In Walosia
These two Orders of Merits presented here are the two highest honors available in Walosia. There exist many other smaller and less prestigious honors, but these two are the largest, most prestigious and most known.
The Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence:
History:
The Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence is the newest order instituted by Emperor Cassius II following the Second Maldovian Territorial War with Khelshar in 1827. Emperor Cassius II wanted to honor those who helped the Walosians in the war out of free will. In other words, this honor was founded on the basis of awarding civilians who helped in the war effort against Khelshar, conscripted soldiers and military personnel were awarded within another order. The first recipient was Gaius Sulpicius Peticus, a retired doctor who volunteered to turn his own house into a temporary medical station. He assisted injured soldiers and preformed operations in his living room using his old surgery kit. It is estimated that Sulpicius saved four hundred lives. He was awarded the Grand Imperial Cross in August of 1827 at the end of the war. Well over twenty thousands Imperial Crosses have been awarded to individuals since then.
Empress Hadriana II renovated the Imperial Cross from solely focusing on individuals who assisted Walosia during wartime to an order of individuals who “shows the excellence of Walosia”. From 1933, the Imperial Cross could be awarded to individuals who have showed great excellence in their field of work. Both individuals within culture, science, law, education and so fourth could now be bestowed with the honor of the Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence. The last recipient was Neurosurgeon Gaia Atia Julia Secunda who became the first surgeon to successfully preform a full brain transplant between two humans. She was awarded the Imperial Cross with Stripes on 29th July 2018 in Caesarions Palace by Emperor David.
Classes:
Like with most Orders of Chivalry, the Imperial Cross is divided into two classes or ranks. These two classes are as follows, organized from top to bottom:
• Grand Imperial Cross of Walosian Excellence (GICWE)
This cross is the most prestigious honor available within the order and is rarely awarded. This honor is reserved for “Individuals who show the greatest of excellence in their effort to contribute to the Walosian society”. A rule of thumb is that the Grand Cross is reserved for those actions of such magnitude that it is comparable to historical actions.
• Imperial Cross with Stripes (ICS)
This cross is the second most prestigious honor available within the order and is most commonly awarded. This award is given to individuals who “show great excellence in their effort to contribute to the Walosian society”.
Originally there were a third Imperial Cross simply known as “The Imperial Cross”, but due to the almost indistinguishable differences in requirements between that and the Imperial Cross with Stripes, it was scrapped in 1999.
Both of these ranks are considered knighthoods and it allow the recipient to call himself or herself “Sir” or “Lady”. This counts for foreign recipients as well. Those who are bestowed with the Grand Imperial Cross are eligible to call themselves “The Honorable Lord” or “The Honorable Lady”, but most refrains from doing so, preferring the term “Sir” or “Lady”.
Make Up:
The Walosian Monarch is the “Imperial Bearer of the Cross” and appoints all members to the order, both Grand Cross holders and regular Cross holders. However, the responsibility of choosing whom to bestow the honor to is given to an independent committee consisting of the Emperor (or Imperial Grand Master, see below), five former Grand Imperial Cross recipients, five Imperial Senators and three randomly selected civilian citizens of Walosia.
By rules of the order, set by Emperor Cassius II, there are a limited of recipients to the order. There can be only 250 Grand Imperial Cross recipients alive and 5.000 Imperial Cross recipients alive. As one recipient dies, his or hers spot within the Order is open to other candidates. There are no rules dictating the maximum number of dead recipients.
The Grand Masters are the title given to the next-most senior members to the order besides the “Imperial Bearer of the Cross”. By tradition, the Grand Masters must be of royal blood and belonging to one of the four royal families in Walosia, the Caesarion family, the Augustus family, the Aurelius family or the Octavio family. There can only be one Grand Master at a time and his/hers job is to fill in for the Imperial Bearer (The Emperor) when necessary. Should the Imperial Bearer of the Cross be killed or in any way incapable of preforming his/her duties, the successor is the most senior Grand Master. The list of Grand Masters is as follows:
1. Her Excellency, Imperial Crown Princess Gaia Chloe Caesarion (The Emperors Daughter)
As Chloe is only 3 years old, it is unlikely that she would succeed her father as the Imperial Bearer until she turned 18. However, in theory, she would be the successor, as the Imperial Bearer should anything happen to her father.
If something should happen to Emperor David while Chloe was underage, the responsibility of Imperial Bearer would be given to number two on this list until Chloe turned 18 and then the responsibility would be returned to her.
