The Vinandy's

The Vinandy’s: the history of the Batavian dynasty is a story series compiled and written by Gustaaf Vermeylen. Work is currently underway on writing down the stories about the Vinandy dynasty. It is a coherent whole of actual historical facts supported by fictional stories.

Theme music

The theme music for this story series comes from the documentary series about "The Romanovs:

Part II: Inter regna

• King Arkadius I des Vinandy

Part III: Golden Age of Vinandy

• King Arkadius II des Vinandy
• Queen Fränzi-Ferdinanda I des Vinandy
• King Arkadius III des Vinandy

Part IV: The tree of many branches

• King Willem V des Vinandy-Windsor
• King Hendrik I Civilis
• Queen Anna III des Vinandy-Windsor

Part V: Return of Vinandy

Main characters in this part:

• 

  Arkadius Frederik Gustavus des Vinandy, Holy Catologian Emperor, King of Amokolia, King of Batavia, Emperor of Francia and Grand Duke of Helderbourgh

• 

  Clara Sundara Waffel-Paine, ex-wife of Arkadius Frederik Gustavus des Vinandy

• 

  Esther Fatima Gudrid

• 

  Elisabeth Asara des Vinandy, Princess of Austrasia

• 

  Margaery des Vinandy, Princess of the Beneluccas

Arkadius and Clara: A Royal Love Story

Even before this story series was invented, the love story between Arkadius and Clara was described in: Arkadius and Clara: A Royal Love Story.

The continuation of the story after the divorce of Arkadius and Clara is as follows:

Chapter 1: A fairy tale castle of a princess

"Your Majesty, we have just been greeted by the Storish air traffic control, and Storish fighter jets will soon be accompanying us," the co-pilot told the Frankish Emperor. "Thank you," the Emperor replied, winking at his daughter. She giggles, because her father frowns when he looks at the cards on the table. Yes, his daughter is winning without having to let her win. Smiling with paternal pride, he looks at the girl, he doesn't mind losing from her. She may win, now that it is not bad that she would lose. Soon, if she is the Queen of Batavia, then she cannot lose, then she must win. Gain all the evil forces that would threaten her country.

The fighter jets arrived accompanied the Kaiserlicher Reichsadler Eins to the airport of Amorica. The receiving committee knew that the aircraft would soon land when the fighter jets flew low. When the emperor and his daughter descended from the flight of stairs, the Vinandy song was played by the brass corps of the Chevaliers d'Oriflamme Sacré. A flower bouquet is offered to the princess, while the many flags flutter in the wind.

Château Cour-de-forêt

In a convoy of white luxury cars, the imperial guests are driven to the Château Cour-de-forêt. Both were very impressed with the castle, because it was the first time for both of them to see the castle. When the emperor was taken by the hand of his daughter, he only looked at the waiting woman in the doorway of the castle. He couldn't believe his eyes, a beautiful woman. Her red blond accented hair was a beautiful frame of a pretty face. Two blue eyes look at him, after which the emperor recovered from his gaze. The girl on his hand pulled him towards the waiting woman. “Welkom in Gasconje. Welkom in het Château Cour-de-forêt” said the woman in flawless Batavian. The Court master took the floor: “Your majesty and your royal and imperial highness, this is Esther Fatima Gudrid Ayreon-Kalirion ibn al-Majeed bin Sathrati af Ettlingum Freyu, de Châtelaine du Château Cour-de-Forêt”. The emperor was not sure if he would shake her hand, but his daughter preceded him and handed her the hand, "Hello, I am Elisabeth with a lot of names and titles." Esther grinned and gave Elisabeth the hand, "Thou can just call me Esther". Elisabeth answered quickly: "Thou, that’s not necessary ".

