Aurelius

RapturedSplicer, also known by his birth name Aurelius or his adopted name Aurelius of Haven, is the founder, governor, leader and representative of the city of Haven, as well as the co-founder of the Republic of Lydoneia, a representative republic situated on the southernmost continent of Alathra. He was born in the former Kingdom of God settlement, Vatican City, after the city was in a permanent state of ruin following the Ashina-Kingdom of God War. His mother and father were both killed by bandits at a young age, and he was raised seemingly alone wandering the ruins of the city, feeding himself with what he could manage to scavenge.

Beginnings and Early Years
Aurelius was born 22 years ago in the fledging Kingdom of God, a nation now dissolved and abandoned after merging with Ashina post-war. His mother, Athena, and father, Romulus, both practiced the religion of The Holy Pantheon, and were avid contributors to religious causes. After the war decimated their home, Aurelius, his mother and brother Morgan_Attano hid in the ruins of the family home while his father attempted to seek aid and a new home for his family. One fateful night in autumn when Aurelius was 16 years old, while his mother was preparing supper for the two boys, wandering outlaws from the former settlement of Xenoarcadia attacked, robbed, and brutally murdered Aurelius and Morgan's parents. Despite how hard the boys fought back against the bandits, the battle was lost, and the two were injured, nearly on the brink of death. The two boys were then left without a home for 4 long years. During this time, Aurelius began to grow and grow, eventually reaching his current adult height of six feet, two inches tall. He also began to develop his skin pigmentation formula that he uses to this day that is responsible for his unique appearance. Once he became comfortable with his newfound height and strength, he spent many months perfecting the skills required to craft the most powerful weapon in the region - the Fury of Aurelius, in order to properly protect his citizens from the same fate his parents met years before. He travelled far and wide in both the Overworld and Underworld to gather the necessary materials, fighting vicious monsters and all who stood in his way.



Aurelius and Morgan began to wander as far as they could from the Kingdom in order to find a new home for themselves. They scavenged day and night for any source of food that could tide them over until they found a permanent home. Bandits, outlaws and packs of wolves constantly bombarded Aurelius and Morgan with devastating setbacks that nearly cost them their lives. It was through these moments though that the brothers grew together and bonded over a shared hunger for peace, justice and success.

After the death of their parents, the young men began to plan. They crafted weapons and armor of the best possible material they could find and began to track down the bandits that murdered their parents. While scouting one day, Aurelius laid eyes on the bandit camp that was believed to have housed the crew that brutally murdered his parents. Without alerting Morgan, Aurelius stormed the camp, with his frightening appearance and towering figure obviously intimidating the bandits that crowded around their camp. He laid waste to every single bandit in the camp, except one, the bandit he recognized as the man who murdered his mother. Aurelius dragged the bandit out of the camp, all the way back to where he and his brother were temporarily living, and threw him into the middle of the camp for Morgan to see. While there are obviously no official transcripts of the event, Aurelius was quoted as saying "Alea iacta est. Ego amissus pugna sed autere bellum!" which directly translates to "The die has been thrown. I lost the battle but I have won the war!". After an apparent argument between Aurelius and his brother Morgan, Aurelius lifted the man into the air with one hand, wielded the Fury of Aurelius in the other, stapled the bandit to the tree with the axe, and set the tree ablaze. The tree still exists as a monument in the city of Haven, after being moved by the brothers after their rise to power. It currently sits on the northern side of Haven as a monument to his lost parents. Aurelius has never cleaned the axe, thus meaning that the blood of the bandit who murdered his mother is still on display.



Becoming a Leader
Finally making their way to the southernmost continent after 2 years of travel, setbacks and injury, the brothers settled on the edge of a modest lake, now dubbed Lake Haven. The now booming city began in a small shack, no wider than 3 furnaces and no taller than fully grown sugarcane. In the early days of Haven, the brothers quickly learned about farming, crafting, building and leadership. No more than two days after settling on the coast, members of The Southern Union approached the brothers in an attempt to get them to join the Union. The brothers debated quietly, and shook hands with the Emperor in agreement. Aurelius led Morgan and the new residents of Haven to victory in many small scale battles in and around the fledgling town.

