Sibwald of Duyn

Sibwald the Bold, or Sibwald of Duyn, was the King of Duyn during the turbulent years of the Great Kojiman War and the Industrial Revolution.

## Biography

Sibwald of Duyn was born into a prominent native noble family from the Campian Basin, which traces back its roots to the Burgoan Realm. In 1831, he was elected to become the King of Duyn, a new native nation which was fighting against the Empire of the Setting Moon for its independence. Under Sibwald’s rule, the natives were able to drive away the Empire of the Setting Moon and become an independent nation. In 1847, the Kingdom was one of the founding members of the Congress of Nations.

During the early 19th century, the industrial revolution mostly passed by Duyn resulting in a very backwater country, mostly relying on agriculture for its wealth. It was sparsely populated and its capital, Duynburg, lied in ruins as a result of the bloody war of independence. It was certainly among the weakest and least developed of the Great Powers of Orwald. Nonetheless, King Sibwald could rely on his loyal subjects and the will of the people of Duyn to restore their nation to its former glory was strong. With the Kojiman threat temporarily gone, the question remained how Duyn would claim its place among the other Great Powers.

Part of the answer lay in democracy, as a Constitution was approved in 1851, turning the country into a constitutional monarchy with an elected Parliament. Parliament had the power to appoint a government, led by a Prime Minister. The first Prime Minister of Duyn was Kevin MacDonald, mayor of Wolfpass. Prime Minister MacDonald and King Sibwald pushed Duyn forward into the future. Through industrial espionage against the Empire of the Setting Moon, Duynburg acquired a steam engine and reverse engineered it. South of the ancient castle of Duynburg, a new industrial district was built and it quickly became famed for its industrial furnaces.

To defend against future Kojiman threats, the Kingdom of Duyn first tried to use the Congress of Nations as a tool to defend itself, but after proving ineffective due to internal strife between member states, King Sibwald instead opted to strike an alliance with the Kingdom of Corellia. Both Kingdoms would work together to industrialize Orwald by sharing knowledge and constructing a railway between the two nations through Inner Peria. In addition, a royal wedding was held to unite the nations' dynasties. As part of the alliance, the Kingdom of Duyn provided resources for the Device and allowed Corellian scientists to construct a listening tower above the End Portal in Duynburg.

However, after sabotage by Kojiman spies, the Device transported Orwald to Dimension S-2012 and destroyed T-2022 in the process. In this new world, Duynburg continued to grow since it now proved the perfect entry port for goods from USA and Frozyland. The city's population quickly exploded, resulting in new city districts being built and an expansion of the harbor for intercontinental trade. In 1090AA (S-2012 date), the Kingdom also joined the United Nations. However, anger grew in Orwald against the nations of the West as the Library confiscated all technology related to transdimensional energy and prohibited research into the subject. As a result, the Kingdom of Corellia and its ally, Duyn, founded the United Canal Authority to construct a canal to facilitate travel for larger ships between Orwald and the West over which they would hold control. In addition, shipyards in Duynburg were constructed to signal the beginning of a military build-up. However, as long as King Sibwald was on the throne, he resisted attempts to escalate the tensions into a full blown war.