Goro Soroyoto

Overview

Goro Soroyoto, known as the Cruel, was one of the most controversial rulers of the dynasty. For many he was the most ruthless monarch of the Age of Crowns, a man who forged the power of House Soroyoto through iron and blood. For others he was simply a destroyer, a ruler who confused stability with fear and justice with vengeance.

Life and Reign

Goro ascended the throne after a brief and violent succession dispute. From his first day as emperor he showed an absolute commitment to discipline, order and control. He believed that weakness was the first step toward betrayal and that cruelty was a virtue rather than a vice. He neutralized internal rivals and imposed a strict regime of fear and obedience. He introduced new laws that claimed to protect the throne but in practice dissolved the liberties of nobles and councils. His decisions were absolute and their execution uncompromising.

His campaigns against the western kingdoms were bloody but effective. By the end of his reign the borders of his kingdom had expanded more than at any other time. Chroniclers of the era described him as both a military minded tyrant and a reformer who united a fractured world through fear.

Legacy

Goro believed that peace was not a natural condition but the result of force. He often said that peace was a spoil of war. Under his rule the kingdom gained administrative cohesion, a unified currency and a common law, yet the cost was severe. His cruelty became proverbial and his name passed through the ages in a mixture of fear and awe.

Later thinkers such as Korin Soroyoto used Goro as an example of power that breeds fear, the first link in a chain that led from cruelty to the philosophy of obedience. If Korin Soroyoto gave theory to power, Goro Soroyoto gave it substance.

Character

Goro Soroyoto was a man of action rather than thought. He believed the state was a fortress and its ruler must hold the key in blood. He was taciturn, strict and unforgiving toward any form of disobedience. His contemporaries feared him more than they respected him, and for him that fear was the measure of success. Historians have never agreed on whether he was a savior or a tyrant but all acknowledge that without his cruelty the Soroyoto dynasty might not have survived.

Quotes

• "Peace is the spoils of war".
• "Fear is more faithful than love".
• "Weakness is the beginning of betrayal".

Category: Character Tags: Governance, History, Sorestia