Shornhelm , Crown City of the North Content . The Breton people of the Markwasten Moor and Shornhelm heights have a long and storied history , with much to be proud of : the Trammeling of the Giants in the time of legends ; the Purge of the Wyrd - Hags in the Year of Sun ' s - Death ( which restored Magnus to the skies of the Mundus ) ; and the Charge of the Montclair Knights ( often erroneously referred to as the Charge of the Shornhelm Knights ) at the Battle of Glenumbria Moors . Through all this tumultuous history , the people of Rivenspire are fortunate to have been ably led , through times of terror and triumph , by the noble lords of the House of Montclair . It is true that the Barons of House Montclair have not always been selected by fate to also reign as King of Shornhelm . But the Montclairs count humility among their many virtues , and have often been willing to defer to pretenders with weaker claims to royalty in the interest of peace . That this humility has sometimes been tragically over - indulged was sadly proven in the case of my father — Phylgeon , 38th Baron Montclair . As all students of Breton history know , the greatest post - Reman monarch of Shornhelm was King Hurlburt , who led our army at the Battle of Granden Tor and ruled the North from 2E 522 until his death in 546 . Hurlburt was of House Branquette , 21st Count of the Name , and had taken as his queen Countess Iphilia of Montclair . When King Hurlburt died his legitimate son , Prince Phylgeon , was only fourteen years of age , and though his inheritance was championed by House Montclair , Houses Branquette and Tamrith supported his elder half - brother , Prince Ranser , who had been born out of wedlock to a poor Tamrith cousin . ( House Dorell , typically aloof , declined to endorse either candidate . ) What is less well known is the behind - the - scenes maneuvering that led to Ranser being crowned King of Shornhelm rather than Phylgeon . The advisors of the young Baron Montclair ( his mother had predeceased King Hurlbut " " by a mere two years ) contended that he , as the legitimate son , was the proper heir to the throne — a claim further buttressed by language in a codicil to the famous " Bretonnick Natalitie " that declared " Howse Mount Clayre " the royal house of Shornhelm . The Council of the North met to consider the various claimants , but during their deliberations the Montclair advisors found that the Bretonnick codicil had gone missing , while Prince Ranser brought forth a suspiciously long - lost Direnni decree that named House Branquette their " Breton Royal Delegates " in Rivenspire . The vote of the Council was a narrow victory for Prince Ranser , thereafter King Ranser of Shornhelm . Some of Prince Phylgeon ' s advisors urged him to fight for the crown , but the young prince declined , preferring to become simply the Baron of Montclair . Oh , fateful humility ! We all know where Phylgeon ' s deference led — to the tragic events of 566 and the insurrection against the First Daggerfall Covenant in what is known ( to our shame ) as Ranser ' s War . According to the standard histories , all the noble houses — Montclair , Tamrith , even Dorell — answered King Ranser ' s call to muster and marched behind his banner in his fatal war against High King Emeric and the South . What is not generally known is that Count Phylgeon of Montclair was uncertain of the rightness of Ranser ' s cause , and offered to both Kings Ranser and Emeric to serve as a peace envoy between the two sides . High King Emeric ' s reply has been lost to history , but Ranser ' s angry refusal is well known . Once again my father deferred to his elder half - brother , and the Montclair Knights joined Ranser ' s doomed army . In the immediate aftermath of King Ranser ' s fall , Rivenspire fell into chaos . The Crown of Shornhelm went missing during the Battle of Traitor ' s Tor , and the fateful " Direnni decree " that elevated Ranser to the throne has likewise not been seen since . The death of Ranser was the end of the line of House Branquette , and since then there has been no King of Shornhelm , Rivenspire having been jointly ruled by the triumvirate Council of the North . That body has tried , with the best of intentions , to keep peace and order in the northern counties , but nobody , if they were speaking honestly , would say the Council ' s efforts have sufficed . Shornhelm — and the North — need a King . And why shouldn ' t they have one ? If I may speak frankly , setting aside , however regretfully , the traditional Montclair mantle of humility , then I must confess that I , Baron Wylon of Montclair , am certainly the legitimate heir to the throne of Shornhelm . My grandfather was King Hurlburt , and I descend from him in the direct and legitimate line of succession , a claim no one else in the North can make . ( That also makes me the sole living heir to the domain of the Branquettes , much of which was unfairly parceled out to the Tamriths and Dorells , but no — humility , always humility ! ) Furthermore , at this critical juncture I am fortunate to be able to announce that the long - missing Bretonnick Codicil has been found by the Montclair house historian , the operative clause of which I shall quote here : " . . . seeing all in order then in Sharn Helm " " and its Lands Contyguous , the most royale and high … ( unintelligible ) … appointeth in Perpetuitie sayde Howse Mount Clayre in rulership over . . . ( unintelligible ) … and Sharn Helm . So mote it bee . " People of Rivenspire , Baron Wylon of Montclair is prepared to do his duty .