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Grimbold Backbiter

The Vice Chancellor of the Census and Sundry Other Administrative Affairs under the reign of Frogeater Notapuppet (sometimes known as "The Ruler of Suspicion"), one of the distinguished (if misguided) Magic Sword Kings. Rumors of Vice Chancellor Grimbold's control over King Frogeater and the kingdom led to the latter's unfortunate death in a rather brash attempt to clear his name.

The rumors of King Frogeater's powerlessness, however, were true, and the Vice Chancellor had in fact been directing the kingdom's affairs for most of Frogeater's tenure. Yet contrary to the usual scenario, Grimbold Backbiter's shadow-reign was altogether benign. Backbiter, despite his lamentable surname, was in reality a rather agreeable fellow. He used his extended control over the throne to promote the development of the arts in the kingdom and even gave errant knights Sunday afternoons off (which did coincide with a rather nasty escalation of monster activity in the kingdom woods, but Backbiter claimed that this was just a coincidence). He also was famous for throwing great parties. His tax reforms, however, were not as popular with the peasants of the kingdom, most especially the "Greate Taxe on Plowes, Gruel, and Dirte" of the first year of King Frogeater's reign, which coincided with the lifting of all taxes and fees on magic swords.

After King Frogeater's fatal self-poisoning, the Vice Chancellor repositioned himself as the Assistant Customs Agent for the Importation of Exotic Animals and spent most of his final days writing haikus of middling quality:

Backbiter is sometimes attributed authorship of such famous ballads as "Y singe a songe about nothyng in particular", "Y wyshe to flye" and "The Mayde of the Moor."

It's worth noting briefly that much of what we know about Vice Chancellor Backbiter comes from his autobiography, The Frogged Prince: Memoires of a (Good) Vyce-Chancellore, and hence at least some of the information is suspect. It is furthermore interesting that any others of his day who attempted to create a biography of him never quite seemed to stick around long enough to complete it.