History Characters / TheBeginningAfterTheEndAsuras

* 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 was not at all anguished 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 full well they would die at his hand.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was originally just one of Arthur's sparring partners during his time to Epheotus, but grew to resent having to train alongside him. He carried that resentment for the rest of his life, as when he was about to kill Alice and Eleanor he viewed it as a way to spite Arthur. This is on top of him gladly following his liege's orders to kill off the Dicathian resistance - which led to the deaths of several named characters - and remaining loyal to him even in his last moments.

* ALighterShadeOfGrey: [[spoiler:Even though GodAndSatanAreBothJerks is in full effect and the Indrath are a faction of genocidal KnightTemplar[=s=] who are responsible for the Vritra's fall from grace, they are still the lighter shade as they seek to preserve the world while the latter are willing to burn it down in pursuit of their vendetta. To the point that Arthur, even though he knows of their atrocities, is willing to pull an EnemyMine with them against the Vritra, though he wants to empower his allies in Dicathen to stand up against the tyranny of the Indrath rather than accept them as the lesser evil]].

* BadBoss: Kezess is just as bad as his nemesis Agrona when it comes to the treatment of his pawns, especially the lessers.

** While neither of them have any regard of the lives of the lessers and view them as completely expendable, Agrona realizes that lessers can serve a role in his plans and so has experimented on many of them to enhance their capabilities. Kezess on the other hand is such a prideful supremacist that he only reluctantly deigns himself to rely on lessers, and to a much more restrained degree than Agrona. Though in his case it is because he was hoping for the Dicathians to become strong on their own accord, which resulted in them being outpaced by the Alacryans in terms of magical development.

* 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 because of his pride making him underestimate his enemies. Making matters worse is that his own ArchEnemy 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 allowed the latter to get ahead of him by miles and even the playing field.

** 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 concession 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.

* 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 the defecting Aldir's own disciples after him knowing they would be killed by him? While such an act would discredit Aldir in the eyes of the other Asuras, Kezess just wanted to KickTheDog that was his defecting general.

* 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 Collateral Damage upon the lessers in a bid to overcome the other.

* ImpliedDeathThreat: After convening with the Great Eight on the matter of Taci's death, a matter which causes considerable dissent among them when Kezess attempts to skew the narrative in his favor, Kezess dismisses them with this rather threatening remark.

* JustToyingWithThem: {{Deconstructed}}. While as the TopGod and the ruler of the Asuras, Kezess could easily end the DivineConflict if he ordered 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 because of his pride making him underestimate his enemies. Making matters worse is that his own ArchEnemy 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 allowed the latter to get ahead of him by miles and even the playing field.

** 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 down to Elenoir in order 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 to destroy Elenoir. 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 concession that Kezess gets out of the whole fiasco is that thousands of Agrona's soldiers got killed as well, but those soldiers were completely expendable to Agrona.

** 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. It causes him to frequently underestimate both Agrona and Arthur, and his responses to them are short-sighted and accomplish nothing for him.

** While neither of them have any regard of the lives of the lessers and view them as completely expendable, Agrona realizes that lessers can serve a role in his plans and so has experimented on many of them to enhance their capabilities. Kezess on the other hand is such a prideful supremacist that he only reluctantly deigns himself to rely on lessers to a much more restrained degree than Agrona. Though in his case it is because he was hoping for the Dicathians to become strong on their own accord, which resulted in them being outpaced by the Alacryans in terms of magical development.
** As both are near-immortal deities in positions of power, they should be extremely intelligent considering they have lived for thousands of years. However, only Agrona 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. On the other hand, Kezess, despite being even older than Agrona, continually 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.
** While both recognize Arthur as a growing threat and could easily eliminate him on their own, they have different reasons for not doing so at the moment. Kezess wants to extract what Arthur knows about aether, while Agrona being the EvilutionaryBiologist that he is wants to dissect him to find out how he works on top as a means to strengthen the Legacy's power.
* 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 was revealed 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 Kezess demonstrate that there is no difference between them as both continue to commit various atrocities and cause Collateral Damage upon the lessers in a bid to overcome the other.

* LightIsNotGood: He has pale white hair and skin, wears mostly bright clothing, and rules over the setting’s equivalent of heaven. However Kezess is anything but good, as he is in fact a tyrannical and vindictive despot with a penchant for genocide.

* TargetedToHurtTheHero: {{Discussed}}. Before Arthur departs from Epheotus to join the war, Kezess tells him that he needs to dismiss his feelings for Tessia if he wants to win the war as his feelings for her would make her a target for his enemies. Naturally, Arthur does not, which leads to him and Sylvie's HeroicSacrifice to allow Tessia to escape capture by the Alacryans only for that to be AllForNothing as Tessia ended up being captured again and turned into the vessel for the Legacy. As such, when Kezess meets with Arthur for the first time since then, he calls him out on how his failure to heed his advice regarding Tessia led to Agrona getting what he wanted as well as Sylvie's apparent death.
** Notably, this advice falls flat as even if Arthur had done as Kezess advised, Agrona already intended to have Tessia captured and ReforgedIntoAMinion. As such, if Arthur had left her to her fate Agrona would have summoned the Legacy much earlier than he did.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Compared to Kezess, Ademir is far more caring of his clan. He calls out Kezess for the narrative he presents regarding [[spoiler:Taci’s death. He is also understanding of Aldir’s reasons for departing and acquiesces to exiling him to spare their clan from Kezess’s wrath]].

