Esterlen

((What a wonderful and unique group you’re writing here! I have to say I like it a lot. Back in 2015 (Vailor) we had a Tatar-inspired culture for a little event-line we did called the Tarchary Crusade. It never really got off the ground as a player-group and was never intended to do so anyway, but hey, why not set up a connection between the two in some capacity? If you’re interested, I’ve got some links to some info for that whole thing.))

“We are one empire, one country,” offers the Premier of Kaedrin to his honorable friends Colonel de Langford and the Count de Reden, while a chambermaid re-powders their wigs with a wooden hand-bellows, “These pagan and nonhuman marauders who seek to destroy humanity have tried hundreds of times before in history. Never have they succeeded. The gypsy always comes off short in the end – that is why he is the gypsy.” @Zhulik @Trenchist

Ah, a possibility. Who, then, was his successor as magnate of Kaedrin?

THE COMMONWEALTH OF KAEDRIN “One God, one country and one law.” The Maxim of St. Peter CONTENTS I. The Crown II. The Constitution III. The Cabinet IV. The House of Electors V. The House of Commons VI. The Soldiery VII. The Chronicle I. THE CROWN The Commonwealth of Kaedrin is a constitutional elective monarchy, whereby the king, who is entitled King of Kaedrin and Grand Duke of Ves, serves until death or abdication as head of state, with a civil governor known as the Governor-General acting as head of government and bearing the delegated royal prerogative. The monarch is elected by the House of Electors under a series of strict criteria, with the polity’s governing document known as the Instrument of Government of 1730. REIGNING KING His Majesty, Adrian I of the House of Helvets, King of Kaedrin and Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Cathalon, Lord of the Rhoswenii and Captain and Defender of Liberty. (1725 - present) INCUMBENT GOVERNOR-GENERAL His Excellency the Right Honorable Sir Richard de Reden, Governor-General of Kaedrin, Imperial Secretary of Intelligence, Count of Kreden, Baron of Caer Bann (1725 - 1729; 1740 - present) II. THE CONSTITUTION The Commonwealth of Kaedrin is governed by virtue of the Instrument of Government of 1730, which is colloquially known as the Constitution. It establishes processes for the government as well as the election of the monarch. It can be found in full here. III. THE CABINET The Kaedreni Council of State, known in shorthand simply as the Cabinet (Though not to be confused with the equivalent Imperial-level body) is the governing council of the Commonwealth, who in theory serve at the pleasure of the Crown. Only three Cabinet offices are formalized within the Constitution, however, in practice the Crown may appoint others to sit upon the Council of State in the capacity of advisers. The Cabinet currently consists of: Mr. Frederick Armas Premier and Secretary of State of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth Col. Godwin de Reden Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Grenadiers, informal advisor Lt. Col. Samuel de Langford Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Grenadiers, informal advisor IV. THE HOUSE OF ELECTORS The House of Electors serves as the upper house of the Diet of Kaedrin, the legislature of the Commonwealth. All peers who hold a hereditary peerage from baron through to duke are entitled to a life-long seat within the House of Electors, who elect the king from those candidates eligible under the Constitution. Unlike most other human realms, all land in the Commonwealth of Kaedrin is under the direct administrative control of the Crown, and by extension, the office of the Governor-General. Accordingly, these peers do not maintain political control over the land attached to their titles, bearing the nomenclature alone as a courtesy. This does not mean these titles are simply titular, as technically, the land to which they appertain exists. In order of precedence, the House of Electors currently consists of: His Grace the Duke of Cathalon Adrian Helvets, concurrently King of Kaedrin The Right Honorable Count of Kreden Richard de Reden His Lordship the Baron of Aldenburg Caius Marna V. THE HOUSE OF COMMONS The House of Commons serves as the lower house of the Diet of Kaedrin, the legislature of the Commonwealth, and is comprised of elected membership from the various other estates of the realm. However, the House of Commons has been in a state of formal dissolution since 1740 with the increasing militarization of the realm. VI. THE SOLDIERY THE SECOND REGIMENT The Commonwealth Grenadiers The domain of Kaedrin is protected and served by the 2nd Regiment of Grenadiers of the Imperial State Army, known colloquially as the Commonwealth Grenadiers, who are sworn as defenders of the Constitution and the flag. The 2nd Regiment is divided up into constituent brigades, which each have their own nickname and utility, and can be found in greater detail here. VII. THE CHRONICLE THE ORDER OF THE WHITE ROSE (1414 - 1420) The first Kingdom of Kaedrin was established as not a state with an army, but an army with a state, the army therein being the infamous Order of the White Rose of yore. This military realm was in many ways a pseudo-democracy, with the kingship tied to the office of Grand Master which was elected from among the institution’s knightly membership. HIS MAJESTY, St. Peter I of the House of Chivay (r. 1414 - 1420) The first King of Kaedrin, Peter the First rose from Aeldenic mercenary to sovereign of the era’s most indisputably powerful realm in a lifetime. As founder and Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose, Peter’s service (And that of his knight-brothers) to the Emperor in conquering the elven tribes of Malinor led to the formation of the kingdom from the newly settled western frontier. A policy of expansion, colonization and forced conversion followed that would establish Kaedrin in the annals of history as a quasi-military settler state. In 1420, he abdicated his throne with the Exodus, with the gentryman Edmond Brunswick (St. Edmond) becoming elected Grand Master. As he was of too low birth to accede to the throne in proper, the title of King of Kaedrin reverted to William I, who was Holy Orenian Emperor. FOOTNOTE: Later, around c. 1426, the Emperor would be forced to grant the lands of Kaedrin and the west to the King of the Harrenites, Lachlan Mor Elendil, which would precipitate the Harrenite War. The defeat of the Harrenites in this conflict by Prophet Sigismund and his Karovic heirs would result in their adoption of the style of ‘King