Walton Perenolde

King Walton Perenolde is known to have been one of the weakest kings of the House of Perenolde. As a result of his weakness, significant power was drawn away from the royal family, the security of Alterac was threatened and a reign of terror succeeded him.

Childhood
Prince Walton's childhood was cut very short due to his early ascension to the throne. The son of the young Princess Menethil and the grizzly King Stuart Perenolde as a result of a political marriage that won back his father's kingdom.

The seven years Walton spent as 'Prince Walton' were normal for a child of royalty. His father was distant and mother nurturing. The news of his father's death after being bucked from his horse brought little sadness to the little boy.

Reign
Donning the Perenolde Tiara at the age of seven, King Walton Perenolde and his mother were immediately surrounded by nobles and generals alike attempting to earn their favor to serve as Lord-Regent. In the aftermath of the War of Perenolde, many nobles which had not sided immediately with the false King Harlan Perenolde squabbled amongst each other and begged King Stuart for their now revoked inheritances.

Normally the House of Karlsburg, a consistently loyal House to the throne would have been looked to as a loyal friend however the late Lord Karlsburg had also deceased living his degenerate son as heir.

Eventually the Queen-Mother selected General Tristan Karthwall to serve as Lord-Regent, possibly due to his flattery and flirtatious behavior.

Regency of General Karthwall
Following his appointment to Lord-Regent, General Tristan Karthwall became a controlling mentor figure to King Walton. The Lord-Regent stepped into a father figure role in the absence of the late King, this was only emphasized even more following his betrothal to the Queen-Mother.

Upon the announcement of their wedding, outrage exploded amongst the nobility, already disgruntled that a lowborn had been appointed to Lord-Regent. Lord-Regent Karthwall kept them in check however, coaxing both the Bishop of Alterac and King Walton into publicly approving the match.

Five years later, a waters dispute broke out between the House of Patton and House of Croister. Both were relatively minor houses which had been elevated to great power in replacement of treacherous or dead families following the War of Perenolde. House of Patton had become the Dukes of Southshore and House of Croister the Barons of Herring Rock. Fishing vessels of both houses had come into dispute over whom had claim of fertile fishing grounds and were close to raising arms against each other.

Naturally, the King or in his stead, the Lord-Regent settled the dispute and Lord-Regent Karthwall ruled in favor of House of Patton after taking an enormous bribe. In retaliation, Baron Croister sought out the help of the powerful but poorly led House of Karlsburg to wage war against the House of Patton and demand a new Lord-Regent be selected.

War of the Nobles
Throughout the War of the Nobles King Walton Perenolde was uninvolved and in fact, unaware. Lord-Regent Tristan Karthwall kept the young King uninformed and handled the entire war effort. The news of his murder at the Southshore Crisis shocked both the boy King and his mother as the Lord-Regent was a father and a husband to both of them respectively.

Sir Bryan DuBois, General Karthwall's successor, had a similar policy towards the king's information but was terribly inept. When the nobles of Alterac marched on Alterac City the same day they poisoned the Queen-Mother, they quickly manipulated a terrified King Walton into establishing an Alterac House of Nobles, ending the war and resigning much of his authority.

Alterac House of Nobles
In the four short years the Alterac House of Nobles spent as King Walton's regency council, they were just as controlling as his first two regents. King Walton seldom resisted the will of the House of the Nobles and was quickly intimidated into silence for the rest of his life.

Adulthood
Upon his coming of age, the Alterac House of Nobles retained its power entirely. The King enjoyed a life of luxury without responsibility or power while the Alterac House of Nobles governed the Kingdom of Alterac.

As years past, the Prince came to resent his father because of this weakness and his tolerance for this to continue. The King became famously timid and cowardly, being dubbed King Mouse by the nobles and foreign monarchs alike.

After a considerable reign in which the King personally accomplished absolutely, King Walton Perenolde perished under mysterious circumstances. Scholars speculate the King had finally begun to resist and had made plans to step back into power and the Alterac House of Nobles quietly assassinated him. Others assert that he was murdered by his son. Another theory believes that King Walton's cause of death was so embarrassing that it was covered up entirely as to maintain the dignity of the Crown.