Lord Xanadu
History
Life on Earth
The man that would become known as Lord Xanadu was born, and grew up in, a rural area of Nebraska in the late 20's. He did not have the temperament to be a farmer and joined the army shortly after the end of WWII in the hopes of raising enough money to go to college. He was deployed to Korea during the conflict there and during his tour, met and fell in love with a nurse stationed there from Greece named Tephra. They made plans for the future, but fate stepped in and ended them all. Xan was mortally wounded in the battle of Imjin River and left for dead. Little did he know that he had been under observation by an extra-terrestrial entity that called itself Zoar. Zoar was a technological intelligence built, and left behind, by a vastly ancient race know as the Lukovians, also known as the Travelers. Said to be the oldest sentient race in our galaxy, the Lukovians are rumored to have visited every habitable planet in our galaxy, watching and promoting the existence of intelligent life. Zoar was built at the center of our moon to observe the development of our planet. Approximately 4000 years ago every trace of the Lukovian race suddenly disappeared from our galaxy as if they had never been. Except for a handful of abandoned outposts on the very fringes of our galactic range and 4 so called Observers, including Zoar. This disappearance triggered a latent program in Zoar which compelled it to begin a program of interaction with the people of Earth beyond simple "observation". What this program is, Zoar refuses to reveal exactly. After several hundred years Zoar decided that it needed an agent capable of going to earth and performing various tasks which it could not do remotely. It first constructed a robot called MACH to carry out it's commands but unwittingly created a sentient machine which eventually rebelled and was banished from Earth. Zoar then decided to use a human being, enhanced with a cybernetic body that had been built and left behind in the Lunar installation. Xan was plucked from the Korean battlefield and his brain was augmented and placed inside the cybernetic body.
Cyborg
For the next 30 years Xan was content to do Zoar's bidding, as he became accustomed to the power of his new body and the awakened psionic potential of his mind. However, he was forbidden from contacting Tephra and this was a nettle that over the years, as Xan watched Terphra spend the rest of her life alone, festered and eventually contributed to his mutiny. In 1980, Tephra was involved in a near fatal car accident that rendered her a quadriplegic. Xan pleaded with Zoar to allow him to intervene but was refused. This was the last straw for Xan. He retrieved Tephra from Earth and fled through a trans-mat device to the farthest of the remaining Lukovian outposts in the Greater Magellanic Cloud. There he attempted to recreate his own body, in a feminine form, in which he could place Tephra's brain and save her life. Some elements of his construction he could not directly replicate, but his expanded intellect allowed him to over come these problems and he succeed in creating a new golden cybernetic body for Tephra. With the operation a seeming success, Xan and Tephra found a ship stored at the installation, which Xan named the Exodus, and they set out to explore the wonders of the Milky Way galaxy. The couple soon learned that the Lukovian origin of their cybernetic bodies was the stuff of legend among the space faring races and they also learned that only one other Lukovian cyborg had survived the great purge and it was known as "The Anubinite". The power they wielded inevitably drew them into adventures and conflicts too numerous to describe here. They eventually became involved with a group of interstellar mercenaries known as The Red Guard, and found a home with a diverse group of beings that welcomed them. Xan saw that this group of near brigands had the potential to be a potent fighting force and eventually challenged and won the right to be the leader of the the Red Guard, the Red King. Meanwhile, Zoar developed a new plan for an agent on Earth, see Copper
The Red King
Xan turned the Red Guard into a fully mobile strike force capable of being anywhere and fighting almost anyone. Shortly after becoming the Red King, Xan lead them to one of the other remaining Lukovian Observers, Zujis. Zujis was also built in the center of a moon orbiting a planet that supported sentient life but unfortunately, that planet had exploded before it could do anything to prevent it. The Moon of Zujis was sent into an irregular elliptical orbit around the local star and there Zujis resided, purposeless. When Xan arrived, Zujis agreed to letting the Red Guard use it's moon and facilities as a base of operations. Access to Lukovian technology gave the Red Guard an edge few could match, but they kept the source of this edge a closely guarded secret. Massive gravity furnaces were built in the moon which allowed them to move the moon throughout the galaxy on the principle of gravitational punch-through. Having their own completely self sufficient base located at whatever conflict they were engaged in was another edge few could match, only the Malvans had had similar bases. The Red King had 2 goals for the Red guard