Grover II

Grover II was the second Emperor of the Griffonian Empire, and successor of his father, Grover I, who had used the Idol of Boreas to conquer most of the Griffonian continent under the banner of the Grover dynasty. Grover II, a vengeful, wrathful, and militaristic griffon, was known for some of the most bloody wars Griffonia had ever seen, including the slaughter of Aquileia during the First Aquileian Revolt, and his famous crusades for the Riverlands, which marked a new period of Eastern expansion for the Griffonian Empire.

Grover II, along with his Archon of Arcturius, was the first to sanction the Knights of Hellquill to begin their Eternal Crusades against the ponies of the East, indirectly leading to the foundation of the River Coalition and his own untimely death at the hoof of a Nimbusian soldier. He also, however, engaged in diplomacy, bringing the Diamond Dogs into the realm and granting them the County of Bronzehill as a refuge and home for the escaped slaves, forever ensuring their loyalty to the crown.

Grover II surpassed the expectations of most historians, and is generally considered nowadays to be one of the Empire's greatest minds for his military prowess and broad accomplishments for the Griffonian Empire's military and political prowess, upholding the legacy of his father and predecessor. A general at heart, Grover II often fought alongside his own troops, especially upon his crusades against the Riverponies, and was trained by his own father as one of his generals.

Fiercely loyal toward his nation and his family, Grover II left the Idol of Boreas and control of the Kingdom of Griffonstone to his brother, Guto, keeping the internal affairs of the Empire to himself. With a slight distaste for the nobility, he was fond of using the Golden Bull of 731 ALB, which gave the Emperor the power to bypass any bureaucrats or nobles with a direct edict. Grover II's ruthless personality allowed him to force through many of his problems with fire and sword, causing issues that would only be rectified by his successor, Grover III.

Early Life
Grover II was born the first and only son of his father, Grover I von Greifenstein (Griffonstone). When Grover II was born, his father had already conquered swathes of Griffonian territory, along with mainting continued control over the Kingdom of Griffonstone, which was eventually left to his younger brother Guto I. Guto I was born some years after Grover, and his branch of the dynasty would be closely connected to the ancient customs of Griffonstone and the Idol of Boreas especially, which Grover I had set aside for safekeeping, not for his descendants to use.

Pre-Imperial Experience
Grover II soon became his father's greatest asset when it came to the field of warfare, fighting in numerous campaigns across the whole of Griffonia, campaigns that led him to refine his already exceptional military skills but left him a militaristic and violent griffon, and eventually to a strained relationship with his father and Emperor, who used him as a "battering ram" in his constant wars for the continent.

The Coronation
After Grover I's relatively peaceful death in 785, the warlike Grover II was expected to be a poor candidate for the Empire that his father had built, especially among the once independent and strong vassals of the old Emperor, who were subjugated and beaten during the unification of the continent. Most of the vassals, citing his lack of political skill and intrigue, and an inability to carry out the policies, faithfulness and majesty of his father's reign, believed the Empire would soon collapse.

On the day of Grover II's lavish coronation as the second Emperor of Griffonkind, the Discret King of Aquileia revolted, hoping to spark a fire that would cause numerous other vassals to follow his lead and gain their independence from the new Emperor. The other vassals, such as Wingbardy and the northern states, however, refused to join the King of Aquileia, leaving him alone to face the might of Grover II and his conquering forces. Grover's Imperial Army marched forward toward the upstart rebellion and decisively defeated them at two consecutive vassals in the Aquileian heartland, all while his army burned and looted the Kingdom as a warning not to challenge the authority of Grover II. The city of Vyzima, once a sprawling town in the Kingdom of Aquileia, was sacked and destroyed, leaving only ruins.

The rest of the Discret dynasty, fearing the loss of their dynasty's control over Aquileia and repercussions from the Emperor, captured their own family member and King and sent him to Grover II personally, where according to first-hand accounts, he was beaten to death by the Emperor himself. As a token of esteem to the Emperor after their family's rebellion, the remaining Discrets proposed a marriage pact to the Emperor, where they offered up Giselda Discret, a princess of the house and third child of the King, to become the Emperor's new wife. Surprisingly enough, the Emperor accepted, and they were married in the ruins of a temple of Arcturius in Aquila.

