Vesta of Salemini edit
| Vesta of Salemini | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Vesta as regent of the Kingdom of Salisia. | |
| Empress Consort of Salisia | |
| Tenure | [D month] 991 – [D month] 991 |
| Coronation | [D month] 991 |
| Regent of the Empire of Salisia | |
| Tenure | 991-- YYY |
| Regent of the Kingdom of Salisia | |
| Tenure | YYY-1007 |
| Born | 5 Serala 971 Salemini, Salisia |
| Spouse | Lucius I (991) |
| Issue | Lucius II |
| House | Ambrosius |
| Father | Julianus of Salemini |
| Mother | Caesennia of Rávas |
Vesta of Salemini (5 Serala 971 - d/m/yyyy) was the first Empress of Salisia as the wife of Emperor Lucius I, and de facto regent of Salisia from 991 until 1007. She and her twin sister Amata were the only children of Julianus of Salemini and Caesennia of Rávas, and were descendents of the kings of Aweria. She was notable in her time for her diplomatic skill, beauty, and intelligence, but the perceived failure of her foreign policy caused her to be viewed as unambitious and weak. Her period as regent saw the loss of the recently-conquered Aweria to the Saarun Empire and the collapse of the briefly-lived Salisian Empire. She was overthrown by her son Lucius II after sixteen years of regency, and spent the rest of her life as an influential figure in his court.
Vesta, as the younger twin, had been intended as her sister's swordmaiden. However, after the death of Amata in 988, she became her parents' main heir. Soon after, she was betrothed to Lucius I, and after the conclusion of the Tenth Great Holy War and the establishment of the Salisian Empire in 991, they married. The marriage was shortly-lived, but during its four-month duration she conceived Lucius II. After the death of her husband in a riding accident, she successfully petitioned the Chambers to declare her the regent of his unborn child in order to avoid a war of succession. Lucius II was born five months later in 992 and crowned Emperor of Salisia the day after.
[Summary of the rest of her life.]
Early Life and Marriage: 971-991 edit
Vesta was born an hour after her sister Amata in Salemini on the fifth of Serala in 971. Chroniclers claim that the ordeal of birthing two Descendent children nearly killed their mother and rendered her infertile for the rest of her life. Vesta was intended as her elder twin's swordmaiden from birth, likely as a way to increase Amata's marriage prospects. While their family's name was illustrious, Julianus of Salemini was only a castellan with minimal wealth and holdings for someone of his stature. Vesta and Amata were educated in several aristocratic sourts around Salisia, but in 982 at the age of 11, both girls were sent to be educated in Seveglia at the court of Vesperus III. Some historians believe she and Lucius met during this period of her life, but the size of the court made extensive interactions between the two unlikely.
In 987, Amata was killed by agents of the Saarun Empire, leading to the declaration of the Tenth Great Holy War. Julianus of Salemini and King Lucius I both publicly claimed that Vesta had witnessed this be done by the Saarun Prince Nahmar, who was studying at the University of Seveglia under a pseudonym at the time. However, Vesta would later go on to claim in 995 that Amata and Nahmar had secretly married before her death, and that Amata had died while trying to saved Nahmar from assassins sent by his brothers. Emperor Arqaan IV denied both version of events, insisting that the Saarun Empire never killed Amata. Amata's death attracted immense attention towards Vesta's family, and made her the main heir of her parents. Regardless of the true cause behind it, Vesta was apparently heartbroken by her sister's death, refusing to wear any color but mourning black until her wedding almost four years later.
On Ascension Day, 991, Lucius announced his and Vesta's betrothal before embarking on the journey to Aweria. A few weeks later, Ashala of Corovia, who likely unknown to Vesta, was a Mystite dissident, was knighted as her swordmaiden. In [month], Vesta swore an oath to join the Great Holy War and sailed to Bulakaya, where she acted as a translator during the negotiations to end the Siege of Bulakaya. She returned home afterwards, having never seen combat herself. In [month], she was gravely injured in an assassination attempt by Prince Samir under the orders of Arqaan IV, but was rescued by her guards before she could be killed. After the end of the Tenth Great Holy War in [month], 991, Vesta sailed to the capital of the new Salisian Empire, The Heart of the World, to be married. During the ceremony, her swordmaiden Ashala attempted to kill the emperor with a hidden blade but `was arrested and later executed. It was rumored at the time that Vesta had some degree of knowledge of her swordmaiden's background and intentions, but she was adamant that she had not been.
