R.H Cartwright

Cartwright is a mothling currently living on the island of Meridian in the Vanshae Operata. They are businessman turned politician in the Vanshae Operata. With a past history serving as Princep for the former Union of Haven under Sentinel Vic van Barcht and one of the main Auditors for the VyrTiculem in the Vanshae Operata.

Appearance
Cartwright is a mothling, approximately 6’9” with a beige setae covering and purple markings. Both sets of wings appear to still be intact, and are deep purple or “topaz ” with red or “mandy” markings that represent their family crest. Oddly, he lacks a mothling mark on his wrist or dominant hand.

While he speaks in the traveler's tongue, they are known to occasionally speak in old mothtongue. This often goes unheard due to the nature of this language. It is slightly reflected in their often harsh tone of voice.

This lack of a mark is particularly concerning as besides indicating the origin empire of a mothling, it also indicates if the particular mothling is exiled. Besides indication, the mark is used to regulate the magic which sustains all mothlings. Without any, a mothling reverts back to a feral state. Exiled mothlings are without a source of magic to sustain them and must get it through other means.

Early life
Not much is directly known about Cartwright’s pre-Haven life; what information is known is gleaned from their previous mentions of it, interactions with others and the direct biology of being a mothling. This has been a controversial topic when discussing Cartwright, especially when bringing up the mention of a missing mark, which would otherwise help narrow down his homeland, along with his current state of health.

He arrived in Haven from the eastern coastline, reportedly traveling from as far as Plagos to Haven, and then through Haven all the way to Aurora. A historical record of their travels in Aurora combined with an interview done on Capital Union Radio implies heavily that he is from beyond the continent of Rathnir.

Most likely they are from some unseen land or are suffering from delirium. Both are equally likely as many have claimed to be from the lands beyond the borders of Rathnir, or if Cartwright truly lacks a source of magic for sustenance, delirium wouldn’t be unheard of.

Originally, when arriving at Aurora and applying for housing, they were questioned repeatedly under suspicion of being a spy for the loyalists. As it was found to be suspicious that a mothling would travel to Aurora, who was previously hostile/cautious of non-human races, at a time in which Uldarash was on the brink of a civil war. But under the guise that Cartwright was here under the recommendation of an old friend and due to mothling’s previously peaceful history in Haven to greater Rathnir, Cartwright was given housing in Westlock; Fornost.

Aurora
Cartwright spent his early years in the Uldarashi state of Aurora, living through the beginning and end of the civil war and the Eldham Entente’s storming of Fornost. It is during these years that it is suspected he made his early fortune, selling armor, weapons, looted goods and general mining. He was also known to sell mending books through the Aurorian fishing guild. He would also assist in the repair of Fornost after the defeat of Aurora by the Eldham Entente, and for a brief time enlisting in the military.

On multiple occasions, Cartwright found himself in trouble with Auroran officials, first after breaking into the palace and looking through the private library. A second time when leaving during the middle of training to go eat out at a restaurant. And finally, a third time when questioning if the rebels calling themselves the “loyalists” during the civil war made sense. Despite these little incidents, he would often talk fondly of his past in Aurora. He would eventually leave Aurora when he had received news from an old friend that a special project was ready to begin. Heading northwest from Northport and stopping at an Island in the water of the now former Sinatra Mafia.

VyrTiculem Project
Arriving on a small island in the middle of the sea between Haven and Ummarnu, not much is known about the initial conversations or events of the first few days of the project. What is known is that Cartwright was brought on to work on the VyrTiculem project and restore the citadel to its former glory. Working with the constructs that inhabited the remains of the tower, he set up what would be the groundwork of the Vanshae Operata. Eventually, he would be officially assigned as one of the three auditors for the VyrTiculem. Handling both the organizing of resource gathering and managing the economy, he was able to boost the rate at which tasks at the VyrTiculem were being completed.

While many of the constructs of the VyrTiculem are bio-synthetic, some are human, moonfolk and even other races. They all share the common trait of being able to receive commands and understand the VyrTiculem. Cartwright appears to lack this ability, being incompatible with the communication rods worn by members of the VyrTiculem. Instead, relying on the Edivisem Units in order to communicate with the VyrTiculem. Taking the opportunity to set up these terminals whenever possible, going so far as to have one installed in his home. For this reason then it is believed that his reasoning for repairing the Intelligence is different from the constructs who are reawakened to this world.

