The Bonapartes of Numenor: A Chronicle of the Old World After The End

[Wysemage]

Long ago, before the Event scoured clean the history of the Old World, the mighty Kingdom of Numenor spread across the West. Under Charlemagne the Great, Elendil the Tall, Peter the Magnificent and Louis the Sun King to name a few monarchs, the twin kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor [1] went from strength to strength. It was under Napoleon Bonaparte that Old Numenor reached it's final zenith, spreading across the West from the shores of the Atlantic to the tundras of the Rus.

But Napoleon was bested by the Queen of Britannia and the Tzars [2], forcing the King into exile. While Napoleon died in exile however, his line survived well beyond the Event. It wasn't until the rise of Isildur Bonaparte that Numenor was fully restored, Isildur who defeated the Empire of Benelux and brought the Novelist faith to all corners of his new Numenor.

Of course, this and many other writings of the Novelist faith are disputed by the followers of Christendom and Thelema, calling the Novel's stories "mere works of fiction". Especially apt when claimed by those who bicker amongst themselves and those who believe that an old woman waits for them to conquer the world, but such discourse is not the purpose of this chronicle.

Returning to Numenor and the Bonapartes, as inseperable as these histories are. Following Isildur's death, his successors continued to reign with diligence and strength, defending their kingdom and faith against the British Expeditions, the German Princes and many more. But it would not last.

The loss of Arnor following the tyranny of the kinslayer Queen Silmarien was a blow that Numenor would never recover from. Within a century, the last High Kings were slain by the British, the Fall of Paris bringing an end to Numenor reborn. But the Bonapartes, as they had before, would persist.

This chronicle begins in the year 2555, the generally agreed starting date of the European Neo-Medieval Period. Aragorn Bonaparte, King of Pas-de-Calais and the great grandson of the last High King, feels his time draw near, but the blood of Numenor still burns fiercely within. Britannia still holds most of Gondor, but the free Novelists to the east and south of the kingdom, though diminished, could easily be reminded of their past.

Benelux stands divided beyond the Deadlands [3] as the sons of the Emperor bicker for supremacy. Christendom lies divided as countless faiths, new and old, bicker amongst themselves. Britannia turns inwards as the Irish rise up once more. It is the chance Aragorn is waiting for, the chance to make amends for the failings of his forebears. The Restoration of Numenor has begun.
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[1] - To most other religions and cultures of the era, Gondor and Arnor were recognised by their Old World names of France and Aquitaine.

[2] – Zarist and Folklorist legend claims that when Napoleon advanced into Russia, the very spirit of winter rose up against him, freezing his army solid. Britannian legend claims that the High King was bested by the Knight-Admiral Trafalgar at Waterloo.

[3] – The Deadlands is an area of great death on the borders of the Benelux, littered with survivng artifacts of what is referred to as the End All War. Whether the End All War was fought as part of the Event is hard to determine, in no small part because of the inherent dangers of the Deadlands. Choking gases and poisoned water, deadly weaponry long lost hidden amidst the bones of forgotten warriors, the sole thing that grows there are poppies that blanket the Deadlands in a sea of red. To this day, the poppy is a symbol of rememberance, and of hope.

 

[Wysemage]

Chapter I

Aragorn, King of Pas de Calais 2522-2560

Children: Faramir (b. 2520 d. 2561), Boromir (b.2522 d. 2591), Arathorn (b. 2524 d. 2571), Walton (b. 2524 d. 2587), Delphine (b. 2556 d. 2626)

Aragorn of Pas de Calais, born in 2503 to King Arathorn, has been cemented in history as the man who turned back the tide of misfortunes that had plagued the Bonapartes for a century.

Little is recorded of Aragorn's childhood, save a few mentions of the young man's diligence in studying the military exploits of Isildur I and Napoleon, his ancient forebears. That dedication to military learning shaped him into the brave, ambition-driven King who succeeded his father at the age of 18, Arathorn being slain in battle against the Britannian Governor like his father before him.

Despite his pride in his heritage, Aragorn knew at a young age that the Novelist world would not be reunited under Numenor so easily. The Empire of Benelux had reformed, although they still professed in the faith that Isildur had spread. In the south, the Arnorian Novelists were as adverse to incursions from the north as they were from the Palmarians of Iberia and the Svisserreich.

