Exalted: Jagganath the Irrigator

Born to a humble slave family, part of one of thousands of labour gangs owned by the land barons of Anaathalay, Ismail Singh - the man who would go on to become Jagganath the Irrigator - spent his first twenty years in back-breaking labour. Crafting clay bricks in the sweltering Savannah heat, watching his friends and family perish one by one, save only for his elder brother Saddam, with nothing to his name except the Lungi around his waist and his faith in the Mother Goddess Mahadevi.

Over time he would rise to some authority amongst the slaves and infamy in the eyes of his overseers for his stubbornness and willingness to challenge the slave masters when they were unfair or especially cruel, and the cold steely mettle he showed when accepting his punishments. Always in the back of his mind, however, was the question: "Why are things this way... and how can this be changed?"

Jagganath would eventually teach himself to read through stolen writings and secret lessons with more literate slaves, though with little to no access to philosophical works he was forced to intuit his way through possible solutions to his people's plight through a mixture of logic and a reserve of wisdom whose source he would not understand fully until the day of his Exaltation.

At last, one morning as he meditated on the suffering of his people and what he could possibly do to rectify it, he opened his eyes to see the sun at its Apex reflected in the waters of Mahadevi Kalang and remembered the words his father had once told him:

If the world is unjust, then it is our duty to make it just.

This is the point at which Jagganath realised his true nature as a member of the Zenith caste. Seeing the revelation of his nature as a sign from his Goddess that he must become the one his people are waiting for, he compiled his thoughts into a text which could be transmitted quickly, convey his message concisely and if needs be passed along orally among the slaves who could not read - a text now known as The Creed of Heavenly Waters. Portraying the inherent need for justice in the hearts of all men as an inevitable tide that uplifts all men, soothing their souls, and against which there is no hope of withstanding without being eroded and swept away, "'The waters of Mahadevi Kalang swell with mother's tears at the iniquity of her children [...] and as the banks rise no wickedness may resist its tide. Man and his works, his flesh and even stone will eventually be worn down and swept away. [...] One must welcome these waters, bathing and cleansing yourselves of your sins, or be crushed into dust.' - An Excerpt from The Creed of Heavenly Waters"The Creed caught on quickly amongst the slaves of Anaathalay, to the point that when Jagganath's forces arrived in a settlement more than once they would find it already overthrown and the population awaiting his arrival like a prophet.

With the return of his elder brother Saddam, Ismail rechristened himself with a name that came to him from dwelling upon the shard of Exaltation within himself and the words of The Creed that he had written - Jagganath the Irrigator. Leading the initial revolt that conquered the region he grew up in, with the aid of Saddam and his other Prophets Jaggnath's slave rebellion swept its way across Anaathalay, eventually reaching the capital, Aastha ka Mahal, and crushing the last remnants of the old Slave Masters' empire. It is said that when he reached the city's gates Jagganath simply declared his reasoning and demanded that the guards let him in, and the gates were promptly opened by the guards who were already rounding up their former rulers.

Now Jagganath has an empire to rectify, a thousand and one issues across his new kingdom to address, and the possibility of a new trade route to establish with his neighbours to the Northwest.

Saddam Singh
A towering, powerfully built man even from an early age, Saddam was very protective of his younger brother who, Saddam would later claim, even then he could see was destined for greatness someday. In his teens, by now large and strong enough that he could potentially be seen as a threat by the overseers and punished, or worse yet conscripted into the armies of Anaathalay, Saddam took the advice of his brother and travelled to the Northwestern border of Anaathalay, where he joined the ranks of the Dust-Devil School of martial arts, going on to become one of its master swordsmen.

He would eventually return to his brother's side only to find Ismail a changed man. Sharing the new insight he had received, Jagganath shared a fragment of his power with his brother, elevating him to become the first of his prophets. Using this new power to unlock new potential in his martial arts, Saddam swore to do whatever it takes to elevate his brother to greatness, becoming known as a fearsome God of Blades and cunning warmaster in Jagganath's growing army.

Now that his brother is the ruler of the kingdom that once enslaved them both, Saddam sits as his brother's right-hand man, the only one privy to all of his brother's plans for the kingdom and beyond.