Bronzi Niederhaus
| |
| King of Brachyuria | |
| Reign | 21st of April, 1452 - 28th of January, 1504 |
| Coronation | 21st of April, 1452 |
| Predecessor | None |
| Successor | Andraste Roskilde |
| Spouse(s) | Andraste Roskilde |
| Issue | |
| Cedric-Uriah Henry-Gilbert Sodie Helio | |
| Personal details | |
| Full name | |
| Bronzi Maglek Feldriech Niederhaus | |
| House | House of Niederhaus |
| Father | Unknown Possibly a Machtigenic noble named Irynbern Niederhaus |
| Mother | Unknown |
| Born | 7th of April, 1422 |
| Died | January 28, 1504 (Aged 82) |
| Religion Pre-1476 Post-1476: |
Centrist Melivoric Polytheism Crab worship (Royal order) |
Leander Machtigen-born Bronzi Niederhaus (1422 – 28 January 1504) was King of Brachyuria from 21 April 1452 until his death in the early 16th century. He was the first Brachyurian king, founding not only the Brachyurian monarchy, but the Brachyurian nation as a whole. Invading from Leander Machtigen as leader of an army of separatist immigrants, he fought a series of raider orientated conflicts against the local Clovic Empire, eventually conquering all the territory that constitutes modern Brachyuria and establishing the kingdom of Brachyuria as it exists today.
A popular figure in Brachyuria, he was renowned for his commanding style of leadership, both as a King and during his period as a raider. King Bronzi is still regarded, even without taking his place as founder into account, as irrefutably the most influential Brachyurian leader in shaping how Brachyuria is today. His rule lasted 52 years, and by the time of his death, almost every aspect that defines modern Brachyurian culture and belief had been established. Most notably, while bedridden with a recurring fever every few months between 1467 and 1476, he wrote The Glorious Red Ones. The book that Brachyuria has focused it's unnamed religion around, involving the veneration of the entire Crab species and worship of gargantuan immortal Crustacean gods watching the world from the bottom of deep sea trenches.
Bronzi's Kingdom and religion would, technological advances aside, remain relatively unchanged throughout the centuries to follow. His actions in the 15th century, have had some potentially catastrophic effects on modern society, both within Brachyuria and by relation many of the nations that share the world with it.
Contents |
Biography
Early years (1422-1442)
Bronzi was born sometime in the year 1422 in South-West Machtigen, in a small village near to the current Brachyurian border. The names of his parents are lost to history, but it is known they were related in some obscure way to Machtigenic nobles. In 1442, when Bronzi was 20 years old, he left Machtigen as part of a separatist band of raiders, who through unknown circumstances he quickly came to lead.
The conquest of Brachyuria (1442-1452)
Between 1442 and 1452, "Bronzi's Raiders" as they were known, conducted a series of escalating wars against the precursor civilisation of Brachyuria. Using a small camp hidden in the Brachyura forest, he organised and often led countless raids on their cities and towns. Eventually drawing the precursor to form a unified army to combat him.
The battle of Luxorhynchus, situated outside the city of the same name in late 1447, is the largest of the conflicts between these two forces. Bronzi had by this point domesticated the giant terrestrial crabs native to the forests as war mounts. Although outnumbered, the shock of this cavalry was enough to turn the tides in Bronzi's favour, although he did not escape the battle unharmed.
After Luxorhynchus, the resistance to his army was greatly weakened, and the next few years were largely spent defeating much smaller armies than his own. By 1452, all resistance had ceased completely. Bronzi declared his conquered territory was to be known as Brachyuria, and proclaimed himself King of the new Brachyurian monarchy. Holding an extravagant coronation on April 21 that year.
The Brachyurian monarchy (1452-1467)
Choosing to have a Kingdom rather than an empire, was a deliberate decision to distance himself from the imperial lands of Leander Machtigen his army had fled from a decade ago. But it left him with the problem of how to continue on his lineage without the help of neighbouring royalty.
In the end, he found a solution in the northern nation of Archonis-Thay, who's borders by that point had just extended south to meet Brachyuria's. He married a Thayian noblewoman, Andraste Roskilde, and not only ensured his monarchy would continue, but also deterred Machtigen from invading for almost a century, for fear of Archonis-Thay also getting involved.
The glorious red ones (1467-1504)
Main Article: The Glorious Red Ones
Between 1467 and 1476, Bronzi suffered from a terrible recurring illness that left him bed-ridden for months on end. While delirious and fevered, he slowly began penning The Glorious Red Ones, a book consisting of many hundreds of proverbs, relating crabs to how pious Brachyurian citizens should go about their lives. The book made repeated mention of the titular Glorious Red Ones, giant immortal crustacean gods sleeping in deep sea trenches.
