Waxonian History
This History includes facts not generally known to the Waxonians, but recorded by The Kindred. This additional information is italicized.
In the fifth year of the reign of the king who is remembered as Steponas III, Queen Rasa hatched a son, Prince Ramunus. The prince grew into a strong warrior, often taking the place of his father on the battlefield. Even though he was a fierce and fearless warrior, he was kind and fair-minded, and the people of the Mountain Kingdom loved him.
In the thirtieth year of his reign, King Steponas III was killed in battle. Queen Rasa had just hatched a second son, Prince Audras. Succeeding his father as the new Mountain King, Ramunus took the young prince under his protection.
Within seven years of the death of his father, King Ramunus had conquered all five rival kings of the Waxonian continent, uniting them into a single Mountain Kingdom. Under his benevolent rule, the people lived in peace and harmony for the next thirty years.
Even under the guidance of his older brother, Prince Audras developed a malevolent nature. He bullied the people under his trusteeship and was merciless in his administration of justice. He was hated by the people of the Mountain Kingdom. They feared the consequences should he ever become king.
In the tenth year of his reign, King Ramunus married Sofija. Ten years later, Sofija hatched a son, Prince Aras. Although this prince was hated by Prince Audras, the king was unable, or unwilling, to see. Nobles loyal to Ramunus formed a secret society, The Kindred, to protect the young prince from his uncle. The Kindred secretly established a haven in one of the former kingdoms for Aras where, if necessary, he could grow up in secret.
After ruling for thirty years, King Ramunus died of pneumonia. When Audras seized the throne, The Kindred spirited Aras away and led Audras to believe that the Prince had been killed. They also hid the robe, sword, and crown, and spread the story that the Treasures of Ramunus, as these items became known, had been hidden among the stars by the goddess Dalia until Ramunus would one day return to claim his throne. According to this legend, the treasures would remain hidden in a site accessible only by a key wielded by Ramunus or by one of his family for him. Aras grew up under the care of one of the former kings, unable to claim his throne.
The dynasty founded by Audras ruled four hundred years, for better or worse, until the reign of King Jurgis. About one hundred fifty years into this dynasty, the Waxonian Renaissance began with Gabriele's Laws of Motion and her Law of Gravity. The arts, science, and technology thrived.
The Waxonians had been exploring their solar system for nearly fifty years when, in the year that King Jurgis ascended to the throne, the warp drive was discovered. Colonization of other planets began after about five years.
In his fifty-ninth year on the throne, King Jurgis died without an heir. Pretenders to the throne, including some who claimed descent from Ramunus, vied for supremacy. The Time of Great Strife had begun.
The forces of Leonas prevailed and he became King. To consolidate his power, he began a purge of the other pretenders and of the kingdom's intellectuals. Most of the pretenders and intellectuals escaped to the Waxonian stellar colonies. When the colonies provided havens for these, Leonas attempted to tax items imported into the colonies and to deny them representation in the Waxonian High Council. The colonies became known as The Lost Colonies when they were able to shut down communications and space travel to and from Waxon.
During The Time of Great Strife, The Kindred, uncertain of the outcome, acted to hide the Treasures of Ramunus in other star systems. Aryla Fitvet, poet laureate of Waxon, wife of the Earl Marshall to King Jurgis, and a member of The Kindred, wrote the "Elzbieta Bud Haiku" and several others in order to encode the location of these hiding places. She was also a descendent of Aras and Ramunus.
Without scientists and engineers, the technology of Waxon went into a steep decline and King Leonas led the Waxonians into the two hundred fifty years of Dark Ages.
Almost two hundred years after the beginning of the Waxonian Dark Ages, a disabled starship of Lithuanians emigrating from the doomed planet Earth made an emergency landing. The Waxonians were sympathetic to these large aliens and provided them with food and shelter.
Unable to summon help from the Stellar Economic Community and uncomfortable in the much warmer climate of Waxon, the Lithuanians made the best of their predicament. With their strong work ethic, the Lithuanians brought an end to the Dark Ages within sixty years. At that time, they overthrew the current monarch and instituted their own government.
The Waxonians found themselves ruled by benevolent aliens. Because of their much improved economic and technological lot, the Waxonians did not object. Lithuanian did not replace the Skinque language, but it did become predominant. Most skinks named their children with Lithuanian names and their history was rewritten to give Lithuanian names to gods, goddesses and historical figures--Dalia, Steponas, Ramunus, Audras, etc., are Lithuanian names and the Skinque names were all but forgotten.
About one hundred fifty years after the arrival of the Lithuanians on Waxon, ships of the Stellar Economic Community made contact with the Lost Colonies and, soon after, with Waxon. The Lithuanians, never comfortable in the extreme heat of Waxon, left, with SEC help, for a more comfortable homeland. A peaceful transfer of the governance of Waxon to the skinks was accomplished. The year was In the Year of Ramunus 789 (YoR 789), or 2557 CE (AD) as reckoned by the Lithuanians.
The new king, Leonas III, died after a reign of only three years with no male heir. The son of his daughter, Monika, and Lord Petras became King Darius. Petras, a member of The Kindred, had possession of The Key. Because he was a descendant of Aras and Ramunus, The Key was entrusted to the care of the royal family. The Waxonians continued the era of peace and prosperity initiated by the Lithuanians.
One hundred four years after the departure of the Lithuanians and the Waxonian return to space, King Mindaugas did away with the monarchy and instituted a democratic government for the Waxonians.
Page updated: 21 November 2012
Page created: 20 January 2012
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