Pryce Matheuson
King (125 - 155) (a.k.a. The King Who Was Not)
King Pryce Matheson was a notorious figure in history. Despite his forbearers unifying the lands after the liberation Enther, Pryce's supposed ineptitude in ruling resulted in three of the five regions breaking away from the Kingdom for over a century until King Pius the Unifier would break the Kingdom back together through the church.
It is widely considered that Pryce, though a young man when he ascended to the throne, never quiet came out of the shadow of his father. Constant comparisons to his heroic father and advise from power hungry advisors came to boil when an ill-advised Pryce ordered the execution of the High Herald. This execution served as a catalyst for the various regions of Enther to raise up against the King. The relationship between the regions of Enther had been strained since the days of King Cato, and this execution served as a tipping point. Montheus did not have the martial forces to be able to subdue the rebellion and thus within weeks, the kingdom was broken and lost.
The Matheuson dynasty would continue to rule Montheus and the Hinterlands for another century until King Pius was able to reunify the kingdom through political means, giving him the moniker "The Unifier".
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Pryce was named after the maternal grandfather of his mother, Queen Emma.
Reign
Pryce’s father, King Tristain, had died suddenly in Summer 125 ABA. The illness tore through the king and neither alchemist, mage or holy man was able to stop the illness. King Tristain was survived by two sons. Pryce (later Pryce the Pretender) was the older of the two princes and although he was twenty six at the time and was considered "still a youth on the verge of manhood" due to his petulant behaviour and domineering mother. The younger son was Bryson whose placid disposition was much preferred by many of the nobles at court. At the time of King Tristain’s death, Bryson could have been no more than thirteen years old. As the elder of Tristain's sons, Pryce – reportedly a young man given to frequent violent outbursts – probably would have naturally succeeded to the throne of Enther despite his arrogance, had he not offended many of the nobility with his intolerable violence, crass speech and petulant behaviour. Several powerful lords began to openly oppose Pryce's succession and began pushing Bryson’s claim to the throne, proclaiming him as a boy who would grow to be a worthy king.
Both of the princes were too ill-equipped by age and experience to have played any significant part in the political manoeuvring which followed Tristain's death. It was advocates of each brother, forming separate factions, who were responsible for the political unrest which accompanied the proceedings to choose a successor to the throne. Pryce's claim was by law the true claim and was pushed by his mother and a retinue of lords which included the Lord’s of Kirkminster and Montheus alongside the High Herald. Bryson's claim was supported by Rosinhill, Norshire and Denmoore but the would not be considered the true heir because of Pryce’s birth right. During the proceedings, his mother would declare that Bryson was not of her blood and was born illegitimately, a bastard half brother of Pryce and not a true heir of the throne. In response, many would say that if Bryson was a bastard to a servant that at least his blood was fully Entherian and not mixed with the Brethian heritage of the dowager Queen. In the end, Pryce's supporters proved the more powerful and persuasive, and he was crowned king before the year was out.
Pryce reigned for only three years before his reign started to fall into the political turmoil it has now become synonymous with. Tristain had made extensive grants of land to the other lords in order to create more loyal lords and weakening the position of some of the more power lords, but these disrupted aristocratic families' traditional patronage. The end of King Tristain’s rule saw a reversal of this policy, with lords recovering their lost properties or seizing new ones. This was especially notable with the Lords of Denmoore and Norshire who had significantly lost land during Tristain’s reign. This caused great animosity between many of the lords, resulting in Pryce having to settle many political disputes. Unfortunately, Pryce was prone to leaning towards violence to resolve disputes, often siding with those who had supported him prior to his ascension.
This was opposed by Bryson, who in the years since the crowning had become a vocal opposition to his brother’s reign. In 129 Bryson was murdered by members of his Pryce's household at the royal estate in at King’s Rest.
