Sigismund III of Haense

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Sigismund III King of Hanseti-Ruska Reign: 1838-1873 Predecessor: Heinrik II Sucessor: Karl III Race: Highlander Born: 9th of the Deep Cold, 1815, Royal City of Karosgrad, Kingdom of Haense Died: 11th of the Grand Harvet 1873, Royal City of Karosgrad, Kingdom of Haense Spouse(s): Emma of Jerovitz House: Barbanov-Bihar Father: Heinrik II Mother: Mariya of Aurveldt Military Campaigns Military: Brotherhood of Saint Karl Wars/Battles: Haeseni-Haelun’orian War Urguani-Orenian War Siege of Southbridge (1854) Battle of Karosgrad (1857) Siege of Haverlock (1860) Folly of Philip III (1866)

Sigismund Karl Barbanov-Bihar (Common: Sigismund Charles; High Imperial: Sigismundus Carolus; New Marian: Sigmund Karl), (1815-1873), regally known as Sigismund III and remembered as Sigismund the Golden was the nineteenth monarch of Hanseti-Ruska and the first born son of King Heinrik II and Mariya of Aurveldt. With his reign lasting 35 years, Sigismund III was the longest reigning monarch to have ruled over Hanseti-Ruska at the time of his death but is now second to his great grandson King Aleksandr II.

Early Life (1815-1838)

Sigismund Karl Barbanov-Bihar was born on the 9th of the Deep Cold, 1815, in the capital of Haense, the Royal City of Karosgrad, as the eldest son to Heinrik II thus making him the Grand Prince of Kusoraev, the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska. Some months after his birth, Sigismund’s mother, Queen Mariya, was mysteriously murdered in the King’s office in 1815, however this was later revealed over a decade later to be a convoluted means to end her marriage and escape to the Orenian Empire by faking her death.

During his early childhood, Sigismund was noted as being a recluse and rarely in the public light, instead keeping to the Royal apartments of the Nikirala Palace. Whether this was done at the behest of his father, for fear of losing his son similarly to Queen Mariya, or if it came around due to Sigismund’s own wishes, is unclear but it undoubtedly had an effect on the future King. Due to his limited access to the wider world, Sigismund had few childhood friends besides his own sister, Princess Petra, to whom he was incredibly close to throughout their entire lives. With the kind princess being his primary source of companionship, and with little influence of his stern father on him as he was busy with rulership, Sigismund grew up a far more temperate figure than King Heinrik II.

Education

Sigismund received an education befitting a future King, being taught extensively in the subjects of politics, history, warfare, stewardship, and theology. Under the tutelage of future Grand Maer and Aulic Envoy Feodor May primarily, Sigismund progressed well with all his lessons, being an especially studious child and showing a great aptitude for writing himself, being able to convey himself well in the written word from an early age.

By far Sigismund’s favourite topic of study was history, but not for the academic practice of it. Instead he enjoyed the stories it told of bygone ages and the romanticisation of tales, taking a particular interest in the retellings of knights, folk stories and legends. Sigismund brought his passion for these into constructive changes and literary works later in his life once he was King of Hanseti-Ruska.

Though not an especially gifted swordsman himself, Sigismund was trained by one of the finest of his generation, Ailred, Duke of Vidaus, in the later half of his childhood after getting a late start. With the late Duke’s guidance, Sigismund became a capable enough swordsman and tactician, putting both to show in his reign later during the Urguani-Orenian War.

Reign

Sigismund became the King of Hanseti-Ruska at the age of twenty-three following the abdication of his father, Heinrik II, in the ‘Edict of Abdication of 391 E.S’[1] in 1838, the second time ever a King of Hanseti-Ruska has abdicated and the first time for non-illness related reasons. Whilst an unusual occurrence, and potentially problematic for Sigismund that a former King still lived to be a claimant to his new throne, Sigismund was accepted very quickly and with little controversy being widely more popular than his controversial father. Sigismund III’s coronation took place in the Basilica of Saint Henrik by High Pontiff Everard VI in 1840.[2]

Early Reign (1838-1849)

