[quote][h3]Emperor Haldisfar of ancient Reln[/h3]
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[b](Important Figures)[/b]

[h1]A[/h1]ncient Reln was a very different place than the chivalrous and beautiful Reln we know now, a man was valued for his mettle in combat instead of for the person who he was, emotions were suppressed, and men raised to positions of power based solely upon their skill in combat.

Haldisfar was an excellent warrior.

Haldisfar was a brilliant strategist.

And Haldisfar was completely mad.

Haldisfar was born into the lowest caste of Relnish society, as a thrall, but not a housework thrall or a slave for unsavory pleasures, but as a member of the famous Relnish [color=steelblue]Chained Ones[/color], heavily armored soldiers who wielded heavy flails attached to their bound wrists. Especially strong Chained Ones were given more links to their chain, allowing them to serve as exceptional mid range combatants.

The leader of these chained ones was the [b]Stone Troll[/b] [color=steelblue]Tar Un Dun Ban[/color], who was large enough and strong enough to wield a flail about the size of his abdomen. Tar Un proved himself strong enough to break down castle drawbridges by himself.

Haldisfar sunk a fleet.

After quite a bit of time in the Chained Ones, Haldisfar had quite a long chain, so long that he was able to wrap enemies swords within it and then bludgeon them to death with the metal ball. When a fleet from an enemy kingdom attacked, he chained himself to a few other Chained Ones, before breaking their shackles, allowing him to wield their chains as if they were his own. Haldisfar then proceeded to throw the chains one flail at a time into the enemy ships, sinking the enemy fleet all by himself.

Well, it is doubtful that this actually happened, judging by the large gap between our time and his, and the fact that the enemy fleet has never been identified as coming from one single kingdom. And, well, the feat is practically impossible for human hands.

Whatever the case, Haldisfar proved himself on several occasions, entering the emperor's court as a bodyguard.

Due to the fact that succession was only nominally from father to son in those days, often the only way of securing a place on the royal throne was to kill the emperor. Which Haldisfar did, proclaiming himself as emperor, jumping from the lowest portion of the social ladder to the highest in one fell swoop. This led to a short civil war, which Haldisfar and the Chained Ones easily crushed.

Haldisfar ruled for a decade, during which he had multiple battles fought simply for his own enjoyment. He was no less insane to those who knew him, his wife describing him as;
[i]"A blood warrior, a battle hungry grasper, mad beyond his wits and gaudy in his royal robes."[/i] [sup][1][/sup]

One famous anecdote had Haldisfar informed of his son's death, but instead of allowing the servant to say the words, he had to act them out for Haldisfar's amusement. This led to Haldisfar assuming the servant was planning to assassinate him, so he had the man executed as was common in those days, thrown into an arena with Trolls and animals.

As a result of his madness, rebellions sprouted from across Haldisfar's empire, leading to the fracturing of old Reln, and the beginning of the [color=steelblue]Era of Warlords.[/color]

[sup][1][/sup]Though the Lady consort was not the picture of sanity either, often dressing in odd clothes and taking her servant girls to bed instead of her husband

[b]History of War and the Follies of Man- Slings and Stones to Arrows and Bows[/b] - [i]Chapter One of[/i] [b]A Collection of Unfinished Works[/b]
[i]Charles D'Hartbourg[/i]
[i]Estate of Charles D'Hartbourg, Tower of Truths[/i] [/quote]