Julius I

Julius I (born 114a.Au, crowned 160a.Au, died 162a.Au) known briefly as Julius the Conqueror but forevermore as Julius the Conquered, was the firstborn child of King Markus II and his first wife, Beatrice Valosar. He had a younger brother named Argus. Julius was born during the reign of Queen Khulan the Great, and would see his own father ascend the throne in 149a.Au when Julius was 35. Living through the reign of a great monarch and of a disappointing monarch, Julius would seek to strike a careful balance during his own reign. His plans would, inadvertently, come to ruin.

At the age of 23, Prince Julius, at the time the Lord of Rimgard, wedded Eda Quaite, a woman of relatively low nobility comparative to the rest of Orbis, but with whom he had formed a strong bond whilst at Castle Rimgard. They would have their first child, Markus, that same year - 137a.Au. Many more would follow: Khulan (b. 139a.Au,) Sarellor and Lilus, (b. 140a.Au) and Sylvia (b. 146 a.Au). His grandmother would die in 149a.Au and Julius would become Lord of Kenkoa and heir apparent to the throne.

In 157a.Au, Prince Julius would be tasked by his father King Markus to assist in disputes taking place in the western reaches. Sailing across the Linos Sea to Terrus, Julius successfully diffused the situation which had built up from a negligent Lord Paramount, (namely Magnolia Aurum, a distant cousin, whose children were killed by the rebelling lords and who was herself sent to Argentum and barred from returning across the sea.) He would lead many forays against the Terranian Empire, and in 158a.Au received a signed writ from all the lords of the western reaches stating their acceptance of him as their Lord Paramount, which Julius' father assented to.

Prince Julius would war with the Terranian Empire for three years, until signing the White Treaty, named for taking place at the white city of Dolinium. It gifted great amounts of land to the Orben settlers in return for a breaking of the siege of Dolinium and a buffer zone being created between the two nations. This was seen as a great victory by those lords, and these settlements across the sea were finally given official status as a vassal of the crown when King Markus proclaimed the founding of West Orbis.

Julius designed to stay in West Orbis for some time, but this was cut short with the sudden murder of King Markus by the previous Lord Paramount of the Western Reaches, Magnolia Aurum, who had tricked his father into marrying her and slew him on their marital bed. King Julius I was crowned in the winter of 160a.Au.

Julius was a warrior, first and foremost. Having seized a portion of land from the Terranians, he now sought to ruin their trade. He knew far north of Orbis was the continent of Viland, and in Viland a trading port named Southspire had been established for many years. It swapped hands between the natives and the Terranians countless times, and was currently existing as a semi-autonomous state as the Terranian Empire entered its waning years and couldn't maintain a strong naval presence there. Julius knew that claiming this land wouldn't result in a breakage of the White Treaty, but that taking the resource would make the Terranians haemorrhage funds and would lead to their further decline.

Julius named his son and heir, the 23 year old Prince Markus, the Lord Paramount of the Western Reaches. Julius took his two next eldest sons and twins Sarellor and Lilus, aged 22, with him on his northern foray. His daughter Khulan would be named the Princess Regent; her mother Eda did not have a mind for statecraft.

In the naval battle which took place outside of Southspire, Prince Lilus perished in a burning ship that he was commanding. However, the city was taken. King Julius advised his son Prince Markus to prepare for an assault on the northern city of Termaurus, expecting for an army to set sail to regain Southspire which would leave Termaurus defenceless. With Termaurus cut off, the triangle of trade that the Terranian Empire had established in the northern quarter of the world would be utterly eroded.

However, King Julius had not accounted for the formation of a High Jarl; a king of kings of the Vilanders who with a great host marched south. It is unclear whether the High Jarl sensed opportunity with the dethroning of the Terranians in Southspire, or if they had been marching south regardless and the timing was simply poor for the king. Either way, Julius began fighting a war of northern aggression, in which Prince Sarellor also fell.

In the south-west, things were not fairing much better. News of the High Jarl's attack had reached the Terranian Empire, and so the forces that had gathered to retake Southspire instead marched eastwards. Prince Markus was caught utterly off guard and lost three battles in a row, before falling in the fourth. Princess Kharnul, now heir to the throne, took up the mantle of Lady Paramount and sailed for West Orbis. She too would succumb in the following year. It is unknown if the news ever reached King Julius before he too was slain on the shores of Southspire. The year was 162 a.Au, and he was 48. He had reigned for only two years, all of them at war.

He was succeeded by his youngest and only remaining child, Sylvia Aurum, a fifteen year old girl.