Gallatan Taur
Emperor of Thessia
Gallatan Taur was the 1st Emperor of the Thessian Empire.
A celebrated military commander of a high noble family, he was made emperor in 3492, at the age of 39. At the time, the empire controlled much of the northwestern region, and Taur made many successful campaigns in expanding territory. He conquered all of Seviah except for its wealthy, sacred capital city, Naitoumi-Sevah, which he waged war against for almost the entirety of his reign, but never defeated.
He died in 3519, of injuries sustained in The Battle of the Unfated, at the age of 66.
Gallatan Taur was the eldest child of Nohhavan Taur and Erima Khatan. His father was the brother of Cirravan Taur, the last King of Ghazalbad. Thus, Taur was born into the most powerful family in the Thessian Empire, and was 3rd in line to the throne upon birth.
He was supposed to be born on the 1st day of the 11th month, considered a powerful number, but was instead born nearly a week late, on the 6th of Evinaset, 3453 A.E.
Taur grew up in the Palace of Ghazalbad, and recieved the highest quality education. At the age of 9, he shocked the court by riding his horse into the royal main hall, where his uncle the King was holding a council. He began combat training at the age of 11, despite the custom of starting at age 12, and immediately showed strong aptitude as a warrior.
Throughout his life, Taur was very close with his mother Erima Khatan, and accompanied her to visit her family in Bachmat annually. Charmingly incorrigible as a young boy and charismatic as a teenager, Taur became favored by the royal family of Bachmat, and well liked by the people of the city.
In his home city of Ghazalbad, Taur was loved and called "prince" by the citizens, despite not officially recieving that title. He was beloved by King Cirravan Taur, whom Taur was closer to than his own father. Cirravan, whose family life was beset with tragedies throughout his life, never had any children, and sometimes referred to Taur as his "son." However, this resulted in further strain on Taur's relationship with his actual father.
Taur participated in his first military campaign in 3469, at the age of 16, into the northern Thes'set Desert. He continued accompanying battle campaigns for the next 2 years, proving himself a courageous warrior and adept strategist.
At the age of 18, there was talk of him being put on the War Council, though it was unheard of for a member to be so young. However, Taur shocked everyone when he announced that he would instead spend a year in Bachmat, studying with the city's renowned scholars. He had been convinced to do so by his mother, who believed that the more spiritual knowledge of her home city would benefit her son in the long run, rather than an overly hasty ascent into power.
Taur departed Ghazalbad in 3470, at the age of 18, and spent the following 2 years training in Bachmat in relative obscurity.
He studied under scholars in protected Bachmati knowledge.
By the Middle Era, these scholars would have been called mages, and the subject of his studies easily recognizable as magic. However, in the Ancient Era, understanding of magic was still unformulated. Magic was instead believed to be spiritual and tied to religion.
Taur was profoundly affected by his studies, and considered himself deeply spiritual ever afterward. For the rest of his life, he became highly focused on religious matters, especially efforts to better understand these newfound powers.
He returned to Ghazalbad in 3472, at the age of 20.
Taur's return to his home city of Ghazalbad was well recieved, though his eagerness to share his new religious leanings was met with some criticism at court.
Taur was highly active in warfare for the empire, embarked on numerous war campaigns, and was instrumental in the conquests of many foreign cities and areas. He began commanding forces at the age of 26.
On a campaign in northwestern Seviah in 3479, Taur conquered the Sevian city of Le'aht-Evah. Here, he met the Princess Sanatvara, a daughter of the city's king. The Princess convinced Taur to spare the lives of many of the city's rulers.
Taur's army lingered in Le'aht-Evah, purportedly occupying the city to strengthen their control of the region. Though this was achieved, other cities would have been more strategically located in accomplishing this. The true reason became an open secret - that Taur had fallen in love with the foreign princess. Their love affair was the subject of much gossip, especially in Ghazalbad.
Taur and his forces stayed there in Seviah for just under a year, after which he returned to Ghazalbad, scandalously bringing Princess Sanatvara with him. He then announced his intentions of marrying Sanatvara, which was not well recieved. Though his uncle the king agreed with his arguments that an alliance with Seviah would be valuable, Sanatvara was a minor princess of a mid-tier city, and would hardly make a powerful match.
