amyselia

Form of Enumeration

Full name: Anna Ulyssa Novellen

Summers old: 55

Clerical role: Reverend Mother

Diocese of Service: Providentia

Minister of Ordination: High Pontiff Pontian IV

Racial identification: [!] “Human, child of Horen” had been filled out on all admission forms [!]

Sex: F

 

[Username: amyselia ]

[Discord: amyselia#0001 ]

[!] An invitation arrives for various households.

 

The Bustling River Petra

 

TO ALL FELLOWS OF THE KINGDOM,

 

To commemorate the completion of his Castle at Guise, the former Lord Chancellor invites all to a day of diversion over the River Petra, the waters that flow around his island manor. One may donn swimming suits and dive into the depths of the heart of Oren, or delight upon Pruvian Port whilst being swayed by one of many Guisard gondolas. Boating races will be held, and fishing rods welcomed - all may revel to their heart’s content over the baronial basin.

 

We should hope to see all persons attend. Go with God.

 

SIGNED,

The Honorable Lord Conrad de Falstaff, The Baron of Guise

Miss Mathilde de Falstaff, Eldest Daughter of the Baron

 

[OOC]

Date: Wednesday the 27th

Time: 4PMEST

 

Upon awakening, Mathilde de Falstaff answers to the hustle and bustle of the Castle Guise with erratic fright - the only appeasement being the figure of her Lord Father donning the purple of Oren 'bound his chest, and a sword within his hand. He helped the girl up, passing the blade into her manicured fingers. With this, she would fear no longer.

Madame Claude lay resilient in her sickbed, affixed unto documents upon documents of news and information fed from all corners of Orenia. With a wrinkled finger risen to the air, the woman voiced in a wary medic’s direction: “The Southern Organization would be halfwits to continue in this warpath.“ A teaspoon clinked in movement against the medic’s morning platter as it was set before the Lady Privy Seal, whose eyes canted downwards, eyeing resentfully the printed figure of her former son-in-law, the Lord Chancellor: “You don’t realize the shock ye’ve laid upon z’em all!”

 

@Chennster

OOC: This letter is received exclusively by all of His Majesty’s royal peerage. Roleplay connected to this information is not to be metagamed.

 

 

 

‘LO TO HIS MAJESTY’S BELOVED PEER,

 

THE KING & QUEEN OF OREN summon the Adriatic for the month of Tobias’ Bounty. This meeting shall address the matters interrupted by the turmoil of the former, including the safety of the Adriatics going forward in light of the circumstances posed to the third. The King’s Honormen will be elected, or appointed, at the King’s convenience, and the date of the first Adriatic Hunt and other festivities will be set. The King shall also solicit the aid of his peers in the creation of these festivities and more, especially as manors, estates and provinces are erected in joy. Other announcements will be made that remain confidential from letters, accessible only to verbal communication; hence, we expect a full intent of arrival.

 

Thus, Their Majesties shall henceforth call for the fourth Adriatic of the Kingdom. All persons of noble blood and their staff, cohorts and guards should hope to make their presence known with punctuality. ALL attendees should bear gold upon their person, and all guards gold blades. Be safe and go with god.

 

GOD WITH US,

HIS ROYAL MAJESTY, Frederick I, King of Oren, forever August, King of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Helena, Novellen, Sunholdt, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Count of Mardon, Baron of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera

 

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

 

HER EXCELLENCY, The Princess Claude of Savoy, Lady Privy Seal and Master of the Adriatic Court

 

Note: The Master of the Adriatic will be absent.

Mathilde is tutored on these pages by the various governesses and clerical appointees to the Castle of Guise, her mind wandering to the ages of yore, when her family's name stood mighty and romantic on the tongues of the common man. She smiled, knowing her fate would be kissed by the Falstaff charm someday.

Mathilde could scarcely withhold her excitement beneath her timid lip, a smile invading her radiant aspects.

