Theron Thorne

Biological parent of Rheana Thorne   Theron Thorne — Lord of House Thorne, the Ambitious Serpent of Albion Born: 566 PR Alignment: Lawful Evil Titles: Lord of House Thorne, Warden of the Southern Vale, Keeper of the Hidden Flame Affiliation: House Thorne (Albion Kingdom) Family:   Wife: Lady Elara Thorne (née Delyra of the Sapphire Choir)   Children: Twins Reyn Thorne and Rheana Thorne   Known For: Ambition without limit, mastery of courtly politics, and his pursuit of the “Dragon’s Heart Gem.”    

Early Life (570–595 PR)

  Born into one of the lesser noble branches of the Thorne Bloodline, Theron was raised amid the lingering glory of Albion’s dragon-blessed nobility. His ancestors had once been vassals to Eldric Thorne, founder of the Order of the Silverbrand, but generations of political missteps and scandal left their house diminished.   Theron, proud and cunning even as a boy, swore to reclaim the lost greatness of his bloodline. He studied politics, alchemy, and draconic scripture, fascinated by the intertwining of faith and power. When he inherited his family’s holdings near Southwatch Vale, he transformed the crumbling keep into a fortress of influence—both material and mystical.  

Marriage and the Rise of House Thorne (590–602 PR)

  Theron’s marriage to Elara Delyra, a bard of noble grace and rumoured celestial blood, was both political and romantic. Elara’s warmth softened his reputation; together they built a prosperous estate that rivalled Albion’s older houses.   Elara’s kindness and open faith drew the common folk’s love, while Theron’s calculated leadership brought wealth and fear-based respect. But beneath the success, cracks grew. Elara’s devotion to peace and the divine clashed with her husband’s belief that divinity could be harnessed—not worshiped.   When she gave birth to twins, Reyn and Rheana, Theron’s obsession deepened. He became convinced their births under a draconic alignment were prophetic.   “The blood of gods sleeps in our veins,” he said to his council. “And I will wake it.”  

Rise to Power (590 – 602 PR)

  Theron proved charismatic, shrewd, and unrelenting. He re-forged House Thorne’s finances through trade with the Fenris North fursmen and mercantile ties to the Goffik Kingdom, rebuilding his estate stone by stone.   At age 24 he married Lady Elara Delyra, a bard of half-celestial descent and renowned grace. The match brought him legitimacy among the great courts, and their union produced twins — Reyn and Rheana.   Theron’s early rule was marked by civic reform and apparent virtue: irrigation canals, fair taxation, and an end to the serf press-gangs that had shamed his father. But beneath the surface, he studied forbidden histories: the Draconic Scriptures of Vylarion and the Aetheric Codex of Alicent, convinced that Albion’s dragons had once granted mortals fragments of their immortal essence.  

The Obsession with the Gemstone (600–610 PR)

  In 600 PR, Theron unearthed ancient writings in the vaults of High Tyrhall describing the Heart of Vylarion, a gemstone said to hold a fragment of a dragon’s soul. According to the texts, it could bind draconic essence to mortal flesh—creating a bridge between mortal and divine.   His obsession crystallized when he unearthed records of a relic called the Heart of Vylarion, a gemstone believed to hold the slumbering spirit of an ancient gold dragon. Theron imagined it could awaken divine potential in human blood — restoring House Thorne to draconic favour.   He poured his treasury into expeditions, hiring scholars from Leadenport and even smuggling artifacts from the Tibur Empire’s ruins. His wife, Elara, pleaded with him to abandon the search, warning that it echoed the hubris of the God-Touched War.   When the gem was finally discovered beneath the ruins of Old Veraine, Theron brought it home in triumph — and within weeks, whispers spread that the manor’s torches burned violet and the lord no longer slept.   His research consumed him. He funded archeological expeditions, employed heretical mages, and secretly consorted with Mithorrar’s cultists, believing they could help him unlock “the secret of ascension.” Elara, horrified by his dealings, secretly sealed the gemstone away and later entrusted it to their son Reyn, fearing what her husband might do.   When Theron discovered her betrayal, his restraint broke. Witnesses spoke of “shadows that moved without torchlight” and “the Lord speaking in a tongue that burned the ears.” Elara fled the estate with the children’s help.   From that night, Theron Thorne was no longer seen in sunlight.  

The Breaking of House Thorne (610 – 615 PR)

  Elara hid the gemstone and entrusted it to their son Reyn, believing the artifact corrupted Theron’s mind. When he learned of her betrayal, the lord’s temper became legend.   Servants vanished. Priests were banished. Theron replaced them with mercenaries loyal only to him. His children were locked away “for protection,” until Elara orchestrated their escape.   In the following weeks the banners of Houses of Albion arrived to demand his surrender, joined by inquisitors of the Silverbrand. They found Crimson Manor deserted, its halls scorched by violet fire and the air thick with draconic energy. Theron’s armor lay upon the throne — empty, fused to the seat as if melted by dragonflame.   Albion’s court declared him dead by corruption, and his lands were seized by the crown.  

Legacy and the Curse of Blood (After 615 PR)

  In the decades that followed, whispers of Theron persisted. Bounty hunters and scholars alike claimed sightings of a figure resembling him in the ruins of southern Albion or deep within the Tomb of Vylarion.   To the Order of the Silverbrand, he is remembered as “the Mad Lord of Thorne Vale,” whose ambition invited damnation. To his surviving blood—Reyn and Rheana—he remains a haunting specter: father, betrayer, and warning.   Bards still whisper that Theron Thorne lives, wandering the borderlands of Southwatch Vale in armor of blackened gold, his eyes like coals within shadow. Some say he serves the God Hand Zlaniz, trading his soul for the beauty and perfection he could never find in life.   The Crown erased his name from the ledgers, but the surviving twins carry the stain of it. To most of Albion, Theron Thorne is a cautionary tale — a lesser lord who reached for the power of dragons and was devoured by it.   Caladawn Magus himself, chronicler of Albion’s lineages, once wrote of him:   “Theron Thorne sought godhood through control, not faith. He did not fail because he lacked power—he failed because he misunderstood the cost.”  

Heraldry and Motto

  Sigil: A black dragon encircling a crimson gem upon a field of gold.   Motto: “Strength is Will Made Flesh.” “Strength is born of Will.”   Seat: Crimson Manor (Southwatch Vale, Albion)   Artifacts associated: The Heart of Vylarion Gemstone, and Theron’s Mirrorblade, said to reflect not one’s image, but one’s ambition.   Noted Relic: The Heart of Vylarion Gem – now guarded by Reyn Thorne.  

Summary

  Theron Thorne began as a clever reformer, rose as a noble visionary, and ended as a heretic chasing godhood. His story defines the peril of Albion’s ambition:   “He sought to make dragons of men, and in doing so, became less than either.”