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by Empyrius. . 121 reads.

High King of Ephaeros (pending)





SZHEIRAC THE FIREBORN
HIGH KING OF EPHAEROS AND ALL ITS DOMINIONS







Overview



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Szheirac of Empyrius, also known by his epithet "the Fireborn", is the thirteenth and currently ruling monarch of the Solar Kingdom of Ephaeros. The last surviving member of the central Empyrius dynasty, which has ruled the Kingdom since its founding, he was forced onto the throne at the age of four in the aftermath of a catastrophic temple fire that left his family dead and his body permanently disfigured. Sidelined and puppeteered by the regency government that took the reins of the state due to his young age and lack of education, he eventually came to desire true power and relevance in his adolescence; with the help of loyalists within the court, he overthrew the regency and was "fully" crowned at the age of seventeen. His ascension to true governance was welcomed by much of the Ephaeran populace, but faced opposition from rival branches of the Empyrius clan and other opportunistic noble houses; subsequently, his early reign had been marked by considerable political strife, as both his ousting of the regency and his suppression of political adversaries were carried out in a radically heavy-handed manner and saw hundreds of deaths within the Kingdom's ruling class.


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Early Life



Valthar at 12, in casual attire while off duty
Valthar was born as the only child of a family of shamans in the Northeastern mountain village of Rhaess. They resided in the local shrine, where they also performed their duties as spiritual guides for the townsfolk, communing with various local Ethereals in order to receive their blessings and sending the deceased off to the afterlife to join their ancestors in watching over the village. Being born with albinism - his first name derived from the Veskronan word for "white" - Valthar was believed to be naturally more in tune with Aether, and was considered a divine gift upon the family and the village. He was trained in shamanism from a young age, with the hopes of bringing great fortune to the people of Rhaess. Initially, his parents appeared to have been right. Bounty and comfort came to the tranquil village for almost a decade as the child prodigy immersed himself among the Ethereals of Rhaess and gained their favours. However, mere idyll became insufficient for Valthar, and as he entered his early adolescence, he began to grow bored of his duties. Having grown up feeling as though the world was at his fingertips, yet confined to repetitive tasks of improving crop yield and weather, he developed one trait that the townsfolk had failed to account for - ambition.

It was during this period that the early stages of the Futurist movement began to spread towards his hometown, started by a group of explorers and artists who, after encountering both the struggles and wonders of the outside world, came to believe that their people were not truly living, and that they must advance and look to the future instead of miring themselves in the past in order to survive and find true meaning. In time, the Futurists grew increasingly militant, and as gossip went around of raving madmen who abandoned their ancestors to preach for the destruction of decency and tradition, Valthar found himself enraptured. Through the sensationalism and outrage, he found kindred spirits of his, disillusioned with the status quo and possessed with great visions of entering a new era. Their fanatical nationalism, in contrast to the nativistic isolationism that ruled the country, embodied a worldview of pride, glory, and passion, lighting a flame in Valthar's ambitious heart. He now had a true direction, a great goal that he must realise. Emboldened by this revelation, he decided to voice his beliefs to the people of Rhaess, to their great dismay and horror. Attempts were made at convincing him to come back into the fold, but before long, the townsfolk realised it was a hopeless endeavor. Disowned by his family and exiled from the village, he was left to make a new life for himself in the forests and valleys of Yronothra. Still, his conviction never wavered, and he remained determined to save his country from its own ignorance before it became engulfed by the ever-progressing outside forces.


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Revolution


For a general overview of the Veskronan Revolution, see here. [Temporary note: somewhat outdated.]

Valthar joined the ranks of the Futurist Liberation Army at the age of 14, after a few months of surviving in the woods. While the FLA was used to getting young recruits, he was the youngest in their ranks by a fairly significant margin, and they were surprised at his tenacity and will. His ruthlessness, courage, and quick learning made him highly respected by his cell, carrying out attacks with brutal efficiency before long.

In progress...


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Reign and Ideology


Since his ascension to power, Valthar has overseen major advancements towards modernising the country, such as rapid urban development and industrialisation, building extensive transport infrastructure across the country, and implementing a centrally planned, computer-assisted national economy as an upgrade of the small-scale informal socialist model practiced within Futurist-occupied territories during the revolution. He considerably expanded the country's armed forces, from the old regime's guerrilla-style self-defence force that used the country's difficult terrain to make up for its disadvantages in technology and manpower to a full-fledged advanced military capable of large-scale offensive campaigns, in part thanks to actually being able to produce advanced weaponry. During the initial period of his reign, his rushed transition into an industrial power led to severe environmental damage, consequently leading him to order strict environmental regulations for the sake of more sustainable development. Despite this, Veskrona has gained an international reputation as being ultra-polluted and having all but replaced its natural environment with concrete blocks - an obvious, yet not wholly inaccurate, exaggeration.

