John d'Arkent

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John I of Sunholdt Duke of Sunholdt Tenure: 6th of The Deep Cold, 1726-Present Predecessor: Title Created Successor: TBA Born: 12th of Malin's Welcome, 1699, Arkent, Aeldin Spouse: Evie of Curonia (m. 1719 - died 1724) Vespira of Oren (m. 1728) House: d'Arkent Father: Emperor Joseph I Mother: Unknown

John I of Sunholdt (12th of Horen's Welcome, 1699 - pres.), is the reigning Duke of Sunholdt, as the bastard son of Joseph I, Holy Orenian Emperor. He is noted for his continual civil service to the Orenian crown throughout his life, serving in a number of positions under the governance of various leaders during The Troubles.

Youth & Adolescence

John d’Arkent was born in Arkent, a province in Aeldin home to several members of the Line of Marna, including John’s father, Emperor Joseph. A loveless childhood, he and his brother Henry were shown great care in educational pursuits, but not affection. John and his younger brother would often vy for their father’s praise, earning it here and there, till John came to the age of 16 after his father had taken up the mantle of rebellion against the Empire of Man.

A purely nepotistic endeavor, perhaps to expand Joseph’s thus far meager legacy through a gentry branch, Joseph I knighted John after a few small skirmishes that the young man had participated in. It was not long after that, due to the inherent lack of an Imperial military, John was assigned the construction and command of Joseph’s Lions, the Emperor’s own soldiery.

It was at this time that Ursulua ‘Evie’ Devereux arrived in Ves to treat with Joseph I. As a gesture of good faith, Joseph offered John, his bastard son, in marriage with the young Evie. It was John’s constant insistence to his father that he marry a princess that urged the Emperor to press the union and be done with the pestering. Alas, before it had time to expand into something practical, the Siege of Helena came.

John’s experience during the Siege is not a mystery. At the tail end of the final charge of the breach of Helena’s walls, a loose stone fell from the shattered walls. It struck John in the head, rendering him unconscious in a place which would soon become a graveyard for his comrades. Hours later, awakening and dragging himself out of a pile of corpses, he dredged back to Ves, avoiding Pertinaxi patrols. In a last-ditch effort to save his father’s failing war effort, John gathered what lords he could and insisted that they name John himself regent in the disappearance of his father. The lords scoffed at the idea of this no-name bastard, and opted instead to dismantle the war effort and succumb to the Pertinaxi; likely the wisest choice.

Assemblyman and Censure

With the war ended and John’s father disappeared across the oceans, he resolved himself. He ran for the Assembly in Ves, and eventually attained the office of Censure. He performed well in that office, publishing a successful census and participating in the government workings of the Golden City which he had grown to love.

His marriage with Evie remained strong, though lacking passion. Their two children, Julia Esme and Andrew Joseph, were very young when John foolishly wandered into Helena, only to be captured by the Pertinaxi Dragon Knights. Thrown at the feet of Empress Adeline, he participated in his own personal brand of diplomacy, speaking as a realist, taking little seriously, and turning everything he could into laughs.

It was successful. The Empress Adeline spared his life, later citing only that he was ‘too funny to kill.’ However, she demands of him on the condition of his life. First, that he make a public announcement condemning the continued resistance of Haense. Second, that he would acknowledge that she had stripped him of his d’Arkent name, as it angered her to know a Marnan house still existed. Fearing the Pertinaxi regime would continue to hunt his family despite sparing him, John sent his wife, Evie, and his two children off to live with his father Joseph across the sea. However, the ship was entirely lost at sea, though word of this would not reach John for over two years.

It was not long after Ide Haraccus took the throne of Ves and abandoned it than the Kaedreni arrived. They resented John for denouncing Haense and his own father at Adeline’s request, and veiled threats began being delivered constantly by the Caer Bann (progenitors of the soon to come Kaedreni Army).

