Zakarya Killendare

{{Character|

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| image=

| name=Zakarya Killendare

| aliases=Zak

| gender=Male

| race=Half-avariel, half-fey

| parents=Morgana, Shade of Hanali, Corae Killendare

| dob=The Year of the Watching Cold, 1320 DR (approx.)

| pob=The Eternal Dream

| occupation=

| affiliations=The Akh-Sildar

| spouse=Shar (proposed, no response yet)

| children=Alisha Killendare, Leshara Killendare (sort of)

| siblings=Vexas

| class=Warlock

| alignment=Unique

}}

In 1320 DR an infant in a basket was dropped at the doorstep of Evereska’s temple to Hanali Celanil. A note left with the basket said “Beware of the great power that lies within my son Zakarya”. The note left no information regarding the infant’s birthday so the temple simply celebrated it on the day he was found. It wasn’t odd for a baby to be dropped on their doorstep, but it was odd that an avariel would be left with them instead of at a temple to Aerdrie Faenya. As the priests of the temple first discovered the baby they were perplexed by the vague warning in the note, and then even more disturbed when they found the child had black hair, black eyes, and black wings; yet his beauty mesmerized them despite his dark features. The head priest of the temple, Jonah Kilarean, was convinced that Zak’s black features were merely a stain left on the child by the influence of some demonic force. Jonah took Zak to the realm of Celestia in hopes that if he washed Zak in the powerful holy water of Lunia it would cleanse him of this evil mark. As he washed the infant it looked like a black cloud coalesced in the depths of the water. Zak came out of the water looking like an angel, with hair and wings as white as pure snow. Jonah left Lunia thinking that he had purged Zak of a great evil.

Jonah raised Zak like he was his own son. Being raised in the temple, Zak quickly learned to enjoy all the attention that worshipers gave him as they passed through. When Zak was 3 rumors started spreading that his mysterious arrival at the temple’s doorstep was a gift from Hanali herself because Zak’s beauty helped to draw so many extra elves to worship and train for the priesthood. He became such a beloved figure in Evereska that at age 5 wealthy families started to donate to the temple in large sums just to have Zak gliding over their weddings, dropping flowers petals. As Zak grew into his teens he started to manifest some celestial features, like a bright aura when he’s happy and fingers that he could use at will to cause the most intense pleasure any sentient creature could ever hope for. These features lead Zak to become even more desired by the public. He exploited this popularity to become a lothario amongst the women of Evereskan high society.

It wasn’t until Zak reached the age of 18 that he started to actually fall in love. His first love was one of the new priestesses. Her name was Arilia and she was a star elf with a silver complexion and golden hair. It was unfortunate that they could not commit to each other because of the temple’s prohibition on clergy marriage. So, to express their deep love for each other they merely slept with each other more often than they did with random people.

On Zak’s 20th birthday a tragedy brought a change that no one could have prepared for, his adoptive father Jonah was poisoned and killed. The rest of the priests in the temple scrambled to try and resurrect him but to no avail. The only thing that could be deduced from his body was that whatever poison or force had taken him it originated in the Underdark. As the priests investigated the celebration deep into the night hours, Zak took to the skies to look for his adoptive father’s murderer. Luck or some other divine force must have been on his side that night as he miraculously saw a dark cloaked figure dashing towards the Anauroch. With all the energy he could muster he caught up to the mysterious figure and tackled it to the ground. The creature looked up at him and Zak instantly fell into what felt like a deep slumber.

When he woke up, what looked like an Illithyri woman of god like beauty appeared before him in a shadowy replica of the tavern suite that he took every woman he slept with. Zak couldn’t be sure whether this was a dream but he was strangely compelled to continue with the experience as if nothing was wrong.

to Zak, this was an embodiment of the evil goddess Shar, who actually saved him at birth when his mother tried to kill him. She saved him yet again that day so she could put him back on the right path for her grand scheme.

Zak then asked for her name and she responded, “ You may call me Lady Nightsinger, Mistress of the Night. I have been looking for you for a long time, Zakaryah.”

Zak was surprised by this statement, but was oddly unable to express it. He merely said, “What can I do for you my lady?”