 

THE NATURE OF THE HIGHEST ESTATE

 

Penned by

Her Excellency The Lady Privy Seal, Claude Pruvia

 

Printed in 1877 by Falcone Publishing Co.

 

CONTENTS

I. HISTORY & CONTEMPORARY

II. ENNOBLEMENT

III. RANKINGS

IV. OBLIGATIONS & PRIVILEGES

V. TRADITIONS

 

 

 

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

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

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

 

THE FIRST KINGDOM

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

FEUDAL VASSALS

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

PEERAGES

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Elijah Keen, Baron of Ames

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

 

QUALIFICATION

 

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

 

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

 

ACQUISITION

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

ELEVATION & DEMOTION

 

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

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

 

LIST OF RANKS

 

DUKE ; High Lord

Ducal House of x, possessing a Duchy. 

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

 

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

Spouse: Duchess consort or Lord consort

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

Children: Lord/Lady

 

MARGRAVE ; High Lord

Marcher House of x, possessing a March.

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

 

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

Spouse: Margravine consort or Lord consort

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

Children: Lord/Lady

 

COUNT

Comital House of x, possessing a County.

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

 

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

Spouse: Countess consort or Lord consort

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

Children: Lord/Lady

 

VISCOUNT

Viscomital House of x, possessing a Viscounty.

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

 

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

Spouse: Viscountess consort or Lord consort

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

Heir: Lord/Lady

Children: Miss/Mister

 

BARON

Baronial House of x, possessing a Barony.

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

 

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

Spouse: Lady consort or Lord consort

Directly: My Lord/Lady or Your Lordship/Ladyship 

Heir: Lord/Lady

Children: Miss/Mister

 

BARONET ; Minor Lord

The Baronet of x, possessing a Baronetcy.

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

 

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

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

Directly: My Lord/Lady or Your Lordship/Ladyship

Heir: This title is non-inheritable.

Children: Children of baronets are not nobility.

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

♢ TO PRESERVE THE TENETS OF THE FAITH

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

♢ TO PRESERVE & PROMOTE THE TRADITIONS OF THEIR HOUSE

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

♢ TO PRESERVE & PROMOTE THE TRADITIONS OF THE NOBILITY

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

♢ TO PRESERVE & REVERE THE MONARCHY

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

♢ TO ATTEND & PARTICIPATE IN THE ADRIATIC

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

♢ TO  ATTEND ASTERCALIA AS A RITE OF MATURATION

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

 

ALL PEERS SHALL ADHERE TO THESE ADDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS:

♢ TO PAY THE LAND TAX

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

♢ TO SUSTAIN THEIR PRESENCE

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

♢ TO GIVE RESOURCE IN WARTIME

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

 

DUKES AND MARGRAVES SHALL ADHERE TO THESE ADDITIONAL OBLIGATIONS:

♢ TO RAISE A FREE COMPANY IN DEFENCE OF THE STATE

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

♢ TO HOLD COURT WITHIN THEIR CASTLE-KEEPS

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

 

 

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

 

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

♢ TO HAVE PRIORITY BEFORE THE KING VIA THE ADRIATIC

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

♢ TO WARD UNDER THE HIGHEST TUTORS

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

♢ TO SQUIRE UNDER THE HIGHEST KNIGHTS

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

♢ TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS VIA ARMED OR UNARMED DUEL

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

 

ALL PEERS MAY PARTAKE OF THESE ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGES:

♢ TO BE EXEMPT FROM THE WORK OF LAYMEN

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

♢ TO BEAR PRIORITY IN THE KING’S PRIVY COUNCIL

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

♢ TO RAISE A FREE COMPANY IN DEFENCE OF THE STATE

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

 

BARONS AND HIGHER MAY PARTAKE OF THE FOLLOWING PRIVILEGES:

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

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

♢ TO BEAR JURISDICTION OVER THEIR LANDS & HOLDINGS

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

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

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

 

