Rastapuj
King Rastapuj
A man brought past the edge of sanity by trauma and grief, or a sadist, racist monster that pushed his colonized subjects too far? The history and qualities of Rastapuj can vary widely depending on whom you reach for comment.
Rastapuj was the last King of Karte and the last member of the Regal Stag Family to position themselves as ruler of said nation. His reign was characterized by ruthless policies and treatment of the native scalies, and then stricken by a socioeconomic crisis after the Irate assault where his son was killed. This turmoil kickstarted a Civil War which ended both his life and his family's reign over the island.
He inherited the throne at 22 years old in the year 2972 E.Alz. Despite trying with at least four women (Two distant cousins from the Regal Stags and two Merthiornite women that immigrated into Karte to be welcomed into the nobility to "freshen the blood") Rastapuj only managed to have one child, the Prince Kuja, born in the 2992 E.Alz.
Rastapuj adored his son more than anyone else and provided him with the best education and treatment available to the kingdom.
Rastapuj executed a plan to eradicate the pirate threat known as the War on Pirates, commissioning special hunter ships and installing protocols to prevent any unauthorized ships to navigate the island's coast and rivers.
The mission was a military and political success for the two years it lasted, increasing the safety of the archipelago's seas and the popularity of the kingdom among the other nations.
In the year 3006 E.Alz, the remaining pirates organised themselves under the shared goal of retaliating against king Rastapuj. So in the 3rd of Swimming of that year they launched an attack in which they took the capital city by assault and captured the prince, whom they tortured and killed in front of the Kartian army, and took the skull as a trophy, using it as the symbol of their new alliance and naming their ships after the fact.
After the brutal loss of his son, Rastapuj's mental stability declined sharply, and since then so did the general state of the Kingdom.
His commands became erratic and usually contradicted one another, as the economy of the island started a rapid decline. The only thing he managed to maintain stable was his loyal military which he put a lot of effort into keeping content, even more than the aristocracy.
Civilian protests grew in numbers and volume, and as they did, the guards and the military started retaliating with increasing force and taking many of the protestors as prisoners. The open civil war is considered to have started on Swimming of 3010 after a hit on an underground dungeon to release political prisoners and lasted for almost 13 years, reaching its climax in the 20th of Harvesting of 9 E.Ru with the Night of the Unlit Candles, where subversive forces managed to neutralize the Kartian guard and broke into the castle, arresting Rastapuj alongside five members of his guard and several of his family members.
Representatives of the revolutionary groups Karte's Raised Bakers Resistance and the Proud Kartian Scalies read a verdict while surrounding him, and with a silent cue, one of them sliced the king's neck while the speech was still ongoing. The premeditated but surprising timing of the execution seemed to trigger a panicked reaction from a person hidden in a building, who shot two arrows aimed at the Raised Bakers' leader Ararak, the first hitting their shoulder and the second missing and hitting the leader of the Proud Kartian, Karikat, in the belly. The last seconds of the king were spent in the chaos and confusion of this botched murder, which was found to have been perpetrated by another member of the Proud Kartian Scalies, presumably as an attempt to prevent the Baker's anarchist agenda from succeeding.
Rastapuj was the last King of Karte and the last member of the Regal Stag Family to position themselves as ruler of said nation. His reign was characterized by ruthless policies and treatment of the native scalies, and then stricken by a socioeconomic crisis after the Irate assault where his son was killed. This turmoil kickstarted a Civil War which ended both his life and his family's reign over the island.
Life
Rastapuj was born in the 9th of Planting, 2950 E.Alz in middle of the opulence and privilege the Regal Stags had secured in the City of Dia, capital of the Kingdom of Karte.He inherited the throne at 22 years old in the year 2972 E.Alz. Despite trying with at least four women (Two distant cousins from the Regal Stags and two Merthiornite women that immigrated into Karte to be welcomed into the nobility to "freshen the blood") Rastapuj only managed to have one child, the Prince Kuja, born in the 2992 E.Alz.
Rastapuj adored his son more than anyone else and provided him with the best education and treatment available to the kingdom.
The War on Pirates
By the year 3004, the kingdom's merchants and sailors were suffering constant attacks by pirates across the west coast, dealing a heavy hit to the kingdom's economy and paralyzing most import and export efforts on the island.Rastapuj executed a plan to eradicate the pirate threat known as the War on Pirates, commissioning special hunter ships and installing protocols to prevent any unauthorized ships to navigate the island's coast and rivers.
The mission was a military and political success for the two years it lasted, increasing the safety of the archipelago's seas and the popularity of the kingdom among the other nations.
Death of Kuja
The following section discusses the death of a child
Flag of the Irates by Naelin
His commands became erratic and usually contradicted one another, as the economy of the island started a rapid decline. The only thing he managed to maintain stable was his loyal military which he put a lot of effort into keeping content, even more than the aristocracy.
Civil war
As the decline of the living conditions of Kartians sharpened, several civilian groups organized around the goal of ending the king's rule, forming committees, political parties, and eventually guerrilla forces.Civilian protests grew in numbers and volume, and as they did, the guards and the military started retaliating with increasing force and taking many of the protestors as prisoners. The open civil war is considered to have started on Swimming of 3010 after a hit on an underground dungeon to release political prisoners and lasted for almost 13 years, reaching its climax in the 20th of Harvesting of 9 E.Ru with the Night of the Unlit Candles, where subversive forces managed to neutralize the Kartian guard and broke into the castle, arresting Rastapuj alongside five members of his guard and several of his family members.
Death
This section goes into description of an assasination
Rastapuj was held captive by the revolutionary forces for almost 9 months until the 30 of Preparing when he was brought to the coast of the river Tantalej and placed in a platform in front of an enormous crowd.Representatives of the revolutionary groups Karte's Raised Bakers Resistance and the Proud Kartian Scalies read a verdict while surrounding him, and with a silent cue, one of them sliced the king's neck while the speech was still ongoing. The premeditated but surprising timing of the execution seemed to trigger a panicked reaction from a person hidden in a building, who shot two arrows aimed at the Raised Bakers' leader Ararak, the first hitting their shoulder and the second missing and hitting the leader of the Proud Kartian, Karikat, in the belly. The last seconds of the king were spent in the chaos and confusion of this botched murder, which was found to have been perpetrated by another member of the Proud Kartian Scalies, presumably as an attempt to prevent the Baker's anarchist agenda from succeeding.
Legacy
While the country is still in political turmoil, it is clear that the time of the Regal Stag Family is over for good. Some survivors had fled the country during the Night of the Unlit Candle. They are in the minority and most remain hidden in Thaur or Red Crest, while no direct family of Rastapuj has been found alive. The palace was deteriorated during the raid and it is being carefully dismantled to find hidden relics of the old Republic, and most possessions of the royals were seized by the revolutionaries. While the wounds of the country are still very fresh, it seems that the fate of the last King of Karte is for his most recognisable legacy to be the cruel naming tradition of Irate ships.
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Current Location
Species
Conditions
Ethnicity
Date of Birth
9th of Planting, 2950 E.Alz
Date of Death
30th of Preparing, 9 E.Ru (Aged 73)
Circumstances of Death
Publicly excecuted
Family
Children
Gender
Man
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
It's really no wonder he went a bit off the rails at his son's death. That always makes me sad. I like that history doesn't really agree on his character. It's very realistic.