{ ooc | world information }

The world of Valthea is a typical fantasy world. It contains all the great races — humans, orcs, dwarves, trolls, goblins, and halflings — along with many others of varying degrees of animalistic or strange. Most important of all (in their own unbiased opinion..) are the elves. Two subsets exist: the tall and multicoloured Rim'ithil (People of the Full Moon) and the shorter and lighter-coloured Rim'fael (People of Gleaming Brilliance). They (and to a lesser extent their extremely distant, distant cousins the trolls) are the original inheritors of Valthea. It was only after the gods had turned their eyes to the planet that the other races began to appear.

Both the Rim'ithil and Rim'fael are users of magic; the Rim'ithil have a greater affinity and preference for more natural forms of magic, such as what might fall under the umbrella of druidry and their practises typically involve some lunar aspect. They are typically silver-eyed and nocturnal, well-suited to the dark lands on the Western Continent where they make their home. The Rim'fael are what could be considered 'true' magicians. They also look to the heavens as their cousins do, making use of astronomy and astrology, but are also masters of many classes of magic as well that afford them far greater influence over their environment. Both types of elves make use of a light-based healing magic. While magic is available to all the races of Valthea, it is only the Rim'fael who have made it such an intrinsic piece of their everyday lives. Magic cleans their homes, cities, and streets. It is as normalised and ubiquitous as getting a morning coffee or washing one's hair. They have even managed to permanently alter their environment — the lands of the Rim'fael kingdom of Sel'enial exist in a state of permanent spring time thanks to ancient enchantments. However, such a dependency on magic has made the Rim'fael addicted to a force that is essentially corrupting.

Valthea is no stranger to conflict. While divine hands might have played a part before, the gods are not so invested in the lives of their creations as to intervene to prevent them from fighting one another. Alliances of convenience or simply out of desperation to survive crop up and then dissolve with the changing times. The Rim'ithil have historically taken a more isolationist stance, preferring to keep outsiders out of their territory. It is only very recently that they have been more open and willing to engage in outside contact. The humans originally appeared on the Eastern Continent and their numbers have spread north and south. The kingdoms of Laorden, Galecrest, Glaisne and the independent city-state of Dalanar are the four major divisions of humanity.

- Laorden is a sprawling kingdom to the north of the Eastern Continent whose territory borders Sel'enial (and a few hotly contested territories that the Rim'fael annexed long ago but the local forest troll tribes still consider as belonging to them).
- Galecrest is a large kingdom further south on the Eastern Continent. It is often the first line of defence when conflict erupts involving the orcish tribes that make their home in the south.
- Glaisne is a much smaller kingdom than the others and is far more isolated. Their lands border Laorden to the west. Fairly recently, they closed their borders entirely and none have gone in or out in many years. It is rumoured that some terrible calamity may have befallen them.
- Dalanar is a city-state rather than a kingdom and exists surrounded on all sides by territory belonging to Laorden. The city of Dalanar was once a part of Laorden and fell under the jurisdiction of the Laorden monarchy, but some time ago the city became a place of higher learning intended to exist for the benefit of all the races of Valthea. In the interest of promoting this, Dalanar declared itself as its own entity to avoid being tied to the whims of human-centric politics. Dalanar is still considered a human territory as humans are the majority race but is also home to many other races as well. Neutrality is law here and particularly dark and dangerous forms of magic are either heavily restricted or outright forbidden with severe punishments or exile as the consequence for being caught practising such things.

Like their nocturnal cousins, the Rim'fael also maintained an isolationist policy for a very long time. Powerful protective wards surround Sel'enial, forming an impenetrable barrier to the south and make approaching by sea impossible unless one knows how to get through the enchantments. You can try, but even the most experienced mariner would find themselves sailing in endless circles without a guide. As one would expect it takes an incredible amount of power to be able to weave such massive and elaborate spells, so it is very fortunate that the Rim'fael have a giant well of pure arcane magic at their disposal known as the Crith'ari or "sun spring".

Several tribes of forest trolls had settled much of the land to the north before the Rim'fael ever decided to carve out their own hoeme there but were largely driven out by the elves and their superior magics. The long period of conflict between the Rim'fael and the rolls are known, simply enough, as the Troll Wars. The Wars formally ended some time ago but the trolls were not driven completely to extinction as many retreated deeper into the more mountainous forests. Even in the present day there is a risk of raids and attacks by trolls.

It is a known fact that the Rim'fael were responsible for bringing magic to humanity and teaching the first human mages. They had a hand in helping to establish Dalanar. The kingdom of Sel'enial was counted as a strong ally of humanity for a very long time although the elves generally stayed out of any conflicts, only lending aid when it seemed as if those conflicts might spill over onto their territory or Dalanar's. While not the most ideal alliance it was considered acceptable enough to simply keep the favour of the elves as the Rim'fael are not a people anyone wants as an enemy (unless you're a forest troll, apparently, but then the elves would tell you that trolls aren't known for their intelligence).