DUKES AND MARGRAVES MAY PARTAKE OF THE FOLLOWING PRIVILEGE:

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

THE OATH OF FEALTY

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

 

FEALTY CELEBRATION

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

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

 

ASTERCALIA

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

 

THE QUEEN’S COURT & THE KING’S HONORMEN

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

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

 

THE ADRIATIC

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

 

SQUIRES & KNIGHTS

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

 

ROYAL WARDS

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

 

NOBLESSE OBLIGE

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

 

HEIRLOOMS

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

 

INTERNOBLE MARRIAGES

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

 

DUELS

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

 

 

Penned 1877

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

continue our culture,

and continue our greatest love,

the love of Oren,

and her betterment in infinitum.

 

 

OOC: This letter is received exclusively by all of His Majesty’s royal peerage. Roleplay connected to this information is not to be metagamed.

 

 

 

 

‘LO TO HIS MAJESTY’S BELOVED PEER,

 

THE KING & QUEEN OF OREN summon the Adriatic for the month of Godfrey’s Triumph, inviting all the children of their peers in addition to their noble parents. 

 

Thus, Their Majesties shall henceforth call for the third Adriatic of the Kingdom. All persons of noble blood and their staff, cohorts and guards should hope to make their presence known with punctuality. The King intends to nominate positions to his council of honormen, and therefore elect a date for the first Royal Hunt. So, too, does the Queen wish to enumerate the heirs, spares and daughters of the royal peers for the purpose of the Astercalia Tempore.

 

GOD WITH US,

HIS ROYAL MAJESTY, Frederick I, King of Oren, forever August, King of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Vienne, Helena, Novellen, Sunholdt, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Count of Mardon, Baron of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera

 

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

HER EXCELLENCY, The Princess Claude of Savoy, Lady Privy Seal and Master of the Adriatic Court

 

-+-

A 

COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE 

TO  WARDING OFF 

ODOLAUSTELTZEA

 

Penned by The Reverend Mother Anna

Alongside Her Excellency the Lady Treasurer, Aloisia Helvets

 

 

The Rot, otherwise known as Bloodrot, is an illness newly materialised among the populace of Vienne, rumoured to have originated from a failure to expunge the rancid residual musk of Almaris’s second Bloodrain. The stench is parallel to the odour of burned corpses, relating to the flame of Owyn’s sabre and warning us that his will assumes no idols in quotidian men, for all fall equally before fire and blood. The following guide will seek to attack the falsities spewed by natural science in attempting to explain divine punishment, and offer answers to the why of this phenomenon.

 

SPREAD

 

Lack of Worship;

Attendance to the pew has been limited in this age of novelty sewn by the King’s acclaim. The allure of revelry has converted the greatest holy man into but a carouser, dining on wines in the Savoyard’s Smirk and letting slip their attention to the path of sober humility. God himself bears witness, and casts a breeze that wafts the malaise into the olfactory senses and begins to consume. Those that rejoice together are more prone to the ailment, as this obliges them into isolation to lay their knees before God’s altar in forgiveness. Even the best of men will be put to trial at the hands of God's plague.

 

Meeting the Eyes of Sinners;

Furthermore, those that have been gripped with the rot are being condemned for their sin, and thus ogling uncensoriously at the sinner is to be complacent. Unfiltered eye contact will transmit the illness the same as would committing actions of immoral faults.

 

PREVENTION

 

 

In order to prevent contracting the Rot, the most knowledgeable medics and holy men of Almaris have gathered to put together a list of methods that are said and proven to prevent people from catching the sickness:

 

Prayers and Confession;
GOD has punished us for our sins by sending us this sickness. The wickedness of humanity is evil and must be cast out. If you see someone that has been infected, it means that GOD tests them and their commitment to him. The sinners, he wants to punish them; the good men, he gives them a trial of life, forcing them to prove their love before him. Cast these men out of your home, out of your city in order to protect yourselves and your loved ones. When they have healed, God has declared their purity, and they may return.

