Pitru Punstraia

Pitru Ermení Punstraia also known by his adopted name Senate, was/is the former Altan (Religious and Political Leader) of the Arcadian Altanate, a theocratic nation serving as the refuge and authority for all adherents to the Mufijo Faith. He was/is from Ddaza, a city-state in the foreign realm of his birth, from which he fled after heavy religious persecution and threats of violence. He was/is the founder and former mayor/governor of the city of Wahat Almarjan. Pitru ruled the infant Altanate for its first 6 years (6 months OOC), before unexpectedly abdicating the throne (took place at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2022). Thereafter, he concerned himself with ruling the city he founded, before he abruptly left his adopted home of Alathra forever to spare his fellow Arcadian citizens from the onslaught of Ddaza, which longed to finally kill off his Mufijo Clan, the Punstraia. It is unknown whether he still lives.

Life in Yuvantiya
Pitru was born 22 years before his exile to Alathra, in the city of Ddaza. The city is located in the realm of Yuvantiya, which Pitru has since left behind and renounced. He was born into a small clan of religious dissidents known as the Punstraia. In his early years, he was discriminated against due to his family's refusal to adhere to the official faith of the city.

Pitru vaguely remembers his parents, two peasants of Clan Punstraia who held no sway or influence within it. His immediate family attempted to lay low and not attract attention, especially given their Punstraia affiliation, something that likely played a part in Pitru and his immediate family's continued survival. Unfortunately for the rest of Pitru's clan, their notoriety as religious dissidents and more bombastic nature would bring about their destruction.

At age 15, all of Clan Punstraia he knew of, every grandparent, uncle, aunt, and cousin were brutally killed by a mob after being blamed for a particularly bad harvest year in the surrounding area. Pitru and his family only survived by falsely submitting to the god of the Ddazans, as they had been doing for years before. Although this would save his life, it would be an act which Pitru would have to repent for in his great years long trek through Alathra. With his father now unexpectedly becoming the Sifan (leader) of the severely diminished Clan Punstraia, Pitru became the target of yet more discrimination and threats. he was constantly harassed with weaponry, and carried nothing on him to ensure he could not be robbed. He could not even sleep peacefully, with near nightly attacks on his family's home by disgruntled neighbors and religious fanatics.

When it seemed circumstances could not get any worse, Pitru's parents were both killed in an outbreak of a deadly disease known as the Ašvat Hibra (Great Reaper), the illness nearly taking his own life as well. By some miracle, he survived, but not before he was stripped of what little property his Clan had left. By virtue of the fact that all his relatives were now dead, the title of Sifan of Clan Punstraia passed to Pitru, although it became nothing more than another target on his back. At age 22, Pitru had become a farmer on the outskirts of the city and intended to live simply to preserve his shaky safety.

Exile from Yuvantiya
But even in this passive state, Pitru drew the ire of the magistrates of Ddaza, who wished to try him for inciting the outbreak of disease, hoping to finally rid their city of the Punstraia for good. Now fearing for his life, Pitru fled Ddaza into the nearby forest in the midst of particularly terrible winter rains. In this forest, he fell asleep, weak and weary from hours of running, only to be awoken by a grand spectacle. Before Pitru were the gods of his faith, Afi - the Sun, Jorb - the Moon, Xamu - the Earth. The three gods warned him of a search party out to kill him, prepared to carry out Pitru's execution ordered by the Ddazan magistrates.

The gods pitied him and gave him the option to leave his homeland, and instead walk through a fissure in realms to a new, safer place. They also bestowed upon him the name "Senate", a word translating to "of the divine" as a way to disguise him from any enemies and show his value to the gods. With no other options, Pitru accepted the gods' gracious offer and was ushered through the fissure by the divine of his faith.

Early Time in Alathra
Senate awoke in a field of low grass and sparse trees. He looked around, hopefully safe from his enemies at last, seeing a blue sky and beautiful nature of a new land: Alathra. The gods came to him once more and promised to uphold his current safety, but only if Senate could survive a punishment for his renouncing of his faith to save his own life. Pitru would stay in this realm, Alathra, for the next 6 years. After serving this penance, as long as he respected the authority and will of the gods throughout it, he would be able to return to his home realm of Yuvantiya and retire to the small farming life he had attempted to start up before his exile. Although he was ill-prepared, Pitru was imbued with a will to survive and persist, resolving to set out into the foreign lands that now surrounded him.