This attitude began to shift with the coming of age of Prince Arsath of Laorden. Arsath was widely considered to be a man of fine character who acted with the force of the Gods of Light. People believed he held great promise and an era of peace and prosperity was expected to follow when he would become king. As it turned out, Arsath was neither as good or Light-filled as anyone hoped. It is unclear what exactly caused him to change but he eventually succumbed to the darkness and cruelty inside him, forging pacts with demonic forces that granted him the power of Undeath. The Prince was transformed and filled with new purpose, now bent on eradicating all living beings on Valthea. He started with his own kingdom, murdering his family in cold blood and razing Laorden's capital city. With his newly granted powers, every death only caused his undead army to grow in number. It wasn't long before the kingdom of Laorden had been completely destroyed and Arsath set his sights on Sel'enial. His demonic masters demanded he perform a dark ritual to increase his power by binding them more firmly to the physical plane, but in order to carry it out Arsath would require a considerable amount of magical power. Crith'ari was an obvious target.

Even with his power and the now massive undead army at his disposal, there should have been no way that Arsath could succeed at breaching the wards. The elves considered themselves perfectly safe behind their protective barriers and did not see a reason to mobilise in response to the threat gathering at their southern border. They certainly did not anticipate being sold out by a traitor. Some of Arsath's army were actually living followers — cultists who believed that in undeath was the ultimate state of perfection that would grant them immortality. This death cult had existed for some time, ever since humanity was taught the gift of magic and someone had had the bright idea to try and raise the dead, therefore discovering necromancy. Inevitably, more ambitious (and morally loose) individuals discovered other dark forms of magic and were either killed or exiled from their orders but left behind enough of their findings to inspire the next and the next, onward until pockets of these strange death cults had popped up in several places. It was only natural then that they should flock to the side of the corrupt prince. The traitor of the Rim'fael would be appointed head of the now more organised death cult and serve under Arsath as a trusted advisor. For this he traded the secrets that allowed Arsath and his army to disable the barriers and pass through. The undead were marching on Sel'enial and there were no preparations in place to stop them.

In the end, the Rim'fael population was decimated by nearly ninety percent. They also lost their king and Crith'ari was corrupted beyond repair after Arsath performed his demonic ritual. What allies they had turned their backs on them, fearing for their own lives. Without their source of arcane magic, the surviving elves began to suffer from horrible symptoms of withdrawal as their bodies had evolved to become dependent on the magical energy after being bathed in it for thousands of years. Determined to keep his people from being completely wiped out, Prince Khalatse made a pact with the very same demonic entities that had corrupted Arsath. Fortunately, their reasons and ambitions were not the same. In exchange for his people's service, they were granted access to entropic demonic energies to sustain them. For most people this created a new addiction to this new noxious form of magic, marked by a shift in the colour of the bioluminescent glow in their eyes. What had once been blue with the glow of arcane magic turned sickly green. The closer to the source of the power and the more they consumed, the more corrupted an individual would become. Particularly severe addiction and use would corrupt the body to the point of physical changes and mutations. This risk seemed quite reasonable though when the alternative was to suffer debilitating withdrawal that would eventually cause them to lose their minds and sense of self to the overwhelming need for magic as well as the eventual destruction of their bodies.

The Rim'fael are an extremely resilient people, however. It took another thirty years after the events of the Fall of Dawnstone that things began returning to a sense of tenuous normalcy. It certainly helped that the ongoing campaign against Arsath had finally yielded results. After departing from Sel'enial he took his forces to the frigid Northern Continent. He established his seat of power in the middle of some of the most inhospitable territory on Valthea while the undead Blight threatened to sweep across the world. New alliances formed in the course of this long, terrible war as old enemies did their best to set aside their differences to fight for their survival. After a final, desperate push Arsath was finally defeated and his reign of terror came to an end. However, the power he wielded did not simply die with him. Undeath would always be a major part of Valthea now, but at least the threat was greatly diminished without a master to rule them. The majority of undead things were simply mindless ghouls and zombies, after all. They could be dangerous, ravenous creatures but were utterly simple and lacked the capacity to properly organise or even have an actual desire to do more than blindly seek out food.

The world had to adjust to these new circumstances. New orders had formed in response to the undead threat. Light-wielding paladins who considered themselves to be the sworn enemy of all things demonic or undead appeared in greater number. It was rumoured that the Dawn Knights — the Rim'fael order of paladins specifically — possessed some sort of secret that allowed them to wield their powers and suffer far less of the debilitating withdrawal symptoms. Most of the Dawn Knights had only used very little of the demonic energy. Most people were not inclined to believe they were managing it with prayer and meditation alone.

Almost the antithesis of a paladin were the Blackguards — highly specialised and powerful knights that wielded a power similar to that of Arsath himself. They were generally assumed to be the elites and were therefore the most deadly. At one point during the war Arsath's power was temporarily destabilised, allowing a fairly large number of Blackguards to break free of Arsath's influence. They formed a new faction called the Blades of Acheron and negotiated a tenuous alliance with the living factions. They were not very easily trusted, of course, but quickly proved themselves in battle as well as in the sharing of valuable intelligence.

In addition to the elite Blackguards, many lesser undead were also able to break free. They would eventually form their own group as well and make their home in the ruins of what was once Laorden's capital, referring to themselves collectively as the Desolate. Their efforts to reclaim the remnants of Laorden have brought them into conflicts with others who either desired to take the land for themselves or simply refused to see it inhabited by undead. After many years without a sign of life, the wall that had closed off Glaisne finally opened. As it turned out, they had been dealing with something terrible, in the form of an awful werewolf curse. They have since become an annoying werewolf problem, given their immunities to undead plagues.

Even after Arsath's fall most of the living races do not have much trust for any of the undead that now live among them as most people possess a very justifiable fear or repulsion, but they have certainly proved to be valuable allies to have when other conflicts have broken out and now seek to carve out a place for themselves in the world.