Daily prayers, confession of sins and donations to the lectorate are other proven methods that keep sickness at bay.

 

At home;

God's spirit of sickness and death enters through the front door during the night searching for sinners and persons to be tried, hence it is advised that one should start fumigation within their own homestead immediately. Take salt and draw a line with it on the swell of the front entrance. Take a male chicken (preferably one with black feathers) and pour its heart blood upon the door frame. This will make sickness think it has already affected the people of the house and will pass the household without injury.
Outside the door, a small fire should be lit at all times in order to squall the fumes of plague. Stringing up herbs on a rope and letting them dry is a good way to purify the air in a room. It is essential that one does not open the windows facing south - for it is a known fact that bad winds carry sickness into the lands. 

 

Outside;
When leaving the house, make sure to wear textures that will not absorb air or fragrance. Rot’s stench will deflect silk textures. In addition, it is advised to wear a full-face mask stuffed with dried herbs, so that the air breathed is purified.

Hygiene;
Before going to bed at night, make sure to stuff the nostrils with lard so that if everything else fails, sickness is refused entry into the body. That, as well as washing hands in the morning urine of goats, animals with hearty health.
One should also drink plenty of garlic and lemon elixir in order to cleanse the insides, should the sickness infiltrate. If coming into contact with someone that has caught the Rot, make sure to drink at least five gulps of this elixir to wash out the malady absolutely.
 

 

HEALING

 

Confession and Prayer;

If one happens to weaken with the Rot, they should understand that no ache is too great a burden for God’s merciful relief. Seeking repentance before him even on a bed of demise is the most important task for the afflicted person, and they should pledge themselves to frequent visits from priests and reverend mothers who may lead their prayer righteously. 

 

Lavender;

Lavender is a powerful scent, able to mask the infectious aroma that sweeps the rot into the nostrils. A regular layering of lavender over the bridge of the nose and affected areas is the surest way to ensure the rot does not ravage the body wholly. 

 

Boil of Faith;

The humours of the body are gravely beaten by rot, craving the cleansing of holy oils and incense. The afflicted should be helped into a soak of boiling water sautéed with hummus, lavender and frankincense, and have the skin balmed with butter of olives while the air is lit with lavender incense that overwhelms the odour of death. All hair should be cut from the head to prevent beguiling insects that might want to peck on the dampness. The afflicted must wade in the boil for 30 minutes, then be cleaned with a bath of river water and be laid on a bed of silk sheets.

 

Earthly Consumption;

Spiritually, their humours must be re-aligned not only in prayer but in stomach. No more must they partake of indulgences such as liquor and sweets, feasting only on vegetables freshly plucked from God’s earth, particularly cauliflowers and broccoli, artichokes, okra and hot peppers that will lift intense fumes to the throat.

 

 

Blessings to the people of Vienne.

 

 

[RP Name]: Mathilde de Falstaff

[MC Name]: amyselia

[Age]: 6

[Subjects]: Stassion Etiquette, Singing

[Role, Student or Tutor]: Student

[What Inspired You to Apply?]: My mommy, @slattador

[Discord]: amyselia#0001

 

The Merger of the Adriatic with the Queen’s Court

And the creation of the King’s Honormen.

 

King Frederick commands his first honormen.

 

      As the new era prevails, so too does the nobility. In seeing to the advancement of the highest estate, the King requires a solid body composed of vibrant communication in order to administer the growth of his liegemen firsthand. Hence, under the public court of Her Majesty The Queen- in which all may participate, commoner or otherwise-, he establishes the institution of the King’s Honormen, exclusively composed of his peers. This act additionally merges the Adriatic into an event rallied beneath the wings of the royal court’s ministration, retaining all its importance in the field of noble qualms and decisions.