of Kaedrin’, until the assassination of Francis the Martyr in 1456. THE THIRD EMPIRE (1456 - 1467) The Kingdom of Kaedrin was restored, in part, in 1456, when Peter the First returned thirty-six years after the catastrophic Exodus to claim the title of Holy Orenian Emperor in the chaos that followed King Francis’ assassination in 1456. HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, St. Peter I of the House of Chivay (2nd. r. 1456 - 1462) With the help of his nephew, Robert, and Imperial Fieldmarshal, Vibius Hanseticus de Sola, Peter cowed the quarrelsome nobility of the era, returning to the throne of Kaedrin while serving concurrently as Holy Orenian Emperor. This ushered in the Third Empire, bringing about a new age of human domination over the world with the construction of the cities of Kaldonia, Tempum and finally Petrus. Peter’s reign as Holy Orenian Emperor would reign victorious over the nonhumans who engaged him in war, falling each and every time, with those enemies he had within the Empire cowed by his domineering, charismatic presence. Already a venerable man of 96 by the time of his second ascension, Peter I died in his sleep at the age of 102, having reigned for six golden years. HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Robert I of the House of Chivay (r. 1462 - 1467) It was Peter’s nephew, Robert, who succeeded him to the throne of the Holy Orenian Empire and of Kaedrin. The son of Thomas Chivay and his half-elven bride, Robert’s status as a quadroon of elvish blood proved increasingly unpopular with his subjects, who had spent most of their lifetime fighting an eternal war against mendacious nonhuman polities. This was complicated by rumoured dalliances with pagan rituals in the deep woods of the Crownlands. When he made a humiliating peace with the nonhumans, the proverbial knives came out. Though he was not entirely uncharismatic, Robert did not bear the same imposing presence as his uncle, and after five years of rule was deposed by Vibius Hanseticus, who seized the capital city with the aid of the Duke of Ruska and Richard de Bar. FOOTNOTE: The Duke of Ruska’s acclamation as Holy Orenian Emperor spelled the functional end of the Kingdom of Kaedrin as a political entity, leading to its absorption to the Imperial Crown. Successive rulers of humanity would continue to use the style, however, as an addendum upon their titles. THE OLD COMMONWEALTH (1518 - 1543) The Savoyard dynasty who ruled the Kingdom of Oren from 1498 to 1526 were descended primarily from St. Lucien, who was one of the founders of the Order of the White Rose. Having been raised on stories of the Order’s glory, in 1518 King Olivier, a known Kaedrenophile, undertook a plan to restore Kaedrin as a subsidiary realm to guard the elven frontier. This realm was ruled by a noble of ducal rank entitled ‘magnate’, who was elected for life from among the local peers, and was known as the Commonwealth of Kaedrin, known to historians as the Old Commonwealth or the Savoyard Commonwealth. HIS GRACE, Cantonus Chivay (r. 1518 - 1543) To aid him in his plan, Olivier recruited one of the last living dynasts of the House of Chivay, Cantonus, as the inaugural Magnate of Kaedrin. With Foltest Helvets (The Count of Hengtfors), Adam de Gleveisen (The Count of Redmark) and later Ingrid de Wett (The Baroness of Wett) as his aristocratic subsidiaries, Cantonus directed the Kaedreni settlers towards loyalty to his royal benefactor in the catastrophic Duke’s War. A competent administrator, an almost omnipotent spymaster yet a most disagreeable man in his personal life, Cantonus developed a deadly rivalry with the commander-in-chief of the royalist forces, Augustus de Sola, which would later be exacerbated when the general was awarded with the former territories of rebellious Adria, which bordered his land. Though Cantonus was an initial supporter of John I, who came to the throne in 1526 with the demise of the Savoyard dynasty, the Emperor’s closeness to Augustus drove him away from court and into bitter obscurity. He died some time in 1543, and John I issued the Act of Merger which awarded the lands of Kaedrin to Augustus, who was by then Duke of Lorraine, thus spelling the end of the old Commonwealth. FOOTNOTE: The Act of Merger of 1543 merged the lands of the former Commonwealth into the estate of the Dukes of Lorraine, who from that point onward employed the style of Duke of Kaedrin in a form of real union. On paper, Kaedrin persisted under them, however, in practise it was dissolved as a polity, with no serious historians or chroniclers considering the Archduke of Lorraine to have ruled over a contiguous Kaedreni entity in this period. After the end of the Fifth Empire in 1595, most successive emperors claimed the title of King of Kaedrin. THE NEW COMMONWEALTH (1725 - present) The New Commonwealth was forged in the crucible of the Troubles, established in 1725 by Adrian Helvets, a descendant of the Count of Hengtfors, and the Captain-General of the Caer Bann Company, Richard de Reden, a fearsome condottiero. Rising from the ashes of the old Republic of Ves, to whom Kaedrin had a connection through Lorraine and Adria, this Commonwealth is a legal personal union between the two titles of King of Kaedrin and Grand Duke of Ves. The polity is intentionally modelled off a blend of the Order’s realm of yore, the Old Commonwealth and the Republic. It is a constitutional monarchy as well as a quasi-military state with specific democratic elements. HIS MAJESTY, Adrian I of the House of Helvets (r. 1725 - present) Born under the name of Helton Hadrian Helvets, Adrian I began his life as an exiled noble from an old, prestigious yet impoverished Kaedreni house. As a young adult he owned and operated a successful winery, however, with the War of Two Emperors it fell on hard times and so he emigrated to the Republic of Ves. Forging an alliance with the condottiero Richard de Reden and his Caer Bann Company of Kaedreni mercenaries, Adrian subverted the decaying republic and became undisputed sovereign of the territory, establishing in its wake the restored Commonwealth - a constitutional monarchy based on old Kaedreni principles. For four years, he enjoyed indisputable success as the foremost power in the Empire, however a controversial officer’s purge in 1729 amid rumours of a coup led to Count de Reden’s resignation and the slow diminishment of the realm in the ensuing decade. In 1740, Count de Reden was finally returned to the office of Governor-General with the king surrendering the royal prerogative to him under the terms of the Constitution.

LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN KAEDRIN to The Inhabitants and Subjects of the Empire on The Brotherhood of Mankind 10 S.E 1741 My dear countrymen, I am a farmer, perhaps much more of a hobbyist than a subsistencer, settled with small-hold in the western reaches of the old Commonwealth. What I grow with the harvest, I mostly sell or supply to the militia, for I have been blessed to receive an education in jurisprudence and history, and have made a comfortable living as a solicitor-at-law. I am grateful to the Almighty for this privileged position, but I fear that many have not the same enthusiasm for the days of yore as I do. This I worry about, for as goes the old adage; those who do not study their history are doomed to repeat it. Since my youth, I have been a patriot, for not simply the land upon which I happen to reside but humanity as a whole. No student of history can finish his letters without becoming such, because when humanity is united and working towards a shared goal, anything is possible. The only circumstance in which this can be done is through a central, governing authority that both charters the rights of its subjects while also requiring them to, in part, defer their own interests to that of the collective and the whole. This is the purpose of Oren - a collaboration to achieve greatness. But what is Oren? In Flexio, ‘Orenia’ simply means ‘humanity’. To be an Orenian means nothing other than to be a human. This is an incontrovertible, undeniable state of being that cannot be muddied by denial or obfuscation: ergo, like it or not, if you are a human, you are an Orenian. There can be nothing less partisan or factional. There are those unfortunate souls who persist to undermine this, to shift the definition of something that by nature is fixed for short-sighted political purposes. They will speak of Haense, Kaedrin, Curon, Helena and then Oren, as if Oren is some external entity and not the fatherland from which these other entities have sprung. There are those who wonder why Oren would rush to defend Haense from Nordling aggression, when they very easily could have stood aside and done nothing so as to save themselves the trouble. This is the most curious and ***** fiction that I have ever heard propagated. Because the Haeseni people, just like the Kaedreni people and the Curonian people and the Crownlander people, are all Orenians. An attack on one singular Haeseni from a singular pagan devil-worshipper is an attack on us all. It is the responsibility of the fatherland to protect its children, just as it is the responsibility of the children to contribute to the household and show filial piety. There exists a social contract between the governed party and the governing party, and our humanity is one comprised of constituent parts that are governed. Make no mistake, this is not some federation that can be simply torn apart by partisan interests, where the parties involved pick and choose which statutes they shall obey and which they shall find more convenient to ignore. We are an empire, one country, under one sovereign, with one law and the blessing of one deity. All of the heroes of yore, the figures of greatness that we hold aloft as our paragons, accept this. From Saint Thomas to Mirtok DeNurem to Andrik Vydra to Olivier de Savoie to Emperor Augustus, all believed in the brotherhood of humanity over all. (INSET: The Battle of Seahelm, where the Rurikid-Nordlings were defeated in the mid 16th century by the army of John II. Marie-Antoine Dujardin, c. 1707) We must protect our own to the very end, but we must also accept that we are in this together: before we are anything else, we must be Orenian and Imperial, working together and not against each other. Since the demise of the Fifth Empire, this dream has degraded, and so too has our quality of life. We are meaner, crueler, our living conditions smaller and more destitute. We are bitter, torn up between grudges and provincial rivalries, having lost sight of our common goal. The cities of Helena and Reza are, combined, only three-quarters as large as Johannesburg was by all historical accounts. We have become obsessed with titles, peerages, pride and systems of deference to nobility. That is not what to be Orenian ought to be about. It is about ordinary people, working together as a ship’s crew do, under the one captain who establishes its direction. Without the crew working together, there is mutiny and collapse. Without the captain’s direction, the ship is aimless and listless as it drifts across the great oceans of the world. We must depart, at last, from conflict between dynastic ambitions and feuding families. Many may read this letter and think of writing back to me with an excuse, justifying what is tantamount to race treason through rhetoric or legal fiction. To say ‘my rival did this first, and so I am righteous’ is no argument at all. That is tribalism of the greatest form. There are some who have become so caught up in the force of arms that they believe to kill is to be inherently right. There has never been a more dangerous fiction in our history. Without law and righteousness, to take up arms and shed blood is nothing more than tribal warfare. If we do not protect those who must be protected from undue harm or if we raise our blades merely because we can, we are no different to animals. If we do not conduct ourselves with true righteousness, lawful integrity and patriotism above all, we are damned souls who shall burn for all eternity. I believe in our country and the betterment of humanity above all. I implore you as my countrymen to heed this philosophy. Yours sincerely, A farmer in Kaedrin.

