Phoenix King

The Phoenix King is the political ruler and military leader of the High Elves and thereby ruler of Ulthuan and its colonies. The position is not hereditary; upon the death of a king his successor is selected by the High Elf princes from among their numbers.

The election of a new Phoenix King is for obvious reasons a political decision of the highest possible importance. As far as it is known the election seems to be similar to the way the Electors choose the new Emperor in The Empire.

Upon the death a king the High Elf princes gather at the shrine of Asuryan, located on the Island of the Flame, to select his successor . Reputation, achievements, the power and influence of the realm of the prince in question are important factors in pair with intrigue, agreements and compromise. The military situation, in particular the war against the Dark Elves, will also influence if a warlike or a peaceful ruler is chosen.

Afterwards the new king-to-be must pass through the Sacred Flame, figuratively a final test of Asuryan.

During his reign the Phoenix King will hold a ritual year-long marriage to the Everqueen in order to conceive a daughter. Afterwards both rulers may have other consorts and children of these consorts, but only their daughter may become the new Everqueen .

Not all Phoenix Kings have been warlike rulers or able generals; a king may appoint a general of his choosing in order to fulfil this role. Finubar, the current king, has appointed the hero Tyrion as defender of Ulthuan.

There have been 11 Phoenix Kings to date and most, but not all, have been able rulers. All of them eventually earned a title which reflects their goals, politics, achievements and failures.

Phoenix Kings
Name	Reign	Notes	Sources
Aenarion the Defender	- 4500 IC to - 4420 IC
Bel Shanaar the Explorer	- 4419 IC to - 2750 IC	Prince of Tiranoc.
Caledor the Conqueror	- 2749 IC to - 2199 IC	Prince of Caledor, born Imrik, took his regal name in honour of his grandfather Caledor Dragontamer, drowned himself to avoid capture by the Dark Elves.
Caledor II the Warrior	- 2198 IC to - 1600 IC	Prince of Caledor, son of the previous king. A foolish ruler, was slain in the War of the Beard.
Caradryel the Peacemaker	- 1599 IC to - 997 IC	Prince of Yvresse, abandoned the colonisation of the Old World, was the first king to die of old age.
Tethlis the Slayer	- 996 IC to - 692 IC	Prince of Caledor, crushed the Dark Elves, died under unclear circumstances.
Bel-Korhadris the Scholar King	- 690 IC to 498 IC	Prince of Saphery, ordered the construction of the White Tower of Hoeth, established the Sword Masters.
Aethis the Poet	499 to 1120	Prince of Saphery, was slain by a Dark Elf spy.
Morvael the Impetuous	1121 to 1502	Prince of Yvresse, committed ritual suicide.
Bel-Hathor the Sage	1503 to 2162	Prince of Saphery, established alliances with the human realms of the Old World.
Finubar the Seafarer	2163 to present	Prince of Eataine, current king.

See also

• High King
• Emperor
• King of Bretonnia
• Tzar
• Dragon Emperor
• King of Khemri

Notes & sources

• For unknown reasons some sources state that Aenarion's reign ended in - 4920 IC , which is a simple and quite obvious mistake. Aenarion's reign began in - 4500 IC and he ruled for 79 years. It took a whole year to choose and crown a new Phoenix King; this year-in-between is traditionally added to reign of the former king (Ergo: 4500 - 80 = 4420). It seems to be a case of: "the old book gives a wrong date and the new books copy the mistake again and again". The latest armybook avoided this mistake and provides the correct date.