Ralgonese Chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes

The Ralgonese chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes is the attempt by the central government of the Imperial Federation to organize current and future citizens of this country who hold membership in the Order of the Holy Lakes. The Emperor of the Imperial Federation is automatically the head of the Ralgonese Chapter of the Order. Membership (and, where necessary, active participation) of Ralgonese members of the Order of the Holy Lakes is mandatory for those who also hold Imperial Federation citizenship of any kind. Not every member of the Imperial Federation's imperial family holds membership, the most notable of these non-members being (until 1746 AN) Nobunag'an IV.

Ralgonese members of the Order who are not citizens of the Imperial Federation (descendants, spouses, or relatives of Ralgonese members) are automatically extended the optional invitation to join; membership confers additional benefits and closeness to the Emperor not accorded to much of the greater and lesser nobility of the Imperial Federation, so affiliation is generally a very strong incentive to join for those extended such invitations. The first of such offers was extented to Princess Stella when she married Nobunag'an IV in 1746 AN, upon which both joined the Ralgonese chapter in positions of honor.

Aside from the Sovereign (always the reigning Emperor) there are four grades of membership: Member, Senior Member, Officer, and Commander. The Emperor and his (or her) consort takes precedence at whatever grade they are in. Outside of these, an individual's rank within the Order is sorted firstly through their rank within the Imperial Federation, then their title in the Order, then their age. As membership grows larger, this structure is expected to slowly change over time to accommodate the great many descendants expected through Emperor Anarion and other Ralgonese rulers.

Loosely speaking, there are two lines of nobles within the Ralgonese Chapter. The first in precedence is the Line of Anarion, through his marriage to Qasima Cakar in 1720 AN). Second in precedence is the Line of Stella, through Emperor Emeritus Nobunag'an IV's marriage to Princess Stella. Both lines are descended from the supposedly-immortal Nobunag'an through six spouses over the long years of his life. The Line of Anarion descends through Nobunag'an's first wife, Princess Rani of Nixtorm (d. 1610 AN). The Line of Stella is descended through Nobunag'an's ninth wife, Princess Stella. (It should be noted that Nobunag'an IV is monogamous, simply having outlived his wives by sheer virtue of his unusually long life. Five of his prior marriages before Stella also had issue; four of these branch families are not members of the Order.)

Line of Anarion

History

The Line of Anarion was inducted into the Order of the Holy Lakes in 1720 AN upon Anarion's marriage to Qasima Cakar, during the Regency Period of his long reign in the Imperial Federation. The line includes Qasima Cakar and all of her children in the Order by right of birth, and Emperor Anarion through marriage to now-Empress Qasima as of 1758 AN. The line is named for Anarion, Emperor of the Imperial Federation from 1705 AN (exiting regency in 1726 AN).

The two spouses had an impressive twenty-five children, all members of the Order in their own right through this line. Through descent from Anarion, all such members are similarly part of the Ralgonese Chapter as part of the Line of Anarion. The most recent child, Katsumoto Elend'ar, was born to this couple in 1738 AN. It is thought that he is the last, due to the physical strain of twenty-five children coming from a single mother. As of 1756 AN, all of Anarion and Qasima's children became (theoretically) eligible for marriage.

The Ralgonese Chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes was officially recognized as an organized national chapter in 1743 AN, with the Line of Anarion being the sole line of descent in this chapter until Nobunag'an IV married Princess Stella in 1746 AN. Within a few generations, it is expected that there will be at least fifty to a hundred members of the Line of Anarion, if not more. Due to the explosion of eligible successors to the Imperial Throne, most will likely fall into obscurity or locate themselves abroad.

Ancestry in the Order

Emperor Anarion and his spouse, now-Empress Qasima were included in the Order through the Line of Woodrow through marriage. Emperor Anarion's spouse, Empress Qasima's, claims membership via birth by her descent through Akbar Çakar, known at his death as the Tobu Emperor of the Great Apollonian Empire. In turn, Akbar Cakar was descended through [Ümit Çakar]], whose spouse's ancestry comes from the Farrah family, beginning in the record with a marriage to the daughter of Scott Woodrow, the founder of the Woodrow Line.

Line of [[Stella

History

The Line of Stella was recognized as its own separate line in the Ralgonese Chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes in late 1757 AN. This line was initially formed in 1746 AN, when Nobunag'an IV married Princess Stella. However, the line was not recognized as its own branch due to Nobunag'an himself being the direct ancestor of Anarion and thus all of his children. However, Nobunag'an's children through this line became members of the Order in their own right due to descent from Stella Sturgeon Wythe, and the ancestry from himself to Anarion spanned six generations through his first wife (d. 1610 AN, who was not a member of the Order.

Given that Nobunag'an IV's own membership only comes by right of marriage, only his children through Princess Stella are eligible for Order membership, excluding the issue from all other five spouses. Thus, it was deemed both necessary and proper to include Nobunag'an's children by his latest marriage into the Order. Given his impressive number of other descendants and multiple other marriages with issue, the new line within the Ralgonese Chapter was named the Line of Stella, after his spouse, instead of himself (as was the case with Anarion's line of membership).

The line was consequently inducted as its own independent sub-chapter in 1757 AN. It includes Nobunag'an IV, Princess Stella, and their descendants. As of 1751 AN, they had three children, none of which are eligible for marriage, and due to technicalities, none are currently eligible for succession to the throne of the Imperial Federation.

