Yuriel Velor

[tim]

Yuriel Velor
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Race: Genasi (Stormsoul)
Class: Swordmage (Assault)

Appearance: Yuriel is a Genasi, elemental humanoids born half from the chaos of the lower planes and half from the order of the middle planes. Although Genasi have been known to develop additional manifestations later in life, Yuriel was born a stormsoul, his being charged with the elemental power of lightning. His skin is a pale purple, with silvery lines traced like spiderwebs all over his body. The energy flowing through these lines gives his body a slight charge, giving anyone who touches him a mild shock, not quite enough to be uncomfortable but surprising nonetheless. His frame is much the same as a human's, broader than most but far from enormous. He wears sturdy hide armor in dark colors and a thick cloak of pale blue.

Personality: Yuriel is brilliant. Even among the Genasi his intelligence is unusual, and the speed at which he processes information makes the world seem slow to him. This, compounded with the natural impatience of his stormy lineage, means he is quick to lose interest in people and conversations that do not keep up with him. He often appears not to be paying attention to people when they try to talk to him, he has been known even to pull out a book and read when the conversation is slow, but there is still plenty of attention left over for whatever message the other person is trying to convey. While he appears rude and impatient, in fact he has a good heart and little malice in him. Even if he does not view you as his equal, he is more likely to try to pity you for your unfortunate lack of talent than he is to scorn you, and he is always willing to lend a hand to a soul in need. If anything, his sense of superiority has fueled a desire to aid and protect those with more meager endowments; he is a shepherd to the world.

History: Yuriel Velor was born in the unknown lands on the eastern side of Kelavor in a small farming village called Valandra, near the forest . Although the rest of the world is unaware of its existence, this portion of the continent is dominated by a genasi empire known as the Shining Sun. Yuriel's village was part of that empire, and every year it sent part of its crop back to the capital as taxes in exchange for the protection of its armies against the various monsters that occasionally raided out of the forest. As a young and naive farmboy, Yuriel dreamed of the majesty of the empire, read books on its glorious history of conquest and expansion, and marveled at the stories of its magnificent wealth and technology. When the imperial official arrived to collect the annual levy, Yuriel was singled out (ironically for his strength, rather than his intelligence) to join the imperial army. He went along willingly, happy to become a part of the prestigious military institution that protected his village and brought glory to his empire.

In truth, Yuriel made a poor soldier. He was a lot smarter than his commanding officers, and he knew it. Parade ground maneuvers bored him, and he always found it difficult in battle practice to stay in formation when an opportunity to flank presented itself. He would have been dishonorably discharged and sent home were it not for an elderly watersoul named Garel-Kai who recognized his talent and had him transfered to another division: the swordmages. Under Garel-Kai, Yuriel learned how to combine the art of swordplay he had learned in the rank and file with the arcane arts of the Anarchs of Shyr. He learned to protect himself with arcane wards, to bend reality and teleport himself, and to channel elemental power through his blade to destroy his foes. He became very good at what he did, and Gerel-Kai was proud. When at last his training was complete, Yuriel was sent to the front to deal with a rebellious Duke in the south that had seen fit to rise up against his emperor. As he was leaving, Gerel-Kai came to see his pupil off, giving him one last word of advice. "Never forget," he said, "that the art of the swordmage is a tool of defense, not of attack. Its purpose is to defend others, not to win glory or personal gain."

Yuriel left, righteous fury in his heart against the man who was rising up against a just and true emperor, who was bringing war and death to his countrymen. He fought well, defeating his opponents one after the next and smiting those who would harm his allies with just retribution. He never questioned why Duke Mariz had rebelled against the empire, why fellow genasi had chosen to side with him, why those genasi had to die. Then, one day, news came to Yuriel that his village had been destroyed. The story was an afterthought, hardly considered worthy of mention. Hill giants had fought their way to the larger city of Shakan, where imperial defence forces had finally driven them back. Three villages - Valandra included - had been wiped off the map before the empire's defenders had seen fit to act, and the story was their glorious victory at Shakan. Yuriel was furious.