The Kaedreni had successfully let John know he was not welcome, yet he had nowhere to go. Before the internal Kaedreni conquest of Ves was complete, after Helton Helvets (the future King Adrian I of Kaedrin) had taken the role of regent in the absence of Ide Haraccus, the short-lived Two Month War occured. The Dwarves had decisively crushed the destabilized Empire that had been left over from the War of Two Emperors, sending it into complete disarray. Control of Helena changed hands many times over the course of a month. However, a claimant from across the sea, Alexander II, found the support of the vassals. After some political dialogue, he was installed in Helena.

It was not long until the ambitious young John sent Alexander a letter begging for an opportunity to serve him in any capacity, but especially at the highest levels of state. Surprisingly, Alexander and the Regency Council, led by High Pontiff Daniel V, not only accepted John’s assistance, but appointed him as Archchancellor.

As Archchancellor Under Alexander II

Under the meticulous and cautious management of Sir John d’Arkent, the Selm Ministry supervised the establishment of the Imperial Cabinet in 1730 under the purview of Frederick Armas, the Chief of Staff. In the years previous to this, the Privy Council was found to be supremely ineffective. Alexander II suffered various diplomatic disasters as well as a general failure of the Imperial Crown to secure any authority over the vassals of the realm.

It was within two years of arriving in Helena to sit at his seat that John met Vespira Antonia de Helane, daughter of Emperor Antonius I. Her, along with several other vestiges of the pertinaxi court, remained in Helena after Alexander’s ascent to the throne. His courtship of her was a quick one, seizing hold of her attention through his rambunctiousness and jovial theatrics. Despite the Empress Mother, Cesarina’s protests, John’s influence could not stop her from succumbing to his demands that Vespira and him wed.

When Leufroy de Amaury appeared before Alexander II, the Emperor granted Leufroy the Duchy of Lorraine and land adjacent to the Duchy of Adria. This was despite John’s protests to gifting such a new face such a prestigious title, and land so close to another vassal. It was not long before conflict arose between the Duke of Adria, Adrian de Sarkozy, and Lotharingians. This feud quickly spread to include Haense on the side of Adria, and Kaedrin on the side of Lorraine. When Kaedreni soldiers were accused of attacking a Haensemen after months of high tensions, both Adria and Haense rallied and marched on Kaedrin, where the men of Lorraine stood with the Kaedreni outside their gates.

The Archchancellor stood between the two armies, and insisted that this conflict was the result of Lorraine’s lawless actions and sewing of dissent, and declared them enemies of the state. King Adrian I of Kaedrin submitted to the Archchancellor’s insistence, and commanded the Kaedreni to separate from the men of Lorraine. Soon after, Lorraine was destroyed and Duke Leufroy stripped of his titles. After several months of skirmishes, John d’Arkent and Prince Otto Sarkozic leading several of the conflicts, the last vestiges of the Lotharingian insurgents were wiped out.

It was not long after this endeavor that Alexander succumbed to John’s innate pressure and gifted him the Barony of Selm, an estate across the River Ari from the walls of Helena. However, it would be decades before the land was developed, as John was entirely focused on affairs of state and politics.

It was not long after this that Alexander II’s loose grip on the crown was shown, as the Baron Selm, in a theatrical display, tried and sentenced the Emperor’s own mother to banishment for her sympathy for the Lotharingians. When the Empress-Mother attacked the Baron Selm with a knife, his wife, Vespira of Helane, drove a dagger through the Empress Mother’s heart. Despite his own mother being murdered, the Baron Selm selfishly used his de facto authority to force the Emperor to spare his wife a deserve execution.

In the wake of the imperial vassals uniting against the Imperial Crown in an attempt to force it to recognize certain rights, Alexander II grew gravely ill. With no heir capable of holding the Empire together, the Baron Selm and Frederick Armas met with Duke Adrian de Sarkozy, appealing to his sense of pride. In secret, John d’Arkent offered him the title of Lord Protector should the Emperor die from his illness. Not long after, exactly that happened, and upon John d’Arkent’s proposal to the vassals of the Imperium, they took a vote, unanimously electing Duke Adrian as Lord Protector. With this, he had hoped to both damage the solidarity of the vassal bloc that had come to oppose imperial authority by taking one of its leading figures. It had been a tiresome and tumultuous tenure lasting nearly ten years, avoiding the brink of both external and internal wars. Believing Adrian de Sarkozy capable of bringing tangible manpower to the Imperial Crown, John d’Arkent resigned his position and retired to lesser roles in Imperial governance.