** Agrona manages to hide from Kezess his true plans regarding the reincarnates until he is about to summon the Legacy. When Kezess catches wind of it, he sends Windsom and Aldir down to Elenoir in order 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 to destroy Elenoir. 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.

** Notably, this advice falls flat as even if Arthur had done as Kezess advised, Agrona would have still had Tessia captured to be ReforgedIntoAMinion. As such, if he had left her to her fate Agrona would have summoned the Legacy much earlier than he did.

->"''You aren't making a good showing of yourself right now. Before, you had your bond with my granddaughter to shield you. As you have, in your many failures, allowed her to die in battle, you can no longer claim such protection. If you do not prove to me that you yet have a part to play in the war, I will destroy you.''"

** While both recognize Arthur as a growing threat and could easily eliminate him on their own, they have different reasons for not doing so at the moment. Kezess wants to extract what Arthur knows about aether, while Agrona being the EvilutionaryBiologist that he is wants to dissect him to find out how he works.

** While neither of them have any regard of the lives of the lessers and view them as completely expendable, Agrona realizes that lessers can serve a role in his plans and so has experimented on many of them to enhance their capabilities. Kezess on the other hand is such a prideful supremacist that he only reluctantly deigns himself to rely on lessers.
** As both are near-immortal deities in positions of power, they should be extremely intelligent considering they have lived for thousands of years. However, only Agrona 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. On the other hand, Kezess, despite being even older than Agrona, continually 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 unfallible.
* While both recognize Arthur as a growing threat and could easily eliminate him on their own, they have different reasons for not doing so at the moment. Kezess wants to extract what Arthur knows about aether, while Agrona being the EvilutionaryBiologist that he is wants to dissect him to find out how he works.

* 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 in that regard.

* FatalFlaw: Pride, and to a lesser extent Jealousy. His pride prevents him from taking his enemies, namely Agrona and Arthur, seriously which not only gives them breathing room to accomplish their own goals against him but allows them to strike him or foil his plans when he least expects it. Not to mention Kezess is incredibly dismissive of anyone who thinks that they are better than him. 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.

* 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.

* {{Foil}}: To his own ArchEnemy Agrona, at least in terms of their demeanor. Agrona presents himself as AffablyEvil and eccentric while Kezess has an incredibly dismissive attitude.

* GodsHandsAreTied: Due to the treaty between Epheotus and the Vritra Clan, the Asuras are barred from direct interference as a direct conflict between them could level the world.

** Agrona manages to hide from Kezess his true plans regarding the reincarnates until he is about to summon the Legacy. When Kezess catches wind of it, he sends Windsom and Aldir down to Elenoir in order 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 to destroy Elenoir. It ends being all for naught as in the aftermath the Legacy is able to escape and all Aldir has to show for it is the barren wasteland of what used to be Elenoir.

* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:Being forced to destroy Eleanor is what finally makes Aldir realize Kezess is a tyrant not worth serving and causes him to defect]].

* TheBusCameBack: After not appearing since volume 5, he appears briefly in volume 10 in Lord Indrath's great hall to hear the truth about Taci's death.

* {{Shapeshifting}}: Some Asuran races such as dragons, phoenixes, leviathans, and basilisks are able to shapeshift between their true and human forms.

* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Their clan name is derived from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indra Indra]], the GodOfThunder and King of the Gods in UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}}. For added bonus, their nemeses are named the Vritra after the mythological Indra's ArchEnemy.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Compared to Kezess, Ademir is far more caring of his clam. He calls out Kezess for the narrative he presents regarding [[spoiler:Taci’s death. He is also understanding of Aldir’s reasons for departing and acquiesces to exiling him to spare their clan from Kezess’s wrath]].

* PowerTattoos: Dragons have golden markings all over their bodies.
* {{Shapeshifting}}: Dragons are able to change forms as they see fit.

* 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 even if he wants to leave his service, he will have the blood of the very soldiers he trained on his hands.

* MagicallyBindingContract: Attempts to impose one upon Arthur during their negotiations, which will devour his core if he breaks their agreement. Arthur is able to counter it so that he does not have to tell Kezess immediately and forces him to hold up his end first, but Kezess still has the leash in place.

* OutGambitted: Despite Kezess being TheChessmaster himself, Agrona is always one step ahead of him in the game of chess that is the DivineConflict. And whenever it happens, disastrous consequences follow for the enemies of the Vritra.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: She is amused by Arthur's confusion when she first met him then by his reaction when he discovered that she is Kezess's wife.
* BeautifulAllAlong: When Arthur first meets her, she poses as TheElderlyImmortal. Only when Arthur learns of her connection to Kezess does she assume a form that is as youthful as her consort.

