Duchy of Talquon

The Duchy of Talquon is the second oldest and most prestigious of the South Fraspikan dukes to refuse subjugation to the Kingdom of Fraspika, after the Grand Duchy of Barloem. Almost immediately after the centaurs pulled out from the region, the dukes would declare return to the area, declare their independence and defy the royal armies of the young Fraspikawhich sought to bring them to heel. For almost 25 years, Talquon was the leader of the League of The Borders, an alliance of various post-Clesentian realms which sought to prevent Fraspika from asserting their authority. These dukes would nominally recognize Fraspika as their overlord, but paid little to no taxes and often killed royal troops found in their domains.

This status quo would change with the eruption of the Blazennian-Fraspikan War, with the dukes happily and eagerly aiding the Blazennians in their war. After the conflict resolved, the dukes were rewarded by being allowed to join the Empire, as autonomous states, much different from the tightly controlled (at the time) Fraspika. Talquon and several other Fremedhian-cultured duchies would become quite powerful in the early Empire, due to their much more developed lands compared to the rest of Blazennia as well as their connections to trade. As the largest and most powerful of these entities, Talquon would assume a position of leadership of these Imperial Fremedhians, and used this to great effect in carving themselves out an enduring place amonst the Empire.

Barloem would enjoy several hundred years of relative internal peace, largely thanks to their position in the corner of the Empire. However, their borderlands were often in skirmish with various Fraspikan counts and dukes which attempted to expand their position into Blazennia, unheeding of the difference in realms. These skirmishes peaked in intensity in the mid-1500s, whereupon several other local lords aided Talquon in invading and sacking several Fremedhian towns, moving the border slightly east. When not fighting on the borders, Talquon was engaged in trade, largely with Eldritch Isle as well as trade from further south, such as Liradsromn and Hekahon; this accounts for the Telrai minorities which remain along the duchy's coast.

Through force of arms and a carefully cultivated succession, Talquon would survive the Greater and Lesser Fragmentation periods as a unified entity, and actually began expanding into their neighboring lands during the Lesser Fragmentation Period (thus making them one of the few states to start consolidating before the Blazennian Strongman Period). This culminated in the rule of Selussa I, who became empress with the strong support of the Talquine ruler Allium Viseux, now known as the Witch of Talquon. The so-called witch was Selussa's most trusted follower as well as her most powerful ally; with much of the Empire fragmented, only a few states had retained greater power than Talquon- the imperial marches, Fluencia, Sochvalar, Sofmargand, and Alenzibar (one might note that all these states outside the marches resided in the east). Out of these states (besides the marches, who were generally apolitical at this point) Talquon was the only major supporter of Selussa, with most of the high nobility angry at her for spurning the Rhinfeldt heir soon after her election. Allium's support for Selussa both gained Talquon serious imperial boons, but also genunely helped keep the Empire together, especially before Selussa's second marriage.

After the death of Selussa, however, Talquon was under siege, having no place on the Imperial Council and therefore Allium was unable to support her friend's son as effectively as she would have liked. Unfortunately, this resulted in the loss of their faction, as the others came together to support Albubite V Alens after years of dragging their feet, and the Alens candidate was victorious against Selussa's young son in joust. The victory of this faction resulted in the state of siege for Talquon, a longtime rival of Alenzibar. The Talquine were hit hard, with oppressive regulations and heavy taxes levied by the Emperor, and when Allium died, her succession was called into question. Although clearly illegitimate, the claim was made that because she was a woman, she never should have been able to rule, and thus her claim was in question. Indeed, this meant that the dispossessed line of her father's brother would stand to inherit, and these men agreed to sell out to Alenzibar in exchange for the claim. This was nearly achieved by 1703, but upon the death of the Emperor a new election was called and fortunes changed. Despite Alenzibar and Rhinfeldt being in the same faction some years previously, the new Emperor immediately started recalling the imperial levies from this war, making it just Alenzibar against Talquon. Peace would shortly be signed, with Alliumine line keeping southern Talquon and the other the north.

Thanks to this, Talquon would be sidelined for much of the Strongman Period, especially when dynastic ties to Barloem established in the wake of Selussa's reign turned into a costly entanglement. The death of her grandson Cosmo IV in Barloem caued the Fraspikans to claim the throne, and Talquon entered the war on the side of the Barloemi. This accomplished just about nothing except the loss of the Talquine lands on the Fraspikan side of the border and cost the country grealty, but by the 1860s they had recovered greatly. The Alliumine line would also recover a significant portion of their northern lands in these years, as the line that took those lands from them seemed to have become sickly and generally weak- some said a curse from the Witch, who they say expected retaliation by the Alens. Whether or not this was true, Talquon was once again enlarged, leading just a small pale of land separating them from Alenzibar in the hands of their rivals (this would eventually pass to Fraspika as the dynasty died out, forming the Fraspikan Imperial Counties). Besides this, the city of Valienbaie, once the second city of the nation after Aulfodor (the capital), had been granted imperial immediacy in the meantime and has now become quite the thorn in Talquon's side, as it has taken trade precedence over either Aulfodor or Lorrelais, on the border with Fraspika.

Still, as a recovered nation, Talquon was able to reassert the dukely powers, and through marriage gained some lands in Fraspika and scattered about the Empire. With interests in Fraspika, during the 1930s Talquon backed the ursurper Relos, who aimed to take the Fraspika throne. Although defeated by the late 40s, the situation would change with the death of the Fraspikan King Jean III just a year later. Still, Talquon then switched sides, supporting his son King Jean IV in exchange for restoration of their titles. However, the eruption of the Blazennian civil war in the 80s interrupted the Talqui plans- Fraspika inherited the northern counties and has held them over the Talquine heads for several years, promising to restore them to the Talqui if only they swear proper fealty- which the Talquine do not want to do. This situation has strained their alliance significantly.

The Talquine would remain neutral throughout the Civil War due to their disagreements with all sides involved and the Fraspikan inheritance of the counties proved this to be the right move, for if they'd been entangled in the war the opportunity to drag out negotiations and seek a more favorable agreement with Fraspika would have been lost. And yet, should the Empire fall into yet more conflict, who would stop Fraspika from simply conquering their nominal ally? Perhaps it is best to take their terms now.