Historic Characters
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Gailwynon Astarian (c. 2500-1872 BC): Although the average person has no idea who Gailwynon is, or what he may have done, every wizard, bard, or scholar knows of his importance. Credited by all who have a pension to remember or know such things with having brought a greater knowledge and ability with magic to all wizards. Before his time, creatures that had a natural affinity for it dominated the use of magic. Wizards that sought to learn magic had a very difficult time achieving the skill that they saw in those creatures. Gailwynon worked for centuries on the problem. He solved it by designing a focus point for all magic on Habololy that wizards could draw on to use the higher magics that had so far eluded them. This focus, said to be a circle of massive stones, did what Gailwynon had planned and more. The stones focused the magic of Habololy so well that if they were to be destroyed, magic would be all but unusable.
It is known that he was an elf, and the Desert elves claim he was one of theirs. They also claim that he was slain by his contemporaries when he tried to take control of all of the elven nations of his time.
Swali Vineleaf (578 BC–271 AC): The greatest champion of the Graplore and the designer of the Feyali-Trela style of combat. Swali was a jungle elf. He lived in a time when the elven jungles were beset by a fiendish evil that was impervious to most weapons. After a near-fatal encounter with one such creature, Swali set about the task of finding a way to fight them. Even legend does not say where he found the inspiration, but after two years away from his home, Swali returned. The jungles were still under siege. He asked the king to allow him to teach what he had learned to other elves, but the king refused until Swali could prove its value. Under the scrying eyes of wizards, Swali sought out one of the fiends. With amazing skill and speed, Swali defeated the fiend with no weapon but his own body. The king was convinced, and Swali began to teach other elves. He and his students swept the fiends from the jungles in a year.
Several years later, Swali was chosen to be a participant in the Graplore, a competition of unarmed skill to honor Tyrogatore. He accepted the invitation and won the tournament, and then won all of the tournaments for the next one hundred and fifty years. Swali was already a legend when the jungle once again came under siege from the drow elves and their cult. Swali led the charge against them, and once again, he won the day. This time however, it came at a cost. Swali’s soul was cut off from the world for five hundred years. Most assumed he was dead but Swali’s tale was not yet finished.
When his soul was finally released, he returned to the jungles a battered and near dead elf. Those who saw him believed he was a liar and a fraud. To reclaim his status, Swali entered the Graplore once again, invoking the right of a champion to defend his title. While the elves did not believe him, the clerics of Tyrogatore did. Swali won the tournament and the next one as well. Freyali-Trela, which had been forgotten when Swali vanished, was once again brought to the elves of the jungles. This time, it would not be forgotten. Swali died peacefully in the jungle he had protected and loved for so many years. He is memorialized in the Palace of Trees, and in every stadium that has hosted the Graplore.
Larius Korda (229–176 BC): Considered by most to be the greatest warrior to have ever lived. Larius began his life like every other orcish soldier. His size was the only difference. Larius stood over eight feet tall and claimed to weigh over eight hundred pounds. When the weapons that were given to him proved inadequate, Larius simply forged his own. His intelligence showed when he developed a new weapon, the hekuta, that took full advantage of his skill and size. It also showed when Larius began to design a new style of unarmed combat based on orcish tradition. His innovations were successful and in line with orcish ideals, but they were at first rejected by orcish culture.
The views towards Larius’ innovations changed drastically in 205 BC when he won the Graplore. The Orcish Empire suddenly lauded the warrior who brought honor and respect back to the orcish warrior. Larius was rewarded with rank and his unarmed style of combat quickly became adopted by the elite warriors. The martial style was even named Boronk-ek-Korda, which means to fight as Korda. Already one of the best-known orcish warriors of all time for his victory in the Graplore, Larius was not yet satisfied. He was chosen to fight in the Suian Competition the year after he won the Graplore. He wielded his unique weapon, the hekuta, and shocked the civilized world by winning. Larius became the only warrior in history to win both the Graplore and the Suian Competition.
Larius’ legend has traveled throughout Habololy. Every young warrior is told of his amazing skill. A statue of Larius is the first to adorn every arena that has hosted a Suian Competition, and the second to adorn those arenas that host a Graplore. Everyone who wields a hekuta, or fights against a warrior that wields one, and everyone who fights in the Boronk-ek-Korda style, or against someone uses that style, knows that Larius Korda was the originator of both.