Ancestry in the Order

Nobunag'an IV is the Emperor Emeritus of the Imperial Federation, as well as a current Senator of the Holy Lakes. Nobunag'an's own descent is poorly recorded, but is is known that he is the son of Dalgar'an IV of Ralgon, and grandson of King Draeg'ar XV of Ralgon -- both short-lived kings due to the chaotic and brutal reality of Drag'os in the 1500's AN. Nobunag'an's own reign began in 1594 AN and ended with his abdication in 1673 AN due to concerns over his own age. His reign lasted 78 years, by far the longest in his country's history. (Only later did it turn out that he'd have far longer to live.)

Strictly speaking, Nobunag'an's own membership in the Order of the Holy Lakes comes from his 1746 AN marriage to Princess Stella through the Line of Fish. Stella is the daughter of Catherine Wythe, a descendant of Kaiser Fish XII and in the Van der Sluijs imperial line of Shireroth, and Chrysostom Wythe, a descendant of Kaiser Wythe and in the Shireithian Line of Wythe. Stella's membership in the Order derives solely on the maternal line via Catherine Wythe (née Fish). Catherine Wythe descends from the Line of Fish, the inaugural member being the eponymous Kaiser Fish XII (d. 1620 AN).

Member Roll as of 1751 AN

Name	Order Membership	Chapter Membership	Date of Birth	Age	Title within the Imperial Federation	Member Number	Other Notes
Emperor Anarion	Knight	Sovereign	1701 AN	60 AN years	Emperor of the Imperial Federation	1	de facto representative to the Order in Hurmu. Member by marriage to Qasima Cakar.
Empress Consort Qasima	Lady	Commander	1701 AN	60 AN years	Empress Consort of the Imperial Federation	2	Married to Emperor Anarion. Independent voter ((controlled by User:Gustaaf Vermeylen))
Prince Masamune Takeshi Celeborn	Knight	Senior Member	1728 AN	33 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	3	Heir presumptive; eldest child of Anarion and Qasima Cakar
Princess Mariko Luthien	Lady	Senior Member	1728 AN	33 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	4	Representative of the Ralgonese Chapter
Dalgar'on Hikaru Elent'ar	Knight	Member	1730 AN	31 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	5
Princess Lianna Toshiko	Lady	Member	1731 AN	30 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	6
Prince Ieyasu Chidao Turg'on	Knight	Member	1731 AN	30 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	7
Princess Takara Yavanna	Lady	Member	1733 AN	28 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	8
Princess Mako Nienna	Lady	Member	1733 AN	28 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	9
Princess Kaguya Melian	Lady	Member	1733 AN	28 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	10
Prince Takaharu Fing'on	Knight	Member	1733 AN	28 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	11
Prince Satoshi Ayreon Mand'os	Knight	Member	1733 AN	28 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	12
Princess Noriko Rani	Lady	Member	1733 AN	28 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	13
Prince Tadakatsu Maeg'or	Knight	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	14
Princess Masako Nien'na	Lady	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	15
Prince Shinzo Fean'or	Knight	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	16
Princess Yasuko Tsubaki	Lady	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	17
Princess Yoko Miri'na	Lady	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	18
Prince Kenshiro Sind'ar	Knight	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	19
Prince Balaeri'on Musashi	Knight	Member	1734 AN	27 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	20
Prince Azul'on Toshiie	Knight	Member	1735 AN	26 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	21
Prince Valac'ar Shiro	Knight	Member	1735 AN	26 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	22
Princess Matsu Ancalin'ai	Lady	Member	1737 AN	24 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	23
Prince Hiruzen Ancalag'on	Knight	Member	1737 AN	24 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	24
Princess Shuna Mir'ai	Lady	Member	1738 AN	23 AN years	Princess of the First Rank	25
Prince Toshi Ilien	Knight	Member	1738 AN	23 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	26
Prince Katsumoto Elend'ar	Knight	Member	1738 AN	23 AN years	Prince of the First Rank	27
Emperor Emeritus Nobunag'an IV	Knight	Commander	1564 AN	197 AN years	Emperor Emeritus Prince of the Second Rank	28	Member of the Order through marriage to Stella Sturgeon Wrythe Also a Prince of the Second Rank by unique virtue of preceding Emperor Anarion's own predecessor Shiro I of Ralgon.
Princess Stella Sturgeon Wythe-Ral	Lady	Captain	1716 AN	45 AN years	Princess of the Second Rank	29	Member of the Ralgonese Chapter through marriage to Nobunag'an IV. Independent voter ((controlled by User:Ric))
Prince Alexander Takeshi Ral	Knight	Member	1747 AN	14 AN years	Prince of the Third Rank	30	Child of Nobunag'an IV and Stella Sturgeon Wythe-Ral.
Princess Gloria Megumi Ral	Lady	Member	1748 AN	13 AN years	Princess of the Third Rank	31	Child of Nobunag'an IV and Stella Sturgeon Wythe-Ral.
Prince Caspian Izanagi Ral	Knight	Member	1750 AN	11 AN years	Prince of the Third Rank	32	Child of Nobunag'an IV and Stella Sturgeon Wythe-Ral. Independent voter ((controlled by User:Ric))