one, simply to provide help for anyone who asked for it. Two, to provide a place where misfits of war and science could gather and feel at home. Many races had created soldiers specifically for fighting, whether through cybernetic enhancement, genetic manipulation or even simple psychological conditioning. When the need for these soldiers was concluded, whether it be loss, surrender or simply being discarded for more advanced models, these soldiers previously had nowhere to go. To keep them from falling to despair or becoming parasites preying upon the soft underbelly of the galaxy, the Red Guard gave them a home and a purpose to satisfy what they were made to be. Xan made many life long friends here including Doctor Disaster and his Death Squad, Dor, Captain Arcane, Saint Trotex, The Harrower and others, as well as many enemies such as The Anubinite and MACH the Dark Machine. The Red Guard became famed through out the galaxy, fighting in and/or resolving (sometimes their mere presence precipitated talks of peace) all manner of political or military conflicts. The Red King was generally content with this life, though the emotional toll of being responsible for so many beings wore on him over the years. Adding to this stress, he began to notice a change in Tephra's attitudes. At first she had had no interest in fighting, instead choosing to tend the wounded but eventually she gave this up and became a commander of a regiment of light Dimension Blasters, fighting on the front lines and taking no prisoners. Her attitude toward the Red King also began to change. She would try to hide it but it was obvious the love between them was becoming strained.
Nearly 15 years after they had joined the Red Guard, they were contacted by an extra dimensional sorcerer named Lord Taurok who had heard tales of their prowess in battle and had dire need of reinforcements to repel an attack by a cabal of misguided magi who had raised a massive army. The Red King was apprehensive, he had never taken on an inter-dimensional contract, as it would require them to leave their Lunar base behind. But Tephra, rather uncharacteristically, lobbied intensely in favor accepting the mission and the Red King relented. It would be his last mission as King.
Death and Rebirth
The Red Guard were able to pass through a portal to another dimension that Lord Taurok called "the World Without End" or Wwend for short. Is was a place of wonders both bizarre and familiar. Magic and science were both practiced and all manner of beings were to be found here. Lord Taurok explained that he was in fact a cyborg like the Red King except that he was a mechanical intelligence surrounded by organic flesh instead of the other way around. But this in no way prevented him wielding magic and that he was a member of a group that called themselves the Rune Lords. The Rune Lords were a group of magi that were dedicated to keeping a mystic gateway, the Triskelion Gate, sealed and whatever dire presence that lurked behind it, out. They were opposed in this endeavor by another group calling itself the Hex Lords. The Hex Lords imagined great power either directly or as a reward for opening the gate. The Triskelion Gate was kept closed in 2 ways, one, the gate was locked requiring 9 keys. Two, it's location periodically changed. It appeared in 9 different locations through out the cosmos and in each location, a key would need to be used in order to open the gate. The Rune Lords controlled seven out of the nine locations (one was lost over time, the other never known to anyone living), the Hex Lords possessed 5 out of 9 keys. Taurok explained that the Hex Lords were making a major push to take possession of the gate locations in anticipation of locating the remaining keys and that it was his job, as the 7th Rune Lord, to protect this place known as Triskelion Keep.
The Hex Lords struck with an army composed of legions of necrotic cyber soldiers and all manner of vile creatures conjured from the dark realms. The battle was hard fought but The Guard held its ground and seemed as if it would prevail when the Red King received a message stating that the main battle had been a diversion while the Hex Lords themselves made an assault on the Gate Vault. The Red King and Tephra immediately made their way to the Vault only to be ambushed by the Hex Lords who seemed intent only on killing the Red King. But just as he brought his awesome power to bear on his foes, he was rendered inert from a source he had never suspected, Tephra. From that point on, his despair consumed him. The exchange between he and the Hex Lords seemed to almost be nonsense. They all seemed to know him, and had taught Tephra magic that would slide by his mundane defenses and deliver him into theirs hands. How this had all come to pass was a complete mystery to the Red King as the only thought in his mind was, why. The Hex Lords then forced him to watch helplessly as they summoned their true force, an flotilla of advanced dreadnoughts that began to lay waste to the Red Guard troops. This was more than he could bear, somehow he was able to activate his boot jets and hurl himself at the emerging dreadnoughts, overloading his matter-energy converter and destroying the fleet in a colossal explosion which killed him.
