Kagetsu II

This article is about the second Kagetsu Aurelac. For the first Kagetsu, see Kagetsu Aurelac de Maar Sul.

Kagetsu Aurelac II
Profile
Status:	Dead
Age:	23 (at time of death)
Race:	Human
Gender:	Male
Class:	Knight
Nation:	Maar Sul
Faction:	House of Aurelac Maar Sul Grand Alliance
Era:	Third Age

King of Maar Sul
Reign	1004—1006 AE
Predecessor	Martin Struan
Issue	Gerard Aurelac
House	House of Aurelac
Father	Remy Aurelac
Born	983 AE
Died	1003 AE

Kagetsu II Aurelac de Maar Sul was the King of Maar Sul between the reigns of Remy Aurelac and Leon Alcibiates and shared his body with the spirit of Despard Silverbranch. He was one of the leaders of the Grand Alliance in the Great War and died during the First Battle of Vulpengaard Keep. He resembled his ancestor, Kagetsu I, a lot. He fathered a son, Gerard Aurelac, who would later become the new King of Maar Sul.

Biography

Early Years

Prince Kagetsu II and his siblings--Prince Geraud Aurelac and Princess Réin Aurelac--were born to King Remy Aurelac of Maar Sul. The siblings lived an ordinary life in Maar Sul City and had the typical ubringing of royals. Kagetsu ended up becoming the recipient of the soul of Despard Silverbranch, who leaked through the rift in the veil of the dead caused by the resurrection of Leon Alcibiates in 1000 AE. Despard's skill would save Kagetsu's life on more than one occasion in the future.

Kagetsu did not quite understand what the whispers from Despard's spirit meant, but he nevertheless honed his swordsmanship for things to come. Everything changed for the worse when the Yamato Empire and the Clergy of Mardük invaded Maar Sul and forced the royal family into exile.

Distreyd Era

Siding with the Alliance

While his father and sister spent time spying on Yamatians and organizing a rebellion against the oppressors, Kagetsu and his brother Geraud set sail to Remon after their spies informed them of the actions of a paladin calling himself King Marcus Sarillius. It turned out that Marcus was in the process of trying to form a Grand Alliance which would unite the three bickering races of men, elves and dwarves under a single banner and use this united army to drive out the invading Yamatians who had recently occupied Remon just like the empire had done to Maar Sul earlier. The Great War between the Alliance and Yamato had begun.

Kagetsu and Geraud saw the Alliance as a means to an end: with the Alliance's help they might have a big enough force to liberate their homeland Maar Sul from the Yamatian yoke. They also sympathized with the Alliance's goal of liberating Remon too, though, and thus they approached the Alliance's leaders and offered their services and followers to Marcus to use as he deemed fit.

Marcus and Kagetsu quickly bonded, especially after Kagetsu learned that Remy and Réin had been assassinated by the treacherous Maar Sulais noble Martin Struan's minions, which would mean that Kagetsu, being the oldest surviving child of Remy, would inherit the throne of Maar Sul.

During this time Kagetsu and Geraud also met Marcus's advisor, the bard Leon Alcibiates, who eventually discovered that the princely brothers had spirits of the Silverbranch brothers residing within them. Leon revealed this fact to the brothers later, and the Aurelacs quickly used this partnership with the spirits to their advantage by using the skills provided by the spirits in the battles to come.

Fighting for Freedom

"They promised me that it would be better! Maar Sul would be wealthier, with less suffering. I did it for the people! They promised...all I had to do was join them. The King was supposed to go to Yamato!"

"I could forgive the attempts on my life. Perhaps even the ones on Geraud, since they failed. I might even forgive you for my father if it's true you didn't expect him to be killed--but you still murdered my sister."

—Martin Struan and Kagetsu II, before Martin's beheading

Kagetsu and Geraud participated in the Battle of Folsworth Woods and the subsequent battles on the Alliance's side. Once Remon had been liberated, Geraud and Leon embarked on a voyage to heal the world tree, Yggdrasil, with the Silver Branch. After bidding farewell to his brother, Kagetsu suggested to the Alliance leadership that they liberate Maar Sul next so that Remon and Maar Sul could unite their forces against the remaining Yamatian forces.

