Renis

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Emperor of the Aurian Empire from 763-781PE.

Renis Torvold was born the last a large and very wealthy noble family in Tor Celer. His older sister Gemella Torvold had had the great fortune to marry the heir to the throne Jarlath. She later bore Jarlath three children and one Coriam was born in the same year as Renis. The two later became good friends growing up though their passions differed. Renis became very devote and Coriam more adventurous. Still each influenced the other. Renis taking up training with the Templar and Coriam taking clerics with him on his ships instead of ship's doctors.

In 745PE Jarlath became Emperor making Gemella Empress. This changed things again for Renis who decided to dedicate himself to furthering his sister's position by developing a loyalist faction among the devout of the Church of Celer with whom he himself was so familiar. As a rich, devout, political influential figure Renis grew in prestige and influence and became the most useful of his sisters siblings. He and his sister helped arrange advantageous marriages for the many Torvold daughters and used this to create a powerful support network for the crown.

When Prince Coriam left to circumnavigate the world however Renis didn't go with him. Claiming he would stay and 'look after the empire' while Coriam was away. He was an ordained Templar by then (not that he had gone through the same stringent preparation and abstinence necessary for one of the peasentry to achieve such a title). Nevertheless Renis was a good follower and overtly, passionately loyal to the Imperial family and the church of Celer. This is probably why he became so anti-arcane. Or what was later named as Sans Sarrif (Without Sarrif).

During the Conclave Dispute (753-761PE) it became clear that the wizards guild was out of control and the Emperor officially dissolved its leadership as a consequence in 757PE. Renis wholly supported this move as might well be imagined. He was by now the first advisor to the Empress and her Golden Speaker. This entitled him to speak for her in the Senate or other official gatherings where a woman could not officially attend or hold membership. Renis also held rank in the church Templar leadership equivalent to a high officer.

In 758PE however the Emperor was assassinated by Regicide under the orders of Interal one of the chief antagonists of the Conclave Dispute. Fortunately for Renis, despite the death of the Emperor and two of his children, Renis' sister Gemella survived the attack. Later it is claimed Renis personally rescued her from the palace but this is may well be simply because that made a better public story than a random Red Blade or Knight Stalker bringing her out alive. Gemella takes control of the empire in the absence of her son Coriam and Renis brings the church firmly down on her side. Importantly several of her sisters are now married to inportant financial, political and military figures in the Empire which helps prevent a coup or a break down of control at this volatile time.

758-9PE: The Empress calls the mage Ivory out of retirement and it is certain that she prevents an assassination of both the Empress and her brother. Danil Durova the investigator then discovers the Letter of Regicide which places the blame for the regicide of Emperor Jarlath squarely on Interal's shoulders. Renis and Gemella swore oaths of Justice and bend all their will and influence to his destruction. The Empress assigned a group of Templar and Red Protectoran Elites (Who may have been Knight Stalkers) to her younger brother Renis and 'asked' Ivory to accompany them. Renis' bodyguard was made up of Red Blades and Templar under the command of Blademark Trent Fell. There are also a huge assortment of clerics assigned to them as well. Renis named the unit in its entirety the Loyal Force. Less than a month later, Renis, Ivory and the Loyal Force successfully found and killed Interal and his entire inner circle.

760PE: The Loyal Force head up the consistent strikes against the remaining rogue wizards. These strikes are led by Renis though organised by Trent Fell. They have the backing not only of the Templar but also the powerful wizards Chareye and Ivory.

Renis calls for compulsory mage registration and direct individual control over all magic users to potentially be enacted. However this is countered when Feint another of the influential wizards involved in the dispute pushes wizards around the country to voluntarily register their loyalty to the Empire. This prevents the enactment of a compulsory registration or exile law.

Danil Durova the investigator who discovered the Letter of Regicide helped the Loyal Force discover the location of Lethe. He was confronted and defeated, but could not be killed so he was imprisoned beneath the guild in the Spectral Prison. Renis didn't like this solution wanting the creature turned over to the church but Iory used her influence to push the Empress and the newly returned Coriam to side with her. Soon after this the dispute ended.

761PE: A new Conclave is called and imperial oversight is added in the creation of a new role called the Imperial Adjunct which role is allotted to Renis in the first instance. A weak Saffier called Yerrith is called. He is proposed by Renis as Yerrith helped the Loyal Force in their campaigns during the dispute. Renis particularly did not want Ivory or Feint to be given the position and congratulated himself when he was successful in getting Yerrith installed. Those a powerful mage Yerrith was far from the strength of previous Master Magi and Saffiers, also he was politically very weak adn nothing more than a pawn of the Empress. The archmage was installed based on his loyalty and teaching skills rather than power and ambition. If Renis were to have his way that was how it would stay. The Sapphire Wizards' Guild had been crippled.

763PE: Coriam died at sea. The Empire was currently being run by his mother and uncle anyway and so the transfer of power to Renis was not particularly hard for them to accept. Renis resigned his place as Imperial Adjunct and his position among the Templar to be crowned Emperor.

As Emperor, Renis was considered weak by some historians. This was partially because he had to deal with the shadow of the widowed Empress Gemella, his sister, who did not want to relinquish her influence over the rulership. The other major point was that his other masters the church saw his installation and the devastation of their enemies the wizards as the chance to push their own position. Renis had previously gotten his power from his sister and the church and they were used to giving him orders, now he was Emperor he struggled to reverse that situation.

775PE: Under the reign of Renis the Empire gave up land to create an independent church run state: the Vormach. This is one of the only times any land that was formally and utterly under Aurian control was officially ceded and the only time when it was done without bloodshed in the Empire's entire history.

However in the church of Celer Renis is considered something of a saint and he is called Renis the Pious in their histories. Renis certainly portrayed his reasons for doing it as a devotion to god before man.

The wizards of the Empire were furious with the huge boost to the church without similar benefits being offered to them. The church now had its own country and its own military as the Cellan Guard, a military group under the church's influence and outside of Tor Kalash's control, was created. This was the start of a new level to the rivalry between the church and the wizards of the Sapphire Guild, which rages to the modern day.