The Duchesses of Adria

[zuziee 4004]

Written by

Austina Sarkozic

On the 10th day of Tobias' Bounty of 1902

 

 

The Duchess of Adria, officially known as the Duchess-Consort of Adria, is a title that is given to the wife of the Duke of Adria. The title is held by the wife if she is lawfully married to the Duke of Adria and their husband is currently incumbent when they are married to them. Once obtained, the Duchess of Adria holds their title until either divorce, death, or their husband abdicates. A Duchess can also be elected by the Crows Duma, and in that case would become a co-monarch of the title and hold it past her husband's death or her own abdication. However, this has never occurred.

 

As of 1902, there have been nine official Duchesses of Adria starting in 1510 under the first Duke of Adria, Franz I, and his wife, Winter. All fulfill the requirement of being married to the Duke and hail from all parts of the continent. Most commonly, all Duchesses share a ravir or imperial lineage with none from commoner families. 

 

There have been some exceptions to this, with many Dukes either never being married to their recorded spouse or simply not holding the title. Joseph I, Duke of Adria, had four bastards from Victoria Valic, never actually marrying the woman. These four children were later legitimized.  Franz II was never married nor had any children with Natalia Barbanov because she was already married to the Duke of Courland. Andrew III gave his title back to the Adrian people before marrying his wife, and finally, between the years of 1837-1849, the title of Duke was disputed between Philip Aurelian and Franz Nikolai. Franz was elected by the Duma which is the traditional way of inheriting the Duke of Adria title, but for over 70 years the title of Duke was inherited by primogeniture so Philip Aurelian’s claim was more widely accepted. As of 1849 and Philip’s death, the title has returned to the Crow’s Duma. 

 

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I DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, WINTER, PRINCESS OF HANSETI, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, BARONESS OF DRAGON’S PEAK

Winter de Nurem | Winter of Hanseti

@Timmeh!

Unknown - Early 1500s A.H

(2 yrs)

 

Parentage: Mark I von Hanseti 

 

Princess Winter was born in the mid-1400s to Mark I of Hanseti and Allison Green. She is the first recorded child of Mark I and ergo was one of the first Princesses of Hanseti, having a younger brother named Booker. She would grow up apart of the DeNurum family, famously the house derived from the Teutonic Order. The first city of the Teutonic Order in Aegis was named Nuremburg and the patriarch of the House adopted the name DeNurem to mean from Nuremburg.

 

Winter was named because of her snow-hued hair and the climate, she grew up always covered in soft snow. She was an adventurer with a profound appreciation of foreign countries. This brought her to the March of Adria during the Schism war. There, she’d fall in love and espouse Franz Vladov who would be a key player in the ascension of Adria to a Dukedom. Franz would be elected as the Duke and in 1510 Adria was escalated from a March after the Schism. Thus, making Winter the first Duchess of Adria.

 

Under Franz's leadership, Adria's landscape would transmute into many townships such as Werdenburg, Owynswood, Eastcliffe, Kazamir, Dragon’s Peak, and Woldzimir. Winter resided in the Barony of Eastcliffe and sired four children with Franz. Her hobbies or mannerisms are mostly unknown, but her genealogy is impressive with her eldest acquiring the County of Baranya and the couple's only daughter marrying the Baron of Kraken’s Watch. Her legacy as the first Duchess would live on through her maiden name DeNurem which became a prominent family in the Holy Orenian Imperium in the 1700s. 

 

Her Husband would abdicate in 1512 to Hugues Sarkozic de Monfort just as ships sailed to Vailor to find fertile developing land for a settlement. There, the Duchy of Adria would be re-established with the City of Brelus as the capital. Winter would maintain a residency with her husband until she passed from senescence in the early 1500s just as the Duke’s War commenced.