According to Vesta's own words in later accounts, her brief-lived marriage to Lucius was a happy one. However, chroniclers from the time alleged that she would fly into "great fits of rage" after spending time with her husband, and that on one occasion she openly challenged his rulings in public. However, despite great public pressure to do so after his death, she never remarried.
Early Reign as Regent: 991-YYY edit
Rise to Power, 991-992 edit
On the morning of DD MM 991, Lucius was riding his horse on the grounds of the royal palace in The Heart of the World when he was thrown from the mount and killed. Many conspiracy theories from then and now have been put forward suggesting that the King was killed deliberately; while these are certainly possible due to past attempts on his life, most modern historians reject them due to the commonality of riding accidents and related deaths during this period. A common belief was that this was yet another assassination by the thwarted Saarun Empire, but a later investigation held by Vettorio Sellarii found no evidence of this. After Lucius's death was announced, chaos broke out, and the Chambers called for an emergency session to determine succession.
As Lucius was the last living member of the Caelus dynasty, there was no one left with even a weak claim to the throne. Not only was this politically significant, but religiously so, as the extinction of an entire holy Descendent line had not occurred in centuries and would have major ramifications. The Chambers deliberated for two days straight, in which some members argued that Vesta, being pregnant with Lucius's child, should be its regent until its birth. Vesta was repeatedly made to "prove" her pregnancy through multiple public medical examinations, and both she and her maids endured intense questioning to ensure that there was no one else who could be the father. When asked to testify on her own behalf, she also emphasized the claim to the Awerian throne that she held in her own right, which no other candidate had. Eventually, it was agreed upon that she should be regent to her child.
Her first act as regent was to reverse Lucius's Decree of 991, which required all non-Centiclarians in the empire's boundaries to convert or be forced to leave. This was an act she had opposed as consort and openly criticized. She also permitted all who had been converted due to the Decree to return to their previous faiths, and those that had left to return to their homes. Beyond this single act, she gave over most of her legislative powers to the Chambers, allowing others to characterize her as demure and easy to control. However, she fiercely maintained control over political appointments, giving positions to powerful allies who would later defend her regency. Vettorio Sellarii was made chancellor, and Marino Valieri, Flavius Tanicus, and Bruno Fiolo were given senior positions in government. The late king had left many temple positions in Aweria unfilled, and Vesta set about nominating candidates to these, in an effort to build further support for her new government.
On DD MM 992, Vesta gave birth to Lucius II. A birth involving a number of painful complications, she is reported to have pleaded with the midwife to save her life if the choice came between her and her child. However, both she and her son survived the ordeal. It was probably intended that Vesta's regency only last as long as her pregnancy; however, a day later, she had Lucius crowned as emperor in the Heart of the World Cathedral with herself as regent. Afterwards, she issued a coronation charter laying out various commitments on the behalf of her son. She presented herself as the loyal widow of the highly popular former emperor and the loving guardian of the last remaining Caelus. She announced that she in the interim until her son's majority, she would abandon the warlike policies of her predecessors and "establish a firm peace" across the empire; she promised a return to the prosperous days of the Kingdom of Aweria; she promised never to levy a tax like those that had been raised to fund the Tenth Great Holy War. She also spent time in her charter attacking her political enemies and warning the people of Salisia against allowing them to become regent; claiming that permitting them to take power would lead to civil war and the loss of their newly-conquered lands. This solidified initial support among both the people and the Chambers for her continued regency.
A Fragile Peace edit
After securing her continued status as regent during Lucius's coronation, Vesta allegedly fell into a "deep melancholy" that prevented her from taking effective political actions. She also reportedly spent little time with the infant king, instead entrusting nursemaids to breastfeed and take care of him. Most modern historians believe these may have been a symptoms of postpartum depression, but rumors of existing mental instability during her time as consort leaves this diagnosis a controversial one. During this period of inaction, Vettorio Sellarii solidified and extended his power as chancellor, making himself the most powerful common-blood in the history of Salisia up to that point. For the rest of Vesta's regency, he would effectively serve as her co-regent and curb much of her personal political power.
