Conomor the Cursed
King of Dumnonia
"I was born to conquer. Nothing else interests me." - Conomor the Cursed
Conomor the Cursed is one of the most powerful and feared rulers on the island of Ynys. Born in the small kingdom of Dumnonia on the Kernow Peninsula, he has spent the last twenty years expanding his domain to include every small kingdom on his borders and now threatens the larger nations of southern Ynys.
His epithet was given to him early in his career, when his armies overran the neighboring Kingdom of Kerthwyc. The Queen of Kerthwyc cursed him just before her death. Conomor embraced the moniker, and bent it to serve his own legend. He is a smart and ruthless general, and he is focused on expanding Dumnonia as far as he can. He loves war, both its physical and mental aspects. He studies the tactics and strategies of ancient generals, and is known to use any tool or weapon he can get his hands on, including terror and intimidation tactics.
Early Life
Conomor was the only child of Cloten, King of Dumnonia and Elowen Treselegan, Queen of Dumnonia. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father never remarried. Conomor and his father were never close, and the prince was mostly raised by the servants of the royal household.
From a young age, Conomor showed great talent in games of war and strategy. He hated losing, and would require anyone who defeated him to play again and again, until Conomor had learned how to win against that opponent. As he grew older, he threw himself into the study of all things martial, and became a terrifying swordsman and strategist.
When Conomor was sixteen, his father died and he inherited the throne of Dumnonia. The new king took no time to grieve his father, and immediately began to use his new authority to prepare the country for war.
The Conquest of the Kernow Peninsula
During Cloten's reign, the Kernow Peninsula was occupied by five petty kingdoms. The Five Realms of Kernow were small, but had historically united together whenever a threat from outside the peninsula approached. In other times, they usually kept any internal conflicts to skirmishes and border raids, and largely left each other alone. The rulers of the peninsula knew little about the young King of Dumnonia, and were slow to react to his sudden rise to power and unrelenting aggression.
The first of the Kingdoms of Kernow to fall was Kerthwyc, three years after Conomor became King. Most of that time was spent in preparation for war. Conomor's attack and conquest of Kerthwyc was startling swift, and the war lasted only three weeks in total. While the other realms were still reeling with surprise, Conomor invaded the Kingdoms of Trevelyon and Westwald in quick succession. While Trevelyon fell almost as quickly as Kerthwyc, Westwald proved to be a harder battle. The King of Westwald was able to call on allies and support from Creoda to the east, and from Trevoth, the fifth of the Kernow Kingdoms.
Conomor was not deterred by these developments, and threw himself into the ongoing war with gusto. Battle by battle, campaign by campaign, Conomor hammered his enemies until they crumbled. First Trevoth fell, and then Westwald, making Dumnonia the sole kingdom on the peninsula. He has fortified his border with Creoda, and is surely planning his next war already.
The Conquest of Lewyon
While prosecuting the war on the Kernow Peninsula, Conomor also conducted a brief campaign south to the Kingdom of Lewyon on the Ynysow Syllan islands. His mother was originally from Lewyon, and Conomor was a distant relation of the royal family by consequence. More practically, the southern islands are some of the most agriculturally productive in the Ynys Archipelago, and Conomor wanted to secure a new source of food for his armies. Lewyon was not expecting the attack, and Dumnonia's troops quickly overran the Kingdom and captured the royal family. Conomor had most of the Trevyvyain family executed, but spared the king's young niece Tegan Trevyvyain. Instead of killing her, Conomor required her to marry him to solidify his claim to the Lewyon throne. Conomor has allowed Tegan to remain as his representative in south, as long as the food he demands continues to arrive, and the Queen of Dumnonia has never set foot on Ynys in the ten years they have been married.
Relationships
War By Other Means
Conomor is a student of war in many forms, and has not neglected wars fought without the use of physical violence. He has particularly studied the Storyteller's War carried out by the Talespinners of Liria, and has adopted some of their tactics to craft a legend around himself. He has hired bards to travel throughout Ynys telling stories of his conquests, and painting him as an unstoppable force that will inevitably conquer the entire island. It is still to be seen if this strategy will bear fruit, but his reputation as a terrifying warlord is certainly well established.
An Heir for Dumnonia?
Conomor has no children, either with his wife or elsewhere. When asked about who will be the heir to the throne of Dumnonia, he has declared that he does not care who comes after him. After all, he says, I'll be dead. What happens then is not my concern.
Given this, it is unclear who will take the throne if Conomor is to die. The prevailing legal theory is that the crown will pass to Tegan Trevyvyain as his wife, but it is very uncertain if this will be tolerated by Dumnonia's elite.
What an interesting character. I feel kind of sorry for his wife, but I'm glad she has never had to move in with him. He probably should care a little more about his heir, but I guess the most important thing or him is winning.
Thanks! I was trying to portray some with an obsessive focus on a particular subject or goal (a little bit Ahab there) who really didn’t care about the broader issues that matter. As for Tegan; I have plans for her story to turn out better than it has gone so far. ;)