Caecilius Volantus I

**Caecilius Volantus I** was the founder and first emperor of the Maudesian Empire.

## Background

Caecilius Volantus was born to Septimus Volantus of the Adamantium, and Castiana, daughter of a prominent Lyriane chieftain. Septimus lacked magical ability, charisma, and military prowess, but had experience in surviving the cutthroat politics of Adamantine nobility. With his help, Castiana was named gothi, or queen, by the clans of Lyriane and Drahanim in **-36D**. Their son was born soon after.

### Founding the Maudesian Empire and the Ministry

Prince Volantus believed that Sibylla had appeared to him in a dream when he was a child, and had tasked him with redeeming the world in the eyes of the Watcher by spreading the teachings of the Holy Tome. Worship of the Watcher was fragmented at the time, with each clan having its own variety of the cult of Sibylla, with different rituals and traditions. Volantus started unifying their belief of the Watcher at the age of sixteen, by taking to the battlefield. The Daughters of Sibylla, a peaceful cult of the Watcher numbering in the thousands, were wiped out by Volantus's forces; they refused to arm themselves when Volantus's forces sacked their village, and were all either killed or captured.

Caecilius courted Darea Montlaurent, the third of Lord Montlaurent of Montelleu's famously unmarriageable six daughters. When she met the young prince, she was the captain of her father's archers, and led the defense of Laurent Castle. According to the legend, she was not the fairest, nor the most elegant or charming, but when the prince, who was no charmer himself, witnessed Darea shooting the wings off a bumblebee at one hundred paces, he was instantly smitten. It is said that on their wedding day, Volantus presented his bride with a golden bow crafted by the mages of Ducailles. Together they conquered well into modern-day Nordain and Anderlay, stamping out lingering worship of the Deceivers and other Drahanim and Lyriane deities.

Their campaign of expansion stalled due to heavier resistance in the south, and constant pressures from the Sylvandale to the west. Fearing that his cause was failing because the Watcher questioned his devotion, Volantus refocused his attention on glorifying his god. In the year **-15D**, he began construction of a great temple dedicated to the Watcher on the foundations of an ancient Lyriane fortress which had been home to Jesavi herself, declaring that by its completion he would have brought Sibyllan belief to the world. In **-12D**, he wrote the Chronicle of Exaltations, describing his visions of the Watcher's return. The next year, he began a series of attacks in the Heartlands aimed at uniting the warring city-states of the north.

The temple was completed in **-3D**, and Volantus was crowned emperor in Ducailles, having conquered several neighboring city-states and forcing the submission of others. His first act as emperor was to declare the Ministry as the established religion of the Empire. He created the holy office of the Matron, and, after protracted elections, Olyssa of Montelleu was proclaimed the first Matron three years later, taking the name Augora I. The event marked the beginning of the Ministry calendar at **1A01**.

Volantus believed that the Great Game was tearing the nation apart, so he abolished all titles besides emperor, empress, lord, and lady.

### Second Scourge

Many hoped the First Age would be the dawning of a peaceful and prosperous era, hopes which were shattered when the Second Scourge began in **1A05** in Netheren. Volantus quickly rallied every able-bodied warrior to march south against the Archfiend. He knew this would not be enough and, in a controversial move, enlisted the help of the mages, permitting them to use their full power against the fiendish hordes. They proved themselves to be effective allies in battle, and the Maudesian army under Volantus' command won a series of significant victories against the horde including the hard-fought Battle of Umberland in **1A16**. This led to the signing of the Anderan Accord in **1A20**, which established the Institute of Magic, Inquisition, and Templar Order. Volantus is credited as having created the Institute of Magic and the Order of Templars. Volantus personally endorsed Lothaire Modafferi, a veteran of the Second Scourge, for the position of Grand Arcanist, though some believed that Hardouin was a second choice. Tensions with the Sylvandale increased as the elves focused on protecting their own borders, and did nothing while the nearby city of Montelleu was nearly destroyed by fiendish horde in **1A25**.

In **1A33**, Maudesian armies marched southward to the Grey Order fortress of Greyhold, relieving it from the siege. The Rangers of the Grey were so impressed with Volantus that they converted to the Ministry. The united forces moved further south to salvage what was left of Netheren, leading to its conversion to the Ministry, and annexation by the Maudesian Empire later that year.

Volantus's battles against the fiendish hordes did more to spread the teachings of the Holy Tome than his earlier campaigns of conversion, and expansion. As the battles moved north and west across the continent, he won much of the Freemarks and parts of modern-day Anderlay, both spiritually and politically.

### Legacy

Volantus died of old age in **1A45** and was succeeded by his son Caecilius II. At the time of his death, he had created the most powerful empire in Morgaea, united most of the continent under the belief of the Watcher, and laid the groundwork to stop the Second Scourge. For his actions, he was declared "Anointed" by the Ministry, and is revered as highly as Sibylla by many of its members.

His tomb in Ducailles was plundered in **2A14**, after the city was sacked by the elven armies. His arms and armor were taken to Aerasala to be displayed as trophies. However, when Aerasala itself was later sacked, the artifacts did not reappear, either taken by elves fleeing the city, or human soldiers hoping for a better reward.