Cilie Vehlow
6th Chancellor and 4th Consul of Aussel
I understand our goals, but we cannot ensure stability through divine right to rule if our actions will result in the destruction of this country. Now is not the time. Aussel is not ready to accept our vision of a greater future.
Early Life
Born in 1489 in the city of Eekberge, Cilie grew up in the largest settlement in the Aristocratic Republic of Rueken. Her father, Mathes, was the bastard son of a local noble and her mother, Hedla, worked in a scriptorium. Even though her parents were born and raised in the heartland of Rueken, they moved to the region of Aussel after Cilie’s 16th birthday in 1505. Initially they had planned to move to Steendern, but the rent there was too much for them and so they opted for Lipsig instead.The Two Elbels
In 1511 Cilie married and had her first child with Elbel ven Boerk, a struggling lord whose family’s lands had been ravaged in a raid. The couple named their firstborn son after the father and they all lived in the senior Elbel’s family estate. A few years later the two had a daughter, Marie, but she was born with ailments that the physicians were unable to tend to. Though they tried all they could, Marie died less than a year after her birth. As a result of the tragic death of her daughter, Cilie refused to have more children.Siblings
Cilie had an older brother, Gerung, who was 21-years-old when their parents moved to Aussel. By that time he had started his own family in Eekberge. Gerung Vehlow was later forced to fight against the Ausselian rebels in their independence war, resulting in his death. Fronika, Cilie’s younger sister, eventually settled down with a peasant near Lipsig. She never got along well with her older sister and preferred not to get involved with her political affairs.Early Political Career
Cilie developed an interest in politics after the peasants of Aussel declared their independence from the lords of Rueken in 1516. During the first parliamentary elections she looked into all the major parties, but found none that fit the monarchist views that she held dear. Although content to wait for a better alternative, chancellor Albert Tieter’s land reform initiatives in 1517 forced her hand. Seeing as no one else was standing up for the nobles whose lands were being revoked, Cilie founded her own political faction, the Independent Monarchists of Aussel.We stand for the establishment of a new kingdom here in Aussel. Only through the guidance of a wise and powerful monarch can this county prosper.
The other factions will abandon your independence for the protection of foreign powers. Think for yourselves, sons and daughters of Aussel. Resist any and all foreign directives that seek to take away our liberty!
1520 Elections
Cilie found little support for her cause during the second parliamentary election in 1520 and chancellor Tieter’s Peasants' Party of Aussel accomplished a landslide victory. Most of those who supported the monarchists were nobles who were concerned about losing their lands to Tieter’s tyrannical move. The land reforms ended up affecting Cilie and her family when a group of militiamen arrived at their estate to confiscate the land. Cilie told her husband to give up the land peacefully, and she hoped to use the injustice to her advantage. Left without a home, she moved to Steendern, closer to the political action.Murder and Emergency
Chancellor Albert Tieter had been found dead one day in 1521 in his own home. Accusations were thrown around and conspiracy theories swept though the country. As one of the leading critics of the late chancellor, Cilie Vehlow was accused by some of organising a plot to murder the country’s head of government. Cilie refused to join in on the baseless claims of treason and instead demanded emergency election with other members of parliament, which would ideally stabilise the country and determine its new leader.Consul of Aussel
Emergency elections were held after the chancellor’s death, but the new government, led by the Silver Alliance and League of Ausselian Baglamists, failed to address the concerns of the people. Their leader, chancellor Gisko Oders-Bieren, was voted out of office in a vote of no confidence, but he had refused to step down. Cilie Vehlow saw the leading coalition as a threat to Ausselian independence and feared that they were looking out for foreign interests. To put an end to chancellor Oders-Bieren’s government, she met with the leader of the Peasants’ Party, Lenne Alessen.PPA-IMA Coalition
Cilie Vehlow had brought up the idea of overthrowing the government and restoring the rule of law by force. Alessen agreed and gathered support from the other parties in the opposition. Together they stormed parliament and arrested all the members of parliament from the deposed factions. With the removal of those members of parliament, the Peasants’ Party and the Monarchists had enough power to form their own ruling coalition.Consul Vehlow
After the formation of the PPA-IMA ruling coalition, Lenne Alessen offered Vehlow a position as the head of state. The move was seen by many as an act to improve relations between the two factions that had formerly been at odds with one another. Cilie was hesitant to accept the position, but eventually agreed, hoping that it would grant her the extra influence her party needed to go along with their plans for the nation.Party Build-up
During her time as consul, Cilie was unable to steer the country in the direction of her ideological goals. Her primary task was representing Aussel in foreign lands, but much to her disappointment, the Independant Monarchists of Aussel were replaced from the ruling coalition after the 1526 elections. A new political faction, the Ausselian Democrats, took over their place and replaced Cilie with their own consul.Payback
After being replaced from the ruling coalition, Cilie and other members of the party began work on espionage operations. Their intention was to control the state even while they were in the opposition through the use of rumours, leaks, and whatever else they could use. In 1529 AA, Cilie Vehlow ordered her agents to look into potential signs of corruption. Her operatives soon found the evidence they needed to start a scandal that would see the Peasants’ Party ousted from government in the following election.Let us be rid of these radicals. Vehlow is no longer of any use to us now that we have a new partner.
The IMA poses a threat to our democratic ways. This country is for the peasants and we will not return to serfdom!
