The Sovereigns of the South - The History of Talon's Grotto, Talon's Port, and Vortician Rulers

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The Sovereigns of the South

A Compendium of the Leaders of Talon's Grotto, Talon's Port, and Vortice.

 

Published by the Vortician Society of Scholars and Artisans, 75 SE.

Written by Grandmaster Viction Trito, Doctor of Contemporary History.

 

Volume 1: The Leaders of Talon’s Grotto:

Talon's Grotto was founded in 1734 in the southern jungles of the Queen's Isle in Arcas. Originally a pirate's cove home to a sparse population, the city had continued growing and developed into a prosperous city-state.

 

Sovereigns of Talon's Grotto were not selected through hereditary means. Instead, the ruling council of the city votes amongst themselves to select the next ruler, making it difficult to track every precise detail of these leaders from more than a century prior.

 

Yet, still, some spotty records of Talon's Grotto have been kept, allowing some insights into the rulership of those who brought the city through its darkest and lightest times.

 

1. Sovereign Arthur Sterling:

Reign: 1734 FE - 1758 FE. (24 Years).

 

Arthur Sterling was a human born in the Kingdom of Curon. Originally arriving to Queen's Isle in his younger years, he dreamed of creating a pirate's haven, and set about building the first city of Talon's Grotto upon the southern coast. While details of his reign are foggy in comparison to more modern rulers, he is remembered fondly for creating the basis of the city that many call home to this day.

 

In 1758 FE, though, Arthur Sterling mysteriously disappeared.

 

2. Sovereign Nathaniel Valorum Goldblight

Reign: 1758 FE - 1773 FE. (15 Years).

 

Nathaniel Goldblight was born in the Trade State of Sutica in 1740 FE. Leaving for Talon’s Grotto during his early adolescence, the adunian was adopted by Sovereign Arthur Sterling. He was taught the arts of leadership by the First Sovereign, and as Arthur Sterling disappeared in 1758 FE, he took over the mantle of the city.

 

Despite Arthur Sterling's tutelage, Nathaniel began shifting the city away from its heritage as a pirate haven and more towards the structure of a modern city state, publishing a reformation of the government entitled The Grotto’s Flight.

 

Under Nathaniel’s reign, Talon’s Grotto had the largest military force that the city-state has ever seen, even into the modern day, and was able to competently stand up to powers such as the Holy Orenian Empire during involvements in conflicts such as the Rubern War.

 

Similarly, Nathaniel was known for his deft diplomacy, securing alliances with major powers such as the War Nation of Krugmar during his reign.

 

In 1773 FE, though, Nathaniel was murdered late in his reign by an unknown assassin, who reportedly stabbed the sovereign in the chest 23 times before fleeing the scene.

 

3. Sovereign Durlak

Reign: 1773 FE - Unknown.

 

Durlak is a figure draped in mystery in the modern day- very few records were kept from his time, though, still, there is some information to be found from other accounts.

 

Durlak is a mountain dwarf who arrived in Talon's Grotto during the time of Arthur Sterling. An active member of the community, he was selected the next ruler after the assassination of Sovereign Nathaniel Goldblight.

 

Unlike many rulers, he claimed no second name, and simply built upon the infrastructure that Nathaniel Goldblight had created, taking advantage of his position to host a multitude of celebrations within the local Alley Alehouse.

 

He stepped down some years into his reign due to unknown circumstances, and has the least-documented reign of any sovereign.

 

4. Sovereign Castiel Valaker

Reign: Unknown - 1780 FE.

 

Castiel Valaker's rule was documented more thoroughly than Sovereign Durlak's, though some vital details such as birth time and place are still lost.

 

Castiel Valaker is a high elf who ascended to the position after the abdication of Sovereign Durlak, and was a promising leader to the thriving city-state. He was known for forming a multitude of strategically important treaties with large nations throughout Arcas, he managed to crack down on international banditry through his formation of the Anti-Bandit Coalition, with many prominent nation-states joining the alliance.

 

In the later years of his rule, Castiel began to propose that Talon's Grotto be vassalized beneath the Holy Orenian Empire, causing a stir of hatred and distrust to build up towards him within the community, who highly valued the sovereignty of the tropical port.

 

It was around this time he also grew less engaged within the city, interacting with the townsfolk less and less, while blatantly ignoring many of his governing duties, and was forced to abdicate the position of Sovereign by the majority of the council in 1780 FE, retaining a seat upon the council until 1790 FE, when he was similarly voted from the position.

 

5. Sovereign James Avery

Reign: 1780 FE - 1794 FE. (14 Years).

 

James Avery was an adunian born within the Kingdom of Norland in 1742 FE. Arriving to Talon's Grotto under the rule of Sovereign Nathaniel Goldblight, he was voted into the position after Sovereign Castiel Valaker was forced to abdicate due to his involvement with local affairs and willingness to continue pushing the settlement forward.

