Death of a King

From the Furyondy Beacon
12th Day of Fireseek, CY 592

King Belvor IV, passed in the night. According to sources in the royal house, he died peacefully in his sleep. Months of rumor and speculation regarding his failing health have now ended. He was in his 65th year.

King Belvor ascended to the Furyondian throne in CY 537, and he ruled over the good and noble kingdom for nearly fifty-five years. He was in his tenth year, when his father, Belvor III, passed away.

The king inherited many problems stemming for the original rise of Iuz in CY 479. Rumors had spread to Furyondy of a road paved with skulls stretching from the Howling Hills to the capital in Dorakaa. Fear gripped the northern lands of Furyondy.

The power structure in Furyondy gave much independence to the nobles of the Seven Families, and this proved to be a problem when the external threats grew. The southern lords, whose lands were in no danger from Iuz, used his threats to wring land concessions from King Avras III. This deprived the king of much needed taxes and control. The northern lords felt betrayed by the king and the southern lords, so they took this opportunity to build an army loyal to them. They bolstered the ranks and eventually took over leadership of the Order of the Hart.

By CY 505, a three-way split occurred in Furyondy. The Great Lords of the South ruled the largest faction. The Order of the Hart was second in power, and they were controlled by the margraves of the north. King Avras found himself nearly crushed between the two factions. He could not appease both, and his power base was dwindling fast.

At this point a great stroke of luck befell the lands. Iuz was captured and imprisoned beneath Castle Greyhawk by Zagyg the Mad. The coalition of Iuz’s forces, dissolved along the borders.

Prince Belvor III actively courted the Order of the Hart, and he brought it into the royal fold. Upon the death of his father, the king used his power to bring the southern lords back into submission. His reign was cut short by his untimely demise in CY 537. The tenuous faction he formed held up during the years of his son’s regency.

When Belvor IV came of age in CY 543, he assumed full control of the kingdom. The Regent Lord Throstin was slow to surrender his power that he held for the last six years. As the head of the Order of the Hart, Throstin was able to slow the rise of the new king. Belvor IV strove tirelessly to strengthen the lands of his kingdom, and his goal of conquest over the lands of Iuz focused the might of the kingdom.

The construction of the Temple of Elemental Evil in CY 568 gave rise to a new threat south of the kingdom. In joint coalition with Veluna and Verbobonc, an army under the leadership of Prince Thrommel IV defeated the evil hordes at Emridy Meadows in CY 569.

The opportunity for a lasting alliance with Veluna was at hand. Prince Thrommel was engaged to Jolene D’Amphere of Veluna. The grand celebration never took place. On a campaign in the Kron Hills in CY 573, Prince Thrommel disappeared. Years of searching for evidence of his whereabouts yielded no results. Until recently, nearly everyone assumed he was dead.

War broke out across the Flanaess in CY 582. The next year saw the invasion of Iuz, who had escaped his prison some thirteen years earlier, into Furyondy. King Belvor IV had spent some time in preparation for this, but by the month of Reaping, Chendl was besieged. The coffers of the kingdom were nearly empty, and the noblemen chafed against the king’s rule. The king personally led an elite unit that struck at the leadership of the besieging force of goblinkin. It worked and the siege was broken.

The winter was harsh and difficult for both sides. The king used the temporary respite from warfare to build a stronger alliance with neighboring kingdoms. By the coming of spring, new armies were on the march. A stalemate was drawn along the northern border of Furyondy. Other nations continued to make war until a peace treaty was drawn up in the City of Greyhawk in CY 584.

In CY 586, Canon Hazen of Veluna used an artifact to cause the Flight of Fiends. This stripped Iuz of much of his leadership, and opened the way for Furyondy to act. King Belvor declared the Great Northern Crusade to wipe out Iuz and his remaining forces. Many of the southern nobles protested this declaration, so tensions within the kingdom began to rise again. Within two years, all of the Furyondian lands lost to Iuz were reclaimed.

The planned funeral for Prince Thrommel was delayed when news that he may still live reached the king. A group of crusaders working to bring down some remaining forces from the original Temple of Elemental Evil brought the ancestral sword Fragarach to the king during Needfest a few weeks ago. Details about their news were sketchy, but Belvor and his advisors were apparently convinced.

With the death of King Belvor, a lot of questions need to be answered. If the crown prince is not alive, who will rule the kingdom? Will the faction of the southern lords under Whillom Stronbillet take control? Is the Order of the Hart still strong enough to oppose the southern lords? If the prince is alive, who will serve as regent until he returns? What reaction will Iuz have to this news?

Canon Heldenster announced this morning that funeral services will take place on the 18th. He also called for representatives from the Seven Families to meet in Chendl to sort out all matters of succession.