Sylas Belaroth
Duke Sylas Belaroth, the Unifier
Sylas Belaroth is the most famous of the dukes of Ciello, and is regarded as the greatest Belaroth duke. He was the first man since Amellianus Fabii "Rex" to unify the Island of Ciello under a single banner.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born in 606 Sylas was sent to Caspia (at that time a rising power) to receive an education. Here he was taught poetry, rhetoric, philosophy and the arts of war. These he put to the test when he participated Aziza's war in 623. Sylas distinguished himself with his bravery and initiative. But the defeat of the ruling Karimi family forced him to leave Caspia. He returned to Ciello to find that his father had himself been killed in war against the Duke of Lavello. Taking up his duty Sylas at once organized an expedition against Duke de Vendra. This war would continue for the next seventeen years.
In 640 the two sides fought the decisive battle of the conflict. At the battle of the Lavelle Sylas defeated duke Dominique's army. The duke himself was captured. Brought before Sylas he was treated with honour. The two dukes dined together and worked out an agreement. Sylas's firstborn child, if he ever had one, would marry a member of house de Vendra. Meanwhile the duke of Lavello would swear fealty to Sylas and all his heirs. This "Dinner Pact" unified all of southern Ciello under Sylas. Now his obstacle to rule over all the island was the stubborn Countess of Aldershall and the Free City of Reddingfield. Both in the north of the island.
In 650 Sylas moved north, taking with him an army unlike any previously seen on Ciello. 20.000 strong he moved north beyond the fortress of Callimno. The Countess of Aldershall did not confront this army, choosing to rely upon her fortifications. The duke moved against Reddingfield first. The city refused to surrender, but generous bribes allowed the duke's troops entry into the Barrier Fortress at the mouth of the harbour. Entirely cut off the city now surrendered, and received good terms.
Wintering in the city the army then moved against Alderhall and her allies. The Marquess of Perano surrendered in autumn of 651, having little love for his master in Aldershall. The next year Sylas besieged Aldershall itself, but the walls proved too strong to storm, and the stores too deep to quickly exhaust. When winter came however the Belaroth army stayed encamped outside the walls of Aldershall. The siege would last until 653, when Duchess Matilda finally relented, bending knee to Sylas on the condition that he would marry her daughter, Béatrice Armida de Aldershall who's husband had died during the siege. This condition was met. It would take seven years before the marriage yielded an heir, Vittoria Séraphine Clarisse Belaroth, the only child Sylas would have during his long life.
With Ciello unified Sylas now focused on consolidating what he had united. The laws were reviewed, temples built, tax codes examined and so forth. Sylas' primary objective was to raise money to maintain Cunaris' superiority over its vassals, whom he suspected of plotting revolt. In 672 Sylas arrested several nobles, and had them tried for treason. The last years of the duke's life was one of increasing suspicion. Rumors of conspiracy and revolt were rife. For all that the duke died in his bed of natural causes 79 years old in 685. His daughter assumed his title without much rumbling from her vassals. After all, she was the daughter of an Aldershall, and married to a de Vendra.
Relationships
Species
Life
606 IC
685 IC
79 years old
Family
Spouses
Béatrice Armida de Aldershall
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Sex
Male
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments