Korvosa, the Jewel of Varisia, has long sparkled on Varisia’s southern shore. Established 300 years ago by Cheliax at the height of that empire’s expansion, the city now commands its own destiny. A line of Korvosan kings and queens emerged to rule the city, establishing an infamous seat power—the Crimson Throne. Rulers have sat upon the Crimson Throne for more than a century, and the city has flourished. Yet the monarchy always seems on the brink of disaster. The Crimson Throne is not a prize to be won—it is a curse. No monarch of Korvosa has died of old age, and none have produced an heir while ruling. Even though King Eodred II controls Korvosa more fully than any previous monarch, that control remains tenuous, and many secretly count the days until their latest king falls to what they call the Curse of the Crimson Throne.
The city of Korvosa began 300 years ago, in 4407 ar, when the Empire of Cheliax expanded north into Varisia. Here, the Chelaxians found a large tribe of Shoanti barbarians dwelling around an immense pyramid on the shores of a deep bay—a perfect site for a city. Much bloodshed eventually left the Shoanti defeated, driven back to the harsh Cinderlands, and the city that grew on the site was named after the field marshal who led his army to victory there. Yet even as Korvosa flourished and grew, surviving even the collapse of the Chelish empire, few bothered to ask why the Shoanti had dwelt here. None of Korvosa’s citizens, from beggar to king, realized that the Shoanti were guardians, that deep inside the pyramid destined to become Castle Korvosa hid a great and terrible evil: the Fangs of Kazavon, relics of one of Golarion’s most powerful and deadly dragons. For the past 300 years, Korvosa has grown, unaware that the city’s foundation rests on a history of evil and cruelty. Today, Korvosa’s reigning King Eodred Arabasti II is feared by all the right people. His rule is steady, even if his insatiate appetites drain the city’s coffers. His ability to navigate the rocks and shoals of Chelish diplomacy earned the city favorable trade agreements with the Old Empire, but rumors persisted of the king’s womanizing habits and his spendthrift ways. Despite his fondness for a soft touch, he has to date produced no heir to the throne, the latest in a line of rulers affected by the Curse of the Crimson Throne. Edicts proclaim Eodred II the Saffron King, likening his reign to one of abundance, in which honey and spice flood the markets. The city’s downtrodden have another name for Eodred, though—the Stirge King, a man whose squandering ways are slowly bleeding his city dry. Whispers of Eodred II’s taste for scandalously young companionship have dogged the king throughout his rule, and thus when he finally wed, it was no surprise that his bride was barely a third of his age. Queen Ileosa was a woman of breathtaking beauty, with red hair like the sunset, chaste alabaster skin, and features so fetching many claimed her mother must have been a nymph queen, as surely no mortal woman could give birth to a beauty such as she. Most of Korvosa’s nobles worry of the dangers of placing a trophy wife within hands’ reach of the Crimson Throne, but Ileosa’s interest in the city seemed secondary to the life of luxury—and with the more-than-competent Seneschal Neolandus Kalepopolis guarding Castle Korvosa’s interests, these noble families feel they have little to worry about.
The queen was born Ileosa Arvanxi to one of Cheliax’s more successful noble families. When she came of age, most expected her to marry into a more powerful Chelish line, yet she scandalized her family by abandoning Cheliax and sailing to the city of Korvosa. For Ileosa was nothing if not ambitious—she didn’t see herself as the wife of an important Chelish dignitary or noble, but as a queen. She knew much of Eodred II’s tastes and desires before she arrived, so that when she presented herself to him, he fell in love immediately. The two were wed after a scandalously short courtship, and, perhaps the most shocking move of all, Eodred turned out his entire harem in favor of his new queen. Barely 17 years old when she took Eodred II’s side in 4704 ar, Queen Ileosa has managed a minor miracle in the past 4 years—she’s single-handedly shifted the dislike and disapproval away from King Eodred to herself with her open distaste for Korvosa (a city she’s been heard to call “a backwater colonial village” more than once).
About 2 months ago Eodred was struck with an illness and every physician that was summoned could do nothing to alleviate his condition or stop his health deteriorating. As this Adventure Path begins, Eodred still lives, but the illness has wreaked havoc on his health. He has spent the last several weeks in seclusion in Castle Korvosa, and despite the work of his staff, rumors of his ill health are spreading. Queen Ileosa has called for unity in Korvosa and is attempting to quell any talks of rebellion whilst promoting herself as a competent ruler in his stead.
