Alegar I

, or, was the second monarch (692-714 ) of the.

King Algar
Alegar’s father the (clanhead) of the, was a man of ambition and energy. Between 668 and 673, he rebuilt the original Járin of, renaming it  and made it one of the strongest fortifications in northern. With his base secure, Hagined gradually expanded his power by annexation and conquest of neighboring n clans. By 685, Clan Taareskeld controlled the entire. Hagined declared lordship over the entire region and proclaimed the in 686. After almost exterminating one reluctant greatclan, the of, Clan Taareskeld’s wealth and power was enough of a threat that most clans submitted and paid him.

After Hagined’s death in 692, the throne went to Alegar, his eldest son. The early years of Alegar’s reign were troubled by growing unrest. Although most of the Járin nobility were killed during the Conquest, new leaders had arisen. There were numerous disputes and small skirmishes between Ivínian lords and the subjugated Járin. The Járin lords of, , and surreptitiously fomented discord but Rogryn Cysemet, the , openly encouraged disobedience and rebellion.

In 700, Alegar began a liaison with Melkea Akarne, a priestess of the an. This and its sponsored, the , both of which consist entirely of women, had fallen into disfavor with the  and deemed it advisable to leave their traditional base in. Melkea had been sent to Orbáal by her superiors to explore the possibilities of moving to the northlands. She convinced her royal lover to allow the two Agrikan orders to settle in his kingdom. Seeking new allies and wishing to deal with the growing Járin problem, Alegar offered them.

The Járin Rebellion
Alegar sent messages to the four Járin lords demanding that they make personal submission to him at or be declared. He hoped this would cause them to relax their vigilance while giving his actions a semblance of legality. The lords of, , and were given ample time to respond but the message to  was delivered in the dead of winter one week before the ultimatum expired. Whether Rogryn Cysemet intended to make submission, as did the other Járin lords, is unknown and probably immaterial. Bad weather ensured his noncompliance.

forces attacked in early spring of 701, allegedly aided by a traitor who opened the gate. The violent Ivínian attacks during the Conquest paled in comparison to the merciless savagery of the Agrikans. Clan Cysemet was exterminated and Rogryn was tortured to death in a three-day public ceremony.

If Alegar hoped that this butchery would quell the mutinous Járin, he was mistaken. When news of the massacre spread throughout Orbáal, the festering Járin hatred and resentment burst into open rebellion. was captured by rebels and many Ivínian clans were besieged in their holds. Although a few areas were nearly untouched by the rebellion, most regions were in turmoil for two years. Had the Járin been able to unify their sporadic revolts, they might have defeated the outnumbered Ivínians. With disorganized and sometimes incompetent leadership, the rebels were subdued piecemeal. The rebellion ended with the recapture of Lôrkin in 703 after the mysterious decapitation of its Járin overlord, Gweffryn Seylnes.

The Thay raids
The Járin Rebellion temporarily unified the squabbling, divisive Ivínian clans while they fought to suppress a common enemy. Hoping to preserve and extend this unity, Alegar planned a bold raid on the i city of. , off Hârn’s eastern coast, was occupied in 704 and was established as an advance base. The next year, a fleet of some forty ships descended on the unsuspecting Thayans. The Ivínians attacked the walled town but could not breach its defenses. For three days, the northerners rampaged, venting their frustration on the manors and villages nearby. Finally, the Orbáalese retired, carrying off many women and much plunder and pledging to return.

Alegar planned a second expedition in 707, amassing a force of more than 100 ships and 5,000 men from as far away as and. Thay was spared when Alegar’s fleet was scattered and destroyed by a freak storm off. The survivors, regrouping at, found that Bálhafen had also been devastated by the storm. Demoralized, they limped home to Orbáal. Many believe that the storm was the result of intervention by Melderyni mages. The great loss of men and ships quieted Orbáalese enthusiasm for such adventures for a generation and added to the friction between Alegar and his restless greatclans.

Alegar lost his eldest son, Hagined, in the, making his younger son, also named Alegar, the primary claimant to the throne of Orbáal. Alegar I was not overfond of his younger son, once stating that he was “fit for the marriage bed and little else.” Whatever its accuracy, the comment seems unfair, as all but the two most recent of Alegar’s s were arranged by his father as important elements of the royal policies of alliance and annexation.

In 714, Alegar the younger became King.

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