Second Fortune Boom
Cartwright would receive intel from a previous business partner, King, on an area in the Nether located within the Eldham continent where the netherite resources were still relatively pristine. Putting together a team of prospecting individuals, they would set up a mining site within the Nether, digging up a large amount of netherite. This did not last long as the news quickly spread. Other prospectors arrived on the scene and the reserves were quickly depleted. But with a team now formed, he found it reasonable to expand out from living within the VyrTiculem complex, and took over a small chain of islands nearby that he would rename Meridian. Cartwright and his prospectors would continue to dig out the area, massively boosting their economy as the recent discovery of more rock beyond the void brought many new riches to Rathnir.

Vanshae Operata and Sinatra Mafia
With the newly acquired islands and the ever growing VyrTiculem, the fear of outsiders meddling in the affairs of the VyrTiculem was ever growing. These fears would turn out to be justified as the land in which they lived was owned by the Sinatra Mafia, a nation on the brink of collapse. Coincidentally, with the acquisition of the islands and the boom in the economy, the Sinatra Mafia had collapsed at the same time. Breaking apart into many smaller nations. These smaller nations were all vying for power and land in order to secure their nation's peace. It quickly became apparent that something would need to be done.

It was during this time that Cartwright was approached by Scythia Krull and offered to form a new union with the nation of Valarisi and the Vanyrian Union; the union/nation was to be called Nautilon. The deal almost went through but a series of events ranging from a nearby nation invading, to squatter rebels from Huitica setting up a fort, the worries over funds being misused, and finally information from an old friend, led to the deal falling through.

Instead, it was decided the islands would form their own nation, the Vanshae Operata, and under this new nation, Cartwright would reach out to nearby Uldarash for support. To his surprise, they offered Vanshae statehood, under the clause that thirty days must pass first.

Scythia Krull and the Vanyrian Union would take the action committed by Cartwright along with the further acquisition of more islands by him as betrayal and turn their backs on him for it.

The Vanshae Operata would never join Uldarash officially as a state, as Uldarash would collapse the day the thirty day clause was to expire. Cartwright had prepared already, and was warned well ahead of time of Uldarash’s collapse by Rakia Knight Ganeff and with his help was already preparing with nations behind the scene. These preparations would become The Union of Haven.

The Union of Haven
Cartwright was rather involved in the formation of the Union of Haven, being there for its signing of the constitution along with drawing the initial borders and even designing the flag used on banners. He found it important to be so involved in order to ensure the best outcome for Vanshae and the overall stability of the area. This comes back to a running joke around him that the man/moth has little interest in actually being involved in things as someone important but is rather forced into these situations by circumstances. This is around the time the joke of “I just wanna fish” became common in the Vanshae. Besides working on the formation of the Union, Cartwright was involved as a High Councilor. This is when the previously stated radio broadcast had occurred. As a high councilor, he voted on several laws and regulations that would be pushed through to the Union. He would also go as a representative of the Union in the Pan Haven Summit held in Sanctuary and assist in easing the tension between other Haven nations after an old friend recommended that he be there.He served as a High Council member through the entirety of Ganeff’s term as Sentinel, though Ganeff’s term was cut short as he passed away before it could be completed. Cartwright proposed the creation of a bar in Ganeff’s name as “it’s what he would have wanted, not some statue or memorial”; he considered him a good man, and one of the sole reasons for Vanshae’s survival. Ganeff would be replaced by Vic van Barch in the election and Cartwright was appointed by Vic as the new Princep of the Union. He would go on to once again be involved with the former Sinatra Mafia nations in a dispute with Caeli as some of his first actions as Princep. Along with assisting in reforms and the eventual coup that collapsed the Union.

Sinatra Redemption
The nation of Caeli has long since been a neighbor of Vanshae. But it became a focus of Cartwright’s after a series of acts that he quickly took notice of, and interrupted as, being suspicious. He decided to keep an eye on the developing situation. First the building of a Ein Bahel on the border, then the attempt at purchasing Vanshae land from the Union and then a claim on the border of the island town of Meridian. It eventually reached a peak when Caeli suddenly claimed that Vanshae had taken over an island of theirs, after Vanshae gifted it to Nitlovis "Spacer" Tliavan for a wedding; Cartwright claimed the island was nothing more than a sand bar sunken under the ocean. He also claimed the sandbar belonged to Vanshae anyway and began putting together evidence to prove it. At the same time, Caeli began putting together evidence to prove they owned the sandbar. The government of the Union was in constant talk with Cartwright and it seemed like a conflict could be right on the brink. All over a sandbar. He had up to this point negotiated and worked diplomatically to avoid war for Vanshae, but it was seeming like this streak was about to break. It was decided that both parties, to clear up confusion on the rights of who owned the land, would ask the former original owners of the land from so long ago. It was then that Scythia Krull, the Imperator of Valarisi returned to Cartwright and the Union and gave their stance on it. As the old owner’s of the land, as the former Sinatra Mafia, they declared the sandbar belonged to Vanshae. Along with this, the leader of the Vanyrian Union, Don the Red, also gave his approval of Vanshae owning the sand bar.

