Compiled by C. Schwartz, Professor of History at Atlas Academy
Unlike the Imperial Gens' of Mistral covered in the previous document, whereby its history can be divided by the rises and falls of the Gens' themselves, Mantellian history can really only be divided into only two periods. Those being 'The Enthroned' and the 'Empty Throne' eras.
But first, I will give a brief overview of the 'Pellan Exodus' in order to give at least some context to Mantle's early years, and its legacy that lasts even to the modern day.
It was around -684AW that what has become known as the 'Pellan Exodus' began, and thus has traditionally been considered the beginning of Solitasii History. When Mantle had its own calendar, -684AW was 'year 0', but I will be keeping with the current calendar for the sake of ease. Expeditions left the Pellan States from the City of Argus to explore and settle the continent of Solitas. Whilst the initial expeditions were funded and led by the desperate and the tired, it did not take long at all for the powerful and influential Trading Guilds that called the Pellan States home to join in the effort, providing ships and supplies over the entire Exodus and some would outright relocate to Mantle in its aftermath. It is likely that those Trading Guilds were lured in by the exotic and rare goods from Solitas, as well as untapped and (more importantly) unclaimed natural resources. By -642AW the Kingdom of Mantle was established enough to open up diplomatic ties to the nations of Anima and Sanus, although for obvious reasons, for the first few centuries its strongest ties were with the Pellan States.
The original settlement of what would become the Kingdom of Mantle was not actually Mantle. True, it rapidly became the biggest (and principal) settlement, but it was in fact 'Upcliff' that came first, taking its name from the fact that it was built high above a series of cliffs that provided safety and sanctuary from the Grimm. Whilst the first incarnation of Upcliff is long gone, it has been rebuilt and destroyed and rebuilt time and time again. It was most recently destroyed during the Great War and has yet to be rebuilt, although there have been repeated discussions over the topic since. Upcliff has been destroyed so regularly in fact, that it has almost become a joke during times of crisis:
"Has Upcliff burned down yet?"
"Nope!"
"Then we're not in a real crisis yet!"
One of the earliest issues to arise for the fledgling Nation of Mantle was the subject of Governance. At the time, the majority form of Government across Remnant was Monarchy. Different nations had different notions of what a Monarchy meant, but at the end of the day, they were still Monarchies. The only real outliers were the pseudo-Oligarchic nature of some of the Pellan States and the complicated, 'benevolent popular tyranny' that was the governing style of the Sovereigns of the Vacuans.
There was technically a third outlier, that being the Domremeer Republic based around the first incarnation of the city of Domremy. However, by that point the position of 'Rector' (the Domremeer Elected Head of State) was functionally a hereditary one, and by -500AW, it had been annexed by the High Kingdom of Vale. This will be covered in further detail in the 'Warrior Line of Vale' document.
There were two main factions in those earliest of days: The Militarists and The Mercantilists [1] . The former wished for a society that was nearly entirely militarised, with every citizen being a soldier and working to fuel the 'war machine' to crush the Grimm, the Solitasii Continent and the world under their heel. This was likely born out of the first few years of settlement, where everyone not building or gathering food was needed to fight off the Grimm. Thus in those earliest days, they held a great deal of support. The Mercantilists instead wished to exploit the untapped natural resources of the continent to become wealthier than any other nation on Remnant and use economic warfare to dominate the world. After Mantle was established, the 'Mercantile Approach' was seen as a more peaceful and honourable path forward, wanting to put the harrowing and desperate Militarist methods aside as a thing of the past.
It was into this mess that one of the most important figures in Solitasii history made his grand entrance. Remus Serenno was a former Soldier of Fortune that had become a Merchant and Guildmaster of the Arsenal Forges after sustaining a career ending injury whilst fighting against the Gens Sima[2] . He proposed a compromise that would allow both sides to get what they wanted. The Military would march forth, and secure territory and glory, whilst the Merchant Guilds would sweep in behind them and snatch up natural resources to fuel their economy and influence whilst making them all obscenely wealthy and turn the Solitasii Continent into a veritable fortress. The last 'balancing influence' was to be a Monarch, enthroned in Mantle. They would serve as Head of State and leader of the Monarchist faction whilst allowing both Militarist and Mercantile Factions to gather support and influence within the Government and ensure the safe and stable continuation of 'normality'.
