King Brenwell the Aged

King Brenwell was thin and aged. He cannot stand without assistance and walks with two canes, even over short distances.

Brenwell was born the oldest of six children. He grew up in Lys, the capitol of Rosalind, with his siblings under the tutelage of counselors of the royal court. At the age of twelve, he was fostered out to the Duchy of Recintia under the eye of the late Duke of the House of Tepest. He was made a knight at the age of 18. Of his siblings, 4 others lived to maturity; one sister died in childhood to an accident.   At 21, he wed Lady Agatine of House Poldern. The third child and only daughter of the noble House, Lady Agatine was considered a safe choice for the future king, but from all accounts, theirs was a love match that followed a courtly romance. The couple had five children, four of which survived to adulthood. Their first child, a son, was born a year after the marriage. A daughter followed two years later. Their third child, another son, was born when Brenwell was 28 years old, and their final child, a girl, was born three years later.   Sadly, each of these children died in turn - a middle son, born after their first daughter, died in childhood of disease. Crown Prince Brenward was killed during an ill-advised sortie into Osseus, along with an entire company of Knights of the Blazing Sun. Princess Alyss was married to Duke Becio Froude, but sadly died in childbirth, along with their firstborn, a girl. Prince Brenville courted and married then-Lady (now Duchess) Cordelia Ingran of Zelansciara. However, their marriage yielded no children, and Brenville died at the relatively young age of 45 years, the victim of a heart attack. Finally, Princess Carissa was wooed by none other than the famous Red Prince of Carador, Prince Edduard. While theirs was believed to be a love-match, the Red Prince's adventuring ways kept him away from his bride for long stretches of time. While she managed to conceive twice, both children were stillborn. After Prince Edduard's death, Carissa returned to Rosalind and remained in seclusion, refusing any offers of marriage that came. She and her mother died on the same day some ten years ago.   Having outlived his wife and children, and having no legitimate direct blood heir, pressure was put on King Brenwell to name an heir; however, he did not do so before his death.    After presiding over the holiday of the Casting of the Mune and the traditional Challenge of Champions, he met briefly with the winners of the Challenge, but what he said to them is in doubt, as differing accounts have been told.  The day before his death, after meeting with a priest of the Stranger, he summoned Duke Lucherto to attend upon him, but the Lizardfolk Duke had returned to his lands several days before.  He died in his sleep in the early morning hours of 23rd Windenrane, in the 22nd year of the Fourth Age.

After his marriage, Brenwell was given various roles in his father's government.  At each of them, he performed his duty, but did not excel at any of them.  At the age of 35, Brenwell's father passed away and he was crowned King of Rosalind.   King Brenwell's reign has been a relatively peaceful one; aside from skirmishes between noble houses, the kingdom saw no true wars.

King Brenwell reigned for nearly fifty years.  His reign was a relatively peaceful time for Rosalind; aside from skirmishes between various noble houses, Rosalind was not involved with any wars.  King Brenwell spent much of his reign mediating quarrels between his nobles and attempting to improve Rosalind's standing in the Lands of Legend.  In this, he was only partially successful - while relations with the Kingdoms of Carador and Erynland improved somewhat, all overtures to the Aurulant Empire were firmly rebuffed.

King Brenwell adhered to the faith of Raya Invicta, attending services regularly. Towards the end of his life, gossips reported that he had been in the habit of summoning a priest of the Stranger to act as a private confessor. In his youth, Brenwell was dedicated to St. Eo, as all members of his family are.