THE
HELCRANI
ANACTAR
TEPHRON |
Tephron was Helcrani Anactar of Milkengrad (644-637 b.S.) and the first Helcrani King of Centorauria (637-621 b.S.). Tephron is remembered in Centoraurian history as a brave warrior and a wise king. His most admired achievements are the liberation of the Helcrani from the tyrant Arpagar and the inauguration of the assimilation process between the Helcrani and the rest of the Centoraurians which was triggered with the rise of the Helcrani Kings to the Centoraurian throne.
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Appearance.
Tephron was a fairly tall man. His height was approximately 1,90 peds. He had a
fair complexion and black hair. His eyes were black as coal and
lay under thick eyebrows in the middle of a soldier's
face hardened by numerous battles.
Tephron had always a serious look that combined excellently with his
aristocratic appearance. Although he was a very simple and accessible person his
looks betrayed his high statute. Even the untamable Centoraurians
abided willingly by his rule and never did they dare
disobey his orders despite Tephron in general was against punishment.
Character.
Tephron in general was a low profile person. He was always calm and never raised
his voice. His serenity was notorious as he confronted the most ridiculous
demands from his aristocrats and still he persuaded them to obey without giving
in to their claims. Tephron was a courageous man. However, he knew -
from bitter experience - the importance of
proper timing and careful planning. He was a soldier even in his everyday life;
he despised luxury and elocutionary speeches. Tephron is also renowned for his
courage. From the age of 14 he was present in the battlefields and never did he
show a scrap of fear. He was also the one who dared to challenge and kill the
ferocious tyrant Arpagar at
the height of his power. Tephron was a mild tempered man that had no ambition of
power. However, circumstances led him to be the savior and king of his people.
Biography.
Tephron was born in 682 b.S. as the second son of Currann, a
Helcrani nobleman of
the Sostrian Fratra. From his early years he was raised to be a soldier just
like his father. He had his first military experience at the age of 14, when
Tephron - as a young squire - along with his father, his elder brother and his
uncles and cousins, who were also military men, defended their homeland against
the Erpheronian invaders. He
participated also in the
Helcran campaign
against Erpheronia that
followed. These campaigns were not without mourning for Tephron who lost in the
field of battle his brother, one of his uncles and two of his cousins. In 665
b.S. Tephron witnessed also the deaths of his father and of his
Anactar
under the walls of Voldar. He was also there
when Ogygor's enlightened leadership made the
Erpheronian general Ileor the
Kind spare the
Helcrani army. Tephron
lived the reign of Ogygor in Milkengrad
and deeply admired the wise
Anactar
and when he rose to power he tried to follow his lead.
Arpagar's Rise. Ogygor died in 651 b.S. However,
his sons rivaled for the throne and there was a great uproar among the
Helcrani, each
pretender gathered troops and a civil war was imminent. At this point, an exile
from the Codomman Fratra appeared. His name was Arpagar
and he was escorted by the Black Warriors, an army of
Ashmari dressed with black cloaks.
Arpagar accused Ogygor's sons of treason since they
rivaled for the throne and prepared for war when the
Centoraurian
king should solve the dispute and appeared as a savior from the civil war.
Arpagar earned the citizens' support and crushed
easily the two young pretenders, on the Kings Plateau.
Arpagar with the approval of the
Centoraurian
king, Agelron the Quick, was proclaimed
Anactar
upon the Efirhal in a festive atmosphere on the 6th day of Avénni'modía 651 b.S.
At the same year, Tephron was absent to the birth of his twin sons
Curgan and Cumrann.
