THE REPUBLIC OF LANNION
CURRENT ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE
Magistrat Auguste Varlin
The people, swarming the Basilica of Sarnes. King Eduoard, pictured kneeling, is forced by the revolutionarie, Varlin, to attest for his crimes against the people. (1886)
THE LANNISH
The Lannish had been residing in some form or another in the territory since the annals of history were first written. They were a nation like any other, loyal to their royal family, which for generations they had been told were touched by the Hierormars, a bloodline worthy of exaltation. Over time, they had bended with the tides of history, sprouting townships and cities, ornamenting the land with stone and wood constructs. Men and woman died in wars, yet the Rufus family remained steady on the throne at Cearleon, the Palace of House Rufus. However, overtime, frustrations surmounted. Generations of tilling the same earth have left the ground sterile, void of any the properties which are attributed to good soil. The streets, as generation following generation has more surviving sons and daughters than the previous, grow crowded, and suffocating. Bread, and soup fly off of the shelves, and the slow fields can only satisfy so many mouths, leaving some stomachs rithing in hunger. In Sarnes specficially, the people were bold, yet the state manipulated batons and steel well, to disperse any displeased mobs of peasants. The point of no return was when King Eduoard, following a mass for the aristocracy, told a small boy on the steps of the Basillica that the famine infesting Sarnes was an opportunity to grow in reverence of the Progenitor, and for meditation. One man threw a pasty concotion of dirt many Lannish were forced to consume out of pure desperation, and a battle ensued between the peasantry and the Kings guard. A lithograph of the King, made by an unknown author, sword in hand, graphically cleaving a peasant in two made rounds throughout the nation. Albeit being an overdramatization of what was called the Battle of the Steps, it infuriated enough of the populace to cause a revolution.
REVOLUTION
The masses in Sarnes, the first night, left their workshops and mills, and surronded the Caerleon, practically laying siege to the palace. For 4 days, Caerleon was surronded, and Sarnes, once a cosmpolitan city, was brought to a complete standstill, as the people shouted obscenities, and slandered the House of the King. On the 5th day, soldiers entered the cities of Sarnes, and the events which occurred behind the moat of Caerleon were later dubbed the Kings Vespers, as the King performed his Vespers on the lawn of the palace, amid a blanket of bodies. Eduoard, following the massacre, ordered Sarnes to be purged of any anti-monarchist tendencies. In the week following his proclamation, 20,000 people were executed, and at least 16 executions were carried out by Eduoard personally. It is said that to this day, the sewers of Sarnes are still dyed crimson from the rivers of blood that flowed through.
In the city of Oudalle, the story was different. Whilst throughout the nation, people had been rising up, for the majority, they had been quelled. In Oudalle, a military Chaplain by the name of Auguste Varlin, in the dead of night, lowered the bridge to the citadel, and allowed the cities militia to be taken by surprise. Varlin himself, stabbed the Colonel in his sleep, and hung his mutilated body from the gates of the city, declaring Oudalle to be "liberated from fealty to the King." Oudalle, fell within one night, and August Varlin immediately became the leader of the revolutionary movement. His subterfuge became the reason why to many, he was admired, and looked upon in disgust by others. Assassinations skyrocketed throughout the nation, as factory overseers, soldiers, anyone deemed to be supporting the status quo, and therefore the monarchy, became a target. Varlin declared Oudalle to be the 'Capitol of the New Republic', and people flocked to him. The King, placed a bounty of 50,000 gold coins to any who could place Varlins head before his throne. He delivered inspiring, fiery speeches in marketplaces, and from lectors in churches, preaching the necessity to overthrow the monarchy, and people took to his word resoundingly. On August 21, 1887, Varlin declared War against the King of Lannion. Vardin led a horde of peasants, some say reached 50,000 strong when the swarm reached the doors of the Basillica. Vardin led a ragtag sea of peasants from town to town, overwhelming forts and citadels. The garrison of each town was butchered, and their limbs added to a rope, which Varlin promised his fanatics would be used to hang King Eduoard. When the horde reached the gates of Sarnes, the rope was hundreds of feet long, and required 10 men on rotation shifts to pull, as a result of the pure weight in flesh that was added. The Siege of Sarnes lasted a month, and eventually, the Republican Army entered Sarnes. A bloodbath ensued on the streets, and the Kings Army was forced to relinquish control of block after block, until they confined themselves to the royal quarter, Caerleon, and the Basilica, and the adjacent properties. Soon, Caerleon too was stormed, and the King with his family and the aristocracy, was forced into the Basilica, locking the meter thick wooden doors.