With a somewhat hypnotic voice, Shar said, “I know the pain of your loss. Let me help you. Lloth is responsible for your pain. She had some of her drow poison your surrogate father so that they would have an easier time coming back and capturing you to be a slave to her twisted plans. When you lay with me tonight I will give you the power to take revenge on those drow who have killed your father. Also, in the future, after you have training and an adventuring party, you will be able to kill those drow who planned your father’s assassination. They live in the Underdark.”

Without any thought Zak responded, “I will do anything to avenge my father’s death but I need no gift to be enticed to lay with a lady as beautiful as you.”

Shar pleasured Zak to levels he had never felt before and it made his body pulse with a tremendous power that turned his wings, hair, and eyes to an even deeper black than he had when he was an infant. At the brink of sexual release Shar froze Zak’s body in that moment. As she continued to gratify him it was like torture as the sexual energy built up.

As she was building up to her own peak of pleasure she whispered to him, “ You are now back to your true colors, but the people that have grown to love you will not accept you this way. When you return home you will still appear in the angelic form that everyone has come to love, but this is merely a mind-altering enchantment power. I’m granting you this glamour spell to use at-will so you may change your appearance when it will impede your hard work among city dwellers. Use this spell wisely with the new sword I’m giving you and great power will quickly be yours.”

The moment Shar finished speaking, they both reached the pinnacle of ecstasy simultaneously. As he finished he was instantly teleported to his bed in the tavern where he seemed to be in the same sexual position with Arilia, as if he was having sex with her the entire time. As soon as he realized where he was he immediately felt another surge of sexual bliss, just like the one the mysterious women forced him to build up inside, but this time the release was ten times more intense. After he finished, his body was so fatigued that he collapsed onto the bed, and as he fell into reverie the voice of Lady Nightsinger entered his mind and said, “Now your beloved Arilia carries our baby. You need to take great care of this baby; she has the potential for awesome power and that will make her a target of many powerful organizations.”

When he woke up the next morning he was still in shock regarding the events of the night before. Everything that transpired was so hard to believe that he wanted to think it was all just a dream, but as he asked questions around the temple his fears were confirmed; his father was dead and he had gone chasing after something or someone the night before. While this confirmed that the events of the previous day weren’t all a dream, he still had to make sure that the most mysterious part of his vision was true, and the only way he could do that would be to confirm some of the mystery lady’s predictions.

Zak didn’t have to look very far before he had a piece of evidence to confirm the events of the previous night. After a short time of wandering through Evereska, lost in thought, Zak was stopped by one of Evereska’s patrol, which was in a frenzy to find him.

One of the archers sped through an explanation, “ You must be Zak, our patrol has been looking for you since last night. We have captured one of the drow responsible for killing your father, Jonah. The Hill Elders sent us to find you so you could be present when this vile creature is put on trial and questioned in a circle of truth. Follow us, the trial is about to begin!”

There was no time to ask questions so Zak just followed them as quickly as possible. The trial began as soon as they arrived and gave Zak exactly the answers he wanted though the young priestess revealed very little. She would only admit that her orders came from her high priestess, but Zak figured out that she was from the church of Lolth from a tattoo she had just behind her ear. This piece of evidence was enough to validate that last night’s lady was right about his father’s killers. This validation was just enough for Zak to believe everything from the night before. Now the only thing left to do was to try and access the power he was given so he could defend against the drow that would soon be coming to capture him.

After Zak witnessed the drow priestess being executed he headed towards the spot where he caught the cloaked figure the night before. When he got there he started to look around. He didn’t quite know what he was looking for but he had a feeling that a clue to his new power had to be hidden somewhere in the clovers that blanketed the ground. Unfortunately his search produced nothing but an invitation to be ambushed from every direction by drow dressed in the same robes as the one he found the previous night and the one he executed that morning.

As they began to attack, Zak wished more than anything that he had a good sword to fight with. Within an instant of his wish a black energy exploded out of his entire body and knocked the drow back. As the dazed attackers stumbled back to their feet they only saw a dark winged creature cloaked in shadows. What they failed to see was the fact that the figure in the shadows was Zak, with all of his features darkened to black and a 45 in. katana made of glowing black metal in his hand. With this amazing new sword Zak effortlessly decapitated the vile creatures that killed his father. After that battle he was able to easily dismiss and call forth his sword as well as change his appearance by merely thinking about it.