Sigismund III’s first act as King was to put to use the system his father had all but ignored, petitioning the nobility and gentry of Haense to send their sons to serve as pages below him in a notice from the Nikirala Palace[3] in 1839. This eased Sigismund’s transition into ruler as he not only came to know a number of current and future peers after his reclusive childhood but also gained favour amongst them for taking nobles from their families under his wing. Notably, Sigismund put on show the staunch difference from his father, where he was stern and cold, Sigismund displayed compassion by taking Mariya Vyronov as a page. This was unusual due to her family’s relegation from nobility to commoner the previous year, by King Heinrik II, and a large departure from the norm for an acceptable squire. Later in his reign, Sigismund began incorporating this system of pages into the ranks of the knightly Order of the Crow as squires, many of whom he put through their trials and taught personally.

Lord Palatine Kaustantin Baruch, the first sworn in with the new ceremony.

It was with the success of this that Sigismund went on in the next few years to introduce or augment further Haeseni traditions, steeped in the history of his new dual kingdom, naming the period himself as the ‘Sigismundic Era of Culture and Tradition’. The first of these changes came in 1840 with the introduction of the Valkskej[4], otherwise known in common as the ‘Peace of the Sword’. Originating from ancient deals made by the Scyfling house of Volik to show their willingness to bear arms if the need arose to keep their word, Sigismund decided to incorporate it in regular Haeseni pact making following house Volik’s staunch support of Haense against the belligerent Scyflings during the Scyfling Invasion of Hanseti-Ruska. Following this, Sigismund made sure to utilise this practice with every alliance made from then on. A year later, in 1841, King Sigismund also codified a ceremony for the bestowal of the golden bulava, the symbol of power for the office of the Lord Palatine who is the second most powerful person in the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, which he entitled ‘Veinir Bulava’[5]. Sigismund took inspiration from a similar ceremony used back during the reign of one of his ancestors and predecessors, King Stefan I.

Later in the same year, tragedy struck the usually optimistic and jovial, if even sometimes immaturely so, monarch when his wife, Emma of Jerovitz, delivered their first child, son and heir; Grand Prince Edvard Arjen. Born in 1841, the first Grand Prince lived for only approximately seven minutes before passing away due to a breathing related issue and in the arms of his father. This was made public in a statement from the Nikirala Palace[6]. This sent Sigismund into a depressive episode, developing a temper in some instances and despondency in others, with no sign of it letting up until nearly two years later when his daughter, Princess Klara Elizaveta, was born in 1843 which raised Sigismund’s spirits notably. The safe birth of the Princess was detailed in a missive from the government entitled ‘News from the Nikirala Palace’[7]. In this was also detailed the King’s brief travel to the far off Kingdom of Kalden as well as the Aulic Council sponsored committee set up to begin reviewing ‘Ve Haurul Caezk’, otherwise known as the Haeseni lawbook. Whilst the changes to the law and amendments made to the unofficial constitution, Sigismund created ‘The Blubber Act’[8] in 1844 to serve as a temporary reform to the Aulic Court procedures and the role of Jovenaars, the Haeseni equivalent of judges, to help the stagnating role of the courts in the meantime.

Following these numerous, mentally and emotionally taxing events, Sigismund III carved out some time to focus on a passion project of his in a bid to bring the Knights of Haense back into relevance and merge them with his love of history and folklore. The outcome of this came in 1845 with the ‘Kossar I Haenz’[9], which is commonly interpreted as a complete rehaul of the knightly orders in Haense but is instead a resurgence of old traditions being utilised once more. The main inspiration for this came from the legendary kossars who served under the ancient King of Raev, Barbov the Black, an ancestor of Sigismund III, with each kossar, or knight, coming to represent a different lesson or aspect of chivalry that Sigismund wished to use as a rough guideline for how a modern day knight should act. The fabled tales of these kossars are most completely contained in the ‘Song of the Black’[10][11].

