Name: Camaron Thagor
Title: Here following the titles of King Camaron, rightful ruler of the West, in correct order as recognized throughout the civilized realms of the world, shortened appropriately to His Majesty the Sovereign King of Daggerfall and all its domains and vassals:
King of All Daggerfall, indivisible and forever, thus entitled by right of blood and recognized by the Estates of the Realm;
Sovereign-Protector of Anticlere, of Illessan, of Daenia, of Shalgora, of Camlorn and all its domains;
Protector of the Church of Kynareth, of Mara, of Zenithar, and of the Faith of the Nine and all the Faithful;
Grand Magister of the Knights of the Dragon;
Grand Magister of the Knights of the Owl;
Honorary Magistrate-Defender of the Guild of Mages in High Rock;
Sovereign Lord of Tulune, of Northmoor, of Betony;
Rightful Lord and Patron of the City of Daggerfall and all her citizens, so recognized by the Guilds;
Baron of Glenpoint, of Rithwyn, of Agaleck, and all other lesser domains rightfully of the House of Thagor.
Age: 40
Race: Breton (Daggerfallian)
Gender: Male
Appearance: Slightly under six feet, Camaron retains the fitness and poise he possessed in his youth. Though his skin is quite pale, especially compared to that usual to some of the other races of Tamriel, it is merely a natural feature common in the House of Thagor and among Bretic nobility in general; he is, in fact, very much healthy and rarely bothered either by sicknesses or old injuries.
Even as he soon turns 41, the king appears several years younger than he actually is, though age is beginning to show despite his best efforts – a careful eye could note that his pitch black hair is starting to thin slightly along the sides, its once deep colour losing just a touch of its texture as well; nevertheless, it is kept well trimmed and quite short with a slightly deliberately messy look to it that Camaron has proved unable to let go of through the years, which goes with his goatee and wispy moustache rather well. His light brown eyes retain a lively spark to them, though even it now sometimes dims, leaving his gaunt face strangely void of life when it does.
Skills: Camaron is a man of many skills, only a few of which are universally admired. He retains from his youth a reputation as one of the best dancers in the entirety of High Rock, as well as being supposedly still unmatched in the bedroom; a startling inability to keep his (many, many) affairs secret goes hand in hand with that. Unkind tongues often remember that the king’s achievements are often in the ballroom rather than in the jousting field, which is true where popular opinion is concerned – though he is a fine jouster and far from the last sword of his realm, whatever tourney victories he wins are overshadowed by a new scandal that same evening in the feast. All in all, the ruler of Daggerfall is an embodiment of Bretic passion and gusto for life.
All these escapades and adventures, along with many more, have contributed to the image of Camaron as an incompetent, lavish ruler. Those few who are part of the monarch’s closest circle of friends and advisors know that he considers this reputation his greatest victory of all.
Equipment: The king’s clothes vary from occasion to occasion, however as a rule he stays at the forefront of High Rock fashion, now often favouring exquisite robes of Nibenese soul silk over the armour of his youth; in fact, Camaron is rarely seen in military equipment, preferring to leave outfits almost Colovian in their simplicity and martial flavour to the more militant of his bannermen.
Background: Entitled to the very highest circle of Bretic politics from the moment of his birth, Camaron was the firstborn heir of the ancient House Thagor, the ruling bloodline of Daggerfall since (with some interruptions) the early First Era. His father Gothryd was an admired hero of the War of Betony, setting the bar high for his son from his first marriage; especially so since no other Bretic heirs were soon coming, with the king’s marriage to Aubk’i of Sentinel.
Public opinion from his own time might hold that Camaron failed in comparison to his father, proving an indulgent and passionate man who seemed to focus far more on lavish celebrations and ceremonies than ruling the kingdom, but it is often forgotten that during his reign, Daggerfall has more than stood its ground against the threatening advances of Wayrest’s shrewd Queen Elysana – it has expanded to include several neighbouring realms, annexing them outright or binding their rulers in oaths of vassalage. For a man who allegedly does not rule at all save from his bedroom, the current king’s reign has been quite successful, from his uneventful succession soon after the close of the Third Era right up to the current days of High Rock.
