WTFBT Expanded: Massacre at Goldspire

In 481 SM, Lord Morvan Osmont had his men assassinate the members of House Thoren and installed House Ashmire as the new Lord Protector of the Summerlands. Lord Bryce Thoren, Lady Popeaila Naidu, and their children Cleophilia, Roland, Symon, and Alice perished. The massacre happened in Goldspire, the capital city of the Summerlands. At the time, Gloriana Thoren was in Maryere, the Mountain Realm, and survived.

This event was the immediate cause of the Single King's War.

Background

Platinum in the Golden Hills

In 425 SM, platinum was found in the Golden Hills in the Summerlands near its capital, Goldspire. When House Thoren realized platinum was just as precious as gold, they began putting platinum in everything. By 445, platinum could be found in almost everything in Goldspire.

Tourney at Amethyst Springs

Lord Keowynn Thoren hosted a tourney at Amethyst Springs in 446 SM, inviting highborn houses from all over the Five Great Lands. Lord Keowynn betrothed his two daughters, Shaminder and Anisha, to Gilander Osmont and Robart Wayward. Keowynn’s youngest daughter, Zareena, was gorgeous, but Lord Keowynn felt she was too young to be betrothed. Morvan Osmont followed the young girl everywhere, begging for her marriage.

On the final day of the tourney, it is documented that Morvan exposed himself to the girl, and Zareena laughed at the “size of his manhood.” Humiliated, Morvan struck the girl in the head with a rock, causing her brain to bleed. She was left in a coma, never awakening, and Morvan was arrested. Lord Teige Osmont did everything he could to release his youngest son, even requesting Lord Emeis Wayward to end the betrothal with his son, to which Lord Emeis agreed. Keowynn finally decided to end the engagement of his daughters and release Morvan. He also banned House Osmont from the Summerlands.

After this incident, Morvan continued antagonizing House Osmont, committing crimes and angering many highborn houses in the Kingdom of Valley Pines. In 462 SM, Lord Teige Osmont planned to banish Morvan. This never happened, however, as Teige died a moon after his plans were revealed.

Gilander, the Happiest Lord Protector

In 463 SM, Gilander became Lord Protector and married Eileen Arch. The following year, when Eileen was five months pregnant, Gilander jumped from the Tower. Many highborns were suspicious of this apparent suicide because Gilander was a happy man. Meanwhile, his brother, Morvan, always seemed jealous of Gilander’s position. Eileen’s brother, Lord Dogan Arch, attempted to keep his sister in power since it was believed that she would have a son. While traveling to Kingment, Lord Dogan Arch and his entire family were murdered by robbers, ending House Arch. Scared for her own life, Eileen disappeared and was never seen again.  

The Crumbling Kingdom

In 464 SM, Morvan Osmont became the Lord Protector of the Kingdom of Valley Pines and married Brivela Rainwood after she was selected in the Highborn Lottery. While Brivela was pregnant with their first child, Morvan traveled the kingdom, attempting to find a new source of income for House Osmont as the gold mines had dried out. Other highborn houses, however, refused to assist Morvan. In 468 SM, Brivela died giving birth to their only daughter, Dimia, forcing Morvan to stay in Kingment. He created the slave trade in Kingment in 470 as a new source of income for the house.

Since the slave trade was seen as taboo, the kingdom did not make money quickly enough for Morvan. Still bitter about what happened at the Tourney at Amethyst Springs and wanting the platinum House Thoren harvested, in 478 SM, Morvan began to attack small towns near the border with the Summerlands.

Nervous about what would happen next, Lord Bryce Thoren contacted Lord Robart Wayward and asked for an alliance and economic pact. Robart was happy to create the coalition. Robart, however, was unaware of the increasing attacks by House Osmont in the Summerlands. Morvan saw this as a break in the pact House Osmont had with House Wayward. In 479 SM, Gloriana Thoren moved from Goldspire to Maryere to become a ward and possible betrothal candidate for Borin Wayward, heir to the title of Lord Protector of the Mountain Realm, who was of similar age. This angered Morvan even more because he wanted Dimia to be betrothed to Borin.

Massacre at Goldspire

Looming Violence

As the attacks increased, Bryce Thoren contacted House Ayers and House Gardener in 480 SM, requesting an alliance. Before either house could respond, Lord Morvan Osmont sent a notice to Bryce, demanding he surrender all the land west of the River Ramesh, including Amethyst Springs. Bryce Thoren refused and sent most of his army to the border to prevent further escalation. Both House Ayers and House Gardener accepted the alliance.

In 481 SM, Morvan invited King Alen Ayers of the Riverlands to create a possible alliance, unaware that Bryce Thoren had already contacted him.

The Night the Sun Died

From servant accounts, a fire started during the evening in the Glass Garden inside the Golden Castle. No culprit came forward, so Lord Bryce and Lady Popealia investigated the matter. When the two entered the Glass Garden, House Osmont soldiers attacked Bryce and Popealia, murdering both. The soldiers then rushed into the castle and told all servants that if they cooperated, they would live. Many servants refused and were murdered.

The soldiers then raided the castle and found the children of House Thoren. It is said that Symon and Cleophilia died in their sleep while Roland and Alice fought back. Alice killed several soldiers, although she was only eight years old. Gloriana Thoren was in Maryere, so her life was spared.

Aftermath

Although Morvan had several reasons to eradicate House Thoren, all for petty reasons, he settled on the fact that House Thoren did not look like Valley People, so they shouldn’t rule the Summerlands. Morvan willfully ignored that House Ayers and House Gardener did not look like Valley People. To further his reasoning, Morvan installed House Ashmire of the Black Hills as the new Lord Protectors of the Summerlands. Although House Ashmire was an outcast, Ekon Ashmire heavily admired House Thoren, so when he came into power, he changed House Ashmire to House Thoren and changed his name to Bryce Thoren to commemorate the slain true House Thoren. This angered Lord Morvan, and he began planning a way to eradicate House Asmire, too.

The Burning of Kingment

King Alen Ayers learned of the slaying while still in Kingment. The King of the Riverlands was paranoid and known to lack self-control. Alen Ayers's wife, Jassi Chetti, was a cousin of Lady Popealia, so the news angered Alen. When he heard the rumors of Morvan's wretched reasoning for the massacre, King Alen believed his family might be next, not knowing the two houses' history. Always traveling with his entire army, Alen planned an internal attack known as the Burning of Kingment.

This was the beginning of the Single King’s War.