Emperor Alphonse Valmont was the first Valmont Emperor of Orlais.
Background[]
Alphonse was the eldest son of Marquis Lambert Valmont and an unnamed Campana princess. His father rose to prominence thanks to the role he played in the Fourth Blight, which led to the establishment of the Valmont family as a noble house in Orlais.
Sometime during the Exalted Age, a civil war broke out in Orlais against Emperor Xavier Drakon, described as an usurper and false emperor. Alphonse Valmont came to lead the war, seeking to overthrow Xavier.[1] Alphonse's younger brothers, Duke Isidore d'Arlesans, Duke Yvon of Savrenne, and Duke Stephan of Val Montaigne, commanded some of his armies.[2] In the final battle of the war, Alphonse fought and killed Xavier in single combat. His victory gave rise to the Orlesian legend of "the Lion slaying the Dragon", inspired by the symbols of House Valmont and House Drakon–a lion and a dragon, respectively. The civil war put an end to the Drakon dynasty and Alphonse became the first of the Valmont emperors.[1] The war had ended by the year 5:71 Exalted.[3]
When Alphonse assumed the throne, he changed the national symbol to a lion.[1] He also ordered that a palace should be built on the grounds of Halamshiral in honor of the valiant actions of his brothers in besting the armies of the false Emperor Xavier Drakon. The residence was dubbed "Chateau Lion" and served as a retreat for the emperor's brothers and their families.[4]
In 5:71 Exalted, Alphonse's sister was chosen as Divine of the Orlesian Chantry, assuming the name of Amara III.[5] Amara's family relation to the newly elected emperor made her ascension to the Sunburst Throne a controversial event. In 5:85 Exalted, Amara died under suspicious circumstances, and when Alphonse was informed of his sister's death, he called for a hunt to uncover the conspirators, which led to the imprisonment of many Chantry members and the execution of three of them. In the end, Alphonse wasn't able to find the culprits, no one was convicted of killing Amara, and her death remained a mystery.[6]
Codex entries[]
Note texts[]
Trivia[]
- The Alphonse's Passage, heading west from the Drakon's Rise Inquisition Camp in Emprise du Lion, is named after him.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Codex entry: The Lion of Orlais (Inquisition)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Codex entry: Winter Palace
- ↑
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 17. The timeline can be inferred from the date of Amara III's ascension as the Divine because she is described as the sister of the newly elected Emperor.
- ↑ Codex entry: Halamshiral
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 106
- ↑
Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 17