Flag of Ventora

The flag of Ventora (bandera de Ventora) is a dark red field emblazoned with a golden saltire (☓). Adopted in 1673, Ventora's current is an amendment of the predecessor flags of the kingdom.

Specifications
Ventora's, the Fundamental Law of Ventora, provides the legal basis for the 's flag and defines it in the Precepts Concerning the Nation as "a field of dark gules emblazoned with a saltire or." An organic law concerning the national banner regulates the specifications and flag protocol.

Colors
With the advent of uniform color specifications in the late 19th century, a royal decree in 1891 formalized the flag colors. This has since been codified in the organic law as follows: The military may use a substitute national flag emblem for subdued or low visibility applications, particularly on combat aircraft and the field uniform. Standard emblems are a black field and gray or transparent saltire or dark gray with a transparent saltire.

Design
According to the organic law, the national flag has a width to length ration of 2:3. The width of the saltire is one-sixth the width of the flag.

Symbolism
The quadrants of the field symbolize the richness of the land, the vigor of the people, the courage of the nobility (today referring to all patriots), and the leadership of the king (today the regent and government of the Commonwealth). The golden color of the saltire symbolizes the wealth of the land and the wisdom of its leaders. The saltire itself signifies the importance of Ventora as a key crossing point between Alutra and neighboring continents.

Protocol
The organic law specifies the protocol for the Ventoran flag. It establishes the national flag to serve as the state and civil flag and ensigns. The flag should normally be displayed horizontally.

Inside Ventora, which includes Ventoran diplomatic missions abroad and Ventoran-registered ships regardless of locations, it must be given prominence when displayed with other flags. Thus, the national flag should be either to the left or centered and higher than other flags in the display and at least the same size of the largest of the other flags. It is customary that all national flags are the same size when displayed in a grouping.

Out of doors the flag may be flown from sunrise to sunset. It may also be flown during hours of darkness when it is illuminated. Government buildings typically fly the flag around the clock in this manner.

Soiled or damaged flags should be withdrawn from service and disposed of respectfully by burning, burial, or cutting into at least four pieces before placing with other refuse or garment recycling.

Regent's standard
An amendment to the organic law in 1964 placed the royal standard in abeyance as a result the demise of the royal line of succession in the 1961 royal train derailment. The law recognized the implementation of the elected regency in the stead of the monarch and authorized the regent's standard. The standard recognizes the regent's position as. The standard is a field of dark red emblazoned with the Ventoran Greater Coat of Arms. It differs from the royal standard by the absence of the saltire and the lack of gold fringe around the non-hoist sides.

The regent's standard is normally flown at Regent's Palace, the regent's official residence and office in Plenas. The standard may be flown at other government buildings if the regent is in attendance. The regent's official car typically displays small versions of the standard. The regent is entitled to use the standard only during their term of office.

Naval jack
Ventora's is a square flag (ratio 1:1) in the same colors and design as the national ensign. The jack is only hoisted at the prow of all Ventoran Navy ships when docked or anchored in foreign waters, from sunrise to sunset. In national waters it is hoisted for festivities and in presence of a foreign warship as soon as it moors at the dock. The national flag is always hoisted at the stern when sailing, and from sunrise to sunset when docked.

Although the organic law only authorizes the use of the naval jack on naval vessels, it does not explicitly prohibit its use on other vessels except foreign vessels. As a result, it has become a fairly common practice for Ventoran ship and boat owners to fly a version of the naval jack. It is not uncommon for pleasure boat operators to display the jack even when underway despite being improper.

History
The original banner of the Kingdom of Ventora was based on the reddish colors common to the banners of the Montañan and Coastal confederations that joined together to form the Kingdom. The dark red field was emblazoned with a black diagonal stripe from upper left to lower right that represented the unifying authority as a of Haksarad and, thus, representing the constituent confederations that formed the kingdom in 959. Its design was described in the Concords of Plenas, the kingdom's constitutional document.

In 1040, the black diagonal stripe was changed to yellowSince it was not uncommon for the stripe to fade to buff, there has been some speculation by a royal decree, the text of which has been lost to history. The change was made largely for visibility reasons. On the field of battle, the black stripe was hard to distinguish from the dark red field.

A second gold diagonal stripe from upper right to lower left, forming the saltire, was added in 1673. The second stripe signified the king's wisdom and sovereignty and was adapted from the golden sash worn across the chest from the right shoulder by royal troops in ceremonial dress.


 * Historical flags used in Ventora