Reference:DRC research notebooks/King Rikooth

King Rikooth

Location	Hall of Kings, Ae'gura

Rikooth took the throne in 6498 at the age of 56. Though young, he had two older brothers and a sister, with whom, it was said, he often consulted. They each understood the logic of giving the throne to the youngest son (it guaranteed more time in the throne for the individual) and worked well with their younger brother, as no other family had done previously.

Rikooth's first major decision came in 6510 when a new cavern was found by the expeditions led by Rock Biter and The Burrower. There were calls to expand the city, but Rikooth was apparently unconvinced it was a smart plan. His older brother, who happened to be Guild Master of the Guild of Surveyors, agreed to study the cavern extensively and Rikooth promised to make a decision upon reading results of the study.

In the meantime, Rikooth married in 6556 to a woman named Hisha. Her father was Grand Master of the Guild of Chemists and a strong believer in Gish and the fallacy of the Great King.

Though Hisha had some influence on Rikooth, he continued in the tradition of his fathers never publicly stating his views on philosophy. However, she had much more influence on the three sons that they would eventually have together, including the youngest Kerath. It was her influence that would change D'ni forever.

In 6601 extremely detailed reports (structural analysis, water supply, rock type, etc...) came back informing Rikooth that though the newly discovered cavern was habitable it would be very expensive to build in. Rikooth made the decision, after conferring with his advisors that Stone Tooth, along with the new Rock Biter, should begin digging out more of the city proper (into the cave wall) for expansion while Burrower and Stone Eater would continue to tunnel past the cavern.

In 6676, Rikooth met with leaders to discuss the involvement of outsiders. Though there had been no major incidents for hundreds of years it was still an issue to be discussed. In the meetings it became apparent that though Rikooth understood the reasons for wishing to close down interaction with outsiders, it was a ridiculous thought. Their contribution to D'ni culture, art, construction, technology, and resources, was immeasurable. Unless there were grand reasons not to, there was no way, he argued, that he would ever force strict resolutions regarding the outsiders.

In his older years it appeared as though Rikooth became tired of Hisha and her views and opinions. She was expelled from the palace along with Kerath in 6700. It was well known that Kerath was a model of his mother's thoughts and Rikooth could hardly stand him.

Though Rikooth had chosen an older brother of Kerath to be King, his thoughts were changed. As the legends told, Rikooth was on his own death bed staring out toward the Arch and he saw his son, Kerath sailing through it. He was riding in a boat in the shape of a massive lizard standing proudly on it's prow and had come home to announce the death of his mother. As he sailed through the Arch, Rikooth apparently felt the hand of Yahvo, directing him to make Kerath the next King of D'ni.

By the end of Rikooth's reign the city was larger than ever, the classes were more divided than ever, and the religious beliefs were as divided as ever. Though there were not a large variety of beliefs, there was no clear majority of people who believed any one thing.

Rikooth passed away in 6731 at the age of 289 leaving the throne to his third son, Kerath. He left him a city that was larger than it had ever been, and fairly evenly divided in its views of the future.

Footnotes

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