->"''I am Lord Indrath’s envoy to this world. And as such, I am here to fetch you. Come, Arthur. Lord Indrath would speak with you. ''"

* TheDragon: A literal example working as Kezess’s right hand (though Kezess himself is also a dragon). This is especially true following Aldir’s departure.

* SpottingTheThread: Shortly after Kezess addresses the other Asuras in the aftermath of [[spoiler:Taci’s death. Windsom privately approaches Aldir and tells him that when he returned to the Djinn sanctuary, he found a tomb for the Lance Aya Grephin, who shouldn’t have been there as Aldir was supposed to have killed her and the other Lances himself at the Council Castle. Aldir confesses that he let the Lances go, before letting Windsom know he sees Kezess for who he really is and no longer wishes to serve him]].

--->'''Arthur''': I don't think you know half as much as you pretend to. If you'd understood any of this before Cecilia's reincarnation, you would have had Windsom kill Tessia, or Nico, or even me. How has Agrona gotten so far ahead of you?

* TheMentor: She taught Arthur how to read and counter the spells using RealmHeart.
* TrainingFromHell: She does not hold back while training Arthur as she is not afraid to injuire him and says he needs to prevent her. Even Arthur says Kordri's training is like a puppy training session compared to hers.

* DeathByOriginStory: Her death is pivotal to Arthur’s character development, as she sets Arthur on the path to end the Divine Conflict that has been going on in the setting. Not only that, but before she sends him off she bequeaths him the egg containing her daughter Sylvie, who would not only go on to become Arthur's bond but also the reason why [[spoiler:his reincarnation did not go according to Agrona's plan]].

-->'''Taci''': For Lord Indrath, may he reign forever under the golden sun.

-->'''Arthur''': Taci was just the beginning, Bairon. The gods themselves are our enemies now. And...whatever you all think, I can't fight them all alone.

* INeverToldYouMyName: She does not reveal her connection to Kezess and the Indrath to Arthur until right before he departs Epheotus to join the war.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: {{Enforced}}. 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.

* SpottingTheThread: Shortly after Kezess addresses the other Asuras in the aftermath of [[spoiler:Taci’s death. Windsom privately approaches Aldir and tells him that when he returned to the Djinn sanctuary, he found a tomb for the Lance Aya Grephin, who shouldn’t have been there as Aldir was supposed to have killed her and the other Lances himself. Aldir confesses that he let the Lances go, before letting Windsom know he sees Kezess for who he really is and no longer wishes to serve him]].

* BaldHeadOfToughness: The tradition among Pantheon warriors is to go clean shaven.

A Pantheon Asura of the Thyestes Clan, Aldir acts as the lead general of the armies of Epheotus. He and Windsom are sent down to Dicathen in the leadup to the Alacryan invasion to act as advisors to the Council.

A young Pantheon whom Arthur spars with during his training in Epheotus. He is later revealed to have been groomed to being the inheritor of the World Eater technique from Aldir.

* 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.

** For an example not involving Agrona, when Kezess attempts to force the MagicallyBindingContract upon Arthur during their negotations, the latter is able to briefly reverse the bindings that would immediately force him to tell Kezess his insight so that he is not immediately affected by them. This forces Kezess to uphold his end of their bargain while Arthur can choose when he wants to fulfill his end.

* DragonsAreDivine: In the setting, Dragons are one of the eight races of Asuras. In a dark twist on this trope, [[spoiler:LightIsNotGood is in full effect as the dragons are willing to commit genocide for the sake of what they perceive as "the greater good"]].

* 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 what Arthur has learned about aether.

* 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. Arthur only avoids getting struck down as Kezess finds him more valuable alive than dead.

** NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: The PensieveFlashback Arthur experiences in the third ruin shows that Kezess's motivations were a lot more petty than he claimed. He 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. While Kezess's motivations for committing genocide already had been perceived by others such as Sylvia, Agrona, and Arthur as being out of petty jealousy that a race of "lessers" has managed to surpass him and his kind when it comes to the control of aether, the vision shows that it is also due to his own lack of patience to master it.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Compared to Kezess, Ademir is far caring of his subordinates. He calls out Kezess for the narrative he presents to the rest of the Asuras regarding [[spoiler:Taci’s death. He is also understanding of Aldir’s reasons for departing and acquiesces to exiling him to spare their clan from Kezess’s wrath]].
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: He delivers a brief one to Kezess about his string of failings in the DivineConflict.

* ForScience: [[spoiler:Part of his reason for joining Aldir in his exile is to see how his creation Regis has turned out for himself]].

* UnPerson: This happened to Mordain when his friendship with Kezess Indrath came to an end when Mordain spoke out against Kezess for committing genocide upon the Djinn. After Mordain threatened to reveal the truth, he mysteriously disappeared from Epheotus an action that Kezess covered up more than the genocide he committed and Mordain was henceforth referred to as the Lost Prince with no one knowing where he went.

!! [[center:''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'' [[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd Character Sheets]]\\
[-[[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndDicathians Dicathians]] ([[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndArthurLeywin Arthur Leywin]]) | [[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndAlacryans Alacryans]] | Asuras-]]]

For Basilisks and the Vritra Clan, see the [[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndAlacryans Alacryans]] page.

[[folder:In General]]

For Sylvie, see the [[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndDicathians Dicathians]] page.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: In spite of his tyrannical nature, he really does care about his own immediate family, especially his daughter and granddaughter. When he meets Arthur for the first time since the war ended, he calls him out on how Sylvie had to sacrifice herself to save him.

[-[[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndDicathians Dicathians]] | [[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndAlacryans Alacryans]] | Asuras-]]]

* InevitableMutualBetrayal: After Arthur retakes Dicathen, Kezess summons him back to Epheotus as he wishes to negotiate with him regarding his place in the DivineConflict. Even though Arthur knows by now that Kezess is a genocidal tyrant responsible for his fair share of atrocities, he begrudgingly agrees to negotiate with him. In return for Arthur telling him all that he has learned about aether, Kezess would guarantee Epheotus’s protection should the Vritra invade. Both parties know that once Agrona and the Vritra are dealt with that hostilities are bound to resume between them. After all, Kezess is not going to let Arthur’s slights against him off that easily, while Arthur intends to bring Kezess and all of Epheotus to justice for their crimes.

* MagicallyBindingContract: Attempts to force one upon Arthur during their negotiations, which will devour his aether core if he breaks their agreement. Arthur is able to reverse the spell so that he doesn’t have to tell Kezess immediately and forces him to hold up his end of the agreement first, but Kezess still has the leash in place.

* GoodWearsWhite: Sylvia is a white dragon and is benevolent.

* TheAtoner: After the events of Volume 8, [[spoiler:Aldir seeks to atone for the atrocities he committed in Kezess’s service, especially what he did to Elenoir. Aside from sacrificing himself to resurrect Sylvie, he gives Arthur a box containing regenerative soil from Mount Geolus in order to restore life to the desolated landscape of Elenoir]].

* DarkIsNotEvil: ZigZagged. While he wears a black panoply with purple highlights, he is on the side of the Dicathians as he was sent by Kezess to act as a strategic advisor for the impending Alacryan invasion. However, [[spoiler:Kezess turns out to be a genocidal tyrant who is no better than Agrona, which is shown when he forces Aldir to use the World Eater technique in a futile bid to prevent Agrona and the Vritra from summoning the Legacy, which ends up destroying Elenoir in the process. Aldir was extremely reluctant to use the technique in the first place due to the collateral damage, and he ends up leaving Kezess's service altogether out of guilt. By the time Arthur meets with him in the Hearth, Aldir has discarded his armor as he no longer wishes to fight anymore]].

* HatedByAll: [[spoiler:The Dicathians hate him for being the one who destroyed Elenoir, in particular the elves as Elenoir was their homeland and they were driven to near-extinction when he destroyed it. The Alacryans already hate him for having been a servant of Kezess, coupled with the fact that his destruction of Elenoir killed a vast amount of Alacryan soldiers as well. And now Epheotus, his own homeland, hates him as a traitor who was willing to slaughter the very soldiers he had trained. As such, before his HeroicSacrifice Aldir tells Arthur to take his weapon Silverlight as proof of his demise in order to curry favor with both his people in Kezess]].

* PersonOfMassDestruction: Even when holding back his power, Aldir was able to defeat and incapacitate two of the six Lances, and later on was able to hold his own and slaughter [[spoiler:a detachment of Asuras sent to arrest him for treason. However, what truly puts him in this category is the fact that he is the wielder of the [[FantasticNuke World Eater technique]], which has been passed down his clan for generations to be used in the event of the GodzillaThreshold being passed. He is forced to use the technique by his master Kezess in order to prevent Agrona's servants from summoning the Legacy. It results in Elenoir being completely obliterated and rendered a lifeless wasteland. In the aftermath, Aldir is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone remorseful of what he had to do]], especially since he failed to kill the Legacy and had realized [[GodAndSatanAreBothJerks Kezess was no better than Agrona]]. He becomes a DefectorFromDecadence and later on performs a HeroicSacrifice to allow Arthur to restore his bond, in the process taking the World Eater technique with him to the grave so that it would never be used again]].

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:To atone for his actions, Aldir gives up his own life to allow Arthur to resurrect Sylvie]].

* TokenHeroicOrc: [[spoiler:Even before his defection, Aldir was established to have a sense of morality and valued the lives of mortals to a far greater degree than most Asuras He had multiple objections to using the World Eater technique due to the massive CollateralDamage it could cause and only reluctantly acquiesced due to the threat of Kezess punishing his own clan for his refusal. After being forced to use it and it turning out to have been completely futile, Aldir’s loyalty to Kezess reaches its breaking point as he finally turns against him with some prodding from Seris. After sabotaging Kezess’s plan to kill off the Dicathian resistance, Aldir goes into exile and finds refuge in the Hearth]].
* TraumaCongaLine: After [[spoiler:being forced to destroy Elenoir using the World Eater technique, Aldir's loyalty to Kezess is shaken as he had killed millions for ultimately nothing. Then he is confronted by Seris, who not only brings it up to his face how Kezess and Agrona are two sides of the same coin, but that Arthur had managed to survive the war and has the potential to upend it. This leads him to sabotage his liege's plan to purge the Dicathian resistance, but the aftermath Windsom catches on to his disloyalty, to which Aldir decides that now is the time for him to leave. However, before he is able to leave Windsom arrives to apprehend him along with a group of Asuran soldiers that Aldir himself had trained. Aldir is forced to kill all of them but Windsom in self-defense, in the process destroying whatever reputation he had left in Epheotus and rendering him HatedByAll as a murderer, traitor, and madman. When Arthur meets with him in the Hearth, Aldir is completely broken from the turn of events he has been subjected to and no longer has the will to fight]].

* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: He is just a boy by Asuran standards, albeit one who had received exclusive training to become the inheritor of the World Eater technique. And yet he is able overpower the remaining Lances all at once, the strongest mages in Dicathen. He manages to blind Mica in the left eye, sever Varay’s left arm, and force Aya to overexert her mana core to create illusions strong enough to trick him into thinking he killed the Lances, [[HeroicRROD causing her to die in the process]] (to say nothing of all the other casualties he caused during his rampage). He is only ultimately stopped by Arthur (who has CameBackStrong thanks to his endeavors in the Relictombs and Alacrya and has just killed off the top Scythe and crippled another in a SingleStrokeBattle), and he ends up having to take Taci back into the Relictombs just so that their fight won't bring the sanctuary crashing down on everyone. As Arthur somberly notes in the aftermath, if an Asura as lowly as Taci could cause that much devastation, then the war against the Asuras is going to be an extremely difficult one for him and his allies.

* Foil: To Agrona, Both of them got betrayed by Kezess Indrath While Agrona fell into madness and began plotting revenge against Kezess Indrath. Mordain did not sccumb to his anger and instead focused on building a safe heaven for his people, other Asuras and victims of the Djinn genocide in the beast glades in Dicathen called the Hearth.

* AloofAlly: When he is first introduced, Kezess is incredibly dismissive of Arthur. He remains aloof in demeanor throughout his appearances. Even when Arthur recognizes him as his enemy and calls him out for his crimes later on, he maintains that demeanor.

** 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 not only nurture the young Arthur, but set him on the path to end the DivineConflict and was willing to expose her father’s atrocities to Arthur to give him a picture of who he is really fighting against. On top of that, 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. Not to mention, Kezess orchestrating the destruction of Elenoir and the attempted extermination of Arthur’s friends and family in the Dicathian resistance truly earns him Arthur's enmity, as threatening his loved ones is Arthur's main BerserkButton.

* 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.

* IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure: How he gets his servants to do his bidding, no matter how reluctant they are. 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.
* InevitableMutualBetrayal: After Arthur retakes Etisin and secures the surrender of the remaining Alacryan forces on Dicathen, he is summoned back to Epheotus by Kezess, who wishes to negotiate with him regarding his place in the DivineConflict. Even though Arthur knows by now that Kezess is a genocidal tyrant responsible for his fair share of atrocities, he begrudgingly agrees to negotiate with him. Given how Arthur was outmaneuvered by Agrona in the past on top of not knowing just how powerful Kezess and Agrona are in a physical confrontation, he knows it would be more beneficial for the time being to strike an EnemyMine deal with Kezess given their mutual enemy. In return for Arthur telling him all that he has learned about aether, Kezess would guarantee Epheotus’s protection should the Vritra invade. To seal the deal, Kezess attempts to use a MagicallyBindingContract so that Arthur would have to hold up his end of the bargain immediately, but Arthur is able to reverse the bindings so that he does not have to. Both parties know that once Agrona and the Vritra are dealt with that hostilities are bound to resume between them. After all, Kezess is not going to let Arthur’s slights against him off that easily, while Arthur intends to bring Kezess and all of Epheotus to justice for their crimes.

* ManipulativeBastard: Kezess is just as manipulative of others as his nemesis Agrona. In the aftermath of Taci's death, he attempts to lie to the rest of the Asuras including Taci's own clan about what actually happened. He even tries to goad Ademir, the leader of Taci's clan, into slipping up verbally and getting his clan into even more trouble than they already are.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: {{Justified}}. 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.

** 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 own anger, the rest of the Great Eight push for the treaty that defines the DivineConflict.

** Agrona manages to hide from Kezess his true plans regarding the reincarnates until he is about to summon the Legacy. When Kezess catches wind of it, he sends Windsom and Aldir down to Elenoir in order to prevent the Legacy from being summoned by killing her intended vessel Tessia. Unfortunately, the mission ends up going wrong as the Legacy is summoned, and due to the GodzillaThreshold having been passed Aldir is ordered to use the World Eater technique to destroy Elenoir. It ends being all for naught as in the aftermath the Legacy is able to escape and all Aldir has to show for it is the barren wasteland of what used to be Elenoir.
---->'''Arthur''': I don't think you know half as much as you pretend to. If you'd understood any of this before Cecilia's reincarnation, you would have had Windsom kill Tessia, or Nico, or even me. How has Agrona gotten so far ahead of you?

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Kezess has MysticalWhiteHair, but is in all actuality one of the evilest characters in the setting.
* 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.

* DarkIsNotEvil: During her time raising Arthur, she is in the form of a basilisk and this resembles a monstrous black humanoid with HornsOfVillainy and RedEyesTakeWarning. However, Sylvia is still one of the most selfless individuals in the entire setting, especially considering [[spoiler:her kind and their complete disdain of lessers]].

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Compared to Kezess, Ademir is far more level-headed. He frequently calls out Kezess for the narrative he presents to the rest of the Asuras regarding [[spoiler:Taci’s death. He is also understanding of Aldir’s reasons for departing and acquiesces to exiling him to spare their clan from Kezess’s wrath]].

* IWillFightNoMoreForever: Before [[spoiler: Aldir sacrifices himself to resurrect Sylvie, he declares his days of being a warrior are over and wishes Arthur luck in ending the DivineConflict. In spite of Arthur feeling Aldir is taking the easy way out for his actions and wanting him to stay around to help him fight both Kezess and Agrona, he relents when it is clear Aldir is not going to change his mind]].

* PurpleIsPowerful: Aldir’s armor has purple accents, and he is one of the most powerful warriors on Epheotus. His ThirdEye is purple.

* TraumaCongaLine: After [[spoiler:being forced to destroy Elenoir using the World Eater technique, Aldir's loyalty to Kezess is shaken as he has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment over having committed another genocide in Kezess's name, one which ultimately failed in its objective in eliminating the Legacy. Then he is confronted by Seris, who not only brings it up to his face how Kezess and Agrona are two sides of the same coin, but that Arthur had managed to survive the war and has the potential to upend it. This leads him to defy his liege's orders by redirecting the Lances to the Djinn sanctuary where the Dicathians are hiding to stop Taci from exterminating the populace at Kezess's command. In the aftermath of Taci's death, Windsom catches on to the fact that Aldir had disobeyed Kezess's orders, to which Aldir decides that now is the time for him to leave Kezess's service and depart Epheotus altogether. However, before he is able to leave Windsom arrives to apprehend him along with a group of Asuran soldiers that Aldir himself had trained. Aldir is forced to kill all of them but Windsom in self-defense, in the process destroying whatever reputation he had left in Epheotus and rendering him HatedByAll as a murderer, traitor, and madman. When Arthur meets with him in the Hearth, Aldir is completely broken from the turn of events he has been subjected to and no longer has the will to fight]].

* GodsHandsAreTied: Due to the treaty between Epheotus and the Vritra Clan, the Asuras are barred from direct interference as a direct conflict could level the world.
* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:The Asuras of Epheotus claim to have a sense of morality, but it appears that sense only stems to their own kind rather than lessers. When Windsom describes the nature of the war to Arthur, he claims that "it would be wrong to punish an entire race for the actions of a few" when it comes to the treatment of the basilisks on Epheotus after the exile of the Vritra. He also claims that they do not wish to interfere in the setting]].

* TheChessmaster: Kezess is a callous manipulator of events with little regard for the lives of the so called lessers that he claims to protect as in all actuality he views them as completely expendable, especially if they go against him or sting his pride. After orchestrating the destruction of Elenoir in a futile bid to prevent the Legacy from being summoned, he reestablishes contact with the Dicathian resistance. He gives them a new set of magical artifacts that he claims will help them defeat Agrona and Vritra, but in truth would enslave them to his will. On top of that, he forces Virion, the former King of Elenoir and the leader of the resistance, to lie to his people about what is really going on. When Kezess's scheme is exposed and Virion turns against him, Kezess decides to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness wipe the slate clean]] by having Aldir kill off the Lances separately while Taci exterminates the rest. However, thanks to Aldir's wavering loyalties and Arthur's timely intervention, his gambit fails. Later on, he summons Arthur to Epheotus to negotiate with him regarding his place in the impending war. In the process, he attempts to use a MagicallyBindingContract on Arthur to extract what he knows about aether in return for securing Epheotus's protection against Agrona and the Vritra, but Arthur is able to reverse the deal so that Kezess is beholden to keep his word rather than vice versa. However, Kezess does take advantage of their deal to send his forces to occupy Dicathen while Arthur was stuck in the aether realm for two months trying to resurrect Sylvie. While this does mean Dicathen is secure from Agrona launching a counter-offensive for the time being, Arthur knows that Kezess's tyranny is no better than Agrona's. On top of that, Kezess's intervention makes it harder for him to openly ally with either Seris or Mordain against Agrona, the former for being Vritra-blooded and the latter for being Kezess's former friend whom he had exiled for going against the genocide of the Djinn.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: {{Enforced}}. 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. To be fair, this is because of GodsHandsAreTied, as due to the treaty any direct involvement on his part would lead to MutuallyAssuredDestruction.
* OutGambitted:
** No matter what he tries to do, Agrona is always one step ahead of him in the game of chess that is the DivineConflict. And whenever it happens, disastrous consequences follow for the enemies of the Vritra.
--->'''Arthur''': I don't think you know half as much as you pretend to. If you'd understood any of this before Cecilia's reincarnation, you would have had Windsom kill Tessia, or Nico, or even me. How has Agrona gotten so far ahead of you?
** When he attempts to force the MagicallyBindingContract upon Arthur, the latter is able to briefly reverse the bindings that would immediately force him to tell Kezess his insight so that he is not immediately affected by them. This forces Kezess to uphold his end of their bargain while Arthur can choose when he wants to fulfill his end.

** NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: The PensieveFlashback Arthur experiences in the third ruin shows that Kezess's motivations were a lot more petty than he claimed. He 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. With that in mind, his motivations for committing genocide come off as a lack of patience to master aether and petty jealousy that a race of "lessers" has managed to surpass him and his kind when it comes to the control of aether.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Kezess has MysticalWhiteHair, but is in fact one of the evilest characters in the setting.

-->Aldir: We were a warrior race, and we responded to threats with strength.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Gives up his own body to allow Arthur to resurrect Sylvie]].

* 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.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Claims that everything he does is for safety of the entire world. He justifies the Djinn genocide by saying their 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.

The Matriarch of the Indrath Clan, Myre is Kezess’s wife and Sylvia’s mother.

The daughter of Kezess and Myre. She saves the young Arthur after he gets separated from his family following a tragic accident and proceeds to nurse him back to health. Her time with him gets cut short

* DeathByOriginStory: Her death is pivotal to Arthur’s character development.

Kezess’s envoy to the mortal world, Windsom is the first Asura introduced in the story since Sylvia and Sylvie to establish contact with Arthur and inform him of the impending war with the Vritra. He is later revealed to have been the so-called deity who gave the forefathers of the royal families of Dicathen the EmpoweringArtifact[=s=] that gave rise to the Lances and thus the presence of mages on Dicathen. He and Aldir are sent down to Dicathen in the leadup to the Alacryan invasion to act as advisors to the Council.

* DarkIsNotEvil: {{Subverted}}: Windsom is garbed in a black and gold military uniform, but he is an ally. At least, until

* ExoticEyes: Windsom’s eyes resemble that of galaxies.

* SpottingTheThread: Shortly after Kezess addresses the other Asuras in the aftermath of Taci’s death. Windsom privately approaches Aldir and tells him that when he returned to the Djinn sanctuary, he found a tomb for the Lance Aya Grephin, who shouldn’t have been there as Aldir was supposed to have killed her and the other Lances himself. Aldir confesses that he let the Lances go, before letting Windsom know he sees Kezess for who he really is and no longer wishes to serve him.

Aldir’s brother, Kordri acts as one of Arthur’s trainers during his time in Epheotus.

* OurTitansAreDifferent: Titans are noted to be rather bulky in appearance compared to other Asuras.

* EmpireWithADarkSecret:

* JerkassGods: With a few exceptions, at the very best the Asuras care nothing about lessers and just leave them alone as they are content with dealing with their own internal affairs in Epheotus. At the worst, they have no respect for the lives of lessers, be it through CollateralDamage or the slighting of their pride.
* NotSoOmniscientAfterAll: Despite being the gods of the setting, the Asuras do not know everything in part due to [[spoiler:the Indrath covering up their atrocities and lying to them about what is really going on]]. Even the Indrath Clan themselves, as they get outplayed by the Vritra on more than one occasion.

** No matter what he tries to do, Agrona is always one step ahead of him in the game of chess that is the DivineConflict.
* TopGod: As the head of the Indrath Clan, themselves the rulers of the Asuras, Kezess is effectively the supreme god of the setting.
* 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.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Claims that everything he does is for safety of the entire world. Including genocide.

The daughter of Kezess and Myre.

* ParentalSubstitute: Briefly acts as one to Arthur after he got separated from his family following a bandit ambush.

For Basilisks and the Vritra Clan, see the [[Characters/TheBeginningAfterTheEndAlacryans Alacryans]]page.

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler:The Asuras of Epheotus claim to have a sense of morality, but it appears that sense only stems to their own kind rather than lessers. When Windsom describes the nature of the war to Arthur, he claims that “it would be wrong to punish an entire race for the actions of a few” when it comes to the treatment of the basilisks on Epheotus after the exile of the Vritra. He also claims that they do not wish to interfere in the setting]].

* NotSoOmniscientAfterAll: Despite being the gods of the setting, the Asuras do not know everything. Even the Indrath Clan themselves, as they get outplayed by the Vritra on more than one occasion.

* DragonsAreDivine: In the setting, Dragons are one of the eight races of Asuras. In a dark twist on this trope, [[spoiler:LightIsNotGood is in full effect as the dragons are willing to commit genocide for the sake of what they perceive as “the greater good”]].
* GoldAndWhiteAreDivine: Dragons tend to have pale white skin in both their humanoid and true forms.
* LightIsNotGood:
* MysticalWhiteHair:

* PowerTattoos:

* MoralityChainBeyondTheGrave:

"''I am Lord Indrath’s envoy to this world. And as such, I am here to fetch you. Come, Arthur. Lord Indrath would speak with you. ''"

Kezess’s envoy to the mortal world, Windsom is the first Asura introduced in the story since Sylvia and Sylvie to establish contact with Arthur and inform him of the impending war with the Vritra. He is later revealed to have been the so-called deity who gave the forefathers of the royal families of Dicathen the EmpoweringArtifact[=s=] that gave rise to the Lances and thus the presence of mages on Dicathen.

* JustToyingWithThem: When he frees Arthur from his wrongful imprisonment, Bairon attempts to put Windsom in his place. Windsom, being an Asura, is able to NoSell Bairon’s attacks and bring him to heel without using his full power.

"''Anyone capable of labeling one group of lives as unimportant can just as easily make the same determination of another.''"

A Pantheon Asura of the Thyestes Clan, Aldir acts as the lead general of the armies of Epheotus. He and Windsom are sent down to Dicathen in the leadup to the Alacryan invasion to act as advisors.

* DarkIsNotEvil: {{Zig-Zagged}}. While he wears a black panoply with purple highlights, he is on the side of the Dicathians as he was sent by Kezess to act as a strategic advisor for the impending Alacryan invasion. However, Kezess turns out to be a genocidal tyrant who is no better than Agrona, which is shown when he forces Aldir to use the World Eater technique in a futile bid to prevent Agrona and the Vritra from summoning the Legacy, which ends up destroying Elenoir in the process. Aldir was extremely reluctant to use the technique in the first place due to the collateral damage, and he ends up leaving Kezess's service altogether out of guilt. By the time Arthur meets with him in the Hearth, Aldir has discarded his armor as he no longer wishes to fight anymore

* FantasticNuke: The World Eater technique.

* HatedByAll: [[spoiler:The Dicathians hate him for being the one who destroyed Elenoir, in particular the elves as Elenoir was their homeland and they were driven to near-extinction when he destroyed it. The Alacryans already hate him for having been a servant of Kezess, coupled with the fact that his destruction of Elenoir killed a vast amount of Alacryan soldiers as well. And now Epheotus, his own homeland, hates him as a traitor who was willing to slaughter the very soldiers he had trained. As such, Aldir tells Arthur to take his weapon Silverlight as proof of his demise in order to curry favor with both his people in Kezess]].

--->'''Aldir:''' I believe my days of fighting are done. I won’t kill [[spoiler:any more of my own kind, even to get to Kezess]]. Both your world and mine deserve more than endless war. I hope you find a way to end the threat posed by the [[spoiler:Indrath]] and Vritra Clans without mass casualties.

* TheKinslayer: Thanks to [[spoiler:Kezess sending his former disciples after him and forcing him to kill them in self-defense, Aldir is marked as a kinslayer by all of Epheotus]].

* PersonOfMassDestruction: Aldir is the keeper of the World Eater technique.

* SelfImposedExile: Before he proceeds to defect from Epheotus, he asks Ademir to exile him in order to spare his clan from Kezess’s wrath.

* TraumaCongaLine: After [[spoiler:being forced to destroy Elenoir using the World Eater technique, Aldir's loyalty to Kezess is shaken as he has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone? moment over having committed another genocide in Kezess's name, one which ultimately failed in its objective in eliminating the Legacy. Then he is confronted by Seris, who not only brings it up to his face how Kezess and Agrona are two sides of the same coin, but that Arthur had managed to survive the war and has the potential to upend it. This leads him to defy his liege's orders by redirecting the Lances to the Djinn sanctuary where the Dicathians are hiding to stop Taci from exterminating the populace at Kezess's command. In the aftermath of Taci's death, Windsom catches on to the fact that Aldir had disobeyed Kezess's orders, to which Aldir decides that now is the time for him to leave Kezess's service and depart Epheotus altogether. However, before he is able to leave Windsom arrives to apprehend him along with a group of Asuran soldiers that Aldir himself had trained. Aldir is forced to kill all of them but Windsom in self-defense, in the process destroying whatever reputation he had left in Epheotus and rendering him HatedByAll as a murderer, traitor, and madman. When Arthur meets with him in the Hearth, Aldir is completely broken from the turn of events he has been subjected to and no longer has the will to fight]].

--->'''Taci''': For Lord Indrath, may he reign forever under the golden sun.

* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: He is just a boy by Asuran standards, albeit one who had received exclusive training to become the inheritor of the World Eater technique. And yet he is able overpower the remaining Lances all at once, the strongest mages in Dicathen. He manages to blind Mica in the left eye, sever Varay’s left arm, and force Aya to overexert her mana core to create illusions strong enough to trick him into thinking he killed the Lances, [[HeroicRROD causing her to die in the process]] (to say nothing of all the other casualties he caused during his rampage). He is only ultimately stopped by Arthur (who has CameBackStrong thanks to his endeavors in the Relictombs and Alacrya and has just killed off the top Scythe and crippled another in a SingleStrokeBattle), and he ends up having to take Taci back into the Relictombs just so that their fight won't bring the sanctuary crashing down on everyone. As Arthur somberly notes in the aftermath, if an Asura as lowly as Taci could cause that much devastation, then the war against the Asuras is going to be an extremely difficult one for him and his allies]].
--->'''Arthur''': Taci was just the beginning, Bairon. The gods themselves are our enemies now. And...whatever you all think, I can't fight them all alone.

* OurTitansAreDifferent

* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:He was never in favor of Kezess. As such, he joins Aldir in defecting from Epheotus]].