Kendesai is the unpublished High Fantasy work of Spinycemb, with the format of it mostly being through traditional writing. A sort of pet project for the past several years, it exists partially as a form of keeping productive to some extent, and to contextualize old concepts and forum roleplay characters. From there, it snowballed into its own setting with a more concrete canon. As a whole, the story takes place on an alien planet populated by people descended from arthropods after their gods created the planet.
The main story follows Terrandus, a young boy who works as an apprentice blacksmith until he and his friend, a member of the town guard named Saiyel, are called to the temple of his town. To their surprise, their god, a vast serpent named Gaianyx, has called them to fulfill a very particular purpose.
About fifty years ago, a man who calls himself Mezmerane tampered with a powerful artifact that made him the avatar and enforcer of a powerful demon. He has sat in hibernation, using his mind to reach out to those most easily convinced of his power, to wipe out the planet's population and usher forth the demon so that it may destroy the cosmos itself. Terrandus and Saiyel must travel to the capital city of each of the five kingdoms, and bring together the Chosen of these cities and their Guardians, defeat the army that Mezmerane is gathering, and go after the man himself.
However, Terrandus finds himself very overwhelmed by this, as a teenager naturally would be. He vows, and hopes, that he can solve this without having to hurt anyone, a vow that Mezmerane himself finds particular interest in trying to make him break.
Characters (WIP)
The Chosen
Terrandus Durziken, Chosen of Gaianyx
Terrandus grew up on a farm outside the city of Olai, a life that was slightly harrowing, but gave him a very deep understanding and respect for nature and other people. After his father died trying to fend off a group of thieves, he swore he would train to defend those he loved as he grew older and his family moved into the city. However, none of the traditional roles of a fighter or a spellcaster really spoke to him. It was then, he decided, he would try something else. He formulated his own, adaptable style of counteractive combat that focused on disarming and tiring the enemy rather than harming them. Eventually, he was given a special suit of armor and weaponry by his employer to further facilitate this style.- Cool Sword: The Tails of Gaianyx, a sword with fanning blades that's designed to let him catch and swipe weapons from out of their wielders' hands.
- Disappeared Dad: His father was killed by a group of thieves when he was young.
- Dishing Out Dirt: He utilizes geokinesis to disorient and distract enemies.
- Kid Hero: Examined; A major theme of his arc is the fact that he's being confronted with things he's not entirely prepared for psychologically, and is trying desperately to cling to his idealism in the face of a threat that considers him the weakest of all for it. However, he uses this as motivation to defy and outwit them.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Stoneshaper Ward, a shield that projects a magic barrier around him, in addition to blocking physical attacks.
- The Quiet One: Mostly nonverbal unless he needs to convey something specific or nuanced.
- Technical Pacifist: He refuses to kill or seriously injure people, but he will fight to defend himself or others.
Queen Aquaria Iizali II, Chosen of Aquatisk
Aquaria is the youngest queen the kingdom of Soui has had. After her mother died to illness and her father was slain by his ambitious brother, she and the man that would become her Guardian drove all actively hostile threats out of the kingdom. With the help of her advisors, she aims to make Soui a proud, stable nation. When she is informed of the prophecy by her scribes, she and her guardian actively set out to meet up with the group, leaving her chief advisors to maintain the kingdom in her absence. She has trained herself to focus her attacks in very precise ways, and uses her mother's armor and father's trident to turn the tide of battle.- Making a Splash: Adept with hydrokinesis to heal wounds and knock away attackers.
- Orphan's Ordeal: She really wishes she had more parental guidance right about now, whether she admits it or not.
- The Perfectionist: She strives, to an unhealthy degree, to master anything she's expected to do on the first go. Though she doesn't like to show it, not doing so has quite an effect on her self-esteem.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: She may be a queen, a very young one at that, but she has spent her off-time training herself very thoroughly.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She isn't content with staying in her castle when the call to action goes out.