This deal would go down in history as The Serene Compromise.[3][4]
Its first Monarch, perhaps unsurprisingly given his part in the Serene Compromise, was Remus I Serenno. And the Royal Line of Atlas was historically known as the 'Serene Dynasty' as a result.
Thus was founded the Kingdom of Mantle.
The Enthroned Era(-662AW to 185AW)
Remus I Serenno focused his reign on the building of the City of Mantle, and was the one that led the construction of its first walls [5] . He would eventually be forced to stop when his left leg was crushed when a tower collapsed atop him and a dozen of his workers. He would spend the remainder of his reign working with his children and government to solidify the laws of their fledgling nation. He died aged 71 in -633AW, and per his wishes his body was burned and his ashes released from a cliff into the sea.
The 'Tarquinian Era' (-633AW to -567AW) saw the emergence of what would go on to be the roots of Mantellian, and later Atlesian, culture. The preferences for whites, reds and blues originated in this period (although the colour red was most dominant to start with), and many of the so-called 'Old Families' can trace their descent from those ennobled by one of the three Tarquin's.
However, after the reign of Tarquin III Serenno, his young grandson was enthroned as a minor, the boy's father having died during a Grimm attack a few years prior (the first member of the House of Serenno to die in battle). The General of the Military took control of the regency and briefly turned the young King into a puppet. Whilst this puppetry only lasted for six years and was fairly benign, it set a precedent that would last for the rest of Mantle's existence. The precedent of a 'Power Behind the Throne'. Indeed, for most of the Enthroned Era of Mantle, it was not the Monarch that truly ruled, but the faction that had puppeted them instead.
The Mercantilists were truly the first to master this new facet of Mantellian politics. They held authority during the reigns of 'The Three Queens' and for the first few years of the reign of the second Konstantin. But due to the machinations of several members of the wider Royal Family, power was placed back into the hands of the House of Serenno. But not back in the hands of the Throne. The 'Serene Council of Seven', as it would go on to be called, held the reins of power from -465AW until -419AW when Roman II Serenno made an alliance with both the Militarists and the Mercantilists to take back power. However, the Council remained in existence, ostensibly to manage the activities of the Royal Family as a whole (often acting to alleviate the Monarch's workload, but also actively getting involved with backroom deals and other shady forms of politicking) and would even take back power in -382AW and hold it until -350AW, when it was permanently dissolved on the orders of Norton I Serenno.[6]
It was during the reign of Roman II Serenno that the close ties between Mantle and the Pellan States finally gave way to ever chillier relations, and would in part lead to the Pellan States siding with Vale and Vacuo during the Great War. Thankfully, in the decades since, relations with the cities of the Pellan Coast, especially Argus, have once again grown warm.
Romulus I Serenno would be the last Mantellian Monarch that was not a puppet at any point of his reign, but that is likely the only good thing about his reign that can be said. He is remembered as the closest thing Solitas has had to an outright tyrant, with his harsh legal code and near blindly loyal guards that enforced his will upon his subjects. He was almost certainly assassinated, and his six year old son took the throne after him.
It is with some level of irony that the longest reign in Mantellian history (and indeed, the longest reign in recorded history) is what seeded the issues that would eventually consume the dynasty. Konstantin IV Serenno took the throne as a minor, and whilst his seventy-one years on the throne were peaceful and prosperous, he would be the last King of Mantle that would die a relatively peaceful death.
What followed was a period of history known as 'The Fifty Years of Blood'.
In the span of fifty years, seven different individuals sat upon the Serene Throne. Seven times a monarch was overthrown and murdered. And seven times the rest of the world looked on as the Kingdom threatened to tear itself apart. The period would come to a sudden and bloody end with the infamous 'Campbell Coup'. Warwick Campbell [7] led a coup against Remus III Serenno, who was puppeted by Campbell's own faction no less. He did this whilst the King was hosting a party to celebrate the second anniversary of his ascension to the throne, and nearly every member of the House of Serenno was in attendance.
Warwick Campbell ordered his soldiers to slaughter the entire gathering, even down to the children and then spent a fortnight hunting down the remaining members of the Royal Family whilst the main Militarist faction and the Mercantilists scrambled to maintain order. Warwick successfully managed to kill all but one member of the House of Serenno, but as the one survivor was the Queen Dowager of Vale and in her late sixties and in no position to be a threat (or more likely, Campbell could not justify waging a war with Vale just to kill one elderly woman), she was left alone.