 

      The formation of the Honormen charges the nobility with ambition by offering various roles of significant importance to the vitality of Vienne and its surrounding provinces, each chosen by the king’s observation of valor, enterprise and industry among individuals born of fair nobility, be the victor man or woman.

 

      It should be noted that by the publishing of this document, the Adriatic, the Queen’s Court, and the King’s Honormen, hereby proclaimed as ‘courtly functionaries’, are to be merged into one functionary institution, that is, the Royal Court of Oren.

 

 

 

      The honormen are a select council of Peers, each venerated with a distinct obligation to the King’s service. Spare for the title of the Kingsguard, each title is to be held in vacancy until a proper ceremony is conducted by the Court to invoke them.

 

THE MASTER OF THE HUNT

      The master of the hunt stocks the court’s coffers with hunting weapons and tools, including bows, arrows, iron, bait, traps, etc, as well as hunting dogs. In action, they coordinate the royal hunt, be it during the Adriatic or during an individual event. When needed, they track the movement of legendary beasts to provide stimulating prey for the King’s nobles and other avid stalkers.

 

THE MASTER OF THE HORSE

      The master of the horse manages the Stassion stable, breeding finely bred horses and training them into extraordinary speed and muscle fit for all persons noble and royal. If need be, they will supply horses to the legion or event planners who necessitate the use of travel.

 

THE CROWN CHAMPION

      Ordained with status of peerage, or nominated in virtue of a peered household’s representation, the Crown Champion is the honorman bound with the repute of the Court’s most apt swordsman. The Crown Champion is bound to the Court’s code of chivalry, and is expected to uphold the honor of the position that is attributed to them.

 

THE KEEPER OF THE SWANS

      Every saint’s month, the Keeper of the Swans organizes a grand festival for the Kingdom, in which a crate of swans are to be released from the canal within the River Petra. This act symbolizes the freedom and new beginnings that come with each harvest felled by the farmers of Orenia.

 

THE KINGSGUARD

      The 4th cohort of the Petran Legion is administered by Sir Edmond de Rouen, and is also constructed by the title of the King’s honormen. The Kingsguard is a notorious cohort, fashioning the militaristic similarity of the Drazimann brigade by Sir Octavian Vimmark-Roussard. They are upheld to the highest of endeavors, brandishing the great plates of golden and silver.

 

 

      The Adriatic is the King’s circumstantial assembly of nobles, managed by the Steward of the Adriatic, in which he dines among his peers and their families and discusses the state of the nobility’s traditions, performance, marriages, and any other matter of importance pertaining to the highest estate. If any topic broaches on length, carousal will be sacrificed for the sake of remedying affairs. Conversely, if topics are bluntly resolved, the King’s honormen are able to dedicate the day- with time permitting -to one activity of their choice, such as a hunt, horse race, feast etc.

      A majority of decisions regarding the noblesse, including promotions, demotions, abdications, etc, are made within the quarters of the Adriatic Tent. Any noble may request an audience of the Adriatic, but only the king may heed his request.

 

GOD WITH US,

HIS ROYAL MAJESTY, Frederick I, King of Oren, forever August, King of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Helena, Novellen, Sunholdt, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Count of Mardon, Baron of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera

 

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

HER EXCELLENCY, The Princess Claude of Savoy, Lady Privy Seal and Steward of the Adriatic Court

OOC: This letter is received exclusively by all of His Majesty’s royal peerage. Roleplay connected to this information is not to be metagamed.

 

 

 

 

‘LO TO HIS MAJESTY’S BELOVED PEER,

 

THE KING & QUEEN OF OREN request the presence of one’s noble household and its ardent bannermen for a critical summons to the Adriatic. The nobility is ordained with a mandate of vocal participation for this meeting - speaking will be unmoderated to allow for progressive discussion. If hostility arises, peers will be swiftly escorted away.