After a few months she warmed towards her son, who she nicknamed "Lucy," and returned to full participation in the political arena, albeit with reduced capability. When Sergius Pulla laid claim to Tirach (then belonging to Linus Arquitius), claiming that his ancestors had governed the city, Vesta summoned Sergius to The Heart of the World, but Sergius did not recognize her authority to act on behalf of the King. They agreed to meet at a river near Bulakaya, but their meeting did not result in a compromise. The conflict was resolved when Sergius was invited to administer Ravetina on Antonius Volusius's behalf. Before leaving for Ravetina, Sergius renounced all his claims in Aweria, but also stipulated that the same domains should be granted in fief to him if he were to leave Ravetina within fifteen months. Vesta then gave Tirach to Linus. A few prominent cities within Aweria still under Saarun governance sent gifts to Vesta to ensure her benevolence.
During this time, the pressure on Salisian holdings in Aweria, both from outside and within, was enormous. Aweria was far larger than Salisia, and had a far more mountainous environment, making establishing control over the land very difficult for the Salisian army. Up until its withdrawal in 1006, there were many guerilla forces made up of native Saaruns working around Aweria. There were large areas where the Salisians had absolutely no control, and travel was treacherous at best. While there were some early attempts at quelling the fighting forces, this proved extremely difficult. Instead, Vesta opted for a defensive approach, ordering her soldiers to escort travelers through the many bandit-filled mountain passes. Due to this danger, there were very few Salisian settlers who came to Aweria under Vesta's reign, making Salisian control there even more tenuous.
In the remains of the Saarun Empire, many vassals were outraged with the concessions Emperor Arqaan had made to the Salisians in order to stay in power. His general, Solak, used this as a chance to consolidate power around himself, presenting himself as being able to reunite all parts of the old Saarun Empire. This worried many of Vesta's Awerian vassals, and she reportedly went into talks very early on with Solak in order to ensure a continuing peace with the Saaruns. Solak was reportedly quite impressed with Vesta's diplomatic skill and fluency in Qina, however was frustrated by the lack of her inability to take decisive action to rein in her vassals. The negotiations broke down and were not to be restarted for another few years.
Eleventh Great Holy War edit
The major catalyst for war were the violent actions of a Salisian Awerian marcher lord, Tertius Aemilius. Formerly a general in the Tenth Great Holy War, he had been appointed by King Lucius as a lord over a large stretch of land bordering the hostile Saarun Empire. Though explicitly commanded not to do so by Vesta, Tertius conducted regular raids on the bordering Saarun lands, sacking cities and killing many Saaruns in the process. This led Vesta to eventually strip him of his titles, but all this meant is that he stopped paying her taxes. The strength of his army and Vesta's reluctance to begin a civil war caused her never to take his power from him by force. When Tertius attempted to burn down a Serafen holy site and killed Solak's sister and daughter in a raid, Solak officially declared war upon Salisia.
Though Vesta immediately raised the imperial army to meet Solak's challenge, she initially refused to call for a Great Holy War, as she still hoped for a peaceful resolution to the war. The two armies met on either side of the river akiş and waited for the other to attack. The two armies held out for three weeks without much more than occasional skirmishes in an attempt to lure the other to attack. Eventually, Tertius broke order and commanded his men to attack, falling right into Solak's trap. The Battle of Akiş was an early and decisive victory for the Saaruns, who killed up to half of the Salisian forces. After this, Vesta was forced by her vassals to officially call for the Eleventh Great Holy War. However, other Centiclarian states were less eager to send forces so soon after the last Great Holy War, so it remained largely a war between the Saaruns and the Salisians.
During this period, the two armies began capturing small cities within one another's territory. The Salisians won a major victory at the Siege of Irmak, where they struck a blow equal to the one given to them at Akiş. After this, Vesta and Solak re-entered negotiations. Solak proposed that Vesta marry his brother Evhad, and that they should rule together over Aweria. However, Vesta rejected the idea when Solak insisted Vesta disinherit her son Lucius and convert to Serafism. Solak suggested that his nephew Ürhan be her emperor instead, an idea that Vesta also rejected.