Aldwic

*"The Council of the North was formed by many great northern kings and lords and Aldwic was one of these great kings who was known for being stoic and a fair ruler in his time."* - Extract from the Book of the North

Aldwic was a human who became the founder and one of the northern kings of the kingdom of Linlan and in turn would become one of the first members of the Council of the North forming alliances with the other northern kingdoms, being the older brother of Sigge he would also be the source of inspiration for his younger brother to go and form his own kingdom of Orgol. Aldwic's rule over Linlan saw great expansion and a small sized kingdom that resembled the northern kingdom of old which as he passed the throne would pass to his daughter Sigga who would go on to continue the reign of the kingdom.

## Biography

### First Era

#### Becoming a King

Like his parents before him Aldwic grew up in the tribal northern lands where the majority of the people had resorted back to their tribal beginnings due to nobody of royal blood to claim the throne of Forline, growing up alongside his younger brother Sigge both of them would learn to live off of the harsh northern lands by hunting and fighting eventually leading them to becoming the leaders of their people. By the year of 455 of the First Era the young Aldwic would decide to change his people's lives by settling down on land that he would claim for his people naming it Linlan, with the help of his brother and his people the early origins of a great northern kingdom would begin to form as they had built their first town and made it their capital. Due to his great leadership and stoic qualities Aldwic would be made the ruling king of the new kingdom, as he did not have any children to inherit his newly found throne at the time he would see fit to make his younger brother Sigge his heir being the prince of Linlan. For nearly a decade Aldwic would continue the kingdom's expansion becoming a profitable and rich in land place to live which only bolstered Aldwic's leadership's reputation.

#### Formation of the North

Despite having a successful kingdom with many new people flocking under Aldwic's rule it wouldn't be long before he and his brother Sigge were greeted by messengers who represented another northern kingdom called Nearion who sought to bring Aldwic to their lands to meet and discuss a potential alliance, both of the brothers would be suspicious but Aldwic remained intrigued and so chose to bring a handful of his soldiers and his brother to this kingdom to see what they had to offer. Upon arrival both brothers were met by the king of Nearion called Etherth who escorted Aldwic and Sigge to his kingdom's great hall where they met other rulers who each held their own kingdoms or large pieces of land within the north, once they were all seated a long conversation would begin about uniting all of the lords and kings within the hall to protect their lands from those who would do it harm such as Tozor but would also respect each rulers' borders. Etherth would constantly bring up the old kingdom of the north was known for its architecture and that this is what the north should work towards rebuilding a great land respected by all, although each ruler including Aldwic had their own opinions on how the north should be ruled they would all come to an agreement forming the Council of the North which worked to protect each ruler's land whilst ensuring each kingdom traded freely with each other. Having returned to Linlan Aldwic would inform his people of the formation of the council which allowed his adviser to begin a rough sketch of a map and routes between kingdoms for people to travel and trade to, it would be during this time that Sigge would congratulate his brother but told him that he too wanted to seek out his own land being inspired by his brother's acts to be a great ruler of his own land. Having respected his brother's wishes Aldwic would give him permission to leave and find his place in the world whilst he remained to look over his own kingdom and work with the other known northern kingdoms, at some point during this time he would meet his wife and give birth to a daughter calling her Sigga which was a female version of his brother's name out of respect for his brother forming his own kingdom of Orgol.

## Legacy

After his death in 507 of the First Era Aldwic's daughter Sigga would claim his throne being one of the first female sovereign rulers in the north where her rule would go unchallenged as she was respected like her father before her, during her time as queen she would implement a major change into Linlan's military introducing shield maidens within the army who became fierce warriors and to the later queens would become strictly the bodyguards to the queen.