Princess Sanatvara continued to live in the Palace of Ghazalbad with Taur, despite this earning him many enemies at court and the disapproval of the king.
The love affair of Gallatan Taur and Princess Sanatvara has been much speculated upon and immortalized in songs, legends, and stories. Though few records or personal correspondances between them still exist, those that do suggest that they were genuinely in love. Sanatvara shared her knowledge of Sevian mysticism with Taur, in which he was very interested. This also gave rise to his lifelong fascination with the sacred city of Naitoumi-Sevah - then the capital of Seviah, and untouched by the Thessian Empire.
Taur was made an official ambassador to Bachmat in 3482, and continued military campaigns.
In 3487, while Taur was away in the northern Thes'set Desert, disputed events occurred that resulted in Sanatvara leaving Ghazalbad.
Much speculation has been made around the Princess' leavetaking. Letters between them hint that a divide had grown between her and Taur, as Sanatvara opposed his desire to one day control Naitoumi-Sevah, the sacred city of her people.
There is also much evidence that statesmen of the city used Taur's absence to move against Sanatvara, attempting to arrest her as a Sevian spy. Whether their objective was exile, imprisonment, or execution is unknown.
Princess Sanatvara and three of her servants fled the city and escaped across the Sevian border. There, they met Thessian military units, but the princess was able to pass through by pretending that she was journeying to meet a waiting Gallatan Taur. She then took refuge in Naitoumi-Sevah.
Whatever the exact reasons for her escape, it left Taur devastated. He returned to Ghazalbad immediately upon recieving word from a trusted source, and was consumed with grief and rage toward the noblemen who had plotted against his lover. It is unknown whether or not Taur's uncle the king was aware of, or aided, the plot, but Taur faulted him nonetheless.
Taur challenged the 3 main conspirators of the plot to honor fights. 2 of the 3 men accepted, and were both killed in the subsequent duels. The man who had refused the honor fight died by poison a few days later. Taur's mother Erima Khatan was widely believed to have been behind the assassination, but was never formally accused. Taur then challenged the king himself to an honor fight, and was subsequently imprisoned in his palace chambers for 5 months.
Upon release, Taur emerged forever changed - no longer the laughing, charming young hero of the city. He spent the next year withdrawn from public, spending his time in the palace library and studying shadowy rituals and Bachmati mysticism with his mother.
He then returned to military life as a council strategist to the king. He was heavily pressed to make an advantageous marriage, espcially as the need for a unified ruler grew more apparent in the wide-reaching empire.
In 3487, about two years after Sanatvara's sudden departure from his life, Taur took a unit of his closest, most trusted soldiers, and journeyed to Seviah, to the outskirts of Naitoumi-Sevah, where the Princess was known to have fled. No word of her had been heard since that day, however.
Taur sent messages, requested audiences with Sanatvara, and waited outside the city for 3 months. He was met with silence, and had to use all of his skill as a diplomat to convince the stronghold that he came in peace. The rulers of the city were undoubtedly tempted at having the famed Thessian commander outside their gates, relatively unprotected. However, Taur had knowledge of their holy rituals, holidays, and friendship culture, and used this to his advantage.
At last, tensions rose so far as to convince him to flee and return to Ghazalbad. He never even learned if Sanatvara had been there, or known that he had come for her.
Taur continued to send regular letters to Sanatvara, and incessant requests to be granted a diplomatic, peaceable visit to Naitoumi-Sevah. In both, he vowed to make Princess Sanatvara his wife, hinting that she would then be his queen (his uncle had never had any children, and Taur was considered the unnamed, but obvious, heir apparent).
Sanatvara did not answer his letters, and neither did her sheltering city. Whether or not she ever read them is unknown.
A celebrated military commander of a high noble family, he was made emperor in 3492, at the age of 39. At the time, the empire controlled much of the northwestern region, and Taur made many successful campaigns in expanding territory. He conquered all of Seviah except for its wealthy, sacred capital city, Naitoumi-Sevah, which he waged war against for almost the entirety of his reign, but never defeated.
