Post by ananse on Mar 19, 2009 1:22:59 GMT -5
Name:
Kalim Illiahe
(Pronounced: cal-im ill-E-ah)
Age:
247
Race:
Elf
Appearance:
With many years of magical pursuits Kalim has been able to change his appearance a great deal like many of his fellow forest dwelling kin. The man has adjusted his skin pigment like that of the shades, it it now a dark gray. To offset his startling dark skin tone the man adjusted his hair so that it is a lush evergreen color, and his eyes deep topaz blue that are devoid of aesthetic pupil.
The only other major adjustment that the elf has made to his body is that he is now able to extend a set artificial calcium blades from the sides of his forearms. This artificial weapons extend from the bend of the man's elbow to seven inches past his fist. So that they do not harm him in his sleep or otherwise hinder Karim's life they are able to flatten and thus become like plating on his arms. These blades are extremely durable and have had many powerful wards set on them so that they do not break easily. Should they break the blades would be repaired like any other part of Kalim's body, of course the process of repair would take a great deal of time, but to someone as timeless as Kalim that is not entirely a problem.
The grey skinned elf's features appear a bit more human than that of his kin. His cheek bones not as high as the other elves, and his features a great deal less sharp and his face is a bit rounder. Yet at the same time the man does not look enough like humans to be mistaken as an odd looking one, his pointed ears and strangely graceful appearance mark him an elf for all to see. Kalim's face is for the most part unmarred except for a long, thin white scar that runs from his left brow across the bridge of his nose and ends at the bottom of his jaw. The scar is not a deep one and those is not too offsetting, but is obviously noticeable. The man's unnaturally green hair is braided tight and falls all the way down to the man's lower back.
Like most of his kind Kalim's body is stronger than any human body could ever be, yet unlike most of the other elves the altered one has trained his body so that it is rather muscular not just toned. Of course since he does have to be fully battle capable his muscles are not too large nor are all of them toned. Beyond the oddity of his skin color and artificially added weapons the elf does not have any abnormalities with his body to speak of.
The ancient elf enjoys dressing in ever lush and overly extravagant clothing whenever possible. He is often found in expertly died silks and linens, with artful designs laid in them. The man's favorite and most worn outfit is a set of loose white silk pants with black feathers stitched into it, with that he wears a silver sash to tie up the pants, and a black barong tagalog with a similar pattern stitched into the sleeves. Of course this is not an outfit that can be worn often so whenever not at home the man wears black linen pants, a thick brown leather vest with a white sleeveless undershirt beneath, hefty work boots, and brown cloth cloak to help protect against the worst of the elements. Just in case his self made blades are damaged Kalim keeps a pair of dirks with him.
He also keeps a small, golden, leaf shaped jewel on a pendant, with him at all times. This is what Kalim uses to store his magic each day. Since the elf does not have access to his full magic the jewel does not have very much in it and can only be used in times of emergency.
Personality:
Kalim is like many of his kind and has learned to be very calm and contemplative. Very few insults will ignite the man's temper, and only when attacked will he generally use violence against those that the elf does not have to. Kalim is also surprisingly kind and gentle, always taking an open palm type philosophy to life. He has come to believe that with a warm smile, an adaptive mind and a willing heart one can survive anything.
The elf is extremely patient, to the point where it has become unnatural and very alarming to some around him. The man often waits and thinks his words over carefully before responding, which at times can be very annoying because even more than most of the elves Kalim has lost much sense of urgency and feels no problem with waiting for hours to think of the perfect reply to someone's greeting. Of course the man has not lost all sense of time and knows to act when necessary. Only if something's urgency is deeply impressed on him does the elf often take action.
Like water the man is soothing when calm but deadly when angered. Although Kalim tries his best not to let petty insults affect him, or even let physical attacks annoy him, but all those alive are not perfect and the elf too has a temper. Kalim cannot stand the site of his own kind, for they remind him of all that he has lost, and often when the man sees another elf he will attack mercilessly even if it is one of the rare children. Beyond elves he is easily angered when his odd appearance is insulted or when others bring up the subject of his inability to use magic anymore. Beyond that only the most irritating of people truly bring on Kalim's rage.
Despite his kind attitude and calm approach to life Kalim does not have much respect for the value of the lives of others. The man would cut someone down if he saw it better for him without a second thought. That is not to say that Kalim runs about all of the continent killing rampantly, but rather that he would not hesitate to kill regardless of age or gender.
Thanks to Galbatorix being so helpful to him the elf has grown extremely loyal to the self made emperor and would do nearly anything to aid the man in his pursuits. Yet with having spent so much time under the twisted rider's rule the man has learned a deep respect and fear for dragons. Unless absolutely necessary Kalim would not face off with a rider and their dragon.
