Valero Toras

King Valero “The Frail” Toras (1881-1949) was the reigning monarch of Rizia from 1918 until his death. The oldest child of Queen Lyza Toras, he opted to attend Iza University rather than serve on his mother’s council. There, he gained notoriety for his drunken exploits, often carried out in the company of an entourage that the press nicknamed the “Princely Posse”. One such adventure resulted in his whirlwind romance with commoner Estela Bartos, whom he married in 1903. After Valero’s graduation, he moved with Estela to Monqiz, where he reigned as Duke during the largely peaceful last years of the Lyzian era. He ascended to the throne upon his mother’s death in 1918, in a ceremony protested by those who questioned his legitimacy as well as that of the Rizian monarchy as a whole. Cynics have claimed that he mounted Rizia’s subsequent military campaign on Pales as a distraction from these concerns. While many never forgave King Valero for the failed Pales campaign, the 1926 uprising and the 1927 Zille Agreement, his popularity was boosted in the following years by the establishment of the House of Delegates as well as Rizia’s alliance with Rumburg and the resulting years of trade prosperity. However, despite the kingdom’s seeming recovery, Valero remained paranoid of threats, and reluctant to spend his mounting budget surplus. Rizia slipped into stagnation during the last decade of his reign, earning him his “The Frail” moniker. He passed away from a reported heart attack in 1949 and was succeeded by his son, Romus Toras.