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| “ | A modern nation ruled by Draco and Aslan. Focused on might and expansion, it possesses a powerful military and a flourishing economy, cementing its position as a hegemonic nation of Terra. | ” |
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Victoria, formally known as the Victorian Empire, is a Terran country located between Kazimierz, Ursus, and Leithanien, occupying the large fertile lands in the continent's central region. Though it is the homeland of the Dracos, its population is predominantly Feline. Historically, Victoria was ruled by the monarchs of both the Draco and Aslan house, but the throne of Victoria has been vacant for more than twenty years in present-day, with its Grand Dukes vying to control the country behind the scene.
As a hegemonic and powerful empire, the Victorian military utilizes advanced weaponry, ranging from handheld cannons and piledriver spears to gigantic howitzers and even steam-powered armor. In terms of soft power, Victoria is also known for its ideals of liberty, romanticism and its rich culture. In present day, Victoria retains its influence across Terra, although internal division caused by a series of feuds between royal houses and strong competition from other rising industrial powers such as Kazimierz and Columbia are threatening to topple its position.
The Victorian language is similar to English in our world, but has distinct grammars and accents even though both are mutually intelligible with each other.[1]
Description
- A modern nation ruled by Draco and Aslan. It occupies the most fertile land in the central valleys of Terra, with vast borders and bountiful resources. It is surrounded by core allies and possesses multiple pioneer zones and exclaves. The Victorian Empire emphasizes might and expansion. It seeks to impose an international order upon Terra, with itself at the head. It is an order where noble rights are enforced at bladepoint, ensuring the survival of a Victorian-dominated world.[2]
Background[]
"A long time ago, the Red Dragons were the unquestioned kings of Victoria...
Traditionally, Victoria was ruled by two Draco houses: the Artoriuses and the Dublinns. According to folklore, the Dublinn house founded the Kingdom of Tara when its "red dragon," the first King Gaeil, sought to please his people with a new land. After the secession, Victorian and Taran rulers came to be in constant conflict against each other, both vying for control of the region.[3] By the dawn of the new era a thousand years ago, Victoria had annexed Tara again in the name of protecting the latter from the conquest of the Nightzmoran Khaganate. While official documents state that the process was a peaceful one, there is much evidence that Tara was actually colonized by the Victorians, which has led to the suppression of Taran autonomy in present day.[4] It´s even said that Victoria was subjugating Tara from behind the scenes through the canonization of their nobles,[5] and the envoys they sent to the Taran Court.[4]
"...Until the Lions usurped the Dragons' throne...
Around two centuries ago, in the eighth Terran century, the Aslans arrived from present-day Sargon to seek new land. However, the Dracos were not willing to share their power with a group of foreigners, leading to war between the two factions. The Aslans gained much popular support and subjugated the Artorius house, then turned their sights onto Tara, the Dracos' last holding. Eventually growing tired of the war, the Dracos finally surrendered. An armistice was then signed between the two houses, which stipulated that the Dracos and Aslans could share the same throne and implemented a system of rule with dual monarchs. Despite the peace brought through this new treaty, the power struggle between the two factions has continued into the modern era through frequent conspiracies and royal feuds.[6]
Following the industrial revolution which swept across Terra, Victoria enjoyed great advancement and prosperity, which propelled it to become a global empire. It cemented its status as a superpower in Terra through colonization and expansionism, eventually coming to possess a vast continent-spanning empire in which "the sun never sets." It actively participated in international affairs from the Kazdelian civil wars to mining expeditions in Rim Billiton. In the 11th century, the Gaulish Empire invaded Victoria and annexed its northwestern colony, which would later become Columbia. However, Victoria allied with Leithanien and Ursus in the Battle of the Four Emperors, which led to the fall of the Gaulish Empire; Victoria then annexed many former Gaul territories.[7] From the on, it enjoyed a long, prosperous imperial era, one which would later be named the "Victorian Era."
"...And with the Lions gone with the dust, who shall inherit this bloody throne?"
