Ayotl bas Naharem
Ayotl bas Naharem was born the bastard son of a Maxcaltec house slave and the eldest son of a jagidar of the Neraj province in northwestern Kalmasa. He served the house as a boy servant, but when his mother noticed her strikingly beautiful son attracting the attention of the jagidar and being aware of the lord's proclivities, she told him to run away. Reluctantly, he did as his mother ordered and left in the night at the age of nine. Following his mother's instructions, he made his way to the free city of Jhargra on the coast of Neraj. Since Jhargra possessed an imperial charter, it was independent of Neraj rule and slavery was illegal as it was in the imperial province of @Donava.
He attempted to find work as a servant in the city, but had no luck, and eventually descended into that which his mother had sought to protect him, becoming a prostitute and chavram addict, until a day three years later when he failed to bring enough money to his pimp who proceeded to beat him. One minute he was attempting to protect himself from the blows, the next he heard a gurgle and a thud. He opened his eyes to see his pimp laying on the street clutching his neck and gasping for breath. An old, wiry Calmaxtec man stood over him dressed in a white robe stained with red dust. He smiled at Ayotl and asked him if he would like to leave this place. Ayotl agreed and left the city with the man, an Inokal named Mu'ul.
Mu'ul took him into the red desert in the interior of Kalmasa to the place called Red Rock Rock Commune. There Ayotl found people like he had never met before, kind, quiet and honest, who helped each other. At Red Rock he learned to begin conquering himself, disciplining his mind and body. Then, meditating one morning, he stood up and left without a word.
Ayotl made his way to Solkar and took work as a sailor, eventually owning his own trading vessel and becoming wealthy from trade between Kalmasa and the colonies of Volenar. During this time, he also joined the Open Hand. Taking a liking to the free, open spirit of the Volenarans, he settled in the colony of Mahar and began a family. In Mahar, he met others who had spent time in Red Rock and with them established the first Open Hand lodge in Volenar.
Ayotl emerged as a leader in speaking out against the tyranny of Kalmasa. Eventually, an imperial arrest warrant was put out on him. He escaped into the countryside before the justicars could find him. This was the spark that brought the colonists of Mahran into hostility with the Kalmasan legions. Rallying around Ayotl, the colonists of Mahran began the fighting that began the War of Sovereignty.
When Volenar emerged victorious, Ayotl was asked to lead their newly founded canton, but instead of accepting, he revealed his own designs for the canton, where there were no leaders, and yet order and peace was still possible with citizen of Mahar having equal power and control over the future of the canton.
He was elected by Mahran to represent them in the Volenaran League. In that role, he is a close advisor of the League's High Executor, Huexolotl Omecoatl and has always counseled peaceful solutions to difficult situations. He also is a powerful voice for learning and technological progress, believing that knowledge and technological advancement makes peaceful options easier to choose. Some other League representatives believe he is a dreamer and has a poor grip on the hard realities of the world.
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