Torenth
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In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Torenth is a large kingdom located to the east of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. The lands of Torenth have been ruled for over seven centuries by the House of Furstán, a line of powerful Deryni adepts who have maintained the supremacy of the minority Deryni race within Torenthi society. Torenth and Gwynedd engaged in several military conflicts throughout the early history of the two realms, and Torenth eventually gained supremacy over its neighbor after a successful invasion in 822. However, Gwynedd regained its independence less than a century later, when the human House of Haldane was restored to the Gwyneddan throne. Since the Haldane Restoration, several Kings of Torenth have launched invasions of Gwynedd in support of the Festillic Pretenders, the descendants of the House of Furstán who had temporarily ruled Gwynedd.
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[edit] Geography
The Kingdom of Torenth is one of the largest realms in the Eleven Kingdoms. Although once independent states, the lands of Tolán, Jándrich, Arjenol, Vorna, Lorsöl, Vechta, and Truvorsk all now lie within the borders of Torenth. Much of northern Torenth in bordered by the wild and untamed Norselands, but the northwestern edge of Torenth gives way to the Gulf of Normarch and the Northern Sea. East of Torenth are the distant lands of Érskeburg and West Veskitsa, while the Beldour River forms Torenth's southern border with the Principality of Orsal and Tralia. To the west of Torenth is the Kingdom of Gwynedd, which lies on the far side of the Coamer Mountains and the Rheljan Mountains. Torenth's western border primarily touches three Gwyneddan estates: the Duchy of Corwyn, the Earldom of Eastmarch, and the Earldom of Marley. The capital of Torenth is the city of Beldour, which is located near the junction of the Beldour and Argent Rivers in south-central Torenth.
Despite its long history, there are large, open stretches of Torenth that are still untouched by civilization. Wide deserts, harsh steppes, and steep ranges of mountains sprawl across vast regions of the kingdom, highlighted by occasional reaches of verdant plains and thick forests. The lush, fertile farming lands surrounding the Beldour River in central Torenth produce enough crops to feed the entire realm, and the vast array of wildlife throughout Torenth provides ample game for hunting. The eastern mountains contain generous deposits of ores and precious metals, and the size and location of the kingdom creates a great deal of trade and commerce.
[edit] History
[edit] Early history
The region of Torenth was conquered by the Byzantyun Empire around the beginning of the second century. In 388, the Byzantyun governor, Lord Phourstanos (Furstán), was created Comes Beldouris, or Count of Beldour. The Byzantyun forces withdrew from the area the following century, and Furstán's descendant, Duke Furstán III, embarked on a campaign to conquer the neighboring lands in the early part of the sixth century. His efforts were ultimately successful, and he declared himself King of Torenth on September 27, 545. On January 1, 546, he was formally girded with the sword by Archbishop Eudoxios I, an official recognition of his kingship that became the standard form of coronation throughout the history of Torenth. The Byzantyun forces returned in 566, but the Torenthi army defeated the invaders near Beldour in October of that year. However, King Furstán the Founder was seriously wounded in the battle, and he died a week later from his injuries.
Over the next century, the borders of Torenth slowly expanded to the south and west, occupying much of the fertile lands surrounding the Beldour River. Torenthi forces made excursions into the neighboring Kingdom of Gwynedd in both 648 and 652, crossing into the lands of Haldane. However, the Torenthi forces were forced to withdraw after King István Furstán was slain in personal combat with King Augarin Haldane of Gwynedd on July 18, 652. His death resulted in a Torenthi civil war that lasted for five years, as various factions of the Torenthi royal family struggled for the throne. The throne was finally secured in 657 by King Tamás the Fat, a member of a cadet branch of the royal family known as the House of Furstán Tamasy. His descendants are commonly referred to as the Second House of Furstán.
[edit] Conquest of Gwynedd
Torenth continued to grow over the next century and a half, as the Furstán kings pushed the borders of the realm to the Northern Sea and the Purple March. Border conflicts with Gwynedd became increasingly more common, and Torenth succeeded in gradually eroding the defenses of its western neighbor. In 822, Prince Festil Furstán, the younger son of King Kálmán II, invaded Gwynedd and overthrew King Ifor Haldane, a coup supported by his father's armies. Festil was proclaimed King of Gwynedd, and he swore fealty to his father as Overlord of Torenth. The House of Furstán-Festil ruled Gwynedd for the next eight decades, during which time Gwynedd was a vassal state to Torenth and every King of Gwynedd was required to travel to Beldour and acknowledge the supremacy of the King of Torenth. Gwynedd regained its independence in 904, when the last survivor of the House of Haldane, Prince Cinhil I Haldane, deposed the last Festillic king, Imre I Furstán-Festil, and ascended to the throne of Gwynedd. Imre's cousin, King Nimur I the Great, supported an attempt to retake Gwynedd in 905, but the effort was unsuccessful.
