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Physical Description: Lean, pale, and broad of shoulder, Elias stands at an average height of five feet eleven inches, sporting a toned and powerfully built physique. He carries himself with a familiar and determined gait many a soldier can quickly recognize as that of a fellow warrior's. His dark hair is short and closely cropped in similar military fashion, and though he usually attempts to keep his face cleanly shaven, its not uncommon to find the Ravokian has succumbed to a thin layer of stubble from time to time. It is a laziness that grants his already strong and angular features a more rugged appearance overall.
Though quick to quip and prone to unleashing a sheepish grin, the mirth of any moment never quite reaches the icy blue of the Caldera's eyes. The nails on his fingers have been nervously chewed away, and the calloused hands they belong to never seem to stray far from the hilt of his blade, even in the company of companions. Then there's the way his gestures can come off as empty and overly practiced, how his gaze oftentimes lingers for just a moment too long, or how his eyes sink into a hollow and distant glare when he thinks no one is looking, only to suddenly shift into something altogether wild and malicious on the turn of a dime.
Truth be told, to those who look upon him with scrutiny, Elias Caldera strikes a sinister figure, one whose character warrants little more than a passing glance to recognize that wherever he may walk, trouble is soon to follow. Though he may attempt to shroud himself under a veil of pretense and lies, the Ravokian's cold gaze and countless scars speak of a man who has known more than his fair share of conflict in the past, and one whose destiny will forever be intertwined in such desperate struggle.
Attire
When not clad in the obsidian steel of his hallowed armor, the master mage enjoys the dark and sovereign fashion of his city, preferring to wear shadowy hues above all else. His casual wear consists of a black leather coat, its tall collar reaching high upon his neck, while the plain white shirt he wears beneath creates a striking conflict of colors. His leggings are black and simple, held securely in place by the leather belt and silver buckle around his waist. Equally modest are a pair of plain leather gloves that are usually kept tucked away in said belt should they ever be required. Lastly are the worn pair of black leather boots Elias is often found striding around town in. They have seen a considerable amount of use however, and their countless scuffs and scars are plainly noticeable to anyone who cares to look.
Unless otherwise stated differently, Elias always carries his longsword sheathed securely on his back. Accompanying this are the two daggers the mage keeps at his hip and hidden in his boot.
Scars
- Two light and identical slashes across the center of each palm. The remnants of his traumatic initiation into the art of Reimancy.
- Three small, faint and diagonal cuts above his right eye. Each long since faded with time yet still slicing cleanly through the hairs of his brow.
- A distinguished cut across the bridge of his nose.
- More than a few of Elias's teeth are fake.
- A thin, rising scar along the right side of his lip that just reaches his cheek. Its details grow less prominent the further away from the lip it stretches.
- The remnants of an apparent garroting attempt has left a very visible and permanent reminder all the way around Elias's throat. He often chooses his attire to best help keep it hidden.
- Dozens of scars and marks upon his back and ribs, each varying in size and intensity. A few are from the lashings received during his days in the Ebonstryfe as an apprentice, and quite a few more he earned during his time as their prisoner. Most however, can be blamed on the terrible injuries he suffered during the Djed Storm of 512.
- A straight, slicing gash on his lower right arm. It is all that remains of the painful wound he earned for his part in the bloody clash between the Rum Hound mercenary company and his false father, Torian Caldera.
The initial three blood red links of the hallowed gnosis mark adorns Elias's upper right shoulder. A dangerous gift and a grim promise, it was granted to the young Ravokian by Viratas, the lord of heritage. Earned in the aftermath of the Great Djed Storm of 512, the red chain is a constant reminder of what Elias lost that fateful day and what he would one day lose again. For some reason he can't quite explain, whenever the mage uses the power gifted to him by Viratas, his eyes shift dramatically to a striking blood red hue. Thankfully this alarming mutation lasts only a few moments and eventually dissipates before too long.
"With the first mark of Viratas, one is able to use blood to temporarily read minds or hasten the healing of wounds. At this level, the blood must be given "willingly" from a living vessel. When blood is flooded with too many taints that are a byproduct of fear or rage, the blood is garbled and the drinker is unable to filter out any benefits. A calm vessel gives the clearest experience. Also, drinking a victim to death or drinking blood from a dead body has painful consequences for the marked one. The drinker will be wracked with pain for three days and experience flu-like symptoms, similar to food poisoning. None of the benefits of the Gnosis can be gained from this tainted blood, either. An unconscious or sleeping vessel can be found "willing" as long as they continue in a moderately peaceful state.
While a marked one drinks from his vessel, he can read their thoughts or memories. They can either be random or what the vessel is fixating on at that moment, the will power of the vessel usually dictates which. Those with greater will and less fear can guide the drinker to a particular time. However, this is difficult considering the marked one is sucking the vessel's life force. The drinker will be overwhelmed with the emotions and sensory perceptions of the vessel, making the marked one almost blind to the outside world while he drinks. Drinkers would describe this experience as a forced and powerful empathy or reliving another's memory.
For healing properties, the marked one must drink from the vessel's wrist, after consecrating the event to Viratas with a short prayer. The drinker will not share in thoughts or memories. He will only receive the healing benefit of the vessel's blood. With one mark, the drinker will improve strength and vitality and heal minor wounds."
What could only be described as a scar, vile and seething red, dominates the very center of the Caldera's back. A repugnant and ghastly mess of sundered flesh, its crude circular shape and ribbon like offshoots almost resemble that of a bloody sun dawning upon a pale horizon. While Elias's body is littered with a litany scars both new and old, none come even close to matching the intensity or unsettling nature of the curse mark. In fact, if one's gaze lingers too long, they can begin to see a pattern in the mesh work of tortured skin. It is as if all the other scars gravitate towards this center mark, almost like they were being drawn to it. The result is a startling vortex of corrupted flesh, all circling the crimson sun that sits at the center of the storm.
To gaze upon this tapestry of pain it is to invite an uneasiness into one's self that is difficult to be shaken, yet for those chosen by the Defiler, the mark resonates with a familiar, even comforting aura. This is because for those marked by Rhysol, they recognize it as the touch of chaos, the mark of the Chaon.
This curse mark, while it should brand him a traitor and heretic amidst his people, instead comes across as a blessing to others who bear his gnosis, the same kind borne by countless others of the chaos lord's chosen. Its deceptive nature seems to be part of Rhysol's jest, his punishment, or perhaps some grand design. To understand the will of chaos is a fruitless and maddening endeavor, but all Elias knows for certain is that while his god did not see fit to grace him with his power, he also did not see fit to simply cast him down, which in his mind can only mean one thing...
Elias Caldera still has a purpose to fulfill.
Character Concept
Elias is, for a lack of a better term, a broken thing.
Tortured and tormented deep within the fetid bowels of Ravok's dungeons, the pieces that once made Elias Caldera the man he was were long ago torn apart, only to be haphazardly slapped back together again with more than just a few missing from the whole. The mage however, sees himself as being reborn. After spending so long enjoying the hospitality of his Ebonstryfe torturers, Elias looks upon his new life under the light of the Black Sun as a second chance, one where his path will no longer be led askew by the trivial and the mundane, but instead by faith and duty to a city who, in its mercy, has seen fit to welcome back an exiled son with open arms.