 

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II DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER GRACE, MADELEINE ANNE, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, COUNTESS OF OWYNSBURG AND BRELUS

Magdalene Anna Horen | Madeleine of Alstion

@meg

1494 - 1521 A.H

(6 yrs)

 

Parentage: Charles Henry Horen, Prince of Alstion, and Isabella de Gauloisse

 

Madeleine Anne Horen was born in 1494 to Charles, Prince of Alstion, and Isabella de Gauloisse. She was the first of two daughters with her sister, Caroline, born two years later in 1496. Madeline was raised by her mother who educated her daughters on how to sew, cook, and care for children. Her inculcation was lackluster to today's standards but in the late 1400s Madeleine was considered keenly intellective compared to most women. 

 

In 1512, Madeleine would be found in an inn room, unclad, with Hugues Sarkozic. Due to this scandal, she would be married immediately to minimize damage. Hugh would then be elected as Duke of Adria by the Crows Duma and the pair would have their first child in 1513. Madeleine was thought to be of political value to the Duke who was endeavoring to be designated heir to Savoie after the current King, Olivier, died. Madeleine was a direct descendant of the Duke of Marna and her prestigious lineage made her husband and their children a prominent option for an heir. 

 

Madeleine would reside in the capital, Brelus, and kept herself occupied through daily tasks like her flower garden which is rumored to be where the Adrian Rose was first cultivated. She would have two more children between the years 1513-1519 when her husband would be murdered. His assassin would slice his head clean off in the Cathedral of St. Lothar in Brelus during the apex of the Duke’s War which led to his nickname Hugh ‘The Headless’. 

 

Madeleine would live on in fear and grief and in 1521 she’d be murdered in the sacking and burning of the capital of Brelus at the hands of Augustus d’Amaury. After her death, the designation of Duke of Adria would be transformed into the Duchy of Lorraine and gifted to Augustus d'Amaury. Two of her three children would live long enough to have their own children with her eldest son becoming the Duke of Carnatia and her eldest daughter espousing the Count of Baranya. Tragically, her third child would die preceding the age of 5 from a lung illness.

 

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III DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER GRACE, AMELIA, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, BARONESS OF DORMONT, LADY-PROTECTOR OF THE MIDLANDS

Amelia Burgundar | Amelia of Burgundar

@unplayed

1647 - 1690 A.H

(18 yrs)

 

Parentage: Eimar, Count of Gotha, and Aldyth de Roths

 

Amelia of Burgundar was born to Eimar, Count of Gotha, and his staunch wife Aldyth de Roths. She was the fifth child of Eimar and the second of Eimar and Aldyth. Her older sister, Liliana, would advise Amelia on everything she knew. Together they would paint, dance and hunt with Amelia becoming quite proficient with the brush. Ineluctably, Liliana would be married and leave the house. Woefully for Amelia, Liliana espoused the man she loved, which betokened that Amelia would have to marry for an alliance. 

 

Unbeknownst to her, the First Restoration and the second Duchy of Adria were being established under John Sarkozic. The Duke and Amelia’s father would meet on several occasions to discuss a treaty and coalition between the two noble families. To secure it, Count Eimar offered Amelia as a bride. John, who had yet to find a wife, accepted. In 1663, the couple would be married and with the unification an alliance between the March of Osmark and the Duchy of Adria would be established.

 

Amelia struggled to settle into her incipient life in Belvitz. She mothered two children, Emmelina and Joseph, and continued painting. But otherwise, she lived a life in solitude sanctioning her children to be raised by governesses. Her time as a Duchess was unremarkable, unlike her husband who was very popular among his people. 

 

For those who met her, she was sweet and well-liked into her old age. In 1681 when her husband abdicated she migrated from the capital Belvitz to the Barony of Dormont. There she lived her life separated from her husband, children, and family until her eventual death in early 1690. Amelia was a timid woman in life, but a loyal Adrian nevertheless.

