King Alfred Koopa I

*"Desperate times call for desperate measures." -* Lord Richard Koopa quoting King Alfred Koopa I in "The Feeble King (III)"

**King Alfred Koopa I**, historically known as **Alfred the Great**, was the founder and first monarch of the Koopa Kingdom, who reigned from his coronation and foundation of the kingdom in the year 1000 up until his death in the year 1024, reigning for a total of twenty-four years. He is the ancestor of every single monarch to ever sit on the Koopa Throne.

Alfred discovered the Koopa Kingdom while out sailing, and conquered the land himself, building several castles, fortresses, breweries, and chasing away the original inhabitants of the Kingdom, the Toads and Goombas, in the process. He appeared in person in "Time Travel Trouble", where he is viewed as a living legend and constantly talked up by members of the Koopa Troop, despite having no lines himself. Several statues of him also appear throughout both *Bowser's Koopalings* and *Carl*.

Alfred is partly based after King Alfred The Great who was an influence to his nickname and William The Conqueror who was Duke of Normandy which is based after the Duchy of Nordskal Ridge . William The Conqueror is known for his conquest of the English Monarchy from the Anglo-Saxons.So the Toads who Alfred Koopa conquered are probably based after the Anglo-Saxons.

## Appearances In Videos

Alfred appeared in person in the *Bowser's Koopalings* episode *Time Travel Trouble*. In the episode, Morton & Lemmy are sent into the year 1019 by Iggy's Time Machine, and meet a group of Koopas who are subjects of Alfred. The group talk very highly of him, describing him as an unquestionable leader and a true champion of the common man. When he appears himself, he is simply sat on his throne watching an execution. He has no lines, however everyone around him continues to talk him up as if he were a living legend. Morton also accidentally tells the Koopa Troopas working for him of his fate in the near future, however the two are written off as crazy when they state the Earth is not flat before returning to the present. Statues and portraits of Alfred are also seen several times across both the *Bowser's Koopalings* series and the *Carl* series, such as in Mushroom City in *Roy's Road Rampage* and in the *Royal Dragon* bar in *2020*, showcasing how overly admired he is throughout the Koopa Kingdom. In addition, an exhibit for the Koopa Revolutionary War was showcased in Desert Hills Museum in the *Carl* episode *The School Trip*, which showed Alfred's army battling with an army of Shellcreepers.

## Extended Lore

### Early Life

Alfred was initially born Ælfred Koupa around sometime during the year 964, in the Duchy of Nordskal Ridge in the Bohnenkraut Kingdom, which was previously taken over by Shellcreepers from the Creeper Kingdom, following a failed Viking raid a few centuries prior. Alfred was the eighth child of Lord Eadrick Koupa, the current Duke of Nordskal Ridge, whom he had with his favorite wife Rachel, one of his own court ladies. He had six older half-brothers, Ælfgar, Eadred, Beortick, Kuthred, Ēadwine & Kuthberht, one older half-sister Ealswith, and a younger full brother Eadwig. Eadrick greatly favored Alfred, granting him many gifts and often having him accompany him on his voyages across the continent. He gifted Alfred a golden beer mug, which had seven colorful jewels encrusted in it. This caused much jealousy amongst his siblings, whom felt he was giving him too much power and favor, and felt disinherited.

Eadrick died in 982, shortly after Alfred's 18th birthday, by which time Alfred still hadn't learnt to read or write. Alfred himself was made his heir, and proclaimed the new Duke in his place. His brothers were furious, and sought for his removal instantly. Alfred spent around 9 years as Duke, and made good impressions with his subject but his reign was plagued by the jealousy of his brothers, who watched in distaste as he hold huge gatherings at the castle, where people would drink so much that they'd pass out. He eventually picked one of his father's advisors daughters, Lady Adelaide Foster, as his wife, who gave him five children, Tarquin, Alfred Jr., Edrick, Adela and Benjen.

### The Hypno-Bean Plot

The plan, mainly conspired by Ælfgar, the eldest of Eadrick's sons, was for Ealswith to spike Alfred’s drink with a Hypno-Bean while serving him, causing him to fall into a deep sleep, then for Eadwine and Kuthred to sneak into Alfred’s castle at night while he was still unconscious and capture him. Eadwig believed the plan was to just imprison him, however Ælfgar insisted Alfred could not be kept alive, and stated they were to drag him outside, behead him and throw his body into a swamp. Eadwig then got cold feet, and informed Alfred of the plot before Ealswith could spike his drink. Unable to stand up to their forces, Alfred had no choice but to flee the Duchy, and Alfred left Nordskal Ridge aboard an armada of ships alongside his wife, children, brother Eadwig, and several of his other allies. Even some of the Bohnenkraut King's own vassals, such as Bryden Flamescale, the Count of Bohnenrotte, and Augustus Von Dornbohne, the Count of Dornbohne, were tired of Johann VI's unfair taxes and instead chose to support Alfred.