The emperor laughed at the spontaneity of his daughter and shook Esther's hand. "Thank thou for receiving us." Esther said to Elisabeth: "Your father already talks so nicely." Elisabeth chuckles. "Indeed," said the emperor, "let's just tutor." "Sounds good to me," Esther replied. "What is that tuto ... eh," Elisabeth asked her father, "That is using ‘you’ instead of ‘thou’.” Esther invited the imperial guests to move on, "We must not stand here in the door all day." In the hall the imperial guests looked with astonishment at the high decorated space. In the centre of the hall is a statue of Arkadius I, king of Batavia, half surrounded by the stairs. The company walked down a long corridor, where there were portraits of various Vinandy’s on the walls. A table was set up in a beautiful high room. Esther invited guests to sit at the table. Arkadius actually wanted to see more of the castle first, Esther noticed, whereupon she said: "The castle is not running away, you must be hungry." Elisabeth had already sat down so that her father could no longer refuse.

The princess's bedroom

After the meal with typical Gascon dishes, Elisabeth played on the rug in front of the fireplace. Her father still had to do some work, because reigning of three countries never stops. Esther asked Elisabeth if she could join. "Yes of course", the girl answered enthusiastically. When her father came back into room after a while, he saw Esther playing with Elisabeth. He smiled, but still had to interrupt the game. After all, it was bedtime for his daughter. Esther brought the imperial guests to the most beautiful bedroom in the castle. After all, it is Elisabeth who has been assigned the castle, which gives her the most beautiful bedroom. A large bed is ready and after Elisabeth is changed, her father read a story. Esther left the room, but continued to peek at the scene. Although he is the emperor, king and grand duke of three different countries, he still reads a story to his own daughter. After the story, Elisabeth asked: "Dad, would you like to get married again". Arkadius was surprised by the direct question from his daughter, but answered: “Ehmm, if there is a woman who would not only want to marry your father, but also want to be a mother to your brothers and you, then I would like marry that woman”. "Daddy," the girl sighed, "that's a long answer." Her father smiled: "You are right, I am not in the Lagerhuis or the Reichstag". Elisabeth started to smile again. "Who would you want as a mama," Arkadius asked. "Today I had a great time with Esther", the girl replied. Her father thought for a moment and said, "It's time, young lady." He pulled the blankets and kissed her. "Good night, Elisabeth." "Good night, Dad."

The emperor walked back to the room with the cozy fireplace. There Esther sat on one of the armchairs, she looked up from her book when Arkadius entered. He was still thinking about the conversation with his daughter and he was nervous. As he walked to the remaining armchair, he wanted to say something, but a lump in his throat produced an inimitable sound from his mouth. He coughed, and Esther asked, "Are you all right?" "Yes, it's ... it's what my daughter said," replied Arkadius. "Oh," Esther responded, "may I know what". Arkadius thought for a moment and said, "Well, anyway, she likes you very much." Esther did not ask any further, although she had not heard the conversation, this could not be everything. "May I offer you something to drink?" She asked instead. A tray with a wide variety of beers was presented. "Ah, you know what I like," said Arkadius. Esther admitted immediately: "Of course I did a study of my guests". Arkadius smiled and then he was even more surprised when a selection of cigars was presented to him. "You don't mind smoking," he asked. "No, but don't expect to go French kissing afterwards," Esther said spontaneously. Arkadius laughed. The atmosphere relaxed and the two had a frank conversation. It was already very late when the two each went to their own room. Arkadius lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts did not stand still: ‘Esther, the contender for the mother of my children’.

by Gustaaf Vermeylen

Chapter 2: What a feeling!

The Châtelaine du Château Cour-de-Forêt, the Storjarla Esther Fatima Gudrid Ayreon-Kalirion ibn al-Majeed bin Sathrati af Ettlingum Freyu, Imperial Chieftainess of Normandie, Earla of Anglia, lay abed in her opulent bedchamber in Château Cour-de-Forêt. Esther's flat and toned stomach was supercalifragilisticexpialidociously buzzing of excitement: Her Imperial and Royal Highness could hardly lay still! The tremendous fluttering in her tummy was caused by having been struck by the dart of love twice over earlier that day.

