Emperor Phoenix von Tempe (W.I.P.)

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Liberzan Empire
Phoenix von Tempe

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Liberzan Emperor

Style	– His Majesty | His Excellence (Formal) – Emperor (In-Formal)
Reign	July 27th, 2024 – Present
Coronation	August 18th, 2024
Born	August 24th, 2010 (a. 14)
Full Name	Phoenix Alexandre Florian Achille von Tempe
House	House of Tempe
Father	Johanne II
Mother	Aschlin, Empress-Consort

Religion	Irreligious
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Military Service

Allegiance	Liberza
Service Branch	Liberzan Imperial Army
Rank	Commander-in-Chief

Phoenix von Tempe (Phoenix Alexandre Florian Achille; born August 24 2010) is the current emperor of the Liberzan Empire.

Born during the reign of his father, Johanne II, he was the youngest of five children within the House of Tempe. Although Liberza had a system of succession descending from the eldest child to youngest child, an incident resulting in the death of most of the House of Tempe left Phoenix to reign the nation at the age of 13.

Phoenix was born in Liberzan capital city, Lüwenmont, at the Tempean Palace on August 24th, 2010, to Aschlin and Johanne II von Tempe. His father at the time was the conservative, authoritarian emperor of Liberza, married to Aschlin von Tempe for 26 years, having had four other children—Johanne (21 years old at that time), Leny (18 at that time), Sven (17 at that time), and Paris (10 at that time)—in that span.

Childhood
During Phoenix’s childhood as a prince of Tempe, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s by a royal neurologist. He had seemingly more independent political views than the standard that was set for the Royal Family, which led to conflict with his father, the emperor, Johanne II, who had notably enacted laws that further empowered him as emperor, and thus his conservative-leaning ideals as well.

Johanne wrote of Phoenix, privately:

“I love all of my children, but he is argumentative, insolent, and disagreeable. He does not know his place as a member of the House of Tempe. He often causes bickering and division at the dinner table when we speak of Liberza’s political state.”

Phoenix was believed to be more attached to his mother, Aschlin, the Queen Consort, who described him as ‘a thoughtful, aware, and passionate young man'. Phoenix has not been quiet about his relationship with his late family since he took power, and he has criticized his father occasionally during political speeches or meetings.

His favorite sibling was believed to be Paris, his older brother who was 23 at the time of his death, and Phoenix's accession. Although all of his siblings were significantly older than him, Paris was the closest sibling he had to being young like he was; all of his other siblings--Johanne, Leny, and Sven--were at least 30 years old when he was 13. He found Paris to be his most relatable, fair relative, other than his mother. In contrast, he most disliked his eldest brother Johanne, whom he perceived as snobby, holier-than-thou, and self-centered, given the fact he bore the position of heir to the throne of Liberza.

"...Paris was really the most empathetic sibling I had. He, before he died, probably understood just as well as I did, what it was like in particular to be the youngest child in the House of Tempe, and his age gap was significant between his older siblings too [...] We both agreed that the youngest child is seen but is not heard. They are perceived by the parent as naive and unaware. Neither he nor I were unaware, we merely had different perceptions of the political and moral life than they did. [...] And the plurality of my family had a much more aristocratic attitude than either I or Paris. My father, my eldest brother...hell, Paris was probably the only sibling I had who wasn't a stuck-up snob. That's the problem with the monarchic system, my family had little humility, gratitude or anything. I would hope that the Liberzan monarchy, as long as this traditional system has lasted, ends with me."

~Phoenix von Tempe, September 7th, 2024

The Incident & Accession

Discretion Advised: description of violence, assassination and murder.

On the 27th of July, 2024, the House of Tempe was attending a yearly parade in the city of Lauret, by Lake Sartarus. The parade every year, known as ’the Ember Parade’, takes place in a randomly selected city in Liberza each year, and is meant to celebrate Liberza’s longevity and ability to be as unified as it is despite having multiple major cultures and ethnicities with no particular plurality. The parade involves the House of Tempe’s head, that is to say the emperor of Liberza, lighting The Torch of Eternity, a symbolic torch seen often in Liberzan flags and government symbols, one which also inspired Liberza’s motto, ‘Flamma Æterna sumus (We are an eternal flame)’.

”Lauret is a predominantly French city in a predominantly French province of Liberza. Needless to say, as the House of Tempe was mostly German, they weren’t as popular here as they were in western territories. The parade which so represented unity in spite of divisions that enemies wanted to see in Liberza, became a twisted irony sooner than later.”

~Lefty Clarke, Liberzan journalist, Sept. 29th, 2024

On the day of the parade, July 27th, the House of Tempe was positioned on a large platform in the main square of Lauret, adorned with Liberzan flags, mostly with the iconic Torch of Eternity symbol with it.

Once the speech concluded, Johanne II turned to light the torch, using a ceremonial flint to start the spark. However, it would seem that the torch had been severely tampered with. To be specific, what investigators after the incident found, was that a phosphorus-based incendiary bomb was implanted within the torch, more likely than not of course by the extremists who planned and carried out the incident.

When Johanne lit the torch, the bomb detonated, and before anyone, let alone the House of Tempe, knew what was happening, the incendiary device detonated, immediately killing Emperor Johanne, Empress-Consort Aschlin, and their eldest son and daughter, Johanne III and Leny.

