The Irao Dynasty

The Irao kings ruled over Vekirai from 328 to 213BU. Vekirai was an independent city state during this period with Vaitaret to the south and the Gilia Sea to the north. They oversaw massive growth in the city. The elders who had ruled previously became the mages of the royal court and were sponsored throughout the Irao period to encode their vast knowledge in the codices which would become the bulk of the Great Library of Vekirai.   The kings also amassed vast wealth through their taxation of goods arriving into the Great Port of Vekirai. The trade through the Great Port fed the cities of Vaitaret and Dabrait and the Cyirosi settlements to the south. Under the Kings of the Irao Dynasty, the Five Great Towers of Vekirai were united by newly built bridges and tunnels to form the Grand Palace of Vekirai which would later be re-purposed as the The Great Library of Vekirai .   There were 7 Heads of House Irao who were kings of Vekirai during the period. Each King is explored in more detail below. Note that many of the Irao Kings took additional titles.  

Luria I, King of Vekirai, Master of the Great Port (328 - 303 BU)

During the Great Plague of 329BU, around 60% of the population of Vekirai had converted to the Pentarchist religion. This was partly driven by the medical care that the Pentarchist clergy offered to even the poorest congregants.   The Irao family were wealthy merchants and the most influential Pentarchists in the city. When Luria Gan Irao declared his claim as rightful King of Vekirai and Master of the Great Port on the 34th Onovektat 328BU, he was all but unopposed; the three highest ranked admirals in the Vekirati Navy had already converted to Pentarchism and supported the Irao claim. The title 'King of Vekirai' had never previously existed and was likely inspired by the styling of the King of Bi'tsng'ot Delta who was also styled 'Master of the Great Port'.   Luria I led a small militia, unopposed against the Council of Elders while their meeting was in session. He was accompanied by two of the admirals of the Vekirati Navy, the High Priest of the Temple of the Five and a number of prominent merchants. He announced to the council that he was to be anointed by God as their King and a short ceremony involving anointing with holy water was perform in the council chamber as the Elders looked on. He then issued a decree, which was written by scribes are posted around the city, demoting the Council of Elders to the rank of Mage of the College and establishing the institution of the Mages' College of Vekirai.   Luria I commissioned the building of a great mansion on the Great Central Road (renamed the King's Road) in the centre of the city which would serve as his palace, and later as the centre of the Parliament of Vekirai.   During his reign, Luria I commissioned the building of a number of important Temples. The Temple of the Five was extended under his patronage and made the senior amongst the cities other temples. Luria also began a process of unifying the Towers of Vekirai which had served as administrative centres under the Council of Elders. The separate towers were joined together using bridges and tunnels with the long terms goal being to create one connected palace complex.   Luria had married the daughter of another wealthy merchant, Mara Ne Liavin, in 346BU when he was 18 years old. She was styled Mara, Queen of Vekirai until the death of Luria I, after which was styled Her Grace, Lady Mara of Vekirai. Luria died aged 61 from a long-term sickness in 303BU leaving behind for children: his sons Prince Hamat (born 347BU) and Prince Davsan (born 342BU) and his daughters Princess Mara (born 345BU) and Princess Imrani (born 344BU).  

Hamat I, King of Vekirai, Master of the Great Port (303 - 288 BU)

Hamat I came to the throne aged 44 having married Princess Sinia of Bi'tsng'ot Delta in 325BU. There was some disagreement over the proper line of succession which had been left unclear by King Luria I. The complication was quickly settled when scandalous rumours about Prince Davsan gained traction and left him disgraced in the eyes of the Temple leaders (possibly leaked by his older brother). Prince Davsan was made Master of the King's Vaults, essentially organising taxation and public expenditure.   Hamat I oversaw the completion of his fathers project to connect the Towers of Vekirai. Hamat made the tower complex his official palace residence and repurpose the former palace into an administrative building. Hamat also founded the Grand Chancery, a court built to settle financial and property disputes, and authorised the appointment of a number of magistrates who could dispense the King's justice in his absence. Most of the magistrates were also members of the Mages' College.   Hamat I died aged 59 in 288BU from an infected wound. He had six children, 5 girls and one boy. His daughters were Princess Vansa (born 323BU), Princess Diera (born 320BU), Princess Alari (born 316BU), Princess Hlana (born 313BU) and Princess Mara (born 310BU) and his son was Prince Hamat (born 307BU). He was survived by his wife, who died in 279BU  

Hamat II, King of Vekirai (288 - 286 BU)

Hamat II came to the thrown at the age of 19 in 288BU. The first year of his reign was tumultuous as his uncle, Prince Davsan, Master of the King's Vault, tried to claim the crown for himself. Prince Davsan claimed that King Hamat I had, in the weeks leading up to his death, insisted that his brother should succeed him. This was refuted by Hamat and the former queen, Lady Sinia of Vekirai, and King Hamat stripped Prince Davsan of his titles.   Hamat II caused further controversy when he bestowed the title Master of the Great Port on a suspected male lover of his, Iordon Gan Lellion, who was not even of aristocratic descent.   The controversy came to a head when, in 287BU, Prince Davsan and three of his most vocal aristocratic supporters were murdered in their homes. The murderers were not caught. Hamat passed a decree codifying male-only primogeniture as the legal mode of succession for all following rulers.   Hamat's reign was not then secured however as he died a year later in 286BU from an infection of lungs leaving no heirs.  