Post-Aquileian Conflict
Days after Grover I's death and the coronation of Grover II, Nimbusia, a significant regional power in the Riverlands, invaded the Gryphian Host, attempting to secure lands further West than the riverponies had previously controlled. Grover II, benefitting from the clear success of the Aquileian campaign, helped to relieve the armies of the Host and repel the Nimbusians, consolidating Imperial control over eastern griffon lands and reaffirming Grover II's position as a strong Emperor and worthy successor to his father, if the Aquileian campaign had not already accomplished that. Grover II, fearing the loss of the Idol of Boreas and realizing he was not truly blessed by its power directly as his father had been, instructed the idol to his brother, Guto I, who became the King of Griffonstone and founder of a new cadet branch nominally separate from the Grovers. Griffonstone continued to prosper under the Grover dynasty, and while it was no longer the center of the Griffonian faith, (Griffenheim had nominally replaced it), it continued to be a center of industry and newfound prosperity.

In 792, 7 years after post-coronation chaos, a large slave revolt in Diamond Mountain led to thousands of dogs fleeing captivity and founding new lands west of the riverlands. Grover II, sensing opportunity, granted the dogs the mountains above Griffenheim, declaring the leader of the escaped slaves the first "Count of Bronzehill".

Southern Campaigns
In 799 ALB, Grover II, seeking to secure supply routes to the East, invaded Sicameon with a vast invasion force. Although the federated parishes had resisted the efforts of Grover I to invade them during the end of his reign, Grover II came with a vastly more-prepared army, and easily crushed the parishes, establishing the Grand Duchy of Sicameon in their place. Grover II's invasion of Sicameon would secure his supply routes, but it also enraged the locals, who continued campaigns of resistance and guerilla warfare for decades, and despite continued reprisals, continued to fight on, pioneering Sicameonese defensive tactics.

Next, the Emperor turned his sights to the minotaurs of Asterion, blockading their island nation and using the full might of the refined Imperial navy, much expanded since the days of Grover I, to obliterate their fleet and navally invade the island. The King of the Minotaurs, after decisively losing an initial engagement to Grover II's Imperial Army, surrendered to the Empire, allowing them to establish a puppet government under a new noble, similar to what the Empire had done to Sicameon.

Eternal Crusades
In 810, Grover II, along with the Archon of Arcturius, began a large-scale period of holy wars upon the eastern riverponies, referred to as the "Eternal Crusade". While Grover II was barely able to take over any land in the riverlands, only defending the sovereignty of the orders of Hellquill and Longsword, his crusades became a key focus for the Empire. Historians claim that Grover II used the Crusades to gain religious and political favor, along with uniting the Empire under a common cause to prevent further rebellions or insurrections, and that it was more a tactical move than an actual incursion to conquer the entirety of the riverlands.

Regardless, Grover II fought in the Eternal Crusade himself for decades, and became legendary and feared among the riverponies and his own griffons. Stories were told of Grover II cutting down thousands of soldiers himself in single engagements, and soldiers from across the riverlands were afraid to even engage him in combat. One fateful day, however, 44 years after the announcement of the Eternal Crusade, Grover II was slain by a Nimbusian soldier, a spear lodged through his eye. His body was never found, but the legacy of his crusades and his militaristic campaigns for the glory of the Empire remained a core subject of the Empire's philosophy for centuries to come.

Legacy
Grover II is a divisive figure among many historians, but among the general public, he is adored for his defense of the Empire and embodiment of the values of which the decaying nation once fought for and the power and influence they could strive to have in the future. While his ideology and legacy continues to be popular among the citizens of the Empire, fervor against the ponies that he created has generally stopped, and the Eternal Crusade has been left to the orders themselves - the Empire has not participated in one itself in decades. Many left-wing, pacifist, historians, have criticized Grover II for the toll of griffon and pony life caused by his crusades, along with the death and destruction they brought, for what they argue was little gain for the common Imperial citizen. Conservatives, however, revere him as a military genius who saved the Empire from certain destruction and cemented the Grover dynasty as the true heirs to the legacy of the Idol of Boreas.

Grover II is particularly loved among the Knightly Orders themselves, especially certain factions of the Reformisten and among the Order's veterans and knights. An entire faction of the Reformisten, the Groverists, has dedicated its ideology to the crusades and ideology of Grover II, and further south, in Gryphus, the knightly and priestly order of Opinicus has carried on his fanatically anti-pony and crusader legacy. Further East, however, in the River Coalition, he is viewed as a monstrous crusader whose Empire's villainy and lust for power was one of the founding factors of the River Coalition. The Nimbusian soldier who ended his reign of terror has been idolized across Nimbusia and the entire Coalition as an unknown hero who turned the tide of history.

After Grover II's death in battle, his son, Grover III, would be responsible for mending most of the eventual outcomes of Grover II's policies and regime, forging a new Griffonian identity, and carrying on the legacy of both his father and grandfather. Although it was Grover II who helped fully unite the Empire, it was Grover III, historians say, who truly stabilized it.