The Unwanted Cinderella

INTRODUCTION

The Age of General Crisis began in the early 17th century when Thirty Years War in Central Europe heightened. The effect of the war had triggered a shift on the global economy, thus, countries, nations, empires and kingdoms from all over the globe started a power struggle. Wars were fought. Famine was all over the lands. It was the First World War.

The First World War marked the climax of the Dutch Revolt. It pushed the disbarment Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It triggered the Great Turkish war and caused the demographic collapse of the Ming Dynasty. Not a single continent was spared. From Europe to Asia, to North and South America, the war spread like a plague. During this era, our great kingdom, later to be known as the Kingdom Pendragon, was conceived.

The roots of the Great Kingdom of Pendragon could be traced in an archipelago in South East Asia (now, generally known to be a part of Pendragon's center of Science and Research, Avalon). In the mid 16th century, before the Age of General Crisis began and the First world war began, a small country was put under the Viceroyalty of New Spain with the Governor General Miguel López de Legazpi acting as the Viceroy. It was called La Isa del Poniente. During the colonial reign of Spain, many Spaniards migrated in the country to directly monopolize the resources needed for the Galleon Trade. The country became the a military camp of the spaniards.

With these, the insulares (natural born Spaniards) and peninsulares (Spaniards born in the country) occupied the seats of aristocracy in the country. One of which is the son of an English merchant and a Spanish aristocrat, Arthur Pendragon.

Meanwhile, an english-spanish aristocrat name Arthur Pendragon rose prominence in Spain. He was the son of a British Duke and a Spanish Noble. He was a prodigy at a young age. As a result, Arthur was privileged to study in the University of Cambridge and Oxford University. Due to his brilliance in strategic military planning, he was personally invited by King Philip III to join his military ranks in Madrid as the Captain of King Philip III's royal fleet. He immediately rose to fame as he successfully led his fleet towards victory during several encounters with the French and Ottoman Army.

On 1631, a conspiracy was made between the officers of the Spanish army to oust the recently promoted General Arthur Pendragon. It was due to the jealousy rooted from the overflowing favors that Arthur received from the King himself. He was accused of plunder and was exiled that little archipelago in southeast asia, to live peacefully as a low-ranking officer.

Contrary to the beliefs of Arthur's enemy, Arthur never intended to give up his seat of power. A day before his exile, he sent a telegram to King Charles I of England posing his resentment to the Spanish Empire and pledging allegiance to English Monarchy. Silently, he was given an order by the King of England to instigate a mutiny against the colonial rule of Spain. The little country became his plotting ground against the tyranny of the country that betrayed him. He was a given a fleet of soldiers known as the Order of the Yellow Rose. The fleet was disguised as merchants who intend to trade with the small colony of Spain. But the fleet was not enough for Arthur. He knew he needed more manpower. He strengthened his threshold by igniting the patriotic spirit of the natives, emphasizing the advantage of independence. For several years, he and the Order of the Yellow Rose were training them for warfare in the outskirts of the northern mountain range.

Furthermore, he saw that the Tokugawa Shogunate pose a grave threat in his plans for ousting the Spanish Colonial rule in the country. He feared that the Japanese Empire will see the transition between the upcoming revolution and independence as a window of opportunity to seize power over the country. With the money provided by the English Monarchy, The Order of the Yellow Rose planted fabricated evidences -- a decoy pointing that a plan for a foreign invasion in Japan is brewing under the alliance of Spain and Portugal. The Tokugawa Shogunate feared the alliance and instituted Sakoku, a policy wherein foreigners were expelled out of Japan and no one is allowed to enter or leave their country. This rendered the country closed in isolation.

As a part of his military stratagem, he allied himself with the Manchu by providing their military force with fleets from the Order of the Yellow Rose. He silently fled to Northeast Asia to aid his new allies. He acted as the main strategist of the Manchurian Army who lead the demise of the Ming Dynasty in 1644. With the newly formed Qing Dynasty as his ally, Arthur continued to gather armed forces to overthrow the power of the Spanish Empire.

The turning point in Arthur's conquest began on 1648 when the treaty of Westphalia was signed. The treaty was meant to end the Eighty years War of the Dutch Republic and Spain, with the latter recognizing the independence of the Dutch. This marks the end of Spain as a major European Power.

Keeping in touch with the Order of the Yellow Rose, Arthur made another alliance in the form of the Ottoman Empire. His intellectual prowess in military strategy has lead the fall of Venice to the hands of the Ottomans, thus gaining the favor of Kösem Sultan. It was only recently revealed that the death of Kösem in the hands of her daughter-in-law in 1651, Turhan Hatice, was in fact carefully orchestrated by Arthur to gain more power in the Ottoman Empire. During the reign Turhan hatice as the regent for her son, Arthur became her trusted adviser.

With his different conquests and alliances, Arthur proposed to King Charles I a declaration of an all out war against Spain. His idea was rejected by the king due to the Treaty of Westphalia. They fear of being accused of taking advantage of the temporary peace to gain leverage over the conquests. Unhappy of the King's cowardice and incompetence, Arthur made a trip back to England unknown to his fleet. In the shadows, he lead the plot of the parliament to abolish the English Monarchy. This bold yet strategic move resulted to the Battle of Worcester that lead to the execution of King Charles I on 1651. With the Protectorate at the hands of Oliver Cromwell, who is indebted to him, the funding for his conquest tripled.

With the Ottoman, British and Chinese Empire at his side, it is only about time that Arthur lead the independence against the already weakened Spain. March 21st of 1653 marked the start of history's most violent siege. It was an all out war against Spain. It lasted for almost seven years before the Spain was expelled in all of its colonies in Asia.

