THE
CORONAL
OF
THROMGOLIN
(THE
KYRANIAN
CROWN) |
Thromgolin's Coronal was crafted by Bruder, soon after the founding of the Kingdom of Kyrania in southern Sarvonia. Bruder was the brother of Cyroan Thromgolin, founder and first king of Kyrania. Believed to be blessed by Arvins, God of the Hunt, and considered lucky by the Kyranians, it was named by Bruder in honour of Cyroan and features a stylised set of antlers and an amethyst stone. Legend has it that this was one of the stones that were found by Cyroan. Together with the sengren axe created especially for Sengren "Ren" Thromgolin, it was passed down from king to king and was considered to be an important and integral symbol of the Kyranian king. The Kyranians believed that these two items showed that the Kyranians were protected by Arvins. The crown survived the War of the Chosen and continued to be passed by king to king until the last King of Kyrania, Jalttren Dereswungen. Jalttren died in 806 b.S. in his unsuccessful attack against Elving, the elven capitol of the Zeiphyrian Forest. Thromgolin's Coronal was lost at this time, and hasn't been seen since.
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Appearance.
This piece of headwear was designed for functionality as well as for style. As
the coronal has been lost, the information in this section was garnered by
looking at portraits of previous kings of
Kyrania and
interpreting ancient documents. The crown was made of steel and sits neatly over
the head of the king, curving up over the ears and appears to be typical of the
helmets worn by members of the
Kyranian
military. To further emphasize its nature as an item of protection, it has a
nose guard.
To identify it as more than a helmet, it has an amethyst stone inlaid into the
middle of its front. As with the royal
sengren axe,
the crown's propensity to be used in war led to the amethyst stone to be broken
on more than one occasion. The jewel had to be replaced. For a kingdom that
depended on trading its mineral resources to other kingdoms in exchange for
food, this was an expense that needed to be eliminated. In time, most
Kyranian
monarchs wore the crown on ceremonial occasions only, protecting the jewel.
On top of the crown is a small stylised stag head, reminiscent of the
Kyranian
coat of arms and a reminder that the
Kyranians
believed that they were the favoured of the Lord of Balance. To either side of
the amethyst stone is a flowing script, somewhat akin to the ancient Styrash
runes used at the time of Bruder and Cyron Thromgoli, which, when translated
into modern Tharian, reads "Thromgolin's Coronal".
Usage.
Thromgolin's Coronal was handed down from one king to the next and acted as a
symbol of their authority over the lands of
Kyrania
which traditionally included the Lower Fores, the Steppe of Kruswik, the Ilian
Plateau and the Plains of Truoor in southern
Sarvonia, all land which forms part of today's
Santharian province of Xaramon. The new
king was decided upon through the Kyresk, a set of three tests to determine
which of the current monarch's children were worthy of being named heir and
subsequently king or Thromgolin. These tests included a test of knowledge, a
test of fighting prowess using and a test of hunting, the three skills deemed
important to the
Kyranians.
Different kings wore this crown into battle against elven or human foes such as
the Centoraurian, emphasizing
its suitability as a helmet. After the smashing and repair of the amethyst stone
inlaid in its front, the use of the crown in battle was greatly curtailed by
most kings. Now that Thromgolin's Coronal has been lost, it serves as a reminder
to those who consider themselves to be of
Kyranian
descent of the former greatness of the
Kyranian Kingdom. The coronal also offers hope to these people that their
former kingdom may be restored if they are able to find it again.
History/Origin.
Following the Great Sundering and
the fall of Fá'áv'cál'âr, Cyroan led his
troops and their families to the land that would become the
Kyranian Kingdom: the Lower Fores;
Steppe of Kruswik; Ilian Plateau; and the Plains of Truoor. Cyroan was
pronounced King soon after the establishment of the Kingdom and it was
determined that he should have a crown. Cyroan's brother, Bruder, a blacksmith
by trade made the coronal that became known as Thromgolin's Coronal. Due to his
training as a blacksmith, Bruder made it resemble the helmets worn by the men in
battle.
Cyroan decided on the location of the first independent settlement of the
Kyranians
through the discovery of a gem at the Lower Fores. Tradition has it that Bruder
set this stone in the coronal forged for Cyroan and future kings of
Kyrania.
Amidst great ceremony, the coronal was presented to Cyroan on his coronation,
and this was handed down to the new monarch when the throne changed hands. The
crown, together with the sengren axe created by Sengren 'Ren' Thromgolin became
symbols of the Kyranian Kingdom. In
time both sengren axe and Thromgolin's
Coronal were kept as symbols of the king of
Kyrania
and not used in times of war.
Both axe and coronal survived the
War of the Chosen and continued
to be passed down by monarch to monarch during all the wars and problems faced
by the
Kyranians.
When Jalttren Dereswungen became King of
Kyrania,
following the assassination of Gorm, he declared war against the
elves and wore the coronal and wielded the
sengren into battle against the
elves at Elving
during the time commonly known in Santharia
as the Age of the Blood. During the Battle of Annihilation at the
Zeiphyrian Forests, one of the
opening battles of the First Sarvonian War, Jalttren lost both his life and the
coronal when he attempted to take the elven capitol of Elving. Not long after
the loss of the coronal, the Kyranian
Kingdom ceased to be.
Myth/Lore.
Legend has it that the amethyst used in the creation of the Crown of the
Kyranian
King was the very gem that Cyroan Thromgolin found at today's Lower Fores when
he was deciding on the location of the first independent settlement of the
Kyranians.
One old fellow, who was partaking of some ale in the Red King Inn in Naios,
insisted that this amethyst was the brother of the one that was used in the
pommel of Ren Thromgolin's sengren axe. As both of the original gems used are
lost to time, the truth or otherwise of such a claim is impossible to determine.
Along with the belief that the
Kyranians
were favoured by Arvins, members of the
former Kyranian Kingdom believe
that the crown was blessed by the God of the
Hunt and that as long as the crown remained in their possession, their
kingdom would continue to survive and thrive. In fact, in the death of their
last king, and the loss of Thromgolin's Coronal, the end of the
Kyranian Kingdom came quickly, as
the loss to the elves at Elving was followed
up with
Kyranian
lands being annexed by the
Centaurorians and the
Kyranian
kingdom being no more.
Even today, however, there are some amongst those of
Kyranian
descent who believe that if Thromgolin's Coronal is found again, then the
Kingdom of Kyrania will be restored
to its former glory. Some look for the coronal, but most accept that it doesn't
exist any more. Still there are some 'patriots' who look for the coronal in the
Zeiphyrian Forests surrounding
Elving.
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