As Secretary of Intelligence

Serving under the Archchancellor Peter the Poor, John was an entirely ineffective Secretary of Intelligence. He spent much of his time in this position drinking, alone. By this time his wife, Vespira, had disappeared, with no word as to where she had gone or if she had returned. He grew enraged with the reign of Lord Adrian and Peter the Poor, their diplomatic zeal constantly landing them in hot water.

Bitter and angry, he saw opportunity in the establishment of a legislative body meant both to unify the Empire, and offer as a system by which Imperial power is divided amongst more than just the combined executive, legislative and judicial power of the Imperial Crown. Along with Frederick Armas, they would draft and found the Imperial Diet, with John as the first Vice Chancellor, and president of the Senate.

As Vice Chancellor

Despite being thrust in a position meant to be entirely committed to the management of the Senate, John could not keep himself from participating in the highest levels of diplomatic affairs with an egregious level of perseverance, not dissimilar from his tenure as Archchancellor.

It was during this time the Senate voted on the Imperial Flag, the symbol of the Orenian nation. It was a tie in the Senate, with Simon Basrid pushing for red and Frederick Armas pushing for purple. Famously, John was the tie-breaker as Vice Chancellor. He could not decide himself, and as proof of his indecisiveness, he flipped a coin, rendering the national flag red.

Yet not long after his constant absence from the Senate began to raise questions, Lord Protector Adrian grew deathly ill and died, resulting in sudden chaos. John was essentially left out of the loop during this crisis, unable to press his own strong claim for the throne. Despite his frustration with Peter’s appointment in place of his own, he resolved himself to continue his service, with the Empire in such dire straits after years of constant turmoil, and a potential coalition biting at its heels.

Yet this peace would not last, as the Morsgradi would inflame tensions with the Kingdom of Haense, demanding a field battle. It was their primitive form of a trial. The Emperor, Peter III, defended the Haensemen, and so the Pointless War began. The first few years of the conflict saw many losses inflicted upon the Orenian army, and even the Kingdom of Curon defected and went to the side of the Alliance of Independent States. King Pierce I had died of illness and his regent, Angelo de Alba, had plunged Curon into chaos, ineptitude, and rebellion. Once a woman, Ester Rose Devereux, overthrew the rebel Regent of Curon and returned it to the Empire, John was dispatched there to ensure stability and keep away the tendrils of the AIS from polluting the woman’s reign as Governess.

Tenure in Curonia

In Avalain, John found the government and populace of Curonia in complete disarray. He met with Ester Rose and touted his experience in politics and statebuilding, pressing her into giving him permission to reform her government. He did, modeling the Curonian Cabinet after Frederick Armas’ Cabinet of State and naming himself Curonia’s First Minister. In his short time there, however, the Curonian Cabinet was staffed by Imperial malcontents, constantly pushing against his proposals for reformation and appointments, convinced his only goal was to wipe out Curonian culture and create a puppet state.

With little success, and his wife missing for nearly a decade, John turned to Ester for comfort. The Black Prince of Rubern, her husband, and a man that John had marched on Kaedrin with nearly a decade before, had tried to kill her, and so she too was drowning in sorrow along with the immense pressure of restoring Curon. They had a short-lived affair. It was during his tenure here that Emperor Peter III gifted him the title Duke of Sunholdt, in hopes that if he married Ester, John could reform the Kingdom into the Duchy of Sunholdt, effectively reforming the region with a new family and fresh ideals. His ambition bit him when Ester refused to marry him, despite him ensuring her marriage was annulled and his wife was declared dead by the Church.

After his failure, their affair ended with her death when she was captured and executed by the Morsgradi Duke, Godric.

John had failed to reform Curon, due to his own inability along with the failure of the Curonians to accept his help out of their own paranoia. He had assumed his previous experience would render him capable of such a simple task, but had not accounted for the anti-imperial sentiment, and knew not how else to govern than in an Imperial way. With the rise of a new regime in Curonia under the young heir to King Pierce, John found himself unneeded in Curon anymore.