Arthur united the small countries. He was made the first and last president of its newly formed republic. In 1660, with the absolute power was given to him by the people, Arthur reformed the these nation from being a republic to his own monarch. He later renamed it as The Kingdom of Pendragon.

Supports for this newly formed kingdom were very evident. But with the restoration of the English Monarchy, England purposely detached itself from Pendragon under the command of the newly reinstated King Charles II. This, however, did not put the Kingdom of Pendragon astray.

The death of Sultan Mehmed Köprülü on 1661 lead discord to the Ottoman Empire since he left no heir to the Throne. Such conflict was used by King Arthur with his newly formed Royal Army to take control of the Ottoman Empire. Once again, the brilliance of King Arthur was showcased after he had won over Pedragon-Ottoman War on 1664 thus making the Empire of Ottoman a part of Pendragon.

The Conquest for territorial expansion continued as King Arthur invaded various nations in the European continent such as Sweden, Germany, and Holland. Soon after Portugal and Spain fell under Pendragon as well

On 1685, Prince Charles Pendragon was crowned as the second king of Pendragon. He continued the legacy of late King.

The Kingdom of Pendragon on 1865 comprises the world's 1/4 total land area and was proclaimed as one of the world's largest and most powerful kingdom alongside the American Continent, the British Commonwealth, the Feilong Empire, the Islamic Union, European Faction and the Independent Nations.

"The Rise of the Pendragon Empire"

By Countess Genevieve Wexler

"It is time, Your Highness," came the voice of his lady-in-waiting as he dropped this old history book on the coffee table.

This was one of the times when he wished that the ticking of the clock would stop. This was the day that he dreaded the most. He had been praying to the gods that this day will not come. But it seemed as if the heavens had closed its doors to him. It was meant to happen. He was fated by the heavens to be standing here in this place, in this time. It was a sign that he needed to embrace his destiny.

He caught another deep breath as he began to march his way out of the library to the throne room.

He stood at the center of the large French doors. His breathing increased rapidly.

This is it! He told himself. This is the day of his reckoning.

"Salute! His Highness has arrived!," he heard from the inside of the room.

The door flew open. He was greeted with a highly decorated throne room. It was covered with draperies and flags of royal blue and gold. All the people inside were perfectly aligned. Everyone in the parliament was present. To his left, clad on their official robes were the House of Commons while on his right stood the House of the Lords. In the middle of the room, a carefully laid red carpet was there leading to the throne where his mother, the current regent of kingdom, proudly sat. The ministers of the kingdom were standing properly aligned parallel to each other at the bottom pedestal of the throne.

Trumpets began to play. The Imperial Knights who stood right in front of him began to march. They scattered on a "V Formation" with him at the center. And as if on cue, he began his walk towards the throne. Every head bowing down as he slowly passed them.

Before reaching the throne, all of the ministers of the state knelt down.

His mother got up and descended from the throne.

"Bow down to the Regent, Queen Dowager Mary Clarisse Pendragon!"

This time, all the member of the parliament knelt.

"The life of our Kingdom is like the cycle of seasons..." the Queen started.

"The loss of His Majesty, King Edward, is like a cold blizzard in winter. It was lonely, dark and cold. But a new dawn, has come. After the winter, spring shall come and melt the snow. A new sun shall rise and hover through the land..."

His mother went down to the throne. The Prime Minister rose from his feet and went up to the altar. He picked up, Excalibur, the large shiny sword embedded in the backrest of the throne. It was the symbol of the monarch.

The Prime Minister knelt as he offered the sword to the Queen Dowager. Her mother slowly walked towards him. He began to kneel in front of her,

"Crown Prince Rupert of the Kingdom of Pendragon, will you solemnly promise to govern the whole Kingdom of Pendragon according to the laws of our Kingdom?"

"I solemnly promise to do," he answered.

"Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

"All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised, I will perform, and keep," but it was a lie. He did not want to be king. He just wanted to have a peaceful life, a life with someone he loves, a life in the arms of the woman who defied him in every way, yet fully captivated his heart.

Everything was too late now.

He just wished that Gabe was with him right now, her laughter invigorated him. And he knew that he could do anything with her by his side.

"Crown Princess Mariane Pendragon!" came another shout.

From out of the crowd came a beautiful woman of his age, wearing the beautiful regalia fit for a queen. She knelt by his side.

"As the rightful wife of the reigning Crown Prince, do you accept the crown as the new Queen of Pendragon?" his mother continued.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I solemnly accept," Mariane answered.

His mother's factual words pierced right into his heart. Because right then and there, his mother made it clear that there was no future for him and Gabe, that it was Mariane whom he should keep in his heart and no one else.

This time, his Queen of the mother started to vest the flat edge of Excalibur over his shoulders. He stood up afterwards.

"All hail the eighteenth King of Pendragon, His Majesty, Rupert Gerard Pendragon."

Then the woman beside him stood.

"And the new queen, Her Majesty, Mariane Pendragon."

Everybody rose and cheered as the whole kingdom celebrated the newly crowned monarch. But in spite of it all, his heart kept aching because no matter what he did right now, the woman beside him was his Queen, his wife, and the mother of the Kingdom. He wanted to flee out of the room, to abdicate this damn throne and live a life of completeness with the one he loves, but he dared not. He will remain in the palace for her, even if it meant a life devoid of her. It was the right thing to do for her. It's much safer for her this way.

You have to toughen up! He jeered himself.

Gone was the cheerful and mischievous prince. He was now King Rupert Pendragon. He must be firm and strong for he was now the monarch. He will be a great king, a king that will surpass all of his predecessors. He will be an excellent ruler that Gabe can be proud of.