Information Up To Date as of 20 April 1476
Beginning:
After the prolonged war and defeat of the Kingdom of Tomlas, the Edoran Duchy of Nalesh was established in the year 775. The Duchy of Nalesh would be ruled by the second oldest Edoran royal family, the Kathingtons, and the third oldest royal family, the Ericsons. Standing as one of the most respected of all Edoran Duchies thus far, Nalesh would be formally recognized by the Crown of the Great North, giving it political legitimacy in diplomatic affairs.
Early Years- 775 to 1165:
The ruling Kathingtons and Ericsons administered the Duchy of Nalesh directly, taxing its subjects and keeping order, as Duchies normally do. The government seat in Nalesh proper, the House of the Duchy of Nalesh, was divided into two Chambers: the Low Chamber and the High Chamber. The Low Chamber was, and is to this day, the only part of the House accessible to the public, serving as a venue for a variety of events. The High Chamber, meanwhile, is only accessible by invitation only to the ruling families and high-ranking Remikran government officials like the ICSR Prime Minister.
Since its establishment in the 770s, the Duchy of Nalesh has hosted Conferences between numerous Remikran entities, following the twelve-year Circlarian Calendar by hosting such Conferences roughly every fourth, eighth, eleventh, and twelfth years of each twelve-year cycle. The purpose of these Conferences has been to promote peace between the said Remikran entities, and, in more recent years, "to promote strength, unity, and fellowship between all current and former member entities of the Remikran Union."
During a typical Conference, invitees to the High Chamber gather first in its Atrium where informal meet-ups and conversations occur. They are then summoned to the Dining Hall of the High Chamber where a Chaplain appointed by the Duchy leads the invitees in a formal prayer before the Dinner takes place. Afterward, the invitees proceed to the Great Salon where selected speakers each give a speech highlighting achievements versus struggles, statements of appreciation between Remikran entities, trade agendas both domestically and abroad, and concerns regarding local and global politics.
During the same Conference, civil servants, lower-ranking officers, and select invitees of the general public convene in the Low Chamber, where there are usually parties, concerts, and sometimes even galas. The number of attendees here is significantly higher than the number of attendees in the High Chamber.
It is important to note that both the High Chamber and Low Chamber Conference attendees convened in Nalesh during this time period.
The Great Real Estate Purchases- 1165 to 1305:
In 1165, the last living descendant of the Ericson family line, a patriarchal line, died. Members of the Kathington family line, a matriarchal line, came to the realization at this time that they were the last legitimate family line, under Edoran Royal principle, to rule over the Duchy of Nalesh. Once they died out, the property, territory, and assets of the Duchy would pass onto an independent entity, who would govern over all as an independent state. Wanting to ensure that the end of the Duchy would not prove costly to the other Remikran entities, the Kathington family vowed have their wealth passed in equal distributions to all current and former members of the Remikran Union. In crafting these terms, the Kathingtons determined that they needed to amass more wealth, and would do so through the buying, and then selling, of additional pieces of real estate.
The Duchy of Nalesh made its first round of purchases between 1177 and 1184, during which they purchased three properties in Notulfa, one property in Vantacula, and eight properties in Tandeiyah. Each property had a one-level structure imitating almost precisely that of the High Chamber of the House of the Duchy in Nalesh. Like the original High Chamber, only certain invitees were allowed to come to these venues. To enforce this, each venue was hidden and concealed by spellcrafting from the public. The second round of purchases occurred between 1245 and 1248, during which the Duchy of Nalesh purchased five properties in Furthing, three in the international city of Cenofan, and nine additional properties in Tandeiyah.
For its third round of purchases, having occurred between 1281 and 1289, the Duchy obtained forty-three more properties, all located throughout the Great Ancondrian River Basin. Like the other properties purchased, these new acquisitions were replicas of the High Chamber concealed from the public; however, in 1291, the Duchy authorized appointed Keepers of each of these chapters to establish trade posts in the region, a move made with the signing of the Nalesh Duchy Trade Authorization of 1291. In 1292, they followed through with authorizing the Keepers of all of the other properties attained in the first and second round of purchases to do the same.
By 1305, the Duchy of Nalesh had a total of seventy-two properties abroad.
The Nebaya Crisis of 1305:
Since the 1000s, the society of Nebaya has been reputed to be a rural and simplistic society, but also militaristic and ambitious for global trade. In fact, they are controversial for having engaged in aggressive tactics, including piracy on the high seas.
It was one of these sea sorties upon a sea guild closely allied with Congress of Circlaria in 1305 that led the international body, Congress of Circlaria, to authorize the invasion and political sanction of Nebaya County located in the Great North. As per international law, the Great North permitted Congress of Circlaria troops to carry out their legally-sanctioned duty, as due process authorized for Nebaya County to remain under sanction until the year 1353.
Nebayans outside of the Nebaya County jurisdiction voiced contempt over this. And the leaders of the Duchy of Nalesh feared a possible insurrection, though such a feared uprising would never actually materialize. Nevertheless, the Kathingtons took no chances and determined to relocate themselves to one of their properties abroad as well as have Representative Consorts handle public appearances in the Great North. This would be the case going forward.
The Three Relocations:
During the Duchy of Nalesh Conference of 1307, Low-Chamber attendees convened in the Low Chamber with their informal events as was tradition. However, High-Chamber invitees convened in a concealed venue in Anadon, the capital of the Great North, where the functions and turn of events were just like what happened in previous Conferences. The Duchy then held another Conference in 1308, for which the High-Chamber invitees flew to Nalesh to board airships to meet with the Kathingtons in one of their concealed venues in Furthing. Here, they began discussions to establish a permanent venue for the High Chamber far from Nalesh in a yet-to-be-determined location, where the Kathingtons would live and all future High-Chamber Conference meet-ups would take place.
An agreement on the aforementioned issue was finally reached in 1311. The parties involved in the final agreement are not known, and neither are known the transactions and funding involved. What is known is that the location of the permanent alternative High Chamber venue was, and is, on a Duchy-owned property located somewhere in the Southern part of the Great Ancondrian River Basin. What is remarkable about this is that, due to the location's relative proximity to the South Pole, the weather here is almost exactly like the weather in the Great North.
In any case, the first High Chamber Conference took place at this location in 1316. And every High Chamber Conference since has taken place here. Each time, invitees fly to Nalesh where they board reconnaissance gyroplanes to fly them to the High Chamber location. Again, no one knows where exactly this venue is located, not even government leaders. In fact, gyroplane positional systems are coded to be undecipherable after one flies over the Northeast Ancondrian region, as passenger windows are darkened.
Only the Kathington family knows the location of the place. They live here. And they will not disclose the location of this place until after the death of the last descendant of the Kathington family line, during which a perpetual will is due to be opened to disclose the relevant information. To complicate matters further, the public knows the existence of only significant figures of the Kathington family, meaning that its exact family tree is unknown. This is intentional in order to protect the family, and is a normal practice in Circlarian Society. There are consort figures tied in with these families who represent these families, meaning that the public will not know when the last official descendant of a particular House Family dies until after the perpetual will is opened, such as was the case of House Maderon in Ancondria back in 1466.
As with the Kathington family, once that time comes to pass, the public will eventually know where this venue once stood. However, it will be after the said venue is demolished and liquidated.