Before they took their leave, the gods gifted Senate with his family's hunting bow, the Malnourished Hippopotamus, an object he had left at his home in Yuvantiya. Although lost for two years after the Great Alathran War, Senate would regain the weapon, retaining it in his possession until his disappearance from Alathra, upon which it became a sacred relic for the orowning of a new Gižaraša (Lord) of Wahat Almarjan. The bow was the only object Pitru had left from his old life in Yuvantiya. Setting off from the pristine hills he had found himself in, Pitru travelled south, encountering the great Acquendavian city of Lothridge. Although he made an attempt to evade being seen, fearing this foreign land in which he had been taken to, guards upon the Walls of Lothridge caught sight of him. Pitru was suddenly shot with an arrow in the leg, immobilizing him. The guards came down from their posts and took him into the city. The officers in Lothridge mistook Pitru as a Kogongi and decided to send him to re-education camps established by the Acquendavians to strip him of a culture he in reality knew nothing of. The experience in this institution was agonizing for Pitru, most especially because he could not communicate with anyone, speaking only Ddazan (later Arcadian) upon his arrival in Alathra. As the Acquendavians attempted to "educate" the culture out of the Kogongi within the school, Pitru was left alone, neither practicing nor understanding any of the customs the teachers taught to be sinful. After about 4 months of witnessing constant brutalizing on the part of the Acquendavians, Pitru finally made attempts to learn the Kogongi speech of his fellow tormented inmates. Although the language was generally forbidden by the teachers in the camp, Pitru eventually learned some scattered Kogongi, and succeeded in communicating some general information about himself to other inmates. In their kindness, these Kogongi inmates helped Pitru to learn more of the Kogongi language, instilling a deep sense of gratitude to the Kogongi within him. These Kogongi spoke of a vibrant and peaceful culture across the sea from Lothridge. Intrigued, Pitru bided his time to try to escape to this homeland of the Kogongi. One night, when those guarding the school had become drunk for some sort of celebration, Pitru slinked away into the night, reaching a river by dawn. Although he had tried to bring some of the Kogongi inmates with him to help guide Pitru to their homeland, they were separated and ultimately captured by the Acquendavians. The Acquendavians continued to search for him throughout the night, but Pitru was able to hide in a river that he titled the Draxí [drɐˈxi], named in Arcadian from the flowers bountiful on its banks. When he believed the coast to be clear, Senate once again made haste towards the coast. Upon reaching a small bay, he found an abandoned boat, which he made use of to row far from the coast.

Upon sailing out to the sea, Pitru's tired state and lack of sleep became quite apparent. Phantoms from the sky dove down to harass him as he rowed. Not well experienced with boats, Pitru was helpless in his predicament, fully expecting to join his mother and father in the afterlife. However, like a beacon in the distance, Pitru noticed a large landmass on the horizon. He rowed towards it with great haste and difficulty, landing near a small fishing village. Going north, Pitru made his way through the Forests of Cotona, happening upon the city of Kais Kogong. Desperate for food, Pitru hiked towards the recently established town, not yet knowing he had found the Kogongi people his fellow inmates had told him of.

Beginning a New Life
As he arrived in the town, Pitru was greeted by a man in a toga. Noticing Pitru's sorry state, the man took him into his house to let Pitru rest and recover from the harrowing journey from Lothridge. When the man began to speak Kogongi, Pitru felt a great relief, finally able to understand an average person in the unfamiliar land he found himself in. The man said his name was Glider Fraemani, a Kogongi man who helped found the anarchist Federation of Kogongu in the very city Pitru stood. Over a drink, Pitru shared his journey from Lothridge, and gave vague hints to his foreign origins. As Glider shared similar experiences in the Acquendavian "schools," the two strangers became fast friends. Hours after his arrival in town, the druid Vasya made a routine visit to Glider's home. She quickly noticed Pitru in the corner of her eye, and the two greeted, with Glider explaining the situation Senate found himself in.

