The Wraith King

Banquo is intangible and incorporeal, a true wraith. He appears by all accounts to be a dark shadow in the form of a man, with blazing eyes of crimson.  While he still wears the clothes and armor he was wearing when he cast the epic spell of undeath, he cannot touch any physical matter.

The Wraith King was born as the Human child Prince Banquo Pollux in the Year 300 of the Third Age.  He was the son of King Breeswald the Kindly of Rosalind and his consort Queen Matilde of Tik, a noblewoman of Erynland.  Banquo was born a twin; his brother Prince Bendil was born the same day.  Identical twins, Princes Banquo and Bendil were nearly indistinguishable in appearance, often confusing courtiers in their father's court by pretending to be the other.   Prince Banquo grew up in an era of peace.  As he grew into manhood, his father trained him and his brother both in the ways of ruling.  As a young man, Banquo gathered a group of companions around him; chief among thse was his best friend Iago.  Banquo spent much of his youth in the company of soldiers.     At the age of 25, King Breeswald wed Banquo to Lady Avendra of Destriona, oldest daughter of the Duke of Destriona.  At the same time, his brother was wed to another noblewoman of Rosalind.  After their successive weddings, both Banquo and Bendil were invested as co-Dukes of the Duchy of Brentonnia, the old seat of the Kingdom and its capital city, Brentonopolis.    While Banquo appeared to care for his wife and fathered no less than two children, he was frequently seen in the company of Lady Avendra's younger sister Valeris.  From all accounts, it appeared that Valeris fell in love with her brother-in-law, but there was never a claim that Banquo ever cheated on his wife with Valeris.  Still, she joined his companions as he began ruling in  Brentonopolis, along with a young ambitious scholar, Jamon Castri.   As his father King Breeswald aged, the enire kingdom expected him to make his choice between his sons, naming one as his successor to the throne and the other the successor to the powerful Duchy.  However, King Breeswald never did; he died without naming an heir.  Both Banquo and his brother laid claim to the Rose Throne.  The other Noble Houses began to choose sides, as did the Matriarchy, and civil war seemed eminent, as neither brother would yield their claim.    Before any battles could be fought, the brothers' motion Queen Matilde, backed by several of the Noble Houses, declared for Prince Bendil, claiming he had been born a full seven minutes earlier than Banquo. Some doubted the truth of this claim, as the queen had never mentioned it publicly before. Some historians have speculated that as an Erynlander, she chose Bendil over Banquo based on Bendil's private distaste for the Matriarchy. True or not, this claim was sufficient for the majority of Noble Houses to throw their support behind Bendil over Banquo, and on the 6th of Ebbinheet, Bendil was crowned King of Rosalind.    King Bendil made his brother Banquo Duke of Brentonnia, to hold in perpetuity through his line. Despite this significant concession to his brother (typically the King's eldest son would become duke, to hold until they ascended the throne), Banquo still chafed at the loss of the throne he beloeved he had been cheated out of.  In his ambition and bitterness, he began to withdraw from society, remaining close only with his chosen companions.    Af some point after losing the throne, Banquo began researching dark magic and evil cults. At some point, it is believed he sold his soul, although to who is in doubt - some tales hold he sacrificed it to Korax the Dominator, others claim he sold it to Astaroth the Demon Lord. One fanciful story told that he made his bargain with the High Witch Baba Yaga.  Whoever he sold his soul to, Banquo received from this vile bargain a spell to raise an army capable of defeating the standing armies of Rosalind. Under the dark moon in the month of Culdinwhet, only five years after his brother was crowned king, Banquo recited this dread spell in the great cemeteries of Brentonopolis, surrounded by his closest retainers and companion who had joined him in this secret plot to overthrow the king.    The spell ripped their lives and souls from their mortal bones, and they rose up as undead creatures. Banquo was no longer human, but a walking wound in the veil between the living and the dead. His retainers grew pale and gaunt, knights in death as they had been in life, and were forever afterwards called death knights.  Other companions were transformed into dread creatures of undeath, often twisted avatars of the sins they had felt in life.  Meanwhile, all around them, the dead rose from their graves to join Banquo's army of darkness.    Banquo and his army charged into the capital city of Brentonopolis, slaying all who stood in their way, not caring if they were soldier or innocent. The city was taken and sacked overnight. While many of the populace were able to flee into the countryside, King Bendil was killed whilst on his throne. The Crown of Rosalind, made of a hundred roses fashioned from gold, was lost that day, as was the sword of the king, which was first carried by Rosalind's founder and reputedly was magic. The slaughter of the night, the days that followed, was perhaps the deadliest single event since the Cataclysm. Thousands were murdered, and Brentonopolis became a one large tomb, such that people began referring to it as Necropolis instead. Singers and troubadours popularized the name and it has since stuck.    In the days that followed, Banquo and his followers conquered two other Duchies beyond Brentonnia, capturing one quarter of the kingdom. By then the rest of the country had become alerted to his treachery and slaughter of his brother and united to resist his advance. The Matriarchy sent its priests and priestesses to join the ranks of soldiers, using their faith to send holy fire against the undead ranks of Banquo's army. His offers to parley were rebuffed, his demands to be acknowledged as the true king of Rosalind were refused. Nobles began referring to him as the "Wraith King" and refusing to name him properly. Meanwhile, King Brendil's youngest son, Prince Brant the Unready, was hastily crowned king in Lys. The new king made haste to assemble a force to push back the Wraith King. At Ardente Wood, a narrow forest of pines, birch and poplars trees, the Young King's forces, backed by the Matriarchy and armies from the remaining duchies of the realm, pushed back the armies of the Wraith King. While they waited for a counterattack, one never came. Instead, the Wraith King retreated to Necropolis.   A fortnight later, the Wraith King sent an emissary, a half-starved, half-mad Human retainer, clad in all black, to the forces of his nephew near Ardente Wood.  He claimed the three Duchies he had conquered - Brentonnia, Destriona, and Rovina - would form his new nation, the undead realm of Osseus.  He also declared that his armies would not cross the Ardente Wood, but would suffer no living person to enter his realm.  This has been the status quo ever since, although periodic raids from either side have breached this argeement.

The Wraith King conquered three Duchies of the Kingdom of Rosalind to form the undead nation of Osseus.

Banquo's greatest failure continues to be not becoming the King of Rosalind.

The Wraith King has always wanted the Rose Throne, and despairs that as an incorporeal undead he cannot sit in the throne nor wear the Crown of Roses, which according to reports still lies upon his dead brother's brow in the old throne room.