Phoenix, Sven and Paris, who were positioned further in the back from the detonation, were thrown backwards by the explosion, yet they were alive. It would appear that the attackers knew this would happen, as soon a small group of men, armed with knives, disguised as security it would seem, turned on the remainder of the House of Tempe.

Sven tried to protect his younger siblings, yet he was quickly slashed in the throat and stabbed fatally in the chest, dying soon after.

Paris, too, tried to defend Phoenix, but he was quickly and repeatedly stabbed, left to bleed out.

Phoenix kept his distance from the assassins, who were apparently not armed with any firearms. He was covered in his siblings’ blood. One of the assassins sneaked up on him and held him in a chokehold, getting a slice on his cheek and his neck. However, by that point, Liberzan security had come to stabilize the situation, and the assassins either got gunned down or ended their own life. Phoenix was quickly escorted to safety, visibly bleeding.

Aftermath

After Phoenix was stitched up, the doctor also took note that the incendiary bomb, despite Phoenix’s distance to the bomb, had caused fire to catch on his skin, particularly the left side of his face, which caused major permanent burns on that side of his face. Once he was in stable physical condition, the doctor described that Phoenix seemed to go into a mental and emotional breakdown, apparently incapable and scared of understanding his situation in full.

“Despite everything, he is still a child. That doesn’t mean he’s immature, that means he wasn’t supposed to experience anything like this. Nobody is. So why him? I’m sure he’d much rather have died back there…just as his family did.”

~Unnamed doctor

After Phoenix was reportedly fine and rational, he was told that, as the only surviving member of the House of Tempe, he was to ascend to the throne of the Liberzan Empire. The doctor reported that he nodded blankly, saying that ‘at that point he’d let duty preoccupy his mind over his mental welfare.’

Accession to the Throne

Phoenix had technically ascended to the throne of Liberza the moment Paris was murdered, however, his coronation was held on August 18th, 2024, officially crowning him as the fifteenth Liberzan emperor.

When Phoenix came to power, it was made clear that he did not intend to follow in the ideological and political footsteps of his father.

Ideology

As an emperor, Phoenix began his reign unlike what Liberzans have seen before. His philosophy, he stated, was that Liberza as an empire and nation with the sudden death of his father is in a sudden unsettlement and instability. The Liberzan National Assembly, Liberza's sole parliamentary chamber, began vying for power, believing that the monarchy was beginning to crumble. Yet as it didn't, as he now was emperor, he had a plan for the future of the nation by the time he dies:

1. That above all else, Liberza will be a stable, democratic republic, within the next eighty years;

2. That the most powerful political status in the land within the next eighty years, will not be the emperor of Liberza, a position either ceremonial or rid of altogether, but rather a prime minister;

3. That, once this future transition has initiated, all nobles and aristocrats in government positions shall be stripped of their privilege and forced to run in an election should they insist their incumbency;

4. That Liberza will remain an eternal flame, with or without the House of Tempe involved.

Phoenix's plans would involve the Liberzan monarchy ending with him at its head; his criticisms of his family's aristocratic status and snobby attitude, as well as the status of aristocracy and nobility dominating a significant portion of government, led to a hope that Liberza wouldn't need someone like him to be the sole person always to take initiative.

"My father's last words were about his belief that Liberza is only eternal if the House of Tempe is. I want to prove him wrong. [...] and I am sure I will receive criticism and insult for my vision of Liberza. Aristocrats will attack me relentlessly for my attempt to remove them, and some of the common folk will believe it's too good to be true, but I am a young visionary man. Not only will this help Liberza on the right path, to a government based on merit and ability and the people rather than the likes of most of my family, but it will help me as well. I was thrust involuntarily into this position. I never wanted to be born as a royal, yet I simply was. But I believe that Fate has placed me upon the throne for a reason. [...] I have to transform Liberza to become a true beacon of light. That is what I exist for as it seems, and thus that is what I must do, even if, and dare I say especially if, it means I do not rule forever.”

The “Florian-Achille Paradox”

When Phoenix first came to power, he needed to consolidate his power in a nation that had been thrust into instability after the sudden death of his family, despite his vision of a democratic Liberza. His logic was that, in order for Liberza to get on a proper path towards democracy, it needed a singular strong, decisive, logical leader to guide it that way. This concept was dubbed the “Florian-Achille Paradox”, with the belief that only a singular, non-aligned leader could properly seek a democratic path for Liberza, rather than leave that power to political parties in the National Assembly vying for ‘their own political gain’.

As such, it was his belief that a strong central leader was also needed to stabilize the nation in general, as political competition and conflict was seen as ‘unneeded for such times’.

“For a forest to thrive, its roots must first grow deep and strong. This empire is my responsibility, and I will not see it fall prey to the whims of those who seek to tear it apart. I will govern decisively, so that one day, this nation may govern itself.”

Plans to Bicameralize Liberza

The young emperor has continuously expressed a desire to transform Liberza from its unicameral state to bicameral. He stated that the existence of merely one house without any superior house to question them besides the king or leader—which he notes will of course not always be him in the future—will result in a tyranny of the majority, where all a pary or coalition would need is over half of a nation’s support to dictate its entirety, calling the unicameral system ‘archaic and unfair’.

He has supported the establishment of an upper parliamentary chamber, which he would theoretically fill at first with independent advisors and appointees.

Hobbies

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Trivia

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