Over the next few days, Pitru would ingratiate himself to the Kogongi, yet he still longed to farm as he once had in Ddaza, rather than living in the burgeoning Kais Kogong. Pitru eventually decided to approach the Kogongi with a proposition. If he would be allowed to found a town on the sandy Arcadian Peninsula north of Kais, he would swear to stay loyal to the Kogongi and secure their hold on the peninsula. The Kogongi had little objection to the idea, and quickly agreed, sending Pitru north with Glider. upon arriving at the tip of the peninsula, Pitru found a suitable spot for a home and began building. He then a held a small ceremony, declaring the town of Wahat Almarjan, and himself as its Gižaraša (Lord). Soon after, Glider left south, and Pitru finished his home and plans for the mosque.

Becoming a Leader
This peaceful and static state of affairs continued until Pmak, an ethnic Kogongi not part of the nation of Kogongu, joined the town. Pitru eventually constructed a wall when threats of war against Kogongu were made, and Wahat would begin to grow, along with Pitru's dedication to his faith. Game Glider joined Wahat not long after, with Pitru naming him as Lead Architect. Pitru, Game Glider, and Pmak were then each visited by one of the Three Gods of Mufijo in their dreams, who instrcuted the three to found an independent theocratic homeland for the followers of Mufijo, and to name an Altan to lead it. The gods also bestowed the title of Mumba upon the three avatars of the gods. The Three Mumbas eventually got the approval of Kogongu to form their Altanate, and Pitru, being the founder of the town and the only one of his people who stayed faithful to the gods, was named as the Altan. Pitru rules as an absolute monarch, with the two other Mumbas acting as the only check on his power. Wahat has drastically expanded, and the Grand Mosque of Jiba the Wise finally resumed construction under the supervision of Glider. Senate has in recent times has conducted diplomacy with the nearby town of Atolia and the nation of Elyria and has constructed several buildings in Wahat to improve the happiness of the residents, such as the first ever Dunkaccino's.

Political Beliefs
During his time in Alathra, Senate believed himself and his two fellow Mumbas to be chosen by the gods of his faith, and thus is a supporter of the divine right theory of monarchy. Over his years of rule, however, Pitru took a liking to the increasingly democratic society of Arcadia, as it took some of the pressure of governing off his shoulders. He came to trust his people more, and supported them in the name of democratic ideals. Pitru supported the creation of the Holy Senate of Arcadia, helped monitor and manage every Arcadian election, and served as the main source for information on the Arcadian government. He particularly admired the governments of Ashina and Lydoneia, for their long lasting and democratic governance respectively.

Pitru personally wrote the Constitution of the Arcadian Altanate, which was approved by the Holy Senate of Arcadia. Senate specifically designed the document to give more power to the people and their elected executive, the Prime Minister of Arcadia, as well as the Holy Senate. Although it took him years to fully complete, the reception of the document was widely positive, and Senate was public in his hopes it may put an end to any lingering political instability in Arcadia. Pitru also planned to construct a palace in Wahat Almarjan, to become his new home, and a defensive stronghold for the city.

Religious Beliefs
Senate was the leader of the faith of Mufijo, and is known to be the hand of creation to the sun god Afi. He dictated the list of forbidden (Ansolla) and permitted (Consolla) things for the faithful, and was committed to writing down the tenets and Path of Mufijo for the first time in the faith's history, although this laid incomplete upon his diasapperance. Pitru was, at his disappearance, compiling myths and stories into an official holy book, the Mufijoreon, and wished to distribute it throughout Alathra to finally fulfill the divine mission of the Arcadian Altanate: converting as many as possible to the faith of Mufijo. As a key tenet of Mufijo is constructing works for the faith, Senate ordered the construction of the Grand Mosque of Jiba the Wise, which is to be the centerpiece of Wahat Almarjan. The religious duties above were transferred to his former servant, Dr. Hugosombi, who was ordered by the Altan to complete the manuscripts left behind by Pitru.

Trivia

 * During his time in Alathra, Pitru was fluent in 3 languages (Arcadian, Kogongi, Dwarvish)
 * Pitru's family, the Punstraia, is one of many clans of the faith of Mufijo. Other notable clans include the Etrec, Vrestó, Dirmaxi, and Biqeš
 * While in Alathra, Pitru was a horse wrangler, owning 4 horses, all of which he passed down to his former servant Dr. Hugosombi
 * In the words of his own player: "Pitru is from Peter Griffin, Ermení is from Armenia because I saw it in the news that day, and Punstraia translates to something like elephant man in Arcadian"
 * Pitru's design was based off Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy from 1419-1467