There has been much debate over just why Campbell went to such extremes for what, in all likelihood, should have been just another coup. Whilst it is likely that we will never know the whole truth, the reason that a large number of historians and experts agree on is that it was simply down to Campbell taking an opportunity when it presented itself. He likely never intended to make a play for the throne itself, but when most of the Royals were in one place he decided the risk would be worth the reward.
Warwick Campbell occupied the Royal Palace for three days, but was eventually killed by loyalist soldiers led by General Octavian Grant. Some sources claim that General Grant himself landed the killing blow, but neither those sources nor the sources that refute it can be proven.
General Grant was solemnly bestowed the moniker 'The Savior of Mantle' in the aftermath, and the 'Enthroned Era' of Mantellian History came to an end. In its place was 'The Era of the Empty Throne'.
King Remus I Serenno (-662AW to -633AW) First Monarch of Mantle.
King Tarquin I Serenno (-633AW to -617AW)
King Tarquin II Serenno(-617AW to -603AW)
King Tarquin III Serenno (-603AW to -567AW)
King Severus I Serenno(-567AW to -544AW) - Puppet of the Militarists until -561AW
Queen Yekaterina I Serenno(-544AW to -516AW)
King Konstantin I Serenno (-516AW to -499AW)
Queen Anna I Serenno(-499AW to -494AW) - Puppet of the Mercantilists.
Queen Erzsebet I Serenno (-494AW to -491AW) - Puppet of the Mercantilists.
Queen Yekaterina II Serenno (-491AW to -469AW) - Puppet of the Mercantilists.
King Konstantin II Serenno (-469AW to -451AW) - Puppet of the Mercantilists until -465AW, then a Puppet of the wider Royal Family.
King Remus II Serenno (-451AW to -424AW) Puppet of the wider Royal Family.
King Roman I Serenno(-424AW to -416AW) Puppet of the wider Royal Family until -419AW.
King Roman II Serenno (-416AW to -401AW) - Puppet of the Mercantilists
King Roman III Serenno(-401AW to -382AW)
King Konstantin III Serenno (-382AW to -357AW) Puppet of the wider Royal Family.
Queen Erzsebet II Serenno (-357AW to -350AW) Puppet of the wider Royal Family.
King Norton I Serenno (-350AW to -343AW)
King Remus III Serenno (-343AW to -314AW)
King Romulus I Serenno(-314AW to -304AW) Last monarch not to be an outright puppet.
King Konstantin IV Serenno (-306AW to -235AW) - Puppet of both the Military and Merchant factions jointly.
Queen Anna II Serenno (-235AW to -225AW) - Puppet of the Military, likely killed in an attempt to regain power.
King Severus II Serenno (-225AW to -215AW) - Puppet of the Military until -216AW, then Puppet of the Mercantilists. Killed in an attempt to regain power.
Queen Caren I Serenno (-215AW to -209AW) Puppet of the Mercantilists, likely killed in an attempt to regain power.
Queen Caren II Serenno (-209AW to -201AW) Puppet of the Mercantilists, killed by the Militarists.
Queen Yekaterina III Serenno (-201AW to -195AW) Puppet of the Militarists, killed by the Mercantilists
King Konstantin V Serenno (-195AW to -187AW) Puppet of the Mercantilists, killed by the Militarists.
King Remus III Serenno (-187AW to -185AW) Puppet of the Militarists, killed by Warwick Campbell's coup along with all remaining members of the House of Serenno.
Whilst Warwick Campbell tried to claim the Throne, and even styled himself Warwick I Campbell for the three days he 'held' the throne, he is not acknowledged as such by the history books [8] .
The Empty Throne(-185AW to 0AW)
Following the 'Campbell Coup', the Military took functional control of the Kingdom, and General Octavian Grant, 'The Savior of Mantle', was granted the title and rank of 'Lord Protector of the Empty Throne'.
The Lord Protector's were, in essence, both King and General, expected to carry out the responsibilities of both offices. Most were career military officers, but two (Vladimir Sikarra and Joseph Grunger) were explicitly political appointments.
