Mortimer I

King of Lysandus Mortimer Oncett

Mortimer Oncett Jr., also known as Mortimer the First, was the fourth king of Lysandus. He would reign from 1A 5637-5652, when he would eventually be disposed and killed by Erik Ebenwald, a pretender to the throne.
Mortimer proved to be a poor king, always acting too late on decisions and growing public descent. His actions would lead to a small amount of decentralization of Lysandus in his reign. Contemporary chroniclers look back upon his reign and find there is nothing truly remarkable about what he did, leaving Mortimer I to be rather forgotten.

History

Early Life

Mortimer Oncett Jr. was born in 1A 5558 to his mother, Dariah Ebenwald, and his father Mortimer Oncett Sr. When he was just a toddler in 5560, him and his mother were almost assassinated in her quarters until a guard managed to rescue them. From this early age, Mortimer realized the stress his mother would go through in ruling the kingdom. Growing into an adult he found himself tending to his mother when she would have her breakdowns.
In 5581 he would marrying a human peasant named Asheli, who would become his duchess. They would have a son, also named Mortimer, and several other children.
During the Plague in 5581, he would experience the death of his father, and caught the plague himself. Miraculously, he survived. However, it weakened him until the end of his life, causing him to be unable to lead any military positions. After the Dragon Crisis of 5590 hit, he would allocate funds with his mother to rebuild many of the destroyed cities in the land. Along with the Dragonlords, he would show up becoming a proper statesman under his mother's rule.
In 5637, Dariah told her son she was becoming too old to adequately rule the land and gave him the crown. Though he was 79, his dwarven blood allow him to have a spark of youth at the age still. He was crowned King of Lysandus that year by his mother, and she proceeded to retire.

Reign

Mortimer I started his reign simple, focusing on continuing the reconstruction his mother devoted herself to in the final years of her time as Queen. The kingdom for the first five years of his reign was relatively peaceful. Besides local disputes or problems with witches, he found himself in relative peace, especially with the Dragonlords at his side in the courts.
However, in 5642, he would finally face a challenge he was not prepared for: a lich, named Zilvek, had arisen in the town of Keller's Coast and began to wreck havoc. The Dragonlords insisted that Mortimer enact the Mercenary Clause for this situation, but Mortimer felt his own armies could deal with the situation. What ended up happening was that Zilvek attacked his armies with his own undead one. Finally, in 5643, Mortimer enacted the clause, allowing mercenaries to deal with the situation. Zilvek would be defeated, and the public grew angry at Mortimer for ignoring the clause for so long. In 5644, the Dragonlords would begin creating their own mercenary clauses for their own cities instead of waiting for Mortimer's action.
In 5648, Mortimer would call for a raises in tax to be created in the land of Lysandus when he saw the funds were dwindling due to his reconstruction efforts. The sheriffs collecting these taxes, however, treated the subjects miserably and began to use the funds to feed their lavish lifestyles. Mortimer did not do much to combat this corruption, leading to further discontent. The tax did not collect much, either, since the sheriffs were taking their cuts. As such, not only was corruption a problem, but the cities being reconstructed slowed down the process.
In 5650, the Dragonlords would discover a very vocal opponent to Mortimer I: Erik Ebenwald, a 3rd great grandson of Aethel Ebenwald. Parading from Brymoor, Erik Ebenwald created an opposition movement claiming that Dariah's crowning was a fraud, because the second eldest son of Aethel Ebenwald, David, had many male heirs that could have taken the throne instead of her. He presented his case to the Dragonlords in the courts, who agreed with his case.
Mortimer I began to fear for his title of the throne as Erik Ebenwald's cause became more supported by his subjects. In 5651, Mortimer proposed to the people of Lysandus that he would "try harder" to deal with the corrupt sheriffs. However, his words fell on deaf ears. Then, in 5652, when he was in the Court of Ebenwald, he was surrounded by the Dragonlords and Erik Ebenwald, who trapped him in the room. They gave him a chance to give Erik the crown. However, Mortimer refused. He would proceed to be stabbed by Erik, who took the crown and placed it on his own head. The Dragonlords that day declared Erik Ebenwald the new king, while the house of Oncett took the body of Mortimer and gave him a proper burial.

Physical Description

Body Features

Mortimer I's face and body had attributes of what looked Dwarven, but his thin build and tall height left him looking even more human than his mother.

Facial Features

He had very thick hair and a thick beard, signifying his Dwarven ancestry from face alone. He also had a rather large nose to match that.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Mortimer I wished to proceed in the rebuilding of Lysandus that his mother was involved in. He did not wish for a reign that would be filled with conflict. He wished to have good public image and keep the peace.

Vices & Personality flaws

Mortimer I was too slow to act on many issues and was not a good administrator in the House of Chiefs or judge in the Court. He failed to deal with corruption and did not give much effort to fix any problems he caused.

Social

Religious Views

Mortimer I seemed to be a follower of Amagus, though he also seemed to favor the ideals of Boldur, the god of the Dwarves. He would worship the latter in secret while publicly praising Amagus.

---

Sources:

• Dynasty of the Oncetts, by Oslafa of Kirkwall. Date of writing: circa First Age 5800.

• The Chronicles of Lysandus, by Aedweld. Date of writing: First Age 5750.

Honorary & Occupational Titles

King of Lysandus, Head Justice of the Court

Life

5558 ME 5652 ME 94 years old

Circumstances of Death

Overthrown by Erik Ebenwald

Birthplace

Ebenwald, Lysandus

Gender

Male

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Dark

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tan