A Brief History of the Kings and Queens of the Realm
Asheron becomes King of Ironhold following the War of the Talisman and begins uniting the Realm under his rule. The Kingdom of Millshire pledges fealty.
WC 1st Century
The eastern lands of the old elven kingdom are sparsely populated, with only a scattered handful of farming villages inhabited by humans near the Millshire border. The last of the lowland Priori live here in their ancestral villages as farmers and craftsfolk. Their woodcrafts and textiles are unmatched among all the races in all the lands, though precious few outside their villages know it.
The lowland Priori are smaller and more peaceful than their warlike mountain cousins, and as such were driven from all other lands by the mountain Priori, human greed, and bands of rapacious Fell. The few settlements remaining lived under the protection of the northern elven kingdom, many in the shelter of Elvenwood Vale. King Asheron upholds that protection, making it punishable by death to harm or otherwise oppress the lowland Priori.
The Vox Imperium conquer a swath of territory in the south of Millshire from the Realm in WC68, holding it for twenty years.
The Republic of Southgard is formed from the liberated imperial province in WC90, and exists as a sovereign state for over a year. They finally swear fealty to the King of the Realm in WC92, but insist on a representative voice in government, leading to the creation of the King’s Ruling Council, which would eventually become Parliament.
WC 2nd Century
The Realm is largely absent from the First Canonical War due to an invasion from the Steppelands across the eastern Channel in WC115.
The Stepperiders invade Millshire through the abandoned and sparsely populated lands of the old elven kingdom. Unbound by Asheron’s decree, they decimate the remaining lowland Priori, driving them to near-extinction and razing their villages to the ground. Only those villages near the Elvenwood survive, as none of the invaders who enter the Vale ever come out.
After initial Stepperider gains in Millshire due to the ferocity of their attack, the various local militias rise up in defense and are joined by the Royal Army of the Realm. Once the allied forces push the Stepperiders back across the river Sanguirae, a series of fortified watchtowers are built along the Millshire side. Several militia units unite to form the Tower Guard, who inhabit the watchtowers and patrol the river. They become the first line of defense against Stepperider raids.
The Stepperider War ends in WC134 when the mysterious warriors of the Ice Downs enter the war on the side of the Realm. The Stepperiders are allowed to retain the lands to the east of Millshire they had already settled, which become the new Kingdom of Eastgard. In return, they pledge fealty to the Throne and sign the Charter of the Realm, agreeing to abide by the Common Law and send a representative to the King’s Ruling Council. Per the treaty, a token force of Tower Guard remain.
Following the war, the Regents of the Ice Downs emerge to sign the Charter as well, in the name of the absent Frost Lords.
As a result of the war and the treaty, the Elvenwood Vale is decreed independent sovereign territory, outside that of any kingdom or polity of the Realm. Many see this as license to raid and plunder the remaining lowland Priori villages. They are proved very wrong when they try.
WC 3rd Century
Asheron I dies mid-century at the age of 506. Queen Alrea, the last known living elf, disappears into Elvenwood Vale days later. Princess Aloreth is crowned Queen of the Realm in WC255 at the age of 203.
The Blackcough Plague spreads throughout the Vox Imperium and the Realm at the turn of the century, decimating their populations.
Queen Aloreth’s unflagging strength and boundless compassion rally her desperate people. Though she travels from one end of the Realm to the other multiple times and interacts directly with the sick, she never falls ill herself.
WC 4th Century
The Golden Age of the Realm. The rule of Regina Aloreth Gloriana (“Queen Aloreth the Divine”) is one of prosperity, peace between the lands, and security from enemies abroad. They are a great naval power, ruling the oceans and the Channel as Voxport rules the sea. Magic thrives. It is a time of wonder.
An attack into Eastgard from the Steppelands is repelled, and lands of the steppes conquered, but only held a short while. The Treaty of the Channel Crossing leads to the Steppe Accords, creating a lasting alliance between the Realm and the Council of Clans that rule the western steppes.
Prince Jethel becomes King of the Realm in WC391 at the age of 189 when his mother dies unexpectedly during a return of the Blackcough Plague. Few believe she died of illness, even fewer are willing to say so.
Jethel reorganizes his Ruling Council from an advisory to a parliamentary body, ceding a great deal of legislative power in the process.
WC 5th Century
In WC406, an Al Sahari adventurer discovers the Emirate of Nas Fahal on the far side of the previously impenetrable Marsh Perpetua. When word spreads of the miracles and wonders found at this distant and exotic court, King Jethel decides to take them.
Though the Realm came through the last round of Blackcough in better shape than the first, it was clear that times had changed, and even clearer for the worse. Jethel knows he needs to commit some epic and (ideally) profitable deed to regain (gain, if he’s being honest) the people’s faith. King Jethel I decides that if he doesn’t want to be known only for ruling from the shadow of his predecessors while squandering their legacy, he is definitely going to have to plunder someone.
His plan is to sail up the river Belerien to the edge of the Marsh Perpetua and invade from the north. He had procured a map (at great expense) of the Al Sahari adventurer’s route through the marsh.