 

James maintained the status of Talon's Grotto throughout his rule, and with the assistance of the council, funded multiple public-works projects such as chartering a ferry between the rural cove and the prosperous Trade State of Sutica.

 

James later stepped down in 1794 FE, relinquishing the title after he grew less engaged with the local community and not wishing to be remembered in the same negativel light as Castiel was.

 

Final Notes Regarding Volume 1

While Sovereign Gail Cordius ruled in the final two years of the continent of Arcas, he is primarily remembered for his leadership within Talon's Port, and will be addressed in Volume 2 of The Sovereigns of then South, which will focus upon the rulers of Talon's Port and Vortice.

 

[!] In the back of the volume, a map of Arcas is crudely drawn, with a single section blown-out to show the Queen's Isle in more detail.

 

Jungles make up most of the island, though the northern edge is marked with rolling white-sand beaches. A single road leads around the outskirts of the island, connected to the mainland east of Sutica via a wooden footbridge.

 

At the end of this bridge, there is a split in the road- to the right, the path leads towards a small settlement marked as Rosenyr, surrounding a small lagoon, while the left path leads to Talon's Grotto.

 

Talon's Grotto is built among large pillars and overhangs of stone and granite sticking up from the seabed, tucked within a large cove that obscures many details of the city map, save for the selection of manors and government buildings above the overhang.

 

At the top of the parchment, the map reads "QUEEN'S ISLE, ARCAS, Circa. 1794."

 

Volume 2: The Leaders of Talon’s Port and Vortice

Talon's Port was founded in 0 SE in the southern jungles of Almaris. It is the direct successor state of Talon's Grotto, and is where the majority of the population relocated to after the natural disasters that occured throughout Arcas in 1796 FE.

 

Similarly to Talon's Grotto, Sovereigns of Talon's Port were not selected through hereditary means. Instead, the ruling council of the city votes amongst themselves to select the next ruler based on prior contributions to the community and skill in the required areas necessary to effectively lead.

 

6. Sovereign Gail Cordius

Reign: 1794 FE - 15 SE. (18 Years).

 

Gail Cordius was a human born in Helena in the Holy Orenian Empire in 1751 FE. Originally recruited to Talon's Grotto to act as a personal guard of Sovereign Nathaniel Goldblight, a childhood friend, Gail eventually rose in the ranks of the city and became the Minister of Law.

 

By the end of Sovereign James Avery's reign, Gail had been running most of the city's functions by himself, and was selected to be the next ruler in a unanimous vote from the council.

 

The beginning of Gail's reign was categorized through hosting a multitude of programs to bolster the dwindling population of the city, alongside commissioning the World Ship, the flagship of Talon's Grotto created to hold the entire population of the city should there be a need to rapidly evacuate, to be complete.

 

When disasters struck Arcas in 1796 FE, the population of the city boarded the World Ship and traveled to the shores of Almaris. Upon reaching the new lands, Gail immediately began planning the new capital city of Talon's Port, forging a home for those of Talon's Grotto with a vision of a grand port city based on the ideals of trade and naval tradition.

 

After the city was constructed, Talon's Port saw a significant spike in population growth as Gail welcomed smaller, less-established communities such as the Li-Ren and Kha to the city, offering them places to build up their populations and cultures before striking off on their own, and further increasing the diversity of the city-state. Due to this population increase, Talon's Port grew to be recognized as a fully-fledged nation in 11 SE.

 

Throughout his reign, Gail sought to further reinforce Talon's Port's stance of neutrality in foreign conflict and diversity within the walls of the city, aiming to provide a home for those who wished for a quiet, impactful life away from the bustle and political landscape of large capitals such as Providence and Karosgrad.

 

In 14 SE, Gail was attacked by a group of mercenaries known as the Metenian Company while he was speaking with acquaintances in the local tavern. The mercenaries were eventually driven off, yet they had shattered Gail’s leg in the process, and the sovereign was forced to have it amputated.

 

In 15 SE, Gail elected to step down from his position due to his old age and the added strain of his prior assassination attempt, spending his remaining years on crutches as he stubbornly refused to accept any prosthetics.

 

In the modern day, Gail is remembered as one of the most influential figures in Talon's Port history, and is historically the most highly-honored Sovereign.

 

7. Sovereign Minto Townsend

Reign: 15 SE - 19 SE. (4 Years).

 

Minto Townsend was a halfling who originally arrived to Talon's Grotto under the reign of Sovereign Gail Cordius, and integrated himself into the community through multiple business ventures, co-owning the local tea business of Aeline Cordus, alongside operating merchant stalls within the city square.

 

When Sovereign Gail Cordius stepped down in 15 SE, Minto was only narrowly voted in as the next leader, barely taking the position over the present Minister of Defense, Saemos Hidone. Minto's ascension was met with mixed reactions, with a multitude of Li-Ren expressing concerns that Minto had a criminal record within Yong Ping, and heavily contesting the decision for him to become the new ruler.

