WhiskeyKnight

WhiskeyKnight, also known as Iram the Exile, was Head of House Knight, Count of Hapatmitas, Duke of Hatanimitas, King of Talawa, and Emperor of Uldarash. Additionally he was a Warden of the Order of Aurora, Minister of War for Uldarash, Minister of Commerce for Donsktopt, and Lord Commander of The Western Host.

Origins
Iram the Exile, was born Illyria Iram, a Talawan, in the now-abandoned city of Taranusha, a few years before the Audalian Invasion, whereupon the city was abandoned. In the sacking of the city, his parents fled to East, to the city of Donsktopt. There, they raised him, refugees in a foreign land, often discriminated against and slighted, however still managing to seek out a good life. They even managed to get Illyria their son, a job as an apprentice to the Minister of Production, Tolkr Allvarston. Sadly however, his parents died some 40 years later, both mauled to death by a rogue werewolf terrorizing the country side. During this time Iram took up the teachings of Noxism from a missionary visiting the city at the time, the belief city going well in tandem with his growing hatred of Lycanthropes and other creatures of the night.

Western Flight
Over time, Iram rose to prominence as a powerful merchant in Alteniquia Minor, utilizing his apprenticeship under Tolkr as well as the few connections his family had maintained overseas out West. Recognizing his potential, the King granted him the title of Minister of Commerce, a rank which entailed him overseeing the trade and naval affairs of the state. Eventually however, this would lead to conflict. Iram was under the impression that this position granted him a seat on the governing Council, which he certainly saw as only fitting due to his long standing commitment to the nation as well as prowl in this position. Seemingly, the King agreed with this position, although in a shocking turn of events it was Tolkr who convinced him otherwise, instead stating that his position was under that of Tolkr. Shocked and betrayed, Iram remained furious with Tolkr, as well as the country at large. Tolkr and Iram began disagreeing more and more on all matters, Iram's Noxist believes being a point of contention. This all culminated in the Sack of Donsktop, where after the cities destruction, instead of choosing to flee further in the jungle with the rest of the council, Iram decided to leave behind his foster-nation and head West. Fearing for his life, Iram fled to the one place he believed he would be granted asylum: his family's ancestral homeland of Talawa. Perhaps taking pity on the poor man or perhaps seeing some form of potential in him, King Wilusa allowed Iram to settle in the lands of Talawa, provided he not stoke conflict with his former nation. Even though he now lived in his motherland, the land he and all his ancestors were born to, he still felt like an outsider. To commemorate his history he permanently branded himself "Iram the Exile" as to remind him of his roots.

Empire of Uldarash
Once again, even though he was viewed from the local nobles with mild suspicion due to his foreign upbringing, Iram began to climb the ranks. Although slow at first, his involvement with the down-bringing of Coeur-d'akene and his collecting of their vast sums of loot led to him being granted the town of Hapatmitas to rule over. Incredibly grateful for this, Iram's renewed love for his homeland only deepened in passion. Eventually, his King Wilusa of Talawa, as well as King Dentro of Sanctuary and many other of the Western city states combined together to form the Empire of Uldarash, Hapatmitas being incorporated as a holding directly under the Kingdom of Talawa. During this time period, the East was embroiled in the Turtlonian Wars, and recognizing in opportunity here, Iram founded the Western Host, a mercenary organization dedicated to serving as, what can only be described as a 'labor union' for mercenaries as well as a reliable source of loyal ones whom wouldn't switch sides at the turn of a coin. Dalatra Mosulia of Ardat Mosul hired the Western Host for the 2nd Turtlonian War, and Iram forces, including the famous chef1980, proved invaluable to the conflict. Additionally, the Western Host was hired for the Naverechniyan Civil War, being the only side to declare for Petersburg in the initial stages of the Civil War. Some say this declaration is what won Petersburg their freedom, as initially it looked to be they were facing impossible odds, with both Eschariea and Valdreach initially claiming for the Naverechniyan Government.