History:
The Illiahe house was one that considered themselves rather prestigious and prided themselves on their magical prowess, and extensive library. Yet there was one thing that the house needed to finish their display of grandeur. The house needed a dragon rider, for centuries they had been devoid of one to speak of and thus Terratos Illiahe, the current head of the house at the time decided that he would make his son a dragon rider that all of his descendants would be forever proud of.
This was not an easy task, for Terratos' son Allesander was a man who cared little for pride or glory. Instead Allesander cared much more about studying other cultures, particularly the dwarves. For an elf studying a group of people so religiously devout was extremely fascinating. The Atheistic lad wanted to understand why so many people could believe in something that there was absolutely no evidence of.
At first Terratos attempted to trick his son into trying to join the ranks of the dragon riders, saying that with a dragon Allesander wouldn't have to just read about the dwarves he could fly to them. The boy always replied, "I need not wings to travel, father." and then always returned to his studies. Terratos tried to persuade his son with other tactics, but even after two years of attempts the Illiahe household remained without even a candidate rider.
Eventually Terratos thought of something that would convince even Allesander. The order of the dragon riders was at the time the most powerful group in all the continent, as such they would have a more extensive library than any that the Illiahe house could access. When this was brought to Allesander's attention it only took a bit more persuasion for the young elf to decide attempting to join the order of the riders.
Of course it is not exactly easy to join the riders, since riders are not made, they are chosen. This meant that even now that Allesander agreed to try and become a rider it did not necessarily mean that a dragon would willingly accept him as a rider. So it was entirely likely that the Illiahe family would remain without a rider. To Allesander that wasn't a huge problem, he did not care for the responsibility nor the power that riders held. Terratos on the other hand dreaded his son's test, for it meant that the Illiahe house may never rise.
When Allesander went to Vroengard to attempt becoming to he was allowed to stay on the claw shaped island for two months while he tried his luck with the better half of their unbonded eggs. In this time the man was able to spend most of his time in the rider's library, reading much of the material that they had on dwarven customs and religion. By the end of the first month the man no longer cared to try his hand at getting a rider, for now he had all the knowledge that he felt important on Vroengard. Yet he stayed the extra month just to please his father.
Much to the elf's dismay he was branded with the Silver Palm three days before his planned departure. With much annoyance Allesander sent to his father a letter telling of the Illiahe house's new rider. For days the theologian despaired the fate that was now his. Then Gaede was hatched, a silver scaled friend. At first it was hard for Allesander to deal with someone that was constantly in his head, arguing all of his theories and beliefs. Eventually the cynical reptile earned his place at the elf's side, and Allesander began to embrace his training as a dragon rider.
For ten years Allesander stayed on Vroengard, learning how to handle magic in ways he could never imagine. Then the riders decided that the elf and Gaede were ready to preform their duties as rider and dragon. Due to his extreme interest in dwarven beliefs and customs Allesander was assigned as envoy to the dwarven people, he would help them with whatever problems they had internally and externally. This was like a dream come to true to the man, since now he could combine his passion with his responsibility.
Kalim's mother, Tryste Almair, was born into a much less vain family.
The Almairs were a family that had left their home of Du Weldenvarden. The elven family had abandoned their forest homes in search of learning magic from the other inhabitants of Alagaësia. Unlike most elves Tryste's mother and father believed that elves were not completely superior in magical prowess, and thus sought the knowledge so many of their kind had ignored or counted as worthless.
For much of her childhood Tryste was surrounded by many different races, and people of extremely diverse beliefs. Of all these people she did not get to meet many elves in most of her life since her parents had decided that they knew the better part of what elves had to offer. So Tryste was devoid of the strict social customs that many of her kin were so attached to. Instead of becoming formal and prudent the young elf grew whimsical, and playful.
When Tryste turned thirty she left her parents to seek out a life of her own, and find her own calling. The girl ended up traveling from town to town, always feeling a bit out of place. Humans always looked upon elves with awe or disdain, and often knew so little about the race that they didn't trust them. To Tryste who was kind and outgoing this was rather unnerving.
Eventually the elven woman visited a dwarven city in the Beor mountains. Immediately she fell in love with the little people. Dwarves were generally honest, and judged a person on how they treated others and how hard they worked not on whether their ears were round or pointed. So Tryste began to live with the dwarves, her only qualm being that in many homes she visited she had to remain stooped over.
Then Tryste met someone that she could remain stooped over with. After a few years living with the dwarves a dragon rider was sent to them as an envoy. Of course the newcomer caught Tryste's attention, because like her he was an elf. Because of the very limited time that Tryste spent in Du Weldenvarden the woman did not know much about how most elves acted, and only really knew that they were overly polite.
Due to her belief that elves were slightly stuck up the female decided to distance herself from this new rider, preferred not to be judged because she was not as well educated as him nor as polite. For the first year of the man's stay in Tarnag the two did not once talk. This was not really the rider's doing, seeing as there were only two elves living in the mountains at the time he often tried to seek the woman out, but Tryste would always find a reason to leave whenever he struck up a conversation.
