Basically, i'm wondering what the background of some of the leaders are, mainly the amurite leaders and Perpentach.
so, who were they before they became leaders of their people?
I seem to recall Perpentach being one of the Students of Kyorlin
Perpentach was a student of Kylorin in the Age of Magic, he specilized in mind magic. When the civil started in Patria he fought against Kylorins rebellion eventually battling Kylorin himself. Kylorin beat him, but rather than kill his former apprentice he imprisoned him in a dungeon deep in a swamp and guarded by golems.
But Perpentach was more powerful than Kylorin suspected and he let his consciousness float out further and further. Miles away from his prison he found a village of people that were being visited by a traveling carnival. He lead them, through suggestion and illusions through the swamp and against the golems. The people saw what they hated most, they were driven on by Perpentachs demands and his hold on them was so strong that many fought well past the point where they should be dead. The voices of some of these remain still in Perpentachs mind.
In the end piles of corpses surrounded the dungeon but they had managed to overwhelm the golems and break Perpentach free. They took him back to their village and installed the very insane mage as their new king.
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When Kylorin was the Emporer of Patria, newly fallen under Cerdiwens control, he implemented a series of lethal tests to find students with magical talent. The Cave of Ancestors was the final stage of these tests.
During the Age of Rebirth the Amurites rediscovered these tests but they were studied for historical reasons more than for any pratical or arcane purpose (they considered the danger of the trials to be barbaric).
Dain decided to try to prove his arcane talent by going through the trials on his own. What I can't remember is if Dain was the first one to have done this or if he was just the most recent to have completed all of them and gained the title of the Caswallawn.
I know that at one point a woman was the Caswallawn and challenged while she was pregnant (her challenger thought she would forfeit) but she accepted and won the battle. I dont remember the specifics, I think that was during the Age of Magic.
The Caswallawn is the title for the leader for the magical arm of the Amurite army. According to Patrian law (the Amurites are a lot more interested in Patrian law than any other civ) someone who completes the trials can challenge the current Caswallawn to gain the title. As I remember the position was vacant when Dain claimed it (since he was the first to complete the trials in this age) so he didn't have to fight anyone.
Many also suspect that Dain is descended from Kylorin. The Amurites were a fairly small group at the end of the Age of Ice and Kylorin had quite a few children so descendants of Kylorin aren't that unusual. Most of the Amurites and other civs believe that Valledia's office is tracking the "true descendant of Kylorin" (a rumor Valledia allows to foster). But records of ancestery are illegal to have (for anyone but Valledia's office) and many children are taken from their parents and raised in schools (which is considered an honor), severing all ties with their families.
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Valledia is the real leader of the Amurites. She is ruthless and efficient. She holds all the secrets of her people but where Dain has raw talent she has an uncompromising drive to lead her people.
If you read her and Einion's pedia entries you gain a good sense of her drive. I don't have much on her history, I always imagined her growing up a simple girl without the talent that dominates her society. But her political guile and willpower allowed her to rise to be their queen (queen may be a misnomer since the amurites are a republic largely dominated by mages).
During her political rise opponents were discredited. At the point where her pedia entry takes place her power is so absolute that serious opponents are ruined or even killed. She is smart enough that just threatening is enough to take care of most problems, and she doesn't waste effort on situations unless they are critical (she doesnt have the ego common among male leaders so she doesn't care if people speak out against her or the government). Normal people have nothing to fear from her ruthlessness. But if a sage is researching dangeorus secrets, and continues despite warning he may dissapear.
