Varnaþ family

Láaresy and 5 of his 6 sisters, photographed in the 1930s

The Varnaþ family was the reigning royal family of Xevden from 1934 to 1938, and subsequently of the Nerveiík Kingdom until its collapse. Conventionally, the term is used to refer exclusively to king Láaresy, his sisters, and his wife Márgit.

Láaresy took the Xevdenite throne in 1934 and adopted the family name "Varnaþ". He was distinguished for his efforts to reform Xevden, arrest its disintegration through democratisation, and seek a peaceful solution to the Liberation War. After the war erupted, the family withdrew to the Nerveiík peninsula, where they established a constitutional monarchy that was dubbed the Nerveiík Kingdom.

The family was overthrown by a coup d'état on 31 December 1947, which destroyed the Nerveiík Kingdom and brought to power the Tymzar–Nalo regime, launching the second phase of the Liberation War. As the war neared its end, the family supported the Free Territories, and issued a sweeping abdication declaration in 1958, both renouncing any further involvement in politics and declaring the "complete extinction" of the Xevdenite throne and state.

After the war, the Varnaþ family was fully rehabilitated as part of President Reda Kazan's national reconciliation projects, and remained active and influential in public life in Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk. One of their descendants, Laura Varnaþ, later served as President of Gylias from 2007 to 2011.

Members

Official portraits of Láaresy and Márgit as King and Queen of the Ŋej

• Adiiá (25 February 1893 – 6 February 1976), Princess
• Láaresy (8 October 1895 – 9 April 1971), King of the Ŋej
• Nyvi (25 October 1896 – 21 March 1955), Princess
• Seŋi (15 November 1903 – 15 April 1979), Princess
• Meren (6 February 1905 – 10 April 1979), Princess
• Raxyi (20 March 1906 – 31 January 1978), Princess
• Meďide (20 March 1907 – 4 January 1989), Princess

Láaresy married Márgit Várkonyi (6 September 1915 – 22 October 2002), making her Queen of the Ŋej. They had one son.

Adiiá and Nyvi also married and had children, while Seŋi, Meren, Raxyi, and Meďide did not marry and had no children.

During Láaresy's reign, Adiiá and Nyvi were seldom seen in public and lived largely private lives, while Seŋi, Meren, Raxyi, and Meďide took on official roles and had a high profile.

Background

The siblings were born into the Xevdenite royal house. Their childhoods were marked by the Gylian ascendancy, the disastrous Cacerta-Xevden War, and subsequent disintegration of Xevden, particularly under the authoritarian rule of Karnaz. They formed a distinct group within the fractious royal court, becoming known for their liberal sympathies and support for the Gylian cause.

Increasingly paranoid in his later years, Karnaz designated no heir apparent, and factions were already jockeying for power before his death in 1934. Xevdenite politics was dominated then by the fracture between reactionaries, obstinately opposed to change and wishing to preserve their power and privileges no matter the cost, and pragmatists, who accepted the necessity for reforms to resolve the "Gylian Question" and prevent a violent revolution.

Karnaz's reign had seen the reactionaries dominant, and thus they were identified with foreign policy disasters like the Cacerta-Xevden War, the ongoing Alscian Border War, and the constant Gylian insurgencies and uprisings. The pendulum now swung to the pragmatists, who sought to reverse course. Láaresy and his siblings had previously been ostracised in the court for their liberalism. He was approached by the pragmatists, who saw him as possessing the most credibility to reverse course from the calamity engineered by the authoritarian Karnaz.

Palace intrigues reached their climax in 1934, as the ailing Karnaz approached his death. On the night of 2–3 March 1934, Karnaz's physician gave him a lethal injection of morphine, and the pragmatist faction hastily moved to install Láaresy on the throne, heading off reactionary plots.