Aurelius, alongside his brother Morgan, both sit on the House of Representatives for the Republic of Lydoneia. In addition to serving his own nation, Aurelius spends much time creating new opportunities for locals of all continents, nations and towns. Most recently, Aurelius began initiating large scale trade deals with Lethos, Elyria, Atolia Island, Arcadian Altanate, Taffasan, the Fossores Republic, the Federation of Arith, the Kingdoms of Arith, and even nearby nation Acquendavia. Aurelius' natural approach to diplomacy and trade sparked a revolution in the southernmost continent of Koganon; one that will continue to blossom for years to come.

The Great War
Aurelius represented Lydoneia during The Great War, in all of the battles that took place on August 20th, 2021. He was an acting lieutenant of the First Infantry division, which experienced the most combat as well as the most losses during the conflict. Aurelius was solely responsible for the withdrawal from the war on August 21st, 2021, as well as the Elyria-Lydoneia NAP that was signed and put into place on August 22nd, 2021. Believing he was the sole reason of his nation's defeat, he took the burden of all Elyrian war reparations and is still paying them back, out of his pocket and time to this day.

Political Beliefs
Due to the rather violent and turbulent upbringing he experienced, Aurelius has a strict intolerance for colonization, war, violence, and banditry. All bandits, war criminals and colonizers of the southernmost continent, extending to all of Alathra, are condemned by Aurelius. In his own town, Aurelius believes all citizens should have the freedom to practice, conduct, and work themselves to whichever extent they are comfortable. No citizen is allowed to be criticized, condemned, or shamed for their beliefs, unless they are a bandit. Aurelius tends to hold an isolationist approach when it comes to House of Representative discussions, and tends to err on the side of caution. Believing that outsiders are not to always be trusted, he is very selective with trade and diplomacy for both Haven and the Republic.

After his involvement in leading Entente forces during The Great War, Aurelius solidified his beliefs and completely withdrew from all foreign conflicts.

Unique Appearance
Aurelius' appearance is often questioned. He appears to have a stoic, statue-like appearance at all times, even in peacetime. The story of his unique appearance draws back to the death of his parents, an event that scars him even to this day. After the death of his parents, to avoid being spotted by the bandits that murdered them, he developed a blend of minerals, dyes and paints to conceal his appearance so that no bandits could recognize him. He dyed his hair marble white, and crafted a wool tunic that would blend together to make him appear ghostly and god-like. While the bandits are no longer a threat, he still dons the unique blend that has seemingly taken the place of his skin as homage to the events that traumatized him as a young boy and gave him the strength to lead his nation. In fact, all of the sculptures in Haven are crafted in his likeness, due to his stoic, god-like looks.

Notable Contributions
As the leader of Haven, Aurelius holds many responsibilities. He is one of two responsible for forming the Republic of Lydoneia along with Aethelmod of Redpeak. He tends to organize meetings with diplomats of other nations, leads peace talks, and contributes to most (if not all) of established trade deals. He has been present for every large scale meeting of the nation.

In his own town, he is the lead architect, engineer, philosopher, builder, warrior and diplomat. He is responsible for nearly every building within Haven, including the Lydoneian Archives, the New and Old Town Hall, The Lupanar, the Temple of Haven, the Celestial Temple, the utility shops, the road network and the minecart network. He gathers most materials himself, with little help from outsiders. He also works as the main city planner, designing roadways leading to new developments.

Within other nations, Aurelius and Morgan were contracted by the nation of Elyria to design and build a functional road network between the settlements of Peachfield, Briscoe Ranch, Knights of Sol and Ehir. After the record breaking construction time, Aurelius and Morgan decided to found the Haven Architecture Firm.

Aurelius was present at or an active participant during The Great Slumber, First Festival, The Great War, the Elyrian Civil War, as well as many global summits and peace talks since his rise to leadership as a founder of the Republic of Lydoneia.