Uzhal the Conqueror

Summary

Uzhal Rogarvia arrived in Issia over two centuries ago, accompanied by a small army and a pair of enormous dragons. The Surtova lords of Port Ice quickly arranged the surrender of Issia in exchange for securing their place at the side of the Conqueror, but the Swordlords of Rostland refused. The Conquest was sharp and short, ending in the conflagration of the Valley of Fire in 4500.
Uzhal established the Dragonscale Throne in New Stetvan (rebuilt on the charred ashes of the old city his dragons destroyed). In 4509 after only 9 years on the throne he won, Uzhal committed the kingdom into the hands of his son and departed with his dragons, and has not been seen since.
Many questions surround the figure of Uzhal. How came his pact with the dragons? Who was he before he was the conqueror? Why did he come to Brevoy? And most of all, why did he leave so suddenly? If the family he left behind knew the answers, they took them with them when they were lost.

Variations & Mutation

Many tales have been told of Uzhal, so many that it has become impossible for the historian to disentangle them and know which have any basis in truth. Here then are some of the wild speculations surrounding Uzhal.

• Uzhal was an avatar of Aroden, come to restore the ancient Sarkorian Empire in memory of his beloved companion Bahamut.
• Uzhal was not human at all, but dragonborn, and the dragons he traveled with were children of Bahamut. He has gone in search of the ancient artifacts of Sarkoris with which he will restore the empire.
• Uzhal was naught but an up-jumped bandit lord from the river kingdoms who made a deal with a pair of dragons to plunder the lands of the North. When Issia fell into his hands, Uzhal didn't know what to do with it, so he left as soon as he could and is off plundering other lands even as we speak.
• Uzhal's pact with the dragons was forged with dark magic that required him to sacrifice his own wife to evil gods of the underworld.
• Uzhal's sword blade was the carved jawbone of Bahamut himself.
• There were actually three dragons, and one Uzhal himself in shapeshifted form.

In Literature

There are many ballads and epics recounting the Conquest. Most were composed with the patronage of the Royal House and so glorify the mighty acts of Uzhal. Dissident singers in Rostland will sometimes sing (and sometimes be arrested for singing) The Blade's Song, a tragic lay of the heroic last stand of the Sword Lords in the Valley of Fire. The repeated refrain is considered a fine example of Rostlandic poetry:
The Blade's Song is a sad song, She keens it high and low. "I would ply a different trade," says she, "But war is all I know..."

In Art

Uzhal and his dragons have remained a popular subject of visual art both in painting and sculpture, and there are many examples of this to be seen in the streets and palaces of New Stetvan.

Uzhal's Portrait in the Royal Palace

Date of Setting

4499 AR