Initial reign in Xevden

1400 Days' Reform

Láaresy announcing the 1935 elections

Láaresy took the throne on 3 March 1934. From the beginning, he announced sweeping changes, which came to be known as the 1400 Days' Reform. Among the measures announced included the release of all prisoners, abolition of censorship and the repressive apparatus, institution of equal citizenship and suffrage, and restoration of freedoms. Formerly banned parties, trade unions, and civic organisations were legalised. He promised the drafting of a new constitution, which would follow the model of the 1848 Keraþ constitution, and snap elections for the legislature that Karnaz had suspended.

Láaresy was conscious from the start of the shaky foundation of his reign. He was tolerated by the pragmatists, while the reactionaries plotted to set him up to fail in order to regain power. The goodwill he earned among Gylians for launching the 1400 Days' Reform had to be backed up by action and tangible progress. Having grown up to hate the "vipers' nest" of the royal court, he embarked on drastic reforms to transform the monarchy into a modern institution based on rule of law rather than royal caprice.

Láaresy adopted the title "king of the Ŋej", claiming legitimacy as a popular monarchy, and abandoned the old protocol in favour of a simple manner of dress and style in public. To symbolically reflect the new beginning, he chose an official name for the royal family: "Varnaþ", derived from a Ŋej word meaning "upright; honourable".

He decreed that only he and his sisters constituted the Varnaþ family, thus excluding all other relatives and courtiers. His youngest sisters Seŋi, Meren, Raxyi, Meďide assumed official duties and became just as prominent in public. Their prominent support of feminism and women's rights added to the family's reformist credentials, but also fueled the reactionaries' scorn.

Marriage

In seeking a royal partner, Láaresy aimed to both illustrate his commitment to modernisation and end the international marginalisation of Xevden. However, other Tyranian royal families were uninterested. He married Márgit Várkonyi on 27 April 1936. Márgit was distantly related to Ruvelkan nobility, abolished by the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic, but her own family background was modest and she earned a living as a shorthand typist and working a gift shop before being introduced to Láaresy.

The wedding was a modest affair, with the king calculating that the lack of ceremony and Márgit's background would gain enough public support to outweigh the traditionalists scandalised by his marrying a commoner and a Ruvelkan at a time when widespread revolutionary movements threatened Xevden.

Clouds of war

Despite the family's prodigious efforts, the Xevdenite crisis had passed the point of constitutional resolution. The state was rotted by rampant corruption, nepotism, and inequality, while reactionaries sought to undermine the 1400 Days' Reform. The 1935 election was marred by fraud and political violence, and produced a hung parliament, further inflaming tensions.

Láaresy narrowly fended off an attempted reactionary coup in 1936, but a snap legislative election in 1937 yielded largely the same result. Polarisation was now at an all-time high, and militias and paramilitaries proliferated as the public anticipated violent conflict.

Nerveiík Kingdom

Main article: Nerveiík Kingdom

Retreat to Nerveiík

The Varnaþ family in Velouria, 1939

When the Liberation War erupted in 1938, Láaresy held back the Xevdenite forces to avoid an escalation of violence, and maintained hope for a peaceful solution. After the proclamation of the Free Territories, he engaged in negotiations with Darnan Cyras for a comprehensive peace settlement. Although the two developed a mutual respect, the Free Territories used the talks to stall for time.

With more Gylian uprisings breaking out and extremist paramilitaries instigating further conflict, Láaresy ordered the withdrawal of the military to Nerveiík, a chaotic retreat that lasted nearly a year.

The withdrawal inaugurated the period known as the Nerveiík Kingdom. Láaresy was a devotee of numerology and considered "repetitive" dates auspicious. He chose 3 September 1939 to deliver the Proclamation of Velouria, acknowledging the new situation of the war but reaffirming his commitment to reform and negotiating "peace with honour" — a comprehensive solution to the Xevdenite crisis.

The disorganised and depleted legislature — many Gylian members had defected to the Free Territories or other factions — was replaced by the National Council, for which snap elections were first held in 1939.

