William, 1st Lord Adreeus

William Adreeus holding one of his flyers

William Adreeus was a nobleman who led the resistance against the Akilaki invasion of Adreeus and became a figurehead for the Adreean people against the Akilakian rule.

## Biography

William Adreeus was born in 1029 as the posthumous son of King Heneri I of Rhii and his newlywed spouse, Samantha of Adreeus. Samantha never remarried, so William was her pride and joy. She educated him in the highest schools for nobility, and when he was 21, he was enrolled in Adreeus College, the first and best school of that kind in Rhii-controlled Palao.

The year before, he had married Susanna of Akilaki, daughter of Garmad I, and had two sons, Harold and John. While William was at school. Susanna would take care of the kids. This marriage was designed to cement relations with Akilaki, but that would not be the case.

He stayed at Adreeus College until 1058, when he was 29, and that year he enrolled in the famed Rhiian military school that Amos Garris was to later be trained in. He trained there for the next six years, but he had to drop out due to a family issue.

### Preparation for Kingship

That family issue happened to be his cousin's wife's death. His cousin was none other that Adam II, King of Adreeus. Adam had only daughters with his wife, and he was too old to have any more, so William was pulled out to prepare for kingship. He was taught the things college couldn't teach him: how to address your subjects, how to make yourself look presentable, and many things that were involved in the kingship of a border nation.

Meanwhile, Garmad I heard news of King Adam's wife dying without any sons, and despite his daughter's marriage to William, saw this as a perfect opportunity. When Adam died, Garmad would invade Adreeus in the tumult of having a new ruler. Garmad began formulating his plan while Adam slowly aged closer to death.

In 1069, to celebrate William's fortieth birthday, all of the rulers and diplomats from all over Rhii came to Adreeid to have a massive celebration. The celebration was seen as an advancing army to Garmad, and he stopped plans for 40 hours until news came that it was just a birthday party and that Adreeus wasn't planning to attack Akilaki.

That year was the same year his sons, Harold and John, turned 20. They were enrolled in the same military school as William was, and they spent four years for the most tumultuous moment in Adreean history.

### Invasion by Akilaki

*Main Article: Battle of the Adreeid*

In 1073, after Garmad had waited nine years, and Adam still wasn't dead, Garmad decided he would assemble a massive invasion force and destroy Adam before he died. He led his army to the border, and when he stepped over, trumpets were blown all over the nation. All of the Adreean troops from all over the peninsula came to the battle, including William and his sons.

The battle was a total failure for Adreeus, and Garmad cut straight through their defenses and took possession of the Adreeid. Adam wasn't killed, but he was sent into exile in Loge. The Kingdom of Adreeus was over.

Back in Akilaki City, Garmad and his chief advisors were contemplating what to do about the government of the new province. The Duke of Deria suggested that Garmad could bring someone in from the North, specifically the places where they were most loyal to Garmad, but the Duke of Loskup suggested that home rule would be a good idea. Given that Loskup was the most powerful of Garmad's supporters, Garmad followed his idea, and a few days later, on April 13, William Adreeus was created the 1st Lord Adreeus.

### Revolt and Death

*Main Article: Adreean Revolt of 1073*

William, with his newfound power, attempted to keep Adreeus stable after the invasion, but in September of 1073, the peer pressure got to the better of him. He commissioned many flyers and declarations to have his face on it and to rally people to his side rather than Garmad's. People who had followed Garmad at first began to take up arms

 for William, and a massive attacking force formed within the walls of the Adreeid.

It wasn't until November that Garmad took notice of this, but he was ready. He assembled a major force of men and horses a few miles outside the city walls. He went up front and shouted out, "If you don't come out, we will destroy you!". They did come out, but with spears and swords, and a battle raged on for the next five hours.

After the battle, William was nowhere to be found. His body was later found in the middle of the battlefield, with hoof marks on his back. It turned out that he was running towards Garmad attempting to kill him, but he had been run over by a horse. His sons came to the battlefield two hours later and gave the body a proper burial in the chapel at the Adreeus Palace.

### The New Lord

After that incident, Garmad was debating with his followers again over how he should govern the country. Loskup insisted that home rule was the way to go, but Garmad made the point that after what had just happened, home rule wouldn't work at all. Loskup replied by saying, "If Harold saw what happened to his father, he wouldn't dare revolt against us." Again, Garmad wanted to keep Loskup as a follower, so he went with the plan. On December 26, Harold was created the 2nd Lord Adreeus.

## Political Influence

William had little influence, considering he was the ruler of a recently-conquered country and not trusted by the king, but he was given the control of all of the areas immediately surrounding Adreeus, excluding the capital. However, he quickly lost his influence in the revolt that led to his death, with most of his subjects outside of Adreeus switched their allegiance to the Duke of Deria instead of William. Thus, William died with no influence outside of the former nation's borders.

## Titles and Honors

* Heir-Apparent of Adreeus (1064 - April 1073)
* 1st Lord Adreeus (April - November 1073)
* Earl of Mikal Ridge (May - September 1073)