Chief Fuegos Combus, Chosen of Magmox
By the time he was of the age where he was expected to work, he had to carefully dial back his temper, lest he burn his place of employment down. For these reasons, however, he was given the title of Chief Pyromancer of Oberom once he was 20, for the benefit of the citizens of Oberom and his own, as that would mean he was entrusted with a sacred ruby that would help manage his temper. However, the ruby also caused another spark in him. Through simple contact with the item, he understood why he was so much more powerful than everyone else. His egg was the chosen vessel for the essence of an elemental beast named Kz'ranx. With this knowledge, and a focusing gem passed through his family, he uses aggressive and wild strikes to keep foes at bay.- The Alcoholic: Started partaking in his late teens to curb his anger. However, now that he has a better way of doing it, his greater challenge is managing to stop.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Of a sort. As a result of his immense power, he was given the position of leader so he'd have an artifact that would help control the literal raging fires he would conjure when upset.
- Big Fun: Well for a Kendan, at least.
- Full-Contact Magic: Summons fire more to augment his physical attacks than to strike from a distance.
- Playing with Fire
- Powers via Possession: Thanks to his soul being partially fused with a fire elemental.
- Sad Clown: He is very self-aware of and regrets the damage he's caused to his village, which included someone dying in a fire he started. It's another of several reasons why he ends up drinking a lot, and a major hurdle for him to start weening himself off of it is learning to forgive himself.
- Super Mode: Fuegos is capable of channeling the power of the fire elemental within him, which gives him the ability to fly and increased physical strength across the board.
- Heroic RRoD: However, using it for too long will cause the elemental's true mind to awaken and start eating at his body in desperation, and eventually his soul.
Windallus Hurrinade, Chosen of Aeroceph
Windallus was a meek and quiet child born into slavery amongst a tribe of reptilian warriors known as the Sharkazan. Found and saved by general Ralidon of Sturmgard's military after a raid on a camp that was too close for their liking, he saw the knight as a father figure, and became his squire and son. The two trained together and Windallus grew to look up to Ralidon. However, after the dragon Inferna killed Ralidon in single combat, his demeanor changed entirely, even if his way of expressing itself didn't. He was no longer afraid to speak his mind in fear of being punished. He just didn't see a need to, as he'd seen there's no place for speech or bravado. The depression and longing for purpose he fell into became a major catalyst for his alliance with Mezmerane. as he was convinced that Mezmerane was the spirit of Ralidon for a while."Father's" message to him told him to stage a crisis of great proportion in Sturmgard to spur on heroes who could defeat him and help save the world from a grave crisis. After his defeat at the hands of the adventurers, he is informed of the deception and surrenders in stunned silence. What truly surprised him was that they would ask him to join them to atone for his actions and to help them fight off Mezmerane's forces. Using a collection of throwing weapons and a large single-edged sword, he forms a decent frontline for the group alongside its other attack-heavy members.
- The Atoner: Joins the party to end the problem he helped create.
- Glamour Failure: Like Inferna, Windallus doesn't have antenna either. His bangs and ahoge are all normal hair because the Sharkazan who "raised" him didn't know Kendan antenna were important sensory organs.
- Shadow Archetype: Like Terrandus, he's very nonverbal, uses an unconventional fighting style, and lost a notable father figure in his life. However, Windallus had to see his father die, and lived a torturous life before he was adopted by him, and as a result was left more emotionally vulnerable than he assumed he was.
- Heel Realization: After realizing he was tricked into hurting people for ultimately no good reason, he barely even moves, let alone speaks.
- Idiot Hair: Has a single lock of hair that not even helmet hair can keep down.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He was under the impression that, if he caused a great enough problem for Sturmgard, that a group strong enough to stop him would catch wind of it and form an alliance, and in the process be able to stop a greater evil. He was technically right, though this was exactly what the evil wanted; He was still personally responsible for all the suffering he caused in his bid to summon them.