After finally recovering for good in 1476, he decreed publicly that the book was to serve as the holy text for his new religion. At first, there was scepticism and even outright rebellion, but this subsided and was forgotten. Bronzi spent the rest of his life converting the conduct of the nation to suit his views. Most notably, he established the Brachyurian navy, having plans for a grand fleet numbering in the thousands. The navy numbered somewhere close to 250 ships by the time of his death.
Death (1504)
In 1504, Bronzi died of natural causes. At his request, he was buried at sea in the naval tradition. After his funeral, the practice was then taken up by almost everyone else in Brachyuria, to the point that many old corpses were dug up by their families and reburied in this fashion.
Children
Bronzi and Andraste had four children together.
- Cedric-Uriah Niederhaus (1472-1547) was the first and oldest son of Bronzi, and thus heir to the throne. In 1493, he married Bienvenida, a noblewoman of Archonis-Thay. They had four children, one of which, Henry-Gilbert II, becomes a heir himself. Cedric-Uriah dies in 1547, beheaded by an unknown assailant whilst attempting to retake the city of Graspus during a war against Leander Machtigen. Bienvenida dies three years prior, when she is hit in the lungs by a stray arrow during an earlier attempt at reclaiming the city.
- Henry-Gilbert Niederhause (1488-1491) was the second oldest of Bronzi's sons. He dies of an undefined sickness at the age of three. His brother, Cedric-Uriah, will name his eldest son after him.
- Sodie Niederhaus (1493-1545) was Bronzi's only daughter, and his third oldest child, being born momentarily before her twin brother Helio. In 1517, she marries Prince Marcus of Archonis-Thay, and becomes a part of that Kingdom's royal line. She dies of natural causes in 1545.
- Helio Niederhaus (1493-1542) is Bronzi's third son, and youngest child by a matter of minutes behind his twin sister Sodie. He Spent most of his adult life in the fledgling Brachyurian army as commander of the royal guard, a large regiment of crab cavalry. In 1524, he married Oddette, a noblewoman from Archonis-Thay. He had no children, and died in a failed attempt by the royal guard to defend Graspus from the invading Machtigenites in 1542.
Public image and Memory
Bronzi is well remembered in Brachyuria, his place as founder of their nation is not likely to ever be forgotten. The image most Brachyurians associate with Brachyuria is a portrait done in 1502, two years before his death. Since this is the key source on what Bronzi looked like, the scar he received during the battle of Luxorhynchus in 1447, visible in the painting, is sometimes inaccurately shown on him in works depicting Bronzi prior to this battle.
The modern day city of Brachyura sits on the site of his initial camp. It was the capital city until 1751, when it was temporarily occupied by Machtigenic invaders and the capital was permanantly shifted to Gerald. Museums in Brachyura around the site of the camp still draw a well sized crowd. Every year on the 21st of April, the anniversary of his coronation is celebrated as a national holiday.
The Bronzi class battlecruiser, the largest ship type in the Brachyurian Navy, is also named in his honour.
Royal Arms
The Coat of arms of the Niederhaus family was adopted after the writing of The Glorious Red Ones. As the Niederhaus' form the vast majority of ruling royal families throughout the history of Brachyuria, it is also used as the coat of arms for the nation itself. The royal arms depict a black shield with gold trimming, bearing a similarly golden crown and an icon of a crab on the shield itself. A golden helm bears a crest in the shape of a conch shell. The supporters to either side are both Mermaids. A mantle resembling coastal rocks and aquatic plants serves as a backdrop to the motto "Glory to the red crustacean gods." Which is the Niederhaus family motto, and subsequently the motto of the Brachyurian nation.
The significance of the crab emblem requires little explanation, "crabs" by now being a byword for Brachyuria in general. The conch has little historic relevance and was likely included for aesthetic reasons and as a reference to the sea in general, it was later that conch was adopted as the name of the Brachyurian currency. The Mermaids, nicknamed "Natalie and Esther" by Brachyurians, are a constant talking point for heraldic scholars. No mention is made of Mermaids in The Glorious Red Ones, and they are not thought to have been included for any religious reasons. However, there is an ancient waterside temple in Gerald, believed to date from before Brachyurian civilisation, which depicts many mermaids throughout it's interior. This building, while still standing today, has no spiritual use for Brachyurians, and it is likely that the mermaids were included as a cultural novelty.
Depictions in Literature and popular culture
In modern depictions, Bronzi is often portrayed as a gentle, fatherly figure to all of Brachyuria. Especially in media works aimed at children. Some recent depictions of him have shown a more accurate, violent side of Bronzi's nature, though none of these have ever touched on the shaky subject of his mental soundness during the period he wrote The Glorious Red Ones. Outside of Brachyuria, Bronzi is not very well known. Most public knowledge of him would be regarding his place in forming the Brachyurian religion, particularly the incriminating details of his mental state during writing.
| Preceded by: | Bronzi Niederhaus | Succeeded by: |
| N/A | King of Brachyuria 21st of April, 1452 - 28th of January, 1504 |
Andraste |
