Foltest III

Foltest was the king of Temeria, prince of Sodden, sovereign of Pontaria and Mahakam as well as the senior protector of Brugge and Ellander. He was the son of King Medell and Queen Sancia of Sodden, making him a member of the Temerian Dynasty.
Sancia's royal connection with Sodden turned the principality into a vassal state and Ekkehard began paying tribute to Temeria after the death of Gutram. The king's Royal Council in Vizima included the sorceresses Triss Merigold and Keira Metz, as well as Fercart of Cidaris, Willemer the priest, Bronibor and Hereward of Ellander.
== Biography ==
=== Rise to Power ===
Foltest was a wise and handsome monarch. As with his predecessor, he was not fond of his grandfather, Hugo of Rivia. Upon his accession to the Temerian throne, he demanded that Hugo's portrait be removed from the throne room and had a habit of "leaving Hugo out" of the family genealogy. Foltest devoted plenty of time to lauding his great-grandfather, Griffin, as he was known to speak warmly of "Grandmama Bienvenu" and "Great-grandmama Clarissa". He tended to be highly evasive of any questions regarding family lineage.
Although unmarried, many rumors about Foltest's romantic status circulated. From an early age, the then-prince created great scandal in the royal court by having an affair with his own sister, Adda. After ascending to the throne, he was to marry Adda and make her his queen, mortally offending King Vizimir II of Redania, who had arranged for Foltest to marry his daughter Dalimira. Adda died soon after the birth of their daughter, however, and the marriage never eventuated. The cursed child — possibly accursed by the courtier Ostrit, who was in love with Adda, but perhaps by Foltest's mother — died shortly after birth, or appeared to, until she emerged as a striga seven years later. The monster was so dangerous that Foltest was forced to move his residence elsewhere. The beast, however, remained a threat to all citizens living nearby. Foltest and his advisors at summoned a multitude of magical professionals or Knowing Ones. While most only offered a multitude of ways to kill the monster, one told of a possible ritual which could reverse the curse: sleeping within the striga's sarcophagus till the third crowing of the cock. As no one at the time could succeed, Foltest kept the striga alive while arbitrarily sending for mages and sorceress who might know how to reverse the spell.
=== Lifting Adda's curse ===
In 1252, the witcher Geralt of Rivia was taken before Foltest as he believed he could lift the curse on Adda. They discussed the contract and arranged a reward of 3,000 orens, though they considered other options that Geralt could take, such as killing the striga, Foltest pleaded that Geralt simply cure it.
Later Foltest went and visited Geralt, discussing three last matters: what process the witcher would go through to lift the curse, what he should do if he needs to defend his life, and what state Adda would be in if she survived. Geralt explained how he would lift the curse and then went on his way to the old palace and eventually succeeded.
The affair between Foltest and his sister rendered him ineligible as a royal bachelor because any potential union would be tainted by the scandal. However, Foltest did not remain celibate for long. During the Second Northern War, he was secretly in love with the Baroness La Valette. It is widely rumored that both the Baroness' younger children, son Boussy and daughter Anaïs, are not the children of the old baron La Valette, but the progeny of Foltest. Adda the White was officially regarded as the successor to the Temerian throne, but the girl was clearly impaired and disabled.
=== Northern Wars ===
In 1263, during the First Northern War, Foltest travelled with the Temerian Army to Lower Sodden, where under the united leadership of King Vizimir II of Redania, a great battle was fought and won against the invading Nilfgaardians.
The war crippled the Temerian economy, as over the next few years, a surplus of cheap Nilfgaardian goods started entering the kingdom. These goods competed too highly with local artisan prices, and so Vizimir II of Redania introduced ius stapulae to Novigrad, blocking all merchandise routes, and looking for Temerian and Nilfgaardian wares to seize and re-sell within the city, hoping it would prevent the same issues that Temeria's economy was suffering from. Foltest responded by issuing the law in the cities of Vizima and Gors Velen, knowing he couldn't close the southern borders, preventing the movement of Nilfgaardian goods, as it would anger the Merchant's Guild.
In 1267, he was summoned to Hagge by King Demavend III of Aedirn, along with the other leaders of the Northern Kingdoms, Vizimir II, Meve, Henselt. They discussed Emhyr var Emreis's invasion never ending, and the idea of a counter-attack. After the topic of the Scoia'tael came up, Foltest vowed to clear them from the lands of Temeria and Sodden within six months. While the other leaders believed Foltest had been searching for Ciri, as he wished to marry her to control Cintra, Meve knew about his relationship with Maria Louisa La Valette. The group quickly realized if Emhyr were to marry Ciri, they would permanently lose Cintra to her royal blood, so they silently agreed she needed to die. Foltest returned to Vizima and sent messages to his vassals to collect soldiers for the army, preparing for the second war.
Foltest next travelled to Maribor, where in the city he received news delivered by Aplegatt from Demavend about Aedirnian and Lyrian soldiers awaiting orders to attack the Imperials and begin the war. Foltest responded by calling off the attack, until the Grand Mage's Conclave on Thanedd was finished, as plans could change, and believing Ciri dead, also called off the search for her. By June, he had his quartermasters commission boat-smiths to build him an armada, and launched them along the Brugge and Sodden west coast in embarkment and disembarkment drills.
The next month, after the beginning of the war and the fall of Aedirn and Verden, knowing Temeria couldn't muster a force to support Demavend or themselves against Nilfgaard, Foltest signed a peace treaty with Emhyr. Due to the Thanedd coup, and his newfound allegiance to Nilfgaard, Foltest exiled his court mages, including Triss Merigold and Keira Metz. He then offered support to Francesca Findabair, the newly appointed queen of Dol Blathanna, on the promise she would stop aiding the Scoia'tael.
Category:Characters
Category:Human
Category:Temerian
Category:Monarch
Category:Temerian Dynasty