Protectorate of Kolios

Protectorate of Kolios
Protectorate of Kolios
; Flag	; Coat of Arms
	Anthem: Oh, Kolios; (to the tune of The Sign by Ace of Base)
Status	Protectorate of Westarctica
Capital	Vindelkrieg
Official languages	English, German
Demonym(s)	Koliosian
Government	Absolute Monarchy under Regency
• Princess	Arlene
• Chancellor	Nicholas Young
Establishment	20 September 1995 (as Kingdom of Kolios); 7 January 1998 (as Principality of Kolios)
Population
• Census	73
Currency	Gulden

The Protectorate of Kolios, known formerly and commonly as the Principality of Kolios is a micronational project and protectorate of Westarctica that was founded on 20 September 1995 as the Kingdom of Kolios. The project was reimagined in early 1998 as a Principality within the brand new Empire of Agber. The primary focus of Kolios was activity at Renaissance Festivals and other such events where period dress is deemed acceptable prior to 2022, when it became a more traditional micronational project.

History

The Kingdom of Kolios

Conception and Founding

In 1995, three friends began discussing a book one of them had been gifted for his birthday on the Order of Malta. This led to a fair amount of research and discussion on what it would be like to establish a military order or even a country of their own. These early discussions primarily took place in local playgrounds and libraries. After a number of weeks and the addition of four other youths, a decision was made to establish a military order, the Knights of the Order of the Loyal and Inexhaustible Observation of the Sacrament. The exact date of the formation of this order is unclear, but it appears to have been in early to mid-September of 1995. These seven were joined quickly by about a dozen other youths, at varying degrees of commitment.

The Founders made the decision to take the Order one step further on 20 September 1995, when they established the Kingdom of the Knights of the Order of the Loyal and Inexhaustible Observation of the Sacrament. Due to the rather unwieldy official name, it seems to have been shortened to the Kingdom of K.O.L.I.O.S. almost immediately, with the acronym fading from use and thought to the point that the origins of the name were rediscovered in 2022 by Prince Garibald while examining an archive of documents given to him by his predecessor, Princess Arlene ; many of these documents had not been viewed in over 20 years.

The seven Founders assumed the tiles of Dukes and Duchess:

Arlene - Duchess of Singold
James - Duke of Cramer
Jordan - Duke of Sulli
Lacey Marie - Duchess of Sheridan
Natasha - Duchess of Reese
Stephen - Duke of Agber
Thomas - Duke of Fryar

When discussions of crowning a monarch began, a clear division quickly presented itself, with a majority of the Nobles (Arlene, Lacey Marie, and Jordan) favoring Duchess Natasha, but a majority of the total citizens supporting Duke Stephen. A power struggle broke out between the two factions. When the dust had settled, the pro-Stephen faction was victorious. In an attempt to bring the pro-Natasha faction back into the fold, the newly crowned King Stephen offered to name Natasha as Princess and heir and restore the Ducal titles of Arlene, Lacey Marie and Jordan.

Talks nearly fell apart when Natasha walked away, declaring she would form her own nation. King Stephen was able to salvage the peace with the rest of the opposing faction by saying he would offer the same terms as before, instead naming Arlene as Princess and heir, adding in the caveat that Natasha would be stripped of her status as a founder of Kolios. Arlene, Lacey-Marie, and Jordan agreed to the terms, with Jordan becoming the nation's first Chancellor.

The names of the administrative districts were taken from the names of the housing neighborhoods of Augsburg's military community at the time. The capital was named Agber in recognition of King Stephen's original title of Duke of Agber.

Reign of King Stephen

Kolios' first monarch was King Stephen. His reign makes up the bulk of Kolios as a wholly sovereign Kingdom. Under his rule, the nation developed its military, heraldry, and two orders of chivalry.

During this era, Kolios engaged in a brief series of battles with a rival claim for their lands made by a group of schoolmates headed by Queen Natasha of Ostenswaben. Kolios was eventually victorious, but King Stephen developed a sort of damnatio memoriae regarding Natasha, attempting to erase all mention of her in Kolios' records. Duke Jordan and Duchess Lacey Marie would see their noble titles downgraded (to Margrave and Baroness, respectively) over their protest to and resistance of this policy. These efforts were so successful in fact that Princess Arlene and Prince Garibald had forgotten about Natasha and her involvement until documents detailing the Kingdom of Kolios era were unearthed in 2022.

