Frankonia

The Golden Republic

Frankonia is an island mercantile republic in the Twisted Realms. Its citizens are fiercely defensive of their traditional freedom and liberty.

Structure

The Grand Republic maintains an elective system of government, wherein affluent merchant families vie for power. On its highest level, the office of the Prince-Mayor is most sought after, though lower instances are also highly competitive. There are mainly seven powerful dynasties who interchangeably control the Republic, and whose influence have divided Frankonia into seven spheres of influence; consequently, the dynasts of each House have been formally inscribed as titular Septemvirs .

In total, there are six central bodies in the Republic of Frankonia:

the Azure Conventus,
the Serene Conclave,
the Court of Cassation,
the Grand Council of the State,
the Primus Bank, and
the Golden State Inquisition.

The Azure Conventus is a parliamentarian citizens’ assembly, directly elected by the citizens of Frankonia. It always consists of four consuls, one elected from each town on the island, excluding Ponvarus itself, and 155 tribunes, 31 elected as representatives from each town. The consuls are chief magistrates and wield limited executive power within the walls of the Dome of the Five Lilies, the building where the Azure Conventus holds its meetings, whilst the tribunes are explicitly the citizens’ spokespeople. This Conventus drafts laws and sets the agenda for the Republic on a regular basis and is a famed place of lively debate between Frankonian politicians. Furthermore, the Court of Cassation, le cour de cassation, acts as the highest civilian court in the Republic, though it is not a constitutional court. Constitutional matters are instead handled by the Grand Council of the State, le grand conseil d’État. Ruling from Ponvarus itself, the Prince- or Princess-Mayor of the Republic represents the republican government of Frankonia. They preside over a grand council called the Serene Conclave, which entails seven different positions, numbering twelve seats in total:

the Leonine Pontiff, Angelique Delecour;
the Steward-General, Lothaire LaFlamme;
the Marshal-Governor, Edwige de la Fleur de Lys;
the High Consul, Éminence Garderique;
the Corrector-Lieutenant, Odile Lachance;
the Ponvarian Quaestor, Tharrir Silverborn, and;
the Gray Monitors.

All of these posts are appointed at the start of a new Prince-Mayor’s tenure, except the Leonine Pontiff and the Marshals-Governor, and they can only be replaced by cause of death or by order of the State Inquisition. Every councillor has a department or organisation under them, save for the advisory Gray Monitors. The Steward-General is the commanding officer of the Republican Guard; the Marshal-Governor is the captain-general of the Golden Legion; the High Consul is the senior diplomat of the realm and oversees the Chancellery and by extension the clandestine Consular Vicariate; the Corrector-Lieutenant is the chief of staff for the Prince-Mayor; and the Ponvarian Quaestor is the treasurer and in charge of tax collection and the execution of the budget. Frankonia’s government delegates rights of coinage to various private enterprises, for instance, all seven Septemvir families mint coins through family-owned banks, though the Primus Bank of the Merchant Republic also does this. The coins of the Republic follow the standard system of bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, which the Frankonians call, and mint as, ducats. Themes are changed with time, though the current obverse of these coins are adorned with the personification of Justice surrounded by five lilies, representing the towns of the Republic, and the reverse is decorated by the front-facing head of the lion d’or, the golden lion of Frankonia, as well as the text Liberté et Égalité – les deux sont garanties, or Liberty and Equality – the two are guaranteed. The Golden State Inquisition is, despite its name, a purely secular state institution that aims to root out any and all enemies of the Republic, whether they be anti-republicans, traitors, fraudsters, criminals, or anyone else that may pose a threat to the republican or financial order of Frankonia. The Leonine Pontiff is the leader of this organisation, and anyone who ascends to this rank must represent the highest virtues of Frankonian republicanism and utter incorruptibility. Golden State Inquisitors operate with relative independence, and all their trials are held in public. In addition, the organisation frequently cooperates with the Consular Vicariate in order to gain information about, and thus stay updated on, actors hostile to the Golden Republic.

Every term lasts five years in Frankonia.

Military

There are no salaried armies in Frankonia; instead, mercenary bands known as condottieri companies are hired by the state, rich families, and independent actors in order to protect their assets and interests. The Septemviri families each maintain one personal condottieri company: the so-called Golden House Armies. Likewise, the Republic itself contracts the Golden Legion, though they are sparsely utilised, and are mostly relegated to limited guard duties on the Eternal Island. However, one of the Golden Legions is stationed on a rotationary basis in the Yelanid Alliance, and these do frequently intervene on the behalf of either the Princely Leagues or other powerful agents, often to resolve internal conflicts.