He died in 3519, of injuries sustained in The Battle of the Unfated, at the age of 66.
Early Life
Gallatan Taur was the eldest child of Nohhavan Taur and Erima Khatan. His father was the brother of Cirravan Taur, the last King of Ghazalbad. Thus, Taur was born into the most powerful family in the Thessian Empire, and was 3rd in line to the throne upon birth.
He was supposed to be born on the 1st day of the 11th month, considered a powerful number, but was instead born nearly a week late, on the 6th of Evinaset, 3453 A.E.
Taur grew up in the Palace of Ghazalbad, and recieved the highest quality education. At the age of 9, he shocked the court by riding his horse into the royal main hall, where his uncle the King was holding a council. He began combat training at the age of 11, despite the custom of starting at age 12, and immediately showed strong aptitude as a warrior.
Throughout his life, Taur was very close with his mother Erima Khatan, and accompanied her to visit her family in Bachmat annually. Charmingly incorrigible as a young boy and charismatic as a teenager, Taur became favored by the royal family of Bachmat, and well liked by the people of the city.
In his home city of Ghazalbad, Taur was loved and called "prince" by the citizens, despite not officially recieving that title. He was beloved by King Cirravan Taur, whom Taur was closer to than his own father. Cirravan, whose family life was beset with tragedies throughout his life, never had any children, and sometimes referred to Taur as his "son." However, this resulted in further strain on Taur's relationship with his actual father.
Taur participated in his first military campaign in 3469, at the age of 16, into the northern Thes'set Desert. He continued accompanying battle campaigns for the next 2 years, proving himself a courageous warrior and adept strategist.
At the age of 18, there was talk of him being put on the War Council, though it was unheard of for a member to be so young. However, Taur shocked everyone when he announced that he would instead spend a year in Bachmat, studying with the city's renowned scholars. He had been convinced to do so by his mother, who believed that the more spiritual knowledge of her home city would benefit her son in the long run, rather than an overly hasty ascent into power.
Taur departed Ghazalbad in 3470, at the age of 18, and spent the following 2 years training in Bachmat in relative obscurity.
He studied under scholars in protected Bachmati knowledge.
By the Middle Era, these scholars would have been called mages, and the subject of his studies easily recognizable as magic. However, in the Ancient Era, understanding of magic was still unformulated. Magic was instead believed to be spiritual and tied to religion.
Taur was profoundly affected by his studies, and considered himself deeply spiritual ever afterward. For the rest of his life, he became highly focused on religious matters, especially efforts to better understand these newfound powers.
He returned to Ghazalbad in 3472, at the age of 20.
Love Affair with Princess Sanatvara
Taur's return to his home city of Ghazalbad was well recieved, though his eagerness to share his new religious leanings was met with some criticism at court.
Taur was highly active in warfare for the empire, embarked on numerous war campaigns, and was instrumental in the conquests of many foreign cities and areas. He began commanding forces at the age of 26.
On a campaign in northwestern Seviah in 3479, Taur conquered the Sevian city of Le'aht-Evah. Here, he met the Princess Sanatvara, a daughter of the city's king. The Princess convinced Taur to spare the lives of many of the city's rulers.
Taur's army lingered in Le'aht-Evah, purportedly occupying the city to strengthen their control of the region. Though this was achieved, other cities would have been more strategically located in accomplishing this. The true reason became an open secret - that Taur had fallen in love with the foreign princess. Their love affair was the subject of much gossip, especially in Ghazalbad.
Taur and his forces stayed there in Seviah for just under a year, after which he returned to Ghazalbad, scandalously bringing Princess Sanatvara with him. He then announced his intentions of marrying Sanatvara, which was not well recieved. Though his uncle the king agreed with his arguments that an alliance with Seviah would be valuable, Sanatvara was a minor princess of a mid-tier city, and would hardly make a powerful match.
Princess Sanatvara continued to live in the Palace of Ghazalbad with Taur, despite this earning him many enemies at court and the disapproval of the king.
