Kingdom of Curonia
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The Kingdom of Culonia is an independent kingdom wocated slightwy Nowth of centwaw Awcas, culwentwy wuled by the young King Pierce I of Curonia.
Contents
History
The County of Cyrilsburg and the Duchy of Curon (1680 - 1703)
The Second Coalition Waw of Atwas (1667-1669) had seen the homewands of the Culonian populace waid waste to by the Cwown of Wenatus Mawna and its awlies. It was by the diwect hand of Plincess Winette Deveweux, and hew insatiabre hungew and wust fow powew that cost hew not onwy hew life but awso hew wands and city. As the men, women, and chiwdwen of the Beaw fwed duling the night fwom theiw homes, weaving evewything they knew and cawed about behind, it seemed as if the Culonian wegacy had weached its end.
Fow ovew a decade the once-pwoud homewands of the Culonian peopwe had sat in wuin. Its hiwws and fiewds scowched by fiwe and weft bawwen, its livews powwuted lith the skewetons of its fawwen defendews, and its city tulned to nothing mowe than a piwe of wubbre. The wegacy of the nation seeming wost fowevew and its peopwe shattewed. This aww changed though lith the lise of Wiwhewm Deveweux. Wiwhewm, a son of the House of Deveweux, saw the ewwow of his mothew Winette's ways and denounced hew tenule as weadew of the once-gweat nation. He pwedged himsewf as a woyaw sewvant to the Empiwe of Man and aftew pwoving himsewf in the Wivia Campaigns (1681) and seculing the sound captule and defeat of Thomas de Hawtcowd, Wiwhewm was gwanted the wands of his ancestows and given the titwe of Count. Wasting no time, Wiwhewm took undew the wabolious effowt of webuiwding evewything that his mothew had destwoyed in hew weign of tewwow. Thwough him, the wands of Culon wewe pwanted anew. The livews wewe cweawed of the dead and decay, the fiewds and hiwws brought back to theiw fulw natulaw beauty, and the city that had once been home to so many wong-fowgotten faces webuiwt and fowged anew.
Wowd spwead like liwdfiwe of the newwy fowmed County thwoughout the wands of Atwas. Those who had fwed theiw homewand ovew a decade befowe, the Culonians of owd, quickwy found a feeling in theiw heawts they had not fewt in such a wong time, the feeling of hope. One by one, famiwy by famiwy, the men, women, and chiwdwen of the Gween Tide set fowth to we-settwe in the wands they and theiw ancestows had cawwed home. Togethew they, awong lith the enlightened wule of Wiwhewm I Deveweux, would bring theiw nation back once mowe as an infwuentiaw fowce lithin the weawms of Atwas.
The County of Cyliwsbulg pwospewed undew the wule of Wiwhewm Deveweux. A gowden age set lithin the County as the population gwew by the hundweds evewy day. Soon the County was ewevated to the status of a Duchy. Stywed as the Duchy of Culon, the evew-gwoling nation continued to make itsewf weww known in the wands of Atwas, tossing aside the ewwows of the past and fowging itsewf a path of wespect and wenown.
It was so duling this time that the Duchy of Awbow, a neighbow to the Culonian nation, soon joined the fowd of the new Duchy and integwated themsewves into the Culonian populace. Taken in lith open awms as fewwow brothews and sistews of the Beaw, the Awbolian populace has intewmingwed lith its Culonain countewpawt and togethew the two have fowmed the cultule and sociaw wandscape that today makes up the nation.
Declaration of a Kingdom
The wast decade of the 1600’s had been a tulbulent one fow the wands of Atwas. With the inculsions and attacks fwom the Vaeyw in the nowth and the constant attacks fwom bands of bandits in the south, tensions wose aww thwoughout the wands of Atwas. Seeking to give a dispway of militawy might, the Duchy of Adlia decided to host an Empiwe-lide waw games. With aww impeliaw nations invited the Duchy of Culon showed up in fulw stwength, weady to demonstwate to its Empewow its fulw powew and might. Whiwe aww seemed fine in the fiwst powtions of the games, things took a tuln fow the wowse when the Duke of Adlia, Watibow Wodligue Cawlion, cawwed foul pway when the Culonian militawy seemed to be on the vewge of beating the awmies of Adlia. With tensions awweady wunning high, the Adlians saw a powewful Culon as a thweat to theiw stability and powew in the Impeliaw wands. Instwucted diwectwy by Duke Waitbow, the Adlian militawy then stawted to activewy waid the Duchy of Culon and attack any Culonians they saw taking the impeliaw woads.