As his spirit traveled into the ether on it's way to Atziluth, he was intercepted by two ethereal beings of immense power. During this encounter it was explained that he had been a pawn in their mortal game and that he was now being "kinged" and returned to the board. (Xan's interpretation of this encounter is based on his life experiences, the true nature of the beings, and what they communicated is unknowable by mortal creatures). At first he refused to return to life, his despair at being betrayed by his true love still consuming him. But it was then explained to him that he had in fact been the cause of her actions in that, the body he created for her had a flaw which had over time altered her personality. The primary effect being, turning her love into hate. If he returned, he would have the opportunity to fix this flaw and return her to her former self. At this news the Red King heartily agreed to being returned, not fully understanding at the time the conditions of his return nor what it would ultimately cost him.
The beings returned him to Triskelion Keep shortly after his death, reconstituting his cybernetic body, but in a way that opened the world of magic to him. The beings had called him a Xanadu, referring to the type of game piece he now was, and in his disorientation upon his rebirth, it was the first word he spoke. (Technically what Xan thinks he actually heard was more like Kzzztandadoosh, but his mind transliterated that to Xanadu) The Red Guard had survived and returned to their home dimension, presuming him to be dead. Only Doctor Disaster's Death Squad and Captain Arcane, had remained behind and witnessed his return. He spent months recovering and readjusting to his new form. He immediately began to understand and manipulate magic. He decided to stay in Wwend and study at the University of Magical Details at the nearby City of Dawn. He was also informed that it had been Lord Taurok's last wish that he take his place as guardian of Triskelion Keep. He was confirmed as Lord of the Keep and the Western Marches by the Emperor of Dawn and became known as, Lord Xanadu.
The Long Walk
After Lord Xanadu became acquainted with his duties and responsibilities as master of Triskelion Keep, he immediately set about planning how he would save Tephra. She had fallen into the embrace of one of the Hex Lords known as Morthair, who had taught her many vile magics, and her reversed personality made her feel love instead of hate for this evil demon magus. She had even been accepted into the Hex Lords herself and was now known as Lady Tephra. Xan, rather naively, thought he might simply convince Tephra to return to him, not fully understanding how fundamental the change to her brain had been. She ostensibly agreed to meet with him, atop a quasi-mystical crystal mountain know as the Scarlet Pinnacle. Shortly after Lord Xanadu arrived he realized he had been duped, and the only thing waiting for him was an automaton replica of Tephra, armed with a thermo-nuclear device. Xan tried to flee using a teleportation spell but the blast caught him and disrupted his spell, sending him careening through space, and as he would later realize, time as well. What dimension or planet Xan eventually landed on, he never knew for sure. The blast disrupted his inner workings so severely that he was amnesic for many years with only bits an pieces of his life and knowledge available to him. He landed on a planet where mechanical constructs so mimicked organic life, that they were virtually indistinguishable. The quasi-humanoids there thought him to be one of their own and when he eventually demonstrated his ability to inadvertently do magic, they made him their Witch Doctor. Thus began Lord Xanadu's long walk back to the future. For, after many years wandering and even crossing planes and dimensions, he eventually learned he had been blasted backward in time about 200 years from where he had been. During this time he met many of the beings that would go on to be his friends and enemies in the future. The Hex Lords Karactacus, Morthair and Garthain, The Rune Lords Torc and Grendazance and many others. Eventually he began to make his way back to Wwend, when he realized he was beginning to overlap his earlier life. So that when Morthair and Tephra stood watching the "death" of Lord Xanadu he in turn was watching them. After this they quickly made plans to assault Triskelion Keep again but were confounded when news reached them that Lord Xanadu had promptly returned, and had been joined by 3 apprentices. They quickly learned that the Lord Xanadu they now faced was far wiser and vastly more powerful than they previously experienced. They would also learn, to their regret, that they had created their own worst enemy. With the help of his 3 apprentices, Lord Xanadu was able to settle into life on Wwend again and was content to remain there till one day...
