Emperor Cerdic Osborn

Emperor Cerdic Osborn (67 VE - ??) was the sixth Emperor of Verenia and the first emperor of the Osborn dynasty. He ascended to the throne following the death of his rival Emperor Jullien Tyce at the end of the visceral Bloodline Wars, fought between the Tyce and Osborn dynasties. Cerdic Osborn was the eldest son of Bayard Osborn and Jocelin Tyce, herself eldest child to Corbinian Tyce, making Cerdic a potential heir of both the Osborn and Tyce dynasties, a heritage that would bring him into conflict with his uncles Emperor Jullien Tyce and Jason Tyce. Emperor Cerdic's reign marked the beginning of a long period of tentative peace, marked by various rebellions from Tycenian loyalists following their defeat. His reign was also marked as the first emperor to leave the throne while alive, due to his retirement in 99 VE following a scandal concerning his knowledge of battle magic, an art forbidden for political administrators. While some debate when Emperor Cerdic's reign actually begun, it seems appropriate to mark it as the year when he first sat on the throne in Linares, that being the year of 92 VE after the Battle of the Arid Path.

Early Life
Cerdic Osborn was born in the year 67 VE to Jocelin Tyce and Bayard Osborn. When he was five years old, Emperor Darian Tyce died and Cerdic's grandfather, Corbinian Tyce, became Emperor. However, at this time it was generally agreed that the throne would be granted to Cerdic's uncles, Jullien and Jason, before him due to the patriarchal laws that passed over his mother, Jocelin, despite her being older than her step-brothers. This was brought up as objection by Jocelin and other detractors, and in 80 VE Emperor Corbinian announces that his line shall pass through Jocelin instead of Jullien, much to the surprise of many of the realm's lords. While Cerdic was only 13 at the time, he and his four other siblings (Thaddeus, Luelle, Barnet, and Bennet) became prepared to fight in the case of resistance from the Tyce dynasty. Thus Cerdic and his eldest brother Thaddeus began their adolescence learning the ways of war and strategy, both becoming fairly distinguished as up and coming warriors for the Osborn dynasty. On his 17th birthday, Cerdic finished 2nd in the Falstaff tournament, being beaten only by his cousin, Esmond Osborn.

The worst predictions came to pass when Emperor Corbinian Tyce dies in the Starlight Palace in 85 VE. According to the guards that found him, Emperor Corbinian had reversed his decree that his line should pass through Jocelin in his last days, meaning Jullien was the true heir. In the rush to the throne, Jullien and Jason beat the Osborns to Linares and Emperor Jullien Tyce was crowned, forcing Jocelin and Cerdic to flee back to Falstaff and gather support for the upcoming conflict. Sure enough, only two years into the reign of Emperor Jullien, an army had begun to march on Falstaff to arrest Jocelin Tyce, meaning war had been declared.

Bloodline Wars
''I'm not going into this right now lol. Important points: almost all of Cerdic's family dies (except Luelle and a few cousins), he marries Luana Neinna to secure an alliance, he becomes close friends with Devereaux and learns magic from him, he defeats Emperor Jullien at the Battle of the Arid Path and becomes Emperor of Verenia after the duel of Weston Lewis and Devereaux (Devereaux wins). Luelle Osborn marries Laurent Neinna, then Laurent Neinna is killed during the war, she remarries with King Vincent Syed.''

Cerdic's Reign
Upon taking the throne, Emperor Cerdic immediately began the cleansing of the court of his enemies. Archon Wallach was arrested shortly after Cerdic's coronation and found guilty for plotting against the former Archon Kain. Wallach was stripped of his position and handed over to the Academies, who imprisoned him in Falor Forest for his crimes. Archon Kain himself was reinstated to his former position, offering himself as a close ally to the new Emperor. Orlando Lewis was also arrested and found guilty of treason, however, his brother's deal with Cerdic bound the Emperor to sparing his life. Instead, Orlando was sentenced as Court Servant, and personal flag bearer to Emperor Cerdic, an example of mercy for the rest of the nobles. Other's were not as lucky, as many lower administrators and members of the Magerum who served under Jullien and resisted the rebellion were thrown into jail or executed, depending on the severity of their crimes. A mass imprisonment of Florusian courtiers who had resided in the Capitol showed the more vengeful side of the new Emperor. Many of the old guard had fled upon hearing news of Jullien's death, including Osmar Florus, who was now the heir of the Florus dynasty. Outside of the Imperial core, many of the noble houses that had joined with the Tyce's were spared and allowed to continue to rule their lands. Due to the strain on the military power of the Empire during the wars, the vassals enjoyed a level of autonomy to deal with internal problems of outlaw and deserter groups that had pillaged the countryside during the wars. The failure to quell some of these roving bands led to the emergence of the Landskirs, a semi-connected network of nomadic outlaws who travel city to city, eventually interacting in peaceful and lawful ways with local residents through trade or labor.

Javion's Defiance
Marquise Florus remains a prisoner under Osborn and Syed control after the Fall of Linares. With Caldwell and Bette still but children, Osmar missing and presumed dead, it is up to the twenty year old Javion Florus to lead the dynasty as their armies return following an Osborn victory. When Osmar ends up dead, Javion suspects Cerdic means to wipe the Florus dynasty off the map and reorganizes the army for defending the region of Ilias, prompting Cerdic to mobilize his own army to quell any sorts of rebellion. Cerdic, Severin, Deveraux, and Marquise travel to the Walled Mountains to confront Javion, they enter the land with relative ease but are stopped by a small army en route and are turned back, the Battle of Auburn Peak is a Florus victory. In response to this unexpected setback, Cerdic meets with Javion and tries to settle things diplomatically, for a month the armies sit in standstill as the leaders meet. Feeling sympathetic, Cerdic refuses to arrest the young lord, but won’t agree to returning Marquise. Finally, the two reach an agreement where Marquise will stay in Linares and be raised under Cerdic’s watch, then he will be released back to Yoros when he turns 17. In return, Javion privately pledges fealty, as do the major lords of Ilias. Javion also requests the arrest of Devereaux for treason against his family, but Devereaux self-exiles instead, also wishing to see peaceful resolution. The event marks the end of immediate hostilities in the Bloodline Wars and is seen as an example of Emperor Cerdic’s merciful nature following the war.