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phoenix-flamed · 1 month

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Hi! :D Not sure if you're happy to take on unscripted asks re. lore and headcanons, but since I absolutely adore the type of political backdrop to FFXVI and you mentioned the Rosarian government - would you mind expanding on how you envisage the High Houses to work in terms of representation / the council and what else you have established for Rosaria while an independent nation?

Unfortunately it does not appear to be explored in the same level of detail as the main bodies of other nations (probably because it all went to hell very early on) but I'd love to hear your thoughts and whether it mirrors any irl source of inspiration (such as, idek, Luxembourg which is also a grand-duchy)?

HELLO FRIEND!!! I AM ABSOLUTELY HAPPY TO TAKE THESE SORTS OF ASKS! aaaaaaaaaaaa I can try to answer this without droning on nonsensically for like five hours, and I apologize so, so, so profusely if I fail spectacularly at that! (And also apologize profusely if my thoughts don't actually make much sense.)

Yeah, I was hoping we'd get more information about Rosaria and how it works politically before things went to shit, but alas... we are not that lucky. I'll admit wholeheartedly that I can't speak on it mirroring any RL places, past or present -- I'd have to read up on them in more detail first, which would be fun to do, but as you and I have found out in the past, the game seems to take creative liberties with what terms, statuses, etc. pertaining to a duchy mean, rather than having it be a 1:1 comparison with a real-world duchy. I want to believe it's creative liberties... rather than them doing a half-assed job of researching, themselves.

Okay. Okay. I'm going to curb my overwhelming puppydog excitement over this Ask and actually write now, I swear.

I am also so sorry for reiterating information that's already known, but. Before Rosaria became a duchy, it was a series of smaller, independent nations, all of which were of course ruled by different noble families. These nations united together to form the Grand Duchy of Rosaria as we know it. The rulers of the independent nations became what are known as the Seven High Houses, with House Rosfield as the central one.

A Rosfield is always the one who sits on the throne, and the Phoenix is always born into the Rosfield line. But while House Rosfield always holds the seat of power, the other High Houses do hold heavy political influence within the duchy.

The way I headcanon it is that the High Houses are each represented in the royal council by the head of the main branch of each house's ruling family, much the same way that the head of the main branch of the Rosfield line serves as the ruling family of House Rosfield. What determines who is the head of these main families? Birth order, for the most part. Gender isn't necessarily important; this is, I admit, largely inspired both by the fact that it was Elwin's mother who was on the throne before Elwin, as well as my unending dislike for the idea that women have no power. So taking what the Ultimania book revealed about Elwin and Anabella's familial ties, I go with the idea that the former Archduchess was the head of the main branch family of the Rosfield line, while her husband, the former Archduke, was married into the main branch from a lesser branch because he was the current Dominant of Phoenix. I like to believe that the other High Houses operate similarly, with the firstborn child of the main branch family serving as the head of that particular High House.

Oh God I hope this is making sense so far. alkgjds

I also like to take a lot of inspiration from the fact that Rosaria's title is, "The Bastion of Tradition," as well as the information we're given in the Ultimania. (For as many parts of the Ultimania, mostly pertaining to ages, that make me want to chuck the book out a window.) Rosaria is driven largely by tradition, and its government and politics aren't any different. No matter how much time passes, I headcanon that the duchy honors its roots by maintaining this balance of power between the Seven High Houses. House Rosfield may be the ruling family, but as said previously, every High House has a seat on the council, and every High House has a say in political matters. The couple on the throne can't act or make decisions without a majority agreement from the council, and the council likewise can't make a decision or act without approval of those currently on the throne.

This, for the Rosfields, is a double-edged sword. There are members of the other High Houses who are less than fond of House Rosfield due to their position, and as a result use their own power to undermine their authority. This is something that Elwin's mother in particular had warned him about, but given Elwin's ambitions of breaking apart the status quo and stepping away from heavy reliance upon tradition and societal standards/norms, it's exponentially more apparent during his time as Archduke -- because as anyone can guess, he isn't a very popular ruler when it comes to the nobility. Whereas the other Rosfields up 'til that point had been content with preserving Rosaria's ways of life because it's "just how things are and have always been," Elwin goes against the grain, and in doing so breaks out of the mold and disregards the precedent set before him by the rulers who reigned before him.

