Stavian I

Stavian I

(Person)

Titles

Grand Prince; Firstborn of Micheaux; First of his Name, the Bounty Prince

Ancestry/Species

Human

Gender

Male

Homeland

Taldor

Deity

Aroden

Born

5 Lamashan, 4497 AR

Died

1 Abadius, 4588 AR (age 90)

Animal Companion

Horse: Kaillerophon

Source: Taldor, Echoes of Glory, pg(s). 3

Grand Prince Stavian I was the ruler of Taldor in the early part of the 46th century AR.

Appearance

As a young man, Stavian I was well regarded for his comely features and athletic physique, making him very popular in the social circles of Oppara. He also inherited his father's intense eyes.

History

According to Taldan history until 4718 AR, Stavian was the first son of Grand Prince Micheaux the Magnificent and Euphemi Finara. He had five younger siblings who also vied for the throne upon their father's death. After a bloody summer of infighting, he finally took the throne in 4526 AR.

Stavian I married Countess Sutepa Mavrosenus in 4528 AR, fathering a total of 12 children over his lifetime. His third, and oft-overlooked son, Dominus II, ultimately succeeded him due to the death of his eldest child, Gosse, and the exile of his second born Manderval.

Before his rise to power, Stavian established his reputation with the creation of the Stavian Ranches, which remains the most illustrious in the region and favoured by the royal family. Stavian steadfastly refused to allow Qadiran breeds into the ranch, favouring the larger, sturdier Taldan steeds that are still used by the military. The horses of the current royal family are descendants from Stavian's own mount, Kaillerophon.

Disputed bloodline

During the War for the Crown in 4718 AR, agents of Stavian I's descendant Eutropia Stavian linked High Strategos Maxillar Pythareus to a false-flag plot stoking war with Qadira and discredited him. In response, agents of Pythareus published records indicating that Stavian I was an illegitimate heir born of the disgraced House Adella. This in turn invalidated the Stavians' bloodline claim to the crown. The records were subsequently confirmed by multiple academics.

Rule

Stavian I is best known for initiating the Great Purge in 4528 AR against the church of Sarenrae (known in Taldor as the Cult of the Dawnflower) in an effort to crack down on anyone who might view the enemy nation of Qadira in a favorable light. Within a few months, every temple to the goddess in Taldor had been destroyed, and her priests murdered or banished. Stavian permitted the torture of enemy agents to extract intelligence, and razed entire communities to the ground to drive 'collaborators' from Taldor. In part, this fervour was due to the prophecies of a Sarenite soothsayer who claimed that one of the six children of Micheaux was, in fact, a bastard. Seeing this as an attempt of a foreign power to instigate civil conflict, Stavian declared the faith as treasonous and drove them from Taldor's borders. Despite the deaths of numerous innocents, Stavian saw his bloody acts to keep religious unity as necessary to keep his country strong.

Stavian I kept a number of pet owlbears during his lifetime, the most famous of which was Beaky III. After Beaky III died, he was stuffed, and somehow made his way to the Woodsedge Lodge.

Since his death, Stavian I has been called by Taldan mediums opposed to the followers of evil deities or Sarenrae.