18 Harren’s Folly, 1741 Somewhere in the foothills of Mount Saint Catherine, the clinking sound of a shovel digging in the dirt echoed through a secluded crevice. It was an old, decrepit thing - both the shovel and its wielder - which both seemed to unearth less and less with every clink. This was no labourer on the payroll of Count de Reden. Instead, his frilled sleeves stained with brown-and-grey dust, his periwig askew and his jaw customarily slack, a Harrenite man-of-letters took the role of ditch-digger. It would be almost an hour before he found it, for he was far past his prime, but when the shovel gave the familiar clank of hitting its target he ushered a sigh of relief to know that it had not been uncovered. With some difficulty and ragged breathing, the solicitor dragged the chest out of the ground (a few earthworms and beetles coming along with it) while fumbling with the key he usually kept around his neck. The last time that key had been used, Godfrey II was emperor and reigning victorious over mankind. What he had buried here was enough to have him hanged in those times. He wondered if the worms had eaten it as he stuck the key in and flipped the latch, rusty and embossed with the letters ‘J.M.C’, open. They had not. A crusty old inkpot, a series of different quills and a worn leather cylinder for carrying all sorts of scrolls and papers remained inside. Most impressively was the collection of parchments and books that had been organised within the chest. It was a practical portable museum to the cause of Joseph of Marna - he remembered that he had original copies of all of the infamous Circular Letters (except two, which were re-prints), a number of old poems, war plans and tomes. Years ago, even in defeat, he had been so proud to have fought in a rebellion, to the point where he had saved this memorabilia rather than burn it as most other revolutionaries had done. Now it just made him feel sick. Some of it had been written by his own hand. He had encouraged the rebel lord to put his name to his own writing, subjugating the fatal flaw of pride that had governed him since he was a young boy, and yet that same pride had not allowed him to destroy it. What the solicitor wanted to keep, he put in the messenger’s cylinder. What he didn’t, he would burn later, but he first took up the quill-and-inkpot, leaning down against the closed chest’s lid. To His Excellency, the Vice Chancellor, @NordLord I am writing to you today to indicate my immediate resignation from the office of president pro tempore, and my imminent retirement from the Imperial Senate representing Kaedrin at the next round of elections of 1742. It has been my honour to serve the Empire in this capacity, however, in times of Nordling aggression, I am best placed to serve my country in ways other than that of a legislator for the time being. I must assure you that my resignation is unrelated, entirely, to your recent appointment to that office. I do encourage you to take a more active role as presiding officer than your predecessor Lord Selm did within the chamber, however, if you require a member of the chamber to be appointed as president pro tempore I give my unfailing endorsement to the right honorable gentleman from Helena, Dr. Napier, or the right honorable gentleman from Kaedrin, Mr. Gurbanguly-Levi. Yours sincerely, Frederick Armas, esq. Senator from Kaedrin 18 H.F 1741 The Harrenite folded the paper neatly upon completion, sequestering it within the messenger’s cylinder he had by now hoisted over his shoulder. It was a familiar feeling, the leather bandolier having practically worn a groove into his neck all those decades ago. He hesitated a moment, just before departure, before deciding to write another letter. A gnarled hand picked up the ink-pot, wondering if it what was left was too dry to write with. Armas sighed, kneeling down to see what he could do. To His Excellency, the Archchancellor, @Cracker When we were first introduced you indicated to me that we were one and the same. For what was truly the difference between a Rhenyari and a Harrenite? Both are maligned, shunned, unusual in a land which prefers sword and powder to rhetoric, or as you would say, logos. You were both right and wrong. Right insofar as that we are both Imperial, through-and-through, whether we like it or not. To be Imperial is to be Orenian and to be Orenian is to be human. You were wrong in that you have served our country where it must be most earnestly served, whereas I have grown frustrated and bitter for it not living up to the history it is built upon. I have at times taken that frustration out on you, but the past year has shown that mayhaps you are made of stronger stuff than I. I have disagreed with the decisions of your ministry, and that of Helena and Selm’s, more often than perhaps I ought to have. For that I apologise. I am not a Josephite anymore, no more than I am a Tarusite, a Norsemite, a Torrhenite or an Arnite. Come the conclusion of this session of the Senate, my term shall expire, and I shall not stand for re-election in the year 1742. I am not finished with public life and perhaps I shall return for a future term. In any way that I can relieve you in your valiant defense of our country, I offer you all I have. I am nearing sixty, but I will die in the army if need be to defend against this Nordling invasion. God save the Emperor, F. S. Armas. 18 H.F 1741 The outgoing senator secluded the second missive away in the same fashion he had done with the first, closing the chest with a light tap of his boot and leaving it, empty, in the crevice. It was time for him to find the Governor-General.