As Zak left the field of battle where he exacted his sweet revenge he realized that his vengeance was nowhere near complete since he still had to find those Drow that planned the assassination and kidnapping. In order to find out who these Drow really were Zak stripped one of them of their family medallion and holy symbol. He hoped that at some time in the future these might aid him in finding the dwellings of those who plotted against him and his father.

Upon arriving back at the temple Zak was greeted by a large group of elves who surprised him with the news that Arilia was pregnant. When Zak heard this news his heart skipped a beat as he realized that the last prediction from his night with Lady Nightsinger was that Arilia would carry a child made from him and the Lady. Zak feared what would happen when Arilia discovered that this child wasn’t really hers. Unfortunately, Arilia’s reaction to the child was the least of Zak’s worries, as he would come to find out on the day his baby daughter was born.

Zak’s daughter was born on the spring equinox, Ches 19, 1341 DR. It was a day that Zak would never forget. Zak could see how draining this birth was on Arilia, but somehow he was powerless to help her. With every push of the child it seemed like Arilia aged 100 years. Before long Arilia’s body appeared like it had the wear and tear of an entire lifetime. Arilia put all her energy into a final push and the baby was finally born, but the baby’s arrival came as Arilia’s spirit departed.

Zak named his new daughter Alisha. Alisha was born looking a lot like Zak’s natural form. She had black hair and black wings just like her father, but on every feather and every strand of hair the black coloring was outlined with different shades of purple. She even had the crystalline purple eyes of her father. Zak was so happy to finally have an Avariel in his life to associate with. He didn’t want to raise his daughter with the same unanswered questions he had been raised with. So, in order to answer Alisha’s questions about her family heritage in the future Zak had to find answers to the questions he had been plagued with his entire life. Who were his birth parents and why did they abandon him?

Unfortunately, Zak knew that he wasn’t yet strong enough to explore the mountain peaks where his people would likely take refuge. Therefore, in order to be prepared for his arduous journey Zak knew he had to train harder than he ever had before, but in order to do that he had to keep his daughter somewhere safe. Zak thought the temple he was raised in would be adequately safe, but it would be many years before he would realize how wrong he was.

Training had become very different since the awakening of his dark powers. With these new powers Zak had to split his focus between training his newfound shadow abilities and maintaining the powers he derived from Lunia. Since Zak had to maintain two different forms to train like this he also started to develop a slight split personality. In his darker form his demeanor became much darker, but in his illusory angelic form his personality stayed charming, as it had been most of his life.

Despite the difficult training, Zak was still able to take care of his daughter at the temple. Somehow Zak managed to see his daughter every morning before he went off to train, and then every evening he would come back to be with her until he put her to bed. This routine worked without any problems for 9 years.

Then during the Midsummer festival of 1350 DR, on a day like any other, Zak came back to the temple for Alisha and the temple looked like it was on fire. As Zak frantically looked for his daughter in the treacherous flames he discovered that the fire was merely an illusion. Zak searched the temple from top to bottom but to no avail; he could not find his daughter. After the fake flames died off Zak found a note that said he could find Alisha if he went to the tallest peak in the Graypeak Mountains. What Zak didn’t know was that he would find more than just Alisha where he was going.

Zak knew that it would be unwise to head into unknown territory alone so he solicited the help of an Illythiri woman, named Aran, that he had befriended on his frequent visits to the tavern. The trek up the mountains was treacherous and proved more dangerous than Zak could have expected. By the time they finally reached the base of the tallest peak they had been exhausted by a full day of oncoming monsters and desperately needed rest. Even though they tried to take turns keeping watch neither of them had the energy left to stay awake. So, soon after Aran went to reverie Zak inadvertently joined her, leaving them defenseless.

Despite the awareness that elves have during reverie, someone was able to abduct Aran and Zak without either of them sensing a thing. When they came out of reverie the next day they found themselves imprisoned in a cage made of what looked like glass. To their dismay the bars were still as hard as steel. Their cage was set into a crevice at least 20,000 ft up the tallest peak in the Graypeak Mountains. For hours all they could do was yell for help from their prison halfway up this peak. It wasn’t until dawn that they were greeted by the perpetrators of their abduction.