The Road Home
Lord Xanadu received news that the Hex Lord Karactacus had gone to a small blue-green planet on the outer rim of a galaxy far far away in search of the lost gate location. A place called Earth. In his studies and travels Lord Xanadu had learned that Earth had once been home home to great magical empires such as Atlantis and Lemuria and that it was even likely that Earth had played a part in the sealing of the Triskelion Gate. He had hoped no one else would realize this, but when he heard this news he knew it was time to go home. He left his apprentices in charge of defending the keep and returned to Earth to stop Karactacus. For whether he found the gate location there or not, Xan knew that Karactacus was capable of causing great harm to his home world. it had been 29 (+200) years since he had set foot on his native soil. What he found there, a world steeped in power and roiling in conflict, only seemed to confirm what he suspected. The Gate location really was here, and cosmic forces were converging in anticipation of it’s discovery. Xan voraciously studied the Earth bound magic that was available to him, conferring with the Trismegistus Council and Lemurian rebels willing to teach him. He eventually learned to craft the talismans of the Arch-Mage and command their power. He also sought allies to aid him, knowing that Karactacus would waste no time raising an army of techromantic zombies to do his bidding. He contacted Doctor Disaster, who had returned to Earth after the battle of Wwend, and joined him and the Death Squad in Millenium City. He also encountered one of the men who had replaced him in the service of Zoar, the hero now known as Copper. He arranged to meet with Zoar, to settle things between them and to ask for his help in repairing Tephra. Zoar had no interest in Lord Xanadu's activities on Earth, not really being capable of holding a grudge, and did indeed show him how to correct the flaws in Tephra’s body. Now all that remains is finding Karactacus, and stopping him.
Powers and Abilities
Cybernetic
What purpose the Lukovians had in mind when they created the humanoid body that now holds Lord Xanadu's brain, is anyone's guess. Even Zoar had no information on what it was actually intended to do, It simply saw it as one of the tools at It's disposal. That it was intended to house a human brain though is unmistakable, Lukovians had bodies more like giant squids, and lived in a liquid atmosphere. It is constructed very much in the same way a human body is. It has "muscles" made out of a polymorphic metallic substance, surrounding various "organs" and supported by a virtually indestructible endoskeleton. His body can withstand considerable punishment however, his durability is based more along the lines of an ablative system, allowing partial destruction that is quickly repaired. The most impervious part of his body is his head which is built differently to prevent any kind of penetration and filled with a liquid that absorbs and redirects kinetic energy. Lord Xanadu's entire body could be destroyed beyond repair, and as long as his head remains functional a new body would reconstruct itself. But all of these systems can be overcome by sufficient trauma. His primary defense is an invisible force-field that is best at deflecting energy. This too can be overcome if the energy deflected is greater than his energy reserves.
The body does not have a tremendous mass, therefore although Lord Xanadu is mechanically quite strong, able to lift (press) over 100 tons, this does not translate into a devastating fighting power since he cannot punch with enough velocity to make the mass of his fist a viable threat to say, a being like Grond.
Besides super human strength, Lord Xanadu also benefits from all the amenities of mechanical perception, augmented hearing, sight and touch. His newly recreated body has had an additional dimension of feeling added that Lord Xanadu has yet to fully identify. He is also able to project beams of intense energy possessing both heat and force from his hands. An ability he rarely uses anymore, preferring to use magic instead. His body is capable of flight by generating an inertial dampening field and propulsion from jets in his feet. Something he also rarely uses, instead preferring to use mystical means to fly.
The crowning achievement of the Lukovian body is the matter-energy converter. Lord Xanadu is able to convert matter directly into energy just by touching it. Typically he is always converting air molecules around him into the energy he needs to operate. He also converts matter from the ground he is standing on, a consequence being that no matter where he goes, he leaves foot prints behind where the matter was consumed. If he were trapped in a true vacuum, unable to convert anything, his normal body functions would last for about 24 hours, much less if he needed to expend energy. He has a back up power supply, used only to keep his brain alive, that could theoretically last a week if the rest of his body shuts down.
Psionic
All human beings are endowed with latent or operant psionic abilities. In Lord Xanadu these abilities had been latent. One of the apparent purposes of the Lukovian cybernetic body, was to activate and augment those psionic abilities. It has been theorized that the actual purpose of the body was to gauge the current level of human psionic ability, the Lukovians themselves were magnificent psionicists. Human psionic power is generally broken down into 5 categories of varying degrees, telepathy, telekinesis, coercion, amelioration and the rather nebulous, "manipulation". All human beings are born with aptitude in one or more category. Some races like the Lukovians use scientific and medical means to accentuate and amplify psionic abilities.
