Kaysar

**Kaysarian** (born **William An Draven**) was an Erinian statesman and military leader who became Erinia's first Grand Protector following his victory in the Democratic War. He abolished the monarchies and transformed the new republic into the Erinian Commonwealth, a state that would come to dominate the western world in the coming centuries and stand as the foremost power of modern times. Although some of Kaysar's autocratic tendencies during his later years would be avoided by most of his successors, his time in office created most of the standards for the office of the Grand Protector, which he metaphorically described as "the iron-gloved hand that guards and guides our enlightened society."

He died of natural causes at the age of 75. He received the posthumous name of Kaysarian, named after the ancient arostrian kingdom of Kaysaria of Myrea. Kaysarian's designated successor was the illustrious Valern.

## Biography

### Early Life

William An Dravenov was born in the Haven town of Colcherna in the year 870 AA. Born to nobles of the Draven family, a former aristocratic house. The family had been deprived of its former lofty status when the Winter Revolution abolished all kingly and aristocratic titles and rights. However, the family had managed to retain some of their privately owned estates and lands and so were still very well off during the republic era. William's grandfather was Rupert Draven, who had successfully gotten the family back into Erinian politics when he was elected to parliament for the Colcherna sub-province in the year 859 AA. However, much to Rupert's annoyance, his own son Valdemar had no interest in politics and was always more of an artistic, scholarly type and a notorious free-thinker, which Rupert interpreted as the new republican culture's corrupting influence. He was intensely delighted when Valdemar's son William took an interest in matters of state.

Rupert took William under his wing and taught him everything he knew regarding politics, law and tradition. Rupert's views were heavily preservist, usually criticising the corrupt and chaotic republic while praising the fairness and stability of the kingdom. It is clear though that William didn't take to heart all of his grandfather's rhetoric, as his own father also left him favorable views on things like individual liberty and free expression. A third notable influence came from William's mother Amarra. A headstrong and highly respected woman, yet sweet and free-thinking like her husband. Amarra used to tell William tales from what we call today the Thousand Years War, of men like Garald Mapiers, Ormund of Valassia, and of course Erin the Great. It's with these tales that William's military interests would later blossom.

### Military Career

In 888 AA, William joined the Republican army at the age of 18, the earliest possible age of enlistment. This received poor reactions from his family. His father scolded him for what he saw as becoming just another thrall of the state and his grandfather saw it as him throwing away his family legacy. Only his mother supported that decision and it seems that her blessing was enough for him.

William started his career from the very bottom as a common foot soldier. During this time the Three Republics were experiencing a perpetual peace, so William never saw any actual combat outside of repelling one minor nulian raid on the eastern border. Despite this, William was soon promoted to captain after showing excellent initiative and discipline. It was long rumoured that this promotion may have been bought by his grandfather, who appears to have come around on his grandson's decision to join the army. From there William only flourished, showing himself as a charismatic disciplinarian who was loved by his men for his down-to-earth policies. When he was 26 he was promoted to lieutenant and at 28 to corporal. This meteoric rise was a testament to both William's own abilities and to the republic's meritocratic system, something that he himself wouldn't forget.

### Governor of Nykesia

The Three Republics were divided into several provinces that were usually run by men of the political parliamentary class. However there were a few exceptions, notably in the provinces that stood on the northern and eastern fringes and thus guarded against numerous external enemies. These were called "military provinces" and were run by capable generals or other men of the military class. Sabastian Barkley, the military governor of the northern province of Nykesia sought to step down from his governorship in 900 AA and surprisingly recommended William Dravenov as his successor. Granting a governorship to a man barely out of his twenties was completely unheard of, but Barkley was an old favourite of the parliament and he personally vouched for him. saying "the Dravenov boy has skills and talents well beyond my years", and that he was by far the most qualified man in the republics to succeed him. The parliament relented, and appointed Dravenov a five-year term as military governor of Nykesia.