Laddegus /Jeod Luminaire, Chosen of Luxus
Laddegus is not like the other members of the group. Mainly, his arrival was a complete rogue element in the prophecy, as far as they know. His very existence is a multi-faceted conundrum in that he is a sentient, albeit amnesiac, undead who carries the power of the long-forgotten demon hunters of the light adept Kendans. Awaking in a castle with no memory of his previous life, he is helped in his escape effort by a demon bound to a bracer on his arm. Once he escaped, the demon tried to overtake him, but failed. In a move surprising the demon, Laddegus still offered to take them with him so they could get answers, and the two haven't been far from eachother ever since. Laddegus has no weapon of his own, but is heavily armored, and wields not only the power of electricity, an element so rare not many people have any counter to it, but is granted power and protection by the demon in his bracer.- 24-Hour Armor: Justified; While it makes public relations difficult, the armor allows him to speak properly and hides his undead nature.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Anything that strikes near the chest area may damage his opal core. If it gets so much as scuffed, he'll undergo slight memory loss. Thus, it's theorized that breaking it will kill him in a way that makes him unable to be revived.
- Dem Bones: Beneath the seven foot tall suit of armor is a three-foot-three skeleton with no jaw.
- Gentle Giant: Subverted on the giant part. Even compared to a human, he's massive, but his armor is mostly hollow inside.
- Light 'em Up: Can channel electricity through his body, particularly his fists, as well as bend light around him to obscure his movements.
- Mighty Glacier: Due to his undead nature and his armor, he's very slow, but very powerful
- No-Sell: Most things, even certain magic attacks, do nothing to stop him because not much of it is really hitting him.
- Our Liches Are Different: He is not inherently evil despite his visage and the armor, and he himself cannot raise the dead, but his soul seems to be locked within the opal in his ribcage.
- Super Mode: Can let the demon bond with his armor to guide his actions, shed the excess pieces of the suit, and strike faster and harder at the cost of damage being more potentially hazardous.
- The Power of Love: Eventually, after finding he's fallen for the demon, and finding they reciprocate, the two unlock a special form that allows them flight and increased durability.
- Symbiotic Possession: He provides the demon with bodies to eat, and the demon in turn adds another layer of protection for his core.
Baron Ebarren Shayne, Chosen of Kitumbron
The brother of the Shayne Twins and co-ruler of the vanishing - now returned - city of Umbros, Ebarren lived a life of privilege, but not of comfort. Growing up with a father who abused his sister Zaikelle for reasons the young boy hadn't comprehended at first, he was inspired to be everything that the former Baron of Umbros was not. He got this chance sooner than expected, however, after his parents had been murdered by political assassins. When he was chosen for the throne, he refused; unless his sister, who was previously denied as an heir to the throne, could rule alongside him as his equal.Of the two, Ebarren typically handles more social matters, managing laws and bills to offer comfort to inhabitants and visitors alike. While in combat, he utilizes a pair of versatile hookswords, as well as the ability of Shadow adepts to teleport between any two shadowed areas.
- Anime Hair: Styles his hair with a quail's plume towards his forehead, and a swallowtail-like part in the back.
- Casting a Shadow: Can teleport between any two heavily-shadowed locations so long as they can physically fit him.
- Dual Wielding: The Glory of Umbros, a pair of hooked blades that can combine into either a double-sided, bladed weapon, or a large bladed boomerang.
- Half-Identical Twins: Invoked. To further illustrate the fact that both twins are to be respected as leader, he styles his hair similar to his sister's. The main giveaway is that his swallowtail hair is thicker, while his quail-like plume is made of his antennae.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Is rarely ever seen outside of royal attire.
- Twin Switch: Will sometimes change clothes and positions with Zaikelle unannounced to ensure there is no bias towards them.
- Vampire Vords: Or at least, his world's version of it. Because Umbros spent fifty years separate from the rest of the world, he grew up among a slightly different vernacular.
The Guardians
Saiyel Kensida, Guardian of Stone
Born to the family that founded Olai, Saiyel is the youngest of the line, and serves in the town guard alongside her father. Having grown up with several strange circumstances and experiences has given her a very unique insight into the world around her and allowed her to befriend Terrandus after the two helped solve an ecological problem in a nearby forest, and acts as his Guardian in their journey. She acts as a paragon of what the town guard strives for, being strong, confident and level-headed, acting as a member of the town's Vanguard unit. in addition, she has also taken an interest in smithing and engineering, and hopes to partake in these once her service with the town guard is done. Though she is often said to do her family proud with her achievements, she has a very cold attitude towards her lineage for unknown reasons.After trying to solve a problem at the outskirts of the city of Umbros, Saiyel's hand is eaten by a zombie. Though she adapts to the prosthetic quite quickly, the experience has left her with a distinct fear of bone-white objects and teeth.
- An Arm and a Leg: Loses her right hand early into the story. This doesn't do much to stop her, however.
- Artificial Limbs: Gains a slightly larger prosthetic hand made of pure metal that she uses her magic to help operate
- Dark Secret: Not only is she Mezmerane's granddaughter, and not only is her uncle Korinja, the man famed for stopping his rampage, is the one who instigated it to start with, but Korinja is also the wraith haunting Olai. She and her parents consider Korinja's past and present actions beyond unforgivable.
- Dishing Out Dirt: She strikes the ground to tear up large chunks of rock beneath people's feet to throw or block things with.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Highly interested in engineering and metalworking despite being an energetic fashionable lady in a yellow sundress.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Vanguard Claws, two large metal shields that are designed to defend the user, anyone behind them, and act as a pair of massive fist weapons.
- Mama Bear: She is very protective of Terrandus, even if she isn't his mother.
- The Pollyanna: She tries. It gets hard, but she tries.
Delenus Sekaider, Guardian of Ice
In many ways, Delenus is the pauper to Aquaria's Prince(ss). Born to a relatively poor family to start with, his chances of success didn't get much better after he was attacked by a parasitic lifeform that mutated him before it was removed, with a nasty scar on his back, pointed teeth, claws, and horns to show for it. Considered a leper at best, a demon at worst, and having to hide his body out of fear of ridicule, he was very much on the end of his rope before he found something to cling to. He wanted to become a member of the royal guard. Though he had everything working against him, passively or actively, he finally achieved his goal, being granted knighthood by King Azulos, and promoted years later by Queen Aquaria. Though he is a natural with a crossbow, he has learned to make use of his monstrous side when angered, using his cryokinesis to form cutting blades to empower his swipes.- An Ice Person: Forms floating blades and spikes with a combination of hydrokinesis and cryomancy.
- Bows Versus Crossbows: Wields a crossbow enchanted to automatically drop rounds into itself when pulled back. He hasn't named it, since he doesn't see much of a point.
- Cursed with Awesome / Blessed with Suck: He has regenerative powers, increased strength, agility and senses... but he also has several physical disfigurements as a result, and a chemical imbalance that pushes him towards lashing out at people if he's angry.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has an attitude only Aquaria would ever let slide, but he tries to tone it down if he senses something wrong.
- Knight in Sour Armor: He's very cynical and difficult to earn the trust of as a result of the systemic abuse he suffered until he managed to draw attention to it.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: In comparison to other Kendans. His bodymass isn't properly distributed as a result of his body putting effort into growing out his claws and horns. As a result, his physical growth is somewhat stunted.
- Unstoppable Rage: If sufficiently angered, almost nothing can stop him from venting his anger short of being knocked out cold.
- Rank Up: Starts out a basic knight under Azulos's reign, but is elevated to Royal Guard status by Aquaria.
- Resist the Beast: Files down the pointier bits he's grown as a result of his mutation. They always grow back, though.
Lasair Combus, Guardian of Fire
Since she was able to speak, Lasair took interest in pyromancy, as expected considering the Combus bloodline's affinity towards it being seemingly the strongest out of the Magmox Kendans living in Oberom. With this in mind, she strove to be the Chief Pyromancer as she grew up, learning to channel her emotions in to controlled, fiery blasts. However, she lost that chance to her own brother, whose power was less controlled, but far more potent. At first, she was bitter, but she sees it was for the best.Of course, being made his second-in-command didn't hurt much either.- Cool Big Sis: The older sister of Fuegos.
- Lady of Black Magic: As dark as fire can be.
- Playing with Fire: Second-strongest pyromancer of Oberom, and the most well-trained.
- Squishy Wizard: Wears lightweight armor to avoid overheating, but as a result isn't that well protected.
- Statuesque Stunner: Like with Fuegos, it's mostly in comparison to other Kendans.