Saint Dourvan Thinkswar (129 BC–298 AC): Sainted soon after his death by the nation of Pacyr, Dourvan was the linchpin in saving the nation during the Return of Amat. His foresight and strategic skill were unmatched. Much of what he wrote and taught about war and strategy in general is still relevant. Dourvan was a String Mountain Dwarf that left his mountain home early in life to go to Pacyr. Although most believers in the saint simply say that Hemator led the brilliant strategist to the service of her nation, others question why such an intelligent String Mountain Dwarf did not take up a wizardly profession.
Chloren Meo (82-460 AC): The direct descendant of Amat that led the nation of Amatom during Amat’s return and imprisonment. After the death of his ancestor and deity, Chloren recognized that the time when the gnomes could exist despite the hatred of the other races had passed. Although he acted against the Orcish Empire and other deeply hated nations, Chloren began to talk to some nations and arrange trade and treaties. His stance led to a near civil war in Amatom and a rift between his gnomes and the followers of the cult of Wandle.
Most historians curse the existence of Chloren, for without his leadership, the Amatine gnomes may have been exterminated all together. In a time when most of their leaders would have called for open war to force the return of their deity, Chloren gave the gnomes a different direction that allowed them to survive yet still continue towards that goal.
Kaldur Death (c.150-223 AC): There are few recorded mortal beings in Habololian history that match the murderous evil of Kaldur. Aside from their deity, Kaldur is the best known Vishtoo in history. He was as strong as a giant and wielded a cross-bladed greataxe, which he could magically throw. He traveled alone looking to prove he was the greatest warrior there was, there is, or there ever would be.
In 216 AC, Kaldur was refused entrance into the Suian competition. For that insult, after the tournament had ended, Kaldur hunted down and killed the world’s greatest warriors, including another Vishtoo that had won the Graplore the year before. He murdered the Dedestroytian Emperor and the King of Yellowia, throwing the world into tumult. He even fought the then mortal Stasis; winner of the Suian that Kaldur was refused entrance into, to a standstill.
Had it not been for the heroes of the nations of Habololy uniting to defeat him, Kaldur’s reign of death may have continued for decades, robbing Habololy of all its great warriors.
Saint Hammel the Good (152–224 AC): The name of Saint Hammel is connected with the departure of Hemator from the Counsil, the capturing of the Hunter of Paladins, and the Order of the Banished Hero. He was a paladin in a time when to be that meant to live in constant fear of the artifact the Hunter of Paladins. He was a Nipit in a time when they did not have a nation of their own and were shunned by many other races. He was a follower of a cult when the cults were first given that name and hunted more vehemently than any other time. Through all that, Hammel persevered and became a beacon of hope and light. He was sainted by the nation of Pacyr and the cult of Hemator shortly after his banishment from Habololy at a trial branding him a heretic by the Counsil.
Borkon the Rusted (180-319 AC): The founder of the nation of Borkondof and considered by all as the greatest Bugbear warrior to have ever lived. Borkon was born and raised mush the same as any Bugbear of his time. The Drow controlled the lives of most of the Bugbears and Borkon was no different. He was large and strong, and that allowed him to survive and rise in the ranks of the Bugbears. Legend has it that during a battle against the Troglodytes, Borkon came across the ancient orcish weapon, City Cleaver. It was a massive blade that had been used in ages past to lay siege to cities. After claiming the weapon, Borkon was able to drive the Drow from his home and crown himself Warlord of the humanoids.
His reign as Warlord lasted for decades. During that time, he was able to unite the Bugbears, Kobalds, and Hobgoblins under one banner. To the great fear of the Orcish Empire and the Kingdom of Yellowia, Borkon raised a nation from the slaves and slums of the city of Cleeve. Every scholar recognizes the amazing accomplishment, even those that hate the humanoids. Because of Borkon’s years of rule, the nation of Borkondof was able to survive into the present day. The wars that have been fought by the nation have even been named after Borkon.
Legends of Borkon are many. As legend has it, he fought against and mutilated the champion of the Orcish Empire, he fought orcish general Nerad Coustus to a standstill, he nearly destroyed magic from the world, to name just a few. Borkon’s effect on the politics and lifestyles of the peoples of the eastern side is undeniable for centuries after his death.
Of Borkon – “None can carry all his kin in his back.”
