King William of Galland

King William of Galland is a 49-year-old human male who rules the Kingdom of Galland. William is the third son of King Gallus III of Galland, a deceased king of the Gallander dynasty.

## Appearance and Personality

William is a softly-spoken but charming man with grey eyes and greying black hair, which he keeps short. He is clean-shaven and has a long, straight nose. He tends to wear dark colours and sable furs, and often wears a silver signet ring on his right ring finger.

William is known as a quiet but charming man with a commanding presence. He has a reputation for being a good listener, but is seen as aloof by the common folk, likely due to his near-perpetual absence from Anglson as part of his role as the spymaster of Galland. He is known to be a brilliant chess player who has only been defeated on a handful of occasions.

## History

### Early Life

William was born on the 20th of May, 329 AG, to King Gallus III and his second wife, Alice of Hessburg. He was the second child of this union. As a child, William was shy and spoke with a stutter. He overcame this in his teenage years and became known as a highly intelligent young man with the ability to match wits with adults of all ages..

### The Collapse of the Gallander Dynasty

In 340 AG, Gallus III died of pneumonia at the age of 83, and was succeeded by his first son, John. On the 18th of January, 343 AG, King John died suddenly of smallpox at the age of 63, and was succeeded by his only child, Adalbert, then only 10 years old.

As a minor, Adalbert was incapable of directly ruling the Kingdom, and William's older brother Ecgbert was appointed as his regent. The nobles of Galland repeatedly agitated at court for lowered taxes or increased local authority, but Ecgbert and William were able to play the nobles against each other and maintain the status quo.

In the Winter of 344 AG, Bertram "the Wolf", Eorl of Grimsford, claimed that he had discovered documents demonstrating that King Gallus III, the father of King John and grandfather to King Adalbert, was in fact a bastard child, and that his own deceased father, Eorl Alfred of Grimsford, had in fact been the rightful heir to the throne of Galland. Based on these documents, Bertram claimed the the throne of Galland as his own. At the beginning of Spring, he marched upon Sollust, the Kingdom's capital, with a force of 3,000 men, primarily mercenaries. Ecgbert attempted to raise the levies of the realm, but the fractured relationships between the crown and the Eorls prevented him from raising a substantial force. He attempted to block Bertram's passage to Sollust at the bridge of the River Weale with a force of 1,000 men, primarily peasant levies, but was roundly beaten and forced to retreat. Before he could regather his forces, Bertram stormed the keep of Sollust and seized King Adalbert.

Bertram then declared himself to be the rightful King of Galland and offered peace to Ecgbert, threatening to have Adalbert beheaded if they declined. Begrudgingly, Ecgbert accepted Bertram's claim, ending the Gallander dynasty.

Bertram moved the capital of the realm from Sollust to his own keep at Grimsford and reneged on his promise to release Adalbert, instead imprisoning him in the dungeons of Grimsford as a hostage.

### Eorl of Anglson

Following the capture of Adalbert, Bertram demanded fealty from Ecgbert and William. Both agreed, and Bertram divided the Eorldom of Sollust into the Eorldoms of Anglson and Sollust, granting the newly created Eorldom of Anglson to William. Adalbert, now a landless aristocrat, and still imprisoned in the dungeons of Grimsford, perished only three months later, having just reached his 11th year.

Despite his youth, William proved to be a capable ruler, and was able to quickly consolidate his authority over the nobles who had previously been loyal to Ecgbert. While his brother built the wealth of Sollust, William expanded the agriculture of Anglson until it became known as a source of large, well-bred cattle. This, in turn, brought wealth to the village, allowing William to hire a small band of mercenaries to drive off orcs and goblinoids from the hills north of Sonnblàran-coille.

### Spymaster of Galland

Throughout his early adulthood, William cultivated positive relations between Anglson and the Crown, often visiting Grimsford to play chess with King Bertram or worship at the grand temple of Lord Leguin. In return, Bertram made concessions to William, forgiving poor tax collections or loaning men-at-arms when goblins threatened the village. The culmination of this friendship came in 372 AG, when Bertram requested that William serve as his Spymaster, charging him with developing the realm's intelligence and managing affairs of espionage. William accepted, and served as the Spymaster of Galland until the commencement of the Second Gallander Civil War.

In 375 AG, William donated an undisclosed but hefty sum to the Order of the Broken Fang, securing himself as its most influential patron besides the King himself.

### Civil Unrest

On the 7th of July, 378 AG, a force of orcs and goblins attacked the manor of Boughshire, located within the Eorldom of Anglson, killed the Lord of Boughshire, Sir Cameron, and captured his children, Agate and Richard. A few weeks later, the forest of Sonnblàran-coille was attacked by orcs and goblinoids, who then took up residence somewhere within the woods. Shortly afterwards, goblins raided the village of Anglson and kidnapped a child before being driven off by a party of adventurers which included the then-unknown Tadhg. Accompanied by Sir Edward, Lord of Ramsfield, the party attacked Boughshire, killed the hobgoblin chief, drove off the orcs and goblins, and freed Agate and Richard. The following day, William personally thanked the party for their service.

On the 18th of September, Richard, the minor Lord of Boughshire, was murdered in his sleep by unknown assailants, and Agate became the Lady of Boughshire. A few days later, William proposed to Tadhg that, due to his service to Anglson and loyalty to William, the Eorl would like to adopt Tadhg as his son and grant him the estate of Boughshire. Tadhg accepted, and on the 26th of September, William adopted Tadhg as his son, named him Lord of Boughshire, and announced Tadhg's betrothal to Agate, the previous Lady of Boughshire.

At the feast celebrating the knighting of Tadhg, William announced a bounty of 10,000 silver pieces for the head of Al-Abu Shakaat, an orc slaver who had taken up residence in the woods west of Boughshire. Tadhg and the party, again joined by Sir Edward of Ramsfield, attempted to capture the orc, but were unsuccessful.

On the 8th of October, 378 AG, Ecgbert's daughter Alice was murdered, seemingly at the hands of her husband, Prince John "the Drunkard", following a feast at the court of Sollust. Ecgbert demanded that John be executed for the crime, but William managed to persuade him to allow the matter to be investigated by Sir Tadhg and the party. After a day of investigation, they concluded that Alice had been murdered by a doppelgänger from the Black Hand who had attempted to frame John for the crime. Unfortunately, the doppelgänger escaped before it could be apprehended. Despite John's innocence, Alice's murder led to a fracturing of relations between Ecgbert and Bertram.

Bandits from the Black Hand, taking the guise of soldiers of the Reich, raided several villages in the Eorldom of Sollust to sow discord between Galland and the Reich. Fortunately, their ploy was uncovered and foiled by adventurers from Anglson. At the same time, soldiers from Halecroft began to probe the borders of the Kingdom.

A nameless spy employed by Bertram provided him with intelligence indicating that the leader of the Black Hand in Galland was an individual known as the Blood Knight, who appeared to be a lord located in the Eorldom of Anglson. In response, Bertram mustered an army to march upon the lands of the Blood Knight, joining levies with two mercenary companies, the Sons of Rorik and the Second Sons.

### Civil War

Bertram placed his army under the command of Prince Bertram the Younger and ordered him to march south to Anglson to capture or kill the Blood Knight. At this time, Eorl William marched to Sollust with his army in preparation to defend his people from what he termed "the tyranny of the King". When the King's army attempted to cross the bridge at Sollust, Eorl Ecgbert blocked the crossing with his own army and refused to allow the King's forces to pass, leading to the Second Battle of Sollust and the Second Gallander Civil War.

Aided by Lord Tadhg of Boughshire and his companions, Ecgbert's army overcame the King's men and routed them from the field. One of Tadhg's companions, Einarr the Brave, was able to convince the routed Second Sons mercenary company to regroup and join the Ecgbert's cause. Ecgbert ordered his men to march north to Hereston to prevent the King from obtaining the loyalty of Eorl John of Hereston. Meanwhile, Tadhg and his companions made their way first to Hessburg and then to Caerfydd, obtaining the loyalty of Eorl Ælfwith and Eorl Gruffyd. The armies of these Eorls combined with the Second Sons and marched to Hereston, where Tadhg convinced Eorl John to join the Gallander cause. The combined forces of Ecgbert, Ælfwith, Gruffyd, and John routed the King's men and killed his heir, Bertram the Younger. Unfortunately, John of Hereston was also slain in the fighting.

The King's men retreated to the city of Grimsford with the Gallanders in close pursuit. The army of the Gallanders overcame the defences of Grimsford, driving the King's men back to the keep. A sudden and ferocious assault led by Lord Tadhg of Boughshire captured the keep on the 11th of November, 378 AG. During the chaos, King Bertram and his sons Alfred and Alan were slain.

As the closest surviving heir of King Gallus III of Galland, Ecgbert took the throne of Galland. On the 18th of November 378 AG, Ecgbert was coronated as King of Galland at the Great Hall of Grimsford. Moments after his coronation, he was slain by a crossbow bolt. The changeling assassin was captured, but managed to complete suicide before he could be interrogated.

As the next closest heir of King Gallus III, William became the new King of Galland. He immediately sealed himself away in the King's chambers at Grimsford to begin planning. On the 21st of November, 378 AG, he married Princess Elisabet the Fair, Bertram's youngest daughter. On the 23rd of November, William began receiving petitioners, including an emissary from Das Reich der Zwerge. On the 30th of November, he ordered the execution of John the Drunkard, Bertram's youngest son, on the charge of treason.

## Family

William is the third son of the deceased King Gallus III of Galland. His mother was Queen Alice, Gallus III's second wife. He has three siblings:

* His half-brother Prince John of Galland, born on the 26th of January, 279 AG, ascended to the throne as King John of Galland on 13th of May, 340 AG, died 18th of January, 343 AG;
* His half-sister Princess Matilda, born on the 25th of March, 282, died of Great Pox on the 18th of April, 330 AG;
* His brother Prince Ecgbert, born on the 17th of June, 323 AG, now Eorl of Sollust.

William married Princess Elisabet the Fair on the 21st of November, 378 AG. He has no issue. He has one adopted son, Eorl Tadhg of Anglson.

## Heraldry, Titles, and Vassals

   William is King of Galland and Eorl of the Eorldoms of Grimsford, Merthryn, and Sollust. He previously held the titles of Prince of Galland (329 - 344 AG) and Eorl of Anglson (344 - 378 AG).

The following nobles hold court with William:

* Eorl Tadhg of Anglson;
* Godfric, his Court Chaplain;

and various other petty nobles and aristocrats.

William's landed vassals are:

* Eorl Ælfwith of Hessburg;
* The Eorl of Hereston;
* Eorl Gruffyd of Caerfydd, called "The Halfling";
* 360 vassal knights.

William's arms are *sable, an eagle displayed argent* *in full*.