Tarcus Aventen

> ***“All your life you have lived within a prison forged of other people’s ambition. You crave the freedom which you have glimpsed beyond the gilded bars, my little bird, yet know that you may never possess it. So here you dwell, forever resigned to your fate, lacking in all agency, save for this one simple act of rebellion; the act of knowing another, one who exists outside the scope of your predestined role. You find more kinship in me - a fellow prisoner - than you do your peers."*** - Tarcus to his future wife, Lavinia Impera
>
>

Tarcus Aventen *Albionis* ("of Albion") was a Classical Palavenian tactician-philosopher of great renown, famous for both his literary works and leadership of the city-state of Albion (later renamed Aventinus in his honour, becoming Palaven's second most important city after Cipritine.) Living during the 22nd Century BCE, at the height of the turian Bronze Age, Tarcus wrote a great number of philosophical treatises, many of which have survived into the modern age and continue to influence the culture of the Aurelian Empire today. His most famous work, simply entitled *Ducatus* ("Leadership"), documents the lives of an eclectic mixture of prominent historical figures, both ancient and contemporary, using them as a template to analyse and critique the virtues of the ideal ruler. He is the oldest recorded ancestor of every blood member and relative of House Aventen alive today.

Tarcus was wed to the eldest daughter of Atrin Impera, the first *Imperatrix* of the continent-spanning Nialin Empire, as part of a peace treaty between Cipritine and Albion. Despite the marriage being a political entity and his wife 20 years his junior, Tarcus and Lavinia Impera were deeply in love with one another. They had several children together, whose descendants ruled Aventinus for the next two centuries, until its eventual betrayal and annexation by Cipritine. Tarcus predeceased his wife, leaving her a widow at the age of 30. As an act of remembrance for her soulmate, Lavinia commissioned several hundred copies of his works, which she had distributed across both Aventinus and her mother's empire, in the hopes it would keep his spirit alive in the afterlife so that she might be reunited with him in death. It is thanks to her actions that the majority of his works have survived into the modern era.

## Biography

### The Nialin Expansion

Whilst serving as a general, Tarcus was captured by Cipritine after his forces were ambushed during yet another vicious border war between Cipritine and Albion, instigated by Cipritine's bloody annexation of a large swath of their southernmost territory during the Nialin Expansion. Despite being grievously wounded in the attack, he defiantly proclaimed that he would only surrender on the condition that the lives of his troops be spared, stating that it was his duty as their general to ensure their safe passage home. So respected was he as an adversary that his Cipritine counterpart chose to spare his life, a lesson he had learned from reading Tarcus' works. True to his word, he allowed Tarcus' wounded troops to return to Albion unmolested but not before shipping Tarcus off to Cipritine as a war trophy for the *Imperatrix Cipritines* ("Empress of Cipritine"). Tarcus spent the next ten years living as a prisoner of war, albeit a well-cared-for one, writing yet more philosophical works during his confinement. He eventually formed a close friendship with the *Imperatrix Cipritines*, a woman named Atrin Impera, the pair discussing philosophy together late into the night and ruminating over the events that led to their cities' ancient blood feud.

While still political enemies - Tarcus outright refused to compromise his people's ability to defend themselves during all of their discussions - they shared a passion for the art of warfare, fought with both sword and spoken word. He frequently questioned Atrin about her expansionist agenda, forewarning her that the poison of personal ambition would doom her new empire to failure. Ironically, it was Tarcus' advice that enabled Atrin to reinvent not only herself but the socio-political structure of the state; she implemented what was the first documented use of a meritocratic hierarchy, which replaced the caste system the turians had lived under for millennia. This system allowed for greater social mobility and ensured leadership positions were given to those who displayed the desired aptitude. Guided by Tarcus' wisdom and surrounded by capable statesmen, Atrin successfully unified Cipritine with its surrounding city-states (with the exception of Albion), founding a continent-spanning empire that would later be known as the Nialin Empire, which she and her descendants ruled over for the next 300 years. While her empire would ultimately fracture under the weight of political infighting and the gratuitous excesses of her descendants, just as Tarcus had cautioned her, her methodology would later inspire Aurelion Imperator to revive the meritocracy that she had first created.

The unlikely friendship between Atrin and Tarcus culminated in the signing of a peace treaty between Cipritine and Albion, cemented by the release of Tarcus and the political marriage of himself and Atrin's eldest daughter, Lavinia. Tarcus returned to Albion with his new bride to be greeted with rapturous celebration by his people, who had overthrown their former ruler to proclaim him their new *Dux* ("Leader"). Tarcus ruled over Albion for the next several decades, overseeing the expansion of its northern territory and facilitating the resulting cultural renaissance of its people. Whilst she lived, Atrin honoured her promise not to incorporate Albion into the Nialin Empire. However, her descendants later turned back on the peace treaty, violently conquering Albion and installing puppet rulers to maintain order. This betrayal marked the beginning of the end for the Nialin Empire.

When the turian space age arrived millennia later, several of Tarcus' descendants emigrated from Palaven and travelled to the planet Parthia to help found the new colony of Nisus, eventually becoming its first primatial rulers. So influential were Tarcus' contributions to history that, after his death, his home city of Albion was renamed Aventinus in his memory. The first planet from the star Trebia - a small, hot rock planet surrounded by a haze of methane and helium - was also named Aventen in his honour. The minerals mined from the planet were used to fuel the turian space age, which would see his family rise to greatness among the stars.