Selanar
High Emperor Larzia
The current Emperor of the Samael Empire, Selanar is the embodiment of all of its culture. A disarmingly charming man with a musical voice and a sharp wit, he aims to put his audience at ease. This will often fail, as he is also one of the most temperamental and ruthless rulers the Empire has seen in generations. Even for a High Emperor, he is considered especially selfish and petty. Likely due to his mother's poor health, he is a well-known hypochondriac and has frequent "spells" when he is excused from court for his health. Despite all this, the Empire has flourished under his rule, as he has distributed his wealth in what many consider to be unusual ways. He has put a great deal of effort into maintaining the economy and keeping trade open with other continents.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Selanar has the golden eyes that identify him as being Larzia. He also has low-hanging ears, a sign of high blood.
Apparel & Accessories
Selanar is never without his crown: a crown of blue thorny vines decorated with blue flowers.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Selanar's parents had been plagued by such terrible misfortune conceiving that they didn't even announce or celebrate their pregnancy. It wasn't until the day after the Low Emperor was to be born that the common people even knew the High Empress was pregnant. The day he was born, however, the Empress splurged on the preparations for a celebration the likes of which had never been seen before. The festivities began three months after Selanar was born, and lasted for twelve days afterwards. Even now, his actual birthday is celebrated privately, and the anniversary of that festival is considered by many to be the day to celebrate.
That expensive beginning was a sign of things to come for the Low Emperor. He always had a reputation for being a very particular child, and his parents spoiled him to such a point that many feared (quite rightfully) that they would run the Empire bankrupt by the time he reached adulthood. However, as he matured he began to show more restraint, and began to reject or outright sell off overly expensive gifts his parents gave him. While this angered his parents (particularly his mother), there was little they could do. If they had another child, they could exile or assassinate him. The stress of carrying and birthing him, however, had left his mother weak and unable to conceive again. They had no choice but to deal with his "rebellious" ways.
Selanar's mother died in 570 LD. In a surprising turn of events, there was almost no suspicion of foul play involved in her day. While it was traditional to launch a full investigation and hold a trial in the event of a High Empress's death, there was absolutely no evidence of her death being anything other than general poor health, and Selanar displayed to all an appropriate level of grief and surprise. He was crowned only a short eight months after his mother's death, and immediately began working to undo the disastrous spending habits of his parents. He allowed his father to retire to a Prince in a central region of the Empire.
Shortly after being crowned, Selanar was formally introduced to his family's fae knights, and their monster hunters. Among these was Livianna Sentrissa. He was smitten with her instantly, and began courting her almost the minute he met her. From the first, she rejected him, gently at first and then more firmly. In an event that is still talked about (when the Emperor is away), she rejected him outright, with strong (and, many say, quite rude) words in front of his court. His wrath was instant and harsh, and he sent her royal orders to immediately take the Black Isle, the lair of a dragon off the northern coast of Ditea. This was considered by some to be a kindness; although it was obviously a move made in revenge and anger, sending her off to a warrior's death was a far kinder move than public execution, and also spared her family the humiliation and inevitable fall of having a traitor as an eldest daughter.
It took Selanar many years to recover from Livianna's rejection, but a hundred years later, he began courting one of his fae knights, a woman named Ava. Like Livianna, Ava had been a lowborn woman whose father married into nobility. Unlike Livianna, Ava was not considered by many to be eligible as Empress: she was a half-elf. Against all criticism (and there was much criticism), Selanar married Ava only ten years into their courtship.
In the five years before the campaign begins, several things happened in the royal family. Ava gave birth to twins, Ayre and Amara, a boy and a girl. To the surprise of many, she survived the birth (many elven mothers die giving birth to multiple children), and to the horror of many, she was assassinated only three years later. The assassins were caught months later, a group of dark elves who refused to state their motive. Despite the fact that the Samael Empire had not done so in years (and in fact had never done so during the Larzia dynasty), Selanar announced his intent to march on the Duskmother mountain range, home of the guilty drow and one of the three states on Ditea.
Sexuality
As is considered the norm for elves, Selanar is bisexual.
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Date of Birth
16th/5th Moon 311 LD
Year of Birth
9485
378 Years old
Circumstances of Birth
Selanar was the only child of his parents, who were plagued by fertility problems and miscarriages. He was a celebrated birth.
Spouses
Ava
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Eyes
Golden, wide
Hair
Long, sleek, black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light brown
Height
5'5"
Weight
149 lbs
Aligned Organization