Firesweeper, the first ruler of the new Empire.
Firesweeper, the first ruler of the new Empire.
The merging of the kingdoms of Ryf and Leyw was a peaceful one, despite their many differences and the unexpected way they came to join together. Maruth, the eldest Princess of Leyw was long a friend of the second Princess of Ryf and when consulted by her parents as to the available princesses to invite to the Crown Prince's marriage ball, Princess Maruth immediately suggested her friend Firesweeper of Ryf. Although not the eldest of the family, Firesweeper was favoured among her people for her kindness and her soft-spoken ways. She was also well along the way to becoming a healer.
While this was not an unusual occupation for a member of a royal family according to Leyw history, for a princess of Ryf it was unacceptable. Princess Firesweeper and her unorthodox behavior greatly displeased Ryf's King Seph and she was living on her own in a small village on the far side of the kingdom. When the Leyw King and Queen agreed to invite Princess Firesweeper to Crown Prince Harlie's marriage ball, Princess Maruth undertook the long journey to the village of Graewer to tell her friend the exciting news in person and bring her to the Leyw palace until the appointed time. As the journey was a long one, Maruth convinced her younger brother Mial to escort her.
Princess Firesweeper agreed to attend the ball, but during the long journey to the palace she and Prince Mial fell in love with each other and, a year later, wed. They returned to Graewer to raise their family.
It was shortly after this that Queen Rothy of Leyw passed away, a mighty blow to the small kingdom that had cared deeply for their frumpy and funny Queen. It was followed shortly after by the death of the Queen Mother. King Illia and the Queen Mother had long been at odds with each other, but the death of his mother was not taken lightly by the aging monarch. Stability returned, however, by the arrival of the popular young prince Aniel, back from his many years at sea. Shortly after, King Illia was married to the Lady Dia, long a member of the royal court.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Ryf was experiencing a major upheaval. Guided by the Brethren Doctrine1, the people of Ryf were used to the erratic behaviors of its royal family. Queen Ionma, however, was born in an out-lying village in Ryf, where the strict rules of the Doctrine were not enforced and instead she was raised following the older ways of the kingdom2. Thus she was not happy with the many dalliances and various misconducts of her husband. Not a weak woman, she forced a rebellion that removed King Seph from power and exiled him from the capital. She then removed the Brethren Doctrine as the kingdom's constitution and established the Royal Advisors Corps, which Firesweeper would later use for the Empire's Royal Cabinet. Queen Ionma was said to have ruled the renewed kingdom of Ryf with an iron glove wrapped in the softest down. Her most important achievement, to this author's mind, is of course her reestablishing of ties with the once-banished Princess Firesweeper and the dunning of Prince Mial and any of their children as official members of the Ryf royal family. This step proved to be crucial to the creation of the Empire.
King Illia fell into an illness lasting over a year. Princess Firesweeper and Prince Mial returned to the Leyw palace so that the princess could assist the Lady Dia, who was also a healer. Over this time, the king came to consider Princess Firesweeper as if she was his natural daughter and a beloved member of his family.
After his recovery, the aged king decided he would retire and pass the throne to a new and younger ruler. When he announced this to the people, the decision was not well taken: Long used to excellent monarchs, the current royal family was a bit of a disappointment to the masses of Leyw.
Crown Prince Harlie was too often found at the bottom of a pint or in the company of serving women. The Princess Maruth was well respected, but she had long ago taken religious orders and so could not ascend the throne. Prince Mial had just himself succumbed to a disabling disease and was unable to attend local council meetings let alone sit for full regal duties. The young prince Aniel had again wandered off, this time to the far off kingdom of Lifor. Princess Bet, the youngest of the family, was mentally unable to carry the responsibilities of the kingdom. The only other options were all outside the immediate family; none even lived in the capitol.
It is recorded that the wait for the announcement of the successor to the Leyw throne was a tense one3, but the when the word came that the King had chosen Firesweeper as his successor, an unexpected and confusing choice, the tension passed. The delay was made plain by the court documents that were sent to every village: the king had actually chosen his son Mial as his successor. By a small loophole in the inheritance laws4, a prince's wife was expected to accept her husband's duties and titles when he was unable to perform his riyal duties. This enabled her to follow King Illia as the ruler of Leyw. The people of Leyw did not immediately settle for this decision, but when faced with the alternatives, all but the hardest of villages accepted the Ryf princess as their new queen.
There were two villages that would not agree to the choice of monarch, and the found support from the kingdoms of Alter and Ilber. Queen Firesweeper's first years as Queen were spent in trying to maintain the support of the people while fighting the Leyw's first war in 100 years.
In need of assistance from someone with some military experience, Queen Firesweeper sent for help from her mother, Queen Ionma. Together the two kingdoms worked to quell the rebellions and secure the borders against further incursions by the Ilber and Alter armies5. After the signing of the Border Peace Agreements, Queen Firesweeper and Queen Ionma signed the Empire Treaty, whereby Ryf and Leyw joined to become a single empire. The ruler of the empire was chosen to be Queen Firesweeper6.
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1 See Trystid's "History of the Ram Wars" for an overview of the Brethren Doctrine that dominated the Ryf kingdom prior to the creation of the Empire
2 See Gareius' "Anada until the reign of King Homa" for excellent research and images of pre-Ryf dynasties.
3 Muttwell describes the 3 month wait as "fraught with fear, every man was watching his door for the announcement, sure that they would soon be swearing allegiance to a drunkard or an absentee fool. Many of the village lords were preparing for secession no matter which of the sons were chosen, feeling that either would mean the downfall of the kingdom. Even in the capital itself, the annual festival of Yequell was attended only by the children."
4 See Greewick's Royal Concordance of Leyw Laws and Court Rulings, v24 s.342 p.2.
5 See Trystid's "The Rape and Restoration of Leyw" for a full accounting of the 16-month war.
6 Ryf succession laws at the time demanded that an abdicated crown be passed to a child of the ruling monarch. Crown Princess Isel had abdicated her rights to the throne during the BD rebellion. According to law, Princess Firesweeper was the next in line to inherit, even had the treaty not been signed, as neither Leyw nor Ryf had laws prohibiting against their monarchs ruling more than one kingdom.
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Updated: 2004.09.20