The plan requires the cooperation of the Voxport fleet, as the ships of the Realm are built for the Channel and the ocean, and cannot navigate the waters of the river like the Voxport ships can. The Duchess of Voxport is offered a lucrative stake in the venture in exchange for her alliance.
In WC407, King Jethel and most of his army die from a malarial fever after becoming hopelessly lost in the Marsh, their map a crude fabrication. Only one man makes it back to the fleet. Naked, half-starved and raving, he manages to share the grim tale of King Jethel I and his doomed army before dying.
With the army gone, and the invasion unlikely, the Voxport fleet raids along the river, with what soldiers of the Realm remain, burning and looting Al Sahari towns, seeking any treasure they can find.
King Solari unleashes a magical wrath on the fleet, and the ships of the Realm anchored at the mouth of the Belerien, leaving only one ship from each navy to return and tell the tale. This conflict begins a long-standing enmity between the Realm and Al Sahar.
It takes decades for Voxport to rebuild its fleet, and the Realm never recovers its former naval prowess.
Jethel’s sister Astra is crowned Queen soon after his death is reported. Her reign is long, and begins with her putting down a rebellion in Eastgard.
A seventh Canonical Saint is proclaimed in 447 in the lands of Al Sahar. She is rejected everywhere else, and lacks recognition by the Magi Pontifex.
WC Late 5th — Early 6th Century
The Second Canonical War begins when Ur-Athaz invades and occupies St. Aegus in WC462. The Duke of Voxport is overthrown by his cousin, who has the support of a volunteer militia from the Realm. The new Duke rejects the seventh Saint and pledges the Voxport fleet in service of Ur-Athaz along with the militia, who are more concerned with revenge on Al Sahar than matters of religious doctrine. This alliance launches an invasion of Al Sahar from the conquered city.
The War ends in WC471 when the seventh Saint appears in a vision during a battle. The Magi Pontifex declares it a miracle and proclaims the Seventh Saint. Many militia soldiers experience ecstatic revelations following the miracle, leading them to disband and return to the Realm.
As the story of the miracle spreads upon the militia’s return, the Realm embraces the seventh Saint. Relations between the Realm and Al Sahar improve slightly.
WC 6th Century
The First City of Humankind, Ur-Athaz the Unconquered, falls to an alliance of Voxport and Southgard in WC520. Southgard is promised a share of the considerable wealth looted from Ur-Athaz in exchange for their alliance.
Under the Charter, individual lands within the Realm are forbidden to enter military alliances outside of the Realm, and Queen Astra sends the army of the Realm to occupy Southgard, hoping to draw their own army away from the fighting.
The Southgard army is led by latter-born nobles seeking their fortunes, and they decide to occupy Ur-Athaz instead of returning home. Half the army still remains loyal to the Realm and to Southgard, attempts to desert, and runs into the Voxport army, coming to challenge the mutineers’ occupation. After a brief battle, the loyalists are allowed to return home to Southgard.
The Congress of Southgard disavows the mutinous faction of their army, leading Voxport to pull out of the alliance as well.
WC Late 6th — Early 7th Century
The reign of Queen Astra the Benevolent ends violently in WC580 when she is killed after a difficult birth that followed a surprising pregnancy. The women of Asheron’s line are rarely fertile beyond their first century of life and Astra’s pregnancy at almost 300 years old is considered a miracle and a blessing by her people.
Astra’s murder is the inciting incident of a palace coup by her Steward and a cabal of Magi. The Magi make the Steward their puppet and rule through him as absolute tyrants for over a decade, a time marked in the Royal Lineage as the “Magi Interregnum”. They are brought down by the Village Rebellion, led by country Magi of the noble class along with farmers and tradesfolk.
Following a decisive battle on the palace grounds, the rebels reveal Asheron, the teenage son of Astra, who was saved the night of the coup by his mother’s midwife.
Asheron II rules with his aunt Fastia serving as Regent and dies of a mysterious fever before reaching the age of majority. Fastia, already serving as Regent, is crowned Queen. She rules for five years and dies in an equally mysterious accident.
Civil war erupts across the Realm. In WC603, Fastia’s son Kestrel wins the throne at 102 years old.
WC 7th-9th Centuries
Kestrel is called the Iron King, due initially to strong support from his cousin Lord Magnus Valor of Ironhold, in the form of soldiers, materiel, and money. Kestrel uses all three to pacify the warring lands and reunite the Realm, then earns the title anew when he repels an invading army of savage mariners from across the western ocean.
The Iron King rules for two hundred years, restructuring the Realm, government, society, the Magi Order, the money system, etc. Only Parliament is relatively unchanged, the price paid for their support of the Iron King’s reforms.
Every aspect of life changes under the reign of the Iron King, and he oversees the Realm’s transition into the modern world. The first rail lines are laid in the Realm just weeks before his death at the turn of the 9th Century.
Queen Fortina I continues the successful policies of her father and is a strident modernist. She dies in a mysterious explosion during a scheduled tour of a new factory very early in her reign.
WC 9th Century
A succession of brief and often terrible monarchs take the throne of the Realm over most of this century. The blood of Asheron thins during this time and the vigor of his line diminishes.