Finally Tryste decided to give the man, Allesander, a chance. All of the dwarves she had spoken to about the rider said that he was more dwarf than elf in his thinking, much like Tryste herself. So the woman eventually decided to invite Allesander to her home so that the two could talk and get to know one another. After that night the two elves became very close friends. Allesander was one of the few people that Tryste truly felt comfortable around, and the female was one of the few elves that Allesander could share his theories and thoughts with.
After a ten year long friendship the elves decided to become more than that. At first the relationship change was difficult, because neither felt that they could speak as equals and friends as they had before. This lead to the first few years being rather strange, but eventually the two found that they could be both friends and lovers. Almost as a reward to the two being able to live together peacefully Tryste became pregnant soon after the couple began getting along again.
For elves who have such a low fertility rate the gift of a child was something to be celebrated. Both of the elves in Turnag were extremely excited about Tryste's pregnancy, and for once the near immortals were both extremely impatient. Then after the longest nine months either had lived Tryste went into labor. Much to the couple's surprise the woman had been pregnant with twins. This was the best joy that any elf could possibly experience.
The twin boys were fraternal, the older of the two they named Oberon and the smaller and younger Kalim. Oberon was ever lively, and within his first year began quite the terror around the house, exploring whenever one of the elven parents looked away. Kalim was completely opposite. The child was quiet and ever calm, most of the time the babe would just watch the going ons of the house with his large, curious eyes. The smaller boy's personality was something both parent's appreciated because Oberon was enough trouble for two children.
As the twins grew these very different and distinct personalities continued to grow as well. Oberon became more and more lively, and constantly was playing whether he was alone or surrounded by the tiny dwarf children. Kalim on the other hand grew to be an introvert, constantly watching impassively. The only thing that the boy seemed to have any interest in was the dwarven mages in Turnag.
So as the boys reached adolescence they took two very different paths. Oberon began to learn swordsmanship from his father and many local dwarven warriors. Kalim on the other hand threw himself into learning magic from the mages that were held in the Beor mountains. Each twin was good at his pursuit and learned rather quickly, yet neither had any real talent or ability with the other's interest. Many of the dwarves joked that together the twins would be perfect. Some even said that it was like they were one person made two.
Despite the two very different people that the twins were becoming they got along surprisingly well. Kalim admired his brother's incredible strength, and natural talent with a sword. For the boy who was oddly weak for an elf such strength was something to be desired. Oberon for being so lively wasn't very bright, and envied his brother's quick mind and ability with magic. Nearly constantly the larger twin wished that he too could weild that kind of power. Each lived in the shadow of the other, always wishing to be more of what they could never be.
After a few years the couple decided that the boys needed to see their homeland, and learn magic and swordplay from their own kind who understood them best. So after talking to Terratos and arranging them to stay within the Illiahe house Allesander flew his children to the forest that had welcomed their kind for so many centuries. Within the foliage the boys would become men, and find their path in life.
When the twins first arrived in Kirtan they were very much outsiders. The two were of the age where they were no longer children, and thus were expected to be polite like adults. Yet Oberon and Kalim were born and raised among dwarves thus they did not know, nor understand the pleasantries and policies that the elves held so dear. To the duo a simple hello was a suitable greeting, yet the elves seemed to dislike this short and basic greeting.
For their first few years among the elves the two did not spend much time around others of their age. Instead the twins were with their grandfather most of the time, learning magic and swordsmanship from him. Luckily Terratos was old enough that he knew a considerable amount about each subject and always had something new to teach each of the boys. Although they were not with their peers the young elves were rather happy with their lives with Terratos.
Eventually the other elves began to accept them and slowly allowed them to fully join the elven society. Oberon took to sparring with many other young elves. He had learned so different a style than most others in the forest that the lad immediately was a start, and many spent their time trying to beat the boy. Kalim on the other hand found himself more comfortable around many of the older elves and began to learn magic from some of Kirtan's eldest elves.
Soon the twins grew apart. Oberon became part of a world where strength and physical talent were most important, where else the world that Kalim belonged to was one where one's mind ruled all they could become. Each grew surprisingly good at their own disciplines and both were often looked at with awe by their peers. Yet at the same time many disliked them, they were outsiders who had come in and tried to take Kirtan's knowledge. At least that's how many of the younger elves saw it.
Slowly Kalim grew obsessed with his research into the Ancient Language. No one knew why the boy was so driven to learning more and more magic, but many became alarmed at the rate that the elf was discovering dangerous spells. With his increase in knowledge came changes to his body. The male used the spells to alter his body not because he was unhappy with it, but because he wanted to be sure that he could change his body.
After he turned one hundred Kalim finally stopped spending so much time learning magic. Instead he began to become more interested in his family, particularly his twin brother. Oberon had become a master swordsman, and now spent most of his time teaching swordplay to younger elves. His brother's amazing talent with swords was fascinating to Kalim, and he would often watch his brother's lessons.