### Discovery of the Koopa Kingdom

After around eight months of sailing, tragedy had dawned on Alfred's ship. They ran out of beer. Desperate to find land where they could acquire more, Alfred's ships travelled for Alfred & his exiled group of soldiers and nobles, attempted to travel towards the Lake Kingdom, whose King was an ally of his. However, Instead, the winds blew their ships towards a different direction. Alfred's daughter Adela pointed out some strange Mushroom shaped trees in the distance, causing the fleet to further inspect. The group landed on land in a strange new batch of land, covered in strange mushroom-like plants. These lands at the time became known as The Hidden Lands. Alfred and his men couldn't believe that this place had never been discovered before, and got to exploring. The current inhabitants living there, the Toads, attempted to ask the group of their intentions. One of Alfred's generals mistook their tribal calls as battle cries, however, and begun to slaughter them brutally. Alfred's armies metal spears were easily able to cut through the wooden material the Toads were armed with, and thus Alfred's army begun to conquer. They discovered several rare undiscovered items such as Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, huge amounts of Gold, and even wheat they could use to create more beer.

### Conquest of the Koopa Kingdom

The Hidden Lands were currently populated by several smaller tribes of Mushroom-like creatures known as Toads and Goombas, whom fought with wooden shields and spears. Alfred and his Troops on the other hand were heavily armed with weapons made of Nordskal steel. With their superior weaponry, Alfred & his men annihilated the Toads and swept through the Kingdom with ease. They first travelled to the Shroomlands, where its current King, Percy Toadstool, attempted to hold them off with the largest force of Toads ever seen. Unfortunately, Alfred’s forces were far too much to handle, and to prevent further slaughter of his men, Percy surrendered to Alfred. In turn for this Alfred allowed Percy to remain the Prince of the Shroomlands, so long as he accepted Alfred as his overlord, which he did. Alfred and his forces then swept through the Desertlands, the Oceanlands, and the Skylands, all of which were populated by heavily underarmed Mushroom Retainers. They were however resisted in the Kraglands, because they were too hot for Alfred's troops, the Pipelands, where Alfred's troops got lost and were massacred by the defending Toads. As well as this, the North of the Sherbetlands resisted Alfred's forces, which were populated by a species known as Waldoughs, and their fearsome King, Wulfnoth the Fearsome, whom killed one of Alfred’s head generals in battle. Knowing that his men needed a rest, Alfred and his men postponed their conquest. They set up their main base of operation in a small valley bordering the Oceanlands and the Pipelands. Here, Alfred’s great caste begun construction.

### Prelude to Revolution

Ælfgar, now Duke of Nordskal Ridge, received word that Alfred and his people had founded new land, and went to the Bohnenkraut Kingdom's King Johann Von Speckbohne VI, whom Alfred was still legally required to hand over the land to. Johann VI was not happy with how powerful Alfred and his group of nobles were becoming, fearing he would break off and form his own Kingdom. He sent vassals over to negotiate terms with Alfred, demanding 90% of the territory discovered by Alfred should go to Johann VI. Alfred was not happy with this agreement, and refused to accept. Johann then told Ælfgar to go and reason with his brother, however Ælfgar instead invaded the Koopa Kingdom with an army, slaughtering a ton of Alfred's men. As a result of this, Alfred and his men declared war on the Shellcreepers for independence.

### Koopa Revolutionary War

Before going to war, the new Kingdom first needed to rally behind a leader. The troops all chose Alfred to be their new king, though a small minority of people discussed other options. Said people were beaten severely and thrown out of the castle, disgraced. Alfred established a new military force to defend his new Kingdom, which he proudly named the Koopa Troop. He knighted several of his loyal troops, and named several of his loyal supporters commanders of his armies. His brother Eadwig was appointed second-in-command of the army, and he instructed his sons Tarquin, Alfred & Edrick fight in the war to prove themselves worthy of his love and admiration. 13-year-old Adela & 8-year-old Benjen took refuge with their mother Adelaide in Bright Valley.

Johann VI had become far too obese for battle, unable to even mount his Mustie anymore. He instead gave Ælfgar a ton of gold and barrelled cheese to invade the new Koopa Kingdom, and promised him a ton of Bohnenkraut Kingdom troops would support him in battle. Ælfgar and his brothers were still desperate to defeat and slay Alfred, and hated the idea of him becoming a king, effectively making him their superior. The Revolutionary War thrived under Alfred's leadership, with several Koopa Kingdom victories occurring in his hands. His son Alfred had successfully repelled incoming invaders coming from the south, while Edrick fought at Alfred's side in Skyland. Edrick was close to being slain, and Eadwig begged Alfred to send him reinforcements in fear of his death, however Alfred insisted this was a test of his strength. Edrick pulled through and defeated the Shellcreeper army, earning his father's respect. A major loss had occurred in Sherbet Land however, due to Alfred's eldest son Tarquin getting drunk the previous night and failing to defend it, causing the Shellcreepers to burn down their new castles and slaughter their people. Alfred was furious with Tarquin over this, causing a permanent rift between father and son.

