Donnchad ap Briain

High King of Aberia

Donnchad ap Briain was born to one of the Petty Kings in Aberia. He grew up despising the non-human subjects of his father's domain, and saw the fact that there were non-humans on thrones as an affront to Aberia itself. He saw Elves as not only weak, but a race that should never have come into being. Dwarves were best used as laborers, and Orcs were savage beasts. The only non-humans he tolerated were the Sylf and Chimera, but, even then, he looked down on them. To him, only the Progenitors were the true successors to the gods - no hybrid or Spirit should be permitted on his lands. However, it went deeper, as he believed the only true Progenitor was Humanity.
When he took the throne from his father, he put those prejudices into practice. He started by waging the Aberian Unification War. Exploiting the prowess of Dwarven craftsmanship to create weapons of war. The most notable of these was the Artillery Bow. He used this along with the trebuchet and a contingent of Mage Knights to bring the disparate territories under his rule as the first King of Aberia.
With total control of the Aberian country, he began to cast a vision of a Human nation. Many of the Lords backed this, and the ones that didn't were stripped of their titles - some forcefully - and replaced with someone loyal to Donnchad.
He ordered all the Lords under him to begin pressing the Dwarves into what was effectively slavery. He ordered that all Dwarves be put into serfdom, providing labor services to the throne. In a cruel twist, one of the things they were forced to build was the wall that would keep them locked in the frigid land of Baliklav. They then built the same wall along the border with the deserts of what would become Clava, and finally the *Great Green Sea*. By the end of a twenty year project, using the *Dedannan Mountains* as a natural wall, he had encircled the entirety of Aberia.
With a barrier in place, he started the Great Aberian Banishment. He began to round up non-Soulbearing creatures like the Dwarves to be sent to Baliklav. The Orcs he sent to Clava, and the Elves across the ocean. There were attempts to resist, but anyone that did was crushed and sent right along with the non-humans. The vast majority of these were the Chimera, but some Sylf, too. Alas, for those Sylf sent north or South, it was effectively a death sentence.
Shortly thereafter, The Third Son came and told Donnchad that he had two choices: stop what he was doing and renounce the throne or have a curse placed on the land of Aberia, damning him, his house, and the very ground he stood on. Donnchad swore that he would set everyone free. Satisfied, The Second Son left. Alas, Donnchad was not a man of his word, ordering the banishment to go ahead as planned.
The following day, Donnchad developed the first recorded case of Kaertheria. Within days, his entire court had the disease. To avoid catching it, the common folk fled from the cities, leaving Donnchad and his noble cohorts to spend their final days bleeding to death.
Today, he is remembered for his tyranny, and being the man to accidentally start the Age of Exploration.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Donnchad was raised by a vile bigot, so it's no surprise he became a tyrant himself. However, it was his fascination with the Lách Doire teaching that great deeds and the power of mortal belief can create a god that truly did him in. If asked why he did things like waging the War of Unification or banishing all the non-humans, he would have said that it was to be remembered. He believed that, regardless of whether what he was doing was "right" or "wrong", if he was remembered, it would be worth it because he'd have achieved immortality. Of course, this never happened for him, and he died of a curse brought on by his own wicked deeds.

Education

Donnchad was born in a time before the establishment of most schools as they'd be recognized. Instead, he received an education in how to run a kingdom - albeit a petty one. He was trained generally in matters of church, economics, law, and war.

Accomplishments & Achievements

He would consider building a wall to encompass his country and the successful banishment of three people groups as accomplishments.
Though unintentional, his enactment of the Great Aberian Banishment started the Age of Exploration.

Species

Human

Conditions

• Kaertheria

Ethnicity

Abian

Life

7779 7834 55 years old

Circumstances of Death

Plague (cursed)