Rainer of Stormhold

“We must fight to earn our right to all we would claim for ourselves. This is the struggle of all life. There are those who would deny us this right – they feel it belongs to them alone. Today, we shall assert otherwise.”
-Rainer of Stormhold
== History ==
Once well-respected, the ailing King Rainer has gone senile in his early forties. Propped up by his advisers - in particular the knight Duvark Greysteel and the priestess Adyra Alderstar, he is a figurehead who presides over Stormhold, the last great human kingdom in Löthur, surrounded by foes and riven by internal divisions. He is afflicted by a mysterious magical curse, which might be the cause of his illness, and gives his supporters hope of a cure. 
Rainer's good reputation was enough to sustain him through his senility, up until the rebellion of one of his most respected generals, Sceledrus Kane.
In response to the threat posed by Nelgeroth and his Burning Head cult, Rainer assembled a large host of adventurers to hunt down the cultists, promising them a great reward. Though the operation was a success, it emerged that Nelgeroth was the pawn of a greater threat, and because the adventurers had no proof of success and Rainer himself had forgotten the entire event, his advisors contrived not to give out he reward. 
It was revealed by Sid Blackwood that King Rainer's chief adviser, Adyra Alderstar, was in league with Lord Varron. When Blackwood and the Steel Jackals healed King Rainer and confronted Alderstar, she revealed her true, draconic form, killing Blackwood, burning Stormhold, and departing. The newly recovered Rainer quickly took stock of the situation, vowing to formulate a strategy to hunt down the dragon and pledging his support to the besieged dwarves of the Northern Spine. 
Rainer admitted to knowing the Mayor of Ravencourt, but said only that the mayors of Ravencourt had always been staunch supporters of the monarchy. 
== Personality ==
Rainer was evidently held in high regard at some point in the past, but his descent into dotage was swift. At the time that he hired help to exterminate the cultists, he was frail but still able to communicate; upon their return he was completely forgetful and lost in a fog. Half a year later, he was nearly catatonic. 
Upon his recovery, King Rainer demonstrated a resolute and dauntless personality, quickly appraising the many challenging to his kingdom and beginning to design schemes and strategies to overcome them. 
Even during his sickness, Rainer has a contempt for witchcraft, evidenced by his strong action against the cultists, and by confused anger displayed in response to magic displayed in his presence. After his recovery, Rainer was more diplomatic, saying only that he knew little about the arcane. 
Like most members of Stormhold's elite, Rainer was contemptuous of easterners and their alleged mercenary nature. Though willing to hire adventurers, Rainer saw them as little more than mercenaries themselves. 
Category:Monarchs
Category:Lands of Löthur
Category:Kingdom of Stormhold
Category:Lawful Good