Kavad
Governor Kavad Mihran, the Defier
Kavad Mihran was a mage lord of the Imperium in the 2nd century BIC. He was governor of Ophal from 144 to 112. There he built a personal fiefdom with him as the singular source of law and justice. Eventually he made a bid for supreme power in the empire. Using illegal magic he kept himself alive despite apparent deaths. Finally the Circle of Magi was brought in to destroy him, after the other Mage-Lords proved incapable.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born into the wealthy Mihran family of the Imperium, Kavad showed great magical talent from a young age. These qualities guaranteed him a prominent role in the Imperium.
Little is known of his early years. Stories hold that he killed a rival in a duel in his youth, perhaps because of a love affair. Another story has him stand trial for corruption, and acquitted on dubious evidence.
It is known that he was appointed Governor of Ophal in 144 BIC. Scholars believe this was an effort to end his political career through promoting him into a irrelevant but honorable position. Ophal was among the poorest provinces. The forces stationed there were insufficient to threaten the Imperial capital. The area had been pacified centuries previous, and there were no barbarians to wage war upon for easy profit and honour. Nevertheless Kavad went to his province happily and diligently worked to improve the province.
Evidence for the next few decades is scarce. Yet it seems Kavad improved the material circumstances of the province. The army records show that in his time there the garrison rose from 5.000 troops to more than 40.000. Kavad appears to have founded the city of Satove and moved his administration there. Various temples were raised, primarily to Sol, the leader of the Imperial Pantheon.
Perhaps his reforms and growth in military power alarmed the other Mage-Lords; or perhaps rumors of illegal magic reached them. In 118 the Magisterium recalled him to the capital, intending to depose and arrest him. The traditional story had Kavad stand before the other mages and reveal that he knows their plans, before attacking and killing many of them, then being himself seemingly killed by the combined might of the survivors. He then reappeared in Ophal, and marched west proclaiming himself Emperor.
His army was met by the forces of the Imperium at the Forde of Iken. The imperial forces were smashed. Kavad besieged Alachia, but could not take the city. The winter of 117/116 finds him wintering in Cyre, today the capital of Myzia. The summer of 116 has him once again marching on Alachia, but turning south to deal with the army of Sambice and Sharpur, the governors of the Catal and the Southern Isles (today's Cataali, and the Free Cities). By quick and reckless marching Kavad's armies bypassed the fortress of Triem and managed to confront the two enemy armies in detail, smashing both. Yet because his supply lines were not secure he was forced to withdraw north. Again he wintered near Cyre.
In the spring of 115 BIC the High Chief of Ekh'oron (the Orc name for Evonia) came to the aid of his liege lords in the Imperium. According to ancient historians he had an army of more than 100.000 warriors. These were joined by the remaining imperial armies that could reach the Alachian heartlands. Numbering nearly 200.000 these armies now marched in Cyre. At the battle of Rhylot the armies met, and did battle. In the fighting Kavad was once more apparently killed, and his army routed and was destroyed.
Kavad now reappeared in Ophal once more. He attempted to assemble another army. The Imperial forces besieged his province, but the natural barriers, the forests, mountains and seas surrounding the area prevented any major army from reaching it unmolested. After some years of fruitless campaigning the Mage-Lords appealed to the Circle of Magi to bring an end to Kavad. This they did. Archmages breached the defences surrounding Satove's citadel and battled Kavad. Exactly what occurred is unknown, but Kavad was defeated and did not reappear again.
Species
Conditions
Life
187 BIC
112 BIC
75 years old
Children
Gender
Male
Belief/Deity
Imperial Pantheon
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments