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Victoria
| Faction | Overview | Branches |
- Unitary constitutional monarchy (until 1098, suspended between 1072-1098)
- Parliamentary republic (since 1098)
- King/Queen or Victoria (until 1098, vacant between 1072-1098)
- King Alistair II (formerly, until 1072)
- Lord Protector of Victoria (since 1098)
- Victorian Army
- The Steam Knights (formerly)
| “ | 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. | ” |
| —Loading screen tip (since Stormwatch) |
Victoria, formally known as the Victorian Empire, is a Terran country bordering Kazimierz, Ursus, and Leithanien that occupies the vast fertile basin of the continent's central region. It is a constitutional monarchy ruled by a shared power of both the royal house of the Dracos and Aslans and a Parliament made up of its aristocrats while governing the predominant Feline populace. The Victorian throne, however, has been vacant for more than twenty years in the aftermath of a civil unrest, resulting in the Grand Dukes vying to take over it behind the scene.
Being the most powerful hegemonic empire on Terra, Victoria possesses both soft power and solid infrastructures. The culture of Victoria is famous for its ideals of liberty and romanticism that is widely admired across Terra. Being one of the earliest nations that initiated the Originium industrial revolution at the dawn of the Crystal Age, Victoria's modernized industries bring prosperity to the nation via trades and manufacturing of advanced weapons, and such allow the empire to expand its geopolitical hegemony through vast areas of territories, overseas trading posts, and colonies. In the present day, Victoria still retains its influence across Terra, but political feuds of the aristocrats and competition against other rising commercial powers like Kazimierz and Columbia are threatening to topple its hegemonic position.
History[edit]
The Draco era[edit]
In the prehistoric era, the central basin of the Terran continent had been filled with the earliest human activities. Around 100 BCE, there were already records narrating an Elder tribe, the Dracos, leading their subjects to settle in the region after being amazed by its stable environment. The locals slowly assimilated foreign dwellers over the millenia, which eventually developed into a semi-nomadic confederation led by the Draco tribe.[2]
The nomadic style of governance, however, faced numerous threats from both natural disasters foreign invaders that could easily scatter the confederation due to the lack of a leading figure. Facing the dilemma, there arose two Draco houses who proposed different solutions to solidify the confederation: one being the "monarchists" who suggested to adapt the Sargonian imperial system that contained rigid social hierarchy, and the other being the "conservatives" who yearns to retain the old nomadic lifestyle while adapting a more flexible governance.[2][3][4]
Unlike other tribal societies that usually resolved with violence, the two Draco houses miraculously settled their dispute via peaceful diplomacy. The solution was to have the two houses parted on their own way. The monarchist Draco house took over the fertile valley clamming themselves as its original rulers, thus establishing the Kingdom of Victoria. The conservative house left the vallery alongside various tribes, and continued their nomadic lifestyle until they found a region where they could settle, which they named "Tara" by later generations. [5]
At the dawn of the Terran common era, both Victoria and Tara faced a common enemy – the hordes of the Nightzmoran Khaganate. The Victorian Kingdom suddenly proclaimed to annex Tara to form the Victorian Empire in the name of protecting their blood brothers from invaders. Official Victorian documents state that the process was a peaceful one, but much evidence from the Taran side suggest that Victoria brutally colonized the Taran Kingdom.[6] [7] In fact, unlike the tribes who tried to negotiate with the Victorian envoys, the Tarans responded with violence and vulgarity, which was taken as a declaration of war. This resulted in a violent conflict between the Draco houses of Victoria and Tara, and it ended with the Victorian house forcefully absorbing the Taran house but still bestowing their nobility as the ruler of the Taran region under the title of "King Gaeil."[8]
The Aslan-Draco war[edit]
For the remaining centuries, The Victorian Empire was dominated by the union of the two Draco houses. Its political power gradually consolidated in the core regions, but the situation changed with the Aslans' arrival during the zenith of the Dracos' influence. Around the Terran year 737, The Sargonian Shahanshah conducted political purges onto distant relatives of the royal house to maintain the bloodline, forcing a certain Aslan Padishah, Lugalszamszi, to flee to Victoria for shelter in exchange of pledging his service to Victoria. In the beginning, the Dracos warmly welcomed the royal house, but the Aslan house slowly gained its support from the populace in hope to create their own royalty.[8]
The Aslans, who were frustrated by their scattered bloodlines, gained massive support from the Victorian commonfolk through their charisma, and they claimed they had the legitimacy to become the monarch of Victoria. After unifying most of the scattered clans from behind the scenes, the Aslans initiated a small-scale palace coup that easily subjugated the Victorian royal family. The Taran house stubbornly resisted the Aslans' invasion, but they eventually became tired of the war after constant humiliations. In the end, an armistice was signed which implemented the dual monarchy system of both races, with Lugalszamszi's grandson becoming the first "Lion King" of Victoria decades later.[8][9] Despite the peace brought through this new treaty, power struggle between the two races has continued into the modern era through frequent conspiracies.[10] Moreover, the civil war also caused a small power vacuum in the royal court, allowing some Victorian nobles to declare greater autonomy.[8]
The Victorian Era[edit]
The initial changes brought by the Aslans weren't widely noticed by the commonfolk until later on, when local autonomy and quality of life improved significantly. Henceforth, this decentralized monarchy became accepted as a sign of Victoria's progessivism.[8] Under the Aslans' rule, there came a period of peace and stability that nourished Victoria's prosperity. By catching up with the industrial revolutions of the Crystal Age, job opportunities became abundant, schools were built to educate the masses and cultivate the intellectuals, breakthroughs were made in the fields of science, and factories and farms were built to support its massive economy.[11] This long, prosperous period would later be called the "Victorian Era" by later generations.