Lord Protector Grant led the nation for a quarter of a century, establishing order and making peace with the Mercantilists, who officially disbanded as a faction to once again form the Great Trading Companies that had once funded the original colonisation of Solitas. Whilst it would be the 'Northsea Trading House' that would last until the present day, it would be its main rival, the 'Shifting Sands Company' that would cause the most lasting damage. In Vacuo, they bought land, mines and ports from failing businesses and wrung as much value as was possible from them, down to the last speck of Dust. All of this was done without care for the environmental damage done, nor the opinions of the local population.[9]
After Lord Protector Grant retired, it was Niles Declann that was chosen to succeed him. Lord Protector Declann's tenure was one of internal expansion, with the settlements of Essen, Cross and Dormir all being founded and awarded City Status while he held the Empty Throne.
Marius Oracion followed Declann. He was the only Lord Protector that hailed from one of the 'Old Families', and focused his efforts on wiping out the Grimm. It was he that established the 'White Sea Exclusion Zone', where the White Sea of Solitas was made into the largest area of 'No Man's Land' on Remnant. These efforts were continued by both Vladimir Sikarra and Demetrius Zaarin.
Yekaterina Prestor was the only woman ever to hold the office of Lord Protector, and is reputed to have decapitated the first person to refer to her as 'Lady Protector', for in her own words: "The Office of Lord Protector is a Military one. Failure to address one's superior by the correct rank is tantamount to treason"[10] . Her tenure was as short as her temper, and she was removed from office after just six years.
Milton Tackle and Joseph Grunger both focused on diplomacy, although this was mostly with the Gens Juluo and their Imperator Nanmei Juluo and later his son, Imperator Aluohan Juluo. Tackle would eventually retire, becoming a patron of the arts and of culture [11] . Lord Protector Grunger was the one that founded the 'Office for Diplomatic Affairs', precursor to the 'Atlesian Diplomatic Corps'.
Oswald Teshick is perhaps the most unique of the Lord Protectors and an oddity amongst all Mantellian rulers, due to the simple fact that he was the only immigrant to ever lead the Mantellian people. Born in the High Kingdom of Vale, Teshick immigrated to Mantle in the latter years of his childhood and joined the Military mere months after his sixteenth birthday. He would rise through the ranks over the course of his career, and would be the one that strengthened the Military itself, something his successor would put to great and terrible use.
That successor was Martin Batch.
Whilst this document won't cover the Great War, it cannot be denied that it is difficult to separate Lord Protector Batch from the Great War. It was he that so readily adopted the 'Uniformity' Philosophy that called for a total suppression of self-expression and emotion of every citizen of the nation. The philosophy was developed in the belief that no emotion would lead to no Grimm. Trial runs in Dormir and Cross looked positive, and so Uniformity was rolled out across the entire Kingdom.
Lord Protector Batch led the Mantellian-Mistralli forces at the Battle of Megiddo, the final battle of the Great War, and would eventually surrender to High King Oswald the Last in its aftermath. He would stay in charge of Mantle during the transitional period, helping to establish the 'Mantellian Ruling Council'. After fully stepping down, he would cast himself into the White Sea of Solitas and was never seen again.
But it would be in the years following the end of the Great War that would see the final act of the Empty Throne Era play out, and would see the rise and fall of one of the most infamous traitors in the history of the continent of Solitas.
One of the highest ranked Commanders of the Mantellian Military that remained, Cognus Géle, gathered what forces he could muster and launched a coup to topple the newly created 'Mantellian Ruling Council' and install himself as 'Lord Protector for Life'. He had sold out his own men during the trials that took place after the VPA was signed, standing as a witness against the men that he himself had let loose to wreak havoc in Vacuo and Vale, and taken advantage of the length of the trials to rush back to Mantle with a small cadre of loyalists and managed to briefly occupy an entire district of the City of Mantle. When the Mantellian military returned to quash his rebellion, he set light to the district he had claimed and launched a two day street war against his former comrades.
Cognus Géle was only stopped when he was shot by one of his own men, who in turn was literally torn limb-from-limb by the rest of Géle's loyalists. The survivors chose to join their commander in death rather than surrender.
It was Cognus Géle's action to burn down part of Mantle that led to the City's decline, and the rise of the City, and the Kingdom of Atlas.