This period also oversaw the establishment of the Rose Throne. This was a small chamber hacked out of the middle of a large growth of rose bushes. In order to make access to this location more difficult, the path to it was obfuscated with the creation of a maze of additional paths.

King Stephen reigned from the nation's founding until 24 May 1997, when he abdicated the throne and then Princess Arlene ascended the throne as the nation's second monarch and first Queen. The reason for his abdication was his family's move on orders from the US Army.

Reign of Queen Arlene

Ascending to the throne upon the abdication of King Stephen, Queen Arlene reigned as Queen of Kolios for less than a year before ascending to the role of Empress of Agber. During this time, she made a number of appointments, and named the former King as the Duke of a newly-formed Duchy known as Reese, whose lands were carved out of the Duchy of Cramer.

Government of Kolios as a Kingdom

Kolios was an absolute monarchy, with a number of powers given to the Chancellor, the sovereign's right hand and chief advisor. This role was held by the Margrave of Sulli. A number of proclamations and edicts were made, but the specifics of these have been lost to time. Aside from the positions of Sovereign and Chancellor and district administrators, the following known roles existed:

General - Duke James of Cramer
Captain of the Guard - Margrave Jordan of Sulli
Chief Heraldist - Duke Thomas of Fryar
Head of the Koliosian Church - Queen Arlene

The Principality of Kolios

In 1998, after her family moved from Augsburg, Germany, to Fort Drum, New York, Queen Arlene of Kolios decided to revamp the project as the Empire of Agber, using the capital of Kolios as the seat of a self-declared Empire. Kolios was redesignated as a Principality on 7 January 1998, as part of the establishment of the Empire of Agber. As Kolios' throne was then also seat of the Empire, the Principality has been referred to as the "crown jewel of the Empire." Aside from the restructuring at the upper levels of Koliosian governance, a number of other changes occurred. These included:

Redesignating Kolios' highest order, the Sanctified Order of the Crucifix, as an order of the Empire of Agber. The Order of Kolios was made the only order exclusive to Kolios.
Design of a new flag for Kolios as a Principality. The flag of the Kingdom of Kolios was adopted as the flag of the Empire of Agber.
Designation of Kolios as a "realm of preservation." Out of respect to the other five founders, their landed titles were not revoked or reassigned. This effectively has made all Koliosian administration handled by the offices of the throne and Chancellor.

In 2013 the Empire solidified its primary existence as a vehicle to Renaissance Fair events and culture. As part of this move, it was decided that Kolios would formally shift its culture to reflect more of that of the Holy Roman Empire. Owing primarily to Kolios not having active citizens, and Empress Arlene's focus on the running of the Empire, it has had little activity throughout its history.

Changes as a Result of the Indiana Proclamation

Kolios was one of the most significantly affected nations by the restructuring of the Empire of Agber to an elective monarchy that occurred on 18 June 2020, as a result of the Indiana Proclamation. The single most significant was that the Capital District of Agber and the Rose Throne would no longer serve as the official seat of the Empire, rather they would serve as such only while Empress Arlene reigned as head of Agber. As part of that change, Kolios' capital was renamed Vindelkrieg. The name is a combination of Vindel (taken from the original Roman name for the city, Augusta Vindelicorum) and krieg (taken from the name of the city region the lands of Kolios fall under Kriegshaber). The name change was to limit future confusion should a non-Koliosian sit the Imperial Throne.

The move to an elective monarchy still meant Arlene would serve as both Empress of Agber and Princess of Kolios, but significantly altered the relationship between the two titles. Effectively, she would still serve as Empress, but her eventual successor, Emperor Devon, was elected from the heads of the nations within the Empire when she abdicated. Due to the new structure, her role as Princess of Kolios was made official as part of qualifying her to be Empress, instead of a ceremonial title held because of her role as Empress.

During this time, the Sanctified Order of the Crucifix was returned to its status as a Koliosian award. While it had originally been the highest Koliosian honor, it was decided that the Order of Kolios would remain as the highest order of the Principality.

