Gregor the Pious

Child of Linphonse the Scholar and Tangsy Olothur. Parent of of Theodora the Trident. Husband of Marliss the Silent. A believer and a warmonger, his reign was characterized by expensive military expansion and complete divestment of all social and cultural rules to The Church's Priest of the Most High, who greatly expanded church slavery.

Early Life

Gregor the Pious suffered from a childhood climbing accident that left him with chronic pain. He sought to soothe this pain through dedication to the church.

Religious Confirmation and Prophesy

In the rituals preceding Gregor's confirmation ceremony a prophetic slave named Ester prophesied that he would be the Last King. For some interpretations of this prophecy, this ended up being true. The danger presented by this prophecy drove Gregor to be willing to take on drastic action to save the kingdom. In this regard he turned even more heavily towards the church, saying "Through the Gods all things are possible." This approach is part of what made the church such a key pillar of his riegn.

He also leaned heavily on the support provided by his confirmation sponsor, his brother Stormdier. Stormdier's martial tendencies helped define the other key pillar of Gregor's reign, military conquest.

Perhaps unconsciously Gregor's frustration with the prophecy of the slave also led to the deepening and entrenchment of slavery in Andorith during this time.

Relationship with his Parents

As far as his parents, Tangsy was supportive and sought to educate him to be crafty and as critical as possible. His father, Linphonse, thought he was a ninkompoop on account of how much he left in the church's hands. Gregor's blind faith and strict adherence to religious dogma was at odds with his father's more educated and open-minded interpretations of scripture and the intentions of church leaders. Linsphonse also liked to party more than Gregor.

Love of His Life

Gregor was introduced to Marliss by Rokudes at a church festival. They began pen-pal relationships. Their long-distance friendship started as an intellectual one, but gradually evolved into romantic intensity. Their second in-person meeting took place two years after their first introduction due to Marliss' work at the Church's headquarters in Quarina. Marliss proposed at this reunion, and Gregor accepted three weeks later.

As much as his marriage to Marliss was an arranged affair by those whose sole desire was to gain more power over the king, Gregor did truly care and love his partner until the day he died. Even though most of their early relationship was long distance, it blossomed into a devoted partnership.

Legacy

Many people have differing opinions on how successful Gregor's reign was, usually dictated on what their views on society are. However, what we can say this that Gregor expanded Andorith's influence though the expansion of military campaigns and embrace of the Church for all societal and cultural rules, which resulted in a expansion of slavery sponsored by the church.

Gregor was a key player in the creation of the Wyirde. After a tense bought of negotiation session, he used his power to take land away from Bastaphol, the immortal dragon of Andorith.

In his final years, after the love of his life, Marliss, retreated to monasticism, he tried to spend more time with his daughter, Theodora. However, he was often busy stabilizing the conquests from his early reign. (Some scholars argue that this lack of guidance for Theodora lead to the ultimate fall of the monarchy). Unfortunately, Gregor died before she took the throne.