Panmorn

"The difference between a wise and a brave king is, that the wise king has lived long enough to gain his wisdom."

Written by Elvenbeard

King Panmorn Panthil'y (a.k.a. Panmorn Saratheas'y)

Panmorn is a Iovana of Ivendarea, the monarch of the Nyr, the lonely ruler sitting on a makeshift throne in Panthil on the isolated island of Maan Garth. The successor to his late soulmate Rava, he is a reluctant ruler who avoids conflict whenever possible. He is the father of Breella and Adoven, and the son-in-law to former Iovana Brestine, who is part of his current Council of Elders.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Childhood in Saratheas

Panmorn was born as the only child to Kestria and Valis of Saratheas. Kestria, a noblewoman and architect, was born and raised in the temple city, Valis was originally from the island city Panthil and of the much less prestigious background of a merchant. Panmorn's given name was considered unusual at the time, meaning "longing for solitude", but Panmorn himself never considered it ill-fitting or sad, as he had been told by his peers before. He did indeed find himself enjoying the silence of reading and study more than straying far from his family's home or indulging in the city's nightlife activities. He always picked his friends carefully, but felt unending love and loyalty for them.
In the year Panmorn turned 40, still more a child than a young adult, the assadin prince Zerenda and his troups invaded Ivendarea. King Fannyel was slain, and panic spread throughout the lands. Thousands fled to Maan Garth, following queen Ylla and her daughter Brestine, but Panmorn's parents wanted to stand firm for their community and remained in Saratheas for the time being. Panmorn himself withdrew even more, not certain what to think of the country's new situation, afraid of the things that were to come.
Initially things calmed down, but then the biggest catastrophe Panmorn had yet to witness in his young life was about to happen. The Cleansing of Saratheas as it was later known, came upon them. When the city walls fell, Panmorn's parents saw no other way but to flee for their lives, leaving everything behind. Their escape came close to a miracle - together with only a handful of friends and their respective families they managed to find a way out of the city unseen, using the subterranean network of sewers and natural caves below the city.
Returning was impossible, and so Panmorn and his family spent the next year living exiled in the wilds, until they received the one-time opportunity from an old friend of Valis to accompany them on a ship to Panthil. Technically as illegal stowaways they left the Ivendarean Mainland - and Panmorn's parents should never set foot on it again.

Youth and Apprenticeship on Maan Garth

Establishing a new life on Maan Garth was difficult, as the island, particularly Panthil, was overflowing with refugees. Panmorn's father found work at the harbour as the assistant of the harbourmaster. Panmorn's mother initially tried to work as an architect again, but had trouble with finding work in the field she was most experienced in: temple gardens and noble's housing. If there was one thing Panthil lacked, it was space for elaborate architecture. The sewer system desperately needed to be upgraded though, and after a couple of years Kestria had managed to use her knowledge of the channels and sewers of Saratheas to improve the waterflow in Panthil as well.
Panmorn struggled with fitting in. He started several apprenticeships that he all gave up on again, until a powerful mage with the name Talaasa noticed his talents and took him under his wing as an apprentice. Panmorn enjoyed the study and training with Talaasa immensely, and after almost 50 years on Panthil he finally started to feel truly at home. This was the year he officially started calling himself Panmorn Panthil'y, instead of Saratheas'y. Talaasa also had connections to the royal family and eventually became an advisor in queen Brestine's council as she seized the throne.
Through Talaasa is how Panmorn also got a glimpse into the world of the royal family. Many years later Talaasa brought him and his family along to the celebration of princess Rava's 200th birthday. Panmorn's father had meanwhile become the harbourmaster himself and Kestria had made a name and an engineer that was not unknown to the queen.

