Praetor Gilgamesh I

Praetor Gilgamesh I
Full name	Gilgamesh I of the House Arumen
AKA	Gilgamesh Lugal-Gal
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color and style	White hair
Eye color	Ice Blue
Skin color	Light
Other	Issue: Praetor Gilgamesh II Lord Imarru of Arumen
Biographical information
Father	Peasant of Unknown Origin (killed in battle c. 1650)
Mother	Unknown (killed in battle c. 1648)
Date of birth	1628 AN
Place of birth	The Wild Lands, The Green Azul'an, Arumen (present-day)
Date of death	1690 AN (age 63)
Place of death	The Southern Frontier, The Green (present-day Eridu)
Residence(s)	The Praetor's Palace, Marduk, Eridu
Nationality	The Hexarchy
Allegiance(s)	Praetorian Household (1652-1690)
Occupation	Ruler of Pyrax & Arumen Praetor of The Hexarchy (1688-1690)

Gilgamesh I was the second recorded ruler of Arumen (and the only ruler of a greater, unified Pyrax), and the first since The Hexarchy had its sovereignty over its current home regions recognized by Micras's premier cartography bodies. Known as the Great Leader by his own people (and, by extension, those of his allies), he was directly responsible for leading The Hexarchy's northern tribes to independence from the Ralgonese colonists to the south, in cooperation with incoming natives.

He lead the peoples of Arumen and Pyrax from his takeover of the former in 1652 and annexation (and political separation) of the latter in 1680. Additionally, he served as the very first Praetor of The Hexarchy from 1688 until his death in battle in 1690 during a battle against native fauna in the Southern Frontier (now part of Eridu).

He left an indelible mark on his country as both an independence leader and one of the country's fathers. Finally, his strength as a strong ruler formed an effective model of governance and national expansion that his successor, Praetor Gilgamesh II, would follow upon his election shortly after his father's death.

Early Life

Gilgamesh was born to a pair of peasant parents in the northern plateau of the Red Island, now part of the Realm of Arumen. His father, simply called Agga, came from unknown origins, but he rose to be the gardener for a prominent lugal named Gorm, whose city (now called Azul'an) lay in the most fertile part of the island. As for Gilgamesh's mother, she was a seamstress who died when the young Gilgamesh was a teenager.

After his mother's death, he moved into the Gorm's palace with his father Agga, who ensured that his son learned the art of statecraft and politics, so that he could survive in the palace -- all so that Agga could use its internal machinations to launch his own career using his son as a foil to gain power.

Becoming Lugal of Azul'an

In 1650, a border war broke out between the Lugal and a powerful coalition of neighbors. Agga went to war and never came back, with a plan to grab power within the Lugal's camp after a prominent guard captain's death in battle having backfired. A friend of his fled the camp and managed to get this news to his son Gilgamesh within the day.

This put Gilgamesh in direct danger of reprisal, and the 33-year-old man had no choice but to act before Gorm returned to the palace to cleanse what remained of Agga's family. Fleeing was no longer an option, as he knew that the war's main battle had already been concluded and the Lugal was already headed home. He knew that if he ran, the Lugal's men would simply catch up and off him on the spot. Instead, Gilgamesh chose to save his life by going to the other extreme end of the spectrum: He would outdo what his father had attempted. He would grab at power, except this time Gilgamesh decided to go directly for the throat. It was all or nothing, and Gilgamesh knew that he'd either win or die.

Gilgamesh had barely enough time to act. Pretending to be an important palace official (just as his father had trained him to be), he enacted his own plan independently. He engineered a situation in he spent his entire personal wealth at hand on bribes that ensured none of the guards on watch knew their lugal's face, save for the watch captain. The day the lugal was meant to return to his ziggurat, he told the guard at the gate via secret messages that the guard captain was a traitor and that the man coming was actually an "imposter." Following the note was an exact description of Gorm himself.

