Zenedras, the Witch Lord - 152nd King of Kings
Of the Benicent Dynasty [Sigil: A Golden Crown, Surrounded by Ten Golden Stars, upon a Blue Field]
[052 NA – 068 NA] Zenedras’ coronation began the Witching Wars: three civil wars that would last from his coronation to his death. Zenedras surprised no one when he emerged from his coronation on the eastern banks in Terminallia, then rode to Collorio Lon to strike his banners again. Terminallia and Acciano rose for him at once, which were expected, but he won a surprising coup when Gemosia came to his cause. Zenedras agreed to wed the daughter of Gemosia's king. Even more remarkable, he promised their firstborn son to the next daughter of the king of Albanesca, before even being wed, and managed to win the northerly region to his cause as well. In this way, the King had secured a significant bloc of support. With both Gemosia and Terminallia, he controlled all leather production, and Gemosia's capitol of Geumsil was of great economic and political significance, having frequently been the nation’s capital. Albanesca would prove far less important, but it helped his cause that all eastern kingdoms had risen for him. Most significant was Acciano itself. Despite its deep involvement with the Old Faith, and its connection to witchery, Acciano remained the religious capitol of the nation: this would invariably lead most of the commonwealth to assume the Hosts were on Zenedras’ side. Nevertheless, Prince Vincet “the Usurper” had great assets as well. He controlled all the nation’s mines through Westheart and the Shadowveil, the nation’s two ports through Farfield Kingdom, and the Capitol of Vargano was rapidly becoming a greater economic power than Coredillo and Geumsil together; and Coredillo was in his power as well. Almost unbelievably, the first Witching War saw Terminallia rising against the central government for the third time in two generations. Basing their efforts in Collorio Lon, Lord Martio sent troops around the southern end of the Sea of Trials. This meant marching through Milosian lands, but the lands in question were both poorly populated and heavily influenced by the Old Faith. Most of Martio’s forces were not only unopposed, but actively supported by the few Milosians they encountered. This also allowed them to attack from out of the underpopulated areas of southern Westheart, where very little defense was possible. In this way, Lord Martio was able to bring most of Zenedras’ army straight to Vargano with no serious opposition, while Vincet's forces remained split between Vargano and Coredillo (the latter intended to defend against attacks from Geumsil that would never come). Although Vargano was well defended at this point in history, Zenedras still managed to gain access through the walls and into the city proper. Most say that guardsmen loyal to his cause let him in, but there are many and diverse rumors of him using witchcraft to bypass the walls. Regardless, Lord Martio led the King’s forces through the streets, minimizing civilian casualties and sacking, and invested the Palace proper. Vincet's supporters from the Table surrendered in rapid succession, except Vincet himself, his Princess Elat, and King Ardmor of the Shadowveil. All three were thrown into separate dungeons. Lord Martio gained assurances from King Ardmor’s heir, then executed Ardmor for treason; the new King of Shadowveil swore fealty to Zenedras along with everyone else. Vincet and Elat would remain in the dungeons. True to his word, Zenedras wed the Mortal Princess Olianne of Gemosia, and their first son Orromir was promised to the Mortal Princess Claria of Albanesca. Despite all fears, Zenedras’ rule began very peacefully. He sent forces into the Viper's Nest and Embelmadro to continue taming the wild north, he established permanent ambassadorships to Zalja, Khabar, and Vaina, and his Queen Olianne became an active patron of the arts, which greatly improved common support. Further, Zenedras took advantage of a loophole in the Code of Benicent, which allowed him to force lower taxes on the commoners while also funneling a greater percentage of those taxes through the Mortal Kings into the King of Kings' coffers. This caused much grumbling, but fear of his witchery (and fear of his greatest zealot, Lord Martio) kept the Mortal Kings in line. Zenedras further reordered the Gilded Table to weekly meetings. Like Remos, Zenedras lacked his father’s skill for molding heirs into supporters, but he still had fear on his side. For his chief counselors, he selected the brother to the Prince of Hosts and Lord Martio’s young nephew, Prince Tierro. By and large, the realm became reconciled to his rule. It was not until 55 NA that Princess Elat finally agreed to confess: the writ of attainder against King Zenedras, allegedly spelt on Remos' deathbed, was a forgery. Neither Vincet nor Lord Martio were spellers, so she confessed to the act herself, and begged mercy for her husband and their children (who had been imprisoned in apartments since Zenedras took the city). Martio advocated strongly for executing Elat, but Queen Olianne moved the King toward mercy. Zenedras confined Elat with her children. It