Post by dessel on Aug 19, 2009 0:37:53 GMT -5
Owain Valron, King of Dessel, Overlord of Avina, Keeper of the Western Marches
A tall and strong man, in his late thirties, Lord Owain’s prowess in the field has led a great part of the Desselian aristocracy to call him Voran-the-Reborn. Many a time, peasants and knights of the Royal Host have hoped that their King would lead them on the path of restoration. A rejuvenated Dessel could stand its ground in front of the Imperial Senate and the Curin-bent vassals of Alas Tirith who spoil Dessel of its riches and pride. In his earlier years, King Owain, also called Owain the Hammer for his past deeds in Youngsburg, might have believed himself in the self-fanned hopes of the commoners and the noble-born of his realm. All this was before his father, late King Darkus, passed on to his younger son the mantel of power at the end of a long wasting disease, sometimes called the Curse of the Grimclaw, which stroke more than once in the ruling House of Dessel. Some courtiers, those afraid by the Western storms blowing against the high and white walls of Fair Avina, whispered that the ghost of long-dead Gnoll Warlord, Shergeng, defeated by Kendal Youngs and unable to find rest was trying to destroy the heirs of Voran the Mighty. Others suspected foul play by the worshipers of the Hunter, who never concealed his hatred and contempt for humans. The elder son of Darkus, Demetrius Valron, had been already dead and buried in the faraway lands of Youngsburg, where he died from a relatively minor wound inflicted by a poisoned orcish arrow during an assault he was leading in person. His death prompted the younger and last direct scion of House Valron, Lord Owain, to ride his banner in Youngsburg where he earned the Hammer nick-name after displaying cunning and utter ruthlessness on the battlefield where he crushed the reviled hordes vomited by the thrice-accursed wildlands of Jayn.
With his ascension to the Throne of Dessel, nearly ten years ago, the ebullient warlord and host-leader realised the extent of Dessel’s underlying material weakness, with a land as proud and beautiful as it was in the times of Voran and Aldron, but plagued by empty coffers, shadowy wars of the Guilds and a precarious hold over the land due to the intrusion of the Imperial Senate. Since the beginning of his reign, King Owain, has realised that the talents displayed on the battlefields of Youngsburg would have to be less relied upon and new, more subtle ways be found and used, should Dessel harbour any hopes of recovering his former status.
A tall and strong man, in his late thirties, Lord Owain’s prowess in the field has led a great part of the Desselian aristocracy to call him Voran-the-Reborn. Many a time, peasants and knights of the Royal Host have hoped that their King would lead them on the path of restoration. A rejuvenated Dessel could stand its ground in front of the Imperial Senate and the Curin-bent vassals of Alas Tirith who spoil Dessel of its riches and pride. In his earlier years, King Owain, also called Owain the Hammer for his past deeds in Youngsburg, might have believed himself in the self-fanned hopes of the commoners and the noble-born of his realm. All this was before his father, late King Darkus, passed on to his younger son the mantel of power at the end of a long wasting disease, sometimes called the Curse of the Grimclaw, which stroke more than once in the ruling House of Dessel. Some courtiers, those afraid by the Western storms blowing against the high and white walls of Fair Avina, whispered that the ghost of long-dead Gnoll Warlord, Shergeng, defeated by Kendal Youngs and unable to find rest was trying to destroy the heirs of Voran the Mighty. Others suspected foul play by the worshipers of the Hunter, who never concealed his hatred and contempt for humans. The elder son of Darkus, Demetrius Valron, had been already dead and buried in the faraway lands of Youngsburg, where he died from a relatively minor wound inflicted by a poisoned orcish arrow during an assault he was leading in person. His death prompted the younger and last direct scion of House Valron, Lord Owain, to ride his banner in Youngsburg where he earned the Hammer nick-name after displaying cunning and utter ruthlessness on the battlefield where he crushed the reviled hordes vomited by the thrice-accursed wildlands of Jayn.
With his ascension to the Throne of Dessel, nearly ten years ago, the ebullient warlord and host-leader realised the extent of Dessel’s underlying material weakness, with a land as proud and beautiful as it was in the times of Voran and Aldron, but plagued by empty coffers, shadowy wars of the Guilds and a precarious hold over the land due to the intrusion of the Imperial Senate. Since the beginning of his reign, King Owain, has realised that the talents displayed on the battlefields of Youngsburg would have to be less relied upon and new, more subtle ways be found and used, should Dessel harbour any hopes of recovering his former status.