In Lord Xanadu's case, if his powers had become operant naturally, he would have been a moderate talent in Telepathy, a very strong telekinetic, fairly weak and indecisive in the areas of coercion and amelioration, and strong in manipulation. With the augmentation from his body he is a very strong Telepath, able to communicate with people halfway around the world, a world class Telekinetic, he can lift thousands of tons or control hundreds of separate objects, A moderate Coercer, he can control the minds of 2 or 3 people at time provided they are not also psionic, a moderate Ameliorator, he can make your headache go away ;) and a master class Manipulator able to create things out of thin air provided they are not too complex. (Manipulation is really a subclass of telekinetics, being able to manipulate matter on a subatomic scale and also to generate and direct energy from this manipulation)
Lord Xanadu feels the most comfortable with his psionic abilities. He has never enjoyed physical combat and so refrains from using his bodies mechanical power. And while he enjoys using magic and the study and practice required to excel in it, he is more often than not likely to revert to mental powers in a pinch. In fact many of the "mystical" effects he is seen generating are actually purely psionic power.
His body is capable of generating a psionic shield to protect his mind. The draw back of this shield is that it only works one way, by cutting off all telepathic interaction. No one can go in, but he can't go out either, with out dropping the shield. His personal mental shields are considerable but would prove ineffective against a world class coercer or telepath.
Sorcery
Despite his physical and mental abilities, Lord Xanadu has been absolutely entranced by magic. Unlike the aforementioned powers which were given to him, sorcery is something that Lord Xanadu has had to learn and practice and master on his own. His rebirth may have opened the door for him to the world of magic, but he had to walk through it. Magic has given him a seemingly endless life of power and wonder and he revels in it. After his rebirth he began studying magic to learn how to combat the Hex Lords and to learn what he needed to know about the Triskelion Gate. After the attack which left him in the past, he has had to slowly learn things mostly on his own. Picking up what he could from itinerant wizards and entities. After he arrived in Babylon the City of Man and joined a sort of mystic police force, he gained access to all sorts of varied knowledge and spells. As a member of the Rune Lords, he is obligated to become an authority in one aspect of sorcery and because of his unique perspective, he is the Lord of Science and Magic, just like Lord Torc was before him. his counter part in the Hex Lords is Karactacus. As such, Lord Xanadu has learned many ways to combine magic with scientific endeavors.
The easiest combination of magic and science is enchanting technological items. Extending beyond that, Lord Xanadu is quite fascinated with creating and enchanting objects and talismans, even though the Rune Lord of Enchantment is Lady Agite, this has become a hobby for him. He has created a number of magical talismans and like to spread them across the Empire of Dawn like Easter eggs for people to find and use. He has also created stronger more complex items, some of these are listed below.
After 200 years of research and practice Lord Xanadu has become a formidable sorcerer capable of truly awesome feats when able to properly prepare. His most common effects involve summoning unstable or energetic sigils, calling on dark tendrils to flay his enemies, or healing his allies with regenerative spells.
--LXD 23:19, 11 February 2010 (UTC)
Equipment
Battle Garb
Over the centuries Lord Xanadu has amassed a collection of items and equipment he uses to facilitate spells and conjurations or to provide protection. Unlike many cyborgs, Xan does not like to call attention to this obvious fact of his existence. While serving Zoar he rarely dealt directly with other human beings and so did not consider his appearance much. After He and Tephra took to the stars, he was often mistaken for a robot, something that irritated him immensely. So he began to wear clothing, especially after he became the Red King, he created an outfit to make himself stand out as a leader. Later he learned the importance of wearing mystical battle dress, some entities don't care how tough your body is, they go right for your soul ;) Hence what he calls his "garb of battle" is a collection of blessed and empowered pieces that enhance his protection and offensive abilities. The ultimate addition being the Cimmerine gems that adorn his chest and arms.
