Sadoln
Sadoln, also known as the Tyrant of Sandar, was Sandar's king from 398 - 390 PBD before he was deposed by a bloody revolution. Much of his tyrannical rule was used as ammunition by Lord Bern in his Pamplets of the Mundane, which would lead to the Mundane War.
Early Life #
Sadoln was born in 464 PBD into the royal Sandarian household, which was still reeling from the aftershocks of the Amaranthine Reaping. Sadoln witnessed his family and the royal court struggle to elevate the Sandarian economy after the plague had ended.
The aftershocks of the plague didn't manifest only through the economy however--while Sadoln was the youngest of his brothers, a Witch Rash-infected individual exploded nearby his family's carriage, killing all of his brothers--save one who fell into a coma--and his mother. Only Sadoln and his father survived, making Sadoln the inevitable heir of Sandar.
Warrior Mage of Sandar #
As the years passed, Sandar's economy failed to pick up speed. Sandar conquered its neighboring territories, assimilating their land and resources in an attempt to heal the wounds of the Amaranthine Reaping. Sadoln himself became a mighty warrior mage, learning Nuimancy and wielding it powerfully against his kingdom's enemies.
King of Sandar #
Sadoln's father, King Sildon, perished in 398 PBD and Sadoln would rise to the throne. However, the still-crippled kingdom of Sandar had not effectively recovered from the plague that had transpired not 80 years ago. Sadoln attempted to lift Sandar from its ashes, but opted to focus on the rebuilding of cities, buildings, and artwork instead of providing services and social support for his people. Sadoln quite literally chose to hide the suffering of his people behind lavish monuments and beautiful architecture.
Sadoln did try to funnel money into various aid programs, but much of those resources were squirreled away by corrupt officials--Sadon had little interest in auditing where the funds and materials were going.
The Tyrant of Sandar #
As word of Sadoln's actions--or rather, inaction when it came to providing aid to the Sandarian people--protests began to form and petitions began to flood into the royal palace. Sadoln opted to ignore these criticisms at first, but eventually he snapped and ordered such protestors to be hunted down and executed for "treason".
Mass executions of those branded as dissidents were held in Sandarian city squares. Sadoln soon began to relish the fear his presence brought, and the experience of watching hundreds of men and women killed at his word. Eventually Sadoln started performing many of the mass executions himself, employing cruel methods of slaughter through his nuivan power. Sadoln also sent his Feral Knights across Sandar to "keep the peace"--however, the knights did little in terms of actual peacekeeping. Instead, they raped and pillaged all under the guise of enacting Sadoln's justice against rebels.
Deposition #
In many ways, Sadoln created the very revolution that ended him by continually espousing propaganda that insisted organized rebels existed before any sort of thing had in fact formed. Sadoln's actions and policies invited a violent and sudden revolt that happened almost overnight.
In 390 PBD, an angry mob of Sandarian peasants, aided by several nobles who had also become disillusioned with Sadoln's reign, broke into the palace forcing Sadoln to retreat into the keep. Sadoln publicly addressed the crowd, threatening to unleash his magic, but lost confidence in himself after seeing no fear in the angry, defiant peasants. Sadoln opted to drink himself into a stupor, reasoning that by sunup the peasants, unable to break through the final set of gates, would become bored and simply go home.
The fury of the Sandarian people was grossly underestimated by Sadoln however, and the peasant militia broke through the gates, swarming through the keep's halls until they found the drunken Sadoln and began to beat him violently.
The battered, bloody Sadoln was then dragged into the courtyard of his palace where he was drawn and quartered.