[edit] Festillic invasions
Although Torenth lost control of Gwynedd, King Nimur I the Great succeeded in expanding Torenth's eastern borders by conquering the lands of Arjenol, Vorna, Lorsöl, and Vechta. Despite occasionally being plagued by barbarian raids, Toreth's borders remained secure for the next two centuries, allowing the Torenthi kings to focus much of their attention on Gwynedd. Torenth rarely made any formal move against their western neighbor, but several Torenthi kings supported the ambitions of the Festillic Pretenders, the descendants of the House of Furstán-Festil who still claimed the throne of Gwynedd. In 948, King Arion I provided mercenaries and financial support for an invasion led by Prince Marek I Furstán-Festil, but Marek was defeated by King Uthyr Haldane.
Arion's grandson and successor, King Malachy II, joined the invasion of Prince Imre II Furstán-Festil in 984, leading the Torenthi army into Gwynedd itself. However, King Jasher Haldane defeated the Torenthi forces at the Battle of Grecotha on August 3, and both Malachy and his eldest son, Prince Nimur, were slain in combat. Malachy's second son, King Károly II, died the following week from his wounds, leaving the throne of Torenth to Malachy's third son, King Kyprian II.
Kyprian waited four decades before supporting another invasion of Gwynedd, but he eventually agreed to engage in a joint attack of Gwynedd. In 1025, Torenth attacked Gwynedd with the support of its allies, Sovereign Prince Jolyon II Quinnell of Meara and Prince Marek II Furstán-Festil, the Festillic Pretender. However, the Mearan forces were quickly routed by Prince Cinhil II Haldane's Gwyneddan army, which then turned to meet the combined Torenthi and Festillic forces. The decisive battle occurred when the two armies met at Killingford on June 15, 1025, engaging in three days of bloody carnage that resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides. When the battle finally ended on June 17, the Gwyneddan army emerged victorious, and the Festillic Pretender lay dead with his father and son. Disgraced by the utter defeat of his army, Kyprian led his surviving troops back to Beldour. On July 21, he abdicated the throne in favor of his eldest son, King Arkady II.
Torenth and Gwynedd fought a series of minor border conflicts throughout the remainder of the century, but these incidents never escalated into formal warfare. Though the antagonism and enmity between the two kingdoms remained firmly in place, the Battle of Killingford had taken a serious toll on the armies of both lands and neither Gwynedd nor Torenth had sufficient military strength to seriously threaten the other. When another Festillic Pretender, Duke Hogan Gwernach of Marluk, attempted to claim the throne of Gwynedd in 1105, he received the blessing and approval of King Nimur II, but virtually no troops or military support. Like his ancestors before him, Hogan failed to win the Gwyneddan crown, and he died in personal combat with King Brion Haldane.
Hogan's daughter, Princess Charissa, married the son of King Károly III, Prince Aldred, and both she and her husband were suspected of being responsible for Károly's death in 1110. King Aldred II reigned for only a very brief period, as his cruel despotism inspired his own family to revolt against him. After Aldred had his pregnant wife brutally beaten for his own amusement, Charissa joined with Aldred's uncle, Prince Wencit, to remove him from the throne. Aldred was deposed on April 15, 1110, and Wencit ascended to the throne as King Wenzel II Furstán. While Wencit moved to secure his position on the throne, Charissa spent the next decade plotting her revenge against King Brion Haldane, and eventually succeeded in murdering him in 1120. However, her attempt to claim the throne of Gwynedd was thwarted when she was slain by Brion's son and heir, King Kelson Haldane on November 15, 1120. Upon her death, the Festillic claim to Gwynedd passed to Wencit, and the King of Torenth quickly planned an invasion of Gwynedd to press his claim. Wencit led a Torenthi army into Gwynedd in 1121, but he was defeated and slain by King Kelson in July of that year.
[edit] Recent history
Prior to his final battle with King Kelson, Wencit and Kelson made an agreement by which the victor would gain supremacy over the other's kingdom. Thus, King Kelson Haldane became Overlord of Torenth upon Wencit's death, and the Kingdom of Torenth became a vassal state to Gwynedd, much as Gwynedd had once been a vassal state to Torenth two centuries earlier. The Second House of Furstán became extinct, giving way to the House of Furstán d'Arjenol, which became the Third House of Furstán when Wencit's nephew, Alroy-Arion II, ascended to the throne on January 1, 1122. Alroy-Arion was only twelve years old when he became King of Torenth, so his mother, Princess Morag, and his uncle, Duke Mahael, were appointed as his Regents. Alroy-Arion attained his legal majority on May 12, 1123, but he died less than a month later after falling from his horse while riding. There was much speculation that the accident had been arranged by King Kelson, to prevent Alroy-Arion from ruling as an adult.
Alroy-Arion was succeeded by his younger brother, King Liam-Lajos II. In 1124, the ten-year-old King of Torenth traveled to the Gwyneddan capital of Rhemuth to pay homage to King Kelson Haldane. However, Kelson was preparing to mount a military campaign to put down a rebellion in Meara along Gwynedd's western border, and he sought to ensure that Torenth caused no problems along his eastern border at the same time. Thus, he retained Liam-Lajos and his mother in honorable custody in Rhemuth, unfortunate hostages to guarantee a Torenthi peace. Although Morag was released two years later, Kelson kept Liam-Lajos at his court for the next four years, training the young monarch in the skills he would need to one day stand as an independent king.