 

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IV DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, ALEXANDRIA, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, PRINCESS OF MAN

Alexandria Horen | Alexandria of Man

@esry

1656 - 1702 A.H

(10 yrs)

 

Parentage: Prince Antonius of Renatus-Marna and Maria Viktoria, Duchess of Krajia

 

Princess Alexandria Horen was born in 1656 to Prince Antonius of Renatus-Marna and Maria Viktoria, the Duchess of Krajia. She was the eldest of triplets with a younger sister and brother following her into the world. She would have four more siblings, two of them being bastards of her father. In her childhood, Alexandria was the mutest of her siblings and was customarily spotted cowering adjacent to her sister and brother, sharing a close bond with both of them equally. She would struggle to set her own path while endeavoring to appease her mother’s rigorous guidelines. This was unlike her sister, Ophelia, who had denied the system outright. 

 

As an adult, her mother would coerce her into a marriage to Ratibor, the Duke of Adria. Ratibor had little love in his heart for anything besides gold and would lock Alexandria in the tower of his keep. He authoritatively mandated that no one was to visit or write to her, leaving her entirely alone besides his infrequent visits. She gradually went mad with solitude, taking many years to give Ratibor an heir. In 1686, Alexandria would have twins: Paul and Valera. She celebrated that surely this would liberate her from the tower, but an even worse fate befell her. Her children were taken from her, leaving her feeble and incoherent. 

 

The tower was all she knew for many years, having three more children with Ratibor until his visits would stop entirely in late 1692. He was diligent with the Dukedom and his entrepreneurial adventures which kept him from Adria and killed him in 1696. By then, everyone had forgotten about Alexandria’s existence within the tower and she would gradually perish from hunger, succumbing to it in 1702 after the servants forgot about her. 

 

Her legacy was later tainted by her triplet Augustus I, Emperor of Man, when he claimed on his deathbed that Paul and Valera were products of incestuous relationships between him and Alexandria. Designated the Varoche affair, it would go on to be revised by the Queen Consort of Haense, Viktoria of Metterden, after she conducted a posthumous study that claimed its falsehood, though speculation continues. However, this was not the end of Augustus I’s incestuous nature. It was later revealed that he had married his own sister, Helen of Carolustadt, and they’d had six children together. 

 

Princess Alexandria’s eldest son would become the Duke of Adria after Ratibor died, never quite having a relationship with his mother. Her fate was tragic, being kept away from her children, away from people, and abused by her husband whose face was the only face she saw for over half her life, bar servants.

 

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V DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER GRACE, EMIGLIANA SOFIA, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, COUNTESS OF VAROCHE, BARONETESS OF NAPOLIZA

Emma Sophia Montelliano | Emigliana of Napoliza

@amyselia

1690 - 1721 A.H.

(1 yr)

 

Parentage: Niccolò Vittorio di Montelliano and Reina, Countess of Aldenburg

 

Emigliana Sofia Valentia di Montelliano y Kavietsby was born on the 9th of the Sun’s Smile, 1690, within Commodus Castle, Aldenburg, to Lady Reina Kavietsby and Niccolo Vittorio di Montelliano prior to the former’s appointment as Countess of Aldenburg under the Imperium Renatum. After moving to the Golden City of Ves to live beside her father and two elder brothers, she lost all the graces of a lady and instead adapted to a liberal Adrian upbringing, with a characteristic temper yet licentious charisma. She enjoyed dancing, comedy, the theater performances of the revered Timeo de la Baltas, and tavern games.

 

After her father’s death, Emigliana’s mother joined them under the Adrian banner, marrying Timeo de la Baltas. Her brother Demetrio became a polarizing figure in Adrian politics after his election as Mayor when he implemented a local bill of indentured servitude for criminals. Despite its unpopularity with the encroaching imperial diet- in this, Emigliana was fully a participant, being the scrivener of a pamphlet introducing the bill and its constituent clauses. The bill exacerbated existing dissent between Adria and the imperial leadership. Due to Montelliano’s influence over Ves, Demetrio was made Baronet of Napoliza, elevating Montelliano to a patrician house.