Later that evening, the lugal returned from the war with a small honor guard (the army having already dispersed to farm the fields and hunt for food) and attempted to gain entry into the palace, whereupon the guard captain was immediately slain and the Lugal taken out by an arrow from one of the guards. Fighting ensued, and by the time it was over Gorm was dead, the guard captain was dead... and so was the guard Gilgamesh had secretly bribed and delivered his messages to.

With the Lugal being childless and all the palace guard captains now conveniently dead, Gilgamesh was in the perfect position to act as the man who tried to save the Lugal before being felled by a disgruntled guard. In a final act of deception, Gilgamesh tricked the priest into undergoing the required rituals to determine his worthiness to lead the city-state. Having confirmed that Gilgamesh was a cunning warrior, he crowned Gilgamesh as the area's ruler... before news could reach that it was, in fact, the Lugal who had died at the palace gate.

Thus, Gilgamesh was crowned the Lugal of Azul'an. In the act, he claimed the old Lugal's wives, lands, and wealth as his own, as was tradition for those who come to rule a household that had been entirely deprived of its men. The old Lugal's wives were almost past childbearing years, however, so he immediately released them (and their dowries) to their own families and remarried, having two children later in life.

As Lord of Arumen

It was through similar deceptions that Gilgamesh took out the opposition. By playing the members of the opposing coalition of lesser lugals against one another, he was able to come in and claim his sworn enemies' lands one by one, until virtually no opposition to his rule over the entire island existed. By 1670, Gilgamesh had managed to cement his rule over the entire island by claiming the title of Lugal-Gal-Arumen (great lord of the people). By right of that title, Gilgamesh became the Lord of Arumen -- the collective name the lugals gave to the Red Island and, most importantly, its entire people. Although Gilgamesh had, by conquest, alliance, and deception brought internal stability to the island, he was unable to bring peace for many years yet due to the uncertainty that always befell the uncivilized parts of Micras.

Life during the times before others recognized The Hexarchy was hard, even as the great lord of his people. Constant incursions by foreign governments coalesced with the sudden fall of the world's Vanic powers to create an unstable situation in the region. Furthermore, life on a mountainous island meant that agriculture was difficult in the first place, so his people had to hunt. A lot. With a rapidly growing population and harsh terrain, his people were forced to venture farther out to sea... until they finally encountered other lands and peoples many miles from their coastlines. The world was far bigger than the lugal had ever expected, and these fueled the ambitions that shaped the rest of Gilgamesh's life.

In the 25-odd years that followed his enthronement as the Red Island's great lord, he consolidated his control over the island and expanded to the next, until he encountered the peoples of Suza. There, they forged a joint pact of peace with a strange people to the south in a place called "Eridu." Together, the three nations would join other nomadic peoples in forming a proto-nation that would last until the coast's colonization by various foreign powers. Their intermittent battles against these peoples would result in the Hexarchian wars of independence that would culminate in the country's independence in 1685.

Post-Independence

His rule over what is colloquially known as the Red Sea was only cemented shortly after he took power from his predecessor by using the native fauna to his advantage. Having domesticated the local dragons, he received significant aid some 15 years into his reign by much superior animals smuggled in from the Ralgon homeland by native sympathizers -- mostly as an experiment, he would later find. The latter half of his reign was marked by constant, much larger-scale warfare than his people had ever known as he led the region to independence in a series of wars with natives, uncivilized peoples outside of his territory, and southern colonists from c. 1680 to 1685 AN.

The sudden victory of the Six Nations over the Ralgon colonists in 1685 had come as unexpected news to Gilgamesh. Just has his people were more ready than ever to crush the opposition and lay waste to Kobol, Ralgon's own internal politics (followed by a series of unmitigated disasters at home) had turned against its own home government. Rather than opposing the natives, the colonists from Adrestia (and even many of the Adrestians themselves!) had actively come to The Hexarchy's aid and swiftly achieved independence.

The next few years of his reign would be spent in the dual effort of carving territory for his ever-growing Realm while jockeying with the other members of the newly formed Council of Six for ever-greater power. Although his gains in territory weren't nearly as extensive as those experienced by Eridu, an alliance with those same people (as well as the tribesmen of Suza) resulted in a lopsided balance of power in his favor that we would eventually begin to exploit during the coming years.

