King Johnathan of Lancove

Johnathan was the King of Torlund until the winter of 6727 SU when, according to the official announcements, he was killed by a sudden and violent illness that ravaged the palace, killing his wife and daughter as well as many of the palace staff. There are rumours that this was some kind of magical attack on the royal family, being such a rapid and localised illness, while others claim it was no disease at all but a violent coup orchestrated by some forces within Torlund. These rumours also go so far as to say the Lancove family survived and fled to the East. The next in line to the throne was Lord Rodger of Lancove, but he declined the throne and chose to appoint King Kal of Hercalos and his family instead.

### History

As a prince, like nearly all firstborn male nobles, Johnathan trained as a knight and actively served in the standing army. He was notorious for interacting with nobles and commoners alike and treating them equally, even when it irked other nobles.

In 6703, at the age of 21, King Johnathan inherited the throne from his grandfather King Richard. His father had died six years earlier, still a prince, on the battlefield in a war with Scandar, while his mother had died just four months before Johnathan's coronation of an illness she had been fighting for two years.

Three years into his reign, Johnathan married a young Half-Elf lady from The Mithril Isles named Tayat to shore up peace, which was beginning to fray between the two countries. They had their first child, Telimar, who sadly was born weak and sickly and thus died shortly before his second birthday. Their second child, Reagen, was born a healthy baby girl in 6713.

### Rulership

King Johnathan was well known for being a great king beloved by his people, notorious for stimulating the economy by spending money from the royal treasury on local business instead of external luxuries. The King would also go on tours around Torlund, visiting various lords throughout the country. When visiting a lord known to exploit their power and wealth and mistreat their subjects, the lord would be expected to host the king and his family for lavish meals, tournaments, and festivals. If the lord instead was known as a good and kind ruler, the king would ask little of them, sometimes even depositing funds with the lord. Thus, the king would weaken the wealth and power of unworthy lords while supporting those who were better rulers. During Johnathan's reign, Torlund knew a time of abundant harvests, which many in Torlund credited to the blessing of The World Gem, a magical stone which bestows blessings or curses upon the land according to the moral purity of the ruler.

When Johnathan became king, the country was not in a great place. Richard had neglected many of his royal duties and refused to make decisions or take any decisive actions. This had led to an economic downturn as well as degradation of nearly all of the government-run institutions, which in turn fostered an increase of banditry, piracy, and magical beast attacks throughout the later years of his reign. Diplomatic and trade relations with the Mithril Isles were severely damaged by the piracy, which angered the Mithril Isles not only because of their limited trading options but also because they were suffering loses with little to no reimbursement. As Johnathan came to the throne, there was talk of war within the Mithril Isles; if they were able to secure territory on the mainland, they might be able to set up trade with Mer-Rein. Thus, the first thing that Johnathan set out to do was to over haul the military, updating the systems and benefits of enlistment, to encourage an influx of new recruits so that he can bring peace back to the land and man a fleet of new warships. These ships were built quickly all along the coast, and deployed as soon as they were finished to hunt down pirates and then to defend the trading lanes, protecting trade deals which were favourable to the Islanders. After a couple of years of negotiations, he also married one of the lesser nobles from the Islands; even though the new queen was only a half rather than full Elf, this was a very favourable match in the Island's eyes.

Alongside defending the waters, the King set about purging the kingdom of bandits, capturing as many as he could and sentencing most to forced labour, rather than execution or imprisonment, to help stimulate the economy and sustain the rebuilding of the military. He also set out to defend the citizens from the various magical beasts afflicting the realm, choosing, when possible, solutions less severe than total extermination. For example, relocating the creatures, settling disputes diplomatically, or culling populations instead of wiping them out, especially in cases where the beasts are little more than vicious killers.

By 6710, the country had mostly settled down and was slowly returning to pre-Richard levels of wealth, safety, and prominence. Over time, Johnathan started to change some of the laws which heavily favoured those who were born to noble families over those of common birth. He also began putting pressure on those nobles who mistreated their subjects, intentionally sourcing resources and products from regions which took greater care to protect and value human life. This action put a strain on the relationship with Carthorka (due to the slavery) but Johnathan managed to navigate that diplomatic relationship carefully and kept Carthorka from becoming too enraged, though they continued to put on displays of their military power, making sure that Torlund knew they had the power to do a lot of damage if provoked.

### Physical Description

King Johnathan is a tall, muscular human with a prominent chin and nose, deep blue eyes, and well-tanned skin. Unlike most of the nobility, his hands are slightly calloused from regular sword training drills and from the trips he often takes into the capital city of Corlas, during which he rolls up his sleeves to pitch in and help with the various tasks on which he finds his people working. He also uses these opportunities to chat directly with the people and learn about what is happening in his city and kingdom.