Solar Empire

Early in the history of Coelus, there lived a group of people, the Machairi. The Machairi lived in one of two societies: Disjointed tribal groups or bickering city states. Frequently, the cities would hire, coerce, or force the tribesmen into doing battle in their stead. War between the city states was brutal and designed to determine a victor with only one or two battles. Usually, these wars occurred to settle debts or other disputes between two cities.

Among the various Machairi tribes was born a young man who would later name himself Entoli, and later still, he would take the name Tarquin.

The Man Who Would Be King
An important fact of Machairi life is that bastards were said to be unknown to the Gods. A bastard was no one and nothing, received no name at birth, and was treated as a slave by the tribe.

Entoli, as he would later become known, was born a bastard and his mother died in childbirth. His birth was said to be thrice-cursed. First by the gods, for they could never know such a wretched being as he. Second by the tribe he belonged to, for they could hardly stand such a loathsome thing as he. Third by his mother, since she could not survive bearing such a horrible thing as he.

In his youth, there were but a few things that kept Entoli alive. His cunning and his constitution. Entoli was an exceptionally quick thinker, able to trick adults by the age of thirteen, and well learned for an uneducated man by the age of twenty. His constitution, on the other hand, allowed him to survive his infancy, survive the harshness of summer, and survive the blows of the lash. But Entoli would not suffer them much longer than twenty years.

Upon his twentieth birthday, Entoli challenged the chief of his tribe for rule. The chief laughed him off and ordered his men to remove him. Entoli refused and challenged him again, and was beaten for it, but he did not bow. Irritated, the chief told him that he would be killed. Enraged, Entoli declared that the chief was afraid of fighting and was obviously too weak to lead.

Naturally, the barb to his pride motivated the chief to action and accept the duel. Just as Entoli knew it would, for the chief had always been a proud man. Three blows were struck in the ensuing duel. The chief beat the unarmed slave with a wooden club twice before demanding he surrender and return to his place on his knees. He did not finish the demand, as Entoli had stolen a spearhead and thrust it into the chief's throat.

Entoli declared himself the new chief and challenged any who would step forth to take command. Three men did, and he faced and slew them all within the day. Following these, no others stepped forward and Entoli donned his name for the first time. Entoli. A word meaning command. Fitting, for the man who would forge the largest empire in the history of Coelus.