I've explained this to my friends but a fun fact about how I draw Kajar is that I always, ALWAYS, aim to draw him with an unreadable / neutral expression. This is because he's a character we only ever get to know through the stories told by other characters, so we don't really know for certain who he was when he was alive. It's my little nod towards that we don't know how he actually reacted or how he felt during anything, just what we've heard from others. 🤷♂️
To me it's just another part of his character design just like any other small, symbolic feature.
In the history of the Highlands, Petrus Illustrianus and his Great Companions are figures similar to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Charlemagne and his Paladins, the Heroes of Troy, or even Jason and Argonauts.
Born during the late Age of Wonders, historians often conflate fact with myth when discussing the particulars of Petrus’ life. Although it was well established that he was born in Kajar, many Valdinoran noble lines claim descent from the First Paladin, or outright claim that Petrus was Valdinoran. Perhaps the most notable claimants are the Hölderlins, retainers to the line of Harald I. On the other hand, the Kajari maintain that Petrus had no issue, and do not recognize any of his ‘descendants’ as legitimate.
Beyond his monster-slaying accomplishments, Petrus wrote the Treatise of Knighthood, a manual on etiquette, courtly manners, conduct during wartime, and proper bearing that is required reading for Imperial officers, even today. He also founded the first order of paladins, called the Nightbreakers, who are credited with shepherding Kajar through the horrors of the Godfall. In time, the Nightbreakers grew so large that splinter chapters of their organization formed, and today over a thousand orders of paladins exist.
During his lifetime, Petrus was accompanied on his adventures or assisted by a number of famous companions. Legends about the Great Companions are historically murky, certain individuals, such as Scipio Ithaca and Agrippa Denar verifiably existed, while others, such as Grier, Wiegraf, and Roland, or the sorceress Nashira and her twin brother Eridanus, may not have lived during the same era as Petrus, or they did not exist at all. The number of Great Companions varies wildly in the stories about the First Paladin, from as low as twelve to as high as one-hundred and eight.
Petrus possessed a legendary holy avenger, called the Dawnseeker, which he used to slay giants and otherworldly horrors during the Godfall. No enemy could stand against it, and the walking dead fled before him when the blade was drawn. Unfortunately, Dawnseeker, along with Petrus himself, were lost during the War of the Black Impact - an invasion of Far-Realm entities who emerged from a fallen meteor. It is unclear where the War happened, as the world was topographically different during that time, but Petrus was slain in the fighting and neither his body, nor Dawnseeker, were recovered…
The Great Companions
Scipio Ithaca was Petrus’ second, confidant, and closest companion. Although Petrus was the first paladin, it was Scipio who encouraged the priests of Kajar to lay down their prayer beads and take up swords during the Godfall, and he developed the Sun and Moon style of sword-fighting.
Agrippa Denar was a paladin credited with being the first combat medic, and although he was less famous than Petrus, he pioneered antiseptic surgery and wrote numerous documents on medicine that are still in use today. He is immortalized outside the Seat of the White Registry, where a statue depicts him wrestling with the Stag Who Hunts Men.
Nashira was a god-blooded sorceress of incredible power who served as an advisor to Petrus. She supposedly possessed a third eye in the center of her forehead which allowed her to see both the past and future, and because of this, Petrus and his men never lost a battle. Some stories connect her romantically to Petrus, while the Kajari claim that she and Agrippa were married and that she bore him several children.
Eridanus was Nashira’s twin brother, the captain of a ship that he could sail anywhere, even into the sky, since his sister could navigate any obstacle. He served alongside the Nightbreakers as leader of their non-Chapter military forces, despite not being a paladin himself. He is usually depecited in myth as a rakish gambler, and a rogue with a heart of gold, the opposite of Petrus and Moon to the First Paladin's Sun.
Roland was an Illysian knight and the protector of the common people of the Great Plain that makes up the western portion of Illysia. He is said to have slain the dragon Pyramar.
Erwin Rossler is highly popular in the Empire due to the fact that it's possible to prove he existed and that he was unambiguously Valdinoran. He was martyred fighting in the East, in a failed crusade to halt the advance of the Dark Lord, Soren Kal, and his armies.
