Vincian XIII

Vincian XIII (born Gaius Lucian Vincian) is the thirteenth king in the line of Vincian and ruler of the Valoren Republic.

## Early Life (401 - 416 FV)

Gaius was born to King Vincian XII in 401 FV, and as is custom, trained in the arts of state, culture, and war. Gaius never took to magic, and though it was considered bad practice to not force the issue, his time was filled with other studies. He was paraded around Ahrd when he was 12, preforming displays of horsemanship, archery, and fencing to impress suitors and make a case for his worth. He was recalled to Valoren proper in 416 FV when the orc hordes of Rhogg the Red suddenly invaded, and his father rode to war. The Sacking of Taelos was short and bloody, and ended in the death of Vincian XII and the crowning of Gaius to be Vincian XIII when he was 15.

## The New Republic (416 - 450 FV)

While his advisors rushed to find him a queen to provide him children, Vincian was quite distraught over his father's death and moved to make changes to the lands to prevent future attacks. He personally travelled over the next ten years to each independent state within the land of Ahrd, promising protection and a seat on the now growing Council of Valoren, no matter how large the settlement, to have equal say in the King's ear. New roads and borders were drawn and established, and before long, the Valoren Republic was born.

New cities were formed, namely Novea Taelos and the Shrine of the Dead to properly mourn those lost to Rhogg and to show the indomitable spirit of the new Republic. Though the task was started out of near necessity, Vincian had built Valoren into the first global superpower in an incredibly short time, and those that led the surrounding nations began to eye the growing state with suspicion and concern.

### The Outliers, and the First Wife

The cities of Rhaal, Cagir, and Siccila were unhappy to be on the borders (or in come cases, within them) despite not accepting Vincian's terms and rejecting the republic. Some attribute this to poor or short sighted leadership, especially from the prince Whuutr of Cagir whom had famously fled from The Sacking of Taelos and viewed the offer as a slight. There were whispers of these cities, made up of many people from surrounding nations, would join with them, and may be outright hostile. Vincian was forced into another parade, and at his request, one that bore nearly no military might. A risk, especially to a nation without an heir, but one Vincian viewed as necessary to sow peace in his neighbors. During the tour, Vincian met and wed with the daughter of a priest of the Ziggurat of the Three Winds, Rita Hirota. This made peace with the southern nations, but was thought to be a poor choice as the neighboring nation of Vigneau was vocally and increasingly hostile towards the Republic. Border skirmishes broke out, and Legionnaires were forced to recruit to guard the edges of the Republic. The swiftness of these actions caused quite the decline in opinion on the Legion, both their lack of vetting, training, and frequent overreach becoming an issue to this day.

### The New Peace and the Queen Láme

One of the initial issues with finding a peace with Vigneau was Vincian's inability to marry their acting queen Élodie, as the Vigni custom is to have the ruler of Vigni blood lord over their spouse. This could functionally make Vigneau the ruler of both their state and the Valoren Republic, thought unwise by the council of the city-states. This was rendered additionally difficult in Vincian's own lack of an heir to wed to Élodie or promise to her then young children. When Queen Rita became pregnant, there was immediate talk of wedding to Vigneau's eldest dauphins, but a new opportunity rose in Rita's death in pregnancy. Élodie demanded the promise be kept, and in strategy and desperation Laurenne Láme was promised to be wed to the King. Their engagement was to wait until her 18th sun, but upon engagement it took 2 more years for the royal wedding to occur as various treaties and agreements were organized between the kingdoms.

The wedding (444 FV) was a grand event, and though loveless, Laurenne and Vincian were of similar mind and rule Valoren to this day with respect from each other and many of their people. The Outliers were grafted into Valoren as city-states, and while no Vigni say over Valoren rule is respected outside of the queen, they are allowed a representative on the council as a note of transparency.