King Eiknir the Great

Morlan Eiknir the First, also known as Eiknir the Conqueror, Eiknir the Great, Morlan the Magnificant, is the most universally beloved and venerated leader in Estaria's history. During his relatively short time in power, he brought an end to the War of the Gates, brought resolution to the tension between different factions of Atovism in Solgrad, lead a coalition of nations in the conquest of Sura Pel, and brought Estaria from a war-torn coalition of petty lords into a new age of wealth and prosperity. His name is synonymous with authority, glory, and power, and his impact on Estarian culture and politics can't be overstated.
King Eiknir is the only king in Estarian history to break the "first name convention" in how their name is recorded. While all other kings are called by their first name, Morlan Eiknir is more commonly referred to by his last. This is a contemporary practice, used to distinguish him from his son, Morlan Eiknir II.

Life Before the Crown

Early Life

Tragically little record has survived of Morlan Eiknir's early life. Records of his birth and childhood were destroyed during the War of the Gates, when the house of records in Lockford was burned down by Prekhan mercenaries. Surviving information on the first twenty-five years of his life come from few surviving primary sources and speeches given by Eiknir.

Parents

He was born in 1653 SE to his mother, Jada Eiknir of Lockford, the duchess of Lockford from 1647 to 1674. His father, Captain Jasper Eiknir, was a prominent military officer in the Estarian Regency. Jasper Eiknir is a mysterious figure in Estarian history. Most prominent officers in the Estarian Regency were members of royalty, but Jasper was not a member of their council of lords. It's speculated based on Jasper's position, his birthplace in Solgrad, and surviving love letters from his wife Jada, that Jasper Eiknir was a direct descendant of one of King Gaelin the Bloody's unrecorded daughters.

Childhood

Morlan Eiknir grew to age in a time of war. Less than a century before his birth, Lockford had been sieged and conquered by the Estarian Regency, and it remained a battlefront for the entirety of the War of The Gates while the Regency fought to keep it. To make matters worse, Morlan Eiknir was born at the height of King Jonas Cipecus's power, a time when the Estarian Regency was losing the war. Prekhan mercenaries and Estarian soldiers would occasionally attack his childhood home, and Morlan likely saw warfare at an early age.
As the son of a duke, Morlan was given an early education in literacy, mathematics, statecraft, fencing, and commerce. He would have also been inducted into Orthodox Atovism and its many early childhood rites and rituals.

Duke of Lockford

Eiknir briefly took his birthright as Duke of Lockford when his mother died in 1674 SE. Morlan was Jada's oldest son at the time, twenty-one years old when he took the title. For the next three years, he distinguished himself with exceptional governance, reorganizing Lockford's militia into an effective defensive force and even retrofitting merchant vessels into a small navy to fight off Prekha.
His exceptional leadership was not unnoticed. After Lord Hinson of Masau died in 1670 SE, the regency was left without leadership, and its council of lords struggled to find a new permanent figurehead. In 1677, after seven years of a leadership vacuum and three years of Eiknir's term as duke, Eiknir was offered the position of regent-king, which he graciously accepted.

Estarian Regency

Eiknir was, by all accounts, a fervent believer in the Regency's cause who desired to see Solgrad returned to the purview of the Orthodox Church. However, he took a decidedly less aggressive approach to reaching this end. Under his leadership, the Estarian Regency ceased its expansionist conquest and attempted instead to cut Solgrad off from its wealth and influence. From 1677 to 1705, Solgrad and the Estarian throne declined in wealth and support under King Martin the Idle, all while Eiknir's territories flourished. King Eiknir offered amnesty to any Estarian nobles that pledged to his cause, and publicly showered his loyalists in gifts.
In the summer of 1705, Eiknir shrewdly contacted Archduke Sutherland of Greyswallow, a prominent member of King Martin's court who previously indicated wavering loyalty. The two plotted to assassinate Martin Cipecus and his heirs, all while bribing and converting the rest of Martin's court so that Eiknir could be coronated after his death. King Martin was so unpopular in the renewist nobility that this plan worked. In 1709, King Martin was publicly assassinated by Sutherland and one of his own royal guards. One month later, Morlan Eiknir ascended to the Estarian throne, restoring the previous regime and effectively ending the War of the Gates.

Kingship

Religious Reform

Eiknir's confirmation as king ensured that the Orthodox church had control of the Estarian throne once again. However, Eiknir did not want to repeat the mistakes of Gaelin the third who cracked down on the Renewist faction to the point of revolt. Instead, he enacted religious reforms to protect the practice of all Atovist denominations in Estaria, declaring that "People of The Book shall not be put to the sword."
In 1710, he revoked the Treatise of Religious Purity as a symbolic gesture (though the law had, obviously, not been enacted since Gaelin's death). He also began construction of The House of Chains that same year as an unprecedented gesture of acceptance to the Church of Penance. This did not mean religious tension was ended in Estaria, and his regime still favored orthodoxy, a dynamic that persists in Solgrad to this day.

Conquest of Sura Pel

After reunifying Estaria, King Eiknir set his sights on resolving the threat posed by the neighboring empire of Sura Pel, which had been expanding its territories both north and south during the War of the Gates.

Name:

Morlan Eiknir

Title:

King of Estaria

Reign:

Duke of Lockford: 1674 SE - 1677 SE
Regent of the Estarian Regency: 1677 SE - 1709 SE
King of Estaria: 1709 SE - 1732 SE

Family:

Father:

Jasper Eiknir

Wife:

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Children:

King Morlan II

Life:

1653 - 1732 SE (age 79)