Tephron during all this turmoil was absent in
Erpheronia, sent by the late
Ogygor a couple of months before his death, where - according to the terms of
the peace treaty - he was in charge of the
Helcrani regiment that
trained the Erpheronian
cavalrymen. When he was recalled to
Milkengrad, in the end of 650 b.S. the tyrant had already shown his true
face and reigned in an orgy of death and torture and disgrace. The
elves had abandoned the city, and went back to
the Goltherlon Forest. The
rebellion of Jonnahir the kind and Yaunin of Ahaiwana was already crushed in a
bloodshed of no survivors with the tolerance of Ephiagar, the new
Centoraurian
king and sovereign of Milkengrad, who was
unwilling to intervene and prevent the massacre with the excuse, that it was an
internal
Helcrani matter. The
true reason of his behavior was that Arpagar pledged
unquestioned allegiance of the undisciplined
Helcrani to the
Centoraurian
King. Tephron didn't participate to the revolt, because he was in an expedition
in northern Erpheronia and had
no news of home. When he returned to
Milkengrad he saw the atrocious monument of Arpagar's
victory in the middle of the Hypheralean Square; the sculls that once belonged
to Jonnahir and Yaunir placed on top of a pyramid made by the sculls of their
comrades in the center of the Hypheralean Square. Those of the Efirhal
Helcrani rebels who
were lucky not to have a noble origin and were allowed to withdraw in the final
battle and their families were mercilessly tortured and disgraced.
Arpagar's atrocities froze every thought for a
rebellion against the evil
Anactar.
A few attempts to assassinate him failed as his
magic protected him. Tephron understood that the circumstances did not favor
another rebellion and decided to leave the army with the excuse of being
crippled after a fake fall from his horse.
Indeed, Tephron was appointed to the Curonesta where he was responsible for the
protocol. And the years passed in terror, pain and shame. Situations that
witnessed from a first hand Tephron's sons who spent the first years of their
life as hostages in the Curonesta palace in order to ensure their father's
loyalty.
Arpagar's Death. On the 23rd day of the month of
the Changing Winds of the year 644 b.S. an elven
magician clad in white, appeared during an execution on the Kings Plateau,
challenged Arpagar and dueled him. His name was
Queenezar the White, and had a star with 19 edges as his symbol. His name would
never be forgotten in all the
Helcrani lands. The
fight lasted for several hours and it was ferocious. But at the end only the
black magician was standing. However Arpagar was
severely weakened.
Tephron had decided to try a hopeless attempt to assassinate the tyrant, even if
the price of a possible failure would be not only mean his death but also the
death of all his family. He was armed with Helronn's
sword, the Lawgiver. This
sword was the symbol of the royal power in
Milkengrad and had been lost after
Ogygor's death. However, the
Milken Brownies who had secretly stolen it handed it over to Tephron in
order to give him a slight chance of success as the Lawgiver had been created
and runed by smiths of all races, and was cooled in blood instead of
water. Among others it was said to have
been blessed with the ability to destroy evil magic.
Tephron seized the opportunity of the duel and approached the twisted king as if
he would help him rise. His magic could not
harm the bearer of Helronn's sword. Tephron
was the one to take Arpagar's head. The last words of
the tyrant ever heard were "For thy crimes against the
Helcrani I lay justice
upon thee". Then he lost his head and with it his
magic and his life. The surprised barbarians tried to retaliate, but without
their leader they were easy fodder for the outraged
Helcrani. They were all
killed or sacrificed in Curogane's grave between the Artapherana.
Arpagar's body was burned and his ashes were thrown
into the sea. Tephron was proclaimed
Anactar,
the first one of the tragic Sostrian Dynasty, and prepared the war to revenge
the Centoraurian king for
abandoning them and tolerating so many crimes.
War for Revenge. From the very moment Tephron rose
to the throne he spoke for all
Helcrani when he
demanded revenge from the
Centoraurian king who had abandoned them to Arpagar's
madness. Indeed, Tephron lead the
Helcran army against
Centorauria in a savage civil
war. The
Helcrani over seven
years captured one Centorauria
stronghold after the other and at last cornered Ephiagar in Thyslan where they
laid siege upon him. The vast majority of the
Centoraurian folk were
supporting the
Helcrani rebels. Many
Centoraurian noblemen assisted
them too. However, the king was not willing to give away his throne without a
battle. He gathered every troop he could, local and mercenary, and made his last
stand when he was cut off from the sea. In the battle that followed he was
killed and his army annihilated. The 23rd day of the Month of the Changing Winds
(Méh'avashín) of the year was not only the last day of the war but also the last
day a man of pure Centoraurian
origin would rule the country. This day the
Helcran dynasties were
inaugurated and ruled the country from the new capital in
Milkengrad.
