Sō-Thadi Tēhlebao

As the third Sō-Thadi of Wīzoha Empire, Tēhlebao achieved much and desired even more before his early demise in battle. Known for his youth and beauty, an incident with experimental liquid flame left him scarred and wearing a mask—a beautiful creation of pure gold, or so the stories go.

Personality

Many adjectives and descriptions colored the archived clay tablets written about Sō-Thadi Tēhlebao during his reign, and not a single one of the writers could ever described him as weak.

Tēhlebao did much during his time, and rarely relaxed or enjoyed time away from duty. His days were first filled with questions of conquest and establishing himself as greater than his predecessors, and afterward about seeing as much of his realm and the world as he could.

The curious nature of Tēhlebao might have been part of the reason he pushed to establish the House of Divination within the ranks of Yuiwian House of Sun, and later the House of Alchemy which eventually led to his accident.

Appearance

For most of his life, Tēhlebao was known for his strength and beauty in equal measure. He found some pride in the rare, pale golden hair he had inherited from his mother's side, and kept it long and uncovered most of the time. The only exception to this was the battlefield, where he frequently engaged in combat himself wielding a glaive.

In his desire to outdo Soyaewa, Tēhlebao ordered the House of Alchemy to find a way to wield fire as Soyaewa did, so he could replicate the fame and reputation of his predecessor. Against all odds, the alchemists he employed did find a way to achieve a similar effect. It was called tē a lae, liquid fire, which could be spread on weapons or equipment before igniting it.

The substance was unstable in its infancy, however, and in trying to ignite the thick slime it exploded, burning most of the Sō-Thadi's face and hands. Though the rest of his body were safe within the confines of armor at the time, the beauty he was known for—the one he himself enjoyed—was ruined forever.

After that day Tēhlebao never showed his face again. To the outside world he showed himself only with a mask, a beautiful, golden mask decorated with green and blue and glimmering pearls.

Birth

Tēhlebao was born the only surviving child of his mother Nihanui, sister to the second
Sō-Thadi Tēhsō. Nihanui was greatly weakened after the birth, and eventually passed away nealy a year after Tēhlebao's birth.

After his coronation, various stories of his birth began to arose among the people with varying degrees of truth behind each one.

Life

After the death of his mother, Tēhlebao grew up under the protection of Sō-Thadi Tēhsō. The ruler of Wīzoha Empire had been close with his sister, and took it as his responsibility to care for the young child she left behind.

Due to complications of his own, Tēhsō never had children of his own to choose a successor from. This never seemed to bother him, as Tēhlebao took to his studies with determination and curiosity. Before the child himself knew it, Tēhsō had already made his choice and Tēhlebao became the heir in all but name.

Coronation

Tēhlebao became the third Sō-Thadi of Wīzoha Empire after the death of his uncle and guardian. Summer had just begun to lift its head, and the sun shone bright in a clear sky at the day of his ascension.

Reign

From the beginning Tēhlebao held ambitions well beyond those of Tēhsō. The previous Sō-Thadi had been content living under the shadow of Soyaewa's memory, but Tēhlebao desired to overshadow the founder and legend by any means he could.

Young, strong and full of vigor, Tēhlebao set out to complete what his grandfather had begun with his conquest of Nīwulā Valley, and the foundation of the Empire. For Soyaewa had not fully subjugated the Valley under his rule, and a large part of the Upper Valley waged open warfare against the fledgling nation.

Family

Aside from the legitimate, "acceptable" children Tēhlebao had within the bounds of marriage, he had known to sire many more outside of it. Within Yuiwian faith, it was not completely unheard of for men nor women to have many children with different individuals, however the difference in station concerned many within Tēhlebao's court.

Until his passing, Tēhlebao's ambitions kept him from being aware of the many children brought to his doorstep. Fearing a crisis of succession, based on blood and lineage as it was, members of his court made a decision to hide the people involved and cover any commotion they might have caused.

Death

The fighting hadn't stopped simply because Tēhlebao's forces now controlled the Valley in its entirety. Despite his ailing health, Tēhlebao could not bring himself to stop engaging in combat himself.