The Imperial Province of Rosaria - Final Fantasy XVI Database

A sleepy settlement nestled amongst the lofty peaks of southern Rosaria. Located far from the capital, its people survive by trading what produce they can coax from the stony soil, and what little else they can gather from the surrounding hills.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A once thriving village of shipwrights located at the mouth of the Talons, Rosaria’s largest bay. Its people were slaughtered at the hands of the viceregency’s Black Shields after it was discovered that the Guardians of the Flame were sheltering Bearers there.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A bridge built in the golden days of the duchy that spans part of the bay known as the Talons, and connects eastern Rosaria with the capital of Rosalith. It was originally meant to be part of the Trans-Rosarian Aqueduct that would carry water to northern areas affected by the Blight, and with it, employment for local craftsmen and tradespeople, but this plan was abandoned when Archduke Elwin died.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A village located deep within the wetlands of central Rosaria. It was once the site of an aqueduct that was hoped would carry water to the capital, Rosalith, but these plans never came to fruition due to both the Holy Empire’s annexation of the duchy, and a sudden influx of feral beasts displaced by the Blight’s march south through the Dim. Now it lies abandoned, many of its residents having fled to nearby Martha’s Rest.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

Those who maintain allegiance to the late Archduke Elwin and work for the revival of the fallen Duchy of Rosaria. After Rosaria was incorporated into the empire, most swore loyalty to their new vicereine, the Empress Anabella—even more converting after they saw how those who refused to change their allegiances were persecuted. This persecution was to only grow, culminating in the burning of Eastpool by imperial troops on the pretext that their reluctance to surrender Rosalith’s Bearers to the constabulary proved their disloyalty to the Holy Throne. The term had a different meaning in the time before imperial occupation. Rosaria was founded by the union of several small, independent nations, each led by its own noble house. These houses remained powerful even after unification, sometimes leading to friction between the loyalists who argued for the Archduke’s ultimate authority, and the separatists who pushed for a return to autonomy.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A hamlet located in the eastern part of the Imperial Province of Rosaria. It was once surrounded by fertile farmland, but the southward creep of the Blight eventually drove out most of the inhabitants.

Following the Culling

A hamlet located in the eastern part of the Imperial Province of Rosaria. It was once surrounded by fertile farmland, but the southward creep of the Blight eventually drove out most of the inhabitants. In the aftermath of the attack on Phoenix Gate in 860 and the Ironblood invasion that followed, many fled here, including Bearers who had lost their masters. The majority of that population, however, was wiped out in the “culling” of Bearers ordered by Empress Anabella, and the village now lies abandoned and in ruins.

After the Reclamation

A hamlet located in the eastern part of the Imperial Province of Rosaria. It was deserted after the “culling” ordered by Empress Anabella, with bandits eventually moving in to occupy the ruins. The bandits were eventually driven from the ruins, and the hamlet claimed by a group of freed Bearers and Sir Wade’s Guardians of the Flame, who had but recently lost the Lazarus District of Port Isolde to an aetherflood.

• Eastern part of The Imperial Province of Rosaria.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A clutch of humble stone buildings perched above Sorrowise Bay, in the Imperial Province of Rosaria’s southeastern lowlands. The abbey was built in order to propagate the Greagorian faith after the Duchy of Rosaria was made part of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, and as such, is one of the rare examples of imperial architecture in the region.

• Southeast Lowlands, Sorrowise.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A location in the southern part of the Imperial Province of Rosaria known for its distinctive rock formations. There are myriad theories as to how the unique stratification was achieved, from natural shiftings of the earth, to clashes of bygone Eikons, to lost Fallen magicks. The people who live in their shadows, however—such as those residents of the tiny village of Amber—will merely tell you a rock is a rock.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The highest of the noble houses of Rosaria. The Dominant of the Phoenix is always born into the Rosfield line, and so it is always a Rosfield who sits upon the ducal throne.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A small settlement huddled atop a rocky for overlooking the swampy lowlands of southeastern Rosaria. Sellswords gather in its barracks, hawkers in its streets, while those short on work can be heard singing over flagons of ale from morning until night in the village’s eponymous tavern. While the former duchy may want for cheer since being annexed by the empire, the Rest is a rare spot of sunshine among the gloom, and most travelers make a point of stopping over when they’re passing through.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A walled keep situated near Rosaria’s northwestern border. It was originally constructed to serve as an outpost in the wars against the Northern Territories, but its true significance lies deep within the ruins atop which the stronghold stands. Here, in an ancient chamber accessible only to the Dominant of Fire, is held the Rite of Ancestral Communion—an important ritual in which it is believed that the Phoenix can hear the words of the duchy’s forbears.