With their puppet king in Arsath defeated, the most recent threat to Valthea was the demons themselves in the form of continued, open aggressions as time allowed them to secure ways of invading in great numbers. Heavy losses were suffered, including Prince Khalaste. Although he lost his life he was able to remove the destructive shackles that would free his people from the cruel influence of their demonic overlords. As a result a Regent was appointed to oversee the ruling of Sel'enial as well as the care of the late Prince's young son until the boy came of age.

{ ooc | ryslig application }

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Min
Contact: koutenko or koutenko#5884
Are You Over 18?: yes
Other Characters: Jongdae Lee (OC)

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Traejan Lightrend
Age: 177
World Information: here
Character Information:

Traejan was born into a noble family. The Lightrends were among the first families to settle what would become the great kingdom of Sel'enial. His birth was of particular significance due to the fact that he was the first product of the merging of two powerful noble houses. The Redmorn family was much younger but had cultivated an impressive reputation over the years. The marriage of Lord Eridanus Lightrend and Lady Imrinde Redmorn was a primarily political arrangement although the union would eventually develop into one of love and mutual respect as well. Eridanus served as High Priest, primarily concerned with overseeing the healers' guild in the capital city of Dawnstone. He was also a chief authority on the study of not only holy magics but its opposing nature in shadow magics. Imrinde was a powerful mage, unsurprising given her lineage of powerful arcanists. She served as a Magistrix and dealt in politics. She had a reputation as an exceedingly kind and benevolent woman and despite her station as nobility was often a champion of the common people. Traejan was the first of three children — two boys and one girl. As Traejan was the eldest he was in line to inherit his father's title and the legacy of their ancient house, there was obviously quite a bit of pressure on him from an early age. All Rim'fael children begin their instruction in magic early — as one would expect from a race so intrinsically entwined with magical energies — and from the start he had the finest tutors.

As one part of Imrinde's work involved diplomatic relations between the Rim'fael and the human kingdoms to the south, there were times where it was necessary to travel. When Traejan was nine years old he accompanied his parents on one such journey to the human kingdom of Laorden. As it was necessary to attend to an urgent matter they were required them to travel in the middle of the winter. While Sel'enial experienced an eternal state of springtime due to elaborate ancient magics, the lands to the south experienced the harshness of the natural climate. During an overnight stay in a holdfast along the route, Traejan wandered off while exploring nearby. Having never seen a frozen lake before, he wandered out onto the ice and fell through. He was rescued but nearly drowned. This event would be particularly significant beyond the fact that he nearly died as it would go on to affect the trajectory of the rest of his life.

Traejan came down with pneumonia as a complication of his ordeal. He eventually recovered but not without suffering lasting damage to his lungs. He also developed a lifelong fear of deep water. Things became harder for him from that point on as he became a far more sickly child who was prone to fits of coughing and wheezing if he exerted himself too much. His ability to work with magic suffered as wielding complex spells could be physically taxing and he had no aptitude for healing magics. While Imrinde was more than willing to be patient and encouraging with her son, his father's attitude towards him began to change. He grew more distant and cold and his patience often ran thin. This worsened in Traejan's seventeenth year, when his parents conceived their second child. It felt as if there was a great shift as soon as the priests confirmed it. Traejan was no longer being groomed as the future lord and Eridanus all but ignored him unless it was strictly necessary that they interact. His father made no effort to disguise his disapproval and in return Traejan did nothing to hide his growing hatred for the man. He had always been a willful child but this had been tempered in the past by a desire to please his mother with his successes and accomplishments. Now with no real expectations and uncertain circumstances he really didn't have anything to lose and the more unruly aspects of his personality came out in earnest. While he acted out in defiance, he did not blame his brother Telarion for his circumstances even if it would have been quite easy to feel resentment towards the one who was essentially stealing his future from him. Traejan was actually a very caring and protective older brother.

When he turned eighteen an old friend of the family came back into their lives. Vittani Bloodfire had been a friend of Imrinde's for many years. She was a Dragonsworn, meaning she had pledged her life in service to the red dragonflight. In exchange, she was essentially immortal. She could be killed but otherwise would not age or die. Her exact age was unknown but it was rumoured that she had seen at least two millennia. She had met Traejan twice before although he didn't remember either of those times. He was too young the first time and it would be revealed much later that she had been the one to pull him from the pond he'd fallen into. Vittani's work often kept her away, traveling to distant corners of the world. Naturally, this sounded wonderfully exciting to Traejan who had never travelled farther than the southern kingdoms. Given his low opinion of humans these were not exactly thrilling destinations. Desperate to get away from his father, he begged Vittani to accompany her the next time she left to return to the dragons. Traejan had a reputation as a shameless flirt, whether or not he was particularly good at it at that point. Despite their significant difference in age and experience, Traejan was not shy about trying to win her over. She found this funny and endearing but otherwise denied him, much to his frustration. He was unfit to go travelling with her as well but he remained stubbornly persistent. Eventually he managed to wear her down until she agreed to help him, although on her own terms. She would train him so that he could seek a path of his own that would not depend on what others were willing to give him or do for him. Before Vittani became a Dragonsworn she had been a Spellbreaker, which was a highly trained sect of warriors who specialised in doing battle against magical enemies. They were capable of manipulating and unraveling spells and causing them to backfire on their casters or enchantments to fail. To become one involved rigorous training both mentally and physically and he would have to study advanced techniques above and beyond what he might have been expected to master if he'd only been a mage.