Then on the two brothers' one hundred and twentieth birthday Kalim revealed what he'd been planning for so long. After the celebrations Kalim suggested that the two spend some time together to honor their longevity. So they both went to Kalim's home, which was slightly outside of Kirtan. When they got there the younger twin used a quick spell to immobilize and silence his brother.
For all those years Kalim had been slowly storing his magical energy into many items, so at this point the amount he had available was incredible. All of that energy was for a spell that he had been working on since the twins had come to Du Weldenvarden. It was a spell to make the two twins become one person. Kalim had gotten the idea for this spell when he had over heard a dwarf say how the two were basically one person made two. With this spell Kalim intended to have the two halves meet once more and become whole.
The entirety of the spell lasted many hours and it was morning before Kalim completed it. In the end Oberon became a useless, mindless husk of a person, and in return Kalim gained all of his memories and talents. Now Kalim was who he was always suppose to be. He was extremely good at both magic and swordsmanship. The elf was elated at becoming whole for the first time in his life.
After a few weeks of seeing neither twin Terratos visited Kalim's home to make sure that both were not harmed in any way. It seemed that the magical twin was out at the time, so the grandfather decided to wait until his descendant returned. While waiting the old elf heard an odd noise in a nearby room and went to check on it. In the room was something that was so monstrous that the elf nearly fled there and then. Yet the man stayed and watched it for a while. After some time Terratos noticed a scar on it's left cheek identical to one Oberon had gotten while sparring once.
It was then that the man realized what the monstrosity was. For hours the old man sobbed beside the husk of his grandson. Terratos was finally awoken from his sorrow when he heard Kalim return home. After a short discussion the twin confessed what he did to his brother. Much to Terratos' horror the boy did not have a shred of remorse for what he had done, instead he was rather proud of himself and felt accomplished. Enraged the elder elf attacked his grandson, only to discover that he was no match for Kalim. The younger of the two was proficient in both magic and swordplay. Yet Terratos was able to store one slash on Kalim's face before fleeing.
The elf immediately scryed his son and through that was able to inform Allesander and Tryste of their son's horrible deed. The three agreed that they could not possibly kill the boy, he knew more magic than any of them and could probably kill all three within minutes. Yet they could not sit idly by while their one blood became a monster. So that night Allesander and Tryste flew to the forest and took Terratos from it so he would be safe from Kalim while they found the right course of action.
Terratos decided that the only way to stop Kalim was to seal his magic, yet that would require them to know his true name. So for the next three years while Kalim lived happily in Kirtan the three worked tirelessly to discover the elf's true name. Between the three of them they were able to manage it since they had been around Kalim for much of his life and had been able to see why he became what he had.
Then the trio began a powerful spell that would strip Kalim of his magic. The spell was rather complex and required quite a large amount of power because Kalim had not only his own amount of magic but what little his brother had had. So at the end of the spell Terratos fell dead, making those that had died because of Kalim's need for power two.
Once the elf realized what had happened to him he went mad and fled the forest. All his life all that had been truly important to him was magic and learning how to change the world with it. Now Kalim was barred from the one thing that he had loved. For Kalim magic was not a tool, but really a way of life, the loss of it destroyed the man's mental stability and he became a husk much like his brother.
For nearly eighty years the elf wandered Alagaësia, searching for some way to restore all that he had lost. Each place he went the elf found nothing to cure his broken soul. For fifty of those years every time that he entered a town he would be attacked by soldiers. The man who was no longer sane did not realize that all the dragon riders had been killed and that their killer now ruled the land, so he did not understand why the human soldiers wanted to hurt him.
Then Kalim wandered into the wrong town. It just so happened that when he found himself in Gil'ead that particular day the shade Durza and many of his Kull were there as well. When the elf was spotted and the group tried to capture him Kalim fought back like a wild beast, killing and maiming many that got within his reach. Yet he was no match was the power of a shade. Of course in his prime the man would have been able to escape, but without his magic or sanity the elf was captured.
Being captured was by far the best thing that had ever happened to the elf. After a great deal of time where Durza tried to extract information from him the shade realized that Kalim was of no use, but saw that he could become a nice tool for Galbatorix. So the elf was brought to the immortal king. The dragon rider sympathized with the elf because he understood the sense of loss. With his massive magical might the king was able to make Kalim able to access some of his magic. Of course it is only enough to heal minor wounds and such, but it was enough to revive the intelligent Kalim that had been stripped away by Terratos' spell.
Immediately Kalim pledged fealty to Galbatorix, but made sure to do so in common not the ancient language. For although the king had given him and amazing gift and was an amazing man Kalim knew that he needed the freedom to do whatever was necessary to get his magic back. So the elf became the last dragon rider's tool, used to assassinate many of the Empire's enemies. Only now that Surda and the Varden are active is he being used often.