was less than a year before they escaped imprisonment and fled. This would lead to the Second Witch War in 57 NA, when Elat reemerged. Her daughter Harriette and two sons, Irvad and Ben, returned claiming usurpation and wrongful imprisonment. Supporting them was an incredible fifteen Khabarese paladins and their adherents, numbering nearly seven-thousand. The Vargano guard alone dwarfed this number, but Khabarese steel was vastly superior to city guard equipment, and paladins were said to surpass the training of any Monosi hosterman or war leader. They brought siege engines of Khabarese pine banded with Zaljan steel: fearsome instruments. They invested the city and demanded the release of Prince Vincet and the abdication of King Zenedras. What Elat’s forces lacked, however, was sea power. They were unable to close the harbor, so while they might harry the ships, they could not cut off Vargano's supplies entirely. Elat responded by sending emissaries into Zalja, who would eventually return with a retinue that would change eastern history: Zaljan wizards. These folk bore a magic that was entirely different from the natural magic that had defined both northern and eastern Kynaj. Their magic came from stones mined out of the earth. Specifically, the wizards brought something called Fool’s Fire: small, oily yellow stones that were highly explosive. Using these, they were able to utterly destroy ships entering or leaving Vargano's piers. It was less than a week before word spread of this destructive new weapon, and ships steered clear. Until one night, when one of the few remaining ships tried to sail out of the harbor. It was hit with Fool’s Fire quickly, and the flames caught onto the harbor and the city itself. Half of Vargano burned down that night. Worse yet, it was soon discovered that King Zenedras had been on the ship that had sunk. He had become enamored of this new magic and wanted to learn more of it. Fortunately, Zenedras was among the few survivors of the explosion. He was taken by Khabarese forces and brought before the walls of Vargano. Lord Martio brought Prince Vincet up to the walls and threatened to throw him off if the King was not returned at once. The Prince had become a skeletal waste in captivity, but Elat’s love was such that she agreed to trade the King for the Prince. Called the Lovers’ Compromise, this tradeoff would result in the death of Lord Martio, as well as Elat’s son Ben. To this day, it remains unclear who first broke the peace. Regardless, Zenedras was returned to Vargano, the Khabarese joined Elat, and the rebels vanished back into @Khabar with their paladins and adherents. Zenedras’ reign would take a sharp downturn after this. He became obsessed with Zaljan magic. He sent thousands of prisoners and peasants into the mines to dig deeper, but thousands of deaths yielded no such magics; meanwhile, huge swathes of Vargano were left burnt and destroyed. He ordered vast forays into the Shadowgates themselves, but none returned. On six separate occasions he tried to flee his own palace and run off into Zalja, but each time he was stopped. Queen Olianne became melancholy and despondent. Zenedras welcomed bizarre hostesses and hosterman from Acciano: furtive, secretive, almost inhuman acolytes of the Old Faith that had never before left the Holy City, now roamed the capitol unchecked. Rumors abounded of blood rituals, new and maddening spells from ancient times, and children being kidnapped and enslaved, or worse, in the name of their evil sect. The commonwealth turned against the Old Faith with a fervor not seen since the Terror, and without Lord Martio to guide him, Zenedras largely ignored his nation as he spiraled into madness. Queen Olianne took her own life in the late Winter of 61 NA, leaping from the very window from which Princess Ernesta had fallen to her death not a century prior. Many attributed this to her melancholy, but many more blamed the death on evil humors or even magical assassination from many of the sorceresses and sorcerers that stalked the city. As for Zenedras, he seemed almost not to know who she was when her death was reported to him. Unless the subject was magic, it was said the King could not hear you. When Vincet and Elat and their surviving children returned in 66 NA with eleven Khabarese paladins, six-thousand adherents, and more Zaljan wizards, it was said the King’s eyes shined with delight. Zenedras’ chief counselors (Prince Tierro and now his uncle Lord Relio) were both great members of the Terminal royal family, and the nation had been firmly in the hands of Terminallia for at least half a decade. So when the King once again attempted to flee the palace and meet the Zaljan wizards, Prince Tierro had him restrained in his apartments, where he would remain for the rest of his life, and assumed the rule. Tierro met with Vincet to insist that the Zaljans' magics not be used against the harbor again, but Vincet flatly refused. He and Elat insisted that Remos had attainted Zenedras on his deathbed, and that only the King’s deposal would return peace to the land. Another siege set in. During the five months of the siege, Zenedras attempted escape four more times. He