Despite their specialised training spellbreaking was not typically seen as an "appropriate" path for someone like Traejan. Even if he was not to inherit his father's titles he was still a member of two prominent families. Expectations were high even outside the family as it was expected that those from the great houses would go on to lead or otherwise bring about great change in society. Spellbreakers did not typically lead or handle matters of tactics or strategy or else their skills would be wasted anywhere but on the front lines. Knowing his son intended to train to become such a thing, Eridanus was furious. Even though it was his doing in the first place that led Traejan to make his decision he remained strongly opposed and it was only due to his love for Imrinde that he did not disown Traejan outright. Defiant as always and requiring no approval as far as he was concerned, he'd started his training with Vittani already. It was difficult work and especially so for him with his affliction. Vittani was careful to push him but never too far. Even though he was eventually able to train his body to be stronger and less prone to attacks it did nothing to change Eridanus' opinion.

Nothing particularly remarkable happened for several years. Traejan's training continued and Vittani grew less dismissive of him over time. She could often be serious and just as stubborn but he had begun to wear her down. She continued to turn down his repeated attempts to flirt with her but they grew to trust each other and became friends. He helped his younger brother Telarion with his studies and they were very close despite their difference in age — which mattered the most before one has come of age. It was the one thing Eridanus could not object to, as like it or not Traejan was undeniably skilled with magic and his knowledge was valuable to a student. Occasionally he would accompany Vittani on missions, though he would often comment that they were too simple or too boring for his liking. That was partly true as she never took him into situations that might be too dangerous regardless of his protests. Still, it was all good experience to gain over the years.

One such excursion brought them south again into human territory. Traejan was on into his thirties by this point. Vittani saw a visit to Dalanar as an opportunity for Traejan to learn from others who were not elves, as she herself had a great respect for the non-elven races of the world. Traejan was much less thrilled by the prospect. He still cared very little for humans and thought even less of dwarves and halflings, having inherited the prejudiced views of his ancestors. It was fortunate he never encountered any trolls as his feelings about them were less disdainful and more outright hatred, seeing as they had long been fierce enemies of his people. The last Troll War had ended recently enough that there were those still alive who remembered it and kept the memory of the horrors they witnessed fresh in the minds of the people. Though Vittani might have wished otherwise, it didn't ultimately matter how he felt about those things. He came away from his time spent in Dalanar with a lot of useful knowledge anyway.

Traejan was approaching his fiftieth year when his sister Tarin was born. It was something of a surprise when she was conceived as there had been no specific plans for a third child, but it was a very happy occasion for everyone. Imrinde in particular was overjoyed to have a little girl to dote on after all the time she'd spent dealing with the boys. Unfortunately for Traejan, the pleasant atmosphere and high spirits of the family did nothing to improve things between him and Eridanus. Neither wanted reconciliation anyway. Vittani attended Tarin's birth as she had for all of the siblings. As of late she had been spending less and less time in Sel'enial, seeing as Traejan didn't exactly need the direct supervision anymore. He protested fiercely every time she would be preparing to leave again, but each time she denied him just the same. His tone had changed somewhat since he was younger, his insistence less about his desire for another conquest and much more a genuine concern for her well-being — even if suddenly fearing for her life probably seemed silly considering how long she had been serving the dragons.

For many years after this point there was a period of relatively peaceful times. Traejan spent more time in Dawnstone than he did at home which was a very good time for him but a more frustrating time for others involved. It was not publicly known that Eridanus intended to pass over Traejan in favour of his younger brother and so he continued to enjoy all the clout that position afforded him for as long as it would last — which on a few occasions almost convinced his father to finally make that announcement. There was already enough talk what with his joining the order of the spellbreakers and all, so it would not do to make things any worse than necessary. People loved to talk. It didn't take him very long to earn a reputation. He was known to be a very arrogant and volatile person, quick to fight especially if he got to drinking. He was also known to sleep around quite a bit which naturally attracted some hoping to catch his eye and perhaps secure a very profitable match. If he dated at all no relationship lasted longer than a few weeks and so he accrued more than a few bitter exes as well, even if he'd warned them of his tendency to wander at the start. This wasn't all just a waste of time though as he was a man who was extremely proud of his own accomplishments. Seeing an opportunity (and probably inspired by a comment that wasn't supposed to be inspiring), he found a writer named Belisan Brightblade whose style he approved of to turn stories of his more memorable encounters into novels. There were some necessary embellishments in order to do this and create a cohesive story, of course, although he will insist that all the parts that really matter are one hundred percent unaltered and true to life. Many suspected that he might've had something to do with the books but no one ever managed to prove it. The series was very popular.

Vittani was not overly fond of his reputation when she learned of it and this shift in her attitude marked the start of a turbulent relationship between them that would continue for decades, as they were both exceptionally stubborn people and neither of them actually wanted to make the first move and admit that they actually cared for the other. This was not helped by the fact that Traejan could tell when he was making Vittani jealous and so of course he took advantage of this as often as possible, even if in doing so she only became angry with him. Rim'fael society recognises someone officially as an adult in their hundredth year, at which point they are generally expected to take on more responsibilities and typically graduate to higher ranks within whatever profession they pursue. This was not untrue for Traejan as he saw a promotion that added the responsibilities of command. In this he realised that he didn't particularly enjoy being in command aside from being able to call the shots. His position also saw him spending more time on the small island directly to the north of the mainland which housed the complex built around the font of arcane energy that his people relied on, known as Crith'ari. To personally guard the spring was considered a high honour even if the actual work was incredibly boring. There was little action to be seen there, only the occasional attack from a particularly bold elemental or mana wyrm attracted by the spring's incredible power. Traejan would have much preferred to have been sent south to assist their human allies in their ongoing war campaigns against the orcish forces that had been invading for years.

