Reference:DRC research notebooks/King Demath

King Demath

Location	Tokotah Rooftop, Ae'gura
Author	Nick White (based on handwriting)

King Demath

Took the throne in 4692 DE at the age of 154. Though the public was generally not happy with the reign of Ji, it appears as though they were pleased with his choice of Demath to succeed him.

Demath had joined the Guild of Maintainers at the age of five (as most did) and risen to the level of Guild Master by the time he was chosen as King. The selection was a surprise to much of the public, and apparently even to Demath himself. It was not a post he had especially desired to have.

Almost immediately, Demath ordered a ban on all unnecessary Links (to be enforced by the Maintainers) while the Council carried out emergency meetings, trying to decide their stance on the outsiders.

In these meetings the Council concluded that relations with the outsiders would continue, but with much stricter restrictions and guidelines. The list was long that Demath signed into law and included the restriction of any outsiders operating D'ni machinery or Linking Books.

Perhaps more importantly, the Council and King sent a clear message to all of the factions who were against outsider involvement with D'ni; their ideas would not be tolerated if they led to any infraction of the rules previously established by Loshemanesh which were to become strictly enforced. And though it was not stated publicly, the Relyimah (meaning "the Unseen") was apparently ordered to double its membership and find any and all who were carrying out illegal activities with the outsiders.

As well, Demath denounced the words of the Watcher as pure rubbish and nothing more than "a desperately lonely man seeking attention".

In 4721 DE, Demath pushed an amendment that forced the Major Guilds to accept a percentage of students who passed all entrance exams but could not afford the steep prices. It was the first such action in the history of D'ni and one that many seemed to question, especially the Guilds themselves. However, Demath was able to convince them it was a necessity for the society and one to which they "cautiously agreed".

In 4724 DE, records point to over ten separate groups being convicted of the Loshemanesh Laws (as they had come to be called). Most agreed that the Relyimah played a large role in the convictions although there are no official records of their involvement. Regardless, each of the convicted was sentenced to solitary confinement on Prison Ages. The convictions must have carried a powerful impact on the society, as the public still knew very little of the Relyimah (if anything at all), and thus had no idea how so many convictions were occurring. As one writer said, "There were stories of dark shadows and mysterious creatures...for those carrying out such activities...it was said that the eyes of Demath saw everything while his arms took anyone he wanted." The crime rate, especially pertaining to the Loshemanesh Laws, steadily lowered until 4752, when there were only three recorded convictions.

In 4784 DE, an assassination attempt was carried out against Demath resulting in the death of two members of the Relyimah, who saved Demath's life in the process. The perpetrators were found and two years later, Demath ordered their execution. It was the first execution of its kind and met with little resistance from the public, or Council. The two men were apparently linked into a death Age, permanently ending their lives. Though most agreed with the execution, those who were against outsider involvement to begin with, now felt even stronger in their case. Now, they argued, "D'ni is killing itself, for the sake of the outsiders."

In 4826, Demath was rewarded for his efforts pertaining to the acceptance policies of the Major Guilds. The first of the Guild of Stone Masons' "non-paying" members headed the effort to devise early fusion-compounding technology, a building block for the eventual development of Nara. Demath praised the Guild and the numerous opportunities that all citizens of D'ni now had to benefit their society.

In 4843 at the age of 305, Demath passed away leaving the throne to his first-born son.