This aging seaboard citadel not only defends Rosaria from northern raiding parties, but also serves as sacred ground whereupon the duchy’s Dominant might commune with his or her ancestors and entreat their guidance on the eve of important battles.

After the Night of Flames

The remains of the fortress destroyed in the year 860 on what came to be known as the Night of Flames—the castle’s invasion by Sanbrequois assassins and the battle between the two Eikons of Fire that arose in its wake. Ancient ruins lie beneath, and are reached by means of an underground pathway. Prior to Rosaria becoming an imperial province, the Gate was of great importance to the people of the duchy, being the site of the Rite of Ancestral Communion.

The Apodytery

The remains of the fortress destroyed in the year 860 on what came to be known as the Night of Flames— the castle’s invasion by Sanbrequois assassins and the battle between the two Eikons of Fire that arose in its wake. Ancient ruins lie beneath, and are reached by means of an underground pathway. Prior to Rosaria becoming an imperial province, the Gate was of great importance to the people of the duchy, being the site of the Rite of Ancestral Communion.

Northwestern Rosaria

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A port city situated on the southwestern coast of the Imperial Province of Rosaria. Only Rosalith rivals it for size, and in the glory days of Archduke Elwin’s reign, its streets bustled with traders from across Valisthea. Sadly, those days are long since gone, and Sanbrequois occupation has seen everything, from marketplaces to military institutions, subverted to the will of the empire.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The capital city of the Duchy of Rosaria. Rosalith Castle, seat of the archduke, stands at the heart of the storied settlement, whose marketplaces teem with activity. Alas, the encroaching Blight has rendered vast swathes of the land to the north uninhabitable, driving refugees south in ever greater numbers, and placing an unbearable strain on Rosalith’s all too finite resources.

After the Fall of Phoenix Gate

The former capital city of the Duchy of Rosaria. Anabella Lesage, who once ruled alongside Elwin Rosfield as Duchess, now wields absolute power as Holy Empress of Sanbreque, and has established an administrative government under her command. The majority of Rosalith’s citizens fled or were captured when the Iron Kingdom invaded, and now the only inhabitants are a handful of nobles and sundry others who have sworn allegiance to the empire for fear of retribution.

Following Hugo’s Assault

The former capital of the Duchy of Rosaria. When Hugo Kupka’s forces invaded, the entire city was put to the torch, and the magnificent castle sacked, causing many of its inhabitants to flee.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

Situated in the heart of the ducal capital of Rosalith, it is from this towering ivory fortress that the Archduke and his family rule their nation. An architectural feat the Founder himself would be proud of, the castle has stood since the early days of the duchy, and watched over the rise of this proud nation and the people who inhabit the city beneath.

Following Imperial Annexation

Situated in the heart of the ducal capital of Rosalith, it was from this towering ivory fortress that the Archduke and his family once ruled their proud nation. A well-armed Sanbrequois garrison has been stationed here since 860, when the duchy was annexed by the empire following the tragedy at Phoenix Gate and the subsequent invasion by the Iron Crusade.

Following the Siege of Rosalith

Situated in the heart of the ducal capital of Rosalith, this towering ivory fortress has been under Sanbrequois command since 860—although little remains for them to command since much of the capital was destroyed in the siege set by Hugo Kupka and his private guard.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

There was a time, not long ago, that the songs of civilization echoed through Stillwind’s knotted boughs. Now, the settlements lie abandoned and the only sounds to escape this forsaken place are the howls of beasts that have fled the deadlands to make the bogs their home.

