Lythe Armitage

==Overview==
Lythe Armitage was a male member of House Armitage alive in 202 AG, becoming the Duke of Contra in 191 AG after the death of his father, Duke Syid Armitage - and past 202 AG, King of Contra. He had a short temper when challenged, and became moody when things did not go his way. Throughout his life, he was afflicted by health issues and by his death, was essentially insane. He notably presided over Contra's 10 year famine and its involvement in the Uprootings. Lythe's rule marked the first significant rift between the people of Contra and House Armitage's rule through his views on the Grenthyx Dynasty and subsequent support of the execution of King Barren II Grenthyx - being seen to betray their trust and abandon their already stark economic interests.
== Appearance ==
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Lythe was born in 141 AG to Syid and Eira, during the reign of Syid's sister, Dersi Armitage. His childhood was pampered, with attention and love from his parents who gave the young Armitage all he wished for, even convincing, at great personal embarrassment, Duchess Dersi Armitage to grant him his own tower in Connett Castle. The to be Duke was prone to fits of sulking should he not get what he wanted, which were met with more pampering on behalf of his parents, who did not know how to hope to ever satisfy him. Lythe received private tuition, and showed little interest in most areas apart from that of ruling - seeing the control it gave him over his whole kingdom as highly lucrative. As such, Lythe refused to go to universities, seeing them as irrelevant to his ambitions specifcally in Contra. Instead, he received further private tuition from aides and advisors in the workings of Contra and leadership. 
=== Adulthood ===
As Lythe grew older, he became increasingly fixated on the dukedom of Contra, and became keenly opposed to the Grenthyx Dynasty - having high ambitions to establish himself as king of the kingdom. The surest way to do this, he judged, was to wait for the right time to abolish the Dynasty's hold over The Continent. He grew to resent his parents upon Syid's ascension to the Dukedom of the kingdom following Dersi Armitage's death in 173 AG. His father, who was already 64, he viewed to be wasting his time, taking the view that he should have afforded the Dukedom to Lythe after his sister had died so he could carry out his vision. During the early years of his rule, Lythe's resentment only built up.
=== Meeting Straeyl ===
Lythe met Straeyl Armitage in 183 AG, marrying her the following year. He had tried without success for years to find someone he loved - however as their marriage progressed, it became increasingly clear to Lythe that she had only married him with the hopes of ruling alongside him should his ambitions come to fruition, something she judged to be a wise call by 183 AG due to Lythe's father and current Duke, Syid Armitage, having increasingly deteriorating health. With Streal, he had three children - Sydor, Sue and Petron Armitage.
=== Ascension to the Dukedom ===
By the late 180 AGs, his father's health had declined significantly, being unable to breathe much. Throughout 190 AG, Lythe was expecting him to die on a day-to-day basis. Eventually, on the 27th of December 190, Syid died in his sleep and was thusly automatically succeeded as Duke of Contra by Lythe. Following a sombre funeral on the 2nd of January, the secretly enthused Lythe paid little attention to mourning, instead looking forward to his officiation ceremony on the 7th. 
In his first year as Duke, he grew close to the head of the Advisory Council of Contra, Cesil Burnwyn. Although taken aback by Cesil's passive aggressive tactics, he noted that he was nonetheless efficient at marshalling the council's attention to various matters. Indeed, as the 10 Year Famine began in 191 AG, House Armitage's response was considered admirable by many considering the devastating famine that began to ravage the kingdom. Lythe agreed to distribute food, clothing and water to affected subjects, who in turn respected the Duke. This attracted the attention of Helmontan Patriarch, Forkoux Fyth. Wishing to meet, Cesil arranged for Lythe and the Patriarch to meet in 198 AG. Lythe appreciated the Patriarch's respectful gesture of not arriving in the opulent ship, The Murndorl, to avoid being insensitive towards the desperation of Lythe's subjects. The two spoke candidly to one-another, with Forkoux bearing troublesome news: concerns regarding the new King of the Continent, Barren II Grenthyx. Following his coronation, Forkoux relayed the beginning of some concerning developments which Lythe and Cesil would pay close attention to. These played into Lythe's plan, who was secretly pleased with the news, as he sensed the moment would come soon where the Dynasty would be forced to disband, allowing him to become King of his kingdom.
Upon Barren's establishment of a trade blockade at the mouth of Helmont's River Tyst, he cut off all trade with all kingdoms Barren's trade blockade was intent on giving preference. In response, Barren set up further blockades to Contra, blocking off their trade entirely. Lythe became outraged, sparking health concerns even from Cesil. Lythe became somewhat breathless beginning with this immense bout of anger. In light of the ongoing famine in Contra, Lythe and Cesil feared that Contra's subjects would blame them for their already dire situation with crop failure made even worse by them not being able to sell the few crops that were viable. Lythe's fears were misplaced, but nonetheless his paranoia translated into disdain for the King and what he had done to Contra.