The president pro tempore assumes his position in the presiding officer’s chair, taking up the gavel and hoisting onto his desk a series of papers. Meanwhile, the Emperor departs the chamber. “I thank His Imperial Majesty for his opening of this sitting of the Imperial Senate, and would, with his permission, assume the presiding officer’s chair as is custom. From this point forward I address my right honorable colleagues in the chamber. In the recess between our sittings, we discussed the formal confirmation of several of the Archchancellor’s selections for positions upon the Cabinet. I would like to call for a division for the first of those selections, Mr. John-Henry Pruvia, the Secretary-designate of the Interior.” The clerks prepare the chamber for a division, and with a wave of the presiding officer’s hands the chamber becomes filled with a chorus of both ayes and nos. With the answer ambiguous, a clerk goes to record each senator’s specific vote, bringing the tally shortly after to Frederick. “Armas, Corbish, Haas and Napier in favour of confirmation, with May, Gurbanguly-Haas and V. Rutledge opposed. M. Rutledge abstains. In such circumstances, the candidate having failed to achieve a majority of the chamber, the confirmation shall proceed to the office of the Vice Chancellor, who is entitled to undertake his constitutional role as the tie-breaker.” @BenevolentManacles The president pro tempore realigns the paperwork on his desk. “We shall now proceed to the vote for the confirmation of the Archchancellor’s selection for the Imperial Treasury, Mr. Joseph Nicephore, the Secretary-designate for the Treasury. I call a division.” This vote turns out a little different, with the chamber resounding in a chorus of ‘ayes’. The clerk retrieves a voting record anyway, with all eight senators in favour. “And so I believe that concludes our confirming business for the meanwhile. In such case, I would like to invite my honorable friend from Helena, the senior senator there, to speak on the Senate floor.” @Hanrahan

Frederick covers his face with a frilled handkerchief as he reads the address. “Those dastardly Nordling barbarians...oh, what a plague on us they have been! The enemy of all civilised people, surely.”

