Zar Kalak

Born: 143 KA (age at death: 2,044)
Died: 191 PD / FY 0 (10 years ago)
Cause of Death: Assassination
Aliases: Kalak, The Ogre-Doom, Sorcerer-King of Tyr
Family: Nur Kalak (father), Myssah (mother)
Racial characteristics: Human (ageless), minor draconic traits in final years
Sex: Male
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Blue
Affiliations: Champions of Rajaat, King of Tyr

Blurb.

Ancestry

Zar Kalak is a human, born in a small village in the Kingdom of the Pyreen. In that time and place, humans and other "lesser races" were shepherded by the Pyreen, kept safe from external threats, but kept an eternal agrarian society, unable to gain education, sophistication, or technology. The intent was to "keep them safe from themselves", but many, such as Kalak, saw it as oppression. He never knew his family origins beyond his father and her mother, and what stories they told, as there were no written records, no dated tombstones or death masks, nothing to connect him to his history.

Appearance

Kalak grew tall and healthy, with his ranching background giving him a lean but fit physique. His black hair was thick and straight, wavy and unkempt without the strongest of oils to keep it in place, and his blue eyes were striking against his darker features. As a young man, he cut a debonair figure once "cleaned up" at Rajaat's direction, and began to age into a distinguished young-middle-aged man before halting his aging with magic. His form remained for almost 2,000 years, although he allowed himself to visibly age somewhat more to better reflect his experience and authority, maintaining an appearance that commanded respect and conveyed wisdom without appearing frail or decrepit. This appearance was a put-on, as his natural aging halted millennia ago.

At the very end, his ritual transformed him, infusing his genes with draconic DNA. He became a hideous blend of dragon and man, a larva he hoped would evolve into a true dragon. He died in this form, impaled by the Heartwood Staff hurled by Rikus the Mul, and his body was burned to ash.

History

Early Life

Born to a shepherd in the Kingdom of the Pyreen, Kalak was a brilliant youth, languishing in the simple life of guiding and guarding sheep. While he could comb and shear their wool, guide them through fields, and protect them from predators, he knew he could do much more. He was lucky enough to find a tutor, and enough contraband material to learn to read at a young age, keeping his gift secret from his parents and authority figures. While opportunities to distinguish himself were extremely limited, he saw an opportunity to take a long shot, if he could just gain exposure to the Pyreen councilor visiting his backwater village.

What minimal prestige existed in his society was the liaison to the Pyreen, responsible for reporting on the village's affairs during annual visits, and one of the few humans allowed literacy. Seeing no other way in, Kalak murdered the liaison and hid the body, just in time to replace him when the councilor arrived. He did the liaison's job to a tee, but the councilor could tell something was afoot by all his offers of additional assistance, relocation, apprenticeship, whatever angle he could take. The councilor told him to mind his duties for the next year, and made sure to announce his endorsement of this new liaison to the village, protecting him from any internal investigation or retribution.

For the next year, he got the village into ship-shape, enhancing their output, rigidly enforcing the very discipline and limitations he'd suffered under for years, all in an effort to impress the councilor. The next year, the councilor returned, and was suitably impressed, offering him a different path forward. He would take Kalak to the capital city and find better uses for his talents. At the tender age of 17, Kalak left his hometown, never to return, excited to serve his new master Rajaat.

Education

In the City of Many Colors, Kalak was exposed to a world vastly different from his rural upbringing. He encountered diverse cultures, advanced knowledge, and the intricacies of political maneuvering. The chosen servants and attendants of the Pyreen were allowed to flourish here, learning, growing, fraternizing, and lavishing in the luxuries of the kingdom. He'd never seen any other race but the occasional Pyreen from a distance, but here he met them all, the many "lesser races" under the Pyreen's protection, and had much to learn from them all.

Under Rajaat's guidance, he received formal education in governance, strategy, and the arcane arts, honing his intellect and skills to prepare for his future role as a leader. This period was crucial in shaping his ambitions and understanding of power, setting the stage for his rise to prominence. When he'd proved himself, Rajaat initiated him as an apprentice. For years, he merely studied the arcane, learning its glyphs, its words, its inner workings--never expecting to truly wield it, as such was impossible for a non-Pyreen. But Rajaat taught him the secret, and he cast his first spells under his master's tutelage.

Only a few dozen apprentices rose to Rajaat's challenge, Kalak high among them. They studied deeper mysteries, competing for Rajaat's attention and favor, spell-dueling directly and indirectly trying to best each other in arcane feats, all at Rajaat's subtle direction and encouragement. Their calm and polite demeanor masked intense ambition and rivalry, each apprentice striving to outshine the others while maintaining the appearance of decorum and respect, a delicate balance that Rajaat both demanded and exploited. When rivals lorded their favor or privilege over him, he always flashed back to that liaison, his first kill, and pondered his options.

For 13 years he studied, improving exponentially, until Rajaat declared him a true wizard, and though he would remain a student of Rajaat, he was encouraged to take on his own apprentices, not just from the capital city, but from the world, which he should wander and discover for himself.