King Bénardin III
Bénardin Ancelet Rogier Gothian Ar-Tabourdet (*23 July 98 BVK in Port-le-Gouzhac, Kélarian Taengitania †9 September 21 BVK in Grand Sérandour, Kélaria), also known as King or Régin Bénardin III was the only child of Rëmael IV and Trifina-Sibilla de Goudinec. After his father tragically passed away in a fox hunting accident in 87 BVK, he ascended to the throne at the age of 11 with his mother taking over most of the royal duties until Bénardin turned 18. He was proclaimed by the Grand Kélarian Royal Cabinet as "Régin Bénardin III de Kélarie" in 80 BVK.
He joined the Kélarian Colonial Forces at the age of 19 and fought at the rank of Leutenant in the Sanarra Wars against Sanarran insurgents and Lucretian mercenaries. On the 25th August 77 BVK, Bénardin's left shoulder was shattered by a large piece of scabbed metal shrapnel during the Skirmish at Kassamazin, gravely wounding him. He never fully recovered and for the rest of his lifetime never regained full mobility in his left arm. Nevertheless, after the initial shock, he took hold of his rifle and initiated the Kélarian counter-attack, fuelling the morale of his men which at the end brought about Victory. He returned home to the Capital of Kélaria, Grand Sérandour after initial treatment in a Field hospital in Sanarra and was hailed as a war hero. His military career however, due to his injury, was over.
In 73 BVK, he commissioned the large scale reconstruction of Grand Sérandour and the Kélarian mainland's two most important coastal cities and their ports: Sancte-Croismare and Piérinsdâm. Between 73 and 40 BVK, he expanded and consolidated the Railway and banking systems across the Empire. To facilitate trade and travel between the Sea of Kélar and the Green sea, in 57 BVK Bénardin promoted the construction of the Nådimev Canal north of the Leshkara Arid region in South-eastern Lekhisjóða. To reassert Kélarian dominance in Severmarkia, the KSCA was founded on his decree. This functioned as a sectorial administration with appointed governors for each republic, subdivided into counties.
During the first 40 years of Bénardin's reign, Kélaria expanded to a rich and strong Empire which made him highly popular with the bourgeois society. Others, however, were less fond of Bénardin's expansionist and, as it turned out, brutal modus operandi in Kélarian colonies overseas. In Kélari Sanarra for instance, Bénardin tolerated the torture and execution of 28 Sanarran mine workers who had collapsed a mineshaft to prevent inevitable future disasters of greater scale. In Taengitania, his birthplace, Bénardin ordered the starvation of the village of Sordâmes when the villagers refused to comply with raised taxes. As a result, over 2700 people succumbed to famine.
In the Kélarian Royal Imperial Assembly, opposition groups began to gain ground and followers. This would later eventually lead to Bénardin paying less attention to Severmarkia first and foremost.
In 68 BVK, Bénardin married Adénora Eloane Jestin-La Lay, a wealthy noble socialite from Sancte-Croismare whom he got to know on a business expedition there. Adénora thus became Queen, or Réginna of Kélaria and together, they had four children. Two sons and two Daughters. Their eldest son, Cyran Rëmael Ancelet Rogier Ar-Tabourdet, would later ascend to the throne. His younger brother, Arnost, became a high-ranking Officer in the Kélarian military while his two sisters ended up marrying Kélarian noblemen living in the colonies. Most notably, the youngest sister, Anneîs, married Audren Ivonig Lebesque, the future sectorial governor of Lekhisjóða. Anneîs would become good friends with revolutionary Sanna Gavrielna Skôglind, but had to keep this a well-guarded secret from her family and husband.
In 33 BVK, when the Red River Revolution broke out and the four Severmarkish republics signed the treaty of Hârjalinna, Bénardin responded with cold, harsh force to set an example. On the night of the 1st September 33 BVK, the town of Hârjalinna was razed and its inhabitants deported. Those who resisted, executed publicly. Due to growing concerns in his Empire, however, Bénardin had no other choice than to allow Premier Minister Finian de Raîs to grant the new SUFDSR a degree of independence, lest he wanted to risk a civil war at this point of vulnerability, not to mention, the life of his youngest Daughter Anneîs. Moreover, Kélaria's closest Ally, the Duchy of Cantacasonto's new government had announced it would not interfere in Kélarian "colonial squabbles", as Ambassador to Kélaria Bonifazio Agustalis put it.
Bénardin III passed away in 21 BVK due to heart failure in his residence in Grand Sérandour. A large procession was held for his burial, with over 20.000 people attending from all over the Kélarian Empire, even from the four Severmarkish Republics. K. V Åkhrimenko remembered Bénardin as an "unlikeable, yet oddly captivating and respectful fellow".
Current Status
Deceased
Date of Birth
23 July
Date of Death
9th September
Life
98 BVK
21 BVK
77 years old
Birthplace
Port-le-Gouzhac, Kélarian Taengitania
Place of Death
Grand Sérandour, Kélaria
Family
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Greyish-Brown
Height
1.74m
Weight
79kg
Aligned Organization
Comments