On the occasions when Traejan would visit home his relationship with his siblings remained strong. He enjoyed teasing his younger brother and generally making his life difficult, especially since in many ways he and Telarion were very different. Telarion was far more studious and careful, with a quiet and reserved sort of personality. He had a strong affinity for healing magics and was doing very well following in their father's footsteps as a priest. Though he was the younger one he often lectured Traejan about his behaviour, showing particular disapproval in his older brother's taste for excessive, lavish things. He got along much better with his sister despite their difference in age as their personalities were a bit more compatible. Tarin enjoyed a bit of excitement and mischief in her life, much to Telarion's dismay as it had often fallen to him to keep an eye on her. She was also more bold and outspoken and shared her eldest brother's fighting spirit — to the point of actually trying to physically fighting her brothers. Traejan found this very amusing and encouraged it even when he was on the receiving end of her temper, possibly most especially because the behaviour was frowned upon as unbecoming of a mage, which Tarin was training to become at the time. Eridanus accused Traejan of trying to tarnish the reputation of his siblings with his 'brutish' ways.

Traejan was somewhere approaching one hundred and fifty when the first rumours of something unusual started to come up from the south. The typical response to such things was typically some mild interest until everyone had grown bored with them and never spoke of it again. It seemed as if these rumours might be even more short-lived because they seemed too ridiculous to believe. What had started as whispers of a strange illness spreading through the human populations had evolved somehow into strange tales of horrifying creatures. Some claimed that the dead were rising again. As usual, these were largely forgotten when other, more fashionable topics circulated. No one imagined that the threat would ever turn north as none but the ancient troll empire had ever dared to attack. The humans knew better, even when the disputes between their kingdoms and the elves' were at their worst. Approaching the Rim'fael in open war was suicide, given the vast disparity in magical ability. It was only when the corrupted human Prince Arsath was marching to the first of several magical barriers protecting the elven kingdom that word made its way to Dawnstone. At his back was a host of unimaginable size and power, comprised of all manner of undead horrors. Strange, spider-like monsters moved alongside massive giants and strange stitched abominations. The bulk of their number were simple human corpses ranging from the recently dead to dried up, aged skeletons with barely any gristle still clinging to their bones. The horrid smell was overwhelming and its own sort of weapon as it shocked and nauseated the living.

Thanks to a traitor, Arsath was able to achieve the seemingly impossible task of breaching Sel'enial's defences. The call went out to rally those who would fight while those who could not were ordered to evacuate. There was an island to the west that was deemed safer and more defensible should the enemy attempt to pursue them there, since at this point no one knew what Arsath was after. It was fortunate that the undead army progressed in more or less a straight line as those east or west of the army's path were largely spared. Those directly in the path who could not flee in time met grisly ends and would either rise to add their number to the force or be consumed by the ravenous horde. Attempts were made to halt or deter the army's progress, including destroying the only bridge large enough and sturdy enough to support such numbers crossing one of the major rivers. Still, Arsath and his army found a way to overcome these obstacles and continued moving ever closer.

The elves finally managed to get some defenders on the field, but their initial attempts saw those who met the army completely destroyed. The decision was made to forfeit the territory between Arsath's present location and the city and evacuate as many people as possible while amassing a much larger force together to protect the city itself. As the family was concerned, Eridanus and Imrinde were both not within the country at the time, having been away on diplomatic business. Telarion worked several days out of the week within the city as he completed his more advanced training to become a master healer. Tarin was also within the city, having been studying under several master conjurers as she worked to perfect her summoning and transfiguration spells. If they had been home they would have been safe out of harm's way, seeing as their family home was far to the west on the coast. It was poor luck indeed that saw them directly in the path of danger.

Knowing this, Traejan went immediately to find his siblings. While Telarion was around 130 at this point and therefore considered an adult, Tarin was just shy of her 100th year and therefore not considered to be properly of age to fight. Although Telarion had tried to insist on staying, Traejan refused to hear any of it. He didn't like being harsh with them but it was the only way to make sure that he was obeyed, since Telarion and Tarin both tried to urge him to come with them if they were going to run. Once Traejan saw his brother and sister off to what he hoped was safety, Traejan prepared to ride out to defend the gates with the others rallying there. Part of him was excited as he'd never faced such a formidable enemy before but there was also quite a bit of fear in him as well, which was not unreasonable under the circumstances. The undead army had crushed any resistance thrown at it so far and whatever numbers fell to the elves' attacks were recovered from the fallen. Hearing that, it would be foolish to not be afraid.