Roleplaying example:
Kalim Illiahe
(Pronounced: cal-im ill-E-ah)
Age:
247
Race:
Elf
Appearance:
With many years of magical pursuits Kalim has been able to change his appearance a great deal like many of his fellow forest dwelling kin. The man has adjusted his skin pigment like that of the shades, it it now a dark gray. To offset his startling dark skin tone the man adjusted his hair so that it is a lush evergreen color, and his eyes deep topaz blue that are devoid of aesthetic pupil.
The only other major adjustment that the elf has made to his body is that he is now able to extend a set artificial calcium blades from the sides of his forearms. This artificial weapons extend from the bend of the man's elbow to seven inches past his fist. So that they do not harm him in his sleep or otherwise hinder Karim's life they are able to flatten and thus become like plating on his arms. These blades are extremely durable and have had many powerful wards set on them so that they do not break easily. Should they break the blades would be repaired like any other part of Kalim's body, of course the process of repair would take a great deal of time, but to someone as timeless as Kalim that is not entirely a problem.
The grey skinned elf's features appear a bit more human than that of his kin. His cheek bones not as high as the other elves, and his features a great deal less sharp and his face is a bit rounder. Yet at the same time the man does not look enough like humans to be mistaken as an odd looking one, his pointed ears and strangely graceful appearance mark him an elf for all to see. Kalim's face is for the most part unmarred except for a long, thin white scar that runs from his left brow across the bridge of his nose and ends at the bottom of his jaw. The scar is not a deep one and those is not too offsetting, but is obviously noticeable. The man's unnaturally green hair is braided tight and falls all the way down to the man's lower back.
Like most of his kind Kalim's body is stronger than any human body could ever be, yet unlike most of the other elves the altered one has trained his body so that it is rather muscular not just toned. Of course since he does have to be fully battle capable his muscles are not too large nor are all of them toned. Beyond the oddity of his skin color and artificially added weapons the elf does not have any abnormalities with his body to speak of.
The ancient elf enjoys dressing in ever lush and overly extravagant clothing whenever possible. He is often found in expertly died silks and linens, with artful designs laid in them. The man's favorite and most worn outfit is a set of loose white silk pants with black feathers stitched into it, with that he wears a silver sash to tie up the pants, and a black barong tagalog with a similar pattern stitched into the sleeves. Of course this is not an outfit that can be worn often so whenever not at home the man wears black linen pants, a thick brown leather vest with a white sleeveless undershirt beneath, hefty work boots, and brown cloth cloak to help protect against the worst of the elements. Just in case his self made blades are damaged Kalim keeps a pair of dirks with him.
He also keeps a small, golden, leaf shaped jewel on a pendant, with him at all times. This is what Kalim uses to store his magic each day. Since the elf does not have access to his full magic the jewel does not have very much in it and can only be used in times of emergency.
Personality:
Kalim is like many of his kind and has learned to be very calm and contemplative. Very few insults will ignite the man's temper, and only when attacked will he generally use violence against those that the elf does not have to. Kalim is also surprisingly kind and gentle, always taking an open palm type philosophy to life. He has come to believe that with a warm smile, an adaptive mind and a willing heart one can survive anything.
The elf is extremely patient, to the point where it has become unnatural and very alarming to some around him. The man often waits and thinks his words over carefully before responding, which at times can be very annoying because even more than most of the elves Kalim has lost much sense of urgency and feels no problem with waiting for hours to think of the perfect reply to someone's greeting. Of course the man has not lost all sense of time and knows to act when necessary. Only if something's urgency is deeply impressed on him does the elf often take action.
Like water the man is soothing when calm but deadly when angered. Although Kalim tries his best not to let petty insults affect him, or even let physical attacks annoy him, but all those alive are not perfect and the elf too has a temper. Kalim cannot stand the site of his own kind, for they remind him of all that he has lost, and often when the man sees another elf he will attack mercilessly even if it is one of the rare children. Beyond elves he is easily angered when his odd appearance is insulted or when others bring up the subject of his inability to use magic anymore. Beyond that only the most irritating of people truly bring on Kalim's rage.
Despite his kind attitude and calm approach to life Kalim does not have much respect for the value of the lives of others. The man would cut someone down if he saw it better for him without a second thought. That is not to say that Kalim runs about all of the continent killing rampantly, but rather that he would not hesitate to kill regardless of age or gender.
Thanks to Galbatorix being so helpful to him the elf has grown extremely loyal to the self made emperor and would do nearly anything to aid the man in his pursuits. Yet with having spent so much time under the twisted rider's rule the man has learned a deep respect and fear for dragons. Unless absolutely necessary Kalim would not face off with a rider and their dragon.