Fanatical in his resurgent devotion and perhaps just a tad bit insane because of it, the Caldera is a dangerous and disturbed man, capable of any number of cruel and heinous acts upon those he sees as standing in the way of his divine ambition to drag Ravok up into a new and glorious age. Possessed by a new and zealous doctrine of 'might makes right' that now seeps into every aspect of his life, Elias is a man who respects strength and ambition above all else, refusing to languish under the authority of those he does not deem capable.
Yet with all this said, the soldier is not without his civility or grace. Having lived and learned from a city rife with political intrigue and shadowy corruption around every corner, Elias is well versed in using his charm when he has to, and his guile when he must. Though some eccentricities and the grim nature they portend will occasionally break through to the surface of his facade, the Ravokian has had a lifetime of lies to help him perfect his deception.
Traits
His City
"Everything I am, I am for Ravok."
To Elias, little else means as much to him as does the city upon the lake. Having been born and raised as one of its chosen sons, the resolve to protect and advance his sacred nation was all that the young man was groomed for.
Even in his later years after the many trials tribulation that tested his faith, the Caldera would still gladly sacrifice himself or countless others if he truly believed it would benefit his country. This absolute reverence for Ravok has forged a staggering degree of pride, and in doing so, also given birth to an appropriately unhinged degree of ambition as well. Something that to this day continues to drive the mage towards his goals of seeing Ravok ascend to even greater glory, and if Elias just so happens to ascend alongside it upon the way, all the better.
His Magic
"Power Overwhelming!"
As an apprentice, Elias was powerful. As an apprentice, Elias was important. When all that came crumbling down around him, the young Ravokian lost his way, and it was something that would remain lost for many years after. Life had just made sense when it was solely defined by the principles and goals of the Ebonstryfe. Without his god or his order, the exile was forced to find something else that could fill the bleeding void left in its wake.
And so entered magic.
The manipulation of djed instantly became an awe inspiring tool that quickly bloomed from simple curiosity, to all enthralling devotion. Mastery and power through the arcane arts replaced much of what Elias found lacking in his life, and so it took on a role even more important than the mere means to an end Elias once naively considered it.
It is through magic that he will become important again, and it is through magic that Elias will rise to be powerful once more.
His Faith
"Other gods can only dream of wielding such devotion."
To truly rekindle a flame that has died, one most first understand the cold, hopeless dark that is left in its smoldering wake. Only then can the faithful fathom the loss. Only then are the embers ready to be stoked anew.
A man must be broken before he can be rebuilt. Faith must be tested before it can be honed into zeal. Unwavering, unyielding, it takes perseverance to not only tend this most holy of flames without fear of being burned, but to also stand stalwart against all those who would see its brilliance wane against the encroaching night. Understanding this fundamental truth, a faithful Elias now wholly embraces what he and his purpose are.
The answer is, and always has been, a simple one; he is Ravok's will on this earth made flesh. The bane of his lord's enemies and the stryfe of his foes.
Never again will the soldier dare to falter.
Never again will the son dare to question.
His Family
"Hands red and dripping, he sheds their blood... his blood."
Condemned by the very blood that flows through their veins, tragedy and conflict have always loomed over the descendants of the Caldera bloodline for as long as any can remember, and for the latest heir to this wretched legacy, the tale is no different. As the last of the true Calderas left in Ravok, Elias views what remains of his scattered kin as sacrosanct, determined to not fall victim to the curse that has claimed so many countless ancestors before him. In the end however, sentimentality has a habit of falling to the way side in the face of simple pride. Elias is a man who would do anything for what is left of his house, but he knows all too well that if the name Caldera is ever to be spoken again with anything aside from contempt and revile, then it will require a leader willing to do anything and everything for his people. No cost is too high. No sacrifice too great.
Last edited by Elias Caldera on April 7th, 2019, 1:36 am, edited 223 times in total.
Brawling: Attacking an opponent with a crossbow bolt Mazrim Taim: Slaver formerly with the Larks Medicine: Cleansing and cauterizing a wound with reimancy Medicine: Pressure on a wound slows the bleeding Mordin: Leecher Ramsey and Mordin: Mage hunters Self: A vulnerable man without his djed
Last edited by Elias Caldera on March 9th, 2019, 9:09 pm, edited 144 times in total.
"Anointed in Anguish, Baptized in Despair. From the Darkness, my path is made clear."
Possessions
Personal
Heirloom
An old silver pendant, it bears the sigil of house Caldera on one side, while the black sun of Ravok is proudly engraved on the other
Ravokian Citizenship Papers
Never on his person when in foreign lands.
Journal
Filled with idle scribbles and detailed notes on all manner of subjects ranging from the arcane arts to dirty old sailing jokes picked up while at the docks, this journal was clearly once prized by its young author. These days however, it is little more than a dusty old reminder of better days long since passed.
The Viratasa
This holy text of Viratas was bequeath to Elias by the rambunctious old sea captain Merril Corewood. Looking at it reminds the Caldera of the proud Zeltivan's final words to him before she passed; "Hold on to your family."
False Teeth (x3)
Don't Ask
Poppers (x3)
You know, for those bad days...
Funkus (x3)
For those really bad days
Ravokian Mask
Traditionally worn by the Ravokian elite during festive balls and banquets, these simple masks are as much a part of the city's proud heritage as they are a necessity to keeping one's reputation in tact after any particular scandalous party -which in Ravok usually means all of them. Elias all too often employs the use of masks like this one when on business requiring more subterfuge and subtlety than his usual 'tact' employs
The Red Journal
Torian Caldera's final gift to his wretch of a son, a little red leather-bound journal filled to the brim with all manner of Ravok's dirtiest secrets. It is a lifetime's worth of villainy and misdeeds made tangible by ink and parchment, all of which were calmly penned by a man who knew all too well his death was drawing near.
A Silver Urn
Raina may not have always been the best at showing it, but she loved her son more than anything else in this world. She died for that love during the Great Storm, and for her troubles she now sits atop a mantle place, reduced to a handful of ashes in a tacky little urn.
Apprentice Badge
Among the apprentices of the Ebonstryfe's, a number of stylized pins are awarded to those initiates who have grasped one or more aspects of their grueling basic training. Weather it be in horse riding, swordplay or archery, these small accoutrements sumbolize a great deal of accomplishment for the wearer, but none mean so much, nor weigh so heavy as the Apprentice's Badge. Those who wear this insignia upon their collar need not wear any other, for with it they have proven themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt. Anointed by their instructors and marked as worthy of finally undergoing the Crucible, these recruits are destined to face the gravest threat they have ever known, and the last obstacle on their path to becoming true soldiers. These pins are often kept even after the Crucible as a mark of pride and nostalgia, but in time are usually passed on to new apprentices whom have earned the admiration or backing of an elder member of the Order. Over the years, these badges can take on new and unique designs, something especially popular in prominent families with deep, generational ties to the Ebonstryfe such as the Calderas. Elias himself received his pin from Torian, just as Torian received it from his father before him. Whether or not the last Caldera heir will ever see fit to pass on this keepsake to another however, only time will tell.
