Travis III

Travis H. Volland III (8 January 1890 - 22 November 1964) was king of the Empire of Apfeldonia from 1916-1964.

Travis was the grandson of King Travis II and Quirina Volland; the son of King William II and Queen Charlotte, he is also the cousin of Lukas, Archduke of Ostcelestria through his maternal uncle, Archduke Franz. He is a direct descendant of King Rutgar I, and was head of the Royal House of Volland.

He skillfully guided the country, with the help of his Prime Minster, out of the great war, in which they had almost lost. His reign saw Apfeldonia at it's greatest extent and power, he expanded the colonies considerably, although it is agreed that his decisions would lay the groud work for the seperation of several colonies into their own nations. As a result he is credited as being one of Apfeldonia's greatest kings and is also a beloved figure around the world, especially in said former colonies. His reign saw the rise of Apfeldonian nationalism, communism, an increase in liberal thought, and a more powerful parliament.

His reign has fallen under criticism because of the constant state of war the empire was under, he is painted as a warmonger and bloodthursty. Despite his hard work in attempting to curb the power of the nationalists and communists later in his reign, he could not. Essentially one can always find praise to him for helping create the modern world and it's wonders, but he also gets blame for its current sorrows.

Early Life
Travis was born on January 8th in the Solms valley to Crown Prince William and princess [placeholder]. Despite being second in line to the throne, he recieved little attention from his grandmother, a cold figure, who would for the rest of her life seemingly ignore him. He did not build up a strong relationship with his father, and his mother died early on. From an early age, he was admitted into the Lahn Military Aacademy, where he would spend most of his education years. At Lahn he would meet his best friend and later prime minister, Aurther der Schwartz, he would also develope a friendship with his cousin Archduke Lukas.

From an early age, he would spend alot of time with his uncle, Franz, who at that time was heir to the Archduchy of Ostcelestria. Franz would take young Travis regularly on trips into the Shulfsrum mountains, and teach him how to camp, hike, ski, fish and all sorts of survival skills. Franz would be the closest thing to a father figure to Travis. Alongside Franz, Travis would grow up alongside his cousin, Karl, Franz's first son. Who would join them on their outings in northern Ostcelestria and occasionally Helvetia, until Travis was aged eight, when Karl joined the army. Later that year, Karl was killed in an accident, Franz and Travis mourned for many months after.

During his late teens, his father thought it best he travel the empire and the world and continue his education in that fashion. He travelled to almost every distinguishable colony in the empire, he would meet several life long friends, he also meet a role-model of his, Johann Leischmeir, Duke of Oustauch and Governor-General of Mahboombah.

During the great war, Travis served in the 8th Lahn Infantry regiment as it's colonel, the regiment would later become a Life guard regiment, the regiment and the prince saw action in 1915.

The New King
In 1916, King William died, Travis was coronated King of Apfeldonia three days later. The first business of the king was a swift re-organization of the government and army. Aurther der Schwartz was elected Prime Minister by a landslide victoy in parliament, the king placed Johann Leischmeir as cheif of staff of the armed forces. The duke of Verbania (placeholder) was promoted to general of the infantry, and several other generals were replaced. With the help of the prime minister, who was a industry owner, the army was outfitted with newly developed tanks, aswell as a new rifle model and the airforce was upgraded. Before long the war was turning up, the enemy was losing miles by the day, and the war would be won shortly. After the victory, the first course of action was rebuilding the capital of Lipton, which had undergone severe bombing during the war. Millions were devouted out of the treasury, mines in Shulfsrum and elsewhere were on fire, whole forests were cleared in Oustauch, the colonies brought in thousands of workers. The king wished to make the rebuilt city a national icon for unity, freedom, and peace. He would accomplish this goal, with Lipton being a model city for future cities in the colonies and elsewhere.

Later Years
After the great war and reconstruction era, Apfeldonia continued to wage minor wars across the globe, however, life in the mainland and in most of the colonies seemigly improved, the king continued to build up his country with the most modern technology. Since the end of the great war, communist and nationalist parties had been growing stronger, and as the years went on continued to become more of a threat. In 1935 the first communist party won a majority in the Apfeldonian parliament. The stability of the country was thrown into turmoil, nationalist, conservative, liberal, and other opposing parties attacked parliament and attempted to oust the communists. As a result, communist gangs attacked prominent members of these factions, forcing the king to send in the military to avoid further terrorist attacks. After several bloody conflicts, the king abolished the previous parliamentary vote results and established a full parliament with conservative and liberal party members and declared any action taken against the new parliament would be considered treason and punishable by execution. In 1939 the king attempted to commit suicide, but was found by and stopped by a servant, he was hospitalized and kept under watch for several months, this event seemingly calmed the storm that was brewing within the nation, and kept it stable for many years to come. In 1945 the king founded several institutions for developement in the colonies, it was also the first year a colonial born citizen would make it into parliament. In 1952 the king appointed Lee Tarokima cheif of staff, he would be the first colonial born cheif of staff in Apfeldonian history.

Death
On the 22nd of November, the king was found in bed, very weak and drowsy. His doctors hovered around him for hours, trying to nurse him back to health, but to no avail, after having broken conversations with his family and friends, at 11:00 PM, the king uttered to a full room "If last words are for fools who havent said enough, then I must be one of those fools" (in response to karl marx's last words) then he took a deep breath and said "It has been great fun" closing his eyes and passing away. The nation was in complete and utter sorrow and on the morning following his death, not a town was stirring. The whole country was silent, on November 26th, his eldest son, was proclaimed King Konrad V.

Personal Life
Travis was incredibly reserved. He also suffered from bouts of depression, as seen in 1939. He was an extremely devouted familyman. He was an Apfeldonian patriot, he also fought for colonial rights, hoping to grant colonial born citizens complete and total status within the empire.

Legacy
Travis has been viewed as an important modern figure, he has influenced world history considerably and has paved the way for the modern world. He has several monuments and dedications to him, a national holiday recognizing him exists in Apfeldonia and 5 former colonies. Below is a list of some monuments and dedications to him

There is an equestrian statue located in the "plaza of freedom" in Lipton

several streets bear his name

There is an Apfeldonian military award titled "The Cross of King Travis" handed out in the Apfeldonia for bravery and compassion.

"King Travis national park" is a park located in the middle of (placeholder), the capital of the previous oriental colony (placeholder)

The modern battleship "AMS King Travis" is named in his honour.

Film and Modern culture
He is featured as a playable leader in the popular strategy game Nationalization V: Deities and Rulers

He is played by award winning actor Westford Martin in the award winning docu-drama "The Lion of Lipton"

He is constantly mentioned in the novel series about the great war "The Ghosts of Smoke"

He is featured on the cover of Mankind magazine for the year 1925

He is an easter egg character in the steampunk RPG game series "The Dawn of Steam" found when the player attempts to assasinate the leader of Clout but instead of taking the door to the right to get to the roof of the palace, he takes the door to the left, and walks through several rooms, upon entering the room Travis is sitting in, a conversation is struck, the player can be talked out of the assasination by Travis and will be able to complete the mission without assasinating the leader.

A picture of him can be found hanging on the walls of the Apfeldonian embassay in the FPS "price of combat"

A small statue of him is seen sitting on the table of a farmhouse in the RPG "Call of the Mystics"

Several documentaries and education specials have been shown about him on the ABCS