History Sandbox / TheBeginningAfterTheEndKezessIndrath

''[[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndAlacryans Alacryans]]'' (Agrona Vritra) \\

->"''Your knowledge of the magic arts called aether are a danger to your civilization - this entire world - and must be folded into the dragons' understanding of it, no matter the effort or cost.''"

The Lord of the Indrath Clan, Kezess is the TopGod of the setting as the leader of all Asuras and the ruler of Epheotus, the HomeOfTheGods. He is the father of Arthur's ParentalSubstitute Sylvia and thus the grandfather of his bond Sylvie. Kezess is driven primarily by his desire to preserve the world for both Asuras and lessers alike. In the distant past, he exiled Agrona, the Vritra Clan, and their allies to the distant continent of Alacrya for their experiments upon the lessers of that continent, which led to the DivineConflict that has been going on in the setting. Upon hearing of Arthur and Sylvie, he orders them to be summoned to Epheotus for training in preparation for the Alacryan invasion of Dicathen.

In all actuality, despite what he claims, Kezess is fact a tyrannical despot who is really driven by his desire to maintain his authority and power. In the distant past, long before the exile of Agrona and the Vritra, Kezess orchestrated the genocide of the Djinn, a race of lessers who mastery over aether surpassed that of Kezess and his clan. Although Kezess covered up the atrocity he committed, eventually Agrona discovered the truth about what happened and threatened to expose him, which was the real reason for him and his clan's exile. Following this reveal, Kezess shows himself to be no different from his nemesis.

[[folder:A to M]]
* AllForNothing: In order to kill the Legacy and deny Agrona her power, Kezess orders Aldir to use the World Eater technique on Elenoir. It results in Elenoir being completely obliterated and the elves nearly being driven to extinction. It ends up being all for naught as not only did the Legacy manage to escape, but in doing so the treaty between the Vritra and the other Asuras is finally broken, allowing Agrona to begin the next phase of his plan and prepare for a direct war with Epheotus.

** Agrona. He exiled him for uncovering the truth about the Djinn and threatening to expose the atrocity to all of Epheotus. In turn, Agrona began preparing for war with him, leading to the DivineConflict that drives the setting.

* BadBoss: Kezess is just as bad as his nemesis Agrona when it comes to the treatment of his pawns. The very lessers that he claims to protect are completely expendable in his eyes, and he is even willing to dispose of them should they fail him. Even other Asuras, dragons included, are not exempt from these tendencies of his. He showed no grief over Taci's death and attempted to downplay his demise solely to make his position look good. To say nothing of how he sent a group of dragons that Aldir had trained to arrest him for his desertion, knowing fully well they would die at his hand.
* BargainWithHeaven: In Volume 10, he summons Arthur following his reconquest of Dicathen to negotiate with him regarding his new role in the DivineConflict and to extract his knowledge of aether. In return for Arthur sharing with him what he knows about aether at a later point, Kezess promises him his protection of Dicathen from any potential counter-invasion by the Vritra. Come Volume 11, Kezess sends his forces down to Dicathen to occupy the continent as part of the bargain.
* BetrayalByOffspring: Has no idea his only granddaughter has turned against him and sided with her adoptive father, on top of using her blood ties to him to manipulate the forces he sent down to occupy Dicathen to her adoptive father's favor. To an extent this applies to his daughter as while she did not betray him for his enemies, she was willing to expose his atrocities to the young Arthur and entrust the unborn Sylvie to his care in order to prevent her from being indoctrinated by Kezess and the false narrative he presents.

** While Agrona (see below) is responsible for Arthur's reincarnation, the Leywins whom Arthur would be reborn to are descended from Djinn who had survived the genocide. Not to mention, Kezess's own daughter Sylvia would go on to nurture the young Arthur and set him on the path to end the DivineConflict and was willing to expose her father's atrocities to him. She also gave him her unborn daughter (and Kezess's own granddaughter) Sylvie who would go on to become not only his bond, but the very reason why he reincarnated outside of Agrona's control. In addition, Kezess orchestrating the destruction of Elenoir and the attempted extermination of the Dicathian resistance truly earns him Arthur's enmity.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Despite Kezess going to great lengths to cover up his genocide of the Djinn, Agrona grew fascinated with the ruins the Djinn had left behind due to his inquisitive nature and eventually discovered the truth about what Kezess and his clan had done to them. When he came forward to the Indrath and threatened to expose them, Kezess had Agrona and his clan exiled to Alacrya. In turn, Agrona began plotting revenge, leading to the DivineConflict that drives the plot of the novel.
* DarkSecret: In the distant past, Kezess orchestrated the genocide of the Djinn both out of jealousy for their mastery over aether surpassing his own and because their existence as a race of aether wielding lessers threatened his authority and leadership over the other Asuras. Afterwards, he covered up what happened to the Djinn to prevent the other Asuras from questioning his leadership.
* DespotismJustifiesTheMeans: In spite of claiming that he desires to maintain order in the world, part of Kezess's true motivations is that he wants to maintain his and his clan's power and authority over the Asuras. He is willing to resort to exile and genocide just to ensure his power remains unquestioned.

