King Aurèle III
How the game names this character and what they do, chapter by chapter.
The life stories on this page were written for this wiki. They set an invented life against the real history of its years and the game's own story, and they are not in the game.
In chapters 1 and 2
Chapter 1 The Gilded Cage 1783 to 1789
King Aurèle III
Aurèle III came to the throne young, after a long reign that had left the treasury thin and the court fat. He is a shy, heavy man who is happiest in the small workshop above his apartments, filing the wards of a lock by candlelight. His locksmith says the king has the steadiest hands in the palace and the least use for them.
The war across the ocean was meant to humble an old rival, and the peace signed in 1783 did just that: the bells rang for a week. The bill came afterwards. By the end of the decade nearly half of what the Crown spent went on interest, and Aurèle, who hates a quarrel, signs whatever his ministers bring him and climbs back up to his locks.
In the game
- Leads the faction: Government
Chapter 2 Year of Fire 1789 to 1794
Chapter 2: Year of FireSealed so it does not spoil the story for you.Break the seal
King Aurèle III
In May 1789 the king opened the Estates-General with a speech that nobody could repeat by evening. He had called them to vote him money; they stayed to write a constitution. Each concession cost him a night's sleep and his courtiers a little more respect.
Those who saw him that year describe a man who was courteous to everyone and certain of nothing, who took long rides when the news was bad and came back with the same face. His workshop went with him wherever he lived, and he was still fitting keys while the city argued over whether he should keep his own.
In the game
- Leads the faction: Government