Gerald I of Wyrsia

***“**To antagonize the Naerisi is to drag Wyrsia into ruins. No man is above them, they can reach anyone, and they can kill them. Befriending them is the better choice, both morally and for the country as a whole.**”***
— Gerald I

**Gerald I**, nicknamed **Gerald the Innyrian**, born **Gerald Mitthel**, was the King of Wyrsia from 749 AW until his voluntary abdication in 770 AW. He is credited with mending the divide between Wyrsia's Humans and Innyria's Naerisi, ending the hostilities and guerilla warfare plaguing the country.

## Biography

### Early Life

Gerald Mitthel was born in 720 AW to Henry Mitthel, the heir to the Wyrsian throne. As a result, he enjoyed the upbringing of royalty at the Wyrsian Royal Palace in Woodhall. He was a curious child and a bookworm, and would visit the court library daily.

Gerald learned about the world through his books, teaching himself to read and write and later learning High Fühlgartian as well as Nytalyrian. He ended up as a diplomat and briefly served as the Wyrsian ambassador in Torstadt, the Fühlgartian capital. When his father inherited the throne and was crowned Henry II in 736 AW, Gerald was recalled to Woodhall as he became the heir apparent to the Wyrsian throne. Here, he headed the Wyrsian Diplomatic Corps from the royal court.

### The Wyrsian-Innyrian War

*Main Article: Wyrsian-Innyrian War*

When his father declared the Wyrsian-Innyrian War in 746 AW, Gerald was deployed as a commander. While much of the Wyrsian army under Henry II was slaughtering Naerisi civilians, Gerald defied his father in secret and began hiding Innyrian civilians and supplying them with food and clothes. It is estimated that Gerald and his unit saved anywhere between 5,000-10,000 civilians from the Wyrsian looters.

Ultimately the Kingdom of Fühlgart would join the war on Wyrsia's side to take Nordland, much to the Wyrsians' ire. A stalemate broke out by late 748 AW, and after some more futile fighting, the war ended in peace with the establishment of the Duchy of Western Innyria. However, Fühlgart's annexation of Nordland was seen as a theft of land that Wyrsia would conquer, and the two Human kingdoms rapidly became hostile towards one another over the Nordland Dispute.

Henry II was assassinated by the Ghosts of Innyria in 749 AW, his body mutilated beyond recognition. This led to Gerald Mitthel being crowned as Gerald I in a time when Wyrsia had enemies both external and internal, as the Ghosts of Innyria began a series of guerilla attacks and assassinations, while Fühlgart reinforced the border. This gave Gerald I the difficult task of keeping Wyrsia stable and weathering the storm.

### King of Wyrsia

Gerald I began his reign by sending diplomatic envoys to Hyllion d'Avyni, the Innyrian general that had become the leader of Western Innyria and the benefactor of the Ghosts of Innyria. Most of these envoys were intercepted by guerillas and killed, and the ones that made it to Hyllion in Asyus were simply turned around. Gerald I concluded that the Naerisi prefered actions over words, and began righting the wrongs committed during the war.

Wyrsian officers that had participated in the razing of Innyrian villages and had not yet been assassinated were arrested and extradited to Western Innyria. Furthermore, Gerald I personally oversaw a series of war reparations to be paid to the Innyrians. Furthermore, he even picked up the Innyrian language and some of their cultural practices. While this didn't uncomplicate the relationship between Wyrsia and Western Innyria, it was at the very least enough to make the relationship non-violent, as the Ghosts of Innyria were disbanded by d'Avyni.

However, these concessions were extremely unpopular amongst the high nobility and military staff that had supported Henry II's invasion of Innyria. They viewed Gerald as a spineless coward that would rather bribe the Innyrians into compliance than bask in Wyrsia's victory. However, Gerald paid them little heed, as he took after his peaceful grandfather, Henry I.

However, the disgruntled military refused to listen and got bolder over time. By 758 AW, the Nordland Dispute escalated into the Wyrsian-Fühlgartian War when the newly formed Army of Stavia attacked Fühlgart against the wishes of Gerald I. This led to a two-year-long conflict between the two Kingdoms. Ultimately the Wyrsian army took all lands south of Stavia including Nordland, and after two failed Fühlgartian counteroffensives the war ended in a Wyrsian victory. However, this victory would be short-lived and would drive a permanent wedge between the two kingdoms, starting a bitter hatred that would last for the next four-and-a-half centuries.

In the 760s the threat of a military takeover became ever larger, as the military seemed to disregard the authority of the monarchy at every step. The last decade of Gerald I's rule was spent curbing the influence of the military. Generals were dismissed and replaced with younger and more loyal talent. While there were a few close calls, the Wyrsian monarchy ultimately came out on top as the victor of the power struggle. However, at this point, Gerald I had become tired. In 770 AW, he formally announced his resignation and abdicated the throne to his son, Zachary.

The rest of his life was spent in Woodhall, where he picked up his childhood hobbies again, reading through old tomes and scrolls, and trying to find new knowledge. He also served as an advisor to Zachary and later to his other son, Henry after Zachary died. Gerald died in 803 AW.

## Career

Kingdom of Wyrsia

* Prince (720-736 AW)
* Ambassador to Fühlgart (736 AW)
* Heir Apparent (736-749 AW)
* Head of the Diplomatic Corps (736-746 AW)
* Commander (746-749 AW)
* King of Wyrsia (749-770 AW)
* Retired (770-803 AW)

## Awards

* Service Medal - Kingdom of Wyrsia
* ~~Innyrian Victory Medal - Kingdom of Wyrsia~~ (revoked by himself)

## Personality

Gerald I is best described as a principled man that never lacked curiosity. From a young age until his death, he was always nose-deep in some kind of tome, learning new things. He spoke five different languages and was a rather peaceful monarch, preferring to solve Wyrsia's problems diplomatically rather than with the sword. Yet, he was also a bit too soft towards his rowdy and somewhat disloyal military, which led them to become more and more arrogant and bold over the years.