Romus the Great

Romus the Great
Rezenid Emperor
Romus Toras, 1950

Romus Toras (2nd December 1905 - 30th February 2001) was the monarch of the Kingdom of Rizia, and later the restored Rezenid Empire. His reign has been defined by an increased presence of Rizia around the globe, eventually becoming the leading member of GRACE, replacing Rumburg following it's disastrous Rummo-Sordish war. Romus led Rizia and later on GRACE into a rapprochment with Sordland and her allies, eventually leading to an unofficial third block of the cold war led by the Rizians and Sords, under the oversight of Anton Rayne and himself respectively. His reunification of Pales and Zille into Rizia, as well as further accomplishments earned him the honorific 'the Great' from the House of Delegates, as well as the general Rizian populace.

In his youth, Romus Toras took an active engagement in military affairs, going to the Rizian military academy and being attached to the staff of General Taddeus Azaro. In this capacity the young prince would take part in the disastrous Pales Campaign of 1920, eventually also having to deal with the mutiny that it resulted in. He was kidnapped by the forces of Duke Sazon albeit soon released thanks to a timely intervention of Wehzek forces. This intervention however came at a cost of Zille, something which Romus never truly forgave his father about. Nonetheless, his duties as Crown Prince and eventually duke of Valenqiris took precedence. Romus focused much on the well being of the people in the province, conducting a grand reconstruction of the province. This was also followed however by a continued police presence, as the Duke similarly rooted out enemies of the Crown in the province, though perhaps to a lesser extent than Taddeus Azaro would've liked. In similar capacity, the Prince secretly travelled to Pales, meeting with Duke Axel Reinhardt. The meeting was not fruitful however, as Romus insisted on Pales' return to Rizia, for which he was soon enough thrown out. Returning to Rizia he had a falling out with his father, as he admitted to the secret visit. Romus would not face any wrath from the old King however, as Valero 'the Frail' would pass away not too long after, with Romus Toras inheriting the Rizian crown with due diligence.

The coronation of King Romus was the most well attended up until that moment in time, and was received well internationally. It went off without much difference to procedure and proved a reasonable boost of public morale. Following the coronation, Romus launched into a flurry of decrees. These decrees were rather surprising to the classes at the time, as they were focused on increasing workers' rights, protections and in some sense liberties. On the other hand, the King refused to liberalize the country, following a stern path of absolute political control. The general reformist agenda however would end as diplomatic crises erupted, primarily as Wehlen refused to return Zille following a bomb attack during the celebrations for the return. In the south, Rizia and Pales went into conflict over the Aurus gas field. The conflict would soon erupt into full-scale war which was quickly won by the Rizian Royal Army. The swift resolution surprised the international community and further bolstered Rizia's power projection, aiding in the Alliance of Nations vote to send peacekeepers and ensure a peaceful transition of Zille back to Rizia. Romus would similarly surprise the public with a flirtatious venture with Lucita Azaro, head of house Azaro and soon enough Queen-consort of Rizia. During this time period, Romus also embarked on an increasingly interventionist policy, aiding the forces of Monarchists within the Confederacy and further strengthening ties to Rumburg and GRACE. This would prove vital as during the- WIP.