History of Rildanor

Early History


Rildanor's pre-state history spans centuries of quarrelling small kingdoms and principalities with no real desire for unified rule. The Kingdom of Tirali, by far the strongest between 1799 and 2008, failed to unite Rildanorians, primarily due to interference from other countries in what is now Mordusia, Alduria, and Kanjor. The Kings of Tirali also had to deal with domestic instability stemming from feuding noblemen, many of which held armies that were formidable enough to fight against the monarch. From 2008 onwards, the nations of present day Rildanor enjoyed a period of peace and cultural renaissance, with the French culture spreading out to neighbouring countries.

In 2010, Cardinal Jean Chirac, the first minister to Tirali's King Kamadev, put forth the idea of unification of the Southern Seleyan states under the rule of a common monarch, but negotiations bore little fruit. The power centres of Spanish Mordusia strongly opposed the Tiralian plan, citing little similarities between the scattered peoples of South Seleya. By 2015, five years after his initial plan of a large South Seleyan nation, Cardinal Chirac instead refocused his dreams of unification to the five French nations of Tirali, Meriath, Zirdor, Nirald and Morbanack, and several states in the present-day nations of Alduria and Kanjor. Chirac, however, would die the following year, thereby forcing the collapse of the talks a month later.

Birth of a Nation
In 2047, the nation of Mordusia unified under a common government, while the various states of modern day Alduria and Kanjor solidified their republican control, thus placing increased pressure on the Rildanorian kingdoms bordering them. King Kamadev of Tirali convened a meeting in April 20th after the brief Morbanack-Vagderra War, a conflict that threatened to swallow the Rildanorian states under various forms of republican rule. Although South Seleya was predominantly French, a republican system was all too unthinkable in the highly elitist and aristocratic societies of Rildanor. Despite Kamadev Jozefus' mediation, talks on unity stalled once more as the question of the common monarch resurfaced.



In 2048, the eastern Aldurian states of Bendiri and Zanyal launched an invasion of the western Duchy of Nirald, supposedly on the basis of historical right that dates back to the 1987 marriage of two aristocratic families that links Nirald with the two invaders. Tirali and the Duchy of Morbanack quickly mobilized their armies in defence of their Niraldanian brothers, quickly repelling Aldurian republican forces in a few months. It soon became apparent, then, that the Rildanorian states had to unite to repel future aggressive action by their neighbours. King Kamadev Jozefus of Tirali convened the fourth and final phase of the unification process and soon united Nirald, Morbanack, and Tirali under the Tiralian monarchy in December 2048.



The island Kingdom of Meriath and the Kingdom of Zirdor adamantly refused to join, precipitating a war in January 2049. Zirdor soon surrendered to the Rildanorian army, but Meriath proved to be a more difficult feat as the new kingdom lacked the naval know-how to launch a massive amphibious assault. The War of Rildanor, as it came to be called, dragged on for seven more months until the exhausted Meriathan population surrendered on July 29. Both Zirdor and Meriath were forced in to the Rildanorian nation, and on 1 August 2096, Kamadev Jozefus of the Leone Family was crowned King of Rildanor in Tirali City, then to be made capital.

Theocratic Monarchy
The birth of Rildanor failed to predict the strong interest of the Catholic Church in national politics and in the everyday lives of the newly unified Rildanorian people. Christian parties held almost half of the early 36-member Sénat, with its first act of business being the issue concerning prayers in school. Throughout the remainder of the century, the Church would establish strong political and social control over Rildanor in what would be known as the Theocratic Monarchy. This period in the country's history would shape the country's evolution and can also explain the religion's continued existence in modern day Rildanor.

Rildanorian Civil War
The theocratic monarchy, however, soon collapsed amid controversy as both the Church and several aristocrats were engulfed in a scandal regarding the embezzlement of state funds. In 2267, a pro-republican government would unseat Edmund and put in its place the Republic of Rildanor.

Many Communist youths were at first ecstatic about the end of the Church and the monarchy, but the republican government failed to address and meet the social issues plaguing Rildanor at the time. A Marxist revolution called MAREM overthrew President Mike Knox in 2270 and declared a Communist Republic shortly after. In 2274, a royalist uprising erupted in Meriath, led by the aging Edmund I and his son Hénri, which soon overran government forces on the island. When news of the revolt reached the mainland, many noblemen and their supporters quickly sailed for Meriath, hoping to rally behind Edmund and restore the monarchy. A planned invasion of Rildanor from Meriath soon took effect and royalist forces focused their attention on the capital Tirali, but the ensuing conflict drew in nearby countries, including Kanjor, Saridan, Aldegar, Kafuristan, Gishoto, Dorvik.