Armour
Half Plate Armor
Dubbed the 'Midnight Shroud' by the Caldera who commissioned it, this daunting suit of ebony armor flows around Elias like a living shadow. Crafted by Isurian smiths in the heart of Ravok, the suit is a combination of a sculpted cuirass, chainmail, greaves, epaulets, elbow guards, and a sturdy tasset. A series of buckles and straps bind the armor in place and distribute the weight evenly across the wearer's frame while atop it all rests a matching garment of deep black fabric from which the armor takes its name. The cloth reaches up to Elias's chin, covering his neck entirely, and comes complete with a mane-like collar of dire wolf fur that straddles across the shoulders.
Blade Breaker Gauntlets
Marred by countless scars and scratches, the bladed protrusions welded on to these metal gauntlets are capable of not only to carving into an unsuspecting opponent, but more importantly, ensnaring their weapon and snapping them in half. A manuever Elias has become particularly fond of over the years.
Given to him as a gift from his commanding officer and often found strapped to Elias's back, this finely crafted longsword is forged from Isurian steel and is magically enchanted. When activated via a command word, the weapon’s attack surface becomes blisteringly hot. The first minor wound caused by the weapon is upgraded to moderate while active.
Cold Iron Daggers (x2)
These dark blades can almost always be found on his person. While one is kept tucked away at his side, the other is usually hidden in his boot.
Large Steel Shield
Embossed with the holy symbol of the Black Sun and etched with excerpts of Ravokian scripture, this metal shield is as much a testament to the wielders piety and religious fervor as it is to their desire to not be stabbed.
Composite Short Bow
An old weapon, but still tough enough to get the job done. Useful for when you need to kill something and not get your hands dirty doing it.
Arrows (x37)
Simple wooden tools crafted for long range precision.
Garrote
There are still flecks of dried blood on this thing... Gross.
Challenge Dagger
Among the Ebonstryfe might makes right, and as a result duels between members of all echelons are a common occurrence within the Order as a means to settle disputes or ascend the ranks. To this end, every member of Rhysol's holy army is expected to carry a ritualized dagger given to them upon attaining the rank of apprentice. These daggers are used exclusively to confront another of the Stryfe, issuing the ultimate challenge that all too often ends in death and defeat for one, victory and vindication for the other. Soldiers are encouraged to personalize these sacred weapons, making them wholly unique and unmistakable from one another so that there is never a confusion when the blades are drawn, for once pulled from its sheath and laid at the feet of another, the dagger can only be sealed again once it has known the blood of the fallen.
Capable of holding anything within its vacuous interior as long as the item can fit through the bag's opening to disappear inside, the bag weighs as if it is always empty and has no limit in terms of what can go in. One must concentrate on what one wants to retrieve from the inside of it when reaching in or else the contents coming to ones hand will be random.
When held in hand and pointed in whichever direction the person, place, or thing that you desire resides, the amulet will begin to glow. The person thing in question that ones desires can change from moment to moment, but the amulet will continue to glow as long as you concentrate on that object of desire and point in the direction it lies relative to you. This item will only work if you are within a 10 mile distance of the one thing you desire. Also, your character must have a LORE of the item, person or location your character desires or else they won't know it exists to desire it.
This statuette is shaped like a female Zith in a crouching position. When animated she can hover around the owner but will not go further than 10 feet from them. She is seductive in movement and words but it tends to inspire a hint of unease as well. She revels in the fear of others and enjoys scaring those unaware of her presence. Gnosis: 1 mark Ssena. Skills: Subterfuge: 10, Intimidation: 10, Seduction: 10. Lore: Ssena, Knowing what people find frightening. Magical Ability: She can invoke fear in an area centered on the owner and extending out 20 feet. All those affected suffer a -10 to all rolls while in the area of affect once per day.
Originally an unassuming stone no bigger than a pebble, after taking ownership Elias eventually managed to forge a ring strong enough to contain the power of the artifact. Now, when the ring is activated upon the owner’s hand, the texture of the stone within liquefies and spreads over the entire palm and the inside of the fingers so long as the effect is active. The ring can be used for up to one continuous day before it revert to its original form. The ring then require one full day to recharge regardless of how much time was used. The stone of djed grants a significant boost to the wielder’s ability to harness personal magic and delay the effects of overgiving. The wielder receives a +25 bonus to any Personal Magic.
This Amber-Tinted Crystalline Sphere will allow someone who is holding it to look into its depths and view for five chimes a target no matter what the distance is so long as the owner knows the target by having met them in person before. They will see the target as if viewing the scene like they are a bystander to the target and their activity. This item can be used once per day simply by thinking of the person in question and looking through the sphere. The person in question must be on Mizahar in the actual mortal plane.
By itself, the quiver is unremarkable beyond the obvious skill used to craft it. When holding arrows however, the quiver’s true power becomes known. Any arrow placed in the quiver benefits from a random enchantment placed upon the arrowhead. The enchantment is discovered upon pulling the arrow from the quiver. Recognizing the artifact's unpredictable nature and the issues that might arise as a result, its current wielder made a simple adjustment and had an additional quiver attached to the original, allowing him to store and draw arrows regularly from one side, magically imbued on the other. When pulled from the original quiver, a 1d6, rolled in Discord, will determine which effect is placed upon the arrow. The effect lasts until the arrow hits its target. However, if kept outside of the quiver for longer than it takes to reasonably fire it, the arrow will lose its enchantment. Once the arrow is enchanted, it cannot be put back in the quiver to gain a different enchantment until the existing one fades or arrow is used (explosive and fragmented not included). (1) Burning – Additional minor wound from a small flame that surrounds the arrowhead. (2) Corrosive – Additional minor wound from a moderate strength acid that covers the arrowhead. (3) Poison – Additional minor wound from a mild poison that covers the arrowhead. (4) No Enchantment. (5) Explosive – Additional minor wound from a small explosion created upon the arrows impact. (6) Fragmented – Additional minor wound as the arrowhead shatters upon impact, spreading shrapnel.
A powerful artifact the size of a human eye and rumored to be capable of shifting one's personal reality at a whim, the plain black orb has never seen use with Elias Caldera, but the mage can often be found idly rolling the warm bauble around in his hand, either to sooth his nerves, or to leech off its incredible djed to supplement his own.
A small, fist-sized wooden snail shell with a stylized face carved upon its surface. When pressing one’s thumb upon the face and tossing the shell into a body of water, the artifact's ability will activate and the shell itself will begin to twist, shift and unfold its form; growing and transforming into a small boat complete with wooden oar. The light craft possesses a magecraft moderate structural enhancement making it quite durable. In addition, the vessel will never overturn and can stay upright and afloat even in the most severe of aquatic storms. Touching the face again will turn the craft back into a shell.
