Awards and decorations of the Empire of Agber

The Empire of Agber has three orders of chivalry common to all realms. The current Font of Honor for these orders is Empress Arlene. There are an additional nine orders between the four national territories. Each nation's highest order is considered a "national order." The font of honor for these four orders is Empress Arlene, on the recommendation of each nation's respective leader, as they are funded by the Empire. The remaining orders all have their ruler as the font of honor.

Overview of the Empire's Orders

History

Orders of Chivalry have always been utilized by the Empire. Even its predecessor, the Kingdom of Kolios, established two orders on the same day it was founded. The higher of these two orders, the Sanctified Order of the Crucifix, was elevated to an order of the Empire in 1998, leaving the now Principality with only a National Order.

Membership in the Empire's orders was initially intangible. Knights and Dames were simply afforded the honorific of "Sir" or "Dame," without any kind of award letter or regalia. In 2000, new honorees were also given a printed certificate declaring their membership and their rank within each respective order. It was not until 23 March 2003 that the first physical regalia for an order was bestowed, for the Order of the Empire of Agber, to Erika Miller, as a Dame of the order. by the end of 2003, physical regalia existed for each of the orders, with each rank having their own unique regalia by January of 2005. As none of the regalia for any order is custom-made, there has been turnover in suppliers, with regalia changing in appearance over the years. The appearance of regalia has remained stable since 2013.

Funding

The Empire is responsible for funding the regalia of each of its three orders, in addition to each of the four National Orders. As such, Empress Arlene serves as the font of honor for each of these seven orders, although national leaders make recommendations to the Empress on their country's National Order. Any additional orders a territorial nation may have are completely funded and controlled by their respective leader.

Order of Precedence

All orders bestowed by the Empire carry a higher precedent in the Empire and its subsidiary nations. This has created an interesting landscape where significantly more prestigious honors are considered technically lower than others. For example, being named a Dame Grand Cross of a National Order is generally regarded as a much higher honor than that of a Knight in the Order of Arlene I, even though the latter is announced, seated, or listed first.

Within the court of an individual territorial nation, their knighthoods take precedence over those of other nations. For example, in the Enclave of Cordova, a Knight of the Order of the Mariposa would precede a Dame Grand Cross in the Order of Carthage, even though the Order of Carthage is bestowed by the Empress, and Mariposa was bestowed by the Baron or Baronesa. While this approach to precedence may seem counter-intuitive to some, it has been deemed as the simplest way to proceed by Empress Arlene.

Orders of the Empire of Agber

The Empire of Agber has three orders of chivalry common to all realms. The current Font of Honor for these orders is Empress Arlene.

Order Name	Established	Classes/Ranks	Awarded For	Notes
Order of the Empire of Agber	8 September 1999	Knight/Dame Grand Collar Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Service to the Empire
Sanctified Order of the Crucifix	20 September 1995	Knight/Dame	Service to the Sovereign of the Empire	Originally the highest order of the Kingdom of Kolios Made an Imperial Order on 7 January 1998
Order of Arlene I	15 March 2013	Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Excellence, personal achievement, or noteworthy performance	Primarily used as an on-the-spot knighthood at Renaissance Festivals

Orders of the Principality of Kolios

The Principality of Kolios currently has only one order of chivalry. The current Font of Honor is Empress Arlene, in her role as Princess of Kolios.

Order Name	Established	Classes/Ranks	Awarded For	Notes
Order of Kolios	20 September 1995	Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Service to the Principality	Originally the second-highest Koliosian order

Orders of the Grand Duchy of Carthage

The Grand Duchy of Carthage currently has two orders of chivalry. The current font of honor for Carthagean orders is Grand Duke Louis, except for the Order of Carthage, which is awarded by Empress Arlene on his recommendation.

Order Name	Established	Classes/Ranks	Awarded For	Notes
Order of Carthage	7 January 1998	Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Service to the Grand Duchy
Order of the White Lion	1 January 2001	Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Service to the Grand Duke	Majority of first set of regalia unrecovered from first Grand Duke, who disappeared Only Grand Cross and Knight/Dame rank currently awarded

The Order of the Rosy Cross

In August of 2003 the Order of the Rosy Cross was created by Grand Duke Andrew, Carthage's first Grand Duke. Six Knights and Dames were initially named to the order before Empress Arlene learned of the name's ties to the Rosicrucian movement, and Grand Duke Andrew's attempts to make Carthage a bastion of Rosicrucian thinking and culture. Due to these facts, and given that physical regalia had not yet been purchased and distributed, Empress Arlene ordered that the order be disbanded and all memberships revoked in November of that same year. In protest, Andrew immediately severed ties with the Empress and Agber, without even so much as an official resignation.

