Lord Agron Ironside

"*My advice to you is this. Be careful who you trust around here. Salt and sugar appear the same, but taste very different*." - "The Feeble King (II)"

**Lord Agron Ironside** is a nobleman who serves as King John Koopa VI's Steward in the late 15th century, as well as one of the oldest members of the king's royal cabinet. He is a supporting character in *Wars of Frozen Flames*, debuting in the first part of "he Feeble King. Lord Ironside is characterized as a wise politician and advisor, being one of the less corrupt members of the cabinet, and is also described as being one of the most respectable barons of the realm at the time. but also tends to keep most opinions to himself, most likely because he doesn't trust the other cabinet members.

## History

### Backstory

Lord Agron Ironside's backstory is a complete mystery as not much has been revealed about it so far. Judging by his old age and his spot on the royal cabinet, it's likely that he has been under the service of the crown for most of his life, probably ever since the end of King John Koopa IV's reign, as it's stated that his grandfather helped to establish John IV on the throne and depose King Richard Koopa II. It's also likely that he has been Steward to King John Koopa VI for a long time, since it's implied he taught the feeble king how to read and write.

### The Feeble King

#### Part I

Agron Ironside is introduced in the cabinet meeting discussing with other lords, the King and the Queen what should be done in order to solve the problem of the anarchist revolt taking place in the kingdom at that moment, being completely baffled over the king's incompetence and unwillingness to do anything useful to solve the situation. During Lord Richard's arrival at the Koopa Castle, he notes how the anarchist peasants don't try to attack him and is one of the few people present that don't laugh at Lord Richard after he's mocked for Lord Sigmund Phoenix being chosen as the King's Claw over him, the others being Sir Rodrick Solberg, Lord Berwick Python, Sir Torrence Python and Korrin Sylver.

Ironside later attends the Loveday Feast, where he and Lord Richard come across each other in private and have a conversation regarding the current events in which Lord Ironside informs Lord Richard of Klaus Von Speckbohne VII sending three separate armies to the Koopa Troop's last remaining fortress at Oho Oasis, the last remaining territory of the Koopa Kingdom inside the Bohnenkraut Kingdom. Later on during the feast, Richard's fears and Ironside's concerns are confirmed, as Klaus' son, Prince Johann, sends John VI a letter in which he brags about their army taking over Oho Oasis and killing Lord John Tyebolt, ending the Hundred-and-Eight Years War and John VI's time as king of the Bohnenkraut Kingdom. Following this, John VI suffers a mental breakdown and enters a vegetative state, and thus, this links up to the second part of The Feeble King.

#### Part II

Lord Ironside is present during Sigmund's cabinet meeting in which he expresses his intention of running the kingdom as regent until John VI recovers, as he and Queen Cynder agreed on it. Ironside scoffs to this, recalling how King Robert Koopa II ended up being imprisoned and murdered in a dungeon after his wife, Queen Alexandra Naples, and her advisor, Lord Edgar Kassimeer, assumed power, and, alongside Rodrick, agrees with Berwick and Torrence in that Lord Richard should be allowed in the cabinet, but Sigmund dismisses his protests. After Lord Richard interrupts the meeting and has Lord Sigmund imprisoned, Ironside is among the nobles who support Richard's decisions.

In a following cabinet meeting, Ironside informs Richard that the loss of Oho Oasis has caused many refugees from the former Koopa Kingdom territory to seek asylum inside the kingdom, but that there's not enough space or money to provide shelter for all of them, as the throne is severely in debt due to John VI's incompetence and his corrupt advisors. Lord Richard then suggests that the nobility temporarily turns over some of their lands in order to house the refugees until a proper solution is found.

Ironside is present when Queen Cynder's son, Prince Godwin Koopa, is born. Ironside appears to suspect that Godwin may not be John's biological son, given that he was born seven years after Cynder and John got married and because the child takes more after his mother than his father. Later on, Ironside talks to Richard in private, as he needs to share some information with him regarding Prince Joseph Koopa's death. As stated by Lord Ironside, Prince Joseph had written a very important letter stating he had valuable information to be shared with his nephew, John VI, but that he was arrested under the orders of Lord Sigmund Phoenix and put under imprisonment, where he mysteriously died three days later, as opposed to the popular belief that he had "disappeared under non-suspicious circumstances", never having the opportunity to inform his nephew. Richard asks Ironside why is he helping him and what goals does he have, to which Ironside simply tells him that he wishes to put the rightful ruler on the throne of the Koopa Kingdom. Lord Ironside then proceeds to leave, but not before telling Richard to be careful with who he trusts, as people who may seem loyal might end up stabbing him in the back once he lets down his guard.

#### Part III

Ironside plays a bit less significant role in Part III than the first two parts. He first appears in the cabinet meeting where John VI returns from his coma. When Sylver mentions that his son Harrin and his child are expecting a new child, he sarcastically says that more Sylvers in the world is all they need. When Torrence asks about Lord Richard, Ironside points out that Lord Thornton appears to be missing too. When John states that Lord Richard will await crime for his judgement, he asks John to repeat.

Ironside appears in the great council meeting. He suggests the council to allow Lord Richard to return to the Kingdom and appoint him as King's Claw but Cynder reminds him that they already have a King's Claw. Ironside also points out that he doesn't see Lord Thornton anywhere but Sigmund says he isn't important as all the great houses of the realm are backing them.

##### Battle of Whomp City

John VI asks about Lord Ironside but Rodrick says he doesn't see a single soldier sporting his colors so Blayne says if he doesn't arrive soon there will be consequences. Theodrick excuses that he is old and is maybe late to the fight and Sylver says he cannot be trusted and that they already have enough men. Meanwhile, Ironside is with his men, accompanied by his brother and son, Laron and Aaron. Aaron asks Ironside what is his plan, to which he says to wait but Laron suggests to join Richard's army as they have more men only for Ironside to insist on waiting as it is unwise to take action until they know what the outcome of the battle will be.

However, during the battle, the Ironsides do not take action and instead spectate the battle and leave when Thornton summons his archers to rain arrows down on the Royal army. Thus, Lord Agron Ironside does not take part in the battle.

## Appearance

Ironside is a relatively big dragon-koopa with greyish brown skin and snout, and a grey head. He has short grey hair and a grey beard, black eyes and two outstanding fangs on each side of his mouth. He wears a grey shell with golden spikes, as well as a golden necklace and two golden spiked cuffs, one on each arm.

## Personality

Lord Ironside is one of the wiser and more intelligent characters in *Wars of Frozen Flames*, being appalled at the corruption of other cabinet members, as well as irritated with King John VI's incompetence, being one of the most moral members of John's cabinet, if not the most moral of them all, although he tends to keep his opinions to himself, likely to keep a low profile and avoid being targeted by people who might disagree with him, most likely Queen Cynder or Lord Sigmund, and only ever opens up to people he is convinced are trustworthy, such as Lord Richard. Ironside could probably be considered a foil to Sigmund, as whereas Sigmund is corrupt, selfish and indulges in various vices, Ironside is concerned about the well-being of the realm, selfless, and abstains himself from vices such as drinking.

Ironside also appears to be very perceptive of his surroundings. This is shown by him suspecting that Queen Cynder might be trying to pass off Godwin as John's son or believing that Prince Joseph was murdered in order to keep him silent after reading the final letter he ever wrote. Judging by how Ironside tries to warn Richard that he needs to be careful of who he trusts, it can be deduced that he himself is very cautious of who he shares his information with.