Hvang Ssa'ka
Alchemist. Military strategist. Ruler of the Central District of the Stone Throne for nearly 200 years. Husband of Kinlanna. Hvang Ssa'ka was the longest-lived mortal throughout the Federated Nations. Even now, three decades after his death, there are rumors that he merely "retired" and is still alive somewhere.
Early Years
Born a few years before the Cataclysm (his exact age is not known), Hvang Ssa'ka was the son of a minor noble in the Stone Throne with ancestral lands near what is now Asai'ka (City). While a young man, he led the retreat from the Central District to Kel'al'ar due to the rampant beasts and disasters attendant to the Cataclysm. For the next 25 years, he took up alchemy as a replacement for traditional magic, and mastered the art. Somehow he found a way of delaying aging tremendously during this period--by the return to the Central District 25 years after the retreat, he looked much the same as he did at the retreat.
He did not maintain lordship over the southern refugees, preferring his alchemical studies. But when magic returned and an expedition was mounted to retake the heartland, he was chosen to lead that expedition.
Return and Rulership
The return to the Central District and the founding of Asai'ka (City) did not go without incident. Many battles were fought against beast creatures (mostly giant and goblinkind, but also many ophidians) and Hvang's military reputation was made here. Once peace returned, he accepted the role of Phraya of the refounded Central District.
For the next 150 years, he ruled with a light (if inconsistent) hand. He mostly ignored the merchant caste and let them set their own policy, only stepping in when needed to quell serious disputes that threatened the general peace. Those that broke the law often just disappeared without trial; word on the street was that they were used as experimental subjects.
Hvang did not take a formal wife until his marriage to Kinlanna in 200 AC. He dallied with many women and fathered numerous illegitimate offspring; while he never denied paternity, he never claimed them as his heirs and they inherited their mothers's positions (with some getting small stipends anonymously). He did not restrict himself to noble-caste women either--he had children across the spectrum including with several ophidian women. None of these women ever gained any status from it.
When Kinlanna arrived ca 200 AC, the two immediately fell deeply in love and were married. She provided the erratic noble with stability; he brought her joy and respite from grief and guilt. They had two children: Kagome Ssa'ka and Sel, now surnamed Ichiban. Kagome was said to resemble her mother tremendously, almost as a younger copy, while Sel was handsome but had a weakness about him (despite being physically powerful). Hvang always preferred Kagome and disdained Sel.
Later Years
After Kinlanna's death in the Liberation, Hvang turned dark. His moral center removed, he became even more erratic and withdrawn. By 215 AC, much of the direct rulership quickly fell to Kagome's new husband, Phra Solkan. While young, he was competent and driven. Hvang stayed in his laboratory, and the disappearances from the streets became more frequent. He only had time for Kagome.
In 220, he officially retired as ruler. His official heir was Kagome, but Solkan ruled in her place. Then, in 225, she fell ill and died soon after the birth of their second child, a daughter named Saiko. The loss of his last anchor broke Hvang. Retreating to his lab, he embarked on a series of experiments that ended up with the explosive destruction of his entire estate. Officially, he died in 226 AC. In the resulting chaos, Sel claimed the throne by right of birth and changed his surname to Ichiban, cutting ties with the memory of his father.
