Arnic Monarchy

The Arnic Monarchy was a dynastic and later personal union on the continent of Azora during the final period of the Wars of the Faith. An evolution of the dynastic union between the Kingdom of Ichoria and the Achysian Monarchy, it was de facto formed through the coronation of Daeron the Great and the following acclamation of Daeron as Emperor of the Arnics by his soldiers following the Battle of Vathora, but it was de jure recognized as such following Daeron's Proclamation for the Restoration of the World and its acceptance by the Haliarchy. The new state considered itself to be both a continuation and a rebirth of the ancient Arnic Empire, and to be the one, universal Vayonist monarchy that should control the entire continent, but in practice, the new realm attempted to become the new continental hegemon by winning the Wars of the Faith, strengthening the position of Ecumenical Vayonism, and controlling the coasts of the Arnic Sea. Under the military leadership of Daeron, the monarchy's forces managed to conquer most of Kathia and to eliminate any direct threat to its rule, with Daeron also being coronated as King of Kathia, adding it to the personal union and the imperial system. The military efforts of the monarchy however severely weakened its economy, and its aristocracy, divided along national lines, started to oppose the process of centralization and the establishment of an autocracy. The death of the very popular Daeron, and the succession of his son, the still unproven Kaeron I, gave several groups of nobles the opportunity to rebel, and the Ichorian Revolt permanently broke that part of the empire away from Kaeron's rule. Following revolts in Kathia, which had never properly accepted imperial rule, forced the new Emperor to act quickly, and to prepare a military campaign than ultimately ended in a defeat during the Battle of the Four Nations, breaking the monarchy's hegemony over the continent. The heirless death of Kaeron during a skirmish during the subsequent withdrawal sealed the fate of this personal union, as Achysia, the last remaining imperial monarchy, sued for peace and elected another branch of the dynasty on their throne, effectively ending the union and the Arnic Monarchy.

The legacy of the Arnic Monarchy is still highly disputed, as it became synonymous from early on with the position of the Ecumenical Covenant, and in more modern times, it's been often associated with Arnic and Achysian nationalism, but from its position as the first large continental union, it played an important role in the national imagination of many nations, and it influenced later pan-Arnicists and pan-Azoranists in their ideals.