As the sun crested over the horizon, a group of winged creatures looked like they were gliding on the sunlight towards them. As the group got closer, Aran and Zak could see that it was comprised of two Avariels in specially made chainmail and crested helms with two 2 massive griffins in matching helms following them. After they opened the glasteel cage the two Avariels directed Aran and Zak onto the griffins with a gesture of their massive spears. With very few other choices they obliged and hopped onto the griffins backed. They could tell that the griffins were efficiently trained because the Avariels merely spoke a few words in a special language and the birds automatically moved upward through the blanket of clouds.

As the birds climbed over the cloud cover Aran and Zak could see the magnificence of an Avariel aerie. The mountain was covered with a few small dwellings in the caves, but the most beautiful part was the large glasteel tower coming from the tip of the mountain. As the sun hit the walls of the cylindrical tower it cast rainbows across the mountain skies and made it shine like a jewel. The griffins took Aran and Zak to the top of the tower where they dropped them through a large hole in the domed roof. They fell softly into a bed of flowers that blanketed the floor beneath them. The room they were in was open to the sky with pillars to hold up the dome roof, and it was miraculously shielded from the harsh cold of the mountain wind. The same magic that shielded the room from the cold must have helped the lotus blossoms blanket the floor, the pillars, and the roof.

It wasn’t long before a hatch opened in the floor and an elderly Avariel woman flew through and stood in front of Zak and Aran. As soon as she entered the room their anxiety subsided and was replaced by a sense of peace.

Before Zak or Aran cold even get a word out the old woman started to speak,

“I know that you two have had quite a hectic journey and must have many questions, but please hold them until after I finish my introduction. My name is Amari Killendare and I am your grandmother. I am also the matriarch of this aerie. I am the one responsible for taking your child, but for good reason. I can guarantee to you that she is safe within this tower, and that is all you need to know for now. You must know your family history before we can discuss her any further. If you would prefer you can ask questions about your family history or I can just give you the details.”

Zak was so shocked by the revelation of her identity that he was almost speechless, but he managed to respond, “I think it would be easier for you to just tell me what you know.”

With a comforting smile she put her hand on his shoulder and said, “You and your guest should sit down because this is a long story.” And as she said that, two chairs formed out of the lotus blossoms that covered the room.

For hours Zak and Aran sat there listening to Amari tell the story of Zak’s family but the story unfolded before them as if they were there. First, Amari explained that she was the mother of Zak’s father. Then, she told Zak the complicated details of his birth, just as they had been relayed to her by her son. As she began her story Zak and Aran fell asleep, and their spirits became ghost like observers of every vivid detail in her long tale. Amari acted as a kind of spirit guide in this narrative. She told them that Zak’s father, Corae Killendare, was the first Avariel who chose the path of a planar ranger. Since Corae’s appearance rivaled that of the most attractive Avariels he spent most of his time in other planes romancing females. In the short spans of time that Corae spent in the prime material plane he fell in love with what he thought was an Avariel woman named Morgana. Unfortunately, Corae was too naive to realize that Morgana was an Unseelie Fey who had followed him home from the Feywild to seduce him. Despite being in love with Morgana, Corae continued to sleep around with his choice of women in the other planes. Eventually, even Hanali Celanil had heard of Corae’s immense beauty and sexual prowess. Since Hanali knew that creatures at his level of beauty were rare she decided that Corae would be the perfect specimen to help her make a child for the prime material plane. The only problem was the fact that female goddesses had to implant their essence into the seed of a humanoid male and then have them impregnate a female on the prime material plane in order to have children. So, to confirm that her plan would work Hanali had to summon Corae to Arborea to ask whether he had a mate in Faerun. Immediately after summoning Corae, Hanali revealed her identity to him and compelled him to confirm that he had a sexual partner on his home plane. With reassurance that she had a surrogate mother to carry her baby, Hanali pleasured Corae until he was about to burst. At that point, Hanali put him in stasis while she implanted her essence in his seed and set up the same sexual positions for him and Morgana in the prime material plane. This process was meant to fool humanoids into believing they were having sex with their mates the whole time, but she allowed Corae to remember his experience and assumed that this trick would merely deceive his mate, Morgana. Alas, Morgana was Fey and could read Corae’s thoughts. Consequently, at the same time that Zak came out of stasis and climaxed, Morgana found out about the baby she would soon be carrying. After finding out that she would carry a good Goddesses’ baby, Morgana knew that she had to find another father if she was going to carry a child of her own blood. Morgana knew that the only way to bypass the rule of one father for one womb was to get one of the fathers to be a God or at least a Demipower because when there is God-like power involved that rule is void.

