King Irodien of the Golden Aurora

Irodien of the Great House of the Golden Aurora (a.k.a. Irodien the Great)

King Irodien is by some considered the greatest genius and hero of the Folfmer race while by others the biggest villain. Obviously, those who see him as a hero, which I shall add is the more objective way of depicting him, are all the Anthromere peoples, but they are not alone in this view, as they share it alongside many, many others - the nations of the Central Continent, western Avian folk, just to name a few. And in that overwhelming idea of him as a hero, here we are, the Tsardom, seeing him as a villain. It's amazing for how long a whole nation can hold a grudge against someone who has done it great wrongs, even though it was it, not him, that was the aggressor and unrightfully claimed what was his. And even though in the end, it was it that got the last laugh. A Tsarist professor about the differing perception of Irodien and his deeds

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Early life

Born into the Great House of the Golden Aurora, he was the second son of king Leafried and queen Nicyel. However, after his older brother's sudden illness and death it was him who became the crown prince and thus the heir to the throne. With this heavy burden now upon him, he began meticulously preparing for the task that was ahead of him, of ruling an unstable nation, constantly threatened by its invasive neighbours. His childhood was because of this very shortlived, as the necessity of preparations and "growing up" became a life focus for him. With this dedication, he took up studies in the art of war and diplomacy, alongside the ways of administrating the country. His father was most pleased to see such strife for greatness and helped his son however he could, bringing teachers from across the kingdom and beyond to the court. The boy was clearly on a path of making his future kingdom something beyond his father could achieve.

Early years as king

After ascending to the throne at the age of 37, Irodien first prioritized reforming certain parts of the government and army structure. For the governmental part, the reforms mostly focused on expanding the reach of provincial administration through building up its infrastructure and increasing its number of officials, dividing them into more specialized groups. As for the military, Irodien understood that a well-organized command is key to winning a heated battle. He ordered for the chain of command to be restructured and for the command itself to be more spread out across a few, closely working together individuals. Additionally, a new conscription law was enacted, one that was more universal than previously. After these reforms took effect, Irodien looked outwards to his neighbours. His plan was to establish more cordial relations with a selected part of them, in hopes of ensuring their neutrality in his future plans of stabilizing his state through eliminating its outside rivals. This mostly succeeded thanks to both his personal charisma and the capable diplomatic cabinet he had selected for this task. With his rear secured and internal reforms implemented, Irodien could move on to the riskiest part of his ambitious plan of establishing his kingdom as a regional power - eliminating its primary rivals. In this he would far outdo himself, achieving something that shook the Central and Eastern Continents.

Eliminating rivals and the "War of the Burning Aurora"

The first on the chopping block was an aggressive kingdom to the south. Through cunning politics he managed to provoke them into declaring an offensive war, resulting in an overall lack of interest in siding with either side from the neighbouring states. One on one, the Folfmerian army got the better of the fighting and emerged victorious from the one-year long war. The resulting peace expanded Irodien's reach of influence, as well as got him quite considerable territorial gains. However this victory had a large drawback - other Folfmerian rivals realized they were in potential danger. Because of this, one kingdom in particular, Naverkhu, got itself into a secret alliance with the continental power of the Daoinian Empire. They were waiting for a good opportunity to get a foothold on the Central Continent for a longer while and saw this as the ideal way of somehow getting into a war that could get them territory there, without acting as the agrressor. This deal remained in secrecy up until the unfortunate political assault from the Folfmer who boldly declared war after their first victory.
Now the Empire suddenly stepped in to defend their secret ally, causing widespread panic within the Folfmerian government, society and army. Irodien suffered a nervous breakdown after receiving the news of the imperial intervention. He was now in a war with one of the most powerful nations on Aon with no one to back him up. After he recovered from the initial shock, he knew that unless the Folfmerian army could somehow win a decisive victory there would be no hope of negotiating any reasonable peace. With intel flooding in of imperial forces traversing the Northern Sea something had to be done quickly. Irodien understood that meeting the enemy army head on would result in disaster, so alongside his generals he came up with an ambush plan of the landing Imperials. As the enemy got to the coast and began to land, the Folfmerian army struck, finding the Imperials completely unorganized and quick to reatreat, which they did. However the Folfmerian navy that was also set to ambush the enemy caught up to the fleeing transports and managed to sink a few. Suddenly, the Empire had lost almost one whole army out of their armed forces. This victory tremendously boosted the Folfmer morale, while crippling the Imperial one. The cracks in the old Empire began to show, exposing its weaknesses. After a successful landing the Empire made its way inland, strangely finding no opposition. Fooled by this deceit, they kept on going forward and soon found their large force enveloped from all sides, cut away from supplies. The incompetency of the command of the imperial army resulted in a loss of most forces that arrived on the Central Continent. The Folfmer then won a few battles on the coast, pushing the rest of the paralysed Imperials back. In a twist of fate, the Folfmer had discovered the disastrous state of the internal politics and government of the Empire, which for a long time had been cloaked by efficiently spread lies and pompous attitude of the Imperial Council and the Emperor himself. Now they were on the offensive.
After swiftly dealing with the Naverkhu and subjugating them completely, the Folfmerian army made its own landings on the Eastern Continent thus invading imperial soil, something which had not happened for hundreds of years. With this situation and the complete disarray happening within the government, the Empire yielded. An armstice was signed and later peace negotiations began, resulting in what would later become the final nail in the Empire's coffin - the treaty nicknamed "Peace of the Burning Aurora". The Empire had to give up territory on the coastline of the Northern Sea to the Folfmer, cut all political ties with the Central Continent and also pay a war indemnity. Additionally a demilitarized zone was established on the Daoinian side of the new Folfmer-Imperial border. This was a great victory for the Folfmer and all Anthromere kind, as well as a great personal triumph of Irodien. One that only became so much grander after the dissolution of the Imperial Council, abdication of the Daoinian Emperor and the total collapse of the Empire into many splintered states that happened a mere year after the war had ended. The Folfmer King managed to cripple a goliath.

Ethnicity

Folfmer

Honorary & Occupational Titles

King of the Folfmer, Lord of the Anthromere Kin, Master of Folfmer, King of the Kingdom of Folfmer

Gender

Male

Eyes

Dark blue

Height

1.85m

My victory is really our combined triumph, good friends. We have ensured an age of splendour for our beloved nation! King Irodien to his generals and heads of the Great Houses after the signing of the "Peace of the Burning Aurora"

Gentlemen, the era of greatness that began with the rule and victories of king Irodien was already long over for the Folfmer people. We have only come here to make sure it never returns. Archduke Nikolay Aksynov, later Tsar of reunified imperial lands, to his high field command during the siege of the City of Folfmer

What we had once lost we shall never reclaim again, it would seem. Work began by Irodien and continued by his descendants has turned into ashes, leaving only but an empty husk of a great kingdom cowering in the shadow of its past glories. In the end, the Empire has had the last laugh. In the end, the Emperor, now the Tsar, reigns supreme. A more distant from the royal line member of the Great House of the Golden Aurora