Jericus Damathion

Governor of Sellia and King of Halus, Jericus is theoretically the single most (politically) powerful individual in Halus. After the assassination of his uncle Stevis triggered a chain of events plunging the union into chaos, Jericus underwent a tumultuous and unexpected rise to kinghood. Though some criticise his ofttimes eccentric and unpredictable attitude, it nonetheless cannot be denied that he broke the recent trend of unfavourable, often borderline tyrannic, rule by Damathions before him.

## Personality

Unlike many of his recent predecessors (particularly the last king), Damathion is known for his open mind and fair judgement. And although deadly serious when discussing or dealing with important matters, he is equally known for his jovial and mildly eccentric behaviour outside the courtroom, being a collector of unusual hats and very fond of jokes and wordplay. He also harbours a liking for good old *escae spardicum* (potato-based food dishes).

## Combat

Damathion practices enscopomegia as his primary form of combat, a magic which enhances his vision and other senses to enable him to strike distant enemies with unfailing accuracy. He usually uses either an enchanted crossbow or small bolts of elemental magic (with the bolt depending on the situation). He also makes use of teleportation magic, kinesis, and occasionally illusion magic, to outmanoeuvre and reposition.

## Biography

### Early Life

He was born to Revior Damathion, the brother of King Stevis Damathion, who was king at the time; and a woman name Taeria Damathion, originally from the house Armitus. Stevis was displeased with Revior's marriage, never liking Taeria and considering her weak. By extension, he harboured a pet hatred for Jericus from the moment he was born- he enacted a decree that legally declared Revior and his son to be Armitus, not a Damathion. Despite this he was still permitted to live in the palace, and resultantly received a proper royal education. This was further enhanced by his mother’s own easy, flowing method of teaching, and easily absorbed by his remarkable natural ability to learn; Jericus was, intellectually, the equivalent of a Main House noble by the time he was ten years of age. His father’s fascination with hats and suits, something which Stevis detested, was passed on to Jericus in this time; this only earned the poor boy more scorn and ill will from his uncle.

### Rise to Kinghood

Jericus Damathion's rise to power as the current King of Halus was tumultuous at best. Jericus, and most of the Houses in private, detested Stevis as a man and as a King- and unknown to them, so did the majority of Halus. Riots became increasingly common in the months up to the mid-year and the governmental bodies became pressured to remove Stevis as King - Stevis himself trying to bypass the Senatorial body to protect himself against abdication. Jericus could only watch as Lucarius burnt in revolt. However, at the height of the 9th hour of the 10th day of the the 5th month of the year 347 Annae Hala something unexpected happened: Stevis Damathion, Head of the House of Damathion, Governor of Sellia, King of Halus - as crowned under the Glory of Ocidius and Head of the Modern Church- was assassinated by an elite member of the Ordus Imbriacia. Stevis never had any direct legitimate heirs to the throne, his wife granting him no children, and so the Noble’s Council responsible for choosing the next King- almost all of whom supported Stevis- assembled and gathered all legitimate successors: some somewhat distant relatives who still managed to bear the Damathion name, and also some candidates from other Royal Branches.

If one looked at family tree, it would be obvious that Revior was the direct blood brother to king, so he as well as his son Jericus should both be high priority candidates to the throne. However they were overlooked in the selection process due to them being labelled as Armitus, a noble house but not a Royal Branch. Being a decree set by Stevis when he was head of the house, this could only be repealed by whoever held that position. Jericus himself was infuriated at being treated like dirt by the nobles and by his own house, but could do little to change it. That was, however, until he discovered a sinister plot in play by other members of the Armitus House to assassinate the current provisional head, a Stevis loyalist from the Noble's Council, and place Revior as house head. Jericus was never one for killing people nor for advocating it but this would give him the upper hand in the situation - so he denied the request to become involved in the plot and smartly turned a blind eye when the noble dropped dead and was, almost suddenly, replaced with his father. Revior could now repeal the decree set upon himself, declaring him and his son Damathions once more; the Noble Council, however, refused to acknowledge his father as the current House Head and candidate to the throne; this development only soured the relations between the two parties.

Jericus did all he could to help his father attain the crown and recognition he deserved as Stevis’s brother and as a still legitimate descendent of the Main House who carried the Damathion name proudly but was short handed and mostly left out of proceedings. The Main house, at this point, had either been killed in the uprising or sworn fellowship and subservience to Revior as the new head. Jericus was laid in the dark of political intrigue for many months as his father went about consolidating his power among the nobles, the public and his own house; all being necessary to one day be seen as a possible Royal Candidate. However, Halus was done with strict and unjust Damathion rule, as it had been for decades prior, and were overall against the possibility of a Damathion successor. Their distrust of the house threatened to lower the status of the house’s nobility and axe the Damathion Line of Succession forever - the rumors of their family’s great fall seemingly coming to life before them as Jericus’s father fell ill after one night out conspiring with allies, promptly dying the next day.

Though Jericus was stricken with grief at the sudden death of his father, he knew that the responsibility now fell on him to redeem the Damathion name- by claiming the throne for himself. Now head of the Damathion House himself, Jericus began to campaign. Though he was originally met with much distrust and scepticism, he slowly but surely convinced the public of his positive traits, winning them over with his confident yet friendly charisma, rational outlook, and promises to undo the damage of his predecessors backed up with thorough plans. The Noble's Council had no choice but to allow him to run as a candidate and, come election time, he completely smashed the other candidates in the polls. Thus Jericus Damathion was crowned King of Halus and Governor of Sellia, ending a period of chaos and launching a new era of prosperity that continues to the present day.