Lupir Noctoren
Sir Lupir Lazlo Noctoren (8th of Imlotel, 210 - 19th of Mara, 247) was the Governor of Cagne Island from 241 to 247 most known for his resistance against Ak Etkia & subsequent murder during the Etkian Coup in 247.
Early Life
Noctoren was born in Lakal in 210 as the eldest of three children of a middle class family with some connections to the Cagne Duchy Government, via his aunt Hanlias, who was married to the overseer of Northern Lakal. Through his aunt's connections, and after excelling in school, Lupir and his siblings all found positions in Duchy universities. His younger sister Carine studied business, and went on to work in Cagne Proper. Lupir's youngest sibling, his brother Amarn became an Electrical Engineer, and lived in Lakal. Lupir studied Law, where he was continually noted by peers and instructors as an excellent student, who raced through university, graduating and joining a law firm in 235, at just the age of 25. The next year, during the Balkavanian Resettling of the EotLP, Noctoren met Duke Nikolas Mezis Cagne II, who took a liking to the young man, noted his charisma, passion for the law, and strong beliefs (not all of which Cagne agreed with, but rather respected his support of his own beliefs), and offered him a position within his court to replace many of the ministers who had resigned over Duke Nikolas' conditional surrender to the EotLP.
Cagnian Government
As a member of Cagne's court, Noctoren ingratiated himself with the aging Duke, specialising in the crossover and conflict between Rennian & Cagnian laws, customs, and culture. As the EotLP rebuilt itself on the mainland, and began changing certain aspects of Cagnian law and life, Noctoren's role became invaluable to the Duke, and he became one of the Duke's most trusted advisors. In 238 he was appointed to be the Cagnian Ambassador to Emperor Ren, where he ingratiated himself with Ren as well, impressing the Emperor with his knowledge, problem solving skills, ability to immediately see potential issues & conflicts in any of the Emperor's ideas, and his willingness to be frank about issues with the Emperor's decrees.
Governor of Cagne Proper
At the recommendation of Duke Nikolas Mezis Cagne II, Noctoren was appointed by Emperor Ren as the second Governor of Cagne Island in 241 on a 5 year term. Noctoren was much better liked than his predecessor by the Public, Duke Cagne and Emperor Ren, and oversaw a overall successful term, and was therefore re-appointed for a further five years by the Emperor in 246. His benefactor, Duke Nikolas II, would die just a year into Noctoren's second term, on the 8th of Mara, 247, making his son Mikael the new Duke. Noctoren met with Cagne the same evening to offer his condolences, support, and fealty in that time. Mikael was grateful for his support, and Lupir became his go-to confidant for questions and discussions regarding his office by the next morning. However, he wouldn't get the chance to expand that relationship very far at all.
Etkian Coup
On the 12th of Mara, 247, a mere 4 Days after the death of Duke Nikolas II, a group organised by Ak Etkia Assassinated Emperor Ren, and Etkia claimed succession to the Imperial Throne, despite general belief being that General James Krennic was to succeed Emperor Ren. Noctoren immediately contacted Duke Mikael Cagne, and instructed him to meet with Noctoren & the Gubernatorial Guard in Cagne City immediately. Noctoren received word that Rennian Military Leadership had announced a neutral stance on the succession, and were rumoured to be forming a third bloc in opposition to both James Krennic & Ak Etkia's claims to succession, although this never came to full fruition. He also contacted Theodore Berge, the General of the Cagne Island Royal Armed Forces. The two agreed that the potential of Etkia using force to enforce his claim to Cagne Island was very high, considering the precarious position of Cagne Island - as a semi-autonomous province of the EotLP - in such a succession-based conflict. Both men agreed that such a conquest would be detrimental to Cagne Island both in terms of its position in the EotLP, but also in general, and agreed to resist any attempts by Etkia to conquer Cagne Island. The CIRAF began to mobilise across the island, especially in ports across Lakal and Cagne City, anticipating an invasion, rather than the internal uprising that eventually came about. Late into the evening of the 13th of Mara, Ak Etkia made a public announcement calling for all Rennian Soldiers who stood with him to rise up across the country and overthrow Imperial Governors who had not defected to his side. Nearly 1,500 members of the IAF rose up from the Cagne City & Lakal Barracks and began taking key positions across their respective cities. Lakal fell within hours, accompanied by the capture of nearly 450 Cagnian Troops, and deaths of about a further 50. Cagne City, where many more troops were stationed, held out much better, but even there they lost control over the Royal Residence of the Duke, from which Noctoren had already evacuated Mikael Cagne, as well as the Central Broadcasting Centre, and Imperial Residence in Cagne. The Gubernatorial Guard began to exchange fire with Rebels at 23:00 outside the Governor's Residence. As soon as CIRAF forces arrived to reinforce the Residence, the Gubernatorial Guard evacuated Noctoren and Cagne further into the centre of the city, where the Rebels had not yet reached.