Towards the end of the year 999, the war was coming to a close. Ælfgar was growing tired of Johann VI's failure to commit his troops, as he kept forgetting what he promised him and had started to lose interest in the Koopa Kingdom anyway, wanting to set his sights on the Marine Kingdom instead. Ælfgar grew impatient, and marched his army towards a small canyon slightly to the south of Bright Valley, to end things once and for all. Alfred, Eadwig, and their Koopa Troop forces met Ælfgar, Eadred, Beortick, Eadwine, Kuthred and their Shellcreeper troops on the battlefield and fought. The battle was a decisive Koopa Troop victory. Beortick, Eadred & Kuthred all fell in battle, the former two being struck down by spears while the latter accidentally got hurled into the sea of fire below by his own Mustie. Alfred met Ælfgar on a long bridge above a sea of fire, which was currently only supported by some rusty chains. The two clashed on the bridge, and proved to be equally matched, however Ælfgar was wounded in the arm by Alfred's spear, causing him to drop his battleaxe. Alfred then grabbed the battleaxe himself on his way to the other side of the bridge, before he cut the bridge down. Ælfgar fell to his death, and the war was over, and the location at which he fell later became known as Koopa Canyon, to celebrate the victory. Johann VI died later that afternoon, and was succeeded by the five year old King Friedrich Von Speckbohne II, leaving Alfred free to rule his new kingdom in peace. In January of 1000, Alfred was crowned King Alfred Koopa I.

### Reign as King

Alfred's first act as king was to establish a set of rules for governing the Kingdom. He declared that the King will operate as Head of State, and that the King must always have the final say when a decision is made, no matter how small. He created several positions to help him govern, the most notable being the King's Claw, who would be the effective second-in-command, a position Alfred appointed to his brother Eadwig for his loyalty. In addition, there was the Lord Treasurer, the person in charge of the currency of the Kingdom, Lord Chamberlain, the person in charge of organising major ceremonies such as weddings, feasts, tournaments, and coronations, and Lord Steward, the person in charge of maintaining the castle and communicating with foreign affairs. He also established strict rules of inheritance, due to his previous quarrels with his half-brothers, stating "*At which hour the current king dies, the throne might not but at each moment passeth to the issue of the deceas'd king, unless nay legitimate issue is available*." He also wrote that illegitimate children could perhaps be legitimised, but only by the King himself. His rules, while respected, created some confusion, both due to Alfred's terrible handwriting, and the lack of specification in circumstances such as whether gender was important, or what happens when a grandchild outlives a child. Alfred's reign itself was a time of peace for the Koopa Kingdom. He held several tournaments and parties at the castle, celebrating his new Kingdom, and was loved by all his subjects, becoming more or less a national hero. He married his son Edrick to the daughter of the Bohnenkraut King, signifying an alliance between the two Kingdoms, though everyone was unsure how long that would last. He regained the Dukedom of Nordskal Ridge following Ælfgar's defeat, and he had his remaining half-brother Eadwine executed after he attempted to lead a rebellion against him in 1001, which failed because his rebels got too hot in the Kraglands and stayed home. Kuthberht spent the remainder of Alfred's life in captivity, but Alfred ordered his release on his deathbed.

### Feud with Tarquin

His relationship with his son Tarquin continued to deteriorate, with Tarquin lashing out at his brother, the younger Alfred, for taking a mistress he liked. King Alfred exiled Tarquin from the Kingdom and attained him of his right to inherit Alfred's lands and titles. He went into exile and fled to the court of Friedrich Von Speckbohne II. He attempted to return on the death of his mother, Queen Adelaide, but was forbidden by Alfred, who felt he'd ruin the moment. Tarquin then took control of the unguarded Nordskal Ridge and rallying an army to invade the Koopa Kingdom. Alfred met his son in battle, and was even unhorsed from his Mustie by him, but managed to disarm Tarquin after the fact. The two made a truce on the battlefield, and Alfred agreed to make Tarquin his heir, but never specified what he was going to make him the heir to.

### Death

Alfred's health begun to decline during the late months of 1023, in which he became ill with a cold and confined to his bed. His surviving children, Alfred, Edrick, Adela and Benjen were present at his side, while Tarquin stayed in Nordskal Ridge to attend a feast later than night. Several doctors around the Kingdom tried cures, but their methods, consisting of rubbing Alfred's nose with soap or sticking hard sticks into his nostrils, causing him severe brain damage, only made him worse. On a cold January afternoon in 1024, Alfred died and the Koopa Kingdom greatly mourned his loss. Tarquin expected for the Koopa Kingdom to go to him, however became shocked and horrified when he discovered that his younger brother, Alfred Jr. was chosen as the next king. Tarquin received the Dukedom of Nordskal Ridge instead, as well as all of Alfred's castles there, with the rest of his children receiving small loans of a million coins each. Alfred's death was met with an hour-long silence around the Koopa Kingdom, in which people were burnt with a hot poker if they spoke due to disrespecting the King, and he was buried in a Tomb below the Castle.