First there had been the dart of motherly love: a whoosh of golden light, gorgeous and delightfully disruptive. It hit Esther when she, for the first time in person, laid her eyes on Her Royal Highness the Princess Elisabeth of Austrasia, awaking the latent loving mother inside her as well as hooking Her Imperial and Royal Highness for good on motherhood. The Princess Elisabeth was spontaneous, smart and witty as well as wise way beyond her years. Her Royal Highness also possesses a tremendous charisma, being the bodily culmination of numerous awesome ancestors.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously shortly after the first dart of love came the second one for Esther: striking Her Imperial and Royal Highness right in the heart, igniting the love of a woman for a man. In a bright golden burst of magic it transformed the Frankish Emperor into Sir Arkadius des Vinandy, Esther's Knight in Shining Armour: hotter than dragonfire and so exuberantly handsome that he could compete with Thordynnar Galtivaris in the good looks department, which is not too surprising since the Frankish Emperor descends from that hunky Elf too.

Esther lay skyclad between the Valtian Silk sheets that cover her humongous bed, her gorgeous body raging with love. She writhed and squirmed, twisted and turned, adamantely trying to calm herself down. The Earla of Anglia was exuberantly pumped like she had never been before; filled from head to toe with energetic excitement, enthusiasm and other wonderful emotions. To her tremendous delight had Her Imperial and Royal Highness' reception and hosting of her most honoured guests, the Princess of Austrasia and the Frankish Emperor been a smashing success; that was something which was for a substantial part owed to the excellent information provided by the Corps de Renseignement of the Fleur de Lys-Longships Guard and for co-equal parts caused by her own meticulous preparation - which included masterclasses with the famed Storish golfer Johanna Johansdóttir of the House of Ostqvist, the Storish chess champion Carl Magnusson of the House of Asker and her great-great-grandmother High Queen Mother Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir of the Houses of Kaupsted and the Descendants of Freyja, who in her teens had gained renown around Reikistjarna for her prodigious virtuosic skill as a pianist - and the efforts of the Maison du Duc de Gascogne, the ducal household of the Duke of Gascony. Moreover, due to fate she today had contracted a seemingly permanent bout of of mommy fever as well as run into the man she wanted to tie the knot with.

A true family man he is, that Arkadius Frederik Gustavus des Vinandy, who in spite of the tremendous burden of governing three sovereign realms, still found time to lovingly attend to his children. Given the fact that he was of good Imperial stock it would be a piece of cake to obtain the permission of the Imperial Longships Throne for their nuptials. With Arkadius, Esther could also fulfill her inherent duty of passing on her ancient lineage - which includes mythical giants like Björka Hnossdóttir, Kaiser Raynor I of Shireroth, Tuuler Kalir, Harald Freyjugjöf the Generous Giver, Rashid Shahanshah of Babkha and Kaiseress Noor of Shireroth - as her parents, the late Kaiseress Noor of Shireroth, of Glorious and Beloved Memory, and King Noah of Elwynn, would have expected of her. Esther Fatima Gudrid Ayreon-Kalirion ibn al-Majeed bin Sathrati af Ettlingum Freyu des Vinandy... That name most certainly had a tremendous Imperial and Royal appeal to it!

The Divine Power moves in such mysterious ways: us puny mortals never know when or where zie shall set up anyone of us for love. Hnoss had encountered Thordynnar Galtivaris in the Godsgrove of the Temple of the Lady and the Fisherman in Valtia; her grandmother Esther Ayreon-Kalirion, the sixth Emira of Sathrati, also known as Esther the Elder, had met her grandfather, Hallbjörn Haraldsson, who later served as Kaiser Hjalmar of Shireroth, at an informal reception held at the Hall of Hundred Hearths of the Vanadísarhall during Emperor Nathaniel of the Natopians' Imperial Visit to the High Realm of Stormark; her aunt the Storjarla Fjǫrleif Llængjarla of Eidsivarike had run into the love of her life, the Lady Alys Geloyra of the Milkhouse, while looking for adventure in The Green; and it had taken years before her father, King Noah of Elwynn, had pierced the mental armour worn by her mother, the late Kaiseress Noor of Shireroth, finally realizing her attraction to him. Ah, what a couple they were!