Following this pleasant break from the overarching politics and world diplomacy that came with his position, Sigismund returned to his kingly work and began to broker a peace with the Principality of Savoy following their decision to take the Silver State of Haelun’or under them as a protectorate. During the reign of his father, Heinrik II, Haense began a war with Haelun’or that, because of the Silver States geographical position, resulted in little more than a few successful raids for the BSK forces. With the growing stagnancy of the Haeseni-Haelun’orian War and the High Elves' submission to the Principality of Savoy, Sigismund thought it best to have Savoy present the Silver State with terms for their surrender. Following this, terms for peace were agreed on amongst Haense, Savoy and the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, who had also been grievously insulted by the Silver State. The result was the ‘Valkskej Aranyz’[12] in 1846, otherwise known as ‘The Silver Peace’, which detailed that the Silver State of Haelun’or would sell the City of Ando Alur to the Grand Kingdom of Urguan and that ten thousand minas be paid to the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska as reparations along with a formal apology for their transgressions against them in exchange for the cessation of all conflict and hostility against the Solver State of Haelun’or on the part of Haense and Urguan.

Within the same year, more good news came for Haense in that a long awaited second son and heir apparent to Sigismund was born, alongside another son, securing his line firmly. The twins, Grand Prince Karl Sigmar and Prince Sergei Aleksandr, were born mere minutes apart in 1846. Not only were Sigismund’s own worries laid to rest but also those of his council and citizens upon the birth of a living son and heir. The safe arrival of the twin princes was publicly announced in the ‘Notice of the Birth of the Grand Prince of Kusoraev & the Duke of Rothswald’[13].

Sigismund III and his retinue march on the Duchy of Cathalon, c.1846

March on Cathalon (1846)

Finally, towards the end of 1846, Sigismund’s younger brother, Prince Marus Aleksandr, announced his forthcoming marriage to Henrietta Helvets, the daughter of the Orenian noble Thomas Helvets, the Duke of Cathalon. Duke Thomas was vocally against this match, claiming the union to be miscegenation as he claimed to have traced Prince Marus’ ancestry back to that of Harren, who at the start of humanity ignored the warnings of the aengul’s and married an elf, going against Canonist teachings. Thus the Duke Thomas used the term ‘Harrenite’ to insult the Prince and as his reasoning for denying the marriage. It was at this point Sigismund began to involve himself in the situation, feeling the refusal and claim that the Barbanov-Bihar bloodline was tainted was a great insult to himself and the royal family, one which he could not abide. Sigismund rallied whichever peer and BSK soldier he could on short notice before taking his retinue, along with Henrietta, into Imperial land and marching on to Cathalon to confront Duke Thomas. Upon reaching Cathalon and demanding the Duke show himself, Thomas appeared from his manor but remained staunch in his beliefs and refused to apologise for what was taken as transgressions against the royal family of Haense. Whether out of anger or due to some notion that it would serve as to how matters of honour were solved in a bygone age, Sigismund had Ser Flemius, a Marian knight which is the Haeseni equivalent of a Kingsguard, duel the Duke of Cathalon so that God made decide who was in the right. Ser Flemius capably bested the Duke who had agreed and fought with honour up until the point that he lost and lashed out at the knight as he was walking away from the defeated Duke. His attempt was thwarted and King Sigismund, with his retinue, left the Imperial lands, sure that they were in the right. Henrietta and Prince Marus were married soon after, despite the wishes of her father.

Following this, the Imperial government arranged for a meeting, arriving to petition Sigismund III for a private audience during a holding of court. The Orenian group of government officials, namely the Archchancellor of Oren Princess Josephine, ambassador to Haense Joseph d’Azor, Imperial State Army Captain Erik Othaman, and finally, and most controversially, Anna Mariya, who was Sigismund’s own mother having faked her death to flee to Oren where she’d been appointed Foreign Minister. Whether this was a ploy by the Orenians to force Sigismund’s hand at the behest of his long absent mother or to throw the King of Haense’s focus off, one thing was sure; Sigismund III did not take well to the Imperial petitioners. In what the Imperial’s called ‘The Circus of Nikirala’[14], Sigismund dismissed every attempt of the Imperial party to plead their case, perhaps due to what many Haeseni in the court claimed was hypocrisy at the Imperial claims that marching soldiers into Imperial land was wrong despite bringing an armed retinue themselves to the King’s court or because Sigismund was enraged at his mother’s reappearance, leading to a thoroughly annoyed Archchancellor attempting to leave the throne room only to be blocked by a shut gate, keeping the party in place. Sigismund told a whimsical story, essentially mocking the Imperials whilst also refusing to admit any wrongdoing on his part, before letting the Archchancellor and her group go free, sending them on their way back home.