Elsewhere in the Empire, the war had slowed down quite a bit, and Helena had begun to grow into a blossoming metropolis, the systems of government and the Senate becoming cornerstones of Imperial life. Modernity had come to the Empire, one John had laid some of the foundation for, and he was resolved that watering his own gardens were where he would be most effective.

Return to Oren

Upon returning to Helena, he reunited with his children and they began construction of the barony that Emperor Alexander II had granted him; Selm. His son, Daniel Louis, was the primary architect, and John jubilated in the brilliance of his six children by Vespira, his second wife. Ambitious to the last, he had imparted upon them his core ideals of meritocracy and the value of sharing drink and revel with their peers.

Daniel Louis, his legal heir, a playful vagabond that took little seriously. An artistic genius whose murals and architectural ideas astounded many in the Crownlands and the Empire.

John Sigismund, John’s namesake, a quiet man with little ambition. Fiercely loyal to his family and the Empire, his skill as a warrior makes up for much of his shortcomings.

Mary Philippa, his eldest daughter, a brilliant businesswoman and financial guru. By far the wealthiest d’Arkent, and the wealthiest woman in the Empire, John would be particularly proud of her accomplishments, including her ascension to Undersecretary of Treasury. He would bless her marriage to the wealthiest burgher of Helena, Green Carrington, despite Green’s common blood.

Alexander Louis, a diligent man who spent hours with John brewing different alcohols, from golden whiskeys to red wines and cheap ales. John took great pride in having a son so skilled a brewer, John being a famous drunk himself.

Charlotte Cecelia, a studious girl with a rebellious streak. By the time Charlotte would wed Duke Leopold Helvets of Cathalon, John would be convinced Charlotte hated him, believing everything he had to be gifted and not earned. John would command her to leave Selm and not return, if she hated it so, and so their relationship was destroyed likely irreparable.

Peter Baldwin, John’s most successful son. By the age of twenty-four, Peter had achieved the status of Captain of the Imperial State Army as well as Lord Mayor of Helena. John and Peter could often be found drinking in Helena’s tavern, carousing with the tavern goers as John had done in his youth in Ves.

Once Selm’s construction was complete, several years of constant revelry ensued in Selm. The gardens and palace were flushed with jubilation of Imperial aristocracy as the drank, gossipped, and enjoyed each other's company. These last few years would be John’s high point in his life, though the parties slowed down a bit.

As Chief Justice

Joseph Clement de Sarkozy contacted John regarding his nomination to the Supreme Court. John revelled in the idea, thinking it the perfect place for him to live out his remaining years and continue his service to the Empire. He would accept, though the Senate would just barely confirm him, Vice Chancellor Joachim Haas breaking a tie in the vote in his favor. Even Terrence May, his old comrade from his years under Alexander, had voted against his confirmation for fear that John’s drinking would affect his tenure.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Marriage
Joseph Henry d'Arkent	1720	Missing	Unwed	Firstborn son to Evie and John d'Arkent. Presumed missing at sea
Julia Esme d'Arkent	1721	Missing	Unwed	Firstborn daughter to Evie and John d'Arkent. Presumed missing at sea
Daniel Louis d'Arkent	1727	Alive	Unwed	Firstborn son to Vespira and John d'Arkent
John Sigismund d'Arkent	1728	Alive	Unwed	Secondborn son to Vespira and John d'Arkent
Mary Philippa d'Arkent	1730	Alive	Green Carrington	Firstborn daughter to Vespira and John d'Arkent
Alexander Joseph d'Arkent	1731	Alive	Unwed	Thirdborn son to Vespira and John d'Arkent
Peter Baldwin d'Arkent	1732	Alive	Tatiana of Alban	Fourthborn son to Vespira and John d'Arkent. Twin to Charlotte
Charlotte Cecilia d'Arkent	1732	Alive	Leopold Guy Helvets, Duke of Cathalon	Secondbornborn daughter to Vespira and John d'Arkent. Twin to Peter