Thekdrolir Thekdralornu
"History becomes legend. Legend becomes myth. And some things that should not be forgotten are lost." -A Forgotten Ylfari Queen "You can kill vegrādu, but you can't vanquish one." -Regdāhid Thekdrolir Thekdralornu "The learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the goodly, and the valor of the brave... these things make the world turn." -Thekdrolir Thekdralornu, as Zamtha of ShaplaThekdrolir, son of Regdāhid Thekdralor Thekmolirnu, was the last legally recognized Regdāhid of Sāvarāhid. Were it not for Makshakh, the Last Days, he would have had an unremarkable reign during a time of peace and prosperity for all vegrādu. Thekdrolir was a scholar and philosopher well versed in the ancient writings of his people. He was also a passionate debater, orator, and storyteller. Bequeathed Ferūklad by his father and destined to sit on the Iron Throne, he was nevertheless a vegrādu of the people, and not just his own. He is remembered to have been close to three generations of the Royal House of Teryn.
Artifacts
Ferūklad
Holy Books & Codes
Dumapra
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Thekdrolir was born to Regdanu Thekdralor and Regdano Laduma, the prince-heir and princess, respectively, while his grandfather Thekmolir was still emperor. The old emperor doted upon his grandson as all grandfathers tend to do, spoiling him with treats and toys that would grow his mind. In a few years, Laduma gave birth to another son named Thran. It wasn't long before the brothers were rampaging around the palace to the parents' headaches and their grandparents' amusement.
Thekmolir frequently had the boys sit in on proceedings so they could learn how their society operated, but also because he freely quoted: "Shapla ordains wisdom from the mouths of sucklings and babes." And, true to his faith, the boys did make surprising observations that came of use.
Thekdrolir and Thran studied with, and frustrated, the best tutors available. They both frequently questioned everything, ad nauseum, before learning the fine art of arguing as children do.
They were still young as their people reckoned when Thekmolir passed of old age, making Thekdralor the new Regdāhid. A great funeral was held, and the Teryn royal family attended with a full delegation. This was the first time Thekdrolir and Thran were exposed to their partner-nation, and both were introduced to King Ardo and his son Eadwig after the ceremony. The Teryns remained through Thekdralor's coronation, as Ardo wanted to see his old friend forced into the ruling responsibility.
Eadwig, Thekdrolir, and Thran were too young for the usual princely ambassadorships, but they would spend time at each other's homes over the following years. When Ardo passed unexpectedly and the young Eadwig "the unready" took his throne, they all attended his coronation and remained for a time to help him get settled.
The brothers would again make an extended visit to the surface when King Eadwig's wife, Queen Eliana, gave birth to their first son Eadred. A couple of years later, their daughter Eadwina was born. Happily prolific, Eliana had another son named Duarte and another daughter named Clara.
When Eadred was old enough to begin his education, Eadwig and Eliana both asked a personal favor for Thekdrolir to tutor their son. Both knew how skilled the elder Regdanu was in the traditional arts and hoped their son would benefit. Thran was asked to tutor Eadwina when she was ready as well.
Thekdrolir was officially named ambassador and spent a great deal of time in the Teryn court and Eadwig's home. He watched their children grow, almost overnight to a long-lived vegrādu. Due to his posting, Thekdrolir couldn't get home very often, which made his official princely duty of having his own family difficult. He never once complained.
Eadwig and Thekdralor conspired together and had several prospective suitresses come to visit the ambassador on the surface. While annoyed with his friend and father both, Thekdrolir understood his responsibility and spent time with each of them. To their surprise, he settled upon Shara Farano arMolyna deqis Khālakgus, a woman with as much independence and fire as her ancestor.
For all of his skill with debate and rhetoric, Shara could argue circles around him. He found it infuriatingly attractive. With the proposal accepted, they were quickly wed in a ceremony on the surface before returning to Feruhal for a great celebration.
They returned to his surface home, and within two years, Shara gave birth to their first son Thekna. Some stories insist that Shara told Thekdrolir they were going to have children, now, and to make his peace with it.