** After his deception gets exposed to the Dicathians and they refuse the new artifacts he offered them, Kezess sends Taci to kill them all for slighting his pride while having Aldir kill off the remaining Lances in the ruins of the Council Castle. However, not only does he not realize Aldir had turned against him and sent the Lances to the Djinn sanctuary to stop Taci, but he never saw coming Arthur returning from Alacrya and actually managing to kill Taci.

** Twice does Kezess order a DecapitationStrike on Alacrya in order to finish off Agrona and the Vritra. Twice does the attempt fail and the Vritra take advantage of the situation. The first time around leads to the treaty that defines the DivineConflict being established which limits the direct involvement of the Asuras themselves. The second time leads to Kezess being forced to withdraw his aid from Dicathen due to having violated the treaty.

** When Agrona tries to manipulate the Council into neutralizing Arthur, Sylvie, and Director Goodsky by convicting them of the attack on Xyrus that his servants orchestrated, Kezess sends Windsom and Aldir down to put a halt to Agrona's scheme. Aldir kills off the Greysunders for being Agrona's puppets and to free their Lances from their control while Windsom breaks out Arthur and Sylvie. From that point onward, the two Asuras - Aldir in particular - serve on the Council as advisors for the impending Alacryan invasion.
** After the end of the war, Kezess finally gets a grasp on Agrona's true plans and so sends Windsom and Aldir into occupied Elenoir to prevent the Legacy from being summoned by any means necessary. This intervention ends being an instance of the trope having GoneHorriblyWrong, as when they arrive the Legacy had already been summoned and Aldir is forced to use the World Eater technique. It results in Elenoir being obliterated, millions on both sides being killed, the Legacy escaping, and the treaty being broken giving Agrona his casus belli to invade Epheotus.
** When his attempt to take control of the Dicathian resistance gets exposed along with his role in orchestrating the destruction of Elenoir, Kezess sends Taci to exterminate the resistance to make room for more compliant pawns. Arthur puts a stop to that, though not before Taci had caused a considerable amount of casualties.
** In Volume 11, following his deal with Arthur, Kezess sends his forces down from Epheotus to occupy Dicathen against any potential reconquest by the Alacryans, on top of also bringing Epheotus itself out of the aether realm.
* DragonsAreDivine: In the setting, dragons are one of the eight races of Asuras. As such, as Lord of the Indrath Clan, Kezess is not only the ruler of the dragon race, but of Epheotus and all Asuras proper.
* EnemyMine: In spite of Arthur foiling his plan to purge the Dicathian resistance and injuring his pride by killing Taci, Kezess nonetheless reapproaches him not only to ally with him to defeat Agrona and the Vritra, but also to extract his knowledge on aether.

* EvilIsPetty: Despite being the TopGod and claiming that he puts the safety of the world above everything else, Kezess turns out to be a rather petty individual, and some of his worst atrocities are driven by that pettiness of his. The genocide of the Djinn? All because of his petty jealousy that a race of so-called "lessers" managed to surpass him. Exterminating the Dicathian resistance? Virion refusing his offer wounded his pride and so he and all his followers deserved to die. Sending Aldir's own trainees after him knowing they would be killed by him? While it does discredit Aldir in the eyes of the other Asuras, Kezess just wanted to KickTheDog that was his defecting general.

** It creates all of the problems he has to deal with in the present. His genocide of the Djinn came out of his own jealousy for their knowledge of aether superseding his own and his pride preventing him from accepting their advice. Aside from it being the reason why Agrona and Arthur turned against him, he ends up frequently underestimating both of them because of his pride, and his responses to them are short-sighted and accomplish nothing for him.
* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: He committed genocide upon the Djinn not only out of jealousy, but because as a race of aether-wielding lessers, their very existence threatened the Indrath Clan's authority over the other Asuras given how they thought only they could wield aether.

** Agrona is TheUnfettered because his exile has twisted him into a monster and him being the underdog when going up against Kezess and the rest of the Asuras, and so he is willing to go to any lengths to win. Kezess on the other hand is TheFettered because he sees himself as the good guy and claims he has the best interests of the lessers at heart, and so he holds back in his response to Agrona.
** As both are near-immortal deities in positions of power, they should be extremely intelligent {{Chessmaster}}s considering they have lived for thousands of years. However, only Agrona truly demonstrates this requisite intelligence, as he uses the millennia he has lived to plan ahead and see the big picture which always puts him one step ahead of his enemies, especially considering that he and his forces are the underdog when facing the rest of the Asuras. On the other hand, Kezess, despite being even older than Agrona, continuously demonstrates himself to be rather short-sighted when it comes to dealing with any perceived threats as his position of TopGod causes him believe himself infallible.

** His very first atrocity, the genocide of the Djinn. Despite Kezess going to extreme lengths to cover up his crimes, Agrona ended up finding out the truth and threatened to expose him. After being exiled, Agrona swore vengeance on Kezess which led to the DivineConflict and in turn him reincarnating Grey into Arthur. In addition, thanks to Mordain's intervention a few of the Djinn managed to [[GenocideSurvivor survive the genocide]] and have descendants, among which are the Leywins from whom Arthur would descend from. In turn, Arthur has made it his mission to bring Kezess, Agrona, and all of the Asuras to justice for the atrocities they have committed upon the lessers of both Dicathen and Alacrya.

* GivenNameReveal: When he was first introduced, the other Asuras addressed him as Lord Indrath. It was not until the end of Volume 6 that Agrona revealed Lord Indrath's given name to be Kezess.
* GodAndSatanAreBothJerks: At first, he appears to be the GoodCounterpart to Agrona, but is eventually revealed to be just as reprehensible as him as he orchestrated genocide in the distant past, an atrocity that led to Agrona's StartOfDarkness when Kezess exiled him for threatening to expose the truth. Throughout the story, both him and Agrona demonstrate that there is no difference between them as both continue to commit various atrocities and cause CollateralDamage upon the lessers in a bid to overcome the other.

* GodIsInept: As the TopGod, he should have been able to eliminate the threat posed by Agrona in one fell swoop, but he repeatedly keeps underestimating him which has allowed Agrona to get the edge over him. His responses to Agrona's plans have proven to be short-sighted and ineffectual, as not only does he fail to strike any meaningful blow against him, but Agrona keeps accomplishing his plans in spite of everything Kezess does. The biggest example of this is his attempt to kill the Legacy, in which he not only fails to kill her but comes off as a massive hypocrite given how he obliterated a whole kingdom of the lessers he claimed to protect on top of breaking the very treaty he acquiesced to in his bid to do so.

* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: Kezess has pale white skin and hair and his attire is mostly white with gold highlights, an image fitting of the ruler of the Asuras.
* GreaterScopeVillain: His genocide of the Djinn is ''the'' inciting event for the entire plot, as it led to Agrona's exile and thus him starting the DivineConflict and reincarnating Grey into Arthur.
* GreenEyedMonster: The real reason for him orchestrating the genocide of the Djinn was that he coveted their knowledge of aether, on top of his own jealousy that a race of lessers managed to surpass him.
* GruesomeGrandparent: {{Averted|Trope}}. Despite being a genocidal tyrant, he does have a soft spot for Sylvie as she is his only living descendant. That being said, his blood ties to and treatment of her do nothing to stop her from siding with her adoptive father against him.
* HateSink: He is a genocidal tyrant whose past atrocities were what triggered the StartOfDarkness for the BigBad - who himself a HateSink in his own right - and thus making him indirectly responsible for all of ''his'' atrocities. Kezess is a callous individual who uses the excuse of TheNeedsOfTheMany to cover up his own pettiness and desire to maintain his rule, only to come off as a massive {{Hypocrite}}. He committed genocide upon the ancestors of Arthur's family, ordered the destruction of Arthur and Tessia's childhood home, and attempted to purge much of Arthur's remaining friends and family in Dicathen for slighting his pride. All the while, Kezess is wholly unrepentant of his actions and fails to empathize with those who have been harmed by them.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Anyone who uncovers what happened to the Djinn, especially if they happen to be Asuras, ends up either being exiled or outright killed in secret on Kezess's orders. Mordain and Agrona are the most notable examples, and it is implied the reason why their clans did not get purged was due to their position in the Great Eight. Arthur only avoids getting struck down as Kezess wants to extract what he has learned about aether.
-->'''Aldir:''' There were few, even among the Asuras, who truly understood what had happened to the Djinn. Most Asuras never looked beyond Epheotus, and cared nothing for the lessers. Those who did were told a very convincing lie. Those who saw through the lie and ''cared'' were dealt with.
* AHeroToHisHometown: Kezess is a revered leader among the Asuras and many follow him with unquestioning obedience. This is because not only has his clan reigned over Epheotus since time immemorial, but also because he covers up much of the atrocities he commits.
* HistoryRepeats: In the distant past, Kezess committed genocide on the ancient Djinn both out of petty jealousy for their mastery of aether surpassing his own and because their very existence threatened his authority over the other Asuras. He went to great lengths to cover up the true nature of the atrocity. Millennia later, and Kezess commits genocide again, albeit inadvertently. In this case, him ordering Aldir to use the World Eater technique to kill the Legacy leads to Elenoir being reduced to a wasteland and the elves being nearly driven to extinction. This time around, with barely any way to skew public opinion to his favor, Kezess receives backlash from the populations of both Dicathen and Epheotus for this atrocity, on top of having broken the very treaty he made with Agrona to regulate the DivineConflict.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Kezess claims that he does not wish to interfere in the setting because of his fears of MutuallyAssuredDestruction and his own desire to preserve the world. The genocide of the Djinn, the desolation of Elenoir , and the attempted extermination of the Dicathian resistance show these statements to be false and that Kezess truly has no regard at all for the lessers, even the Dicathians that he claims to protect as he has become as much of a threat to them as Agrona.
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: Kezess controls his minions through a mix of fear, respect, and reverence. Thanks to him concealing his genocidal tendencies and presenting himself as a composed and all-knowing ruler, Kezess has secured the respect of the other Asuran clans. That being said, Kezess is known to use fear to get his minions to do some rather reprehensible actions, specifically the fear of him punishing them or their clan for defying his orders.

* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: How he gets his servants to do his bidding, no matter how reluctant they are or how reprehensible the deed in question. Aldir only relents to using the World Eater technique due to the implicit threat that Kezess will punish all of the Thyestes Clan should he refuse to go through with it.

* JustToyingWithThem: {{Deconstructed}}. As the TopGod and the ruler of the Asuras, Kezess could easily end the DivineConflict if he wanted to. However, he holds back his power and displays of force. This is because of his KnightTemplar tendencies which make him see himself as the good guy and cause him to hold back as he rather hypocritically wants to preserve the world. On top of that, his massive pride causes him underestimate his enemies. This allows Agrona to get ahead of him by miles and even the playing field between the two of them.
** There is also the fact that Kezess has never faced any sort of major opposition prior to Agrona's exile. The Djinn were a PerfectPacifistPeople, while Mordain and his followers secluded themselves in the Hearth. In contrast to both, Agrona is TheUnfettered and as such has been willing to go to any extreme to get an edge over him. As such, Kezess's inefficient response in dealing with Agrona has basically given his nemesis a massive head start to achieve his goals.
* KickTheDog: When he hears from Windsom of Aldir's defection, Kezess sends after his rogue general a group of Asuran soldiers whom Aldir had trained in the past. Basically, Kezess is sending a message to Aldir that if he wants to leave his service, he will have the blood of the very soldiers he trained on his hands.
* KillingIntent: Being a dragon, Kezess has access to King's Force, a powerful compelling aura which allows him to force anyone into submission. As the supreme ruler of the Asuras, Kezess's version of King's Force far surpasses that of his minions.

* LackOfEmpathy: Kezess cares for nobody but himself. He harbors no personal attachment to any of his pawns and does not care if anything happens to them. In particular, when Kezess summons Arthur to negotiate following the latter's reconquest of Dicathen, not once does Kezess express any genuine empathy for the Dicathians (on top of having ordered for the Dicathian resistance to be purged earlier on and not considering how that would affect Arthur's perception of him). When Arthur brings up the subjects of the Djinn and Elenoir, Kezess has no remorse over the lives lost because of his actions, and in the case of the former actually threatens Arthur for mentioning them.

* ManipulativeBastard: Kezess is just as manipulative of others as his nemesis Agrona. It does not matter if they are Asuras or lessers, everyone is a pawn to be manipulated as far as he is concerned. Not to mention he is prone to lying, obfuscating, and twisting the narrative to suit his ends.
%%* MoralEventHorizon: While the genocide of the Djinn was his first atrocity, him ordering Aldir to destroy Elenoir with the World Eater technique in a bid to kill off the Legacy is what cements Kezess as a callous and unrepentant tyrant. Not only did he kill off millions on both sides for ultimately nothing, but in doing so he broke the very treaty he had with Agrona and the Vritra Clan, giving them the casus belli to launch their invasion of Epheotus.
* MysticalWhiteHair: As a dragon, Kezess has pale white hair. In turn, as dragons are a type of Asura, Kezess is not only much more magically adept than the strongest mortal mages, but his very body is infused with mana itself, and he is also capable of harnessing aether itself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:N to Z]]
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Kezess adheres to this doctrine when it comes to his actions as he is not afraid to sacrifice a few lives to save many more. Unfortunately for the Dicathians, Kezess's definition of "a few" is often much, much, much larger than what that quantity normally entails. On top of that, he tends to value the lives of lessers to a much lower degree when compared to Asuras.

** When he addresses the Great Eight in the aftermath of Taci's death, he deflects all of the accusations regarding his string of failings in the DivineConflict before closing the discussion by lying to them by saying that Taci was tricked into destroying himself, rather than admit that he screwed up and sent Taci to his death. Then again, Kezess genuinely believed Taci would succeed in his task, and while he was aware of Arthur's survival and RePower, he did not expect him to suddenly intervene and kill Taci.
** When he and Arthur first meet following the latter's retaking of Dicathen, Kezess says that Dicathen lost the war in the first place because Arthur failed to heed his advice regarding Tessia, which led to both Sylvie's death and Agrona summoning the Legacy using Tessia as her vessel. Arthur calls Kezess out on this accusation by saying that ''he'' did not know the true nature of Agrona's plans for the Legacy and got OutGambitted by him as well.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Not from Kezess himself, but to anyone who knows the true nature of the DivineConflict, it is very easy to compare him to his ArchEnemy Agrona as both deities are tyrannical despots who are willing to tear apart the world in their conflict and have no regard for the lives of others, especially lessers. Arthur and Seris are prone to making such remarks.
* NotSoOmniscientAfterAll: As the TopGod, Kezess should know everything that is going on in the setting, especially since he has agents such as Windsom to observe for him. However, he is not all-knowing as Agrona was able to conceal his true plans from and thus level the playing field between them in the DivineConflict. This is {{Justified|Trope}} as due to the treaty that defines said conflict any direct participation from the Asuras is prohibited, and thanks to Agrona having foiled any assassination attempt that Kezess orders on him it is highly likely that any spies Kezess could have sent to observe Agrona got killed.

