Aymar II of Arian

**Aymar II**, called **the Usurper** following the victory of the Arthurian line in 3E 244, was a king of Arian and its wider dominion as High King over the Spires and Valleys. He was originally recorded as the region's 111th ruler until he and his successors were removed from the line of kings.

## **Conflict with the Pretender Arthur**

In 3E 210, catastrophe struck when a fire killed not only the King (Aymar's elder brother Arthur XII) but his heirs also. The flames claimed the bodies of the deceased and though they could not be identified it was assumed everyone had perished. As such, with both of his nephews dead, Aymar became King.

A decade later, a man emerged claiming to be the younger of Aymar's nephews, Prince Arthur, and so launched rebellion against the King. Along with his son and heir, Aymar rode out to meet the pretender in force. Nothing is recorded of any attempt at diplomacy between claimant and king. Battle commenced in the hot summer days of 3E 220.

During the battle, the pretender Arthur proved a menace. He personally led charge after charge into Aymar's lines, routing company after company. The King had greater numbers but could soon no longer afford to allow Arthur alone to act on the field as some sort of hero-king of old. Aymar took his most loyal knights and made his way across the field, searching for the pretender. When he saw him, he charged straight for him.

Their duel was swift. Various accounts describe how both men clashed swords still on horseback, riding past and at eachother as if jousting. After only two or three bouts like this, Arthur landed a solid blow to the King's chest. Aymar was thrown back off his horse and died from the fall.

As he dismounted to take his uncle's crown, Arthur was attacked by Aymar's son. The two fought a much longer melee, both landing cut and blow on eachother. The pretender was eventually slain, but not without having mortally wounded the Prince.

Although Prince Aymar was announced King Aymar III, he did not recover from his injuries and died very soon after the battle.

## **Reputation following 3E 244**

Aymar's reputation suffered greatly following the victory of the Arthurian line in 3E 244, when Henri the Restorer came to the throne. Although he had in fact not usurped the throne, his brother and his brother's children all believed to be dead, he came to be known as *the Usurper*. While undoubtedly a tyrant, his rule was no more oppressive than his brother's had been.

Any and all depictions of Aymar as a king that could be found were destroyed. He and his successors were removed from the line of kings. An aggressive and rather impressive campaign was waged against his character as scholars began to falsely attribute various misdeeds to him. A painting of Aymar, showing an old and bowed man, was commissioned during the reign of Henri XVIII for display in the Grand Cathedral of Coeth. It was named *The Usurper Repentant* and was intended to blunt some of the sharp attitude towards Aymar, depicting him as repentant in an afterlife.

1. ↑ The *Arthurian Line* referred to King Arthur XII, his son Prince Arthur, and his son Henri the Restorer. Aymar II belonged to the so-called *Aymarian Line*, which included him, his son Aymar III, and his son Aymar IV.