 

Thus, His Majesty shall henceforth call the second Adriatic of the Kingdom into session; the main topic of this meeting shall be in the interests of noble vitality and raising to question the liveliness of the peers. The preemptive arrangement of all topics pertaining is encouraged.

 

The following peers are specifically summoned:
Whitewater, Draskovic, Dobrov, Aldersberg, Vanderfall, Provins

 

GOD WITH US,

HIS ROYAL MAJESTY, Frederick I, King of Oren, forever August, King of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Helena, Novellen, Sunholdt, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Count of Mardon, Baron of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera

 

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

HER EXCELLENCY, The Princess Claude of Savoy, Lady Privy Seal and Master of the Adriatic Court

Anna Ulyssa sets herself to prayer for the soul of her Great-Aunt, frankincense perfuming the air of the Temple of the Eternal Flame from which she begged the salvation of Novellen.

 

In the thick  of the forests of Vienne, Claude received word of Anne's death by a courier's approach. Her expression went morbid, her heart sour. The pressure of time's decay attacked her face, a hostile hand swift to throttle the rabbit freshly entangled in her hunting net. "I need no reminders of what lies in wait for me. I shall seek my tears some other day- Anne would not have wanted me to spoil my fun." Her lips conveyed a decent smirk, rising as did her knife upon the creature's skin.

Lady Claude encounters the foreign missive during her daily bout of information debriefings, a bead of sweat collecting at her temple. "Castle Woldzmir has been in the hands of the Haeseni the whole time?" She whispered to none but herself, a shiver running up her spine, "Mon dieu... What a large structure." 

She could not cease to ponder the fact for the rest of the evening.

Little Mathilde fumbles with the collar of her dress, vexed trills issuing her complaints to the seamstress, "It sq-atches!" The cherub whined, wrestling the sleeves down to droop over her shoulders liberally. "Puhfect." She mouthed cheekily, arms heft into the air with joy - terribly, the sleeves bounced back up.

 

 

St. Daniel of Al’Khazar, the first King after the Silence.

 

THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR DICTATES 

THE YEAR 1873 AS THE FAST OF THE SILENCE.

 

The silence was a period of human history succeeding the reigns of Horen and Owyn as rulers of the Kingdom. The era contains dubious historical documentation, infringed by canon myth and legend that cannot be discerned as either fact or fantasy. The year 1873 coincides with the liturgical devotion to the Fast of the Silence, a tradition of the faith in which men are recommended to sacrifice intemperate cravings in order to submit themselves unto God’s virtue, imitating the taciturn period aforementioned.

 

The city of Vienne invites all to partake of this fast, commencing on the preceding month in the form of the Savoyard’s Smirking Bacchanal, the celebration of the tavern’s grand re-opening. This is to be followed by The Promise Day. In the final month of the year, the Weary Harvest shall occur, collecting the food necessary for the Breaking of the Fast.

 

 

TIMELINE

-+-

 

1872

 

THE SMIRKING BACCHANAL

The Savoyard Smirk’s re-opening celebrations, wherein there will be plentiful drinking games and tavern brawls! The public preparation of a hog on a stake within the square of Vienne will be a happy side effect.

The 14th of Sigismund’s End

(( Tuesday, May 17th, 7PM EST ))

 

1873

 

THE PROMISE DAY

The fasting audience will jointly tumble one of the trees of the Vienne Forests with one big push, hulling it to an open area to be chopped into flat circular pieces. Attendants will then be made to carve a single word that symbolizes excess in their life into the slabs. Finally, the slabs will be tossed into a burning pyre, erect from the residual wood. This process symbolizes the promise of fasting.

The 13th of Horen’s Calling End

(( Wednesday, May 18th, 6PM EST ))

 

THE WEARY HARVEST

The fasting audience is invited to join the farmers of Vienne in the winter harvest, forcing their final moments of exhaustion to coalesce, thus bringing them closer to God.