Reforms

The much smaller territory of the Nerveiík Kingdom yielded an unexpected benefit: it made consolidation and pushing through reforms easier. A vast program of reforms was adopted:

• The Fundamental Statute was adopted as a constitution and a civil code was created, protecting civil rights and fundamental freedoms.
• A cabinet government was set up, headed by Prime Minister Den Alieraş.
• A sweeping crackdown on corruption and nepotism was carried out, with strict financial controls and reviews implemented throughout the public sector to eliminate waste.
• A purge of the royal court removed those with extremist sympathies and further reduced its staff, while all titles of nobility were abolished and former noble estates confiscated.
• A corporatist economic program was instituted, which entailed a reorganisation of the tax system, land reform, public works projects, and nationalisation of large firms and critical areas of the economy.
• Public services were expanded, particularly education and health, and progressive social policies were implemented that built up a welfare state.
• The military was reorganised and consolidated, yielding the National Army and Royal Guard, an elite all-female unit that answered directly to the family.

While the Fundamental Statute codified a constitutional monarchy, the Varnaþ family took on a greater role, serving as unifying figures in their capacity as head of state while also involving themselves in governance, sharing executive duties with the cabinet and delivering speeches to propose laws or reforms.

Láaresy's sisters took responsibilities related to administration and charity: Seŋi focused on health, Raxyi focused on education, Meren focused on culture, and Meďide focused on sports. The female members of the family became especially popular due to their reformist élan, elegant images, and their role as symbols of modernisation.

Building a state

Princesses Meren and Meďide giving the Varnaþ salute, 1938

To consolidate the kingdom, the family introduced a series of state-building measures. The United National Movement was established as a big tent governing party, helping bring democratic factions together against extremism. Women's organisations were amalgamated into the Women's League, which promoted a radical and progressive policy and benefited from the patronage of the queen and princesses.

The Varnaþ salute, with the right hand placed over the heart and palm facing downwards, was introduced as a distinctive salute, promoted as a "constitutional salute".

Various symbolic changes were made to assert the kingdom's commitment to peace and justice. The flag had its coat of arms removed, remaining a green and white triband. A new seal was adopted, depicting a phoenix rising from flames, as well as a new motto: "Peace, Reconciliation, National Construction". Extensive campaigns were launched to cultivate a new identity, which repudiated the Xevden of the past.

Notably, laws and official documents referred simply to "the Kingdom", provisionally "suspending" matters of state organisation until a peace treaty was signed.

Throughout the war, the Varnaþ family did not waver in its efforts to negotiate an end to the Liberation War. The NA and RG adopted a defensive, neutralist doctrine. Láaresy made numerous royal proclamations and public speeches calling for peace and an end to the bloodshed. He continued to negotiate with the Free Territories and other Gylian factions, but obtained little beyond ongoing ceasefires with neighbouring factions.

Although Gylians came to see the family as honourable and principled, the war had now taken a life of its own, and it was difficult to stop.

Meren, Láaresy, Raxyi, and Meďide in uniform, 1938

The kingdom pointed to its liberalisation and reformism in order to improve international recognition. Special emphasis was put on improving relations with democratic great powers like Acrea, Ossoria, and Cacerta. This policy produced some notable successes, as embassies were established, and major powers supported the kingdom as a conventional, therefore preferable, alternative to the Free Territories. While the family's more modest and less ceremonious personal style and court won public approval, they also found less sympathy among the more ostentatious monarchies of Tyran, much to their frustration.

Although ostensibly rivals, the Nerveiík Kingdom and Free Territories developed a good understanding. Queen Márgit and princesses Seŋi, Raxyi, Meren, and Meďide undertook a few goodwill tours of the Free Territories, to a warm reception. The kingdom also maintained good relations with the Daláyk islands, controlled by a Gylian constitutional monarchist faction sympathetic to the family and backed by Ossoria.

The strains of war produced an element of militarism in the kingdom's society. The Varnaþ family often appeared at public ceremonies wearing military uniforms, emphasising self-defense. Official propaganda upheld the reorganised NA and RG as exemplars of the kingdom and champions of democracy. The RG's sole major action in the war, at the Battle of Laiýs in 1942, won respect among Gylian opponents for its conduct. Officials emphasised discipline and organisation as key to the kingdom's survival, a theme that tied into corporatist economic policies.