Lord Protector Octavian Grant (-185AW to -160AW) First Lord Protector
Lord Protector Niles Declann (-160AW to -134AW)
Lord Protector Marius Oracion (-134AW to -107AW)
Lord Protector Vladimir Sikarra (-107AW to -89AW)
Lord Protector Demetrius Zaarin (-89AW to -64AW)
Lord Protector Yekaterina Prestor (-64AW to -58AW)
Lord Protector Milton Tackle (-58AW to -44AW)
Lord Protector Joseph Grunger (-44AW to -34AW)
Lord Protector Oswald Teshick (-34AW to -16AW)
Lord Protector Martin Batch (-16AW to 0AW) Last Lord Protector of Mantle
As he was a traitor and not typically listed as such, I will not be listing Cognus Géle as a Lord Protector, despite the fact that he claimed the Office.
NOTES:
[1]]Technically speaking, there was a third faction in addition to the Militarists and Mercantilists. That being the Church of the Brothers, or at least a specific branch. During the Gens Sima, the so-called 'Old Ritualists' faced persecution from both the central Government in Mistral and from local Government in some of the Pellan States. The Old Ritualists saw Solitas as a safe Haven in which to practise their faith freely. The main concession they gained, the only one they truly wished for, was that freedom of Faith be one of the laws of the land. In turn, this allowed for the Faunus populace to worship their 'Mother Moon' without persecution as well. These laws remain on the books in Atlas unchanged since the day they became law: "No citizen, regardless of gender or race or age, shall face penalty due to their Faith or lack thereof."
[2]Whilst this is true, just what Remus I's 'career ending injury' was is unclear. Some sources claim he took an arrow to the knee whilst leading a charge against Sima forces, others claim his left hand was rendered useless due to a spear severing a number of nerves. Far more controversial are the claims of Professor H. Simmerson, who claimed that Remus I took no injury at all, and lied about it to get out of continuing to fight.
[3]This is a name that was only popularised about a century or so after it was made. In reality, it's original name was "The Declaration of the Formation of the Kingdom of Mantle", indeed that is still it's official name. But after the name 'Serene Compromise' was coined, most people took to using the far shorter name.
[4]Of course, it mustn't be forgotten that the main leaders of both factions would become the first of the Mantellian Nobility, so there is a good chance that the Compromise was the result of bribery rather than born out of a desire not to rip their fledgling nation apart before it was truly born.
[5]These walls still exist today, albeit in a much less impressive form. They are the walls that partially surround the 'Old Town' district of the City of Mantle. Over the years, both the government and the citizenry slowly tore the walls apart for building materials. Today, less than a third of Remus I Serenno's wall remains.
[6]This has however led to a number of conspiracy theories over the years that the SCoS still 'rule' Atlas, and many books, TV shows, games and movies based on the theory have been made. There is absolutely no evidence to support it, however. It is likely that this theory took inspiration from the similar 'Shadow Council of Mistral' theory, which posits that the Ruling Council of Mistral are in fact puppets of powerful crime syndicates.
[7]Originally, Warwick Campbell held the title of 'Commander', however following his coup he was posthumously dishonourably discharged and stripped of his rank and medals.
[8]His 'reign' is a popular topic for alternate history novels, with the most famous of these being 'The Man from the Marble Tower' by Richard F. Philips, based in a hypothetical timeline where Campbell successfully took full control of Mantle and started a new Royal Dynasty of his own. The novel takes place in the years following a joint Campbellian-Juluo invasion of Sanus.
[9]The treatment of the Vacuan people by the Shifting Sands Company was one of the main reasons for Sovereign Audumla of the Vacuans siding with High King Oswald the Last during the Great War. Indeed, the permanent dissolution of the SSC and redistribution of its wealth back to the Vacuans they had all but enslaved was one of the first demands that Sovereign Audumla made following the Battle of Megiddo and the end of the War. Such were the scars the SSC caused, it would be decades before a Solitasii Company was allowed to operate in Vacuo. It was Jacques Géle that gained the SDC permission to operate in the Kingdom, and it was a Vacuan Diamond that would be the centrepiece of the ring that he would propose to Willow Schnee with.
[10]Whether or not Lord Protector Prestor actually said this is a matter of historical debate. It was popularised in the -21AW Carter Apolline opera, 'Marble Intrigues' and has since become a fairly common piece of trivia. However there is no real evidence to support the fact that she ever said the quoted line, save rumours and slander from the time.
[11] Milton Tackle would fund the famous Opera House that still bears his name, as well as an Art Gallery considered the finest in the world. He donated his landscape paintings to this Gallery upon his death, and as a result an entire wing of the 'Grand Galleries' is dedicated to the 'Milton Tackle Collection'.