Kerplis Elernel

Kerplis Everthorne Elernel is the Caeron of Lardburg and Gidesh of Reyllea under Theios-Essukdal. An arrival from distant lands, he has lead his people to settle in Rathnir. After recovering from his wounds during the Battle of the Ferrymen, Kerplis decided to finally step down as Caeron of Lardburg, and he is currently preparing for the election of the next Caeron.

The Order of the Watchful Eye
Kerplis began playing on a, at the time, small SMP, whose main playable map was known as Rhell. In his very early life, he is known to have taken part in several grand adventures and quests before meeting Lant and founding the fortress/settlement of Lantstein. Out of these, the most well known is the so-called Order of the Watchful Eye, which was an order of knights that defended the far off lands of what would later be known as Carn.

During this time, Kerplis founded the town of Watchton, along with Fort Watch, its castle and headquarters for the knights. The order eventually split off into many warring factions when Kerplis, around 20 years old, went off to explore the Eastern lands. The most notable of these were the People of Watchtown, originally the powerful elite of the Order of the Watch, but over time turned into fearsome highwaymen and bandits. They wouldn't be eradicated until the early reign of Bivoy the Lard, when he at last destroyed their base at Checkpoint Eta, marking the end of the Heroic era.

The Foundation of Lantstein
In the largely desolate Eastern provinces, Kerplis met with an aging hermit who called himself Lant. The old man showed much hospitality to Kerplis, and, together they lived a humble existence for a few weeks, constructing a small base and settling on a sheltered island a short distance off the Eastern continent.

There, Kerplis began construction on a small fortress, which was over time expanded, and grew into a mighty castle, defended from one side by a deep ravine, and from the other by the sea. Around this time, more people started settling on both the Western and Eastern continents, most notably the knight Petrolinek, thought to have come from the deep south, and Darkman, a mysterious figure who lived in the cold northern sea, unexplored by most people.

Together, Kerplis and Lant constructed a system of roads, connecting Lantstein with the rest of the world, with a series of checkpoints which would later be transformed into full scale settlement (an example being checkpoint Beta, which was later transformed into the castle of Ravensrock).

However, the two soon began to have disagreements over how their new lands should be governed. Lant, called a "fucking hippie" by some, believed in syndicalism and a peaceful coexistence, while Kerplis wished for a more rigid structure and wanted to name himself the king of Lantstein. Kerplis, who was angry with Lant, then left, travelling across the roads, back to Watchton.

The Early Carnian Era
When Kerplis arrived in what was once Watchton, he found the once extensive settlement in ruins, parts of it burned down, other parts griefed with tnt, with almost all items of value stolen. He had to fight off the bandits which lived there at the time, a group called The New Order. He took what he could from Watchton, but decided to abandon all efforts to rebuild it, instead covering it with a layer of dirt, forming an artificial hill, on which he began construction of the City of Carn.

The Carn-Lant skirmishes
Kerplis had, for a while, been quite discontent with Lant's loose management of his lands and people. The same could be said for Lant, a believer in syndicalism and communal cooperation, who resented Kerplis's attempts to name himself the autocratic monarch of the Western Lands where Carn stood. Much of this came from a misunderstanding between the two, as Lant believed that Kerplis wished to rule the realm by himself, while Kerplis wished for the establishment of a feudal elective that would allow for a fair, proto-democratic system.

This all escalated when Kerplis, with the support of Lord Peter, crowned himself the Caeron, or king, of Carn, proclaiming himself the rightful ruler of all the world. Lant had had enough. He proclaimed Kerplis to be a usurper and challenged him to: "Speak with your sword instead of your words, puny weakling." This marked the beginning of the first large-scale conflict of Rhell, The Carn-Lant skirmishes (this would, however, still be nothing compared to the war that would come later in the form of the Wars of Lardburgian succession).

