Nicknamed the Heartless, he proceeded to: get rid of his older sister (Druaine was the legitimate heir to the throne) in a seemingly hunting accident, poison his father, exile his eldest son (Estan), lock up his daughter (Estrid, who would suffer from the trauma the rest of her life), and killed his youngest son (Stanel). When Estan finally seized back the throne, he had him executed as a traitor.
Estan Charlevis (737 - 758)
While in exile, he sought refuge with the Kingdom of Roue-Champêtre, and married the heiress of that kingdom, Céleste Bonlois. Then he conquered back his kingdom. So far, he is the only person to have been able to conquer Aqualyre by force. When Céleste became queen of Roue-Champêtre, he had hope to gain control of it, but she quickly drew a line and discarded him from all decisions over her kingdom. This would create a wedge between Estan and his son, when, at her death, the latter directly inherited her crown.
Stanel Bonlois-Charlevis (758 - 777)
Nicknamed the Young by historians as to distinguish him from his uncle, some also refer to him as Stanel II, though his uncle never reigned. He became king of Roue-Champêtre before inheriting the crown of Aqualos, and set up his court at the summer palace along the Thève, between the two capitals. People have always said he was more the king of Roue-Champêtre than of Aqualos.
Estanel Charlevis (777 - 783)
Eldest son of Stanel, he suffered many health issues and is reign is the shortest ever recorded. At the insistence of his brother, he moved back the Court to Aqualyre.
Constan Charlevis (783 - 809)
After his brother’s death, he worked to the true unification of his domains. He drafted a complete code of law which came to replace all local legislation across the kingdoms of Roue-Champêtre and Aqualos.
Conrad Charlevis (809 - 868)
One of the longest reigns of the dynasty, if not the longest. Conrad’s reign is mostly known for its instability, as he fought many wars, including the first and second wars against Niensheria. With age, he would grow paranoid, which may be why he started building the defensive wall which was later named after him.
Fondator of the Charlevis Dynasty, he came with his people from the far south, probably because of climate change which had rendered agriculture near impossible. With the help of two sorcerers, he slayed the chimeras (ram head, eagle wings, snake body) which infested the valley they settled in. Bourg-Les-Rois claims he is its fondator, but historians place the first settlement on the north side of the mountains surrounding Lake Aunette.
Réné Charlevis (circa 0)
His reign is marked by the fall of Ketal’s Empire upon his disparition. This allows Aqualos to regain its independance. The royal palace is definitely moved from Bourg-Les-Rois to Aqualyre with the help of a few sorcerers, including Lena Familier who will become his wife. Weirdly enough, historians are unsure if his children and heirs were from Lena’s or from one of his lovers.
Istève Charlevis (? - 636)
His reign comes to an abrupt end at the battle of Aigue-La-Morte. It is important to note the battle itself probably didn’t take place at Aigue-La-Morte, only the final peace treaty with Coriandre was signed there.
Iseult Charlevis (636 - 687)
She became queen in the middle of the battle of Aigue-La-Morte which she brilliantly won. Her marriage with the heir of Valène (technically he wasn’t the person with the best claim) allowed her to claim the crown of the Valène Empire, though it stayed loveless and childless as Iseult showed more interest in her own gender. Her reign could have been catastrophic, as she was a better general than she was an administrator, but she benefited from her sister’s and husband’s advises.
Drustan Charlevis (687 - 725)
Son of Igraine, and grand nephew of Iseult. Like his mother’s, his father’s identity is unclear. As he was 7 when he inherited the crown, his reign started with a regency led by his mother and his grand-uncle (Iseult’s husband). This rare situation started awful rumors, which would have make him both the son and grandson of Quentin. Historians all agree “it’s bullshit”, though the idea of Drustan being his grandson is possible, archives from the time tends to prove Igraine couldn’t bear her uncle. The rest of Drustan’s reign was quiet until his son, Tristan, decided the throne should be his.