This small silver badge displays the raised symbolic image of a sun upon its surface. When attached to a piece of non-magical armor, the badge allows that piece to repair itself overnight; restoring it to perfect function. If observed, the process reveals the metal, leather, or whatever the damaged material may be, literally stitching and fusing itself back into working order. A full suit of armor baring the badge may restore itself after a full 12 bells of not being used.
Casual Attire
Shirt
Simple, white.
Pants
Plain and dark in color.
Jacket
Dark black.
Leather Boots (Hidden Blade)
Black and well worn, when these boots are clicked in just the right manner, a deadly hidden blade springs forth from the tip.
Leather Belt
Simple, save for the finely crafted silver belt buckle.
"How long can you pretend to be something before you aren’t pretending anymore?"
Born the only child of Torian and Raina Caldera, Elias has always considered himself blessed to call Ravok his home. With both of his parents being dedicated servants of their city's dark god however, there was little choice in the boy's future; the heir's faith was destined to thrive under the light of the Black Sun whether he liked it or not.
Training began early and Elias was thought to care for little else aside from what was commanded and what was expected. The dream was simply to serve, to fight, and to win, for both his city and his deity. His mother, though a hard woman and agent of the Black Sun herself, was Elias's only bastion of reprieve from his father's extremism and the order's harsh regime. However brief and mitigated her love had to be for a boy growing up as a soldier, like all mothers the affection she provided Elias had the young boy desperate for her attention and praise. Unfortunately, her assignments often left Raina far from home and tightly intertwined in the perilous shadows of espionage and deadly Ravokian subterfuge.
Perhaps it was as a result of this absence that Elias grew up cruel and exceptionally fanatical.
Propelled through the ranks by his own greed and ambition, its no surprise that the apprentice often abused both his position and those he lorded it over. In a city like Ravok however, such moral shortcomings are easily overlooked when one can produce results the higher ups were satisfied with, and Elias never failed to satisfy. In particular, the Caldera's duties oftentimes found him serving under those within the Ebonstryfe whose task it was to quell and shepherd the criminal undercurrent of Ravok's less reputable citizens, making sure the strange symbiotic relationship the two shared never grew too lax or too stifling. His ability to manipulate and enforce quickly earned him the ire and resentment of both his fellow recruits and his superiors, a promising sign for any potential soldier.
It was enough to earn him his shot at climbing even higher through hierarchy, and eventually, Elias was given his chance to face the Crucible.
The day the apprentice's Crucible finally came was meant to be his finest, the crowning achievement that should have marked his long and grueling passage into manhood with glorious and gratifying resound... Yet to his day, there is rarely ever a waking moment that passes when Elias doesn't remember it as the moment he made the worst mistake of his life.
The day Elias Caldera was destined to claim his greatness was the day he deserted the Ebonstryfe and abandoned his city.
As a prominent figure within the Stryfe, Torian worked to hastily subvert and squash the rumors regarding his son's betrayal and his wife's impossibly coincidental disappearance, but still they spread. Despite his best and most brutal attempts, what little respect the Caldera name once garnered had still been irrevocably tarnished. After earning the rank of Marshal a few years later however, those gossiping lips quickly subsided or risked being silenced forever.
As for the boy who ran, Elias had fled far south to the port city of Zeltiva with his mother who, at the time, had used what favors and influence she had to have herself assigned there covertly, her purpose and missions wrapped fiercely in a cloak of the utmost secrecy so as to hide them both from the rage of Torian. There, for the first time, Elias was raised apart from the zealotry of Ravok and The Voice, and came to understand the world away from the teachings that had told him all else heresy.
The University there proved a haven for a young man conflicted about his choice. There his rigid obedience and dedication to the task at hand proved useful in distracting him from his troubles, and it wasn't long before his skill and passion for Magecrafting took hold, something so completely unexpected it was hard even for Elias to believe at first. The idea however, of creating something so powerful and everlasting became too endearing to resist for the exiled Ravokian struggling to find his way. It was through magecrafting that Elias later became aware of his other talents in magic, and soon his lessons broadened to encompass many other arts as well.
For three years this lasted, and for three years, though often turbulent and unsure of himself, Elias truly believed everything would be right again, or at least close enough to pretend. Alas, as it is with all things good and bearable, this too came to an end.
The great djed storm struck, and everything came crashing back to reality.
Elias's mother had died during the turmoil that had followed Ivak's release, and with her a large part of her son's spirit as well. Though he had grown into his own after all those years, her death put in perspective his own life, forcing him to decide where his fate, and ultimately his destiny truly lied. In the Spring of 514, he returned home to Ravok for the first time in a long time to see his mother's remains put to rest.
Or so he led his enemies to believe.
The Dark Truth :
Even through the haze of pain and blood Elias still remembers those dire, dreadful moments during the turmoil of the storm and its bitter aftermath as if they were only yesterday. His body shattered and his will all but broken, the Caldera lay dying upon the wet, red sands of some Zeltivan beach far from home and any hope of rescue. He remembers the tumultuous, roaring waves of the tempest-tost seas lapping hungrily at his crushed legs. He remembers his mother's body at his side, her final moments of desperate, futile struggle etched deep unto her face as she had fought with all she had left to see her son to shore before the storm could claim him. He remembers the deep, ghastly gash in her side, a garish gift from the men on the boat who had wanted nothing but to kill them both before the angry waters sent everyone screaming overboard.
He remembers...
...wanting to die.
In the end however, fate had a greater plan than the man bound to it.
Its hard to explain what meeting a god is truly like. The sheer grandeur and horror of it all is so utterly overwhelming and without precedence it reaches a point where words simply fail to depict the moment in its staggering entirety. So when Elias claims that even while on the brink of Dira's doorstep he can still, even to this day, clearly recall in excruciating clarity what he felt in that instant he locked eyes with Viratas, those who know of the celestial know his words to be all too true. Unfortunately for Elias however, what he felt at that moment -the only thing he could feel anymore- was nothing but apathy. Once he realized just what it was that was looking back at him with such a sullen, pitying gaze however, the young mage wasted no time in pleading with the blood god for his mother's life, promising anything and everything he had if he could just bring her back to him. Not even Viratas can return true life to the lifeless however, and so the son was content once more to simply lay there and let the darkness that now clouded his vision envelope him entirely.
In the end, it took the convincing of a god to see the young boy brought back from the precipice, but it was one thing in particular Viratas had said that had sincerely struck a cord with the dying Ravokian; "She gave her life so that you could cling to yours." The red haired man had spoken. "It was her first and final gift to you, Elias, son of Raina. Will you truly throw it all away now for sorrow's sake?"
With Viratas's aid and his blessing, Elias made it off that beach and back to the battered city of Zeltiva where he would spend the next few seasons bed ridden and recovering from his terrible injuries. With so much time on his hands, the Caldera had little to distract from his machinations of revenge. He could not kill the storm for what it had done to him, nor the god who had caused it, but he could kill the man responsible for them being on that accursed boat in the first place, the man who had seen them fleeing from their home, the man who had sent his thugs to bring them back. That man who once upon time Elias had believed to be his father;
Torian Caldera.
