Virgilim

Honourable Prince Virgilim Of Merthiorn

Flag of Merthiorn by Naelin

Flag of Red Crest

Son of Queen Tesel and King Illmos of Merthiorn, Virgilim is the Honourable Prince of the Red Crest Islands and the sole survivor of the Merthiornite Royal Family. His reign is now one marked by choking taxation, morality laws and generalised civilian discontent.

Physical Aspect

Virgilim is a furry societarian of pampas fox .
He is stocky, short and out of shape, and is known to often show a severe, unamused face and keep his hands on his back.
His fur is pale beige, with a white chin, chest, feet and hands, and a black tail tip.

Personality

The self-titled "Honourable prince" is described as a severe man, authoritative and methodical.
He appreciates alzufhar rides to hunt with lyraiks, reading history books, and dislikes honouring pacts with creatures he considers "too inferior".

Life

Queen Tesel by Naelin

Vigilim was born in the City of Goldwaste on the 1st of Birthing of 2962 E. Alz to his parents Queen Tesel and King Illmos, then monarchs of the Kingdom of Merthiorn. He was the first of the four children of the couple, and his name might have been a homage to his aunt Velegrim, captain of the Merthiornite guard.

Time as Viceroy

Though tradition dictated that the heir to the Merthiornite throne would be a female child (And thus his sister Eigaler was set to this position), it was clear that Queen Tesel had a preference for her son, whom she doted since birth. In 2976 E.Alz, for Virgilim's 14th birthday, Tesel appointed him as viceroy of the Red Crest Islands, then a colony of their kingdom. The new viceroy appointed several older members of the royal family to watch over his actions and act as counsellors, and showed restraint and decency in his decisions uncommon for a teenager of the royal family.

Independency of Red Crest

Shield of Red Crest

"The crown is now yours, my son, and so are the island's responsibilities"
— Tesel, last Queen of Merthiorn

During 2985 E.Alz, after seeing how closely her son would follow each of her "recommendations", Tesel "gifted" Virgilim the independency of the Islands for his 23rd birthday, turning the colony into a principality. Up to that time, the island had been a colony under the Kingdom of Merthiorn for a couple of centuries. Though they had mostly been allowed to keep their culture and traditions under the rule of the Merthiornite, the news was received by the population with cautious joy, as they would stop getting their resources sucked by "the mainland".
Virgilim immediately created and assigned to himself the title of Honourable Prince of Red Crest.
His general duties didn't change too much with the new title, however, he immediately got to work on some self-imposed tasks, such as declaring his new title to be the one in charge of "keeping the decency and morals of Red Crest's people", "providing cultural values to his people" and "ensuring the active participation of each citizen on adding to the wealth of the nation". Slowly but steadily, the Prince added new laws, edicts and regulations that directly impacted the Red Crestian culture, turning it conservative, prudish and distrustful.
The principality became famous for its heavy regulations and taxes, and the skittish way in which everyone approached anything that they considered could get them into trouble.

The High Rust

Up to the fateful year of 3014 E.Alz, the Haan Archipelago viewed the Principality as still a mere puppet state of Merthiorn, as Virgilim would still follow every request placed by his family, providing them with enormous political and trade "benefits" over the rest of the islands, and in exchange getting their protection and ensuring their stability. Then The High Rust came and went, and with it went the life of every remaining member of the Merthiornite Royal Family, who all succumbed to the rust in their high-altitude towers in Goldwaste.
The only survivor was Virgilim, who living in the coastal city of Vythlan still got affected by the rust but survived with minor sequela. However, the death of his family wouldn't just cause emotional consequences for the Prince, as the Kingdom of Merthiorn was destined to succumb as well, leaving the puppet severed from its threads.

Brewing Tensions

The "puppet state" status of Red Crest didn't prepare Virgilim for governing alone, and the crisis caused by the High Rust stirred the social and economic climate in the islands too much.
The state that succeded Merthiorn, the Kingdom of Thaur, has predictably left Red Crest to fend for themselves. The Red Crestians started loudly opposing the extreme bureaucracy, taxation and intrusions in personal life, in part impulsed by the Manifesto for the burning of morals, a pamphlet distributed by a group of philosophers from Vythlan known as The Circlecrats.
Protests became frequent and violent, including raids and looting of government buildings. Having lost the safety and power of his parents' reign and a portion of his military and government officials to the rust, Virgilim's control over his people is not enough to push them back into obedience, and the future of his reign is uncertain.