Allad Ainros
High Magus under Gwydion the Great
Prince Allad Ainros
The first son of Prince Erick Ainros, who was briefly the heir to the Crown of Revellia, Allad was disinherited by his uncle, Garland III "the Grim" during the First Brothers Rebellion. The rebellion resulted in Prince Erick's death, but Prince Allad was declared the heir of his Uncle Garland, who had no sons. This all changed when Garland's first queen died in a failed childbirth. Garland quickly remarried, and Prince Gwydion was born the Summer of 841 RA. Allad, then age fourteen, fled with his sister Eina to the Green Isle. His mother, Queen Messenger, had been imprisoned in the Cold Moat and died of a chill. His brother Griiyan, age twelve, was a squire in service to King Garland himself, and was not trusted.
841 RA - 844 RA
King Garland III had not actually disowned Prince Allad. Indeed, the terms of the peace treaty reached between Garland the Grim and Nihral Conlaugh, son of Chief Justicar Niil Conlaugh who had helped start the war, specifically forbade King Garland from doing so. Still, Allad feared some "mishap" might befall him. The First Brothers Rebellion had resulted from a friendly duel, wherein Garland accidentally severed the hand of Prince Erick, Allad's father. Many suspected this was no accident, and of course those who favored Allad's ascension were sure to insinuate as much. So Allad fled with his sister, a speller named Ea, and the sworn shields of himself and his sister: Breyv Carvad the Cruel (sworn to Allad), and Breyv Sorach the Still (sworn to Eina).
The Isle of Green, despite the name, was a cold and forbidding place. The port of Souwoth was cruel, and were it not for the aid of their Breyvs, Allad and Eina might not have survived their brief stay. Their trek along the Leatherwing Pass was harsher still, and Breyv Sorach's squire fell from the cliffside into the chilly waters below. When the royal children finally arrived at Castle Aintorq, they received a colder welcome still from Lord Cronas Oishlog, who was disinterested in mainland politics. Allad possessed some of his father's charm, however, and managed to win the lord over to his side. A betrothal was arranged informally between Princess Eina and Cronas' son Connich, aged twelve, and the lord agreed to support Allad in his claim. Connich was four years older than Eina, but there was no talk of an actual marriage, not until the war was over.
Allad was in desperate need of allies, but the speller Ea had fallen ill during the sail to the Green Isle and had remained in Souwoth. Lord Cronas kept no spellers nor Wizards, having the old superstitions against them. When pressed, he suggested there was a Wizard in the Rocky Woods living amongst the Evergreen People, but said Allad would be wiser to return to this speller in Souwoth. Allad trekked back along the Leatherwing Pass with Breyv Carvad and six Breyvs from Aintorq, but a great snowstorm forced them off the pass and into the Rocky Woods. There, they happened upon a fire ceremony taking place amongst some of the Evergreen People. Presiding over this ceremony was the woman whom history would record as Wynid Wild. Her official title was Wizard, but she would more oft be called a sorcerer and a devil.
Despite living in the woods, Wynid knew the northern magics, and Allad somehow convinced her to follow him back to Aintorq and spell messages to Ethel, Khabar, and even Liddinawth. The Liddinawth Queen Hwel'Ynwel had favored Garland III's rule, as had her niece Queen Skal'izel, yet Allad had Liddinawth blood as well, and he hoped such might work in his favor. Sadly, none of his spells received answer. Allad spent two more moons at Aintorq, mustering what forces they had, then returned to Souwoth and sailed west, around the Peninsula's tip, to Dubraigh. He brought with him Wynid Wild and Lord Cronas, with his armies.
The western half of Revellia still remembered the War of East and West, and the brief rule of the Western Kings, ended by Garland the First. Allad was as much of that line as King Garland the Grim, but King Garland shared the Conqueror's name, and Allad used this to stir up resentment in Dubraigh, Malbrand, and the smaller settlements along and within the Fiirwood. These forces he put into Lord Cronas' control. He then sailed south, leaving Wynid Wild to assist (and watch) Lord Cronas.
There was another island known to be south of Milos that was not yet settled. It was here Allad sailed. Over the course of six months, they erected a small port called Darkwoth and subdued the local inhabitants, a squat race of ghast-skinned folk called the Snow People. The Snow People were naturally reclusive, often living alone or in small communities, so it was easy for Allad's forces to push them to the southern end of the island.
Remarkably, Allad did not intend to rule this island. Rather, once it was settled, he had a spell prepared offering Darkwoth to the canton of Ethel in exchange for their support in his cause. They agreed, and Allad's forces became indomitable at sea.
By the time Allad returned to the mainland, Lord Cronas' forces had taken Saolmoth, the gate between east and west. There had been many harsh battles and skirmishes on the Ithir Plains, and Wynid Wild was already winning a reputation for herself and the Prince. Rumors were running wild of storms coming from nowhere, of werewolves rushing out from the Fiirwood to savage sleeping soldiers, and grimlings bursting out of the ground to eat children or tear the legs of men in battle. It was good that the east feared him, as three great cities still stood allied with Garland: Berleigh, Revelback, and of course Aerwoth itself. Yet this fear would count against him as well, especially if he managed to win the crown.
