Vitilianus Attiliades

Vitilianus Attiliades was born to a lowly position in Unaian society, son to a corporal of no particular renown. Despite this, he excelled in schooling and was given a commission as a lieutenant upon joining the Unaian civil service as an architect. He quickly grew bored by his civil position, and transferred into the Fifth Engineering division. He served with distinction in border skirmishes with Sipur, and was noted for having near-fanatical devotion from his company.   During the early days of Fall of Meridia, then-Major Vitilianus received word that Sipur forces were giving ground as their forces were recalled to join Union forces, and his arguments that Unaia should also join the Union were thoroughly rejected. Two days later, his company led a mutiny upon the skyship Skysweeper, seizing the ship and setting course for Meridia. He was declared a traitor and sentenced to death in abscence in Unaia.   Due to the high mobilization of Unaian forces prior to the Fall of Meridia, the Skysweeper arrived in Meridia over a month before any other Union skyship, and was quickly set up as a mobile command center. Its swift arrival is credited for saving the lives of nearly 200,000 troops through emergency evacuation and supply drops. Vitilianus remains in command of the Skysweeper throughout the entire war, and gained substantial command authority as the war continued.   Eight years into the war, Vitilianus is elected as supreme commander of Union forces in the theater; this is partially a political decision, as none of the Four Empires were willing to place their troops under each other's command. His command is noted for a particularly cynical view of humanoid life as numbers, leading from the front in most battles, and an incredible level of logistical efficiency. Under his command, Union forces pushed the undead back through a combination of creeping defenses and overwhelming artillery support, slowly forming a safe perimeter that would constitute present-day Meridia.   Upon returning to Unaia, he was begrudgingly given the rare title of Honoratus, and promptly removed from any command chain; it is widely believed that the Unaian government was heavily pressured both internally and externally to grant amnesty to a returning war hero. To this day, Vitilianus is credited as a major reason for the Union victory in the Fall of Meridia, and is one of the best known war heroes from the period.