Draeg'ar Ral IX
Draeg'ar Ral IX is the former Emperor of the Holy Ralgon State of Valora before the Conquest of Valora by the Imperial Federation. Reigning as Emperor Draeg'ar I & IX, he presided over the losing side of the Ralgon War of Succession, the otherwise inglorious rewards for a very long and illustrious career under his cousin Shiro I of Ralgon, during the twilight years of the Holy Ralgon Empire.
He ultimately ended his reign over Valora's few remnants with the appearance of being politically broken and powerless. However, in recent years his image as a commanding general and a politician during times of extremis has been rehabilitated. This is due to popular realization of the monumental odds he had to overcome just to survive, never mind stay in any political power whatsoever by the time of his final abdication to his grandson, also named Draeg'ar.
Personal History
Ralgonese Period
Through the 1670's, after Shiro I of Ralgon was elected Emperor, Draeg'ar was consistently seen by the country's elite as the heir presumptive, serving as ambassador to important Ralgonese allies such as Jingdao in the late 1670's AN. He continued serving in prestigious posts, building popularity with segments of elite politicians in Drag'os and its environs. It was partly under the foreign ministry leadership under his purview that Ralgon continued to build and maintain ties with its international partners even during periods of national hardship.
During the crises of the 1680's, it was partly through his own military leadership that Ralgon did not lose even more territory than it did, or worse, completely collapse. Even while Ralgon barely clung to the coastline of its own homeland, he proved instrumental in leading efforts to secure Drag'osian success before the Adrestians could extract even further concessions out of their supposed liege-lord in return for their vast naval resources. Were it not for the secret deal Emperor Shiro made with the Adrestian monarchy regarding the throne, it would likely have been Draeg'ar who would have taken the throne as the next undisputed Emperor.
This was not to be the case. While the infant Masamune IV, now styled as Anarion, was enthroned as Emperor by the Adrestian and pro-Adrestian factions per the prior agreement, a very significant faction chose to honor tradition and instead hold a rival election. It was thus that, in the wake of the passing of Shiro I of Ralgon, Draeg'ar IX was quickly selected by the Imperial Senate as Emperor in the initial phases of the Ralgon War of Succession due to his experience, political connections in Drag'os, and willingness to defy the now-very powerful Adrestian branch of the Ralgonese royal family (the Ral family).
Ralgon War of Succession
Challenging the (ostensibly) illegally drafted will of the late Shiro I of Ralgon, Draeg'ar Ral accepted the nomination posthaste, and was crowned Emperor in rivalry to the Adrestian factions in early 1705 AN. However, his forces, already divided due to conflicting loyalties and scattered strong points, were quickly defeated and/or scattered due to the overwhelming might that Adrestian forces brought to bear within a frighteningly short time. It was due to extreme disparities in naval assets that Draeg'arist factions were cut off from each other and quickly destroyed in the opening phases of the resulting civil war.
However, despite the rapidly climbing odds, Draeg'ar instead led a series of brilliant tactical maneuvers that brought the majority of his remaining forces to New Ralgon. Despite these stunning successes, taking Nova Victoria in the act was going to be a doomed effort, so he bided his time. Unfortunately, he would not get another chance, as the pro-Adrestian forces realized the existentially vital strategic importance of the city and fortified it until it became and impregnable coastal fortress, also sporting an impressively large civilian and military population that contributed to its ability to maintain its own forces and infrastructure.
With the Adrestian grip on the coasts beginning to tighten, Draeg'ar instead captured Yixing, making it the capital of the pro-Draeg'ar (or, at this point, pro-Senate) Holy Ralgon Empire, or what little was left of it by the time the new Imperial Federation formed in the wake of its victory on all fronts but continental Cibola, where even then it maintained an overwhelming advantage. In these dark times, from his fortified city-captial of Yixing, the newly minted Emperor rapidly built political ties with the major Valoran factions, few of which were fans of the new government operating with open hostility and with a mind for subjugating them.
Faced with a binary prospect, the Valorans took their chances and allied with Draeg'ar, kicking pro-Adrestian factions out to the coastlines controlled by the Imperial Federation, or to Tar-Palantir, which by this point had a Valoran minority population already living there alongside Ralgonese and Menelmacari residents. A marriage pact was subsequently sealed, and Draeg'ar married a prominent Valoran princess by the name of Kitamura Valorum, and the Holy Ralgon State of Valora was formed in the wake of these events.
Valoran Period
Emperor of Valora
Shortly after forming Valora, a flurry of events occurred in Draeg'ar's favor that led to stabilizing the northern front and securing most of the west coast. Following these were the rapid consolidation of the majority of the Valoran peoples on mainland Cibola under a single leader, a first in their history. Continued pressures of fending off the Imperial Federation's forces on the northern land salient in New Ralgon as well as constant warfare with the undead served as a pressure cooker to force unity in the new nation. These helped secure the Valoran Emperor's reign and stability over the next several years of his reign, despite the fights of epic proportions still to come. Several other events contributed to a perverted sense of stability during this period.
