Title

Aldana Steel

The Sandoval Succession:

A Storm of Swords

The Sandoval Genealogy
Notes of Interest to Would-Be Genealogists
The Candidates
The Council of Dons
The Concilio de la Razon

The tragic death of King Salvador de Béjarano y Sandoval de Castilla, known as "Good King Sandoval", leaves the succession for the throne of Castille in shambles.  The young king was assassinated during the peace negotiations with Montaigne, when a faction of Montaigne hard-liners attacked the Palace of Wolves in Vaticine City, using Porté, El Fuego Adentro, and Laerdom sorcery.  Half the city was destroyed and key advisors to the king, including Don Andrès Béjarano y Aldana, were slain as well, leaving government in chaos.  Cardinal Estéban Verdugo survived, though horribly burned and minus his right arm, and is now trying to salvage what he can.  He is now examining the records to identify the lines of succession.  Can you spot the candidates?
 

The Sandoval Genealogy
 
(Click to enlarge each section)
 
Sandoval Genealogy - 1 Sandoval Genealogy - 2 Sandoval Genealogy - 3
 

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Notes of Interest to Would-Be Genealogists

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The Candidates

  1. Javier Bejarano de Sandoval - far and away the top candidate for the post of King, save for the inconvenient fact that he has been missing for some years now. Were he to suddenly appear it is unlikely that there would be much difficulty with the succession.
  2. Pascal Rois et Reines de Rogné - closest blood successor of King Sandoval through his firstborn daughter. Six years old, currently living in Charouse with his parents. Grandson of Empereur Leon, he is also current heir to the Montaigne throne. The problems with Pascal as heir should be obvious.
  3. Javier Torres y Sandoval - a weak second choice to Javier Bejarano, decended from King Salvador's grandfather's younger brother. Forty-four years old. A Captain in the Castillian Armada, he is a boat builder and supply officer who currently supervises shipbuilding operations San Cristobal. His major drawback is his son's marriage to Pomba Gallegos - the Gallegos bloodline may be unacceptable to Vaticine hardliners. There is also some controversy in his bloodline, as there have been claims that his Grandfather, Paolo, was actually secondborn and not firstborn.
  4. Chus Ontivares y Rivera - decended from King Salvador's father's older sister, Chus has a closer blood tie to Salvador, but matrilineally. Twenty years old. Strong ties to the Zepeda family and the minor nobility. Less risky than either Javier Torres y Sandoval or Cornilio Ochoa de Sandoval, but does not carry the Sandoval name.
  5. Cornilio Ochoa de Sandoval - descended from King Salvador's grandfather's younger brother. A potential spoiler candidate, there are claims that his grandfather, Pablo, was actually born before Javier Torres y Sandoval's grandfather Paolo. Thirty seven years old. The fact that his mother is an Ochoa is a liability, but his wife is the sister of war hero General Montoya, which is an asset. He is also known to be politically ambitious.
  6. Grijalva heirs - decendents of Domingo Grijalva might argue a closer bloodline than Chus Ontivares y Rivera
  7. Galleno's bastards - Galleno Sandoval sired three legally recognized bastards. Their eventual whereabouts are now unknown. It is possible that one or more of these may be put forward as closer blood relatives to King Tito than any of the other candidates.

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The Council of Dons

Made up of the heads of the Major Nobility (or in some cases individuals delegated by the heads of the noble families), the Council of Dons is tasked with determining the succession of the throne in this case, and in approving the candidate and bestowing the title of King of Castille upon him.  The choice of successor must be made by unanimous vote, making the potential for delay likely.  The bestowal of the title must be passed with a majority of 6 votes (normally a 2/3 majority, but somewhat more now with one seat on the council vacant).  Once this is done the individual so specified officially becomes king of Castille.

Members of the Council are -

Don Francisco Guzman de Aldana - head of the Aldana family.  Stubborn and stoic, but usually just and fair.  His wife is Dona Cherie de Montaigne de Aldana.  He is a great-uncle of Lucas.  Presides over the Council of Dons.  Likely to support Javier Torres y Sandoval for the throne.

Don Samuel Vasquez de Gallegos - also the head of the Gallegos Swordsman school and governor of Gallegos Province.  Little known to most, as he spends most of his time in isolated Gallegos Province rather than Vaticine City.  He is aloof to most, although he lavishes attention on his province.  Most of his politics outside of Gallegos seems to be work to keep the province as isolated as possible.  Great-uncle of Juan.  Probably has no strong political agenda - may wish to see the succession delayed because a weak central government will be good for Gallegos.  Likely to eventually support Javier Torres y Sandoval, as Javier's son Fertus is married to a Gallegos.