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: In spite of Kezess claiming that he committed the genocide of the Djinn to protect the world from their uncontrolled aether arts, other characters such as Sylvia, Agrona, and Arthur recognize that what really drove him to commit such an atrocity was his petty jealousy that a race of "lessers" has managed to surpass him and his kind when it comes to the control of aether. This is reinforced by the PensieveFlashback Arthur experiences in the third ruin. In said flashback, Kezess is clearly shown to not be buying Sae-Areum's explanation as to why she cannot just teach him how to use aether as aether requires one's own personal insight to master, showing a lack of patience on his part.
** He orders the purging of the Dicathian resistance all out of the fact that Virion refusing his offer wounded his pride, causing him to deem that they were no longer useful to him.
* OffendedByAnInferiorsSuccess: When he discovered the existence of the Djinn, Kezess was extremely jealous that their mastery of aether surpassed that of his own. On top of that, seeing a race of the so-called "lessers" wielding aether was a threat to his and his clan's authority over the Asuras. As such, after failing to negotiate with the Djinn regarding them teaching him and his clan their aether arts, Kezess resorted to genocide to resolve the matter.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: {{Justified|Trope}}. Even moreso than Agrona, Kezess has done very little himself despite being one of the main antagonists. All of his appearances occur in Epheotus, specifically within the domain of his own clan, and in said appearances he is only discussing plans regarding the DivineConflict with either the other Asuras or Arthur. This is because of GodsHandsAreTied, as due to the treaty any direct involvement on his part would lead to MutuallyAssuredDestruction.
** While he is aware of Agrona sending his servants to search the Relictombs, it is something he cannot respond to as not only are the Relictombs designed to repel Asuras, but sending someone into the Relictombs risks his genocide of the Djinn coming to light. However, given how he has discredited Agrona in the eyes of the other Asuras, the risk of him exposing that secret is lessened.

** After exiling the Vritra Clan, Kezess hears word of Agrona's activities in Alacrya. He promptly sends a group of Asuras to perform a DecapitationStrike. When the group arrives, Agrona is waiting for them with a group of Vritra-blooded mutants and kills them all. He then brings word of what happened, including the death of Sylvia who had stowed away with the group, to Kezess. In spite of Kezess's anger, the rest of the Great Eight push for what would become the treaty that defines the DivineConflict.
** Later on during the Alacryan invasion of Dicathen, Kezess orders another DecapitationStrike on Alacrya without consulting his Dicathian allies. Not only does it fail yet again, but Agrona uses his failure to revoke Epheotus's involvement in the defense of Dicathen as a violation of the treaty. Without the aid of the Asuras, Dicathen falls under Agrona's rule.
** His attempt to kill the Legacy and the ensuing destruction of Elenoir. After Kezess finally catches onto the true nature of Agrona's plan, he sends Windsom and Aldir to Elenoir to prevent the Legacy from being summoned. Unfortunately, the Legacy has already been summoned, and due to the GodzillaThreshold having been passed Aldir is ordered to use the World Eater technique. The fallout from the situation is ''disastrous'': The Legacy managed to escape, Elenoir is reduced to a barren wasteland and the elves are nearly driven to extinction, and Agrona now has his casus belli to invade Epheotus as Kezess has broken the treaty. The only silver lining that Kezess gets out of the whole fiasco is that thousands of Agrona's soldiers got killed as well, but those soldiers were expendable to Agrona.

* PapaWolf: He is very protective of his close family, especially his daughter and granddaughter. Naturally the death of the former and HeroicSacrifice of the latter affect him greatly.
* PetTheDog: A {{Downplayed}} example, given how it is limited to only his immediate family. When he is first introduced, he immediately takes Sylvie from Arthur and into his care. After Arthur and Sylvie return from Epheotus, Sylvie speaks of him and Myre in a somewhat respectful manner implying they treated her rather well during their stay.

** In spite of his disdain for relying on lessers and wanting to stay above their affairs, Kezess empowers the royal families of Dicathen by bestowing them the [[ArtifactOfPower Artifacts of Power]] that would be wielded by the first Lances, who in turn empowered their fellows and thus led to the rise of mages on the continent. Later, as part of his deal with Arthur, Kezess sends down his forces to occupy Dicathen both to rebuild the continent and protect it from a potential reconquest by Agrona and his servants. Nevermind the fact that earlier he had ordered for the extermination of the Dicathain resistance for going against him.
** Part of the reason why this trait defines Kezess is that Agrona frequently exploits it to gain an advantage over him. The treaty that defines the DivineConflict came to be because of it. While Kezess wanted to deal with Agrona himself, the other members of the Great Eight feared that in doing so he would end up destroying the world, an outcome that stood against everything he espoused. It benefits Agrona by forbidding any direct participation by the Asuras, which forces both sides to rely on lessers as pawns, a prospect that Kezess is rather indignant about. He knows that Kezess would do very little to empower the Dicathians, and so he empowers the Alacryans to a much superior degree compared to that of his nemesis.
* PrecursorKillers: He was the one who ordered the genocide of the Djinn, the so-called ancient mages of Dicathen, and ordered their existence wiped from history. All out of his own petty jealousy over their knowledge of aether surpassing his own.
* PurpleIsPowerful: He is the TopGod of the setting and in his appearance both his eyes and parts of his clothing are purple and his skin has a slight purplish shade. Not to mention as a dragon he is one of the most powerful aether wielders alive in the setting other than Arthur and Sylvie.

