Argrevian Empire

The following is an IC scholarly work currently in progress by the scholar Plin Pluto, resident of Rimmington. It is currently unfinished and not under publication. From his humble home in Rimmington, Plin Pluto has begun work on a history of the Argrevian Empire. Plin, or "Pliny", as his friends call him, is currently a student of the White Wolf Research Institute. This work will be his submission for a Doctorate of History. Plin is the only son of a smith, whose family has poured their life's work into paying for young Pliny's education.

Argrevian Empire

by Plin Pluto

~ History

Pretext

Argrevia was largely born from the ashes of the Kingdom of Kandarin, and it's disastrous participation in the Empire of Gielinor. The dynastic lines between the Aren, Grey, and Le'Gaunt families formed the framework of the Empire long before it became a reality. The seeds of Argrevia were planted in Cleevian Era Kandarin, when Christopher Aren and Varis Grey first formed the Aren-Grey alliance. Later, Varis would marry Victoria of House Le'Gaunt, tying together a mighty dynastic alliance. This created a strong web of alliances across the houses in Kandarin and Asgarnia. The three founding nations of Argrevia were all ruled by Aren and Grey houses, with more territories later to join through other dynastic alliances. To really understand why Argrevia existed, one must go back to the history between Kandarin and Anglia.

The Birth of Anglia

Before he was King of Anglia, Varis had been Duke of Yanille and later Lord of Ardougne. Varis had helped to strengthen the nobility during his time there, which eventually culminated the Vekon fleeing from Kandarin and King Oliver forced to name a new heir. Brock Avery, one of the lords whom had worked with Varis, was eventually named King. It was here that the Aren and Grey houses would forge their alliance through an arranged marriage, formally becoming cousin houses.  

This all came crashing down with the return of the Vekon and the abdication of King Brock. The Vekon immediately banished the Varis for his past involvement in their flight. Varis was forced to flee Kandarin himself this time, and ended up in the Republic of Rimmington. He served time here with his grandson, Godric Grey, whom was Lord President of the Republic.

The people of Rimmington eventually crowned Varis as their prince as the tide of republicanism died down. Remaining as Prince of Rimmington for sometime, the Republic of Monvallis to the north eventually also lost it's republican fervor, and agreed to recognize Varis as rightful monarch in Asgarnia.

This became the impetus for the founding of the Kingdom of Anglia itself. The term 'Anglia' is believed to have been a local term for 'Half Asgarnia'. The 'Kingdom of Asgarnia' was claimed by the city-state of Falador at the time, under the White Knight - TSG regime. However the Anglians Kings were crowned as rightful 'Monarchs in Asgarnia'.

King Varis had a natural animosity with the Vekons in Kandarin. Having been banished from the Kingdom many years before, both families did not forget their rivalry. This led to a policy of distrust between the two kingdoms that resulted in a protracted cold war for many years. The distrust between the two kingdoms would be their defining relationship right up until the dissolution of Kandarin.

Over time, the Kingdom of Anglia would eventually be passed down to Edward Aren-Grey. Edward was the child born of the original Aren-Grey marriage arranged by Christopher and Varis many years before. Strongly supported by both families, Edward's Kingdom become a powerful force in Gielinor.

However, Anglia's rise alone would never have led to the Argrevian Empire. First would play out one of the greatest tragic sagas any nation had faced since the Great Worshiper War. Before all was said and done, Kandarin would suffer the break-up of it's territories, the invasion of it's land, and it's last, infamous king, Laroux the Unready.

The Collapse of Kandarin

Kandarin had been in decline for some time before it finally collapsed. Reaching it's peek in the Cleevian Era, Kandarin was dealt it's death blow by the catastrophic decision to join the Empire of Gielinor. The unpopularity of the Empire of Gielinor among Kandarin's nobility was widespread and well known. As the Anglians felt threatened by the Empire, they naturally encouraged the discontented parties with guarantees of support. 

Duchess Aralyn Aren would eventually become the first noble to declare succession from the EoG. She declared herself Queen in her own right, and named her kingdom Arenvale. The Arens were immediately recognized by their Grey cousins, and their Independence guaranteed by the Anglians and their allies. As the Imperial Goverment failed to react, eventually all of Kandarin succeeded, with the Empire of Gielinor eventually dissolving without any real central authority to uphold it.

Queen Violet Vekon of Kandarin was able to maintain control of central and northern Kandarin in the wake of the Empire. However with the guarantee of Anglian support, the new Kingdom of Arenvale in yanille did not necessarily need Ardougne to support it anymore. The Arens then proved keen on maintaining independence, though the point wasn't necessarily pushed by Violet at first. The Vekons had expected Yanille to return to Kandarin in due time.

Then came the highly controversial rise of one Alexander Laroux, otherwise known as Laroux the Unready. At first, Queen Violet had married Alexander and established him as her co-ruler. This was initially more of a curiosity, as Violet and thus House Vekon maintained central authority in Kandarin. However, tragedy struck when Violet mysteriously vanished, allegedly 'sucked into another dimension' through a mysterious portal event. This led to Laroux assuming full capacity as King of Kandarin in all rights.

