Leo Hadrien, The Last Pontifex of the Andrytes

Early Life

Leo Hadrien was born to a merchant family in Matre. Hadrien lifted a simple life as his parents expected him to carry on the family's business, but he believed that he had a greater purpose. With the tentative permission of his mother and father, he joined the Andryte faith to become a Brother of the church. Hadrien had a natural aptitude for leadership, as his peers often viewed him as their "leader". Considered arrogant and condescending by his teachers, they warned the clergy of the ascending of a Brother with such a great ego. 

"Hadrien was an issue from the start. People his age loved him and his candid attitude towards his superiors. His disobeyance of authority was, in a word, problematic"

-Teorad, Philosopher & Social Critic

At the age of thirty, Hadrien seemingly had his own following within the Andryte faith. The last thing that the Andrytes had wanted was a schism, so they had allowed his faction to exist and grow large rather than stopping Hadrien and his destructive ideas on what the faith should be.

Career

Hadrien's controversial career spanned several decades until he and his ideals inevitably filled the eyes and ears of every Brother and Sister. A young mind spreading new and fresh ideas was remarkable. His means, however, were often unsavory as Hadrien was not a peaceful man. His lackeys constantly threatened and blackmailed those that dared to rise up against him and his version of the Andryte faith. He believed that the Andrytes should have a standing military at all times not only to protect the High Plains, but also to invade other realms to spread the faith by force, as he believed that those ignorant to the Mother's teachings must be converted or they shouldn't exist at all.

"Our enemy is not as simple as a thug with a spear; it is the person who denies the light of the Mother. Our war is not to fight with our bodies, but our hearts and minds"

-Pontifex Hadrien

Despite his public appearance of wishing prosperous peace, his schemes became more and more obvious to the citizens. Towns, cities, and entire realms began to break away from Matre and the faith out of protest and fear. Months after knowledge of the Pontifex's plans for destruction became more and more known, Hadrien suddenly died under mysterious circumstances, some believing that he was poisoned. After Hadrien, the High Clerics decided that it would be them that rule over the Andryte faith rather than having another controversial figure like Hadrien ever again.