John II, Holy Orenian Emperor

**Mother**: Adelheid of Istria

**John Sigismund**, also known as **John II** (Common: *John Sigismund*; High Imperial: *Johannes Sigimundus*; Savoyard: *Johann Sigismundo*) (1st of Malin's Welcome, 1521 – present) called **the Quarreler**, of the House of Horen, was the second Holy Orenian Emperor of the restored Fifth Empire from the death of his father, John I, in 1547, until his own abdication in 1568. He was his father's first son by his much maligned empress-consort, Adelheid of Istria. He was succeeded upon his declaration of abdication by his own firstborn son, the then Prince of Alstion, John III.

Upon his abdication, John Sigismund retired to an estate in the countryside around Johannesburg with a few close friends, free to practice his eccentricities unburdened by the governance of the realm.

## Character and personality

In many ways, John II was regarded as the polar opposite of his imperious father. While John Frederick was strict, serious, austere, assertive and calculating, John Sigismund was carefree, eccentric, worrisome and prone to blunders and misjudgment. Many had high hopes for the young emperor upon his accession to the throne - his father had grown particularly unpopular during the last three years of his reign, his stern and unbending demeanor becoming regarded as tyrannical and his enthusiasm to continue the Eighteen Years' War not shared at all by the populace. John Sigismund's eccentricities were perceived as harmless, and it was believed that a more affable, peace-loving and less severe monarch would do much to reaffirm the realm's stability after the war. Immediately upon his succession, he managed to end both the war and the Taxman's Conspiracy. Despite this, John II's reign would become one of the most violent and tumultuous in the history of the Holy Orenian Empire, to the extent where he would inevitably become known as 'the Quarreler'. To what extent the emperor was personally responsible for this is a topic debated by historians even today, however it was known that though he was educated, intelligent and personally likable, he was unable to command either great respect or great fear.

John Sigismund's eccentricities (A mortal fear of many types of fruit, including pineapples, to name one such idiosyncrasy) resulted in him becoming a caricature of ridicule in his people's eyes. They only became worse as his reign progressed. His poor judgement in dealing with matters both domestic and foreign were also notable - he misplaced his trust in several treacherous polities, eventually resulting in a number of violent insurrections and revolts that threatened to see the end of the Horen dynasty. Though when he came to the throne he had been an energetic ruler, towards the end of his reign, he began to show a lack of concern for affairs of state, delegating them to his chief ministers and his son John III as Prince Regent. John II's intentions were usually pure and for the benefit of the Empire and its people, however his blunders typically made them impossible to be realized.

Physically, he looked much alike to his father John I, with the same brown hair and grey eyes. Also like his predecessor, his hair began to lighten and recede at a relatively early age, for which he was sometimes known as 'the Bald'. John was naturally loving of peace and quiet and unsuited to the realm of war and politics, and so after his abdication he retired to a humble estate on the outskirts of the capital with a few trusted companions.

## Issue

*John III, Holy Orenian Emperor (1549-present)*

*Prince Alexander Sigismund, Duke of Balamena (1552-present)*

*Princess Eleanor Julia (1554-present)*

*Prince Joseph Frederick, Duke of Furnestock (1555-present)*

*Princess Alexandria Maria (1556-present)*