Following this, Sigismund felt it important to solidify his support at home with the growing strain in the relationship between the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska and the Orenian Empire. Thus Sigismund officially created ‘The Boyar Council’[15] in 1847, a council which had had an informal existence during the reigns of King Josef, Heinrik II, and now Sigismund III, as a continuation of the Royal Advisory Cabinet of Sigismund II. Sigismund filled his Boyar Council with members of his own family, former Aulic Councillors and even his own Court Chaplain to serve as his closest advisors alongside the Aulic Council itself.

Michaelite Schism (1849-1850)

The Michaelite Schism, otherwise known as the Petty Schism, was an extremely short lived attempt, lasting only a month, to replace High Pontiff Everard VI with Bishop Christoff Barclay of San Luciano in Savoy, becoming Anti-Pontiff Michael I, orchestrated by Emperor Philip III, Empress Anastasia and Olivier II, Prince of Savoy.

Being at odds with the new Orenian administration that had overthrown the last during the Aster Revolution for his willingness to work with the thoroughly unpopular deposed Emperor Philip II, High Pontiff Everard was far from popular with the up-and-coming within the Empire. Amongst these, and perhaps the most notable aside from the Emperor and Empress themselves, was Prince-Emeritus Olivier of Savoy. Thus when Olivier I abdicated and his son and heir, Prince Olivier II ‘the Younger’, requested a coronation from the Pontiff himself, Everard was happy to accept believing it would help mend the previous divisions between the Church and Savoy. Olivier II proved to have the exact opposite intention though when he, alongside Emperor Philip III, his wife and Bishop Christoff, used the coronation to ensure High Pontiff Everard VI was physically present so that they could presumably detain or kill him after initiating their plan. The fault in the plan and the Pontiff’s salvation prove to be the group of Haeseni men and women, primarily made up of Brotherhood members accompanying Lord Palatine Eirik Baruch, who were in attendance. When the true purpose of the event was revealed, the Haeseni were quick to cover and aid Everard’s escape from Savoy and back to the safety of Karosgrad. The Orenians and Savoyards proclaimed Bishop Cristoff as High Pontiff Michael I even despite Everard’s escape unscathed thus officially beginning the Michaelite Schism.

It would not last long though and the first pillar of support for the Anti-Pontiff crumbled almost immediately following the submission of the Principality of Savoy and its Prince, Olivier the Younger. His penance was to walk the streets barefoot all the way from Savoy to the Basilica of Saint Henrik in Karosgrad, Haense. It has been suggested that the selection of the Basilica was made both as a means of security for Everard VI and as a show of gratitude on his part for the role the Haeseni played in saving him. As a further show of his appreciation, King Sigismund was named Fidei Defensor in the ecclesiastical decree ‘Pontificia Bulla Fidei Defensoris’[16] at the start of 1950 by the High Pontiff after the title was stripped from the unrepentant Emperor and Empress Philip III and Anastasia. King Sigismund III was the second King of Haense to hold the title and it was seen throughout his kingdom as an unparalleled honour. Despite the two Orenian monarchs later submitting to the Pontiff’s offer of penance and seeing it through when they, like Prince Oliver II of Savoy, walked barefoot all the way to Karosgrad, they were later re-excommunicated. They were excommunicated once more for their discovered involvement in the assassination of Imperial Prince Philip Aurelian, Philip III’s own father who should have taken the throne before him.

Sigismund III at the Siege of Southbridge, by Sofiya Ruthern c. 1855

Sinners' War (1850-1868)

When the Orenian peoples failed to depose their excommunicated rulers, Emperor Philip III and Empress Anastasia, as is commanded by Canon Law of faithful canonists, the start of the Sinners’ War loomed. The defensive alliance with the dwarves of the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, which was renewed around the same time, put Haense at odds with the Orenian Empire.

