King Dravulean II

He is half the man his father was, and he shall never stand alongside him in the annals of history.

— Lani Koshidan, before her disappearance in exile

King Dravulean II was the King of Telziad, having inherited the throne from his father King Dravulean I in 387 AC. A controversial ruler, his reign was cut short when he was assassinated by a Vosti gang in 414 AC.

History

Dravulean was born in 362 AC, 26 years after the end of the Vosti Civil War, as the eldest son of Telziad's first king. As the first child of the King, he was pampered and spoiled by all. He received the best education his family could provide, including tutoring from leading elf scholars, in order to help maintain the good relationship between Telziad and neighbouring Waal Zaimyatl. It was briefly floated that he should marry a member of Zaimyalkee high society, but this idea was dropped after he fell in love with Shalion, the daughter of royal historian Lani Koshidan.   The two were married in 385, shortly after his 23rd birthday, which was celebrated all across the country. This joy lasted for quite a while, until the passing of Dravulean I in 387. After weeks of mourning, Dravulean was crowned Dravulean II, second king of Telziad.   His early years were politically peaceful, marred by personal tragedies. Shalion suffered two miscarriages while Queen, before finally giving birth prematurely to a healthy child in 390. The joy of the young couple was short lived, as Shalion became very ill and passed away in early 391, likely from pregnancy complications. Her funeral was almost more lavish than that of his father, as the king and his mother-in-law praised her kind heart and clever mind.   From the people's perspective, Shalion's death marked the start of a dark period for the young king. His judgements became rasher and less thought out, resulting in many poor decisions which affected Telziad negatively. The death of the Queen Mother a few years later made things much worse. Soon, even his mother-in-law was criticising his decisions, which he never responded favourably to.   Numerous attempts were made on his life over the following two decades, including a firey explosion during a carriage ride in 396 which maimed his younger brother, a narrow miss with a bow and arrow in 399, and a severe wound from a sword in 403. He withdrew further and further into his royal palace as the years went by, with only a handful of public appearances.   The attempted assassination of his only child in 410 is credited with convincing Dravulean of the need for more heirs, resulting in a swift courtship with Countess Priani of Yulaston. Their wedding in 411 was received with little fanfare and public delight, and was a notably lowkey affair.  

Assassination

Late in 414 AC, members of the Hounds of Fovenis led by necromancer Teyavion Kobran successfully bypassed the guards of the palace and gained access to restricted quarters. Dravulean, alongside his wife and child, were marched to the throne room in preparation for execution, though this procession was interrupted by the timely arrival of a group of prisoners under city guard supervision. Despite their best efforts, Dravulean was mortally wounded by his captors, and died of his injuries before the evening ended. He was succeeded to the throne by his child, Crown Larusion.

Family Ties

Dravulean's father, Dravulean I, was the first King of Telziad, and himself the son of the duke of the same name who led the northern forces during the Vosti Civil War. His mother, by contrast, was a peasant who worked in the palace archives.   He had two younger siblings - Duke Heren of Fovenis, and Duchess Sali of Furial. Through Heren, he also has two niblings - Riana and Erameon, the latter of whom has distant connections to Vosti nobility through his wife, and who was implicated in Dravulean's assassination.   By his first wife, Queen Shalion, he had one child - Larusion, who succeeded him to the throne. He had no children through his second wife, Queen Priani.