Editing Lothian League

{{Update Needed|[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]|[[Field Report: Periphery]]|[[Field Manual: 3145]]}}
{{InfoBoxState
| image = Lothian League logo.jpg
| Founded = ca. [[2691]]
| Dissolved = 
| capital = [[Lothario]]
| systems = ca. 6–8
| population = 
| currency = 
| language = 
| demonym = 
| Head of State = [[Grand Mistress of the Lothian League|Grand Mistress]]
| cintel = 
| army = [[mercenary unit]]s
| navy = 
| mintel = 
}}

The '''Lothian League''' was a small [[Periphery]] realm composed by six ice-and-snow planets located beyond the outer reaches of the [[Free Worlds League]] near the [[Marian Hegemony]].

==Description==
The capital of the seven-member Lothian League, Lothario is typical of the other worlds of the League. This small world has a thin atmosphere and is perpetually covered in ice and snow, with only marginal zones of habitation centered upon the planet's equator. A rather beautiful world, it is known for its spectacular aurora arising from the frequently intense solar winds of its parent sun. Most of the planet's inhabitants exist in subterranean conclaves, though a few hardy souls continue to scrape out sustenance on the planet's surface, fiercely defending their small agricultural plots. The average Lotharian is highly territorial and suspicious of any offworlder. The typical Lothian citizen is a rugged individualist who wants little to do with the universe at large. As long as he and his family can eke out a marginal living, he is content to let the rest of the universe pound itself to dust. Literacy and technology levels are low, but the average standard of living is surprisingly adequate. The Lothian League was an archetypical example of the old adage: ''let sleeping dogs lie''.

==History==
===Beginning===
To avoid capture by the [[Star League]], a group of patriots from the [[Taurian Concordat]] fled into deep space. In [[2691]], under the leadership of [[Angelina Logan]] they settled on the planet [[Lothario]], which was later discovered to be rich in metals. Over time the League expanded deeper into the Periphery to form a seven-member confederation. With the [[House Logan|Logan family]] at its head it slowly grew into a small Periphery state.<ref name=TP135>''The Periphery, First Edition'', p. 135: "Lothian League Profile"</ref>

===On the brink===
The only serious threat to the League's existence came in [[2933]], when renegade mercenaries from units shattered in the latest round of Succession War fighting stumbled upon the League quite by accident. For four years, both sides conducted a series of raids and counterraids until, at long last, the mercenaries left to seek easier prey elsewhere. These actions cost the League its few [[JumpShip]]s and damaged what little industry on Lothario it had managed to develop over the last three centuries. This destruction forced the ruling Logan family to renew trade ties with other planets of the Periphery in a desperate effort to avoid economic ruin.<ref name=TP135/>

===Development===
During the last century, the League became a major supplier of iron and copper ores to the [[Magistracy of Canopus]] and the [[Taurian Concordat]], receiving in return agricultural and mining equipment to sustain its fragile existence. Also exported were furs. Indeed, its trapping industry created impressive revenues as demand for the rich pelts has grown in the last century.<ref name=TP135/>

===Recent affairs===
Dame [[Lorelei Logan]] was the ruler of the League by 3025 and ruled until the Marian conquest in 3055. A descendant of Angelina Logan, she was nicknamed "the Ice Maiden". Though on good terms with her fellow leaders in the [[Illyrian Palatinate]] and the [[Circinus Federation]], the Ice Maiden wanted little to do with the Great Houses of the [[Inner Sphere]]. Nevertheless she maintained limited contact with the Inner Sphere, mainly to hire small mercenary bands to defend Lothian worlds against raids from the Marian Hegemony. The Lothian League employed two mercenary battalions, though the identity and quality of these units is unknown.<ref name=TP135/>

===Defeat===
Throughout 3052 and 3053, ''[[Caesar (rank)|Caesar]]'' [[Sean O'Reilly]] of the Marian Hegemony launched several raids on Lothian planets, slowly wearing down the defending mercenary units. As the months wore on, the attacks increased, becoming more frequent and ferocious. In 3054, the Marians launched a full invasion.<ref name=TP2Ep57>''The Periphery, 2nd Edition'', p. 57</ref>

The Lothian League proved a hardier opponent than the ''Caesar'' expected, however, holding out for over a year against the Marians. To afford additional mercenary units, Dame Lorelei Logan borrowed heavily from the Lothian treasury. Her daughter Liesel successfully led a small BattleMech unit of Home Guards against the invaders. By early 3055, the Legions began to overwhelm the Lothian League's defenders. Dame Logan appealed to the Taurian Concordat for support, but Protector [[Thomas Calderon]] refused, due to the imminent danger of an attack by the Federated Commonwealth.<ref name=TP2Ep57/>

The assault on the last remaining League planet, Lordinax, was led by ''Caesar'' Sean. Liesel Logan was killed and the Home Guard destroyed. Upon landing on the League's former capital world of Lothario, the ''Caesar'' ordered Dame Lorelei and her surviving family imprisoned. However the Logans managed somehow to escape and to hide themselves.<ref name=TP2Ep57/>

