Bacon IV

**King Bacon IV**is a main character in *War.*

In terms of the series narrative, Bacon is the last King of Porcinia, reigning during the War. He is a relative of Diana Loudoun and Lana Loudoun.

## Appearances

### *War*

King Bacon IV debuted in "The White Ship" in 710, two years into the War. He and his primary ally, Archibald I of Ursus, had heretofore remained out of the conflict. Their staunch neutrality was jeopardized when Vulpus murdered Ana III of Simeone and her father, Tomasz Czerny. This second regicide (after the execution of the Petukinau royal family in "Suddenly the Skies Darkened"), especially against a neutral nation, became too much to overlook. Bacon entered the war with Ursus and Simeone in January of 710.

In "Unknown by Name or Rank," King Bacon invested his eldest son, Bake Hamleigh, as the Boar of Porcinia and heir apparent. His son, however, was reckless and immature. Bacon, hyper-aware of the dynasty's image and reputation due to the usurpation that placed his family on the throne, feared for the royal succession. Exacerbating his concerns was the diagnosis of his pneumoswinoxia. Bacon and his wife, Queen Roseanna Hamleigh, attempted to arrange a marriage between Bake and a noblewoman, but they failed due to Bake's reputation. In the meanwhile, Bacon communicated with his distant cousin, Diana Loudoun, and interfered with Lana Loudoun's draft notice to exempt her from duty.

After the War Plague pandemic ended in 715, Bacon met with Archibald, Babar Waarheid, and Horatio V in Ursus ("Buried in Satin") to discuss the war effort on the Psittancynesian front. By this point, Bacon's son Bake Hamleigh was an officer at the front. The nations agreed to attack, with Bake as one of the leading commanders, but it backfired when the parrots correctly anticipated their move and launched a counterinvasion of Ursus. Bacon was forced to redirect his forces to defend Ursus when the Summer Sun accidentally killed Princess Theodora Rose.

When the parrots overwhelmed the Porcinian border and invaded in 717, Bacon ordered an evacuation of the northern communities. This evacuation, shown in "Too Close to the Sun," resulted in Bacon's cousins Diana and Lana Loudoun moving to one of the resettlement camps. Bacon visited Diana and invited her to Sowtown, but she refused again. Bacon's son Bake returned to the capital after being dishonorably discharged for a romantic relationship with a fellow officer. Bacon, in a rage, sent his son to Boar's Head to learn how to govern in preparation for an eventual ascension to the throne.

In "Two Moths Drawn to the Flame," Bacon attended the 719 annual Granite Bloc summit, this year hosted at Highland Castle.

Porcinia was overrun in 725, and the capital was surrounded. In "The Good Must Associate," Bacon gathered his family to sign a decree proclaiming Diana Loudoun as heir to the throne. A distant relative far from Sowtown, Diana stood the best chance of escaping. Bacon brokered a deal with Canis to liberate O Camp, where Diana was a refugee. Despite mild resistance from his family, Bacon managed to convince everyone to sign the proclamation. This ultimately unseated Bake Hamleigh after all, and left Diana and her descendants as heirs to Porcinia.

Porcinia fell in November 725, and Bacon and his entire family was executed by the Summer Sun. His decree of a change in heir caused the Summer Sun to prioritize a hunt for Diana Loudoun.

## Character

### Namesake

Bacon's name refers to a type of cooked pork.

## Trivia

* Bacon's pneumoswinoxia storyline was supposed to be much larger than it ultimately ended up being.