All remaining stock from the first iteration of the Order of the White Lion was lost, as well as a number of pieces for the Order of Carthage. As she had helped fund the Order of Carthage pieces, this sequence of events prompted Empress Arlene to declare the National Order of each territory to be directly under her control, with her assuming the entire funding of them moving forward.

Orders of the Enclave de Cordova

The Enclave de Cordova currently has four orders of chivalry. The current font of honor for Cordovese orders is Baronesa Celestina, except for the Order of Cordova, which is awarded by Empress Arlene on her recommendation.

Order Name	Established	Classes/Ranks	Awarded For	Notes
Order of Cordova	27 August 2002	Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Service to the Enclave
Order of the Redwood	27 August 2003	Knight/Dame	Personal achievement	Not currently awarded
Order of the Grizzly	27 August 2016	Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Personal achievement
Order of the Mariposa	27 August 2004	Knight/Dame	Conservation work	Not currently awarded

Orders of Sawatch

Sawatch currently has two orders of chivalry. The current font of honor for Sawatchi orders is Emir Victor, except for the Order of Sawatch, which is awarded by Empress Arlene on his recommendation.

Order Name	Established	Classes/Ranks	Awarded For	Notes
Order of Sawatch	31 January 2014	Knight/Dame Grand Cross Knight/Dame Commander Knight/Dame	Service to the realm
Order of the Mile High Breeze	1 October 2015	Knight/Dame	Personal recognition from the Emir	Remaining first set of regalia stolen in 2017, second set yet to be produced

Orders of the Shogunate of Tenshukyō

The Shogunate of Tenshukyō follows a different structure than other nations within the Empire. Given the higher degree of autonomy it enjoys, Tenshukyō's Shogun retains control over all of its national honors, there is no designated National Order, and the Orders of the Agberian Empire do not supersede the Shogunate's in precedence. Additionally, members of the Shogunate's orders are not given a specific honorific, such as Knight or Dame. Instead, they are simply known as a recipient of that degree.

Order Name	Established	Classes/Ranks	Awarded For	Notes
Exalted Order of Rising Moon	10 November 2018	Grand Cordon Star and Seal	Service to the Shogunate	An Honor Cordon exists that can be bestowed to foreign heads of state by the Shogun, but does not officially confer membership in the order.
Order of Kanju and Manju	21 February 2019	Grand Cordon Star and Seal Seal	Service to the Shogunate
Order of the Peach Blossom	2 October 2018	Grand Cordon Star and Seal Seal Medal	Service to the Shogunate (for top 3 ranks) personal achievement or distinction (for Medal)

Honors System Structure

Much like those of the Japanese system it is inspired by, the Shogunate's orders exist as part of single structure of honor.

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Moon: For impeccable and prolonged service to the Shogunate. The highest honor, reserved only for the Shogun themselves.
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Kanju and Manju: For impeccable service to the Shogunate. Reserved only for Daimyos of the Council Clans.
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Peach Blossom: For exceptional and prolonged service to the Shogunate. The highest honor conferred upon citizens of the Shogunate
• Star and Seal of the Order of the Rising Moon: For exceptional service to the Shogunate. The highest honor that can be awarded for acts of a singular nature.
• Star and Seal of the Order of Kanju and Manju: For distinguished and prolonged service to the Shogunate. The Highest honor that can be conferred to individuals who are not members of the Shogunate.
• Star and Seal of the Order of the Peach Blossom: For distinguished service to the Shogunate.
• Seal of the Order of Kanju and Manju: For prolonged service to the Shogunate.
• Seal of the Order of the Peach Blossom: For service to the Shogunate.
• Medal of the Order of the Peach Blossom: For personal achievement or distinction. Awarded much in the same way that the Order of Arlene I is.

Gallery of Regalia

Pictured are select regalia from selected awards and decorations of the Empire of Agber.

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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight of the Order of Arlene I (2013-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Carthage (2003-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Cordova (2013-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight of the Sanctified Order of the Crucifix (2013-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight Commander of the Order of the Empire of Agber (2013-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight of the Order of Kolios (2013-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight Commander of the Order of Kolios (2013-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Kolios (2005-present)
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  Regalia of a Dame/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Sawatch (2014-present)