Order of Ceannlaidir

Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir
The Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir medal
Awarded by Armed Forces of the Temuair Empire
Eligibility	Any active duty or reserve member of the Armed Forces of the Temuair Empire
Awarded for	Awarded for "unparalleled deeds in service to the Empire"
Status	Currently Awarded
Statistics
Established	1 January, 1865
Total awarded	24
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Equivalent	None
Next (lower)	Imperial Armed Forces Distinguished Service Award
The Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir ribbon

The Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir is the highest and most pretrgious military honor issued by the Armed Forces of the Temuair Empire and the government of Temuair. The Order of Ceannlaidir is awarded to members of the Imperial Armed Forces members who have distinguished themselves by acts of extreme valor or heroism within a combat zone during a time of declared conflict or emergency. It is the only award that must be presented personally to a recipient by the sitting Emperador and is the only award worn around the neck issued by the Imperial Armed Forces. The Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir is one of the oldest continuously issued combat decoration of the Imperial armed forces, dating back to the military reorganization efforts of 1850.

Namesake

It is named for Ceannlaidir the Aisling god of war and honor.

History

The Casal Passage is a strategically passage located within the Vi Castis Mountains, one of only a handful of easily navigable mountain passes running between the Notreceaun town of Teuillac, situated in the foothills of the eastern Vi Castis Mountains and the city of Casal. From Casal, the Notreceaun forces could advance through several valleys and threaten a large number of passes further through the Vi Castis Mountains.

During the Winter War of 1864, Notreceaun forces under the command of Général de division Albin Durand staged a successful attack against Fort Casal, the primary fort situated to defend the Aisling side of the passage. The Notreceaun forces were able to successfully breach the fortress walls and overran the garrison within a matter of hours. Tenente Gil Casado, commanding the remnants of the 192nd Tiradores Regiment was the only remaining officer alive within the fort and surrendered himself and about 70 survivors, to the Notreceaun invaders. The survivors were taken into custody and marched to the fortress' eastern wall, the side which faced back towards Notreceau. Once there, Général Durand commanded Casado to strike the Imperial flag from the fortress' battlement flagpole. Casado complied and lowered the Imperial flag, however, when ordered to hand the flag over to the Notreceaun officer he refused. Instead, Casado wrapped the flag around himself and stepped from the parapet, plunging to his death in the valley below.

Général Durand ordered his men to scour the valley for Casado's body, with Durand personally leading several search parties. Seven men are reported to have died on the treacherously cold and icy slopes of the Casal Passage before the body was located. Once located, approached the Aisling defensive lines outside of Casal under a flag of truce, requesting to parlay with the Aisling officer in command of the fortifications. In his journal Capitán Xeneral Máximo Acuna wrote that he had "expected the Notreceaun devil to command the surrender of the force as we had become aware of the fall of the fortress." However, Général Durand instead presented Acuna with a polished pine box. "He said the box contained the body of a man whom had demonstrated honor and courage so great that the story must be told, even if it resulted in the strengthening of the his (Durand's) enemies" Contained within the box was the remains of Tenente Casado dressed in his own dress uniform taken from his locker within the fortress, and a letter explaining his actions at the fortress signed by all of the enlisted survivors. Having delievered the remains and the letter, Durand and his entourage withdrew back to Fort Casal. The Winter War of 1864 would end a bare three months later outside of Casal, with the Notreceaun attacks unable to breakthrough into the city.

Capitán Xeneral Acuna ordered the remains of Casado as well as the letter be transported back to Dinsmar as quickly as possible. Along with it, he sent his own letter urging the Ministry of Defense to "honor the man contained herein with the highest honor that can be devised. His acts were so exceptional in bravery, courage and devotion that the enemy has seen fit to ensure we are aware of them, even to his determent." The story was brought to the attention of Emperador Conrí De Andrade. The Emperador learned that the Imperial Army of Temuair was planning to award the Imperial Armed Forces Distinguished Service Award to Casado and immediately countermanded the award, stating that such a great deed and service to the Empire was unparalleled and that the chosen award, the highest honor commissioned by the Imperial military, was still not valuable enough. Emperador De Andrade ordered the creation of a new award, to be set above the Distinguished Service Award which would recognize this and future acts considered to be "unparalleled deeds in service to the Empire." The Armed Forces of the Aisling Empire, seeking a name for this most prestigious award, settled on calling it the Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir, giving homage to Ceannlaidir; the Aisling god of war and honor.

Emperador De Andrade personally presented the first Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir to the widow of Tenente Casado along with the tradtional tri-folded flag at the military funeral service on June 7, 1864. He stated to her that her husband was "possibly the greatest man Temuair will ever know." Since then, it has become tradition that the Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir can only be personally presented by the reigning Emperador

Awarding and eligibility

The Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir can be award more than once to the same recipient. If an individual receives more than one Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir then the ribbon would display the appropriate amount of Rosetón devices. In the time that the Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir has been authorized, it has never been awarded more than once to the same individual.

Qualifying conflicts and periods

The Imperial Order of Ceannlaidir can only be issued during a declared war or emergency.

• Winter War of 1864 (1864)
• Third Peninsular War (1937 - 1946)
• Fourth Peninsular War (1955 - 1960)
• Pequeñoyan Emergency (1958)
• Operation Firefly (1985 - 1986)
• 1997 Sable Conflict (1997)
• First Terrican Emergency (1999 - 2002)
• Second Terrican Emergency (2008 - 2014)
• Operation Implicit Resolve (2014 - Present)

Notable recipients

• Gil Casado