Departure of Princess Arlene

Princess Arlene abdicated from her role as Empress of the Agberian Empire on 29 March 2021. Shortly after this action, she announced a number of plans for Kolios moving forward. This included more focus on Koliosian culture, and the creation of two new awards (the Order of the Rose Throne and the Friendship Cross of Kolios). While it was hoped that this action would result in more active governance, the opposite became the case.

Citing an inability to maintain activity levels where desired and an intent to focus more on her coursework, Princess Arlene announced on 5 July 2021 that she would be placing Kolios in a Regency period under Chancellor Young. This Regency period ended on 26 February 2022, when Princess Arlene abdicated the throne in favor of Margrave Jordan of Sulli.

Reign of Prince Garibald

Princess Arlene first floated the idea of abdicating and naming Margrave Jordan of Sulli as her successor in late 2020. Given his active role at the time as Prime Minister of Westarctica, Jordan informed her that wouldn't be possible, and that she should find someone else to reign instead. When the Princess made it clear to Jordan that she did not feel there was anyone else viable, he began working for a solution to what he would refer to as "the Kolios problem."

This problem, as Jordan would put it, needed to allow him to honor his commitment to the office of Prime Minister of Westarctica. Constitutionally, as Prime Minister, he was prohibited from concurrent service in the government of another nation. At the same time, he wanted to ensure Kolios' survival. Without an identifiable noble willing to take the throne, Jordan floated the possibility of making Kolios a colony of Westarctica. While a number of objections were raised by Kolios' nobles, the majority consensus was that this would only be acceptable if the role of Prince of Kolios was somehow preserved, as a possible future path back to sovereignty.

In early 2021, Jordan brought an idea to Grand Duke Travis of a way to accomplish both of the goals he had, regarding the two nations. Parties from Kolios and Westarctica began negotiations in April of 2021 for the wording of the treaty that would place Kolios under Westarctican authority. The final agreement for the phrasing and content was reached on 18 August 2021.

Before the accords were signed, Prince Garibald, governed as sovereign for a period of just over 24 hours on 26 February 2022. During this time, he issued sixteen "Princely Edicts." These were aimed at setting up the transition, bringing Kolios more in line with Westarctica, and making changes to the nation's structure and society.

01 - Establishing House Bärenhalb: The establishment of a new ruling house, as the new Prince had no relation to the house of Mendoza-Vega.
02 - Withdrawal of the Principality of Kolios from the Empire of Agber: Formally dissolving the relationship between Kolios and the Empire it helped create.
03 - Establishing Ben Ulmo National Memorial: Restructuring the administration of the Jewish Cemetery found within the borders of Kolios.
04 - Removal of the Church of Kolios as State Religion: Officially secularized the government.
05 - Ecological Mission and Initiatives of the Pricipality of Kolios: Aligned green goals and initiatives with those of Westarctica ahead of the Marana Accords.
06 - Modifications to Honorifics for Members of Koliosian Orders: Removed gendered language from honorifics, making all members "Knights."
07 - Establishment of the Rule of Funfundzwanzig: Allowed those who have not had contact with Kolios for over 25 years to be removed from active rolls of orders and allowed for the revocation of their titles.
08 - Changes Concerning the Order of Kolios: Covered numerous changes, including ranks and regalia.
09 - Changes Concerning the Sanctified Order of the Crucifix: Covered numerous changes and declared that control of the order would be moved to House Bärenhalb when the Marana Accords are signed.
10 - Activation of the Order of the Rose Throne: Covered information pertaining to the structure and guidelines for the order.
11 - Invoking the Rule of Funfundzwanzig: Absorbed certain titles back into the crown.
12 - Restructuring of Koliosian Nobility: Covered a number of changes to the structure, styles, and guidelines for nobles, including the removal of gendered titles, adding in a form of generational relegation to allow a degree of meritocracy.
13 - Regarding Koliosian Traditions of Heraldry: Streamlined and established rules for Koliosian arms.
14 - Accession Honors List: Bestowed more than 100 different honors on citizens of Kolios and allies of the nation.
15 - Naming the Successors for the Prince von Kolios: Established line of succession for the Prince.
16 - Notification of Request for Westarctica to Assume Control of Kolios: Addressed to the people of Kolios and Westarctica, this layed out in simple terms how Kolios would change with the signing of the Marana Accords.