For every single day for a month, the people celebrated, and the King was forced to sleep to the lullaby of the people singing praises to Varlins name. A new revolutionary, in this month period, rose to prominence, Richard Lillebonne. An intellectual, he drafted the Statutes, delineating the frameworks of a new government for the Republic, and declaring the 1,784 year reign of the House Rufus to have concluded. Later, he also wrote and published the Warrants, which are a warrant for the arrest of each individual known to be residing within the Basillica, and the crimes they have committed against the people of Lannion. Berner Osbern, later published a crtical opinion piece in the Sarnesian Herald, arguing for the necessity for the extermination of all those associated with the previous regime. This piece was later quoted by Varlin, as he intitated the Cleansing.
The republic, cannot declare Sarnes liberated, whilst the King and his family still stood. Not desiring to compromise the Basilica, Varlin ordered the creation of a massive metal ram, powerful enough to breach the doors of the Cathedral. The monotone pounding of the door the Basilica reverberated throughout the city for days, steady like a metronome keeping time. Weeks passed, and the ram had now beaten a square indent into the door, yet this was a strong oak, and remained strong. After a month, the door gave in. 50,000 peasants, swarmed the Basillica, the royal family, 4 lesser members of the House Rufus were dispatched in the anarchy that ensued, and many of the aristocracy also perished. Eduoard and the immediate Royal Family, along with 100 of his elite royal guard, retreated to the crypts. While Varlin was focused on opening the crypts, Lillebonne organized public trials for all of the members arrested within the Basilica. They were all found guilty, hanged from the collosal thurible which hung from the cupula, using the very same rope with rotten limbs and flesh from the very first victims to the revolution. Lillebonne, a orator rivaling Varlin, spoke of the new values of the republic, and his speeches have been transcribed and reproduced all throughout the realm. Eventually, the crypt was opened, and following a short battle, Edouard, and the Royal Family, were finally apprehended. Varlin personally functioned as the Aribiter for the trial, with Lillebonne representing the people of the Republic. The trial lasted a week, and he was sentenced to death. On September 11th, 1887 King Eduoard, and the entire royal family were hung, not permitted to say any last words or statements, Edouard's lips branded shut.
The Revolution declared itself victorious, and the House Rufus, and any vestige of the old monarchy was exterminated. In total, the Revolution claimed half a million lives, as a result of the purges on both sides, and the war itself.
CULTURE
The Lannish ae now a proud people, optimistic in their newly established Republic. They are loyal to their Republican ideas, and Democracy, and would rather die than see another King rule their stubborn hearts.
National Idea
Experienced Colonizers: +1 yield additional yield in Civilian Districts in Colonies.
National Traits
Naval Focus
Agrarian State
Colonizers
Resource Deficiency: Textile
Army Doctrine: Air Power
Naval Doctrine: Swarms
Economic Focus: Colonial
Point of Interest
The Ancient Citadel of Istalais
CCradled by icy peaks and gray nimbuses, the remains of a vast citadel system remains. Crumbling walls, meters thick, encompass gargantuan batteries of rusted guns of a caliber large enough to knock leviathans out of the sky. Yet, the machinations of these armaments have been claimed by time, and if one day this fortress was menacing, it is now a mere relic of time.
Unique Units
Jormour-Class Battlecruiser: One of the first domestic inventions by the Lannish nation, and named after a mythical sea creature, the Jormour-Class are cruiser sized ships, packing extremely heavy armament. Despite having the tonnage of a standard cruiser, the batteries mounted on this class is worthy of a capitol ship. They are designed to have the capability to outrun a battleship, yet sink a cruiser, making them ideal raiders. Interestingly enough, they are also painted peculiar patterns of intersecting geometric shapes, so as to conceal and make aiming difficult when in the sky.
Ratatour-Class-Cruiser: A light cruiser designed to accompany the destroyers. This class of cruisers sacrifices one main gun turret for AA capabilities, allowing it to screen carriers, engage in shore bombardment, and occupy a very broad niche within the navy.
Lutin-Class Destroyer: Following the naming scheme after sea creatures, a Lutin is a mythological Sky-Serpent, with jarring spikes protruding out of its side, using its sides as a weapon, plowing through entire towns. The Lutin Class Destroyer is a destroyer with an additional main turrent of guns, however retaining the charecteristics of a destroyer.
Location
File size too large, will pm (Nice little peninsula on the east, guarded by mountains)