King Adair I, known throughout his reign as the Young in spite of reaching 63 years of age, was the fourth king of Eremere. He ascended to the throne at the age of 11, earning his name, following the death of his grandfather Midah II and the earlier death of his father,
Prince Beryn. His first reign was short-lived, however, as his throne was stolen from him by his uncle
Varun I. A decade later, a successful revolt saw Adair back on the throne which led to a period of renewed prosperity for Eremere.
Adair is responsible for creating the cadet branch of
House Ravenwood, granting it to his bastard half-brother
Ulfred as thanks for his aid during the Nephews' Revolt.
Early Life and Deposition
Adair was the firstborn legitimate son of Prince Beryn, son and heir apparent of King Midah II. Adair's mother was Jessalyn Longbrook, a lady from Thendanor. While he enjoyed a healthy childhood, his parents suffered an unhealthy marriage, with each conducting various affairs. Beryn famously lived hedonistically, his nights incomplete without a visit to a pub, a brothel, and a gamblers' den. As a result, Adair spent a significant amount of his youth with his grandfather or his many illegitimate siblings, conceived from a mountain of Beryn's flings.
In 643, Beryn died aged thirty-five. While the record cites a short illness, rumours include syphilis, a tavern brawl, or even suicide. His death left Adair, then just four, as the heir to the aging King Midah.
When Midah died in 650, Adair succeeded him peacefully, with most of the realm swearing the customary allegiance to their new king. Two years into his reign, his uncle Prince Varun launched a palace coup, killing or imprisoning loyalists to Adair and attempting to slay all of Beryn's children as they slept. Thanks to the heroics of
Sir Lorent Langworthy, the lord sentinel, on the steps of the Chamber of Heirs, Adair and his half-brother Ulfred escaped. Their siblings were not so lucky. They fled to live in exile, biding their time until they could reclaim Adair's throne.
Life in Exile
The new King Varun, posthumously styled 'the Usurper', launched a policy of intimidation against his new vassals, often taking relatives as guests - in reality they were hostages. The exiled king and his brother feared capture at every turn, unable to reveal their identities to anyone.
After four years living under aliases, the brothers approached Lord Neros Langworthy, Earl of Branley, whose brother Lorent had died so Adair and Ulfred could escape. An outspoken opponent of Varun, his attempts to build a faction in Adair's name had been stunted by the unknown whereabouts of the boy king. With Adair now safe in his hands, they began to prepare for revolt.
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