Minister of War
Following his military successes abroad, WhiskeyKnight was promoted to Minster of War for the Uldarashi Military. Sadly, as part of the deal for this promotion, he would have to resign direct leadership over the Western Host in order to accept, as this would muddy the neutrality of the Host. Control over the Host was passed onto Twigstwigs (Leafy_Sheep), although he too later resigned, leaving the position still open, and the Host held in a state of limbo. WhiskeyKnight commanded the army in a number of engagements, including the Minedodge Raid, and the Terracotta Wars, the second of which, otherwise known as The Great Western War, proving disastrous for Uldarash. Of course, this disaster was perhaps less so for Iram, as on this day, he was married to wurmbo, an inhabitant of Hapatmitas.

King of Talawa
Despite his failure in the Great Western War to secure in Uldarashi victory, he still maintained his position of prominence. Furthermore, he actually managed to increase this position with Emperor Wilusa, resigning from his position as Emperor mere hours before the end of the war. Although no direct heir for his seat of emperor was chosen, his holdings that being the City of Lukka and the Kingdom of Talawa, were split amongst his heir, namingly the city of Lukka was given to his foster-son Mlg and the Kingdom of Talawa to Iram. Little did he Emperor Wilusa know however, the seat of his former power Lukka, would be given up in the peace deal that would follow, mere hours later. This made Iram not only King of Talawa, but also, if there were any doubt, made Hapatmitas the new seat of power for Talawa, as well as one of the 2 capitals of Uldarash. Although this would in theory make Iram privy to the position of Emperor, he elected to not push the matter, not just for the sake of the realm's stability, but also simply being content with his newfound prestige

Regent Emperor
His patience would prove quite fortuitous, as on November 18th, following a convening of the Council of Lords to vote on matters of government reform, it was unanimously decided to elect Iram as Regent Emperor of Uldarash, as Dentro had taken ill, and a successor was deemed necessary to rule the country in his stead. Upon taking power, the Iram Administration promoted an agenda of pro-Ardat Neutrality, meaning that while the county was solely focused on neutrality and isolationism, it did in fact pledge public support to Ardatian-Yimmu.

Eventually however, his pro-Ardat stance led more-and-more to the abandonment of his neutrality, such as his finalization of Uldarash's joining of the VAWR, as it was aligned to Yimmu-Audal-Ardat. This lead to the Empire pledging support against the Trillium, both in the Ocotlan Crisis as well as the Fall of the VIR. Notably, he did not pledge military support in either instance, rather just the fiancial backing of the vast Uldarashi-Treasury.

Crescent Concordant
Iram's long standing doctrine of "West for the Westerners" would prove to be one of the paramount influences as his time as Regent Emperor, as well as full Emperor. In an effort to express this, Iram and the fellow SpiritKnights worked alongside the Triumvirate of Lumaire to restablish the goal of Uldarash, that being to create a counterbalance to the supposed 'imperialist' powers of the East. They went about this by creating the Crescent Concordant, an alliance of mostly minor nations, that all banded together in the lesser developed 'crescent' of Rathnir. The alliance was designed to be similar to the VAWR, although rather quickly did problems begin to arise. The largest point of contention was with Uldarash's "Vassal Contract" policy, a policy started and carried out uniquely under the Iram Administration. The policy saw, as opposed to the old way of simply pressuring new coming neighbors into joining the empire or simply leaving them alone entirely, instead the establishment of a series of protectorate states, including, at it's height, the nations of Wahar, Aurora, Falnir, Nunaje & Jcon. While all the contract truly entailed was a forced military alliance.

Despite voting records pointing to the contrary, many of the other members of the Concordant, admittedly perhaps reasonably so, feared that Uldarash would use it's protectorate nations as a voting block in the Concordant's voting. Tensions spiked over the matter, resulting in Uldarash, alongside it's vassals leaving the Concordant in December. In doing so, Uldarash took what was officially the Crescent Concordant's territory of 'Guild City', the largest island in Rough Sea and an important strategic position. Hostilities would continue to flare between the remaining members of the Concordant and Uldarash over Guild City, with the issue even persisting past the eventual abdication of the territory by Uldarash to Lumaire (the then defacto 'leader' of the Concordant)

Trillium War and Leadup
In the leadup to the Trillium War, Emperor Iram conducted a series of counterintelligence operations meant to delay the onset of the war. This included the navigation of the Ocotlan Crisis (otherwise known as the Phagosian Forts Crisis), the evasion of the Aezenfjord Crisis and the evasion of the JanetheBane affair, among other incidents. Iram would continue to advise Empress Dalatra and then her predecessors to not bite the various baits the Trillium Alliance put out, citing the significant strategic gap that existed between the two alliance blocks. However, after the eventual death of Dalatra, and the accession of Empress Carpricious to the throne of YA, war with Trillium proved not just inevitable, but undelayable.