Her Knight in Shining Armour, Arkadius Frederik Gustavus des Vinandy, actually descends from a great knight from the days of yore: Count Bertolf des Vinandy, also known the Bertolf the Brave, the founder of the House of Vinandy. He is widely regarded as one of the finest knights ever, who even could teach famed and legendary knights such as Kendra Harcourt and Pierre Bourgault de Dampierre a thing or two. To this very day Bertolf is a folk hero in northern Batavia, Gascony and Francia with him featuring in innumerable tales. He is remembered as a jolly bon vivant, strong and competent ruler, champion of justice, and perfect chivalric lord with a hearty goodfellow manner; males would like to be like him and many a nubile damsel dreams of him wearing her favour.

A stanza of an ancient Gascon folk song, which she had sung to the Princess Elisabeth while the two of them where playing on the rug in front of the fireplace, popped up in her mind:

There were the women of the village Scattered out along the way And I heard children crying As many a coward ran away The marauders must have seen them A situation perilous and grave But standing firm between them There was Bertolf the Brave

Arkadius in many respects governed his domains in a manner similar to that of his forebear Count Bertolf des Vinandy: patriotic, just, inclusive, hopeful, aspirational and inspirational. During his various tenures and reigns as a statesman and monarch he displayed wisdom and extraordinary leadership, gaining acclaim both domestically and internationally. In a recent article the Gascon newspaper called the Quill and Arrow wrote that Arkadius had "a proven track record of strong leadership and he recognises the challenges one must confront. Time and time again this scion of the Des Vinandy dynasty has also shown himself to be empathic, understanding, knowledgeable, pragmatic and sensible."

The thought of standing before the wedding table with Arkadius wearing a certain red Babkhi gown with the traditional Shahzamini golden embroideries, the very same dress in which her grandmother, Esther the Elder, tied the knot with her grandfather, Hallbjörn Haraldsson, and which was also worn by her great-great-great-grandmother Tuuler Kalir at the inauguration of Rashid Arsalani's Grand Viziership, years before him being made both Shahanshah of Babkha and Kaiser of Shireroth brought a smile bright enough the light up the entire planet on Esther's face. A feeling of peace and contentment came over Her Imperial and Royal Highness and then she slipped into a pleasant deep sleep, sweetly dreaming about hiking with her future offspring, both by acceptance and of her own body, in the Forest of St Michael on the Gascon island which is known as the Isle St Jeanne: a litter of children the size of a small army.

by Esther of Anglia

Chapter 3: Love at shipwreck

Weeks after she expressed her desire to sail the seas of Micras just like before, the moment was there. Again she would go sailing, as in her younger days. Different routes have been considered. From the Beneluccas to the Jasonian archipelago, or from the Beneluccas to the Princess Fränzi-Ferdinanda Island, or even to continental Batavia. Ultimately, a sailing route was chosen from the Beneluccas to Jorvik.

The salty sea air, the swell of the boat on the waves, the wind full of sails, in short: the feeling of freedom and the struggle with the elements. She loves that. But the reality is that she hasn't made a real sailing trip for years. Her work has prevented that. First when she was queen, now as princess and governor of the Beneluccas, she is still very busy. Yet an opportunity has been created to make her dream come true. A sailing trip and taste of the salty wind.

Her brother and her distant cousin were not entirely comfortable with her plans, but she had already done some trial trips with her crew around the Beneluccas. The test runs were successful, where necessary improvements were made. The sailing boat "Queen of the seas" was prepared and the supplies were brought on board. The princess was busy on the deck with the final preparations. And then the moment was there. The gangplank was brought in, the bunches were released, the boat separated from the quay.

A few hours later, the mountains of the Beneluccas can only be seen as green-gray contours on the horizon. On the port side you can see the mountains of the northernmost island of the Skerry Isles. When the sailboat will pass the north cape of that island, a change in the current and wind is to be expected. The crew takes the necessary preparations and eats a little before the sea becomes more restless. The princess steers the boat more to the west, so that the current is, as it were, cut. Just as expected, the wind changes and the western sea current is noticeable after the north cape has passed. Still it was not too bad.

