Absit Settlers Important Figures

**King Donatus**

Born the youngest prince of Absit to the king and one of his mistresses, Donatus had two older brothers and one older sister (all birthed by the queen). Fifteen years after his birth, upon the surrender of his country by his father, with the backing of the royal advisor of Absit and a few generals in the army he inspired a sizable portion of the population to follow him in an exodus of Absit towards their ancestral home, called Esor. With the help of the Royal Advisor, Ormen Layton, Prince Donatus negotiated a deal with the guilds on the west coast of Absit to construct a number of large ships and fund the migration in exchange for a position of power in the new kingdom. The King is currently seventy years old in the year 55 TE (2925 AR).

**Ormen Layton**

Once the primary advisor to the king of Absit, Layton was a crucial part of the exodus from Absit. Although he was a member of the military council, he played a large role in raising the youngest prince of Absit after the boy’s mother died mysteriously shortly after his birth. When prince Donatus came to him to say goodbye after Absit’s surrender to Solvite, the young prince didn’t think anyone would follow him but felt he had to try to do what he thought was right. Moved by the boy who had been like an adoptive son to him, Layton made the difficult choice to go with the boy, knowing that his presence would give validity to the prince’s claim that this is the right thing for Absit’s people. He was correct in his assumptions and with him backing the prince, several high ranking military figures who were also upset with the king’s surrender joined them. Ormen Layton was sixty years old when the settlers arrived in the Dotted Gulf of Esor and was instrumental in the formation of New Esoria by acting as regent until Donatus could be trained how to be a good leader and setting up the system of government. Layton was ultimately assassinated for unknown reasons by the man who he appointed as the Knight General of New Esoria and who was being groomed to be the royal advisor,  Corum Erigald. Ormen Layton died at the age of eighty five in the year 25 TE (2895 AR) and has yet to be replaced in his role of Royal Advisor in the thirty years since his death.

## Knight Generals/City Rulers

**Matthew Delmont**

One of the first two royal guards to be promoted to the rank of Knight General. Delmont was given command of the town of Floatum and under his rule the town flourished. He worked very closely with the guilds to start the canal project and construct the town using the ruins as foundation. He was known as being very fair to the people of Floatum and never playing favorites with any of the guilds. Matthew Delmont governed over Floatum for forty seven years until his death from natural causes in the year 53 TE. In his final days Delmont asked the king to allow his son, Philip, to be his successor. Normally, a new member of the royal guard would be promoted and tasked with the job but Matthew had been a loyal servant of the king so he agreed to let Phillip Delmont take over as governor of Floatum, with the condition that a member of the royal court acts as an advisor. Matthew, overjoyed with his king’s decision, died in peace and was given a royal burial in New Esoria.

**Darian Hans**

The most recently installed first generation Knight General, Darian Hans was promoted to be in charge of Natus after the request to establish a new town in the area from Parvus was approved twenty seven years ago. Darian was thirty one when he was promoted making him sixty three as of 55 TE (2925 AR). Natus has had trouble since early in its construction due to the attacks from the vampires of the Bloodvine Jungle and it has rested heavily on the shoulders of Darien. Only two years after he was installed in Natus and already well into trying to defend against the vampires, the news of the assassination of the royal advisor, Ormen Layton, by his childhood friend and fellow Knight General, Corum Erigald arrived. Darain wanted to rush to New Esoria to find Erigald and learn what happened but was unable to leave Natus because at the same time all this was happening, the largest vampire raid in the short history of the town began. Before the battle was even finished, news reached Darian that Erigald was slain during an attempted capture. In the time since then, Darian Hans has run Natus very strictly similar to a military. If you don’t join his militia when you’re of age, then you are expected to find a profession to assist the militia such as becoming a smith or joining one of the many slayer guilds that populate Natus. If you don’t want anything to do with protecting Natus from the vampires, you are expected to leave. This mentality, combined with the unsafe nature of the town, keeps the population fairly low.

**Corum Erigald**

Reigned as one of the strongest fighters to ever be in the royal guard, it surprised no one when he was named to be promoted to Knight General in the kingdom’s capital. Unlike most of the other Knight Generals, Erigald was not very popular with the public due to his brash and angry nature. He reveled in battle and was infamous for laughing loudly while he fought. It spoke to his military genius to be picked to become a Knight General despite these traits however. In the year 25 TE, he murdered the acting royal advisor and his tutor, Ormen Layton. His reputation with the public insured that they would want his head and teams of soldiers were sent after him. While being hunted, Erigald took down over a dozen soldiers and eventually the royal guard was sent to capture him. However when the royal guard encountered him he allegedly refused to be taken alive and was slain in combat. It is unknown why he would murder the royal advisor but there are many different theories including being upset that the royal advisor role he would receive would be weaker than it once was or simply going into an insane rage. The positions of Knight General and royal advisor has yet to be replaced in New Esoria and King Donatus has taken those responsibilities.