The War
Emperor Iram would be a member of the new Empress' War Council, and would heavily finance much of the war with Uldarash's vast wealth of gold and equipment. Leading up to the Battle of Urnu-Arrak, the Emperor would be seen standing alongside the Uldarashi soldiers in digging out trenches around the Coalition's encampment. Then, come the Battle, Iram would lead the Coalition's frontal assault on the Trillium encampment, where he would be faced with a old enemy from his past: Chancellor Uni of Bardonia. Poetically, their duel would be an allegory of the Great Golden War, with after long, protracted fighting, Chancellor Uni claiming victory over the senior Emperor.

Post Trillium
Following the Coalition's defeat in the Trillium War, Uldarash would be heavily wounded, though not to the degree seen with the Audalads and Ardatians. Uldarashi money financed the war, and the war thus nearly bankrupted the Empire. Much of the Post-Trillium era would be reminiscent of the Post-Golden era, with Emperor Iram focusing yet again on consolidating his empire and rebuilding the strength of army. Come the Dandelion Wars, the elderly emperor would refuse to join the Second Coalition, over persisting tensions between Uldarash and the Concordant, which made up a bulk of the Second Coalition. Iram would bring Uldarash back into a 'West for the Westerners' era, pulling back from the global stage, save for an effort to strengthen ties with Sironia and Cobbleworks. Perhaps the greatest gain made in this era would be the reannexation of the Western Mesa and reincorporation of the territory into Uldarash. This was made possible by the collapse of the VAWR, which, because Iram had been named Arbiter, following the Trillium War, he was able to unilaterally grant his empire the territory.

An additional defining feature of this twilight period in Iram's life was a half-hearted effort to liberalize the policies of Uldarash regarding religion. As a Noxist, Iram had always been a religious minority in his own empire, something that did not spell good things for stability and unrest. the Noxist Emperor sought to expand religious freedoms in the Empire, and potentially even choose a new official religion for the Empire. These efforts ultimately went nowhere, as the old age caused the emperor to slowdown and the increasingly unstable politics of the region consumed his time. However, there was one significant effect of Iram's liberalization, that being the backlash it would unleash. For it was in a small yet growing port in Paloro that an Asharu zealot would be convinced of the illegitimacy of Uldarash as the representers of the West. That zealot, was named Loic.

End and Conspiracy
In time Loic would rise as a prevalent threat to both Uldarash and the whole of stability in the West. Loic would be proclaimed Bal by the Asharu Church, a direct challenge to the legitimacy of Emperor Iram and Uldarash as a whole. Iram would do nothing. Next, Loic would reach out to the independent border states of Boulderov and Dolaria, recruiting them to an ever growing alliance meant to challenge Uldarashi authority. Iram would do nothing. Then, he would overthrow the King of Paloro, Keechoo, whom would run to Uldarash begging them to help him regain his throne. Iram would refuse. When Soumere and other members of the Concordant would go to Iram and demand he fight against Loic's supplantation of Keechoo, Iram would refuse and insult the Soumerians. With tensions between the Soumerians at a high, Iram claimed that Soumere just wanted Uldarash to grind its teeth out on Paloro, weakening Uldarash so that they could make their move. As always, Iram would refuse to be baited into a fight. The Concordant, were unhappy with this, but ultimately there was little they could do.

After Loic met with the Uldarashi vassal of Aurora, to discuss his plans of a "New Union of Haven", Iram would demand Loic's summons to court in Sanctuary. Finally, the elderly emperor would meet with the young, ambitious mayor king. It would be a meeting between the Old Guard and the New Guard, and though no one at that time would know it, it would harken in the end of an era. Surprisingly, where some would expect heated arguments and a lengthy condemnation of Loic's actions, witnesses reported the meeting was mostly light in nature. Indeed, the Emperor could be seen laughing at times. This is not to say it wasn't a serious confrontation, as indeed it was, rather that Iram did not greet Loic as a would-be usurper, but instead, what some might say a successor.