was heard screaming for release both night and day, and once it was even discovered that he had broken his head open banging it against a wall. Miraculously, he did not die, and he was allowed to be visited by a pair of hostess-sorcerers named Margery and Bella, who claimed to be skilled in healing magics. Their efficacy was unclear, but the king did not die, and the sorceresses were allowed to attend him in durance. It was soon after this, in the late Winter, that Zenedras’ second son Feredo fell sick. Although it seemed a Winter fever to all observers, rumors flew fast that Zenedras’ witches were sending evil spirits out against the boy. The commonwealth of Vargano began to rise up against “the Witch Lord.” Terminallia's own reputation with the Old Faith meant Prince Tierro and his allies were implicated as well, and the Mortal Princes of Gemosia and Westheart seized this opportunity. They sent agents out to Vincet's encampment to secure an agreement to allow food to enter the harbor, assuring the Prince that the city was rising up in his favor and would support his claim if he let them eat. Sure enough, less than a month after ships began entering the harbor again, the princes of Gemosia and Westheart led a rebellion in which the commonwealth seized the city gates and opened them to Vincet's forces. They quickly took the city. Although Vincet now controlled Vargano, Zenedras would remain king in name for over a year, confined to his rooms though he was. Vincet scoured up the speller Lerena and imprisoned her. It was another four months before the speller confessed that Remos had indeed attainted Zenedras on his deathbed. It would be almost a year before the Gilded Table, the Prince of Hosts, and the greater lords all conceded to have Zenedras dethroned, and Vincet refused to act until all major parties were in accord. He would not be remembered as a usurper. In the Spring of 68 NA, Prince Vincet, Princess Elat, their eldest son Irvad (they now had an infant son named Jon, who would die of Winter fever three years later), and the princes of Gemosia and Westheart entered King Zenedras’ apartments to seize him. The chambers had devolved into a festering pit of evil. Foul potions were everywhere, and bizarre magical instruments were scattered, many broken, and the entire place was filthy and unkempt. It was said they discovered the King in lewd congress with both witches, though these were likely mere rumors. After all his escape attempts, Zenedras now refused to be removed from his apartments, and his heart gave out during the struggle. Prince Vincet was crowned in Vargano the next day by his wife Elat.
[052 NA – 068 NA] Zenedras’ coronation began the Witching Wars: three civil wars that would last from his coronation to his death. Zenedras surprised no one when he emerged from his coronation on the eastern banks in Terminallia, then rode to Collorio Lon to strike his banners again. Terminallia and Acciano rose for him at once, which were expected, but he won a surprising coup when Gemosia came to his cause. Zenedras agreed to wed the daughter of Gemosia's king. Even more remarkable, he promised their firstborn son to the next daughter of the king of Albanesca, before even being wed, and managed to win the northerly region to his cause as well. In this way, the King had secured a significant bloc of support. With both Gemosia and Terminallia, he controlled all leather production, and Gemosia's capitol of Geumsil was of great economic and political significance, having frequently been the nation’s capital. Albanesca would prove far less important, but it helped his cause that all eastern kingdoms had risen for him. Most significant was Acciano itself. Despite its deep involvement with the Old Faith, and its connection to witchery, Acciano remained the religious capitol of the nation: this would invariably lead most of the commonwealth to assume the Hosts were on Zenedras’ side. Nevertheless, Prince Vincet “the Usurper” had great assets as well. He controlled all the nation’s mines through Westheart and the Shadowveil, the nation’s two ports through Farfield Kingdom, and the Capitol of Vargano was rapidly becoming a greater economic power than Coredillo and Geumsil together; and Coredillo was in his power as well. Almost unbelievably, the first Witching War saw Terminallia rising against the central government for the third time in two generations. Basing their efforts in Collorio Lon, Lord Martio sent troops around the southern end of the Sea of Trials. This meant marching through Milosian lands, but the lands in question were both poorly populated and heavily influenced by the Old Faith. Most of Martio’s forces were not only unopposed, but actively supported by the few Milosians they encountered. This also allowed them to attack from out of the underpopulated areas of southern Westheart, where very little defense was possible. In this way, Lord Martio was able to bring most of Zenedras’ army straight to Vargano with no serious opposition, while Vincet's forces remained split between Vargano and Coredillo (the latter intended to defend against attacks from Geumsil that would never come). Although Vargano was well