Sons of Betrayal

"**Sons of Betrayal**" is a term used in reference to the three sons of Thetsoll the Betrayer; **Maeriand**, **Svogorn**, and **Ranmeld**. Following the death of their mother, the concubine Gislenne, the three boys were adopted and raised by their stepmother, Sibylla, who was the prophet and wife of the Watcher.

While historically ambigious, it's been claimed that it was the Sons of Betrayal that killed Thetsoll following his betrayal of Sibylla, the three having loved her as if she were their birth mother.

### Maeriand

Thetsoll's eldest son, Maeriand was given the Lyriane lands following Sibylla's Crusade; being tasked with building a nation that could stand as a barrier against the Adamantium. Maeriand took Jesavi, a local Lyriane woman, as his wife, then used her connections to unite the disparate and scattered tribes of the Lyriane in a moment known as the Grand Unification. He ordered sweeping changes in trade and forced relocations to break local allegiances in an effort to centralize trade and power. Existing cities were leveled to expand a new capital: Ducailles. Though the unification was successful in consolidating power, it also spread strong anti-Drahanim sentiment among the tribes.

When Thetsoll's betrayal came to light, Maeriand had separated himself from the legacy of his father well enough that he was seen as a victim and maintained power. However, his wife, angered by the Grand Unification and unwilling to be ruled by a Drahanim, plotted against him. When Maeriand's younger brother Ranmeld lost control of Khecaster, and fled to Maudet, Jesavi manipulated him into killing his own brother. All of Maeriand's direct children were killed as well.

### Svogorn

Thetsoll's middle son, Svogorn was entrusted with the lands south of his father's, which would later become the modern Freemarks, following Sibylla's Crusade. Svogorn is described as the most pious of Sibylla's sons; he was more concerned with spreading her word than with power, and did just that for the decade after her untimely death. When Thetsoll's betrayal was revealed, he disowned his father and dispersed his holdings among his people.

Unlike the lands controlled by his two brothers, the ones under his command never developed into full-fledged nations. Instead, each of the towns and cities under his former command elected a separate ruler and would become independent city-states. Years later, the area came to be known as the Freemarks. Despite multiple attempts at conquest, including by the Adamantium and Maudet, no one has ever managed to fully control these lands.

Two of his children later tried to lay claim to Sibylla's legacy, and were in turn killed for it. His other children fell into obscurity, their fate unknown.

### Ranmeld

Thetsoll's youngest son, Ranmeld took the lands to the east, around Khecaster. Ranmeld constantly leveraged his parents' name, and legacy, to strengthen his rule, claiming that their actions were his, likely against the wishes of his father, who remained silent on the matter and rarely visited Anderlay. A decade later, when Thetsoll's betrayal was revealed, Ranmeld had drawn such strong ties between himself and his father that he was instantly vilified alongside him. While his entire court was murdered, Ranmeld managed to escape to the lands of his brother Maeriand, possibly at the invitation of Maeriand's wife, Jesavi.

She manipulated the young Ranmeld into killing her first husband, then married him when he demanded it to bring legitimacy to his claim. She went on to seed rebellion against her new husband; within a decade, she was the figurehead of a people's rebellion against him. After Ranmeld's death, Jesavi ruled Maudet for forty-two years, having finally rid her lands of Drahanim rule.

After Ranmeld abandoned Khecaster, it developed into an independent city-state, and eventually into the nation of Anderlay.