The love affair of Gallatan Taur and Princess Sanatvara has been much speculated upon and immortalized in songs, legends, and stories. Though few records or personal correspondances between them still exist, those that do suggest that they were genuinely in love. Sanatvara shared her knowledge of Sevian mysticism with Taur, in which he was very interested. This also gave rise to his lifelong fascination with the sacred city of Naitoumi-Sevah - then the capital of Seviah, and untouched by the Thessian Empire.
Taur was made an official ambassador to Bachmat in 3482, and continued military campaigns.
In 3487, while Taur was away in the northern Thes'set Desert, disputed events occurred that resulted in Sanatvara leaving Ghazalbad.
Much speculation has been made around the Princess' leavetaking. Letters between them hint that a divide had grown between her and Taur, as Sanatvara opposed his desire to one day control Naitoumi-Sevah, the sacred city of her people.
There is also much evidence that statesmen of the city used Taur's absence to move against Sanatvara, attempting to arrest her as a Sevian spy. Whether their objective was exile, imprisonment, or execution is unknown.
Princess Sanatvara and three of her servants fled the city and escaped across the Sevian border. There, they met Thessian military units, but the princess was able to pass through by pretending that she was journeying to meet a waiting Gallatan Taur. She then took refuge in Naitoumi-Sevah.
Whatever the exact reasons for her escape, it left Taur devastated. He returned to Ghazalbad immediately upon recieving word from a trusted source, and was consumed with grief and rage toward the noblemen who had plotted against his lover. It is unknown whether or not Taur's uncle the king was aware of, or aided, the plot, but Taur faulted him nonetheless.
Taur challenged the 3 main conspirators of the plot to honor fights. 2 of the 3 men accepted, and were both killed in the subsequent duels. The man who had refused the honor fight died by poison a few days later. Taur's mother Erima Khatan was widely believed to have been behind the assassination, but was never formally accused. Taur then challenged the king himself to an honor fight, and was subsequently imprisoned in his palace chambers for 5 months.
Upon release, Taur emerged forever changed - no longer the laughing, charming young hero of the city. He spent the next year withdrawn from public, spending his time in the palace library and studying shadowy rituals and Bachmati mysticism with his mother.
He then returned to military life as a council strategist to the king. He was heavily pressed to make an advantageous marriage, espcially as the need for a unified ruler grew more apparent in the wide-reaching empire.
In 3487, about two years after Sanatvara's sudden departure from his life, Taur took a unit of his closest, most trusted soldiers, and journeyed to Seviah, to the outskirts of Naitoumi-Sevah, where the Princess was known to have fled. No word of her had been heard since that day, however.
Taur sent messages, requested audiences with Sanatvara, and waited outside the city for 3 months. He was met with silence, and had to use all of his skill as a diplomat to convince the stronghold that he came in peace. The rulers of the city were undoubtedly tempted at having the famed Thessian commander outside their gates, relatively unprotected. However, Taur had knowledge of their holy rituals, holidays, and friendship culture, and used this to his advantage.
At last, tensions rose so far as to convince him to flee and return to Ghazalbad. He never even learned if Sanatvara had been there, or known that he had come for her.
Taur continued to send regular letters to Sanatvara, and incessant requests to be granted a diplomatic, peaceable visit to Naitoumi-Sevah. In both, he vowed to make Princess Sanatvara his wife, hinting that she would then be his queen (his uncle had never had any children, and Taur was considered the unnamed, but obvious, heir apparent).
"Return, ride out with me and return! If rulers defy us, I will make you my queen. If you dash your crown, I shall give up my kingdom. Crownless, you will by my crown. If the gods defy us, I will make you my goddess. Return, ride out and return to me!"
Gallatan Taur in a letter to Sanatvara
Sanatvara did not answer his letters, and neither did her sheltering city. Whether or not she ever read them is unknown.
Relationships
Species
Date of Birth
6th of Evinaset
Date of Death
12th of Setasset
Life
3453
3519
66 years old
Circumstances of Death
injuries following defeat in battle
Birthplace
Place of Death
Spouses
Sanatvara of Le'aht
(lover)
Siblings
Children
Sex
male
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments