Saint John I

Saint John I
Full name	John Aescby
AKA	King John I
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color and style	Light Brown
Eye color	Blue
Skin color	White
Biographical information
Father	Alric Aescby, Chief of Grinstead
Mother	Aldreda of Grinstead
Date of birth	62BJ
Place of birth	West Grinstead, Nova England
Date of death	0AJ
Place of death	Grinstead Castle
Nationality	Nova English
Allegiance(s)	Nova England
Occupation	First King of Nova England

John Aescby (c. 62BJ – 0AJ), later canonised as Saint John I was the first King of Nova England. Born in 62BJ, he was the middle son of Alric Aescby the Chief of Grinstead. In 48BJ he was the sole survivor of his family’s murder, when oath breaking theigns rebelled against his father. After this incident he was smuggled to the coast and travelled the various islands of the Taylor Bay. During this period John made a name for himself as a keen military tactician and quickly developed a following of supporters. After an eighteen year period John returned to West Grinstead, besieging the city and capturing it within four days. Soon after this he declared his ambition to unite the various Britannic tribes of North East Keltia and combine them into one Kingdom under his rule. This ambition was soon achieved following a series of campaigns that occurred over the next five years. Soon after this John was crowned officially as King of Nova England, taking the name of the mythical homeland that the Britannic tribes are said to have originated from. He then ruled for a further twenty-five years before dying of natural causes at the age of sixty-two.

Flight from Grinstead

In 48BJ John’s father Chief Alric of Grinstead was murdered by a collection of oath-breaking theigns. The exact reasons behind the treachery are unknown but are theorised to be greed related. It is believed that during the early hours of a summer morning the theigns entered the bedchamber of Alric and stabbed both him and his wife to death. Following this they methodically killed all the servants and children of Alric, however unbeknownst to them John had spent the night at an acquaintances. As the oath-breakers set Alric’s hall ablaze, John was warned of the treachery by a Blacksmith who quickly smuggled him out of the settlement. From there he was taken across the water in a merchant ship to a small settlement on what is now known as St John’s Island.

Wandering Years

Following his landing on St John’s Isle, he quickly came under the employ of the local chief who enlisted his services in combating raiding parties from the Warring Islands. Within five years John had gathered enough wealth, men and good standing to make the journey to the Warring Islands and claim his own land.

Upon arriving he found himself surrounded by Britannic and Asiatic tribes locked into a perpetual state of conflict. Taking advantage of this he soon began conquering tribes, one by one using subterfuge and superior shield wall tactics learnt during his education in West Grinstead. After four years John was able to conquer all three of the Warring Islands bringing the population under his control. He planned to utilise these forces to take back his ancestral home but his plans were scuppered when his invasion fleet was badly damaged by severe storms. Retreating back to the Warring Islands, John changed tact and focused on rebuilding his army and commencing a campaign of persistence. This consisted of small raiding parties focusing on disrupting trade and resupply of West Grinstead over a period of five years to weaken the resolve of the Oath Breakers. During this period he also entered into marriage with the daughter of the Chief of St John Isle, bringing the region under his effective control. In 30BJ John gathered a fleet of 50 ships and a war party of 1500 men and made his way to West Grinstead.