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King Ronard

King Ronard (0 - 583 TMSK) was the first of the Magic Sword Kings. His magic sword is of little relevance, as they were fairly common in that day, even though most people had no real use for them beyond slicing bread and shaving their beards (which, it should be noted, is not the best application for a magic sword. It did, however, become a socially fashionable thing to do for the members of the upper classes as a method of demonstrating their utter diseregard for their current magic sword because they had so very many of them). In fact, Ronard's sword was weakly enchanted and not particularly large or deadly, and his self-proclaimed title of "Magic Sword King" has been seen by some as compensation for this weakness. In fact, it has been noted by many historians that Ronard came to power primarily through the liberal use of his Very Large But Unenchanted Spikey Hammer. The year of his birth would not have been marked as the year zero had it not been for his Proclamation of Superiority, made at Ronard's celebration of his thirty-third birthday, which stated thusly:

Not surprisingly, few protested, and among those, none survived.

Early Life

His birth ended the horribly bloody and drawn-out conflict between the Low Elves and the Men of the Covenant, although there is disagreement as to the reason why. Many have speculated that Hygrad the Mighty's prophecy is borne out by the birth of this first Magic Sword King (as it calls for a man who will identify himself as a "King of Sparkling Swords"), although a few are not quite convinced.

(It has been suggested that High Superintendent Robins was in fact the "first" Magic Sword King, as his exploits as a magic-sword-wielding ruler actually served to inspire Ronard's own exploits. This is easily dismissed, however, as High Superintendent Robins was not a King, but a Superintendent. Besides, that alcoholic wife-beater was nowhere near as Epic as Ronard, no matter how many Wangs he beat.)

Reign

Nonetheless, Ronard's placement ended the war, and elevated to King in Mandleclang for it. As King, through coercion, political and economic pressure, and a big hammer, Ronard united most of the leaders of Battal and formed The Kings Council. He also married the princess Caliodora and with her had two sons, both of which were also named Ronard, Ronard the Shorter and Ronard the So-Very-Short.

With the help of his best friend and advisor, Magic Sword King Lord Greylord, Ronard was able to forge a veritable empire which stretched across all of Battal. With Kings of the line of Ronard as their high king, The Kings Council would be the controlling rulers that governed most of Battal for over 900 years, although in-fighting among the members was common, it was not until the Vampyric Wars that the alliance began to weaken, and ultimately collapse.

Death

Ronard's death during a game of Agash is described by the Monk, Brother Dranor in the first of the Chronicles of the Magic Sword Kings. Years later the religon of Ronardity was to be built around his legacy.

Successors

Ronard was succeeded by his son, Ronard the Shorter, whose comparatively brief reign was noted solely for the king's excessive bouts of flatulence and, of course, for the destruction of the kingdom in the Vampyric Wars. Botard the Great and Judicious and Such rebuilt the kingdom; his reign marked a peaceable and prosperous time for the people. After reigning for less than a year, he was executed for having proposed a tax on the possession and use of magic swords, and was duly replaced by his second cousin, who was known only as Frogeater Notapuppet. Incidentally, Frogeater immediately dropped the idea of this tax, instead raising taxes on plows and gruel, much to the joy of the magic-sword-beard-trimming nobility. Some historians speculate that Frogeater may have been a figurehead for some form of shadow government run by one or more of these nobles, but these theories are obviously unfounded.

Kings of Ronard's line, such as King Zonard, would continue to surface in Mandleclang where the bloodline was still royal. Sometimes they even rose to larger prominence as a high king among allied nations, but it was not until the Ronard the Medium took the throne 22,000 years later that the line would again rule over all of Battal. See Book 12 of The Elemenstor Cycle for more information on these events.

See also:

• Ronard Dynasty
• Unholy Toilet of King Ronard
• Mosaic Platter of Ronard
• What would Ronard do?