History:
The Illiahe house was one that considered themselves rather prestigious and prided themselves on their magical prowess, and extensive library. Yet there was one thing that the house needed to finish their display of grandeur. The house needed a dragon rider, for centuries they had been devoid of one to speak of and thus Terratos Illiahe, the current head of the house at the time decided that he would make his son a dragon rider that all of his descendants would be forever proud of.
This was not an easy task, for Terratos' son Allesander was a man who cared little for pride or glory. Instead Allesander cared much more about studying other cultures, particularly the dwarves. For an elf studying a group of people so religiously devout was extremely fascinating. The Atheistic lad wanted to understand why so many people could believe in something that there was absolutely no evidence of.
At first Terratos attempted to trick his son into trying to join the ranks of the dragon riders, saying that with a dragon Allesander wouldn't have to just read about the dwarves he could fly to them. The boy always replied, "I need not wings to travel, father." and then always returned to his studies. Terratos tried to persuade his son with other tactics, but even after two years of attempts the Illiahe household remained without even a candidate rider.
Eventually Terratos thought of something that would convince even Allesander. The order of the dragon riders was at the time the most powerful group in all the continent, as such they would have a more extensive library than any that the Illiahe house could access. When this was brought to Allesander's attention it only took a bit more persuasion for the young elf to decide attempting to join the order of the riders.
Of course it is not exactly easy to join the riders, since riders are not made, they are chosen. This meant that even now that Allesander agreed to try and become a rider it did not necessarily mean that a dragon would willingly accept him as a rider. So it was entirely likely that the Illiahe family would remain without a rider. To Allesander that wasn't a huge problem, he did not care for the responsibility nor the power that riders held. Terratos on the other hand dreaded his son's test, for it meant that the Illiahe house may never rise.
When Allesander went to Vroengard to attempt becoming to he was allowed to stay on the claw shaped island for two months while he tried his luck with the better half of their unbonded eggs. In this time the man was able to spend most of his time in the rider's library, reading much of the material that they had on dwarven customs and religion. By the end of the first month the man no longer cared to try his hand at getting a rider, for now he had all the knowledge that he felt important on Vroengard. Yet he stayed the extra month just to please his father.
Much to the elf's dismay he was branded with the Silver Palm three days before his planned departure. With much annoyance Allesander sent to his father a letter telling of the Illiahe house's new rider. For days the theologian despaired the fate that was now his. Then Gaede was hatched, a silver scaled friend. At first it was hard for Allesander to deal with someone that was constantly in his head, arguing all of his theories and beliefs. Eventually the cynical reptile earned his place at the elf's side, and Allesander began to embrace his training as a dragon rider.
For ten years Allesander stayed on Vroengard, learning how to handle magic in ways he could never imagine. Then the riders decided that the elf and Gaede were ready to preform their duties as rider and dragon. Due to his extreme interest in dwarven beliefs and customs Allesander was assigned as envoy to the dwarven people, he would help them with whatever problems they had internally and externally. This was like a dream come to true to the man, since now he could combine his passion with his responsibility.
Kalim's mother, Tryste Almair, was born into a much less vain family.
The Almairs were a family that had left their home of Du Weldenvarden. The elven family had abandoned their forest homes in search of learning magic from the other inhabitants of Alagaësia. Unlike most elves Tryste's mother and father believed that elves were not completely superior in magical prowess, and thus sought the knowledge so many of their kind had ignored or counted as worthless.
For much of her childhood Tryste was surrounded by many different races, and people of extremely diverse beliefs. Of all these people she did not get to meet many elves in most of her life since her parents had decided that they knew the better part of what elves had to offer. So Tryste was devoid of the strict social customs that many of her kin were so attached to. Instead of becoming formal and prudent the young elf grew whimsical, and playful.
When Tryste turned thirty she left her parents to seek out a life of her own, and find her own calling. The girl ended up traveling from town to town, always feeling a bit out of place. Humans always looked upon elves with awe or disdain, and often knew so little about the race that they didn't trust them. To Tryste who was kind and outgoing this was rather unnerving.
Eventually the elven woman visited a dwarven city in the Beor mountains. Immediately she fell in love with the little people. Dwarves were generally honest, and judged a person on how they treated others and how hard they worked not on whether their ears were round or pointed. So Tryste began to live with the dwarves, her only qualm being that in many homes she visited she had to remain stooped over.
Then Tryste met someone that she could remain stooped over with. After a few years living with the dwarves a dragon rider was sent to them as an envoy. Of course the newcomer caught Tryste's attention, because like her he was an elf. Because of the very limited time that Tryste spent in Du Weldenvarden the woman did not know much about how most elves acted, and only really knew that they were overly polite.
Due to her belief that elves were slightly stuck up the female decided to distance herself from this new rider, preferred not to be judged because she was not as well educated as him nor as polite. For the first year of the man's stay in Tarnag the two did not once talk. This was not really the rider's doing, seeing as there were only two elves living in the mountains at the time he often tried to seek the woman out, but Tryste would always find a reason to leave whenever he struck up a conversation.
