History:

The country of Felthespar was first formed as a fortress meant to be a last resort against enemy attacks. The very first government was a makeshift wartime government, set up and ran by Vesovius Emlé, set up to protect the Church of Serene. For the most part, the Knights of Pecoros, known simply as Onion Knights (this title springs from a myth that Peco, greatest of the gods according to the Church of Serene, often takes the humble form of an onion, and so has been oft referred to as the Onion God), were under a dictatorship. Anything that Vesovius said was law, and became law.

Originally, the titles and rankings reflected the monarchial structure of the Onion Knights. Vesovius was Emperor, and beneath him were the Kings. The Kings served as a council, with their votes influenced by those under their jurisdiction. Every King, and even Emperor Vesovius, had a Prince. The Prince served as an advisor to his King, and was also his successor. Answering to the Kings were the Lords. Each Lord had 10 Nobles under him to maintain order, and each Noble controlled 100 knights. The knights were the general masses of the knighthood, having no special authority or powers. A knight could have anywhere from 1-3 squires serving under him, each pending for their own admittance to knighthood.

Vesovius was a very involved ruler, and unfortunately he died in a battle with the Cainites at the age of 47. His death would have been devastating, but fortunately his son stepped up and agreed to assume the position under his father's name, in order to maintain the pretense that Vesovius hadn't actually died. After assuming his father's name and identity, he never reverted to his own. After his death, his son became Vesovius as well (referred to as III from here on), and the people began to believe that they had a ruler that never died and would always be there to protect them.

The next three generations of government was fairly consistent. Each Vesovius served until his 60th birthday, and then his son, the Prince Vesovius, stepped up. Under the reign of Vesovius II, the Prince was given the ability to have his King removed from office, provided he had just reason. Whether or not this rule still applied to Vesovius is unclear, as no one ever tried to oust a Vesovius from his position. Vesovius III brought about a change in the rankings of the Onion Knights, changing the titles to reflect a closer kinship with the Church. Kings became High Templars, Princes became Regents, Lords became Templars, and Nobles became Paladins. Vesovius changed his title from Emperor to Lord Templar.

It wasn't until Vesovius IV that the family line was finally unable to continue, as Vesovius IV had had no wife, and therefore no children to carry on the legacy. Vesovius V was simply a close friend of Vesovius IV who assumed the position after he died in a skirmish with the Cainites. Vesovius V took the title of Vesovius to honor his friend. After this, every new leader who assumed leadership over the Onion Knights assumed the honorary title of Vesovius. Vesovius V also brought about other changes to the structure of the Onion Knights, bringing them even closer to the Church of Selene (I'm not sure why the Church seemed to change its name, but all manuscripts that I have read from Vesovius V's era refer to the holy priestess Selena, and the Church is referred to as Selene). The High Templars became Regents, Regents became Cardinals, Templars became Archbishops, and Paladins became Bishops. Knights and squires, as always, remained the same. At this point, only the knights and their squires actually participated in battles. Being promoted to Bishop was basically a form of retirement for a knight, and further promotion resulted in more power and influence.

It was under Vesovius V that the Church of Serene and the Onion Knights became the most closely interwoven. Unfortunately, these ties caused great corruption and ambition in Church officials, and Vesovius VI expressed a concern that things should be changed. The Jyhad provided a catalyst for that change. When the Cainites declared war against the three Churches of Selene, Loren, and Eidr, only Selene had a standing army to fight for it. Lorin and Eidr quickly came to Felthespar, begging for sanctuary. Vesovius VI took the two Churches in, and after very difficult diplomatic negotiations, he incorporated the three sister churches together into one Church. In order to preserve the identity of each Church, he split the entire Knighthood into three separate branches, known as the robes. Red Robes sprang from the Church of Selene, Black Robes from the Church of Eidr, and White Robes from the Church of Loren. Also, Vesovius VI finally re-segregated the Church from the Knighthood of Felthespar, changing his position away from that of a religious figurehead to more of a military leader. Vesovius did away with the old ranking system altogether, except for knight and squire, and instead put a High Council in charge of the Church, and a separate High Council in charge of the Military. He positioned himself as Lord Councilor of the Military High Council, and assigned his Regent to be Lord Councilor of the Church.

Under the reign of Vesovius VII, who saw the end of the Jyhad, a separate branch of the Knighthood was formed to advance the studies of magic and the heraldic arts, in order that the Onion Knights wouldn't find themselves facing an enemy as powerful as the Cainites again without having some powerful magic of their own to rely on. Also formed at this point was the Templar division of the Church, which was intended to always serve as an extra-elite home guard and protect the Church in case the Onion Knight Military failed. The next notable change was under Vesovius IX, who put emphasis on the separate divisions in the Knighthood (Church, Military, and Arcanum) by giving them each a High Council, and the placing a separate Grand Council which presided over everything. He also had each branch established a ranking system for themselves, with rankings established for the Military, Arcanum, Church, and Templars. Then finally, Vesovius IX himself established an extension of these rankings, which he dubbed the Celestial Rankings. Very specific rules were written for attaining these three ranks, and they were intended to signify a Knight who had surpassed all other knights.

Vesovius IX and X served as the Lord Councilors of the Grand Council, but unfortunately, Vesovius X was not a well-liked Lord, and his corrupt politics and dealings almost led to a complete revolt in the Knighthood. To stop this from happening, the remaining 6 Council members successfully voted Vesovius X off, and replaced him with a Lord Councilor who they felt would serve more fairly. The position of Vesovius was reduced to a political figurehead only, and the Grand Council has chosen its own Lord Councilor ever since, always maintaining the right to remove the Lord if he does not prove himself worthy of the title.

Below is a chart detailing rankings over the various periods.

Table of the Reigns of Vesovius: