Andrew Tau (7 August 1890 - 2 October 1947) was the younger brother of Aran Tau, born to Kalvin and Alma Tau. He served both as a diplomat and politician, appointed as the Head of the Antarean Supreme Kouncil while serving as an ambassador.
After being sent to the Second International Conference as a part of the Antarean delegation, Andrew, three Antarean diplomats, and an Orionite diplomat would be assassinated by Ursan agents. Framing the Orionite diplomat as the one who had killed the four Antareans by staging the killings as a murder-suicide, this would help spark the Forman War.[1]
Early Life[]
Andrew was born in Aeminiva at his family’s summer residence. The second son of then-Crown Prince Kalvin, he was born five years after his brother when Emperor Silvius II suggested to his son Kalvin that a spare was in order to ensure a safe succession. Like his older brother Aran, Andrew’s upbringing was largely left to a governess, his father preoccupied with work and his mother unwell for much of the time following his birth. Andrew was only three years old when his mother passed away following a severe illness. He relied on his older brother for most memories of her, leading to a close bond. Andrew scarcely saw his father, though unlike Aran, he did not particularly hold it against Prince Kalvin. Emperor Silvius was the most prominent male role model for the brothers.
From very early on, Andrew showed a great interest in the outdoors and exploration. His days were spent exploring the gardens of whichever residence the family was currently in, while his nights were spent with his governess regaling him with tales of faraway countries and fantastical sights. As he grew older, he became an avid learner of history and resolved to see as much of the world as he could.
In 1906, at only 15, he became an uncle when Princess Maya was born. He doted on his niece, and soon his nephews Kaden and Ezra as well. Although he was too deep in his university studies to be present in their early childhood, he resolved to be a kind uncle, knowing full well that Aran’s personality would doubtlessly make him a stricter parent, though certainly loving.
In 1908, Andrew finished his schooling. Like his mother and older brother, he attended the prestigious St. Felix University, where he concentrated on history. His senior thesis discussed the Libran Empire’s longevity and successes, which he attributed to a proactive clergy that enforced unity among the populace while providing valuable services such as education and alms to incentivize continued worship. Kalvin Tau was largely in agreement with his son’s findings, considering his own experiences with the faith.
Marriage[]
Late in the winter of 1915, Andrew was invited on a goat hunt in the Norman Mountains. Such hunts were considered a test of endurance, and for two nights he hiked across the peaks, relishing the pristine views and fresh, cold air. On the third day, he finally spotted a goat, as well as another hunter who seemed intent on tracking it. Andrew and the other hunter quickly signaled an understanding that whoever could shoot it first would claim the prize. Though he tried, the prince was beaten by his newfound rival.
Back at the base of the mountain, Andrew searched for the one who had bested him, intending to congratulate the man. Instead, he met Lady Evelyn Baker, a noblewoman and fellow adventurous spirit and patron of some of the Imperium’s leading conservationist groups. The two talked throughout the evening, Andrew fascinated by her journeys through the wilderness of Antares, and Evelyn enthralled by his stories of foreign cities and monuments. The two agreed to stay in touch.
Not long after, they began courting each other through planned meetings at similar events, including a spring bloom festival, a summer fishing trip along the southern coast, and a series of fox hunts through the autumn. By the end of 1916, they were convinced they were meant for each other, and they married shortly thereafter in a public ceremony. The couple had one daughter, Kaitlyn, born in September of 1917.
Career[]
After his graduation with honors in 1912, Andrew was assigned by his father to the diplomatic corps under the Direktorate of Foreign Relations. Although he recognized that Centauran diplomacy was effectively intimidation by words, he hoped that it would give him a chance to travel as part of his career. His first major assignment was to help settle the terms of Corvus’s assimilation into the Antarean sphere of influence. Here, Andrew considered his greatest success to be establishing a garrison of AIA engineers to improve the Confederation’s neglected infrastructure. He also loved his tour of Corvus-proper, where he was greeted warmly by the people.
The subsequent string of campaigns waged by the Imperium meant that Andrew helped oversee the formal surrenders of Aquila, Vega, and Grusa. For the most part, the diplomatic corps played second fiddle to the military, with the unspoken acknowledgement that diplomacy was a ceremonial matter to affirm victory over the defeated culture. Though Andrew resented this veiled spitefulness, he still accepted his father’s dream of continental unity and believed Antarean triumph would end the centuries of bloodshed for the sacrifice of one war’s equivalent.
The years following the Grusan Campaign were a quiet time for the diplomatic corps, as none of the states that formed the North Centauran Alliance showed interest in capitulation. Andrew took advantage of this lull in work to spend time with his family. He and Evelyn continued to enjoy the wilderness, though Kaitlyn grew up preferring a more sedentary lifestyle.
In 1926, Kaden Tau finished his schooling and fell under pressure from his father to serve in the military. Andrew, remembering his earlier resolve to be a good uncle, proposed a grand tour of the country, offering to bring his nephew along. Emperor Kalvin, aging and unable to attend, agreed it would be a good way to assess the state of the Imperium, as well as showing its remote regions that the royal family cared for them. Aran protested the decision, but ultimately failed to overrule his father at the time. Thus, Andrew, Evelyn, Kaitlyn, and Kaden set off across the country on a nine-month voyage.