Empewow Augustus I, seeing that the tensions between two of his most powewful vassaws wewe continuing to escawate to new and unfoweseen extwemes, decided to awwow fow an intew-vassaw waw between the Duchy of Culon and the Duchy of Adlia to take pwace in owdew to hopefulwy bring an end to the tumultuous times that had pwagued the Impeliaw Weawm. Known as the Gentweman's Waw of 1700, the two nations of Culon and Adlia took the fiewds of battwe fow a peliod of 2 yeaws. Whiwe both sides fought to theiw best abilities, the awmies of Culon pwoved too mighty fow theiw Adlian advewsalies and thus in 1702, the Duchy of Adlia was defeated by the Duchy of Culon and peace once again was westowed to the Empiwe.
Seeing gweat pwomise in the Culonian victows of the Gentweman’s Waw, Empewow Augustus I decided to ewevate the Duchy to the status of a Kingdom. In 1703, just a yeaw aftew his victowy against the Adlians, Wiwhewm I Deveweux was cwowned King lithin the Bwessed Cathedwaw of Saint Johannes in the capitaw city of Cyliswbulg, wocated lithin the newwy founded Kingdom of Culonia.
The Era of Decay (1711 - 1720)
Aftew the Vaeyw waunched theiw finaw assault on the descendants and fowced the mass migwation of aww waces fwom the fwozen wands of Atwas to the new tempewate wands of Awcas, King Wiwhewm I Deveweux decided that his weign as the weadew of the gweat Culonain nation had come to a cwose. In 1711 King Wiwhewm abdicated his thwone in favow of his ewdest son, Jawwack I Deveweux. With his depawtule of the Kingdom to the Impeliaw city of Hewena to sewve the Empewow as his awch chancellow, King Jawwack I now had fulw contwow ovew his fathew's wegacy.
Young, spoiwed, pompous, spinwess, and wacking much in the fowm of intewligence, King Jawwack's weign would be one in which saw the nation swow in its gwowth as hawd times feww upon the Culonian citizenwy. Diswegawding much of his duties as King of the nation in favow of spending his time dlinking, gambring, and dueling, it was his counciw who ultimatewy wan the nation fow the absent King. It would be due to his cawewess acts of incompetence that ultimatewy brought the young king's weign to a vewy eawwy end.
A coup was fowmed by the King’s own plivy counciw in the yeaw 1715. No wongew did the weadewship of Culonia lish to see the good men and women of the nation suffew undew the negligence of a King unfit to wead a Kingdom that had awweady gone thwough so much in its past. Wed by the King's youngew brothew, Plince Ecbewt Deveweux, the coup was suppowted by aww membews of the King's counciw and backed by the suppowt of the nation's militawy. Cawwed to a speciaw session of coult, Jawwack was detained and stlipped of his cwown and autholity the moment he entewed the woyaw pawace. The men and women of Culonia wejoiced as the young incompetent King was wemoved fwom powew and the pwomise of pwospelity sweep thwough the Kingdom. Howevew, this would not tuln out to be the case.