To commit to such a profane and vile act as patricide was unsurprisingly easy considering what Elias blamed Torian for. It didn't help matters any that the boy had always hated the poor excuse for a father from a young age. Torian had always shown more care for his status and position than his wife or child, but to truly even begin planning for his revenge, the exiled apprentice would have to come to grips with the truth of his animosity for Torian, and the real reason he fled Ravok all those years ago. It was a trial of mental anguish which meant diving even deeper into his treacherous past and bringing to light the simple yet dangerous fact that Torian isn't -or wasn't rather- his real father. His brother Caiden on the other hand, was a different story.
How or when the old paladin discovered this truth concerning the infidelity of his brother and wife is unclear, but he did, and its very likely the cunning and cruel servant of Rhysol wasted no time in plotting his retribution upon Caiden. In the end his designs fell upon Elias's unfortunate shoulders to exact it.
As a fast rising apprentice among the hopeful rabble of the Ebonstryfe, no one was surprised to learn that the young Caldera's Crucible would come sooner than expected. While no one doubted Elias's high ranking father had something to do with his son's expedited assent through the joining process, few would ever know that this was all part of Torian's plot.
Pride and a childlike giddiness is perhaps the best way to describe Elias's reaction when he received the news, followed promptly by utter shock when his father revealed what he would need to do to pass; He would have to kill his uncle Caiden, the man who had thought him how to use a blade, ride a horse- practically raised him since he was a boy in Torian's stead. The man who was Elias's true father in all but name.
In hindsight the exiled apprentice blames himself for never seeing it coming. In a city where everyone knew to look over their shoulder for the dagger that was always poised, Elias had grown arrogant and complacent. He thought himself beyond reproach, and even worse, he thought his family was incapable of such things as well, even Torian. The paladin had had so much riding on his only son and heir's fortunes, it seemed inconceivable at the time that he would do anything to jeopardize that. Elias was his successor after all, the one whose shoulder the ancient and proud Caldera legacy would pass unto one day.
What a petty and stupid child the little 'prince of Ravok' realized he was in the end.
Like any good zealot, the boy hesitated for only a moment, then steeled himself and took up the dagger offered. The roiling, raging torrent that was his nerves were quelled for the time being by a pitiful and callow notion of undying, religious loyalty. Yet even so, Elias wasn't ready to join the dark order then, and he proved as much to both his father and his god when he looked Torian in the eye and spoke out loud the words that would forever seal his fate;
"Of course I can do it."
Caiden's corpse was found by the city watch not long after. A stab wound to his chest and his head severed clean from his body. The first ghastly wound had come from a trembling, shaking hand unsure of its purpose. There was a second however, and this one had come from behind, dealt by a much more committed killer, but only after Torian was certain his brother and victim had felt the full sting of his own demise. Only then had he allowed Caiden's suffering to end.
For Elias, It was only the beginning.
For any recruit of the Ebonstryfe, any citizen of Ravok really, you're promised that all your faith, commitment and unwavering service would one day culminate into one single, glorious moment in time where the chosen were rewarded as Rhysol, in his infinite wisdom and charity, bestowed upon your flesh his most sacred of gifts. The Crucible was meant to be that moment for Elias, but instead of the adoration of the Defiler himself, all he found waiting for him was a level of regret and disgrace so unprecedented it nearly destroyed him. And all of it to the chorus of Torian's maniacal laughter as they stood there over Caiden's body, hands red with guilt.
The worse part -even worse than the look of sheer confusion and disappointment his uncle had given him as Elias plunged the dagger into his chest- was that Elias knew. He had always understood, in some small way at least, that Caiden was more to him than just an overbearing uncle. The towering warrior had always loved and treated Elias like a son more than anything else, and in return the young Caldera had loved him back just as fiercely. To understand that he had betrayed that bond, and had done so for nothing but the bemusement of a bastard like Torian... It was enough to befoul an entire lifetime's worth of belief in a single instant.
The mage often wondered why Viratas, no doubt watching him upon that day, ever bothered himself in saving a kinslaying wretch like Elias. Regardless, at the time, the apprentice was undone, his world torn asunder and his mind frayed by guilt and remorse. His thoughts drifted from dark to dreadful as he began to ponder whether it would be he who Torian slew next, or if he should simply take up the task of ending his life himself now that he had failed Rhysol so utterly.
If it hadn't been for Raina it was unlikely Elias would have survived the night.
Thankfully the protective mother had discovered her lover Caiden's demise, and, deducing it must have been Torian who had done the despicable deed after discovering his wife's infidelity, raced to find her child and flee the city before anymore of her family's blood could be spilled.
Elias never did confess to his mother his hand in Caiden's murder. He never could bring himself to hurt her like that or risk her abandoning him when he now had no one else, but needless to say, by the time they arrived in Zeltiva, the boy was a wreck. It took time and great deal of patience by his curious assortment of friends and loved ones, but eventually Elias began to recover his sense of what he considered was normal again, and for a while things were almost... alright.
Then came the Storm.
The Crucible (514 to 516) :
It took what felt like an eternity for his broken and sundered flesh to finally mend, and in that time all Elias could do was stew in his own hatred and rage. When the mage was finally fit to travel again however, not a moment was wasted as he set out north towards Ravok. The journey though the wilds was difficult and dangerous, and could have easily been circumnavigated had he taken to the open seas to reach his homeland, but what had happened to Elias the last time he had been on a ship had left its impact on more than just his body. It would be a long while still before he could bring himself to sail on open waters ever again.
The tribulations of the wilds only served to make him stronger for what was to come, and each act of violence he committed to those who sought him harm was just the pouring of more fuel on an already raging sense of murderous excitement.
When Elias finally made it to Ravok, the first thing he did was seek out his father. The two met within the decrepit walls of the old Caldera mansion, the family that once lived and thrived there long since shattered by the spitefulness of fate and Ravok’s own treacherous machinations. The words they shared in the dark, dusty halls of their old home were heated yet sorrowful all at once. To his credit, the exiled son played the part he had practiced and planned for exceptionally well; the boy who had lost his mother and now sought refuge in the only other thing he knew and loved, his home. It was difficult to be so close to his prize and not lash out, especially against a Torian who time and guilt had apparently ravaged more mercilessly than even Elias had hoped for, but as the fallen apprentice later learned, Torian had never once let his guard down, even as he seemed to mourn the news of his wife's tragic fate.
No matter how long Elias went about his days playing the nobody who was just happy to be home after so long, or the hopeful citizen who only wanted to serve his city, the veteran Ebonstryfer never faltered in his defense or his observations against his son. So with no clear window of opening, Elias could do naught but continue on, his head down and his eyes open as he patently waited for his father to finally slip.
Eventually everyone makes a mistake, and Torian's first was to grow bored with his son's apparent inaction. Then came the irritation, followed promptly by the paranoia and the fear. In end, Torian struck first, perhaps just as a way of initiating the duel he knew was coming, or perhaps it was to truly end his son's life then and there, either way his assassin's failed, but only just. Having survived the attempt on his life, Elias realized it was finally time to act, and using all the cunning, lies and magic he had at his disposal, the young Caldera set about implementing a plan that would see his father finally dethroned and begging at his feet.
