Born into the aristocracy with his lineage tied to King Jarot, Boranel ir’Wynarn was groomed for leadership from birth. Perhaps the most beloved ruler Breland has ever known, Boranel has certainly had the longest reign since the nation was founded, ruling with strength and wit for 37 years. Boranel was crowned in 961, in what seemed like Breland’s darkest days. His two elder brothers were killed in fighting on the western frontier within the space of a week, and his father, King Boranex, took his own life in grief the following month. The third son, Boranel, never expected to see the throne at all. Still a young man, he was adventuring in Sharn when the news of his father’s unexpected passing forced a swift return to Wroat.
Boranel received a broad education, giving him a good basis upon which to make decisions. He learned all of the languages common to Breland, which helped him understand the diverse cultures that make up the cosmopolitan nation. The young noble also studied strategy guides and tactical journals of battles. He and his tutors fought and refought the great confl icts of the past using miniature soldiers on a tabletop field.
Along with the development of his mind came the training of his body. Boranel studied with some of the finest weaponmasters on Khorvaire, including a female Valenar elf named Eliri who taught him how to ride and fight on horseback. Eliri was the first love of Boranel’s life, but he was too young for her and foolish to think he could indulge such boyish infatuations.
When he reached adulthood and entered the Breland army, Boranel rose through the ranks swiftly, and solely by merit. Long before becoming Breland’s king, Boranel had been a general who was loved and respected by the entire army. He was also quite the womanizer, as adventurous in love as he was on the battlefield.
In his youth, Boranel was an adventurer, getting away from concerns of war and nation to explore Xen’drik, the dungeons of Sharn, and the wilds of Droaam. This adventurous spirit served him well, but Boranel has experienced highs and lows politically and in his private life. He used his popularity after his first campaign to break with tradition and marry the lady Chaseva ir’Maasat, a minor noble from Cyre whom he meet at school before returning to Breland. Enemies thought to use this seeming betrayal against him, but the Sharn Inquisitive ran a series of articles about their early encounters at the Library of Korranberg, and the entire world was charmed by a royal romance that reached across hostile borders. During a lull in the fighting, he made several expeditions to Xen’drik, taking more of a scholar’s interest in the ruins there than a treasure hunter’s zeal to loot the continent of secrets.
The joy of a happy marriage and four children turned to dust when his wife was assassinated on a moonless night. The sizable bounty for the killer has still never been collected. Unlike his father, Boranel overcame his grief, though he still suspects the hags of Droaam had a part in the murder. He has never forgiven them (or himself) for the loss of western Breland, and given proof of their involvement, he would launch into war against Droaam in an instant.
With the fall of Cyre, some say that Breland could have won the Last War; certainly it had the edge in population, resources, and strategic alliances. Weary of death and destruction even before the Day of Mourning, Boranel came to desire peace more than the crown of Galifar. Still, many Brelish hold to the vision of Boranel on the unified throne; in the minds of these loyalists, Breland is Galifar, and the Treaty of Thronehold simply a polite way of letting the other nations back out of the war.
Boranel rules from Brokenblade Castle in Wroat. He has outlived three wives and has eleven fiercely independent children (six sons and five daughters). He enjoys the company of Haydith, King Kaius’s younger sister, who attends the court and studies in Wroat (Boranel’s children, Halix and Borina, have, in turn, been sent to Karrnath). The two rarely discuss politics, since the topic tends to dampen Boranel’s spirits. “Anything but politics!” is one of his oft-quoted (and mocked) expressions.
In addition to numerous attendants, advisors, and family members, the king has two male magebred ghost tigers (see page 75 for statistics) that dog his heels, keep him company, and refl ect his moods. One tiger mauled Boranel’s son Aejar after the boy jokingly poked it with a wooden sword. Although Aejar survived the incident, Jorasco healing magic could not rid him of the terrible scars or reattach his left arm. Boranel feels his son learned a harsh lesson that day and bears the tiger no ill will, while Aejar has never overcome his fear and hatred of his father’s pets.
Source: Five Nations