Highlord of Thyllanor

The **Highlord of Thyllanor** is a title that represents the head of state in the Realm of Thyllanor. Based on the Realm system established by Draegon I Dragomárus upon the successful completion of the Dragomárus invasion of Andoras, a Highlord is analogous to a king or emperor despite not being acknowledged as such.

All 16 Highlords up until the present day have been members of House Karthmere, and indeed this family's pedigree stretches back for thousands of years, with their influence as the Karth'maeres (meaning 'leaders of the Karth', from which they derive their surname) leading to a revolution in expansionism that founded one of the first empire-sized states in the First Era; the Thyllanorian kingdom, which roughly encompassed all of the land in Andoras traditionally recognized as being colonized by Edrossians, such as Thyllanor itself, the Kingsland, and Thunder's Shore. This prestige has carried with the name for quite some time, but it has also garnered with it a good amount of contempt, as they make many enemies with their aggressive policies.

Law established by the Upper Chamber of Lords, however, dictates that it need not be a Karthmere on the throne for all of the powers granted to a Highlord to be valid. While the Thyllanorian government, teeming with bureaucracy has crept its way into almost all operations conducted by the realm itself, the Highlord still has final say, and this is decreed by natural law of the land -- not bloodright, as the kingdoms of yore were previously founded on. A reaction to this law, despite not being officially in existence at the time, was the War of the Lions in the 140s AC. Daemis III Karthmere, viewed as one of the first Karthmeres with the desire to restore Thyllanor to its former glory in the modern era, wished to make a Thyllanorian state that was entirely Thyllanorian culturally, and in reaction, House Asmere garnered its Alettonic forces and not only fought a defensive war to keep their heritage intact, but also sought to depose the Karthmeres and seat themselves on the throne. This war was one of the reasons that Malveus II Karthmere, a later Highlord from the mid-200s AC, decided to establish several bureaucracies in the underlying government to ensure the country would run more smoothly and efficiently.

As such, a Thyllanorian Highlord might not have as much supreme autocracy as his peers in the other realms, but he's advised by some of the best minds he can find, and the country still remains intact when he is unable to take up the reins of rule himself for whatever reason. In a way, Thyllanor is quite lucky to have Highlords who openly accept the authority of the government under them -- if they did not, they would likely start a faction war that would escalate into conflict and destroy the very structure of the country from the inside, though Dalan II's growing power seems to dangerously border on returning to its autocratic roots. Others are likely to see their decentralization as a weakness or an oddity, as it delves into governmental liberty not seen anywhere else on Andoras, and this already makes things difficult if they attempt to integrate those used to traditional feudalism. Perhaps this can be used to an opponent's advantage...

## List of Highlords

The first set of dates are their years of birth and death, while the second are their reigning years.

1. Daemis I Karthmere (56 BC - 3 AC) (formerly Daemis III when ruling the Kingdom of Thyllanor): 2 AC - 3 AC
2. Vicede I Karthmere (39 BC - 21 AC): 3 AC - 21 AC
3. Malveus I Karthmere (22 BC - 46 AC): 21 AC - 46 AC
4. Tyralt Karthmere (9 - 58 AC) (first Highlord born under Dragomárus rule): 46 AC - 58 AC
5. Richard I Karthmere (26 - 77 AC): 58 AC - 77 AC
6. Daemis II Karthmere (54 - 108 AC): 77 AC - 108 AC
7. Richard II Karthmere (81- 129 AC): 108 - 129 AC
8. Daemis III Karthmere (109 - 156 AC): 129 - 156 AC
9. Nobilis Karthmere (131 - 159 AC): 156 - 159 AC
10. Richard III Karthmere (156 - 218 AC): 159 - 218 AC
11. Richard IV Karthmere (178 - 231 AC): 218 - 231 AC
12. Malveus II Karthmere (211 - 272 AC): 231 - 272 AC
13. Vicede II Karthmere (239 -291 AC): 272 - 291 AC
14. Malveus III Karthmere (262 - 309 AC): 291 - 309 AC
15. Dalan I Karthmere (288 - 330 AC): 309 - 330 AC
16. Interregnum (330 - 332 AC) (During this time, rule was accomplished through the Upper Chamber of Lords)
17. Dalan II Karthmere (326 AC - living): 332 AC - present ***(incumbent)***