The following night, Yuriel deserted the military. He was labeled a traitor of the empire and sentenced to death. He did not care. To Yuriel, it was the empire that had deserted him. It had failed in its promise to protect Valandra, and then refused even to acknowledge that failure. He wandered the forest for a time, slaughtering orcs, gnolls, and any other creature he came across that posed a danger to the rural villages he no longer trusted the empire to protect. It sated the anger in his heart, but he knew in his head it was an empty gesture. One man could not defend an empire, no matter how skilled. Only with an army under him could he do such a thing. An imperial army. And so it came to him that to fulfill his duty, to protect the people of the empire even as he had failed to protect the people of Velandra, he would have to become an emperor. But he would not attempt to do it as Duke Mariz had, to bring war and death to the countrymen he was meant to protect. Instead he would win fame and respect for himself, he would show the world how the strong were meant to act, and when one day he returned to his homeland it would be to a hero's welcome. When one day he took the throne from the emperor it would be in a bloodless coup, because the empire would know that the shepherd had become the wolf and a new guardian was needed.

Yuriel came to the human lands, where King Melkar's call for heroes was everywhere, and he knew it would be a good start.

[tim]

Since a new player has joined us hailing from western Kelavor, I will establish some more background on the genasi empire in order to inform any history Elan might have with them.

The Empire of the Shining Sun was established three hundred years ago when an ambitious firesoul named Ledule united the genasi tribes under his banner. The threat of monsters raiding out of the forest to the east was ever present, and Ledule convinced the rural tribes to band together for protection. This then was the foundation of the empire, a willing coalition established for collective security. For a time it lived up to this ideal, and the imperial army easily drove off the orcs and hobgoblins that had plagued village militias for centuries.

The empire prospered in this new peace. Genasi, with their naturally high intelligence, have an above average proportion of mages to their credit and so the empire became technologically advanced. Marvels the likes of which the world had never seen were created: electric trains (powered by bound elementals) to move troops where they were needed with greater haste, public sending stones that allowed instant communication all over the empire, and elaborate irrigation systems that improved productivity and freed unprecedented numbers of peasants for other endeavors.

So successful was the empire that the neighboring community of half-orcs to the south petitioned the empire for membership. Hardliners in the leadership were skeptical of allowing other races into the empire, and balked at including the "brutish" half-orcs. Ledule saw the opportunity this represented, although we may never know whether it was greed or altruism that motivated his decision initially. Membership was impossible, he told them, their fighting styles were simply incompatible and it would only serve to weaken cohesion in the army. But, if the half-orcs were willing to cover the empire's expenses, then the imperial army's shield could be extended to them. The monsters that could no longer raid Genasi territory had migrated to easier targets and the neighboring communities were hard pressed to defend themselves, so they had no choice but to accept Ledule's offer.

This was the seed that laid low the ideals of the Empire of the Shining Sun. Where once the army had been a shield to protect and nurture the Genasi people, it became a tool by which the government could enrich itself. Even before the death of the first emperor, the empire began to take on more and more protectorates. It began demanding tribute even from territories that had not asked for protection, claiming that the losses the empire inflicted on monster populations benefitted the entire region, whether they received direct protection or not, and so everyone must pay their share. The army had grown so large that none dared resist these demands. The genasi, of course, paid their share with blood: every year recruiters would scour the country, taking the flower of the empire's youth and inducting them into the army.

All the wealth pouring into the capital city could not help but foster greed, and competition to secure lucrative government positions led to corruption and crime. Leaders became more concerned with maintaining and increasing their own power than with fulfilling their duties to their countrymen, and the upper echelons of power degenerated into backroom deals and underhanded tactics. Recently, this culminated in the secession of Duke Mariz with a fair portion of the Genasi territories and much of the allied protectorates. Whether Mariz is actually interested in the lofty ideals on which the empire was founded or whether he just wants a bigger share of the prize for himself, he has embroiled the empire for the last few years in civil war. The current emperor is certainly more concerned with maintaining his power and prestige than with the livelihood of his subjects, and he has pursued this campaign to the exclusion of all other matters. This is why Yuriel's village was allowed to perish, and why hundreds of Genasi die every day over a matter that should be settled diplomatically.