formulated by Her Royal Majesty, Vivienne Anastasie. Each has been engulfed with impeding thought and sentiment, from her own to you. “Dedicated to whomever’s worn, warm afternoon hands come upon these pages – wherever you may find them–and that you may remember that the world is conspiring for you and to act in a manner as such.”

A swan gilded grandiosely aloft patinated papyrus.

Tactfully did its tawny pinions unfurl sprightly

elegantly enveloping halcyon rivulets of jaded serenity.

Like that of a beguiling ballet dancer to its 

opulently crafted point slipper.

               Poisonous.

   Her exemplary essence transmitted luminously

               Obsessive, one may hypothesise

         Betwixt its sugary semblance

inside layers of rehearsed upon rehearsed fluctuations

                     A credulous cygnet lay tenderly ; undisturbed.
 

Golden aspen leaves smother the ground.

Blades of grass cut through the dense amber

searching for warmth from the summer’s lost sun.

I stumble; head down, on a gravelled path,

beneath a high bridge of ominous branches

musing if the handful of still flailing leaves 

will stem oozing blossom from the sombre skyline. 

I lay callously upon a bleak river.

Moth-eaten cattails trembling within the wind,

And lotus circles struggling to stay afloat.

I ponder, do they lament their fallen crowns?

The sky reverse ; reverses gold for brown

As brittle leaves resign, crumble and drown.

I feel this landscape dying deep within me.

A swan glides into my world of despair,

and softly sings his sonorus song.

I lightly descend into his ready reflection.

Although of disparate form—we merge—

grappling with onerous thoughts,

 we yet slowly rotate to a hopeful perception– 

a visible and radiating inner complexion.

My being nothing more 

than a rouse, played

by generations, collaboratively.

With no winners,

 or losers.

Or even such a tranquil

ending.

Nothing but a framework,

built of dissembled ideology. 

My being nothing more

than a piece of concept art

How does one view me?

Ephemeral and permanent 

at once. 

She is liquid smooth, 

And feel her touch is 

plump and brimful 

of life.

The bustling, yet dirtied path of the carnival donned dozens upon dozens of joyous citizens, each wearing an expression of utmost joy as they sauntered through the many attractions it had to offer. The crowd had a life of its own, the vibrancy of dissimilar garbs and wares shining luminously in the afternoon light as the people proceeded like enchanting shoals of fish through the carnival's many attractions.

“May I have my fortune told, dear sister?” The atramentous haired savoyard queried upon that of the acolyte, further pulling her body weight in the direction of Anna. A rapid nod emitted Vivienne’s sister-in-law at the request - extended arm reaching to grasp a clay bowl and focusing vigorous energy onto mysterious affairs and aura of the Queen.

“I see you stood in a field of utter beauty, decorated lavishly with an array of agriculture.”

The scene that laid before the savoyard was nothing short of a picturesque fever dream. The summer bloom cried so many petals onto the still warm field; the last vestiges of her beauty waiting for a precocious gust to carry them spinning to their rest. Each petal, papery and thin, lay on the newly golden grass, its veins glowing pink in the setting sun. Vivienne observed this, lost in the rhythmic percussion of the wind uniting with the fickle blades of viridescent grass. Her slate canvases were steady to the horizon, visage aglow with the last orange rays before twilight beckons the stars. With great ease did her lips bear the semblance of a smile, just enough to show that the Queen was within ignorant bliss. The ground seeped so rampant with nature, hues overlapping with a heady vibrancy that brought her hands swooping down on instinct. Vivienne gave permission for her fingers to graze the perfumed "scales," holding them up briefly to take in their aroma before letting them tumble from her hand back to the garden path. Every shade of rose petal was within her midst, so vast and scalloped that they had collected a slimy dew. Intermingled were the shocking oranges, purples and fuchsias of the asters, their petals long and thin.

“You struggle to stand, hankered by a root fashioned with thorns around the perimeter of your leg.” 

A cold shiver relentlessly weaved its way down the de Savoie’s spine as she ran her bony hands through the flowing florals of the field. A certain mass of serrated thorns began edging closer to the Queen by the second, its venomous grasp snaking deliriously around her foot. Never had a few moments deliberation seemed like an eternity as Vivienne felt her consciousness ebbing away, and her thoughts, as clear and concise as they were mere moments ago, were coming to a petrifying halt. The once familiar and comforting surroundings struck her as if forcing themselves against her weak body – throwing the calignuous haired woman backwards into the heap of pollen. Subsequently, Vivienne could feel the dysphoria, the consequence of stumbling into the thick field of stalks. Heart thumping as if it would bombard veins to bloody mess and lungs swollen up like an over-filled balloon. 

“This location. It will be in a field of war surrounded with sunflowers.”