Angring
His most prized possession is his elven blade Angring. Xan acquired this blade during his journeys through the land of Faerie. Forged as a dowry gift by a mighty elf lord for his daughters wedding, Angring became lost when the wedding party was attacked and slaughtered by a pack of raving Lizardmen. The sword fell from the hand of the groom before it could even be unsheathed and in its despair it hid itself in the dusty ground never to be found again till Lord Xanadu happened upon the site and was accosted by a summoning of vile demons. Angring sensed the loss of love felt by Lord Xanadu, and the chance for redemption, and allowed itself to be grasped and used. The kindred spirits instantly bonded and they have been inseparable ever since. Many years later, Xan was forced to use Angring in a way that damaged it beyond simple repair. In a quest to restore the blade, Lord Xanadu encountered another powerful weapon, one that did not have a palpable spirit like Angring, but was still strong. He was then able to combine the two. Angring's form was changed forever, but it was still Angring. Since then Xan rarely uses the sword in actual physical combat, he uses it more as a channeling rod.
Affiliations
The Apprentices
Not long after Lord Xanadu left Babylon he encountered his first apprentice. Xan had not really considered teaching but was touched by the situation of his first pupil Vexer. Xan considers Vexer more of a friend than a student but it saves many lengthy explanations if he is considered as such by all others. Later as they made their way to Wwend, they were joined by Vardis, whom Lord Xanadu feels he can learn from as much as he might teach. After Xan regained control of Triskelion Keep, he took in Vane and Tedrigan. All already have powers and skill of their own and have become trusted lieutenants.
Vexer
Vexer is the son of a famous Faerie wizard known as D'Jeon M'Stere. D'Jeon was well known for aiding humans that found their way into Faerie by accident and became lost. Vexer felt as if his father cared more for strangers than for him and so set out to oppose him. Secretly at first, but eventually openly as his father easily thwarted his son's interference and increasingly malicious plans with out ever actually fighting him. Vexer was infuriated by his fathers refusal to directly confront him and so resorted to summoning an arch Demon of the 6th circle to menace D'Jeons latest charges. The Demon broke free of Vexer's control and began to lay waste to the borders of Faerie. The destruction appalled Vexer. It had never been his intention to destroy everything he knew and so he joined his father in banishing the demon. D'Jeon M'Stere gave his life to complete the banishment and with his dying breath, pleaded with his son to return to the light. Vexer agreed. But the years of petty evil and dark magic had taken their toll on him. He had grafted demonic wings to his back, his body had lost all it's color, and fangs grew from his mouth. Prior to summoning the demon, Vexer attempted to tap into dark energy directly and fused his being with the Faceted Heart of the Ebon Flame. Now dark fire courses through his body, hungering for souls to consume. With his father dead, Vexer had no one to turn to, to teach him the ways of the light. But the battle with the demon had attracted the attention of an itinerant sorcerer known as Lord Xanadu. He encountered Vexer at his fathers grave and was touched by his story. Xan saw the despair that threatened to consume Vexer and pledged to aid him on his road to redemption, and to teach him ways to harness and cleanse the darkness within him.
Vardis
Vardis lived in the space between space that some call The Wandering. A place of strange disparate landmasses and glowing bridges that lead anywhere and no where. A crossroads of sorts, or a dead end. A place to turn back, or move forward. Few beings actually lived in this place, most were traveling. Vardis belonged to a small sect of monks that had taken up residence at the site of what they called the The Well of Pnuema. The sect had been at this site for millennia and believed that their combined concentration kept the well closed, holding back a great evil. Between the ages of 30 and 60 the members of the sect do nothing but concentrate on keeping the Well closed. Before that the young are taught to care for the sentinels by those that have passed their time of service. They also care for travelers that are found in need of aid in The Wandering. They have learned many healing magics and protective spells. However, Vardis was a malcontent. As he studied the ancient texts, he felt that they were vague on several points and open to interpretation. Interpretations that might not call for a lifetime of servitude. The elders refused to hear anything he had to say, they were convinced that they were performing a vital duty. As Vardis's day of concentration approached, 2 travelers came to the Abbey, Lord Xanadu and Simon Sixkiller. Xan knew that they were very close to the lower planes now, so close in fact, that he was sure that this sect had originated on Earth. Lord Xanadu asked to see the Well and was shocked to find the Triskelion Gate. Or at least what appeared to be the Triskelion Gate. By this time Lord Xanadu's memory had mostly returned. He recognized the gate but his mystical senses told him it was not the gate at all, merely an edifice carved in it's likeness. After studying the ancient texts for himself, Xan realized that these people had dedicated their lives to a woefully incomplete account of the Battle of Sharna-Gorak. Xan wrestled with what to do, if he told the monks the truth, it might cause great harm to them and their society, but in the mean time, they spent their lives in an utterly futile pursuit. Xan chose to leave them to their mission, pledging to someday return and find a way to harness the power of this abbey and put it to a real positive use. As he was want to do with all educated visitors, Vardis approached Lord Xanadu to ask his opinion of the texts. Xan decided that Vardis needed the truth and told him. Vardis was appalled but not surprised, he had come to the same conclusion long ago. He knew he had no place in the abbey now and joined Xan and Simon on their journey.