The horrible smell of death reached the defenders long before the undead were even spotted. It made men and animals both restless, so that by the time the advance scouts spotted the front lines of Arsath's forces the elves were already struggling to keep their mounts calm and focused. When the two forces met there was almost immediate chaos. The undead did not engage in war as a living army might, which is to say they had no clear strategies that could be taken advantage of. They were simply a ravenous swarm that overwhelmed. Still, the Rim'fael force remained determined and thanks to the power of their magics it almost seemed at one point like they might succeed in pushing back the enemy until the cultists joined in with their own spells. Traejan's ability to undo spells proved to be useful as he was able to halt several powerful creatures simply by undoing the necromantic weaves that animated them. He managed to hold his own for a time until he found himself confronted by one of the large spider monsters. The monster's scythe-like appendages cut his horse out from under him first but Traejan was able to recover and press his attack. His boldness was rewarded as he managed to strike the killing blow, but he grew careless before he had ensured the creature was truly incapacitated. In its death throes the monster lashed out one more time, wounding him critically before falling still. The wound was a gash that ran from his right ear down to his opposite hip, his simple mail and leather armour doing little to mitigate the damage. There was nothing to be done. No help was going to come. It was a rather slow and painful death as he didn't bleed out immediately but lingered long enough to experience the sensation of drowning, which of course was especially terrifying in his mind.

Traejan has no memories of what happened after any of that, of course. At the very least, he did not have to see Dawnstone fall and over ninety percent of his people wiped out. Telarion and Tarin were safe, at least. Vittani returned, although her arrival came far too late. She would later tell him that she scoured the battlefield for days searching for him as many were still considered missing until their death could be confirmed by a body. This hope eventually faded as reality set in for many. She would not find a body there as it had been taken. His very last memory had been of a presence in his mind. He didn't have the capacity at the time to wonder if it was real or simply a hallucination, only knowing that he desperately wanted to cling to it.

When he woke up he was in a very different place. He was on a table in what seemed like a cave, or at least the walls were made of rough stone. It otherwise looked like some kind of strange laboratory, with glass tubes lining the walls and elaborate setups of test tubes and strange substances bubbling away in beakers arranged on metal tables. The table he was on was metal too. Since he still recalled the experience of bleeding and dying he found the fact that he was awake and shirtless on a table to be incredibly strange. When he felt it he discovered that the wound he'd suffered had been mended with thick, cable-like stitches neatly holding the flesh together. He also noticed that his hair — which had once been a very distinctive shade of white-blonde the Lightrend family was known for — had turned to pale blue. Any questions he might have had were soon answered when he felt the same presence in his mind again. It wasn't as if he'd had a conversation with it and received answers but he simply knew. He was given a purpose and he did not question it. He also felt immense gratitude and considered this second life a gift. It didn't matter that they had been enemies or that it had been the reason Traejan had died in the first place.

Traejan soon discovered that he was not like most undead. He had been raised to serve in an elite class. The power that sustained him seemed in many ways imitated life but kept those things about being dead that afforded him advantages. He did not need to breathe and many of his other organs were also purely ornamental. He had ichor in place of blood. Anything he consumed would convert to energy and sustain him. He was also a highly specialised creature even among other Blackguards, having a particular affinity for pestilence and plague. The ichor that ran through his veins was particularly virulent, so that even the act of wounding him ran a risk of infecting his enemies with a horrible pathogen. He could no longer sense the arcane energies that he'd once been able to wield, but that was fine as it had been replaced. His soul was bound now to a set of blades inscribed with very specialised demonic runes that gave the weapons a limited form of consciousness. It was enough to feel an unending hunger for power. Traejan's bond meant that the hunger of his blades felt as if it was his own. Only pain, suffering, and death would sate the blades. The final change Traejan was aware of were the intricate runes carved into his body. There was one rune every few inches running down his spine, down both arms and legs, and on his hands and feet. Wearing a collared shirt or in his armour, one can still see the top most rune on the back of his neck. These runes glowed gently with a blue light, the same colour as the glow in his eyes. Necromancy had its own shade of green-tinted blue that differed noticeably from the more familiar pale blue colour of arcane energy. The presence of the runes on his body gave him incredible mastery over the lesser undead minions he would be capable of summoning. If he carved the very same ruins on his constructs he could bind them to himself as he was bound to his blades. He would observe with their senses as if they were his own. Over time this would affect his perception of himself to the point that he might refer to himself in the plural.

Traejan took well to his new purpose. Loyal and willing, he was content to serve. He remained within the strange cave-lab complex he woke up in, learning the ways of the necromancers and the flesh-shapers, whom he regarded as artists. A flesh-shaper was like a surgeon and a sculptor and an engineer all at once. They were the ones who had designed the massive abominations, which were not something that existed in nature. Other strange and unnatural creatures had been created and Traejan was eager to learn their ways for himself. Perhaps because his will was his own and he could therefore be creative, Traejan excelled in that work. Eventually he rose through the ranks to be appointed head of the entire operation, which was known as the Fleshwerks. Many of the fiercest horrors witnessed during the wars to the south were his creations.

In time, the allied forces of the living managed to strike several decisive blows. One of these seemingly loosened Arsath's grip on an entire legion of Blackguards, freeing them from the mind control that had forced them into service. Prior to that, several of Arsath's most trusted loyalists were also transferred to the necropolis that served as their base of operations for that particular campaign. So it was that when control was lost it was assumed that all those present were unquestionably free. They never considered the possibility of spies in their midst or that the entire thing had possibly been done intentionally. Calling themselves the Blades of Acheron after their floating base, they soon reached out to the leaders of the living factions and swore to aid them in their fight, as they too sought revenge against Arsath. It was decided that the best course of action would be for each Blade to present themself to the leaders of their respective factions according to race, rather than attempt to remain collectively as a neutral, isolated group. This was how Traejan learned that at some point his people had allied with the savage orcs rather than the humans that had been their allies for so long. The sudden presence of former enemies was not immediately welcome either and would take time for the public opinion to improve. In the case of Arsath's loyalists, this was also the opportunity they needed to be able to get into the cities.

Traejan did not return home right away even though he could have. He spent the majority of his time actively participating in the ongoing war effort. This was the period of time where he acquired his knowledge and expertise in engineering. The same creativity that had inspired the variety of undead constructs he'd created also worked well in devising new and different mechanical weapons. Traejan particularly enjoyed working with explosives.

This was unfortunately (for him) not destined to last. The undead threat eventually helped the various factions around the world to band together against their common threat and slowly but surely their forces were able to breach the fortress that served as Arsath's base of operations. After years of conflict and with the loss of many lives, they were finally rewarded with the death of the corrupt King Arsath. Traejan was forced to go into hiding for a time as he found it difficult to disguise the way the loss of the Master — as Arsath was known to those who served — made him feel. Traejan had been taught to consider himself a weapon which was an easy role to fill when someone else was determining how best to "wield" them. He suddenly felt lost and adrift, lacking purpose. He described the feeling as suddenly having a gaping hole in his chest that threatened to worsen until he fell apart and ceased to be. The lack of the familiar presence that had been in his mind since the time of his death was also something he missed.

Eventually, he returned to Sen'enial and his family home. Being undead, Traejan was spared the withdrawal and the need to draw on other magics and the glow of necromancy in his eyes exempted him from the particular judgement shown to those who refused to imbibe the demonic energy, at least. He despised demons and their magic but had to (mostly) keep that to himself to maintain the illusion that he was loyal to his own people. As to the others, Eridanus and Imrinde were still missing by that point in time. Telarion was acting Lord in Eridanus' stead and Vittani had stayed on with the family to offer her support and guidance. She was also spared the magical withdrawal thanks to many long years living far away and the dragons' power. Tarin had not only partaken of the demons' magic to survive but was also using the demons directly for power. Many mages had made pacts with demons personally or had bound them to their control seeking power above and beyond what they would be able to wield on their own. It was extremely dangerous to do so, given the unpredictable nature of demons, and widely known that if one's control were to slip or the demon decided it was more to its benefit to break its pact death was likely. Neither Vittani nor Telarion approved of Tarin's decisions but had given up trying to argue it. Upon learning what his sister was doing, Traejan didn't approve of it either. Telarion had taken up the blade in his brother's honour and joined the paladin order of the Dawn Knights. Paladins also considered themselves the enemies of corruption and unholiness, which created tension between Telarion and Traejan as he was unsure how to regard his elder brother. This was exacerbated by the fact that Traejan remained rather unapologetic about what he was. Despite her allegiances, Vittani was far more accepting as she was simply happy to see him again.

Without Eridanus or other members of the family there to contest it, Telarion relinquished the title despite the uncomfortable awkwardness between him and Traejan. He wanted to give his elder brother the benefit of the doubt and did it partly as a gesture of trust. This was not a popular decision when it came to be known openly. There were many among the nobility who were justifiably afraid after the ordeal they'd gone through as a people and others who simply viewed him as unfit to hold any such power. This was at the very least a great motivator as Traejan was nothing if not driven by a desire to do exactly what people tell him he can't do. For some time he was content simply to hold onto the title even if he didn't actively do anything with it. By this point the centuries old alliance with the human kingdoms had been dissolved over irreconcilable disagreements. The Rim'fael were brought in as allies within an opposing faction led by the remnants of the orcish tribes that had been at war with the humans in the past. Several other races were counted among the numbers of this second faction, united in their common desire for survival. The leader of the free undead faction who called themselves the Desolate was Rim'fael in life, and so she vouched for her former people.

On the surface the Desolate did what they needed to do to remain on good terms with the living races but it didn't require too much digging to find some dirt. It seemed that even though they were free most of them did not go about trying to be like the living people they had once been. Undead "culture" seemed to have a certain level of cruelty and disregard for the living baked right in. Traejan found this to be very familiar and comfortable (and it didn't hurt that he was often regarded with particular respect simply because of what he was) and so his earliest work was in service of their undead Queen. He earned quite a bit of gold selling the pelts of the Glaisne werewolves he killed as he helped cull their numbers.

Traejan eventually fell in with a group of other former loyalists who were led by a leader who at the very least created a very convincing illusion of hope. This was still a vulnerable time as Traejan still longed for a sense of true purpose and following this Highlord — as the man styled himself — managed to satisfy that feeling for a time. The Highlord demanded obedience and absolute compliance to the rules he and those immediately below him in their little organisation had laid down. Certain codes of conduct and behaviour. There had been no rules before other than to serve their master, but Traejan was willing to go along with it for the sense of belonging. At least, mostly. The figure of 'the Master' had always been a great, almost god-like power even if ultimately Arsath was just a man. The power that he'd held had been something more. That had made following simple. Trying to obey someone no better than he was — and in fact, in many ways far less, because the Highlord was in fact no true lord at all — eventually wore away at Traejan's willingness to comply. The less he was willing to buy into it the more clearly he could see the other man's instabilities as well.

