Marcellus I

Marcellus I (born 27a.Au, crowned 54a.Au, died 85 a.Au), known as Marcellus the Mage, was the third King of Orbis, being the grandson of Markus Aurum and eldest surviving male heir of Vaden I and his first wife, Lucinda Garo. Marcellus I had an older brother, Markus, who predeceased him, and an older sister, Isabella, as well as two younger half siblings, Lilian and Sogan.

In his youth, Marcellus was described as a bookish boy, comparative to his older brother who would squire for their father and king during the First Terranian Incursion. However, Markus would die during that war, making Marcellus the heir to the throne at the age of 10.

A great believer in the power to be gleaned from the mystical arts, Marcellus founded the University of the Higher Mysteries in Kenkoa in 51a.Au where he was both student and teacher, though his studying fell more and more by the wayside as his father's alcoholism began to get the better of him. In 54a.Au, Vaden I would die a victim of his depressive hedonistic lifestyle and Marcellus would ascend the throne at the age of 27.

The early years of Marcellus' reign were spent reinforcing the defences of the cities which existed on the western coast of Orbis for fear of further attacks by the Terranian Empire. In 59a.Au, the University of Higher Mysteries would make a major breakthrough with the creation of the Brass Chimney, a magical device through which they could access the fabled City of Brass. Still under royal patronage, Marcellus took this invention under the claim of the crown, and led many diplomatic missions to the Plane of Eternal Flame.

Through this realm, Marcellus would become acquainted with Yesugei Qaghan, a horselord from the lands southwest of the Terranian Empire. In 62a.Au, Marcellus married the Qaghan's daughter, Hoelun, forming a union of two nations far across land and sea from one another. Together they had six children, Gelegian (65a.Au,) Khulan (66a.Au,) Kaidu (69a.Au), Oghul (71a.Au), Naqu (77a.Au) and Quitai (80a.Au).

The year 66a.Au would see the start of the Second Terranian Incursion - this time instigated by the Aurum Empire and the Qaghanate of the far west as simultaneous war fronts against the Terranian Empire. Utilising the interplanar connection of the City of Brass, the two vastly spaced apart forces were able to coordinate their efforts and both delivered crippling blows to the eastern and western flanks of the Empire. The weight of the Empire would come down on the Qaghanate, and Marcellus decided to cut his losses with the great spoils of war he had gathered.

Though Marcellus brought great prosperity to the realm, he had also sown the seeds of great discontent after his death. He had taken his younger half siblings under his own charge, having Lilian be trained in the arcane and Sogan trained in military arms. Prince Sogan was a legendary figure during the Second Terranian Incursion, whilst Lilian became the first Royal Archmage. These two powerful figures would be the trigger for cataclysmic events after his passing.

In the year 81a.Au, Marcellus' eldest child and heir, Gelegian, would abscond through the City of Brass to his grandfather's qaghanate, having become convinced that a lifetime of warfare was a better fit than the statecraft he was being groomed for. This ostensibly made Kaidu Aurum the heir, though Archmage Lilian argued in favour of his older sister Khulan, suggesting that the idea of male primogeniture was a cultural hangover from the oppressive Terranian Empire and one which Orben society needn't mimic. Marcellus did his best not to get involved in this dispute, which would allow the tensions to brood under the latter years of his rule.

In the later years of his reign, Marcellus entrusted more of the governance of his realm to his family, primarily his wife Hoelun and his sister Lilian, whose frictions over who should next ascend the throne worked remarkably well for a time in balancing the decisions made by the throne. Marcellus began studying at the University of Higher Mysteries again, and in 84a.Au chartered the founding of a branch in Argentum. This would however be quickly forgotten when, in early 85a.Au, Marcellus would suffer a grievous wound during an experiment at the University in Kenkoa that would ultimately result in his demise. He was 58 at time of death.

The question of his fatality, and whether the magical mayhap was orchestrated by his sister, was one of the main unanswered questions that would fuel the fires of the wars to come.