The Marian Hegemony conquest was opposed by active and passive resistance from Lothian citizens. Two-thirds of the Second Marian Legion was deployed across the seven League planets to deal with the insurgency, but the Legion forces barely held their own against the guerrillas. Further, Marian government officials installed to enact their ''Caesar''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s policies repeatedly had to deal with blatant disregard for their authority.<ref name=TP2Ep58>''The Periphery, 2nd Edition'', p. 58</ref>

ROM discovered that Lothian freedom fighters received covert assistance from the [[Magistracy of Canopus]], interested in keeping the ''Caesar'' and his Legions too occupied for further conquests. The resistance fighters may also have received limited monetary and material support from the [[Illyrian Palatinate]].<ref name=TP2Ep58/>

Nevertheless the ambitious ''Caesar'' later tried to conquer [[Astrokaszy]] but was forced to retreat. Returning to Alphard he was confronted with the news that his new Lothian "subjects" were on the brink of open rebellion. The Third Legion was sent to the Lothian worlds.<ref name=FMPp70>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 70</ref>

''Caesar''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s son Julius, a recent graduate of the ''[[Collegium Bellorum Imperium]]'', had been recently promoted to command a century in the First Legion. He quickly gained the attention of several powerful anti-''Caesar'' military leaders and Senators, who built up a power base around the young heir.<ref name=FMPp71>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 71</ref>

An angered ''Caesar'' transferred Julius in June of [[3060]] to command a cohort of the Second Legion on Lordinax. The unit was highly demoralized from the constant Lothian raids. The war was a cycle of death, as recruits poured into the Second Legion at a quick rate and Lothian civilian casualties steadily mounted due to the ''Caesar''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bloody reprisals. Julius' unit was sent on a series of punitive raids against several settlements suspected of harboring anti-Marian rebels; Sean hoped that this experience would either harden his son or cost his life.<ref name=FMPp71/>

Julius began to openly question his father's path of conquest, covertly building a power base within the Second Legion, to whom he promised an end to the Lothian troubles. He was successful in hunting down and capturing the leader of the Lothian resistance, Elena Logan, daughter of Dame Lorelei Logan. Disobeying an order to execute her, presumably sent by his father, Julius began to negotiate. The two managed to reach an acceptable agreement; Elena agreed to cease the brutal guerrilla war in exchange for a cessation of reprisals, a position in the Hegemony government, and a position as an adviser on Julius' personal staff. Within a year of arriving, Julius O'Reilly had successfully ended the resistance. In January of [[3063]], he left Lordinax with the Second and Fourth Marian Legions, plus the Third Legion's First and Third Cohorts. This left only auxiliaries and the Second Cohort of the Third Marian Legion to garrison the League.<ref name=FMPp71/>

After later usurping the throne from his father, Julius officially declared the former Lothian League as a united territory within the Hegemony, granting the former nation voices within the Senate. He further granted Lordinax and Lothario to Elena Logan in fief after accepting her as a personal advisor on civil matters. All inhabitants were granted Marian citizenship and granted three-year exemptions from conscription.<ref name=FMPp72>''Field Manual: Periphery'', p. 72</ref>

=== The Dark Age ===
The Lothian League officially regained its independence - however tentatively - in [[3128]], after decades of unrest and conflict with the Marian Hegemony. The Lothian League of the [[Dark Age]] bore little resemblance to the free state that had existed a century before, however; the leader of the League adopted the title [[Grand Mistress of the Lothian League|Grand Mistress]], and ruled over the League with the assistance of a Senate consisting of three representatives from each of the six member worlds in a very Marian style.<ref name="FM:3145p186">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 186: "Lothian League"</ref>

The ruler of the League, Grand Mistress [[Clarissa Logan]], attempted to abolish slavery in the League in [[3134]], a step that nearly bought the League and Hegemony to open combat once more as those Marians trading in the League or operating industries protested. Logan managed to defuse the situation by amending the proposal so that it only applied to citizens of the League, and further requiring that any slaves who received manumission serve in the Lothian military before obtaining true freedom. Those measures staved off an invasion by the Marians, defusing the tensest situation between the League's independence and [[3145]].<ref name="FM:3145p186"/>

Although the League had gained a measure of independence, it remained lacking in the resources to support a large military organically; a new training academy, the [[Lothian Combat Academy]], was established to train [[Combat Vehicle|armor]] crews and antitank infantry, and a single small [[Alphard Trading Corporation]] plant producing a small number of tank designs. The League had no choice other than to import BattleMechs to support its military.<ref name="FM:3145p190">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 190: "Lothian League"</ref>

==Historical: Maps==
<gallery>
File:Lothian League 3025.jpg|Lothian League as of 3025
File:Lothian_League_Illyrian_Palatinate_3050.png|Lothian League as of 3050
File:Lothian_League_3130.png|Lothian League as of 3130
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Era Report: 3052]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Periphery]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''
* ''[[The Periphery, 2nd Edition (sourcebook)|The Periphery, 2nd Edition]]''

[[Category:Nation States]]
[[Category:Lothian League Related Categories]]