Anti-Baglamist Action
Following the 1538 parliamentary election, the Silver Alliance, a party whose main supporters are wealthy merchants and urban residents, sided with the heretical League of Ausselian Baglamists to form a coalition. Such a development worried Cilie, and she began arming her paramilitary groups for potential instability. Her fear was that the new government would bring about religious reforms, making the Baglamist heresy equal with the state religion, Hillenism. The following year the topic of reform was brought up in parliament, and the two ruling parties began work on implementing a reform that would lift restrictions on Baglamists and give the major cities more representation in parliament. Cilie protested the act and as her fellow followers rallied support against the government, she plotted a way to gain power and stop the reform.Chancellor of Aussel
Free peasants of the republic, we have toppled the old corrupt and morally degenerate heathens that once ruled over all of us. I will protect your faith and defend your independence from traitors and foreign threats!In 1540, just as the reforms were supposed to go in effect, Cilie gave the order. Her forces ambushed the chancellor and arrested him and everyone else in the ruling coalition. As Cilie and her forces secured Velkberge Castle, the seat of power in Steendern, the paramilitary forces of the government rushed in to take back the parliament.
While she waited and watched the ensuing battle from the chancellor’s office, her well-armed and armoured forces crushed their enemies.
After her victory was secured, she proclaimed that free and fair election would be held after the previous governments reforms had been reversed and their crimes dealt with.
It appears we have lost our democracy. In a year or two we'll all be forced to swear fealty to Cilie of the House of Vehlow, Queen of Aussel.
Sarzin Conflict
Less than a year into her rule as chancellor, Cilie and her country faced a new threat, one that Aussel hadn’t yet faced. Ships from her old homeland, Rueken, had sailed to the islands of Sarzin and Farten, carrying heavily armoured knights. They had been sent by Kilas ven Leiberge-Kattel, the Duke of Nordhei and Chancellor of Rueken.Wartime Dictatorship
Chancellor Vehlow enacted emergency procedures that granted her additional powers for the duration of the war, effectively turning her into a wartime dictator. She used her powers to quickly pass any laws and enact edicts that she thought could help with the war effort. Cilie granted the command of the Lipsig Defense Force and Tilnessen Retinue to her son, Elbel Vehlow-Boerk.Restoration of Democracy
After two years of bloodshed, the Peasants Republic of Aussel had repelled the invading forces, winning the Sarzin Conflict. Cilie kept her powers for an additional year, claiming that it was to ensure readiness in case of follow-up attacks. The following year she surrendered her wartime powers and called for new elections as promised, much to the surprise of her critics. Many in her party were disappointed with her decision, hoping that Cilie would use the opportunity to bring about their monarchist vision for the future, but Celie recognised the fate that would await a tyrant who sought to bring about a new order. Aussel was not yet ready for her and her party’s vision.Old Partners and Rivals
There were many in Aussel who were grateful to Cilie and the leadership she provided during the war and the additional support allowed her party to win the 1543 parliamentary elections. Cilie was once again proclaimed chancellor, but her party was forced to work with the Peasants’ Party to form a coalition.Health Concerns
A potential reason to as to why Cilie Vehlow refused to take action to become a proper dictator could have been because of her health. She was in her early 50s at the time, but her health was deteriorating and she was having trouble holding her public speeches.Lipsig Treaty
The Independant Monarchists of Aussel had lost the peoples’ favour after their election and the Peasants’ Party had once again surpassed them in support. After the 1547 elections, the two parties switched roles and Cilie was declared the Consul of Aussel. The Peasants’ Party sought to form a formal military alliance with the Empire of Pallernen in order to secure Aussel’s independence against hostile neighbours, but Cilie opposed the move, claiming that it would turn the country into a puppet of the empire. After a failure to prevent the creation of the League of Lipsig, she pulled her faction out of the coalition, leaving the Peasants’ Party with a minority government which was unable to function without calling for new snap elections.Royal Marriage
Cilie Vehlow's son, Elbel, wasn't entirely on board with his mother's view on the matter. He had fought on the fields of battle alongside his men during the Sarzin Conflict and saw the necessity of a strong ally, one that could deter future invasions. Willing to mediate between the new government and his mother's party, Elbel proposed that the new alliance could be strengthened with a marriage. The recently ascended monarch of Pallernen was still unmarried and Elbel's own daughter was in need of a husband. The idea of her own family being so intrinsically tied to the most powerful realm in Lethea was enough to satisfy Cilie and free her from worries. To her, it was a royal marriage that would bind the two sides and it meant that one day a monarch with her own blood would sit upon the throne of Pallernen. Emperor Hânsil II and Aliczylle Vehlow-Boerk married on the 14th of Ilisiaqteril and the pair had two daughters, Sohhia and Einilla, before Cilie's granddaughter died from poor health.
House of Pentiwichen by Armoria
Retirement From Politics
I may not agree with her, but Cilie did well for this country when we needed her. Few would have freely given up their powers in such a position.Cilie Vehlow was too sick and tired to pursue her goals after pulling out of the coalition. She spent more time at home with her family and gave other members of the party more of her responsibilities. Eventually she gave up her position as the leader of the Independant Monarchists of Aussel in 1560, after securing her party a position in the ruling coalition alongside the Reform League and Ausselian Democrats. Nowadays Cilie lives out her retirement in a luxurious estate somewhere in the East Holnen countryside. Her home is under the protection of her old party’s paramilitary forces. Her son, Elbel, visits her often along with his children and grandchildren. Some speculate that despite her retirement, Cilie is still in control of the monarchists’ spy networks.
Relationships
Species
Ethnicity
Year of Birth
1489 AA
78 Years old
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Gender
Female
Eyes
Yellowish green
Hair
Long, braided, grey
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light olive
Height
1.68 m
Weight
69.2 kg
Belief/Deity
I think you have a typo in Elbel's extract - an 'a' instead of an 'and'. Wow, Cilie is such an interesting character - I agree with the quote at the end. Not many would have given up the power she had in her position, and I think it speaks to her character that she did. Every time I read one of your articles I'm blown away by your understanding of politics. I aspire to be as good at that as you one day. :D
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