Western Rosaria

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

An area of swampland that stretches northeast from Rosalith Castle. The odd village could once be found here, but nothing to compare to the lively settlements that line the main roads of the realm. And with the encroachment of the Blight and the creatures driven before it, even these scant settlements were soon deserted.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A place of worship located in the depths of Phoenix Gate, an ancient stronghold on the northwestern border of the former Duchy of Rosaria. A large mural dominates this sacred chamber, where the Rite of Ancestral Communion—a ceremony carried out by the duchy’s Dominant prior to marching into battle—was once performed.

• Beneath Phoenix Gate Ruins.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The loyal soldiery of the Duchy of Rosaria. They serve under the standing army’s lord commander, whose task it is to enact the will of their sovereign, the archduke. Those who show sufficient aptitude, or who are blessed with sufficient nobility of birth, are made “Shields”—personal retainers to the archduke himself.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A nation occupying the western reaches of the continent of Storm, with Rosalith as its capital. Rosaria was originally formed from a collection of smaller dominions, all of which now stand united under the banner of Archduke Elwin Rosfield. Not possessing a Mothercrystal of its own, the duchy has long been locked in bitter conflict with the Iron Kingdom over possession of Drake’s Breath, which lies still further to the west, in the midst of the Boiling Sea.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A clandestine group of ducal loyalists who lead the rebellion against the imperial occupation of Rosaria and Empress Anabella. Many of their number are drawn from those who survived the imperial attack on Phoenix Gate in the year 860, who know full well the empire’s involvement in the duchy’s fall. They make their home in the abandoned Lazarus district outside Port Isolde, from where they conduct their raids to free Bearers from the imperial yoke.

As Allies

A clandestine group of ducal loyalists who lead the rebellion against the imperial occupation of Rosaria and Empress Anabella. Many of their number are drawn from those who survived the imperial attack on Phoenix Gate in the year 860, who know full well the empire’s involvement in the duchy’s fall. After their base in the Lazarus district was lost to an aetherflood, they moved north, continuing their operations to revive the duchy hand in hand with Martha. They finally resettled in Eastpool, where they now labor to revitalize the village hand in hand with the Bearers they and Martha freed.

The Guardians of the Flame
, The Imperial Province of Rosaria

A nation occupying the western reaches of the continent of Storm, with Rosalith as its capital. When the duchy was left leaderless in the aftermath of the attack on Phoenix Gate in the year 860, the Ironblood seized the opportunity to attack the capital. Their campaign did not last long, however, as the Holy Empire of Sanbreque soon returned in full force to stake its own claim, leaving the once-proud duchy no choice but to submit and become an imperial vassal state.

Under Anabella’s Purview

The lands comprising the western reaches of the continent of Storm. Formerly known as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, it became an imperial province after its annexation by the Holy Empire of Sanbreque in the year 861. Anabella Lesage, once Duchess of Rosaria and now Empress of Sanbreque, was granted stewardship of her former home and the title of vicereine, a role she embraced with sadistic relish, enacting a regime of crippling taxation and constant surveillance, along with renewed persecution of the Bearer population.

** Following the Siege of Rosalithe**

A nation formerly known as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, occupying the western reaches of the continent of Storm. With the fall of Drake’s Breath, life for the people of Rosaria grew steadily more difficult, and countless thousands were forced to seek refuge in and around the country’s already overcrowded cities. Then, in 878, Hugo Kupka’s forces invaded. piling further misery on the downtrodden populace, but loosening the empire’s grip somewhat in the process.

Following the Destruction of Twinside

A nation formerly known as the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, occupying the western reaches of the continent of Storm. While Rosaria has been a vassal state of the empire for nigh on two decades, the uprising in Twinside led by Prince Dion Lesage and his loyal dragoons, and subsequent death of both holy emperor and empress in the year 878, has left Sanbreque with barely the wherewithal to rule itself, rendering the erstwhile dukedom a subject of the empire in name and little else.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

An exclusive walled residential area situated just outside the eastern edge of Port Isolde. It was once the jewel in the city’s crown, and home to many of the nobles of the duchy. However, after the empire moved its capital to the Crystalline Dominion, Port Isolde was all but abandoned, and this once-grand district was soon overrun with thieves and cutthroats.

