Belirendrick III

Belirendrick III
Status:	Dead
Race:	Human
Gender:	Male
Type:	political

Prince of Zoluren (307-360 AV). Preceeded by Tegistan, succeeded by his nephew Sirolarn.

Family

Born (283 AV) to Princess Mieth.

Married Lady Selan Weyato in 334 AV. Son, Vorclaf, born in 335 AV.

Raised his nephew, Sirolarn, who was the son of his sister, Geraedren. Linthh is called Belirendrick III's uncle, but has no Sorvendig blood - might be brother of Belirendrick's wife.

Reign

Prince Tegistan died of illness in 307 AV, beginning reign of Belirendrick III.

Purchased and renovated DiSilveron Manor, ending the royal practice of progress from the estate of one Zoluren noble to another.

Was killed at DiSilveron Ball in 360 AV by a necromantic poison that stripped him of his favors.

Belirendrick III in The Undying Threat

The rumors of the time when Belirendrick's reign first began indicated that the Prince had his brother-in-law, the nephew's father, killed, in order to ensure Belirendrick's ascension to the throne. Sirolarn's mother, Belirendrick's sister, died in childbirth -- or so they say, at least. In any event, it was essential for Belirendrick to have his brother-in-law killed before Sirolarn's death, else the infant would take the throne. He succeeded, becoming Prince, and when Sirolarn was born, the Prince had the boy taken in. It may well have been these events which led to Sirolarn becoming a Necromancer -- he feigned studies as a Cleric. Eventually he used his necromancy to create a magic poison, which he used to assassinate the Prince, and so for a time, he ruled over Zoluren. Sirolarn, to establish some additional context, is one of the few Necromancers to rule a nation in the modern era -- truly a dangerous fellow there.

Post from DR message boards

11/16/2003 DR-MERIEL And yet... there are books that claim there were shots from the grassy knoll, too :D

There is a lot of RP and history that went on before and after various books were written, either by GM or player; information that NPCs themselves say that never quite makes it into the "official annals". Vorclaf's mother, for instance -- supposedly she died in childbirth bearing Vorclaf's younger brother (who was stillborn). Belirenderick was grief-stricken and never remarried. And Sirolarn being brought up a commoner? Perhaps. But other sources would indicate that you that Belirenderick raised Sirolarn. Sirolarn himself said so at one point. Some sources will say that Sirolarn was actually Belirenderick's brother, or his half-brother, not his nephew. And Belirendrick's father's liaison with an Elvish woman that resulted in Lindryl's line, which has produced the current heir to Zoluren, is rarely spoken about at all and not mentioned in any book (illegitimate children usually get ignored!). But, Lindryl is fortunate that Belirendrick's affection for her (and perhaps her mother, who would have been Belirendrick's "natural" half-sister) was such that he recognized both as family and conferred legitimacy upon them -- which Vorclaf has continued.

That's one of the fun things about having a variety of versions floating around; you never know what is REALLY the truth and gives a good bit of leeway for RP.

One of the best sites for what's happened in the past, rumors and perhaps-fact, are the things players have written on their websites at the time an event ocurred. The Wren's Nest articles are an excellent source. Rayth's discussion of the governments of Elanthia is interesting and from a "what happened during the in-game event" aspect is quite accurate. Books are a good source, of course; but remember like the real world you'll find all sorts of things being written with varying viewpoints and accuracy. And, like the real world, I'd more trust the eyewitness sources over any book. (Of course, there's always the chance that maybe the CIA =did= do it!)

One of the things that startled me when doing a search on Belirenderick regarding his assassination (and remember my NPC was THERE) was seeing a capture of the whole thing at Wren's Nest. There were things I remembered, things I didn't remember and it was very interesting to see it from a player point of view. I'm sure that player would have written a very different book from the one my NPC would have.

So... just relax and enjoy playing. You're never going to prove that you're exactly right and Vorclaf is a murderer; nor is it likely that you'll ever be disproved entirely that you're wrong and he isn't. Just have fun :)

Oh... and remember -- as always, this is my personal point of view.