The Story of Caladhir Vaelora

The Young Court Historian

From a young age, Caladhir Vaelora exhibited an extraordinary aptitude for scholarship. Recognized for his meticulous attention to detail and prodigious intellect, he was appointed as the Court Historian of Aerithia at an unusually young age. The position, often regarded as ceremonial or secondary to the court’s power dynamics, provided Caladhir with two distinct advantages: unparalleled access to the empire’s archives and an unobtrusive vantage point from which to observe the court’s inner workings.

Caladhir’s early tenure as historian was marked by an obsessive drive to uncover and preserve the truths hidden beneath layers of propaganda and omission. He spent countless hours in the imperial libraries, sifting through ancient tomes, forgotten decrees, and overlooked fragments of the past. His rediscovery of King Tasfaye the Wise and his Institutes of Civil Governance emerged from this period of quiet, painstaking labor.

However, Caladhir’s position also placed him in proximity to the machinations of the court. As an eyewitness to the rampant corruption, backroom deals, and moral decay of Aerithia’s leadership, he chronicled what he saw in private journals—records that would later be hailed as invaluable glimpses into the dying days of the empire’s Second Era. While he never directly confronted the court’s most corrupt figures during this time, his observations informed the sharp, incisive commentaries that would come to define his legacy.

A Catalyst for Rediscovery

As a young scholar and court historian, Caladhir Vaelora found himself captivated by Eolande’s life and legacy. The Justiciar’s unwavering commitment to the law, even in the face of exile, resonated deeply with the studious Caladhir. Eolande’s famous words to the ruling elder, which earned him his banishment, echoed a principle that would later guide Caladhir’s reign:

“If the law is grand, as you surmise, it is grand to observe it. If you do not obey the law, it is you who have become the lawbreaker.” – Eolande Altherion

What began as admiration soon turned into scholarly inquiry. While studying Eolande’s writings and speeches, Caladhir noticed frequent references to King Tasfaye the Wise—a monarch from the First Era whose Commentaries on the Rahnami and Institutes of Civil Governance had largely been forgotten by the Hallashim. Intrigued by Eolande’s use of Tasfaye’s works to argue against tyranny, Caladhir embarked on a five-year search to recover the lost texts.

The Five-Year Search

During his hiatus, Caladhir traveled across the fragmented remnants of the Aerithian Empire, sifting through ancient archives and forgotten libraries. The search was arduous, marked by dead ends and near discoveries that led nowhere. However, his persistence paid off when he unearthed several fragments of King Tasfaye’s writings in an abandoned monastery near the Adama city of Siyum Negasi, King Tasfaye’s former capital city.

Returning to the Aerithian court, Caladhir devoted himself to reconstructing and analyzing these texts. His work culminated in a commentary that revitalized the Rahnami and the Institutes of Civil Governance, reinterpreting their principles for the troubled times of the Second Era. In this commentary, Caladhir credited Eolande Altherion as the inspiration for his search, calling him:

“A judge who bore the weight of the law as a shield against tyranny, and a torchbearer who illuminated the path back to wisdom.” – Caladhir Vaelora in his Letters and Memoirs

The Scholar and Judiciary Historian

As a renowned judicial historian and scholar of Hallashim law, he was highly regarded by both the academic elite and the Aeritha’s court. His commentaries on the Rahnami were already circulating, earning him a reputation for moral clarity and intellectual rigor. Caladhir’s rediscovering of King Tasfaye the Wise and his commentaries on Tasfaye’s writings were the pinnacle of Caladhir’s scholarship.

The Reluctant heir to the Throne

Caladhir Vaelora was a cousin of the current Emperor, Torval Aenorin. Torval’s two wives failed to bear him children, and his brothers had died in Aeritha’s wars to reclaim lost territory to the newly formed Adama Empire, the Gran Imperio, the Durashim’s Empire of Dathakh (more commonly known as the Dathakhian Empire). Caladhir was next in line to take the throne.