Allad's armies finally managed to take Great Cross in the late Fall of 843 RA. In order to distance himself from Wynid's dark reputation, and to take fuller advantage of his navy, Allad returned to Dubraigh and sailed around the Peninsula's tip to Ethelbrand, where a final attack was planned against Aerwoth. The capitol's navy was not insignificant, but against Ethel there could be no victory.
It came as a great blow, then, when Ethel switched sides during the Battle of Aerwoth Cove. Allad's reputation had reached them, and Ethel agreed to switch sides for a marriage alliance with King Garland's first daughter. Princess Carol was a sullen, quiet, and supposedly simpleminded woman, yet she had a royal name and stood above Allad's betrothed Fianna'al in inheritance, and Ethel seemed eager to switch sides again. Allad's navy was destroyed, and the remains limped back to the Green Isle. There, the speller Ea received word that Lord Cronas and Wynid Wild had fallen back to Saolmoth.
Allad received more foul news still at Aintorq. The night of his return, his sister Princess Eina approached him. She did not wish to marry Connich Oishlog, she said. She claimed he was a cruel, petty, stupid man, and though he had never raised a hand to her, she feared that was only a matter of time. Desperate and powerless, Allad had a spell sent to Aerwoth, asking the king to send his brother Griiyan, now a Breyv at only fifteen years, to retrieve Eina. Lord Cronas was still at Saolmoth and would no doubt take the news poorly, yet Allad's cause seemed already lost.
Breyv Griiyan arrived in a rage. He had evidently not heard of the betrothal, and upon seeing him immediately pronounced Connich Oishlog as unworthy of their royal blood. Connich took offense and challenged the young prince to hollymock. "There's no mock on the Green Isle, though," the man said. "Here, we fight for real." Allad could not allow such a duel and risk the death of a royal messenger, his own brother. Connich would not be swayed, however, and the two crossed swords. The soldiers of Aintorq would not draw steel against Connich, and Allad feared to send them against his brother, so instead he drew his own sword in an attempt to dissuade the two fighters. Months of resentment broiled up, and all three found themselves warring in earnest against one another. The battle was ended when Prince Allad found his sword sticking into his brother Griiyan's gut. Connich stopped, speechless. A dozen Aintorq men were present, as was Princess Eina. It is said Eina never spoke to Allad again.
Prince Griiyan was quickly buried in the crypts of Aintorq. That night, it was reported that Connich Oishlog had suffered a small wound and died of it in his sleep. Eina was sent home with Breyv Sorach the Still, her sworn shield. With her went the head of Connich Oishlog, and a spell naming him Prince Griiyan's killer. Allad sat, waiting for Lord Cronas' fatal return.
In the end, though, the Second Brothers Rebellion was ended not on the battlefield, but in the sickbed. King Garland III caught Springlight Fever in early 844 RA. His son was a child, and he did not trust the schemers and plotters that had raised him to rule in the boy's name. He instead trusted the prince that had sent him an ally's head for the crime of slaying a royal messenger of the blood. The king sent word to Castle Aintorq, promising safe passage for Allad to come and discuss terms for peace. Desperate and starving on the cold and sear isle, Allad agreed.
Rumors claimed that the sorceress Wynid Wild had died or vanished, and Allad no longer held sway over the storms. Yet as he sailed north to Aerwoth, great gales and conflagrations followed him the whole way. Within an hour of making birth at Aerwoth, a terrible storm battered the land for ten days, sinking much of the royal fleet.
There, a peace was made between Allad and his uncle, Garland the Grim. Allad swore to abandon all claim to the crown. He would instead serve as High Magus, what we would now call a regent, until Prince Gwydion came of age. In return, Eina was promised to serve as a hostess to the Host of Hosts, thus freeing her from any bond of marriage to Clan Oishlog. Allad also won a pardon for all those who fought on his side, from Lord Cronas himself all the way down to the humblest pikeman.
An agreement was spelt, and King Garland passed the very next day. Many expected Allad to give Prince Gwydion the same ill turn the boy's father had given him, but instead Allad declared himself the High Magus the next day, confirming Garland as heir-apparent to the throne of Revellia. He was seventeen years old.
844 RA - 856 RA
The Magistry of Allad Ainros (what we would now call a regency) was ever rocky. Few mainlanders trusted him, especially in the east, and the mighty Elkwoods and Beths were ever undermining his reign. To make matters worse, Gwydion proved to be a sickly child, and more than once he was feared to be on death's door. Everyone suspected Allad of poisoning him, and each time the boy recovered everyone simply assumed Allad had been prevented somehow and would simply try poisoning the boy again. Agathe the Elder, Garland's old wizard, had perished less than a year before Garland himself, and been replaced by Agathe the Younger, but Allad relied little on wizards, fearing it would dampen his reputation. Many whispered Allad was a speller himself, some daring to say he was a magician or witch.
