Radimane
Emperor and Autocrat of the Hasdinians and Conqueror of the World Radig Krauling (a.k.a. Radimane)
The feared and famed conqueror of the western empire of the Rasenna, father of the vast branches of Hasdinian peoples, and emperor of the powerful and vast Krauling Empire.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Radimane was said to tower over ordinary men, his bones were buried in his constructed mausoleum at his capital of Achestad and were found to be 6 feet 4 inches meaning that stories of the giant emperor were not entirely fictional.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born the illegitimate son of Einhard Krauling, the powerful King of the Hasdinians, and his mistress-turned-wife Eida Nivalung. For a time, Radig's status among his people was that of an illegitimate bastard, given his parents had not yet married before he was born. Radig's childhood corresponded with a transformative time for the restless Herodi tribes east of the Rhor River. All along the Rhor, the numerous Herodi tribes had confederated into large kingdoms and now, with the Rasennan Empire crumbling, many of these tribes found migrating into the rich lands of the Empire preferable to their current status. Radig's family, the Kraulings, were an old family, like many Herodi dynastic families, they claimed descent from a hero of common origin. In this case, the Kraulings claimed descent from the hero Gundhar, a minor hero in Radig's time but who would gain enormous importance after Radig's time.
Radig grew very quickly, sources state he was a head above his father Einhard when he was only fifteen years old. Sources say he loved hunting, wrestling, and other activities that drew praise in accounts of his life. When Radig was in his late teens, he set out on campaign with his father to the east, crushing a neighboring tribal confederation of the Kraycts and the Hedbards. Radig himself is said to have performed very well, going so far as to topple and burn the sacred Yremstruil tree of the Kracyts before scattering them and taking the Hedbards as vassals. This campaign was the first where some of Radig's famous companions were mentioned, men who would accompany Radig during his later invasion of the Rasennan West and be given governorships in his vast empire.
Radig's invasion of the Rasennan Empire was the culmination of centuries of conflict between the Herodi and Rasenna. Previous confederations and tribes were known to make inroads and puncture deep into the empire's territory but were always beaten and thrown back across the Rhor. Recently, the Rasenna had taken to subjugating tribes who migrated into their own borders, marking them as Foederati or federate troops. As Radig ascended to become king, he was offered ample territory by disloyal Rasennan governors and settled Foederati in Areul.
Radig's invasion of the Rasennan Empire was a long time coming, previous confederations had made inroads but had been eventually beaten in bloody wars along the Rhor by the Rasennans who had been steadily on the decline for some time. Radig would find a very mortal Empire at the wrong end of his blade as he marched through Areul he was hailed as a savior and greeted warmly by the populace. Word reached Nepotian, the Emperor in Rasca, he was overwhelmed with terror at word that a "horde" of 50,000 Herodi screamers had crossed the Rhor. In reality, Radig's army may have been one of the most efficient fighting forces on the continent as centuries of proximity to the Rasennans made the Hasdinians adept at fighting in close rank with discipline. The army found strength in its wide array of troops which came from all corners of the world beyond the Rhor. The crack Tuscian infantrymen made up the core of the army's foot soldiers and were reinforced by allied Hedbard axmen. The combination of accompanying eastern Davniak horse archers and Marvingi heavy cavalry made the mounted corps of the army on par with the feared Tagmatic troops of the Rasennan imperial army.
Outside the sleepy town of Tongren, the Rasennan imperial army and their vast theme troops met the Hasdinians. Radig's victory at Tongren would be sung in tales for the next few centuries, deployed to utilize higher ground to their left. Three times the Rasennans tried to throw the Hasdinians from their hill and three times they were thrown back. In the battle for the hill, Avitus the commander and son of the emperor was slain by Tassilo who claimed the man's horse and sword for himself. As the army returned to camp, Herodi from all across the land flocked to the victors of Tongren. Months passed and again, the great army of Radig marched off to war and dug their heels at the crossroads of Mardina where a gathered imperial army found them and encamped. In the camps of Radig, men sang songs, ate plenty, and knew no fear as they firmly believed in victory the next morning. The night before the battle, Radig supposedly arranged a meeting between himself and Emperor Nepotian where the emperor belittled the "barbarian king" saying he return later after seeing the proper omens, Radig famously replied in clear Lakic, "I will wait" a statement that unnerved the emperor. The warlord would stand in the cold rain until receiving word that tomorrow would be a battle. The imperial army of the Rasennans would be utterly destroyed and their emperor would be taken captive by the Hasdinians.