The abundance of gaily dancing flowers of summertime vanished from the smoke veiling the room like it was never tangible in the first place. Such picturesque landscape the Queen had found herself situated in beforehand was since extinct, being replaced with a scene of a more horrified manner. The battlefield lay quiet, for it was now a graveyard of the unburied. Bloodied corpses lay in abundance among an extensive array of sunflowers that adorned the carmine hued dirt beneath her stained high heels of ivory. Horrifically did her gaze drop onto the state of her clothing, oozing blood sputtering upon her whole bodice and its surroundings. 

As Vivienne observed the bowl and Anna’s explanation, a potent wave of fear coursed through her veins, cranium perhaps wandering back in time to a parallel of severe trauma: Catherine of Sutica’s murder. The once innocuous Vivienne bearing witness to the brutal murder of her mother and how he violently skewered her neck, specs of blood landing upon that of Vivienne’s visage and bodice. 

Why had Anna unleashed such violent images from her astute imagination?

“This may be your kismet, if you cannot learn to love yourself - and your fate.”

A missive of announcement by Rosina Helvets

20th of Owyn’s Flame, 1870

WORKING under commission from King Frederick I, court painter and established Orenian artist Rosina Matilde is delighted to announce the sculpting and construction of more than 20 busts and statues within the new city of Vienne to celebrate those who came before us; and the history of our Kingdom.

Carved from stone or, in some cases marble, these statues dotted throughout Vienne are to personify the strong history of Oren, lest we forget, and the legacy that is to come after us. To pay tribute to those who paved the way, and to those who earned - through strife and hardships - their rightful places in history.

So, without further ado, Rosina Helvets proudly presents the Faces of Vienne. See them for yourself in the locations marked below and more!

O P H E L I A

Penned by Her Royal Majesty, Vivienne Anastasie, Queen of the Orenians

OPHELIA;

Golden aspen leaves smother the ground.

Blades of grass cut through the dense amber

searching for warmth from the summer’s lost sun.

I stumble; head down, on a gravelled path,

beneath a high bridge of ominous branches

musing if the handful of still flailing leaves 

will stem oozing blossom from the sombre skyline. 

I lay callously upon a bleak river.

Moth-eaten cattails trembling within the wind,

And lotus circles struggling to stay afloat.

I ponder, do they lament their fallen crowns?

The sky reverses ; forfeits gold for brown

As brittle leaves resign, crumble and drown.

I feel this landscape dying deep within me.

A swan glides into my world of despair,

and softly sings his sonorus song.

I lightly descend into his ready reflection.

Although of disparate form—we merge—

grappling with onerous thoughts,

 we yet slowly rotate to a hopeful perception– 

a visible and radiating inner complexion.

21 Lines

SIGNED, 

HER MAJESTY, Vivienne of Savoy, Queen consort of Oren, forever August, Queen consort of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duchess consort of Ves, Duchess consort of Helena, Novellen, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Baroness consort of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera.

DEAD MERMAIDS ON A COLD WINTER DAY,

A COLLECTION OF POETRY

WRITTEN BY MARIE AUGUSTINE ASHFORD DE FALSTAFF

These Poems are by Ms. Ashford de Falstaff, written between the years 1866 and 1869. The poems in Dead Mermaids On a Cold Winter Day were influenced by the authoress’ hysteria throughout her later formative

years. Many of these Poems were written in the secluded regions of Arentania, in her late grandmother's cottage.

BLOODY HAIR: 1866

your blood colored hair entangles me in its mess,

you eyes pierce me, 

pierce me with a thousand daggers

as you whisper i love you

MOTHER: 1867

my sweet mother,

your hair is fiery and contained by naught

your eyes are sweet

and your voice is sweet and sugary

and haunts me after I’ve left.

JULIA: 1867

julia,

mother of all,

take these sinners hands

and bless them with your kiss

rid me of my wish,

rid me of my wiss

for ignorance is my bliss

YOURS & OURS: 1868

consider these lilies

to be yours

consider this secret garden

to be ours

FOREST OF LIES: 1868

in our forest of lies

do we delude such grandeur

where twisting trees frown

where the dying flowers

decompose into your skin

where we held hands

and danced on bees

MY KNIFE: 1869

a thorn without a rose

a day without time,

i sing to a knife

before i kiss my life

goodbye

M A N D A T E   C O N S C I O U S N E S S

A poem penned by Her Royal Majesty Vivienne Anastasie, Queen-consort of Oren

9th of Sigismund’s End in the Year of Our Lord, 1868

Mandatory Consciousness 

~

My being nothing more 

than a rouse, played

by generations, collaboratively.

With no winners,

 or losers.

Or even such a tranquil

ending.

Nothing but a framework,

built of dissembled ideology. 

My being nothing more

than a piece of concept art

How does one view me?

Ephemeral and permanent

at once. 