Considering the young Ravokian still counts himself among the living, it goes without saying that Elias's plan succeeded, however convoluted or precarious it may have turned out to be. In the end, all his dedicated fury and back alley plotting had led him to a point where he found himself standing over his father's bleeding and battered body, the man dying from his wounds and Elias perfectly poised to finish the job once and for all. Yet, for all his bluster and commitment, the victorious mage could not bring himself to deliver the final blow. In his heart he felt the same pangs of remorse and regret he knew should have stayed his hands from slaying his beloved Caiden years ago. There was no denying that what he felt then must have been the placation of Viratas himself trying to hold back the wrought of the one who bore his gnosis mark, for all Elias had ever wished was to see Torian Caldera brought low and destroyed like the swine he was, but in him he felt a sudden and unwanted impression of family that defied his blood lust.
He did not have it in him to play the kinslayer a second time.
Torian would inevitably die of his wounds that day, none of which had been inflicted by the son. Even as the Ebonstryfe hauled the exiled apprentice away to the dungeons for his crimes, something strange and almost peaceful was blooming within him. Elias took comfort in knowing he had done what he had come to Ravok to do, and now all that was left was to simply face his death with what dignity he had left to muster.
Sadly for the mage, his captors had other plans for him.
"Once upon a time, there's was this tribe who lived deep, deep in the jungles of Falynder, and they had a had a rite of passage in which the aspirant was buried alive, far beneath the soil of the earth, where no light could find him and no ear could hear his sobs or screams. This was the final test they had, and after a span of days spent in such a coffin the aspirant was released, and was then numbered among the wise of his people.
They did this because they knew something you too will soon understand: Darkness is a knife that peels away the rind of what you think you know about yourself. The shades of your pretenses, the tones of your illusions, the layers of deception that glaze your life into the colors that tint the world around you. All of that means nothing in the darkness. No one can see the falsehoods down there, not even you. Darkness hides everything except who you really are, Elias. You'll see."
The words of his torturer still haunt the mage to this day, as do the memories he struggles daily to forget.
An eternity in blackness.
Alone.
That had been his punishment, and it had broken him completely.
Resurrection (516 to 518) :
When the thing that use to be Elias Caldera dragged itself out of the pit they'd thrown him into, he came back a different creature. Broken and twisted by the torturous hands of his accusers, what was reborn from the shattered pieces of the old was something cruel, something wicked... something new. Birthed by suffering and fueled by a zealous fervor without equal, Elias was tossed back into society with little pomp or ceremony after his mind altering year in the dungeons below Ravok. He was given no time to pick up the scattered remnants of his old life before what he believed was his purpose was finally laid bare before him.
Redemption.
Gathered up into a cohort of similarly unsavory individuals, Elias was made a part of a specialized and expendable company comprised exclusively of reprobates and heretics. They were the worst of the worst the city had to offer, all with skills too valuable to be wasted, but with flaws too abominable to be so simply absolved. So instead they were granted one final trial to gain their forgiveness; fulfill one last mission and be welcomed back into the grace of Rhysol, no strings attached. Succeed, and all was forgiven. Fail, and death would be the least of their punishments.
It seemed an easy choice at the time.
The company of neer'do'wells and convicts departed the city in the early days of Summer in the year 515 AV with nearly three dozen in their party. When they returned some two years later, only two men stepped unto Ravok's docks to claim their reward. One was Malachai Quinn, a fallen Paladin of the Ebonstryfe and the defacto leader of the original expedition. The other was Elias. Neither spoke of what they'd been through during their quest to reclaim a number of strange and mysterious artifacts scattered across Mizahar, but one thing was clear; their journey had changed them both, and though the two were restored to their positions within the Holy Order and forgiven the sins that cast them out in the first place, out there they had beheld something so incredible, so terrible it had been enough to shake their faith and set them down a course neither soldier could ever turn back from. Elias in particular had returned not the same drooling fanatic that had been released, but instead a tempered and impassioned warrior who now wielded a newfound radicalism and extremist view on both the world and the Ebonstryfe in particular. His journey had taken him everywhere from the coasts of Karjin to the swamplands of Kenash and back, and at every stop he'd been pitted against all manner of horrors and enemies, each desperate to defy him his destiny. Instead he overcame, and with each victory the Caldera's revolutionary vision was made clearer. When it came time to finally stand before Rhysol, his god and savior, his path was solidified when the Defiler, instead of embracing his lost and wayward son, struck him down for daring to show weakness. The lord of chaos cursed him that day, and yet despite the anguish and the shame, it was then that Elias understood his purpose on this world, for he had seen enough of it to understand its flaws and its failings in every sense.
The truth was the world was weak. It suffered because it allowed itself to suffer, and Ravok, the great mother who'd birthed him, raised him, loved him unconditionally upon her tranquil waters... she was weakest of them all.
Elias may well be the only soul in the Ebonstryfe's recorded history to have failed his Crucible and lived, let alone be allowed to serve the order while secretly bearing the curse of their patron, but he sees this not as as a challenge or some cruel jest by his divine master. Instead the mage now recognizes that this is a sign of his worthiness to undertake one final hallowed mission.
Elias has been chosen! Chosen to save Ravok. Not just from the legion of enemies that gather at her shores, or from the machinations of envious deities who seek her riches for themselves, no... his is a righteous and truly daunting task, for Elias Caldera sees himself as the one and only soul who can save Ravok from itself.
Now in the year 518 AV, the prodigal son's unchecked and unhinged ambition is quickly spiraling out of control. Though challenged by many both within the Ebonstryfe and without, Elias is hurtling towards his destiny with reckless abandon. Gathering allies and subjugating vassals under his reverent banner, he now uses his immense magical talents and martial prowess to sweep aside those who dare to stand in his glorious path, for his burden that of the keeper. He who tends a great and terrible fire, one that must first purge the militant order of its feeble and archaic ways before the flame can spread throughout the rest of Ravok and cleanse the city of its many ills before the final day, in which that fire will engulf the world.
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The path of those who join the Ebonstryfe is paved with the shattered bones of the naive and the weak. It is a lesson Elias must learn, one way or another.
Released from the dungeons of Ravok at long last, Elias stands amidst the ashes of his old life, desperate to find both Redd and perhaps a spark of the man he once was.
A home reclaimed, a life reforged, Elias's path to redemption promises not to be an easy one, but with the Caldera mansion now back in Caldera hands, both he and his family's pride can begin their ascent anew.
There's new game in town, and Elias wants piece of the action. First however, he needs to find out the whole story, and for that, he starts at beginning.
The Caldera manor is reborn! The old is gone, washed away with the tide, but the new rises in its places, better, smarter, and destined for greatness. All these promises and more are what Elias gives to Alija as the two tour their new home and dream of things to come.
The beginnings of a power base are always humble, but with a gang of cutthroats, murderers and greedy traitors now in his employ, the Caldera can finally set his sights on the bigger prize.
After a strange altercation, Elias and a group of enterprising ne'er-do-wells find themselves with a Vantha in their custody and a mind to collect on the reward. They learn too late however, that they're are not the only ones hunting the girl.
