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Prince Kol | |
---|---|
Reign | 1786-1787 SR |
Successor | King Anashary |
Died | 1787 SR |
Kol Yarny, known as Prince Kol bukkean: /kʌl/, nalarli /kɑːl/, (17th CSR - 1787 SR) was a Kareden ruler and religious leader who led his people on a quest to settle. He is referred to as the Great Hornet in the Kareden religious canon, formalized under King Anashary.
The Kareden people first appear in history in connection with Prince Kol's name and their conquests in central and northern Tarnaria. After none of these lands seemed to work out for the Kareden, Prince Kol met a group of travelers, who were telling stories about the wonderful land of Osa Nara. Captivated by the idea, Prince Kol ventured further to the north, after which an army led by several of his generals, including the tarnarian Deiecut Nornan, conquered Osa Nara in a two-year campaign.
Prince Kol became ruler of the land, as Deiecut became army leader and expanded the country to the east, overtaking the troubled state of Xornerian. When he came back from the conquests, he was able to dethrone Prince Kol in a ceremony which Kol thought was to be a celebration of the formation of the kingdom. Instead, Deiecut argued that Prince Kol's visionary duties had been finished, since Mamkoon was found. He also referred to Prince Kol as the Great Hornet for the first time, suggesting that, having fulfilled his role, he should now be excised from the hive. Taking the Kareden name of Anashary, at the same ceremony Deiecut proclaimed himself to be the new Prince.
Prince Kol was, thus, stripped of all the power and instead given an honorary religious role. Several months later he attempted to retake power, but Anashary's grip on power was too strong, and his own generals betrayed Kol in order to win favors with Anashary. The former prince was then executed by Deiecut, but it was dressed up as a religious ceremony, upon which “the Great Hornet leaves the nest”, with the Kareden watching Prince Kol leave to the east and cheering for him. Prince Kol was instructed to travel back to his place of birth and come back and teach the tenets of religion to the young. However, later in the night several Anashary's men have caught up with Prince Kol and murdered him.
Anashary took the title of King shortly thereafter.
Prince Kol left a strange trace in history. The leader of the Kareden people, the warlord who left a bloody trail in Tarnaria, and the founder of the Kingdom of Mamkoon, his swift loss of power to King Anashary had essentially reduced his role in history to a brief mention.
However, several accounts of him exist, based on stories from the Kareden who accompanied him on his conquests, mostly written in oino by osanarians. A number of mentions is made by his contemporaries in Tarnaria, although due to the Kareden's nomadic lifestyle there, these accounts are brief.
According to these accounts, Prince Kol was uncharacteristically tall for a Kareden, well spoken and liked long philosophical discussions, although these conversations were described as intimidating.
His leadership style was based entirely on the concept of loyalty: his trust meant autonomy and power, the loss of trust meant a swift loss of status, humiliation and often death. He based his trust on a gut feeling, and sometimes people would get demoted or killed simply because he did not like them, and get away with clear transgressions because he refused to withdraw his trust.
Prince Kol was also known to toy with people's careers. He would sometimes pick a regular soldier and promote them to general. Or he would suddenly call a general to his quarters and tell them that he needs them to prove their loyalty, and demote them to a regular soldier. He would then invite the demoted general to conversations, expecting the former general to show that they are still happy and completely loyal to the Prince. This was portrayed as a test that one could pass, but more often than not these demotions were permanent and fatal: Prince Kol would simply wait until the demoted general, now serving as a regular soldier, would be killed in battle. In fact, he would sometimes specifically send the unit with someone he had demoted into the midst of a battle, in order to have them killed.
Prince Kol's trust in Dieicut was said to be absolute, and Dieicut's betrayal was unexpected. That for the first time in his life he was not in a position to immediately punish the traitor made Prince Kol furious. His attempt at regaining power was poorly thought through and rushed, although it is generally agreed that there was no viable way for Prince Kol to gain back political power at that point. That he was betrayed by veterans of his old army was a complete humiliation that was said to had completely destroyed him. He was described as “dazed and lifeless” in his last days of life.
He was said to have had many relationships with women and had many children as a result, but no historical records exist of their fate or if any of them had ever made a claim to power.
Publicly, the power struggle was concealed behind the veneer of religious imagery and ritual. King Anashary reveled in the process of creating new theology with Prince Kol in it.
He was weaved into the Kareden branch of Xaewoon as the Great Hornet, a visionary whose mission was to lead his people to the promised land, and who then went away to join the Eternal Companion. The rite of passage into adulthood began to include seeing the Great Hornet fly beside the Eternal Companion. Most believers would stare at the sky for minutes, until they would convince themselves that they do see a small speck of light near the star.
Another legend includes the story that the Great Hornet will return from the east, to lead his people to the New Mamkoon. This was a story that was especially favored by King Anashary, who wanted to keep his options open, as he was eyeing Darda for possible conquests. In reality, the idea of New Mamkoon became more popular with the deterioration of the Kingdom of Mamkoon, and several religious sects made the wait for the return of the Great Hornet a central piece of their theology, which was then exported to the east after the migration of the Kareden from Loodon. The character of the Great Hornet is featured in many branches of Xaewoon to this day.