King Stranton



The first strong king Arnast has seen in nearly two hundred years, Stranton has cut through the political intrigue and bureaucracy which had begun to strangle the court like a hot knife through an overly ambitious nobleman. Within seven years of taking the throne after his somewhat senile father, His Royal Highness had banished or executed the most perniciously troublesome nobles and won the respect of the rest. He further proceeded to whip the somewhat out-of-shape army back into fighting condition. As it turned out, his timing could not have been more fortuitous. His next move, to the surprise of no one, was to announce a military effort to push the northern border of the realm beyond the mountains and out into the tundra where it is widely believed gold can be found simply lying in riverbeds. This was not surprising because northern campaigns are a favorite pastime of royalty in Arnast, as they keep the economy strong, give the nobles something to jockey for position in, and put the more ambitious generals out of reach of the capital. Stranton had further planned to institute a military exchange program wherein the southern kingdoms could send troops and officers for two years of duty on the northern front, giving him both more manpower and allowing him to use the resulting influx of military knowledge to the southern states as a bargaining chip in matters of trade and economy.

What actually happened, according to the rumors circulating after the return of the scouting expeditions, is that most of the villages along the northern border of the kingdom had been burned to the ground and the population slaughtered. This was five years ago, and the kingdom has been fighting a bitter and vicious war against the suddenly unusually-well-organized northern tribes ever since.

Allies
The Silver King often relies on the High Enchanter for various tasks and magical lore, and he allows the Forge Master to lay claim to Cloudhenge and the mountain upon which it rests. Of all the icons, he has the most stable relationship with the Librarian, and occasionally is even able to persuade him to allow an agent into the inner sanctum of the Library in search of a useful book.

Enemies
The Pirate Lord’s penchant for lawlessness and plunder put him particularly at odds with the Silver King, especially in light of the discovery of precious and rare earth metals in the Irinatas. Although neither has managed to triumph definitively over the other in the islands, both have substantial footholds in the region. The Necromancer is seemingly the enemy of all those currently among the living, but his location somewhere in the north makes him a great concern of Stranton’s. The Prince of Shadows, while known for flouting the laws of property and civilization, is not high on the Silver King’s list of serious problems.