At this point in the story Amari interrupted herself so that she could clarify the fact that she only knew about Morgana’s side of the story because of a psion she had hired to trail Corae whenever he was in this plane. The psion inadvertently heard Morgana’s plans when he was spying on the thoughts in Corae’s room that day. From that day on Amari had the psion trail Morgana until she found out which God or Demipower would be the father of Morgana’s other child.

As the psion trailed Morgana he found out more of her ultimate plan. Apparently Morgana wanted a child sired by a royal elf like Corae so that she would only need to kill him and Amari to have control of the aerie while her child is too young. Then, when she had control of the Avariels in that aerie she would use them and a coalition of evil fey to help her overthrow the Queen of the Unseelie court. With a good child involved it just meant one more obstacle to get rid of, but first she had to get a more malleable child to make evil. With that thought Morgana had an epiphany, the best deity to try and involve in her plan would be Gargauth. She thought that since Gargauth’s profile includes betrayal and political corruption he might willingly to be involved with her plan. To her pleasant surprise, it was easy to find Gargauth and even easier to convince him to have sex with her. Now that she was pregnant with the babies of Corae and Garguath Morgana thought she would merely have to kill Corae’s child, Zak, when he was born and then glamour her other evil child to look like an Avariel. The one thing Morgana never counted on was a psion revealing her plans to Amari so that she could share them with Corae.

Since Morgana wasn’t privy to her spy’s presence she continued on with her scheme. With Corae out in the planes since their night of passion Morgana thought her plan would run quite smoothly, and it did until the children were born. Before Zak and his brother were born Morgana entered the same deep meditative state that all elves enter in months leading up to childbirth. During this time an Elven mother would normally teach her child elvish, but for Morgana this was time for her to commune with the children’s spirits so she could imbue them with her evil energy. As Morgana had expected, Zak’s fetal body only absorbed around half of the energy she forced in his body, but his brother, Baelern, was already evil by virtue of his father and absorbed all the evil energy he was given because it made him stronger. In addition to feeding Baelern some of her evil energy, Morgana used this deep connection with him to change his appearance so he would look like an Avariel when he was born. By changing Baelern’s appearance before he was born Morgana prepared for the possibility that Corae might actually come home to witness the birth. Unfortunately, the psion was only able to hear the thoughts of Morgana, so Amari couldn’t get any physical descriptions of the children.

On the day of the children’s birth Corae got home just moments before Morgana went into labor, which gave Amari very little time to brief him on all the deception she was going to try that day. After Morgana gave birth to Zak and Baelern she convinced Corae that they had been blessed by the gods with twins. Shortly after Corae saw the babies fall asleep for the first time he went to go share the good news with his mother. Naturally, upon his arrival Amari rushed through all the information she had as quickly as possible so they could go and save Zak. To their dismay, by the time they got back to where Morgana gave birth she was gone. All that remained was the dead body of Amari’s psion and a note that said, “Good luck trying to find Zak in the Plane of Shadow.” For years, Corae desperately searched the expanses of the Plane of Shadow while Morgana’s small army of evil Fey attacked the Aerie of the Snow Eagles in an attempt to kill Amari. After years of battle, the combat was at a stalemate and Corae had finally given up on finding Zak. After Corae returned, he took his mother and retreated from the Aerie of the Snow Eagles to hide from Morgana in the secluded Aerie of the Ice Swans, which sat on the highest mountaintop of the Graypeaks. Corae only took a couple dozen Avariels to the new location for protection, and for years, their disappearance made Morgana stop her attacks because she had to search.

After the last syllables of the story faded from Amari’s lips so did the illusory world that Aran and Zak had been immersed in for hours. As they awoke from what felt like a human sleep state Zak noticed Amari on the floor in tears. He went over and put his hands on her shoulders to help calm her grief. Then he asked, “When did you discover I was alive and why didn’t you come to get me sooner?”