Finally Tryste decided to give the man, Allesander, a chance. All of the dwarves she had spoken to about the rider said that he was more dwarf than elf in his thinking, much like Tryste herself. So the woman eventually decided to invite Allesander to her home so that the two could talk and get to know one another. After that night the two elves became very close friends. Allesander was one of the few people that Tryste truly felt comfortable around, and the female was one of the few elves that Allesander could share his theories and thoughts with.
After a ten year long friendship the elves decided to become more than that. At first the relationship change was difficult, because neither felt that they could speak as equals and friends as they had before. This lead to the first few years being rather strange, but eventually the two found that they could be both friends and lovers. Almost as a reward to the two being able to live together peacefully Tryste became pregnant soon after the couple began getting along again.
For elves who have such a low fertility rate the gift of a child was something to be celebrated. Both of the elves in Turnag were extremely excited about Tryste's pregnancy, and for once the near immortals were both extremely impatient. Then after the longest nine months either had lived Tryste went into labor. Much to the couple's surprise the woman had been pregnant with twins. This was the best joy that any elf could possibly experience.
The twin boys were fraternal, the older of the two they named Oberon and the smaller and younger Kalim. Oberon was ever lively, and within his first year began quite the terror around the house, exploring whenever one of the elven parents looked away. Kalim was completely opposite. The child was quiet and ever calm, most of the time the babe would just watch the going ons of the house with his large, curious eyes. The smaller boy's personality was something both parent's appreciated because Oberon was enough trouble for two children.
As the twins grew these very different and distinct personalities continued to grow as well. Oberon became more and more lively, and constantly was playing whether he was alone or surrounded by the tiny dwarf children. Kalim on the other hand grew to be an introvert, constantly watching impassively. The only thing that the boy seemed to have any interest in was the dwarven mages in Turnag.
So as the boys reached adolescence they took two very different paths. Oberon began to learn swordsmanship from his father and many local dwarven warriors. Kalim on the other hand threw himself into learning magic from the mages that were held in the Beor mountains. Each twin was good at his pursuit and learned rather quickly, yet neither had any real talent or ability with the other's interest. Many of the dwarves joked that together the twins would be perfect. Some even said that it was like they were one person made two.
Despite the two very different people that the twins were becoming they got along surprisingly well. Kalim admired his brother's incredible strength, and natural talent with a sword. For the boy who was oddly weak for an elf such strength was something to be desired. Oberon for being so lively wasn't very bright, and envied his brother's quick mind and ability with magic. Nearly constantly the larger twin wished that he too could weild that kind of power. Each lived in the shadow of the other, always wishing to be more of what they could never be.
After a few years the couple decided that the boys needed to see their homeland, and learn magic and swordplay from their own kind who understood them best. So after talking to Terratos and arranging them to stay within the Illiahe house Allesander flew his children to the forest that had welcomed their kind for so many centuries. Within the foliage the boys would become men, and find their path in life.
When the twins first arrived in Kirtan they were very much outsiders. The two were of the age where they were no longer children, and thus were expected to be polite like adults. Yet Oberon and Kalim were born and raised among dwarves thus they did not know, nor understand the pleasantries and policies that the elves held so dear. To the duo a simple hello was a suitable greeting, yet the elves seemed to dislike this short and basic greeting.
For their first few years among the elves the two did not spend much time around others of their age. Instead the twins were with their grandfather most of the time, learning magic and swordsmanship from him. Luckily Terratos was old enough that he knew a considerable amount about each subject and always had something new to teach each of the boys. Although they were not with their peers the young elves were rather happy with their lives with Terratos.
Eventually the other elves began to accept them and slowly allowed them to fully join the elven society. Oberon took to sparring with many other young elves. He had learned so different a style than most others in the forest that the lad immediately was a start, and many spent their time trying to beat the boy. Kalim on the other hand found himself more comfortable around many of the older elves and began to learn magic from some of Kirtan's eldest elves.
Soon the twins grew apart. Oberon became part of a world where strength and physical talent were most important, where else the world that Kalim belonged to was one where one's mind ruled all they could become. Each grew surprisingly good at their own disciplines and both were often looked at with awe by their peers. Yet at the same time many disliked them, they were outsiders who had come in and tried to take Kirtan's knowledge. At least that's how many of the younger elves saw it.
Slowly Kalim grew obsessed with his research into the Ancient Language. No one knew why the boy was so driven to learning more and more magic, but many became alarmed at the rate that the elf was discovering dangerous spells. With his increase in knowledge came changes to his body. The male used the spells to alter his body not because he was unhappy with it, but because he wanted to be sure that he could change his body.
After he turned one hundred Kalim finally stopped spending so much time learning magic. Instead he began to become more interested in his family, particularly his twin brother. Oberon had become a master swordsman, and now spent most of his time teaching swordplay to younger elves. His brother's amazing talent with swords was fascinating to Kalim, and he would often watch his brother's lessons.
