Alex I of Kaza

Alex Marx was the the Laurisian-born fifth King of Kaza and the first High King of the Kazian Kingdom and leader of the Kazii (Kazian:Dragon Warrior). He had short dark brown hair, a short beard, brown eyes, and was just under 2 meters tall and physically fit. As king, he was the head of state, church, military, law, and economy for the Kazian Kingdom. =Early Years=

Ancestry
Alex was born on November 16, the year 1242 of the Third Age, in Laurisis, part of the Kingdom of Burundia. He was born to Arthur Marx (1222 3A - present) and Analise Petrui (1224 3A - 1250 3A), a peasant farmer couple with aspirations to rise up the social ranks in Laurisis. He has a younger sister, Alvia (1246 3A) - present), who is 4 years his younger and her whereabouts are unknown. The Marx family is a descending family of the Lupo dynasty, the first rulers of Kaza. The Marx family is distantly related to the Nightshade family, and Zoe Nightshade is assumed to be Alex Marx's third cousin.

Childhood
Alex Marx lived in poverty during his younger years. His father, Arthur Marx, a farmer, invested much of his time into practicing engineering a machine to revolutionize the sheep shearing industry, though none of his efforts did anything. His mother, Analise Marx, raised Alex and his sister Alvia nearly entirely on her own due to the fact that their father was too inept to care for the family. When Alex was eight years old, his mother passed away unexpectedly during the night. An investigation did not reveal any unusual cause of death, so it is assumed that Analise Marx died of natural causes. After his mother's death, Alex went to live with his grandfather, while his sister stayed with her father to tend to the home. On his twelfth birthday, Alex was ordered by his grandfather, Aldred, to take up an apprenticeship for a local butcher in order to provide a source of income for the impoverished Marx family. It was at this butcher shop that Alex took an instant liking to cutting and dissecting parts of pigs. Although he found the apprenticeship enjoyable, he had to quit after 3 years due to his master being unable to pay him any longer.

Military Service
Alex joined the army of Laurisis at age 16 and almost immediately after training, the Laurisian Military was dictated to send forces to suppress a revolt in the Lowlands district of Burundia. According to numerous records, Alex and his battalion were amongst the first to enter the scene and begin the defense of the small villages in the Lowlands and provided exceptional support for the distressed natives. The captain of Alex Marx's individual squad claimed that Marx "followed orders dutifully, and led fellow troops into battle with honor, courage, and integrity". On at least one occasion, it was recorded that Alex Marx managed to single-handedly hold back insurgents to give the residents of the villages enough time to evacuate safely. The uprising was quashed with minimal deterrence and, upon returning to Laurisis, Alex Marx received the Laurisian Sterling Service Honor, in remembrance of his actions in battle.

Coronation
Because of the 9th Army of Laurisis' success, they were sent on a reconnaissance mission to the far east. The unit's mission was to locate a potential new city sprouting up, and remove their leader, Artir III, who was claiming to be the descendant of Artir II, from power. The supposed Artir III did not cooperate and the Laurisian soldiers had to use force. A large battle in front of his palace transpired, but Alex's and his comrades' heavy expertise in battle was no match for the skirmishers that Kaza put against them. Artir III was killed in the battle, and there was confusion in the unit as to what they should do about the remains of the city's government. The soldiers' captain, Captain James Litchfeld, however, was not so confused. He pulled out a small parchment from his toolbelt. He read the parchment to everyone in the market square; soldiers and citizens alike. The book was a record of lineage dating back to Artir I of Kaza. It had Artir I, his son, Alaris, his grandson, Alaris II, and his great grandson Artir II. What came next was a surprise. The next few dozens of names were at first just a bunch of words to the soldiers, but as the captain got closer to the end of the list, the names became more familiar. They noticed that some of the names were known citizens of Laurisis, and some were older generations of the Marx family. When Captain Litchfeld read the name of Alex's grandfather, Aldred, his gut sank. Then came his father, Arthur, and then his name; Alex Marx.

The Laurisian Soldiers looked about, then at Alex, and Captain Litchfield stood up and took off his helmet. He proclaimed that Alex was the rightful King of Kaza, and that this reconnaissance mission was really a ploy to install the true heir to the throne, authorized by Lord Arkenon of Laurisis. He then honored Alex Marx on one knee, and this gesture was mimicked by his fellow soldiers and the citizens of Kaza. It is unknown how it was discovered that the Marx family was related to the ancient leaders of Kaza, Lord Arkenon only knew that his wisest advisor approached him with the information and then disappeared three days later.

