Aulandor Rage is possibly the most formative figure in the history of Allornus since the Divh themselves walked the earth. The father of the magocracy represented a single-generation dynasty as ruler of the single greatest and shortest lived empire ever to span the continent of Allornus. Opinions vary wildly over Rage's reign, some hold him up as a liberator, some venerate him as an earthly Divhi, some curse him as a conqueror or despot or black magician. But as both a champion of the common man, or as the ruination of ancient empires none deny the gravity of Rage's influence on the world.
Uncertain Birth, c. 4524 KS
Aulandor Rage's early years are largely unknown to historians today. Most think that given the earliest part of his recorded history that he was born somewhere near Arumthar, perhaps even a child of the ancient Chalarn Mage-Clan, but while most agree that no particular effort has been made to cover up Rages early years, in the centuries since his death these details simply have not survived. No legitimate claim has been made by any group or individual to be of Aulandor Rage's bloodline, and no records can be produced to prove his birth or any of his activities before he appeared in the Mage-Clans of the Inner Sea.
Hunger for Knowledge, 4555 KS - 4562 KS
In his youth Rage developed an unquenchable curiosity about the world, and about those forces behind the world. At some point he was inducted into one of the Kelorn Mage Clans. The clans themselves all dispute whose he became a member of first, but what is certain is that Rage quickly became a master, and from there a prolific researcher and author on a range of subjects about the nature of the world, and the forces that govern it. Some of Rages early writing is still used by the Mage Clan, especially his treatises on the nature of the Divh, their ability to influence the world, and the difference between those powers these omnipotent beings exercise and the magic of mortal beings.
Rage became fascinated with the comparison of these forces, and absolutely exhausted the resource to which he had access, and as his understanding of magic grew so did his ability to command it. By his middle years Rage was one of the foremost masters amongst his clan, and he was inducted into one, then eventually all of the other Mage Clans, in an unprecedented move, to give him access to all the combined lore of their usually antagonistic orders. Whether this was a testament to Rage's ability to unite people, or due to some task of exception import is unclear, but he held a ranking position in all of the Kelorn Clans where the majority of Magi of his age were mere neophytes.
Travelling the World, 4562 KS - 4579 KS
Eventually Rage learned all that he could in dusty scriptoriums and grimy laboratories, and took it upon himself to travel the world in search of greater understanding, challenging the Mage Clans belief that they were a repository of all knowledge in the world, and angering many of his contemporaries. It seems that Rage's secret agenda was to conduct and interview with a Divhi, and to that end sought out the only two Divh remaining in the world, either the War Divh Haederas or the earthly remains of the Sleeper Ghanda.
Travelling to the Ghan Duchies first Rage found what he would refer to as his 'spirit's home'. He spent nearly a decade with Ghanish mystics learning their lores and faith, and eventually believed he had made contact with the great sleeper, though he also claimed that it was the most terrifying experience of his entire life. Rage then delved the secrets of how Ghanda bound the Baalfr, a concept that fascinated him.
Rage in Haedrasia, 4579 KS - 4582 KS
After many years Rage bade a fond farewell to his second home, and went west into Haedrasia to examine an earthly Divhi first hand, and to petition Haederas for an interview. In Haedrasia Rage was evidently shocked at the heavy handedness of temple law and the oppressive nature of the Imperator's regime. He called Haedrasia the 'Heart of the World' in his writings, but would later conclude that it was a heart that was weak and failing. His petition for an interview was flatly denied, and Rage became frustrated. He would try again and again, but he was unwelcome either as a student in the Imperatry Temple or as a guest in the Eternal Palace, he was even banned from the Unchallenged City. Casting about for justification, Rage found nothing about Haedrasia that made sense to him, and determined that the Divh Haederas had lost his way. Travelling north to the Black Ice Bay he saw the predations of the Drak Toldak orders and the way they controlled people with force and fear, and saw much the same in Haedrasia. And while in that province of Haedrasia Rage determined that something had to be done before Haedrasia turned on the rest of the world, to force their beliefs upon them.
Conquest and Imprisonment, 4582 KS - 4590 KS
Rage never spoke of exactly what he did, but calling on his allies in the Mage Clans Rage built a council of learned, and profoundly powerful men, who became known as the fourteen hundred (though their number is unclear), and with them he returned to the Unchallenged City. Demanding an audience with Haederas, with the intention of reasoning with him, Rage forced his way into the city to the steps of the Eternal Palace, and mounted the stairs alone while his council kept the Divh-Imperator's guardians at bay. What transpired in the palace is a mystery, but it was Rage who emerged with Haederas's helmet in his hand, proclaiming that he had bound the Divhi and that he would now take command of all Haedrasia.