Daggerfall is among the most densely populated regions in High Rock, and one of the most prosperous as well – at least as far as its nobility is concerned. A land of pleasant rolling hills yet stark social contrasts, many areas that have been part of the kingdom for longest have inherited from ancient times of Elven rule a habit of treating the commoners almost like slaves; many peasants remain serfs to this day and age, and sometimes even the burghers of the towns and cities cannot feel safe from the selfish designs of the nobility. Meanwhile, countless barons, sur-barons, baronets and their ilk cling to the right to call their bloodline noble, treasuring ancient documents, treaties and privileges in vast record books that are iconic of the Daggerfallians’ love of all things dusty, old and proven, all in the name of protecting their freedom. Even the lowliest chevalier – the martial lesser nobility of the realm – may have proof of his (or her; female knights are far from unheard of in the realm, though Bretons of some other realms may find this odd and even preposterous) status that goes back to the first known knightly privileges granted by King Thagore in the early years of the First Era.
The nobles of Daggerfall are thus the most politically active of the estates; in fact, they have a virtual monopoly over all offices and goings-on in the realm, as well as a dominant position in the economy and making up the backbone of the kingdom’s military. This is at the expense of the other three estates – the clergy, the burghers and the peasantry, all of whom have little to no say in the General Estates of the realm, despite the fact both the king and his blue-blooded vassals feel the need to maintain some facade of the others’ involvement and activity in the rule of the realm. Just around 7% of the kingdom’s inhabitants (a higher percentage compared to most other Bretic realms, where nobles may make up only 2-4%, but nevertheless just a small portion of the whole population) therefore have nearly complete control over the whole rest, except insofar as they are checked by the king in his own pursuit of unquestioned control.
Titles of the nobility in Daggerfall are as follows, from the monarch himself to the lowliest, most destitute and least influential of all:
King and Queen – in theory equal by Daggerfall’s law, but one or the other invariably dominates the other; the case for most of the kingdom’s history has been the king taking the dominant role, as they nearly always come from House Thagor and thus are well established in the realm, whereas their queens tend to be foreigners – either from other Bretic realms or other corners of Tamriel altogether.
Archduke and Archduchess – mistakenly often believed to be a new title created for the purpose of establishing Camlorn’s status in the new joint kingdom. In fact, there are four other families that can claim the title; all of them based in the old heartland of the kingdom’s core and all of them vastly influential and powerful.
Duke and Duchess – lesser in relation to the Archdukes, those of this rank are usually considerably more powerful than elsewhere in High Rock, owing to Daggerfall’s influence and wealth compared to many less fortunate Bretic realms. It is not uncommon for them to have holdings beyond the old borders of the kingdom, particularly in the previously independent Barony of Tulune – something that made politics between the two realms vastly complicated.
Lord-Marcher and Lady-Marchess – an ancient title mostly unique to Daggerfall and several surrounding realms that inherited their social structure from the kingdom, nobles holding this title are quite rare and usually are referred to as simply Marcher or Marchess. This is a title granted to nobles handpicked by the king to take charge of problematic border regions, being granted authority to call a levy from the surrounding lands without the word of the ruling monarch; understandably, this makes this position rather problematic and that is why this is not usually a hereditary title.
Baron and Baroness – the lowest title that still confers peerage upon a noble, i.e. the right to carry oneself as an equal among other nobles of Daggerfall and even the monarchs and be respected as such.
Sur-Baron and Sur-Baroness – most easily explained as those who are not considered peers but are also too influential or nevertheless honoured to be granted the rank of baronet. Daggerfallian heralds claim there are quite distinct differences between these three titles, yet there are no recorded explanations of such.
Baronet and Baronetess – an obscure middle ground between the ‘proper’ nobility and the vast ranks of lesser nobility, baronets are quite far from being considered peers, however may be granted the privilege of ‘the Cloth’ – exemption from personal war service. This does not stop many from confusing baronets with chevaliers, which is usually a great insult to those who hold this rank.
Chevalier – the title itself does not differentiate between male and female, however men of this rank are referred to as ‘sir’, while women – ‘dame’; as mentioned above, female knights are not so unusual in Daggerfall. The status of chevalier is the only more promising hint of social mobility in the kingdom – far from being peers, chevaliers are often not even considered proper nobility and may not be granted the Cloth; their status depends entirely on service in war and they are what is most often meant when one says ‘bannerman’ in Daggerfall. While usually hereditary, their status depends more than other nobles’ on being able to actually perform their function – chevaliers who cannot prove that they own at least two horses for their own personal use are stripped of the rank.