2. His Excellency, The King of Kingston, Gaius Brutus Aurelius
3. His Excellency, The King of Logata, Gaius Trajanus “Trajan” Augustus
4. His Excellency, The King of Saint Halvards and Maldovia, Gaius Lucius Octavio
When one of the Grand Masters passes away, his/hers position is given to their first-born child.
Once awarded, only the Emperor can withdraw the Cross and honorary titles.
Pictures:
The Roman Order of the Golden Wreath:
History:
The Roman Order of the Golden Wreath is the oldest order in Walosia and has existed since the dawn of the empire itself. Its founding is shrouded in mystery and religious interpretation, but many historians agree that the Roman Order was formed by Archangel Matheus II in 197BC in an attempt to unite the various temples in Walosia. This order is built on a religious interpretation of Walosian Roman paganism, which states that humans are eligible to obtain divine status as a result of their actions. Initially, this order was reserved for those individuals who were seen as divine and important to the Paganism itself. It could be individuals who had preformed one or more miracles, spread the religion itself or in other way been important to the religion. According to Matheus II himself, this order was given to those who had received a divine acceptance from the Gods, individuals we as mortals must look towards as excellent examples of how we should live our lives.
Throughout the years, the honor of receiving the Golden Wreath was seen as the most prestigious award available, especially within the religious portion of society (which was the majority of Walosians until the 19th century). Examples of individuals bestowed with the honor of the Golden Wreath were Gaius Didius Julianus who was awarded with the Golden Wreath for his missionary-work in Logata in the early 150AD.
As time progressed and Walosia became increasingly secular, the order moved away from a focus on divine activity and holy individuals to focusing more on individuals with a merit of moral supremacy. In other words, individuals who showed great love and effort to improve the lives of others. The first non-pagan individual to receive the honor of the Golden Wreath was Teresa Scantilla who in 1829 managed to operate a orphanage from her own house where she took care of children whose parents either abandoned them or was unable to take care of them. Today, the Golden Wreath is awarded to individuals who, without selfish interest helps to improve the lives of other humans. The Walosian Pantheon have many honors and awards given for the same reason, however, this honor is considered to be the most prestigious and is reserved for extraordinary actions and individuals.
Classes:
The Roman Order of the Golden Wreath is divided into two classes or ranks:
• The Golden Wreath of Sainthood:
This is the highest possible honor possible within the Walosian paganism and is reserved for those individuals who have shown an excellent effort in improving the lives of their peers. Historically, this honor was reserved for those individuals who had shown great divine spirituality and reserved for those who was seen as holy individuals. Today however, the honor can be bestowed upon any individual regardless of “holiness”.
• The Golden Wreath of our Roman Angels:
This is the second highest possible honor within the Walosian paganism and is reserved for those individuals who have shown a great effort in improving the lives of their peers. Unlike the Wreath of Sainthood, this award are not historically reserved for holy individuals. Historically, this honor was the highest obtainable honor for the “regular” Walosian.
Individuals bestowed with the honor of the Golden Wreath are eligible to refer to themselves by a specific title. Those individuals given the honor of the Golden Wreath of Sainthood are given the title of Saint. Example is Saint Teresa Scantilla or the Honorable Saint Teresa Scantilla. Thos individuals given the honor of the Golden Wreath of our Roman Angels are given the tile of Honorary Angel, example Honorary Angel Gaius Augustus Jupitus or simply Angel Augustus Jupitus. The honor of Sainthood is the most prestigious and up through history, individuals given this specific honor have been viewed as divine. In some cases, the name of streets, neighborhoods, cities and even districts have been named after Sainthood recipients.
Make Up:
The Archangel of the Roman Paganism is the “Divine Saint” and tasked with choosing candidates to this prestigious honor. However, the final choosing of a recipient is the responsibility of the “Holy Committee”, a committee consisting of all fifty Angels (not former recipients, Angel is also a term for a religious figure comparable with a Bishop). A least 30 Angels must vote in favor of one candidate and they meet on an annually basis to vote for the candidates presented by the Archangel.
Unlike the Imperial Cross, the Golden Wreath does not have a limit in regards to the total amount of recipient alive or dead, both to the Sainthood or the status as Honorable Angel. However, it has become a tradition to only bestow one Sainthood honor and two Angel honors on an annual basis. Another important restriction is that military merits cannot be awarded with title and honor, a change that was introduced by Archangel Jupitus IV in 1827.
The Archangel can, whenever and for whatever reason withdraw the honor of Angel, but in order to withdraw a Sainthood honor, the Holy Committee must agree by a two/thirds vote.
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