Kirk 'the Patriarch'

King Kirk Blakfort (a.k.a. the Patriarch)

Lived: 842 - 911
Ruled: 852 - 911

Overview

Kirk I was the first ruler of the Blakfort Kingdom.
He was a man of Honour, Honesty and Compassion, but most of all, he was Ambitious and Brave.
He was also a Gallant Blademaster, a Skilled Tactician, and an Unyielding Warrior.

He laid the foundational values of the Blakfort dynasty which are Honour and Honesty.

Early Reign

When Kirk became a ruler, he wasn't a king yet. He was crowned as the Lord of Lacager, a similar title of the Kaolite faith and a predecessor to the title of duke. Shortly after his coronation, he was drawn into a war against the Krovian Kingdom. After 5 years of fighting, the war ended with a white peace. Even though Kirk had no stakes in the war, he walked away with proof of his and his army's capabilities at warfare.
In 873, he conquered some of the dukes that reigned to the North and thus added Striflucas and Cirflucas to his domain and renamed them to their current names. Their original name has been long forgotten.

Questions of Faith

Following his conquests, chaotic voices started calling out to him. He interpreted these as divine signs and decided to make a long pilgrimage to Kaolite Shrine of Uteus. It took him almost a year to make the journey and when he returned to his throne in Austium, he found his kingdom at war.
The ruler of the religious Atacodian Kingdom heard about this pilgrimage and declared a holy war against the Lordship of Lacager. Kirk saw that they didn't stand a chance against the Atacodians, so he decided to embrace the Order and reject his "Chaotic" upbringing as this would stop their enemies from forcing the religion on them. As his loyal subjects, his vassals followed his example. The population of the Lordship didn't convert as quickly however. The temples and holy sites of the old religion weren't destroyed, but their construction was forbidden, and the Order started building their churches and temples in every city.
He set out to form his Lordship into a proper kingdom. After establishing Religious laws in accordance with the Tenets, Kirk returned to his militaristic ways. He created the Kingsguard, an elite group of professional soldiers. Its members are chosen from the children of the noble houses, including that of Blakfort. Being a member of this guard is both a privilege and an honour, but a member must be disinherited to join.
Due to the forceful attempts at converting the local population by the Order, a large uprising took place in the year 878 known as the Chaos rebellion of Orilum. Thousands of peasants and mercenaries took up arms and tried to restore the old ways by force. They burned down temples and churches, killed countless priests and guards. The rebels besieged and eventually took Austium, the capital of Lacager and almost killed Kirk himself. He and his Kingsguard fought valiantly for an entire week inside the castle, but they eventually had to flee the city. This event is referred to as the Fall of Austium. Kirk knew that his forces were outnumbered, and even his elite guard (which only had 10 members at that point) didn't stand a chance against the rebels. He made and alliance with the Atacodian Kingdom by marrying his first daughter into their family and asked them for help. The Atacodian king decided to help and sent an army to Blakfort's aid immediately. Even with his help, it took an entire year to drive the rebels back and thwart the rebellion. The final holdout of the rebels was in the mountains south of the Sentinels. They found refuge in the dwarven cities that were still there. The united army of the Order lead by Kirk himself lay siege to these fortified structures and eventually massacred the rebel forces. Legend says that Kirk has personally slain a thousand rebels. Kirk forbade the removal of the rebel corpses from the battlefield to leave them as a reminder for other people. After the final battle was won be the Order, the mountain range was renamed to Kirk's Edge Mountains and the last rebel city to Kirkwall.

The Kingdom needed time to heal, so the next 8 years were spent on repairing the cities and rebuilding the temples. Kirk knew that his family can only stay in power if they grew stronger. In 888, he decided to press the claims of his vassals and conquer some of the lands of the Avadell Kingdom. The war was swift and decisive. Kirk used clever tactics to outmaneuver his opponents.
With his rule strengthened, he decided to improve his court and the Vibrant Court of Austium was created. The newly created court was home to many amenities and services that drawn in and inspired great minds from the neighbouring kingdoms.
In 892, he embarked upon another pilgrimage, but this time he visited the Grand Cathedral of Lagburg. This was seen as proof of his dedication to the Order as the leader of The Hammers of Ostinatos asked him to lease one of the dwarven strongholds to The Hammers as their headquarters. Kirk accepted their offer and The Hammers of Ostinatos soon moved into the Stronghold and began their operations.
In 895, he waged another war against the Avadell Kingdom which was significantly weaker at this point than in their previous conflict. Kirk was victorious, adding Norwich to his domain and stripping the Avadellian king of his title.

End of his Reign

With his age slowly becoming an issue, he arranged some quite beneficial marriages. One of his daughters were matrinially married to the Duke of Brica which meant that her children were of house Blakfort, continuing the family's legacy. This gave the Blakfort Kingdom a reliable ally in the coming centuries.
In the year 900 AU, a new chaotic rebellion started brewing. Called the Sons of Kaos, a group of trained assassins and thugs started harassing traders and peasants, occasionally abducting them and turning them into abominations. As the attacks became more frequent, Kirk hired The Hammers of Ostinatos to combat the uprising, which they did quite efficiently. The threat was believed to be no more, but the Sons of Kaos popped up all over the kingdom.
With the Kaos believers appearing everywhere, Kirk sought a way to strengthen his rule even further. To achieve this, he declared a holy war against the Thurukyan Lord and conquered his territory in the name of the Order in 904. Even though his army was more than adequate for the war, he enlisted the aid of The Hammers to help in the war effort. With their combined forces, the war was easily won in two years. The siege of the Thurukyan capital took one and a half years.
Even in his old age, Kirk remained active. He regularly trained and hunted. On one of his hunts in 905, he managed to fight and kill a stronger demon, which appeared out of a cave. It is believed that the demon was part of an assassination plan against Kirk. The head of the beast was taken back to Austium, where it was displayed.
Following his victory in his last war, Kirk began working on turning his domain into a proper kingdom. Even though he was already as powerful as a king and his subjects referred to him as such, the Order didn't recognize his right to wear a crown. In 910, he finally managed to get an official recognition and thus the Blakfort Kingdom was truly formed. He couldn't enjoy his achievement for long however, as he passed away one year later at the nice age of 69.

Legacy

• Founder of the House of Blakfort
• Converted to the Order
• Allied with the Duke of Brica
• Vibrant Court of Austium
• Kirk's Edge Mountains
• Kirkwall
• Gave a stronghold to the Hammers of Ostinatos

Major Events

• 878 - Chaos Rebellion of Orilum
• 878 - Fall of Austium

Territory Gained

Avadell

Striflucas

Cirflucas

Wolvewich

Conlus

Norwich

Thurukya

Lapidewich

Species

Humans

Ethnicity

Lacrian

Life

842 AU 911 AU

Family

Blakfort Dynasty

Children

• Baraton I
• Ferdinand Blakfort
• Jelena Blakfort
• Alena Blakfort
• Rudolf Blakfort

Founded Settlements

• Kirkwall