Volodar

Volodar is perhaps the most influential individual in the history of the southern wood elves. Cultural references to him can be found throughout the region, not least its unofficial name, Volodaria (though officially Astria-Selucenia), and its native people, the Volodarin. He is acclaimed as a peacemaker, and considered by many to be the saviour of his people, due to his role in forging the treaty between the Empire of Nara Tok and a coalition of Aeldrin tribes, which officially ended the drawn-out Aeldrin-Imperial Frontier Battles.
Volodar was born in approximately 130 IF, into the Ai-Vala tribe of the western Aelder Wood. The Ai-Vala were group of Aeldrin warriors who roamed across the forest's western border, guarding the sacred woodland from interlopers. From a young age, Volodar excelled in matters of warfare, playing a key role in the organisation and execution of several raids and ambushes during early disputes with imperial settlers. Forged in battle, the young Volodar was zealous by all accounts. Even among the Ai-Vala, Volodar earned a particular reputation for ruthlessness.
Volodar's later life would be decided by an otherwise ordinary event. In 177 IF, while executing an ambush in the woodland east of the Wannib, the Ai-Vala captured a single hostage - a Thragean migrant by the name of Fragg Blaethwyn. While many of the Ai-Vala, Volodar included, saw no use in such a captive, their leader Qaiva set them the task of extracting as much information from Fragg as possible, hoping to learn something of imperial deployments. Volodar was assigned as one of Fragg's primary interrogators, and as a result spent a lot of time with him. Ever diligent, Volodar set about teaching the basics of the Aeldrin language to Fragg, and in turn began to pick up some Imperial. While at first hostile, over time Volodar began to appreciate Fragg's genuine curiosity and desire to learn - traits he found he himself shared. Over the course of the next decade, Fragg and Volodar would become closer and closer, both delighting in sharing the wonders of their homelands.
By 189 IF, the wider Ai-Vala tribe had come to accept Fragg as a member of their family. Volodar's own standing had only grown, as Fragg's knowledge of the Redcloaks and their tactics allowed him to lead many successful operations, with minimal losses. Two years later, Qaiva's death left a power vacuum among the Ai-Vala, which Volodar quickly filled. With the support of his brothers-in-arms, and Fragg's advice, Volodar was able to guide the Ai-Vala to many military victories against the imperial scourge. The tribe earned a fierce reputation as true guardians of the woodland; indeed, their red and green warpaint became somewhat of a target among many Redcloak squadrons. Bounties grew larger and larger, though few were able to claim successful Ai-Vala kills.
Yet, even Volodar's leadership couldn't save the Ai-Vala forever. While losses were rare, every one of them impacted the tribe significantly; and as the years wore on, their numbers dwindled. A pallor of dread had settled onto the young chieftain, inspired in part by his friend's descriptions of the rich and populous northern Empire. Volodar found himself struggling with the greatest dilemma of his generation. The Ai-Vala had sworn for millennia to protect their forested homeland from invaders and trespassers. Yet, in upholding that duty, he knew he was dooming his people to extinction.
In the spring of 193 IF, even the eastern tribes of Aeldrin had been drawn into the war with the Empire. Vast swathes of the Aelder Wood had been burned and destroyed, and the Empire's border-forts crept ever deeper into the forest's heart. In the face of such a crisis, the Aeldrin of the west and east agreed to meet in the forest's heart, to discuss how their defence should contine. For the first time in millennia, a great conference was called that gathered almost all of the leaders of the Aeldrin. As leader of the Ai-Vala, Volodar was granted a place at this meeting. After years of pondering, Volodar was finally ready to voice what he believed to be the solution to the Aeldrin plight. Volodar called for a treaty with the Empire - a treaty that would concede much of their ancient homeland to foreign rule, but which he believed would save its final remnants, and give the Aeldrin people a chance at survival. Volodar was faced with much opposition, however his convincing arguments, combined with the stark certainty of Aeldrin defeat, were ultimately successful in convincing much of the assembly that he was right. Some few Aeldrin leaders continued to refuse Volodar's wisdom - these would be the leaders of those groups who remain, to this day, within the protected Forests of Volodar.
With the support of most of the Aeldrin, Volodar set out on a diplomatic mission into enemy lands. It was Fragg who provided the means for them to reach the imperial leadership - he was able to convince a patrol of imperial soldiers that he'd taken the dreaded leader of the Ai-Vala captive, and received an escort into Selucia. A week after his arrival, Volodar and Fragg were able to sneak their way into the quarters of the Redcloak general, one Inali Anganeux, and gain an audience.
Inali was more than willing to seek an end to the southern campaign - the ongoing Second Cyrinese War in the north had placed the Ipolian general under pressure to finish his campaign in the south and secure the region before his glories were eclipsed by the armies in Cyrin. Negotations were lengthy, but ultimately the Aeldrin-Imperial treaty was signed. Volodar conceded the vast majority of the ancient forest to Imperial rule, but in return he was able to establish enclaves of protected land for the few remaining Aeldrin to inhabit. He was also able to establish the rights of the wood elves as imperial citizens, and even more incredibly, convinced the Ipolian general of the need for a mixed Aeldrin-Human government. The Dual-Exarchy of Astria-Selucenia was founded, with Volodar and Inali serving as the first Exarchs of the province. Peace had finally come to the region, at the cost of its ancient traditions.
Volodar and Fragg continued to work together to organise the newly-displaced Aeldrin for many years. Volodar established the offices of his government in the town of Astria, once the largest of the Aeldrin settlements, deep in the forest's heart. He acted as a mediator and administrator for his people, serving as the connection between the Imperials and the elves. Under his leadership, the denizens of the ancient wood entered into a new era, and were successfully assimilated into Imperial culture. It was during this time that the term Volodarin became popular, signalling the final end of the Aeldrin people.
Volodar also played a major role in the formation of the Fysian Temples in Astria and Luria. This new branch of elven theology placed an emphasis on one of Daisha's other aspects/daughters - the goddess of natural beauty Fysia. The temple's tenets offered a solution to the breaking of the Daishan Pact - under Fysian theology, the death of the Aelder Woods merely meant that a new pact should be forged - a pact in which the gifts of nature must be cherished, along with the familial love shared by all Dhaernor's creatures. More, the cultivation of nature simply involved the cherishing of these gifts, rather than being some incredible evil. This belief system proved popular with the culturally lost elven people.
Many expected Volodar to continue to rule for many centuries, yet tragedy struck. In 210 IF, while on a diplomatic mission into one of the Aeldrin enclaves, Volodar was mistaken for an imperial trespasser and shot by a poisoned arrow. He was escorted to his home in Astria, but succumbed to the toxin before an antidote could be administered, still relatively young at eighty years of age.
While Volodar had been a controversial figure during his life, derided as a traitor to his people and a sell-out, in the years after his death his role in saving the wood elves grew to be more appreciated. Today, Volodar is celebrated by all but the insurgents of Amara, as the visionary who secured his people's safety.