ACT OF THE IMPERIAL DIET JUDICIARY ACT, 1740 20 Sun’s Smile Introduced in the Imperial Senate. Passed through the Imperial Senate in the term of 1738-1740. AYE Armas Corbish Flameforge May Napier Rutledge Sola NO Helvets An act to establish and reform the judiciary of the Holy Orenian Empire, in accordance with accepted legal principles of fairness, independence and justice. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this act is to establish and define fair, independent and just courts of judicature within the Holy Orenian Empire, with their origin in established and incontrovertible law, thereby reducing the clutter and inefficiency of the current Imperial court system and introducing courts of specific power and jurisdiction. SECTION I: On the enshrinement on the necessity of the separation of powers, by Veikko Harjalainen, Solicitor-General (1739): The Emperor, who stands as a representation of his empire and as a mouthpiece of God, can only make general laws to bind his citizens, but it belongs not to him to judge whether any individual has violated the binds of social contract that he creates with these laws. In cases of law, there will always stand two parties - those who insists upon the violation of the Emperor’s law, and the other who vehemently denies it. A sovereign would always judge as guilty those he accuses. It is therefore a necessity then that there should be a third person to decide this contest; a judge, or magistrate, from whose determination should consist of nothing more than an affirmation or negation of a breaking of the laws. SECTION II: On the establishment of the Circuit Courts of the Holy Orenian Empire: The Western Circuit, serving as a mobile court with the jurisdiction of Helena and Haense, as the only court of first instance within this territory, shall be headed by the justices of the Western Circuit Court to decide judgements of the court of the Empire within this province. This position is until resignation, or deemed unnecessary by a vote of the Senate, or alternately the prerogative of the Crown. The Eastern Circuit, serving as a mobile court with the jurisdiction of Kaedrin, Warwick, Curon, as the only court of first instance within this territory, shall be headed by the justices of the Eastern Circuit Court, who decide judgements of the court of the Empire within this province. These positions are until resignation, or deemed unnecessary by a vote of the Senate, or alternately the prerogative of the Crown. No other courts within the territory of the Holy Orenian Empire or its subsidiary realms shall exist with the power to cast judgements in the first instance. The number of justices on each of these circuits shall evolve according to an ad hoc basis and shall not be fixed. SECTION III: On the establishment of the Supreme Court of the Holy Orenian Empire: The Supreme Court, which shall act as an appellate court only which serves the entirety of the Holy Orenian Empire. This court shall be comprised of three Justices of the Supreme Court, of whom one shall hold the office of Chairman of the Supreme Court. These justices of the Supreme Court act with the delegated power of the Crown, and are thus selected by the Crown with the advice and consent of the Imperial Senate. Any judgement incurred by the Supreme Court shall not be made with no less than a majority of two out of three of the justices of the Supreme Court, with all three judges being required to hear the case, giving their interpretation and vote. Any civil verdict and any criminal verdict can appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is delegated the power to overturn any verdict from lesser courts. Any appeal of the verdict of a lesser court must be done on one of two bases - an appeal on the basis of the facts of the case or an appeal on the basis of a mistrial. Any appeal shall be brought by way of petition to the Supreme Court, praying that the matter of the order or judgment appealed against maybe reviewed before those delegated the authority of judgement while seated as a justice of the Supreme Court, in order that the said court may determine what of right, and according to the law and custom of this realm, ought to be done in the subject matter of such appeal. Any appeal shall not be entertained by the Supreme Court, without the assessment of at least one justice of the Supreme Court that determines that the appeal is on good and sensible grounds, in any case where proceedings in error or on appeal could not have previously been had in the Supreme Court without the fiat or consent of such officer. It is the duty of the Supreme Court to post its judgements on a public forum, as they are conclusions of law at the highest level, therefore becoming precedential conclusions of common law, in contrast to statutory law which shall exist through legislation. Any verdicts of the Supreme Court shall become binding interpretations of law, unless overturned by subsequent sessions of the Supreme Court. The Crown shall retain the Imperial prerogative as a final stage of appeal, however, the involvement of the Crown is a direct challenge to the validity of the Supreme Court in as much as overriding or devaluing their judgements, and thus this must be relegated as an extreme measure of extraordinary circumstance and should not be anything beyond a rarity. Any provincial ‘justiciar’ positions are hence forbidden from the casting of judgements or the hearing of cases, as only the aforementioned approved judges of the Circuit and Supreme Court may cast judgements of law under the provisions of this legislation. Any provincial ‘justiciar’ positions are required to instead serve as legal advisors analogous to the Imperial Solicitor-General in function, as denoted in Section VI of this document, and in this advisory capacity serve as a provincial government’s legal representative and chief prosecutor of their realm. SECTION IV: On the competencies of the Circuit Courts of the Holy Orenian Empire: The justices of the Circuit Courts, both Western and Eastern, act with the delegated power of the Crown and are thus selected by it with the consultation of the government of each vassal province as well as the advice and consent of the Imperial Senate. The rulings of the Circuit Courts are to adhere to both Imperial law and, in cases of no conflict, provincial law, specifically that pertaining to the location in which the offenses originated. In instances of conflict between these codexes with either offenses or penalties, Imperial law shall always take precedence, the failure of which to occur being clear grounds for an appeal to the Supreme Court. The rulings of the Circuit Courts are to remain strictly textualist in nature. SECTION V: On cohesion and sensibility in respect to Imperial law: The law of the Crownlands is to be revised by the office of Solicitor-General, with the active collaboration of provincial governments, and expanded to become the Comprehensive Laws of the Holy Orenian Empire, or colloquially, the ‘Imperial Lawbook’. SECTION VI: On the codification of legal custom: The respective royal Crowns of vassal states denoting kingly rank, by custom, can not be taken directly to civil suit, retaining sovereign immunity. Accordingly, it is imperative that these sovereigns appoint local analogues to the office of Imperial Solicitor-General, serving as legal representatives to the Crowns and their governments, to serve as both chief prosecutor (in criminal cases), plaintiff and defense (in civil cases) on behalf of the Crowns in the courts. The courts established herein are to retain an inquisitorial format whilst retaining a prosecution and defense in criminal cases or plaintiff and defendant in civil cases. On the Imperial level and within the Crownlands the prosecution in criminal cases shall be conducted by the office of Solicitor-General, in accordance with his role as an Imperial government’s chief lawyer and representatives of the Crown in prosecution. On the provincial level, the prosecution in criminal cases shall be conducted by local officeholders such as the aforementioned pre-existing ‘justiciars’, in accordance with their roles as a provincial government’s chief lawyer and representatives of the Crown in prosecution. Criminal cases shall take the titled format of “The Crown vs. [defendant]”. Introduced by Senator Charles Napier on the 14th of Godfrey’s Triumph, 1740. ISSUED AND PROCLAIMED, His Imperial Majesty, Peter III Anthony, Holy Orenian Emperor, King of Renatus, Salvus, and Seventis, Duke of Lorraine and Roden, Baron of Sedan, Protector of the Heartlanders, Highlanders, and Farfolk, etcetera.

The president pro tempore calls the chamber to order for the final time in the session, having decided that it is sufficient to call the bill to a vote. “Order, order in the chamber. I am satisfied with the debate that has been conducted concerning this bill, and so, I will call for a division with the honorable gentleman from Haense’s amendment applied.” When the verbal votes occur, the chamber is filled with a resounding series of ‘ayes’ and a single, dissenting no. A clerk scurries around the room, taking a record for each senator’s vote – the no belonged to Helvets, the outgoing junior senator from Kaedrin known for his frugality with any expansion of bureaucracy. “The motion passes and shall proceed to the Crown for imperial assent. I believe it is hence time to conclude the second session of the Imperial Senate and on behalf of the chair I wish to farewell those senators who shall not be joining us for the next session.” Armas bangs his gavel, adjourning the two-year sitting of the Imperial Senate and submitting the request to the Crown for prorogation. LEGISLATIVE GAZETTE OF THE IMPERIAL SENATE For the term of 1738 to 1740 Basrid Act of 1739 Imperial assent granted. AYE - 4 (1) NO - 4 ABSTAIN - 0 --- Judiciary Act of 1740 Imperial assent pending, as of adjournment. AYE - 7 NO - 1 ABSTAIN - 0

The president pro tempore scans the bill with his beady eyes, looking up to the Senator from Haense’s question. “If I may be so bold as to interject there into the debate, it is my view that the bill seeks to establish these circuit courts as the singular courts of first instance within the Empire. This, from my understanding, means they are the only courts that shall hold an original jurisdiction, or ‘first time’ jurisdiction, over offenses criminal or civil – so they become the only courts of judicature which hear new cases. The Supreme Court, mentioned later on in the document, is an appellate court only, and so may only hear cases that are appealed.” He licks his lips slightly, shuffling the papers around on his desk. “To the right honorable gentleman from Haense’s second point, I happen to concur with him in totality. The entire purpose of this bill is to create an independent judiciary separate from executive government. I can say that I would sponsor such an amendment to the bill making it the prerogative of the Supreme Court alone to take up an appeal that has been lodged. I believe that this ties in nicely with the honorable gentleman’s final question on ‘justiciars’: yes, my understanding of the bill is that it means exactly that. The entire philosophy behind this document is that it is completely insalubrious to fair and independent justice to have a political appointee of a government, who sits on their council, acting as simultaneously lawyer, judge, prosecutor and legislator. This bill would seek to bring about the transition of these roles into that of the chief lawyer for the government, who acts on its behalf in court, with an entirely separate court of judicature. It is utterly unacceptable to any concept of fairness that we have, at the moment, these provincial justiciars ruling on the cases that they also prosecute on the basis of the laws they also write. I would like to call upon the right honorable gentleman from Helena who introduced this bill so we might receive some further clarity on his own view.” @Hanrahan

IMPERIAL SENATE ELECTIONS, 1740 12 TOBIAS’ BOUNTY Let all citizens of the Empire rejoice, for the 1740 elections for the Imperial Senate have returned their results. The following candidates are victorious in their election as representatives to the Imperial Diet for terms of four years, encompassing two sittings of two years each, and are henceforth entitled to bear the style of senator-elect until such time as the legislative sitting of 1740-1742 begins and they appropriately take their oath of office. HELENA HAAS, Jan (72.72%) (ELECTED) SOLA, Desmond (27.27%) HAENSE BARCLAY, Reinhard K. (29.16%) MAY, Terrence (70.83) (ELECTED) KAEDRIN GURBANGULY-LEVI, Richard (62.5%) (ELECTED) HELVETS, Othodoric A. (37.5%) CURON RUTLEDGE, Matthias (66.6%) (ELECTED) RUTLEDGE, Vivaca (33.3%) ISSUED AND PROCLAIMED, HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, Peter III Anthony, Holy Orenian Emperor, King of Renatus, Salvus, and Seventis, Protector of the Heartlanders, Highlanders, and Farfolk, etcetera.

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, LET ALL BE AWARE that on this day, 11th of Tobias’ Bounty, 1740, voting has closed for the Imperial Senate elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, LET ALL BE AWARE that on this day, 11th of Tobias’ Bounty, 1740, voting has closed for the Imperial Senate elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, LET ALL BE AWARE that on this day, 11th of Tobias’ Bounty, 1740, voting has closed for the Imperial Senate elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, LET ALL BE AWARE that on this day, 11th of Tobias’ Bounty, 1740, voting has closed for the Imperial Senate elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

“I believe I shall take that as a submission from the right honorable gentleman from Helena. I would like to open the floor to debate on the contents of this bill, which you shall all have in front of you,” offers the president pro tempore, calling the house to order.

