Vaden I

Vaden I, (born 3b.Au, crowned 22a.Au, died 54a.Au, aged 57)known in contemporary times as Vaden the Successor but referred to historically mainly as Vaden the Architect, was the firstborn child of Markus I and Valententia Zakariya, and the second King of Orbis. He had a younger sister, Chrysobellys, the Duchess of Little Orbis.

Vaden Aurum ascended the throne in 22a.Au, following his father's abdication. King at twenty four, having grown up in the pampered lifestyle of a prince rather than the hard-fought struggle of the king he was succeeding, Vaden faced the struggle of many rebellious lords who had sworn fealty to Markus Aurum but who felt that his son could not command their respect. This image was not helped by Vaden marrying Lucinda Garo, a cartographer's daughter not part of the nobility, the following year.

Vaden and Lucinda would have three children; Markus (born 24a.Au), Isabella (born 26a.Au), and Marcellus (born 27a.Au).

In the year 25a.Au, Vaden began construction of the Palace of the Golden Emperors, which would take thirty years to complete.

Vaden was king when the First Terranian Incursion began. The Terranian Empire, having been thoroughly routed by Markus I, sensed the weak nature of Vaden I who seemed incapable of commanding the loyalty of his subordinates. Wanting to reclaim the lands they had lost decades ago, the Terranian Empire landed an invasion fleet on the western shores of Orbis in 37a.Au, taking control of Eurybia and Kratos. They would take the city of Pallas shortly thereafter.

Vaden would lead the forces of Orbis against the Terranian Empire and successfully expelled them from Orbis. Part of this push would be helped by Vaden agreeing to marry the daughter of Duke Matthias Wildemount, (Vaden's first wife having died in 34a.Au from a fever,) leading to the guarantee of a large army to bolster Vaden's forces. Vaden took his eldest son Markus as squire during this mission, and during the liberation of Kratos his son died in combat.

Though he had won the war and united the realm once again, Vaden would never forgive himself for the death of his heir and descend into alcoholism. With his second wife Eostre he had two further children, Lilian (born 39a.Au) and Sogan (born 43a.Au).

Vaden succumbed to death in the year 54 a.Au, just one year after the completion of his grand project - the construction of the Palace of the Golden Emperors. Bards like to speculate that this work was the only reason he held onto life, though the reality is more likely that his body finally gave in to the unhealthy lifestyle he had indulged in the last fifteen years. He became the first of the Aurum Dynasty to be buried in the Royal Crypt, and was succeeded by his second son and third child, Marcellus Aurum.