Thekna was followed by a sister, Thrana, named after her uncle who had yet to sire any children of his own.
Many years flowed by and Thekdralor grew old, succumbing to his age, necessitating Thekdrolir and his family return to Feruhal to assume his new duty as Regdāhid like his father before him. Also as before, the Teryns came along with all honors to be paid to the late emperor.
At this time, the Dumpra states that Thekdrolir was visited by two angels of Shapla, between the days of his father's funeral and his coronation, who warned him of Makshakh. It was a great burden of knowledge, Martok and Kathra told him, but they had also been assigned to aid him as they were able. In addition to his secular duties, he would inherit the spiritual duties of the seven ancestors who came before him.
On the surface, the many decades of his reign were filled with peace and prosperity. He attended state events as needed and performed his obligations without complaint. He wrote exhaustively on the philosophy he debated just as extensively with the most learned scholars of Sāvarāhid.
When Eadwig died, he was there with a full delegation to send off his friend and remained for a short time to help his former pupil settle. He returned home with Eadred's son Eadweard, and Thekna remained to assume the ambassador position from his uncle Thran.
Below the surface, Thekdrolir would spend every spare moment working towards the survival of his people during the prophesied doom.
Eadweard would enjoy a position in the Regdāhid's home and family that few others could dream of. As Thekdrolir had been friends with his father and grandfather, he regarded the young man as a member of his extended family. Thus, he spent twenty years learning everything there was to know about their culture by living as a member of the Feruqebed household.
This was perhaps not the luxurious life Eadweard expected. He was mercilessly tutored in the seven arts and frequently grilled over evening meals to test his progress. When he showed an interest in vegrādwaz metalwork, Thekdrolir arranged for a skilled mazra to tutor him in that. Eadweard not only survived the rigorous training but graduated with an acceptable rating. The dagger he forged as a test was given to Thekdrolir as a gift, and the Regdāhid kept it until the end of his days.
Even after Eadweard returned home and eventually became king, he and Thekdrolir remained in contact. As close as they had been, there were rumors that Thekdrolir would have named Eadweard his heir instead of Thekna. Indeed, he was as heartbroken when Éadweard died as if he were his son. This was probably why he was so infuriated with the behavior of Éadweard’s twins, his god-sons, when they destroyed their father’s kingdom in their war of succession.
Stories say the twins, Par'mor and Vaz'shar, had been named using butchered vegrādwaz words. Likely parma and vazsha, meaning growth and promise, respectively. With his love for Eadweard, Thekdrolir was believed to find it humorous that the boy butchered the words after twenty years in his household.
Makshakh came with all its horror, and Thekdrolir stood with the first Drat Unlishar to buy time for his people to escape. Though he laid down his life in that goal, the vegrādu survived to become the Shāmalta. Without his preparations and forewarning, scholars doubt the race could have survived.
Education
Growing up in the capital of the First Empire, Thekdrolir received an extensive education in the seven arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy. He was also a passionate student of history and philosophy, interests that would serve him well throughout his time as Ambassador to Teryn and later as Regdāhid.
As was the custom, he also spent a period of study under a Mazrūn of Shādad Rūn, the college of rūn established by the ancestor Lumina.
While living in Teryn as Ambassador, he studied and debated with many prominent teachers and philosophers as his official duties allowed.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Thekdrolir's greatest remembered accomplishments come from his philosophical writings that restructured their religious system and became the foundations for Shegid. Most Shāmaltā still practice this religion in the modern era. He raised the Thisragad, a great monument, and consecrated home-on-earth for Shapla to bring all Shāmaltā back together. He founded the tradition of the Drat Unlishar, which continues in an individual-volunteer fashion to this day.
Though known only by the most learned scholars, he was also responsible for reclaiming the vegrāhid's ancient workshop and bringing the Ushgēd together one final time. Historians can only speculate what they accomplished in those last days before the empire's collapse, but it ensured the Shāmaltā survived.
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