defended at this point in history, Zenedras still managed to gain access through the walls and into the city proper. Most say that guardsmen loyal to his cause let him in, but there are many and diverse rumors of him using witchcraft to bypass the walls. Regardless, Lord Martio led the King’s forces through the streets, minimizing civilian casualties and sacking, and invested the Palace proper. Vincet's supporters from the Table surrendered in rapid succession, except Vincet himself, his Princess Elat, and King Ardmor of the Shadowveil. All three were thrown into separate dungeons. Lord Martio gained assurances from King Ardmor’s heir, then executed Ardmor for treason; the new King of Shadowveil swore fealty to Zenedras along with everyone else. Vincet and Elat would remain in the dungeons. True to his word, Zenedras wed the Mortal Princess Olianne of Gemosia, and their first son Orromir was promised to the Mortal Princess Claria of Albanesca. Despite all fears, Zenedras’ rule began very peacefully. He sent forces into the Viper's Nest and Embelmadro to continue taming the wild north, he established permanent ambassadorships to Zalja, Khabar, and Vaina, and his Queen Olianne became an active patron of the arts, which greatly improved common support. Further, Zenedras took advantage of a loophole in the Code of Benicent, which allowed him to force lower taxes on the commoners while also funneling a greater percentage of those taxes through the Mortal Kings into the King of Kings' coffers. This caused much grumbling, but fear of his witchery (and fear of his greatest zealot, Lord Martio) kept the Mortal Kings in line. Zenedras further reordered the Gilded Table to weekly meetings. Like Remos, Zenedras lacked his father’s skill for molding heirs into supporters, but he still had fear on his side. For his chief counselors, he selected the brother to the Prince of Hosts and Lord Martio’s young nephew, Prince Tierro. By and large, the realm became reconciled to his rule. It was not until 55 NA that Princess Elat finally agreed to confess: the writ of attainder against King Zenedras, allegedly spelt on Remos' deathbed, was a forgery. Neither Vincet nor Lord Martio were spellers, so she confessed to the act herself, and begged mercy for her husband and their children (who had been imprisoned in apartments since Zenedras took the city). Martio advocated strongly for executing Elat, but Queen Olianne moved the King toward mercy. Zenedras confined Elat with her children. It was less than a year before they escaped imprisonment and fled. This would lead to the Second Witch War in 57 NA, when Elat reemerged. Her daughter Harriette and two sons, Irvad and Ben, returned claiming usurpation and wrongful imprisonment. Supporting them was an incredible fifteen Khabarese paladins and their adherents, numbering nearly seven-thousand. The Vargano guard alone dwarfed this number, but Khabarese steel was vastly superior to city guard equipment, and paladins were said to surpass the training of any Monosi hosterman or war leader. They brought siege engines of Khabarese pine banded with Zaljan steel: fearsome instruments. They invested the city and demanded the release of Prince Vincet and the abdication of King Zenedras. What Elat’s forces lacked, however, was sea power. They were unable to close the harbor, so while they might harry the ships, they could not cut off Vargano's supplies entirely. Elat responded by sending emissaries into Zalja, who would eventually return with a retinue that would change eastern history: Zaljan wizards. These folk bore a magic that was entirely different from the natural magic that had defined both northern and eastern Kynaj. Their magic came from stones mined out of the earth. Specifically, the wizards brought something called Fool’s Fire: small, oily yellow stones that were highly explosive. Using these, they were able to utterly destroy ships entering or leaving Vargano's piers. It was less than a week before word spread of this destructive new weapon, and ships steered clear. Until one night, when one of the few remaining ships tried to sail out of the harbor. It was hit with Fool’s Fire quickly, and the flames caught onto the harbor and the city itself. Half of Vargano burned down that night. Worse yet, it was soon discovered that King Zenedras had been on the ship that had sunk. He had become enamored of this new magic and wanted to learn more of it. Fortunately, Zenedras was among the few survivors of the explosion. He was taken by Khabarese forces and brought before the walls of Vargano. Lord Martio brought Prince Vincet up to the walls and threatened to throw him off if the King was not returned at once. The Prince had become a skeletal waste in captivity, but Elat’s love was such that she agreed to trade the King for the Prince. Called the Lovers’ Compromise, this tradeoff would result in the death of Lord Martio, as well as Elat’s son Ben. To this day, it remains unclear who first broke the peace. Regardless, Zenedras was returned to Vargano, the Khabarese joined Elat, and the rebels vanished back into @Khabar with their paladins and adherents. Zenedras’ reign would take a sharp downturn after this. He