She is liquid smooth, 

And feel her touch is 

plump and brimful

of life.

16 Lines 

SIGNED,

HER ROYAL MAJESTY, Vivienne of Savoy, Queen consort of Oren, forever August, Queen consort of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duchess consort of Ves, Duchess consort of Helena, Novellen, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Baroness consort of Renzfeld, Protectress of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera.

A S T E R C A L I A  U P D A T E

PENNED 16TH OF TOBIAS’ BOUNTY IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1868

Destructive times of turmoil and strife do we find our staunch Kingdom in these disturbing months, the pretend imperialists spewing more nonsense for that of their mindless people to follow.

The safety of my beloved courtiers is what I cherish the most of all, and I am in every sense of service to all of such. Never would I put any member at risk or let any extravagant event to transpire when our courtiers are unnerved and petrified - innocent and unaware of what they think may materialise next.

It is with robust and renowned regret that I announce the Astercalia festivities shall cease as of now, allowing time for our members of court to recuperate and put their blameless minds at rest. All remaining expenses already sought for by any hosters shall be discussed and returned in full, the Crown thoughtful in times of this simply horrific war. Once it is ceased, Astercalia shall reform into a superior form strongly led by the Aster Council and its stalwart offices.

I extend unfeigned apologies to all bachelors and debutantes affected by this required announcement, and shall be open to receiving letters voicing anyone’s grievances if such transpires. We will come back compelling and cogent - a new Astercalia in the works which shall suffice for the disaster of previous. 

SIGNED, 

HER ROYAL MAJESTY, Vivienne of Savoy, Queen consort of Oren, forever August, Queen consort of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duchess consort of Ves, Duchess consort of Helena, Novellen, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Baroness consort of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera.

EMMA

Written by Héloïse Thérèse Halocurt d’Artois

Penned on the 16th of Snow’s Maiden, In the year of 1865

The Grasp Of Iblees (1851)

Emma, Emma-

Deceptive maiden

Chained by insanity 

Pale marnaian gaze

Her heart cold as ice

Sister, Sister-

Innocence lost

Lives Lost

Mourning follows

Her trail of sorrow

Emma, Emma-

Deceptive maiden

Chained by insanity 

Fallen forever

Forever damned

Sister, Sister-

Innocence lost

Soul severed 

Her life cut short 

By blue blood 

    Bénis-Nous Tous,

        Héloïse of Artois

Provided and sponsored by the Civil Affairs ministry.

The House Sarkozy is an ancient and proud House of Raevir descent with a history of many ancient events that have guided humanity to where it is now. With its bright history as the monarchs of Adria, fighting in the Dukes’ War, and eventually evolving into a House that had one of its members becoming an Emperor. 

HISTORY

With historically the House originating the ancient Raevir House of Carrion, the House of Sarkozic has brought many of its features into their own House. They are known to be having pitch black hair and being rather tall due to the Raev features that are within their genealogy. 

Their history of being Dukes of Adria has been a dark one however. Facing many wars and much conflict throughout their reign. The Dukes were; Hugh “The Headless” Sarkozic, Francis Sarkozic,  John “The Good” Sarkozic, Joseph “The Mad '' Sarkozic, Adrian Leopold de Sarkozy and Joseph Clement de Sarkozy. The reign of the Dukes has often been controversial and sometimes the title was not always elective as they were supposed to be; instead, the title was passed onto their sons. 

As for the descendants of Lord-Protector Adrian Leopold de Sarkozy; his son, Joseph Clement married the heiress-apparent of the Holy Orenian Empire, Anne Augusta - His descendants made the next Imperial House to inherit the Imperial Throne. One of his descendants became the Lord Admiral of the Imperial State Navy, known as George de Sarkozy. 

The culture of House Sarkozic has always remained as something important; their cultural traditions, their symbolic weaponry and of course, their coat of arms. As Lord Corporal Sir Joseph Clement de Sarkozy once said “It is family and history that has kept the scepter, the globus cruciger, and the sword within the claws of the doubled-eagle of House Sarkozic.”

For the current line who are descendants of Peter Victor de Sarkozy, son of Joseph the Red, the cultural identity has somewhat wandered off of it. For once generations make their move towards an Empire with a different culture and traditions then one would have no choice but to follow into the Petrine culture. Exceptions are made however, for it depends on the one person who wishes to completely indulge themselves into the traditions and cultural history of their ancestors.

NOTABLE FIGURES

His Grace, Joseph Sarkozic I, Duke of Adria.

His Imperial Majesty Joseph Clement II, Holy Orenian Emperor, Duke of Adria.

His Imperial Excellency, Adrian Leopold de Sarkozy, Lord Protector of the Holy Orenian Empire, Duke of Adria.

Lord George Casimir de Sarkozy, First Count of Pompourelia.