The 13th of Sigismund’s End

(( Tuesday, May 24th, 7PM EST ))

 

1874

 

THE BREAKING OF THE FAST

All people of the Kingdom are welcome in the King’s first royal feast, with the spoils of the Weary Harvest utilized in the preparation of several dishes endemic to the Stassion Court.

The 13th of Horen’s Calling End

(( Wednesday, May 25th, 7PM EST ))

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: All those who attend the Promise Day who are then caught breaking their fast will be socially persecuted.

OOC: This letter is received exclusively by all of His Majesty’s royal peerage. Roleplay connected to this information is not to be metagamed.

[!] A letter arrives via royal courier for each peer of the Orenian Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

 

‘LO TO HIS MAJESTY’S BELOVED PEER,

 

THE KING & QUEEN OF OREN request the presence of one’s noble household for a day of conversation within the Claudian Tourney Grounds, joined by fellow members of the highest class. Peers are expected to don the most genteel of heirlooms and familial crests, displaying the opulence of their station and historic prevalence.

 

Thus, His Majesty shall henceforth call the first Adriatic of the Kingdom into session, a day dedicated to discourse concerning the nobility’s preservation and sanctity. The preemptive arrangement of all topics pertaining, including peerage evaluation, the route of the noble bearing, scandal and other related matters is encouraged. If no such topics are available, the day shall service the nobility’s appetite for carousal and allied chatter.

 

Thus, the Adriatic shall henceforth customarily precede or succeed Royal Courts of the Kingdom by a month, although it may also be called upon to address urgent crises. The date shall be decided by conference.

 

-+-

 

IMPORTANT: DETAILS REGARDING DECORUM

 

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN anticipates the execution of the following for the first Adriatic:

 

1. On arrival, peers and household members shall stand and intermingle in a bevy before the tent’s opening. They shall then wait to be summoned inside by order of rank. Ranks will be summoned together, with individual houses named by order of title creation.
   1. Whenever a new house is elevated, they shall be announced individually in the same manner. 
   2. This shall be repeated upon the succession of the Kingdom.

 

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN anticipates the execution of the following for all Adriatics thereafter:

 

1. Peers and household members shall seek to display the heirlooms they possess in their jaunt to be seated and throughout the duration of the Adriatic. ((OOC: Emote the description of the items)).
2. Peers and household members shall be stood together.
3. Peers and household members will commission Adriatic attire, described as befitting the event of a hunt, feast, chase, etc.
   1. Note that due to short notice, this particular expectation will be omitted for the first Adriatic.
4. All communications regarding marriage arrangements are taboo within the Adriatic Tent if committed without a letter in advance to the Queen, who shall moderate all such discussion as the de facto head of the Astercalia Tempore.
5. The attendance of bannermen shall be prohibited, bar one for protection. All bannermen shall stand in wait outside beside the King's Guard.

 

GOD WITH US,

HIS ROYAL MAJESTY, Frederick I, King of Oren, forever August, King of Renatus, Curon, Kaedrin, Salvus, and Seventis, Grand Duke of Ves, Duke of Helena, Novellen, Sunholdt, Furnestock, Petra, Oltremont, South Arentania, and Lorraine, Count of Mardon, Baron of Renzfeld, Protector of the Heartlanders and Farfolk, etcetera

 

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

HER EXCELLENCY, The Princess Claude of Savoy, Lady Privy Seal and Master of the Adriatic Court

 

An unknown waldenian woman of Derfey allegiance hymns in a chant of enchanting and melodic gospel while lighting her torch with the rising flames: “BURN DIESE FOTZE ‘TIL ZEIR EYEBALLS FALL! HAIL DERFEY!”

Lady Claude shoo'ed away her grandson's courier, her mind reveling in the possibilities for her formal attire. "You are to be the nephew of a Queen." She'd state to the petit Count, rapidly pouring kisses as concession atop the beau's forehead. 

