Preacher Mataxes

was an influential member of the Church of Kirva on Zanevuela during the Second Coalition War, later becoming the Patriarch of Korinth, a figurehead of the Shantine Crusade and a member of Empress Irboda's Triumvirate.
== History ==
=== Confederate Crisis and Second Coalition War ===
Preacher Mataxes first rose to prominence during the Confederate Crisis as a militant Kirvan zealot, relentlessly agitating for open conflict with the Fialta of Zanevuela throughout the 440s A.U. and working to end slavery and arm Kirvan and pro-Shantine militias. In the lead-up to the Second Coalition War, Mataxes was the preeminent leader of the Kirvan partisan forces within the former Fialta Confederacy, serving as a more public-facing counterpart to the Knights of Adarnum's efforts to arm and destabilize the region. Throughout the 440s, Mataxes was in some ways the Shantine Kirvan analogue of the Fialta National Front's Grand-Captain Mirbus. Mataxes survived the war despite assassination attempts, and went on to be regarded as a war hero despite his many ethnically- and religiously-motivated war crimes.
=== Patriarchate of Korinth ===
In Mataxes was elevated to the Patriarchate of Korinth, a move which was seen by many as a reward for his loyal service to Empress Theoboda Kataph. His first act as Patriarch was to "burn the impurities" out of the Kirvan establishment on Korinth, ritually burning the residence of the former Patriarch Wenceslas and purging and banishing much of the Korinthian clergy. Patriarch Mataxes also created the Archbishopric of Zanevuela, with Teresa "The Blind" as the first archbishop.
== Personality ==
Mataxes was a magnetic and rallying leader, but also a polarizing figure within the Kirvan Church and the Shantine Empire. Though fully devoted to Empress Theoboda, he represented the most radical and zealous aspects of Kirvanism, leading him to have many detractors and enemies within the Empire.
Mataxes's leadership during the Second Coalition War was marred by many instances of horrible cruelty (and even outright war crimes), in particular to Fialta civilians and POWs. In one instance in , Mataxes led Kirvan partisans under his command in ritually burning to death 10,000 Fialta prisoners that they had been charged with guarding. The Shantine Colonel Latak, on arriving at the scene, attempted to kill Mataxes with his sword but was physically restrained by his aides and carried from the scene, screaming, "Let me show you Kirvan mercy, you sadistic [expletive]!"
Category:Non-Player Characters