Thalore II Heartan
Biographical information
Physical description
- "Thalore II Heartan was a great king, feared, loved, hated, respected - everyone loved to hate this man. His reign brought a sense of protection across Amsnorth."
- ―About Thalore II
Thalore II Heartan (TA 9452 - TA 9519) was the King of Amsnorth until his death at the age of 67 years old.
Thalore II's father, Bilious VI Heartan, was executed at Windhark in TA 9461, at the climax of the Winvin Civil War. Although the Human Royal Government proclaimed Thalore II King on 9462, Royalandüs entered the period known as the Human Interregnum, and the country was under the rulership of the Senate. The Senate defeated Thalore II at the Battle of Afrana in 9464, and Thalore fled to mainland The Northern Territories. The Senate Lords became virtual dictators of the Western Territories, declairing that the Human Monarchy was being replaced with a dictatorship, and Thalore spent the next four years in exile in the Eastern Territories
A political crisis that followed the death of Bryson Ashton in 9470 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, and Thalore was invited to return to Royalandüs. On TA 9472, his 20th birthday, he was received in Gran Sarathal to public acclaim. In later 9472, all legal documents were dated as if he had succeeded his father as King of Amsnorth.
Thalore was popularly known as the King without Mercy, in reference to both the liveliness and hedonism of his court and the general relief at the return to normality after over several of rule by the Senate. Thalore's wife, Igraine Heartan bore them six children, four of which would die shortly into their childhood. After the death of Thalore, his fifth youngest child, Nark IX Heartan succeeded him to the throne, and would later be remarked as one of the worst kings in human history.
Character and Appearance[]
Thalore was a ruthless, tough, wise, cunning, intelligent, and brutal man. Even though he shared a great deal of kindness to his people as King of Amsnorth, he was also known to never show mercy to those who have commited serious crimes. His reign as king involved a great deal of beheadings, to which he was always present, in his rule he executed hundreds of criminals to set an example above all thugs.
Thalore however was not a family man, while he did have many children, he did not pay much attention to them, believing it was the mother's duty to look and raise them. He did on occasion take one or two of them on an advanture.
Thalore was a handsome man, standing around 6 feet tall, he was a muscular man with very large arms and shoulders. He was known for have a very unusal nose, which lay slightly off, and thick lips. Thalore was also known for a very strong hygiene, loving his sweet smells. Like many nighborns, he enjoyed his luxury clothings, donning on very dark reds and blues.
History[]
Early life, civil war and exile[]
Thalore was born in Royal Palace in TA 9452. His parents were: Bilious VI Heartan (who gained the throne by
Young Thalore
murdering the king before him), and Madalyn Currington (the sister of the Lord of Windhark, Ransford Currington). Thalore was their first child, with their second being Walter X Heartan.
During the 9450s, when Thalore was still young, his father fought Parliamentary and Rival forces in the Winvin Civil War, as the Lords of Afrana rose up against House Heartan to try and form their own monarchy. Thalore accompanied his father during the Battle of the Black Mountains and, at the age of fourteen, participated in the campaigns of 9456, when he was made titular commander of the House Heartan forces in Afrana. By Spring 9456, his father was losing the war, and Thalore left Afrana due to fears for his safety, setting off from Shardlake after staying at the Barred-Maid, going first to the Villanna Islands, then to the Burnt Islands, and finally to Eastern Territories, where his mother was already living in exile with his younger brother Walter X Heartan.
In 9458, during the Second Winvin Civil War, Charles moved to The Northern Territories, where his distant cousin through marriage, Katherine Lukie, daughter to Halbert Lukie seemed more likely to provide substantial aid to the royalist cause. However, the royalist fleet that came under Thalore's control was not used to any advantage, and did
Prince Thalore
not reach Afrana in time to join up with the royalist army, before it was defeated at the Battle of the Black Sea by the Parliamentarians.
At Qhylen, Thalore had a brief affair with Scarlett Malwood, who later falsely claimed that they had secretly married. Her son, Edward V Heartan, was the only illegitimate child that Thalore had.
Bilious VI Heartan surrendered in 9459. He escaped and was recaptured in 9460. Despite his son's diplomatic efforts to save him, Bilious was beheaded in 9461, and Royalandüs became a republic. In the same year, the Human Royal Government had proclaimed Thalore "King of Amsnorth."
When negotiations stalled, Thalore authorised Halbert Lukie to land in the Great Valour Islands with a small army to threaten them with invasion, in the hope of forcing an agreement more to his liking. Lukie feared that Thalore would accept a compromise, and so chose to invade mainland the Islands anyway. He was captured and executed. Thalore reluctantly promised that he would abide by the terms of a treaty agreed between him and the Senate. Due to the murderous betrayal of Bilious VI Heartan before him, the Senate declaired Thalore unfit for reign and king, so put out that he was a traitor, and a randsom was placed on his head.
Some months later, during the Battle of Afrana, Thalore was defeated, and most of his forces were obliterated. The rest of his forces begun to fight amoung themselves, for power or through grief. Disillusioned by everything, Thalore attempted to escape from them and rode north to join with Scarlett Lukie, an event which became known as "the
Thalore in battle
Start", but within two days the Senate forces had caught up with him, and was forced to flee.
