Braküs the Bulwarker

**King Braküs Winnekin I** (4302-4335), better known posthumously as **Braküs the Bulwarker** *(Pron: Bruh-Kay-Us)*, was the fourth king of the nation of Trydgisia and son of King Hromund Winnekin. Braküs is revered as a national hero in the kingdom of Trydgisia for his feats in foiling the attacks of the Rorvernich and sacrificing himself to save Queen Morgan Winnekin from kidnapping during the events of the Quest of Decastria. King Braküs is remembered as a very benevolent and just king who was widely accepted by the population of his subjects, and is praised for unknowingly passing his attributes on to his brother and successor to the throne King Thulric, who served at his side during Decastria.

After his father's death in 4323, Braküs immediately took over as the King of Trydgisia and married his long time companion, the duchess of Henahvir, Morgan Falkenrath. Both King Braküs and Queen Morgan held the titles of monarchs of Trydgisia until their deaths in 4335. At the time of Braküs' death, unbeknownst to him, his wife was pregnant. Due to the untimely manner of Morgan's suicide just days after the death of her husband, the future heir was never born, and would forever remain a mystery. At the time of the couple's death, it was believed that the original bloodline carried on from King Trydgis had been broken. This was proven untrue to the relief of many when Master Nashtor revealed the truth behind Braküs' twin brother Thurlic, who had recently been knighted by Braküs.

## History

### *Birth and Childhood*

Braküs was born the first of two twins to King Hromund and Queen Eilamore, just ahead of Thulric. Being the first born, the queen saw it fit to keep Braküs under her care while leaving Thulric in the care of the Monks of Leinettes, with hope that she would be able to avoid a feuding brotherhood by masking the true identity of Thulric, but maintaining her connection with him should Braküs fail to uphold his destiny as the heir to the throne.

Braküs proved to be very intelligent at an early age, seeming to always be kind-hearted and generous about his privilege. Being raised by Hromund and Eilamore was of very good fortune to the young prince, as their approval of the citizens was the highest in all of Radorah, meaning Trydgisia was flourishing in a continuing renaissance that was unprecedented in the land. Through the irony of this, the rate of sickness and famine was at an all-time low for several decades in the lands, but this proved unimportant to six year old Braküs as he contracted a hideous form of typhus, just as his mother was expecting another child. Through some hardship, Braküs eventually made it through the sickness strangely around the same time that Queen Eilamore gave birth to his stillborn sister. Through the tragic events, the royal family was stricken with depression, and the nation of Trydgis went into a state of mourning, which eventually seemed to pass toward the beginning of 4310.

Shortly after Braküs' eighth birthday, he accompanied his mother and father to the kingdom of Henahvir in what was planned to be a meeting related to the lending of Trydgisian troops to assist in the War of Ezracorté. However, by the time the Trydgisians had arrived in the nation and met with King Cheswheit, the war had already came to an end. It was in a garden in Chrönicle Dauer that Braküs met Morgan. The family made good friends with the duke, duchess, and king of Henahvir and regularly returned to visit after that year.

### *Life as Prince*

As a teenager, Braküs was fascinated by swords and sword fighting. At fifteen, he commissioned a master blacksmith in the Knights of Trydgisia named Magnus Steele to forge him a custom sword. As Braküs' skills as a swordsman grew, so did his companionship with Magnus, eventually leading him to propose a partnership of training between the two, which would be the first action toward the formation of the Sterling Paladins, named for the sterling silver chains worn around their necks.

With the help of Magnus, who was twenty-five years old at the time, Braküs began selecting squires, army recruits, and other exceptional citizens from the age of ten to twenty who he would soon approach to inquire about joining his exclusive order of paladins. After the permission of his father was granted, Braküs founded his Sterling Paladins in 4319 with the original members of Magnus Steele, Diomedes Circlios, Jacques Dilleux, Othmar Archelder, Gerrand Masonic, Caspian Forthleigh, and Gordon Redd.

#### *War of the West/Final Years of Hromund's Reign*

After the onset of the War of the West, the kingdom of Acquirex lost heavy casualties to Roravine and called upon the kingdom of Trydgisia for aid. After having first declined with the vision that the Knights of Vall would be more than capable of defeating the weaker seeming Roravinian military, Hromund soon saw the more devastation directly at the hands of the Knights Defixius and soon prepared for war. King Korbdis of Acquirex gladly welcomed the Trydgisian reinforcements as they proved to be a vital help in repelling Roravinian attackers and pushing them to the city of Excelorkan. A stalemate took place in the city for several months until fighting once again picked up, eventually destroying the entire city and continuing on furthermore.

After five exhausting battles over the city of Excelorkan, thousands of lives had been lost. With numbers rising, King Hromund of Trydgisia joined the death toll along with what seemed to be the last remaining Knights Kronicha. Through the devastation, King Korbdis withdrew all forces from the island and sacrificed the city to the invaders before urging Braküs to return home with what men he still had. Although reluctantly, Braküs, now the inherited king of Trydgisia agreed to withdraw and made an oath to return should he be needed once more.

### *The New King of Trydgisia*

Having been away at war for the past two years, Braküs' subjects were hesitant to rely on him as their new king. Braküs honored those who fell in the war and compensated their friends and family dearly. This, along with lowering the tax rates among the Trydgisian cities, creating more agricultral jobs, and improving trading relations, Braküs' approval rating grew to a maximum.

Toward the end of 4323, Braküs took Duchess Morgan Falkenrath to be his queen. A majestic ceremony took place for the wedding which was held in Kingsport. After the wedding, a bond strengthened heavily throughout the kingdom of Trydgisia, giving it the image of one of the most flourishing realms in all of Dohmunderiah. Along with approval and happiness rates climbing, Trydgisia's economy was also on the rise with the export of several new inventions and commodities. Having grown attached to the small city of Kingsport, Braküs decided to refocus much of the southern trade there, expanding the city to a near three times its previous size. It was through the envisioning of King Braküs that the great skyline of trade towers were constructed, making Kingsport one of the most vital cities for business and trade on the entire globe.