by Harry Gulcher, Master of History in Rosewood
Today, the Sirius Empire is one of the few Empires to be recognized in Europe. Its official head is Torrino I of the Sirius Dynasty through which the Empire gets its name. Though the exact link is unclear, Pope Alexander I, a good friend of Torrino I somehow linked his dynasty to the long lost Carolingians of Charlemagne. It is known to us that His Late Holiness got a few figures mixed up and a few key historical accounts wrong.
It is true that the area of the Sirius Empire was home to a few smaller Kingdoms. The eastern and western parts of Egirth, Deston, Late Munrich, Demevia, and others. The ones we need to focus on are Egirth, Deston, and Munrich.
The Death had decimated the area and new Kingdoms began to emerge in its aftermath. Egirth’s de jure land was split into a dozen primitive counties and duchies all vying for control and the status of Kingdom. Around the year 1060 Count Andrey I, an old man, who originally hailed from the Balkan lands managed to prove his mettle and expand his realm through conquest, forming the Duchy of Rosewood Major. His family signed a charter of royalty, claiming Kingship for his and all his future descendants. He was crowned King of all Egirth. Within five years the other counties and duchies would either merge or be conquered in order to form an opposing Kingdom, and so West and East Egirth came into being. Countless wars took place between them. The wars were many in frequency so it gave scholars no time to accurately document the events. Any people, any battles during 1065-1075 might be history or fairy tale, it is impossible to determine what is true and what isn’t.
We can say with certainty that the last King of the opposing Kingdom, Brandon, refused to accept Torrino I’s rule and was subsequently destroyed in the last Egirthian war at around 1076.
Egirth wealth is a direct consequence of it holding one of the largest cities in the world. The number of important people it produces is key for the further development of culture, military, government, theology, and so forth. It has the strongest army out of the three, at around 1.200 men.
The lands of Deston include 8 counties, under 3 duchies, controlled by two Princedoms.
Again, Deston’s history cannot be accurately detailed due to missing accounts. We know that the royal house of Cottor claimed lordship over the lands, but due to a succession crisis, the House of Rosewalda’s predecessor was able to claim the throne and establish a Kingdom by 1068. Queen Victoria I, formed the dynasty after she inherited the Kingdom from her husband.
Deston gets its prestige from its vast wheat fields and efficient tax system, enabling food and coin to be transported quickly, in turn boosting the economy. This is why Deston is a major point inland trade routes with the Germanic lands. Its army is somewhat weaker than Egirth.
I’ve already spoken about the history behind the formation of Munrich in “The War for the South”. You should go and read it there. Regardless of that, Munrich today is on a much brighter path. Its mining potential and terrain have been tapped into by the new King, Albert I Wisser. Its forests are nothing to scoff at either. Its army is on its way to becoming stronger than both Deston and Egirth.
What must be done, must be done. I have to dispute Pope Alexander’s notes on the war between the Dogma and the Empire as pure mythos. The numbers, names, and battles are tales for children. What most likely happened is a small-scale conflict over South Munrich between the two powers. I’d wager that from 1080 to 1085 there was no loss of life exceeding 1.000. By 1085 we finally have more accountable witnessing of history through other scholars. My aim in life on this earth is to attempt to resolve as much of this swill from the paths of history as possible since it is littered with subjective fantasy.