As Praetor

Taking advantage of the ever-shifting political climate in the Six Nations' government, he convinced the northern tribes and settlers of Eridu and Suza to back his bid to take over as the Council of Six's first leader, largely at the expense of the coastal peoples. He was given the title of "Praetor" (a title literally meaning "[One of] Authority") by the Council at-large mostly as a way of checking his increasing ambition.

However, this movement failed. With the immediate accession of the new Praetor's son to the Council, the status quo further shifted in the northern tribes' favor. The Council of Six became increasingly deadlocked on issues of foreign affairs, with tie-breaking votes constantly cast by the new Praetor gradually channeling executive power to himself, effectively creating an executive branch of government independent to (and now superseding) the Council.

The measure to back the colonization (and subsequent conquest) of a far-flung trading post at Imarru-Lugal was met with hostility. The infighting resulting from the divisions over its settlement nearly dragged the country into an outright civil conflict, and thus its backing proved to be the beginning of a trend of balance setting the new Praetor had to resign himself to, were he to retain his slowly-increasing power over the Council. Eventually being forced to please the interior and coastal factions at the same time, the new Praetor soon found his own balance as he attempted to balance his own interests with national stability.

By the time 1690 rolled around, the Praetor had freshly found his feet and established the office permanently by naming his son as heir-apparent to the post, in exchange for significant concessions to Eridu and to Suza upon his passing. Most notably, he secured the permanent Praetorship for his descendants. However, he had to make several historic concessions that would change the nation's layout forever.

That said, for as much as he had to give up, Gilgamesh still secured an unquestioned position of executive power over the entire country for the rest of his life.

The Great Compromise of 1690

The agreement laid between the Praetor and the Council of Six was as follows:

Firstly, the gradually conglomerated Realm of Pyrax would be broken up into its original Realm of Arumen, with its mainland territories ceded to Eridu (and given the same name), and guaranteed autonomy until at least 1715 AN. In exchange, Suza would cede to Arumen its remaining territory on the Red Sea in exchange for the Realm's non-expansion. The new Realm of Arumen would then be treated as a national capital area under its own laws, and under the continued guidance of any competent member of the House of Arumen that was not also the Praetor or, if ever possible, his (or her) heir apparent.

Secondly, the Praetor and all his successors would relinquish personal control of Arumen. Additionally, they would hold court in the now-massive City of Marduk until such time that the City of Azul'an was directly accessible from the mainland's coastal regions (which would not happen in his own lifetime). If the Praetor were to rule the Six Nations, the Council argued, then the Praetor should not be distracted over the day-to-day affairs of any one of said Six Nations and focus exclusively on his new job.

Thirdly, Arumen was to lose its seat on the Council in favor of Asshyria upon the vacancy of its current holder. That is, the Council seat would be abolished when the new Praetor vacates it and makes his own ascent to the Praetorship. This vacant seat would go to Asshyria. In return, the House of Arumen (other than the Praetor) would still be entitled to direct home rule and special status as a national capital region. However, control of the region was not allowed to be either in the hands of the Praetor or his heir-apparent -- if such situation were ever possible.

In exchange for all these conditions, the Praetor would always be a member of the House of Arumen. Should the Praetor fail to choose (or adopt) an heir, the House of Arumen would be eligible (and responsible) to select the next Praetor. This ruler would have the executive power that the current Praetor possesses, but any further extension of legislative or executive power (to include the abolition or transfer of Council seats) would require a unanimous Council vote.

Death & Legacy

The Battle of the Behemoth

Gilgamesh didn't get long to enjoy his new position for very long. It was hardly a year since he had secured the life appointment as Praetor than a distress call came from one of the Expeditionary Corps' divisions deep in the Southern Frontier, thought to be infested with the sort of mega-sized fauna inhabiting Ereshkigal Forest. The Praetor issued forth with a great force of dragons from the vast military complex of Marduk and immediately flew west.