And so Aragorn spent the majority of his reign dedicated to the defence of Novelists as a whole. From his participation in the Battle of the Black Gate in 2530 [1] to the continued hindering of Britannian and Palmarian growth over the 2530s and 40s, Aragorn focused on surviving rather than thriving in those dark days. This all changed however, at the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 2555.

A map

Always staunchly Catholic, the Irish had resisted the Britannian yoke for longer than Numenor had. The 2555 Rebellion was merely another chapter in the story of failed uprisings that the Irish had started, but Britannian affairs turned inwards for long enough that Aragorn finally saw fit to make a move. To his south, the Countess of Senlis and the King of Grand Est staunchly rejected his calls to bend the knee, prompting the beginning of the Deadlands War.


The Deadlands War (April 2555 - August 2557)

So called for the main theatre being for control of the safe passes through the inhospitable Deadlands, the war is generally regarded by Novelist historians to be the start of the Numenorean Restoration and the Neo-Medieval Period as a whole.

Count Frollo Hugo of Paris, while ostensibly a Britannian vassal, had established an alliance with Aragorn Bonaparte by marrying his daughter Emmanuelle to the King. With the majority of the Empire focused on the Irish uprising, Count Frollo was able to pledge aid to Pas de Calais during the war.

The Battle of Senlis (May 2555) was sparked when Parisian forces crossed the Seine and engaged the still mustering army of Countess de Tremaine. The defenders held out for several days, but the arrival of reinforcements from Calais caused a rout amongst de Tremaine's forces, securing a victory.

As Aragorn's forces spent the rest of the campaigning season sieging the holdings of Senlis, those of Grand Est crossed into Vermandois to do the very same thing. It wasnt until the snows thawed in March that Aragorn departed for the Deadlands, leaving the Parisian army to siege Senlis. Successive battles in St. Quentin and Autun pushed the Burgundians out of the Deadlands by September 2556, the Countess of Senlis bending the knee to King Aragorn in the same month.

Whilst Erik's capital at Dijon capitulated after the winter, the King of Grand Est would not surrender until his capture at the Battle of Brienne (Late July 2557). The Deadlands War was over, King Aragorn had effectively doubled his domain in the process.

Later years and death

Following the Deadlands War, the remainder of King Aragorn's life was spent on solidifying his hold on the new territories he reigned. Damage done from the sieges in Senlis and Dijon was restored, but the rigors of old age had begun to stress the aging king. Many historians also theorise that the news of the Pact of the Black Gate and the subsequent formation of the German Confederation in 2558 [2] would have also impacted his health, the king having taken part in that battle over thirty years prior.

Whatever the case, Aragorn would reign until his death in April 2560. According to his physician and Chaplain, Count Gandalf of Vexin, in a letter sent to Aragorn's son and heir Prince Faramir;

"The King began to complain of chest pains during a horse ride through Troyes, inspecting the county and making plans to relocate his court to the more centralised location. Shortly afterwards as the entourage stopped for water, Aragorn's complaints became more frequent, suddenly falling from his horse.

I provided as much treatment as possible, but the severity of the King's heart failure was too much to counteract, he passed into the hands of Eru and was free of pain in his last moments"

The kingdom of Pas de Calais and the surrounding realms at the death of King Aragorn (April 2560)


[1] – The Battle of the Black Gate (2530) was fought between the restored Empire of Benelux and the Princedom of Trier. Though the Christians were vastly outnumbered, they managed to hold the Black Gate until reinforcements from neighbouring Princes lifted the siege. The Black Gate has since been regarded as the most significant military victory that Christian Germany saw in the 2500s, and naturally, the most cataclysmic defeat the Novelists had seen since the execution of Anarion, the last High King of Numenor.

[2] – Seen by many historians as inevitable following the Black Gate, the German Confederation was formed as a loosely unified collection of states, not disimilar to the Mediterranean Cypriot League that existed in the same timeframe. Electing Julius No, Prince of Trier as their first Kaiser, the Princes of Germany would all swear fealty to him, although they each kept enough autonomy that, save for in defense of the realm, the Kaiser had little authority over them.
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