Yu'Kan, Guardian of Wind
A young woman born to the Sharkazan, she was one of the few who were not plagued by the whispers of Mezalmeron's influence. As a result, she is far more personable, and while unable to help Windallus directly, became one of his only friends during his time as a slave. When Ralidon's troops raided the camp, she was spared as a result of being a child, and in return guided Ralidon to where the prisoners were kept, in turn ensuring Windallus's rescue. Some years later, her actions were revealed to the rest of the camp, and she was forced to flee before being executed. It would be more years still until she finally met Windallus again, an emotional wreck who had been tricked into ruining his own life. Seeing him so desperate to make amends, she accompanies him in the hopes that she can help him find peace. Though sharkazan typically don't practice elemental magic, she's managed to teach herself how to use wind magic, as well as knowing how to assemble certain gadgets that can help her and her allies.- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Is one of the few Sharkazan who seek to live in peace with other species rather than mercilessly hunting and killing.
- Our Goblins Are Different: Her species fill the same kind of niche, as impish pack hunters who are known for being short, crafty engineers. The wrinkle is that they are actually very tall, but use fur cloaks to conceal the fact that they're merely crouched over until they get into a fight.
Gieg Spiren VII
Once a demon of great power and status, an unknown aggressor decapitated Gieg and incapacitated his brother. The demon's head managed to escape to the world of Kendesai, where it was captured and bound to an inanimate corpse. Upon realizing the corpse was not in fact inanimate, he goaded the presence possessing it into leaving the castle, hiding their true nature from them until after they had both exited the building so he could overwhelm them. However, the plan didn't go anything like he anticipated, and was left defeated. To Gieg's surprise, the undead offered to help them rebuild their strength in return for information and protection. Having not much else to do, he obliged, and the two have been partners ever since. Gieg fights and acts much like stubborn a cat for the most part, but can also charge his body with bio-electricity, and use his prehensile tail to grip or attack things.- Cats Are Mean: Not evil, but definitely mean.
- Morphic Resonance: Any form he takes without it being explicitly a disguise will usually have two grey horns and forest green eyes.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Hides them behind an opaque yellow membrane to surprise those that threaten him.
- No Biological Sex: Lacks any defining sexual traits, and has no personal concept of gender on top of that. Everyone just uses "he" because the dominant tone of his voice is masculine, and Gieg never corrects anyone either way.
- No Mouth: Subverted; see above.
- Our Demons Are Different: They are naturally amorphous, but tend to have preferences for physical forms. Gieg in particular resembles a bobcat-sized yellow drake with black sock patterns and a long tail.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Subverted. This one is a bit of an asshole, but he does ultimately mean well despite being a demon. He even falls in love with Laddegus.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Can turn into just about anything he remembers seeing, but it tends to come out... wrong, unless he's also eaten enough DNA from it to be able to physically replicate features.
Baron Zaikelle Shayne, Guardian of Shadow
The sister of the Shayne Twins and co-ruler of the vanishing - now returned - city of Umbros, Zaikelle had a very rough life for a while. Growing up with a father who abused her verbally and physically after they both discovered she was gay, she instead found a father figure in the acting general of Umbros's military, General Coronus. As a result of this, as well as a political assassin who had killed their mother, she was inspired to become a warrior of great prowess so that none may ever hurt her, and trained under him until he retired. After the assassin killed her father, and Ebarren was granted his position as the former ruler had requested, Ebarren's very first decree was to grant Zaikelle equal standing as baron. The two now rule together to ensure Umbros remains a pillar of society and a bastion for those who are decried as strange, or unable to belong.Of the two, Zaikelle typically handles military strategy and defensive matters, filling in as active general alongside her duties as Baron. While in combat, she uses an enchanted blade that can produce chainsaw tooth-like magic blades across its edges. In addition, she has trained herself in mana vampirism inherent to shadow adepts, allowing her to turn magic attacks back towards their user.
- 24-Hour Armor: Wears a set of armor she got from her surrogate father quite a bit.
- Anime Hair: Styles her hair with a quail's plume towards her forehead, and a swallowtail-like part in the back.
- Casting a Shadow: Can teleport like her brother, but has not trained in it as much.
- Half-Identical Twins: Invoked. To illustrate that they are equals, they agreed upon a single hairstyle they would both have. The main giveaway is that her swallowtail is made of her antenna, while her quail-like plume is entirely hair.
- Iaijutsu Practitioner: Or rather, she produces imagery similar to it with how she activates her sword's effect.
- Katanas Are Just Better: The Darkfang Katana, a sword with a free-turning gear on the duller edge. Spinning this gear causes it to gain a magical chainsaw-like cutting effect until it's sheathed, with it growing in power the faster the gear is spun.
- Twin Switch: Will sometimes change clothes and positions with Ebarren unannounced to ensure there is no bias towards them.
- Vampire Vords: Or at least, her world's version of it. Because Umbros spent fifty years separate from the rest of the world, she grew up among a slightly different vernacular.
Mezmerane's Army
Mezmerane / Armerane Anarca
The self-proclaimed cleric of chaos, Mezmerane is the twisted essence of a man who died fifty years ago, instigating one of the worst atrocities Olai had ever seen. Despite his vicious reputation and taste for destruction and death, however, he can be disturbingly personable, and sometimes just wants to talk with people regardless of their alignment. This does little to comfort people, however, as his methods for conquest are based around deception and psychological torment. His powers are numerous but rely mostly on probability and chance.A lot of details were lost to time, however. The man, named Armerane, was once a hero like Terrandus, known as a boy with two souls due to the way he acted around others. This is because he developed an alter that preferred to be nameless for the sake of simplicity, and helped him brave the tougher things in his life. The two discovered a mask that could help them avert disaster, but instilled a horrible bloodlust in whoever wore it. In the end, the alter offered to front whenever they wore the mask to protect Armerane, and was corrupted as a result, bound to the mask as an invasive force that was removed from Armerane. Years later, after something caused Armerane immense psychological grief, he put the mask on once again, unsure of what else he could or should do.
- Actually a Doombot: Any time he appears, it's usually a facsimile made of clay and rock. This is because his actual body is far too frail and battle-damaged to risk getting hurt any more than he already is.
- Affably Evil: Despite his goals and terrifying power, he never really picks fights with anyone, instead preferring to talk. He rarely even tries to convince people to join him so much as try and strike up conversation. He treats his generals as close friends, and makes a point of not punishing failure with death or injury.
- Dark Lord on Life Support: He hasn't healed a day since he was fatally wounded by Korinja. With copious stab wounds, cuts and a head inches from falling apart down the middle from the most decisive blow he suffered, the mask that corrupted him and Mezalmeron's influence over death are quite literally the only things holding him together.
- Fighting from the Inside: Armerane tries to steer Mezmerane into doing tactically unsound things later into the story, like waiting for things to happen instead of doing it himself. He's also the reason Mezmerane is so oddly friendly in a discussion, and genuinely worried for his subordinates.
- Genre Savvy: Knows quite a lot about how this sort of plot would play out from a hero's perspective, and plans accordingly.
- Hitbox Dissonance: Weapons and armor he wields or enchants gain this effect, causing things to hit or miss when they clearly shouldn't.
- The Hyena: When he laughs, he can keep it going for a long while.
- Mask of Sanity: Subverted. Despite being mentally unstable and suspected of having this, he's never performing as someone without an illness. Instead, his mood swings are a result of undiagnosed borderline personality disorder, meaning his well-composed reactions are just as genuine as his manic outbursts.
- Medium Awareness: He's very much aware of a world outside the story, and insists his plan means, yes, that one will be gone too. A major reason he acts the way he does is to keep people reading until he's finally confronted.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Despite his oddly causal demeanor, he seeks to destroy reality.
- Perpetual Smiler: Invoked by his various proxy bodies. It takes something truly world-shattering for him to stop smiling.
- Split Personality: He was the stress-bearing alter for Armerane, turned into an Enemy Within by the demon.
- Villain Ball: Guilty of it, mostly because he seems to have the most fun doing it this way.
- Walking Spoiler: A lot of his finer details are difficult to talk about as a result of his backstory.
Blitzgarr Dormegar /Rengar Dormegar
Once a famed alchemist, Blizgarr went mad trying to find a cure for a disease that claimed his beloved. It was only after her death that the only god answering his prayers granted him the answer; Do not cure the disease. Cure death itself. He devoted himself to lost arts of the darkest caliber, isolating himself from society until he began robbing graves for test subjects after bodies were no longer being donated. His final steps clear, he seeks to invoke an ancient Luxus magic to grant himself immortality as a lich. In return for the resources to attain this goal, he has sworn to provide Mezmerane with an army of serviceable undead.A major reason Mezmerane was able to convince him so easily, is because he used to be Rengar Dormegar, one half of a two-part team with his wife Caska, and a great ally in Armerane's quest to unite the capitals of Kendesai. It his and Caska's fame that got their warnings taken seriously, and they provided the party with ample healing and medication.
- Casting a Shadow: Possesses the ability to teleport between pitch-black areas.
- Body Horror: On both ends of it. Half of his face and his entire right hand have been stripped nearly to the bone by acid and rot
- The Faceless: Wears a tattered mask and full chemical-safety gear to conceal whatever his experiments have done to him. Of course, when he takes it off, it's not a pretty picture.
- Necromancer: Can control dead bodies through the use of stolen soul energies.
- Our Liches Are Different: He can entrap and feed off of souls not unlike a demon, and his phylactery merely keeps his body from decaying for now. He seeks to complete the process and make it so his phylactery will properly hold his soul.
- This Is My Boomstick: Owns one of the only blunderbusses in existence for the time. After all, he helped make them.
- Was Once a Man: Does not entirely consider himself a Kendan anymore.
Chief Inferna Embermaw
A primarch of the nomadic peacekeepers known as the Embermaw dragons, Inferna's first memory after hatching was seeing her parents staring intently with tears in their eyes as she hatched. A disease had caused her siblings to die in their shells. Even still, she was considered the runt of the litter due to hatching with a genetic deformation; her scales, which should've been comparable to chainmail, were instead soft like leather. As a result, she was unable to safely take on a smaller form like other primarchs, and was only begrudgingly accepted as an heir by the tribe, something that she took in quiet stride despite the backhanded compliments and behind-the-back antagonism other members of the tribe showed. When the time came for her to take over as chief, she enacted her vengeance against those who taunted her for so long by allying with Mezmerane, signing her tribe away into an unholy pact in return for being granted the power to shapeshift at will via an infusion of demonic essence.Like the other members of Mezmerane's army, she was once an unlikely hero of Kendesai, helping Armerane traverse the desert to reach Twilit and Oberom to spread their message, as well as learning to fight for herself from the older members of the group. The alter who would become Mezmerane developed a crush on Inferna that drove him to recruit her, as well as being the only general that is still relatively grounded in mindset. While she reciprocates the crush and is initially ecstatic to meet him, her ability to tolerate his seeming indifference to her despite it is being tested.
- Dark Action Girl: The primary female antagonist of the group.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She adopted a Kainne as her messenger, named Kaissac, and treats him as a son. She also develops conflicted feelings about Sodium "Soda" Storybook, a woman she begins to feel genuine remorse over lying to and eventually seeks shelter with after her defeat.
- Glamor Failure: She doesn't understand enough about Kendans to realize that the antennae are vital parts of their body for sensory purposes, so she tends to forget to add them.
- Heel Realization: While having her identity crisis mentioned below, she begins to truly realize that her actions went from punishment towards her tormentors straight into despotic cruelty and have irreversibly damaged the reputation of her tribe.
- Lady in Red: A red kimono, to be exact.
- Morphic Resonance: Her hair in Kendan form is styled into a pair of buns held in place with pins that, alltogether, resemble her horns.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Embermaw dragons, particularly their primarchs, are like large, spiky gorillas in physique, and Inferna is no exception.
- Partial Transformation: Is known to manifest her claws in Kendan form if angered.
- Shapeshifter Identity Crisis: Inflicted upon her when Windallus brings up the fact that the circumstances of her birth are not dissimilar to his own; meaning she may not be a real dragon to start with. After she can find no way to refute it and inadvertently begins to think too long about just what she's done, she goes catatonic long enough for the group to arrest her. It doesn't stick however, since she grows content on defining herself on her own terms.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Theoretically she can become anything, but she limits herself to two major body types to avoid losing track of herself; A full dragon primarch form, and a Kendan disguise.
Frostolas Iizali
A demonologist hermit that lives atop a tall mountain, in a tower made of never-melting ice. Banished to that tower around twenty years ago for his attempts to overthrow the king, he returned in secret after seeing the King mount an expedition to investigate a strange occurrence down the coast. Taking advantage of the group's lack of manpower, he managed to successfully assassinate the king and take his place, slowly mind controlling those around him into believing his lie. Eventually, he was ousted by Princess Aquaria and Sir Delenus, the only knight unaffected by his spell due to his affliction, and run out of the city after his control was broken. However, he has taken refuge with Mezmerane as his chief demonologist, and leader of the Edge of Eternity cult.Of course, Frostolas's magic worked so well because he was, for the most part, Azulos's twin brother. Frostolas was always envious of his brother to an extent, and tried to wear a smile at all times to hide this fact. Even when both of them were chosen to accompany Armerane's adventuring party to warn the rest of the kingdoms of the oncoming threat, he felt Azulos got special favor. After having his mind tainted by a demon of jealousy at the end of the journey, he grew unable to cope with his feelings and began to lash out, causing his banishment.
Other Characters
Keidei Durziken
A young butterfly-esque creature that became Terrandus's adoptive sister after he saved her from a large beast in the forest. She proved her mettle by helping him in return using her sharp claws and the magic-amplifying wings of her scales to act as a fast attacker to compliment his defensive combat style.Ralidon Dengeist
The spirit of Windallus's father, returned from the dead to help his son find his way after being tricked into evil. He lacks the strength he used to have, but makes up for that with far more powerful wind magic and his tactical prowess. Other Antagonists
The Vengeance of Olai / Korinja Kensida
Fifty years ago, when Mezmerane awoke and initiated a massacre of the town guard, the resentment and rage of the fallen soldiers was left to ruminate throughout the town. In the past months, it has begun to finally manifest as the terrifying, near-invincible wraith known only as the Vengeance of Olai. As a head is typically thought to be necessary for a wraith to function, the fact that this one doesn't have one yet is able to act just fine is unprecedented. Whenever his "head" is destroyed, he merely pulls another one from a gourd cart and continues as if he merely lost his hat. He prowls the streets at night, beckoning people to train under him to avert catastrophe and avenge the fallen. However, anyone who has dared face him is spirited away, never to be heard from again.In truth, this spirit is not the conglomeration of the guards' regrets, but a single, blinded and confused spirit belonging to the guard's captain at the time, Korinja. He prowls the streets attempting to atone for his failure by assembling an army to kill Mezmerane. But, not only has he lost touch with how much the average person's body can take, literally working them to death over the course of a night, but he is choosing to ignore that he had a far greater hand in the massacre than he cares to admit.
Gods
Mezalmeron, King of Oblivion
Deemed a god by the few who know His name, Mezalmeron is the embodiment of death and destruction. He has devoted His existence to wiping out all else that is, down to the very last higgs frequency to ensure nothing will ever appear again. He sees all life as below him, and what little life bows to Him as a means of ensuring He never has to look at any of it again.- Ancient Evil: Was the first living thing to ever be created. But not the first living thing to ever exist.
- Brutish Bulls: Not many people have seen him, but those who do generally compare him to an emaciated, hairless yak with wings.
- Eldritch Abomination: Is the original demon, and compared to all other living creatures is the most alien; Whereas most souls have singular "cores" to their being, Mezalmeron has two, and is all the more stronger for it.
- Enemy to All Living Things: Swore to destroy everything not long after his creation; at first he was willing to wait a certain amount of time for each individual object, but after living creatures were created, he desired to destroy everything all at once out of jealousy.
- Power of the Void: Anything he touches runs the risk of complete erasure.
