A NOTE ON THE SUCCESSION OF KINGS, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF A DYNASTY

Naturally, Voulhire’s sovereign lives in the palace of Cathidien, upon the epicenter of Soulhire. Naturally, so too does the sovereign’s spouse and offspring. But so too do certain members of the sovereign’s extended family, as well as that of the sovereign’s spouse.

In accordance with old Voulhirian tradition, dating back to the houses of pre-Voulhire, in order to be considered a legal component of a prominent family, you had to have the same great grandparent. In other words, the second cousin of a king was considered part of the royal family. Were one outside of this reach to inherit the family’s fortune, the line was considered broken.

While we now live 180 years removed from the time of dynasties, the tradition is still taken into account. In fact, it must be, if dynasties are to be avoided. Mianoran Law is all the stricter in this, as the third king in his family line cannot choose an heir from among his third, fourth, fifth, or sixth cousin.

However, all of those born to the same great-grandparent as the ruler (and the ruler’s spouse) is entitled to a royal suite, high in Cathidien Palace, for their household to enjoy for so long as their family member rules.

THE SOVEREIGN

The king is not considered the owner of any land in Voulhire; even his own home belongs more to his station than to him. He is expected to interpret the law as has been written by his predecessors, though he has the authority to change the law where and how he sees fit. It also falls on him to decide how, and by whom, his country’s holds are governed.

For example: some towns elect a mayor; the king can replace him. Some towns are owned by a dying lord with no heir; the king can choose how said town moves forward with their leadership. There once was a king who made himself lord of a town he liked to visit and held court there, leaving his throne empty for years.

However, due to proper education and training, most of Voulhire’s sovereigns have upheld its standard of leadership with honor. A portion of this historical consistency is attributed to the existence of Mianora, and the way in which their existence was ingeniously designed to encourage the king to get along with them.

MIANORA

When a Voulhirian references “The Knights of Mianora,” “The council,” or “The chancellor,” they are referring to the same entity, for all of these terms represent different components of the governing body that is Mianora.

In I:86, which would also mean 86 years after the founding of Voulhire, civil war broke between the outcast Idus Baellont and his half-sister, the usurper, Kistatri Khavel. Idus had fled his sister when their mother, Queen Beata, murdered his father, King Idus II. When he returned, the River Nubere ran red for five weeks in a street-by-street war, which also led to the beginning of the Riva Rohavi.

While victorious, Baellont, now king, vowed to commit his life to ensuring such a thing would never happen again. The first thing he did was commission the construction of the splendid wall, which surrounds the capital to this day. The second thing he did was establish a council that would hold the final say in who would succeed a fallen king.

Simply put, a sovereign chooses an heir (which, by law, can be anyone whom the sovereign pleases). Once the heir is chosen, the council would convene in affirmation or denial of that heir. Once affirmation is made, the heir would become the sole claimant to the throne until ascent or death. The sovereign may also choose a lineup of heirs to the quantity of his pleasure (there once was a king who set up one thousand heirs, making a busy decade for the council). Once the heir takes the throne, however, the process is reset, and all heirs in the lineup forfeit their place in line. In the event that no heir is chosen upon a sovereign’s death, there are laws in place for Mianora to interpret in choosing another. Technically, the perceived wishes of the late king must be accounted for.

Technically.

There are also parameters for the Mianoran Council to reject the sovereign’s chosen heir, upon which the sovereign may appeal, or choose another heir. King Baellont made it this way for two reasons: One, to help prevent a king from choosing a madman as his heir, and two, to help ensure that the king would remain amiable to Mianora.

To secure their authority, Mianora had rights to its own army, the Mianoran Knights. These are specially-trained, highly-skilled warriors, who answer only to the council. As we know them today, the Mianoran Knights wear suits of white-steel (lactis) armor, and sometimes ride on giant horses known as ramshires. There are some 10,000 of them in active service today (they are allowed an army of 10% the king’s military).

As an added note, King Baellont also personally charged Mianora with the destruction of the Riva Rohavi. Surely, he did not expect them to still remain a faction of torment to his country these millennia hence.

Despite this one lamentation, the Mianoran Council has succeeded, for its part, in keeping the kingdom together through all of this time.

When the last great dynasty fell (C:311), the Mianoran council convened in a special deliberation that would proceed for three years. During that time, the throne of Voulhire remained vacant. When the deliberation was complete, Anders Vespen, the chancellor at that time, announced the council’s decision to essentially ban dynasties forever. The law that came to pass stated that no family could hold the throne for more than three generations. The third sovereign would have to choose from a lineage of a different name and no closer than a seventh cousin.

