Since the Last King is going to be in Myroria for a while I suppose I should introduce the first Sedera/doge of Myroria.
Resdayn VI Thimalveseth/Resdayn I
Born in 1678 into an Ivorheart-based House of moderate renown, Resdayn was the sixth in a series of entirely unremarkable men to lead House Thimalveseth.
At the time of his birth, the Myrorian homeland had been a part of a great Ozian state for nearly two hundred years. Once split between the Pelagian Empire and the Ozian theocracy, it had been absorbed by the latter upon the fall of the former in the early 1500s. The percived Myrorian propensity for clannishness and insular thinking, and the Myrorian religious faith - often involving the dissection and display of dead bodies - led to distrust and hatred of the "Maeror" among the Ozians to the south. Ozian matriarchy, pogroms, and Gaeanism led to hatred of the "devils" among the Myrorians to the north.
By the time of the Eluvataran-Ozian war at the beginning of the 18th century, conditions were ripe in Maeror Province for a general rebellion. The rebellion came when news spread of Ozian defeats to the Eluvataran king, giving instigators in Traval, Pelagis, and Ivorheart the opportunity to stir up an angry populace and goad them to attack the Ozian devils. Resdayn VI Thimalveseth was one of many patriarchs to pledge their House to fight under two common banners - the burgundy and white of Myroria, and the cyan and lavender of the Eluvataran king.
In 1733, after years of war, Myroria gained her independence, mainly to act as a Poland-style buffer between Ozia and Eluvatar. The new state styled itself the "Most Serene Republic", but in reality it functioned as an elective monarchy, with the powerful men from the various Houses in Myroria electing one among themselves to serve for life as the country's head of state - tightly controlled, of course, by the aristocracy.
After eleven ballots, the Council of the Houses elected Resdayn VI Thimalveseth as the Sedera, or doge, of Myroria. The justification for his election rested mainly on his acceptability to the Eluvataran king and his perceived pliability among the Myrorian nobles. As the Last King departed for his campaign in Rykkovaa, he left satisfied that his new ally was in capable, if malleable, hands.
Resdayn VI Thimalveseth proved to be anything but malleable. Ignoring pleas from the Council that he invest himself with a crown and royal style, he insisted he be referred to as "Serene Highness" and wore a cap based on a Pelagian design popular during the days of the Pelagian Republic. He dissassociated himself from affiliation with any House, even the one he was born into, announcing himself a total independent. His attempt to concentrate power in his hands at the expense of the aristocracy made him many enemies, but even as the Last King returned from a disastrous campaign in Rykkovaa to see the unrest among the Myrorian nobility , Resdayn kept Eluvatumi as an ally. In return Resdayn deferred almost completely to the foreign king.
Some time later, after news spread that the King's ship had disappeared, Resdayn VI Thimalveseth died of a sudden stomach ailment. Within weeks, the three largest Houses - Indiotrovth, Vedranoseth, and Demnevanith - concentrated power among themselves. Styling themselves "Great Houses", they used their sheer numbers on the Council to expel any family that did not swear fealty to one of them.
The new "Council of Great Houses" elected Revyn Demnevanith Sedera. Revyn took the name "Resdayn II", in effect giving his predecessor, who always railed against the practice of taking regnal names, the name " Resdayn I". Next, Resdayn II invested himself with a crown and the style of "Your Majesty" - making himself equal in prestige to the dearly departed King of Eluvatar.