With the Senate declairing themsleves the new monarchy, and that highborns will all have control over Amsnorth, House Heartan was forced out of Gran Sarathal, with fear of being betrayed. They all, along with Thalore fled into the Eastern Territories, to the ancient seat of their royal house, the Rocky Vale.
Restoration[]
After the death of Bryson Ashton in TA 9470, Thalore's chances of regaining the Crown at first seemed slim as Ashton was succeeded as Lord Protector by his son, Myke Ashton. However, the new Lord Protector had no power base in either Senate or the Human Royal Government. He was forced to abdicate in 9472 and the Afrana's possibility was abolished. During the civil and military unrest which followed, George Winvin, the Governor of Brightown, was concerned that the nation would descend into anarchy, due to his failure to obtain a monarchy. Winvin and his army marched into the City of Gran Sarathal and forced the Senate to give more powers to the Afrana people. However, while their actions were mostly succsessful, they were
Thalore II Heartan
still restricted of their monarchy powers.
The restrictions against royalist candidates and voters were widely ignored, and the elections resulted in House Heartan forcing themsleves to maintain power as kings and queens. Thalore, from the seat in Rocky Vale, moved his politicains across the Western Territories, hoping in gaining the favour of the people once more, by inflicting promises to the people. This was eventually a sucess, as the Senate and many highborns invited him and several other lords to the capital to discuss the future of the Crown.
He set out for Royalandüs from Rocky Vale, arrived in Qhylen in the early months of TA 9472 and reached Gran Sarathal six months later, on his 20th birthday. Although Thalore and the Human Royal Government granted amnesty to Bryson Ashton's supporters and many of the participators in the Winvin Civil War, 150 people were specifically excluded. More than half of them were executed: they were hanged, drawn and quartered; others were given life imprisonment or simply excluded from office for life.
Thalore agreed to the abolition of feudal dues; in return, the Afrana Parliament granted him an annual income to run the government, generated largely from customs and excise duties. The grant, however, proved to be insufficient for most of Thalore's reign. The sum was only an indication of the maximum the King was allowed to withdraw from the Treasury each year; for the most part, the actual revenue was much lower, which led to mounting debts, and further attempts to raise money through poll taxes, land taxes and hearth taxes.
In the later half of 9475, with many of the issues of the past settled, Thalore II Heartan now King of Amsnorth decided to uphold his promises, many lands were increased, power was handed to the people in may corners of each country ruled under his government, and the decreased taxes lead to a peaceful time.
Later Years[]
Thalore faced a political storm over the succession to the Throne. The prospect of a religious monarch was vehemently opposed by many of the Senate members. This was mainly because many of Thalore's children were
King Thalore II Heartan
born out of wedlock. Edward V Heartan, the eldest son to Thalore was his heir, however due to the opposition of many members of parliment, his claim was a danger. Thalore fought for his succession, and even managed to convince many governments across Amsnorth to allow his son to claim the throne, if he received a form of legitimization from the Holey One. This was eventually granted.
The next year Thalore wed Igraine Norbell, the daughter to Nikolas Norbell. The two later had five other children, four of which did not survive out of their childhood during the Seginthul Civil War, as many of them were sent into battle, and with the death of Edward V Heartan at the Battle of Bonhaerk, the only child Thalore had left was Nark IX Heartan. Nark was known as a very hostile and vile man, and Thalore was very resistant in making him his next heir, but after he settled the debate in Seginthul, he decided he would be a fit enough monarch after him. Nark went on to be remarked as one of the worst kings in human history.
Death[]
Thalore in his later years
Thalore suffered a sudden heart attack in the early months of TA 9519, and died aged, four days later at Royal Palace. The suddenness of his illness and death led to suspicion of poison in the minds of many, including one of the royal doctors; however, a more in depth medical analysis has held that he had been suffering from problems for many years.
On his deathbed Thalore asked his brother, Walter X Heartan, to look after his mistresses, who would now become Queen Mother after his death, and to take her to the Rocky Vale to live her life in peace. Like many kings before him, he was placed in the Kings' Mountain, in a tomb created for him by his son Nark IX Heartan, who had slaves work on it for seven months, and had the greatest stonemason to forge a statue that would serve as a welcome to his tomb.
Powers and Abilities[]
Thalore was a very gifted warrior, and politician. He was well known for his calm speech and was able to keep an entire room quiet when speaking. Even though his appearance was gentle and loving, he was fierce when angered. He weilded House Heartan's deadly Dragonheart in combat, and was a very skilled fighter.
He rarely sustained a wound when in battle, and was seen charging through ranks of soldiers wearing his solid gold armour. Thalore was also very gifted with archery, as he often hunted for his own food during his exile years after the Winvin Civil War. Even though he was a soldier at heart, Thalore was a great ruler and king, and was one of the smartest men of his time. His years of study gave him a very wise personal.
See Also[]
| King of Amsnorth | ||
| Preceded by Bilious V Heartan |
Thalore II Heartan | Succeeded by Nark IX Heartan |