* TimeAbyss: In spite of the Asuras not being truly immortal, all of the major events in the novel's backstory and the leadup to the DivineConflict can be traced back to Kezess's reign. He is older than the modern civilizations on both Dicathen and Alacrya. In the PensieveFlashback Arthur experiences in the third ruin to the events leading up to the genocide of the Djinn in the distant past, Kezess looks exactly the same as he does in the present.

* TopGod: As the current head of the Indrath Clan, themselves the rulers of the Asuras, Kezess is effectively the supreme god of the setting.

* UnreliableNarrator: Considering his true nature, Kezess is prone to skewing the narrative to make him look good and to maintain his power. He often omits facts that would make his cause look bad, in particular hiding his penchant for genocide. That being said, during his negotiations with Arthur in Volume 10 he makes no effort to hide his true nature as the latter already knows of his atrocities.

* UriahGambit: Combined with XanatosGambit. When he hears of Aldir's defection, Kezess has Windsom take a detachment of Asuran soldiers that Aldir trained in the past to apprehend him. Being the OneManArmy that he is, Aldir is able to slaughter them all save for Windsom. However, while the soldiers failed to apprehend Aldir, their deaths ensured that Kezess was able to discredit his former general in the eyes of the rest of the Asuras and deny him any support, on top of further breaking Aldir's mental state.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: His end goal is to preserve the world for both the Asuras and the lessers. Unfortunately for everyone (especially the latter), it is a selfish goal that stems out of his desire to maintain his rule, and one that he is willing to go so far as to commit genocide just to maintain it.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Kezess is for the most part revered by the other Asuras thanks to the lengths he has gone to cover up any sign of weakness or the various atrocities he committed. Though thanks to his string of failings in the DivineConflict this image of his is slowly starting to crumble as more and more Asuras begin to question his leadership.
* WalkingSpoiler: It is impossible to discuss him without revealing that he is a genocidal tyrant whose atrocities are indirectly responsible for the main conflict of the story. The fact that some characters such as Mordain, Taci, and the Djinn themselves, cannot be discussed without revealing his true nature just goes to show how big of a spoiler TheReveal surrounding Kezess is and how pivotal it is to the plot.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: With Mordain. When Kezess ordered for the genocide of the Djinn, Mordain stood against his former friend. This forced Kezess to exile him and cover up not just the genocide, but the fate of Mordain himself.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Claims that everything he does is for safety of the entire world. He justifies the Djinn genocide by saying their uncontrolled aether arts were a threat to the world, and if they did not teach him and the Asuras how to wield it he would have to resort to what he ended up doing.
-->'''Kezess:''' If you know what happened to the Djinn, then certainly you see that I won't hesitate to sacrifice one lesser life for the greater good.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Kezess has MysticalWhiteHair, but in all actuality is one of the evilest characters in the entire setting.
* WrittenByTheWinners: He went to great lengths to conceal his genocide of the Djinn, let alone their very existence, from the rest of the Asuras. To those who do know of the Djinn and their fate, he presents what happened to them as a preemptive strike to prevent them from threatening the world.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Kezess is rather callous when it comes to disposing of pawns that have failed him. Case in point, when his attempt to take control of the Dicathian resistance is exposed and Virion decides to turn against him, Kezess decides to send Taci down to exterminate them all for stinging his pride. Even entire clans on the Great Eight are not exempt from his wrath should he deem them as having failed their purpose.

* EnemyMine: In spite of Arthur foiling his plans and injuring his pride, Kezess nonetheless reapproaches him not only to ally with him to defeat Agrona and the Vritra, but also to extract his knowledge on aether.

* KillingIntent: King's Force, which allows him to force anyone into submission.

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Kezess adheres to this doctrine when it comes to his actions as he is not afraid to sacrifice a few lives to save many more. Unfortunately for the Dicathians, this doctrine pertains to a much bigger picture in his mind and Kezess's definition of "a few" is often much, much larger than what quantity normally entails. On top of that, he tends to value the lives of lessers to a much lower degree when compared to Asuras.

** When he addresses the Great Eight in the aftermath of Taci's death, he deflects all of the accusations regarding his string of failings in the DivineConflict before closing the discussion by lying to them by saying that Taci was tricked into destroying himself, rather than admit that he screwed up and sent Taci to his death. Then again, while he was aware of Arthur's survival and RePower, he did not expect him to suddenly intervene and kill Taci.

* PragmaticVillainy: Arguably one of the most defining elements of his character. Despite being a genocidal tyrant, his KnightTemplar mindset makes him genuinely see himself as the good guy. As such, his interactions with the Dicathians he claims to protect have been rather sparse and capricious. In spite of his disdain for relying on lessers and wanting to stay above their affairs, Kezess empowers the royal families of Dicathen by bestowing them the [[ArtifactOfPower Artifacts of Power]] that would be wielded by the first Lances, who in turn empowered their fellows and thus led to the rise of mages on the continent. Later, as part of his deal with Arthur, Kezess sends down his forces to occupy Dicathen both to rebuild the continent and protect it from a potential reconquest by Agrona and his servants. Nevermind the fact that earlier he had ordered for the extermination of the Dicathain resistance for going against him.
** Part of the reason why this trait defines Kezess is that Agrona frequently exploits it to gain an advantage over him. Because Kezess holds back due to seeing himself as the good guy, Agrona is able to go to extremes that Kezess would not normally go to as it would break his image. The treaty that defines the DivineConflict came to be because of his adherence to this trait, as while he wanted to deal with Agrona himself, the other members of the Great Eight feared that in doing so Kezess would level the world which was against his apparent character. benefits Agrona so much is that it forbades any direct participation by the Asuras which forces them to Kezess is rather unwilling to rely on lessers as his pawns. He knows that Kezess would do very little to empower the Dicathians, and so he empowers the Alacryans to a much superior degree compared to that of his nemesis.

* TimeAbyss: In the PensieveFlashback Arthur experiences in the third ruin to the events leading up to the genocide of the Djinn in the distant past, Kezess looks exactly the same as he does in the present.

-->'''Sylvia:''' And through your exposure to my people, you've certainly received a very one-sided story.

* XanatosGambit: When he hears of Aldir's defection, Kezess has Windsom take a detachment of Asuran soldiers that Aldir trained in the past to apprehend him. Even though Aldir is able to slaughter them all save for Windsom, in doing so Kezess was able to discredit his former general in the eyes of the rest of the Asuras and deny him any support, on top of further breaking Aldir's mental state.

The Lord of the Indrath Clan, Kezess is the TopGod of the setting as leader of all Asuras and the ruler of Epheotus, the HomeOfTheGods. He is the father of Arthur's ParentalSubstitute Sylvia and thus the grandfather of his bond Sylvie. Kezess is driven primarily by his desire to preserve the world for both Asuras and lessers alike. In the distant past, he exiled Agrona, the Vritra Clan, and their allies for their experiments upon the lessers of Alacrya, which led to the DivineConflict that has been going on in the setting. Upon hearing of Arthur and Sylvie, he orders them to be summoned to Epheotus for training in preparation for the Alacryan invasion of Dicathen.

* DivineIntervention: Despite his policy of minimalist intervention due to the treaty on top of his own pride and disdain of relying on the lessers for aid, there are a few times when Kezess sends his servants to directly interfere in the conflict proper.
** After the treaty had been signed, Kezess sent Windsom to approach the three royal families - Houses Glayder, Greysunder, and Eralith - and give them two [[ArtifactOfPower Artifacts of Power]] each that they would use to empower chosen servants, who would become the first Lances. In turn, the first Lances would teach others their art, which led to the rise of mages on Dicathen and thus prepare the population for the inevitable war with the Vritra-ruled Alacryans.

* EvilAllAlong: Kezess initially seems to be an aloof but well-intentioned individual who in spite of his demeanor actually cares for the safety of the world. He turns out to be a genocidal tyrant.

* ExactWords: During his negotiations with Arthur in Volume 10, Kezess promises him his protection of Dicathen from any potential counter-invasion by the Vritra. Come Volume 11, and Arthur learns that "protection" is a full-scale armed occupation of Dicathen by TheArmiesOfHeaven. Not only do Arthur's allies have no love for Kezess and his servants after what they have done, but his forces also treat the surrendered Alacryans on Dicathen extremely poorly.

* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: He committed genocide upon the Djinn not only out of jealousy, but because as a race of aether wielding lessers, their very existence threatened the Indrath Clan's authority over the other Asuras given how they thought only they could wield aether.

* PetTheDog: A {[Downplayed}} example, given how it is limited to only his immediate family. When he is first introduced, he immediately takes Sylvie from Arthur and into his care. After Arthur and Sylvie return from Epheotus, Sylvie speaks of him and Myre in a somewhat respectful manner implying they treated her rather well during their stay.

* PurpleIsPowerful: He is the TopGod of the setting and both his eyes and parts of his clothing are purple. Not to mention as a dragon he is one of the most powerful aether wielders alive in the setting other than Arthur and Sylvie.

* UnreliableNarrator: Considering his true nature, Kezess is prone to skewing the narrative to make him look good and to maintain his power. He often omits facts that would make his cause look bad.

* BetrayalByOffspring: Has no idea his only granddaughter has turned against him and sided with her adoptive father, on top of using her blood ties to him to manipulate the forces he sent down to occupy Dicathen to her adoptive father's favor. To an extent this applies to his granddaughter as while she did not betray him for his enemies, she was willing to expose his atrocities to the young Arthur and entrust the unborn Sylvie to his care in order to prevent her from being indoctrinated by Kezess and the false narrative he presents.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Like Agrona, Kezess has committed many atrocities upon Arthur and his loved ones, but he has no regrets over his actions. Hell, even though Arthur is a descendant of the very people he committed genocide upon and calls him out for it during their negotiations (although he does not reveal to him that he is of Djinn ancestry), Kezess is unfazed about the accusation and defends himself by saying he did it for "the greater good", proving just how out of touch he is with the consequences of his own actions.

* CreateYourOwnVillain[=/=]CreateYourOwnHero: Suffice to say, his genocide of the Djinn and his attempts to cover it up ends up causing all of the problems he has to deal with in the present, as those who learned of it and managed to live seek to bring him to justice for the atrocity.
** Due to his inquisitive nature, Agrona grew fascinated with the ruins the Djinn had left behind, and eventually discovered the truth. When he came forward to the Indrath and threatened to expose them, Kezess had Agrona and his clan exiled to Alacrya. In turn, Agrona began plotting revenge, leading to the DivineConflict that drives the plot of the novel.
** While Agrona is the one responsible for Arthur’s reincarnation, the Leywins whom Arthur would be reborn to are descended from Djinn who had survived the genocide. Not to mention, Kezess’s own daughter Sylvia would go on to nurture the young Arthur and set him on the path to end the DivineConflict and was willing to expose her father’s atrocities to him. She also gave him her unborn daughter (and Kezess’s own granddaughter) Sylvie who would go on to become not only his bond, but the very reason why he reincarnated outside of Agrona’s control. In addition, Kezess orchestrating the destruction of Elenoir and the attempted extermination of the Dicathian resistance truly earns him Arthur's enmity.

* GenocideBackfire: Given his penchant for committing genocide out of his own short-sightedness, Kezess's actions often come to bite him back.

* GruesomeGrandparent: Imagine finding out your grandfather dearest, who seems to be a much better person than your own ArchnemesisDad, is a genocidal tyrant whose past atrocities led to your father's fall from grace. That is who Sylvie has to contend with being related to.
* HateSink: He is a genocidal tyrant whose past atrocities were what triggered the StartOfDarkness for the BigBad - who himself a HateSink in his own right - and thus making him indirectly responsible for all of ''his'' atrocities. Kezess is a callous individual who uses the excuse of the greater good to cover up his own pettiness and desire to maintain his rule, only to come off as a {{Hypocrite}}. He committed genocide upon the ancestors of Arthur's family, ordered the destruction of Arthur and Tessia's childhood home, and attempted to purge much of Arthur's remaining friends and family in Dicathen for slighting his pride. All the while, Kezess is wholly unrepentant of his actions and fails to empathize with those who have been harmed by them.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Anyone who uncovers what happened to the Djinn, especially if they happen to be Asuras, ends up either being exiled or outright killed in secret on Kezess’s orders. Mordain and Agrona are the most notable examples, and it is implied the reason why their clans did not get purged was due to their position in the Great Eight. Arthur only avoids getting struck down as Kezess finds him more valuable alive than dead.

* JustToyingWithThem: {{Deconstructed}}. As the TopGod and the ruler of the Asuras, Kezess could easily end the DivineConflict if he wanted to. However, he holds back his power and displays of force both due to his KnightTemplar tendencies making him see himself as the good guy and causes him to hold back as he wants to preserve the world, on top of his pride making him underestimate his enemies. This allows Agrona to get ahead of him by miles and even the playing field
** There is also the fact that Kezess has never faced any sort of major opposition prior to Agrona's exile. The Djinn were a PerfectPacifistPeople, while Mordain and his followers were content with creating the hidden enclave that is the Hearth. Making matters worse is that Agrona is TheUnfettered and as such has been willing to go to any extreme to get an edge over him. As such, Kezess's inefficient response in dealing with Agrona has basically given him a massive head start to achieve his goals.

* MoralEventHorizon: While the genocide of the Djinn was his first atrocity, him ordering Aldir to destroy Elenoir with the World Eater technique in a bid to kill off the Legacy is what cements Kezess as a callous and unrepentant tyrant. Not only did he kill off millions on both sides for ultimately nothing, but in doing so he broke the very treaty he had with Agrona and the Vritra Clan, giving them the casus belli to launch their invasion of Epheotus.

** While he is mildly aware of Agrona sending his servants to search the Relictombs, it is something he cannot respond to as not only are the Relictombs designed to repel Asuras, but sending someone into the Relictombs risks his genocide of the Djinn coming to light. However, given how he has discredited Agrona in the eyes of the other Asuras, the risk of him exposing that secret is lessened.

** His attempt to kill the Legacy and the ensuing destruction of Elenoir. After Kezess finally catches onto the true nature of Agrona's plan, he sends Windsom and Aldir to Elenoir to prevent the Legacy from being summoned. Unfortunately, the Legacy has already been summoned, and due to the GodzillaThreshold having been passed Aldir is ordered to use the World Eater technique. The fallout from the situation is disastrous: The Legacy managed to escape, Elenoir is reduced to a barren wasteland and the elves are nearly driven to extinction, and Agrona now has his casus belli to invade Epheotus as Kezess has broken the treaty. The only silver lining that Kezess gets out of the whole fiasco is that thousands of Agrona's soldiers got killed as well, but those soldiers were expendable to Agrona.