 

Minto was coronated in 16 SE, though he had recieved a number of assassination threats and Gail Cordius was forced to hire a company of mercenaries to ensure Minto's safety during the passing of the crown.

 

While Minto had promised a multitude of reforms to Talon's Port in his election proposal to the council, he failed to meet many of these goals, resulting in a drastic decrease in population, as many citizens who had originally made their homes in Talon's Grotto under the first six Sovereigns grew disheartened with the new rulership and moved away to other destinations.

 

Minto eventually stepped down in 19 SE due to both internal pressure from the local government, and external pressure from Yong Ping.
 

8. Sovereign (Monarch) Vivian Maelstorm.

Reign: 19 SE - 35 SE. (16 Years).

 

Vivian Maelstorm was a mixed elf born in Morsgrad in the Kingdom of Norland in 1719 FE. Traveling to Talon's Grotto under the rule of Sovereign James Avery, she grew to prominence in the local community as a jeweler and smith.

 

After Sovereign Minto Townsend stepped down in 19 SE, the council voted highly in favor of electing her as the next ruler. The beginning of her reign started with reforming the currency system and military to be more modern.

 

But, to the shock of many, in 26 SE, Vivian declared that the Sovereign State of Talon's Port was to be dissolved in favor of the Unified Domain of Vortice, in which the prior electoral government of sovereignty would be abolished in favor of a new monarchy in which current monarch would handpick the next ruler, as opposed to leaving it to a vote of the council.

 

The popularity of the government dropped severely in light of this change, and drove many of the remaining citizens from the days of Talon's Grotto away.

 

In the following years, Vivian gave a group of mercenaries known as the Rustlers a small keep outside the walls of the city, though relations soon frayed and the Rustlers performed multiple raids on the city, even going as far to take Minister of Defense Saemos Hidone hostage, forcing her to call upon the Holy Orenian Empire for support in the counter-raid. While Vivian dragged her feet on the eviction of the keep, the remaining council members took matters into their own hands and burned it to the ground.

 

In 31 SE, constant threats from the War Nation of Krugmar forced Vivian into a heavily one-sided protectorate agreement with the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, causing more negative sentiments as Vortice lost much of its highly-valued sovereignty in signing over the power of foreign diplomacy to Urguan. Similarly, any prior diplomatic relations with the Holy Orenian Empire, who had been known to aid Vivian in the past, were cut as tensions rose between the Orenians and Dwarves. These tensions eventually broiled into the start of the Oren-Urguani War, more commonly known as the War of the Wigs.

 

It was this action of signing the agreement that began the slow plummet of Vortice from nationhood. Similarly, corruption also ran rampant within the local government, with Vivian being known to turn a blind eye to blatant crimes performed by close associates in the city, alongside issuing a multitude of banishments to influential figures such as former Sovereign Minto Townsend and the Vortician Minister of Magic, Sylvian Majin.

 

Yet, even still, Vivian's rule still saw the city's population as bustling as it had been under previous sovereigns, encouraging newcomers to travel to the city and found the basis of what the modern government relies upon.

 

Rumors of coups began circulating, with the Minister of Defense, Saemos Hidone, aiming to oust the Maelstorm family from power and restore the former system of government with the support of the Kingdom of Haense due to insults made against the Heir-Apparent by the related Peralien Maelstorm. However, these plans were eventually leaked as the Kingdom of Haense backed out of supporting the rebel cause with the banishment of Peralien.

 

In 35 SE, Vivian had been discovered to have committed suicide atop the rooftop podium of the local tavern, ending her 16 year reign.

 

9. Monarch Athri Belrose

Reign: 35 SA - 39 SA. (4 Years).

 

Athri Belrose was a mixed elf born in Sutica in Arcas. She was known to be a close friend of Monarch Vivian Maelstorm, and upon the previous monarch's death, a note was discovered by the body that stated that Athri should take over as the next monarch.

 

Athri immediately began working to right the wrongs of Vortice's past, rewriting Sovereign Gail Cordius' original lawbook alongside formalizing the government structure, reforming the monarchy to be closer to the prior system of government.

 

Land distribution was streamlined beneath her rule, allowing smaller groups seeking land to gain space to build their communities, and there were initial plans for a redesign of the capital created in this time, making clear her high aspirations for leadership.

 

Though, in 39 SE, her promising reign was cut short due to the stress of leadership.

 

Final Notes Regarding the Sovereigns of the South

Monarch Lenora Jusima was voted unanimously as the next ruler in 39 SE, though at the time of writing this paper (75 SE), her reign has still yet to come to a close, so details of her rule will not be included in this book.

 

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The history and actions previously here have been lost to time; unless another recorded their story.