Ælwin the Pearl King

Ælwin was a bannerman of Apowidu who was exiled to the uncharted Great Occyan where he discovered islands rich in pearls. Using his newfound wealth he returned to Adonatus where he tried to seize the throne of the Cempa Cyng Ælfric II the Builder.

Upbringing
Ælwin was born in 31 b.Z. as the son of the Bannerman of the Navy, also named Ælwin. As a bannerman he was trained in the arts of warfare as is tradition in Apowidu. Just like his father young Ælwin excelled in the discipline of strategy, which is linked with Wodr, the water god. When he was 16 years old Ælwin took part in his first military expedition, an anti-piracy expedition against some Tongaal pirates. The young leader trapped the ships on a couple of sandbanks and set the ships on fire, relieving Apowidu from Tongaal pirates for the coming years. This feat secured him his father's position of bannerman of the navy and made him quite popular at the court of the Cempa Cyng, Ælfric I the Wise. Only in later years would Ælwin's cunning turn against him.

Ælwin as Bannerman of the Navy
In 4 b.Z. Ælwin's father died and the by now 27 years old Ælwin succeeded him as bannerman of the navy. His first act was to undertook another expedition against Tongaal pirates, which was quite successful. A year later he secured a promotion of another bannerman, Godwine, for the promise that he would repay Ælwin within 3 years. Godwine did not and when the year Zero came Godwine refused to pay back the Bannerman of the Navy. During these three years the two had become bitter rivals and as such Godwine had no intent to repay his colleague. Ælwin was furious and raised a band of warriors to occupy Godwine's estate. Godwine was furious when he saw his personal belongings seized and raised a band of his own. It was then when the Cempa Cyng intervened. The wise Cyng paid of Godwine's debt and paid him some extra for his troubles whereas he granted Ælwin some newly conquered lands in the south to govern. Godwine felt humiliated by his rival being granted lands to rule and petitioned the Cempa Cyng to grant him some lands as well. By now the court of the Cempa Cyng supported Godwine and the petition was accepted. Ælwin resented this settling and became a staunch opponent of the Cempa Cyng.

For fourteen years Ælwin managed his estates with great care and skill, doubling the output of the farms there. His chance for revenge on the Cempa Cyng came when two of the Cyng's advisors started fighting. The advisor of Force Ælfors and the advisor of Strategy Sċearæd had different ideas on where to expand too but Ælwin quickly found out that the underlying reason for the quarrel was the suspicion by Sċearæd that Ælfors had been sleeping with his wife. The quarrel escalated further and Ælwin convinced Power to physically attack Strategy in the Hall of the Cempa Cyng. The court was divided and when the Bannerman of War joined the fighting the Cempa Cyng himself intervened once again. A trial was held, the judges being the Cempa Cyng himself, his eldest son Aelfric, Godwine and the Advisors of Morale and Initiative. Sċearæd then pleaded that Ælfors forced himself upon his wife and made her bed him, Ælfors claimed that his wife came to him and that he had claimed her by the right of conquest. Ælwin, trying to spread discord amongts the Bannermen, testified his servants overheard Sċearæd's wife speaking about committing adultery, effectively proving Ælfors point. When Sċearæd's wife gets questioned however she breaks out in tears and exclaims that she got violated by the Advisor of Power. Her tears were so convincing that most Bannermen chose Sċearæd's side, especially when his wife accused Ælwin of lying. The Cempa Cyng punishes Ælfors for his behaviour and all seemed over until Godwine took his chance to eliminate his rival. He accused Ælwin of lying during his testimony and demands his execution. To Ælwin's dismay all the Bannermen sided with Godwine but Ælfors came to his rescue and pleaded for banishment instead. Ælfric the Wise agrees and gives Ælwin the task to explore the unchartered great Occyan to find Heofon, the mythical land of the Gods where all deceased go to. Equipped with three ships and supplies to last them ten months Ælwin sets sail, but not before enacting his last piece of revenge upon the Cempa Cyng. He convinces the popular youngest son of the Cempa Cyng, Beorthric, to come with him on his expedition. Before the Cyng can stop him Ælwin had set sail, to certain doom or glorious success.