After putting his reign in the continuation of friendship with Astralone with his marriage to Peslé Familier, he attempted a new alliance with Aqualos’s direct neighbor South-Darah. Upon the birth of his son, his two daughters abdicated. They both became famous: Feid obtain the rare gift of eternal youth from the gods, while Joy went to woke up Ketal, the Great Sorcerer.
Trevin Charlevis (1001 - 1042)
He was mostly an unremarkable king who followed the opinions of his main advisor, Sylve Defontaine. His iconograhy, at least during his reign, always represent him as a soldier, though, there again, he showed little talent. He died during the Battle of Acmida, refusing his daughter’s advice to use the artillery over the cavalery. She would manage to reverse the battle as soon as her father’s tactics had failed.
Trélyse Charlevis (1042 - ?)
Nearly always compared to her ancestor Iseult (cf part 1) because of her prowess on the battlefield, she also proved to be an efficient administrator. Her decision to marry a Prince of Niensheria, yesterday’s enemy and one she fought herself, has been widely criticized by her people and beyond, though it did allow for peace to finally settle between both powerful nations.
Grandson of Conrad and a smart administrator, Cirad came very early in his reign to the realisation he had to reduce the crown expenses as to compensate the wars fought by his predecessor. His work probably spared Aqualos a revolution.
Cirèle Charlevis (887 - 913)
She continued her father’s work. Under her reign, citis became more autonomous. City halls of major cities fell more and more under the control of the bourgeoisie.
Savel Charlevis (913 - 931)
As his predecessors, he continued the austerity plan. The only novelty of his reign comes from the involvement of advisors from the bourgeoisie to the point of nearly always excluding nobility at the highest level. This would force nobles to educate themselves in more formal ways and attend universities.
Savine Charlevis (931 - 953)
After three reigns of austerity, she benefit of much more stable finances. She will not always use it wisely, but her work to improve further her people’s education (building schools and starting scholarships) cannot be denied.
“20 Facts about” is a series of posts which presents various aspects of Tales of Rheio, such as characters and worldbuilding elements.
Aqualos
Aqualos is one the biggest countries in the southern hemisphere. When Ketal's empire dislocated, it was one of the smallest.
The capital of Aqualos is Aqualyre, it was first situated in Bourg-Les-Rois.
Other prominent cities are Aigue-La-Morte, Le Val, Roue-Champêtre, Tourbillon, Sentinelle, Beulieu, Pondarmé. Most of them are situated along the defensive wall.
King Conrad, who reigned from 809 to 868 (equivalent to Renaissance times), built a defensive wall around the frontiers of Aqualos. The wall is now called Wall of Conrad, but the country has grown beyond. For administrative needs, the regions inside the unachieved wall are called Center, while the one outside are the Marches: Wood March, Hill March, Frozen March, River March.
The Frozen March get its name from the chilly relationship between Aqualos and the Throahènes.
Aqualos is lead by a monarchy. The eldest child is named Crowned Prince (or Princess) and inherit the throne automatically upon the death of the previous monarch.
Over the years of expansion, Aqualos has acquired a few territories, including a few crowns gained through marital alliances. Though the king’s (or queen’s) title is generally abridged to King of Aqualos, they are also King of Valène and King of Roue-Champêtre’s Kingdom. This three titles legitimize the ownership of over 50% of the territories of the Center.
When Rising Queens starts, the political situation is anything but simple. There are mainly 4 groups trying to influence the future of the country: absolutists, populists (also called anarchists by some), democrats and sorcerers. The absolutists want to maintain the statue quo, with the monarch in power and a council composed of noble men and women. The populists want a revolution to give the power to the people. The democrats want a parliament which would work with the monarch. The sorcerers (actually a small group of sorcerers who are part of the nobility) want the power for themselves, to go back to a time most societies were headed and controlled by sorcerers.
