Borelia, Kingdom of

For millennia, Irithyll, in the Kingdom of Borelia, was the centre of worship of the cult of Gwynevere, Goddess of Light and the Moon. The royal family of the kingdom had always been subservient to the Clerics of White, who held the true power in Irithyll. The kingdom of Borelia shrank and expanded over the course of its history, but it always encompassed the cities of Irithyll and Anor Londo, the historical birthplace of the Way of White and holiest of site for the religion. One of the tools of the Way of White were the Darkmoon Knights, a group of religious warriors who acted as the praetorian guard for the leadership of the Way of White and the Royal Family. They mostly consisted of actual knights, but also included assassins and spies. The Darkmoon Knights yielded powerful Divine magic and violently repressed users of secular magic.

The kingdom of Borelia and the Way of White managed to weather the Age of Emancipation well into its third century. The Darkmoon Knights led their armies to numerous victories against the expanding Thamasan Empire. Ultimately, its was an enemy within that led to the fall of the kingdom and the cult that insured its prosperity.

At some point around the year 2910, a young man for a faraway land, named Sulyvhan , professing his faith in Gwynevere, joined the Darkmoon Knights and pledged to protect the Way of White. Sulyvahn came from the royal family of Arendelle, one of the Elemental Islands, far to the West. His connection to Frost was deep, making him a powerful sorcerer, but his position in the royal family tree meant he could never sate his thirst for political power. He thus left Arendelle and never looked back. Over his travels, Sulyvahn became a student of the the corrupting power of the Abyssal Flame which complemented his natural sorcerous abilities.

After a couple of years of adventuring, his path took him to Irithyll, still recovering from its last territorial dispute and looking to renew its military ranks. Sulyvahn managed to camouflage his sorcery as divine magic, emulating clerical spells and impressed members of the Darkmoon Knights. For several years, Sulyvahn participated in the repression of secular spell casters and seditious movements in the kingdom. Through any means, foul and fair (but mostly foul), Sulyvahn climbed the hierarchy of the Darkmoon knights, becoming second in command to Lord Dolin by the year 2919, All the while, he managed to turn a fairly large number of Knights and Clerics to using the power of the Abyssal Flame, corrupting their Faith of Gwynevere. In the year 2930, the city of Anor Londo came under siege by forces from the Thamasan Empire, lead by the Undead Lord Aldirch . Lord Dolin was struck by a mysterious disease and was forced to stay back in Irithyll while Sulyvahn took all available forces to reinforce the defenders of Anor Londo. Sulyvahn’s army arrived as the Imperial troop were fighting their way through the city toward the great cathedral atop its hill.

At that point in history, the divine power of Gwynevere had dwindled dramatically. Her cult had been nearly wiped out, save for the kingdom of Borelia. Ironically, the use of the power of the Abyssal Flame by a large number of Darkmoon Knights and Clerics of the Way of White enabled Sulyvahn and his Darkmoon Knights, only loyal to him at that point, to fight their way to through the Imperial troops and catch up to Undead Lord Aldrich as he breached the cathedral.

The High Clerics were relieved at the sight of Sulyvahn but their joy was short lived. Lord Aldrich and Sulyvahn had been conspiring together for over a year to weaken the cult of Gwynevere and gain access to the holiest of its sites. The two Lords and their praetorian guards opened a portal to the realm of Gwynevere herself and defeated her. Both Lords sough to consume her power and turned on each other. Aldrich devoured the bulk of it yet the shock sent him into a deep coma. His lieutenants carried his slumbering body to safety while Sulyvahn retreated back to Irithyll, leaving Anor Londo devastated but back in Irithyll’s control.

Upon his return, Sulyvahn found Irithyll in a state of chaos: Lord Dolin was missing and the Clerics of the Way of White had lost most of their Divine magic. Hiding his involvement in the destruction of Gwynevere, Sulyvahn used the confusion to have the Darkmoon Knights take over the Way of White and declared himself Pontiff of Irithyll. He vowed to restore the Way of White but the royal family saw through the lie and sought to overthrow Sulyvahn, though they ultimately failed. Nearly all of the royal family was executed save a few which Sulyvahn kept as personal slaves. Over a period of two years, Sulyvahn reformed the Way of White into a cult around his own power. By the time the population became aware of Sulyvahn’s treachery, it was too late. In 2933, Sulyvahn signed a treaty for Borelia to become a province of the Empire. The remnants of the Way of White were hunted down and destroyed and Anor Londo was mostly razed after a couple of failed uprising. The Darkmoon Knights were reformed into the Pontiff Knights.

Sulyvahn maintained his position through the Great War and seceded from the Empire soon after the Accords were signed.