By November 2277, royalist forces were strong enough to make a final assault on the eastern cantons of Nirald and Morbanack, the last remaining Marxist-held territories. The fighting would not continue, however, as Edmund and the leader of MAREM agreed on a ceasefire. A constitutional monarchy with social democratic values was the compromise reached at the peace conference, but Edmund would not see it implemented. He died in 2284.

First Restoration
Princesse Arun, Edmund's granddaughter, would be crowned Queen of Rildanor after the Rildanor Peace Treaty was signed in 2285 in the new capital of Labonne, 200 km east of Tirali. The site for the new capital was chosen because of Labonne's defendable location and vast plots of untouched land, in sharp contrast to the more urban and overpopulated scene in Tirali. The Nareath monarchy would go undisturbed until 2401 when a surge in republican support once again overthrew the family.

Lourenne
In 1844, a massive hurricane sent a small vessel of Rildanorian missionaries, originally destined for Hulstria, crashing onto the western shore of Haboves. Immigration from the Rildanorian kingdoms, particularly Tirali, would increase over time, with many settlers integrating into the local Zapotec population. The colony came to be known as Lourenne, named after the wife of Dessaigne, the captain of the ship carrying the first missionaries.

During the mid-20th century, social upheaval in Tirali brought a radical shift to the colonial order in Lourenne. With conflict at home, the office of viceroy was abolished and the royal family ceded administrative powers to private trading companies. These companies, more interested in profit than imperial glory, had no desire to care for demanding Rildanorian immigrants and soldiers. They began to hire natives to administrative positions, and the largest of the companies, the Ducret-Levene Mercantile Co., created a private army composed entirely of well-paid Mixtecs.



By 2230, the democratic movement had combined with a resurgent sense of nativist pride, and that year, massive riots broke out in Lourenne's major cities. Following the seizure of a Rildanorian merchant vessel, the merchant families were finally able to convince Rildanor to help them crack down on the dissident labourers, and in the spring of 2231, Rildanor's dreaded Foreign Legion landed on the shores of Lourenne in force.

In 2270, facing incredible losses and growing dissent among its middle class, especially since the Civil War was in full swing at this time, Rildanor began to withdraw from Lourenne altogether, leaving the colonial government with only its own armies for protection. By 2285, all but a few of the militia leaders agreed to come to the bargaining table. The negotiations were long and chaotic, but, by the following year, a compromise had been reached. The Mayan militias would lay down their arms, but only if the colonial government declared its independence from Rildanor. And so, as the famous saying goes, 'Lourenne was born from a trade.' Lourenne declared its independence in 2287, effectively ending the Rildanorian government's official involvement in the country.

Union de Seleya du Sud
In the 2450s, Rildanorian politicians introduced the idea of uniting all of southern Seleya under once country, an entity, they say, that makes sense given the near homogeneous French make-up of the region. Negotiations took nearly a decade, but generally well received in both Rildanor and Kanjor, while sparking little interest in Alduria. In May 2461, Rildanor and Kanjor ratified the treaty and officially formed the L'Union de Seleya du Sud (South Seleya). The system retained much of the two countries' systems, with alternating 5-year presidencies and cabinets. South Seleya, however, would eventually dismantle for two reasons; the two countries still largely performed as separate entities, with little being done in the international relations arena. Also, Rildanor had revived strong monarchist sentiments that required a withdrawal from a union with a staunchly republican character, thus ending the union in the 2490s.

Second Restoration
After 93 years of republican rule, the Nareaths were reinstated to the throne of Rildanor. Years of steady increase in support for the family was primarily due to the popular pretender, Louis-Philippe, but it was his son Charles that would captivate many young voters. His youthful charisma gave the idea of monarchy a fresh look, and by 2490 pro-monarchist parties would win two-thirds of the seats in the Senate. Charles would be crowned King of the Rildanorians in 2494, thus beginning the third Nareath monarchy.

Charles was king for an unprecedented 63 years and oversaw a period of relative stability in Rildanorian politics. He died of a stroke in 2557 and would be replaced by Joséphine, Rildanor's first Queen since Arun.

Government and Politics
Rildanor's politics has been branded as stable but unpredictable. The unpredictability lies in the several transitions between the monarchy and republic at various stages of the country's history. The stability of the country's politics refers to the normally bloodless and peaceful nature of these political transitions and the fact that few early elections are ever called.