Lorn Ist was the first king of Aqualos. It is said he came with his people from north-east region, running away from invading barbarians. They settled in the Aunette Valley, which was infested with chimeras. Lorn, with the help of two sorcerers cleansed the valley, and was then crowned.
The chimera is the emblem of Aqualos. It has a ram head, a snake body and eagle wings. The country’s colors are light blue and grey.
The god protector of Aqualos is Llyro, god of sea and violent phenomena. He came to replace Gjoran (god of the mountains) when the country was joined with the Kingdom of Roue-Champêtre, as the use of rivers and sea for trade became more and more prominent. The Aqualians are mostly polytheists.
“Do not curse Wudja, without cursing Marka”. Wudja is the goddess of woods and fields (she is associated with spring too), while Marka is the goddess of drought. You should always curse both their names to guaranty good harvests. Note that Marka is originally the sole goddess adored by Niensherians, but has been included in the polytheistic faith of Aqualians. Niensherians find it extremely insulting and reductive of the true nature of their goddess.
To make a wish, you should throw a crown of flowers in fountains or rivers. You’re supposed to repeat your wish over and over while you make the crown.
Iseult is the most infamous queen of the country. She fought a war against the Coriant Empire to regain the Valène’s Crown for her husband, and with that precipitated the fall of the empire.
Much later on, when Coriandre was reduced to the size of a small country, Aqualos agreed to sign a peace treaty known as the Debt’s Treaty. In it, Aqualos agrees to pardon the debts of Coriandre, as long as Coriandre provides troops.
The last two queens consort, before the beginning of Rising Queens, have come from South-Darah as a mean to guaranty peace between both countries, allying the Crown of Aqualos, with the most powerful dahran noble families. But, because of a political slide in South-Darah which put power back in the hands of its king, this alliance is now seen a bad investment.
The South-Darah views about sorcerers has degraded the way they are perceive in Aqualos too. Some sorcerers also think the abdication of Feid and Joy Familier added to that new vision.
Inheritance law makes it so that the eldest legitimate child, regardless of their gender, inherit the biggest share. They can desist themselves from it, in case they have no interest in the family business. The best example of this system is the Ménard family. Their business is ship trade, but the eldest son became a lawyer. The cadet son, Jon, became the heir. Since he is homosexual, and blood ties are seen as better than adoptive ones, his own main heir is the youngest daughter of the family, Ariane. the three other daughters and the youngest son have all desisted themselves though they were higher in the line of succession than Ariane.
The most frequent family name is Fontaine, or its variations such as Defontaine, Fonteney...
As for first names, often boys names include a part of their father’s name. This is also occasionally done between mothers and daughters. The fact that Trélyse name contains part of her father’s (Trevin) is seen as a little weird, but was still welcomed as it favored her aqualian heritage.
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How to inherit the crown in Aqualos ? The complete guide
Automatic heir (in order of precedence)
1) You are the eldest child of the previous monarch
2) You are the child of the eldest child of the previous monarch (in order of birth, all eldest children must be dead)
3) You are a child of the previous monarch (in order of birth, all eldest children must be dead)
4) You are the sibling of the previous monarch (in order of birth, all eldest siblings must be dead)
5) You are a niece/nephew of the previous monarch (only for the children born from the cadet sibling of the previous monarch)
If the only heirs left are nieces and nephews, but born from benjamins of the previous monarch, the new monarch will be chosen among them, by the States-General, through an election.
The members of the States-General are themselves locally elected, with one agent per community. These communities refer to the old administrative system backdating the Empire of Ketal, which, considering Aqualos grew a lot after the fall of the empire, can be pretty tricky to put in place. Setting up the States-General can be such a long ordeal, that a regency must take over in between monarchy. The regent is either the living spouse of the last monarch or their main advisor.
Thankfully, the call for States-General has bee sent only three times. The longest of such regencies lasted two years.
These rules have allowed for the same dynasty to keep the throne since the legendary foundation of the kingdom, over 2000 years ago.
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