The sailboat sails northwest again and the sea gets restless in the O’Rear Strait. The narrow strait makes the current very strong, but the weather also deteriorates. The princess is concerned if it turns out that a storm is starting on arrival in the Street of Pearls. The incidence of darkness only makes it worse. A fierce storm plays with the sailboat as if it is nothing. The big waves hit the deck, the mate is still trying to steer, but the storm has made it impossible to keep course. Efforts are made to hold on to ropes. The princess sends out a distress signal, but a reaction on the radio does not occur. On deck she wants to help with the ropes, but she sees too late that the main sail's boom has come loose. The boom throws the princess into the sea. A wave hits the boat and it starts to capsize dangerously. For a moment the boat seemed to be more stubborn, but the next wave does the rest.

Queen of the Seas

The princess was barely conscious by the blow and managed to cling to a piece of wood. With the rope on the wood, she ties herself to the driftwood. The storm continues unabated. Then she loses her consciousness. Her eyes are closed, the sound is silent and everything is turning. Then she hears a voice say her name. First far away, then increasingly louder. A warm blanket was wrapped around her while she still wore her wet clothes. She heard the sea, but nothing like that night. No storm noises, no big waves. But calm waves that compete on a beach, whoever comes the furthest. Then she hears that voice say her name again.

"Margaery, are you awake ?!", then her vision sharpens and she sees a male face. Two brown eyes looked questioningly at her. She started to smile and reassured the man. She wanted to get up, but then she felt pain coming in all kinds of places. "Who are you?" She asked stammering. "Where am I? How do you know my name?” “Calm down,” the man calmed her down. “My name is Noah. You are on the island of Narvik. We just fished you out of the sea. Apparently you have suffered a shipwreck.” “My crew, my ship! ”She exclaimed, standing still. On the beach around her she saw parts of her ship washed ashore. Several crew members sat or walked on the beach, along with other men and women. "Narvik?" She asked Noah. “Yes, Narvik in Stormark. Just lie down again, that's better.” The man's strong arms guided her while she forgot her pain. The man put a water bottle on her lips and she drank from the bottle. Her eyes were fixed on the man's brown eyes. She no longer knew what happened to her. First shipwreck, now love fell over her.

by Gustaaf Vermeylen

Chapter 4: The king is dead, long live the king!

Mausoleum of Gustavus

There were great concerns when the king of Arcadia fell seriously ill. But at his request, he was not taken to a hospital, but cared for in the castellum. His sister flew over from Narvik, his distant cousin from Helderbourgh. Arkadius and Margaery stood at the edge, while Gustavus gave his last orders.

“Arkadius, have Arcadia included as an autonomous region of Batavia. You will be the new king of Arcadia and Prince of Calbian. But make sure that this kingdom is not annexed by Batavia as a glory. It is up to you, but I would love it if Gustavus Nathan, when he is an adult, becomes the king of Arcadia." said Gustavus. Arkadius nodded in agreement. “Margaery, you will be raining in Arcadia. That way you can control Arcadia, because Arkadius already has a lot under his reign. "Margaery nodded and replied: "I will do what you ask of me."

Gustavus was tired and wanted to sleep. Arkadius and Margaery watched over the dying king. Gustavus' heavy breathing showed that he was struggling. A few hours later they were talking softly at the table on the other side of the room. Suddenly she stopped talking. The king's breathing had stopped, they got up and walked to the bed. "The king is dead," said Arkadius. "Long live the king," Margaery replied. Both cried for the loss of their wise and beloved Gustavus.

The news of the death of Gustavus led to much sadness in Arcadia. The king who took care of the unification of Arcadia is dead. In the following days, the deceased king was laid out, allowing people to say goodbye. The last goodbye was held in the Basilica of Koningsrots. The deceased king was laid out, behind which stood the new king. He carried all the regalia, while the coffin of Gustavus was closed. Then the coffin went to the mausoleum where Gustavus was buried.

by Gustaaf Vermeylen

Other stories

Other stories related to this story series:

• Game of the Batavian Throne
• The Micras Chessboard