The rise of Victoria's political status resulted in its expansionism across Terra by the early 11th century. Colonies of Victoria could be found everywhere, but the harsh treatment of the colonists resulted in the independence of Columbia and the rebellion of the Eureka Autonomous Region in Rim Billiton.[11] Victoria actively took part in various geopolitical affairs such as the crusade against Kazdel, the interference of Bolívarian independence, and the expansion into Siesta.
Between 1029 and 1031, the War of the Four Nations spread across the Terran hinterland. After a year of spectating, the reigning king Frederick III of Victoria joined the allied force against Gaul after determining that the latter was at a disadvantage coupled with the vindication against its aid in the Columbian Revolutionary War. Victoria benefited greatly after Gaul was annihilated; it absorbed the rich Basse-Gaule region as part of its union, and the recovery of Gaulish properties, technologies and personnel further brought prosperity to the empire.[11]
Execution of Alistair II[edit]
However, in the forty decades of stability following the war, Victoria's power began to decline. The zenith of the Victorian Empire reached its bottleneck after the public execution of its last king. In the year 1072, the Draco house 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 as their foreign conflicts prolonged, and the spoils were unequally divided among businessmen and noblemen of the Parliament. To counteract the inequality, the last Aslan King, King Henry Alistair Victoria II, threatened to impose higher taxes on the aristocracy.[12]
King Alistair II's furious decree not only did not work, but also, it brought danger to the Aslan house. The aristocrats were enraged over the threat because they believed the king had violated the constitution. So, they stirred up a rather confusing popular uprising against the Aslan King, and they proclaimed the aim was to eradicate the King who had become an obstacle to Victoria's progress. The unrest resulted in the purge of the royal family, and King Alistair II was tried and publicly hanged at the garden of his royal palace.[13][11]
The execution of King Alistair II deteriorated Victoria's political situation. All of a sudden, the people lost their king while being puzzled about the reason behind his death. The throne remained vacant and tensions within the aristocracy began to arise as they organized themselves into hostile factions coveting for power.[11] The Eight Grand Dukes, who once governed territories outside of Londinium, then seized power and ruled all of the country without a king for years, maintaining the status quo by any means neccessary.[14] They also enacted laws to prevent any other nobles from entering the capital without proper permission to eliminate political contenders and avoid escalating the situation.[15]
The Victorian Crisis[edit]
- Main article: Victorian Crisis
The vacant throne brought fragmentation in Victorian society. Once regarded as the most advanced nation on Terra, Victoria slowly lags behind due to incompetence in rising industries such as electronics, incompetent bureaucracy and military, and old-fashioned financial management. Political-wise, the Taran nationalists who are mostly composed of pro-Draco monarchists supporting the Dublinn house angrily seek independence from Victoria after being suppressed for centuries, and Gallic restorationism is on a rise in former Gallic regions due to border disputes.[16] The oppressive working class begin fighting for their rights, and even Leithanien is vying over expansion of its hegemony onto its neighbors. In the midst of the crisis came a coup d'état in the capital of Londinium that was later stirred by civil conflicts and foreign occupants. In the year 1094, the Duke of Stafford governing Londinium launched a coup to overthrow the Parliament, so the Duke of Cavendish invited the Military Commission of Kazdel —Who were previously invited to his manor three years earlier— as mercenaries to quell the unrest.