Complicating matters further, Allad inherited the canton-wide destruction of the war. The capitol from which he ruled was nearly a ruin, and Great Cross and its Grand Hostel were once again destroyed. Many died in the Winter as the Ithir Plains had been trodden by the warhorses, and Ethel's double-betrayal meant there was little trade with nearby cantons; the destruction of Garland's fleets hampered trade further. After over a century of relative peace, Urudun's commons were starting to chafe under Khabarese rule. Revellia was isolated, devastated, and steeped in rebellious suspicion.
It therefore shocked all scholars further to see the canton recover so fully. The next ten years, oft called the Shadow Heaven, saw resurgence after resurgence. Gwydion was betrothed to the Ethel princess, Esla, so trade with the seafaring canton necessarily improved. Urudun's internal strife helped Elkwood recover while also keeping them too distracted to plot against Allad. Most ingeniously, the High Magus managed to pit Revelback and Saolmoth against each other at his own court, keeping the chiefs and their agents vying for his favor and the blessings of Gwydion's future throne, and therefore off the battlefield. Great Cross recovered adequately, and once again the Grand Hostel began reconstruction.
Lord Cronas was furious to learn of his son's death and the escape of Princess Eina, but found there was little he could do about it. He was soon pushed back to the Green Isle and managed to father four more sons before his death.
In the second year of his rule, Allad at last married his cousin Fianna'al, daughter of King Garland III and Queen Leyla his first wife. They would produce two living sons and three daughters.
The west was largely forgotten in this era, said to be "beyond the veil," and it was around this time that Malbrand began to dissolve into the horrible ghost-castle it is today. Dubraigh rose in rebellion again, yet they foolishly thought to take advantage of Aerwoth's weakened fleet. The Dubraigh ships were quickly sunk by their Ethel allies, and the rebels surrendered in less than half a year. They were disowned and disbanded, and Allad placed Clan Sirtal upon the throne of Dubraigh. Sirtal had been a fairly minor clan, living in the Fiirwood, yet they were westerners through-and-through, and this went a long way to reconciling the people to their rule. In this way, it could be said even that Allad finally healed the wounds of the War of East and West.
Gwydion Ainros came of age when he turned fourteen in the late Spring of 855 RA. Yet the king-to-be, in what some considered a wise decision, felt he was too young to wear the crown. A full year and a month went on under Allad's rule, until at last Gwydion was crowned in 856 RA, on the night of the turn from Spring to Summer. Those who praise Allad most highly have been known to call him the Summer King.
856 RA - 870 RA
Galvan's first act as king was to confirm Prince Allad as Chief Justicar. Gwydion relied heavily upon his Wizards in a way that Allad and even Garland III never did, yet Prince Allad would prove to be his most trusted confidant, most reliable advocate, and most able adviser. Allad helped Revellia survive the Hard Winter that came immediately after Gwydion's ascension. He oversaw the completion of the Grand Hostel in 864 RA, and most importantly, saw Gwydion wed to Princess Maeve of Bastis, thus tying the two distant cantons together. Indeed, this alliance was vital to the West's survival of the Hard Winter. Of course, this tie to Bastis would one day have damning effects on Gwydion and Revellia, but for much of their history Queen Maeve brought joy to her new people, and their children were the delight of the peasantry and chiefs alike.
Though Allad never trusted Wizards, he worked closely with them as directed by his king. Agathe the Younger proved ill-equipped for her job, but Penny the Wise was every bit as able and accomplished as Prince Allad. Allad would (through no work of his own, presumably) gain the lion's share of the credit for achievements that were often the work of both, Wizard Penny only gaining praise after Allad's death. Yet the two worked closely, and Allad seemed to respect her. Rumors even flew of an elicit relationship between the two, as ever is the case when two powerful people work together, but all evidence suggests Allad was loyal to his wife Fianna'al.
Prince Allad died at sea in 870 RA, at the age of three-and-forty. He had been sailing to the Green Isle, and many suggested he was searching for Wynid Wild, perhaps in pursuit of her power or wisdom. Others say he had simply learned to love the sea in his youth, and had hoped to recapture those moments.
Prince Allad never wore the crown he was promised, but he ruled Revellia for ten years, and served one of its greatest kings superbly for nearly fifteen years after that. He helped overcome natural crises and unexpected external strife, giving the canton one of its more peaceful eras. What he might have done, one must wonder, with a crown upon his head.
The Second Brothers Rebellion (Also called Allad's Rebellion)
The Magistry of Allad Ainros
Allad as Chief Justicar under King Gwydion the Great
Social
Family Ties
Conditions
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
High Magus of Revellia,
Mox Master of Aerwoth,
Archon of the Green Isle
Mox Master of Aerwoth,
Archon of the Green Isle
Life
4827
4870
43 years old
Circumstances of Death
Died at sea, sailing to the Green Isle
Birthplace
Aerwoth
Family
Children
Eyes
Bright Blue
Hair
Dark
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Earthen (bronze)
Other Affiliations