» Sat May 28, 2011 6:47 pm
The current king of Daggerfall. Most important courtiers comming soon.
Name: Gothryd II Capet
Race: Breton (Daggerfallian)
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Birthsign: The Steed
Physical Appearance: http://www.acadianmelancon.com/images/489px-Louis_XIII.jpg
Standing at around 5'9, Gothryd is a well-built man, still not past his prime. Though his skin is pale, as is usual for a Breton, he doesn't look sickly or anything of the sort, unlike his father. As a prince he was known for drilling with the king's guard occasionally, (something that reflects in his fascination with the military, even if he no longer has the time to practice with the soldiers), thus he's got the looks and walk of a fairly good fighter, something he has a knack for showing off. He's by no means bulky, however, favouring agility over strength if he has to fight (which isn't often).
Apparel: In court, Gothryd usually wears http://www.fantasycostume.net/fantasy/images/Rentals/rentaladvltthumb/Henry8th-t.jpg, suitable for a king. If he has to partake in an inspection of the guard or, far more rarely, a real battle, he wears blackened plate armour (see picture in 'physical appearance').
Weapons: In the rare event Gothryd has to use a weapon, he favours a http://www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/martial_arts/images/sabre.gif.
Misc: The http://image53.webshots.com/653/4/28/87/2812428870031751182cjAXDG_ph.jpg
Misc Info: Born under the sign of the Steed, Gothryd is plagued by fits of impatience and rashness, usually caused by stronger emotions (most frequently rage). He is known to spend sleepless nights thrashing about, contemplating quick moves or threatening to cut heads off; it can sometimes brush against the borders of madness as he can frequently spend a couple of hours raging and then crumble weeping, then jump up and start on about something completely off the point. After such fits he is usually exhausted for several days, nearly completely apathetic to all that's going on around him. Those who believe the tales spread more than a hundred years ago say that he's possessed by the ghost of his namesake, Gothryd I, who was, according to Gothryd II's great-grandfather, murdered by Aubk'i and her supporters.
History/Bio: The Capet line came to power in Daggerfall around the end of the Oblivion Crisis. Wilhelm, Gothryd's illegitimate son, nicknamed 'the head' (hence Capet) during his (technically self-imposed) exile due to his constant worries and plots, came back to Daggerfall and used the confusion of the Daedric invasion to seize power, managing to gain the support of the people and a part of the nobility, claiming to know the hardships and promising to bring about change to the former and making generous promises to the later. Proving to have a firm hand with which to guide the kingdom, Wilhelm proceeded to carry out several reforms. He encouraged free farmers and burghers, splitting the third estate into two separate ones, each for one of the two; this was followed by several privileges to the free farmers, to an extent protecting them from the influence of the nobility, who would claim their lands and turn the freemen into serfs. Wilhelm also helped several non-Daggerfallian noblemen entrench themselves in the kingdom, of which only one grew to be of greater importance, the Anticlerian house de Tourelle.
Gothryd is Wilhelm's great-grandson. He has been ruling Daggerfall for five years now; his rule has been marked by attempts to strengthen the king's authority, characteristic of the Capets. He also solidified Daggerfall's hold over Tulune and Shalgora, degrading the former ruler of Shalgora to the status of a simple noble and doing away with the ruler of Tulune and all his possible heirs altogether (although none have yet managed to prove it was his doing, as the whole incident was made to look completely like an accident). This has stirred some of the nobles of the robe (the magnates who are exempt from personally going to war and who are the second force to be reckoned with in Daggerfall alongside the king, sometimes eclipsing the monarch's influence), however the happenings to the north of the kingdom prevented anything from transpiring.
During the turmoil of United Bretony's forming, Gothryd II wasted little time in snatching the lands he could, using a coup here and a 'defense pact' there to make sure those lands stayed attached to Daggerfall. To encourage assimilation of the Bretons of those lands, or at least the nobility, he granted estates there to many of his nobles, along with granting estates in lands previously part of the kingdom of Daggerfall to a select few families in the lands newly incorporated into his kingdom. However, at such a vital moment when war seems right behind the corner, Gothryd II is beginning to show signs of wavering under the increasing pressure, his fits increasing in frequency and length. Rumours begin to spread in the court that the king might be going crazy...
Also, more detailed map of http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Anticlere/Bretony/daggerfall.jpg. Dark red is land ruled by the king and his nobles of the sword (the lower order of the nobility who have to take to war personally and, though more numerous, are far less powerful than nobles of the robe); yellow is land gifted to the church (most of it is outside Daggerfall itself because when the land was being re-split following the gaining of new realms the nobles and the king silently agreed to try keep the church's authority in the capital to a minimum); finally, light blue is land ruled by the de Tourelle family and their vassals, supporters of the king and current rulers of Shalgora. The rest is owned either by nobles of the sword, nobles of the robe or rulers of the recently-incorporated realms. Those of you who join Daggerfall, feel free to update the map with your characters' holdings, just inform me so I can keep my map up-to-date.