Biography
Daerunt first came to Ruinous forty years ago as a mercenary offering his services in dealing with a band of outlaws from the southern continent known as the Cassopian Brotherhood. He claimed to have been following this group for years and that his life’s ambition was to finally bring them to justice for killing his family. He brought an offer to King Pedigran that he would bring him every head of every man in the Cassopian Brotherhood and all he asked for in exchange was to be made a knight. Skeptical at first Pedigran asked Daerunt with what men he planned to attack the brotherhood and with what spies would he learn their whereabouts. In response Daerunt told the king he would need no men and no spies, that he would find and kill them himself. Pedigran agreed to his terms, telling him that if he were to return with every head of every man in the Cassopian Brotherhood that he would make Daerunt a knight in service of the royal family. Daerunt left Stallworth Keep that day, and no one thought he would ever return. Many nights were spent jesting and laughing at the expense of Daerunt, but a fortnight later he came back. He returned to the capital dragging a chain two hundred feet long with five hundred heads attached to it. He walked his leash of heads to the gates of Stallworth, knelt, and waited for Pedigran. A man of his word, Pedigran knighted Daerunt that day and named him a member of the Royal Knights. Daerunt quickly rose through the ranks of the Royal Knights and gained a reputation for being the most ferocious warrior in all the Kingdom. Upon the death of Ser Robin Testoke, the commander of the Royal Knights, Daerunt was elevated to the position with no refute from any man. Daerunt became Pedigran’s most trusted advisor, even more so than Grand Master Heath Gafarty. It was on one faithful day that Stallworth was visited by the Duran Atoll Traveling Circus, a legendary act of entertainment from the south, when Pedigran came upon a seer-seer, that for told a prophecy to him. The prophecy was that one day soon his throne would be taken by a powerful mage and his entire line would be wiped out. Though many took the seer-seer’s word as fallacy, Pedigran took them to heart and became increasingly paranoid and fearful of any user of magic. His first act of madness was to relieve High Mage Sissold Nands of his duty as high mage and take him as his prisoner. Pedigran the proclaimed that all houses submit their house mages and any members of their house that can use magic to the King’s justice. When the Enduares refused, he proclaimed the traitors to the crown and declared war on Issaeos. After the execution of over thirty mages, including the son of Sissold Nands, Pedigran called for all lords to send the full force of their armies to join the royal army and march on Issaeos. Daerunt, who was secretly a mage himself, had remained deep in the council of Pedigran, but plotted with houses Enduare, Nyis, Nands, Leones, Spewake, and Aleer to oppose the king. The six houses wanted to combine the might of their armies to oppose the Pedigran’s madness, but Daerunt insisted that he could end it from the inside. On the eve of war when no men were sent from the five houses in opposition to the crown the king declared war on them as well, branding them all traitors to the crown. The night before Pedigran planned to march for Issaeos he held a war council in Stallworth Keep. In attendance were all of Pedigran’s sons, brothers, and cousins, as well as the heads of House Gaferty, Castello, and Testoke, and all of the Royal Knights, including Daerunt. That night Daerunt slaughtered over forty men in that keep, including every living member of House Lagrest and all of his sworn brothers, with the exception of Dyard Graniteworth. He had a certain respect for Dyard and spared him his life. Daerunt then freed Sissold Nands from the Dungeons of Stallworth and declared himself King of Ruinous. Having just killed the heads of Houses Testoke, Gaferty, and Castello he called for their three sons and heirs to come bend the knee to him, and they did. Then as planned Houses Nyis, Spewake, Enduare, Aleer and Leones came the pledge fealty to Daerunt. Daerunt has now sat on the throne for over twenty years and under his reign Ruinous has gained the Kingdom of Pegasus and free territory of Calafrack as part of their own.