Archmage Rezard Valis

=Overview=

Rezard Valis (Born 1930 AO) is the current leader of the Marndosian Senate and figurehead of the Island Nations Federation. He is generally regarded as one of the wisest beings on Borendil and has a hand in numerous operations, especially in the Federation.

=Early Life=

Rezard Valis was born in Marndosia, the very capital of the country he would later help rule. He grew up in the city, though at the age of 7 he was sent away to Enhasa to study the arcane. He stayed in Enhasa for many years and had a wide variety of interests, including magic, politics, and economics.

At age 25 he left Enhasa and returned to his homeland. He went to live in Kestrel to become familiar with Marndos' lumber economy. He was elected as a representative for Kestrel in the Marndosian Senate at the age of 27, due to his popularity in the town.

=Career in Politics=

Being elected as a representative for Kestrel was only Valis' first political maneuver. He quickly gained favor within the Senate and was elected to replace the former leader, Denton Moriff, in 1959 AO at the age of 29, the youngest ever to become leader of the Senate.

While he led the Senate, Valis noticed much political strife between the nations in the Southern Isles, especially Istar. He was also becoming aware of the increasingly militaristic policy of the Zamrian Empire and feared an invasion would not only be likely, but also successful due to the petty armed forces in the Southern Isles. Valis pondered a solution to these problems for about five years.

In 1964 AO, he presented his solution before the Senate. It was a simple solution: Unite the four countries in the Southern Isles into a Federation with a centralized government and military. This, he hoped, would quell some of the political imbalance in the region, as well as give the possibility of a more coordinated military that would be capable of fighting the Imperial Navy. The plan was well-thought out and accepted by the Senate. Later that same year, King Nordamar XV and King Dirilius XI accepted the proposal, and, surprisingly, Sultan Klorel Jabar also sought to join the Federation due to his effort to open up Istar to international relations after many years of seclusion.

Since 1964 AO, most of Valis' time has been spent trying to formulate a good centralized government for the Federation that would still allow each member nation to maintain a degree of sovereignity. He proposed a plan for accelerated shipbuilding to combat piracy and build the Federal Navy, which were his biggest political achievements in the decade after the formation of the Federation.

For about 30 more years, Valis (and other nations in the Federation) were in a kind of a political lull, as not even the Archmage himself could come up with an idea for a centralized government that could please everyone. As a result, each member nation acted (and still acts, up till the present) as they did before the Federation was formed, with drastically increased military cooperation in case of an invasion from Zamria.

Valis was the only surviving political leader after the assassinations in the Demon Wars. The leaders of Nordamar, Diril, and Istar were all killed by the forces of the Twilight Alliance (and sometimes by members of the Alliance themselves). The Archmage was able to retreat to New Marndosia after the Istarians invaded his Republic to avoid capture. There, he was able to coordinate with the Order of Lost Histories and have a hand in the ending of the Demon Wars.