Appius Salvian

Appius Salvian (ME 57-99) was the first Emperor and founder of the Montiac Empire, as well as former Commander of the Montiac Military and rebel leader during the Montiac Civil War.

Salvian was born in the village of Almus in ME 57. His father, Abelus, a veteran of the Montiac Military, worked as a blacksmith while his mother, Floron, worked as a farmhand. Salvians father died when he was 4, forcing him and his mother to move to Ravenna, where Salvian first took interest in a military career. As Commander of the Montiac Military, Salvian oversaw the operations of every active Montiac Legion. Salvian was unique in that he himself would fight with the XIII Lagian while still holding the rank of Commander. This made him an incredibly respected figure both in the military and general Montiac society. At the outbreak of the Montiac Civil War, many of the soldiers apart of XIII would side with Salvian. Following the capture of Montiacos and the end of the Montiac Civil War, Salvian reformed Montiacos into the Montiac Empire, ushering in a new age for Calast.

Salvian was unique among Lepus in many ways. Along with outliving the average life expectancy by 6 years, Salvian stood at 6ft 5in, and is still one of the tallest recorded Lepus. As well, his red coloured fur is rarely seen in other members of his species. These factors all added to his legendary status in Lepus society, both during and after his life.

Early Life
Appius Salvian was born on the 1st of Aquila, ME 57 in the small village of Almus, to Abelus and Floron Salvian. His father, a veteran of the Montiac Military, worked as a blacksmith, while his mother worked as a farmhand. His father died when he was 4 from an injury sustained in the military, forcing Salvian and his mother to relocate to Ravenna, where they lived in the city's skid row. At 8, Salvian joined the military. Though his mother was first opposed, the two were practically starving on the city's streets, and the soldier salary was badly needed.

As General
While described as "incompetent" with a sword by his commanders, What he lacked in melee skill he made up for in tactical skill. Salvian would regularly excel in his class by demonstrating flanking maneuvers, and was eventually switched to the Generals academy in ME 66. There, because of his fur colour and background, his classmates would frequently berate him. Despite this, he continued on in the academy.

His mother died in ME 67, prompting Salvian to take a hiatus from the academy, working for a tailor in the city's centre. Although not originally planning to return, Salvian was set on following his father's legacy, and rejoined the academy in ME 68, becoming a General the following year. Despite his stellar test scores the Montiac Military was worried having a prominent lower-class General would inspire more like him, and he was given the nigh-impossible task of clearing the Southern Island of its raider groups. Despite all odds, however, Salvian cleared the island in just a year. After this he was again tasked with eradicating banditry, this time in the area around the capital. This deployment allowed him to build relationships and connections in the core of Montiac society, which led to him taking the position of Commander of the Montiac Military in ME 71.

As Commander
As Commander of the Montiac Military, Salvian mainly worked towards stamping out raiders and bandits around Montiacos. He first met Nonus Montiaco around ME 74, and reportedly had talked with his father to convince him to appoint a different heir, but was unsuccessful. Though he didn't dislike Nonus, the declining health of Decimus Montiaco was clear, and Salvian didn't believe Nonus to be fit to rule at his age. From this moment, Salvian began using his influence to try to lobby for an elected leader rather than a monarch, though he would be unsuccessful. Throughout Nonus's rule, Salvian consistently opposed his actions and way of ruling, to deaf ears. He was also stiffly against the Kings invasion of Isara, mainly due to the unpreparedness of the military. Despite this the invasion went ahead, with Salvian overseeing the legions.

The initial success of the war was largely due to the tactical prowess of Salvian, who captured huge amounts of territory relative to the number of soldiers he had available. Once Isara regrouped, however, these fortunes would change, with wide-scale retreats ordered for all legions. Salvian directly participated in the Liberation of Vectis just a month later, as well as the early stages of the Battle of Chaxuklas. The war would eventually grind to a stalemate, with Salvian requesting multiple times for Nonus to sign a treaty with no success.

Civil War
In Ursus of ME 78, with civilians rioting across the country and his own soldiers dying in an unending war, Salvian delivered an ultimatum to Nonus: either end the war, or lose the throne. Nonus responded by threatening to demote Salvian, unintentionally beginning the Montiac Civil War. Nonus would later revoke his royal and military honours.

Despite having overwhelming