Rosaria

For the empire in Final Fantasy XII, see Rozarrian Empire

Long ago, a group of small independent provinces in western Valisthea found strength in unity, and formed the Grand Duchy of Rosaria. After years of relative prosperity, the duchy now finds itself threatened by the spread of the Blight—a threat that, left unchecked, would doubtless usher the realm to ruin. Rosaria draws its aether from Drake's Breath, a Mothercrystal situated on a volcanic island off the coast. The Dominant of the Phoenix, Eikon of Fire, is enthroned as Archduke when they come of age.

Official description

The Grand Duchy of Rosaria (ロザリア公国, Rozaria Kōkoku?, lit. Duchy of Rosaria) is a nation in the world of Final Fantasy XVI. Their emblem is that of a phoenix and the nation is led by the Archduke, the Dominant of the Phoenix. In 860, following the betrayal of Duchess Anabella Rosfield, a troop of soldiers from Sanbreque succeeded in taking Phoenix Gate and defeated Rosaria's entire army, killing the Archduke Elwin Rosfield and most of the officers in his army, an event which would be called the Night of Flames. Since then, Rosaria would be subjected to more tragedy for sensing their weakness, the Iron Kingdom launched a raid upon Rosaria, taking Bearers, supplies and women, Jill Warrick included, before ultimately being made an imperial province of Sanbreque, with Anabella marrying Emperor Sylvestre Lesage. However, Anabella's rule over Rosaria would be one of paranoia and tyranny with the people's conditions worsening. After the formation of the Black Shields, a group of knights made in the mocking image of the Shields of Rosaria, a rebel group made up of soldiers who once served under the former Archduke banded together to form the Guardians of the Flame, doing what they can to help the people and resist Anabella's rule.

History

The Duchy of Rosaria was established 250 years ago. However, Rosarians themselves hold their nations as one of the original nations in modern Valisthea, as established by the Founder, a legendary figure still revered to this day. The "Rose Alliance" was established in the Year of the Realm 550, and the duchy as overseen by the archduke came into existence in the year 600. After Drake's Eye in the north fell, the Northern Territories went to war with Rosaria over resources, and the Phoenix came to clash with Shiva; the northern tribes retreated after infighting broke out.

In 854, Archduke Elwin Rosfield finally pacified the Northern Territories, and the northern tribes' chieftain's daughter, Jill Warrick, came to be the ward of House Rosfield and live in Rosalith Castle alongside the archduke's own children, the elder Clive Rosfield and the younger Joshua Rosfield, Dominant of Phoenix and heir to the ducal throne.

In 857, the duchy allied with Dhalmekia against Waloed, who was allied with Kanver to gain a foothold on Storm. The Rosarian–Dhalmekian alliance was almost victorious, but Dhalmekia's best soldiers left the battlefield, leading to their defeat, and Kanver remained independent with Waloed's support. In 859, Sanbreque, Dhalmekia, and Rosaria formed an alliance to prevent another city state like Kanver from seeking independence, known as the Triunity. The state leaders of the three countries came together, but this was when Sanbreque's Sylvestre Lesage and Rosaria's Anabella Rosfield conspired to have Sanbreque invade Rosaria.

In 860, as Archduke Elwin Rosfield was about to lead the Rosarian forces to reclaim Drake's Breath from the Iron Kingdom, Sanbrequois forces stormed Phoenix Gate and killed Elwin and Joshua, and the mysterious appearance of a second Eikon of Fire reduced the place to rubble before Joshua could perform the Ancestral Rite of Reunion. Unknown to all, even to himself, the Dominant of the second Eikon of Fire had been Clive Rosfield, who was branded and taken as a slave soldier for the empire.

The Iron Kingdom seized the chance to invade the duchy, kill many men and taken the women and girls and Bearers captive, Jill Warrick among the girls taken from Rosalith Castle. The traitorous Anabella married Sylvestre Lesage of Sanbreque and Rosaria was annexed and became an imperial province governed by the cruel vicereine Anabella Lesage, who did not care about the people. Rosaria itself was officially territorialized in 861.