Tephron's Rule. Tephron ruled his people with
wisdom and strived for the unity of his kingdom. He did not discriminate between
his subjects because of their origin. In fact he was a catalyst to the
developing of a
Centoraurian national
consciousness among the
Helcrani.
During Tephron's reign the
Helcrani
embraced the belief that they were also
Centoraurian despite their
different ethnic origin and not subjects of the
Centoraurian king. In fact,
several scholars tried to prove that the
Helcrani
were actually an ancient
Centoraurian tribe (and not
without royal support).
Tephron, on the other hand, honored many
Centoraurian aristocrats with
the title of "helcrani". They were not
allowed to keep their title and fortune for their support, but they held also
honorary offices for their valor and virtue. In a few decades the word
"helcrani" would mean both "person
deriving from Helcrah" (if it was written with capital "H") and also "Centoraurian
aristocrat" (if it was written with a plain "h").
Tephron's reign is remembered for his care for education and poverty. He
reorganized the corrupt
Centoraurian taxation system
favoring the middle classes over the aristocrats. Tephron also introduced a new
form of military organization according to the
Helcran
tradition of the universal recruitment of the citizens and linked the
Centoraurian citizenship with
the military service. He also introduced many liberal institutions of
Centorauria to the conservative
Helcrani.
Tephron also favored trade, which he thought to be a major wealth source for his
country. For this reason he encouraged it and constructed a major war and
merchant fleet.
Offensive against the Stratanians. In 628 b.S.
Tephron decided to take drastic measures against the
Stratanian pirates who had been
looting
Centoraurian ships in the
south. Piracy was a serious income source for them at this time and the pirate
leader was appreciated in local hierarchy. For this reason the
Stratanian authorities didn't
seriously consider Tephron's proposals for cooperation against piracy. The 23
years old prince Curgan led an offensive against the
Stratanian pirates. However, he
didn't handle the whole operation with the necessary discretion. These military
operations resulted in the
Stratanians considering the
Centoraurian interference a
provocation and the conflict soon escalated into war with the direct
interference of the Stratanian
navy. Curgan however, managed in a series of successful
naval battles to destroy the
Stratanian fleet, to seize the
Stratanian capital for a couple of days when he hunted and captured many
pirate leaders. Among them was the supreme leader of the pirates and member of
the royal Stratanian council,
Tehmen Rut, who passed under trial and was executed in
Milkengrad a few months later. These
Centoraurian actions, although
from a military aspect were a total success and completely eliminated piracy.
However, politically it triggered direct hostility against the
Centoraurians.
War with the Erpheronians. In 626 b.S. the
Erpheronian army invaded
Centorauria. They quickly
advanced from Cemphiria to Salsair and set the city under siege. Tephron sent
his sons Curgan and Cumrann to encircle the enemy. The
Erpheronians suffered a defeat
under the walls of Salsair, but nevertheless managed to escape to friendly
territory. During the next weeks the war evolved around the bridge of Cemphiria
where the two armies faced each other but did not decide to engage in battle.
The
Helcrani launched a
series of sabotage operations with great success. Finally, after a year of
warfare the two sides decided to sign a peace treaty more favourable for the
Centoraurians abandoning futile
confrontation. Renevor, the
Erpheronian king would remember this conflict for a long time to come.
Tephron's Death. Tephron was scouting the Aurora's
trying to find a suitable site to rebuilt the ancient city of Carbug, when he
fell off his horse, after it went wild from
a snake bite. He died a few days later in 621 b.S. aged 61. The irony is that he
had been a cavalry officer for more than 45 years and one of the best riders in
Centorauria.
After his death his son Cumrann claimed the throne from his brother and heir,
Curgan, triggering a civil war that led eventually to
the Fall of Milkengrad four years later.
Importance.
Tephron was a man accepted totally by his contemporaries, although he lived in
hard times. He ruled with wisdom, compassion and vision. Tephron established the
foundation for a united and prospering
Centoraurian.
Although, his city was conquered shortly after his death, his work didn't go to
waste. The
Centoraurians,
united, managed to regain their capital after 37 years of foreign occupation and
continued his work. His dream of rebuilding the ancient city of Carbug,
stronghold of the first
Centoraurian
king was never accomplished.
Information provided by
Curgan
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