King Eadric
"The tighter he grasps his power, the more it slips away." - Prince Ealdred of Bernicia, in a ciphered letter to his father.
Eadric, son of Eotwulf, King of Deira, is a man who expected everything in life, and is in the process of losing it all. He is called 'the Steadfast' by his supporters, but this is only partially a compliment - he is considered by many to blindly stubborn, inflexible, and incapable of changing his plans regardless of the circumstances or the consequences. He inherited the throne of Deira from his father, who had led a force of Bernician nobles north only forty years ago, overthrowing the Albannach King Dòmhnall. Eotwulf ruled Deira with an iron fist, ruthlessly crushing any sign of rebellion, and his son has followed the same plan. However, this has led to even more unrest and disloyalty, and the recent invasion of Eyjamaður raiders, especially the sack of Dunwych by the notorious Jarl Gunnar Bloodaxe, have left Deira's forces stretched too thin to contain the angry and rebellious Albannach population.
Eadric's response to this has been to clamp down harder, attempting to control the situation with sheer force. He has claimed that the rebels and the raiders are collaborating, and ordered retributive punishment against the population. His son and heir is currently a hostage held by Bloodaxe's raiders, but it is unclear whether Eadric will be able to produce the ransom. Meanwhile, Bloodaxe's forces on the coast are settling in and fortifying, and appear to be planning to stay, despite the best efforts of Eadric's forces.
When Eotwulf died, Queen Mahthildis tried to prevent her son from taking the throne of Deira, alleging that Eadric was not ready to hold the kingdom together. A war over the succession was only averted when Mahthildis was betrayed and Eadric's men were able to sneak into her stronghold and capture the queen. Eadric placed Mahthildis under house arrest in a castle in southern Deira, and she remains there today.
Eadric is a large man, who was once muscular, but has grown fat as he aged. He is about 50 years old, has lost most of his hair, and has a small beard. He is known for being red-faced, especially when upset, and the general expectation in the court is that he is as likely to die of apoplexy as in battle. None hold out hope for a quiet deathbed many years hence. His less ardent supporters have started to slip away, many to family connections in Bernicia. His wife Mathilde had been a calming influence on him, but she disappeared during the sack of Dunwych and her fate is unknown.
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