Now, who is Decius!??

[Grey Fox]

I guess so. That wouldn't be "political rivalries" though. In that case, he would basically be another Rosier the Fallen.

How would he end up a Malakim leader though? I guess I could see an Order crusader man who failed to live up to the letter of the law finding a safe haven among the Empyrean, but I don't really think it is likely that such a man would rise to prominence there. In my version he wasn't banished or found guilty by the Malakim though, he simply chose to side against them.

The main reason I chose Malakim->Bannor->Calabim though is that going from Bannor to Calabim seems a much more likely transition than Malakim to Calabim. If he had started as a Bannor and sought refuge from the wise man of the Calabim then I'd tend to emphasize with him much more (the Order laws were probably unfair to begin with), and find the defection to the Calabim hard to understand. Going straight from light to darkness seems less likely than falling slowly into corruption and fanaticism.

I guess I could try to come up with a scenario where he didn't end up Calabim, in which case he could turn to the Empyrean eventually and be redeemed. Of course, not allowing such redemption would probably fit better in a dark fantasy. I don't really see him as being that Heroic. Also, if he was the leader of the Calabim he almost certainly became a Vampire. The desert sun would probably be too much for him then, and I don't think there is a cure for Vampirism.

Who says the Order and Empyrean existed during the time Decius changed sides?

But say they did. Empyrean is a religion that would shelter political and war refugees. Just like a neutral country like Sweden did during the WW2, and still do today.

My reasoning for him starting in Bannor is they are probably the first nation to get a standardized organized Army in the age of rebirth. Being forced into a war against the orcs early, and having combat experience from hell. Not to mention being led by an Organized leader already. To me Decius was probably a commander/general in the Bannor vs Orc war. Once that war settled down, and the Embers was formed, he wanted more enemies. The other generals wanted stability and to build up the Bannor civilization now that they finally had peace.
In some way or another, Decius does something controversial at this point. Like leading a band of loyal soldiers to war against some sovereign empire without any ok from the above leadership at all. Trying to force a war which his leaders do not want.
At some point Decius gets taken care of and has to flee. He finds home in the Nomaic Malakim. This might be pre-Varn. Or maybe early varn. They might still be nomadic, without permanent cities. For some reason, through his political and military prowess perhaps, he climbs through the ranks and gains a high seat of power.
Eventually, he gets driven away from Malakim as well, and then finds a permanent home in Calabim, where they appreciate his deterministic warfare style. I would guess he becomes a good friend of Flauros and maybe a lover of Alexis for a while.

 

[Sofista]

i agree with magister, its alphabetical from good-neutral-evil

Decius is neutral.

 

[Grey Fox]

No he can pick alignment at start of game.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I wasn't talking about alignment. Alphabetically, Bannor comes before Calabim and Malakim.

He is neutral, but gets an event to pick an alignment at the start of the game.



Hmm...I guess I just picture Decius living 2 or 3 hundred years latter than Grey Fox does.

I'd say the Order has been around since Sabathiel led the Bannor our of Hell, and that the Malakim were just unconsolidated nomadic tribes before Varn united them under the Empyrean.

 

[Grey Fox]

I'd say that the Bannor worship after Bhall fell and Sabathiel came to the rescue was the prequel to the Order. In the canon lore, I would think that the Order is founded by the Bannor when they got their religion organized and started spreading it outside of Bannor.

 

[Wyrmhero]

Back to Greyfox' point, what if Decius was a leader in the Bannor-Clan war, and the controversial thing he did was to slaughter the orcs after the treaty, which Rantine was banished for arranging?

 

[Grey Fox]

Good point. That sounds like it could have been Decius, and it COULD have started an all out war with all clans united. If it wasn't for Rantine. Which probably would have meant the end for all orcs.

 

[Nikis-Knight]

Just to make it easier on your guessing, I'll tell you that you won't play as Decius for all three civs in the scenarios in one go--only two. There is a choice the character and the player make. (That's the goal anyway. Obviously that requires Kael to implement the trophies or something similar.)

 

[Slvynn]

mm his traits are worst with malakim mechanics wise.
I just see not synergies or really usefullens of his traits for malakim, which are in fact = mages and disciples. Chm trait from adaptive > Organized xp wise, and Raider not affecting arcane units , which is major malakim power and buff.
But it really decent for all those bannor melee units and as well Calabim stuff.
mechanics wise...
lore too - Varn is pretty much Malakim material as it is , i even was suprised that someone can challenge him for Malakim leadership

 

[Grey Fox]

If it's a choice between two then I must say that its feels obvious you start as Bannor, and then get to pick between Malakim and Calabim.