=== The Uprootings ===
=== Later Life ===
Lythe attended the Royal Palace Summit shortly after the conclusion of the Uprootings, having being pleased with Barren's death in spite of his failing health. In the summit, Cesil Burnwyn spoke on Lythe's behalf for the most part owing to Lythe's slurred speech due to his recent stroke. Upon their return back to Connett Castle, a Storming of Connett Castle occured, during which two of Lythe's youngest children died - Sue and Petron. This gave him another stroke shortly after. Bedridden once more, Lythe was officially coronated as King of Contra, despite not being present at the officiation which was arranged entirely by a now unstable Cesil Burnwyn in December 202 AG. This completed the kingdom's transition into a post-Grenthyx era. Lythe's health had began to cause his mental stability to falter, causing him to make rash and ill-informed judgments in bursts of insanity. In one such ill informed proclamation, the senile Lythe dismissed Cesil as head of the advisory council of Contra, proclaiming that he never liked Cesil personally and that he was a useful convenience to discharge his duties as Duke throughout the Uprootings. Before entering a fit of unseen rage and anger, Cesil smiled with gritted teeth at the bed-ridden King, marking their last encounter together. 
Throughout 203 AG, Lythe contributed to an effort to maintain a pro-Fellowship presence in the various institutions in the Continent, such as the Provincial Court and Council Magnus. Indeed, he had appointed an old friend and trusted ally in Sentheus Llarson upon the establishment of the Provincial Court in 202 AG, who would combat the likes of Helmont's Jonson Calfe. In particular, Lythe was insistent that his Fellowship ally, Airibi I Root, needed to be cleared of charges of genocide by advocating for the Trial of Airibi Root (1), which occured in a court dominated by Fellowship judges without any dissenting voices due to them not being admitted until other restructuring was complete. This was a guise, maintained by Lythe, to attempt to absolve the Fellowship through the Court as much as they could prior to all kingdoms eventually gaining full representation in late 204 AG. 
Lythe's rule of Contra by 204 AG was mostly conducted by his advisory council, now presided over as head by the inexperienced Gwladus Greenthee, who had replaced Cesil two years prior. Confused and directionless without a head, the advisors had little idea of how to run the kingdom without being told what to do. This only further distanced House Armitage's already shattered relationship with Contra's subjects - displaying regular neglect and lack of responsibility for their basic needs. However, this was for good reason, as Lythe had become almost completely bedridden and was beginning to go blind. Although his strokes had subsided, he could hardly speak and was unable to move parts of his body in his bed. When he was well enough to hold conversations, his ramblings were seemingly soliloquy, with little to do with the external world. As such, when the Royal Gren Championships XVII (204 AG) were held in Contra, the kingdom was utterly unprepared and had compiled a rudimentary set of games at best. Helmont, C'thardjia and Mhordyn boycotted the games in response to the tensions which had arisen since the Uprootings, least of all with Forkoux Fyth's anger towards Lythe and his reign. The games were notable for their inadequate venues, dangerous proximity to angry mobs who stormed a few of the games - causing them to be cancelled and awards given based on previous games. Viewed as a sham, the games ended with an embarassment for Contra, with Llanoreid winning. 
In 205 AG, Lythe began to grow increasingly deaf, added to his worsening blindness. Now completely bedridden, he was constrained in his chambers for his own good, being utterly senile whose speech was restricted to rambling. He was still able to communicate somewhat through gesticulations, throwing his arms up in fits of anger or deranged noises to indicate approval, though this still left his advisory council having to conduct most of the business of continuing Lythe's rule. Many in Contra discussed the possibility of Lythe's heir apparent, Sydor Armitage, assuming his duties while he was incapacitated. However, at every turn Lythe rejected these suggestions in any way he could, wanting to preserve a rule over his kingdom he had waited to secure for so many years. Being compelled to accept this, the advisory council would continue. In 206 AG, after having dealt with affairs in the Capital relating to the Provincial Court and related matters, Forkoux Fyth extended an offer to the advisory council to subsume Contra into Helmont, allowing Forkoux to help the Contrans to rebuild in the wake of Lythe's increasingly disasterous reign. Most of the council admitted they would approve of such a move, however the council needed approval from Lythe to proceed, who would have objected to the decision were he even in a condition to deny the proposals. However, Lythe was in no position to make any decisions. By now, the few lapses of consciousness he enjoyed a day were filled with frothing-mouthed sounds of insanity, and erratic, involuntary movement in the few parts of his body which were not left paralysed by repeated strokes. Breathing became extremely difficult, with his only remaining working lung being seriously afflicted by disease. Needless to say, Lythe's advisory council made up a story that their King was travelling, and was unable to ratify any offerings. Straeyl, Lythe's wife, had not spoken or seen the King since the Gren Championships in 204 AG. While technically still Queen Consort of Contra, she lived her own life in another part of the castle. 
With Contra experiencing continual decline, the now 65 year old Lythe was on the verge of death for much of the remainder of 206 AG. By late 206 AG, his condition had worsened still, with multiple bleeding skin conditions to add to now complete blindness and deafness. Unable to move any part of his body now, Lythe was incapable of any indication of his thoughts, completely paralysed. He was maintained by doctors who worked in Connett Castle, feeding him and wiping away his revolting ailments. On the 29th of December 206 AG, Lythe suffered a final severe stroke, but unlike previous strokes, did not cause any apparent deterioration due to him being unable to speak, move or articulate pain in any way. Following the stroke, Lythe did not regain consciousness and was assumed to be dead by the morning of the 5th of January 207 AG, though his doctors found it difficult to ascertain this due to the few differences death would make to Lythe's condition. Owing to the degree of tension with the subjects of Contra, House Armitage held a private funeral, during which Lythe's decrepit body was admitted to the Armitage Vault underneath Connett Castle along with its other rulers. Lythe's son, Sydor Armitage, would soon after succeed him as King of Contra.
== Family ==
Category:Characters
Category:Contra Character
Category:Rulers