Galliana

Galliana

Name: Galliana
Concept: Constitutional Monarchy where a Glory Monarch Reigns with Knowledge and Reason

History

Galliana is a prestigious island nation that has traditionally held the large islands of Galliana, Wellan, Eirene and their accompanying archipelagos, off the coast of mainland Lotic. It held a history as a military and economic power, but lost much of its power and mainland holdings when it could no longer keep up with the advances of the Industrial Revolution, having only caught up in the past twenty or thirty years. It is also one of few remaining true monarchies in the world, with democratic elements representing only the interests of the nobility and bourgeoisie.

When the Juno Project went under development, most of the innovations had to be purchased from other nations on the mainland, and led to a generally weak first Glory, a distant royal family member by the name of Caroline Arlaberg. Caroline was generally considered to be a failure due to her inferior abilities, which barely matched the descriptions of mainland Glories. When the capital city of Hibernia was hit by a Union nuclear strike on the Queen's birthday, Caroline was the sole survivor of the bomb that destroyed the royal palace and killed every member of the royal family in the line of succession above her, leaving her as the reigning Monarch in her stead.

After the death of the main successors, the remaining nobles set to war upon eachother to choose a new monarch. Most factions backed Lord Aldra of Lancel, a renowned admiral and former fighter pilot, while a small group remained loyal to the proper successor, Caroline. When the country was poised for civil war as it was yet engaged in war with the Union, the young Glory burst through the ranks with the fury and power of the mainland's great weapon and set the fields where Lancel's forces were gathering ablaze, with a single path of escape. In the aftermath, when the nobles were expecting a coronation, they were given a notice of a royal wedding.

Taking Aldra as her King-Consort, Caroline went to task rebuilding the country and ensuring its future. She established a new chamber of Parliement to give a voice to the working class and enacted new civil services in order to protect the populace. In a somewhat ironic twist of fate, it was the advent of a magical ruler that led to the resurgent modernization and democratization of the country.

At the same time, Galliana's Glory project was restarted under the title of 'Knight Maiden' and produced several powerful and loyal agents of the crown. Several of these Knight Maidens were married off to noble families and young statesmen in order to secure the power of the crown and ensure a continuing line of Glories in the realm.

Dramatis Personae

Caroline Arlaberg, the Lionhearted Queen

Caroline Arlaberg was Galliana's first Glory, a weak and sickly child culled from the household of one of the Queen's cousins. Although her body was quite frail, she was a studious and strong-willed child who forced herself to learn the piano and many other skills expected of a nobleman's daughter despite having a body that was wracked by chronic pains. When selected to go to the mainland for testing, she was initially considered one of the weaker candidates for rituals, if not for this very same ability to resist pain.

After succesfully undergoing processing at a facility near Hibernia, she was still considered to be a weaker example of Glory until the nuclear attack on the capital, which is generally believed to have removed her psychological inhibitions. She is a fairly average magical combatant of modest capability, but exceptional endurance. It is believed that the rituals also imbued her with a sort of supernatural charisma, allowing her to sway others through a display of her resolve, a somewhat fitting power for a monarch.

Aldra Lancel, King-Consort

The Lord Lancel is a man of his late twenties and a much-beloved national icon, having served in several campaigns as a naval airman before attending the officer's collegiate and becoming a naval officer in command of his own ship. He earned several commendations and awards for his efforts during the battle of the Baltar Straits, where he held a Union fleet at bay for no less than eight weeks until reinforcements from Lotic arrived.

He was initially selected as a forerunner by the nobility against is will, as he was getting ready to deploy on another campaign. Against his better judgement and the hope that his resolution of the conflict would involve less bloodshed than the alternatives. During the conflict, his forces were defeated and dispersed single-handedly by the young Caroline. Their subsequent marriage was a gesture of political goodwill to the houses that opposed the new Queen, at least to a certain extent. Aldra has actually held longtime affections for Caroline, feelings that have not entirely been returned yet.

Knight Maidens

Lilah Grey: Lilah Grey was a lower class girl who opted to become a Glory as a means to escape the poverty and help her family by elevating them to nobility. Hardworking, quick-thinking and earnest, she is favored by the Queen for her ability to give a more earthly perspective on very real problems. She is a powerful ranged combatant who prefers solo sorties.

Hannah St. Olms: Hanna was a retainer in the Arlaberg household who worked as a maid until she was made a Glory by the Knight Maiden Project. She is generally inseparable from the Queen, acting as her personal escort in trips to other nations, and is generally thought to be the most powerful singular combatant among the Gallianian Glories. She specializes in blades and close-combat.

Margaret "Thunder" Callahan: Margaret Callahan is the daughter of an Eirenian merchant family, with a boisterous and rough personality. She is a favorite of front-line fighters and is generally well-liked by the troops because of her simple demeanor and curvy good looks. She fights with a hammer that doubles as a gattling cannon and is one of the best commanders among the Knight Maidens.

Celeste Sorel: Celeste Sorel was the daughter of a Wellanian watchmaker, who gained a strange propensity for making magitek automatons after her rituals. She is an extremely intelligent and perceptive young woman who excels at creating systems to support her fellows.