Following the Flood

An exclusive walled residential area situated just outside the eastern edge of Port Isolde. It was once the jewel in the city’s crown, and home to many of the nobles of the duchy. After the empire moved its capital to the Crystalline Dominion, this once-grand district was soon overrun with what appeared to many as thieves and cutthroats, but were in fact a band of ducal revolutionaries known as the Guardians of the Flame. Their occupation, however, came to an abrupt end at the hand of an aetherflood.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

An imperial attack on Rosarian forces stationed at Phoenix Gate made under the cover of night in thc year 860. Archduke Elwin Rosfield was killed in thc fighting, as were his two sons, though the bodies of thc latter were never recovered, having thought to have been wholly consumed by hellfire. The attack was widely rumored to have been facilitated by the traitorous Duchess Anabella, although official explanations attempted to shift the blame onto the Phoenix having run inexplicably rampant.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The Purge was a brutal attack on the Rosarian village of Eastpool in the year 873. Anabella Lesage, Holy Empress of Sanbreque and Vicereine of Rosaria, ordered that all Bearers being harbored by the villagers be slaughtered, along with those “ducal loyalists” who had given them shelter. In the ensuing massacre, Eastpool’s population was effectively decimated, and ultimately the village was abandoned.

• Eastpool, The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The highest noble houses of old Rosaria, of which House Rosfield is the first and foremost. They have their roots in the ruling dynasties of the small independent nations that were united upon the founding of the duchy. The houses had a prominent voice in ducal politics, but this was silenced when the region fell to the empire, and Empress Anabella took Rosaria’s reins.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

An incident in which Hugo Kupka, hoping to gain his revenge for the death of Benedikta Harman, attempted to draw out Cid—whom he now knew to be Clive Rosfield—from hiding with an attack on the capital of his beloved former homeland. The city became a battlefield, and amidst the death and destruction, many innocents lost their lives.****

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

In the year 861, taking advantage of the discord arising from Rosaria’s internal woes in the wake of the Night of Flames, the Ironblood launched an attack that inflicted devastating losses on an already crippled nation, robbing it of what little power remained. Later that same year, Sanbreque stepped in and forced the once-proud duchy to submit to one final humiliation by becoming a vassal state of the empire—just as Duchess Anabella and her imperial conspirators had planned.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

An area of marshland in the eastern part of the Imperial Province of Rosaria, just south of Martha’s Rest. Numerous shacks and hovels dotted about the swamps suggest that the area was once at least sparsely populated. However, now most lie broken and abandoned, their owners having fled for more habitable climes once the waters began to rise.

• Just south of Martha’s Rest in the east of The Imperial Province of Rosaria.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

The band of sellswords tasked with the protection of Martha’s Rest, in the absence of any assistance from the nearby imperial garrison. It falls to them to keep watch on the roads, and keep the beasts and bandits of the swamplands from Martha’s gate.

The Imperial Province of Rosaria

Basic Information

A secretive order who serve the lords of Rosaria from the shadows. They revere the mighty Phoenix and its Dominant, and once presided over the rites of Ancestral Communion at Phoenix Gate. Few outside the order know of its existence—even among the highest ranking members of Rosarian nobility. And to this very day, with Rosaria reduced to a mere imperial province, they continue to serve the rightful Keeper of the Flame—His Grace Joshua Rosfield.

A Search for Answers

A secretive order who serve the lords of Rosaria from the shadows. They revere the mighty Phoenix and its Dominant, and once presided over the rites of Ancestral Communion at Phoenix Gate. Few outside the order know of its existence—even among the highest ranking members of Rosarian nobility. Their loyalty to His Grace Joshua Rosfield is absolute, and none among them would hesitate to lay down their lives for his sake. At his command, their efforts are currently devoted to uncovering the truth behind the mysterious being known as Ultima

The Imperial Province of Rosaria