King Ealwin Droverson

King of Orthond

Introduction Ealwin Droverson is the current King of Orthond, and is the eldest son of former Queen Devondra of House Droverson and Ernard of House Quinte. As the firstborn of the Crown Princess at the time, Ealwin was, just like his mother before him, raised from birth to become the ruler of Orthond. Both before she was a Queen as well as during her time of ruling Devondra took personal care of her oldest son and was also responsible for his training to become a king. They were often seen together in public, and many believe the mother and son were very close. Ealwin was also known to look up to his grandfather, “The Brave King”, Ewis Droverson. Ewis was known as an honourable ruler and a brave man, which is why he decided to join The Theocracy of Dorothel and Orthond’s enemy, the Empire of Evadrin, in their war against Ellorwis, the realm of chans. Against all council, Ewis personally joined the fight and led armies. Orthond played a pivotal role in that war, and is partly responsible for Ellorwis’ defeat. The cost for the Kingdom was high however, as their king died in battle. Ealwin’s mother, Devondra, became the next ruler of Orthond as their queen, and after a rather difficult and tumultuous rule she unfortunately died in the year 481 of the Fifth Age. The cause of death was a painful and lingering disease that is believed to have originated from the Dismal March. Despite the best efforts of the most powerful healers in the Kingdom, none were able to provide a cure. Ealwin succeeded the throne after her death, although the loss of his mother hit him hard. Ealwin’s father, Ernard, is still alive, although many believe he has a better relationship with his other children than with the current King. Ealwin has two younger brothers and one younger sister. The oldest of his brothers, Ervert (born in the year 443 of the Fifth Age) died in the year 472 of the Fifth Age while leading an army defending the Kingdom during the Dismal March. Five years after Ealwin’s birth, his first and only sister, Thilda (born in the year 446 of the Fifth Age), would be born. And four more years later the youngest Droverson sibling, Andres (born in the year 450 of the Fifth Age) would see the light of day. There is not much information about Ealwin before his time as king other than the fact that he was often seen with his mother. During the times of the Dismal March however he followed in the path of the grandfather he admired so much and personally joined the war on the front lines where he proved himself as an impressive warrior. After the death of his brother Ealwin was forced to stay out of direct combat on orders of his mother. While he didn’t like it, he understood and respected the request. King When Ealwin became the King of Orthond in the year 481 of the Fifth Age it had been six years since the Dismal March was stopped, but that didn’t mean the damage had been repaired. Orthond’s entire northern region was all but destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people had died. Ealwin had been responsible for the efforts of rebuilding the north even before he became King, as his mother had grown too weak because of the disease to be able to continue all her duties, and he continued to work tirelessly on rebuilding the North after his coronation. To this day the restoration efforts take up the bulk of the King’s time, not simply because rebuilding the North is incredibly important (which it is), but also because the entire effort is a massive boost to economy and trade which the nation sorely needed after all the destruction. Ealwin, like most Orthondian Kings and Queens, does his best to not intervene too much into the daily lives of his citizens unless absolutely necessary. He does keep good track of all the reports of his Derhans however, as the King considers it absolutely necessary that all regions grow economically back to the levels they were at before the Dismal March, preferably much better even. Progress is slow, especially compared to its neighbour, the Empire of Evadrin, but the efforts are finally starting to pay off as the North is becoming liveable again. While there is a lot of scrutiny in Orthond about the internal governing of a King of Queen, there are slightly fewer concerns related to his or her external governing. Ealwin takes advantage of this to build up a good relationship with the Principality of Lothlorin. Many Orthondians praise their King for this, as Lothlorin has become a symbol to everyone on the continent of rebellion against The Empire of Evadrin. They consider support of Lothlorin as support for their independence, and thus support for their rebellion against the Empire. However, King Ealwin’s motives differ from those of his countrymen. While he dislikes the Empire of Evadrin, and with their alliance the Theocracy of Dorothel as well, Ealwin is still a Droverson, and the Droversons consider themselves an honourable and peace pursuing house. Instead his support of Lothlorin is one out of necessity for him, as his own people would never accept any kind of diplomatic relationships with either the Empire or the Theocracy. When Dorothel and Evadrin entered the alliance, the Droversons wanted to continue working together with Dorothel as they had been for centuries. However, commoners and nobles alike made it clear they would not accept this. They considered Dorothel a traitor, and all contact with them should cease immediately. Despite Queen Devondra’s best efforts a Lordsappeal was set up, and afterwards she was forced to end all diplomatic ties with Dorothel. King Ealwin was young when this happened, but he remembers it all very well. With Evadrin and Dorothel out of the question, Ellorwis being an even greater enemy, the Dominion being their reclusive mysterious selves, and the other nations being too far away to be able to have proper diplomatic relationships with, Lothlorin is the only nation left to work with. While Ealwin is sympathetic to their cause, he does fear that his diplomatic ties with them may at one point break the fragile peace that currently exists between Orthond and Evadrin. Trade however is required, as Orthond has resources that Lothlorin needs, and the Kingdom needs as much gold as possible to recover and rebuild. Princess Wynne, despite being very young, is very much aware that she doesn’t simply need Orthond however, but that Orthond needs her too. So far the relationship between both nations stays amicable, but Ealwin fears either Emperor Arryn Lancaster or Princess Wynne Astley is going to force him to choose a side sooner rather than later. There is also a lot of pressure on Ealwin from both commoners and the nobility to invest far more into the army. The Droversons pride themselves on their ability to maintain peace for Orthond, both internally and externally. They ended the internal conflicts that took place centuries ago, and war against Evadrin has been far less common than before they came to power. The last war against the empire ended 50 years ago, and a fragile peace has been in place ever since. However, the Droversons their will for peace is not shared by all nobles, and it is certainly not shared by most commoners. The Orthondians have slowly been growing more and more hungry for blood, and they see that the Empire of Evadrin is becoming stronger and stronger. They want action to be taken. Ealwin however, like most of his ancestors, does not believe Orthond is in a position anymore to be able to win a war against the Empire as they have simple grown too strong. The King tries his best to keep the populace happy without being aggressive towards the Empire. The restoration of the north gives him time. There he can safely invest in the army and defensive structures without having to worry that his neighbour sees this build-up as a prelude to war. The question whether Ealwin can convince his people that war is not worth it before he is forced to declare war during a Lordsappeal remains a big one however. Personality King Ealwin Droverson, like many Orthondians, love his nation and would do anything he can to protect it. Like most Droversons, he is believed to be an honourable man that wants to stay true to his word and his peaceful nature. Because there is a continuously growing pressure coming from the populace of Orthond to go back to war with Evadrin however, Ealwin is extremely conflicted between the will of his people on one side and his own beliefs in what is right for the Kingdom on the other. The burden of ruling his nation is also not made easier by the destruction caused by the Dismal March, which has been one of the biggest disasters in the Kingdom’s entire existence. While restorations are going well, the consequences of the Dismal March will be felt for many more years. While Ealwin is so far considered to be a good king by his people, he feels that the tension both in Orthond but also on the continent in general is growing. The peace-loving King fears that sooner rather than later another great war will begin. Despite being the leader of a great nation, Ealwin feels in this aspect very powerless and frustrated.