 

Casual political dinners introduced teenage Emigliana to the young Duke Paul, betrothed to Vesna Valic at the time, though they later ended their engagement for reasons unknown. Emigliana and Paul were betrothed swiftly after their introduction and were known to be a publicly amorous couple, with Emigliana even nestling upon his lap for the duration of a noble’s feast in the imperial palace during a time in which she was wheelchaired due to an injury sustained after an imperial mage attack. After Demetrio’s ousting from Ves, Paul awarded her with Napoliza to ensure she remained at a rank eligible for their marriage. They married during the peak of renatian dissent against Adria, though many vassal lords attended their wedding, held in Varoche Palace.

 

Just a year after their union, the tensions erupted into the threat of Ves’s destruction at the hands of Crown Prince Antonius Horen. Paul signed the Duchy over into the hands of King Marius II of Haense to ensure that his subjects would gain a shield from Renatus. In the Duchies’ stead, Paul and Emigliana took on the titles of Count and Countess of Varoche, named for the Vessian Palace. Emigliana hosted several diplomats and important figures in Varoche Palace, notably the imperial privy seal Princess Amelia of Alstion, and the contemporary High Pontiff.

 

When Emperor Augustus died, his final words revealed that Paul had actually been the product of his and his sister Alexandria’s (Paul’s mother, married to the former Duke Ratibor) love affair. The scandal was an ordeal for Emigliana, who now held to it that the marriage prospects of the four children she’d mothered with Paul would be ruined. When King Marius II turned around and torched the city of Ves alongside Emperor Antonius, Emigliana was devastated and lost all admiration for her husband and the empire both.

 

The Count and Countess presided over Varoche Palace in silence for the next few years, though their lack of agency was rumored to be another tear in their relationship. Emigliana was said to have blamed Paul and their children for all of her problems, and would often beat both whenever they failed to impress her. Her journals describe a hope to plot Paul’s murder and escape to the imperial capital, though this plan went awry, as she instead grew so vexed during an argument that she withdrew a silver knife and stabbed it into his gut without thought for their surroundings. She was instantly swarmed and killed by the Vessian Guard in the heat of the moment. Her daughters relocated to the imperial capital, where they would both become titular princess consorts despite Emigliana’s aforementioned cynicism, whereas the youngest, Paul ‘the Roach’, continued the line of Varoche.

 

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VI DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER ROYAL MAJESTY, KLAUDIA ERIKA, QUEEN OF HANSETI-RUSKA, DUCHESS OF ADRIA

Claudia Erica Vanir | Klaudia of Vasiland

@Disheartened

1683 - 1740 A.H

(11 yrs)

 

Parentage: Francis, Margrave of Vasiland and Erika Lilaine Baruch

 

Lady Klaudia Erika was born in 1683 in Markev, Haense, to Francis, the Margrave of Vasiland, and his consort Erika Lilaine Baruch. Klaudia’s five siblings were all much older than her, so she grew up partially on her own. She, of course, had a customary schedule of governesses and tutors which provided her with a proper education and a knack for civil pursuit. Neither of her parents had any intentions for Klaudia's future or suitors, so she was sanctioned to partake in things many nobility would find outlandish like becoming a city municipal steward. 

 

Her life would change dramatically when Marius II’s first wife died early and Klaudia would be nominated to marry him. Almost instantly, she would find herself within the Basilica of Fifty Virgins and married to Marius. The same year in 1708, a Duma was held in Adria where Paul II declared his abdication as Duke of Adria and nominated King Marius as his successor. This made Klaudia not only the Queen of Hanseti-Ruska but the Duchess of Adria. 