Lord George Ulysses de Sarkozy, Second Count of Pompourelia.

His Royal Highness Franz Nikolai de Sarkozy, Prince of Sutica, Earl of Suffolk, Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Imperial Order of Merit.

Sir Tobias Henry de Sarkozy, Magistrate of New Esbec, Representative of the Orenian Alpine District.

Holy Sir Edwin Henry de Sarkozy, Duke of Atrus.

Her Imperial Highness Amadea Ulyssa, Countess-Consort of Renzfeld.

His Royal Highness, Prince Adolf Gloriana of Sutica, Count of Suffolk.

His Grace, Lord Sir Joseph Clement de Sarkozy, Duke-Consort of Westmarch, Heir-Apparent to the Barony of Pompourelia, Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Imperial Order of the Lion, Reverend Monsignor of Providentia.

The Right-Honourable, Helena Eleanor de Sarkozy, Baroness of Pompourelia.

The Right Honourable, Deyanira de Sarkozy, Viscountess-Consort of Fauconberg.

ON THE IMPERIAL PRESENCE

A GENERAL GUIDE TO THE REGAL RULES OF BEHAVIOR 

BEFORE THE IMPERIAL CROWN AND IMPERIAL ROYALTY

-=-

FRAMEWORK

As seen fit to re-establish norms and sanctions when in the presence of imperial royalty, the Aster Court has worked under the guidance of HIM Emperor Philip III and HIM Empress Anastasia I to present a guide on behavior before these royal individuals. This guide is to be used as reference and assistance for various circumstances and occasions in which one may need when interacting with the emperor, empress, imperial princes, and imperial princesses.

THE IMPERIAL CROWN

The Imperial Crown, furthermore the reigning sovereign(s) of the empire, must always be given the following respects; 

1. All must rise, if seated, upon the entrance of the Emperor/Empress until otherwise told to be seated (by gesture or by word). 

1a. It is commonplace for people to remove their caps upon the approach of the sovereign.

1b. In the event of a dinner, or other seated event with the Imperial Crown, all must sit when the monarch sits (after rising upon their entrance). All must rise when the monarch rises before departure. 

2. All must bow, or curtsy, when directly approaching the Emperor/Empress. A nod is unacceptable. Bows and curtsies are also required when the Emperor/Empress passes by.

2a. One should never show their back to the Emperor/Empress. 

3. Address the Emperor/Empress as “Your Imperial Majesty” at the beginning and end of a conversation. This may be followed by “my liege.” Addressments such as “sir” or “ma’am” may also be acceptable. 

4. All must rise, if seated, upon the exit of the Emperor/Empress until otherwise told to be seated (by gesture or by word).

The following general rules must always be kept in mind;

1. It is strictly prohibited for any person, regardless of ranking, to touch the Emperor/Empress.

2. No one may address the Emperor/Empress by a nickname, or anything beyond their formal addressments, without direct permission from the Imperial Crown to do so at the given time. 

3. Modesty in fashion must be maintained particularly in the presence of the Emperor/Empress. This is a general rule, however, for the entirety of the imperial court. 

4. Do not ‘speak back’ to the Emperor/Empress, especially without given permission to do so. To define, this means replying in a rude, often quick manner. 

CONSORTS; IMPERIAL PRINCES AND PRINCESSES

The Imperial Consort

The Imperial Consort must always be given the following respects; 

1. All must bow, or curtsy, when directly approaching the Imperial Consort. A nod is unacceptable. Bows and curtsies are required when the Imperial Consort passes by.

2. Address the Imperial Consort as “Your Imperial Majesty” at the beginning and end of a conversation. This is to be followed by “sir” or “ma’am.”

The following general rules must always be kept in mind;

1. It is strictly prohibited for any person, regardless of ranking, to touch the Imperial Consort.

2. No one may call the Imperial Consort by a nickname, or anything beyond their formal addressments, without direct permission from the Imperial Consort to do so at the given time. 

3. Modesty in fashion must be maintained particularly in the presence of the Imperial Consort.

Imperial Princes and Princesses 

Imperial princes and princesses must always be given the following respects; 

1. All must bow, or curtsy, when directly approaching an imperial prince and princess. A nod is acceptable in this situation in place of a bow or curtsy. 

2. Address the imperial  princes and princesses as “Your Imperial Highness” at the beginning and end of a conversation. This is to be followed by “sir” or “ma’am.”

The following general rules must always be kept in mind;

1. It is strictly prohibited for any person, regardless of ranking, to touch imperial princes or princesses.

2. No one may call imperial princes or princesses by a nickname, or anything beyond their formal addressments, without direct permission from imperial princes or princesses to do so at the given time. 

