Nasser Graham was the most famous hero on the spheres who defeated the Koan Empire. He is the principal founder the Chimera Alliance as well as the Corsairs. While he was nominally the king of the Homyn, he enjoys that title by virtue of his marriage to Queen Eleanor Arkades rather than actual Homyn nobility. He mysteriously and suddenly disappeared thirty years after founding the alliance and bringing peace to the system.
Early Life
Nasser Graham is said to have grown up on the Rim among the nomadic Xahir peoples. There, he met his best friend and lifelong travelling companion, the lion Balabar. Nasser's sheltered and remote upbringing sheltered him from the goings-on of the inner-system, unaware of the activities of the cruel Koan Empire.
Nevertheless, he grew frustrated living in a remote small community. He left the Xahir tribe to visit the inner system and gain a better understanding of the spheres.
The Pride's Rebellion
Upon arriving in the inner-system, Nasser was shocked to learn that the spheres had submitted to the rule of a cruel empire. Perhaps it was the wisdom of an outsider, or perhaps the naivety of one, but Nasser immediately set about trying to free the system from the Undying Empress's rule.
He recruited a group of adventurers from all the major spheres, who came to be known as the Pride. His companions and loyal friends (in addition to Balabar) included the Geit Prince, Jorund Brighthoof; the Homyn Scholar, Alyn Arkades; the legendary smuggler, Jim Kestrel; the mischevious young Mong Bal thief, Jin Bei; and the revered Koan knight, Sir Reglas. The Pride were not only Nasser's adventuring companions, but also grew to become his dearest friends.
Along with recruting followers, Nasser Graham rallied the nations under Koan rule to his side; the Homyn Kingdom, the Geit Clans, the Mong Bal Dynasts, and even the Koan people himself. There are few spheres that don't boast some tale of Nasser and his crew performing a heroic deed or two there to rally support for their cause.
The most famous examples include Nasser calling a fire giant with an ancient horn to free a Geit city from imperial control. He is also known for somehow convincing the Mong Bal to allow his armies into one of their walled cities while they were being pursued by the Koan Armada, and together fighting off a siege until the koan forces retreated. Nasser also famously spent time in the Koan prison, the Spike, after handing himself in with the hopes that a trial would shed light on the empire's crimes. When the Koan empire decided it would instead execute him through a bill of attainder, Nasser would have likely died had it not been for the intervention of Sir Reglas.
Eventually, Nasser rallied a navy to his side that rivaled the Koan Armada. As the two forces squared off for a climactic battle, Nasser again opted for an unconventional approach. Before the fighting commenced, Nasser and the Pride snuck into the imperial city alone to defeat the Undying Empress in one fell swoop. Inside the Imperial City, Nasser defeated the Undying Empress's pet space serpent, Atrabaxis, and was able to take the royal palace. Just like that, the three-hundred-year-old Koan Emprie had come to an end.
A New Regime
After taking the Imperial City, Nasser Graham got straight to work curing the ills that the empire had caused. Since time immemorial, the nations of the spheres had fought one another over Source and its nectar, knocking each other off the proverbial mound time and time again. While the Koa had been the most successful at holding the artificial planet in recent history, they were far from the cause of the problem.
Nasser envisioned a government where control of Source would be shared by the nations of the Spheres. Each would receive nectar in accordance with treaties that reflected their need for the feul and their contributions to society as a whole. The interplanetary government came to be known as the Chimera Alliance, which originally consisted of the Geit, Koa, Homyn, and Mong Bal.
While the Koan Empire had fallen in a single night, remnants of their armada still persisted across the spheres. It was clear to all that the newly-formed Alliance would need some form of military protection. However, negotiations broke down due to lack of trust between the member nations as to its command and funding. Nasser himself also had severe reservations about the creation of a interplanetary navy, thinking how easy it would be for his new government to become the next Koan Empire if it fell into the wrong hands.
Instead, Nasser proposed that each of the member nations would grant immunity among the member nations to any pirate who sunk a Koan dreadnaught. The effort proved wildly successful, and in time was formalized into the order of the corsairs. As the Koan Armada dwindled in size, the Corsairs took to dealing with other interplanetary threats. Nasser saw them as a way to combat threats to the alliance and as a check on the power of the member nations without stripping away their own autonomy through military force. So committed he was to these ideals, that he became the first leader of the Corsairs himself.
Family Matters
In gaining his alliance with the Homyn Kingdom, Nasser wed Queen Eleanor Arkades. He and Balabar moved into the royal palace on Source, and saw his family grow along with his new government.
His eldest child, Prince Lucas, was born sickly. Plagued by night terrors that left him vulnerable to the Dream World's influences, he grew up fragile and with great difficult controlling his emotions. Nasser sought the assistance of the greatest authority on the Dream World, Sena the Phantasm of Io, to treat the prince and help ensure Nasser's future children would not suffer similar ailments.
Luckily, his younger daughter, Princess Halle was a hail and healthy child. Spared from her brother's ailments and the burdens of heirship, Halle was free to take after her father's carefree and adventurous spirit. The two were very close, with Nasser teaching her how to shoot a bow and fletch arrows.
Disappaerence
As Nasser entered his later years, he stepped down from the Corsairs and took up the study of astronomy. He became fascinated with the Progenitors and their technology, particularly rumors of a mythical planet called the Orphan Sphere that existed beyond the rim. He enlisted the help of his friend and renowned scholar of the Progenitors, Professor Halle, to create a map that would lead him to the Orphan Sphere called the Progenitor Atlas.
As Nasser's fascination deepened, his son defied all expectation and joined the ranks of the Corsairs. The day he passed the Corsair exam and earned his compass should have been the proudest day of Nasser's life. However, instead it was the day Nasser disappeared without warning.
Many have speculated the reason for Nasser's disappearence, but only one man knows the answer. Few do know that shortly after he left, the Pride and several high ranking officials discovered that Source was inexplicably running out of nectar--a fact they keep under wraps for fear of the disintigration of the Alliance. Had Nasser set off to the Orphan Sphere in search of a solution or was he fleeing from the impending collapse of his government? Perhaps, his reasons were entirely unrelated.
A Secret Journey
After Nasser's disappearence, the Pride set out to seek him and a solution to the Nectar Crisis. With the Party's help they recovered the Progenitor Atlas and learned that Nasser sought out three progenitor ruins across the spheres; a ruin called the Forge on the Geit homeworld Jotun; a ruin called the Grave on the Ioan moon, Nimbus; and a ruin called the Armory on Mong Bal.
The Party visited the Grave, and discovered that Nasser had visited Nimbus. While there he encountered the Pirate Queen Agni and her lover Lagos, and discovered a cure for Helioschosis--which he then used to penetrate the Grave's stone exterior and go inside. There, he petitioned the Moku Goddess for a seed from the grave--which was said to have great value among the Progenitors--but she denied him.
The Party also visited the Forge, which was guarded by Olaf the Mad Progenitor. Itthis looked into the Dream World to discover that Nasser and Olaf had dueled using powerful resonance weapons. Nasser came out the victor, severely injuring Olaf, and took his ship.
The Party has not visited the ruins on Mong Bal yet, and who knows what revelations about Nasser Graham's journey and disappearence they will reveal.
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