Ralfour

"In this fable of the Key of Abjuration, one consistent fact stands out. This famed buckler does indeed seem to have some properties of protection, and while the folklore has likely much exaggerated its potency, it is not unreasonable to assume the key hides within Wellsing’s ruins. A pity, given its utter hostility. I find myself wondering if Aizendore had visited Wellsing when it was a prosperous nation, perhaps to acquire some lesser-known items for his studies." -- Alef, Aizendore's Vault of Tragic Treasure

Ralfour obtained his kingship by the dubious qualification of lineage. He inherited Wellsing from his mother, a shining jewel of a land, if somewhat dreary in the weather department. In the process of wrecking it, he discovered a mysterious shield in his mother’s repository of magical items. How he uncovered its powers is testament to his stupidity, and occurred during a drunken gathering in a vault full of dangerous artifacts. During a wild bet, a young Ralfour claimed he was quick enough to deflect an arrow with only his sword. None would claim the young king as the world’s finest swordsman, though he could hold a blade well enough. Of course, his entourage only encouraged this imbecilic show of prowess, so Ralfour soon found himself facing a broad shouldered Hevian warrior nocking an arrow to a magical bow. His right eyewas saved from an introduction with a steel arrowhead by blind luck. Ralfour happened to be standing beside a rather unimpressive buckler, carefully set upon a limestone plinth. When he swung his sword to deflect an arrow that had yet to leave the bow, he became tangled in a shield strap. The entire party witnessed what happened next. Rather than pass straight through Ralfour’s socket and into the questionable presence of the brain beyond, the arrow hit an invisible wall, ricocheting around the room and ending Lady Undesant’s developing tryst by taking her in the neck.

From this point on, Ralfour wore the buckler wherever he went, convinced it was a good-luck charm. He led his armies in pointless battles simply for the thrill of it, often returning with less than half the soldiers he started with. He continued in this vein for almost a decade, with sporadic rebellions failing to dethrone him. When Ralfour’s downfall finally came he - somewhat predictably - managed to take his entire kingdom with him.

Ralfour’s growing temerity and increasing boredom had set him at odds with the dragonkin in the surrounding mountains. His constant warring upset trade in the area, and, with each ignored missive, their anger grew. Eventually, after a final failed sally that cost Ralfour another thousand soldiers and saw the port town of Astaned razed to the ground, the mountain folk lost their patience.

The battle that followed was as swift as it was bloody. Ralfour’s continual warmongering and the civil strife that followed in its wake had left Wellsing much depleted, and its armies were swept aside. In addition to the conquering horde of mountain warriors, Ralfour’s exploits managed to bring the wrath of a true dragon to bear on his castle, a beast not seen in almost an age. The king, of course, declined to surrender, forcing the besieging armies to annihilate his keep with magery. Combined with the breath of a dragon, the keep was melted to slag, burying Ralfour in an artificial catacomb of unknown depths.

These days, Wellsing is known as a haunted site, cursed by the innocent blood spilled there. Some say that Ralfour himself is still alive, encased in solid stone, kept unnaturally young by the unpredictable mix of magic, dragonfire, and the protective influence of his buckler. Of course, anyone - or anything - that could survive such an internment would no doubt have lost its mind long ago.

But, as was previously noted, Ralfour had little to lose in that department anyway.