3. Modesty in fashion must be maintained particularly in the presence of imperial princes and princesses.

HER IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Anastasia I, Holy Orenian Empress, forever August, Queen of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duchess of Ves, Duchess of Helena, Novellen, Furnestock, Adria, and Lorraine, Baroness of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders, Orenian Highlanders, and Farfolk, etcetera 

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, Catherine Anastasia of Furnestock, Princess Imperial of the Holy Orenian Empire, Duchess of Westmark

HER EXCELLENCY, Odessa MacPherson, Lady Chamberlain of the Aster Court

The Munnel Family

"Mit unseren händen bauen wir unser schicksal"

History of the family

________________________________

Almaris

Upon his arrival to Almaris Jarad ventured around for a while before landing in the Holy Orenian Empire. Upon arriving he meet multiple people who would impact his life including George Maximillian, Vladrick Ruthern, Duncan Vuiller, and Sorise, his future wife. Through hard work and dedication, Jarad earned himself multiple positions in the government Including Head Clerk, Second Brigade Captain, and Head Solicitor.

Jarad and Sorise had three kids, Ember Munnel Heir of Munnel, Rose Munnel, and Felix Munnel the newest addition. Upon coming of the age of 15 Ember Munnel and Rose Munnel both joined the clerks and are working to become doctors in Oren to help people and save lives, studying under the guiding hand of Doctor Primrose Gendik. Felix Munnel being the youngest of the three is being cared for by his mother and father, learning the ropes of the family well receiving the best education they can give.

Having Been warded into the Vuillers before getting his peerage and splitting off. The Munnel Family under Jarad Munnel considers all members of the Vuiller as Close Family with Rev Vuiller and Diana Vuiller being his siblings. 

Following the War of the wigs' Sir Jarad Munnel would be named the Baron of Brighthill. Upon the sudden death of the Emperor and Empress the Brothers War was sparked and took off. Overcome by Greif the Baron would declare Neutrality and work to keep the city of providence alive. Upon the War's Conclusion the Baron and the Family Would be shunned for staying neutral sparking them to move out of oren.

Well, this family might be young their story is yet to be written.

Values, Practices and Traditions

Spirit of the Hunt

The Munnel Family are proud adventures and self-sufficient, Providing for their own. Every eight years the family will partake in a family hunt that doubles as a challenge, whoever can gather the most will be bestowed the title of “Jagdmeister” until the next hunt. 

Spirit of the Mother

All you have in life is your family ties, the Munnel Family is all too aware of this fact and family ties are considered sacred to them, allies are temporary but family is forever.

Spirit of the Bow 

From a young age, every Munnel learns to use a bow and crossbow to the point of mastery. This is the way of the family and the pride of it. These skills are put to the test each Hunt as well as during the Mayoridad Hunt. 

Spirit of the Father

Sometimes you must make sacrifices to save those you love, however. You should never forget yourself or your place, We shall not become the monsters we fight

Respekt vor dem Leben

The Munnel family is one that respects their roots, from a young age they are taught about nature, herbs, medicine, hunts, wilderness survival and above all. Nature in general, in order to be a hunter you must have respect for nature. For part of this, they will be expected to spend time in different environments. Hunting, fishing and camping.

Bindung von Fuchs 

Learning to care for others and work together is a key factor in life, for this reason, each child of the Munnel family is given their own pet fox to raise and care for. It is the hope in doing so that they will learn to respect life more and grow up healthier.

Mayoridad Hunt 

The Mayoridad Hunt is a special tradition of the Munnel family, at 18 they are expected to enter into a hunt armed only with a bow and a few arrows to kill a great beast. They must use the skills they have cultivated to outwit and outsmart their prey.

Forging of Steel

Each Munnel is expected to forge their sword, they will learn the skills of such from the Patriarch or Matriarch of the family.

Forging of Iron

Each Munnel is expected to forge the armor they will use to protect themselves and others. They will learn the skills of such from the Patriarch or Matriarch of the family.

Bright Future

One key part of a family is adoption, each addition is seen as a bright future and therefore takes up the last name of Bright. They are welcomed into the family as full members of the family in good standing. 

Den Lords

Den Lord are people who residence upon the lands of the Munnel's trusted by the Patriarch and Matriarch, they will gain all the rights and be allowed to partake in the Traditions of the house if they wish too, additionally they may sit in on family meetings and are to be treated as family.  

Of Fox and Eagle

The Munnels and the Vuiller have always been extremally close and Considered Each other Family. With Sir Jarad Munnel and Sir Rev Vuiller being Brothers. In the eyes of the Munnels the Vuiller are both Family and close allies.  Paper is temporary but Blood and Family is forever. 

The Foxes Feast

Once every Sixteen years, the Munnel family will meet to have a great feast, for this the Patriarch, Matriarch and Heir apparent much depart on the foxes hunt to gather food for the feast to which the rest of the family will cook, once everything is prepared the family will partake in one large celebration and feast dubbed ‘The Foxes Feast’.