King Jethel II — Styled “The Brutal”, he enslaves all prisoners of the Realm to build an extravagant monument to his mother, while neglecting the needs of any beneath his social class. He dies while destroying his mother’s monument in a fiery tantrum.
Queen Aloreth II — The first of two wise and competent rulers of this era. She reverses much of the damage caused by her brother, is beloved by her people, and is assassinated by her nephew on the tenth anniversary of her ascension.
King Jethel III — An imbecile with imperial ambition, he abandons the policies of his aunt, returning to the brutal incompetence of his father, causing open rebellion among the people. The Army stages a coup, executes the King, and installs his brother on the throne, crowning him Jethel IV.
King Jethel IV — He has the architechts of the coup killed, then promotes based on loyalty. An unrepentant gambler, he nearly bankrupts the Realm before Parliament seizes control of the treasury. He also signs a law, presumably to clear a debt, transferring all judicial authority from the monarchy to Parliament.
King Asheron III — After the embarrassment of the two Jethels, Jethel IV’s son is crowned Asheron III. It is hoped the borrowed glory of I and the mythic tragedy of II will inspire the imagination of the citizenry. It does, but only until Asheron III’s bumbling attempts at tyranny lead Parliament to seize control of the Royal Army. They overthrow Asheron III and put his youngest sister on the throne in his place.
Queen Astra II — She spends most of her very short reign drunk or hungover, dying early one morning in the gutter outside a brothel. It is unclear if she was ever truly aware of being Queen.
King Kestrel II — Son of Jethel III. Fancies himself a Magus, blows off half his face proving he isn’t.
King Jethel V — Son of Asheron III. Styled “The Wastrel”, he rules for over a decade by essentially neglecting his duties in favor of a banal and slothful hedonism. Much of the ruling power remaining to the monarchy is assumed by Parliament out of necessity.
King Asheron IV — The younger brother of Jethel V and the other wise and competent ruler of this era; he is assassinated by members of Parliament when he tries to reclaim power for the monarchy.
Queen Aloreth III — Daughter and only child of Asheron IV. Similar to her father in quality and ambition, she is killed by poison at her coronation.
Queen Fortina II — Sister of Asheron IV and first of the Placeholder Monarchs; she indulges in courtly extravagance and performs official ceremonies of state, after ceding her last remaining governing power to Parliament.
Queen Astra III — Seemingly another Placeholder like her mother, she influences Parliament in ways both subtle and overt, never openly defying her ministers, but always getting most of what she wants. She also codifies the official royal ceremonies, and is the first to wield pomp the way her predecessors wielded power.
King Asheron V — Served as a soldier against an Eastgard rebellion, eventually rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Army. Dies of a resurgent infection from his army days during the first year of his reign.
King Asheron VI — Another Placeholder Monarch. He is beloved by the people and uses his fame to influence the decisions of Parliament.
Queen Astra IV — She takes the throne at 100 years old and suffers a stroke only a few years into her reign.
WC Late 9th Century
The Rex Fantasia (“Regency of the Delightful Prince”) also known as “The Gilded Regency” is a time of relative prosperity in the Realm. Prince Kestrel III reigns as Regent for his mother, Queen Astra IV. His refusal to force the Queen’s abdication only bolsters his chivalrous reputation.
Factories in Ironhold provide more of the world’s goods than any other nation or state, peace rules, and a modern “Age of Chivalry” is ushered in under the Delightful Prince. He holds lavish parties for the nobility, inspires modes of dress and social rituals still in use among polite society over a century later, and performs acts of charity that become the controversial cornerstone of the chivalrous codes known as the “New Civility”. Under the New Civility, the nobility are expected to care for the common poor, and show a mark of chivalrous respect to all people, regardless of station. The older generations of the nobility are horrified at these radical developments, particularly the amount of money their heirs are spending on the poor. The elder nobles appeal to Parliament, which passes a law setting a limit on the amount of an inherited estate that can be given in charity.
Despite this resistance, the young nobles’ contributions lead to organizations that make the first real attempts to address the systemic causes of poverty outside the binary of alms or debtors’ prison. These first steps will cause dramatic changes throughout the industrialized Realm, even during the backlash of the following century.
WC Early 10th Century
After the turn of the century, the New Civility falls out of fashion, with its adherents dwindling to foppish old men and faded ingenues arguing the finer points of decorum in local coffee houses or the drawing rooms of crumbling country estates.
Several worker strikes and riots among the common folk in the early century, along with a disastrous financial crash, lead to a prim austerity across all social classes.
Kestrel III grows old, and steps down for his son, the somber and pragmatic Asheron VII, who takes over as Regent in WC912, finally assuming the title of King after the death of his grandmother in WC914.
WC 960s
The Mystic War. The Realm sides with Al Sahar in their war against Shadrath.
As a result of the fortunes taken in the War, the austerity of the Realm loosens, particularly among the younger generation.
WC 990s
Present day. King Asheron VII is dying at the age of 150. He is childless, and the last of the royal bloodline. His death will bring an end to nearly one thousand years of monarchy.