The Alliance agreed and helped Kagetsu reclaim his throne from Martin Struan in the Struan Rebellion and the following First Battle of Maar Sul which ended in the Alliance's victory and Kagetsu's crowning as the new King of Maar Sul. Kagetsu wasted no time executing the treacherous Struan while making the other noble houses swear fealty to the Maar Sulais throne to prevent any such betrayal from happening anymore.

In order to secure support from the Khitan Khanate and Scundia, Kagetsu sent envoys such as the Delegation of Thirteen to the aforementioned areas to rally support for the Alliance's war effort and to unite the fractured Maar Sulais kingdom under the Alliance's banner.

Future Campaigns

While he consolidated his rule and liberated Maar Sul from Yamatian forces, Kagetsu II also fathered a son, Gerard Aurelac, whom he named his heir to the throne while Geraud's son Geraden Aurelac, Gerard's cousin, would be the second in line should anything happen to Kagetsu, Geraud and Gerard in the meantime.

Because Gerard and Geraden were too young to become rulers and Geraud was away while Kagetsu would have to continue leading the Alliance's army with Marcus, Kagetsu wrote a will which stated that his friend Leon would become the Prince of Maar Sul who would lead Maar Sul until Gerard would come of age in case anything happened to Kagetsu or Geraud in the war.

The war continued in Aison, and Kagetsu eventually brought reinforcements, which included the Khitans and the Scuns, to the kingdom and helped liberate it. The Alliance then moved to Libaterra although the Reactor Core Explosion and the Faerfolc Rampage forced them to flee while leaving an enraged populace behind. Although Libaterra had been freed from Yamato, it had refused to side with the Alliance which it blamed for causin the Reactor Core Explosion.

After years of fighting, the war was finally brought to Yamato where the invaders had originated from. Fierce battles took place as the Alliance conquered one Yamatian city after another while the Yamatians and clerics of Mardük fought back fiercely. The First Battle of Vulpengaard Keep was a turning point in the Yamatian campaign as High Cleric Distreyd Thanadar XII, one of the most influential Yamatians, perished during it, thus weakening the Yamato Empire's morale considerably and opening a pathway for the Alliance to invade Kageshima, Yamato's capital located in the heartlands.

Death

However, the Alliance too had to pay the price for its success in Vulpengaard Keep: several of its well-loved veterans, including Kagetsu II himself, perished during the battle for the keep. Although Kagetsu perished, the spirit of Despard who had resided in his body chose a new host who turned out to be Sumrah Brown.

Legacy

After the Cataclysm abruptly ended the Great War, Maar Sul was initially at a loss. Not only had King Kagetsu II died, but so had his brother Prince Geraud, and the young Prince Geraden had vanished from the capital without a trace, leaving only the infant Prince Gerard, Kagetsu's son, to inherit the throne. Because Gerard was too young to become king, Leon Alcibiates became the ruling Prince as per the will which Kagetsu had left behind, and he would rule Maar Sul until Gerard would come of age in 1017 AE.

History would remember Kagetsu II as a brave and cunning warrior king who had helped liberate Maar Sul from Yamato and who had led the Grand Alliance successfully for several years during the war years. His reign was seen as a good followup for the equally loved King Remy's reign.

Aliases and Nicknames

Earthshatterer

A nickname given to Kagetsu because of his namesake, Kagetsu I, who had tried to destroy the world in the past.

King of Maar Sul

His title as ruler of Maar Sul.

Prince Royal

His title before ascending the throne.

Appearance

He was a hulking bear of a man with dark looks. Some (read: Leon) would say he was like a spitting image of the original Kagetsu.

Personality and Traits

He was loyal to his family and did whatever he could to save Maar Sul from the forces of darkness.

Powers and Abilities

He favoured swords in the Yamatian style, and battled in heavy armour.

See also

• Despard Silverbranch
• First Battle of Vulpengaard Keep
• House of Aurelac
• Leon Alcibiates
• Struan Rebellion

Kagetsu II House of Aurelac Born: 983 AE Died: 1006 AE
Regnal titles
Preceded by Martin Struan as Lord Protector	King of Maar Sul 1004—1006 AE	Succeeded by Leon Alcibiates as Prince Regent