Then on the two brothers' one hundred and twentieth birthday Kalim revealed what he'd been planning for so long. After the celebrations Kalim suggested that the two spend some time together to honor their longevity. So they both went to Kalim's home, which was slightly outside of Kirtan. When they got there the younger twin used a quick spell to immobilize and silence his brother.
For all those years Kalim had been slowly storing his magical energy into many items, so at this point the amount he had available was incredible. All of that energy was for a spell that he had been working on since the twins had come to Du Weldenvarden. It was a spell to make the two twins become one person. Kalim had gotten the idea for this spell when he had over heard a dwarf say how the two were basically one person made two. With this spell Kalim intended to have the two halves meet once more and become whole.
The entirety of the spell lasted many hours and it was morning before Kalim completed it. In the end Oberon became a useless, mindless husk of a person, and in return Kalim gained all of his memories and talents. Now Kalim was who he was always suppose to be. He was extremely good at both magic and swordsmanship. The elf was elated at becoming whole for the first time in his life.
After a few weeks of seeing neither twin Terratos visited Kalim's home to make sure that both were not harmed in any way. It seemed that the magical twin was out at the time, so the grandfather decided to wait until his descendant returned. While waiting the old elf heard an odd noise in a nearby room and went to check on it. In the room was something that was so monstrous that the elf nearly fled there and then. Yet the man stayed and watched it for a while. After some time Terratos noticed a scar on it's left cheek identical to one Oberon had gotten while sparring once.
It was then that the man realized what the monstrosity was. For hours the old man sobbed beside the husk of his grandson. Terratos was finally awoken from his sorrow when he heard Kalim return home. After a short discussion the twin confessed what he did to his brother. Much to Terratos' horror the boy did not have a shred of remorse for what he had done, instead he was rather proud of himself and felt accomplished. Enraged the elder elf attacked his grandson, only to discover that he was no match for Kalim. The younger of the two was proficient in both magic and swordplay. Yet Terratos was able to store one slash on Kalim's face before fleeing.
The elf immediately scryed his son and through that was able to inform Allesander and Tryste of their son's horrible deed. The three agreed that they could not possibly kill the boy, he knew more magic than any of them and could probably kill all three within minutes. Yet they could not sit idly by while their one blood became a monster. So that night Allesander and Tryste flew to the forest and took Terratos from it so he would be safe from Kalim while they found the right course of action.
Terratos decided that the only way to stop Kalim was to seal his magic, yet that would require them to know his true name. So for the next three years while Kalim lived happily in Kirtan the three worked tirelessly to discover the elf's true name. Between the three of them they were able to manage it since they had been around Kalim for much of his life and had been able to see why he became what he had.
Then the trio began a powerful spell that would strip Kalim of his magic. The spell was rather complex and required quite a large amount of power because Kalim had not only his own amount of magic but what little his brother had had. So at the end of the spell Terratos fell dead, making those that had died because of Kalim's need for power two.
Once the elf realized what had happened to him he went mad and fled the forest. All his life all that had been truly important to him was magic and learning how to change the world with it. Now Kalim was barred from the one thing that he had loved. For Kalim magic was not a tool, but really a way of life, the loss of it destroyed the man's mental stability and he became a husk much like his brother.
For nearly eighty years the elf wandered Alagaësia, searching for some way to restore all that he had lost. Each place he went the elf found nothing to cure his broken soul. For fifty of those years every time that he entered a town he would be attacked by soldiers. The man who was no longer sane did not realize that all the dragon riders had been killed and that their killer now ruled the land, so he did not understand why the human soldiers wanted to hurt him.
Then Kalim wandered into the wrong town. It just so happened that when he found himself in Gil'ead that particular day the shade Durza and many of his Kull were there as well. When the elf was spotted and the group tried to capture him Kalim fought back like a wild beast, killing and maiming many that got within his reach. Yet he was no match was the power of a shade. Of course in his prime the man would have been able to escape, but without his magic or sanity the elf was captured.
Being captured was by far the best thing that had ever happened to the elf. After a great deal of time where Durza tried to extract information from him the shade realized that Kalim was of no use, but saw that he could become a nice tool for Galbatorix. So the elf was brought to the immortal king. The dragon rider sympathized with the elf because he understood the sense of loss. With his massive magical might the king was able to make Kalim able to access some of his magic. Of course it is only enough to heal minor wounds and such, but it was enough to revive the intelligent Kalim that had been stripped away by Terratos' spell.
Immediately Kalim pledged fealty to Galbatorix, but made sure to do so in common not the ancient language. For although the king had given him and amazing gift and was an amazing man Kalim knew that he needed the freedom to do whatever was necessary to get his magic back. So the elf became the last dragon rider's tool, used to assassinate many of the Empire's enemies. Only now that Surda and the Varden are active is he being used often.
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