Vulcan Kerendas was born to an old, but minor noble family in the south east of the
Kingdom of Lete, with roots on an island called Ashwick, small but valuable island off the eastern coast of the
Gelon Sea. Vulcan was the eldest son of Lady Aine Kerendas, and Lord Rian Kerendas, the Viscount of Ashwick.
From an early age Vulcan displayed magical abilities which immediately granted him attendance to the Royal Academy of Sorcerers. Rather than send his heir all the way to
Heartsport, Lord Rian arranged for the academy to send a tutor to Ashwick. This tutor was none other than
Ankarr the Black. Ankarr found Vulcan to be a studious pupil and full of raw power for the arcane, but ultimately Vulcan lacked the spirit to master the nuances of the arcane arts, and his abilities hit a plateau he would never overcome. Instead Vulcan found his true calling with a warhammer under the tutelage of Lord Rian's Master At Arms, Theowyn Gray.
During this time Vulcan built a friendship with his cousin, Eric Redheart, that would last his entire life. Eric was the second son of Hadrian Kerendas and had been sent to Ashwick from Westerly, an island chain to the west of Ashwick to foster with his uncle and cousins. When Ankarr was called to Court in Heartsport to advise the new king
Thanus Redheart, he offered to bring Vulcan with him. Both Vulcan and his father knew Vulcan's time at court would be invaluable for the family and they both quickly agreed that he should accompany the wizard back.
Vulcan arrived in Heartsport in spring of 1110, at the age of nineteen. He quickly found a place among the King Thanus' advisors, eventually working his way into a command position in the King's Legion. In that same year Vulcan first met the king's eldest daughter,
Katelyn. Much to the king's chagrin the two of them quickly became friends, and eventually romantically interested. Thanus refused multiple requests from both his daughter and Vulcan to allow the young lord to court Katelyn. Vulcan, for his part, was a loyal servant to his King and set about proving his worth. Katelyn on the other hand began sabotaging her father's efforts to betroth her to anyone else. Thanus eventually relented, and the two were married in the autumn of 1112. As a wedding gift Vulcan was granted the territory of White Cliffs, which ran along the coast adjacent to Ashwick and named Marquess. A little more than a year later Alexander Kerendas was born.
Later that same year Thanus received what would be the first, of many, requests from various rebelling factions in the
Magi Republic for help. King Thanus was sympathetic to their plight, those without the ability to use magic fighting against the yoke of a magocracy that reduced them to little more than slave labor. However, he knew the kingdom could ill afford to be drawn into a long war with the Republic. Vulcan, ever the opportunist, talked Thanus into sending him along with a handful of legions into the Republic to help. The King agreed. Vulcan began assembling his forces, calling up his own men as Viscount of Ashwick, and sending for his cousin Eric, who by now had been blooded a number of times battling
Lower Lete in skirmishes along the southern border of the kingdom.
The initial plan was Vulcan would make contact with as many factions as he could, unite and coordinate their efforts while using Letian forces to secure supply lines and captured territory. The plan worked too well and within a few years Vulcan had backed the Republic into a dangerous corner. In their desperation the Republic orchestrated the
Massacre of Demenia. Rather than demoralize and defeat the Letians though the massacre became a rallying cry for them, and with the death of his youngest daughter at the hands of Republic treachery Thanus threw the entire might of the Letian Legion into the war under Vulcan's command. A few years later, faced with what they perceived to be overwhelming odds and heavy losses, the Republic sued for peace. Vulcan realized his forces were getting spread too thin to continue to push into Republic territory and both sides negotiated terms. The war officially came to an end in the autumn of 1115.
Due to a series of betrayals during the
Fenixian War For Independence and the Massacre of Demenia the newly freed prefectures had little in the way of leadership to form their own governments. Vulcan, again sensing an opportunity, stepped to help. Already seen as a hero to many of the people in these new lands Vulcan helped unite all the prefectures into a single nation, a parliamentary empire. Initially the Emperor would hold considerable power but as the years passed and each prefecture recovered from the war, and the new empire's borders were secured, much of the Emperor's powers would pass onto the parliament, called the
Council of High Lords. In practice Vulcan bribed, threatened, bartered, and cajoled his way into being named the emperor of this new empire. With the full might of the Letian Legion still at his back Vulcan ran into little resistance as he gutted the Council's powers. The Council would have almost full control over the relations between and management of the empire's prefectures, but the emperor would have the final say in nearly everything, including any matters that affected more than one prefecture. This intentionally vague separation of powers ultimately gives the emperor the ability to act unilaterally in virtually every aspect of life in the empire. Still, Vulcan is an opportunist, but he is not greedy or evil, and life is good in the empire. Under his reign the Empire has quickly become one of the most powerful nations on the continent.
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