Taldûmu

Taldûmu, remembered in song and tale as the Shâr Who Burned, was the last ruler of the Shârate of Hamât. He reigned during the final years of the kingdom, when the Empire of Ordâkh advanced into the Valley of Ikorbân and brought the long Years of Joy and even the broken peace of the Madâr to a violent end. His desperate final act at the fortress of Ashâgir has become one of the most enduring legends of the Ikorbâni people.

Little is recorded of Taldûmu's reign before the Ordâkhai wars, though he is said to have presided over a realm weakened by civil strife, trade disruptions, and the growing influence of the Barkhûshim priesthood. His rule was marked by the lingering scars of the Madâr, the Realm-cleaving civil war, and by the steady encroachment of Ordâkhai influence in both faith and arms.

When the Empire of Ordâkh marched into the valley, Taldûmu withdrew to the cliff-fortress of Ashâgir in Urash Dâr, a citadel he hoped could withstand the invaders. For a full year his followers resisted siege, but the Ordâkhai eventually sent assassins within. They slew the fortress guard and opened the gates to the enemy. Surrounded and facing capture, Taldûmu ordered the stockpiles of Narghâk ignited, engulfing the stronghold in fire and collapsing its caverns. The explosion killed both defender and conqueror alike, and the fires raged for six days before burning themselves out.

Taldûmu's death is seen by later Ikorbâni as both tragedy and defiance. To some, he is a martyr who denied the Ordâkhai their prize; to others, his fiery end symbolizes the futility of the last Hamâti resistance. The ruins of Ashâgir are still spoken of as cursed, though tales persist that hidden vaults remain untouched, containing stores of Narghâk left unburned. In song, he is remembered chiefly by his epithet, the Shâr Who Burned, a grim reminder of Hamât's fall.