As Amari sobbed some more she managed to say, “Your father and I found out you were alive when one of our scouts heard rumors of an angel being dropped at Evereska’s temple to Hanali. You must have been about 3 at the time, and in a reckless move your father tried to come after you. To my dismay, your mother must have heard the same rumors because your father ran into her as he arrived in Evereska. Fortunate for all of us, your father was able to make your mother believe that he already had you. Ever since then your father has been keeping Morgana off your trail by leading her on a chase with a decoy of you. I haven’t seen him since he left for you that day, but I know he is alive because his celestial golden eagle occasionally brings me brief messages from him. Reliving this experience has taken so much out of me. Do you mind if we continue this after I rest for a few hours?”

“I don’t mind at all. Take as much time as you need to recuperate.” Zak responded.

Then Amari nodded and said “thank you” as she left through the same hatch she had entered from. As she left the room Zak and Aran noticed that beds had formed behind them and the sky had turned to night. As they laid down in adjacent beds Zak took Aran’s hand and said, “I can’t thank you enough for taking this long journey with me. This experience has helped create a bond between us that is unbreakable for as long as I live. I hope I can trust you to keep my family’s story a secret?”

Aran nodded at Zak with a smile that assured him that she was a loyal guardian of his secrets. Then Zak did something completely unexpected. He leaned over Aran and brushed her hair off her cheek with a stroke of his magic fingers and lightly kissed her on that cheek. Aran figured Zak would go in for a real kiss as she had seen him do to so many women in the tavern, but with her he was different. He kissed her in a way that communicated a loving affection instead of a sexual desire. That evening they both went into reverie with a smile on their faces because of the emotional attraction that was born in that room.

As Zak went though reverie that evening he was visited by a shadowy figure who would reveal another piece of his infancy. Among the images of Zak’s resting mind the shadowy figure made the shape of the women he knew as Lady Nightshade. This time she gave him the information telepathically instead of verbally. The form was merely meant to be a reminder of the information’s source. Lady Nightshade simply told him that she helped deliver him from the Plane of Shadow to the church of Hanali with the basket and note. As quickly as she delivered her message she was gone. This short appearance simply acted to make him feel lost and confused because he still didn’t know that she was Shar, lead alone the huge significance of her visits given her status as a greater goddess.

This disturbing visit made Zak awaken in a cold sweat after only a couple hours in reverie. Zak was too shaken to try and finish his four hours of reverie so he used the hours before Aran woke up to figure out that the room shaped itself to its visitors needs. So, Zak imagined a large morning feast to greet the waking Aran with, and it appeared out of nowhere on top of a large lotus blossom table in the middle of the room. By preparing the lavish breakfast and creating a large bath Zak was able to calm down enough so Aran wouldn’t notice his inner turmoil. After Aran awakened they enjoyed breakfast together and then got in a long bath. Amari came in with Alisha just as Zak and Aran had finished changing into decent attire.

Aran and Zak’s conversation with Amari that morning was much briefer then the conversation they had the day before.

“Before you leave I have a couple warnings for you” Amari whispered in their ears.

She said, “You must hide your daughter Zakarya. I can feel a tremendous potential for power within Alisha and if Morgana ever discovers her she will want to use her against you.”

Zak responded, “Alright grandmother, I will hide her until she is strong enough to fight by my side. Thank you for everything”.

And with those last words Zak embraced his grandmother tight before two griffins arrived to carry them back to Evereska in complete invisibility.

After they arrived back in Evereska Aran and Zak tried to brainstorm the best place to hide Alisha. After days without a good idea Aran suggested that Alisha should go with a group of nomadic Illythiri. She told him that they would be some of the best people to protect Alisha from fey detection because of their lack of tolerance for the fey’s trickery and the Illythiri’s tendency to constantly keep moving their home. The most important thing was that Aran convinced Zak that her close relationship with the Illythiri would make them easier to trust. So, Zak and Aran spent years looking for a group of Illythiri before a group found them in Evereska. Zak sent Alisha with that group of Illythiri shortly after she turned 15 and hasn’t seen her since. From that day until the present adventure Aran and Zak have been close allies and companions, helping each other battle any dangers or quests the other chose to face. Despite the deep bond with Aran, Zak never stopped thinking about his daughter and the day she would be back by his side to help him battle his evil mother and reunite the whole family.