 

From her wedding onwards, Klaudia found herself very solitary in the world. At home, at least, she had her parents and tutors. In the Prika Palace, she had no friends or family, and the family she married into openly expressed their hatred for her. Even her husband kept a cold and distant relationship with Klaudia. It only worsened for her when it took her over two years to engender an heir to the kingdom with many calling her desolate and undeserving of the denomination of Queen. 

 

For seven years she’d reigned as a Queen and Duchess, doing what she could to avail her kingdom. In 1715, the War of Two Emperors commenced and her husband remained diligent in the war and was often away from the capital so Klaudia was tasked with handling internal affairs. She excelled in stewartry and city administration with her exceptional organizational and management skills. Then tragedy hit and her reign as consort would end abruptly in 1719 when her husband was assassinated in the Prika Palace Gardens by Hektor Barrow. 

 

The toils of stress from the war and her husband's sudden death took a great toll on her health, so Klaudia would recede from public view. As Queen Mother she perpetuated this trend of being mainly unseen by her people, fiddling briefly with her eldest son's espousement. She would reside as Queen Mother in the Palace until 1740 when she died from a fever after enduring the commencements of the Rubern War. 

 

The designation of Duke of Adria would be passed to her son, Andrew, upon her husband's death. However, nearing the cessation of the War of Two Emperors, all individuals involved would amass together and Alexander II, Holy Orenian Emperor, would be made emperor. The Duchy would then go to Adrian Sarkozic as a gift of tranquility and no longer belonged to the Barbanov family. It would be the last time the Dukedom legally belonged to Hanseti-Ruska, who would later stake erroneous claims to the title.

 

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VII DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER SERENE HIGHNESS, MARIYA ANGELIKA, PRINCESS ROYAL OF HANSETI-RUSKA, LADY-PROTECTOR OF OREN, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, I GRAND LADY OF HANSETI-RUSKA

Mary Angelica Barbanov | Mariya van Reza

@Ivoreyy

1703 - 1738 A.H.

(9 yrs)

 

Parentage: Marius II of Haense and Valera of Adria

 

Her Serene Highness, Mariya Angelika, served as the Duchess-Consort of Adria and Lady-Protector of Oren alongside her husband, Adrian I, between the years 1729-1738. She is a famed Princess for her fondness of writing and the arts with a life shrouded in various scandals and intrigue. She was typically referred to by the nickname ‘Blackwing’ within the Barbanov family.

 

Mariya was delivered on the 15th of the Deep Cold, 1703, to Marius II and his primary consort, Valera of Adria. Disturbingly, her mother would pass in 1706 after her third pregnancy resulting in Mariya and her little sister Sofiya maturing outside of court in the Alimar estate. Her father swiftly remarried and sired four more newborns. Immediately he’d abandon his daughters and sickly son. Still, Mariya was ever confident in her adolescence and in no case permitted her fatherly rejection to impact her perspective. Oftentimes, she’d visit the capital of Reza alone to perform her public diligence as their Princess Royal, not so obliged to relinquish the title to her father's novel daughter.

 

Upon Mariya reaching the age of majority she’d share a brief courtship with Renatian Knight Tiberius Tiber, but her foremost betrothal would come in 1726 to her childhood friend, Vladrick Alimar. The engagement lasted longer than expected, during which she’d honorably serve as the first Grand Lady of the Hanseti Courts. Alas her sister Sofiya had been plotting Mariya’s engagement to the Duke of Adria without her knowledge. The Duke had contacted Sofiya in hopes of finding a royal Hanseti wife. Sofiya enthusiastically suggested her sister's taken hand instead of her own, which conspired in a dramatic display of infidelity when Vladrick found out the truth of Mariya’s unique betrothal after she’d been receptive to the plot in hopes of becoming Duchess of Adria. 

 

Mariya, although distressed, had little choice but to continue her commitment to the Duke, later describing to Queen Milena that he was an arrogant and pompous fool. In 1729 she’d be wed to him, cementing the alliance between Adria and Haense.

