Marcus, King of Valkanren

Marcus (32 AU—75 AU), popularly known as Marcus the Bad or Bad Marcus, was the fifth High King of Valkanren and the last king of the Leventhar dynasty. His reign was most noted for the Cyng Rebellion, in which Cyng lords attempted to achieve independence from Valkanren. The final years of his reign are also regarded as the beginning of the end for Somnar I's legacy of unity and strength.

History
After the death of his father, Alben I, Marcus inherited a country torn between separatists and unionists, factions which persisted long into the First Interregnum. He was a poor administrator and commander, and was often ruled over by his own vassals. His wife, Joanna Lettmar, had failed to produce any sons, however he did have one daughter Princess Joanna.

The Cyng lords saw Marcus as weak, and regarded Joanna as cursed for her inability to bear sons; ever superstitious, they saw the Valkanrian royal family as unworthy of their loyalty as they were not blessed specifically by Hynethe, and they still clung hard to the rumours of Alben I of Valkanren's regicide of Somnar II.

In 71 AU, a rebel army led by Lucion Lettmar marched on Levenstad. Lucion saw himself as the true King of Cyngvar and Brythonia, based on the claims inherited by his ancestors, Edgar the Cruel and Leodoth Blackheart. Their siege of Levenstad lasted from 74 AU until 75 AU, when Marcus marched out from the castle walls and was promptly shot in the eye by an arrow, ending the House of Leventhar and beginning a period known as the First Interregnum.