After Philip III's coup which saw him rise to the Imperial throne, Urguan announced, in far from courteous terms, that it had defeated Philip II and had no interest in further conflict with the Orenian Empire. Philip III responded with an extortionate list of demands, namely an enormous sum of money and for Urguan to release all its human vassals - such as Sedan - in an echo of the Third-Human Dwarf War centuries ago on Athera. When Urguan naturally refused, Oren began to mobilise its forces while further south their Savoyard allies-turned-vassals prepared to join them in the war. Urguan, facing a much more formidable foe in two human armies, appealed to their Haeseni and Norlander allies for aid, and King Sigismund III and King Vane Freysson answered by raising their banners. To further bolster their army, the Grand Kingdom hired the legendary Ferrymen mercenaries. Together, these factions formed the Tripartite Accord to oppose Oren.

Hesitant now that a daunting coalition had formed, Oren's forces remained marshalled on the southern border with Urguan, while, in the south, divisions amongst the Savoyard government over their vassalage to Oren and the excommunication frustrated their initial plans to aid Oren. This presented a perfect window of opportunity for the Accord, who seized the initiative and stormed the Lower Petra riverlands in southern Oren. As the Accord army marched north through Eastfleet into Oren, Philip III decided to call his army back to the border fortress of Southbridge, where he planned to weather and drive back the Accord assault. A massive raiding campaign precluded the clash of armies; at first, Oren exhibited an iron-clad defence by cutting down dwarven raiders at the First Battle of Ephesius and, after a brief upset caused by Ferrymen raiders at the Battle of St. James', were so bold as to charge into the dwarven capital and capture the Grand King himself in the Storming of Kal'Darakaan. Grand King Ulfric was brought before Philip III, and when he refused to adhere to his original demands, he had his beard shaved - a humiliating punishment for a Dwarf - before he was let go free. To this day, scholars disagree over whether the Grand King was released in the hopes that his capture and de-bearding would demoralise the dwarven troops, or as a genuine act of mercy. Regardless, it fuelled the vitriolic raiding campaign further, and the Orenian-Urguan border ran red as the Accord raiders - spearheaded by the Ferrymen - won five consecutive victories in the Petra riverlands and eastern Urguan at the First Battle of Jarad's Tavern, First Battle of Stone Tower, Second Battle of Ephesius, Second Battle of Jarad's Tavern, and the Battle of New Providence Bridge. While Captain Banjo of the Ferrymen led this raiding campaign, Field Marshal Ailred Ruthern of Haense began to erect siege lines at Southbridge, preparing for an eventual assault. An over-confident attempt by the dwarven navy to land ships at the Orenian capital of Providence ended in the Accord defeat at the Battle of Cape Whitecombe, with the Ferrymen and Blackvalers later compensated for in the First Raid on New Providence. As the Accord prepared to assault Southbridge, Accord raiders heading south to join the main army were intercepted and killed in the Battle of the River Petra.

With the Urguan-Oren border aflame from raids, the time came for the Accord to attempt to annex the Lower Petra riverlands. In the Siege of Southbridge, dwarven ships positioned trebuchets out on the water and on the beach east of Southbridge. Bombardment began under the command of Ailred Ruthern, while Captain Banjo led infiltrators to harass the Orenian defenders as they tried to match the Dwarven artillery. Due to the broad positioning of the Accord trebuchets in contrast with the clustered placement of Orenian ones in the narrow keep, Southbridge's siege engines were quickly blown apart, and the keep's walls soon followed. As Haeseni and dwarven siege engineers worked tirelessly, an elite Orenian force sallied out from Southbridge to disable multiple enemy trebuchets before they were cornered and killed on one of the dwarven ships. The sally had, however, been too late: Southbridge's walls had been so utterly damaged by the Accord artillery that the keep began collapsing in on itself. Field Marshal Ailred ordered a charge inside the cape, wiping out one wave of the surviving Orenians, before they withdrew to order another round of bombardment. With the keep in utter ruins, one final push secured an overwhelming victory for Haense and the rest of the Accord.

