In a world of dragons, there is an order of wizards called the Shuzirons that have existed for longer than many can remember. They protect the Elder Swords, which when combined give the user unimaginable power, but not many dragons know that. They do know that the Shuzirons use their abilities to keep the peace in Anthradraca and act as diplomats. When diplomacy fails, the orchestrate and fight in Anthradraca's wars, striving to ensure the war is as short as possible and purely defensive. The Shuzirons are led by the Riphalaron, a dragon whose magical power is inherently greater than that of other dragons and whose calling is to commune directly with the Ristlaron, creator of the universe, writer of all history and plotter of all decisions. All is as the Ristlaron wills it. What he writes, it was so, or is so, or will be so. The current Riphalaron is an old Anthradracan named Pryzodor, who keeps the Knalga in which he records history and expounds upon the will and nature of the Ristlaron. Pryzodor is no political leader. In Shuziron matters, Dantharid the emperor defers to him, and in political matters he defers to Dantharid. Dantharid is a Shuziron and a proficient one, and one day he takes his two sons, Knizor and Phyandarst, to be initiated and have their azulors awakened, so they can perform magic. Knizor is the eldest and next in line for the throne. Phyandarst is the younger and thirsty for knowledge. To unlock one's azulor, the candidate must enter a room, where they are transported to the parallel world of Azulorn, where the rare metal azulorum is found. A forged object of azulorum will call to the candidate, who will bring it back into the physical realm. The object will bond with its finder and endure for three generations before returning to Azulorn. (The Elder Swords are Azulornian artifacts that endure forever and cannot be returned to Azulorn.) Phyandarst goes in to take his test and sees an alternate vision where he succeeds Pryzodor as Riphalaron. His Azulornian self gives him his azulorum helm, which is identical to his father's golden one, leading Phyandarst to believe he will either be Riphalaron, emperor, or both. Knizor takes his test but is unable to find any object made of azulorum. Pryzodor follows him into Azulorn and escorts him back to the physical realm, explaining that this is a sign that he will be the next Riphalaron and his azulor must awaken with a physical experience, not the test of awakening. Several decades later, Phyandarst has become a proficient wizard, while Knizor can only use implements enchanted to do magic, and not perform magic himself. Pryzodor summons Knizor on his deathbed and tells him he will become the Riphalaron when Pryzodor dies, and will be able to hear the voice of the Ristlaron in time shortly afterward. Accepting the responsibility despite not having his azulor awakened, Knizor takes Pryzodor's place. Two decades later, Dantharid dies and bequeaths the throne to Knizor. Now jealous that he is neither emperor nor Riphalaron, Phyandarst seeks to soothe his anger through study and discovers forbidden writings of dark magic. Phyandarst begins to dabble in it and feels no ill effects. He soon becomes proficient in the dark arts. He collects his closest friends and teaches them his new powers, forming a secret order called the Kenjai. Two years into his reign, Knizor decides to strengthen an old alliance between Anthradraca and the neighboring land of Kaldras, and selects Phyandarst as his ambassador. The Kaldred chief, Figo Kaldras, is away on a voyage cartographing the land, but fortunately returns in three days. While he is away, Phyandarst meets with Chief Kaldras' brother Ragul. Ragul expresses his discontent to Phyandarst as he is not chief of the Kaldred tribe. Phyandarst hatches a plot with Ragul to set him up to lead the Kaldreds on condition that he assist Phyandarst in overthrowing his own elder brother from the throne. Carrying out his side of the bargain, Phyandarst assassinates Ragul upon his return in front of a throng of Kaldred witnesses, and Ragul angrily gives chase. Phyandarst flees safely to Anthradraca, saying that he has been framed for the murder of Figo Kaldras and that Kaldras has declared war on Anthradraca. Knizor prepares for war and begins to defend Anthradraca, while Phyandarst secretly aids Kaldras in its cause. Here's what I need help with: how can this war help Phyandarst gain the throne he is seeking, and how will he prevent Ragul from betraying him when he has won the war?
Maybe at this point he's just lashing out, not thinking clearly, and after calming down realizes that he'd rather have the throne but that he's gotten in his own way by sowing so much chaos?
He may not be thinking clearly, but he has this somewhat planned out, and over the course of the war, he'll be able to turn his plan into something he can actually work with. Ultimately, though, he fails to achieve his aims and is exiled. But not before dealing a heavy blow as part of his machinations. Without giving too much away, he gathers the Kenjai, who now form a small army, and a battalion of Kaldreds, and take over the Shuziron monastery Revenge of the Sith-style and killing everyone currently in it. However, the Shuzirons fighting in the war mostly survive, so he doesn't wipe them out by any means.
If I were an evil villain, I'd probably consider that the best way to keep Ragul from betraying me is to betray him first. He's already using the Kaldred forces, so maybe Ragul himself is expendable. Or...his death could help rally the Kaldred's to fight forcefully against Knizor, if they think it's he who killed Ragul, and not Phyandarst. Phew...I think I got the names right.
