Order of the Rose (Zenrax)

Order of the Rose
Awarded by the Imperial Federation of Zenrax
Type	Chivalric order
Established	c. March 2003
Motto	Strength and Honor
Eligibility	At least 18 years of age In good standing with one's home community
Status	Extant
Sovereign and Master	Mephistopheles of Stormhold
Grades	Three
Statistics
First induction	17 December 2014
Last induction	19 October 2022
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest)
Next (lower)	Order of the Hydra
Ribbon bar

Founded c. 2003, the Order of the Rose has predated and outlasted all affiliated micronational entities it was originally associated with until its affiliation with the State of Zenrax in 2014. The Order was originally founded by Shiro Mephistopheles and his brother, Tyranus Mephistopheles, to recognize those it deems as paragons of strength or honor. To protect its existence during periods of political upheaval that were common at the time of its formation, Order was originally deemed to exist apart from those micronational entities it has been otherwise affiliated with in the past. Despite years-long periods of dormancy, the Order never recognized its own dissolution, with there being no provisions for such an event should it ever occur. In 2014, upon the unification of Zenrax, the order was revived and its original members, both members of House Mephistopheles, re-consecrated into the order. In 2021, the Order of the Rose temporarily changed its host country to the Imperial Principality of Stormhold. In its years of existence, it has become a fixture in Zenrax's culture of honor. As a rule, the Head of State of Zenrax also serves as the Order's Master.

Currently, the Sovereign Order of the Rose forms the cornerstone of Zenrax's small honors system. While titles of nobility still exist within Stormhold outside of the Crown as Lords, all other titles ceased to exist over time, and the sole remaining title of Lord itself lost most of its authority upon reformations in 2018. As such, the Order ceased to have a relative peer in honors awarded to recipients for at least four years (until further reforms in 2022), be they a membership in the Order or an honorary noble title. Although it remains possible to enact a comprehensive system of nobility within Zenrax, membership in the Order is nonetheless seen as more prestigious due to the permanency of its membership and the rights accorded to its members of citizenship regardless of residency status within any (potential) territory of Zenrax. In 2021, with the slow revival of the system of nobility within Zenrax, the Order of the Rose nonetheless retains special precedence.

Current rules forbid awarding more than one or two posts per year in almost all circumstances (with retroactive invitations being strictly forbidden), thus maintaining exclusivity and preserving what prestige the Order can. Members are appointed for life; removal from the Order may only take place honorably through inactivity or request to the Master of the Order for divestment of membership. Although current rules allow for extraordinary award of the Order to a member exceeding the usual quota, until April 2020 there was no more than a single appointment during each year of the Order's existence, despite being the only active order of chivalry within Zenrax during most of its documented history.

Due to its small size, the order only has three ranks: Knight, Commander, and Master. Ranks and titles in the Order are given without regards to gender or gender orientation. Only one Master exists in the Order at any given time. General practice states that the ratio of Commanders to Knights in the Order should always be equal to or less than 1 to 3 where possible, with there always being at least one Commander. The current roster dates to 2012, before which no records exist.

In 2022, the Order transitioned back into the management of the Imperial Federation of Zenrax, following the restoration of its government's functionality.

Current members

Note: Members are only listed below with the primary titles and affiliations/nationalities they possessed at the time of award. For individuals with memberships in multiple organizations, the one(s) most relevant to the award at the time are given. Efforts are made to periodically track their current whereabouts, although it must also be noted that this page will be, at times, out of date with actual circumstances. No documented inductions took place from the Order's foundations until 2014, when original members were re-confirmed and/or documented on the member list. During the 2014 unification reforms, the only two members at the time were re-consecrated into the Order that same year. Where indicated (in italics), members are listed here under their (current) preferred name or alias.

Normally, membership is not revoked for any reason short of grave offenses against the State which the Order of the Rose is attached to. However, as the Order is meant to house active membership, revocation is usually done by way of one's renouncement of all titles and styles. Additionally, prolonged periods of both inactivity and no contact lead to assumption of this status, until proven otherwise. No renouncements or revocations have taken place since 2017, with the honorable removal of the hon. Duke of the Lowcountry (inducted 2015) from the rolls.

(An asterisk * indicates a later change in one's name or pseudonym for personal and/or privacy reasons.)

Year Awarded (Promoted)	Name	Current Rank	Nation (Title) at Time of Award	Current Nation (Title) as of July 2021
- Founder -	Shiro Mephistopheles	Master	none	Zenrax (Head of State)
2003-2013	Undocumented	--	--	--
2014	Tyranus Mephistopheles	Knight	Zenrax (co-founder, Lord)	Zenrax (de facto Crown Prince; Lord of Eisengard)
2015 (2016)	John Marshall	Commander	Siar Fordell (Thegn)	Thegn-Hold of Siar Fordell (Thegn)
2016	Ignatius Mephistopheles*	Knight	Zenrax (co-founder)	Zenrax (retired)
2017	Stephen Freayth	Knight	Abeldane Empire (Emperor)	Unaffiliated/Unknown
2018	Suzuki Leōcor	Knight	Sunþrawegaz, (Creator & Caretaker)	Unaffiliated
2019	Ned Gunderson	Knight	Zenrax (Chief Ambassador)	Unaffiliated
2020 (2021)	Svein Smedberg	Commander	Aphelia (STL/Founder)  Zenrax (Senator)	Aphelia (STL/Founder)  Zenrax(Viceroy)
2021	Private Citizen	--	none	Private Citizen
2022	Bradley, Duke of Dullahan	Knight	Wyvern (Head of Government)	Unchanged
2023	Oscar I of Karnia-Ruthenia	Knight	Karnia-Ruthenia (Head of State)	Unchanged