Difference between revisions of "Adeline of Alstion"
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Revision as of 20:26, 18 July 2021
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Blessed Adeline Margaret of House Alstion was the first, and final, Empress-Consort of Renatus upon the dissolution of the Empire of Man. She later reigned as the Holy Orenian Empress. Her tenure as Empress-Consort was characterized by an iron-clad hold on her demesne in her husband's absence. That, coupled with their lack of conjugal consummation, led for the young Horen to be monikered the Regnant Maiden of Oren. She is also known as Adeline of Man, Adeline of Alstion, Adeline Margaret, Adeline Horen, and Adeline Cascadia.
She was later beautified in 1737 during the Golden Bull of Helena.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Adeline was raised within the confines of her great grandfather, Prince Charles Horen’s holding in Pronce. Upbrought in a manner pertinent to one of her station, she was tutored in Imperial etiquette and courtly manners, such following the Horenic Dynast throughout her life. At this point in her life, her father had often described her as the center of his world. She grew pampered as the eldest daughter of John Alexander, of whom held her in such high regards despite his prior wishes for a male heir. A bright and cheerful child, often seen playing within the crystal blue meadows surrounding Pronce.
It was during her upbringing within Pronce that the girl was seen to keenly listen to the teachings of her old Great-Grandfather, the famed Archchancellor, Charles Elliot. It is known that she conversed with him regularly, and listened closely to his words. The correspondence between the two would continue, even into the last years of her life.
Nonetheless, despite the lack of expectations placed upon her, having been neither raised nor expected to be anything more than a Princess married off to some lord, she would take on a large mantle as per the commands of her family. During the beginnings of the War of Two Emperors, it was decided that she would marry Godfrey III, Emperor of Renatus, with no input of her own. Her journey towards the Empire of Renatus was filled with a heavy silence, to the point where her mother had cursed her Father for placing his ambitions over the safety of their daughter.
Reign
Their very first meeting was when the High Pontiff, then Guy Haas, had joined Othodoric Helvets on diplomatic parley to plead the Renatians for peace. There the pair stood, dumbfounded, as a girl no older than ten coldly gave them welcome. -His Holiness, Daniel VI
At the behest of her father, the Imperial Princess was brought to Helena, aged only six. During this time, she was to grow acquainted with the daily proceedings of courtly life. But three Saint Days after her arrival, the entirety of the Imperium was present as she and Godfrey III recited their nuptials and wed.
Her wedding was anticipated to encounter bloodshed due to the turbulent state of the Empire, having been thrown into a war. Nonetheless, Adeline and Godfrey uttered their vows with little complications. The newly weds retreated deeper into the halls of Rubrummagnus afterwards of their vows, and they shared a childish laugh over the matter. The Empress, later on in time, had admitted that that they were so surprised, to the point that Godfrey had marveled over the fact that they still drew breath. Nonetheless, the peace was cut short when Renatian authorities apprehended a group known as “The Blue Berets”, the group having committed a peaceful protest in the Emperor Joseph’s name. Blood was finally shed in the form of a guillotine execution, wherein five blue berets were sentenced to death.
As her reign began, she was a timid young girl unacquainted with her surroundings nor the denizens that occupied them. She remained reluctant to be seen in public and hardly strayed far from the confines of the Palace; leaving most political matters to her newlywed husband.
However, she was forced into the limelight when Godfrey III, Emperor of Renatus succumbed to a brief illness that shifted the adolescent’s influence in matters of importance.
For the majority of her reign, Adeline was known as absolute and frigid. Though she was young in age, her tenure as Empress within a time of war had forced a cold persona upon her. In the absence of her husband, she took the reins of the Empire and handled the majority of its dealings despite simply being a consort by name. Whilst she held little power in technicality, she utilised her words and commands as her husband would have. During the trials she conducted in regards to Marnan loyalists, many testified of a lack of mercy often given by the Empress: those being tried habitually executed. One of her most controversial decisions would be to behead Archbishop Zachery. Many were aghast when they heard of the Empress's allowance for his execution despite him being a man of the Cloth.
Due her harsh rulings, many could easily note the clashing between the Empress and crown prince of the Empire. The Crown Prince of the Empire, Achilius, was the brother of her husband; when asked in regards to her opinions of the boy, Adeline was not shy to lambaste his gentler rulings—going as far as to call him weak and short-sighted upon the matter. One of the trials to exemplify such clashes was one of Evie D’arkent, an aunt of Achilius that had married the marnan bastard, John D’arkent. Evie held a baby within her arms, having thrown herself unto the mercy of Renatian court for forgiveness and shelter. Whilst Adeline wanted to apprehend her child as hostage and sentence her to punishment for treason against the Crown, Achilius had overruled such statements in favour of simply forbidding her the use of the D’arkent name. Evie accepted, gleefully, whilst the dour Empress departed from the courtroom in indignant fury.
Habitually, the Empress expressed deep paranoia against those around her. As time progressed, she admitted that she had little trust and faith for those that circled the crown, to the point where she had admitted defeat on the matter of finding friendship. She was especially critical of the Varoche family, though the daughters of such a house had expressed easy kindness and amiability to the young Empress, due to their history and origins.
Despite her bellicose tendencies, throughout the later years of her reign, Adeline was known to have inclined herself unto the teachings of the canonist faith. In the absence of her parents, the young Empress was known to keep herself surrounded with advice originating from the Privy Council, specifically the Lord Justiciar, William Alstion. However, it was predominantly the High Pontiff that she lent her ear to in her last years as Empress. She kept close correspondence with Daniel VI and therefore spoke regularly with him. Quoting the High Pontiff often, her preferences shifted dramatically in favour of the Church and its reverent ways.