With victories at Tongren and now Mardina, the Rasennans abandoned their western holdings and paid a hefty ransom for the return of their leader. Now a new banner would fly and the Rasennan world would hear of Rex Radigus Magnus coined as Radimane, a name he would be known as for the rest of his life. Radimane was acclaimed Emperor and Autocrat of the Hasdinians, a title mirroring that of his Rasennan rivals, and finally, Conqueror of the World, a title likened to that of the eastern Rasanid Shahanshah.
At the age of around thirty-five, Radimane had achieved glory in the eyes of his people and further glory in the coming decades of rule where he would transform Hasdinian society and make his tribe the envy of the world. Sponsoring restorations of Rasennan public works like roads, cisterns, latrines, wells, bathhouses, and other infrastructure, Radimane restored much of the means of comfort and pleasure that the Rasennans had previously enjoyed at their height. The Hasdinians brought with them a renewal of energy and passion as they rid the land of the bloated, petty, and decadent aristocracy and brought in builders, craftsmen, and other artisans who accomplished their tasks not because of their name but because of their merit. The Hasdinian language took on more Lakic characteristics and soon came to rival the tongue of the old empire in popularity and influence as all imperial correspondence, conversation, and business were conducted in the language. Radimane and his court compiled and revised the law codes of the land into a single set of laws governing the entire empire, the Lex Hasdiniai, or Law of the Hasdinians would be set in stone for the next centuries. Policies like this and others like the lifting of the ban on non-government-sponsored games made Radimane a popular figure to his Lakic people.
In a way, Radimane's new rebirth of culture was very similar to how the Rasennans lived in their early days, a people with unifying forces and strong leadership propelling them toward greatness. Radimane enforced the law by reinstating the Calvares, the policing corps of the army that brought the Emperor's justice to rebelling towns and cities with a strict but fair hand. Radimane wrote into law what was called the Bannum, or the right to rule in which he had supreme jurisdiction in judicial matters, made legislation, led the army, and protected both the land and the citizens who lived on it. The Emperor also made improvements to his standing army, bringing in innovations like the stirrup along with further utilizing the horse as a mode of transporting his army, restoring much of the old Rasennan road system. Economic innovation came when the empire dropped the use of the Solidus as a means of exclusively paying soldiers, new monetary standards were set and a new series of coins were made in copper, silver, and gold variants called the Denier. Due to the influx of movement, reform, and economic upturn, education in Radimane's empire steadily increased during his time as old ruins were refurbished and reused as reading schools, and new printing centers made books more and more available to the populace. Radimane used his literate populace and their books as a propaganda message to those outside of his realm as his people became more read than those of the supposedly more civilized Rasennans.
During his rule, Radimane became a lover of fine living and shared many passions with his former military commanders turned governors of territories. Radimane and Tassilo loved wrestling, fishing, and climbing and spent hours playfully arguing about who was strongest among them. Tassilo was also often called Radimane's "Maior Palatia" or Mayor of the Palace, a title denoting him as especially important and likely as Radimane's heir should he have died without sons. With Ferracutus, Radimane enjoyed literature, horseback riding, and hunting, and the two of them seemed content in each other's company. Radimane married his daughters Rortura and Remisa to Ferracutus' sons Liudhard and Bruno. Among Radimane's favorites was his standard-bearer Alard who was among the youngest of his paladins. Alard would be famous for his rivalry with Bruno, son of Ferracutus as he sought to avenge what he saw as Bruno's orchestrating of Tassilo's death in the Rouvenou Pass. Radimane and Alard each spoke in the Herodi Tusic dialect and loved trying to learn languages, understand cultures, or relax in hot springs and sing poetry to one another. It seems that the emperor was not a faithful partner as many of his later wives were once previously mistresses' of his as he frequently divorced and remarried women he fancied.
