The Regency of 899

 Prelude  (856-889)

In the year 856 the King at the time, Tristan IV's, heir and first son, named Racand Draga, was killed in a hunting accident. He had been young and wild and while it was no great surprise it dealt a hard blow to the royal family and court. However the King had other son's and thus life continued, until in 864 tragedy truck again. The King's second son, named Tristan as well after his father, died under suspicious circumstances. This son had always been secretive, and some things he has done have not yet been discovered in contemporary times, and thus it was again no great surprise when he was discovered dead with a tiny poisonous bite mark in his leg (they did did find the culprit, animal or human). And thus only the third and last son remained. He survived, however in 877 his wife and son were killed in a tragic carriage accident and, no doubt heavily influenced by the chivalry craze taking over the KIngdom, he refused to marry again. And so when his father died in 889 and he took the throne as King Caranor VII, the Kingdom had no official heir. And the only other members of House Draga were distant cousins. However this was 'not their problem' at the time, and thus it was for the most part ignored.

 King Caranor VII's Reign  (889-899)

King Caranor was a decent King, and nothing spectacular happened in his reign. However a thing which may be noted is the continuing importance of Chivalry and Honour within politics, and more conventional means of killing your enemies, such as assassination, were quickly becoming replaced with more honourable means, such as duels to the deaths. This created a Royal Court ruled by those whom were best at fighting and acting to please a crowd, as many times those well liked by the people and other Nobles gained more power, instead of actually competent people who may be a little backstabby but at least they get things done. This would become rather important in preventing all-out war in the future.

 The Disaster  (Just after the turn of the year, 899)

As the year turned King Caranor was on his deathbed, the Kingdom was on the edge of anarchy with no heir in sights. And thus, he died. And nobody thought to ask him who should take over. With his death the Kingdom went over the edge, upon news of the leaderless Kingdom peasants began to run amock demanding less taxes and the like as there was no one they were paying them too, Nobles began raising their armies ready to defend their houses or make a power grab themselves, and the Priesthood decided it was their time to re-take Power and began pushing for a regency by the High Priest. The Kingdom was in anarchy, and no one knew what to do..

 The Regency  (Early Spring, 899)

After two months of complete chaos several of the strongest Nobles came together, including but not limited to, Lord Tristan Golden, Lord Rogier Redrock, Lord Aroyn Greenstone and Lord Castén Bluestone. Together they decided to form an oligarchy until someone suitable was found. They, being the most powerful Lords, could easily put the other's in their place by force of arms alone. And thus they sent their armies into the City to bring order, for some months the City was basically under martial-law. However this Oligarchy was not to last, as for one the people did not like it, and for two it was made as only a temporary solution anyway.

 The Tournament  (Late Spring-Mid Autumn 899)

In the Late Spring of 899, while martial law was still enforced and there was rioting in the streets, a young knight named Adénn Purplestone came forward to the council to suggest a solution to the problems. House Purplestone itself was relatively minor and poor, however Adénn was, like many of the younger nobles, fixated with chivalry, honour and the ancient tales of knightly valour. And so when he came before the council he suggested an answer to their problem, a Tournament. He said that a grand Tournament, bigger than any ever seen before, would unite the Nobles and Peasants alike (notably leaving out the Priesthood) and that it would bring everyone together. And he also suggested the grandest prize of any Tournament that had come before, the Crown. He said that the one who could prove he was the greatest Knight and Warrior of the Realm is the only one worthy of Ruling, ignoring all titles and bloodlines, they would be the truest King that they could have. And all would support them surely, as all would of witnessed their valour. And surprisingly the Council agreed... And thus the Tournament was set up in the traditional dueling square within the Southern District, just outside the Temple of the Eternal Flame. The entire Square was cleared out, several houses were destroyed (the people were paid for their loss obviously) and probably the biggest tournament grounds ever were created. And thus, in Summer of 899, it began. The stages went like this; Jousting, Melee, Archery, repeat. The bottom 10 would be removed each time, and then the cycle would begin again - giving the 11th worst in the first round a chance to do better in the next. Though the Jousting worked a little differently, with the winner of the previous bottom two then fighting the loser of 3 v 4 and so on until a clear line was made out. While rudimentary weapons would be given out those who could afford better would be able to use their own so most of those whom were able to pay the admission price of 5 Gold Dracans (60,000 Copper Pennies, a lot), but were not Nobles (and therefore could not afford better than the standard weaponry) were knocked out rather quickly by their superior foes. And by Mid-Autumn only 10 remained, Sir Adénn Purplestone, Lord Castamir Draga, Lord Adrian Draga, Lord Tristan Golden, Lord Lardon Blackstone, Lord Rogier Redrock, Lord Racand Redrock, Lord Aroyn Greenstone, Lord Castén Bluestone, Lord Rogier Gator. In that order on the lists. First the Jousting, and while it shall not be recorded the winner of each separate round, the order was as follows; Sir Adénn Purplestone, Lord Lardon Blackstone, Lord Castamir Draga, Lord Castén Bluestone, Lord Aroyn Greenstone. The bottom 5 this time were scrapped. And next the melee. In the melee Castén beat Aroyn, however then Castamir managed to beat him in a close duel. While Adénn then beat Lardon, and after that Castamir. Now the bottom 3 were removed, leaving Castamir Draga and Adénn Purplestone as the deciders.

 The Final Event  (Mid-Autumn, 899)

And so it came down to archery, however the crowds watching decided they wanted something more... tense. For it came down to these two men, one of which would become their King. And so the Judges of the Tournament decided that the last event would be a duel to first blood.. And so, armourless so it was not nigh impossible, the two took up their swords. Castamir Draga wielded the sword of House Draga, Atar - otherwise known as Dragonwing - forged of a fallen star. His opponent Adénn Purplestone wielded his sword Alkar. They fought for hours, back and forth, for Castamir - though highly outmatched - knew his family's kingdom was at stake, and wished to keep it at all costs. He fought with all the fury of his house's namesake, a Dragon, it is said and eventually as the sun began to set upon the last day of the Tournament and both men grew tired, his sword imbued with the light of the setting sun suddenly burst asunder and cut through Alkar as if it was butter. None can explain this truly, nor is it even confirmed whether this truly happened or is a legend, however one thing is certain, Castamir, against all odds, managed to win when Adénn's sword broke. And thus without the protection Adénn's blood was drawn and upon the Tourney field Castamir was crowned, King Castamir IV at the age of 23, starting a whole new line of House Draga and the kings of that name. (For Castamir was descended from Adrian III's second son, Castén I's younger brother born in 310, 580 years prior to this event)

 Aftermath 

While the aftermaths and event do not seem as radical as many of the civil wars and such in Draga's history, it's importance is still there. For one it showed that the Priesthood were not so important as to even get a say in the entire thing, showing the continuing dominance of the Nobility. For two it solidified the Chivalric and Honourable values that were growing in Draga, which lead to it's own problems and benefits. And for three, the most obvious one, a new line of House Draga took over, ending the 400 year rule of Erlan's line and the 550 year rule of Castén I's line. The Castamir branch of the family would go on to rule another 350 years until Adrian V's death in 1232, and eventually under Racand V the balance of power would change again within the Kingdom, with the Priesthood becoming dominant players in the Royal Court again. However that is another story entirely...