became obsessed with Zaljan magic. He sent thousands of prisoners and peasants into the mines to dig deeper, but thousands of deaths yielded no such magics; meanwhile, huge swathes of Vargano were left burnt and destroyed. He ordered vast forays into the Shadowgates themselves, but none returned. On six separate occasions he tried to flee his own palace and run off into Zalja, but each time he was stopped. Queen Olianne became melancholy and despondent. Zenedras welcomed bizarre hostesses and hosterman from Acciano: furtive, secretive, almost inhuman acolytes of the Old Faith that had never before left the Holy City, now roamed the capitol unchecked. Rumors abounded of blood rituals, new and maddening spells from ancient times, and children being kidnapped and enslaved, or worse, in the name of their evil sect. The commonwealth turned against the Old Faith with a fervor not seen since the Terror, and without Lord Martio to guide him, Zenedras largely ignored his nation as he spiraled into madness. Queen Olianne took her own life in the late Winter of 61 NA, leaping from the very window from which Princess Ernesta had fallen to her death not a century prior. Many attributed this to her melancholy, but many more blamed the death on evil humors or even magical assassination from many of the sorceresses and sorcerers that stalked the city. As for Zenedras, he seemed almost not to know who she was when her death was reported to him. Unless the subject was magic, it was said the King could not hear you. When Vincet and Elat and their surviving children returned in 66 NA with eleven Khabarese paladins, six-thousand adherents, and more Zaljan wizards, it was said the King’s eyes shined with delight. Zenedras’ chief counselors (Prince Tierro and now his uncle Lord Relio) were both great members of the Terminal royal family, and the nation had been firmly in the hands of Terminallia for at least half a decade. So when the King once again attempted to flee the palace and meet the Zaljan wizards, Prince Tierro had him restrained in his apartments, where he would remain for the rest of his life, and assumed the rule. Tierro met with Vincet to insist that the Zaljans' magics not be used against the harbor again, but Vincet flatly refused. He and Elat insisted that Remos had attainted Zenedras on his deathbed, and that only the King’s deposal would return peace to the land. Another siege set in. During the five months of the siege, Zenedras attempted escape four more times. He was heard screaming for release both night and day, and once it was even discovered that he had broken his head open banging it against a wall. Miraculously, he did not die, and he was allowed to be visited by a pair of hostess-sorcerers named Margery and Bella, who claimed to be skilled in healing magics. Their efficacy was unclear, but the king did not die, and the sorceresses were allowed to attend him in durance. It was soon after this, in the late Winter, that Zenedras’ second son Feredo fell sick. Although it seemed a Winter fever to all observers, rumors flew fast that Zenedras’ witches were sending evil spirits out against the boy. The commonwealth of Vargano began to rise up against “the Witch Lord.” Terminallia's own reputation with the Old Faith meant Prince Tierro and his allies were implicated as well, and the Mortal Princes of Gemosia and Westheart seized this opportunity. They sent agents out to Vincet's encampment to secure an agreement to allow food to enter the harbor, assuring the Prince that the city was rising up in his favor and would support his claim if he let them eat. Sure enough, less than a month after ships began entering the harbor again, the princes of Gemosia and Westheart led a rebellion in which the commonwealth seized the city gates and opened them to Vincet's forces. They quickly took the city. Although Vincet now controlled Vargano, Zenedras would remain king in name for over a year, confined to his rooms though he was. Vincet scoured up the speller Lerena and imprisoned her. It was another four months before the speller confessed that Remos had indeed attainted Zenedras on his deathbed. It would be almost a year before the Gilded Table, the Prince of Hosts, and the greater lords all conceded to have Zenedras dethroned, and Vincet refused to act until all major parties were in accord. He would not be remembered as a usurper. In the Spring of 68 NA, Prince Vincet, Princess Elat, their eldest son Irvad (they now had an infant son named Jon, who would die of Winter fever three years later), and the princes of Gemosia and Westheart entered King Zenedras’ apartments to seize him. The chambers had devolved into a festering pit of evil. Foul potions were everywhere, and bizarre magical instruments were scattered, many broken, and the entire place was filthy and unkempt. It was said they discovered the King in lewd congress with both witches, though these were likely mere rumors. After all his escape attempts, Zenedras now refused to be removed from his apartments, and his heart gave out during the struggle. Prince Vincet was crowned in Vargano the next day by his wife Elat.
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