Relationship with Rava

Panmorn was significantly older than Rava when they first met during this celebration, but still the two immediately felt a connection to each other. They met many times in the following months, and only a few years later announced their engagement. Panmorn truly felt like the luckiest man alive, and he and Rava spent almost all the free time they had together.
Meanwhile Panmorn had surpassed Talaasa in his powers, and when his old mentor resigned from the queen's council, Panmorn was offered the position instead. He kindly refused, instead focusing fully on his study and training, and following Talaasa's example of teaching young talented mages from difficult backgrounds. He was just as surprised and shocked as most of the inhabitants of Maan Garth, when Brestine resigned, by that giving the throne to Rava. Initially not much changed for Panmorn, apart from now definitely getting more involved with the politics of the nation, learning about conflicts he hadn't even known of until then - and also that Saratheas was still not considered safe for the Nyr, even after all this time. He had never spoken much about his past on the mainland in Rava's presence, not wanting to upset her or drive her away. But he decided to tell her about his experiences during the Cleansing, the fear, the terror he witnessed. When Rava and her friends Aella and Pirc began to speak of revolution though, Panmorn was taken aback - he was convinced that bloodshed would only lead to more pain and suffering. And there were two more reasons as to why he pressed his wife to remain peaceful: their children Breella and Adoven.
Breella was the firstborn of the royal couple, and from the first day a true joy to her proud father. She was a bright child, curious, and fast-learning. Panmorn noticed quickly that while she did inhibit magical powers, they would most likely never be as strong as his own. The thought scared him at first, and he was afraid that he might have nothing to teach her, but his fears were unfounded. Breella loved him dearly, and knowledge about magic wasn't everything he had to give. Unconditional love, loyalty, pride of Breella's own accomplishments, support, wisdom from experiences, good and bad, everything he had lived through he could use to raise his daughter into a smart and independant person. Adoven on the other hand was nearly overflowing with magic, even at a young age, and Panmorn had all hands full with keeping the stubborn child under control. He loved him dearly, just as much as Breella, but he defintiely made him shake his head a lot more often, both in amazement and worry.

Role in the Revolution War

Rava was always there for the children too - but she also had to be there for her country, for her people, and in the end she made the choice that without a significant change on the Ivendarean Mainland neither of them would have a bright future. She agreed to a risky plan brought to her by Pirc and Aella, who had connections to a resistance movement on the mainland, despite Panmorn's pleading to not trust their plan. Aella in particular had a reputation of being objective and efficient, but she was cold and Panmorn had never been able to fully trust her intentions.
The day Rava left the island to fight in a rebellion against king Alund was one of the worst of Panmorn's life. He remained in Panthil, with Breella and Adoven, who were both still so young, should something happen to their mother, they wouldn't be able to remember her, he feared. Rava's mother Brestine, who had also disapproved of her daughter's plans, stood at Panmorn's side. His own parents had passed a few years ago, dying peacefully in their sleep, one after the other. Rava, his children, and Brestine were his family now.
Then the worst happened. Rava fell at the Battle of Maan Ganyr, the conflict that should suffocate the rebellion once and for all. A stinging pain went through Panmorn's heart the moment she died, he could feel her life fading and her soul leaving this world. In his anger and pain he moved the tower of Avon Maan, located at the center of Maan Ganyr and the place where he had last felt Rava's presence, to Maan Garth. It was an act of magic unseen so far in the nyr's history, the gigantic building appearing out of thin air at the borders of the city of Panthil. With his deed Panmorn not only saved the lives of the soldiers who were in the tower at the time, he also brought his wife back home to her final resting place. The remaining army at Maan Ganyr was slaughtered and the spiritual site ransacked and destroyed by Alund's soldiers. Right after transporting the tower, Panmorn used his remaining power to create a magical barrier around the island, that would prevent anyone with Assadin blood from ever entering it again. Invisible and deadly it was a trap Alund didn't see coming when he tried to conquer Maan Garth, and he lost a whole battalion of ships and soldiers who crashed into the invisible wall and were immediately pulverized.
Panmorn fell into a deep sleep that lasted a whole month, completely drained by the exhaustion the teleportation spell and raising of the barrier had brought with it. The people of Maan Garth were worried, without leader, trapped in their own home, and Alund leaving them to their fate after failing to tear the barrier down. Brestine, still well-respected, took over the duties of the monarch again while Panmorn was asleep.
When he awoke, realizing fully what had happened, he fell into a deep depression.