There is also a small personal retinue of 1320 soldiers serving under incumbent Prince-Mayors: the Republican Guard.

Trade & Transport

The lifeblood of Frankonia's republican way of life is sustained by its prosperity, which in turn comes from its extensive trade network. As the Republic lacks a self-sustaining economy, mainly producing specialised goods such as glasswork and silverware, it is entirely dependent on trade with other kingdoms; the Septemvir families are responsible for most of the in- and outgoing trade routes on the island. Its merchant fleet is believed to be the largest in existence, though most of these vessels are owned by mercantile families and are normally competing with one another for profits. The formal government of Frankonia, the Serene Conclave led by the Prince-Mayor, maintains one commercial hub in each realm it has trade agreements with, leaving the rest to the Septemvirate, though in practice it possesses the assets of one of these powerful families at any given time, as the mandate of Prince-Mayor rotates between these merchant dynasties.

In particular, the Yelanid Alliance is a hotly contested zone amongst the illustrious houses of the Republic, as these federated states supply many rare or sought-after luxury goods, though its surplus of grain, fish, and other base goods are essential for import-dependent economies, such as the city-state of Nova Aera. Frankonia highly values bilateral diplomacy as a result of its role in international trade, and whilst some realms may regard the Republic as a haven of corruption and greed, none can deny the positive economic impact it brings.

Frankonia has trade agreements and permanent diplomatic missions with most nations in the known world, with some exceptions, such as Valakia.

Treaty Overview

Peace, Prosperity, and Perseverance.

Maps

Frankonia

The full Golden Banner of Frankonia.

Founding Date

1396 AM

Type

Geopolitical, Republic

Capital

Ponvarus

Alternative Names

The Eternal Island

Demonym

Frankien

Head of State

Clovis d'Emmondif

Government System

Oligarchy

Power Structure

Thalassocracy

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Ducats

Legislative Body

The Azure Conventus

Judicial Body

High Court of the Golden Republic

Subsidiary Organizations

Official Languages

Frankonian

Controlled Territories

Notable Members

Frankonia

471

Solar Exodus
Population Migration / Travel

Fleeing an unknown calamity, a group consisting primarily of humans land on the southern shores of the Eternal Island and found the small settlement of Ponvarus, marking the beginning of the history of Frankonia.

Additional timelines

The History of the Borrovyan Peninsula
502

2 Aurana

502

14 Virian

The Dawn Revolution
Revolution

A monarchy was established alongside the settlement of Ponvarus. Whilst originally stable, it failed to gain legitimacy amongst successive generations, who began to see it as a remnant of their ancestors' demise. A brief period of civil unrest began, with the revolutionaries adopting the Solar Lion, a symbol of valiance, as their icon. On the morning of the 14th of Tending in 1396 AM, the monarchy was peacefully abolished and the Golden Republic of Frankonia was proclaimed.

Additional timelines

The History of the Borrovyan Peninsula
719

31 Tempestus

720

1 Solari

The Silent Morning
Military action

Also known as Operation Persevering Sentinel, the Silent Morning was a mass purge spearheaded by the Consular Vicariate and the Republican Guard that targeted the criminal underworld of Ponvarus. No trials were held and no public statement was ever issued.

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Location
Ponvarus

Additional timelines

The History of the Borrovyan Peninsula
1313

1315

Grand Betrayal of Values
Disaster / Destruction

The Grand Betrayal was a disastrous period in Frankonian history that saw several of the Republic's most important figures exposed as cultists of Baphomet; more precisely, Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth. The subsequent inquisitions against the Templars were a bloody and highly sensitive period. It resulted in large reformations in the organisations of the Septemvirate dynasties, the government, and many guilds.

read full story

Additional timelines

The History of the Borrovyan Peninsula
1315

4 Solari

1315

17 Estira

The Wrathful Expulsion
Diplomatic action

In the backdrop of the Grand Betrayal, Frankonia's longstanding mission to the Kang was imperilled. A number of diplomatic staff were implicated as Templars and executed, though the Enduring Avatar of the Kang Dynasty had had enough, and used the Templar infiltration as the basis for expelling all Frankonian personnel from the Mandate. This was backed by military force, which ended in a month-and-a-half-long siege of the Frankonian legation. In the end, most of the Frankonian civilian and military personnel were saved by a joint evacuation effort consisting of the Septemvirate dynasties Dandale, Garderique, and Merandure, as well as the I Golden Legion. This event marked the end of the only permanent foreign diplomatic mission to the Heavenly Mandate.

Additional timelines

The History of the Borrovyan Peninsula

Kang's History