Principality of Vennau

The **Principality of Vennau** was a small Liamist state in the Kanorian region. Centered around the eponymous city of Vennau, it was conquered by Alexios Megas and brought under the authority of the Despotate of Ionia for centuries, though it preserved its Kanorian culture through multiple trials by fire (such as the Great Sundering). When the latter-day Despotate began to collapse in the 19th century, Vennau declared its allegiance to the Ionian Rebel Alliance, largely because it did not want to lose its autonomy in the Centralization.

Vennau was hit particularly hard by the Monarcho-Westist occupation of Ionia due to its Liamist tradition. When the occupation ended, the old elites of the city were supplanted by radicals who sought to "kill the past" and institute republican governance in the Kanorian lands under a new faith, the Cult of Tarn. However, this government was ephemeral, unpopular, and eventually toppled. Fced with a power vacuum once again, Vennau opted to throw its lot in with the Kanorian Confederation, one of several post-Tarnist states in the Kanorian region. By joining the Confederation, the monarchs of Vennau hoped that its loose constitution would ensure their religious and social rights would never again be trampled. The monarchical succession of Vennau was reinstated, and Liamism was once again declared the state religion.

In 1954, Prince Heins I and his minister Otto Hausner jointly decided to secede from the Kanorian Confederation, believing it was an ailing organization that could no longer guarantee the safety of Vennau. Soon after, the principality was consensually annexed by the Republic of Kanoria and was given seats in that state's legislature (these would be dominated by the UDK).

Prince Heins and his family enjoyed protected status in the Republic, keeping their titles but losing their executive powers. In exchange, the Republic of Kanoria protected Vennau against the expansionism of the autocratic Kanorian State of Düllsberg under General Osea Zana.

Ultimately, however, Vennau's defection to the Republic only delayed the inevitable, as Kanorian reunification was eventually achieved by the autocratic forces of Düllsberg. Vennau's ancestral princes were returned to their thrones and powers, under the framework of the Felrin Province (former ROK). General Zana hoped that by returning the powers of the princes, they would be incentivized to accept the new government. However, the liberalizing traditions of Vennau had not gone away, and were sorely at odds with the conservatism of the new Imperial Kanorian regime. Consequently, Heins I expressed his support for the so-called Defiance of the Princes in the early 1950s. He was arrested before he had the opportunity to muster troops against the Kanorian authorities. Heins was forced to recant his support for the Defiance, and was restored to his throne, before being arrested again by the Imperial Vicar on largely exaggerated charges and found guilty of sedition. Consequently, the throne of Vennau was passed to Heins's nephew, the conservative Heins Adam I.

Heins Adam was overthrown during the Felrin Revolution, and Vennau was placed under the rule of a popular assembly during the Kanorian Fraternal War. During this conflict, Vennau was on the front lines of the civil war and was heavily bombarded in the late 1950s. It was eventually recaptured by Imperial forces at the end of the war, and Heins Adam was restored to his throne. The Treaty of Arstutz, which restored order to the Kanorian Empire, punished Felrin by excluding Vennau from the Felrin Province and assigning it to the Dwelensdorf Province.

After the Fraternal War, Vennese rebuilding took an entire generation. Because it had been moved to the Dwelensdorf Province, Vennau remained under the Imperial banner even as the Conference of 1972 granted Felrin permanent independence. Vennau became one of the more important pilgrimage sites for Helinskan Liamists in the 2000s and 2100s. It was reassigned to the Federal Republic of Ionia, based in Felrin, during the Imperial Conference of 2124. By the late 22nd century, it had become one of the most modernized cities in the FR Ionia, a fact largely attributed to its unique local philosophy of religious progressivism and innovation.

## History

### Early History (16-1700s)

In the early 1600s, Vennau was a Liamist principality under the Despotate of Ionia that controlled the Liamist majority region of Kolberg and even the later industrial town of Huntern. The Kingdom was ruled by the Schelswitz Dynasty, and was on good terms with the First Kingdom of Polmaria. Vennau was a centre of learning and Kanorian Liamist theology.

Elves, widely persecuted elsewhere, were welcomed in Vennau, and around 30% of Vennau's population has elven ancestry. Even the Schelswitz Dynasty were rumoured to be half elves. Vennau would gain its independence during the Seventh Sundering alongside a handful of other small kingdoms.

### The Despot (Late 1800s)

In the years following the Eighth Sundering, the Despotate of Ionia sought to unify the various warring regions of Ionia and set about conquering the numerous small kingdoms. Queen Amélie Schelswitz, not wanting a costly and bloody war, surrendered, and Vennau was officially annexed by the Despotate.

In 1883, a large scale revolt in Kolberg broke out headed by Queen Amélie's advisor Karl Hausner. This revolt was brutally crushed, but acted as a rallying point for the Ionian Rebel Alliance- which was in its infancy at the time.

### The Alliance (1890s-1906)

With the fall of the Despotate, Vennau proclaimed its allegiance to the Ionian Rebel Alliance immediately. However, the Alliance was short lived, and soon Polmaria and the HMOFS were invading. Vennau, like the rest of the Alliance, capitulated nearly immediately, and was conquered by the HMOFS.

In their brief time as rulers, the HMOFS commited heinous crimes against the local populace- particularly the Liamists and Elves of the area.

Fortunately, the Cataclysm ended HMOFS rule in the area, but for the people of Vennau, their new overlords would not be much better.

### The Cult of Tarn (1907-1938)

The Tarnist Republic of Kanoria soon took over the Principality, and due to their high population of Liamists, the region suffered brutal suppression by the Tarnists. Around 10% of Vennau's population were killed in several purges, and Tarnist backed officials took control of the country. Felix Schelswitz- father of Heins Schelswitz was jailed alongside his chief advisor Otto Hausner.
The heavy presence of Tarnist forces in the area meant that very few resistance groups were able to develop. Several Golems also assisted in suppressing the local populace. and it seemed that Vennau would be firmly in the clutches of the Cult for eternity. The problem was so bad that the former Vennau city of Huntern had become a stronghold of the Tarnists.

### The Kanorian Revolution (1938)

When the Kanorian Revolution of 1938 struck the TROK, several Schelswitz loyalists stormed Felix Schelswitz's prison and freed the Prince and his advisor Otto Hausner. Together, the two declared the Principality of Vennau.

Vennau assisted the Liamist militias of Kolberg and Huntern, and the soldiers of Vennau helped kill several Tarnist Golems. In the dying days of the Revolution, Vennau agreed to join the Kanorian Confederation to avoid being swallowed by Düllsberg or the Republic of Kanoria, Vennau would stay in the Confederation until 1954.

### The Republic (1954-)

In 1954, Arkom Flintaar- a Patuljac member of the ruling party of the Republic of Kanoria- convinced Otto Hausner (who was essentially ruling the nation due to the inexperience of Prince Heins Schelswitz) to secede to the Republic and join the UDK. Otto Hausner was convinced with promises of money and power, and convinced Schelswitz to join the Republic.