The Light in the Dark

The Munnel Family will hunt those who hide in the dark and defend those they are loyal to. Rooting out evil and darkness where ever they can. This is another oath they must sware on the name of the founding father. They must take this oath after they have completed the Forging of steel.  

Vereinigung von zwei

Marriage is a wonderful thing in life, it comes when two people wish to spend the rest of their life together. In a traditional munnel marriage every member of the family will contribute to the marriage, be it sending invitations, helping set up the ceremony or after party or giving a present to the couple. For a marriage of any family member to be allowed, the couple must get permission from their respective parents.

Die Rückkehr der Natur

Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust, one day we all must return to whence we came, well it is sad to lose a loved one we must still give them a proper burial. Firstly they will have a funeral in the religion of their worship, in the lack of such the family will get together and the head of the house will say a prayer. Afterwards, the body or ashes shall be taken to the family grave where they will rest for the rest of eternity.

The Sunlit Fox of Dawn

The Sunlit Fox of Dawn is an award given to both Munnels and Brights upon the completion of a great dead, proving themself worthy of their name and legacy. 

The Moonlit Fox of Dusk

The Moonlit Fox of Dusk is a medal given to the dead, both Munnels and Brights who have accomplished greatness in life and now have passed on.

Additional Infomation

The Family Crest/COA:

Meaning:

The Fox - Family animal, representing; Cunning, Life, Pride, The soul of the family, and the flag which we fly

The Scales - Truth, Justice, Money, and Trade

The Sword - Protection, Honor, Value of Life and the Hunt 

Motto: 

Mit unseren händen bauen wir unser schicksal (With our hands we build our destiny)

Remberence:

"Those who fight monsters. Should see to it, that in the process. They do not become a monster.”

Founding Family Members

Founding Father - Sir Jarad Munnel

Founding Mother - Sorise Munnel

Written by Héloïse Thérèse Halocurt d’Artois

Penned on 16th of Snow’s Maiden, In the year of 1863

 La Chasseresse De La Mer Verte  (1861)

Common Verison

Lady Huntshill,

Swift and cunning,

Her arrows will cut you

Down

Lady Huntshill,

Taut bow taunting,

Life so thinning

Will flee your gaze

Born of aster,

Loyal and sound,

Faithfully bound

Lady Huntshill,

Battle's calling

Orenia’s shining prize

Lady Huntshill,

Smile at warning,

Smirk at doom

And laugh in their eyes

Lady Huntshill,

Without warning,

Makes enemies fall

Like tarnished crowns

What can be said

To all who have fled

The Pale Eyed Maiden?

But all who remained

To stand in her way

Met with her arrow's fate

Lady Huntshill,

Swift and cunning,

Her arrows cut you

Down

Lady Huntshill,

Battle's calling

Orenia’s shining prize

Lady Huntshill,

Smile at warning,

Smirk at doom

And laugh in their eyes

Born of aster,

Loyal and sound,

Faithfully bound

Lady Huntshill,

Swift and cunning,

Her arrows will cut you

Down

Auverguine Verizon

Madame Huntshill,

Rapide et rusé,

Ses flèches te couperont

Vers le bas

Madame Huntshill,

Provocation à l'arc tendu,

La vie si mince

Fuira ton regard

Né d'aster,

Fidèle et solide,

Fidèlement lié

Madame Huntshill,

L'appel de la bataille

Le prix brillant d'Orenia

Madame Huntshill,

Sourire à l'avertissement,

Sourire au destin

Et rire dans leurs yeux

Madame Huntshill,

Sans avertissement,

Fait tomber les ennemis

Comme des couronnes ternies

Que peut-on dire

A tous ceux qui ont fui

La jeune fille aux yeux pâles ?

Mais tous ceux qui sont restés

Se tenir sur son chemin

A rencontré le destin de sa flèche

Madame Huntshill,

Rapide et rusé,

Ses flèches te coupent

Vers le bas

Madame Huntshill,

L'appel de la bataille

Le prix brillant d'Orenia

Madame Huntshill,

Sourire à l'avertissement,

Sourire au destin

Et rire dans leurs yeux

Né d'aster,

Fidèle et solide,

Fidèlement lié

Madame Huntshill,

Rapide et rusé,

Ses flèches te couperont

Vers le bas

Bénédictions à toi bel enfant,

        Héloïse of Artois

Provided and sponsored by the Civil Affairs ministry.