Though Lower Petra had been annexed by Urguan, the celebrations were short-lived; serious disagreements broke out between Grand King Ulfric and both Blackvale and the Ferrymen over their promised payment and the Dwarf King's handling of the war. This led to the Ferrymen taking a contract to fight for Oren, which was soon followed by Blackvale betraying Ulfric for massive offers of titles in Oren. These two factors emboldened Philip III to launch a re-conquest of Lower Petra mere months as it had been taken. Despite best efforts by the Orenian government, King Sigismund III of Haense refused to leave the war and abandon his dwarven allies despite the lower odds - a decision he would soon pay for in the lives of his soldiers. The weakened Accord maintained high morale after achieving key victories against the Ferrymen-and-Blackvale reinforced Orenian army at the Second Storming of Ka'Darakaan, followed by a loss at the Battle of Stone Tower, and culminating in driving an enormous raiding warband to Norland in the Battle of Karosgrad, but serious doubts remained over which army would triumph in open battle. This answer came in the Battle of Lower Petra, where the Orenians advanced into their lost territory, and triumphed over the Accord largely due to the Accord cavalry and flank squads being far too over-extended, where they were cut off and slaughtered by the Ferrymen, leaving the main army isolated and overwhelmed. Philip III's army proceeded to the newly-constructed town of Haverlock, built on the ruins of Southbridge, where the demoralised Accord mustered once more in a vain attempt to withstand attempts to drive them back into Urguan. The same fate of Lower Petra repeated itself in the Siege of Haverlock, as the Accord struggled to defend the broad perimeter of Haverlock against a multi-pronged Orenian offensive.

Philip's Folly, c.1868

With his lost land reclaimed, Philip III had no intention of resting, and set his sights on Blackvale's namesake territory within Urguan. As both armies prepared for a third campaign in the war, a brief period of tense peace occurred in which negotiations between Grand King Ulfric and Emperor Philip III were held. An agreement was reached, but just before all of the Accord signed off on it - which would have ended the war in Oren's favour - Grand King Ulfric abdicated, and was replaced by Grand King Bakir Ireheart, who promptly denied the Orenian terms and breathed a second wind into the Accord. Haense remained firmly by Urguan's side, in no small part because of the Disgrace of Arichsdorf, where Haense had travelled to the Orenian vassal of Arichsdorf for a duel to settle a dispute after a Haeseni knight had been attacked during a ceasefire by a soldier under the protection of the March of Arichsdorf. After Lucien of Savoy fought as the Haeseni champion and won the duel, the Orenian soldiers of the Aurelian Brotherhood refused to lay down their arms, and attacked the Haeseni party. In order to defend his promise of protection to the Haeseni, Lord Manfred of Arichsdorf defended the Haeseni, but they were both defeated by the Aurelian soldiers. Lord Marshal Johann Barclay was captured in the fighting, but he was released back to Haense. And so, King Sigismund III reiterated his support for the dwarves as Philip III declared his final offensive into Urguani territory. However, Grand King Bakir's enthronement completely shifted momentum of the war; although Blackvale remained the military backbone of Oren, the Ferrymen yet again changed sides to support the Accord, but this time the coalition numbers were further inflated by the Elves of the Vale of Nevaehlen and, shockingly, the Principality of Savoy, Oren's former staunch allies, in response to High Pontiff Tylos II's commitment to the excommunication of the Emperor and Empress. As the massive armies assemble for the offensive, the Accord achieves one last victory before open battle in the Providence Tea Party, where Ferrymen and Haeseni raiders stormed the Orenian capital during a social masquerade and captured many high-ranking nobles, including Emperor Philip III himself, his son and the future King of Oren - Frederick I - and Prince John Aurelian. While Philip III was released several days after his capture as repayment for his mercy in the First Storming of Kal'Darakaan, King Frederick I and Prince John were brought to Haense, where the former was released by King Sigismund III, and the latter beheaded.