Despite its zenith, however, the golden age of the Victorian Empire would eventually reach its end. Around twenty years ago, in the year 1072, the Dracos suddenly disappeared without a trace as the Aslans attempted to wipe out their opponents in secret once and for all. In the meantime, the country's wealth had slowly depleted—though the empire continued to expand through foreign conflicts, the spoils were unequally divided among greedy businessmen and Members of Parliament. To counteract the corruption, the previous Aslan King threatened to impose higher taxes on the aristocracy, which enraged them.[8] The aristocrats incited a popular uprising against the Aslans among the common people, and the family was eventually purged, with the king tried and publicly executed in his own palace's backyard.[9] The Victorian Grand Dukes, who once ruled over territories in Victoria outside of Londinium, then seized power and ruled all of the country without a monarch for years, which ignited a crisis over who will succeed the throne. They also enacted laws to prevent any other nobles from entering the capital without proper permission to avoid escalating the situation.[10]
In the midst of the crisis came the chaos within Victoria's capital, Londinium, stirred by civil conflicts and foreign occupants. In the year 1094, in order to quell the coup d'état incited by the Duke of Stafford which aimed to overthrow Parliament, the Duke of Cavendish invited Theresis, the Regent of Kazdel who had come into power after the nation's most recent civil war, to pacify the situation. Through his immense mercenary forces and the Duke's assistance, the Kazdelians brutally crushed the once glorious Tower and Steam Knights, suppressed the rebellion, gained control of its walls and cannons, and executed the rebellious nobles.[11] In order to liberate the capital, eight Grand Dukes mobilized their great armies and warships and laid siege on Londinium by the autumn of 1097, but they were locked in a stalemate against the Kazdelians.[12] Furthermore, the core cities of their respective duchies have entered strict martial law until further notice.[13] In the heat of the conflict, numerous factions sought to profit from the crisis: these include those of the surviving Dublinn house supported by pro-Draco monarchists and Taran nationalists, Gallic restorationists, Victoria's oppressed working class, and even Leithanian nobles that seek to expand their nation's hegemony.
It is implied that the succession crisis will not be fully resolved even after Rhodes Island's involvement. Years of tension and intrigue have spawned an impossibly complex and widespread net of conspiracy that cannot hope to be unraveled in short order.[14]
Notable people[]
Operators | |
| Expatriate | Born in Victoria but aligned/affiliated with other countries/factions
|
|---|---|
- Edward Artorius
- Janett Longfellow
- Angst
- Count Philip: A count and member of the Victorian parliament.[15][16]
- Duke of Cavendish†: The Grand Duke of Londinium who invited the Kazdel Millitary Commission into the capital in the year 1094 to pacify the succession crisis. He was met with open hostility by other nobles led by the Duke of Stafford and was eventually killed together with the latter after wall cannons fired upon them amidst the chaos.[17]
- Duke of Stafford†: The Grand Duke who started a rebellion against the Parliament, which escalated the royal feud. He went to war against the Duke of Cavendish, who had invited the Kazdel Military Commission into the capital. He was eventually killed alongside the Duke of Cavendish after wall cannons fired upon them amidst the chaos.[17] After his death, the Marquess of the family and company gave up his inheritances.[18]
- Duke of Gododdin: A Grand Duke who, in late 1097, sent at least two high-speed battleships to Londinium in response to Theresis' takeover.[12] He couldn't send any envoys for the "Summit of Nations" in Laterano.[19]
- Duke of Normandy: A Grand Duke who is said to detest Leithanians.[10]
- Frederick III☠: Siege´s grandfather, also known as "The Conqueror of Gaul".[20] He was the Aslan King during the Battle of the Four Emperors and participated in the war after Columbia's independence. He was known for establishing Victoria into an influential empire through battle.[7]
- Robert Cumberland☠: Allerdale's father and the previous Duke of Cumberland. He was a close friend and supporter of the Aslan dynasty, and one of the few people who could help the King in decision-making. However, after the Aslan King's unpopular tax policy was implemented, Robert was also publicly executed by the Antiroyalists for siding with the King, leaving Allerdale as his heir.[21]
- Siege's father☠: Siege's unnamed father, who served as the last Aslan King. Twenty-six years ago, in 1072, he implemented a highly unpopular policy which taxed the greedy nobles of Victoria's Parliament. This led the aristocrats to instigate a coup d'etat aginst the royal family. The king was captured in the Palace of Westhaleg,[18] and then publicly hanged by an angry mob in the gardens of the Royal Palace. Before his death, he ordered his loyal officers to take Siege out of the Auchterigg Borough, before she was rescued and hidden away by Gawain.