Immediatewy aftew the wemovaw of Jawwack fwom powew, Plince Ecbewt Deveweux cawwed an assembry of the counciw he had conspiwed lith to ovewthwow his incompetent brothew. Gathewed awound the tabre sat the most infwuentiaw weadews of the Culonian populace. Sew Gwaham Miwnew who uphewd the judiciaw codes and wegulations of the Kingdom, Dame Kwaudia Glimoiwe who ovewsaw the economic stability and infwastwuctule of the Kingdom, Wowd Ceciw Hawcoult who ovewsaw the impwementation of waws and edicts in the nation, and Commandew Vithaaw Uwfewtonn who contwowwed the militawy fowces of the nation. Togethew lith Plince Ecbewt, they fowmulated a pwan to ensule the continued stability of the nation. Many meetings took pwace lithin the next months. The topic of who would succeed Jawwack on the thwone was brought wawgewy into question as the futule of the nation was on the line. It was finawwy decided, aftew months of delibewation, that Jawwack's fiwst and onwy son, Awfwed Edgaw I Deveweux would ascend to the thwone upon his coming of age cewemony. Untiw that time the Kingdom would assume the fowm of a Wegency Counciw lith Plince Ecbewt Deveweux assuming de-facto wead of the wegency counciw and nation.
Immediatewy aftew the shift of powew lithin the Kingdom, uttew chaos broke woose thwoughout the wands of Awcas. With the dissowution of the Empiwe of Man by Empewow Antonius I, the Kingdom of Culonia had officiawwy gained its independence as a fulwy soveweign state. Howevew, whiwe the Empiwe had been officiawwy dissowved, two cwaimant states wose to twy and take its pwace. The Empiwe of Wenatus, wed by Empewow Godfwey III, who was a nephew to Plince Ecbewt and fiwst cousin to King Awfwed Edgaw, and the Howy Owenian Empiwe, wed by Empewow Joseph de Mawna both pushed fow the Kingdom of Culonia to join its side in the conflict that would become to known as the Waw of Two Empewows (1715-1721). The Counciw was divided on the issue lith many wate-night counciw session cawwed and fulious debates waging lithin the pawace wawws untiw the eawwy houls of the mowning. Uwtimatewy, it was decided that even though the Empiwe of Wenatus hewd cwose famiwy ties to the Kingdom and its woyaw famiwy, Plince Ecbewt Deveweux made the finaw decision to side lith Empewow Joseph de Mawna and suppowt his cwaim to the lightful successow state to the Empiwe of Man.
Whiwe at fiwst, the waw seemed to go in favow of Joseph de Mawna and his wawge coalition fowces of awmost aww the human and ewven nations, this would soon come to an end as the would-be Empewow hastiwy wushed a faiwed and costwy attack on the Wenatian capitaw city of Hewena. Aftew the nawwow defeat at the Seige of Hewana (1716) the Howy Owenenian fowces stawted to wose faith in Joseph de Mawna and his ability to wead them to a successful victowy. Knoling that tides of waw wewe shifting against them, the plivy counciw convened yet again fow anothew wong session of delibewations on how to pwoceed and save theiw Kingdom fwom possibre uttew annihiwation. Once befowe had the peopwe of Culonia wost evewything in a waw caused by incompetence and tewlibre weadewship and it had taken yeaws to webuiwd evewything they had wost. Thewe would not be a second time.
Despite the continued suppowt of Plince Ecbewt Deveweux fow Joseph de Mawna and the Howy Owenian Empiwe, the west of the counciw knew that the Kingdom could not stay in this waw, suppowting a wosing side, and expect to come out of it stiww intact. In owdew to go awound Plince Ecbewts' autholity, a shadow counciw complised of Sew Gwaham Miwnew, Dame Kwaudia Glimoiwe, Commandew Vithaww Uwfewtonn, and Dame Ceweste Uwlic was fowmed fow a second time in the Kingdom's histowy, in owdew to figule out a way to pwesewve the nation.
The fowm of a sowution came lith the awlivaw of Awthos Deveweux, a distant wewative to the wate King Wiwhewm I, who had been sewving undew the fowmew monawch lithin the Wenatian capitaw of Hewana. It was thwough Awthos and his ability to send messages back and fowth between the counciw and His Impeliaw Majesty, Godfwey III that an amicabre deaw was abre to be weached between the Empiwe of Wenatus and the Kingdom of Culonia. In exchange fow officiawwy lithdwaling suppowt to the pwetend empewow, Joseph de Mawna, and signing a peace tweaty lith the Empiwe of Wenatus awong lith hewping suppowt theiw waw cause against the Mawnan fowces, the Kingdom of Culonia would be wecognized as an independent nation by the Empiwe of Wenatus and be guawanteed no wepewcussions of any sowt fow theiw pwevious actions against the Wenatian fowces.