 

As the Duchess of Adria, Mariya’s attitude shifted abruptly from a fanatical girl into a ruler. She’d settle in the nation’s capital - the County of Renzfeld - and dutifully serve her new country. She would be credited for the construction of the court, though Renzfeld lasted too short a time to see its fruition. Two years into their marriage they’d welcome their first child, followed by three more throughout the years of 1731-1737.

 

Her fate dramatically changed when Emperor Alexander II died spontaneously in 1731, leaving his legacy to Mariya’s husband as the Lord-Protector of Oren. Gradually the pair's lust for power grew and Lord-Protector was no longer enough. Adrian began to plot for his elevation as Holy Orenian Emperor. Adrian plotted the marriage of Prince Peter Sigismundic, last heir of Renatus, to Princess Lorena of Cascadia, last heir of Oren. After the Prince produced an heir, Anne I, Adrian planned to have this daughter marry their firstborn son, who would in turn legitimize his reign as Holy Orenian Emperor by virtue of rightful heirdom.

 

With this in mind, Mariya and Adrian together began preparations for their Imperial tenure. Traditional royalists were satisfied with Joseph’s betrothal to the Pertinaxi heiress, Hanseti patriots found themselves rallying beneath the potential of a Barbanov Empress, and Mariya engaged in discussions about the potential of marrying either of her daughters to figures within Kaedrin or Curon to secure their support. It was a perfect storm of political intrigue, shared by two figures accustomed to the intricacies of court.

 

The official coronation was put off until the Orc skirmishes finished, but in 1737 a tragedy would strike the Empire. When Adrian abruptly fell ill, his plans went awry and he was forced to proclaim Peter and Lorena as the rightful Emperor & Empress consort, yet Mariya would commit her son to be the future Empress Anne’s husband regardless. Peter Sigismundic quickly took away all the power Sarkozic held in the imperial court, leaving Mariya’s dreams crushed. A lonesome year would pass and Mariya found herself visiting the old palace in Reza. There, she would be murdered by an unknown assailant. When her body was subsequently located, no funeral was held. 

 

Mariya never got elevated to her true potential, but her legacy lived on through her letters, children, and friends. Her son would go on to marry Empress Anne I and the title of Duke of Adria would be absorbed into the Holy Oreanian Empire where it stayed for many years before being fought over between ancient Carrion houses almost 100 years later. 

 

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VIII DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER IMPERIAL MAJESTY, ANNE I, HOLY ORENIAN EMPRESS, FOREVER AUGUST, QUEEN OF RENATUS, CURON, SALVUS AND SEVENTIS, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, ETCETERA.

Anne Augusta Helane | Anne I, Holy Orenian Empress

@frankdh

1735 - 1800 A.H.

(47 yrs)

 

Parentage: Peter III, Holy Orenian Emperor, and Lorena of Cascadia

 

Princess Anne Augusta was born in the Palace of Novellen in New Helena on the 12th of Owyn’s Flame, 1735 to, at that time, Antony Helane and Lorena of Cascadia. Two years after her birth, her father would ascend to the Imperial throne of the Holy Orenian Empire as Peter III and she’d be dubbed Crown Princess Anne. Physically, Anne possessed Horen traits with her brown hair and grey eyes, but as she progressed through life her hair would gain a red hue due to her incestuous linage. Furthermore, she would suffer from severe hemophilia her entire life which is theorized to be the main reason she wore a vibrant red throughout her life - to both hide blood stains and make her easily spotted in crises where she may be harmed. 

 

After her birth, she was engaged to the Duke of Helena (and later Adria), Joseph Clement de Sarkozy. This was a product of Lord Protector Adrian's plan to install his son as emperor with the marriage. With Anne serving as the de-facto heir to the empire, it would be Adrian’s perfect chance. Despite the plan’s failure, Joseph would eventually serve as a co-monarch to Anne when she served as Empress. However, this position was not secure. The Empress Consort, Lorena, could still give birth to a son. Although, one never came and Anne’s position as “Princess Imperial” turned into “Heir Apparent”.