As the final years of her reign drew near, her husband’s absence had resulted in his call for regency. His brother, Achilius, was placed as Regent of the Empire afterwards of it’s conversion to become the Holy Orenian Empire, much to her dismay. Though Achilius was installed as regent, the young Empress’s tendency for command continued. She still acted to handle matters as she would have prior to the regency, meeting diplomats and matters of such. Nonetheless, it was evident that she had lost the power and influence gifted upon her in times prior. Achilius acted as a regent would, and their clash of ideologies only further forced her to take a step back from leadership. His ascension to Emperor had only solidified the distance between the two figureheads, wherein Adeline Margaret departed from the Empire upon being disgusted by his, in her opinion, deranged proclamations.
War of Two Emperors
Proving herself an adept statesman amongst her brethren, Adeline played a pivotal role in the war effort during her husband, the Emperor’s, absence. Thrust into holding court, trials, and various forms of diplomatic affairs throughout the war, she was instrumental in securing diplomatic deals with the Curonia, to usher them into the conflict as faithful allies.
The foreboding alliance of Curon and Renatus has dated back as far as the Czena conflict, nearly one hundred years ago. While the two foreign entities have fought alongside one another there has been no loss, no quarter and there has only been victory. But, let us not forget that it was the line of Pertinax that saw fit to ascend Curon to Curonia— A Duchy to a Kingdom— despite the outcries of the hillmen of the North. -The Tale of Dragon and Bear, 1717
The Diplomatic mission for the Kingdom of Curonia was her first official dealing with a large nation that fought within Joseph's horde. The young Empress was accompanied by a retinue of Dragon Knights, as well as the Men of Suffolk. They guarded her closely upon her entrance to the Court of Curon, yet would be forced to remain outside upon the beginning of her audience. Many in the Court of Curon spat insults in regards to the Renatian Empire, forcing a prolonged meeting due to the fervour of the nobility. The crown of Curonia expressed discontent with being a part of any Empire, regardless of it being under the rule of Joseph or Godfrey. Furthermore, the Empress was, astoundingly, told to remain largely silent as the Crown of Curon was forced to argue with its own nobility in regards to their potential treaty with the Imperium Renatum. Nonetheless, her primary point, when finally speaking, laid large focus upon Joseph Marna's refusal to grant Curonian Independence despite prior promises. Though the meeting would end in eventual success, a handful of men from Hanseti-Ruska had heard of the Empress's travel to Curonia, and thus made their way to the aforementioned city. A short shouting match ensued, in which they fervently accused the Curonians of being traitors for allowing such a meeting. The Empress would, fortunately, return to Renatus unscathed despite the last minute complication.
Further diplomatic deals she conducted would be the treaty with Sutica,Princedom of Fenn, as well as the meetings with Daniel VI of the Church of the Canon in regards to the schism of Renatus and the Canonist Church.
I'm starting to think that they spend more time writing than they do preparing to fulfil any of their promises of liberation. How can you liberate, when your soldiers cannot fight? -Adeline Margaret, in response to Joseph Marna's circular letters
As the war's end loomed close, and favour tipping to the Imperium Renatum, thoughts of Imperial Judgement upon the Marnans came to mind. Adeline would contrast her husband through her judgement of their Marnan cousins. Vocal against the pardoning of the those of Marna, the young Empress was scarcely delicate in regards to her judgement of their treason. Though young in age, Adeline would advocate for the complete eradication of the Horen-Marna line, a disparity to her Husband's decisions. However, despite holding such severe opinions at first, she would come to spare the bastard Marnan that had been known as John D'arkent. Those within her court were aghast and in shock for her lax sentencing, many attributing it to the fact that the bastard had, miraculously, made the young Empress laugh in his careless humour. Her punishment for his crimes included the mandatory condemnation of the Marnan line, though it would give birth to the Moniker "John of Nowhere" as she had outlawed the use of his Marnan lineage.
We do not stand in our city with our swords raised high. We stand outside of the cities of those who sought to bring us to damnation with our swords raised high, stood atop the piled corpses of the futile Marnanites. Routinely we rout the forces who sought to attack us, sending them reeling back to their own homes. This is no victorious march of blessed soldiers but rather the desperate fleeing of pathetic conscripts who have no true desire for victory. -Adeline Margaret, within "An Empress's Letter To a Priest"
Yet, regardless of her opinionated personality, the only official public work that she had published for the War was in the form of a circular letter. Upon receiving notification of Father Lochlan's letter against her Empire, she would publish a piece known as "An Empress's letter to a priest" [1]. She would not continue, nor pursue, the release of further personal statements afterwards of this circular letter.
Dissolution of Horen
Following the dissolution of House Horen as decreed by His Imperial Majesty, Godfrey II, in 1721 Adeline was no longer regarded as a Horen, taking on the family name of Cascadia in its place.
Death
On the 13th of the First Seed, 1725, Adeline and her mother Vivienne d'Amaury died on a voyage to their familiar holding of Alba. It is assumed that they were intending to escape the disastrous aftermath of John VII's abdication. The remains of their ship, the SS Elizabeth, which was led astray from its intended course by a tempest, is yet to be found—and in turn, as are the remains of the Empress and the Princess of Alstion.
Titles, Styles, and Honors
Titles and Styles
- 1709-1715: Her Imperial Highness, Princess Adeline of Alstion
- 1715-1721: Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress of Renatus
- 1721-1724: Her Imperial Majesty, the Holy Orenian Empress
- 1724–Present: Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Adeline
Full title as Empress
Her Imperial Majesty, Adeline of Alstion, Holy Orenian Empress consort, Queen consort of Cascadia
