Magellus, the Mad King

> *"Magellus was a good man... I don't know if it was the responsibility of the throne, or a sickness of the mind. Whatever it was, it broke him and changed him. He's killed innocents, and committed atrocities that cannot be excused! That's why I call him the Mad King."* - Lucius Septimus
>
>

### Aliases

* The Mad King
* The Bloody Monarch

### Affiliation

* Athica
* House Ormond
* Barony of Charel
* Knights of the Mast

## Physical description

### Eye color

Green

**Magellus Ormond**, known by the epitaph of the **Mad King**, was once the King of Athica, and seen as a great man. Known for his humor and wisdom, he ruled Athica justly and with grace for many years. The golden years of his rule were overshadowed by the events in the last years of his rule when he went insane. Some believe the responsibility of the throne was too much for him, others say it was a sickness of the mind, others still claimed it was the death of his wife that drove him over the edge, but whatever it was, he became a bloodthirsty and savage ruler, killing innocents and inflicting harm on the people of Athica. It was eventually that the House of Septimus would become a thorn in his side and in the end stop him by ending his life.

## Early Life

Magellus was born into the House of Ormond, in the Barony of Charel. A noble who served in the Knights of the Mast and rose swiftly through the ranks, eventually winning fame for his house and family. It was during this time he would meet his future wife, Cassandra of the House of Dynott. They would fall in love, but their political duties kept them from taking their relationship further. It would not be until Magellus was elevated to First Commander of the Knights of the Mast that he had gained enough influence and station to take Cassandra as his wife. This would unite the Houses of Dynott and Ormond into a powerful and influential alliance that would take them all the way to the Throne.

## King of Athica

Magellus would eventually crowned King of Athica, and made first of his name. His reign was noted for it's peaceful and powerful beginning. Magellus won people to his banner with his intelligence and humor. Able to disarm people with a smile and humble people with his keen mind. He had what was considered to be one of the most powerful courts in the history of the Kingdom.

It would be by his cunning and wit he made alliances with both Calabras Trade City and with the Hawkthorn Empire, strengthening the Kingdom, and letting an abundance of riches and imports from other lands to run freely into the land. However, these great advances would be blunted when his Queen, Cassandra, died in childbirth. Both his wife and unborn child perished. This lead to a year of mourning for the King, that many believe is what started him down the path of madness he would eventually take.

During the Year of Mourning, he had to put down an uprising to the south in the Wild Lands. It was during this uprising that he was saved by a hedge knight known as Lucius Septimus. Lucius became such a trusted advisor and skilled warrior that he was elevated to nobility, and made the founder of House Septimus.

## Reign of the Mad King

Magellus' eventually sank into a depression, became subject to wild mood swings. Many who were close to the king thought the responsibilities of the throne was too much for him after the loss of his wife. Others believed it was a sickness of the mind, but regardless, the King would begin putting people to death for crimes many considered to be minor, or he would enact cruel tortures on people he deemed as a danger to the throne and the stability of the kingdom.

This would lead to his coming into conflict with Gaius Septimus, son of the man he elevated to a noble. Gaius rallied his father's bannermen and houses of Custos and waged a war against Magellus and the Royal Army. This would eventually turn against the King as the other Baronies sent forces to aid Gaius, pushing the King's depleted forces back to Throne City where he would make his final stand on the steps of the castle. Though he was tired from the constant forced retreat to Throne City, his madness invigorated his body and let him fight evenly with Gaius, a much younger man. In the end, he fell to Gaius' blade, and his reign came to an end.

> *"So it's come to this, has it? My final scene upon the stage? Against the son of a traitor, one whom I loved and held up above others! Come then, Gaius, face your King, and know my judgement!"* - Magellus final words before he died in combat against Gaius
>
>

While he is not remembered fondly due to his final years, he was still buried in the royal crypts next to his beloved wife, at the command of Gaius, as he reminded the people that Magellus was not always the Mad King. His crypt stands to this day, and has an honor guard upon it, as all others that came before him. However, even with Gaius' words, those that would follow remember Magellus as the Mad King, to the point that even his own House has all but abandoned his memory.

## The Madness

Over the years, many theories of Magellus' madness was put forth, but it was due to the work of the Maesters of the Lyceums that some information was gleaned from the events surrounding that bloody time. It is believed that the breach of the Far Realm into the Material Realm in Athica easily latched onto the depressed mind of the king and twist it into the man who is remembered as the Mad King.