Rage's council, with him at it's head, quickly supplanted the command structure of the Imperatry Templarate of Haedrasia and Rage himself dubbed the new empire 'The Magocracy'. He was crowned with heavy symbolism, and then went about consolidating his lands. In the west the Mage Clans all bowed to Rage as their new master, and the disparate and weak Kelorn Kingdoms welcomed Rage as liberator. The men of the Inner Sea Basin were ready to welcome Rage as a Divhi, but Rage told them that the age of the Divh was over, and the magocracy was the dawn of the age of the mortal, where men and myr would take control of their world, and the Divh could no longer be trusted or believed.
The Magocracy, 4590 - 4676 KS
The magocracy was a meritocracy and dictatorship, and those who felt themselves the most worthy to lead were to come before Rage, and he would judge their credentials and grant them an appointment, and once he had appointed a council, upon which he was merely one vote, then that council took over the duty of voting in it's own members, and granting control over territories to the best qualified individuals. As such many Haedrasian governors actually had their lands restored to them, but under the magocracy and not their empire. Rage believed in equality and men and myr of all races and philosophies were represented on his council, but he was their figurehead and patron, and few crossed Rage.
Of course uprising was inevitable, but Rage dealt with these in one of two ways, first he would often simply take the leader into the fourteen hundred, citing that clearly their voice must be strong, and thus worth hearing. If they resisted incorporation Rage drew on his unparalleled magical powers, and no army could stand against him, let alone mere men. By the time Rage marched east into the Ghan Duchies they knew he was coming, and when Rage made the only exception of his reign, and allowed the worship of Ghanda to continue, all of the Duchies joined under his banner. And he left this place relatively untouched, such was his love for the Ghans and their culture. The Kardes and Bärchak of the northern glacier also bowed to Rage, and his empire at it's peak spanned from Battlewaite and Nightmare Lands to the Great Eastern Ocean, and from the colonies of Nardaan to the Bair of Suiren. Maldaakore and Ralstaa remained untouched - perhaps because their sparse populations and hostile terrain made them low priorities for Rage. Certainly they were not realms Rage had traversed or understood.
Death and Collapse of the Magocracy, 4676 KS
Rage united an amazing Empire, and his followers thought of him as nothing less than a Divh, which was why it was such a shock when Rage, an old man by now but still vital and with scarcely a streak of white in his flaming red beard, sickened and died of the trembling illness late in his eighth decade on Allornus. It is known that he left instructions for his succession, and they were most likely that the council simply rule on without him as figurehead, but so many successors arose claiming Rage's sanction that the magocracy collapsed into petty infighting and the council of the fourteen hundred bickered amongst themselves, and many of these learned men were murdered in the months since Rages death, and my rebellions broke out, as did a number of cults who refused to believe that Rage could die. In the chaos the heir to the Haedrasian throne, Marius Augustin, long thought dead, united a combined force of myr, men and Mhulak under his banner and retook the Unchallenged City, freeing Haederas and restoring the Imperatry Templarate. The magocracy lasted less than a century, but it was profoundly and lastingly felt, and much of Allornus today owes its shape to the aftermath of the magocracy.
Other Legends
Despite history being clear in charting the life of Aulandor Rage, legends have built up around the man since his death, and only become more and more outlandish as the decades pass. While some possibly come from grains of truth, others are completely unfounded, but popular belief is a powerful thing. The most common of these stories concerns Rage, at some stage before travelling to Haedrasia, became frustrated that the Divh held back the power of creation from the mortal races. After many years of planning he concocted a plan so convoluted that even an omniscient Divhi could not truly divine his purpose. Then he confronted and slew the Divhi Balthazar, guardian of ancient and arcane lore, tearing out the Divhi's heart and letting his blood scatter down upon the world below. This is often credited as the origin of the gift, as those struck by drops of Divh blood learned the truth of the raw elements of the world, and also as the origin of Rage's considerable magical power. It is also said that he crafted his mythical relic "The Rod of Aulandor" from the thigh-bone of the fallen Divhi.
Another widespread legend says that when Rage died he had his soul contained in a magical crystal, and a dozen or more copies of his earthly body hidden in stasis within deep underground bastions each filled with potent magical relics, so that should he ever need to return to the world he could be freed to find and awaken one of the simulacra and return to the world and his faithful. This legend is particularly prevalent amongst orders who deify Rage.