Frederick nods seriously as the Senator from Haense speaks, appreciating the gravity of his words. “A terrible crime. I believe that I act with the voice of the chamber when I say that we must universally, without either fear or favor, condemn such exercises of violence against our cherished institutions. This act will not go unpunished, and it shall serve as a testament as to why our gracious body - and the principle it was founded on - is integral to our Empire. I love this country whom we serve, one country under our Emperor, who is guarantor of these liberties. The Count of Ayr and all others who were present to witness this shall be in my prayers.” He reshuffles some paperwork on his desk. “I also wish to inform you all of a terribly tragedy – the death of a colleague. The junior senator from Helena, Mr. Albert Myre, who was elected only in 1738, has passed to the Seven Skies. I would like you all to pray for him, for his time with us has been cut too short by GOD. I would also like you to welcome and become acquainted with the government’s selection for his replacement, Dr. Charles Napier of Helena. Please greet our honorable friend, who I am certain shall amass a substantial legacy as a member of this house.” Once more, the president pro tempore calls the chamber to order. “I am cognizant that Imperial elections, for half of the chamber, do approach us. I would henceforth like to open the floor to any senator, as is customary, to introduce any legislation that they have been working on or believe it is the business of this house to consider.” @Piov @Arundlt @Hanrahan @Nathan_Barnett36 @hotboss @Language @Stevie

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, This letter is to indicate that letters of candidacy for the 1740 round of elections for Imperial Senate are now terminated. The ballot for the 1740 Imperial Senate election in Kaedrin shall appear as follows: GURBANGULY-LEVI, Richard HELVETS, Othodoric (Incumbent.) For the period of the elections, the Imperial census of 1737 shall be closed for new respondents. The same census will re-open following the conclusion of this period and the registry shall open as before. All registrations undertaken over this period shall remain in limbo until the conclusion of the elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, This letter is to indicate that letters of candidacy for the 1740 round of elections for Imperial Senate are now terminated. The ballot for the 1740 Imperial Senate election in Haense shall appear as follows: BARCLAY, Reinhard K. MAY, Terrence (Incumbent.) For the period of the elections, the Imperial census of 1737 shall be closed for new respondents. The same census will re-open following the conclusion of this period and the registry shall open as before. All registrations undertaken over this period shall remain in limbo until the conclusion of the elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, This letter is to indicate that letters of candidacy for the 1740 round of elections for Imperial Senate are now terminated. The ballot for the 1740 Imperial Senate election in Curon shall appear as follows: RUTLEDGE, Matthias (Incumbent.) RUTLEDGE, Vivaca For the period of the elections, the Imperial census of 1737 shall be closed for new respondents. The same census will re-open following the conclusion of this period and the registry shall open as before. All registrations undertaken over this period shall remain in limbo until the conclusion of the elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

“Dear sir, We have received your application for candidacy in the Imperial Senate election for 1740. We have checked your details with our records and have accepted your eligibility. You shall appear on the ballot for the Imperial Senate election in Helena in 1740. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.” NOTICE OF CLOSURE “To whom it may concern, This letter is to indicate that letters of candidacy for the 1740 round of elections for Imperial Senate are now terminated. The ballot for the 1740 Imperial Senate election in Helena shall appear as follows: HAAS, Jan SOLA, Desmond (Incumbent.) For the period of the elections, the Imperial census of 1737 shall be closed for new respondents. The same census will re-open following the conclusion of this period and the registry shall open as before. All registrations undertaken over this period shall remain in limbo until the conclusion of the elections. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

With this lack of progress, the president pro tempore calls the chamber to order. ”My honorable friends in the chamber will now understand that, in light of the refusal of the Secretary of the Treasury to deliver a budget to this body, as is his constitutional duty, I shall be writing to the new Archchancellor to request his resignation or termination. If His Excellency the Archchancellor refuses to whip his Cabinet ministers to undertake their duties, I shall express that the opinion of this house is one of no confidence in them. If His Excellency does not act to deal with this aberration, I shall introduce a writ of impeachment pertaining to the Secretary of the Treasury onto the floor.” Armas bangs his gavel, frustrated by the lack of activity on the behalf of the Council of State. “I would call upon the Chair of the Imperial Senate Committee on Justice to update the chamber on his findings in relation to his agenda.” @Piov

“Dear sir, We have received your application for candidacy in the Imperial Senate election for 1740. We have checked your details with our records and have accepted your eligibility. You shall appear on the ballot for the Imperial Senate election in Haense in 1740. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.” “Dear sir, We have received your application for candidacy in the Imperial Senate election for 1740. We have checked your details with our records and have accepted your eligibility. You shall appear on the ballot for the Imperial Senate election in Haense in 1740. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”

“Dear sir, We have received your application for candidacy in the Imperial Senate election for 1740. We have checked your details with our records and have accepted your eligibility. You shall appear on the ballot for the Imperial Senate election in Curon in 1740. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.” “Dear madam, We have received your application for candidacy in the Imperial Senate election for 1740. We have checked your details with our records and have accepted your eligibility. You shall appear on the ballot for the Imperial Senate election in Curon in 1740. Warm regards, The Office of the Secretary of Civil Affairs.”