Abelas Caerme'onn
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Abelas Sa'Roir Caerme'onn was the second King of the Dominion of Malin, before being subsequently succeeded by two Queens. He was a figure instilling stability, religious dogma, and progressing an agenda of diplomacy. He secured power in the unanimous vote of the Kingsmoot of 1676 and was named the successor to Kairn Ithelanen. He was assassinated by Ambassador Atandt Irongrinder and a cadre of Dwarves who were let into the city to commence diplomatic talks.
History
Childhood, Teenage and Young Adult Years
Born to a Paladin Mother and an Ascended father, Abelas was raised mostly by his mother along side his twin sister Isabella for the most part. Though as he approached his teenaged years he would spend some time with his younger brother Sena. There was little noteworthy of this childhood, he was schooled by Paladins in how to read and write, taught some history and customs of the civilized world but did not spend any time there until his adult years. As a teenager he'd find himself fairly adventurous, exploring the country surrounding the Paladin Keep when he could eventually reaching adulthood and seeking to adventure for himself. Though his sheltered childhood would leave him ignorant to the goings on in the world and largely some of the issues the descendent races had with one another, he never found himself having a low opinion of the other races growing up.
Reaching his adult years he'd find himself in the lands of Vailor, eventually finding himself joining up with the newly formed Marked Men School of the Fox, a School which would later be reputed by the rest of the organisation as a mere imitation school. Regardless the Wood Elf sought his purpose with this school of Monster Hunters, being trained in fencing, tracking and survival by a multitude of teachers such as Adeon of Rhoswen and Roland Sparrow. His Elven heritage sometimes finding him difficulty among some members of the School, between sessions of training he'd find himself travelling to and from Kaer Aardwen and the newly formed Dominion of Malin seeking to look into his peoples history after being berated for his race at the School. It is here where he met with the Koi Druid and Hawk Druid, Valor and Artimec Caerme'onn respectively who taught him the faith of the Aspects and converted him to the faith. Later he would find himself in his Trials and had applied warpaint to himself to seek the Aspects favour in his fight. Throughout each trial he would survive them along with three others of his group of four.
Having Graduated and been sworn into the School of the Fox he immediately went out and sought to lend his aid to those who required it, though it would seem the previous generation of Marked Men had done a lot of work in Vailor, leaving the among of Monsters few and contracts for slaying them slim. Mostly taking contracts for Vodniks and other small amounts of monsters for the majority of his years in Vailor, mainly from the Dominion of Malin as he found himself more welcome among what he eventually found to be people who accepted him more than others in the world. Artimec Caerme'onn eventually convinced Abelas to become a Priest of the Naelurir the organised body of Druidic Priests that made up the Aspect Faith, reluctantly giving up his life as a nomadic monster slayer and the oaths that bound him to this calling he'd accept Artimec's offer and become his dedicant. The Dedicancy was another trial, different to that which he faced as a Marked initiate but no less trying in his resolve, his faith and character were tested by Artimec who sought not to take it easy on him, he would pass the trials and become attuned assuming the moniker 'Brother Caribou' among the Naelurir and Greater Druidic Order.
Later Life and Death
As Abelas matured into full adulthood aging past his first century he would serve diligently as a Druid and Priest of the Naelurir, working to spread the faith of Aspectism to all Mali'ame and other Mali who would seek to learn of the culture and beliefs of the ancient Elves from the Kingdom of Malin. Avoiding politics during his tenure for many years and being an outspoken critic of the Dominion's Status as a vassal to the Holy Orenian Empire he would refuse to fight for the Empire while the Dominion was a vassal and not considered an equal ally. Through simply performing Priestly ceremonies, converting Elves and maintaining the faith he would be voted in to be an Archdruid of the Naelurir, with most of the circle looking to his leadership to see them through the tough times the Dominion faced during the years of Axios. Though he was careful to keep his distance from the reigning Government and Council as many of them he saw as faithless and effectively outsiders in his Aspectist Princedom. During the Bronze Rebellion he maintained the neutrality of the Naelurir in the initial stages of the fighting, neither siding with the Aureon Oligarchy or the Bronze Rebels, however as it was revealed in the later stages of the conflict that the Council of the Dominion had entertained thoughts of abolishing the State Religion and potentially vassalising under the Mali'fenn the Naelurir had to take a stance and would encourage the High Princess to enter immediate peace talks with Kairn Ithelanen in order to find a peace and avoid the complete and utter destruction of the culture of the Mali'ame.
With the Bronze Rebellion conflict over and a new stronger and more faith bound Government installed in the Dominion the Mali'ame moved into the Era of Atlas and with it Abelas began to rise in political prominance. With the people and Military of the Dominion becoming more and more faith bound tensions would rise in the Elven nation due to the high number of Mages and other Atheistic or otherwise non-conformist Elves demanding the faith be curtailed by the Government. Abelas at the head of the Naelurir acted more of a voice of reason, attempting to reach compromise earning him the admiration of those within and outside the faith due to his diplomatic nature in attempting to avoid conflict. Despite the inner turmoil in the Dominion, the Elven State had become one of the most powerful states in the world, with many foreign Kingdoms courting the High Prince's for Military alliance to tip the balance of power into their own scale. Despite this power a few of those who sat on the Ironwood Throne of the Dominion were inexperienced with this and could be considered novices in the subtle arts of intrigue and diplomacy leading the Dominion nearly entering war with the Kingdom of Renatus due to a misstep. High Prince Lorien's Silma who won the vote of High Prince by the smallest margin in the history of the Dominion blundered into this situation, the Naelurir and Kairn Ithelanen's Militia effectively performed a soft Coup on Lorien's allowing him to maintain the Throne but all power was in the hands of Kairn with him eventually succeeding Lorien's in a Unanimous vote among the Seeds of the Dominion to become High Prince and then later the second King of the Dominion.
