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SWITHUN 'THE SCRIBE' OF HAENSE


Eryane
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THE SCRIBE OF HAENSE

Or, A STUDY ON THE LIFE OF SWITHUN ‘THE SCRIBE’

BY

IRENE C. SARKOZY

RESEARCHER OF THE NORTHERN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

 

MUSIC LINK )


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

I - INTRODUCTION

II - HISTORY

III - LEGACY

 


I - INTRODUCTION

Swithun was a man of no family name or standing prior to his settlement in the lands of the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, but instead a man who made a name for himself through his own toils and rigorous efforts towards his nation. Although it is often believed he was of the surname “Aldor”, the name was only taken up upon request of his ascension to nobility by King Siguine I, to which he politely declined. He was the son of Swithulf and Brithwen, two nomadic people of an unknown human culture. He grew to become one of the most beloved people in all of Haense under the reign of King Siguine I, or more commonly known as King Sigmar, after serving as soldier, quartermaster, lieutenant, royal scribe, regency councillor, and Lord Justiciar. However, for a short time he would be banished by the Queen-consort of Haense, Elizaveta of Vidaus; unable to enter the royal capital of Markev. Swithun served a total of fifty-two years in public service to the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, from his first position as appointed regency councilor in 1668 to his resignation as Lord Justiciar in 1720. He was renowned for his talents with the pen, being appraised by numerous historians posthumously as one of the finest writers in humanity during his lifetime.

 

II - HISTORY

Swithun was born amidst the year of 1642, although the exact date of his birth is not recorded in any documentation. From the beginning of his life, Swithun struggled with the maintaining of any lasting friendships outside of his parents due to their nomadic and wandering nature as merchants. Thus, his social skills were lacking but to no detriment of his abilities elsewhere. Both his mother and father, Swithulf and Brithwen, were apt in skills of craftsmanship of furniture items in a multitude of settlements– human and the like. He was taught the basics of carpentry, carving, salesmanship, but most importantly Swithun delved into literacy both at his own hand and reading.

 

 As rising merchants, his parents were able to acquire a good sum of coin to obtain tutors whilst travelling from settlements. Swithun had a natural ease and creativity with the pen, and his tutors found little to no trouble providing him new information or assigning him to various tasks of penmanship and grammar. Swithun remained with his parents and assisted them in their salesmanship until he was of about the approximated age of eighteen. Swithulf and Brithwen together moved away from their traveling lifestyle and settled in a small human village in the south, leaving Swithun to endeavor elsewhere. His ventures would lead him to the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, and by nineteen Swithun became an official subject of the realm. He sought, allegedly, a life of excitement rather than the quiet municipality his parents had grown accustomed to. 

 

Swithun settled in the royal capital of Markev in the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska in the late months of 1660 (and would continue to reside there throughout the period of history known as the ‘Pertinaxian Period’), finding his interest particularly in the strong cultural values upheld by all subjects of the land— fascinated with the concept of Biharism established within. Haense was then under the reign of Charles II of Haense. The kingdom had suffered a beginning loss at the Battle of the Sleeping Swamps, or Battle of the Rolling Hills, against the Northern Atlas Alliance in the First Atlas Coalition War. The man of little repute and even less considerable affluence first floundered with developing his standing in the foreign nation in his first several years within as the kingdom pothered and more blowing defeats were taken by the United Southern Alliance that Haense had been jointly fighting with. The war was subsequently lost after the Siege of Ruriksgrad in 1662 and the alliance left solely the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska after the withdrawal by the Silver State of Haelun’or in 1663. Swithun’s participation in the Atlas Coalition War is unrecorded, but presumed for his growth in swordsmanship acclaimed to have occurred in between his departure from his parent’s village to his mid-twenties. 

 

Now as a subject to the Haeseni realm and at the age of twenty-three, Swithun acquired work under the Count of Metterden, Rhys Vladrick var Ruthern, and maintained a steady position in the Black Company in 1665. The Black Company was a group of Ruthern Bannermen tasked with defending and maintaining the peace in the County of Metterden. Furthermore, they too were to take up arms with the overall nation itself as its soldiers. He worked closely under the orders of both the Count of Metterden and the Black Company’s captain, Godfric Black– a bastard of House Colborn, and would therefore be promoted as a result of his service and loyalty to the company in 1663. His aptitude for swordsmanship and comradery among soldiers weighed into his furtherance to Lieutenant of the Black Company, serving as an officer and commandment for other men in the company. The promotion led to a sudden interest in literature once more, and he soon returned to the pen whilst still upholding his position with a strong devotion in the County of Metterden, residing in the stony fortress keep of Helmholtz. 