Though most of the loyalists were either killed over the course of the revolution and many were purged after the RSSV was established, those who remained have since consolidated into an insurgent group known as the Veskronan Ancestral Front. Meanwhile, the RSSV's belligerence on the world stage has left it with an number of bitter enemies. In response to assassination attempts and terrorist attacks from foreign envoys, mercenaries, and the VAF, Valthar implemented a policy of mandatory gun ownership and firearms training in order to more effectively deal with such threats on a moment's notice, as the police force, while advanced to the point where the RSSV is often criticised as a police state, still lacks the ubiquity and spontaneity provided by armed civilians. While regulations surrounding firearms are still rather strict in terms of exactly what citizens are allowed to own for the sake of security, this method has proven effective in reducing the frequency of such attacks.

One of his more ambitious, and risky, societal reforms was completely revolutionising Veskrona's notion of family structure. In order to secure futurist values in new generations and promote unity across the entire nation rather than among localised clans, he has enacted mandatory state rearing of children, having them sent to boarding schools where they are trained, alongside more conventional academic subjects, in war, survivalism, ideology, art, and eventually their government-assigned work. On top of this, he abolished marriage as an institution, viewing it as unnecessary under Veskrona's new socioeconomic structure.

In progress...

Political Opinions

Ever since his days living in the forests, Valthar's ideology has always been centred around rapid advancement and national empowerment, and as he became increasingly politically radicalised over the course of the revolution, this position evolved into a desire for heavy centralisation, military expansion, and state-controlled economic planning, believing that a strong, all-encompassing state must direct the people towards the furthering of national goals and prevent idleness and waste. He considers the general public to not only lack the competence required to have any major influence on policy, but also the adequate degree of vision and creativity to drive a country forward, believing democracies to be subjected to the pedestrian whims of the masses who think only of stability and comfort. However, despite his belief in autocracy, he has little respect for rulers who use dictatorial powers to maintain stability for its own sake or to enrich themselves off of their people's backs, despite many of his detractors accusing him of using his position and role in the revolution for the sake of personal glory and self-aggrandisement - something he doesn't fully deny, yet considers harmless and somewhat justified. He additionally has an intense hatred of luddites and primitivists, believing that they insult humanity by their very existence and wish to stifle any attempt at greatness for the sake of living like animals.

Despite living in a world of gods and spirits, Valthar prefers not to engage in the shamanistic worship of old, instead wishing to subjugate and exploit Ethereals to place them fully under his people's service - essentially treating Aether-related pursuits as a form of technology rather than a religious blessing, to be harnessed much like any natural resource and interwoven with non-Ethereal tools. However, he does not apply this universally, engaging in pacts with beings he cannot control in order to receive their aid or hold off their wrath, and in recent years he has come to believe that some forms of Aether-sorcery cannot be replicated or properly harnessed by mortal hands and non-spiritual methods. While he remains somewhat irreligious, he possesses a degree of awed admiration for the gods and their cataclysmic powers.

In progress...

Pro and Anti

  • Pro: futurism, barracks communism, militarism, irredentism, expansionism, scientific advancement, technology, centralisation, unitarism, socialism, nationalism

  • Mixed/neutral: environmentalism, religion, anticlericalism

  • Anti: peace, democracy, primitivism, ancestor worship, agrarianism, reactionarism, devolution, individualism

Political Tests

Shioris Valthar is a Communist Totalitarian Non-Interventionist Ultranationalist Progressive
Collectivism score: 100%
Authoritarianism score: 100%
Internationalism score: -33%
Tribalism score: 100%
Liberalism score: 67%



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Personal Life


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Appearance

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Personality

Due to his ejection from his hometown and multiple attempts on his life by insurgents and foreign agents, Valthar suffers from paranoia and trust issues, having arguably been driven mad to a certain extent over the course of the revolution and his reign. He is generally amicable to those he trusts, but they are few, and he is constantly on guard around most other people. He additionally possesses an explosive temper, though he attempts to keep it under control in public, usually either appearing cold and distant or harnessing this attitude to give fiery and impassioned speeches to onlookers, which has earned him a reputation as a highly charismatic and emotive orator. He is known for conducting himself in a somewhat informal manner, often seeing formalities as pointless and behaving however he sees fit regardless of setting.

In progress...


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Abilities


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Quotes


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Gallery


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Worldbook of Empyrius
Compiled by the Sacred Order of Archivists



Empyrius

Edited:

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