Caladhir had refused the throne. legend says he refused it three times, but the historical record is not clear on this. He may have refused only once, or he may have refused ten times. What is known, is that he threw his cousin’s declaration for him to succeed his cousin into the fire hearth of his study. His acceptance of the throne did not place until he came to see his sick, dieing cousin, who pointed out if Caladhir did not take the throne, it would fall to another cousin who was known for his incompetence, addiction to drink, and cared less of others close to him.

The Mochveneba Shaman

Early in his reign, Caladhir publicly dismissed a corrupt court official in the market square, exposing their misdeeds before the people. Rather than selecting another noble for the role, he searches carefully around the marken and notices an elderly Mochveneba man in his ritual clothes, carefully carrying a copy of the Rahnami.

Caladhir: “Excuse me good sir”

Gaurdsman: "Do you refuse to bow before your emperor?

Elderly Mochveneba <bowing>: I am sorry master, I did not recognize my liege.

Caladhir: Never mind that guardsman, I am not here to display pomp.

Caladhir: Please forgive my guardsman, he intended no harm.

Elderly Mochveneba: It is I who should apologize, my liege.

Caladhir: I happen to notice you carry a copy of the Rahnami.

Elderly Mochveneba: Yes, my liege, I do.

Caladhir: Have you read it?

Elderly Mochveneba: Yes, my liege.

Caladhir: Tell me, what is your opinion of it?

Elderly Mochveneba: It is the light for my path, my liege.

Caladhir: Your path? What do you mean?

Elderly Mochveneba: It is my guide to how I must live my life. My guide to how I must view this world.

Caladhir: I take it you are a wise man, good sir. So tell me what IS Rahnami?

Elderly Mochveneba: It is love, my liege.

Caladhir: And how does the Rahnami tell us to love?

Elderly Mochveneba: I have read your commentaries my liege. I am a mere child to your wisdom.

Caladhir: How old are you?

Elderly Mochveneba: I am 70 years old, my liege.

Caladhir: You are almost old enough to be my grandparent, so I doubt your words regarding my own wisdom compared to yours. Do you teach other this Rahnami?

Elderly Mochveneba: Yes, my liege.

Caladhir: Very well, you can teach me, and my court.

Elderly Mochveneba: What am I but a dog to you, my liege. You honor me well beyond my station.

Caladhir: Nonesense. I just let some one go who cannot even define what love is. He was high in my court and I put him in his place.

Elderly Mochveneba: Your wisdom surpasses those of most, my liege.

Caladhir: You probably speak the truth, good sir, but this is not a credit to my wisdom but an insult to everyone elses. Do you enjoy teaching the Rahnami?

Elderly Mochveneba: It is my joy, my liege. Teaching it allows me to live its truths.

Caladhir: I am curious, what enjoyment does teaching Rahnami bring you?

Elderly Mochveneba: I know that I am spreading Rahnami by doing so, and this is how I fulfill Rahnami.

Caladhir: Very well! You deserve respect in my court, and I want you to join me.

Elderly Mochveneba: You honor me beyond measure, my liege. But I fear that your gift would be too great a burden for me to bare.

Caladhir: Then let me bare it for you, just come with me, and teach Rahnami to myself and my court. Your opportunities for spreading Rahnami with increase manifold. I will see to that. Would you be willing to come and help me?

Elderly Mochveneba: You honor me beyond all I could have asked for as a dead dog, my liege.

Caladhir: Very well, you did not ask for what I give freely. You already honor me by allowing me to extend Rahnami to you. Will you come with me to my court?

Elderly Mochveneba: I will, if you will grant me leave for the monthly Mochveneba feasts and fast days, my liege.

Caladhir: Granted. I hope you will honor me by allowing me to attend these very Mochveneba feasts and fast days.

Elderly Mochveneba: It would be the greatest honor to me, if you accompanied me, my liege.

Caladhir: And you honor me by agreeing to come. What is your name?

Elderly Mochveneba: Khaelos Bahrun, my liege.

Caladhir: Very well Khaelos Bahrun, teacher of Rahnami, welcome to the great court of Aeritha.