 

While Swithun remained in the keep external to the royal city, Markev had yet to fully recover from the losses of the First Coalition War and the army remained on the defensive at the command of King Charles II. The city was under the command of the Lord Palatine, Prince Franz, but notably was growing in liberal views, noted frequently as “radicals” throughout many texts. The Krepost Palace would be stormed as a result of the inability to quell these radicalists, and soon thereafter the kingdom entered a succession crisis with the lack of an heir from the king. Swithun remained witness and loyal to the commands of the Count Rhys throughout the struggles the kingdom endured, even under the brief and short reign of Francis II and his consort, Queen Tatiana of Metterden– Rhys’s sister. Troubles still were amiss between the nobility and the commoners, leaving Swithun in a questionable state being a common man himself. Yet he served the Black Company loyally, refraining from partaking in the uprisings. Francis II proclaimed himself as king without consent of the duma (the rightful heir to the throne being Prince Robert-Sigismund). Swithun and other soldiers would be unable to save the king from his capture amidst his coronation, and many Haeseni were slaughtered in the process. The king was executed by the King of Renatus-Marna, Aurelius I, upon his refusal to bend the knee. The kingdom fell into another state of crisis and was left to the regency of his captain’s sister, Lady Tatiana Ruthern, and a man by the name of Karl of Rothswood, or “Lord Karolus”. Haense joined arms in another war albeit the nation itself suffered greatly, using the execution of their king as apt reasoning, therefore joining the Second Atlas Coalition War, or otherwise remarked as the Staunton Uprising– another set of battles Swithun was called to arms for. Haense allied with the warring Kingdom of Courland against the forces of Renatus-Marna. 

 

After several months of regency, Prince Siguine, the nephew of Francis II and son of Prince Robert-Sigismund, gathered a collection of mercenaries and Haeseni nobility to bloodlessly overtake the Krepost Palace after the prince had lived in exile for some months (claiming himself as king there, and beginning negotiations to settle the Second Atlas Coalition War). Swithun’s merit and skill with the pen reached to the king, who offered him position on his regency council in 1668. Prince Siguine was officially crowned as the new king on the 14th of Sun’s Smile, 1670, and therefore ending the continuous crisis of regal rule the kingdom suffered from. Due to the commander of Swithun’s relation to the new king, being his uncle through the marriage of Prince Robert-Sigismund (Siguine’s father) and Lady Caterina Ruthern (Siguine’s mother), Swithun was able to frequent the palace alongside the count and acquaint himself with many of the nobility. He strove to maintain relations with those he met, soon befriending the king and his consort, Queen Sophia of Castor. Queen Sophia, akin to himself, was too a commoner as a bastard of House Chivay and remarked as “The Commoner Queen”.

 

Although ever loyal to the Black Company, King Siguine’s ascension to the throne and the appointment of Count Rhys to the Lord Marshal of Haense integrated Swithun further into the royal city rather than remaining on the outskirts. His apodictic skill with the pen led to his appointment to the position as Royal Scribe in 1671, at age twenty-nine. His friendship with the Queen and King too led to his unofficial assignment as caretaker to the royal children and two royal wards, namely that of the Grand Prince of Kusoraev Robert, Princess Theodosia, and the Ruthern twins Lady Elizaveta and the Baron of Rosig, Demetrius Ruthern. Often, Queen Sophia would take on Swithun as a personal advisor and he served her adamantly, offering counsel whenever asked of him. As paramount scribe, he took the Lady Elizaveta under his wing as an apprentice– a woman apt in writing as he, and grew to be a pseudo father figure for the future queen (although unbeknownst at the time). On a multitude of occasions, Swithun would even offer sanctuary in his Markev home for the royal family with a multitude of assassination attempts upon their lives in the years between 1671 and 1678 until King Siguine swore under the King of Renatus-Marna, Aurelius I, furthermore forming the imperial state of the Empire of Man. 