In 1259 of the Third Age, Alex Marx was crowned the Fifth King of Kaza, and he promised his people that he would give his every breath to return Kaza to its former glory; or die trying. =A New Era=

Immediate Impact
The coronation of Alex I of Kaza sparked a new age of mankind in Asmalur. Since the fall of the Kaza in 1425 of the Second Age, there had been no strong leadership in Arched, and the rule of mankind was determined mostly by the Kingdom of Burundia. Following the era of the new king, however, the Alex I of Kaza and the Kazian Kingdom began to rise to power, and their influence spread past the borders of Arched and into the plains of Burundia, the swamps of Ried, and as far west as the Ruudenfall Mountains.

Reformations
Under King Alex I's leadership, Kaza saw a tremendous reformation of military and economy. A city which had previously been unable to pay their own soldiers was now flourishing. In August, 1261, the Pact of Arched was signed by King Alex I and Edmond I of Ionalei, which formed the Kazian Kingdom. The connection of this bustling ship port drastically improved the economy of the city of Kaza, as trade by sea was made much more possible.

With the booming economy, the newly formed Kazian Kingdom was now able to properly employ and train soldiers. With King Alex I's and General Joseph Cultor's guidance, by the turn of the year 1263, the Armies of the Kazian Kingdom became the largest and arguably the most powerful military force in Asmalur. The mettle of that military was soon tested, as the Kazian Kingdom found itself at war for the first time.

The Thorgen War
After the rise of Belgrim Thduum, the city of Thorgen began to expand, and part of that expansion was encroaching on the nearby city of Karrath, which at the time was supported financially by the Kazian Kingdom. On 9, July, 1263, the city of Karrath was attacked by Thorgen's armies. Word reached the Kazian Kingdom rather quickly, and Alex I led Kazian soldiers to Torrelox to defend the city.

Although Karrath's defense was successful, Alex I was shot in the left arm by an arrow, causing him to retreat from battle to tend to his wounds. He survived the wounds, but they have caused him returning pain to his arm. Alex I never returned to battle during the Thorgen War, however the coalition of human forces was able to defeat a weakened Thorgen army after they lost the support of the Dwarven Empire.

The War of Burundia
In the spring of the year 1268 of the Third Age, the Skyrender Orcs of D'Arok encroached upon Burundia following the decree of King Thomas of Calidyrr that forced all Orcs to be removed from the Kingdom of Burundia. They took control of Mirysk, Regato, and Diligat. Their orcish diseases plagued the land heavily, and any residents of this region were either killed by blade or disease or left the region in time to make it south to Borir.

Following King Thomas' request, Alex I entered the War of Burundia, and decided the first course of action should be to test the strength of the Orc stronghold D'Arok. He prepared a stealth army to attack D'Arok directly, but the mission was a failure, and resulted in Alex I pulling back all troops. Alex I decided then that sending troops to Borir to defend against what was expected to be the next Orcish assault on the cities of men would be the best option. The increased number of troops in Borir did not stop the bloodiest battle of the war, however, which came to be known as the Borir Masscare. Approximately 250 Kazian soldiers were killed in the battle, which is just under 70% of the soldiers which were sent. However, although human casualties were heavy at the battle, the Orcs were heavily decimated by their assault on Borir, and retreated to Regato promptly. Alex I sensed their weakness, and pressured King Thomas to send all of his attacking armies to Regato.

Alex I led the human coalition into Regato, expecting heavily defenses, but found none. As they exited the city, though, the Orcs launched a raid on the traveling armies of men. Their raiding party was weak, though, and easily defeated. The humans marched onward to Mirysk, to launch one final battle that would send the Orcs back to the Drothak'nar mountains. The battle commenced at sunset of the 28th of August, 1269 of the Third Age. The human armies marched upon Mirysk's gate, breaking through and pushing the Orcs back to the Mirysk stronghold.

Battle was intense throughout the night, as the human armies pushed the orcs further and further into the heart of the city. At the late morning of the 29th of August, Alex I killed Vraggnar Bloodsplinter,the brother of the warchief of of the Skyrender Clan. The remaining Orcs surrendered at the center of Mirysk just after noon on the 29th. Skyrender warchief Grak'kresh Boneshatter and his last surviving brother, Gurol Stonesplitter, agreed to Alex I that all Skyrender orcs would depart Asmalur. The Skyrender Clan departed a few days later permanently, thus ending the War of Burundia after just over a year of heavy losses for both orc and mankind.