Challenges

The Nerveiík Kingdom proved a bittersweet experience. The state experienced a degree of stabilisation and social progress, but it remained heavily dependent on foreign support to shore up its economy and maintain a professional army. The Varnaþ family enjoyed broad respect and popularity at home, but the kingdom largely secured the public's acquiescence rather than staunch support.

More fundamentally, it was essentially trying to catch up to the more radical and revolutionary Gylian factions whose popularity was owed to exactly the reactionary intransigence that had blocked and sabotaged changes in Xevden until it was too late.

The kingdom's hard-won stability remained precarious. Despite the purges at the royal court, there remained a current of resistance among Xevdenite elites, which the government devoted much energy to suppressing. The threat came from two major strains: the reactionaries, who simply wished to restore the absolute monarchy and undo the Gylian ascendancy, and the Political Futurists, which emerged as a force through the Revolutionary Front for Patriotic Victory.

Inspired by the futurist regimes of Megelan and Æþurheim, the RFPV took the social spencerism and racism of Xevden's ancien régime to its frightening conclusion: a totalitarian and genocidal project to "cleanse" Xevden of Gylians and achieve a "national rebirth".

In one of his diary entries from 1945, an embittered Láaresy wrote, "Far better for the kingdom to fall to the anarchists than the disgusting hordes of the RFPV."

Overthrow

Although hostile to each other, the reactionaries and RFPV ultimately coalesced into a "monstrous alliance" and carried out a coup d'état on 31 December 1947. Láaresy was captured and imprisoned, while the rest of the family escaped to Daláyk. The Nerveiík Kingdom was destroyed, and in its place emerged the Tymzar–Nalo regime.

Láaresy was held prisoner by the Tymzar–Nalo regime for 6 years, being subjected to mistreatment and torture in captivity. From their refuge in Daláyk, the rest of the family denounced the coup and declared the throne vacant, refusing to recognise Tymzar as an usurper.

The Tymzar–Nalo regime set about destroying all remnants of the Nerveiík Kingdom, instituting a dictatorship and hastily reorganising the NA into the Royal Army. It launched the second phase of the Liberation War, which would have disastrous effects. After an initially successful offensive, the spectacular People's Army victories at Nerazur and Mytin on 14–15 April 1948 turned the tide of war permanently in their favour.

Deprived of foreign support, the Royal Army lost its advantage in equipment and had its morale eroded. Adding to the humiliation, the new regime's pronounced misogyny caused the defection of the entire RG, which joined Lidia's Legion.

Láaresy was freed by the People's Army in 1954 and reunited with his family. The torture and mistreatment he had endured repulsed his liberators so much that they briefly interrupted their offensive to destroy his former prison. The Varnaþ family openly supported the Free Territories, and continued to dismiss the Tymzar–Nalo regime as illegitimate. Láaresy rebuked monarchists who hatched impossible schemes to return him to the throne, recognising that by now the Free Territories' victory was inevitable.

The war ended on 2 January 1958 with the People's Army victorious in the Battle of Velouria, and Tymzar and Nalo captured alive. At their request, the family was later allowed a tour of the former capital under PA protection. Meďide recalled they were "appalled and horrified" by Velouria's near-complete destruction, and both Láaresy and Márgit broke down and cried on seeing the ruins of the Royal Palace, Láaresy cursing the "murderous insanity" of the Tymzar–Nalo regime.

Life after the throne

Members of the Varnaþ family attending the Arnak Trials, 1958

Shortly after the war's end, the Varnaþ family issued a declaration of abdication:

"We renounce all claims to the Xevdenite throne, which has been completely extinguished along with the Xevdenite state in all its forms. We withdraw completely from any involvement in government, and relieve all those who swore an oath of fidelity from any further service."