A cadet branch of the House of Novellen. The County of Aldersberg was granted to His Imperial Highness, Joseph Leopold for being favored by his father, His Imperial Majesty, Joseph II. The family is most famous for keeping some of the Empires most valuable trinkets such as the Kaedrini Tiara of Ves created for the first Queen-Consort of the Commonwealth of Kaedrin, The Furnestock Tiara made for Empress Julia of Furnestock, the Osterland Tiara made for the first Countess of Aldersberg, Henrietta Maria Pruvia of Osterland, along with many other artifacts, books, and treasures. The Aldersberg Family resides in Arentania, a region known for its tall snow-capped mountains, atop a precarious cliff in a beautiful limestone Estate. A host of many dinners, tea parties, and Galas. Mutton is frequently served at gatherings due to the large population of wild mountain sheep, along with often imported wine and tea. Oranges are deeply frowned upon, a frequent sign of bad omen.  The families motto “Amicus Dives” or “friend of the rich” expresses its exclusivity and distrust of the poor.

First Count of Aldersberg

HIH Joseph Leopold, prominent businessman and philanthropist

Second Count of Aldersberg

HIH George Alexander, socialite and philanthropist

Future Third Count of Aldersberg

Lord Edward Clement, theatrical and doctor trainee

PENNED BY THE OFFICE OF THE CONCIERGE, 11TH OF SIGISMUND’S END, 1862

The etiquette of dress upheld within the courts of Aster Hall and the imperial realm is what distinguishes the humility of the gentry from the nobles, and the nobles from the Imperial Royalty. This document shall bequeath this decorum unto public access.

Additionally, this document provides a basic outline.

CLICK HERE

CROWN & DIADEMS

A crown or a diadem is essential in any monarch's heirloom collection. The crown can only be worn by the regnant Emperor, Empress, and cannot be worn by Imperial consorts as these items are representative of sovereignty. 

The piece is characterised by the solid ring or headband ornamentally decorated with the wearer’s choice of jewels, or in the case of a crown: a band with an even amount of arches that all reach a centre point whilst the wearer's head is otherwise covered with an inner lining of velvet. They may be worn wherever the wearer wishes, but it is most commonly encouraged to be worn during Imperial Court, the opening of the Imperial Diet and other noble ceremonies where one might be required to differentiate one’s titular rank.

The Aster Crown & The Ruby Diadem

CROWN & BARBETTES

Just as ornate as its sovereign’s counterpart is the Barbette, exclusively for the wear of the Imperial Consort.

The Crown & Barbette duo is characterized by the use of the consort’s crown layered with a barbette that spans the circumference of the wearer’s head. Connected to the crown is the barbette itself, the veil-like fabric that wraps the crown and connects it with its wearer. The barbette resembles a wimple as it often collects under the wearer’s chin, and over her shoulders. 

The Fillet of Senntisten

TIARAS

A tiara often graces the head of every mainline Imperial Princess as the most common piece of regalia to be commissioned by the Imperial Family. Tiaras are not meant for casual wear and are thus relegated to the ceremonial, often worn alongside sashes. 

Non-imperial peers and consorts and their children may wear tiaras with special exception from the crown, although these items must be registered within the court’s document of heirlooms.

The tiara lacks the full circular connection of the diadem and crown but retains the ornate decorations with only the front half. The most worn of this sort of Imperial Regalia is the pertinax tiara, popularized in the Petrine Era of fashion by Empress Lorena of Cascadia. 

The Karenina Tiara

CRISPINETTE

The piece of Imperial Regalia known as the Crispinette or simply the Crispine is worn throughout the Imperial Princesses and consorts across Oren. Although it’s more commonly seen within the Imperial Family, a Duchess or Countess is permitted to don one should she attend a formal event. The Crispinette is characterized by the main circlet that spans around the wearer’s head, and the nets that sit on either side of her head, holding her hair in small buns on either side of her head. 

The Golden Crispinette worn by Empress Adelheid of Istria

CIRCLETS

A circlet is a circular band that is worn on the head as an ornament. They are open on the top of the user’s head, as are the same as most head-wear. In contrast to a diadem and a crown, a circlet lacks ornate decor and style. 

This headwear may only be worn by the Imperial family; including the mainline and not mainline, or the ducal families during debuts, weddings, and their formal events. Circlets should mainly be worn during Imperial courts, debuts, weddings, or formal events; not as casual, everyday wear.

The Aurelian Circlet

SASHES

A sash is a large, colourful ribbon of material worn around the physique that is either draping from the right shoulder to the left hip or else running around the waist. Sashes that are worn around the waist are for more casual outerwear. Sashes that are draping from the shoulder to the hip should be worn for more formal occasions. They are traditionally made of wool and intricately finger-woven into colourful lengthwise twisty patterns.

They can be worn by peers of the empire, their consorts, and all members of the Imperial Family. Children of peers are not permitted to wear such clothing. They can be fashioned for weddings, debutant events, and Imperial courts. 

An example of a Novellen sash.