Don Esteban Ruiz de Soldano - a canny politician and extremely wealthy, with numerous connections throughout Castille, Eisen and Vodacce.  His vote will likely go where the political advantage lies.

Dona Elodia Avila de Torres - widow of Don Fernando, the previous member of the council of Dons, who died fighting in defense of Torres province.  Some claim that she is driven mad by grief at the lost of her husband and three sons in the war.  Unpredictable.  It would normally be expected that she support Javier Torres y Sandoval for the throne, but at the moment she is not thinking clearly.

General Don Ciro Lopez de Zepeda - became head of the family when his parents were killed by the Montaigne.  One of the heroes of La Muralla, it was Don Ciro who assured that supplies flowed to troops on the front lines.  He is a friend of General Montoya.  Another likely supporter of Javier Torres y Sandoval.

Don Cornilio Rioja de Cordoba - representing the minor nobility on the council, Cornilio is a cutthroat politician, and even more wealthy than Esteban Soldano.  His vote is likely for sale to the highest bidder.

Bishop Arturo Orduno - representing the Vaticine Church on the Council, Bishop Orduño is strongly anti-Inquisition.  Not a strong politician, his vote is easily swayed by the position of others.

Señora Valencia de Altamira - representing the commoners of Castille, Señora Valencia is anything but common.  She is a wealthy merchant and head of a large shipping cartel, who made her fortune supplying Castillan troops in Eisen during the War of the Cross.  Another vote that is likely for sale.

One position on the Council of Dons is currently vacant, with the disbanding of the Ochoa family.

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The Concilio de la Razon

The Theocratic arm of the Castillan government, the Concilio de la Razon exists to advise the King on all matters concerning the faith.  One individual is selected from within the clergy of each province, along with one member from the Inquisition, and a head of the council appointed by the Vaticine Church, and is usually (though not always) a Castillan.  This can lead to the rather odd situation of having a branch of the Castillan government overseen by a foreign national.

The job of the Concilio de la Razon is, in this case, to accept or reject granting the title of King of the Castilles on the king chosen by the Council of Dons.

Cardinal Beppo Meuso, presiding Bishop and head of the Council - Cardinal Meuso is a recent edition to the council, replacing Cardinal Sergio Biladro for the first time this year as the Vaticine Church's representative on the Concilio de la Razon.  Little is known of him, but he is rumored to be a rather slothful and indecisive man.  The head of the council does not vote, but wields great power in determining which issues are discussed, for how long, and under what circumstances.

Cardinal Esteban Verdugo, representing the Inquisition - it is doubtful that Cardinal Verdugo will be able to attend the upcoming meeting of the Concilio due to his extensive injuries.  It is unknown who he will appoint to serve in his stead.  It is likely that whoever he represents will support his favored candidate, Javier Torres y Sandoval.

Cardinal Tomas Balcones, representing Aldana Province - Cardinal Balcones is headmaster of the famed Academia de Ciencia del Profeta y Salvador, Vaticine City's premier university.  He is a lifetime administrator.  His relationship with Cardinal Verdugo is poor, but he picks his battles very carefully, and mainly fights only in defense of his university.  He will likely vote his conscience on this matter.

Bishop Tito Garcia, representing Gallegos Province - Archbishop of San Gustavo and prelate of the famed Cathedral de Santa Arcusa.  Works in tandem with his counterpart on the Council of Dons, Don Samuel Vasquez de Gallegos, to keep Gallegos Province free of control by the main Castillian government.  Unlike Don Gallegos, however, Bishop Garcia is very active in the politics of the church on a wide variety of subjects.  Though not a supporter of Verdugo's Inquisition he does not oppose it either.  Likely to employ the same tactics on the Concilio de la Razon that his counterpart does on the Council of Dons.

Bishop Paloma Rioja de Cordoba, representing Soldano Province - younger sister of Don Cornilio Rioja de Cordoba, Paloma shares her brother's extensive contacts and money.  She is a vocal supporter of the Inquisition. Will likely vote based on political advantage.

Mother Superior Fiel al Dios (formerly Sister Rosa Riojas de Ochoa), representing Torres Province - Mother Superior of the Alba de Tormes convent near Barcino.  A fervent supporter of the Inquisition, she changed her name when the Ochoa line was disbanded.  May possibly support Cornilio Ochoa y Sandoval due to family connections, or Chus Ontivares y Rivera who is the most devout Vaticine.

There is currently no representative from Zepeda Province.  The previous representative, Bishop Salvador Gonzales, was killed in his cathedral when the town of San Juan was burned by the Montaigne.

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Credits:  © Edmund Metheny, 2003.    The title used both for this page and for the story arc that centres on it, "A Storm of Swords", is lifted from a book by George R. R. Martin whose Song of Ice and Fire series inspired the current plot.