Srama I, King of Vekirai (286 - 269 BU)

When Hamat II died without a direct descendent, the rules of succession, decreed by Hamat II just two years earlier were invoked for the first time. The prime in the line of succession was Lord Srama of Vekirai, the grandson of Prince Davsan whose son had died young at sea. Srama was born in 292BU and was severly frail from birth. He came to the throne at just 8 years old and his mother Hyama ruled as regent in his stead until he turned 18.   The boy king gave his mother the title Queen Regent, Mistress of the Great Port and of the Great Library, effectively signing over all his power to his mother for a fixed term of 10 years. The move was controversial and early in Srama reign, many nobles plotted to overthrown the Queen Regent.   At least in part to appease to nobles, the Queen Regent established formally the Parliament of Vekirai, a mostly independent legislative body with sweeping powers. The Parliament was made up of peers and offered a voice to the aristocracy as well as formal titles. The monarch retains supremacy in legislative matters but, by and large, the new Parliament became the de facto government of the city-state.   The parliament had a complex constitution involving and interwoven web of appointments and elections. Only aristocratic families were represented in the parliament, but the Queen Regent did stipulate that women would be allowed to participate in their own right.   The Queen Regent oversaw a number of other reforms during her reign. She codified a code of practice for the courts and expanded the cities ports. She also improved relations with neighbouring Vaitaret thus increasing trade with them.   In 274BU, the Queen's reign expired and her title reverted to Her Grace, Lady Hyama of Vekirai (although as she had codified it, this title gave her a seat in the Parliament of Vekirai). Her other titles went to King Srama's uncle Lord Luria of Vekirai who took a more active role in the governance of the city following the King's death.   Lady Hyama's rule did not end so simply though. The young king, now 18 remained sickly and lethargic. Although he participated somewhat in matters of government, Lady Hyama dominated the politics of the city until his death (and even afterward in her role as a Peer of the Parliament).   In 269BU, King Srama died in his sleep leaving no progeny.  

Luria II, King of Vekirai, Master of the Great Library and of the Great Port (269 - 243 BU)

Following the death of King Srama, Srama's uncle, Lord Luria of Vekirai, became King Luria II at the age of . Luria II was already Master of the Great Library and of the Great Port at the time of King Srama's death in 269BU.   Luria II had married Lady Diarala of Igasot in 296BU and had already had 9 children at the time of his accession to the throne. His first sun was Prince Luria the Younger who was made Master of the Kings Vault at age 22 in 269BU. He had two more sons: Prince Masaran and Prince Devran, and 6 daughters.   Luria II was famously a liberal ruler. He maintained the constitutional power of the new Parliament of Vekirai and delegate much more of the ruling of the city to civil servants and mages of the Mages' College. He relaxed laws which required strict adherence to the Pentarchist faith and permitted the building of alternatively places of worship for the first time since the beginning of the dynasty.   Luria II died in 243BU aged 71. His wife died in 237BU aged 76.  

Luria III, King of Vekirai and of the Sea (243 - 229 BU)

Luria III came to power at the age of 48 in the year 243BU. Luria III was paranoid and had his brothers, Princes Masaran and Devran, exiled from the city. In 266BU he had married Mistress Mara of Valderan Hall who was his second cousin.   Luria III sought to strengthen the monarchy which he saw as fallen from it's former glory. He retracted some of the powers which had been granted to the Parliament and gave it more ceremonial duties. He also introduced stricter regulations for the Mages' College. The mages were much more like servants under Luria III, maintain his vast archives.   Luria III took a more active role in religious ceremonies than his father did, spending much of his time in prayer at the Temple of the Five. He saw the temple extended and had the tombs of his ancestors moved there to be as close to the Godheads as possible. He also declared himself King of the Sea and set about funding privateer vessels to rob the trading ships of other kingdoms.   Luria III died in 229BU of a gastrointestinal disease, immensely unpopular, having sired only one son.  

Varsel, King of Vekirai (229 - 213 BU)

King Varsel came to power in 229BU at the age of 34. Varsel had married Denala of Vaitaret in 240BU.   Varsel sought to undo the damage his father had done to the reputation of the royal family in the years that followed. He reinstated some of the power of the Parliament and discontinued the controversial title King of the Sea. He oversaw peace treaties with the Kingdoms his privateers had robbed and relax some of the social and religious restrictions enacted by his father. In particular, he made it legal for women to hold titles and property in their own right in certain circumstances and he gave his wife the title Queen Denala, Mistress of the Royal Estates to prove his commitment to the idea.   Varsel also allowed his uncles to return to the city and gave his uncle Prince Masaran the title Master of the Great Port and his uncle Prince Devran the title Master of the Great Library.   Varsel also reverted the restrictive laws which King Luria III had implemented over the Mages' College. He renamed the college 'The Order of the Great Sages of Vekirai ' and gave them more money and power. They served as administrators and advisors to the King effectively replacing the civil service and even taking up some judicial roles. Under Varsel, Sages were, for the first time, admitted to the order by public examination. They were expected to be extraordinarily learned and to contribute their own research to the body archives of the King. They also managed the cities finances and its taxation.   In the year 213BU, the Archsage Oloroa led a coup against the King. The King, his wife, his mother, his uncles and his three children were all killed on the same night by sages wielding poisoned blades who claimed to be delivering important messages to them. The sages had already been running the city as the executive branch and had also discovered the secrets of black magic in ancient tomes, hidden in the city archives. They therefore faced little resistance.   Oloroa declared that, henceforth, the Archsage would be King of Vekirai ex officio and thus ended the Irao dynasty.