 

Her education became one of great importance, being placed under the tutorship of her father's archchancellor, Simon Basrid. He would enlighten her about the convoluted history of the empire, resulting in her great fascination with renewing the stability of the empire and Orenian nationalism. On her 18th birthday, she would be married in the Basilica of Final Revelation in Helena by the High Pontiff James II on the 15th of the Sun’s Smile in 1753. This would be one of the few examples Anne would wear a color other than red, donning appropriate wedding whites. Following the ceremony, she would take the title of Duchess of Adria and tour the Orenian country alongside her husband, Joseph, Duke of Adria. Their marriage marked the union of House Helane and House de Sarkozy as the Imperial line of Novellen, named after the palace Anne was born in.

 

Two years later the royal pair would have their first child, Elizabeth Anne, who was named Princess Imperial after her mother ascended to Empress. Anne would go on to have four sons and one more daughter between the years 1757-1765. Two of her sons would become Emperors after her eldest, John, failed at producing a legitimate heir and her second eldest son inherited the throne. 

 

Her reign began in 1784 after her father succumbed to his long battle with cancer. The co-monarchs would be crowned as Holy Orenian Empress and Emperor on the 12th of Godfrey’s Triumph in 1785, ages 50 and 54. They would go on to assume their positions with poise, having been training all their lives for this moment. Shortly after the coronation, Joseph would fall ill which leaf Anne to rule singularly. Anne’s manners as a ruler were that the monarchy belonged to the state and its people and thus should act in service to both in all undertakings. This meant that, throughout her life, Anne’s public character revolved around the state of Oren with little attention spent on her. 

 

This notable lack of individuality would ironically distinguish her as Empress Anne and not just another monarch. During her reign, two major events occurred. Firstly, Anne would go on to publish the mandate of separation to remove Haense from the Empire. This not only eased decades of tension but empowered her as a fair ruler of all nations. Secondly, the end of the inferi war occurred as she fought alongside her people on the battlefield. She would have to be pulled from the flaming capital of Helena by her son Peter Maximillian only to have the transition to Almaris four years later. 

 

Anne would die of cancer like her father at the age of 60 after fighting it diligently for 5 years. In 1800, she’d die from the illness with her funeral being a grand affair. Her husband’s title as Duke of Adria was looked over and- controversially -absorbed into the Imperial titles that later passed onto her children throughout their respective reigns. 

 

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 IX DUCHESS OF ADRIA

HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS, CHARLOTTE AUGUSTA, DUCHESS OF ADRIA, COUNTESS OF RENZFELD

Charlotte Augusta Novellen | Charlotte of Aldersberg

@doja_kitty

1791 - 1860s A.H.

(11 yrs)

 

Parentage: Prince Joseph Leopold, Count of Aldersberg, and Henrietta Maria of Osterland

 

Princess Charlotte Augusta of Aldersberg was born on the 17th of the Sun’s Smile, 1792, in the Novellen Palace, Helena. She was the firstborn daughter of Prince Joseph Leopold, son of the dual-monarchs Empress Anne and Emperor Joseph, and Henrietta Maria of Osterland. She took after her mother in appearance, who had begun the perennial lineage of champagne-hued hair within the genetics of Aldersberg. From birth, Charlotte was extraordinarily kind, befriending people of all stations.  

 

In 1808, Charlotte’s father Joseph would purchase a house in the city for his eldest daughter. Designated the Montfort House, it would accommodate her as a beacon of liberation after spending most of her childhood under the watchful eyes of the court. She’d utilize the house to engage guests through parties, banquets, and other charitable events. In 1810 during the Augustine Social Season, she’d have a sizable debutante party in her home. Overall, she was quite adept at charity, unlike her sisters who all went quite mad with acquisitiveness. 