A reluctant King

Breella was still a small child, way too young to rule. Brestine had officially given up on the throne before Rava had seized it, and the Council pressed her to find a new ruler to replace her daughter, since neither Rava's children nor her husband seemed fit. But Brestine insisted that Panmorn should seize the throne - he had basically already reigned at Rava's side and influenced her decisions, he was fit to rule, if only he would pull himself together. Panmorn was more reluctant than ever. He wanted neither the responsibility nor the power that came with the throne. But Brestine eventually managed to convince him: if he didn't want to do it for Ivendarea, he should at least do it for Rava and his children, making it much more likely and possible for Breella or Adoven to seize the throne as soon as they became adults, if he seized the throne while it was vacant.
Panmorn has ever since been sitting on the throne of Panthil, reluctant in making big decisions, always thinking things through three times. Never daring too much, but still making sure justice is served well. Most of the inhabitants of the island are happy with his way of government, although some think he doesn't think far ahead enough. On the mainland his reputation has worsened with every passing year - the nyr in particular who still hope for a new revolution think that he abandoned them in favour of his small island kingdom, leaving them to rot under assadin rule.

Education

Private Education

• Received a private education in history, math, physics, magical theory, art
• Learned reading, writing, basic etiquette, and riding from his mother
• Has basic knowledge in sailing and navigation from books his father owned

Protégé of Master Talaasa

• Lessons in magical theory and ethics
• Intense mental training of focus, inner balance, and channeling magical energy
• Training in a broad range of magical schools and techniques, among them telekinesis, teleportation, mind control, and elemental magic

Employment

Apprenticeships and other places of work in Panthil

• Apprenticeship at a Pharmacy (quit after 1 month)
• Apprenticeship at a Goldsmith (quit after 3 months)
• Harbour worker (quit after 3 days)
• Tailor's assisstant (quit after 5 weeks)
• Archivist's assisstant (was fired after 2 months, because he was repeatedly caught reading instead of working)

Mentor for young Mages
Following in Master Talaasa's footsteps, Panmorn was a mentor for young mages for several years, teaching them how Talaasa had tought him and sharing some of his own tricks and insights. He particularly had an interest in helping out the children of refugees and less priviliged families. After his coronation following Rava's death he had less and less time for his activities as a mentor and currently can't teach anymore.

Accomplishments & Achievements

• Survived the Cleansing of Saratheas
• Surpassed his mentor in his skills
• Married princess Rava of Panthil
• Has 2 children
• Is the only known living person to have teleported an entire building including the people inside across an immense distance of several hundred kilometers
• is the creator of the magical barrier between the mainland and Maan Garth that has been kept up since Rava's death
• Was crowned king of Ivendarea despite not being a member of the royal bloodline dating back to the first king; this happened before, but is rare

Failures & Embarrassments

• has been incapable of keeping a regular paying job for longer than 3 months
• was fired from the one job he truly enjoyed because he couldn't stick to the rules
• could not prevent his wife from running into her own demise
• he is considered a weak king due to his inactivity in the rebellion by many nyr on the mainland

Mental Trauma

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder following the Cleansing of Saratheas
Depression following Rava's death

Social

Family Ties

Husband of late Queen Rava
Father of Princess Breella and Prince Adoven
Son of late Harbourmaster Valis and late Royal Architect Kestria of Saratheas
Son-in-law of Brestine, formerly Queen of Ivendarea

Current Location

Panthil

Species

Nyr

Ethnicity

Sylai

Honorary & Occupational Titles

King of Ivendarea

Currently Held Titles

• Iovana

Year of Birth

40 EE 567 Years old

Birthplace

Saratheas

Current Residence

Panthil

Eyes

dark purple iris with dark grey sclera

Hair

long, straight, pitch black

Height

176 cm

Weight

80 kg

Aligned Organization

Kingdom of Ivendarea

Ruled Locations

• Maan Garth
• Panthil