This thread is for listing/creating/discussing notable figures during the Veiled Age. These are the kinds of figures that are widely known, taught about in history classes, politically and/or culturally significant, and founders of important organizations/institutions. Here are a few to start. I’ve included a name, culture, and brief biography (all subject to discussion):
Lord Andorov (Tophen) – As an ambitious cadet in the Royal Tophen Military Academy, Andorov lead a group of fellow students on a quest to locate and strike up contracts with powerful devils. Only Andorov returned. Called into service early when the first campaigns of the Tophen Invasion of Yobba ended in disaster, Andorov was given command of his father’s household guard and showed uncanny tactical brilliance. His knack for predicting and countering the moves of his enemies lead to a quick ascent through the Tophen military hierarchy. Named High Warlord in the fourth year of the war, he planned and executed the Andorov Offensive which ended in the fall of Yobba’s capitol and the effective destruction of its conventional forces at the Battle of the Fords of Ishkahan. Shortly after the war, he vanished and was never seen again. A massive iron stature of him stands at the center of Viceroy’s Park in the fallen Yobban capitol.
St. Julia of Terlan (Arven) – Julia abandoned a luxurious life as the only daughter of one of Arvel’s foremost houses to take a vow of poverty and study Holy Magic as a young woman. She developed a keen interest in reversing the chaotic and disorienting effects of the Abyss. Her students were among the first humans to make progress in reversing Abyssal effects, and the Julian Order remains devoted to studying and countering the effects of the Abyss to this day.
Esmeral of Vantith (Arven) – Raised by thieves on the outskirts of Arven society, Esmeral was adept at moving unseen/unnoticed, aided by a completely ordinary appearance and a quick mind. These talents allowed her to advance through the underworld to become an in-demand assassin. There are rumors, never confirmed, that she made a pilgrimage to Tophet and signed a devil’s pact. Whether through skill, sorcery, or some combination of the two, she is the only person to have successfully infiltrated the elaborate defenses of Zenith when she assassinated First Lord Quinton IV Avarat as part of a failed coup against the Arven government
The Thirteenth (Abyssal) – Little is known about the origin of The Thirteenth. Early in the Veiled Age, it gathered a force of nomads, heretics, outcasts, and the dead in the western wilds. Possessing occult powers that the chronicles only describe as “ferocious and ineffable,” it launched a crusade against the lands of humanity. When the forces of the crusade penetrated to the core lands of human civilization, the round table was formed by humanity’s leading powers to organize resistance. It is unknown whether The Thirteenth was killed in battle, achieved its unknown goals and left, or was somehow banished, but its disappearance a year after the war began triggered the swift destruction of the invading forces. Abyssal cultists prophesy that one day The Thirteenth will return to “lift the veil and reverse the great sundering that destroyed the unity of the world.”
Lady Aenor (Elven) – The first emissary from Amloth to the lands of humanity, Aenor came with two objectives: (1) to secure peaceful relations between elves and humans, and (2) to limit incursions/deforestation activities against Elven forests. In exchange for human respect for Elven lands, she offered knowledge of many useful plants. As a result, Aenoran Alchemy emerged as the study of plant-based medicine and Aenoran Cuisine emerged as a plant-based approach to cooking. Chefs trained in Aenoran cooking are rare and in high demand.
General Vizian (Yobban) – After the Fords of Ishkahan, organized Yobban resistance to Tophet abandoned conventional tactics for asymmetric warfare. General Vizian, the only senior officer to survive Ishkahan, was the pivotal figure in this turn. He took the broken conventional forces of Yoba and reorganized them into lightly armed, fast-moving bands that became adept at hit-and-run and other guerilla tactics. Regarded as criminals by Tophet, the Vizianites still strike from the wastes against the occupier and dream of the day they liberate their ancestral homeland. They are equally merciless with Tophen occupiers and anyone they regard as Yobban collaborators.