The first was the overextension of the Imperial Federation in the years following the initial war of succession. While they reigned victorious on most fronts and expanded their territory to heights unseen even during Old Ralgon's glory days, their military still had not grown large enough to fight an active war of attrition and effectively patrol their territory. Therefore, the best the Imperials could do was hold a hinterland outside of Nova Victoria and, under the banner of "New Ralgon," continue to enjoy a solid foothold against their smaller, if incredibly persistent, enemy to the south.
The second event was the rapid rise of both Vanic marauding bands as well as the swift outbreak of the undead in the entire region. Nearly collapsing the Valoran state from the inside, instead Draeg'ar yet again pulled off a military miracle in consolidating land forces behind impregnable city-fortresses designed to hold core territories while redirecting those same undead at the unwitting Imperial Federation army, forced to remain in the open and fight the undead hordes head-on, or else lose territory near the few strategically vital ports they held.
The third event was the birth of Draeg'ar's child to his wife. The unexpected heir brought a massive sense of relief to the pro-Draeg'ar Senate at Yixing, and at the same time assured both the Cibolan Valoran and loyalist Ralgonese factions' collective loyalty to a central authority, as tenuous as it was in the face of so many intensive threats. However, this would not erase the extreme stress that Valora was under, to the point where it even featured at the top of the 1707 Scale of Suffering, with the situation improving very little under the next eight years.
Fall of Valora
The very shaky fortunes of the Valoran Emperor would not last forever. Upon the abandonment of Sanama of its Cibolan territory of Sanaman Cibola, a renewed offensive by a much stronger, resurgent Imperial Federation broke through the Valoran front's flanks, in addition to aid from Raspur Pact forces. This, occurring in the peak season for undead hostility towards living humans, broke the Valoran military's ability to keep its already-loose supply chains together. The country splintered once again under the sheer weight of the invasion, and before long Yixing was under siege by Imperial forces, nowhere near as overstretched or underprepared for a land invasion as they were eight years prior.
It was all Draeg'ar could do to stage a breakout to the south with his forces, where the Imperials still could not reach with the undead hordes blocking their route. Thus it came to be that the very thing that broke Draeg'ar's ability to keep his country saved his life, and that of his severely depleted army. Stricken by desertions and other forms of attrition, Draeg'ar fled to Korzan with his family. From this interior fortress, all they could do was appeal to their neighbors to the south (specifically, Mondo) and wait for the inevitable.
In the aftermath of the Conquest of Valora, there was very little left for the Imperial Federation's armed forces to fight for. They had already achieved their full goals of unifying the major populations of Valora under Imperial rule, and drove the rebels out of Yixing and almost all other major population centers in New Ralgon and its surrounding territories. Additionally, the main Valoran forces had either fled or capitulated, with the exception of Ai'wa, which instead negotiated a truce in the final days of the conflict. With these military goals accomplished, the Ralgon Reconquista could finally be billed as complete after 30 years of endless, brutal warfare.
In the interior, the Imperial advance only came to a halt on the northern end of the city of Beg'nor, which is bisected by a major river. South of this river, the Imperial Federation was not keen on expanding deep into sparsely populated territory stuffed with hostile undead and bereft of natural resources. Again, the same undead that brought the Imperials victory stymied their advance to a total, final victory. In this situation, a compromise was struck as Mondo stepped in to help clean up the mess: Valora would be partitioned along the current front lines, and Ai'wa (along with the rest of its jurisdiction) would also be included in the new South Valora.
Emperor Draeg'ar would lose his imperial title, but he would keep his life, his family, and at least a remaining territory, even if barely populated. An agreement was struck in that he would continue to rule as a Prince under the auspices of his new patron, and ceded the Imperial regalia to Anarion. The rogue Senators would stay in South Valora, or they would move to Bomei Island as punishment for rebellion. To Draeg'ar's credit, despite his recent string of major losses, most of the remaining Senators stayed put in Korzan, now the new capital he would spend the remainder of his days in.
Post-Valora
Draeg'ar spent the rest of his days as a political leader with no incidents of note. However, by now he was an old man, at the old age of 85 in 1719 AN. He clearly wasn't his grandfather Nobunag'an IV, and so he felt the effects of age, even if slowly. He did not see himself living past the age of 100, and he wanted to train his son (who he had in his old age) in the art of ruling his inheritance, as small as it was. So, he made plans to prepare to crown his son, abdicate, and remain as Regent until he should expire or his son come of age.
These preparations having been complete over the course of several months, he abdicated in 1720 AN at the age of 86 to his grandson Draeg'ar Ral X, citing old age and flagging health, as well as a desire to spend time with his family and give his heir time to come to the throne early. Secretly, this was also done in a bid to maintain legitimacy in what remained of his branch of the extended Ralgonese royal family. His last years were far from glorious; while Draeg'ar was hailed as a military genius and no military expert doubted his ability to govern in extreme situations, the old man was visibly spent, and had suffered such a harrowing string of defeats that his credibility as a national leader was all but lost in the few remaining people in his jurisdiction.
With the knowledge that his son was in solid hands, with a capable mother guiding them, Draeg'ar spent the remaining years of his life educating his son and training him to rule, and strengthening ties between South Valora and Mondo in preparation to successfully pass the throne on.