These changes have been met with mixed reactions by the active Koliosian citizens.

Government as the Principality of Kolios

The head of Kolios for nearly all of its time as a Principality was Princess Arlene, who sat on the figurative and literal Rose Throne of Kolios. The Prince or Princess served for life. As she did have any children, she named Margrave Jordan of Sulli as her successor.

Given her previous role as Empress of Agber, Arlene appointed a Chancellor, Nicholas Young, to serve as both an advisor, and to aid in the running of the Principality. This was initially to ensure that the administration of Kolios did not suffer due to her added duties with the Empire. After abdicating the Agberian throne, Princess Arlene announced that Young would be staying on as Chancellor. As the Principality moved into a Regency status, the day-to-day operations fell to Chancellor Young.

Kolios' nobility during this time was a structured hierarchy, which existed in four tiers; the highest of these being the Principality. This level existed with all districts reporting directly to it. Each individual district could be broken down further, depending on the level. For example, Duchies could be divided into three or four Margravates. Margravates could then be subdivided into three or four Baronies. Sulli and Sheridan were unique in that there were no intermediaries between them and the Princess of Kolios. This mediatization was not required and was added at the discretion of the Princess.

Shortly after abdicating from the throne of the Empire of Agber, Princess Arlene announced that the Duchy of Fryar would be opened up for mediatization, along with possibly "filling out" the room for new nobles under the structure of the Duchy of Cramer. In total, this would have allowed for up to five new Margravates and twenty-two new Baronies.

The Protectorate of Kolios

As of 27 February 2022, Kolios entered into a treaty with the Grand Duchy of Westarctica and will became a territorial holding, officially becoming known as the Westarctican Protectorate of Kolios. After transitioning to its new existence as the Protectorate of Kolios, the monarchy was abolished. Although it will continue as a social construct, as part of the nobility of Kolios, the government is now controlled entirely by Westarctica. The specifics of what this will entail have yet to be revealed.

Districts

The Kingdom of Kolios was initially broken up into a Capital District, four Precincts, and one special Administrative Region. Shortly before being reorganized as a Principality within the Empire of Agber, a fifth Precinct, Reese, was added.

Level	Name	Etymology	Notes
Capital District	Vindelkrieg	Combination of the original Roman name for the city and the city region Kolios falls under.	Location of the Rose Throne, former seat of the Empire of Agber. Changed from Agber in 2020, to avoid confusion with the Empire of Agber.
Precinct	Cramer	From "Cramerton," a senior enlisted housing district	Originally contained Pix Market and Saint Thomas Cathedral
Precinct	Fryar	From "Fryar Circle," an officer's housing district	Contains ceremony grounds
Precinct	Reese	From "Reese Kaserne," a military operations district	Lands were originally part of Cramer Precinct
Precinct	Sheridan	From "Sheridan Kaserne," a military operations district	Contains battleground
Precinct	Sulli	From "Upper and Lower Sullivan," a pair of enlisted housing areas

Culture

Religion

All faiths are welcomed with open arms, as there is no official religion of the Protectorate. Prior to 2022, the official religion was Christian. Although it was officially non-descript, any time there was room for denominational leanings or preference, Kolios preferred Catholicism. There are a number of lingering trappings that attest to this history in Kolios, primarily in naming conventions and symbolism.

Orders of Chivalry

See also: Awards and decorations of the Empire of Agber

Kolios currently has only one specific to the nation, the Most Honorable Order of Kolios.

Prior to becoming a Westarctican Protectorate, a second order, the Sanctified Order of the Crucifix, officially belonged to the Kolios. This order is now administrated by house Bärenhalb.

The Order of the Rose Throne was a short-lived order that was only awarded as part of Prince Garibald's accession honors.

Heraldry

Kolios has a growing heraldic tradition that is built on a foundation of traditional German influences.

Celebrations

Although no official holidays exist yet, Kolios has a number of cultural celebrations, including May Day, Oktoberfest, and Yuletide.