Minaka Royal Family
"Baa bless the Minaka Family,
For they gave us their name
They gave us hope and freedom
We're just so glad they came!"
Background
The Minaka Royal Family have ruled over Minaka Vale for over 400 years, since the Spontaneous Handover in the 21st century.
It was Queen Mo Minaka The Steadfast, who orchestrated the handover of power. Along with her growing number of well-armed supporters, she visited each of the towns and villages which lie in the shadow of the Kaw's Roost Mountains and demonstrated what a good idea doing things her way was.
In return for their recognition of her rule, she generously gave her name to the Vale, the people and even the capital city, Minaka.
In the centuries since, each of the 14 monarchs has been a direct descendant of the original Minaka, despite the introduction of the Elective Monarchy under the rule of King Ha Minaka The Forthright.
Followers of Baa
Like so many of those who were born and raised in the shadow of Kaw's Roost, Queen Mo Minaka The Steadfast was a follower of the Baa Yalu religion.
As such, she adopted the image of Baa when creating her royal crest, to remind everyone that in the same way that Baa birthed the world, so too did she birth a nation.
Succession
The form of Elective Monarchy used by the Royal Family to this day was created by King Ha Minaka The Forthright a little over 100 years after Queen Mo The Steadfast had claimed power.
During her reign, Queen Mo The Steadfast had 11 children, all of whom could have been considered for succession. However, there were still fools out there who did not understand how great being ruled by the Minaka family could be. As such, all 11 children faced various assassination attempts with varying levels of success. By the time Queen Mo went to join the great Sheep in the sky, only one of her children remained. Queen Jem Minaka The Strong was therefore the obvious choice for succession.
In the following years and decades, some wondered whether it had been disgruntled peasants who had murdered the royal children, or whether Queen Jem The Strong had played a part in it. Those who wondered such aloud were known as "The Unlucky" for they often didn't survive much longer.
And so it was that Queen Jem The Strong's grandson, King Ha Minaka The Forthright, who decided to do away with the unrest once and for all. The system he created was simple; members of the court would select the next monarch. Were most, if not all, members of the court also members of the Minaka Royal family? Of course. But, as Queen Jem had proved, being part of the family did not guarantee bias.
The Current Royals
Currently, the Royal Family consists of six main family members.Queen Ra
Queen Ra Minaka The Unquestioned is a direct descendant of Queen Mo. She is in her 90s (although no one has asked exactly where in her 90s) and is expected to live another decade or two. She earned her epithet from her intense dislike of being questioned and has shown little to no interest in suggesting a successor to the court.King Consort
The King Consort gave up his right to a name when he married Queen Ra 75 years ago. Not much is known of him. He smiles and waves at the appropriate times at special occasions, but is rarely seen outside of the castle walls. He has been known to have wild weight fluctuations. Some say his height changes, too. Few care to delve deeper.The Four Princes
The Four Princes of Minaka are far more widely seen than their father and are very different from each other. They range in age from 43 to 69 years old and are not very close to each other. They do, however, have one thing in common. Each of them believes they are the only logical choice as a successor. The last twenty years have been filled with their attempts to prove just that.External Relations
Rinamu City
On the other side of the Drifting Sea from Minaka, Rinamu City is one of Minaka Vale's most common trading partners. It also has the strongest connection to the Minaka Royal Family. In Rinamu, it is said that after claiming Minaka Vale, Queen Mo Minaka The Steadfast took to the sea and tried to claim Rinamu, only to fail three times. Such stories aren't told in Minaka Vale. Despite this, an agreement between the rulers of Rinamu City and the Minaka Royal Family was reached, which has since led to many (mostly) happy marriages.Others
South of Minaka Vale lie Vold and Skarndal, both of whom trade spices, rare metals and other delicacies with Minaka Vale in exchange for the vale's agricultural products. Neither Vold nor Skarndal think much of Minaka and the Royal Family beyond this. Other powers consider the Minaka Royal Family to be a mostly insignificant regional power which holds little interest to them, and as such are happy to let them get on with whatever games they are choosing to play. As long as nothing the Minaka Royal Family chooses to do encroaches on their lives, they won't have to take any steps to stop them. While this line of thought may upset some members of the Minaka Royal Family, there are some smart enough to know that this is far preferable to the alternative.
Type
Political, Family
Capital
Demonym
Minakan
Location
Related Traditions
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