House of Cascadia
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The House of Cascadia was a cadet branch of the Imperial House of Horen. Two of its members became emperors of Oren in the 18th Century. The House of Cascadia descended in the male line from Romulus, Duke of Cascadia, the second son of Augustus I. In time, it also merged into the senior line of all the Pertinax Dynasty - the House of Helane, when the Cascadian heiress married the head of the House of Helane, Peter III who was Antonius I's son and heir. Compared with it's dynastic rival's, the House of Helane and the House of Alstion, it had an inferior claim to the throne of Oren according to agnatic primogeniture. The reign of the Cascadian dynasty ended with the abdication of John VII in 1725. The line then became extinct with the death of Lorena of Augustin, in 1767.
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Descent from Augustus I
Romulus, Duke of Cascadia (2nd of Malin's Welcome, 1692 – 10th of The First Seed, 1725) was a son of Augustus I, Emperor of Man and Helen of Carolustadt, the second of their three sons. He was the founder of the House of Cascadia following the Dissolution of Horen, but it was through his first son, Godfrey that the Cascadian faction made its claim to the throne following the Renatian Victory in the War of Two Emperors. The other faction in the War of Two Emperors, the Marnantines, were descendants of Prince Alexander, Duke of Marna - second born son of John I, Holy Orenian Emperor.
War of Two Emperors
Despite his succession to the throne of Renatus in 1715, Godfrey III was denied a peaceful transition of power by supporters of the Marnantine Joseph I, particularly Marius II of Haense and Alfred Myre, Prince of Ves. Despite not having rightful claim to the Renatian crown or its land, Joseph Leopold Horen-Marna was crowned as Holy Orenian Emperor in the city of Reza by High Pontiff Everard V.
The War of Two Emperors began later in the same year, with the Battle of Upper Rodenburg. Initially, Godfrey was vastly outnumbered in the large scale conflict as all of the old enemies that Renatus had once conquered joined the Marnantine cause. It was not until Grand Harvest 1716 that his claim as Emperor of Renatus was secured. In that year the Renatians had defeated the larger Orenian force during the Siege of Helena. Godfrey further strengthened his claim to the throne with two more decisive victories at the battles of the Rivers and Leuven. In 1720, Orenian support was virtually snuffed out during the Battle of the Koengswald, in the course of which was Renatus' eighth major victory during the war.
Reigns of the Cascadian Emperors
The early reign of Godfrey II was marred by Marnantine plotting and uprisings in favour of Joseph I. However, Godfrey was able to secure his throne and hold onto it for the next nine years, despite tension still in the air with the Marnantine sympathisers still being vassals under Godfrey.
On Godfrey's abdication in 1724, the crown of Holy Orenian Emperor passed to his ten year old brother, now regally known as John Achilles (previously simply Achilius). Godfrey and John's father Romulus was appointed as regent in the boy king's place. Only a year afterwards, John, suffering from the ill-advice of councilors, abdicated his throne in favor of an elective empire, being afterwards evacuated from the lands of Arcas, taking the title of 'Duke of Augustin' for himself in his exit.
As Dukes of Augustin
After a significant time of his absence, the title of Augustin passed from John Achilles onto his younger sister, the last Cascadian, Laurentina, now known as 'Lorena'. She became a significant figure in the new protectorate of Oren by participating in the city government of Helena, eventually going on to marry their Helane cousin, Antony, patrilineally. Antony would later be declared the true heir to the Holy Orenian Empire on the Lord Protector's death, and on Lorena and Antony's dual ascension as Emperor and Empress, the House of Cascadia was declared defunct, and all cascadian claims transferred to their respective heir's new dynasty (the House of Novellen), where they remain today.
