The World: Important Figures
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Legendary Figures
Undead Duke Bulla
Undead Duke Bulla came to the dukedom of Bel Amar in the year 205, already a powerful cleric and a ruthless man. While in power, Bulla began to experiment with Necromancy, and, towards the end of his human lifespan, achieved success - and gained his notorious title. Until 405, the Lich-Duke (as he was also called) held Bel Amar in an iron grip, and greatly expanded the province's territory, making the Province of Kash his vassals. When he grew tired of mortal affairs at last, Bulla left Bel Amar to embark upon a planar journey - but left an heir (his great-grandson to rule in his stead. Before leaving, Bulla put a powerful spell on the province: should it ever happen that a duke of his line be denied the throne of Silla, or be killed while ruling, Bulla would immediately return - and slaughter the murderer, the murderer's entire family, the town the murderer lived in, and another ten thousand Bel Amari for good measure. Those killed would rise as undead servitors of the Lich-Duke. Needless to say, the ducal line of Bulla has been safe to this day.
North Amen
King Hessiah I
Eldest of three brothers in the line of Bulla, Duke Hessiah assumed control of his province in 542. As the refugee crisis of 545 loomed over all of Amen, chaos erupted. The then-current king of North Amen, Horace XII (reigning in the province of Cindel), was too old and feeble to take matters into his own hands, and further, feared a coup or assassination by his ambitious courtiers. So he journeyed to Bel Amar in secret, and pleaded with young Duke Hessiah for help. Thanks to the Bulla the Undead, Hessiah enjoyed the firm support of his subjects; and with the warlike citizens of Kash as sworn vassals to Bel Amar, its Duke had a powerful army at his disposal.
Hessiah saw the opportunity and jumped on it: he agreed to help, but only in return for Horace's stepping down in his own favor. The feeble king had no choice, and in 546, Horace was crowned in Silla as the monarch of North Amen. The title still did not bear much weight, as each province saw itself more or less independent of the central rule; but Hessiah at once set to unify the Ameni lands. With the warriors of Kash at his side, he did not face much resistance and, by 548, had brought the territory from the Fishing Towns in the east to Thousand Provinces in the west under his firm control. In the same year, Hessiah recrowned himself as the absolute monarch of North Amen and has each of the provincial dukes pledge absolute fealty to himself. With internal troubles quelled, he then looked to the refugee crisis.
The refugees were mostly fleeing from lands southwest of Thousand Provinces, and spreading tales of horrible Demons who had infested once-fertile lands. Spies, sent out by king Hessiah beyond his borders, confirmed reports of a massive demonic invasion. Gathering his best clerics and paladins, the King set out to rid the land of Demons (and, of course, to annex it to his growing kingdom). While the war went badly to start, almost ending in the defeat of Ameni armies at the Battle of the Spine, Hessiah managed to take the initiative at last and drive the demons back. Still, it wasn't until the Battle of the Wall of Blood in 555 that the Demon armies were utterly decimated and their leader Gaharrash slain by Lord Kessal in single combat. In the same year, Hessiah annexed the demon-cleansed lands to North Amen as the province of Fel'hewath.
Five years later, Hessiah set his eye on Fel'hewath again, this time with a mind to bring civilization to this wild frontier, and to rid it of whatever evil might have survived in the aftermath of the Great Demon War. The Expeditionary Force, which has met with lots of criticism in North Amen as an overly expensive and generally unnecessary gesture, is due to set out in the fall of 560.
Lord Kessal
Latest in the long line of Kash Dukes (whom some derisively call Warlords), Kessal was indeed a natural warrior from birth. When young Hessiah I asked for his help in subjugating the other provincial Dukes of North Amen, Kessal couldn't have been happier. He waged a brief and efficient campaign, relying on strategy as much as on force of arms, and was especially commended by the king for his efforts, being the first to gain the title of Grand Duke (and gaining a little more autonomy than the rest of the provincial Dukes). When time came for the Great Demon War, Kessal was at the front lines again, personally challenging and defeating the great Demon general Gaharrash, splitting its skull with his mighty greatsword.
Interestingly enough, after the Great Demon War, Kessal retired to the province of Kash and stayed there, content with ruling his own subjects. His only political move in the last five years was to appoint the Mercell family, whose eldest brother had married his daughter Dyana, to leadership positions in Fel'hewath. As the province is neither profitable nor popular, no one at the court contested Kash's actions.
Fel'hewath
Kara
Lord Set Mercell, Duke of Fel'hewath
Lord Set Mercell is everything his father-in-law is not: young, charismatic, and utterly incompetent as a warrior (despite there being some rumours that Lord Set has Great-Waster roots, as indicated by his dark-skinned appearance). He has decent administrative skills, and when he fell madly in love with Lady Dyana, Lord Kessal approved of the match. He wanted to test Lord Set, it seems, by giving him governorship of a dangerous border province just after the war. Or, perhaps, Lord Kessal just didn't want the peace-loving Lord Set in his militaristically-minded court. In either case, the Duke of Fel'hewath has so far performed marvellously as its governor, and gained approval from all strata of society.
Lord Set is in his late twenties, bronze-skinned, with flowing black hair. He speaks passionately about his work, and lovingly about his family, and whenever you talk to him, you get the feeling Lord Set genuinely *cares* for whatever subject is at hand. He is always polite to the utmost, even with non-nobility, and generally tries to not get his rank and position get in the way of partnership or friendship.
Lady Dyana Mercell
Robert, Alya, Issha Mercell
Colonel Zatien Mercell, Commander of Armed Forces in Fel'hewath
Colonel Zatien Mercell, Lord Set's younger brother, is a typical successful career soldier. He's seen two decades of service, and performed brilliantly in the Great Demon War, often standing by General Kessal's side in battle. Now charged with leading the Expeditionary Force, Lord Zatien is proving himself an able administrator, and a flexible leader, dealing with small adventuring teams with the same skill he had when directing batallions and regiments.
Colonel Zatien is two years younger than his brother, but he looks much older, thanks to his great beard and dark, piercing eyes. He is generally a man of few words, but when he speaks, underling and superiors alike listen. He is nearly always clad in chain mail, forged of some unknown flowing alloy, and carries a steel greatsword on a tough leather belt.