Láaresy worked closely with several members of the new Executive Committee chaired by Darnan Cyras on the text of the declaration. The Executive Committee wished to prevent any possibility of a monarchist resurgence or the existence of pretenders. The text was drafted in such a way as to make the abolition of the monarchy an irreversible fait accompli and make it clear that the Free Territories rejected the principle of succession of states.

The victorious Free Territories made the Varnaþ family a famous example of their wartime use of the adversary–enemy distinction, giving them an accommodating and respectful treatment similar to the honoured citizens list.

The family notably attended the Arnak Trials where they were treated almost as guests of honour, providing witness testimony. The journalist Luisa Braglia described the family attending one court session, "resplendent in their military uniforms with ceremonial sabres", and their entrance greeted by many attendees with the Varnaþ salute, a sight which visibly moved the former king and queen.

Historian Nina Raukan writes that lingering respect for the family's principled conduct in the Liberation War, sympathy for their overthrow by the Tymzar–Nalo regime, and their lack of threat to Gylias contributed to them becoming a showcase for the Darnan Cyras government, and subsequently President Reda Kazan's national reconciliation initiatives. Reda rejected the government's plan to resettle the family and provide them a peaceful retirement. She pushed instead for a full rehabilitation.

Former queen Márgit, photographed in 1967

Reda had the family resettled in Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk with public honours, pushed the government with "firm politeness" to grant the family an official pension (their possessions having been destroyed or confiscated in wartime), and encouraged them to remain active in public life and politics.

After passage of the Law on Common Nationality of 1962, Reda additionally got the government to pass a law that formally recognised the Nerveiík Kingdom as a state separate from Xevden, and granting automatic Gylian citizenship to former Nerveiík residents. The family saw this as the greatest honour of their lives, signifying their acceptance by Gylias.

The family's documents and diaries were donated to the National Archives of Gylias, where they became a significant source for historians of the war. Láaresy published his memoir, From King to Citizen, in 1966, which was well-received. The Sunday Thought's review commented that the book elicited "regret for the enormous waste of talent and energy required by such a stupid system", and the former king displayed "palpable happiness and satisfaction" now leading a simple life.

The family enjoyed a comfortable life in Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk. They had high-profile roles in public life and politics, together with former members of the United National Movement, which contributed to consolidating the largely conservative tilt of Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk. Márgit in particular was greatly touched by the kindness with which the Gylians treated them. Láaresy had grown very spiritual after his war ordeal; he spent his time meditating, reading, writing, and being with the family's children.

Láaresy died in 1971, and was outlived by his sisters. Adiiá, Seŋi, Meren, and Raxyi died in 1976–1979, followed by Meďide in 1989. Márgit was the last surviving member of the family. She lived long enough to catch a new wave of interest in the Nerveiík Kingdom after the wretched decade, and was interviewed in the 1999 documentary Nation Building, an inclusion that symbolically reflected the family's integration into the Gylian story — although on the losing side of the war, they had nevertheless secured a moral victory for posterity.

She died in 2002, and with her death the royal family was extinguished. Her child was raised as an ordinary citizen, and thus carried none of the royal baggage that the family had.

A descendant of the family, Laura Varnaþ, later served as President of Gylias between 2007 and 2011.

Legacy

The Varnaþ family are generally regarded as tragic figures by Gylians, owing to their sincere commitment to reforming Xevden and the enormous obstacles they faced. They were popular during the Nerveiík Kingdom as a result of their activism and liberalism, although international depictions of them as a glamorous "fairytale" ruling family was harshly contrasted with the fragility of the kingdom and the totalitarian regime that destroyed it. Their subsequent post-war rehabilitation was seen as a hard-won "happy ending".

The family's reconciliation to Gylias after the war earned praise as an act of statesmanship, as they scrupulously observed their agreements and happily embraced a simpler life. They were frequently cited as examples by conservative monarchists for ideal monarchical conduct.

The novelty of the "republican former royals" meant that they were sought out by curious foreign diplomats and journalists in their later years.

The family have often been depicted in Gylian pop culture, particularly in works of alternate history that posit the endurance or success of the Nerveiík Kingdom.