 

In 1672, Swithun astrayed from his literary work under the king and took up arms with the military after witnessing the brutal slaughter and assassination of the High Pontiff Jude I in the Cathedral of St. Karl at the hands of undead forces. In these series of fights to avenge the fallen pontiff, Swithun would retake his previous abilities with the sword and notably slaughtered a creature known as a “chimera” as well as an innumerable amount of other supernatural beings. Due to his significant wounds, Swithun remained primarily in the Krepost Palace two years following the events and focused on his apprentice, Lady Elizaveta. He would meet a commoner lady known as “Aoife Quinn” in the years of recovery and by 1675, the pair were engaged in courtship. With the assistance of both Lady Elizaveta and Miss Aoife, the introverted scribe was given respite and pushed for more social behavior amongst the Haeseni people. To quote a recently-discovered diary of a Haeseni man known as Karl of Helmholtz on the characteristics of Swithun’s sociability, it states, “Swithun rarely speaks to anyone outside of his close circle. [...] [It must have been] his solitary childhood and severe introversion [that] left him without a true grasp of the intricacies of socializing.” In spite of these alleged difficulties, he continued to prosper against them and continue his climb. He participated in diplomatic negotiations with elves of the Dominion in order to save the ailing Lady Elizaveta in the late 1670s, brokering a deal with the elven Clinic of Caras Eldar to retrieve proper medication for the critical illness. 

 

While the first iteration of the Brotherhood of Saint Karl was formed under the newly-appointed Duke of Vidaus, Lord Rhys, his duties to his house were unable to be fulfilled and he instead named Swithun as a pseudo-patriarch and regent in 1679. King Siguine urged for his royal scribe to become of his peers and to create the House of Aldor (named after his unknown culture’s term for “author”). For a brief period of time, Swithun sustained the additional surname of Aldor but would later decline the offer of nobility and peerage. Around the same time, Swithun was wed to Aoife in the Cathedral of St. Karl, with one of the largest attendances for a commoner wedding; attended by most of the Haeseni administration, King Sigmar, Queen Sophia, and the rest of the Barbanov royal family. The couple was hailed as “one of the finest matches in all of the realm of man” for their love and devotion to one another. Near the time of his own marriage, King Siguine passed from fatal wounds acquired in a hunting accident in the Czena forests and his son, Robert I, took up the mantle. Soon thereafter was the wedding of the new king and his apprentice, Lady Elizaveta– regally known as Queen Elizaveta of Vidaus, where he watched the large ceremony with pride. 

 

Four years later, however, Aoife would pass away due to complications in the childbirth of Swithun’s only child and son, Romund, in 1683. Concurrent to the tragedies of his personal life, Swithun was appointed the Lord Justiciar under the sweeping reformations of the government and council enacted by Robert I. The tragic events of his newly-founded family evoked a need for pilgrimage for the scribe so that he might find and inform the unknown relatives of Aoife of her untimely passing. He departed the royal city of Markev with his infant son to find a monastery to send him away to, then furthered his excursion for nearly a decade; struggling to come to terms with his grief with the loss of his wife. Throughout his grief and time away, he continued his service as a royal scrivener and Lord Justiciar, inciting reforms from afar with a pragmatic approach to legalities - and, although not present in the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska, In 1693, the death of Queen Sophia plummeted the aging man into further grief, seeing many of his past acquaintances now passed.

 

His return from the pilgrimage was not met with rejoice, but instead ostracized from the kingdom by Queen Elizaveta, a “de facto exile”, from the lands of Hanseti-Ruska. His first public appearance would be in the year 1703, upon receiving notice of the royal wedding between the crown prince Marius and the Lady Valera Carrion. From the outskirts of Haense, his well-maintained relationship with the queen’s brother, the Lord Palatine Demetrius Ruthern, favored him in exile as he was offered to continue to reside over his position as Lord Justiciar. Additionally, the Princess-consort of Kusoraev, Valera of Adria, openly fought against the Queen Elizaveta’s ostracism of Swithun and welcomed him into the Krepost Palace in opposition of the behest of the Queen. He accepted incumbency of the office of Lord Justiciar as well as serving as the official royal scribe once more under Princess Valera. 

 

Swithun, as stated by scholar and historian Sir Viktor Kortrevich, “reduced crime rates by a third from the previous administration and installed the first institution the likes of; a rehabilitation center that reduced the recidivism rate by nearly fifty-percent,” during his tenure as the Lord Justiciar. He presided over many of the House Ruthern once more while concomitantly serving as Lord Justiciar and royal scribe, standing in for the absence of any Ruthern at the wedding of Lady Anneliese Barrow, legitimized Ruthern, to the Viscount of Grauspin, Sergei Stafyr in 1704. In 1705, many people from the continent of Atlas began a mass migration and left the city of Markev abandoned. In its swift abandonment, Swithun was able to retrieve the sword of King Siguine I, bequeathed to him by an unknown source. Death and crisis struck the royal family swiftly after the migration to the new continent of Arcas; with the death of Robert I, the assassination of Queen Elizaveta of Vidaus, and the passing of the future Queen, Valera of Adria in childbirth all in 1706. In spite of the ill-relations betwixt himself and the Queen, his care for his once-apprentice and pseudo daughter struck him with an intense grief at her brutal stabbing-death. He dove into his legal work, although no longer assigned the role of royal scribe after Princess Valera's passing. 

