Prince's+Residence

=Governor (formerly Mayor, formerly Prince) Oargev ir'Wynarn=

//"I was born to be a king, not a glorified mayor."// ~ Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn, in //The Fading Dream// by Keith Baker (2010).

Prince Oargev is the last member of the Cyran royal family. He was serving as Ambassador to Breland when the Mourning destroyed his family and homeland.

When King Boranel invited all Cyran refugees to settle in Breland, Oargev took upon himself the enormous task of bringing the survivors together, around New Cyre, a town in eastern Breland that two years ago was a stretch of empty grassland in Yedan's Expanse, near the northern Seawall Mountains. Aristocratic and handsome, the prince is also harried and worn by his many responsibilities. Even though he lacks an army, commands few economic resources and was not invited to sign the Treaty of Thronehold, Oargev has a plan.

In the meantime, however, he is beset with reminders that the once-proud Cyran people are now a diaspora of refugees and victims. As 998 YK begins, he has already been confronted with the Slayer of Cyre's Children (a mysterious serial killer that has struck in places hundreds of miles apart), an incursion of Goblinoids threatening his establishment of farming homesteads, and the prospect that someone tried to refine the "dead-gray mist" of the Mourning itself as a tactical weapon. Having to ask for Brelish Army reinforcements was an additional complication, made particularly keen in light of King Boranel's illness and sudden death.


 * UPDATE:** In Therendor 998, Regent Kor ir'Wynarn, brother to the late King Boranel, appointed Prince Oargev as Governor of Yedan's Expanse, a vast but mostly-unpopulated region in the north and east of Breland. All major cities, settlements and fortresses are outside the governor's jurisdiction save for New Cyre, the new provincial capital. In turn, Oargev renounced all claim to the throne of Galifar, the former-Cyran lands that are now Darguun, and swore fealty to the Brelish Crown, and is now to be called "Governor" Oargev. This has caused some consternation among the populace and the greater Cyran diaspora.

The Prince's Residence and Office
The Town Hall of New Cyre is a three-story wood and brick structure, a far cry from the Palace in Metrol. Although there is a ballroom and a room where the prince receives official visitors, he conducts much of his day-to-day business inside a small office lined with books -- his own personal library and tomes recovered from the Mournland.

The Prince's Plan
When the Lhesh Haruuc led the //Ghaal'dar// clans to victory 28-29 years ago, carving out Darguun from southern Cyre, many Humans (and some quantity of Gnomes) found themselves trapped within a new, hostile Goblinoid state. Thousands fled or were killed at that time, but today some 50,000 Humans and 20,000 Gnomes still live inside Darguun. Some are skilled tradesmen and merchants, many are representatives of the Dragonmarked Houses -- Cannith, Vadalis, Orien, Deneith and Sivis -- but most work the farms, mines and factories they once owned, wearing Goblin shackles.

These Humans are overwhelmingly ethnic Cyrans. If they could be freed from Darguun and resettled in northeast Breland, they would instantly more than double the recognized number of Mourning survivors (estimated at a mere 20,000 or so). By the same token, Zilargo seeks the release of all Gnomes from Goblinoid control.

As 998 dawns, some of the tribes (particularly the Bugbear-dominated Marguul clans) have openly stated their desire for ethnic cleansing, to kill all non-Goblinoids as a way of asserting their control. Haruuc opposes this, as such an act would bring down the wrath of his neighbors, waste resources and possibly lead to internal strife or even a resumption of the Last War. However, he realizes that his hand may be forced, and is looking at forced relocation as an alternative.

Starting in late 996, even as the first buildings of New Cyre were going up, Oargev began negotiating with the Zil leadership and King Boranel to pressure the Lhesh Haruuc into releasing all Humans and Gnomes to resettle in Breland and Zilargo. Haruuc, for his part, wants full recognition as sovereign of Darguun, something that was not written into the Treaty of Thronehold. Although the Goblinoids signed the Treaty, the Five Kingdoms merely recognized the Goblinoid tribes as an occupying power. By Treaty and tradition dating to the founding of Galifar, Darguun is still considered part of Cyre...which means Prince Oargev remains the nominal ruler. In practical terms, this means nothing, but for the Lhesh Haruuc, who craves legitimacy, the Prince renouncing his claim to Darguun would be a great symbolic victory.

So it is that Oargev has been actively negotiating with Ka'vanau, Haruuc's ambassador to New Cyre, trying to broker a deal: In exchange for Oargev renouncing his claim to Darguun, and official recognition of Darguun's sovereign status by New Cyre, Breland and Zilargo, the Lhesh Haruuc will kick out all Humans and Gnomes not affiliated with the Dragonmarked Houses or otherwise carrying special status. Zilargo has already begun preparations for housing the refugee Gnomes, but the status of the Darguun Cyrans is not yet settled. Many in Breland would object to 40,000 more Cyran refugees coming to their land, and both Boranel and Oargev know this, so the negotiations have not been made public.

Boranel's illness is a complication the Prince neither expected nor wanted. Another problem is the presence of a force of Goblinoids inside Breland, even though Haruuc vehemently denies he has anything to do with them -- a claim supported by recent activities of the Player Characters. Even so, the average Brelander sees Hobgoblins, thinks Darguun and closes his mind to further explanation.

**Update:**
Lhesh Haruuc has apparently approved the basics of the Prince's Plan. The specifics were sent in a diplomatic pouch to Ambassador Ka'vanau, who in turn sent his deputy and three guards to Wroat via fast caravan and Lightning Rail. All four Hobgoblins were slain before they reached Starilaskur, and the pouch (a leather satchel warded with //arcane lock// and //secret page//) taken. The only clue was a square of four triangles, drawn by the deputy in his own blood. Even as the Brelish Parliament and Regent Kor denounced Haruuc for the Goblinoid incursion into northeast Breland, the Lhesh condemned Breland for allowing such a bold bandit attack on an Orien Trade Route.

Things looked grim for the Plan, and a renewed war seemed likely, when the pouch was recovered from a secret Goblin base in the mountains near New Cyre. Apparently, these rogue Goblinoids were aware of the pouch's contents and used intermediaries to kill the diplomatic mission. Back in New Cyre, a new Hobgoblin courier was sent with the pouch, this time directly to Wroat via //teleport//. This courier was almost slain on a ferryboat in Wroat, by Gnolls and Orcs affiliated with Daask, but she escaped and delivered the Lhesh Haruuc's message to Regent Kor and Parliament.

The death of King Boranel on 3 Olarune threatened to undo these carefully-laid plans, as did the mobilization of the Marguul tribes under the charismatic Matusho that same month. In the end, Haruuc prevailed; the Bugbears backed down from their planned siege of Sterngate and released 250 Cyran slaves (along with more than 100 Zil Gnomes). About 200 of the Cyrans settled in New Cyre, with the rest choosing the High Walls refugee district in Sharn.

Relations between Breland and Darguun have settled, but many clans -- particularly the //Ghaal'dar// Gan'duur clan and the //Dhakaani// Kech Shaarat, and of course the Bugbears -- are said to be planning raids into Breland either through the Marguul Pass or from the Seawall Mountains themselves.

The sudden illness that struck Lhesh Haruuc in Therendor -- very possibly the same ailment that eventually killed King Boranel -- is a complicating factor. Word of Haruuc's illness is a closely-held secret.

Original "Mourning in Khorvaire" material and specific House Rules -- © 2007-2015 Herb Helzer. All Rights Reserved. "Eberron," "Dungeons & Dragons," "d20 system," etc. -- ©1995-2015 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.