Supposedly, Radimane's favorite was his first wife Adalhaid who bore him his first son Karlo, Radimane and Adalhaid had likely known each other since childhood as she and her family journeyed with Radimane during his war with the Rasennans. Radimane and Adalhaid were inseparable and found holding each other's hands and engaging in endless conversation whenever together. Sadly, Karlo's birth would come with tragedy as Adalhaid died days later from it, this began a period of solemn silence in the emperor who routinely retreated to his private bedroom and could sometimes be heard weeping softly.
It seems that the love that Radimane had for his wife transferred over to his son Karlo who he humbly would say had all of her qualities and none of his own. Radimane attempted to raise his sons together and send his daughters into the care of close friends. The emperor's favorite was clearly his eldest, Karlo was said to resemble his father in stature, appearance, and competence but was noted as being a much kinder and more forgiving ruler than his stern father. Radimane however, did not get along with his sons Mauger and Sigismund as they were defiant, rash, and resentful of their father's favoritism of Karlo and Clovis. This split the brothers down the middle as after Radimane's death, the brothers allied themselves along these personal lines with Karlo rising to the seat of his father backed by Clovis while Sigismund and Mauger would scheme and sow the seeds for the breakup of the vast Krauling Empire.
Radimane would produce no shortage of kin, married eight times and with around eighteen known children notable among them being his four main sons, Karlo who inherited the main title of Emperor and ruled the whole empire, Mauger who inherited Tuscia, Salia, Marvingia, and western Prusica, Clovis would claim much of northern Lakia and the innermost territories of the empire and Sigismund ruled all of Hasdulia. After Karlo, much more of the empire became independent with grandsons of Radimane proclaiming themselves emperors. Each of his sons came to represent major branches of the Herodi people in the lands they settled in.
The eldest Karlo was the direct inheritor of his father's empire and was given the best lands in Areul where the Halsats now live and prosper. Mauger was given old lands to the east, lands home to the Salians and Sturmares. Mauger crowned himself "King of the Salians" and would unite many smaller tribes under their banner. Clovis was cherished and praised as a Rasennophile even from his early days, he loved tales of the old empire his father had crushed and with his lands so close to the homeland of these Lakic speakers, Clovis styled his Kingdom in the likeness of his heroes. Clovis and his people came to be called the "Hedbards" or War Beared for their appearance in contrast to the Lakic people they ruled. To the west, the last son of Radimane, Sigismund would rule the rich lands of Hasdulia, renamed from the imperial province of Galukia and where a bright shining mixture of Hasdinian, Rasennan, and Hakkaten cultures would form a vibrant new culture of people called the Stracians who would go on to war against remnant Galukian people hiding in the northwestern badlands.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Victories at Tongren and Mardia
Conquest and Consolidation of much of the former Rasennan west
Rebirth and Revival of old Rasennan values, laws and infrastructure
Generally credited as father of much of the land between Hasdulia and Herodia
Conquest and Consolidation of much of the former Rasennan west
Rebirth and Revival of old Rasennan values, laws and infrastructure
Generally credited as father of much of the land between Hasdulia and Herodia
Mental Trauma
Death during childbirth of his first wife Adalhaid
Intellectual Characteristics
Driven and Intellectually Curious
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
One Empire to rule, One Law to govern and One Belief to guide to salvation
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Masterful strategist, tactician, logistician and politician
Virtues & Personality perks
Just
Ambitious
Humble
Dedicated
Ambitious
Humble
Dedicated
Vices & Personality flaws
Unfaithful
Hubris
Arrogance
Self Importance
Hubris
Arrogance
Self Importance
Personality Quirks
Apparently believing in a false science about disbalanced humors, Radimane never slept for more than four or five hours and made a habit of watching the sun rise and set each day.