"The rewards of tolerance are treachery and betrayal."
Torian
Torian Caldera Father (Deceased)
A man driven by his unquenchable ambitions and an unshakeable resolve, Torian Caldera was always a soldier first, a father later. Uncompromising in his faith and his personal beliefs, his obstinate and arrogant views of the world and those around him oftentimes saw the Ravokian at odds with those who smarter, less stubborn men would have recognized as worthwhile friends to have. Passed over for promotion time and time again despite his diligence, Torian refused to adapt, refused to concede, until one day, his pride and tenacity brought him to blows with a superior officer. When the duel was done, and the dust had settled, a new paladin had risen from the ranks, one anointed in the blood of his predecessor, and awakened to a new world of endless possibilities.
Torian made few friends as he ascended the ladder after that, wantonly slaying and manipulating his fellow Ebonstryfers for his own gain with duels and plots alikes, he earned a reputation as both a deadly blade and a brazen schemer, burning more bridges between himself and those he considered his lesser than there were in all of Ravok combined.
Such was the life of a man whose tenuous position and profession were his sole motivators, despite the family he had waiting for him at home. Raina, his wife, and Elias their son, were his pride and joy in earlier years, and his time shared with them were something he once looked back on with a fondness he had rarely ever felt since, but as the years passed and his aspirations grew, his family fell to the wayside in favor of his ever-growing appetite for power and control. The divide between them grew unbearable after a time, earning him the ire of his only child and the contempt of his love. Even Caiden, his brother and a man so devoted to the idea of family loyalty to kin, eventually turned his back on Torian after a time, but the soldier didn't care. His service was his life, and his god's was the only love he ever needed, or at least, that was what he tried to tell himself.
He died in the summer of 514 AV. Bloodied, battered and broken, Torian Caldera drew his final breaths guilt ridden over the death of his once beloved wife, grief stricken over his hand in the demise of his hopeless brother, and dumbfounded by the fact that his life was brought to its brutal conclusion by a son he'd never truly learned how to love.
Raina
Raina Caldera Mother (Deceased)
Destitute and often on the brink of starvation, as a child Raina would regularly turn to thievery to help feed herself and her parents. As the years went by however, Raina's skills in such things were eventually noticed, and unfortunately for the young girl, it was by the wrong people. She was inevitably captured and brought before the Black Sun, given the choice to either serve her god or be cast into the depths of the dungeons below for the rest of her life.
It seemed an easy decision at the time.
Never once had Raina before entertained the notion of leaving Ravok's serene sanctuary. All she knew and cared for had always been irrevocably tied to her hallowed home on the lake. That all changed when she found her calling to its service. Eventually, the deaths of her parents and the indoctrination into the religious order she served transformed Raina into the perfect agent. Through assassination and espionage she gained her rank as such, often being utilized for missions and tasks that took her far away from home in the service of Rhysol. As fate would have it, it was those many missions abroad that would be the undoing of her devotion to the dark god and his order.
With troubling frequency Raina would regularly find herself exposed to situations and things that brought her convictions into question. While she did well to hide these doubts, they began to fester with each passing day. It was during this confused phase in her life that she met Torian. Enamored by his gruff determination and unbridled ambition, she decided that perhaps if she had more than just faith binding her to her city, then surely her doubts would subside. While the two fell in love easily enough, the passion would eventually begin to wane years later as Raina discovered her husband was far more enthralled with his career than he was with the idea of a family. It was at that time that her affair with Caiden, Torian's brother, began.
While Caiden was not much unlike his brother, he was a much more compassionate man, not completely enraptured with the idea of status and rank, while also displaying a loyalty to family that was akin to no other. As Raina and he grew closer however, eventually the unsure intrigue between the two turned to intimacy.
Things became increasingly complicated when Elias was born. Raina adored her son utterly, and to a lesser extent, so to did Torian when he allowed himself to be distracted by such trivialities. Though Raina and Caiden would infrequently continue their romance, it would never amount to anything more, despite Caiden's heavy involvement with the upbringing of his brother's son. Fifteen years later however, Caiden was found murdered, and while all were satisfied it was simply an inevitability given the man's line of work as a pitiable sell sword, Raina knew otherwise.
Fearing her son would be next, the two of them fled to Zeltiva where they attempted to live in relative peace. Thankfully for them both, through the use of many a favor garnered over the decades and a few sly manipulations on the side, the Black Sun agent managed to have her sudden and unexpected relocation seen as not an desertion of duty, but instead as a mere relocation of said duties, upon where she would loyally and secretively continue to serve her god and city by digging into the labyrinthine depths of Zeltiva's political underbelly. This way she managed to keep herself from being branded a traitor, but more importantly, it allowed Raina to keep her and her son safe from the long, impetuous reach of her husband.
It proved an uncomfortable transition to say the least, even more so for her rancorous teenage son who took their abrupt departure from home particularly difficult. While she conveyed to him the truth behind his uncle's killer, the boy remained stubbornly unconvinced, driving the hardened woman to no end of grief and misery. Elias would remain that way until his mother's untimely death in 512 during the terrible storm that heralded Ivak's release back into the world.
To his shame, Elias could never bring himself to reveal the truth about Caiden's death to his mother, or his wretched part in it. A mistake that haunts her son to this day still.
Caiden
Caiden Caldera Uncle (Deceased)
A veritable mountain of a man, Caiden Caldera towered over everyone and everything in his path, easily eclipsing others with both his threatening size and oft times an overbearingly boisterous demeanor. His ominous stature, attitude, and dismal sense of humor inevitably garnered the young Ravokian a life time's worth of brutality and mistakes that helped shape his early years as a rambunctious youth. Eventually his savagery culminated into a career as a mercenary, whereupon the Caldera earned himself a reputation that saw men displaying equal parts disdain and respect in his presence. He joined only a handful of gangs and groups until inevitably being recruited by the little known Rum Hounds mercenary company out of Zeltiva. While this allowed him to travel and fight a great deal, Caiden failed to show the same relentless drive to propel himself through the ranks of the company as he did on the battlefield.
An impassioned man to say the least, he would oftentimes let his emotions get the better of him. He was also quite the devout and emphatic follower of both Viratas, the lord of heritage, and Rhysol the Defiler. With unfortunate frequency, his fervent beliefs and preaching of the latter would often lead to clashes with both his superiors and peers.
Elias learned much of the sword and the shield and the workings of the world from his favorite uncle, and the two shared a relationship that one could not be blamed for mistaking as something only a father and son would have. Unfortunately, shortly before Elias was destined to undertake his Crucible and join the ranks of the Ebonstryfe, his uncle was discovered murdered, the killer or the reason behind the murderer's actions known only to the fool boy who had committed them.
A creature as wild as she was captivating, Redd was a Kelvic whom many would have looked upon and seen as a both a prize worth having and a challenge worth conquering. As fate would have it, it just so happened that it was Elias who claimed her first.
