Thane am Mykalli
His Majesty, King Thane am Mykalli (a.k.a. The Black King)
Thane am Mykalli was the third and last King of the Mykalli Dynasty to rule the Kingdom of Imesse. He was the younger brother of King Mykal Mykalli and the uncle and Regent for young King Url am Mykalli. Thane ascended the throne upon the death of his nephew Url in 89 AF.
Upon the death of his brother, Mykal, Thane appointed himself Regent for his nephew, King Url. From 84 AF to 87 AF, Thane was the ruler of the Kingdom. At the age of 10, Url was vested with the full powers of kingship, and Thane stayed on only as his senior advisor and chief counsellor. Then in spring of 89 AF, Url died of a chronic cough. Thane became King in his own right, as the next in line to the throne. He was a poor monarch, making poor decisions or (often worse) no decisions at all.
Things got much worse in the summer of 92 AF. A very cold and wet spring transitioned into a very cold and wet summer, and harvests failed all across the country that fall. History remembers this event as the beginning of the "Black Famine". Thane instituted several very poor policies that were supposed to bring much anticipated relief to the people, but instead made matters much, much worse. Increased taxes, fees and tolls made moving existing supplies of food and livestock much more expensive. By the end of the winter of 92-93 AF, people were beginning to starve and several revolts break out in the south and west.
The Spring of 93 saw more cold and wet weather that continued throughout another summer. The crisis was growing by the week, and by July every corner of the country was seeing people starve to death daily. In August of that summer, Thane decided that an invasion of the Kingdom of Cobal would give the country both food and arable land. He initiated an invasion that crossed the Caldar River at Jorick and Wennick with armies that numbered as high as 15,000 each. More revolts begin in the far west and in the middle of the country. The invasion did not bring any relief, and simply place a higher cost on what little could be harvested because so many able-bodied males were fighting in Cobal. By December of 93 AF, thousands were dying every week.
The next year sees another failed crop season, and the fighting in Cobal continues to go very badly for the invaders where desertion rates are higher than casaulty rates for the Imessians. Open rebellions rage in Southridge, Ben Doa, Soton, Beldoah and Belfrick, as well as riots and looting in places like Cyell, Scaram and Rickmo. The government of Cobal began sending direct aide to the rebels in Beldoah and Cyell in an effort to undermine the authority and effective rule of Thane's government.
By the summer of 96 AF, Josso am Maxalli, known as the "Thunderfist" had led a force of 10,000 men across the Caldar River from the south and into the north. They advanced towards Northridge the entire season, and by January were within sight of the city's walls. The seige of Northridge was sealed by March of 97 AF. After a year of seige and thousands of deaths, Josso took the city of Northridge, ending the reign of Thane am Mykalli.
Thane is released by Josso in August of 98 AF and is given his family's lands in Cyell to live out the remainder of his days. He dies in 117 AF a tired and broken soul in his family estate at Cyell. This act of generosity and mercy on Josso's part is not popular with many nobles, but it isn't until after the death of Josso that his son, Lothar seizes all Mykalli lands and titles more than 44 years the King's pardon was issued.
Reign
Url's Regent: 84 AF - 87 AF
King: 89 AF - 98 AF
Relationships
A rather generous image of Thane as King and the official portrait upon his coronation
A much more accurate representation of Thane upon his release in the summer of 98 AF
Species
Ethnicity
Age
59 at his death
Life
58 AF
117 AF
59 years old
Spouses
Siblings
Mykal Mykalli
(Brother)
Children
Aligned Organization