| Transcription from the Duke of Cavendish's letter to Regent Theresis, 1091 [17] |
|---|
| Your Highness Theresis, Regent of Kazdel, Commanding General of the Military Commission, Wandering scholars have brought back tales of a new nomadic city on the rise in the distant desert. |
However, what started off as a formal invitation ended in the Kazdelians turning their side, annihilated the Dukes' forces, including their glorious Tower and Steam Knights, and executed the rebels.[18] In order to liberate the capital, the Eight Grand Dukes mobilized their armies and laid siege on Londinium by the autumn of 1097.[19] The Dukes went further by declaring martial laws in their duchies and announced a state of emergency across Victoria. The complication of the event brought forward the summer of 1098, the Londinium Crisis where all of Terra witnessed the destructive power of the Shard. On October 2nd, 1098, the Ducal forces, with the involvement of Rhodes Island and the new Exemplars led by Vina Victoria, launched an all-out attack against the Military Commission's forces in Londinium after breaaching the blockade from the city walls, resulting in the death of the Nachzehrer King himself, Nezzsalem. By October 8th, the Sarkaz retreated en masse from Victoria.[20][21][22] Regent Theresis finally met his end at the Palace of Westhaleg's underground throne as forseen by the Cyclopes, but no charges were filed by the Victorian authorities after his sudden "vanishment."[23] Meanwhile, Tara took the opportunity to declare independence from Victoria following the Duke of Wellington's "betrayal." [24]
Present day[edit]
After the crisis, the Grand Dukes appointed Vina as the new Speaker of the Parliament, who's currently focusing her efforts on the reconstruction of Londinium. Despite this, the future that awaits for Victoria is still shrouded in uncertainty; Years of tension and intrigue have spawned an impossibly complex and widespread net of conspiracy that cannot hope to be unraveled in short order. The aftershocks of the Victorian Crisis have left an ever-increasing impact on the other Terran nations, even forcing some to accelerate the development of their arms races —notably Columbia, which would later develop the Horizon Arc Project.[25][26] Moreover, Yan would also take the incident in consideration during a secret meeting in 1101, which led to the decree of the twenty-eight policies to ensure the country's stability.[27]
Notable people[edit]
| Operator |                                |
|---|---|
| NPC |                  |
- Miss.Christine is not native to Victoria.
- Seamus was born in County Hillock, part of Tara which is de facto independent from Victoria as of 1100.
Expatriates[edit]
| Operator |          |
|---|---|
| NPC |     |
Historical figures[edit]
- Alistair II
- Frederick III
- Cannon, the Duke of Gododdin: A predecessor of the Duke of Gododdin responsible for bringing the first pioneer teams to Columbia, later assigned as the colony's Royal Governor. Following the enactment of the "Obligation Act," Cannon was forced to share his rights to his rival the Duke of Tybalt, but didn't fight in the Revolutionary War unlike the former.
- Elizabeth the Glorious☠: Siege´s great grandmother, and one of the previous Aslan monarchs.[28]
- Francis Omelette: A Victorian sage who is regarded as the "father of Terran modern science" through his magnus opus Indicia Nova de Interpretatione Originii published in 683. In the year 695, his speech in Londinium Witenagemot successfully persuaded scholars to adopt the scientific method in researching Originium instead of the traditional mysticism, ushering in the era of modern science.[29] He is based on Francis Bacon, an English natural philosopher who is regarded as the "father of British modern science" ushering in the Scientific Revolution.
- The Duke of Tybalt☠: A Grand Duke stationed in the Columbian border and rival of Duke Cannon Gododdin, said to have past grudges with him. He fought relentlessly during the Revolutionary War, but was ultimately defeated and had to retreat after his flagship was captured by the rebels led by Mark Max during the Battle of Babbage in November 1018. This humiliating defeat left a deep impact of him to the point he started to hallucinate that he contracted Oripathy, eventually killing himself while trying to "extirpate" his injuries with a saber.[30] His title is likely named after Tybalt, a character in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Other notable people[edit]
- Adams Schwire
- Bellingham
- Edward Artorius
- Janet Longfellow
- Angst
- Walden, the Viscount of Caster
- Carle Caster
- Freda West☠: The mayor of Brentwood who takes part in the construction of Vampire altars during the Londinium Crisis, believing that only through surrender could the villagers be treated nicely by their occupants. She was later killed during the altar's activation.
- Kate Caster: Viscount Walden Caster's youngest daughter, who was kidnapped by Infected thugs led by his brother Carle, which was actually a staged plan for her to help his brother. She would later be rescued by Rhodes Island.
