Imperial Kingdom of Luxarica (Fictia) (CCRP IX)

Instructions

The old and influential Kingdom of Luxarica, also known as the so-called “Fourth Fictian Empire” by some, was an anarchic mess until the recent arrival of a strange upper class, the "Fictians", filled a power vacuum caused by the extinction of the House of Holersberg with the death of Emperor-King Munelos the Mid in 676. With Munelos refusing to nominate a heir and having no living relatives whatsoever, there was then a power vacuum filled with squabbling aristocrats unable to clearly gain an edge over each other until one day the Fictians appeared out of thin air in the Grand Marches. Although of a foreign tongue and unfamiliar culture, they had valuable relics and loads of gold that instantly grabbed the attention of the Luxarican nobles, none of which chose to oppose their sudden appearance and tried instead to welcome them into their kingdom as a valuable source of wealth. The Fictians, politically astute in themselves, took advantage of the situation to sway the most important of the royal dukes on their side, and so the House of Neovis, headed by Emperor George "XC" (what an inflated and unrealistic regnal number!), assumed the royal throne with little opposition. However, the Fictians themselves have a leadership divide between the House of Iona under Palpatine IV (often called the “Chungians” after a mythical Neovisian monarch they claim descent and legitimacy from), which led the Fictian refugees to Luxarica, and the ruling House of Neovis under George XC (called the “Captiosians” after a mythical Neovisian who lost a civil war to Chungus, but his line now claims primogeniture seniority). The kingdom has some awfully nice relics from the Fictians, like their automated imperial throne, but claims to descend from a mythical Empress Georgina and Emperor Fred IV who created a great empire, the “Third”, on another world from refugees of some kind. It had several capable rulers ending with Chungus VII the “Magnificent”, famous for gaining control of potential rival Achala peacefully and later controlling almost the entire world by alliance or vassalization after interfering with the House Thalris’ domains during the days of Johannes Thalris III and IV. However, his descendants were incompetent; his nephew and successor Constantine IV overtaxed and lost Achala in the brutal War of Estorian Independence and afterward alienated his former Solanic allies by claiming their assistance meant he had suzerainty over them. His son, Marius IV, tried to use his link to Chungus and military threats to get elected to the Yesedr throne; this annoyed the House Thalris so much they formed the Coalition of ”Good Riddance”, made of former subjects/allies like Achala, the Velstranor Republic/loyal Yesedr Confederacy, Bahafidan Sultanate, the Republic, Brehonia, Ithamensakiejim, and Frenz; who all took on Fictia and their last ally Vizanetinia. The coalition quickly overran the weakened states and partitioned the third empire after Emperor Marius IV died in the Siege of New Capital City. So these Fictians claim to have escaped the coalition, with the most important imperial relics, into the deserts of Bilnei Haish under the leadership of Marius’s brother Palpatine IV, and after getting lost in the desert somehow ended up in the marches of Halistan, borderlands of Luxarica seemingly not charted on any map of the Bilnei Haish continent they're familiar with. It was this discovery, seemingly that the House of Iona failed the people spectacularly once again, that allowed now-Emperor George XC to propose his plan to the tired masses to use the salvaged treasury to gain control of divided Luxarica, which allowed him to displace Palpatine as honorary emperor and carry out his plan, becoming King of Luxarica at invitation of the enriched nobles in 694 and then bribing the Prince-Electors to become Khalanian Emperor, a title once frequently held by the Luxarican kings, in 698. It should be noted that there is no evidence of the existence of the Fictians' claims of a mighty imperial past or even a single country listed their legends existing, despite the fact there appears to be no other explanation, but their wealth has proved to be enough to grant them status for now. 37-year old George XC has no heir however, having been too busy getting nobles on his side to focus on marriage, and the question remains of how long the current situation last with the House of Iona, the leaders of Fictia since the days of Constantine III and Chungus VII, still around. One false move from a Captiosian and the Chungians could pay their way back into power-that is, if a Luxarican uprising doesn't overthrow Fictian power first...