George I of Valeria

His Imperial Majesty Emperor George I of House Cambridge (September 8th, 1312 - August 2nd, 1377) was King of Valeria from 1340 - 1349 and emperor of the unified Valerian Empire from 1349 till his death in 1377. Due to his many accomplishments during his long reign, he is stylized as George the Great (Giorgi Veliky) and is considered to be the national hero of Magnus Valerius. Along with Empress Victoria and Emperor Meijis, he is considered to be one of the most successful and influential rulers to ever occupy the throne.

Early Life

George was born in 1312 at the Cambridge family's royal estate in the city of Kholmogory in what was the southern region of Valeria to King Henri and his wife Eudokia Vassilikov. As the first of eight children, George was guaranteed to be heir on the throne and did not have to suffer from succession issues like his father. At age 4, George was afflicted with a cold and it was thought that he was going to die. Yet, after he was tended to by a priest, he made a miraculous discovery; this priest was canonized as Saint Vasily, who came to be the patron saint of the House Cambridge.

George had many friends as a child and had a happy childhood. He lived particularly healthy and was remarkably talented in school. He was well ahead of his age in terms of mental ability and became the pride and joy of Henri's brood. When he turned 20, he was betrothed to Beatrice Riurik, and they married in 1333. Theirs was a particularly happy, fruitful marriage that lasted until they both died in close succession in 1377.

In 1340, Henri died and passed on the throne to George, who was 28 at the time. His reign would see a drastic change in the kingdom of Valeria, as it would rise to become The Valerian Empire, Magnus Valerius.

Early Reign and Conquest of the Twin Republics, West Baden and Alexandria

Before he died, Henri initiated a military campaign against the Twin Republics of Trikoupes and Deliyannes; this was to be known as The Valerian-Alexandrian War. The republics united with the kingdom of Alexandria and West Baden, which was backed fully by Alexandria, into the Grand Alexandrian Coalition. George had the task of taking out the coalition to finally unite the last few powers in the southwest Kuric continent. George started with a daring campaign into West Baden, raiding weapon stores and interrupting trade and communications between West Baden and the other members of the coalition. George's legions and knights were pressed hard, however, and took many losses. George was forced to withdraw his forces once a combined force of Alexandrian and Deliyannian knights arrived in The Battle of Uhlandria in 1343, in which George's forces were nearly crushed.

However, after an unexpected revolt amongst the peasants in Trikoupes wreaked havoc amongst Trikoupes and Deliyannes, the coalition was only half as effective; Alexandria and West Baden were left to fend for themselves for a brief moment. In August 1345, with his forces replenished, George marched in with 75,000 soldiers and captured Uhlandria, capital of West Baden, for good and began to use the city as his base for future forays into the remaining members of the coalition. In December 1345, West Baden was completely annexed by the Kingdom of Valeria.