- The Duke of Cavendish†: The Grand Duke who invited the Military Commission of Kazdel 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.[31] A noble house in the U.K. bears the same name as his title.
- The 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.[31] After his death, the Marquess of the family and company gave up his inheritances.[31] An earl in the U.K. bears the same name as his title.
- Robert, the Duke of Cumberland☠: Allerdale's father and 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 anti-royalists for siding with the King, leaving Allerdale as his heir.[32] A duke in the U.K. bears the same title.
- Wilson Jayson: A Victorian scholar famous for his achievements in Oripathy research, most notably his "Burdenbeast Oripathy Experiment" in 1046, which served as a basis for the modern angiography standards. During the previous seven years, he lived in seclussion in Ursus.[33]
- Leman, the Count of Gododdin: A Liberi nobleman and distant nephew of the Duke of Gododdin, whose grandfather served in Gaul. He funded Dr. Erikson's trip to Yan.[34]
- Chloe: An Infected Victorian girl under R.I.'s treatment, who began showing unusual, previously-unheard Oripathy symptoms.[35]Due to her condition, Kal'tsit spent 3 days straight to operate on her without rest, resulting in Warfarin's concern that she deliberately overworked herself.[36] It also proved to be vital in assisting Rhodes Island in neutralizing Priestess' control of Originium.[37]
Freda West
Enemies[edit]
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| Elite |              |
| Boss |   |
Harold's delegation[edit]
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| Elite |       |
| Boss |  |
Places[edit]
Municipalities and counties[edit]
- Londinium
- County Hillock
- County Ascarat: A county in Victoria where SilverAsh trained his personal troops for the Snowcap Incident in Kjerag.[38]
- Ascarat is a commune in France.
- 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.[39] At some point, Haze passed by the county before arriving to Caladon.[40]
- County Connor: The county where Rhodes Island transferred their patients to after entering Victoria.[41]
- County Firth: 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 allegedly gathering in the same theater that Arturia was performing in at the time of the incident.[42]
- County Oak Grove: A county and a former Taran region which is now part of the Duke of Wellington´s duchy.
- County Peninsula: A county where an unknown incident involving Reed and Dublinn took place in May of 1097.[43][44]
- County Skyes: A western county ruled by Baron Stuart. The county is infamous for its Infected restrictions, which are harsher than anywhere else in Victoria.[45] After the county's fiefdom was handed by Walden Caster, a distinguished member of House Caster, he has been actively seeking business partners aiming for its development into a modern nomadic city, as part of his plan to help consolidate their power in Victoria, which is one of the reasons why Stuart mistrusts him.
- County Toron: An autonomous county where Breeze comes from. Located close to Victoria's border, it possesses various ports for landships.[46] It is also where the Vincent Mansion is located.
- 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 York: The county where Allerdale was supposed to go for a trip twenty-six years ago.[12] It is also where Sir Jeffrey Metz, a defunct Knight of the Tower, was born.[47]
- County Lyndon: A remote county where Bena comes from.[48][49]
- County March: A county within the Normandy Duchy, which is where the Earl of March comes from.
- County Dawson: A county within the Caster Duchy, ruled by Viscount Dawson.[50]
- County Barre: The county where Harold comes from, located close to Toron.[51]
- County Kevin: A county mentioned in passing, located close to Hillock.[52]
Settlements/regions[edit]
- Calais-Blason
- Caladon
- Portsmouth: The city where Count "White Wolf" Skamandros's manor is located.[53]
- Portsmouth, aka "Pompey," is a city and unitary authority located in County Hampshire, in Southeast England.
- 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 Dublinn.[54][55]
- Brentwood: A small town bordering Londinium. It became the epicenter of the Sanguinarch's inhumane ritual involving the ancient Feranmut known as the "Lifebone". After the war, the town soon returned to cultivating and producing new varieties of flowers for delivery to Londinium.[56]
- Lynncardine: A Windermere garrison, home to Delphine and Shearer, located in the northeastern border with Leithanien. It is also the most important nomadic city in the Duke of Windermere's demesne.[57][58]
- Boschendal: A town in the northernmost border where Goldenglow comes from.[59][60]
- Stonebreak: A shabby village located in former Gaulish territory, with most of its inhabitants being Gaulish descendants neglected by the authorities. Doc once visited the place to deliver medical supplies.[61]
- Rockbrook: A city in County Toron where Breeze comes from. It is also where the Arizona Manor is located.[62]
- Bristol: A city mentioned in passing by Indra.[63]
- Bristol is the name of a city in Southwest England, as well as one of its fourty-seven counties.
