Ricard FitzDavenport

''Do you honestly believe that I haven't thought about it? The fact that Erz showed up RIGHT AFTER I said that I'd had enough? Do you think I haven't spent my many (even more now) sleepless nights wondering about what might have happened if I had just held out in Erzoth for another year rather than embark on this kingdom building expedition? Do you seriously expect me to come crawling back with my tail between my legs?!? Do you think it doesn't sting whenever they call me deserter?!? Erz, Galastad, these are conquerers who weren't held down by mistakes. I made a commitment when we founded the Kingdom of Donetski, and I'll be damned if I abandon it now.''  -King Ricard in a private letter to a friend.

His Grace, King Ricard I of House FitzDavenport (alternatively spelled "Rickard") often titled "Ricard the Deserter" is the first leader of the Kingdom of Donetski. Although wise and charismatic, it is often said that he merely reflects the many differing points of view of his council.

House Davenport and House FitzDavenport
House Davenport goes back at least as far as the founding of the Kingdom of Erzoth. Baen Davenport was one of the first tribal chieftains to swear fealty to the dragon Erz and the Davenports became loyal vassals of the kings of Erzoth and wardens of the northwest marches.

House FitzDavenport, a cadet branch of the original dynasty, was founded in 1019 by Marvin Davenport (nicknamed "Fitz"), a younger son of Baen's sister. All of the Davenport lands and incomes were given to the eldest child, as was custom. Marvin had fought bravely and shown himself a prudent general under his uncle. Erz took notice of this and requested that he be given his own lands and incomes.

The two branches of House Davenport eventually came to blows in 1041 when Marvin II was attacked by his Davenport cousin. Marvin waged war in his defense and eventually counterattacked and conquered all of the original Davenport land. Thus the reign shifted to House FitzDavenport by an internal coup.

The FitzDavenports saw their own lands, as well as those of their liege and piers expand rapidly during the 40s, 50s and 60s, however, in 1100, a century after founding the kingdom, Erz went into hibernation, and everything went to shit from there.

Beginnings
Hugo FitzDavenport died in a disastrous landslide in 1143. His son, Edgar, hardly constituted much of a successor to the family, preferring to drink and whore his way around. He did at least have the wherewithal to actually have sex with his own wife. Their first child died in infancy, but a second, named Ricard, was born in 1152. It was only a few years later that he came home with a bastard child, a redheaded half elf girl. His wife never forgave him, and eventually left him. What has become of her has never been confirmed, but Ricard grew up in poverty with his bastard half-sister Gwen.

The FitzDavenports had once been a great house, but 1178 found it’s descendents fallen on extremely hard times. Ricard’s cousin, Raemon, worked as a blacksmith’s apprentice. Rhaella, another cousin, ran a brothel in the slums of Karmine. Gwen was reduced to thievery to earn a little food on the side, and Ricard himself, heir to the dynasty, after dabbling in various apprenticeships and even serving for a brief period as a squire, found himself running a labour camp which manufactured weapons for the kingdom to support himself and his sister.

Career as Labour Camp Overseer
The twenty-three year old Ricard had grown up full of bright and shiny hatred, chafing at his present occupation, which he considered beneath him. Full of piss and vinegar, having spent his young adulthood trying to eek out a living and possibly boning his bastard half sister. Eew gross, right? Well, that’s just the sort of thing you get to do when you’re a King to be.

So, here’s Ricard the Landless, running this shithole of a labour camp with insubordinate workers who make fun of him. Finally one day, after ordering a worker to get back to work at the bellows, the man said that he refused to take orders from a washed up has-been. Ricard, who hadn’t yet put any skill points into Diplomacy, lost his shit and grabbed the man and threw him something like 10 feet into a pile of stones, and that man’s name was “Who gives a shit did you see how far Ricard threw that asshole!!!”

Enraged, the man’s dozen or so friends jumped up and attacked Ricard. The young washed up warpriest of hate simply laughed and laughed. Well, he didn’t just laugh. After he was finished laughing he beat the shit out of all of them. ALL OF THEM!!!

Through ruthlessness and perseverance, Ricard, rather than looking down at his job, turned that labour camp into a model of steel production efficiency. For which he received a special citation.

One day in 1179, Ricard received a letter by raven which informed him that another labour camp had revolted, killed their overseer, and were now rampaging across the northwest with their own produced swords and maces looking to gather support for an all out ass punching! Ricard was advised not to tell his workers, because they might take it into their heads to join the revolt. Instead, Ricard did tell his workers but put an interesting spin on it. “Hey, fellas!”  he said. “Some workers at a camp revolted and are coming this way. LET’S GO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF EM!!!”

When royalist cavalry later showed up to quash the revolt, they failed to locate the rebels. Finding a large scorch mark (about a kilometer in size) where they were supposed to be. Meanwhile, Ricard, Gwen, and the workers were back at their own camp, celebrating a great victory and getting shitpissingly drunk.

When it was discovered that Ricard had personally led and put down this revolt, it was inquired whether he had any requests in exchange for his service to the nation. He asked for an audience with the crown. So, in 1180, he strode into the throne room of King Alaric, bent the knee and laid his request before the King.

Ricard requested a small parcel of land on which he could settle his family, siting the decades of service to the throne rendered by the FitzDavenports and the Davenports before them. King Alaric gave him a look as if to say “Are you fucking serious kid?” and said essentially “Look, kiddo, this country is not what it was when the FitzDavenports were a great house. We’ve all fallen on hard times and I can’t afford to dish out land willy-nilly. If you’re so keen for land, why don’t you go out and found your own damn country.”

“Perhaps I will, Your Grace.”  Responded the young Warpriest, and walked out of the throne room, his cloak billowing behind him…

Assembling the Kingdom
And so Ricard FitzDavenport called together some of the most well known adventurers across the world and founded the Kingdom of Donetski with it's capital at Davensport. After clearing out some troublesome get-in-the-way-ers, the infant kingdom was attacked and almost destroyed by a massive army of undead. Fortunately, King Ricard's valiant companions defeated this scourge and once again peace reigned.

"You've Gotta be F*cking Kidding Me!"
After hearing that the Dragon Erz had re-awakened, King Ricard was shocked and experienced an existensial crisis. If lack of land and resources was what had led him out to found his own country, then what was the point of him perservering?

After spending a long, drunken, sleepless night pondering. King Ricard resolved to continue with the project, but decided that it would be best if he sought out Erz and petitioned her for advice.