Character Highlight - Kalochex Elrethiaak

posted: 30 November 2019

"I am a Storm Herald, like my father before me." After the great dragon wars of many tens of thousands of years ago, the Dragonborn peoples were nearly destroyed. The great Cataclysm that split the land of Zattar left the Dragons and their created minions few, far between, and desperate to find quiet survival. The Draconic Diaspora, combined with the sequestering of the Dragons, doomed the race of Dragonborn to never recover their former greatness. The descendents of these groups formed clans, and resolved to forever live mostly quiet, isolated lives, far from the politics and squabbles of the humans, dwarves, elves, and other such creatures that have grown to fill the voids.

One clan of Bronze Dragonborn is called Saelethdaarian, and exists to this day along the Northern shore of the Bay of Serenity. The Saeleth are a seaborne tribe, living mostly off of a diet of fish and trapped birds of prey. Their numbers fluctuate between 50 and 100, but rarely outside of that range. Families typically have two to three children. The clan is not primitive in knowledge, they merely choose to live through the magics and natural gifts of the world. The Saeleth depend on the sea and defend their clan when necessary, but that is exceedingly rare. When time permits and people are available, emissaries are sent out from the tribe to gather new knowledge of the world, and bring that information back with them. Part of this knowledge is in magic, and the nature of the magic that kept Mount Myeathtaneak at bay.

The Elrethiaak family is made up of Zorhadur, the father, Larathyra, the mother, Kalochex and Konqirroth, two fully grown sons born only a year apart. Kalochex is the older, at 17, while Konqirroth is 16. Kalochex found his footing in hunting and fishing large sea creatures, sometimes feeding the entire clan when he went out with his fishing party. Konqirroth was and is a craftsman, and in apprenticeship with the fisher’s toolmaker. When not fishing, Kalochex was in training with the local battle trainers. He had mastered the use of many weapons, and was only just learning the nature of magic in battle. His trainers would use magic as a source of frustration for Kalochex, constantly testing his mind to react to new problems and new difficulties, and find a way to seize victory. Kalochex was almost always victorious, drawing small crowds to watch as he often seemed to put himself in a more fierce position during combat, wielding strength above his age, size, and skill.  The trainers agreed among themselves that one day Kalochex would lead the defense of the clan if such a defense was necessary.

Particularly strong in Kalochex was his devotion to the sea and the storms that often plagued the coastline. One would never find Kalochex inside during a thunderstorm, but out in the midst of it, relishing the rain, the thunder, and the lightning. Larathyra had scolded Kalochex on many occasions for taking a small ship out into the sea during a rough storm, but he had always come back alive and…electrified.

On one fateful afternoon, while returning from a fresh catch, bringing in a swordfish weighing well over 500 lbs, Kalochex’ party noticed smoke rising from Mount Myeathtaneak, one of the sole landforms along the horizon that could tell a fisherman which was he was headed if the sun was directly overhead. A strange gray powder was falling from the sky… a rain that Kalochex had never seen before. The party grabbed their oars and raced to the clan’s land as fast as they could. When they arrived, the clan was in disarray. Between the confusion of the clansmen and the slow realization that liquid fire was slowly but surely headed for the village, Kalochex was able to locate his family and, with the rest of the clan, flee to the west for safety. By the end of the day, the clan’s houses and land was engulfed in flame, their homes destroyed, only the possessions they could carry to comfort them.

After a few days travel, the Saeleth found another seaside beach and grassy area that would suffice for a new home. The clan elders had been discussing the next course of action during the travel, and it was unanimously agreed that it was once again time to send out emissaries to the wider world, and investigate why magic large and small has seemed to be failing at random times. Kalochex was selected to travel to the twin cities of Purethought and Shining Light, with further travel to Crasmere or towards the West if necessary. Konqirroth was selected to travel to Dethton and possibly Amagan. Still others were sent to smaller locations that had been friendly to former Saeleth emissaries. A sunset commissioning ceremony was held at the seaside, and Kalochex left at first light, contemplating how he would enter the great twin city undetected. If Kalochex is successful, he desires to earn the Mariner's Armor from his clan.