| Swemmel of Unkerlant | |
| Fictional Character | |
| Darkness Fantasy< | |
| Appearance(s): | Into the Darkness through Out of the Darkness |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | Unkerlant |
| Parents: | King Guntram |
| Relatives: | Kyot (brother) |
| Political Office(s): | King of Unkerlant |
Swemmel was King of Unkerlant during the Derlavaian War. Swemmel won the crown after defeating his twin brother Kyot in the Twinkings War, which erupted upon the death of their father, King Guntram. Neither twin wanted to admit to being the younger twin. When Swemmel won, he boiled Kyot alive.
Swemmel ruled Unkerlant with an iron hand: he deprived the nobility and the government ministers of much of their power, regularly sacking or even executing them at the first sign of incompetence, disloyalty, and often just disagreement; and he enforced draconian rules on the common people with large forces of inspectors and impressers. He had no qualms about sacrificing his own subjects to the murderous "Special Magecraft" first used against his forces by Algarvians.
So tyrannical was Swemmel's rule that many Unkerlanters, especially Grelzers, welcomed the Algarvian Army as liberators--an impression which the conduct of Algarvian occupation garrisons soon largely forfeited. However, as tyrannical and dangerously unstable as Swemmel was, throughout the war he absolutely refused to entertain the possibility that Unkerlant would be defeated, and his opinions were so widely and suffocatingly disseminated that the morale boost his determination gave his subjects may well have been what allowed Unkerlant to overcome its initial misfortunes in the dark early years of the war.
See Also[]
- Joseph Stalin, upon whom Swemmel appears to be based.
| Regnal titles (Darkness) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Guntram |
King of Unkerlant Power disputed with Kyot for the first years |
Succeeded by Incumbent at series' end |
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