Exile
Since Apowidu did not border the Great Occyan the fleet had to set sail via the Midsea, sailing past Trinsulae and Mideria to reach their starting point. This turned out to be very profitable as many Trinsulaean and Miderian sailors and adventurers joined the expedition. These peoples were known to be great sailors. Some even joined with their own ships and when the fleet reached the Great Occyan it had 15 ships in total. For 5 months straight the fleet sailed to the east without finding any land but in the 6th month they landed upon a group of islands. Ælwin commanded the ships to land on the biggest of the islands and they were greeted by the local population. The locals were small in size and were intimidated by the men of Adonatus, who were at least 2 heads bigger. The adventurers were brought to the palace of the local king and were treated well. An entire year the two different groups took the time to learn about each other, to understand each other's tongue and culture. Ælwin quickly learned to speak the language of the locals, who called themselves the Popia, but more importantly to Ælwin they taught him about the greatest treasure of the island, pearls. Pearls were extremely rare on the island of Adonatus but on the Popia islands they were common, even the poor wore them in great quantities. The wealth these pearls could grant Ælwin on the mainland was immense and as such he came up with a plan. He convinced the young Beorthric that it was best to conquer the islands in the name of Apowidu. As a member of the royal family young Beorthric held great sway amongst the Apowiduz adventurers and in this way Ælwin controlled the warriors from Apowidu. It took the cunning ex-bannerman little effort to convince the Trinsulaean and Miderian adventurers to seize the islands for themselves and within a month the Popia were conquered, their king slain. Officially Beorthric was given control of the islands in the name of Apowidu but Ælwin had different plans. Four years long he hoarded all the treasures he could find on the island and he worked hard to make the Poplos Apowiduz loyal to him instead of the prince. Eventually Beorthric became an adult and he started to notice Ælwin's deviance. The young prince ordered his people to ship the riches of Popia to Apowidu but by now he has lost control and was dethroned. The deposed prince fled to the Popia people and convinced them to rebel against the foreign occupiers, together with a small band of Apowiduz loyalists. Although initially successful the army of Adonatus was to strong for the local population and the rebellion was crushed. Beorthric was beheaded and one of the ships was sent back to Apowidu, manned by the loyalist Poplos Apowiduz and their captain being the bodyless head of Beorthric. The message was to declare war on Apowidu.

The Pearl King
When the ship arrives in Apowidu the country is shocked. In the 5 years the expedition had been gone a lot had happened to the country. Ælfric i the Wise had died and he had been succeeded by his son Ælfric II the Builder. Ælfric II had expanded his realm to the Great Occyan and had created mercantile ties with the Republic of Tabard. So when his little brother arrived bodyless on his shores the Cempa Cyng was shocked. He made preparations for war and asked maritime support from Tabard, which was provided. In the meanwhile Ælwin had proclaimed himself to be the Pearl King and was on his way towards Adonatus to have his revenge on the Cempa Cyng. His goal was to seize the throne of Apowidu. He bought the support of the Napucan king Decaeneus, landing there, and hired Idrealean and Lerani mercenaries. The Pearl Army as it came to be known then invaded Apowidu from the North-East. Ælfric II had prepared himself however and had built a series of fortifications along the Napucan border. Ælwin sieged a fort called Ælfricbeorgh but was surprised by the Apowiduz cavalry led by the Cempa Cyng himself. The Napucan cavalry was caught off-guard and fled. Without cavalry to support his northern supply routes the Pearl King was forced to retreat to Napuca once more. This was a setback but not the end, way worse for Ælwin was the situation on the Great Occyan. A combined Tabardan-Apowiduz fleet had surprised the Pearl-Napucan fleet and destroyed it, cutting Ælwin off from his pearl riches in Popia. Unbeknownst to him the Popia overwhelmed the Pearl garrison left by Ælwin, making him a king without any land. All the Pearl King had left were the pearls he had brought with him to Adonatus. These were depleted quite fast and as such Ælwin decided to negotiate with his enemy. The Pearl Kingdom and all its possessions would join Apowidu and in turn Ælwin would become Co-Cyng to the eastern provinces. Ælfric II promptly refused and moved into Napuca, beating a Napucan army which forced Decaeneus out of the war. The Pearl Army then moved into Apowidu once again but got stuck in a siege once more. The tired Idraleans and Lerani realized their hirer did not have the means to pay them anymore and marched off. Ælfric II recognized this was the nail in Ælwin's coffin and let the mercenaries return home through his territory. Ælwin tried to make a last ditch effort at a battle but when his adventurers stood opposing the Cempa Cyng's army they turned on the Pearl King and assassinated him, offering their surrender. Ælfric seized the surrendering left-overs of the Pearl army and sold them into slavery. Ælwin was treated even more harshly: his body was filled with arrows, only for his head to be put on a spike on the spot his army surrendered. His body then got thrown in an unmarked grave which would be known as Traitors Folly and local folklore tells of the place as haunted. Some say that all those who come there feel the wrath of the Cempa Cyng and get filled with a rage that makes them kill, others say the ghost of ambitious Ælwin haunts the place in an attempt to become the Cempa Cyng once more.