Fozhai Ajjara

Long-limbed and brown of skin, in his youth the imposing Fozhai was as Tagaez Fen as it gets: standing at 7'6'', his almond-colored eyes peered out through the visor of steel plate and his knowledge of the battlefield near unparalleled. Equal parts charitable and stern, fierce yet even-tempered, and gifted of mind, he was everything a king could hope for in an heir.

Now, however, crows feet and deep wrinkles adorn his face, the marks of a life soon to end, and his gaze is that of a man that sees enemies in every shadow following the overthrow of his father, King Alor Ajjara, at the hands of the Marel family some thirty years ago. An empty sleeve hangs where his left arm once was, lost from infection after an injury incurred during the Tiger Triarch's conquering of his father's city.

## History

When Fozhai entered this world one sunny afternoon in the year 232 AA, the bells in the Tower of Sorrow chimed with glee, and smallfolk and nobles alike crowded in the streets to participate in the king's lavish celebration of his firstborn son. King Alor Ajarra now had an heir, strong and healthy, and all was right in the world.

When House Marel overthrew King Alor in a coup, no bells chimed, for the man tasked with alerting the city guard had been bought and paid for. Instead, they only rang when the Tiger Triarch came to conquer the city in 273 AA, the same bells that rang in Fozhai's birth now chiming in alarm.

Fozhai had been a happy child: his father had afforded him all the luxuries the heir-apparent of a king could expect, and his mother had seen to it that their baby boy was tutored by the best minds in the realm even at great cost to House Ajjara's coffers. He displayed a natural talent in oration early on (Diplomat), and combined with the astute young Fozhai's way with numbers (Magnate), at 14 he found himself tasked underneath the Lord Treasurer of his father's kingdom. It was there where he learned the art of trade (Tradecraft), organizing the hiring of sellswords for Essaria's defense as well as the defense of the convoys that carried out the city's excess of spices and returned with iron and gold to add to House Ajarra's coffers. Soon afterwards, he found himself put in charge of the city's construction, and it was Fozhai's studious mind that saw the walls and gates of Essaria reinforced until they were nigh impenetrable from an outside force. (Mercantilist)

But the enemy came from within the walls, not outside of it: when House Marel seized his father in a near-bloodless coup, then-prince Fozhai was in shock. How could they do this? How could the retainers who had served House Ajarra faithfully for a century so quickly turn cloak once gold was offered? The same men that had taught Fozhai to read and write now cheered for his father's death, and they got their wish: when House Marel entered the throne room, they found a king and what few loyal guards he had left within and left nothing behind but corpses and bloodied crowns. Fozhai, along with the rest of the royal family, was seized and held in captivity.

When rumors slipped from the men that guarded his cell that the Tiger Triarch Laerys Maegyr marched on the city, Fozhai held hope. The Qohorik host that the Marel usurpers had sent for had been crushed in the field by Eno Omoi, and soon another army would free them from this cell; the Marels had declined to ransom him for fear that Fozhai would rally an army to reclaim his father's crown for himself, but perhaps the Tiger Triarch could be made to see sense should he be bribed with enough gold.

Neither Fozhai nor Maegyr would get the chance: when the Tiger Triarch entered the city, he did so with fire and blood, and it was in this confusion that the royal family of Essaria managed to escape. It came at a cost, however: the arrow of a Volantene marksman pierced the left arm of Fozhai as he ushered his wife and children through the escape tunnel he had seen built twenty years prior and, by the time the fleeing family reached nearby Hornoth, infection had taken root and the limb would be amputated.

In the span of a few moons Fozhai had lost everything: his father, his crown, and his dominant hand. Gone were the days of the gallant prince known for his prowess at jousting, and now came the Fozhai we have today: angry, paranoid and crippled, a man that sees enemies in every shadow following House Marel's betrayal and murder of King Alor Ajarra. When a Sarnori coalition broke the Volantenes' hold over Essaria, Fozhai was named King in honor of his late father, but no crown could save the amputee from himself.

Essaria under King Fozhai's rule has been contentious: as House Marel had been Qohorik in origin, the new monarch's first order had been to remove all non-Tagaez Fen from positions of power in the royal court, much to the dismay of the houses Labarr, Hotos, and Mopaan. These families were barred from all royal events such as weddings, feasts, and festivals, and King Fozhai made it painfully clear that they were not welcome within *his* city.

Next, he raised the taxes on these foreign-born families, hoping to cripple their treasury as to deprive them of the gold needed to bribe their way to the throne in the same way House Marel had.

Now, as age takes King Fozhai, he seeks to raise the stakes once more: a royal demand of three hostages each from all foreign-born houses residing within the city of Essaria. Whether or not these houses will accept these terms has yet to be seen, but Fozhai has rarely been a man to compromise during his time in power.

## Timeline

232 AA-Fozhai is born.

235 AA-Fozhai's brother, Mahvor, is born.

239 AA-Fozhai's sister, Tahvia, is born.

244 AA-Fozhai studies under the Lord Treasurer of Essaria and proves himself a savant of commerce.

251 AA-At 19, then-prince Fozhai marries Lahvia Ohanali, a noble maiden from one his father's vassals.

255 AA-Fozhai's first child, a boy by the name of Luvhor, is born.

257 AA-Fozhai's second child, a girl by the name Vivali, is born.

259 AA-Fozhai's third child, a boy by name of Luzo, is born.

273 AA-House Marel overthrows King Alor Ajarra and takes Fozhai and family into captivity.

273 AA-The Tiger Triarch invades the city, the Ajarra family escapes in the chaos. Now a king without a crown or kingdom, Fozhai loses a limb from infection during his escape.

275 AA-The Volantenes' control over Essaria is broken and Fozhai is named King of Essaria as his father had been.

275 AA-Fozhai begins to systematically strip away the powers and luxuries typically afforded to nobility from the foreign-born houses of Mopaan, Hotos, and Labarr that live within Essaria from fear of potential threats within. These efforts are ongoing.

299 AA-Present day.