Hygiene
Sponsoring restorations and construction of bath houses across the empire, Radimane was also noted as detesting filth personally as he bathed and washed almost daily trying to rid himself of uncleanliness.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Friend of Tassilo, Ferracutus and Alard
Family Ties
Husband of Adalhaid
Romilla
Helinda
Theobrava
Macdevda
Basina
Merqig
Rodburga
Father of Karlo
Auda
Rortura
Remisa
Mauger
Richer
Clovis
Gisla
Tassila
Verla
Adda
Odo
Rothad
Hindele
Itta
Florela
Senila
Odela
Sigismund
Romilla
Helinda
Theobrava
Macdevda
Basina
Merqig
Rodburga
Father of Karlo
Auda
Rortura
Remisa
Mauger
Richer
Clovis
Gisla
Tassila
Verla
Adda
Odo
Rothad
Hindele
Itta
Florela
Senila
Odela
Sigismund
Religious Views
Radimane's belief in a monotheistic, all-encompassing deity was a sight all too common in his day. In the south, the Rasennans had officially abandoned the worship of their traditional pantheon. The Rasenna now followed the Ecclesia, the foundational theology laid out in the councils of Emperor Roman IV who had codified much of the cosmology and theology of the imperial cult of Victus Ouea. The Herodi and Iolans had been influenced by this and began worshipping their own singular deity. The Iolans revered Wuna and the Herodi Wera, each a word for "Mother" and who was the creator of the lands, seas, and heavens. Radimane's adherence to Wera would set the Hasdinians down the path of eventually adopting the Mundana branch of the Ecclesia, something done to counter the growing presence of the opposing Pankomisa branch adopted by the late Rasennan Emperors and Princes of Komneia.
Social Aptitude
Flamboyant and grand, famous for his large feasts and banquets, Radimane was a social and likable man with an aura of joy around him. He was a socializer, fluent in many languages, and an intense conversationalist with boundless curiosity.
Speech
Radimane spoke in the Tusic dialect of Hasdinian, a region known for its deep forests and seen mainly as a backwater compared to the rest of Greater Herodia. Due to Radimane's preference for this way of speaking, the Tusic became the primary dialect for much of the empire and influenced the way Hasdinian sounds today.
Relationships
Divine Classification
Deified
Religions
Current Location
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Imperator of the Realm of the Hasdinians and Conqueror of the World
King of Areul
King of Marvingia
King of Sturmaria
King of Asurtina
King of Galukia
King of Prusica
King of Tuscia
King of Fastradia
King of Areul
King of Marvingia
King of Sturmaria
King of Asurtina
King of Galukia
King of Prusica
King of Tuscia
King of Fastradia
Date of Birth
21st of Kaisie
Date of Death
7th of Caille
Life
242 B.E
172 B.E
70 years old
Circumstances of Birth
Born east of the Rhor in the town of Martestac
Circumstances of Death
Died of natural causes
Birthplace
Martestac, Tuscia
Place of Death
Achestad, Great Salia
Family
Spouses
Adalhaid Raciving
(spouse)
Macdeva
(spouse)
Helinda
(spouse)
Rodburga
(spouse)
Romilla
(spouse)
Theobrava
(spouse)
Merqig
(spouse)
Basina Ibel
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
Buried in Achestad
Gender
Male
Eyes
Blue
Hair
Long, White (Formerly Red)
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
White
Height
6'4
Weight
215 lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
"I Will Wait" -Said to the Emperor Nepotian the night before the great victory of Mardina
Belief/Deity
The Hasdinian Goddess Wera
Aligned Organization
Related Myths
Founded Settlements
(Aftermath of the Battle of Tongren with the dead scattered across the field)
(Tassilo, paladin of Radimane, and Queen Adalhaid, Radimane's 1st and most loved wife)
(Gundhar and his wife Hailuna, the supposed ancestors of Radimane's family)
(Hasdinian troops at the Battle of Mardina)
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