Marriage and Family
During one of his routine trips in early 1264 to Ionalei to inspect port security, Alex I first encountered his future wife, Adria McArdle. Adria was the proprietor of McArdle Smithy, an Ionaleian based blacksmith owned by the McArdle family. Despite not being in need of provisions, he requested a few blades from McArdle, so he would have an excuse to come back and see her.

Later that year, Alex I invited Adria, a peasant worker, to an exotic dinner at his palace in Kaza. This was the first time that anybody who is not of noble or diplomatic relation in Kaza was seated with royalty in the feasting halls. Although the rest of the guests were skeptical of her presence, the dinner went smoothly and by the end of the night, Adria was being treated as another noble.

Alex and Adria went their separate ways following the evening, but continued to maintain a secret relationship, and eventually, Adria discovered she was pregnant by Marx. When confronted with the news, Alex proposed marriage to Adria, to which she accepted. The two were married under Domus Marx on the 26th of November, 1265 of the Third Age.

The Marx Dynasty
On January 21, 1266 of the Third Age, the King and Queen of Kaza welcomed to Arkadell their first child together, Audric Marx. He is the immediate heir to the throne of Kaza and the Kazian Kingdom. Audric will be learned in the ways of military under General Cultor, so as to step into his honorary role as High Dux of the Kazian Kingdom at age 16.

On June 6, 1271 of the Third Age, a second child was born to the King and Queen; this time a daughter, Alessa Marx. Alessa will have no duties to perform as princess of the Kazian Kingdom but will be educated as a noble and will enter high society in the Kingdom when she is of age.

In 1275 of the Third Age, the royal family were approached by a young girl, Julia O'Herne who claimed to be the cousin of Queen Adria. After lengthy research, it was found that she indeed was Queen Adria's cousin. She was accepted into the royal family upon the revealing of the fact that her immediate family in Mirysk had been killed during the War of Burundia and the occupation of Mirysk by the Skyrender Orcs. However, Julia ended up being excommunicated from the Marx family after being found guilty of adultery and incest.

In July of 1290 of the Third Age, Queen Adria discovered she was pregnant again. The news came as a surprise to the kingdom, due to the age of the patriarchs of the royal family. In December 3, 1290 of the Third Age, another son was born to the Marx family. He was named Artir Marx, after King Artir II. Before Artir Marx turned one, however, he was kidnapped from the castle and has not been seen since.

War on Mistwatch
During the year 1297 of the Third Age, the Marx family heard rumors that their missing son, Prince Artir, has been held by the Elves of Mistwatch since his kidnapping. Acting on impulse, Alex I declared war on Mistwatch, and in the winter of that year, destroyed both the city of Mistwatch and the revered Mistwatch Keep. Prince Artir was not found, and many Elves were slain and buildings destroyed. It heavily damaged relations between the Kazians and Elves; relations that Alex I had long worked toward repairing.

Mistwatch never recovered from this battle, despite many attempts to reinvigorate its economy and repopulate its markets, and by the end of the Third Age, it was a ghost town.

=Silver Peak=

Discovery
Silver Peak, which has been a revered natural monument by Kazians for its religious and historic purposes, had long been a focus of Alex I. When, in the early 1300's of the Third Age, it was said that Silver Peak was dying, Alex sent his court wizard Hermaes Faust to investigate. Faust returned with great knowledge; which was that the disappearance of the magma in Silver Peak's core had revealed a secret entrance with ancient Kazian symbols decorating the edges. Intrigued, Alex I created a personal companionship to delve into Silver Peak and discover what was hidden by his ancestors. The companionship featured the following adventurers:
 * Alex I, King of Kaza and Lord of the Kazii
 * Queen Adria, Kazii
 * Joseph Cultor, Kazian General and Kazii
 * Samuel Ridgewood, Kazian Captain and Kazii
 * Audric Marx, Prince of Kaza and Kazii
 * Hermaes Faust, Court Wizard of Kaza

The Dragonkin Lair
Once inside the ruins, they discovered that it was not simply a burial tomb as was anticipated. It featured many challenges and puzzles, as if it was intended to keep people from advancing further into the mountain. Near the end, after many challenges, the adventurers made it to an imposing door with many ancient Dragonkin runestones imbued to the rock. Faust deactivated the runestones and the door opened.

Inside, they discovered giant dragon skeletons as well as an altar. The air in this cavern chilled the companions to their bone, but they approached the altar anyways. Once upon the altar, they heard a voice speak in an unknown tongue and although the words were unknown to them, the meaning was somehow clear. The voice speaking was Kazrex, the Dragon King, who told them that the dragons were not dead, but very much alive in spirit form in the Dragonkin Lair, were awaiting for their revenge.