Our current king, Wilhelm Arcolo, is but the second-generational king to his family, having inherited the throne from his uncle, Romulus Arcolo. Wilhelm can still choose his son Darius as his heir, but Darius would not be allowed to choose from among his own children, or his nieces, or his nephews. However, he could choose laterally, from his own generation. This caveat in the law was provided so that a family would not be disadvantaged by incurable illness at an early age. Fortunately, Prince Darius is an example of good health, and is sure to press his family name many years further.

The Mianoran Covenant

The Mianoran Covenant is an internal constitution of the Mianoran order that all members are compelled to obey.

Its tenets include:

1 chancellor; 200 councilors.

The Mianoran army cannot exceed one-tenth the total number of battle-ready soldiers in the sovereign military. However, no Mianoran knight is required to disband should, for whatever reason, the sovereign military diminish in number.

The Mianoran Council retains the right to deny the sovereign’s appointment of an heir. However, should the council choose to affirm a particular heir, the affirmation is irrevocable by the council. From that point, only the sovereign can strip the affirmed of his or her inheritance, at which time the process restarts.

Barring retirement, which can never be forced upon any Mianoran in good standing, the council is a lifetime appointment, as is the exceptional position of chancellor.

Mianora is more than an order, but a governing body of the kingdom of Voulhire. The council and chancellor must all be sworn to employ their best judgement in service to Voulhirian sovereignty.

The chancellor’s every decision is final, but can be overturned by a majority of 150 councilors. The majority requirement decreases by 1 for every vacant seat on the council.

THE RIVA ROHAVI

Many tenets have developed over the years when it comes to the terrorist organization known as the Riva Rohavi, and still not all of them have been pieced together by the Mianoran Office of Justice. However, what is clear is the first tenet, the one from which all other tenets of the Rohavi come:

“We exist to dismantle the legacy of the one called King Saint Idus, such as to erase it from history.”

Our founding father, King Saint Idus, never withheld from his people the complex nature of unifying our kingdom. There were those who could not be saved, those who would not listen; as such, there were sacrifices that had to be made. Perhaps there were misunderstandings, miscommunications, and people who were as such made to suffer in the name of Voulhire and her new king. That is to say, not all were happy upon the founding of our kingdom. Some, in fact, were hateful.

One of these hateful people became the wife of our nation’s third king.

It is commonly agreed that the Riva Rohavi was founded the moment Queen Beata assassinated her husband, Idus II, and became forever known as Beata the Disowned. The revolutionaries she inspired to help her pull off the murder of the king and most of the royal family would remain with her as her personal army, even as her bastard daughter, Kistatri Khavel, ruled Voulhire as its first sovereign queen. They wore feathers of the pheasant, to which Beata had long been personally attracted.

There is no account as to how much deeper the queen mother poisoned her followers, but she indeed spread her infection of hate through Voulhire for the three years of her daughter’s reign.

When Baellont returned with his own army and vanquished Queen Kistatri, Beata had already fled with her followers. Baellont’s search for her would never end to his satisfaction. She would send her followers to attack him and his kingdom in small numbers for decades on, and the sight of pheasant feathers would haunt King Baellont for the rest of his life.

It is unknown when Beata passed her leadership of the rebels onto the next host, or where she was hiding them.

Little is known about the inner workings of the Riva Rohavi, let alone how those workings have evolved over the centuries. It has driven countless generations of scholars and politicians to sleepless nights, wondering how the insurgent organization has remained intact. Legend has it that Beata had cavorted with a demon to breathe an everlasting spirit of hate into the unholy enclave.

There have been several wars fought in Voulhire of which the Riva Rohavi played a major part. The most significant was when they grew powerful enough to mount a full-fledged attack on Voulhire herself during the War of the Fallen Apple, when the now infamous Baenar Raspaedeus sent the Rohavi to rend a torment that nearly destroyed Voulhire during the latter years of the Idus Dynasty.

Praise God, it has been over a century since the Riva Rohavi has made a significant move against Voulhire (the Great Soulhirian Firestorm of CE:89). This is thought to be attributed, in part, to the success of the Voulhirian economy, diminishing support for rebellion, as well as the effectiveness of the Voulhirian military (including Mianora). There are still sightings of the black warpaint and pheasant feathers, there are still reports of attacks, which largely involve humiliation and debasement but sometimes prove deadly, and vandalism.