The conflict itself was rather short, lasting around a week. During this time, Kerplis and his supporters, lead by Peter, met with Lant and his vassals near the Inn at the Crossroads, where Lant was defeated decisively by Kerplis, mostly due to the superior pvp skills of Peter, who was named a lord of Carn afterwards. Kerplis then chased Lant to Lanstein, where he was able to lock himself in. The siege lasted roughly 4 hours, with the besiegers launching multiple offensives on Lantstein, before eventually breaching one of the walls thanks to the construction of a Haste II beacon nearby. Lant was forced to surrender, accept Kerplis as his rightful liege, and Lantstein itself was sacked, leaving most of the old castle and the entirity of the town surrounding it in ruins. Lant would never recover, and would eventually disappear into obscurity.

The Golden Age of Carn
With plunder from Lantstein and a massive surge in income from trade, Carn entered its golden age. The Carnian Empire, lead by Kerplis, established a full network of roads and minecart tracks around the server, all roads of course leading directly to Carn. With its close proximity to the Northern Mesa, Carn made massive profits off of their terracotta monopoly. Carnian architecture spread around the server, along with religion and wealth, mostly thanks to Kerplis. Eventually, Carn was so dominant in Rhell's economy, that Kerplis established a new currency, the Carn Coin, to replace the diamonds which were used up to this point. The figurative golden age turned into the literal golden age, as many houses in the city were themselves decorated with gold and diamond blocks, their facades of coloured terracotta quite literally outshining all previous builds.

The golden age would however not last forever, and eventually the Great Carn Coin crash happened when Kerplis, who was borrowing massive amounts of diamonds from Peter, went into such massive debt that the Coin became almost worthless overnight. To repay the debts, many of the houses in Carn had to be defaced of gold and diamonds, with large parts of the minecart tracks, and even the formidable Carn city walls, having to be scrapped.

The Rise of Lard
Bivoy the Lard, a relatively new player and vassal to the Carnian Empire, ruled the small keep of Sádlov (Lardburg), which guarded the southern road to Carn itself. He, unlike many others at the time, who were burnt out over the economy crashing, was very active, and began construction of a small town around his castle, under the same name. As Carn continued to plunge deeper and deeper into debt, Bivoy made massive profits from taxing traders coming to the city for trade, and, with his godlike PvP skills, defeated the last major bandit faction on the server. This is often marked as the end of the heroic age, as it marked a shift in the server community from players who were just roleplaying for fun, to a more geopolitics focused community. Kerplis became good friend with Lard, and eventually even moved his residence to the growing Sádlov, which, unlike Carn, was protected by stone walls.

New Lardburg and the Kingdom of Rhodia
Kerplis was allowed to settle on the shores of Reyllea by Ser Centurion, who lead the county of Rhodia alongside Magnentius, in exchange for Kerplis providing support from his sizeable Lardburgian population. He soon carved out a place in the world for his people, founding the city of Lardburg. He joined Centurion in creating the Kingdom of Rhodia when it proclaimed independence from Reyllea, and was then incorporated into Theios-Essukdal.

Archduchy of Reyllea
When StoryStudio became Gidesh of the newly established Archduchy of Reyllea, he named Kerplis as the patriarch because of a need to convert the original Lardburgian population, who still believed in their pagan gods. Kerplis reluctantly accepted the position, being overwhelmed by the amount of power he gained in such a short time. He was also named as Bashar of the 5th legion, which is mostly comprised of Lardburgians.

He continued to expand Lardburg and started talks with the Ecumenical Patriarch to establish a new Lardburgian sect of Theiosism, which would incorporate some of the pagan elements alongside Theiosist doctrine. When Story was killed in an ambush by the Ferrymen, Kerplis suddenly became the new Gidesh of Reyllea.

Kerplis's reign, while not free from controversy, is generally regarded as a revival of Reyllea. Kerplis largely replaced Reyllead identity with Lardburgian identity, putting people of Old Lardburgian descent, such as Count Drakakus, in charge of managing his domain. His move to change the capital of the Archduchy from the largely inactive Roscella was somewhat controversial, but all issues were quickly resolved with the citizens. Kerplis brought in his enlightened, humanist policies, which he began implementing in Old Lardburg, to Reyllea, and finally updated the region with much needed infrastructure.

When ViewedMarquis decided to start raiding Theios-Essukdal after being removed as the Grand Bashar after the defeat in the Battle of the Ferrymen, Kerplis publically denounced her. He continued building up Lardburg and eventually decided to step down as Caeron and start preparing the next elections.