Anabella's regime enacted policies of crippling taxation and renewed surveillance persecution of Bearers and baseborn. As the majority of the citizens of Rosalith had fled or been captured following the Iron Kingdom's attempted invasion in 861, the only inhabitants left in the city after that year would be a handful of nobles and sundry others who had sworn allegiance to the Sanbrequois for fear of retribution. This retribution would come soon after Anabella's viceregency began, with the establishment of the Holy Order of the Blackened Pinion, known colloquially as the Black Shields to differentiate them from the heroic Holy Order of the Knights Dragoon of Sanbreque proper. These soldiers would persecute and purge Bearers and those who protect them (such as the ones under Martha's protection in 878), as well as those deemed 'ducal loyalists'. The Seven High Houses, of which her former House Rosfield was chief among of, lost their voice in politics and were silenced by vicereine Anabella. Byron Rosfield, now head of House Rosfield after his brother's death, feigned loyalty to the new regime while secretly funding rebellious movements such as the Guardians of the Flame. Construction projects such as the Trans-Rosarian Aqueduct which would connect to Cressida were abandoned due to both the annexation and sudden influx of dangerous beasts now inhabiting the region due to the Blight.

In 865, a continent-spanning war that came to be called the Battle of the Twin Realms broke out where all nations took part. Though Rosaria's role in this was unknown, it can be assumed that it provided some level of military support to Sanbreque due to its role as its newest province.

True to form, in 873, Anabella's Black Shields conducted a purge of Eastpool, narrowly missing Clive Rosfield and Jill Warrick as they made their way back to Phoenix Gate. The massacre at Eastpool ironically proved the inciting event for Rosfield and Warrick to commit to freeing all Bearers from persecution.

In the intervening years between 873 and 878, Rosaria stayed relatively silent with little input as to Sanbreque's affairs in moving the capital to Twinside, as the vicereine was more concerned with her own affairs in turning Sylvestre against his son, Dion Lesage, as well as maneuvering her other son Olivier for the throne itself.

During the Year of the Realm 878 a Dhalmekian incursion led by Hugo Kupka and aided by a small Waloeder force attacked the city to lure out Clive Rosfield. During the Siege of Rosalith, much of the city and castle were destroyed. With the fall of Drake's Breath previously in 878, life for Rosarians had grown steadily more difficult, and countless thousands had been forced to seek refuge in and around the country's already overcrowded cities. When Kupka's forces invaded, further misery was piled on the downtrodden populace, but the empire's grip was loosened. With the subsequent advent of the Rise of the Wyrm, decimation of Twinside, the deaths of Sylvestre and Olivier Lesage, and suicide of Rosaria's own vicereine Anabella, Sanbreque's hold over Rosaria faltered further. Primogenesis exacerbated the issues that faced the province, and left Rosaria effectively leaderless. Sanbreque barely had the wherewithal to rule itself, rendering the erstwhile dukedom a subject of the empire in name only.

Most of the populace fled Rosalith after these events, and the Rosarian countryside became disarrayed, with the Guardians of the Flame, Cursebreakers, and Bloodaxes attempting to keep the peace with the attention of the Black Shields and Sanbreque turned elsewhere. With their patron having perished during the events at Twinside, many of the Black Shields returned to Sanbreque, entering the service of the former Lord Chief Justice and keeping watch on Lostwing. The village of Eastpool, though abandoned after the slaughter, became the site of a resettlement effort in 878 by Martha, the Guardians of the Flame, and the freed Bearers under their care after the Lazarus District of Port Isolde was lost to an aetherflood, giving some hope to Bearers and the populace at large.

Tired of the bloodshed between nations in Storm and wishing to aid each of their nations, Byron Rosfield, Eugen Havel, and Quinten worked with Clive Rosfield to create the Triunity Accord, an item that was signed by said representatives from Rosaria, Dhalmekia, and Sanbreque, and set the stage for a new age in Storm, if not officially, then at least in spirit.

It is unknown what became of Rosaria after the destruction of Origin and disappearance of magic from Valisthea, but given its equal presence alongside Dhalmekia and Sanbreque in the terms of the Triunity Accord, it might have regained its status as an independent nation.

Culture

Rosarian culture places great importance on tradition and chivalry. During the attempted invasion of Mount Drustanus and Drake's Breath, Archduke Elwin would not have his forces assault the island without first having his son Joshua, the Dominant of Phoenix, complete the Rite of Ancestral Communion in the Apodytery.

Politics

While most nations in Valisthea already hold Dominants in positions of authority, Rosaria is the only country on the continent of Storm to be directly ruled by one. According to Clive Rosfield, this agreement dates back to the duchy's founding, with the Dominant of the Phoenix being granted ruler status in return for them using the Eikon's power to protect the nation. Great care is placed on ensuring that the power of the Phoenix remains in the ducal bloodline, to the point of arranged marriages between cousins.

There are times when the chosen Dominant might be too young to take the throne, in which case the first-born son of the previous Dominant will act as a stand-in until they come of age. Overall, the duchy seems to practice male primogeniture while women appear to be married off for the sake of alliances.

