Athus, the First Magistrate

## Athus

The Father of Democracy

*"A true leader leads by example, for the people and by their people. A true leader wins the heart of the common folk and devotes their life to better their community. A leader should be chosen by their people, and not through their birthright." - Athus, the First Magistrate.*

Athus, the First Magistrate, also better known in the present time as The Father of Democracy, was born in a lonely little Fishing Town where The City of Athus today stands. At an early age Athus joined the Paladin Order and took his Oath of Devotion, to protect all that is good from evil, an Oath in which he took extremely seriously. Anareth, the lonely Finishing town where he was born, was at the time ruled by an oppressive noble Lord who had claimed the surrounding area as his own, and for years Anareth was bullied into submission by the Lord until it reached its boiling point. Athus took it upon himself and marched to the castle of the Lord with those who willingly volunteered and laid ashes on the castle, freeing Anareth from the grip of their oppressive Lord and Athus was hailed as their hero.

## Description

Slender and in average height, Athus looked just like the average person you'd find in any town. His skin tone was fair and his eyes brown, his hair and facial hair had become gray at the height of his reign as the Magistrate of Anareth. Athus chose to wear very a very simplistic apparel, favoring decorated armor around his expensive clothing, his armor was enchated with divine magic which protected him from being influenced by malicious intent and gave him resistance towards elemental damage. On his right hand he wore signet ring with the emblem of the Paladin Order brandishing his devotion to his oath as a Paladin and sworn oath to protect the commonfolk from evil, the ring was thought to be a ring of protection.

As the Lord of Anareth had been defeated and his oppressive rule had been extinguished, more lurking power hungry noble men, guild leaders, or despicable people saw this as an opportunity to sink their claws into Anareth and establish themselves as the next leader of this little fishing town, however, all were met by the sheer willpower and force of Athus who stood between these lurking evils and their grasp for power. The common people saw this and for once now chose Athus to become their leader. He was strong, caring, had a heart of gold, and could protect the people from danger. At first, Athus declined, not seeing himself worthy of such a title, but then he realized that if not someone took on the mantle of becoming the leader of this town, someone else might, and they may be worse than their previous Lord, and thus he took it upon himself to become the leader of the town. But new laws were instated, and from now on, there were no Lords or Kings, a Magistrate would rule Anareth and the Magistrate could only be chosen by their people, and the common people held the power to impeach and remove their leader from power should they prove insufficient and too dangerous to be a leader. Athus would also declare that after his death, a new Magistrate must be chosen, therefore the title of Magistrate was held until death, and once the Magistrate had passed a new one would be picked by the common folk.

## Personality

Athus was mostly known for his heart of gold, he held a deep respect for the common folk as he himself came from poverty. Athus most of all respected the order of things, he respected the law, and he always had a strong sense of integrity, he never took bribes, and he would never allow himself to be threatened into submission by people with malicious intent. Some may have seen him as stubborn, which in a way he was, but truthfully he was only stubborn because what he did was right. His apparel never reflected his true self, he only wore it because he needed to distinguish himself as the Magistrate of Anareth, but if he had the choice, he would wear normal garments like the common folk. Athus had the innate capability to inspire his people only through his words, he was well-spoken and knew how to engage with the crowds to hype them up. He never badmouthed his political opponents and only saw them as an extension of the democracy he had established. Throughout his life, his position of Magistrate was never threatened to be removed from him, and he ruled happily for 32 years until his death.

## History

### Early life

Athus was born in the lonely fishing town of Anareth in a poverty-stricken family who had to work hard every day to make ends meet from day to day. Little is told or written down about Athus' childhood life, but it has been recounted many times that he along with his parents worked as fishermen, but their business became less than obsolete with little to no customers buying the fish they caught. They, however, managed to scramble a few silver pieces here and there, and if they were really lucky they managed to save up for a few pieces of gold, it wasn't much, but it indeed was honest work for a family living in poverty. Due to them barely being able to make ends meet, Athus never had any additional siblings as they did not have the proper financial stability for it. Even as they lived through these dark times, Athus would never give in to stealing as he always looked up to his father who was an honest and principled man.