Nykesia sat on the very northern edge of the republics. Beyond it were the hardy nulian peoples of the Tropathian mountains, a constant nuisance and occasionally a serious threat to the province. As a consequence, the province had been intensely militarized and boasted the best soldiers in the Three Republics. William Dravenov largely continued the policies of his predecessors while adding his own personal tweaks. The previous governors would largely act as armchair generals who commanded from afar, while William would regularly participate in the work his men were put of with. Running, working and eating alongside them, these unorthodox approaches earned him some notoriety among the officer corps, but admiration and loyalty among the common soldiery. This way Dravenov ran the province for three years until he would finally get an opportunity to prove his and his men's worth.

### Battle of Vuctiam

In 903 AA, a large group of tribes began moving towards the borders of Nykesia. To this day it is still unknown what caused this massive migration, but possible theories include harvest failures in Tropathia or other nulian tribes invading even further from the north. In his diaries, William calls this migrating group the "Teberni" although it is unknown whether this name comes from the Teberni themselves or from the erinians. William estimated that the total number of Teberni migrators may have been as high as 100.000. When they reached the town of Vuctiam, near the border of Nykesia, the Teberni demanded passage into the province. Without answering them, Dravenov mobilised his entire force of 7.000 men and began marching in secret towards the migrating horde. He reached them only three days later, which caught them completely by surprise. William deployed his infantry in a single line and began attacking the unprepared Teberni, while swinging his elite cavalry around and enveloping the entire Teberni fighting force. The migrators broke and fled, pursued by the Nykesian cavalry for many more kilometers, slaughtering them in the thousands. In the end the total casualties of Teberni is unknown, but their entire tribe was broken and scattered, while Dravenov's forces suffered relatively few losses. As a reward for this great victory, the Parliament in Erinia decided to award Dravenov with the title of *Protector*, a rare honorific signaling his great service to the state.

### Outbreak of Civil War

In 904, the Three Republics descended into civil war after Jason Servellic's Preservist faction contested the elections of Daniel Georrel's Populist faction. With the preservists establishing themselves in Skagon and Lakedon and the populists in Erinia, Dravenov technically owed his allegience to Daniel Georrel's government as Nykesia was a province within the Erinian Republic. Besides that, many of his men's sympathies lay with the populists and so Dravenov sent a majority of his forces south to fight in the war. However, Dravenov argued to the populists that he needed to keep a decently sized force stationed in Nykesia to guard against potential further nulian attacks. The populists reluctantly agreed, and allowed Dravenov to retain 3.000 of his elite soldiers. Privately, Dravenov considered the outbreak of this civil war proof that the republic had taken its policies too far and had thus slipped into chaos. He began having secret meetings with his officers about taking matters into their own hands.

### Intervention

On the 20th of February in the year of 906, the forces of William Dravenov marched out of Nykesia and occupied the port of Cartors the same day. Subsequently, Draven sent out letters all across the republics where he denounced both the governments of Servellic and Georrel as selfish traitors who were trying to destroy the republics. Draven lead his 3.000 men on a march southwards towards Erinia, across the coast of Haven Bay. On the 20th of June his forces decisively beat a superior populist force at Laktanward and moved in to besiege the vital port-city of Gwenstown. This siege lasted for nearly two years, during which time numerous soldiers defected to Draven's side, swelling his numbers to 4.000 when the city finally surrendered in March of 908. Marching on, Draven's army had marched half the way to Erinia herself when they received word of a massive populist force marching against them. Daniel Georrel had been peeling away men from his fight with Servellic, managing to throw together a force over 10.000 strong. Confident in their superior numbers, the populists attacked Draven when he was entrenched with his army near a place called Sporwell Heights. The result was a crushing defeat for the populists, who lost nearly their entire force thanks to similar cavalry and shock tactics that Draven used at the battle of Vuctiam. Draven offered amnesty and a place in his army to all prisoners captured at the battle, swelling his force yet again to over 6.000. The road to Erinia was now open for Draven.

### Fall of the Populists

After the disaster at Sporwell Heights, many in Daniel Georrel's government urged their leader to either surrender or flee the country. The stubborn and willfull populist did neither, choosing to gather whatever forces remained loyal to him and making a stand outside the city. On December 1st in 908 Dravenov's forces reached the outskirts of the city, delayed by some weeks due to an intense blizzard. As Dravenov's army encamped to wait for the blizzard to calm, Servellic sallied his forces out of the city and planned to launch a surprise attack against Dravenov, with his army covered by the blizzard. However, a detachment of Dravenov's elite cavalry was out on patrol that day and by chance encountered the advance column Servellic's army. Acting on their own initiative, the Dravenov's cavalry charged the army and smashed its first lines. Seeing barely anything in the blizzard, mass confusion and chaos spread throughout Servellic's ranks. Then somewhere in the fighting Jason Servellic himself was killed, causing the complete breakdown of his army. Draven cavalry chased the army all the way back to Erinia, where the commander of the garrison promptly surrendered the city thinking that Draven entire army was following, who in reality were still encamped two days away. When Draven marched into the city two days later he was met with the cheers of his small group of supporters, but much of the city waited in fear of what kind of order Draven would bring.

### Stateholder and the end of the war

After Draven's many stunning victories, he finally controlled the capital. Many feared what horrible things this brutish and strict soldier would do to their great and cultured city, but in this Draven surprised his friends and foes alike in his modesty. Instead of dissolving the parliament like many expected, he humbly asked their permission to be appointed as "Stateholder", receiving supreme executive powers of the erinian state, so he could swiftly end the war. With his request granted, Dravenov set out to crush the Preservist League lead by Daniel Georrel, while delegating the governance and politics of Erinia through loyal subordinates. It would take three more years to completely quell the preservists as Draven took back settlements one by one. After Draven's victory at the seminal battle of Varcari and his subsequent capture of Skagon, the preservist government had had enough. Georrel's subordinates launched a coup against their leader, successfully imprisoning him and suing for peace to Draven. Just outside Skagon, the Preservist League surrendered to Draven with the sole condition that they were allowed to return to their position as a political faction in the parliament, which he granted reluctantly. Victorious in the war, William An Draven stood as the sole master of Erinia and her subject nations. Now he was presented with a simply unprecedented opportunity, to remake the status quo as he saw fit.

### The Grand Protector

William Draven's opinions on the Three Republics were various and diverse. Its meritocratic system promoted talent and progress, something William had himself experienced firsthand during his fast rise to power. However, the republics were also flawed and unruly, allowing for seditious and corrupt elements to gain power with relative ease. Thus it was Dravenov's aim to improve the republics and not abolish them outright. For this, he looked to the political ideas of Theodor Helmsen, who had brought forth theories in his works; *Prejudiced Equity* and *The Equilibrium*. In these works, Helmsen criticises the unfairness of the republics and argues for the merits of a limited military dictatorship.

In 914 William Dravenov had served as Premier Minister for five years, mainly overseeing the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure after the war. It was then that he decided to create a new office, one that acted as an overseer over the parliament and the state. Dravenov elevated his old honorific of *protector* that had been awarded to him after the battle of Vuctiam, to the new office of the Grand Protector. In November of 914, Dravenov stepped down as Premier Minister and became Erinia's first Grand Protector, the official beginning of the Erinian Commonwealth.

### Setting an example

The creation of the office of the Grand Protector was not official or public by any means. Dravenov simply began administering and attending parliamentary sessions, now only referring to himself by his old "Protector"title. But Dravenov did not act as a dictator, lest there be grumblings in the parliament that there was a new king in Erinia. Dravenov mediated and settled disputes, broke deadlocks, and acted in all as a guardian watching from the sides, subtly guiding the state towards the path he intended. Although he held no official elected office, everyone knew that the power of the army was in his palm and were therefore inclined to follow his will. This early example that Dravenov set for the office would more or less be the parameter for all of his successors in the centuries to come.

Dravenov also brought all the armies of the republics under one centralized command, a move that consolidated his power more than anything else. For the first time in more than a century, the armies took to the offensive, conquering lands both east and north of Nykesia. Training, uniforms and command structure for the army was also standardized, following the Nykesian example.