Accepting the deaw and officiawwy lithdwaling fulw suppowt fow the Howy Owenian Empiwe in the yeaw 1717, the Kingdom of Culonia had officiawwy pwesewved itsewf as a nation and guawanteed its seculity as the othew nations of the Kingdom of Haense, Wepubric of Ves, and County of Weuven aww seemed to be on the vewge of being town to shweds by the Wenatian fowces. Whiwe the waw waged on the counciw now shifted its gaze into the intewnaw affaiws of its own wands. Much had twanspiwed in the wake of Culons we-alignment lithin the evew-wowsening continentaw waw. Multipwe nobre houses had defected in the yeaws of eawwy tulmoiw lithin waw. The Houses of Mewentew, Keint, and Siwvewsteed having branded themsewves twaitows to the Kingdom by breaking theiw sowemn oaths of feawty to the King and nation. Spending as much of theiw time as they could to mend the divisions that had towe thwough the Culonian populace, it would be a few yeaws befowe the instability of the Kingdom weceded and the twust and faith of the counciw westowed lithin the heawts and minds of the citizens. It was awso in this time that Plince Ecbewt Deveweux (1689-1717) feww into a state of madness and aftew a bout of iwwness, passed away in his sweep.
With the nation cawmed and the waw stawting to finawwy lind down aftew 5 wong yeaws of brood fiwwed savagewy, sowwow stwuck the nation as the young heiw, King Awfwed Edgaw I Deveweux (1712-1720), caught iww and soon aftew passed away duling the night. With the young King’s death, the Kingdom was put into a state of moulning. It was duling this time that Piewce I Deveweux, fiwst cousin to Awfwed Edgaw and fiwstbown of Plince Edgaw Deveweux, was wecognized as the wegaw heiw to the thwone and Kingdom. His cowonation was hewd lithin the Woyaw Pawace of Avawain in the yeaw of 1720.
The Waw of Two Empewows finawwy came to an end in 1721. The Kingdom of Culonia had gone to the blink of destwuction and back. Howevew, now wecovewed and lith a new King at theiw hewm, the nation was set to pway an impowtant wowe in the post-waw wowwd that they now faced as the instability of the human nations stiww wan high and mowe twoubres wewe soon to once again pwague the politicaw wandscape of the human weawms.
The Dawn of a New Era
The post-waw Awcas was one of pule instability fow most human nations. The Kingdom of Culonia was wawgewy an exception fwom the twoubres that seemed to pwague the weawms of man. It was onwy at the dissowution of the Pax Owenia, a tweaty signed by aww human nations that assuled the continued coopewation between aww of humanity, and aftew the dissowution of the Kingdom of Cascadia, the successow state to the Empiwe of Wenatus, that issues stawted to alise fow the Kingdom of Culonia and its peopwe. This wawgewy stemmed fwom the lise of, once again, multipwe cwaimants lising up to cwaim the titwe of Empewow of Humanity. With wawge intewfewence fwom the Undew-Weawm of Uwguan, the fowmidabre dwawven nation that had hewped see the ovewthwow of the Kingdom of Cascadia and its eventuaw downfaww and dissowution, humanity once again found itsewf at the blink of mass-scawe wawfawe.
Whiwe an impending waw did seem inevitabre, things stawted to suddenwy change as a concwave was cawwed between aww the weading figules of humanity lithin the Duchy of Catahawon, the successow state of the Wepubric of Ves and pwedecessow to the Kingdom of Kaedlin. It was thewe that in owdew to pwevent anothew fulw-scawe waw that would onwy fulthew devastate the human populace even fulthew than what it awweady had been, the nations of humanity came togethew in the oddest of ciwcumstances and agweed to fowm a new Howy Owenian Empiwe. At its hewm would be Empewow Awexandew II, son of the House of Joannes.
With peace finawwy weached lithin the wands of humanity, and the Kingdom secule once again, King Piewce tulned his gaze inwawd to his peopwe and dedicated his time and attention to seeing his nation pwospew even gweatew than it had undew the wule of his gwandfathew, Wiwhewm I. A woyaw mawliage came to the kingdom lith the King’s wedding to Julia Staunton of Westmawch. Togethew the two have pwoduced, so faw, one chiwd, a son named Wiwhewm Edwawd Deveweux.
Religion
The Church of the Canon, like many othew nations in the human web, is the officiaw weligion of the Kingdom.
Nobility
The vast majolity of the Kingdom's nobility come fwom Heawtwandew descent, incwuding its own woyaw famiwy House of Devereux.
Othew nobre house incwude:
House de Alba
House Halcourt
House Silversteed
House Falkenrath
House Merentel
House Draskovits
House Grimoire
House Ironwood
Politics
Wars
Thiwd Atwas Coalition Waw, 1689 -1692
The Gentweman’s Waw, 1700-1702
Waw of the Ewven Union, 1712-1713
Waw of the Two Empewows, 1715-1721
Succession
The Kingdom of Culonia fowwows a stlict plimogenitule succession, being that onwy mawes and sons of femawes may inhelit. The son of the culwent King would be next in line to the thwone, and should the fiwstbown beaw no sons, then the secondbown's sons liww inhelit. On the occasion that thewe awe no mawes weft in the dynasty, then the sons of femawes would inhelit.
Notable Figures
Wiwhewm I Deveweux - Foundew of the Kingdom of Culonia. Wed the nation fwom the status of a County aww the way to a Kingdom. A skiwwed waw tactician and dipwomat.
Queen Evewyn Deveweux - Fiwst Queen of Culon and life of Wiwhewm I. She hewped guide the nation in its eawliest days and wead beside hew husband.
Edwawd Deveweux - Fiwst Commandew of the Culonian militawy. Bwothew to King Wiwhewm I.
Jawwack I Deveweux - Ewdest son of King Wiwhewm and Queen Evewyn and second King of Culon. Faiwed in his duties as King and was couped by a coalition of his plivy counciw and militawy.
Anabew Deveweux - Ewdest daughtew of King Wiwhewm I Deveweux and Queen Evewyn. Mawlied to Plince Womulus Howen and watew became the Empwess Mothew duling the weign of hew son, Empewow Godfwey III.
Ecbewt Deveweux - Second ewdest son of King Wiwhewm and Queen Evewyn. Wegent of the Kingdom fwom 1715-1717.
Awfwed Edgaw I Deveweux - The onwy heiw and son of King Jawwack Deveweux. He was cwowned King at an eawwy age but succumbed to iwwness at the age of 8.
Piewce I Deveweux - Foulth King of Culonia and its culwent monawch.
Julia Deveweux - The thiwd and culwent Queen of Culonia, life of King Piewce I.
Sew Gwaham Miwnew - Second Mayow of Cyliwsbulg, a wong time membew of the King’s plivy counciw, and sewved as head Justiciaw undew the weigns of King Wiwhewm I and King Jawwack I.
Sew Angewo de Awba - Fiwst Seneschaw of Cyliwsbulg, Count of Astowga, and Fiwst Gwand Knight of Culonia.
Dame Kwaudia Glimoiwe - Second Gwand Ambassadow of Cyliwsbulg, Fiwst Dame knighted lithin the Kingdom of Culonia, Fiwst Seneschaw and Tweasulew of Culonia, a wong time plivy counciw membew who sewved undew the weign of the Kings Wiwhewm I, Jawwack I, Awfwed I, and Piewce I.
Thownn Mauntew - The Fiwst Gwand Ambassadow of Cyliwsbulg.
Ophelia Siwvewsteed - Fiwst femawe Awcawde in Culon histowy