Vane
Vane is a Dark Elf from the underworld of Wwend. His family worked a fungus farm on the farthest edges of Dark Elf territory. So far that they could see the great northern chasm that lead to the surface world of light. Being so far away, Vane was not excessively exposed to the racial enmity that Dark Elves feel for all others and grew up with a decidedly uncommon good nature and even a desire to explore. Vane would lie in the fields and gaze up at the few stars that could be seen through the chasm and dream of traveling there to see what the rest of the world was like. One day, while exploring the border between Drowland and Goblinhome, Vane found a curious device. It seemed to be an orb with many moving parts and levels, almost like a puzzle. As he played with it and moved the parts around he suddenly found himself transported nearly a mile away from where he was. Vane was thrilled. He took the device home and examined it when ever he had time to himself. He found he could make it do a couple other things like glow brightly or play a little tune. But the easiest thing he learned was how to travel. He realized he could travel miles and miles if he wanted to. He began to think of trying to go out of the underworld but was afraid since he knew nothing about it. Then one day, a goblin raiding party set upon his family's farm. Vane ran to his parents and asked them to hang onto him while he worked the device to escape. Vane set it to go as far as he thought he could, and found himself transported to the top of the Northern Chasm, alone. Driven by despair, Vane threw the device into the snow as hard as he could. It let out a tremendous sound that built up till it threatened to burst Vane's ears and melted all the snow around it. Vane scrambled to it and grappled with it trying to stop the sound when it suddenly stopped by itself. Vane sat still for a long time, looking at the brilliant sky full of stars above him, wondering what he should do next when he heard footsteps approach. Lord Xanadu approached Vane with caution. The power he had sensed that had drawn him to this remote area was daunting. He found Vane despondent and open to some much needed hospitality. Xan explained to Vane that the device seemed to be a great power that had chosen him to be it's wielder, but that without training and discipline, that device might destroy him. Vane agreed to become Lord Xanadu's apprentice to master the orb and to meet new and interesting people at his new home in the Empire of Dawn.
Tedrigan
Tedrigan's people were from the dark world of Loezen. The struggle for life there was harsh and unrelenting. Loezen is also one of the locations of the Triskelion Gate which is protected by Lord Grendazance. Tedrigan's village chose him to be their representative at the Decennial Games which Lord Grendazance held every 10 years to search for a new apprentice. Grendazance's apprentices typically did not survive much longer than that. Some believed that Lord Grendazance did not want to be supplanted and would fail to teach his apprentices vital magics they would need in their duties. Others scoffed at this and declared that they were just too weak, and that this year, things would be different. However, Lord Grendazance did finally have an apprentice survive the full 10 years, Garth. But just short of completing his apprenticeship, Garth left the Mun Citadel, for reasons no one outside it knew. The people had held the games for so many years that it was a widely cherished tradition so they were held anyway and Tedrigan was the winner. He presented himself to Lord Grendazance at the Citadel but was turned away, with Grendazance claiming he still had an apprentice, even though everyone knew that Garth had left. Tedrigan would not take no for answer and stood at the gates of the Citadel for weeks. After sometime. Lord Xanadu arrived to visit Grendazance and took an interest in Tedrigan's plight. He offered to take Tedrigan as his own apprentice, till Grendazance came to his senses and accepted him. Tedrigan has accepted this for the time being. Most of Tedrigan's power comes from the stone club he wields which Xan has nicknamed "The Ugly Stick".
Organizations
Member and former leader of the Red Guard
Member of the Rune Lords, 7th Lord, Thaumaturgist
Associate of Strike Team Zulu
Associate of the Sacred Order of the Chain
Associate of Doctor Disasters Death Squad.
Associate of the Trismegistus Council