 

[xienwolf]

Actually it makes sense to start Malakim, decide that you wish to settle down in "Civilization" and choose between the Good and Evil Warmongering Civilized Options.

Having said that though, I just looked at the Scenarios, and I would say that the chain which makes the most sense would be:

The Fall of Cuantine
Into the Desert
Wages of Sin
Against the Grey


If that guess is correct, then it would certainly sound like Malakim is not the start of it all, but one of the two options. So whoever owns Cuantine would be the origin Civ. I'd guess Bannor, but then what Sin must be attoned for later? So that is an arguement in favor of starting Calabim, being defeated, and then deciding between Malakim or Bannor for atonement. That is of course the more boring option, so I am in favor of starting Bannor currently.

 

[Slvynn]

Against the Gray - seems its some campaign played against Sidar (90% sure - by image and by name). But why Decius will oppose sidar actually??????

 

[Wyrmhero]

The most likely explanation I can think of is that the Sidar have embraced Esus, and so the Malakim want to convert them through steel and flame

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Or maybe they are just too neutral for him.


What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?

I hate these filthy neutrals, Kif! With enemies, you know where they stand, but with neutrals—who knows. It sickens me.

....etc

 

[Wyrmhero]

Or maybe they are just too neutral for him.


What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?

I hate these filthy neutrals, Kif! With enemies, you know where they stand, but with neutrals—who knows. It sickens me.

....etc

Last place I expected to see that.

 

[KillerClowns]

I see a pattern concerning the question of what order Decius went from civ to civ. The Bannor are always the corrupt fanatics, the Malakim the enlightened wisemen. So I'm going to play the devil's advocate and offer this possible scenario. I'm going with lust as his deadly sin, since it's simple, and by far the most fun to write about, but in from what I've seen it would most likely be greed or pride that led to his downfall. But continuing with the enjoyable theme of lust:
Decius started out as a Bannor general, a respected and capable leader trusted by his men and his superiors. But he managed to run afoul of a legitimate Bannor/Order law. Let's say he got too close to some good-looking Svartalfar agent, got drunk one night, and gave away the location of various prized Bannor treasures. As a result, Decius went from trusted general to traitor as the Svartalfar ran off with Capria's prized sword.
Having thus angered his old people, he made a run for it and found himself in Malakim territory. He decided to start fresh in the Malakim lands, and quickly climbed the ladder from "nobody" to trusted general, managing to avoid Bannor envoys and keeping his former screw-ups a secret. The Empyrean was willing to give mercy and forgiveness, and Decius took that as an opprotunity, making himself known as much for his wanton escapades and ribald parties as his genuinely brilliant tactics. The Empyrean soon ran out of philosophical reasons to forgive Decius' many and infamous sins, but kept doing so to avoid losing the finest general the Malakim had... it was even worth paying the massive bodyguard needed to keep away the many angry husbands and fathers. One particular night, however, a particularly pale woman came to his door and offered him an opprotunity he couldn't refuse...
Shortly thereafter, Decius disappeared from the Malakim lands, leaving their army in disarray. Meanwhile, the Calabim empire started gaining territory at an alarming rate...

 

[Milosrdenstvi]

And why can't he start as a Calabim?

 

[MagisterCultuum]

because then it would be a story of redemption instead of corruption, which just isn't as dark. Also, if he had risen to a leader of the Calabim he would be a vampire, and probably would not be welcomed by the other civs.

 

[loocas]

because then it would be a story of redemption instead of corruption, which just isn't as dark. Also, if he had risen to a leader of the Calabim he would be a vampire, and probably would not be welcomed by the other civs.

It would be just as dark if he started Calabim and set out to corrupt the two lightest civs. The guy can fake his alignment after all. Could be one of Alexis's & Flauros's generals, or more likely he's out on a personal mission. Perhaps after his exile he found his way into the Calabim nation where he learned the true meaning of servility, so he sought to exploit the sheepish nature of the Order and the bureaucracy of the Empyrean.

 

[Nikis-Knight]

It would be just as dark if he started Calabim and set out to corrupt the two lightest civs. The guy can fake his alignment after all. Could be one of Alexis's & Flauros's generals, or more likely he's out on a personal mission. Perhaps after his exile he found his way into the Calabim nation where he learned the true meaning of servility, so he sought to exploit the sheepish nature of the Order and the bureaucracy of the Empyrean.

ohh, I like the way you think. Why'd we bother to plan things out, anyway? So easy to steal from fans as bright as ours