By 14 years of age, the life of his parents was claimed by sickness and Athus had become an orphan. Due to the death of his family, he was no longer able to keep up the payments for their living space and as such was evicted by the landlord. Seeing no other way out, Athus joined the local militia of the town which served as the official peace-keeping force of Anareth, it was from there he would be able to receive proper meals and a roof above his head. However, he had to prove himself in his martial skills with a blade, and it was something he had not accounted for. But, with his conviction that he was going to join the militia, he took the blade and dueled the recruiter, it was here where he felt a surge of arcane magic flow through his body as he was able to strike down the local recruiter. Astonished by this unexpected power, Athus was allowed to join the militia.

### Joining the Paladin Order

Years had gone by since Athus' recruitment into the militia and his martial skills with the blade had increased. Athus had also managed to carefully climb the ranks of the peace-keeping militia and served at a content position where he could still be out and about protecting and serving the townspeople, but also give out orders to other men, it was during this time when he attained strong leaderships skills and saw what was needed of him to inspire his comrades and communicate well between different people. He learned how to resolve different issues which at times needed an outsider's view, but most of all, he learned how to protect.

By -24 AAD, a band of bandits has laid siege on the fishing town due to the importance of its geographical location, as this town was bound to become a hotspot for trade. This was an opportunity for them to take it over and control taxes and trade in the area. The numbers of the peace-keeping militia were inferior to the bandits, but under the leadership of Athus, they were much more organized in battle and structure. However, even Athus knew when a fight couldn't be won, and so he sent a pigeon carrying the message, a cry for aid, to anyone who may be able to come and help them. And as they waited, raids became more and more frequent throughout the town, and Anareth had become miserable. But their luck had not run out yet, the pigeon that Athus had sent out had managed to reach the Paladin Order and as Anareth was about to break and give in, the holy warriors of devotion would ride towards Anareth. The battle would ensue between the Paladins, the militia, and the bandits, but with the powers and strength of the Paladins, the bandits did not stand a chance against them. It was during this battle that Athus displayed his divine powers before the Order, and he could now truly see where his powers came from, one of the Knights there would offer Athus a chance to join their order, take an Oath and become a Paladin himself at the promise that under their tutelage he could harness his skills in combat and his divine powers to carry out the justice of the Gods and protect those in need from evil, he could protect Anareth

Athus would go with the Paladins to their Keep, where he would take his trials to become a Paladin, they were hard and vigorous, but he managed to prevail over them, showing his tenacity and dedication to achieve something once he's put his mind to it. As he finished his trials, he would swear his oath and took on the Oath of Devotion. As a sworn Knight of the Paladin Order, Athus would return to the south coast and back home to Anareth. But now he would not settle with protecting just Anareth, he had the means to protect the villages and towns in the surrounding area too, spreading his name and the goodwill that carried with it.

### A Turn to Politics

After many years of service within the Paladin Order, by -40 AAD, nearly fifteen years after his induction to the order, was he invited to join the Council of Eight, a council of the most eight prominent Knights of the Order who had attained renown beyond recognition and served as the very embodiment of what a Paladin is. Athus began to serve as the protector of the lands he had previously protected before, but due to his strong involvement there, it was only natural. However, one faithful morning, the news of a new Lord had claimed the surrounding area and villages around Anareth reached Athus and due to political instabilities in the land, there was not much he could do about that fact now. But, an invitation was extended to Athus, due to his famous reputation in these lands, this Lord wished for Athus to serve him on his Council as an advisor and an extension between him and the people. This was better than nothing and allowed Athus to still take action and not act as a vigilante. And as Athus began to serve on the Council, he would begin to advocate that decisions should rather be put to vote rather than one makes all major decisions. This was the beginning of Athus' political views as every time he suggests that things should be voted on, he would be shut down instantly, something he despised greatly, and his voice became unheard.

