Jacob the Sage
King of Lysandus Jacob Oncett (a.k.a. The Sage)
Jacob Oncett was the seventh King of Lysandus who began his reign in the year 5710. Called "The Sage", King Jacob was known for both his intense study of magic and his efforts to rebuild Lysandus decades after the Second Dragon Crisis. His greatest legacy was the construction of the Passage of Duran-Golgen and the creation of the Chronicle of Lysandus.
History
Jacob Oncett was born in the year 5679, being the second son to Mortimer Darius and Hilda Oncett. Under his father's guidance, he was instructed to become a sage in the court while his eldest brother trained for military. So he studied the ways of magic and combat in his growing years.The Second Dragon Crisis and Preparation for Rule
By the year 5689, Jacob was well into his studies when the nation of Lysandus was suddenly attacked by a plot from the Danen and the Knights of Black Dragon in the month of May. His brother, Adran Oncett, nearly had his betrothed assassinated by the black knights. However, the family remained intact thanks due to the efforts of a group of heroes named the Dragonblazers. One of their members, an evocation Wizard named Slytoff Han, became good friends with Jacob when the heroes visited Ebenwald. Jacob used his authority as prince to get the Dragonblazers audience with his father. The Dragonblazers were knighted in private ceremony and deemed Dragonlords for killing dragons. By the beginning of June, the Knights of Black Dragon and the Danen were defeated by the Dragonblazers and King Mortimer's army. After these events, the wizard Slytoff took Prince Jacob as an apprentice. This lasted until the winter 5699, where Adran Oncett died of a terrible plague. Prince Jacob had to leave Slytoff's apprenticeship as he was now the heir to Lysandus. In the year 5700, Adran met his eventual wife Princess Dinese Bourdon of Goth, ensuring an alliance with the Confederation of Goth for decades to come. During the final years of his father Mortimer's reign, Jacob began to help his father with a large reconstruction project for Lysandus, rebuilding the settlements of Kirkwall, Silver Town, and Keller's Coast after they were devastated from dragon attacks decades ago and had fallen into disrepair. A great help in Silver Town was the Bishop of the city, Father Cambow. An artistic renaissance sparked in the city from the construction efforts.
Reign over Lysandus
In the year 5710, his father Mortimer Darius died to natural causes in his sleep. A grand funeral was held the month after in the capitol Ebenwald, with the nation celebrating his reign and the rescuing of their nation from ruin. At the funeral, King Jacob and the Dragonblazers paid homage to the king.The Doombook
After the funeral, King Jacob got to work, asking his court sages to help him collect information on a census. To his knowledge, one had not been taken ever since the reign of his great grandmother, Queen Dariah. King Jacob wished to know the holdings and citizens of the land to better organize the kingdom. In the year 5715, the census, being called "The Doombook" was officially collected, revealing to King Jacob of many nobles not reporting accurate numbers to him on amount of citizens. The House of Chiefs objected to this collection, but General Wulfric Dragonbane of Obesfeld supported Jacob's decision and threatened the other lords to withdraw his troops in the north that protected them from orcs. The House of Chiefs thus compromised, allowing Jacob Oncett to raise taxes and levies in exchange for guaranteed protection by House Dragonbane.Construction of the Mountain Pass
Using the alliance with Gothai, King Jacob started to collaborate with them in the year 5720. King Jacob disliked having to pass through the Danen lands to reach Gothai and suggested a pathway through the Dragonscale Mountains to directly travel into the Kingdom of Goth. King Ferdinand of Goth agreed, but greatly upset the Kingdom of Danen with his decision and grew aggressive. They started to prove bothersome for General Dragonbane, who feared another war. Ultimately, Queen Durkavna of Icenglav showed her support of King Jacob, outnumbering the Danen to push back their aggression and desire for war. So in the 2nd decade of the 58th century, Prince Jacob began hiring Dwarven laborers from Bolderun and Norden to start developing the mountain passage. He also hired transmutation wizards from Cemedri Magicus to help teraform the mountains to their pleasing. The passage at first angered the Kin of Morgesk, silver dragons who protected the mountains near Duran-Golgen, but Prince Jacob negotiated with them along with an aging General Dragonbane, a friend of Morgesk when he lived. The project took 20 years in total to complete, being finished by 5742. The passage connected the fort town of Morgeston of Lysandus to Montou Pass of Goth.The Chronicle
In the years of 5730, Jacob grew concerned that the storied history of Lysandus would be forgotten except for in bardic songs. He was inspired by Reuel's Will of the Dragonlords that detailed the history of the Second Dragon Crisis. He was inspired by one of his mysterious Round Table advisors, Riley Woodhame, to write a true chronicle of the history of Lysandus, beginning with the reign of Aethel Ebenwald and even after his death. Jacob on his free time did research himself and also hired scribes from the Hearthstars organization to explore old artifacts and scrolls to complete the history. The Chronicle would continue to be written long after his death. (And is even the primary source for this article. -Jethro.)End of Reign
With projects such as the Mountain Pass and Chronicle taking up much of his time, Jacob took his time to partake in minor legal reforms and funded magic research for Cemedri Magicus. In his last decade, the 5740's, he experienced the death of many friends and those he knew from the Second Dragon Crisis. Indeed, King Jacob slowly saw the legacy of Queen Dariah's consequences finally start to fade, as the dragons remained hidden in the land and Lysandus grew stronger with new castles, cities, commerce, and art bolstering the land into a formidable kingdom that took up much of the continent of Eiren. To King Jacob, however, the final years of his life were sorrowful. First, his wife Dinese passed away in 5745, and then the following year his great general Wulfric Dragonbane passed in 5746. Growing old himself, Jacob witnessed a weakening of the northern border of Keller despite the Knights of Dragonbane's best efforts. Though his projects were largely successful, King Jacob passed fearing all of his work would collapse once he died. Then, in 5750, he passed away in illness. The crown was transferred to his eldest son, Adran Oncett.Sources:
- Decrees of the 58th Century, official Lysandan Records. Date of writing: contemporary.
- Dynasty of the Oncetts, by Oslafa of Kirkwall. Date of writing: circa First Age 5800.
- Life and Times of Jacob Oncett, by Maldred of Orwood. Date of Writing: 5750.
- The Chronicles of Gothai, by Bertulf the Chronicler. Date of Writing: First Age 5800.
- The Chronicles of Lysandus, by Aedweld. Date of writing: First Age 5750.
- Will of the Dragonlords, an epic by Reuel the Chronicler of Ebenwald. Date of writing unknown.
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