On the surface his Bryson’s relations with brother Pryce and his estranged mother Emma were cordial and he was visiting them informally when he was killed. Bryson and his small guard arrived at the estate and then, before he had dismounted, was surrounded, seized by his hands, and stabbed to death by unknown culprits. Many suspect that the murder was planned and carried out by Pryce’s household men in order that their young king would not be held responsible for the murder. Pryce would act in accordance, putting a price on the head of those who killed his “dear brother” though the culprits were conveniently never identified. This course of action caused an atmosphere of suspicion which destroyed the prestige of the king which Pryce was never able to truly recover from.
Nevertheless, at first, the outlook of the new king's officers and counsellors seems in no way to have been bleak. Pryce revelled in his kingship but did not enjoy handing the day-to-day political affairs, preferring to hunt and enjoy the luxuries of his status. He left his affairs were initially managed by his royal councillors such as Lord Mordan, a merchant turned Royal Banker, Dowager Queen Emma and Tommas, High Herald of the Church of the Five. High Herald Tommas was especially influential and when he died, in spring of 133 ABA , Pryce abandoned his early commitments and launched on policies which involved encroachment on church privileges, to his later regret.
In 133, Iphite raids began. It harried southern and western shores and the Claw Islands.134, they moved north and invaded Norshire. In 135, the raiding party left Enther for Onderfel because the king had intervened in this latest wave of attacks. To appease the iphite raiders the king made tribute in gold. This sudden relief from attack Pryce used to gather his thoughts, resources, and armies.
In 136, an Iphite fleet – the same fleet as before – returned and ravaged the Montheus Hinterlands. There was later an attempted attack in the region of Rosinhill, though the Hillmen mounted a successful defence at the Nethermore Crossing. Nevertheless, Pryce must have felt at a loss, and, in the Spring of 137, the king bought a truce for 30,000 gold coins to stop the iphites from invading Montheus and its Hinterlands, but did not buy the same protection for the other regions. Pryce’s frequent payments of immense amounts of gold were clear examples of the of the incompetency of his government and his own selfishness when it came to the survival of himself. This action caused a great divide between the capital and the other regions. The church, whose relationship with the crown had soured since the death of Tommas, outwardly opposed the king’s decisions, calling the people to rise up against an unholy king.
In response, Pryce ordered the massacre of all the church men in Montheus. Many of Pryce’s advisors opposed this, including his mother. The order was outraged the remaining regions, including Kirkminster who had up to that point been loyal supporters of the king. The new High Herald and his followers were executed in Montheus cathedral. By the star of 138 Lord Ulftor of Denmoore was in open rebellion, where he sacked the Hinterlands. In this year the Lord of Kirkminster, Lord Selwyn met Ulftor’s forces in order to restore peace despite their outrage with the king, and made an impression on the until-then rampant Danish expedition. Though Selwyn’s forces were eventually defeated, he caused Ulftor’s arm heavy losses. Ulftor’s army left the Hinterlands for Denmoore in 138, perhaps because of the losses they sustained and perhaps from the very severe famine which afflicted the continent in that year.
An Iphite invasion the following year was bought off in early 138 by tribute money of 36,000 gold, and for the next two years Montheus was free from attack, however the rest of the kingdom was not granted such a reprise. In 139, the crown created a new fleet of warships, organised on a national scale, but this was weakened when one of its commanders took to piracy and took half of the new fleet, and the king and his council decided not to risk sending the rest of their fleet to pursue.
Ulftor then launched an invasion in 140 intending to crown himself king of Enther, during which he proved himself to be a general greater than any other lord of his generation. By the end of 1013 Montheus’s resistance had collapsed and Sweyn had conquered the region, forcing Pryce into exile within the capital city. Ulftor declared himself king, sending calls to the lords and ladies of Enther to Denholm to pledge their allegiance. However this call was not heeded by the other lords. In response to the disarray, the kingdom split into five kingdoms. This event would immortalise King Pryce’s name as the “King Who Lost The Kingdom”.
King Pryce would continue to rule Montheus and parts of the Hinterlands. The capital would fall into chaos however as it could not support itself on the land left after Ulftor’s conquest. Mass famine would hit the capital, with tens of thousands dying. The only saving grace was the relationship cultivated between Pryce and the kingdom of Brethia who would send supplies in order to keep the capital fed.
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Life
99 ABA
155 ABA
56 years old
Children
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