Theodorus Devlin

Theodorus Devlin, also known as Helmont the 15th, was the twenty-second duke of the Duchy of Carmathan in the Kingdom of Damara. He ruled in the mid-to-late 14 century DR.

Description
Theodorus was a manipulative ruler who made effective use of propaganda and misinformation to keep his subjects under control. He ruled Carmathan from its capital city of Ravensburg.

Relationships
As duke, Theodorus was opposed to the rise of Baron Gareth Dragonsbane of Bloodstone and his claim to the throne of Damara. He instead supported Baron Dimian Ree of Morov.

While he was the self-proclaimed brother of the former duke and a member of the noble house of Devlin, this claim was disputed and many doubted his legitimacy. After only a few months of his rule, Theodorus was widely unpopular among his subjects in Carmathan.

History
In the, Theodorus appeared out of nowhere immediately following Carmathan's defeat in the Fight of Three Borders and the death of the previous Duke, Dashard Devlin (a.k.a., Helmont the 14th) in that battle. He claimed to be a long-lost and previously unknown brother of Dashard, and was quickly able to claim control of the Carmathan court and Dashard's network of propagandists, rallying the duchy behind him and being declared Helmont the 15th, the twenty-second Duke of Carmathan. However, his popularity almost immediately started to decline rapidly.

Theodorus's primary goal was to counter the growing influence of Gareth Dragonsbane, the Baron of Bloodstone and aspiring king of Damara. It had been Dragonsbane's army who had humbled Carmathan's forces and slain Dashard, and although the people of Carmathan were already opposed to Dragonsbane's claim to the throne, Theodorus masterfully leveraged his propaganda network to intensify these feelings. However, Dragonsbane's popularity in other provinces, along with the heroics of his agents within Carmathan's borders, meant that the people were quickly warming up to him. Theodorus's first big mistake in trying to solidify his opposition to Dragonsbane was trying to tie his duchy closer to the Barony of Morov and to its baron, Dimian Ree, a competing claimant to the throne of Damara. However, as unpopular as Dragonsbane was among the Carmathans, Ree was even more despised, owing to his rumored connections to the Citadel of Assassins.

Bigger problems arose for Theodorus when a woman from Halfling Downs who claimed to have been the midwife for the house of Devlin came forward to say she had no knowledge or memory of Theodorus being born, or of Dashard ever having any brothers. These rumors prompted the Monastery of the Yellow Rose to begin conducting a genealogical investigation into the duke, dealing an even worse blow to his reputation and credibility. However, he continued to use his propaganda network to repress any public displays of the growing hatred toward his rule, especially within the Carmathan capital of Ravensburg.