 

 

FEAR NOT THE EVIL THAT MARTYRS OUR TEMPLES

 

The encore of an undaunted basilica crumbling at the hands of heretics; history pierces the mind of God’s doting servants; men and women watch in fright, defenseless against darkness. In maelstrom, the cowed canonist may question the posture of the Exalted's command over the pew. He may stray from his flock to bid his prayer in what he considers a solitary peace, the prayer ‘done right’ within one’s own sacred habitation. He beckons his countrymen to do the same, falling from the grace of God’s holy structures into individual worship, for why must cathedrals guide our devotion? 

 

To those that herd men away from their sanctuary, I say that what is holy cannot bestow its blessing without the unity of pure men’s hearts in a center of benediction, and to allow evil to splinter the faith when our chapels- the monoliths of God’s amity -are torched by heathens is the acceptance of the faith’s lack of fervor. Thus, we must contend with stronger zeal and exchange blows against that cynical blasphemy. 

 

Men have always deemed mercurial events to be miracles only to be met with flagrant opposition, but in the felling of a controversial place of worship like the Basilica of the Argentate Star, there is no contest to the fact that such is a dauntless attack on the possibility of the faith's reprisal. A Basilica represents canondom in the unity that the Exalted foresaw, reveling and worshiping together for the betterment of the conglomerate of humanity. In Oren’s Basilica, no longer under anathema, the name of God began to grow new eminence; his devoted priests returned to keep his walls free of indignity, angering the awaiting blasphemy.

 

When canonist churches are infiltrated by the blasphemy, we wish to recede into our cocoons to avoid the temptation of their sin, but I contend that we must instead violate the light so that it might shine a fire that cleanses. The house of the lord’s servants in Balian may be corrupted by hazards of human nature, such as lapses in recent memory when they might have welcomed the Azdrazi into their temple. It is no fault of men that the evil idols whisper of suborn, but it becomes the fault of men when one cathedral crumbles in a realm by the hand of heresy, only for a neighbor (even if disgruntled) to welcome another heresy with open arms. That cathedral now becomes tainted, desiring the renewed fervor of men who have become ignorant to their chapel’s sanctity. Canondom’s zeal is lost on the souls of the complacent.

 

To cower from our places of worship when hostility arises is to accept the complacency - the apathy. It is not courage to seek out compromises, it is indolence. When one cathedral falls, we must rebuild; when one cathedral is depraved, we must regroup. We cannot allow our places of worship to go abandoned, just as we cannot abandon the faith.

 

Signed, Acolyte Anna of Providentia

A young Claude de Savoie is spotted dancing about the Augustine Palace before her debut, decked in black and white cloth.

 

Decades later, Anna Ulyssa mounts the carriage to Mardon, the steel of her chestplate clinking in the bounce of travel.

A waiting cherub listens silently to a bard...

 

[!] Flyers appear around the Kingdom of Oren.

 

 

---

 

 

➻ A Local Trades Showcase ➻ A Performing Bard ➻ Folktale Face Painting ➻ Fortune Telling ➻ The Game of Dunk-a-Dwarf 

➻ Street Food Vendors ➻ A Carousel

And more!

 

Contact the Court of HRM Queen Vivienne of Savoy

If interested in being an employee of the Carnival.

 

---

 

9 minutes ago, sashimichopped said:

"She did na' react the same when wee Freddie took ta' throne from 'er." The teenage William Henry MacPherson thus shrugged oncemore.

Claude stood beside Frederick as he printed the published papers on Ioanna's behalf, for the King had offered the Basridi refuge from the destitution that had once been her lover's paradise.

She pressed her palm over Ioanna's shoulder, watching with a ready smile before she began to speak, "To scorn a woman is to condemn yourself to a slow and painful destruction. When will men learn this?"

@Lionhz

Anna was blessed by the sight of Conrad whenever she neared, the warmth of his air and spirited demeanor rivalled by no other man - she wondered how many maidens he might acquire upon the next Astercalia's end?