The Ferrymen War
Kerplis participated in the battle of Ferrymen alongside his fellow lardburgian Beat-Come, on the side of the Anti-Bandit league. Donning his old armour from the days of the War of Lardburgian Succession, he charged into the bandits under the command of ViewedMarquis. When two members of a different unit were cornered, Kerplis disobeyed orders and went to attack the bandit attacking them. Already old and weakened, Kerplis could do naught but delay the bandit, giving time for his fellow soldiers to run away. He was severely wounded, almost dying on the battlefield, and lost his netherite armour plating to the Ferrymen bandit, who, upon defeating him, looted him of all his valuables. He was able to escape the battlefield in an almost trance-like state, bleeding profusely from his torn abdomen when he arrived back in the keep of the Anti-Bandit league. There, he went into a panicked state, tearing at his wounds and proclaiming that the battle was lost, and that all is over. When he calmed down, he was escorted back to Lardburg by his compatriot Beat-Come, who also suffered injuries, albeit not as severe. This defeat was one of the only two times when Kerplis lost on the battlefield.

Evaluation and Controversy
It is difficult to evaluate Kerplis's life, mostly because of just how long he has been an active part of first the Lardburgian community, and then eventually Stoneworks itself.

While he may not be known much outside of Theios-Essukdal, Kerplis is without doubt one of the most significant members of Lardburgian culture, and the community that exists around it. Before the Lardburgians migrated to Rathnir, much of their traditions, parts of their way of life, and even history itself, were shaped by Kerplis, either directly or indirectly.

Kerplis was one of the two first Lardburgians, and unlike Lant, who very early stepped back and just, as he said: "Let everything sort of unfold around me.", Kerplis stayed and lead the community all throughout its existence. From the times of Carn when he invited the first prominent Lardburgians, through the turbulent months of the War of Lardburgian succession, and into Rathnir, Kerplis was the most active member of the 80 or so player large Lardburgian community. His name has, however, at times invited controversy.

There are theories that state that Kerplis helped Derius during the War of Lardburgian Succession, framing him as a villain retroactively, but using him as a device to keep the community at the time active. Neither Kerplis nor Derius have ever responded to these accusations, maintaining that they are bitter enemies through and through, but many still belive them to be true. This has, along with some real life controversies around the times of the Order of the Watch, somewhat negatively impacted Kerplis's reputation, especially amongst the more veteran members of Lardburg.

Overall, Kerplis can be seen as a flawed, but well meaning man, that tried running a small and ever-growing community, having to make tough choices along the way, but, eventually always coming out on top. While he has recently stepped down and, after roughly three years, finally begun to retire, many of those who found out about Stoneworks through him, or are just a part of the original Lardburgian community, look upon him fondly.

Relationships
Kerplis married Nickiia Greenstir on the 19th of April, 2021, making her a part of the Elernel Dynasty. Originally just an arranged marriage, the pair soon began having feelings for one another. While Nickiia hasn't moved to Lardburg yet, there are plans for her to do so soon.

Apart from his marriage, Kerplis also has a very close friendship with several of the original nobles of Old Lardburg, notably Drakakus, Beat-Come, Falquarion, and especially his best friend in life, the young, ambitious knight Petrolinek, alongside whom he fought in the War of Lardburgian succession, and whom he adopted as his son. He also had deep respect for the late gidesh and emperor StoryStudio, in honour of whom he built a Cairn after his passing, raising him to the position of Steward to the Eternal Caeron, the highest honour to the Lardburgian people. He also has a good relationship with Pontéos, who he adopted as his son and primary heir.

Past

 * Lord-Mayor of Old Lardburg
 * Lord of Old Carn
 * Lord of the duchy of Lardburg
 * Bashar of the 5th Legion
 * Caeron of the Lardburgian people
 * Head of house Elernel
 * Sahrad of Lardburg
 * Gidesh of Reyllea
 * Patriarch of Reyllea

Present

 * Nadu of Urnu-Arrak
 * Grand Bashar of Theios-Essukdal
 * Royal advisor to the Coenian court
 * Lord-Mayor of the city of Lardburg