Over the years Athus would begin to see the tyranny of the new Lordship in charge, how people had little say in anything, and how they became oppressed and exploited by their new leader. This was not something Athus could not stand by, he could not stand by and watch has the people he had fought to protect being terrorized and oppressed by a tyrannical Lord, and as such he would begin to hold secret underground meetings with people who had spoken out against their Lord before, this would be yet another formation of Athus' political standpoints as he began to preach for that a leader should be chosen by their people through voting systems, and a government where people could influence nearly every aspect within the political world, a government of the people, by the people, for the people. As the people of Anareth grew increasingly more displeased with their current leadership, the oppression of the common folk continued and escalated drastically, this became the boiling point for Athus and the people of Anareth, as they now took charge with Athus and lead a coup on the Lordship in control. Many lives were lost that day, but they would never be forgotten for their contributions to freeing Anareth from tyrannical rule.

After the coup was finished and the Lord was defeated, Athus was chosen by his people to lead Anareth. They wanted him to become their new Lord, but he refused to accept that title for himself, he still profusely believed that the people should be the ones in charge of this town. But they insisted that he was the one worthy of ruling, it was they that had chosen him to become their leader, and thus the title of Magistrate was instated. Athus made new laws that were to be upheld in Anareth, the people chose their leader, the people have a voice in major decisions, and there are no Lords and Kings in Anareth. The position of Magistrate lasts until death unless you are impeached by a common vote of the people or if you abdicate from the position. These core tenants of his decree became what later would form the Republic of Athus, a cradle of the free voice.

### Time As the First Magistrate

During Athus' time as the First Magistrate, he would significantly improve the quality of life in Anareth, as he now held the resources to do so. He would introduce a daily council for the townspeople of Anareth to come and speak their opinions of the current situation of Anareth, their needs, and the needs of others, and generally on what they wanted to be changed or fixed. These suggestions would then be debated and discussed until they were eventually put to a vote, and if the votes were in favor of that suggestion, it would be implemented as soon as possible. Furthermore, the expansion of Anareth would commence, and more homes, buildings, and local shops would be built. Thanks to Athus' large network of connections that he made during his time protecting the south coast, he would create a chain of trade routes throughout the southern coast, binding all towns and villages together, creating a larger and more symbiotic trade network that would vastly increase the wealth of Anareth as it sat in the middle of this trade network. Alliances were created thanks to these commercial pacts, and a militia was created to protect caravans going through these trade routes. Athus' influence over his own people and the lands beyond his rule would become more and more known, a town where the people could make change together, where the people could decide on what was and what was not. Anareth became the birthplace of democracy, something practically unheard of on the continent of Oraxus, and Athus was hailed as the Father of Democracy.

## Legacy

Athus would go on to rule Anareth for another 32 years after he was chosen to become the First Magistrate until his death. His death would mark year 0 in the continental calendar throughout Oraxus. After the passing of Athus, Anareth was renamed in his honor, this tradition continued as his name would be passed on to become the name of the nation now known as the Republic of Athus. Athus' impact on the world was significant, he established the first collective trade network in the Eastern Reaches, and a peace-keeping force large enough to protect all towns and cities that had entered this trading conglomerate, as well as the trade route between all of these towns too. However, his most significant influence on Oraxus was the creation of democracy, where everyone had a right to say what they wanted, a place where everyone had a free voice. Athus was the first major leader in both unrecorded and recorded history to implement democracy as a part of leading his town and he effectively created the first senate, however, the members there were not elected as it is in today's modern history.

## Political beliefs

Athus believed in a liberal democracy, which is a combination of a liberal political ideology, the belief in a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law, that operates under a representative democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government, the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, a market economy with private property, and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and political freedoms for all people.