King Daqan

*"You must commit with all that you have to give. The greatest defeat is failing to move forward." -* The Wisdom of King Daqan

King Daqan was the first king of Terrinoth, and under him the seeds of the baronial system were first planted. It is in his name that the Daqan Lords now continue to rule the lands of that old kingdom through the Council of Thirteen. Daqan is revered by many in the baronies as the greatest and wisest king to have ever ruled. The more superstitious inhabitants of Terrinoth hope that he will one day return to the throne of Terrinoth and restore its former glory.

## Daqan in the First Darkness

In 487, the Uthuk Y'llan's Host of Thorns invaded Talindon, sweeping all before them. On the Ashen Field, the Host fell upon an army led by King Falladir and his sons. They fought valiantly. A blow from King Falladir’s sword nearly cleaved the head from Melinesh, while Prince Parren drove a lance through the heart of Nashaia. But Llovar had numbers, magic, and malice on his side, and by the end of the day, the three Penacors lay dead upon the field together with the soldiers who had pledged to follow their banner. A small group of ragged survivors, led by the noble young Baron Daqan, escaped the slaughter. Only the fury of a great tempest prevented Llovar from running the shattered survivors down. They could only ride off through the pelting rain to warn Timmorran of Llovar’s renewed force.

Daqan and his band of survivors regrouped with Timmorran and faced their enemy in one final battle. This would become known as the Battle of the Locusts. In this battle, the Elf King Triamlavar, Ashan the Sunderman and the Dwarven Deeplord Halgir son of Grom were slain, but the courage of many men and the magic of Timmorran won the day. The wizard cast down Llovar the Locust once and for all, sending the Host of Thorns fleeing back to the Ru.

## Daqan Rises to the Throne

After the end of the Locust Swarm and the First Darkness, the realm of Talindon was left shattered, and the Penacor line extinguished. The war had left the baronies divided, with no clear ruler able to sit the throne. Besides, it was clear that many of the barons wished for the throne to remain empty in order to maintain their own independence.

With Timmorran's advice, the Lords of Talindon suggested that Baron Daqan accept the Penacor crown. Timmorran argued this to be a suitable transitional step from Penacor rule to the coalition of lords that he envisioned the kingdom to one day become. He persuaded the baron to take the throne, but he also advised him to openly swear that he would have no heirs and would instead install a Council of Barons to govern after him. Due to the weakened authority of the throne following the First Darkness, Daqan was forced to agree. His right to rule would now come directly from the Council of Barons, meaning the lords of the land could be surer that Daqan would hold their interests at heart. His coronation was held in 488, and Daqan was soon regarded as a confident and self-assured ruler.

As Daqan organized the rebuilding of the kingdom, many noted that the character of his society was different than that of the Penacor realm. Elves traveled the land openly, assisting in the rehabilitation of rural communities, and Dwarven engineers from Dunwarr directed the mining of rich deposits of iron found in the northern hills. This cosmopolitan flavor, and the increasing authority provided to the Council of Barons (to be known in more recent times as the Council of Thirteen due to its number), led to a new age of optimism and prosperity.

King Daqan, perhaps following Timmorran’s instruction, gave a speech in which he declared himself unworthy of the Penacor name and stated that the realm of Talindon ought to pass into history with its rulers. He proposed a new name for the nation: Terrinoth, or “Land of Steel.”

## Daqan Reforms Terrinoth

King Daqan never occupied the Penacor keep in its ancestral home of Tamalir. The city's elders had grown strong and fiercely independent following the end of the Penacor line, so they held the city themself. Daqan drafted a charter by which the elders were granted both the keep and governance of the city. Their independence was to be respected by the throne, provided they abide by majority decisions of the Council of Barons, tithed the Council a portion of their taxes, and kept a standing force of soldiers for Tamalir’s own protection and that of the realm. So it was that the greatest of Terrinoth’s cities became the first of the Free Cities.

Daqan founded the great citadel of Archaut in a calm southern valley and placed at its center a great hall. At the beginning of every spring, Terrinoth’s barons met there to accept King Daqan’s hospitality and discuss matters of the realm. Not everyone was pleased with King Daqan’s reforms. In particular, the Baron Ulon Heronglade held a number of reactionary opinions regarding kingship, and his opposition to Daqan often resulted in heated arguments.

## The Murder of King Daqan

In 513, King Daqan traveled to the southwestern reaches of Terrinoth to arbitrate a dispute between two barons. What had begun as a petty dispute about the borders of their neighboring realms had developed into a series of skirmishes, and King Daqan hoped to settle matters before bloody war broke out. He never arrived, and later, his crowned helmet was discovered near a lonely stretch of road. It seemed that King Daqan’s party had been ambushed and slaughtered on their journey, their remains scattered by wolves.

In the cities of Terrinoth, it was whispered that the Bloodguard Knights had been hired to waylay and murder the king by none other than Baron Ulon Heronglade. Led by Baron Waiqar, the Council took resolute action: it had Castle Heronglade razed to the ground and the baron seized. Ulon Heronglade never stopped protesting his innocence, even as he dangled from a cage from the gates of Archaut and slowly starved to death.

The death of King Daqan set in motion the Second Darkness. Various people could have benefited from Daqan’s demise, and while official records state that Baron Heronglade was justly found guilty, scholars argue that Waiqar Sumarion may have been the real culprit. After all, he soon used the situation to unleash evil upon Terrinoth.

An alternative explanation - one not often suggested in polite company - would be to note that Timmorran also stood to gain much from the death of Daqan. After the regicide, those who had voiced opposition to the Council of Barons wished no association with Baron Heronglade, and they became markedly circumspect regarding political matters. The Council now ruled supreme.

Others suggest that, as his body was never recovered, King Daqan may not have been killed. Many people of Terrinoth find this a comforting hope, for surely his return would be a glorious event that heralds a new golden age.