Central Broadcasting Centre Mission & Capture
While the Duke was left their under heavy guard, Noctoren proposed a mission to the Central Broadcasting Centre to broadcast a message to the people of Cagne Island. General Berge & the Captain of Noctoren's Guard Unit (The Cagne Island Gubernatorial Guard (CIGG) agreed that it was a good idea, but opposed the idea of Noctoren leaving the relative safety behind CIRAF lines. However, Noctoren insisted on the mission. Berge offered to authorize a full attack targeting the building, but Arpieux (the Captain of the CIGG) & Noctoren believed that the opportune moment to be able to break Rebel lines & to make such a broadcast was as early as possible, before the Rebel effort was sufficiently organised. Berge finally relented, and Noctoren and the CIGG left on their Late-night attempt to break back through Rebel lines to the Central Broadcasting Centre. They reached the building around 03:00 on the morning of the 14th, having not been widely noticed by the Rebels - who were at this point still very disorganized and lacked a central command structure. Noctoren recorded a short speech, which was broadcast on repeat starting at 06:00 on the 14th. In the meantime, Noctoren slept a valuable few hours (as did the CIGG, in shifts). They rigged the System to continue broadcasting his message on repeat unless the system itself was destroyed, relying on the importance of broadcasting messages to the Rebels as well to protect the message until most Cagnians had seen it. Any Cagnians who had managed to sleep the previous night woke up then to a constant broadcast of Noctoren's immortalized message, which said (in both Cagnian Serolva and Leggish).
"My Cagnian Brothers & Sisters. I am Lupir Lazlo Noctoren. I was born in Lakal, and now I serve the Cagnian people & Duke Mikael as the Governor. The Rennians are our friends. The Rennians have treated us well. Our beloved Emperor Sergio Ren spared our lives and freedom in 236. Ak Etkia is not our friend. In 236, he advocated to Emperor Ren & his generals for the eradication of the Cagne Population, and the placement of Rennian settlers into every corner of our beloved Island. This same man now has murdered the benevolent Emperor, and has declared our own Duke an enemy. At this very moment, his rebel monsters sit in the Duke's residence. We will not stand for this terror. Today I implore each and every one of you to take up their weapons and fight back against these Rebels. Today I implore each and every one of you to refuse to serve these men who hate us. We must support Emperor James Krennic, whatever the cost, because it is a lighter cost than what will happen if we do not support him. The following days will be dark for all of us. May God be with us through these times."
True to Noctoren's expectations, as soon as he heard of the Broadcast, he contacted the Rebels in Cagne City and forbade them from destroying the broadcast system, but instructed them to find a technician to disable the system so that he could also make broadcasts in the following days. The Rebels attacked the Central Broadcasting Centre around 08:00, isolating Noctoren & the Gubernatorial Guard in the Building. A column of the CIRAF was ordered by Berge to attempt to reach and relieve the Governor & his Guards, but progress was slow. Despite suffering heavy Casualties, Noctoren & the Guard Unit managed to escape the building and began to attempt to convene with the units sent by Berge by around 10:00. However, at this point the Guards were running low on ammunition, were extremely overtired, and began to be surrounded by Rebels. By 11:30 it was clear that they were impossibly far from the CIRAF column, and Noctoren authorized his guard Captain, Gaisa Arpieux to surrender at his own discretion. Arpieux continued to look for options for roughly 15 minutes, before finally relenting and surrendering at 11:47 on the 14th of Mara. The leader of the Rebel group who had them pinned down, Rewill Torra (Who stylised himself as "Commander" throughout the Coup) accepted their surrender, and the remaining CIGG members were disarmed and bound. At Torra's encouragement, the Rebels began to beat the CIGG soldiers & Noctoren. Before loading the mistreated combatants into a transport truck (which had been commandeered from civilians), Torra had Arpieux held in front of him, and shot him in both knees. Arpieux was then forced face first onto the ground, where Torra shot him twice more, killing him.
Captivity, Torture, and Death
Once in Rebel hands, Noctoren was sent north to Lakal, where he was imprisoned in a building next to the Rebels' makeshift headquarters - a low office building in the Northeast district of the town. There, he was bound to a ceiling fixture, and repeatedly beaten, in an attempt to learn information on the CIRAF's plan of action & headquarters. However, due to the highly unexpected & evolving situation in Cagne City, Noctoren knew effectively no information. Although Rebels who survived the coup would later claim that Noctoren immediately betrayed the Loyalists, CIGG Soldiers held near him claimed they could hear the frequent beatings & conversations clearly, and Noctoren never divulged any information to his captors, even though he was aware that the information he knew was likely outdated. After four days of beatings, several gunshots, the loss of two of his fingers to Rebel torturers and several deep cuts elsewhere on his body, in the morning of the 19th of Mara, when a torturer returned to Noctoren's cell, they found him barely clinging to life. After bringing him back to consciousness (surviving CIGG soldiers reported that although conscious, he was extremely delirious), the Rebel Torturers offered him one final chance to tell what he knew, before finally slitting his throat and killing him.
Honours & Legacy
Lupir Noctoren's body was discovered in the closing days of the Coup, after Etkia's death, as the CIRAF & IAF (which had finally chosen to back James Krennic) routed Rebel factions across the island. At the request of his family, his brutalized body was not buried, but rather cremated. Half of his ashes were given a full honours state Burial the day after Emperor Ren's burial in Rennia, and the other half were buried in his hometown of Lakal. During the fall of the Empire in 270, his younger sister Carine travelled to Rennia and petitioned Former Emperor Tiberius Rex to return his ashes from the Imperial Mausoleum to be reburied with the rest of his remains. Rex granted the request, and Noctoren's full remains were laid to rest in Lakal.
After the conclusion of the Etkian Coup, Emperor James Krennic posthumously awarded him the Order of the Crossed Blades, justifying that the position of Governor gave command over Military Personnel, and therefore could the Order of the Crossed Blades could be conferred on Governors.