Corridan Ravencrest

Corridan Ravencrest, now styled King of Dûren , is remembered as both a patient schemer and a decisive opportunist, a man who waited more than two decades for his moment to strike. Born in 1274 CE, the younger brother of Duke Corvus Ravencrest , Corridan’s life was defined by loyalty turned to disillusionment, and disillusionment hardened into purpose. When the Empire was at its weakest, Corridan seized his chance, slew his brother, and proclaimed the rebirth of Düren’s sovereignty.     The Kneeling of the Raven   In his youth, Corridan was fiery, ambitious, and unflinchingly certain that Düren’s destiny was its own to command. Where Corvus preferred diplomacy, Corridan favored resolve; where Corvus saw survival in submission, Corridan saw only humiliation. During the Imperial–Southern War (1297–1303 CE) Corridan implored his brother to lend Düren’s armies to their southern neighbors, believing that the combined might of the southern kingdoms could resist the advancing Empire. But Corvus refused. When the Empire’s legions reached Düren’s borders, he surrendered without battle, accepting vassalage in exchange for peace.   That act, which many in Düren quietly called the Kneeling of the Raven, shattered Corridan’s faith in his brother. Yet, instead of rebelling openly, he waited. Over the following twenty-two years, he tempered his once volatile nature, learning the art of patience. Behind the veneer of loyalty, he built networks of influence among the nobility and the common folk alike, those who whispered that Düren’s heart still beat free beneath the Empire’s shadow.     A Lifetime of Patience   By the time he reached his fifties, Corridan had become a master of quiet persuasion rather than open defiance. His voice carried the weight of reason instead of wrath, and in taverns, courts, and garrisons alike, the same refrain spread: Düren deserves her crown once more.   When the Empire fell into chaos during the Dark Days of 1325 CE, Corridan moved with precision. Bridges fell, provinces rose, and in that confusion, he made his long-prepared strike. With the support of loyal nobles, sympathetic guards, and hidden allies, he stormed Ravenspire Keep. His brother, Duke Corvus, was killed before dawn, accounts differ on whether Corridan’s blade or another’s ended his life, but none dispute who gave the order.     The Rebirth of Düren   At sunrise, the banners of Düren flew once more above the keep’s black towers. Corridan Ravencrest declared himself King of Düren, and the gathered nobles swore their oaths to him. His first decrees abolished imperial oversight, restored the Council of Barons, and reestablished a royal army loyal only to the crown of Düren.   To some, Corridan is the Liberator King, a man who freed his homeland from decades of servitude. To others, he is the Fratricide of Ravenspire, who cloaked ambition in patriotism. Yet even his harshest critics concede that he acted not in haste, but in the culmination of a lifetime’s waiting.     Legacy of the Liberator King   Whether history remembers him as savior or usurper, one truth remains beyond question: Corridan Ravencrest waited twenty-two years for his moment, and when it came, he did not miss it.