BROOCHES

A brooch is a fashionable decorative accessory that is usually attached to clothing by a pin clasp. They are traditionally worn on coats, shirts, and dresses for casual wear or to hold clothing together. Brooches can be made from stones, pearls, crystals, metals, and jewels. Brooches can be more noticeable if they contrast with their background clothing; for example, bright garments could have a dark-coloured brooch.

Brooches can be worn by all classes of the Empire and for anytime wear. There is no specific time to wear this addition, so it can be used for casual or formal events. 

A brooch of the ISA.

JEWELS

Jewels are exquisite pieces that add to Orenian fashion. Jewels and gemstones can be coordinated with necklaces, rings, earrings, or any other outer addition. They are traditionally made out of gold, silver, and any other colourful jewels. If someone was to customise their jewellery, they should seek out a professional jewellery maker. For example, dark-coloured jewels go well with silver bands; in contrast, light-coloured jewels go with gold bands.

Jewels are fashionable and are almost always worn by the Orenian woman. Anyone can wear them as it is not exclusive for a certain class. Wearing jewellery promotes a citizen’s classiness and wealth.

A set of jewellery worn by Miss Emilie Whittle

SIGNED,

HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Philip III, Holy Orenian Emperor, forever August, King of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Helena, Novellen, Furnestock, Adria, and Lorraine, Baron of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders, Orenian Highlanders, and Farfolk, etcetera

HER IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Anastasia I, Holy Orenian Empress, forever August, Queen of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duchess of Ves, Duchess of Helena, Novellen, Furnestock, Adria, and Lorraine, Baroness of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders, Orenian Highlanders, and Farfolk, etcetera

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, Holy Dame Helena Augusta Novellen née Basrid, Dowager Countess of Temesch, Mistress of Etiquette of the Aster Court

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, Anna Ulyssa Novellen, Princess of Furnestock

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, Lorena Theodosia Novellen, Princess of Furnestock, Assistant of Etiquette

HER EXCELLENCY, Odessa MacPherson, Lady Chamberlain of the Aster Court

HER EXCELLENCY, Ioanna Elisheva Basrid, Lady Concierge of the Aster Court

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, Dame Diana Valentina Vuiller née Azor, Viscountess consort of Vuillermoz, Assistant of Etiquette

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, Coraline Antonia Carrington-d’Arkent, Baroness of Carrington, Assistant of the Wardrobe

HER LADYSHIP, Gracia Valentina Basrid née Falcone, Mistress of Wardrobe of the Aster Court

HER LADYSHIP, Cosette Eleanor Falstaff

ANABEL

Princess Royale of Cyrilsburg

-

Written by Héloïse Thérèse Halcourt d’Artois,

A dramatized piece depicting the beginnings of Anabel I of Curonia,

Do not take the events which happen in the play for fact.

This piece is dedicated to Her Imperial Majesty, Anasatya of Kotiz.

Cast

Princess Anabel of Cyrilsburg: 

The young and adolescent Princess Royale of Cyrilsburg in The daughter of Wilhelm I of Curonia and Evelyn of Istria. She was considered a timid girl. But, some had considered Anabel to be an extremely bright child as well. 

Wilhelm I of Curonia: 

Founder of the Kingdom of Curon and father of the Princess Royale of Cyrilsburg, He was considered a doting father to Anabel and an even more dutiful ruler to the Curonian people. But, Wilhelm was also known to be very paranoid and protective. 

Evelyn of Istria: 

Mother of the Princess Royale of Cyrilsburg. She was thought of as a good mother to Anabel and an even more loyal Queen-consort to Curon. Numerous historians consider Evelyn to be extremely pious, kind and holy.

Ser Graham Milner: 

The honest and overly zealous knight under Wilhelm of Curonia, in charge of watching over Anabel’s welfare and security. Historians believe Ser Graham Milner was also remarkably blunt and brash. 
 

Prince Romulus of Renatus: 

Son of Augustus the First with his sister-wife, Helen of Carolustadt. Fellow princes and lord-lings of the Empire considered Romulus as a brash and trouble making prince-ling, but also very charismatic.
 

Helen of Carolustadt: 

The sister-wife of the extremely controversial Emperor of Man, Augustus the First. Many courtiers of Carolsutadian court considered Helen to be a gentle speaking and benevolent Empress-consort, occasionally crafty.

Extras

Cyrilsburg Crier
 

Songbird Performers

Curonian Citizens

Curonian Nobility

Imperial Nobility

Haense Nobility

Guards

Narrator

[ MUST BE PLAYED BY THE LADY OR GENTLEMAN DIRECTING THE PLAY ]

Props

Tea Set

Teddy Bear

Prop Baby

Green Silk

Act One

Beginnings

Act Two

Destined

Act Three

The Dance

Act Four

Betrothals

Monologue

Fate

THE END