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The History Of King Zelos I
King Ottremar was a wise and pious ruler. Through his lifetime the realm went through numerous changes and reforms that benefitted the realm as a whole. His prodigous son Paron was destined to follow him as a competent ruler to lead the realm to further prosperity. Yet the king's younger son Olbret was as ambitious as jealous. He plotted the assassination of his sibling, in league with sinister forces. With promises of the restoration of former grandeur he allied himself with elements of the secret church of Zathroth. However, by chance or divine intervention of the gods, the inquisition discovered the plot and arrested Olbret. But by then he already managed to place a potent poison for Paron to which the latter succumed within a week, despite all efforts of healers and clergery. So a distant cousin of the brothers, Zelos, was named successor of the old king. This decision did not suit well with some of the most powerful nobles in the realm. This dispute overshadowed the last years of Ottremar, now a broken man, becoming more and more fragile with each passing week. When Zelos took the mantle of kingship, the boiling anger erupted. With reluctant nobles disputing the new king's right to rule, the once prospering realm was on the brink of open rebellion. Zelos was well aware of his shortcomings in regard of ruler ship. After being named successor he had dedicated himself to the studies of the kings that had come and gone in the past. When he became king and with civil war on the horizon, he decided that books weren't efficient and fast enough to teach him the needed skills. He decided to learn from the source itself instead. He consulted spiritists, shamans and even necromancers to summon the spirits of the kings of old to act as his advisors. This again arose the suspicion of the inquisition and even increased inner tensions. More and more desperate, Zelos turned not only to the advice of some reluctant ancestors but almost any spiritual entity that was willing to listen to his plea and to teach. Some of those spirits were more persistent and did not leave, once called into the world. So Zelos was soon hearing voices and whispers all day and even in his sleep. It is hard to say whic of his later decisions were entirely his and which were the result of such dark whispers or even his own growing insanity. Yet his first steps proved to be a success, at least from his point of view.
The History Of King Zelos I
After provoking the orcs to attack the realm, he mustered all forces to march against the common foe. With his enemies and their forces occupied and being oblivious of his true intentions, his state troops seized their families and brought them as hostages into the capital. The nobles were outraged bur powerless against this threat. Zelos was unmoved by their threats and pleas. After an execution of certain family members just as an example the nobles grudgingly gave in. With raised taxes and tariffs Zelos raised more troops and began to rule with an iron fist. He crushed the orcs and two minor rebellions which he used to justify a demilitarisation of the nobles to quell their strength even further. Zelos also became a collector of magic artifacts, with knowledge of their whereabouts provided to him by his spiritual guides. His insight into the plans of his enemies grew more and more by either spiritual informants or scrying devices he acquired. He now regularly consulted spirits and manifested ghosts as advisors, messengers, bodyguards and even assassins. More and more though, instead of ruling, he could be found mumbling to himself, lost in inner dialogue or arguing with unseen spirits. Soon he became known by his subjects as the ghost king. More and more he withdrew into his tower in the palace, relying more and more on ghostly messengers to communicate with his court. Oddly enough he was a strong supporter of the inquisition, though most claim it was just his reluctance to share his power with anyone. Under his reign the inquisition became twisted and changed, cutting many ties to the churches and been more and more responsible to king and crown. The purges of this inquisition often targeted the very same sources on which he himself once so heavily relied upon and many confiscated talismans and objects found their way into his hands. At some point he shut himself off from the public completely. Yet while he received food and water, his only contact with the outside world took place via ghost messengers or him attending council meetings remotely, due to arcane devices. In the 98th year of his unnatural long reign a still pious branch of the inquisition breached his tower in a coup. No one, save the top members of the inquisition, know what they actually faced in this tower but the day after, king Zelos was declared dead. His successor was yet another young cousin of his. Ilgram had already build up a strong support from the repressed nobility and proved to become a beloved king that renewed the realm to its former glory, casting away the gloom that the ghost king had cast over the land.