Vollinan II
Vollinan II was a lich and emperor of the Aurean Empire from 4363-4688 AY, the longest reign of any Aurean emperor. Often known as Vollinan the Undying, he lived nearly a full life before ascending to become a lich, overthrowing the former emperor not long after. He kept a tight grip on the empire and was known for his brutal treatment of his subjects, leading to his eventual overthrow.
He was long a woshipper of Thalassar, the god of undeath, and near the end of his reign had begun to present himself as a god in his own right. These associations led the next emperor, Tiberius XVII, to ennact The Purge, an attempt to stamp out the worship of all but a few gods, known as The Divine Five. The Purge would become incredibly violent, and the instability it brought would eventually lead to the near total collapse of the Aurean Empire.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Vollinan was born Thaddius Velector, to a family of minor nobles in the city of Darus in 4286 AY, in what is now the Kingdom of Thelegon but was then part of the Aurean Empire. His magical abilities became clear at a young age, and at fourteen years old he was sent to study at the mages academy in Lycanthum to train as a wizard. He subsequently spent close to two decades teaching and doing research at the university.
In 4325 AY, while doing research amongst the dusty shelves of the university's library, he uncovered an old tome on the god Thalassar. He became obsessed with undeath, secretly undertaking necromatic rituals and eventually becoming leader of a Thalassar cult primarily made up of wizards and students associated with the university. Becoming quite ambitious, he formed a following around himself, both in public within the cities large mage population and in private among cultists and necromancers. He undertook the ritual to become a lich in 4358 AY, and was soon able to take advantage of an ongoing power struggle, defeating several competing claiments, and was crowned emperor Vollinan II in 4363 AY, taking the name of an earlier emperor who had searched for eternal life.
Reign
Vollinan's reign was in many ways suprisingly similar to other emperors, with the state bureaucracy running much the way it had before his reign. Having achieved indefinite life, the emperor became paranoid of anything which could bring it to an end, and soon rarely left his palace in Aureapolis. The emperor was rarely seen by the public, and his longevity made him soon be seen as an eternal and inpersonal force by most of the population.
However, his reign was marred by consistant use of brutal methods to supress dissent and any percieved threats, and the paranoid emperor percieved threats quite easily. He had a large network of devout followers, and eventually worshippers, who he scattered around the empire to listen for any signs of dissent, bruttally punishing any who so much as expressed distaste for his rule. Due to conflict with some prominant elves, he bruttally purged the many elven noble families that had been favored under the elven emperor Alruan, exterminating any relatives he could find. Most infamously, he would turn rebels and dissidents who were executed or killed in battle into undead, and used them as guards in prominant locations where they could be easily seen.
Though it scared off some, these acts brought the emperor more and more enemies, eventually leading to a coup by a legionary general named Marius Capulan. The coup succeeded in killing Vollinan and destroying his phylactery, and Marius Capulan was crowned as emperor Tiberius XVII shortly after.
Date of Birth
4286 AY
Date of Death
4688 AY (402)
Circumstances of Death
Killed during siege of his palace.
Birthplace
Place of Death
Children
Belief/Deity
Follower of Thalassar, promoted worship of himself