Abelas and Kairn had worked together during this time of political upheaval being an outspoken supporter of the new King of Elves, being groomed to become his eventual successor to both the position of High Prince and King of the Dominion. After the war against the Orcs had finally concluded with victory for the Dominion and with this final victory Kairn named Abelas as the new King of the Dominion taking the title of "Elvenking". In this time the City of Caras Eldar flourished with the new peace, Abelas being an advocate for peace and prosperity and avoiding war. Though cautiously defensively signing defensive pacts and non-aggression pacts. The head Diplomat of the Dominion Belestram Sylvaeri had worked tirelessly behind the scenes to create an extensive Military Alliance between the Kingdom of Haense, Dwarves of Urguan and of course the Dominion of Malin aimed at assisting the Dwarves retaking their homeland from the Usurper Kingdom of Kaz'Ulrah. This was dubbed the Elder Alliance and was presented to Abelas during a session of the Court in the Ironwood Throneroom, it was debated quite a lot with Abelas not wishing to get his people into yet another endless war. Belestram making the argument that Kaz'Ulrah were weak and could be conquered easily with the Dwarves of Urguan taking their land and creating a powerful ally in them, other Councillors began to support Belestram's position leading to Abelas stating he will agree to the Elder Alliance so long as the King of Renatus would declare his neutrality and give his approval to it, to which the elder Sylvaeri agreed to this term and would return later stating he had won the approval of Renatus for this war, the pact was signed under this pretense.
As soon as this pact was signed trouble was afoot with forces loyal to the Kingdom of Renatus mobilising in defence of Kaz'Ulrah, stating that Renatus would defend Kaz'Ulrah from any attempt from restoring the Grand Kingdom of Urguan which flew in the face of Belestram's apparent achievement of earning the approval of the Militant Human Realm. It would be confirmed in Private Correspondence between the King of Renatus and Elven King Abelas that the former had never even heard of Belestram Sylvaeri, yet alone the Elf ever making it to his Court. Abelas declared the Pact invalid immediately as his term for signing was not adhered to, enraging the Dwarves of Urguan who demanded to meet with him during a session of Court witin the Dominion to which in the spirit of diplomacy and peace Abelas agreed to and invited the Queen of Kaz'Ulrah to attempt to reach a compromise between these two Dwarven powers. Unbeknownst to Abelas and his Immortal Bodyguards the Dwarves of Urguan had been supplied arms and many soldiers were believed to have been snuck in with the assistance of Belestram Sylvaeri, causing a standoff in the Throne room of the Dominion, Abelas challenged to a duel would accept in order to ensure those unarmed in the throne room would not be harmed. The Dwarven Champion and the Elvenking fought, blades clashing, armour denting and blood spilling but the Elf had let peace addle his skills in fencing leading to his defeat. On his knees without any words to give his people the Dwarves would taunt him before looking to Belestram Sylvaeri asking what to do with the King, with the Elf responding only with "Do with him as you please," which has been perceived by historians as offering support for their execution of Abelas. A sword across his neck sealed the Elf's fate, beheading him in his own throne room before the rest of the Virarim and other military forces of the Dominion finally stormed the throne room and fought the Dwarves. To this day within Elven politics it is discussed whether or not Belestram had a direct role to play in his Kings death, it is a controversial topic among many.
Family
Born to his parents Ryder Sa'roir and Bircalin, he had three siblings in total, one sister and two brothers respectively named Isabella, Sena and James. He was married once to an Elfess named Niia with some connection to the Calithil Seed and sired one son with her before separation. He sired two additional sons named Kolohe and Artanis from two different women. The latter's mother being Awaiti Aureon, High Princess and later Queen of the Dominion.
Issue
| Name | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Aelrindel Caerme'onn | The Firstborn son of Abelas with his wife Nia. Is generally nomadic and never settles down in one place for any long periods of time. Believed to be still alive. | Alive |
| Kolohe | Abelas's second born son, the produce of an affair with a fellow Naelurir Druid | Unknown |
| Artanis Caerme'onn | The thirdborn and most known son of the Elvenking Abelas, born from the relationship he had with High Princess Awaiti Aureon. Known as the first Prince of Irrinor and Lord of Laurehlin and the current Chieftain of Caerme'onn. | Alive |
Personality
Abelas was seen as a kindly figure who preferred words to violence, slow to anger and overall seeking a route to diplomacy with all disputes having the firm belief that talk could eventually lead to compromise in all situations. He would put himself in danger to protect others from potentially being hurt, a trait that lead to his unfortunate demise. It was noted that he was a teetotal, he abstained from drinking alcohol under any circumstance due to his belief it addled the mind, ironically he was a noted taker of hallucinogenic narcotics to enhance his Druidic visions.
Notable Feats
- Becoming a Marked Man
In his youth he became one of the legendary Marked Men, Monster Hunters from the Human Kingdoms who excelled in swordplay, tracking and being able to slay both Monster and Men.
- Attunment
Abelas was an Attuned Druid and took the Totem "Caribou", becoming a powerful Druid in his later years, though abstained from abusing his Gifts unnecessarily.
- Becoming Monarch of the Dominion
Despite never truly involving himself in politics, Abelas found himself the High Prince of the Dominion during the reign of Kairn Ithelanen and later ascended to King when Kairn abdicated his title, winning the unanimous support of all the Chieftains of the Dominion.
Random Tidbits
- Abelas was one of three Elves to claim the title of "King" a highly controversial title due to many Elves believing that there is no King but Malin.
- Nearly a century after his death the topic and the exact nature of his death is still a heated controversial topic for many Elves, causing harsh divisions even in close families.