Upon their return to Ananteria in early autumn, the family discovered Kalvin Tau was on his deathbed, leaving Aran ruling de facto in his stead. This time, Andrew was unable to prevent his nephew from being forced into the Royal Ananteria Military Academy. Shortly after Kalvin’s passing, a newly ascended Emperor Aran assigned his brother as Head of the Antares Supreme Kouncil. However, the burden of work left Andrew with little time for his family or the outdoors. Aran’s sincere request for Andrew’s help in the Kouncil convinced him, understanding that his brother cared for him greatly. However, a part of him considered it Aran’s way of punishing him for attempting to meddle with his plans to send Kaden to the army.
Andrew worked to the best of his ability, pushing forward necessary legislation and bureaucratic matters. As the Columban and later Riaan Campaigns intensified in casualties and cost, Andrew grew increasingly exhausted. The death of his nephew Ezra in 1934 came as a devastating shock to him and the Tau family. Andrew sought to comfort his brother for his loss, but Aran’s rage was implacable, and reflected in the subsequent Riaan Campaign.
The marriage of his daughter Kaitlyn in 1938 brought some much-needed levity to Andrew’s life. Her spouse, Ronald Enright, was a distinguished young naval officer introduced to her by her cousin Maya. Andrew was deeply sympathetic towards his niece after her deafening in 1940, offering her and her husband all the help he could.
The end of the Centauran War in 1944 brought about much-needed reprieve for Andrew. He was at last able to enjoy some peace. His family acquired a modest home by Lake Spekulum, not far from the royal summer residence. Before he departed Ananteria, Aran made it clear to him that if there was any further need of Andrew’s services, he would be recalled back to the capital. Consequently, he and Evelyn spent their days in an uneasy retirement by the lake, spending time with Kaitlyn and their grandchildren to relieve the tension.
Libratum Incident and Death[]
The Second International Conference, following the relatively unsuccessful one in 1930, was scheduled for the autumn of 1947. Due to his perceived loyalty and experience in diplomacy, Andrew was chosen as part of the Antarean delegation. Though he was slightly wary of leaving retirement, he undertook the task with great care. During the preparations, he also rekindled his love of adventure, as he had longed for a chance to see Libra with his own eyes.
Negotiations at the conference proved relatively unsuccessful. The Hydran states wanted the right to independently negotiate trade with the Skorpii states, something the Antarean delegation refused to accept on economic grounds. Efforts for demilitarization and disarmament also proved unsuccessful, sparking fears of further Antarean ambitions towards Libra and beyond. Andrew passionately argued that Antares maintained its forces only for deterrence, and that his brother was a reasonable man who had unified a continent already full of bloodshed and had no desire to expand beyond it.
Eventually, all pretense of formality fell apart, with discussions devolving into thinly-veiled insults about Antarean warmongering and Orionite hypocrisy considering their own past and how its unification of most of Hydra had also prevented many potential conflicts. The Chairman of the International Conference thus called for a brief recess, sensing the growing anger among the parties.
During the recess, Andrew and three other diplomats from Antares spoke privately with a senior Orionite diplomat about measures that could be taken to reduce the tension between their governments outside of the public eye. The specifics on what happened afterward remain the subject of much speculation and debate, even after the revelation of the Bear’s Blunder. What is indisputable is that Andrew and his fellow Antarean diplomats were killed with gunshots to their torsos, while the Orionite diplomat was found with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. A subsequent forensic analysis matched the bullets to the gun.
The aftermath of what was dubbed the Libratum Incident was a chaotic affair that left entire governments scrambling to assign blame and de-escalate the situation. Ultimately, these efforts failed, as Antareans refused to accept that unarmed diplomats could have presented a threat worth shooting, while Orion vehemently denied giving its diplomats guns for a peace conference.
Andrew Tau’s body was recovered immediately after doctors in the International Zone finished the forensic analysis. Fortunately, his wounds had only been to the chest, allowing him to have an open-casket. As befitting a prince, Andrew was granted a state funeral, beginning with a seven-day lying-in-state that was visited by nearly a hundred thousand Antareans. His funeral procession took him from Ananteria to the family’s ancestral crypt in Kharon, where several Kustodes Viatoris carried his coffin to its final resting place while his widow, daughter, and grandchildren followed behind.
Trivia[]
- The new Andrew Tau is quite different from the old Andrew Tau. While the old Andrew Tau was a paranoid yes-man to his brother Aran Tau, implied to not have the greatest relationship in mind, the new Andrew and Aran love each other and have a great relationship, with Aran actively supporting his brother in most cases. Additionally, Andrew was also diplomat as opposed to only being the Head of the Supreme Kouncil.
- However, their fates are very different; the old Andrew Tau lives on as an advisor to the new leader of Skorpius, Kaden Tau, while the new Andrew Tau is retconned to be one of the victims of the SIC incident.