- Elizabeth the Glorious☠: Siege´s great grandmother, and one of the previous Aslan monarchs[20]
- Viscount Walden Caster: A viscount and member of House Caster who rules the western county of Skyes. One of his daughters, Kate, was kidnapped by Infected thugs, only to be later rescued by Rhodes Island.[22]
Enemies[]
| Normal | |
|---|---|
| Elite |
Places[]
Districts/regions[]
- Londinium
- County Hillock
- Calais-Blason
- Caladon
- County Toron: An autonomous county close to Victoria's border. It is a city with ports for landships and is Breeze's hometown.[23] It is also where the Vincent Mansion is located.
- County Ascarat: A county in Victoria where SilverAsh trained his personal troops for the Snowcap Incident in Kjerag.[24]
- County Connor: The county where Rhodes Island transferred their patients to after entering Victoria.[25]
- Portsmouth: The city where the mansion of Count "White wolf" Skamandros, Horn's father, is located.[26]
- County Castshire: The county where Bagpipe participated in an infiltration mission to rescue a civilian abducted by local bandits, as part of her final exam before her ceremony in the Victorian Royal Guard Academy.[27] At some point, Haze passed by the county before arriving to Caladon.[28]
- County York: The county where Allerdale was supposed to go for a trip twenty-six years ago.[8] It is also where Sir Jeffrey Metz, a defunct Knight of the Tower, was born.[29]
- Tradersmill: The Victorian city which Ch´en and Bagpipe visited to contact an old acquaintance, Hughes, who they believed might help them find Horn, while at the same time investigating the "Spectre Force".[30][31]
- County Skyes: A county located in western Victoria ruled by Viscount Walden Caster, a distinguished member of House Caster. At one point, one of the viscounts's daughters, Kate, was kidnapped by Infected thugs, and he required help from Rhodes island.[22]
- County Rivermouth: A county in which, in Terran year 1094, a military unit supposedly went insane due to Arturia's Arts, to the point where they collectively threw their weapons into a furnace and ran off into the wilderness. The unit was sent on a mission to suppress local Taran separatists who were allegedlygathering in the same theater that Arturia was performing in at the time of the incident.[32]
- County Trent: The county which serves as one of the main settings of What the Firelight Casts. Formerly a taran region that was annexed to Victoria.
- County Peninsula
- County Oak Grove: A Nomadic City and county which is part of the Duke of Wellington´s duchy. Formerly a Taran region
- Lyndon: A remote city briefly mentioned by Hibiscus[33]
Schools[]
- Victorian Royal Guard Academy: A state-owned military academy in Victoria. Upon graduation, the students can choose to serve in the Army. This is the school which Ch'en and Bagpipe graduated from.
- Victorian Institution for Higher Studies: A college which Skyfire and Mint graduated from.[34]
- Victorian National University: A state-sponsored university which Ceylon graduated from.[35]
- Cyr Military College: A private military academy in Victoria where Toddifons and Pith studied. The school has a Gaulish background and is suspected to be the base for Gallic restorationists.[36]
Landships[]
- The Gastrell: The main high-speed battleship of the Duke of Wellington´s fleet, named after a legendary Victorian military officer. Originally a mobile plate from Lingones, the Gaulish capital that was once Terra's "greatest nomadic city", it was refurbished with Victorian military technology. The battleship is currently en route to Londinium, and it is being used by Eblana´s forces under the Duke´s permission.[5][16]
References[]
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