Commandant Kazimir Elaris

Kazimir Elaris was the third Commandant of Malachar, succeeding his father Dragor Elaris. Ruling Malachar from 65 A.E. onward. Kazimir was made famous for his kidnapping of Princess Karina, daughter of Idu Leighton, the King of Kentor at the time. The Princess was quickly rescued by the Knights Recknar Tramaer, Leo the Hordebeaker, and Alexander Crowlen, along with a small band of soldiers and fighters. It was these events that marked the start of the Second War of Expansion between Malachar and Kentor.

### Early Life

Little is known about Kazimir's childhood. As the son of Commandant Dragor Elaris, it is most likely that Kazimir was raised as a Prince in Volkor, the capital city of Malachar. However, rumors began to circulate when Kazimir was very young, around 9 or 10, that Dragor had sent his son away from the capital. These rumors were reported by Kentori spies, hoping to keep an eye on the future ruler of Kentor's closest rival and enemy. It is unknown where Kazimir may have been sent by his father, but King Leighton and his advisers assumed the young boy was likely sent off for training in the arts of warfare and combat.

### Princehood

Although Kazimir remained hidden away as a child, much is known about his years as a young adult, before assuming the role of Commandant. As a young man, Kazimir served as a Captain in the Malacharan Army, stationed in Volkor, close to his father's side. He quickly became a hero of the people, serving to protect the citizens on the outskirts of Volkor, who had been plagued by attacks from wild beasts that called the nearby swamps home. Local legend claims that when Kazimir was only 21 years old he wondered into the Volkor marshlands to put a final end to the attacks on his citizens. Refusing to allow his Lieutenants to accompany him on his journey, Kazimir journeyed into the swamps alone. Weeks after his departure, Kazimir was assumed dead by the people of Malachar, as well as the Kentori spies stationed in Volkor. However, he eventually reemerged from the swamps, unscathed. Kentori spies were never able to discover what happened in the swampland, however animal attacks quickly ceased to plague the city afterwards.

### Reign

In the year 65 A.E. Dragor Elaris died unexpectedly at the ago of 61. Although the circumstances surrounding his death were suspicious, no evidence of regicide was found and Kazimir was named the Third Commandant of Malachar. In the early years of his reign, many held out hope that this new rule would usher in a new era of prosperity for Malachar. These hopes were quickly dashed however, Malachar's iron mines, the source of their chief export, ran dry only a few months into Kazimir's rule. Additionally, Kazimir had inherited the dire problem of over population in his homeland, which had seen a massive rise in population over the last 20 years, matched by ever stagnate food production due to Malachar's lack of proper farmland. Despite his best efforts, famine and poverty were plentiful in Malachar. Although his nation was on the decline, Kazimir still enjoyed adoration from his people, who trusted he would lead them through these hard times. In addition to his own citizens, Kazimir also held the hopes of the neighboring Kentor, who had believed that Kazimir's more level headed nature would lead to an end to the hostilities between the two nations.

#### The Attempted Assassination of King Idu Leighton

In 69 A.E. on the first of Newlight assassins attacked King Leighton and his daughter Karina at The Festival of Broken Chains, held at Goldengrove, the seat of King's Garden. Both the monarch and his daughter were poisoned before the assassins made their escape. A small band of Kentori soldiers fought and killed many of the assassins, and captured one alive. Following clues left by the survivor, the assassin's hideout was discovered along with a ledger. The ledger found listed, in code, payment received from a Malacharan in exchange for the murder of King Leighton and Princess Karina. Suspecting the man represented Commandant Elaris, King Leighton, having recovered from his injuries, sent a diplomatic party, led by Lord Alver Thorne of King's Garden and Princess Karina herself, to meet with, and possibly investigate, Elaris. This meeting was quickly cut short when Elaris arrested both the Lord and the Princess, claiming that he would hold both captive and eventually execute them, unless King Leighton surrendered a sizable mass of land in Kentor to Malachar. Sending the diplomatic party's security detail back to Kentor as negotiators. Rather then negotiate with Kazimir, King Leighton elected instead to send the same security detail, joined by Sir Alexandre Crowlen and a small group of soldiers, to rescue the Princess and Lord Thorne. The mission was successful, although the fighters suffered great casualties, Crowlen and Tramaer safely returned Karina and Thorne to Kentor.

#### The Second War of Expansion

Quickly following the escape of Princess Karina and Lord Thorne, Commandant Elaris declared war on Kentor. Using an army of wooden and steel automatons, which would come to by known as Warforged, Elaris was the first to strike, quickly seizing the southern port city of Moorhold. Not long after, Malachar launched a second naval attack against the city of Mapleport, however the attack was repelled by Kentori soldiers.