Through the Ultimania, we find out that the Dominant of Phoenix isn't actually supposed to take the throne -- they aren't even supposed to have a say in political matters whatsoever. But exceptions are pretty commonly made, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to take this information and run with it headcanon/speculation-wise regarding Clive and Joshua's dynamic of how their relationship was in relation to Rosaria's governing body, how it was intended to have been by their parents, as well as how that relationship changed once certain key events were revealed(like Joshua awakening as the next Dominant instead of Clive). For example, my headcanon is that it was indeed Clive who had been intended to take the throne -- not because he was the firstborn child, but because Anabella and Elwin had decided on it because it was assumed he was the next Dominant, and the favor that the nobility expressed towards little Clive became support for this decision. But when Joshua awakened as the next Dominant instead, that favor and support was not only revoked from Clive, but was replaced with scorn and nasty rumors, ones that were not only about Clive and why he was rejected, but also about his parents as well. I'll get into the significance of that in a moment, though. Clive was replaced as the High Houses's golden child by Joshua. They threw all of their support and favor behind Joshua, and it was ultimately their influence that caused Anabella and Elwin to make Joshua heir to the throne instead, and Elwin to remove Clive from the line of succession entirely to try and spare him from the nobility's bullshittery.

Now, the big takeaway from that is the fact that Elwin, Anabella, Clive, Joshua, and even Jill are all caught up in this political game, whether they like it or not. It's a game that the parents to some extent try to protect the kids from, as seen in Elwin's decision regarding Clive -- but it's just not possible given the circumstances and positions of their births.

My headcanons have always been that a huge dividing factor between Elwin and Anabella was the subject of Clive, yes, but it was by design of the other High Houses, rather than brought upon initially by their emotions. The other High Houses knew exactly what they were doing by starting up with the rumors and jeers about Clive's supposed bastard lineage; they had always been looking for opportunities and ways, no matter how tiny, to split Elwin and Anabella apart -- just as they did with my Elwin's parents, although it didn't work with his parents. But Anabella and Elwin were much younger, much less experienced/prepared for the personal aspect of the political schemes, had little to no support or guidance from older parties, and were faced straight out of the gate with a slew of political matters pertaining to war and conflict while also having to navigate their new marriage and begin working towards bearing the next Dominant of the Phoenix as quickly as possible because in short, Rosaria was not in a good position in Storm. The duchy was vulnerable, without a Dominant to protect them; and because they didn't have a Dominant, House Rosfield couldn't seek guidance in matters of war from their ancestors.

Anabella and Elwin were, again, pretty much on their own.

The other councilmembers of the High Houses saw all of this and used it to their advantage. They chipped away little by little at the stability of the Archduke and Duchess's relationship, weaponized their differences in opinions against them, and when Joshua was revealed to be the next Dominant instead of Clive, they struck the big nail into the coffin by slandering the royal couple, disgracing Clive and Anabella, and creating that massive rift between the parents over Clive's future and their differing feelings towards the child. The shame inflicted by them upon Anabella was manipulated into anger and resentment, while Elwin's love for Clive was forced into being in direct opposition to his love for his wife, and both of these matters were only worsened by the fact that Joshua was beloved by the nobility and poised by them to take the throne -- despite how sickly and frail the child was. All of these things were aimed at pitting the couple against each-other, and it worked.

These things were also geared towards eventually pitting Joshua and Clive against each-other by means of sowing seeds of resentment and mistrust, but this one failed thanks to the strong bond shared between the two boys.

... I don't remember where I was going with any of this. I don't even think any of this answers your Ask, but I figure it's fun background information that might give some equally as fun context towards my Elwin! I guess the big takeaway from the latter half of this post is that I headcanon that there's A Lot of political unrest and power struggles between the High Houses, it's just kept carefully hidden from the public. If there's anything specific you'd like elaborated on, please feel free to let me know!

#Audiences #Out of the Flames #Headcanons #oh my god will I ever write something that doesn't turn into a five-hour-long ramble that never actually addresses the question LOL #The Answer May Surprise You (and by that I mean it really won't surprise you at all)#stingslikeabee

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