### Conquest of Tyberdon

During the civil war, King Ulter III of the Kingdom of Tyberdon had supported the populist government in Erinia, hoping to gain lands that it had previously lost to Skagon. In 926 Ulter III died in his sleep and his 27 year old son, Ulter IV ascended to the throne. Ulter IV had often spoken of the need to break apart the unholy union of Erinia, Lakedon and Skagon, and restore kings of old. Dravenov had long thought the Tyberdonians a thorn in Erinia's side, and was convinced that this new aggressive king would spell war. In XXX, an erinian watchpost was robbed and set ablaze, the ensuing fire killing two erinian officers. None know today who really bore responsibility for this attack, but at the time there was no doubt of Tyberdonian treachery. Dravenov himself declared war the following day.

The war lasted for two years, with Dravenov's new army winning every decisive encounter with Ulter's outdated and battered forces. In July of XXX, Tyberdon City fell after a 3-month siege, followed by Ulter's absolute surrender. The Kingdom of Tyberdon had for long been on a steep decline, her neighbours encroaching from all sides, which had reduced the kingdom's size by half over the last 160 years. Dravenov saw it as his duty to put this rump state out of its misery, and decreed that it would be fully annexed as a new Republic of Tyberdon, sending Ulter IV into exile.

### William the Autocrat

Shortly after the conquest of Tyberdon, Dravenov decided to reward the people of Nykesia for their loyal service to him. He did this by creating the new Republic of Nykesia, allowing the people there to have much say in the affairs of state. The nykesians took this with thunderous joy but left many others grumbling, especially in the parliament. Dravenov had now admitted two new republics into their realm, all without their consent. When Dravenov returned to the Erinia, three members of the parliament waited for him by the gate and publicly questioned him whether he was going to get the parliament's approval for the creation of new republics. William argued that it was his lawful right to issue new republics personally, then promptly threatened them with threats of arrest and exile for obstructing him...lol

### Final Years and death

William Dravenov was by all account a miserable man during his final years alive. From his disputes with the parliament, his estrangement from his son, and finally the death of his wife in 939 left William a cold and distant man. Still, he held fast to his power and took under his wing a promising young politician named Wallace an Emdrin. Unknown to all, Dravenov was actually preparing Emdrin to become his successor, having lost all faith in his own son. His finals years in power were thus spent tinkering and adjusting his power base so that it could be easily transferred to a successor. It seemed William cared deeply about the preservation of the new state that he had created.

In 945 Dravenov traveled to Hilkinberg to observe the strengthening of the Erinian navy there. Shortly after his arrival Dravenov complained that the trip had exhausted him and he decided to go to bed early. He was found dead the next morning. The servant that discovered him dead, Jaspen Haldar, hurried greatly back to the capital and went straight to Wallace Emdrin to inform him of what had happened. Still to this day there is much debate among the learned whether Emdrin knew beforehand of his designation, but he acted with great haste to secure his position once he received news of Dravenov's death.

Wallace Emdrin succeeded William Dravenov as Grand Protector of Erinia. To honor him, Emdrin wished to bestow upon Dravenov an honorary posthumous title as a show of respect towards the long-lived and immensely influential man. Dravenov's title would become Kaysar, named after the Kingdom of Kaysaria, who had united all of the Arostrians under one banner centuries before on Mynea. This started the tradition that each Grand Protector would receive a respectful posthumous title, and through the years this would eventually become their preferred name.

## Legacy

Kaysar's person has become an enduring symbol of the erinian state. His "iron-gloved hand" is the preeminent symbol of the Erinian Commonwealth's flag, and his instructions for it to "guard and guide the enlightened society", although interpretable, still serve as the foremost guiding principal for the grand protector this day.

Though it was Kaysar's successor, Valern, who became emblematic of great and just statesmanship, Kaysar himself still endures as a symbol of strength and authority. The term "kaysarian task" is still widely in use, referring to a task so hard that it appears to be impossible.

The Solasian March which leads to the Directoral House includes statues of all previous grand protectors. Kaysar's statue, situated at the street's epoch, is the largest by far. Built during the reign of Solasian, it depicts him holding out his iron gauntlet, and was purposefully built to towers over the other grand protectors.