During this time he had also been having more serious discussions with Vittani, the direct result of their getting drunk around each other at least once and the topic of what exactly their relationship was at this point coming up. Inevitably they ended up arguing, fighting, and then eventually sleeping together because they were obviously both perfectly mature adults who just happened to be living in denial about one another for decades. It was during this time that he also met Rosefica although they did not necessarily get along especially at well at first. Eventually circumstances reached a point that forced him to take action and finally sever his ties to the Highlord and his associates. As with many things in their world, it was not the sort of amicable parting where everyone peacefully goes their separate ways but there was never any risk of repercussions as a result given how incredibly unpopular the group had been publicly.

While the business with the loyalists had ultimately been a waste of time in the long run, the entire ordeal in the end had renewed his motivation and sense of purpose. It was not quite the same as before, but at least he had much more of a drive and a direction. The family had lost no small amount of power and prestige despite the majority of their land and property being mostly intact. The loss of people, knowledge, and experience were not things that could easily be replaced and this was where quite a lot of their influence had been concentrated. Traejan would have to find something else to strengthen his position and he decided that failing anything else, his house would simply be richer than all the rest. He negotiated a particular contractual arrangement with the orcish faction leaders, supplying explosives for their war campaigns among other things. The world never seemed to be entirely at peace for very long, which was at least good for business. Making war itself his trade, he did very well for himself and the family's coffers.

The empty feeling he had been left with after the fall of Arsath would eventually fade with time and distraction. His relationship with Vittani became more serious until they eventually married. He who had once been unable to maintain a relationship any longer than a few weeks finally decided to settle. The family he created with her became his purpose. Even so, it did little to change who he was at his core. He simply wore different 'masks'. There were no secrets either, which perhaps explained one reason he and Vittani did so well together. Eventually he held nothing back from her and she accepted anyway.

His relationship with Rosefica would also improve given time and a lack of external irritations. He was quite willing to help her settle matters, such as the business with her sister Rosepunica and in exchange she helped him when Eridanus finally resurfaced. He was not the same man he'd been the last time they'd seen each other; whatever he'd been through in the intervening years had clearly changed his father and not for the better. It was all so unexpected that Traejan was completely caught off guard. Whatever the man's plans were for him were unclear, although it was obvious he intended to make Traejan suffer. Fortunately, Rosefica was able to intervene and also saw to it that the problem was taken care of. Death would be too simple and clearly people could easily rise from the dead. Better to destroy him utterly and trap his soul for eternity. Telarion was particularly not a fan of this outcome, but he had no say in the matter. Unfortunately, before all was said and done Traejan had also lost his left arm in the ordeal. His attempts to repair it by simply replacing it with a comparable "donor arm" from an acceptable corpse failed repeatedly, as his body would reject them. He would eventually see to the construction of an artificial, mechanical arm. It was a project that would require all of his expertise as an engineer, particularly as he had every intention to weaponise it. It would be functional in battle but was also designed to look as menacing as possible. He was Lord of a very rich and prestigious noble house again and even had a wife and heirs to make it all the more legitimate. Naturally, that meant that he became even more of an unapologetic aggravation to anyone forced to deal with him in public.

Personality:

Traejan leans heavily into all the worst stereotypes about Rim'fael elves. He is excessively proud and arrogant; more so because he is also a member of the nobility. He feels entitled to do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. He is fully aware that his behaviour will likely be abrasive to those around him and he seems to thrive on knowing it. He is a thrill seeker and a risk taker, as evidenced by the fact that being so open and proud about being undead in his world could potentially get you killed. He will often do things just for the entertainment value or simply because he can. He does not seem to know the meaning of moderation or if he does he refuses to acknowledge it. All things are done in excess. He is greedy and always driven to acquire more of whatever he wants.

He is very intelligent, creative, and imaginative. He takes pleasure in inventing new things and improving upon what already is. He has expertise not only with machinery and technology (or what passed for technology in his world) but also some amount of medical knowledge (or at least how to take a body apart and put it back together). His cruel side is often revealed in his work. He is incredibly detail-oriented and meticulous where his work is concerned. Everything is done carefully and precisely.

He is far more emotional than he cares to let on. He feels strongly and deeply and has been known to act impulsively on feelings alone. Anger and rage are the most obvious, of course. He does not cope well with his more unpleasant feelings, usually turning to some form of escapist behaviour to distract himself rather than examine the problem directly. He is also not someone who plots and plays at the long game; he prefers bold action and immediate gratification. This can easily come back to bite him as he can be stubborn to a fault or act out in a way that might be detrimental long term, simply because he couldn't walk away.

His outlook on his nature as an undead creature is a meeting of opposites. While he sees himself as the superior, cultured noble he also sees himself equally as a ghoulish monster. There is no shame in it and he accepts both sides completely and without allowing one to diminish or invalidate the other. What began as the need to satisfy the vampiric urges imposed upon him by the weapons he wielded eventually became just another part of his essential nature. His bloodlust, at this point, is his own along with his cannibalistic tendencies.

Some more positive traits do exist in all of this. To those who manage to win his favour he is fiercely loyal and protective. This is also true of those for whom he feels a sense of gratitude, such as when he pledged his loyalty and served willingly because he felt grateful for the second chance he was given. Nothing has ever shaken that loyalty, as he would likely return to that life if another rose to take his former master's place. Additionally, what and whom he loves, he loves genuinely. Deep down, he fears losing those things he cares about.

5-10 Key Character Traits:
Greedy
Arrogant
Excessive
Loyal
Proud
Sadistic
Creative
Rude

Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Fits, thanks!
Opt-Outs:
Harpy (because Jongdae)
Merperson
Slime
Troll
Kelpie
Goblin
Pooka

Roleplay Sample: here!