Laroux proved immediately unpopular with the remaining Vekons, whom felt robbed of their rights as the royal house of Kandarin. He had hopped to improve his image by attempting a reunification of Kandarin in full. This led to a disastrous meeting where Laroux managed to offend the Aren family and raise tensions between the two Kingdoms.  The Arens and Greys, once hopeful Kandarin had become peaceful, were now forced to prepare for a possible war.

Laroux deployed his armies to the boarder along Arenvale, building great fortifications and encampments. Anglia and Arenvale began to react with similar military readiness. However the expected war wouldn't come as it was first imagined. The Laroux Royal House in Ardougne would experience a second massive setback in the form of the enigmatic Arthfael Olivriar, and his dreams of peace.

Arthfael Olivriar, then Duke of Paixholm, had essentially become the most powerful man in Kandarin by this time. He held just as much land as the King, but more than certainly held more popularity and support from the Kandar people and nobility. He was also strongly against the possibility of a massive war across Kandarin. Rather importantly, his lands stood between Anglia and Ardougne, making Camelot the most likely to be the primary warzone.

The Duke, lacking any faith in King Laroux, followed in Aralyn's footsteps. His duchy became the Kingdom of Paixholm, and he it's first King. Anglia again immediately recognized the independence of the new sovereign state. Kandarin's military strength was irrevocably crippled with the loss of the Camolite levy, and Laroux was forced to back down from the possibility of war. 

Laroux  was now lacking any capability to take back Camelot or Yanille by force, and by this time was far too unpopular to negotiate any kind of resolution. Within Ardougne itself, the Vekon family and their supporters began to organize protests, further eroding what little support the Laroux administration had left. The Laroux administration would limp along for some time after this, but was left essentially defunct and powerless. The mighty state that was once the Kingdom of Kandarin had now vanished.

With Ardougne fallen so far from grace, a vacuum had been left in the world. It had dominated world affairs for generations, well known for it's expansive foreign wars and interventions. But now the great houses of Kandarin had been replaced by Laroux the Unready, and opportunity would arise for one young King in the mountains of Burthorpe to write his name in the history books for good.

The Rise of Argrevia

While Kandarin sundered under it's own weight, to the east, the Kingdom of Anglia had established a peaceful and prosperous land. Importantly, Anglian administration was well organized, and poised to support the independence of the Kandar States as they fell away from Ardougne's influence. Just before Kandarin began to collapse, the ruling house of Anglia, House Grey, made the decision to crown the half-kandar, and also half-aren, Edward.

Anglia's administration had long adopted a Tanistry Succession, which gave the royal house flexibility in choosing the Kingdom's heirs. The decision to name a half-kandar the King of Anglia reflected the diplomatic importance of the affairs between the regions at the time. Edward was strongly keen to events going on in his homeland, and it was no choice at all to support his Aren family in Yanille when they defected from the Empire.

Later on, Varian Grey traveled to the Kingdom of Camelot, himself related to Queen Clarissa I. Camelot had fallen out of it's rightful succession after Queen Clarissa, and although Varian's claim wasn't the strongest in existence, he was the only one able to enforce the claim due to his Grey Knights. House Le'Gaunt and House Grey agreed to back his claim, and he restored Camelot to Clarissa's dynasty.

With strong dynastic ties between Anglia, Arenvale, and Camelot, the families began to discuss the consolidation of the world's new realms. These "Aren-Grey" realms and others entered a new era of diplomatic resurgence. De jure kingdoms were officially  outlined and defined, independent of the past Asgarnian and Kandar traditions. Kandarin and Asgarnia became regional terms, each divided into smaller territories. 

This along with other major diplomatic reforms ended many old disputes. Driving much of this reform was King Edward I of Anglia, who became known as "The Conciliator" for his efforts. This era of reform culminated in the most audacious proposal of a new dynastic realm. After great deliberation, on King Edward was crowned 'King of Kings, Imperator of the Aren-Grey Vista', chosen to become Emperor of Argrevia.

The Anglian administration became the Imperial government, with Lord President Godric Grey at it's helm. Also the Patriarch of House Grey, Godric and his cabinet had drafted much of the pre-argrevian diplomatic reforms, and were the natural selection to manage the organs of government.

With Emperor Edward I crowned, the Imperial Courts worked to continue to settle the international laws of it's various member Kingdoms. Some of it's major decision include the inheritance of Camelot for Reynard Grey, adopting the Eriador claim to Yanille, and outlining the legal definition and requirements of an Emperor. By Imperial Law, an Emperor must hold or have vassalized at least two Kingdoms.

~Language

Common vs Latin

As predominantly human lands, Common was the main language spoken by the vast majority of the population of Argrevia. In Burthorpe, the predominant language was Latin. This became reflected in the Anglian monarchy which wrote all official documents in Latin. The Imperial Courts of Argrevia adopted latin and spread it's use across vassal courts in Gielinor.

Latin was used for official documents and was considered the language of the highest nobility in the empire. After the collapse of the Empire, Latin was largely relegated to the Burthorpe, as Imperial documents were no longer required internationally. To this day, however, Latin is seen as an 'up-scale' language of prestige.