**Tizian Kade**

The only non-human from the royal guard to be promoted to Knight General, many doubt it's a coincidence that the High Elf, Tizian Kade was put in charge of Parvus, the only settlement in the kingdom with a population primarily made of non-humans. Parvus is the third largest town in the kingdom behind Floatum and the capital but is growing quickly and much of that is due to the leadership of Kade. Ever since becoming Knight General of Parvus, Kade has worked very closely with the commerce guilds that populate his city to establish themselves as crucial to the economy of the kingdom. To compensate for not being near any other civilization with a strong commerce they focus strongly on gathering raw materials from the Dotted Gulf. In an attempt to increase their reach they tried to establish a new trade town near the large jungle near the kingdom, Natus, but it became a massive financial failure and Parvus now has almost nothing to do with Natus at all. Recently, scouts from Parvus made contact with the Volc-Nah to their West and in a shocking event Tizian Kade went to their village himself and managed to set up a basic trade deal with them. Tizian Kade has recently been trying to entice the guild Vergearin to move their base of operations to Parvus and although Vergearin is seated very firmly in New Esoria, they have been having lengthy talks with Kade lately. If the juggernaut of commerce did actually move to Parvus, it would likely grow the town far beyond the size of Floatum.

**Elin Frauke**

Along with Matthew Delmont, Elin Frauke was one of the first two Knight Generals and she was put in charge of the town of Rudis. Elin Frauke was put in charge after the first encounter between New Esoria and the Dwarves of Razuth’s Children. Initially Rudis was formed to be a mining town to gather materials from the large mountain range (known as Razuth’s Spine) that borders the north of the kingdom. Shortly after digging the mine started, an armed regiment of Dwarves surrounded the mine and threatened violence against the town if they continued. From the capital the young King Donatus, the royal advisor Ormen Layton, and two members of the royal guard Matthew Delmont and Elin Frauke came to Rudis to solve the issue. Delmont was picked for his martial ability and positive record on diplomatic missions in the past. Elin Frauke was picked to come as well because her magic was needed for translation and possibly a fast escape if things became hostile. Because she was the face of the discussions, the king included her in almost every early talk with the diplomats of Razuth’s Children. Once the Knight General program was introduced there was no question that Frauke should be put in charge of Rudis. After being appointed, she took over the biggest challenge to overcome for the town, finding a new purpose within the kingdom. Part of the understanding with Razuth’s Children was the agreement that there would be no mining in Razuth’s Spine by the Absit Settlers. This, combined with the fact that the Dwarves conduct most of their trade with the capital city of New Esoria, puts Rudis in a difficult position of looking for purpose. Frauke decided to use her reputation with the Dwarves and offered them special financial benefits if they moved to Rudis in order to set up shop. Although still outnumbered by humans, Dwarves make up a considerate portion of the population in Rudis now and the town, although still very small, stays relevant because of its craftsmanship. Elin Frauke died in the winter of 51 TE (2921 AR) and was given a Dwarven funeral, along with a large stone memorial that she was buried under in the center of Rudis. Frauke was replaced by Malik Hall recently and there is a lot of pressure on him to continue positive relations with Razuth’s Children.

**Phillip Delmont**

Son of Matthew Delmont, Phillip Delmont is the only person in charge of one of the settlements without being a Knight General. Phillip came to power after his late father made a dying request to King Donatus to allow it. The king approved the request because of how faithful Matthew Delmont had been to the kingdom, on the condition that a member of the royal guard, Edith Selwin, act as an advisor to Phillip. It's been two years since his father died and Phillip took over and from the outside Floatum looks like it's still growing strong but there have been reports of rampant corruption within the city.

**Edith Selwin**

A member of the royal guard, Edith Selwin was recently installed as an advisor to Phillip Delmont in order to assist in the governance of Floatum. Other than her role as advisor little is known about her except that she must be a very successful combatant due to her membership in the royal guard and recent promotion.

**Malik Hall**

The most recently installed second generation Knight General, Malik Hall was put in charge of the town of Rudis shortly after the death of Elin Frauke. In the little time since his governance began he has spent most hours of the day working with Frauke’s office and assigning his own in order to learn everything about the day to day goings on in Rudis and, more importantly to the kingdom, the multiple products that Frauke had in the works with Razuth’s Children. There are many eyes on Malik Hall from bothNew Esoria and Razuth’s Children to see how he will continue the diplomacy with the Dwarves that Elin Frauke established.