The Mochveneba Shaman, reluctant but wise, became Caladhir’s trusted confidant and spiritual guide. His influence tempered Caladhir’s assertive nature, teaching him to lead with balance and humility —a hallmark of his reign.

The Shaman’s Influence

Taught Caladhir the importance of patience and listening.
Reinforced the balance between power and restraint, wisdom and humility.
Helped Caladhir embrace the Kaukloutan Desert pilgrimage as a ritual of reflection, a practice that defined his annual journey and later became a Hallashim tradition.

Eryndra the Compassionate

Caladhir and Eryndra had been second cousins. They knew each other since they were small children. While Caladhir had been a 5 (motivated by knowledge) and 8 (motivated by justice) on the Ennegram, Eryndra had been an 8 and 7 (Happiness motivation). This made them seemingly at odds in the seemingly most inconvenient times. They married as soon as Caladhir had taken the throne. In his memoirs, he stated that he “needed someone who would not be afraid to stand up to me, yet balanced me all the same”. Eryndra, to Caladhir, was the perfect match. She was two years younger than, and almost unnaturally beautiful.

Caladhir and Eryndra in the Aeritha Court

Caladhir’s pretended severity

Caladhir had a rough, cold, calculating exterior to those who did not know him well. This often gave court officials, particularly corrupt officials who knew sparingly little about his character, a lot of disorientation. Caladhir would remain seemingly loft, distant when they reported to him. His eyes would lighten, and then he would pronounce judgement or a decree from stern authority. Uninitiated officials would find him very unsettling, not knowing if the Emperor was happy, sad, or angry of the news brought to him. Their greatest fear is if he suspected them of ill will.

Eryndra the Compassionate… until her wrath unleashed

When Caladhir decreed judgement against criminals or corrupt officials, he would always defer to Eryndra, in her presence, in such a way that she was keeping Caladhir from executing severity.

Caladhir talking to a court criminal: If the Empress were not present, I’d have your toes and fingers cut off, and feed them to the market pigs!

Of course Caladhir would never do such a thing. But by consistently deferring to the Empress in her presence, gave Eryndra the image of a compassionate Empress. In truth, she was slightly more ruthless than Caladhir. When her anger began to show in court, the court got silent.

Caladhir and Eryndra Sparring

If Caladhir felt the court in the palace were being particularly vain, he would invite Eryndra to the court for some “fun”. At which point Caladhir and Eryndra would get into flamboyant, exagerated shouting matches with each other that usually concluded with them leaving the presence of the court in a rage, but as soon as the passage door to the court floor was shut, out of view and earshot of the others, they would roll on the floor laughing at how much they disturbed the others in the court had got. Their laughing fits were usually accompanied with pounding their fists into the wall and floor to create what sounded like, them two physically fighting each other. When it was over, Caladhir and Eryndra would return to court, no signs of physcial harm, but their faces flushed from laughing so hard, and watery eyes, their return was often more dramatic than their exit.

A Lasting Legacy

Future generations revere him as the Emperor Who Brought Balance. Statues are built, poems are written, and his pilgrimage to the desert becomes a cultural tradition.

Final Words and Legacy

His humble reflection near the end of his life encapsulates his character perfectly:

“I did only what all of us needed to do.”

In this single line, he refuses personal glory. He places the responsibility for the Hallashim’s transformation on everyone, not just himself. It is a final act of humility that ensures his legacy is not one of conquest or dominance, but of wisdom, inclusion, and renewal.

The Hallashim After Him

Before stepping down Caladhir appoints his successor (a 1w8 on the Enneagram) who, once in power, and fully endorsed by Caladhir, while Caladhir still served in the Empire’s council, renamed his title of “Emperor” to “Patriarch”. It is oft thought that Caladhir had orchestrated this change before stepping down, but no one knows for sure, as Caladhir made sure his successor got the credit.
His reign leaves a permanent mark on the Hallashim. They emerge from their dark past as a wiser, more balanced people—one that no longer seeks to dominate Naurrnen but to contribute to it.
The empire he redefined becomes a beacon of hope and a symbol of how even the most prideful nations can find redemption.