When Liam-Lajos attained his legal majority in 1128, Kelson traveled with him to the Torenthi capital of Beldour, both to witness his formal installation as King of Torenth and to accept his homage as Kelson's vassal. However, much as Kelson's own coronation had been interrupted by an assault on his life, Liam-Lajos was attacked at his own ceremony, ambushed by two of his uncles who refused to give up the power they had wielded while Liam-Lajos was a minor. Fortunately for the young king, he was saved by the intervention of both King Kelson and his loyal uncle, Count Mátyás Furstán d'Arjenol. That same day, Kelson formally released Liam-Lajos from his vassalage, declaring the Kingdom of Torenth to be independent and free once more.
In November of 1128, Liam-Lajos was betrothed to Princess Eirian Haldane, the daughter of Prince Nigel Haldane. To further solidify the peace between Torenth and Gwynedd, he also agreed to the engagement of his sister, Princess Stanisha, to Nigel's youngest son, Prince Payne Haldane, with both marriages to take place once the two brides reached their majority. The announcement of the two engagements was well-received in both Torenth and Gwynedd, indicating that the general populace approved of more peaceful relations with Gwynedd.
In 1129, Liam-Lajos' traitorous uncle Teymuraz, who had fled into exile after his failed attempt to murder Liam-Lajos the previous year, issued a proclamation claiming the thrones of both Torenth and Gwynedd for his newborn sons. However, Teymuraz' claims had virtually no legal authority, and his pretensions failed to generate any significant support among either the peerage or the commoners of Torenth.
[edit] Counts and Dukes of Beldour
- HOUSE OF FURSTÁN
- (388 – 409): Furstán I (Phourstanos)
- (409 – 421): Bering
- (421 – 455): Zsigmond
- (455 – 478): Zudar
- (478): Zoltán
- (478 – 502): Furstán II
- (502 – 537): Thüring
- (537 – 545): Furstán III Torenthály
[edit] Kings of Torenth
- HOUSE OF FURSTÁN
- (545 – 566): Furstán (III) "the Founder" Torenthály
- (566 – 567): Arkady I Bleda Furstán
- (567 – 587): Miklós I Mózses Furstán
- (587 – 588): Rurik Toren Furstán
- (588 – 589): Wenzel I Ardric Furstán
- (589 – 612): Kálmán I Gábor Furstán
- (612 – 621): Kyprian I Arkady Furstán
- (621 – 638): Miklós II Pál Furstán
- (638 – 652): István Zsolt Furstán
- (652 – 655): Károly I Kálmán Furstán
- (655 – 657): Lipóld Demagoy Furstán
- HOUSE OF FURSTÁN TAMASY
- (655 – 677): Tamás "the Fat" Termöd Furstán
- (677 – 701): Aldred "the Great" I Arkady Furstán (ruled jointly with his brother)
- (677 – 681): László Vak Furstán (ruled jointly with his brother)
- (701 – 722): Imre I Zsolt Furstán
- (722 – 738): Radislaus Vaksos Furstán
- (738 – 748): Festil Ottó Furstán
- (748 – 808): Mátyás Imre Furstán
- (808 – 822): Kálmán II "the Carollan" Imre Furstán
- (822 – 845): Lajos I Kis Furstán
- (845 – 871): Arpád Imre Furstán
- (871 – 877): Malachy I Mihály Emrich Furstán
- (877 – 891): Imre II Tamás Furstán
- (891 – 917): Nimur I "the Great" Zsigmond Furstán
- (917 – 972): Arion I Mátyás Imre Furstán
- (972 – 984): Malachy II Miklós Mátyás Furstán
- (984): Károly II "Bold Karolus" Káspár Kálmán Furstán
- (984 – 1025): Kyprian II "the Conqueror" Könyves Káspár Kirill Furstán (abdicated)
- (1025 – 1080): Arkady II Arpád Aloys André Furstán
- (1080 – 1106): Nimur II "the Old" Dénes Kyprian Károly Furstán
- (1106 – 1110): Károly III "Young Carolus" Kyprian Konstantin Kirill Furstán
- (1110): Aldred II Andre Nimur Rurik Furstán
- (1110 – 1121): Wenzil II "Wencit" Zsubit Furstán
- HOUSE OF FURSTÁN D'ARJENOL
- (1121 – 1123): Alroy Arion II Arkady Aldred Furstán d'Arjenol
- (1123 – 1130+): Liam Lajos II Lionel László Furstán d'Arjenol
[edit] Sources
- Katherine Kurtz and Robert Reginald, Codex Derynianus, ISBN 0-89370-011-8
- Katherine Kurtz and Robert Reginald, Codex Derynianus (Second Edition), ISBN 1-887424-96-2
- Katherine Kurtz, King Kelson's Bride, ISBN 0-441-00732-5
[edit] See also
- Torenthi Fiefdoms: a list of the duchies and counties of the Kingdom of Torenth