This event was labeled “The Great Sand Bar Battle for Dominance over Submerged Territory in the Vanshaean District of Valarisi” for the absurdity of the situation. This event was given note as it is considered the event which officially declared the bad faith and blood of Sinatra to be in the past. For Cartwright, Scythia, the former Sinatra states, the Union and even Caeli, this was both funny and relieving.

Involvement In The Collapse of the Union of Haven
After a progressively worsening condition of the Union of Haven, due to nation's leaving the Union, the losing of court cases, foreign intervention, an attack by segra's followers directly on the assembly and a failing system of multi layered bureaucracy; Cartwright attempted to create reforms to slow or stop a perceived downfall of the Union. Their first attempt at change was with the writing of a letter to the assembly of the Union, titled A Call For Universal Unity. The letter would be the first step of many in changing the Union by getting the assembly working on reform in the first place. It would be followed by a series of reform proposals presented by different individuals of the assembly. In the end it would be Cartwright's reform proposal that would end up being picked by the the Sentinel and later revised into the Orôta Imapalda Roshalda Constitution by the Sentinel Vic van Barch. The constitution would go on to be voted on and approved twice in the assembly, nearly being put into practice, just having to go through one last step, being voted on in the Senate.

The senate vote would be the beginning of the downfall of the Union. While the assembly had voted and approved of the new constitution, it was still up to the senate to vote on it in order for it to actually be put into practice. The first issue was that the senate was removed from the constitution, the second issue was the senate was apparently inactive before the time of the reform. The second issue would be the truly important factor. When the vote was put into the senate it got two votes for yes and zero votes for no (There is some confusion around this, as one extra vote is sometimes attributed to each due to it being done through discord emotes). The vote would be ended twenty-four hours after it started by the Sentinel, with twenty-four hours being chosen due to it being the time the assembly used to end votes. This would end up being a huge problem, as the head of the courts, Mystxc, would immediately start investigating this action and rule that the Sentinel did not have the power to end the vote after twenty-four hours. The vote would be reinstated by the courts with forty-eight hours to vote. If the first vote was the first beginning step, this was the second. The vote would fail by zero to two, a mirror of the previous vote.

The failed vote sparked a fight in the assembly about what to do next, causing apparent discourse to the level that communication became difficult. It is during this discourse that Cartwright would joke amongst the assembly that the Grand Marshal of the military, Astro, would take control of the military and coup the government at any rate. This was done while the Grand Marshal was present in the assembly, its not known whether this was intentional or not. After this point information on the exact events become a bit sketchy. It's not known whether Astro approached the Sentinel first about a coup or whether the Sentinel approached them first, it could also be entirely possible that any member of the assembly pushed the Grand Marshal into actually carrying out the coup. What is known is that shortly after the discussion, the Grand Marshal approached Cartwright for approval on Vic's behalf to carry out the coup. Receiving approval from Cartwright as Princep and carrying out the coup, instating Vic as the Empress of the Union. While the coup was successful in putting Vic into power, the assembly did not agree with the actions that were taken. Some of the assembly fearing Astro's intentions as he had previously expressed devotion to Segra. The senate and the courts were in a full out revolt against the assembly by this point, several nations in the Union decided to use this opportunity to leave and join under the protection of The Horde. Vic, realizing the situation and under increasing pressure from the assembly, stepped down from the position of Sentinel. These events of the coup occurred over the course of about one day, the speed at which they occurred quickly tarnished whatever reputation was left of the Union. Cartwright as Princep, was to take up the role of Sentinel in Vic's place until a new Sentinel could be chosen/elected, but instead denied himself the position leaving the seat untended.

The final killing blow to the Union was when Vic officially announced not only their resignation but their regrets, their life's work and some final words. It was made publicly amongst the Union and it's citizens. Leaving the Union officially, eight hours later, Cartwright would do the same. Making an announcement not only from the Union but nationally, declaring that the Vanshae Operata would be leaving the Union immediately, voiding all laws and regulations the Union held. He expressed in his final message a list of regrets but also notably included their issues with the Union, ending with the declaration that they believed the Union had failed to strive away from the issues of Uldarash and was no longer capable to function. Leaving on his final notes that the Union had come to the end of it's time. One hour later, the Union was officially declared dissolved by vote in the assembly.