Kala

Virtue

Kala was recognised as an exemplar of Wisdom by the Imperial Synod in 28YE.

Biography

Despite the fact she lived and died nearly 200 years before the foundation of the Empire, the life of Kala is surprisingly well documented. A pre-Imperial Urizen born in Ravion in Morrow, Kala's parents were founder members of Windward Spire along the banks of the Couros river. According to her biographer Legimens of Windward, from an early age she drove the adults in her life mad with a constant stream of questions about why things were the way they were. To the surprise of nobody, she grew up to be an avid natural philosopher, fascinated by the world around her. She penned her first scholarly treatise at the tender age of 8, comparing the various methods of locomotion of the insects around her home. The original document, complete with beautiful water colour paintings of the crickets, water boatmen, bees, beetles, and spiders, still survives today having been smuggled out of the library of Ankarien hours ahead of the flames of Emperor Nicovar.

Kala was at best an indifferent magician. As she grew older, she contentiously argued that the pursuit of excellence was not the same as the pursuit of magic. A student of Day magic, she preferred to rely on her mundane skills in her investigations of the world; she spent a small fortune on carefully shaped lenses rather than crystal mana. She is occasionally credited as having invented the spyglass (although there is little evidence for this), and alongside everything else her studies led to dramatic improvements in the crafting of spectacles.

Her inquiring spirit - her drive to know why things were the way they were - was matched only by her drive to share what she knew with others, and to learn from them in turn. She helped refine and spread practices of rational debate that were embraced beyond Urizen - she is referenced in early League and Highborn texts dealing with formal logic, debate, and oratory for example.

It was her drive to share that led to the invention for which she is most remembered - she devised a series of measurements that are still in use today across the entire Empire. Frustrated by using similes when she craved precision, Legimens describes how she gathered together all the systems of measurement she could find in the world and "weighted them each in turn, taking from each only those measurements she found useful." She published her findings in a scroll entitled "Weighing the World" and over the course of the next century they were adopted by scholars in Urizen and beyond.

She died peacefully at the age of 72, halfway through a treatise on mathematics that was never completed. Indeed, she passed away in the middle of writing out a complex equation that to this day has never been solved because a significant part of it existed only in Kala's mind.

As a well respected scholar, her story might have ended there. However, in the early years after the foundation of the Empire, Emperor Giovanni convinced the Urizen to become the ninth nation. He also charged them with instituting a system of education among the other nations, one many of them took to with gusto. As part of that education, they spread Kala's system of measurements to the other nations. To help encourage the adoption of that system - something that was of great value to builders and engineers in particular as it would make it much easier for them to cooperate across national lines - the Urizen assembly sponsored Kala as an exemplar of Wisdom. There was almost no opposition - her achievements spoke for themselves and her name was already well-known by educated people across the southern and eastern Empire. It did not hurt, of course, that their plan had the backing of the Emperor.

Kala is closely associated with her fellow exemplar Avigliana di Sarvos, who is believed to be a reincarnation of this erudite woman who strove constantly not only to conquer her own ignorance, but that of her fellow humans throughout the world.

Signs

• Kala's many, many writings form the basis of a great deal of Imperial scholarship and are a sign of her Benevolence. Not only did she strive to expand her understanding, she applied what she learned in practical ways, encouraged others to do so, and was never too proud to learn by talking to others.
• As a natural philosopher and practical scholar, Kala has Inspired generations to follow in her footsteps. They look at the world, learn how it works, and find ways to employ their learning to make that world a better place.
• Her excellent example has led to the Salvation of countless Imperial citizens. Leaving aside the number of lives her studies saved, or the way they improved the quality of life for thousands, she also demonstrated that by embracing Wisdom, by sharing and learning lore, and by exercising a keen judgement, one can change the world.
• She left behind a lasting Legacy not only in the shape of her system of measurements, but in the countless books and scrolls she authored and co-authored, and in the systems of rationality she helped refine and promote. Also, spectacles. Her calculations also laid the groundwork for the Imperial standardization of how much ore goes into an ingot, a measure, or a dose of special materials and herbs.
• She almost certainly undertook a Pilgrimage to Highguard during her life. Whether she actually visited Bastion or not is a matter for debate, but it is believed she visited the Urizen's neighbours to the west several times to consult with their scholars - both to share her discoveries and to learn from them in her turn.

Contentious Signs

• A theory put forward by one of the Highborn priests of Wisdom that her keen intellect was Miraculous in nature caused loud disagreement. In the end the suggestion was withdrawn. While Kala was undeniably very clever, there was no suggestion that she was possessed of supernatural powers. Her achievements were inspiring because they were the kind of achievements anyone could aspire to.