Escrin, the Last Triton

WIP - Summer Camp 2023

Escrin had been triton of the Mareni Empire (Tritonate?) for twenty two years when it finally shattered in 3184 EA. His reign was marred with hardship, but his actions ensured that, although the Empire fell, the descendents of the Maren people would continue to survive.
Escrin was rather handsome by Mareni standards, with tanned skin, fiery orange scales and long golden hair. Like most tritons, he had multiple wives, a trio of merfolk women that are often considered to be the true power behind the throne.
About a decade into his reign, things began to go wrong for the Mareni Empire, with unusually cold temperatures leading to food shortages across the Sinien Ocean. Escrin led by example, instituting empire-wide rationing to ensure all citizens got enough food to survive. This was more successful in some places than in others, depending who was in charge of the settlement and therefore the parcelling out of food. Just as the Empire was stablising, it was hit by a devastating plague that swept across the ocean and wiped out seventy percent of the population in just five years, including two of Escrin's wives and all of his children.
After the plague had passed, opportunistic attacks from neighbouring powers began to happen on Mareni settlements. Escrin rallied the people of the empire to the city of Erevenor, sending out people to gather anyone who would come. Many refused to leave their homes, but the rest all converged on Erevenor.
The city of Erevenor remained the last remnant of the Mareni Empire for just over a decade before it was besieged by the Bascar people, who wanted to take the city for themselves. To ensure the survival of his remaining people, Escrin surrendered, giving over the city in return for the lives of his citizens. Escrin himself was imprisoned, along with his remaining wife, and they were publically executed two years later. Due to Escrin's surrender, however, the remaining Mareni were allowed to stay in their homes and continue to live in the city, as long they bowed to their new ruler and followed the new laws.