Religion

Rosarians worship the Founder, the enigmatic individual who supposedly build Rosaria and, presumably, all other civilizations in Valisthea. This goes along with the kinship between the nation's inhabitants, with the object of their worship not being some higher being but the one who created their community.

Following the duchy's occupation by Sanbreque, the Greagorian church also started being adopted by some of Rosarian citizens.

Economy

By 860 to 878, Rosaria was notably not as wealthy as its neighbors, Sanbreque and Dhalmekia, a possible result of the nation having lost access to its Mothercrystal. However, this also meant that there was no large divide between social classes. A seafaring country, most of Rosaria's trade appeared to be made by ships.

Geography

Concept art of Rosarian locales.

A nation bordering the body of water known as the Boiling Sea, Rosaria is mostly composed of swamps and marshlands, with a few mountains and cliffs. There is also a lot of architecture from the Fallen civilization littered throughout the landscape.

Though houses in urban areas, like the capital of Rosalith and Port Isolde, are typically composed of brick, more outlying villages are made from wood.

Foreign relations

Though once considered one of the three great powers on the continent of Storm, in recent years, Rosaria has found itself the target of other nations' expansionist ambitions, even being annexed at the start of Final Fantasy XVI. Throughout most of the game, the nation silently struggles under its occupiers whilst striving to regain its independence, which it seemingly achieved following the signing of the Triunity Agreement.

Sanbreque

The Grand Duchy of Rosaria and the Holy Empire of Sanbreque were both part of the Triunity of 859, an alliance formed to prevent other territories from attempting to declare independence following the secession of the cities that would form the Free Cities of Kanver. This alliance came to an end, however, when Sanbreque, with the collaboration of the then Duchess Anabella Rosfield, set about annexing Rosaria.

Iron Kingdom

Relations between Rosaria and the Iron Kingdom have never been good. The Grand Duchy was actively mining Mothercrystal, and the Dominant of Phoenix was still the country's ruler. The Iron Kingdom was also considered a traditional enemy of Rosaria, since it was by taking advantage of its war with the Northern Territories that it was able to seize Drake's Breath, the Mothercrystal Rosaria mined. Just after the Night of Flames, the Ironblood launched a major raid on Rosaria, attacking Rosalith Castle and taking several captives with them.

Dhalmekia

The Grand Duchy and the Dhalmekian Republic enjoyed good diplomatic relations. They had also formed the Southwestern Alliance when the future Free Cities of Kanver began to claim their independence. Ties remained strong between the two states even after the addition of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque to the alliance, Rosaria sharing with Dhalmek several vital techniques for the republic, such as irrigation, important because of the global climate of the republic's territory. The ties between the two nations were broken when Sanbreque annexed Rosaria, which further strained relations between the Republic and the Holy Empire.

Northern Territories

The Grand Duchy of Rosaria has maintained difficult relations with the Northern Territories, particularly after the disappearance of their Mothercrystal, Drake's Eye, and because the Blight was eating away at their territory, leading several of the tribes making up the Northern Territories to launch raids against Rosaria. Relations eased after Archduke Elwin Rosfield pacified the tribes in 854, withdrawing with the daughter of the most important tribal chief, Jill Warrick, as a hostage to Rosalith. The Grand Duchy helped the Northern Territories after pacifying them, but Sanbreque's annexation of the kingdom saw the stability established by Rosaria disappear due to the expansion of the Blight and Sanbreque's lack of interest.

Waloed

Due to the sheer geological distance between them, Rosaria's relationship with Waload was seemingly non-existent. In 878, however, a force of Waloeders invaded the Rosarian capital of Rosalith to help their Dhalmekian allies fall back following their failed invasion.

Crystalline Dominion

Despite being one of the nations ratifying the Dominion's independence, due to the sheer geological distance between them, Rosaria did not seem to have strong relations with the city-state.

Known locations

• Rosalith (capital)
• Phoenix Gate
• Eastpool
• Martha's Rest
• Port Isolde
• Stillwind
• Three Reeds
• Sorrowise
• Greensheaves
• Cressida
• The Broken Hilt
• The Dim
• Shallop Rock
• Amber
• Hawk's Cry Cliff
• Auldhyl
• The Auldhyl Docks
• Quietsands
• The Silken Strand
• The Lazarus District
• Bewit Bridge

Etymology

[view · edit · purge]A duchy is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. The term is used almost exclusively in Europe, where in the present day there is no sovereign duchy (i.e. with the status of a nation state) left.