Zenobios Malchus

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Zenobios Malchus
Full name	Zenobios Malchus
AKA	The Desert Phoenix
Physical information
Species	Human
Race	Euran
Gender	Male
Hair color and style	Black
Eye color	Brown
Skin color	Light Olive
Biographical information
Date of birth	1685 AN (66)
Allegiance(s)	Constancia

Zenobios Malchus, an emporiarch of the Androphagos Corporation and Arteshbod of the Grand Commissariat of Eura and Corum.

Biography

Zenobios Malchus, a Euran in his late 50s, was born in Aqaba, the vibrant commercial capital of the Imperial State of Constancia, where Constancian, Babkhan, and Alexandrian cultures converged. His family, of Baatharzi descent, amassed wealth through trade in spices and textiles, enabling Zenobios to receive a formal education in Babkhan literature, philosophy, and astronomy. His dual name reflects his identity: Zenobios, a Constancian name meaning “life of Zeus,” signals his status as a naturalised subject of the Imperial State, while Malchus, meaning “king” in Baatharzi, honors his Euran heritage. Raised in Aqaba’s bustling markets, he developed a keen understanding of commerce and diplomacy, but he also maintains ties to Zurvanite religious practices, offering tributes to Mitra at desert shrines. His network spans the Ghur Ostan in the Suren Confederacy, the Ecclesiastical Mountain Republic, and the northern interior of Zeed, making him a pivotal figure in regional trade for all who wish to depart from the safety of the outposts along the Trans-Euran Railway for the lucrative yet dangerous parts of the interior.

Service history

Zenobios came of age during the final years of the Third Euran War, and was amongst those youths impressed into the Home Guard. Assigned to one of the regiments of the 250th (Sand Devil) Division tasked with guarding the empty quarter between the border of the Ecclesiastical Mountain Republic and the frontiers of Zeed, Zenobios served his apprenticeship learning the intricacies of the old caravan routes and desert survival, gaining military insights into logistics and defense tactics. This experience, coupled with surviving numerous ambushes and harsh desert conditions, earned him the nickname “the Desert Phoenix” amongst the 642nd Brigade for his uncanny ability to revive faltering expeditions. Whilst the war fizzled out in 1701 AN, the frontier remained plagued by endemic banditry - conditions that would ultimately give new life to the rebel Azad Eura movement - thus it would not be until 1706 that Zenobios' family would at last be able to purchase his discharge from the Imperial Constancian Armed Forces.

In 1707 he married his first wife, a Babkhan from the Suren Confederacy known as Farah. With the dowry provided by Farah's family, Zenobios was able to purchase a place on a razzia organised by the Androphagos Corporation to burn a number of androphagi villages in Molivadia which had been unacceptably tardy in their payments to the company. Zenobios came away with plentiful spoils from the expedition, although he was obliged to convert a goodly portion of the loot into shares with the company in order to once again obtain his discharge with the remainder.

He would resume his interrupted education by studying for four years at the Euran University, with much of the cost being met by members of his extended family as an expression of remorse for not buying him out of the ICAF when he was first caught by the press-gang in 1700.

As a shareholder in the Androphagos Corporation, albeit a fairly nominal one compared to the Benacian émigrés who dominated the stockholdings, Zenobios was able to apply for and obtain a licence to trade under the auspices of the company. By this time the corporation had been effectively subjugated by the Trans-Euran Command of the Raspur Pact. As such, whilst nominally a mere small trader with a permit, Zenobios also became a defacto auxiliary of the Grand Commissariat of Eura and Corum.