The mage first discovered the young wolf roaming the streets of Ravok, ignorant and dangerously unaware of the endless dangers that lied in wait around every corner. Without a master and without purpose, Elias ultimately manipulated the impulsive kelvic into becoming his personal slave, convincing not only her, but also himself that they were better off together than they were alone in their cruel and merciless city. The decision turned out to be one of the few the Caldera could have ever claimed was a good one as the girl quickly proved both a faithful servant in both mind and body. In the end, it seemed as if Redd would give herself entirely to her new master and his cause, but Fate, as it turns out, is a fickle and wicked bitch, one with plans that rarely ever coincide with arrogant men who expect as much.
Though their time together was cut bitterly short by events that would see Elias imprisoned and his loyal slave eventually sold off to another owner as a result, it would be a bold face lie to claim the young master no longer held any sentiment for 'the one that got away.'
A Konti healer of humbling kindness and generosity, Elias first encountered the Rak'keli blessed woman while he and his mother were fleeing from Ravok in year 509.
During the short voyage from Nyka, a sickness had broken out among the passengers of their ship, forcing the vessel to seek sanctuary and aid from nearby Mura. It was there that Alaia volunteered her help and first displayed the charitable actions she would come to be so fondly remembered for. Not only did she heal Elias's mother of her illness, but after discovering the darkness that lingered amidst his chaotic thoughts, Alaia also sought to comfort her restless son as well. While their conversation was a fierce and hectic one at first, in the end its soothing affect were clearly evident upon the young man.
While he hadn't realized it the time, a friendship that would span several years and hundreds of leagues had blossomed between Raina and the healer after their meeting, and it would be one Elias inherited when his mother died in the great djed storm three years later. Since then, the Ravokian and the Konti have continued to exchange correspondences between one another, finding that while they may indeed be a world apart, through their letters, their friendship would know no boundaries.
In a world as uncertain as ours, one is taught that family comes first before everything else. In a family like the Calderas however, that tenet can be both a gift and a curse...
Smart, talented and patient beyond her years, Alija is the daughter of Fiona Caldera, sister to Torian Caldera and aunt to Elias. After wisely fleeing their broken home in the aftermath of her father's murder, Fiona dared to make a new start for herself as far away from her kin as she could manage, never to hear from her family again until the day her brother's wife and son arrived on her doorstep. Despite their rocky beginnings, the two women eventually grew close, and in turn, so to did their children.
It was a faithful turn of events that would prove pivotal to young Elias's life.
Directionless and alone in foreign lands, Elias's exile to Zeltiva left him broken and bitter. Though that part of him never truly went away, it was Alija, ever the kind and understanding one, that eventually managed to break through to the miserable youth and helped guide him back from the precipice of remorse. She showed him that there was more to life than brooding over the mistakes of the past, and more to family than just obligations and betrayals. In this way the young girl, despite being the near polar opposite of her brash and conniving cousin, played a major role in reshaping the way the boy saw the world around him after a lifetime of Ravokian doctrine had soured his views. In fact, it was Alija's skill with shaping steel that inspired Elias to take up magecrafting in the first place, inevitably leading to his lifelong journey into the arcane arts.
His mother's death during the storm of 512 changed all that however, and before long Elias had descended back into the tragic figure Alija had first met. The two grew further apart as time went on, with Elias eventually departing Zeltiva altogether to return home to the north. Alija would not know of her kin's fate until three years later in the city of Nyka when her cousin came knocking upon her door, drenched in the winter rains and begging for her help.
Brought together by fate -and perhaps just a bit of scheming- the two are now a family united once more, something both are understandably desperate to keep safe considering the tragedies of their pasts. However, neither of them are the same children they left behind in Zeltiva, and with the ever present 'Curse' looming over their house, it is unclear if the bond they once shared can ever be truly rekindled.
When one looks into the hollow, often inebriated gaze of Evarista Nitrozian, they can't be blamed for seeing what everyone else sees; a child, raised in extravagance and reared without want or hardship. To the those outside looking in, she is little more than a brat, spoiled and rotten to the core. When Elias looks into those eyes however, when he peers behind the pretense of ambivalence and the facade of foolishness and sees what truly stirs beneath it all, for the Caldera the truth is as exciting to behold as it is terrifying.
Appointed by the order as the girl's guardian and keeper, wherever the young Nitrozian may wander, the Stryfer is usually not far behind. All too often however, Elias finds himself playing the role of the worrying nanny, constantly chasing after the unwary heiress and cleaning up in her drunken and disastrous wake. Despite his grumblings, it is a task he accepts without reservation, for in Eva he sees what too few recognize or care to consider. In Eva, he sees the potential for true greatness. An untapped wellspring of prowess and talent, that if properly harnessed, could see her rise to the very highest echelons of Ravokian society and beyond... now the only problem is getting her to see it too.
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The unflinching conclusion to all that is, and all that will ever be. Elias recognizes the Defiler and the divine Chaos he embodies as both the damnation and salvation of all mankind, embracing his lord's will unquestioningly. He does this not just out of adoration for a god that he has lived his whole life in allegiance to, or even because he agrees unwaveringly with that god's cause, but instead, he understands something intrinsic that one day all mortal men will come to know just as Rhysol's chosen do;
Chaos us will outlive us all.
It will defeat those who seek to turn aside its tide. It will devour those who seek to tame its whims. It will dance on the ashes of our graves long after we are gone, and all we can do -all we can strive for- is serve its righteous will in this life, and pray we are found worthy to do so again in the next.
The Lord of Heritage has been a part of Elias's life for almost as long as he can remember. Truth is, Viratas and those who bare the blood of the Caldera in their veins have more of a long and sordid history than most truly realize. Regardless, Elias honors his father by upholding the man's legacy of worship to the Blood God. While his unquestioning service to Rhysol means the soldier is unlikely to ever be caught praying to Viratas, he will begrudgingly defend the god's virtues and uphold his teachings where and when he is able. Though marked by Crimson King's holy gnosis, it is not for the god's sake he does these things however, but instead to quiet the memories of his family that still haunt him, and perhaps for the sake of the family he may one day have of his own.
The Great Destroyer has many enemies, but few have so fervently sought him harm and ruin as Elias Caldera. For his part in the worlds sundering twice over, the great mage looks upon Ivak as either a cruel tormentor or a witless fool, unsure of which one is more terrifying to contemplate. Either way, there is no denying that the mad god is a scourge upon Mizahar, one whose hands run red with the blood of countless innocents and must be held to answer for his crimes, not just for what he did to the mortals of this realm... but for what he took from Elias.
Now every time the son looks upon the ashes of his mother, he is reminded of the oath he swore and vengeance only he dares to claim; "His temples will burn, his followers will turn away from him, his teachings will be forgotten, and before the final the blow is struck, he will know in whose name I claim his wretched heart."
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Elias Caldera 
by Elias Caldera on April 18th, 2014, 3:28 am 
With Viratas's aid and his blessing, Elias made it off that beach and back to the battered city of Zeltiva where he would spend the next few seasons bed ridden and recovering from his terrible injuries. With so much time on his hands, the Caldera had little to distract from his machinations of revenge. He could not kill the storm for what it had done to him, nor the god who had caused it, but he 