Commonwealth of Kaedrin

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Kingdom of Kaedrin
kaedrin flag.jpg
Flag of the Commonwealth of Kaedrin
Capital: red ves.png Red City of Ves
Government: Elective Constitutional Monarchy
King: Adrian I of Kaedrin
Governor-General: Richard de Reden
Preceded by:

S7mR2UZ.png Order of the White Rose (1414)
PrinceofVesCOA.png Republic of Ves (1726)

The Commonwealth of Kaedrin is a part of the Holy Orenian Empire and is located North of The Cloud Temple, encompassing the territories of Mount St. Catherine, the County of Guise and the Hedgerow Fields.

History

See also: History of Kaedrin

The modern-day Commonwealth of Kaedrin is the historical successor to a number of previous entities, the governmental systems of all having been drawn upon and refined in order to provide the content for this document. The first Kingdom of Kaedrin, proclaimed at Ard Kerrack in 1414, serves as the genesis point of centuries of Kaedreni culture. Widely understood as ‘not a state with an army, but an army with a state’, the first kingdom was inextricably linked to the Order of the White Rose, from which the sovereign and Grand Master was elected in a pseudo-democratic system among the order’s membership.

The first kingdom was dissolved with the Exodus of 1420, along with the knightly chapter. The Chivays later refocused their efforts towards Imperial ambitions, with the crown of Kaedrin becoming a subsidiary title to successive Orenian monarchs. In the early 16th century under the rule of King Olivier, the Commonwealth of Kaedrin was established on the frontier of the realm. Drawing on the democratic prototype (Though with no military order to speak of), the first Commonwealth was chiefed by a vassal magnate, elected in a ‘free election’ by members of the Kaedreni gentry. This entity persisted until the death of the last magnate, Cantonus Chivay, in 1543 and the absorption of Kaedreni land into the Duchy of Lorraine with the Act of Merger issued by Emperor John I.

The current Commonwealth of Kaedrin has risen from the ashes of the old Republic of Ves, promoted by the House of Helvets who emigrated to the free city, bringing Kaedreni culture and philosophy with them all the while. Technically, the realm is in a state of legal personal union between Kaedrin and Ves, and while the latter does take a secondary role to the former on paper, a great many democratic processes are drawn from both systems in order to form the government of the new Commonwealth - an elective monarchy and quasi-military state unique in its role within the Holy Orenian Empire.

Realm of the White Rose

The first Kingdom of Kaedrin was established as not a state with an army, but an army with a state, the army therein being the infamous Order of the White Rose of yore. This military realm was in many ways a pseudo-democracy, with the kingship tied to the office of Grand Master which was elected from among the institution’s knightly membership.

St. Peter I of the House of Chivay (r. 1414 - 1420)

The first King of Kaedrin, Peter the First rose from Aeldenic mercenary to sovereign of the era’s most indisputably powerful realm in a lifetime. As founder and Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose, Peter’s service (And that of his knight-brothers) to the Emperor in conquering the elven tribes of Malinor led to the formation of the kingdom from the newly settled western frontier. A policy of expansion, colonization and forced conversion followed that would establish Kaedrin in the annals of history as a quasi-military settler state. In 1420, he abdicated his throne with the Exodus, with the gentryman Edmond Brunswick (St. Edmond) becoming elected Grand Master. As he was of too low birth to accede to the throne in proper, the title of King of Kaedrin reverted to William I, who was Holy Orenian Emperor.

Later, around c. 1426, the Emperor would be forced to grant the lands of Kaedrin and the west to the King of the Harrenites, Lachlan Mor Elendil, which would precipitate the Harrenite War. The defeat of the Harrenites in this conflict by Prophet Sigismund and his Karovic heirs would result in their adoption of the style of ‘King of Kaedrin’, until the assassination of Francis the Martyr in 1456.

The Third Empire

The Kingdom of Kaedrin was restored, in part, in 1456, when Peter the First returned thirty-six years after the catastrophic Exodus to claim the title of Holy Orenian Emperor in the chaos that followed King Francis’ assassination in 1456.

St. Peter I of the House of Chivay (2nd. r. 1456 - 1462)

With the help of his nephew, Robert, and Imperial Fieldmarshal, Vibius Hanseticus de Sola, Peter cowed the quarrelsome nobility of the era, returning to the throne of Kaedrin while serving concurrently as Holy Orenian Emperor. This ushered in the Third Empire, bringing about a new age of human domination over the world with the construction of the cities of Kaldonia, Tempum and finally Petrus. Peter’s reign as Holy Orenian Emperor would reign victorious over the nonhumans who engaged him in war, falling each and every time, with those enemies he had within the Empire cowed by his domineering, charismatic presence. Already a venerable man of 96 by the time of his second ascension, Peter I died in his sleep at the age of 102, having reigned for six golden years.

Robert I of the House of Chivay (r. 1462 - 1467)

It was Peter’s nephew, Robert, who succeeded him to the throne of the Holy Orenian Empire and of Kaedrin. The son of Thomas Chivay and his half-elven bride, Robert’s status as a quadroon of elvish blood proved increasingly unpopular with his subjects, who had spent most of their lifetime fighting an eternal war against mendacious nonhuman polities. This was complicated by rumoured dalliances with pagan rituals in the deep woods of the Crownlands. When he made a humiliating peace with the nonhumans, the proverbial knives came out. Though he was not entirely uncharismatic, Robert did not bear the same imposing presence as his uncle, and after five years of rule was deposed by Vibius Hanseticus, who seized the capital city with the aid of the Duke of Ruska and Richard de Bar.

The Duke of Ruska’s acclamation as Holy Orenian Emperor spelled the functional end of the Kingdom of Kaedrin as a political entity, leading to its absorption to the Imperial Crown. Successive rulers of humanity would continue to use the style, however, as an addendum upon their titles.

The Old Commonwealth

The New Commonwealth

Culture and Society

Demographics

Many cultures and ethnicities left their mark on the Red City throughout its numerous leadership changes, from Illatian Patrician families to Qalasheen immigrants, however the majority of its current population is Kaedreni.

Religion

The Church of the Canon is the official religion of the Commonwealth, and Prophet Owyn is its patron Prophet. A modern testimony to Kaedreni religious life is the Monastery of Saint Robert, which hosts numerous community services tied to daily life in the Commonwealth, such as the Jolly Boar Inn, the Library of Ves and the Almshouse.

Politics

Military