 

Charlotte would get married nine years later to Sigismund Chekhov and became the Countess-Consort of Dobrov. She was woeful to leave her home but blissful to commence a developing life in Woldzmir where she took the designation Karlotta. The pair had two daughters, Anna and Josephine before they became estranged. Charlotte, missing the popularity of the capital, went back in 1822 to live under her cousin's newly established court, leaving her daughters in Woldzmir to be raised by their father.

 

Sigismund would perish in 1828, making Charlotte a dowager at the age of thirty-seven. Upon his death, she’d sell the Montfort house and move her things from Woldzmir into the Augustine palace’s Aldersberg apartments. By this time, her eldest, Anna, had been abducted and Charlotte was a widowed mother with little zeal for life. Her youthful and charitable spirit had swiftly vanished as she wandered the palace unsure of her purport.

 

Then, one day in 1834, her distant cousin Philip Aurelian’s wife, Amadea, died. Philip was heir to the Empire and his father, Philip II, injunctively authorized that Philip remarries immediately. Charlotte, already a widow, was the chosen bride, but many saw it as controversial for Philip to remarry. Yet, out of obligation to her empire, she would espouse her cousin with an understanding that the relationship was political only. She would go on to host the 1835 social season, titling her own daughter Moliana, once named Anna, the ruby. This nepotist demeanor was perpetuated during her tenure as Duchess, culminating in a general dislike of Charlotte within the courts.

 

In 1849, after the unexpected death of Philip, Charlotte would retire to Woldzmir with her recovered daughters. That was until the news of her stepson and daughter-in-law's ex-communication, her eldest daughter’s ostracization from Oren, and the High Pontiff’s investigation into her late husband’s murder, where she would go on to conduct her own investigation. All of these events led Charlotte to have unsanctioned meetings between Almaris leaders to condemn her stepson, Philip III, and the Orenian administration for their general misuse of power for their own agendas.

 

Charlotte would go on to publish the 1855 “Proclamation to Faith” where she’d stake her claim to the imperial throne, verbalizing she was the only one for the job because of her connection to God. Her mind had commenced deteriorating with age and she was of the credence that God himself had culled her for Empress. This was largely ignored as most Orenians preferred the youthful and new Philip III whose image promised an era of Orenian prosperity. 

 

Albeit Charlotte never ascended to Holy Orenian Empress, she was briefly considered the “Grandmother to Oren'' during her marriage to Philip Aurelian and later the “Wicked Stepmother” to Philip III for her endeavors to take the imperial throne. After the Aster Revolution, Charlotte would vanish with her death unconfirmed, however, no one has seen her in decades and she is surmised gone.

 

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[Optimus420 1926]

Jan Ivanovich would read this very long and in depth writing done by his favorite Adrian, Austina. He thinks this is very epic. @zuziee

[Beamon4 1690]

Heinrik Sarkozic read over the detailed biographies, producing a smile before it’d be abruptly cut short by the thought of having to write a companion novel for the Dukes “****” He simply stated. 

[amyselia 2962]

Anna Ulyssa took keen interest in the history of Adria on the eve of her departure from the lands, seeping every inch of cultural knowledge from this honey-sweet corner of the Aaunic countryside. This missive in particular brought her delight to unravel, particularly on the issue of the elections and inheritances of Adria.

"No other title could hold such popular dependency." She said in study, "God seems to bless- or curse -the descendants of the Adrian people with its constant memory."

[Boknice275 1588]

The Righteous Knight, who is charged to protect Adria, reads the opulent description of his nation's Duchess with great interest. After a few moments of silence, a smile creeps upon his stout face, followed by him slamming his gloved-fist on the table with enthusiasm.

 

"My people are unparalleled in their class and culture. Beautiful."

 

 

[libertyybelle 6187]

Nicoletta Sofia, first born daughter to Emigliana, smiled from the seven skies as she fondly remembered the old days of Ves. Before her mother murdered her father in front of her- of course.