There, the expeditionary force encountered a great lizard-like beast deep within the forested regions filled with conifer trees so massive that they defied imagination (and known laws of biology). The trees towered so high in the sky that the dragons had to fly between them, as breathing at certain heights and maintaining altitude was impossible for dragon and rider alike. About 300 miles to the west of Marduk, the lizard-like behemoth was seen slowly striding towards the East -- on a direct route to civilized lands.

As the smaller dragons approached, the remnants of the Expeditionary Corps flew to greet the Ninth Frontier Subjugation Force and its considerable reinforcements with dire news: that beast was bad news. No sooner was the news delivered than the carnage began with the great reptilian behemoth's attack. It gathered light to itself, and a moment later a hole in the sky opened up... and took several dragons with the onslaught of its resulting blast.

The resulting struggle was chaotic. Never before this point had The Hexarchy's dragons been bested so quickly by any other creature. Thanks to quick thinking, they immediately scattered, but the largest dragons (which were still dwarfed by the massive thing) were still vulnerable -- and the Praetor himself was seated atop one of the biggest, slow-moving ones in the country. However, he refused to give up and ordered an all-out assault on the Behemoth (as it was now being called).

The struggle was brief, but it was both fierce and costly. The massive thing was felled after nearly two hours of relentless attacks, whereupon savage reptiles more akin to the dragons' own sizes were then seen emerging to feast on the carcass. It was plain to see that there was no place to land -- not even the trees, which were infested with strange flying creatures that began to harass the attacking force, specifically picking off riders. It was in this chaos that nobody noticed that the Praetor and his ancient dragon had already fallen in battle against the Behemoth.

It was another significant period of time before the survivors managed to clear the area and account for the dead. Fully half the dragons and three-quarters of their riders fell in that battle, a harrowing casualty rate for the battle, considering the Hexarchians' general lack of flying machines and the northern forces' dependence on dragons for both combat and transport. In the aftermath of the battle, Gilgamesh's dragon was seen far below on the forest floor.

Although the battle was won, the Praetor had fallen during the effort to rescue the Expeditionary Corps and no territory was gained in the immediate aftermath for their sacrifice. However, a threat to civilization was, nonetheless, defeated on the field of battle and the country could, at least, take some small consolation in that fact.

Aftermath & Legacy

The transition of power after the Praetor's death was swift -- just as he had designed, although Gilgamesh had never anticipated vacating the throne so early into his reign. As agreed during the Compromise of 1690, the praetor's son, whose likeness was in nearly every way like his own, took the throne as Praetor Gilgamesh II at the age of 25. His own younger brother, Lord Imarru of Arumen, took the helm of Arumen in accordance with these same laws (under a regency until 1695).

Culturally, the first Praetor of The Hexarchy served as a martyr of sorts in the national struggle against an otherwise hostile environment to its south and west. Although the Realm of Suza was enjoying relative comfort, it, too felt the pain of its brethren, as it had sent many men to the nation's wars against the frontier that had never come home.

Although Gilgamesh I's reign over The Hexarchy was short, it was not without merit. Both his reign and death provided a centralizing force for the country to centralize as a single nation, and to modernize its technology. The Battle of the Behemoth showed that dragons were not a viable answer against beasts of that sheer, mind-boggling size and power. Technology and machinery were needed to overcome such dangers at home (especially in the Ereshkigal Forest) and abroad, and the Council quickly learned that the nation was desperately lacking in that department.

Thus, modernizing and building the nation's technology, knowledge, and infrastructure became the direct focus of the new Praetor's reign, just as centralization had been his own predecessor's borderline obsession. Because this goal was similarly seared into the collective minds of The Hexarchy's government, the new Praetor was more easily able to establish continuity with his predecessor's reign and establish his rule in a much more peaceful manner. Additionally, for the first time in the country's history, the central government was finally able to modernize the country and bring it beyond the anachronistic traditions that Gilgamesh I, for all his intelligence, had nonetheless embraced.