- Muncaster: Another city mentioned in passing by Indra.[63]
- Muncaster is a civil parish in the Cumberland District of Cumbria, Northwestern England.
- Sidmouth: Another city mentioned in passing by Indra.[63]
- Sidmouth is a town in Devon, Southwest England.
- Rydeel: The city where Grani used to serve in the Mounted Police before its disbandment.[64]
- Eastham: A town mentioned in passing, famous for the quality of its leather products. Delphine once went there.[65]
- Butchart: An industrial town in Southwest Victoria where Kal'tsit had bought a mobile plot near its area to temporarily transfer all R.I. personnel after the destruction of the Rhodes Island landship.[66]
- Mannington: The town where E.E. Erikson comes from.[67]
- Tonnerre: A shanty Victorian village where Bluishsilver, one of Rosmontis' squadmates, came from. Iris decided to look there and try meeting her after twenty years, unbeknownst that she was killed during the Chernobog Crisis[68] The name means "Thunder" in French.
- Tonnerre is also the name of a commune in Yonne, France.
A construction site of the Sanguinarch's altar in Brentwood
Schools[edit]
- Royal Academy of Sciences
- 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.[69]
- Victorian National University: A state-sponsored university which Ceylon graduated from.[70] It's also where E. E. Erikson worked as a teacher until his retirement in 1085.[71]
- 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.[72]
- Windermere Military Academy: A private military academy sponsored by House Windermere. It's the institution where Delphine attends to.[73]
Gallery[edit]
A bedroom of a Victorian dwelling
A Victorian city square
A Victorian street
The same street at night
A Victorian countryside village
The interior of a Victorian R.I. branch office
A Victorian palace
A room inside a Victorian manor
A hall inside a Victorian mnnor
The interior of a Victorian barracks
A Victorian barracks with the curtains closed
An Originium-infested battlefield during the Grand Dukes' assault
Another battlefield also infested with Originium
Another battlefield with Londinium seen at the distance
The wreck of the Gloriana, the Duke of Caster's flagship where the "Stone of the Sword" replica is located. Notice the golden glow.
The "Stone of the Sword" located on the Gloriana's main artillery battery
The interior of a Victorian conference hall, such as the Parliament
People[edit]
A male Victorian Feline citizen
Another male Victorian citizen with a green coat and a bowler hat
An injured male Victorian Feline citizen
A female Victorian Feline citizen
A Victorian Feline boy
A Victorian Feline girl
A male Victorian Feline factory worker
Another factory worker with a welding mask
A male Feline soldier of the Victorian Army
Another soldier but with a gun or baton-like weapon
An injured male Feline soldier of the Victorian Army
A female Feline soldier of the Victorian Army
A Feline guardsman of the Victorian Army
Another Feline guardsman of the Victorian Army
A Victorian Feline partisan
Another one wearing a white button shirt
A Feline Victorian soldier in winter warfare equipment
Another winter soldier with beard
A female Feline member of Windermere's Swordguards
A female Feline member of Caster's praetorian guards
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Trivia[edit]
- The races of Victoria reflect the various races that inhabited Great Britain throughout its history.
- The royal feud between the Aslans and the Dracos is likely a reference to the War of Roses.
- The Dracos, the original rulers of Victoria, are an analogue of the Celtic people. Indeed, the story refers to them as the "red dragons," which is a symbol of the modern-day Welsh people, a descendant of the Celts. Tara, another Draco kingdom, is Terra's analogue of the Irish, another descendant of the Celts.
- The Aslans are an analogue to the Normans. Lions are the symbol of the British royal house since the rule of King Richard the Lionheart.
- Judging from Bagpipe's and Saileach's Elite 2 artworks, the Vouivres could be the Anglo-Saxons, which, according to Welsh legend, were symbolized by a white dragon.
- Victoria's prevalence of steam technology is a reference to the rise of Great Britain since the Industrial Revolution.
- The popular uprising that overthrew the previous Aslan king is similar to the English Civil War that ended the life of King Charles I.
- Because Victoria once defeated Gaul, Terra's analogue of France, and integrated some of its territory, remnants of Gaulish (French) names still exist in many places in Victoria.
- Despite being based on the United Kingdom, not all Victorian Operators' English lines are spoken in British accents or its derivatives.
Note[edit]
- ↑ As can be seen on the Sighs of Kings' alternate name Kyngasycath, an unnamed language based on Old English also sees limited use.