 

Most notably during his tenure as Lord Justiciar, he presided over the case of the Crown vs. Ludovar of 1707, stripping the House Ludovar of their princely title of Ulgaard and the comital title of Monstadt (returned to House Amador), with the consent and agreeance of the new king, Marius II. Swithun insisted upon his ability to fight in the War of Two Emperors when it first began in 1715 during his incumbency as Lord Justiciar, managing to still lift the sword in his aging years. He refrained from most of the frontline battles but still participated in defense of his kingdom, until the efforts waned too greatly on his health. He was sent into retirement by the Lord Palatine of Haense, Georg Stanimar; noted in the Chancellor's Report of 1720, "After a lengthy period of over half a century of devoted service to the Crown, we announce the retirement of Lord Justiciar Swithun from the Royal Cabinet. His Majesty the King and myself impart our sincere gratitude for work in the legal codex, for presiding over the judicial courts and dispensing the king's justice for the last decade. Swithun's work as a royal scrivener and a vital member of the regency during the succession crisis of 1668 merits profound accolades from the entire nation." He, as of 1810, is known to be the longest-serving Lord Justiciar with, as according to Sir Viktor Kortrevich in his study The High Justiciars of Haense, Lord Constables of the Crown, thirty-six years in office. 

 

The following decades of Swithun's life, out of public service, was peaceful and in solitude. In his final years, Swithun passed on the historical royal sword to the daughter of the king in which he first served under, Siguine I, to Princess Theodosia upon their meeting in the new royal city of Reza in 1736. He had guarded the artifact closely until his death at the age of ninety-four, passing from complications (believed to be an illness) in his elderly and declining health. The sword was returned to the Aldor family in the year following, and is believed to remain an artifact of both Swithun and the old king he so devotedly first served, Siguine I. 

 

III - LEGACY

Contrary to many of my other studies, Swithun’s legacy is primarily forgotten in spite of his fifty-two years of public service to the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska; spanning over a variety of different fields from battling, scribing, counseling, and later serving as the second Lord Justiciar. His humble denial of nobility and devotion resonates with me as I hope it does my readers, for he was a man of great character with little reward. Today, although not ennobled, the family name of “Aldor” has remained present after his only son, Romund, learned of his father and took up the name himself. Romund’s marriage is unknown, but his children have been recorded as Rowall, Romunda, Swithmund, Roswitha, and Brithulf. In recent times, the Aldor name has resurfaced with Swithun's descendent, Romund Aldor, being among those to rescue the captive Lady Maisie d'Arkent, granddaughter of the ISA General Peter d'Arkent. 

 

Spoiler

Swithun "Aldor" was played by @NovumChaseon both maps of Atlas and Arcas, primarily in Haense.

 

 

 


 

Edited by Eryane
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The Baroness Woldzmir lauded her sisters efforts in one of their routinely planned rendezvouses. 

 

"A fine fellow who serves as a testament to the excellence of our heritage," she commented, appeased by the report. 

 

 

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"Ah... I remember such a man. We were both born from nothing, yet it was he who took the path of honor, goodwill, and loyal service- all virtues I threw aside. An ideal man in all regards... I hope he is well-rewarded in the heavens for his service..." So mutters a withered shadow of a man, recounting the life he had lost many years ago and those who had filled it.

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Romund Aldor reads of the first Aldor with pride, impressed by both the report and the man it depicts.

 

“A splendid history,”  he comments with a smile as he finishes the final lines.

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Ser Nikolaus Kortrevich smiled from the skies that flew above as he reminisced of the few fleeting moments he shared with his old friend, Swithun. "A rather humble man Lord Swithun was, do you recall of the time you testified at the Crown v. Ludovar trial cozaer?" He'd ask his cousin, Sir Otto Kortrevich as he set two Carrion Blacks on the tavern table in Markev.

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Aymon Liawenys reads the biography with intrigue "Diplomat and scribe." he muses from the astronomy tower, quill to his lips. "Fascinating."

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