After twenty years of conflict and hatred, the final battle came in the form of Philip's Folly. Here, the two huge armies met on opposite sides of the bay at Eastfleet and, after exchanging a monsoon of arrow-fire, they charged the low tide and turned the water crimson as they clashed around a beached ship. The superior numbers of the Accord prevailed after a few hours of the drenched melee, and drove the scant survivors back over the hills into Lower Petra. Emperor Philip III professed that he no longer had any intention of invading Urguan after his defeat, but the vengeful Accord kept its army rallied and prepared to invade Lower Petra for the second time. Before this fourth campaign of the war could commence, peace talks resumed between the Empire and the Accord. In the terms of surrender within the treaty entitled ‘The Peace of Eastfleet’[17], Emperor Philip III made many concessions to his various opponents including the Grand Kingdom and Savoy. To the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, he was forced to affirm the recognition of all their titles in perpetuity as well as give half of the region known as the Upper Grenz to the highlander kingdom. The Tripartite Accord had secured a clear victory.

Ve Haurul Caezk (1851)

Near the start of the Sinners’ War, and having already been in the works beforehand, the new Haeseni lawbook, known as Ve Haurul Caezk[18], was published in 1851. This new version, spearheaded by Sigismund himself and his Palatine Eirik Baruch, sought to reestablish the laws of the kingdom in a more Highlander fashion and less like the Imperial model that Haense had been using ever since its independence from the Empire of Oren. Whether this was spurred on or influenced heavily by the war with the Orenian Empire is uncertain but not unlikely. The new Haurul Caezk was the first of its kind. It cut down on the bureaucracy and unnecessary attention to detail that the previous iteration had seemed to be swamped down by. This by comparison was willfully made simple and the definitions far more encompassing for a number of actions that could constitute the same crime. Sigismund’s Haurul Caezk created a new precedent when dealing with trials. Judges, named Jovenaars in Haense, were increasingly utilising previous cases and their verdicts rather than arguing over the exact wording of a law or statute. Thus Haeseni case law was born.

Marriage(s)

Sigismund III married Emma Kortrevich in the Basilica of Saint Henrik in 1836, officiated by the High Pontiff Everard VI. Wed two years before going on to become King, as the Grand Prince of Kusoraev the ceremony was large and lavish but by no means a surprise as the two had been courting for some years prior. The match was widely accepted as a loving and well-placed one with Emma being the sister of Count Jan Kortrevich.

Titles, Styles and Honors

• 1815-1837: His Royal Highness, Sigismund Karl, Grand Prince of Kusoraev

• 1837-1873: His Royal Majesty, Sigismund III, King of Hanseti-Ruska

Full title as King of Hanseti-Ruska

The titles of Sigismund III are: His Royal Majesty Sigismund III, by the Grace of Godan King of Hanseti and Ruska, Defender of the Faith, Grand Hetman of the Army, Prince of Bihar, Dules, Lahy, Muldav, Solvesborg, Slesvik and Ulgaard, Duke of Carnatia and Vanaheim, Margrave of Korstadt, Rothswald and Vasiland, Count of Alban, Alimar, Baranya, Graiswald, Karikhov, Karovia, Kaunas, Kavat, Kovachgrad, Kvasz, Markev, Nenzing, Torun, and Toruv, Viscount of Varna, Baron of Esenstadt, Kraken’s Watch, Kralta, Krepost, Lorentz, Rytsburg, Thurant, Venzia and Astfield, Lord of the Westfolk, Protector of the Highlanders, etcetera.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Marriage
Edvard Arjen, Grand Prince of Kusoraev	1841	1841	Unwed	Firstborn son of Sigismund III and Emma. Died at birth.
Klara Elizaveta, Duchess of Baranya	1843	Alive	Jakob Morovar	Firstborn daughter of Sigismund III and Emma.
Karl III, King of Hanseti-Ruska	1850	Alive	Amadea of Susa	Secondborn son of Sigismund III. Twin to Prince Sergei.
Sergei Aleksandr, Duke of Rothswald	1850	Alive	(1) Aloisa Barclay (2) Irena de Sarkozy	Thirdborn son of Sigismund III. Twin to King Karl III.
Josef Frederik, Duke of Schattenburg	1853	1869	Dorothea vas Ruthern	Fourthborn son of Sigismund III and Emma. Died due to coma.
Maya Ceciliya, Bishop Reinmar	1852	1897	Dmitry var Ruthern	Secondborn daughter of Sigismund III and Emma. Died in her sleep.