Exactly right! So let me see if I understand... He could kill Ragul after the takeover, or kill him and use the Kaldred forces to his advantage by framing Knizor for it. (He could never be chief because he's not a Vrakardian, let alone a Kaldred. Vrakardian is the name of the Kaldreds' species. Kaldred is a tribe/race/geographical demographic. The rule would pass to Ragul's son, or to Figo's son for whom Ragul was acting as regent that I just hypothetically invented right now. But luckily he's not in an imperialistic mood yet; Anthradraca's first.) I just had an idea, actually... What if he staged the battle, pulling strings so certain forces were in certain places, and forced Ragul and Knizor to meet in battle, and force Knizor to kill him? Sort of like David putting Uriah on the front lines, or Scar having the hyenas start a wildebeest stampede he could push Mufasa into. All Phyandarst would have to do then is make sure the Kaldreds know he's on their side and not the Anthradracans, because he's working as a double agent and only Ragul and a few others know. Perhaps he could have a trusted Kaldred be his "face" for the Kaldreds, who would lead their forces by proxy and say whatever Phyandarst wanted to say.
I think that could work. it really just depends on how you view these two antagonists. Are they akin to Scar and the hyenas? In other words, is Phyandarst simply using Ragul as a blunt instrument against his brother? Or does Phyandarst respect Ragul and feel that the honorable thing to do is to honor their agreement? This comes down to a basic question of character. Of course, there's always the chance that you can cement Phyandarst's villainy by having him see that Ragul is imperiled during the battle, have the opportunity to help him, and then choose not to, as he's happy to be rid of a potentially dangerous loose end.
I like that. As to how Phyandarst sees Ragul... Phyandarst sympathizes with Ragul because they're both overshadowed by their ruling brothers. But when Kaldras begins attacking Anthradraca, it occurs to Phyandarst that if the Kaldreds conquer Anthradraca, they might not simply hand him the throne and leave. Vrakardians are like Vikings; they're explorers, excited to discover new lands, eager to populate them with Vrakardians, and won't say no at a chance to expand their borders. In fact, Ragul might consider him a loose end, as the Vrakardian custom is to have a viceroy rule over their colonies, and it would be against Vrakardian pride to have the viceroy not be a member of the tribe that discovered and/or conquered said land. It's at this point that Phyandarst begins to consider Ragul as a helpful ally but a potential obstacle when all is said and done. Actually, I was planning to have Rishta and Mudglubar kill Ragul by sneaking into his tent and killing him in his sleep, but they could instead kill his successor who is under Phyandarst's influence and cause Phyandarst to lose hold over the Kaldreds. They wouldn't find out until later why exactly that move helped the Anthradracans; they'd assume they won the war because of the ensuing chaos of having suddenly lost their leader in the night.
@Simpson17866 I need some help plotting out the actual battle. Here's what Phyandarst has to work with: Anthradracan forces Knizor's battalion Rishta's battalion Alkandar's battalion Arabur's battalion His own battalion Ganadarian forces (Ganadar was a Vrakardian colony of the island of Dalkras, but Dantharid helped them win their independence. In return, they are assisting Knizor in defending Anthradraca from their Kaldred cousins.) Acbaradus's battalion Mudglubar's battalion Balur's battalion Acbaradus’ navy battalion Dralish forces (The Idrakagar are quadrupedal dragons. They are massive in size and helped Dantharid drive Furuzor out of Anthradraca. They don't lend an army, but they do lend a small squadron of Idrakagar to be used as steeds. Being sentient, they are just as capable warriors as the dragons riding them.) Momanadon (Knizor's steed) Itholorin (Rishta's steed) Hamilniron (Alkandar's steed) Gurthor (Arabur's steed) Drathlinal (Phyandarst's steed; note that he is loyal to Knizor and Anthradraca, not Phyandarst and his secret combination) Moncolamar (Acbaradus' steed) Hurgablor (Mudglubar's steed) Dwathol (Balur's steed) vs. Kaldred forces Ragul's battalion Luhorn's battalion (secretly commanded by Phyandarst; Luhorn succeeds Ragul and towards the end of the war Mudglubar and Rishta assassinate him) Amalorum’s battalion Zadgulabar’s battalion Amalorum’s navy fleet Zarum’s infiltration squadron (masterminded by Phyandarst, commanded by Luhorn, they pretend to be Ganadarians, ready to strike from the inside at Phyandarst’s command, and are about fifty in number) Phyandarst’s forces The Kenjai (at this time, there are fifty members, and they are posing as Shuzirons. Well, not exactly posing, since they still are at this point.) The terrain can be anything we need it to be, really, except a desert. I'm thinking the battle takes place on very hilly terrain with lots of grass, maybe a forest nearby. The double agents (the Kenjai and Zarum's squad) don't strike yet; that has to happen when Luhorn succeeds Ragul. So at the moment they're fighting as their false loyalties dictate. So, Kenjai are in the Shuziron army and Zarum's drakes are in the Ganadarian army.
