Arolas Kanosek
From Valwiki
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| Assumed Name: | Arolas Kanosek | |
| Title: | King of Celdin, King of Staghorn, Duke of Nombarg, Lord of Valikorlia | |
| Age: | 132 | |
| Race: | Half Elf | |
| Eye Colour: | Brown | |
| Hair: | Black | |
| Skin-Tone: | Once tan, now pale | |
| Height: | 5'10". | |
| Weight: | 164 lbs | |
| Alignment: | Neutral Good | |
Contents |
Personality
Arolas believes firmly in the best interests of the people. He is a firm leader and will go to war if necessary. Though not a racist, he has been raised like most other humans and elves, and believes strongly that orcs and goblins and the like are more-or-less evil. He is good-natured and somewhat humorous, and never shuns one or looks down upon anyone. Arolas was not born into nobility, and therefore he is quite a humble ruler.
Equipment
The Sword of Setengar: Arolas left Staghorn during peaceful times after securing his Nation and ensuring their welfare by placing one he thought to be competent as a Steward. He lead a small army across the ocean to Meridiem in hopes of spreading Setengar to the savages and civilizing them. During his travels, Arolas was shocked to find what he thought, at first, was merely a broken replica of the swords scattered across the walls of the church. He wondered how it could get to Meridiem, and upon closer inspection (as well as trial), he discovered the sword pierced through stone and mortar. Indeed, this was the legendary sword mentioned throughout scriptures and desprictions of Setengar. This blade is unbreakable, leading one to question how and why it had been scattered in pieces before Arolas forged it back together. It carries with it Setengar's sense of justice, and can reflect light from above in the general direction of the unholy. It is capable of deflecting magic spells, and as a holy weapon it is capable of destroying undead and other abominations.
The Gauntlets of Klindor: The Gauntlets of Klindor are stone gauntlets Arolas came upon that were stuck to a large, frozen stone golem. Arolas was willing to fight to make sure the gauntlets ended up on his arms, and eventually they did. The gauntlets are capable of releasing powerful blasts of wind capable of blowing enemies back.
Background
Youth
Not much is known about Arolas' youth. It is known that he was born 90 years before the flood, putting his current age at 135. He was born to a human father and an elf mother, making him a half elf. He never knew his mother, having been raised by his human father in a small farming community, part of Valikorlia. His father was 30 when Arolas was born, and Arolas stayed with him on his farm until the day he died, nearly 25 years later. Arolas sold off his father's farm and left to go to the city, now a man of 25 years age. He worked odd jobs for people within the city, tending the pub, working at a weapons shop and even working as a gardener for the well-to-do mansion owners in the city, never once imagining that his wealth would one day far surpass theirs. Eventually he found what he believed to be his true calling when he was around 35; he became a Priest of the Valikorlian Church of Setengar.
Arolas served as a priest for several years before meeting the first woman he ever loved. Her name was Victoria Tenlan, and he would later bestow her first name upon his first daughter much later in life. He knew that, as a priest, it was forbidden to love. Her love for him was also forbidden, for she was the daughter of a nobleman. Eventually, when Arolas was 36, they decided to run away together, hiding in a forest. Together they built a house and lived in the forest, away from society. She birthed a son, whom they named Arbellason, an Elvish name meaning Noble Strength after the Nobility of Victoria and the Strength of Arolas. Arolas was 37 at the time. Almost six years later they birthed two more children, twin boy and girl whom they named Arthion, meaning Royal, and Aeroniel, meaning of the sea, for Arolas had always loved the sea. Tragedy struck one fateful day while Arolas was out hunting. Victoria heard a disturbance outside their home and left six year-old Arbellason to watch over his newborn twin brother and sister, Arthion and Aeroniel. Bandits had been riding through the forest and were weary after their travels when they came upon Arolas' cabin. They decided to stop there and rest in the cabin, but Victoria resisted. Arolas was coming back with a rabbit he had killed when he saw one of the bandits slit her throat. As they head into the cabin Arolas took out his bow and arrow and shot and killed one of them. The remaining bandits were confused, and Arolas shot and killed another. The bandits saw where the arrow had come from this time, and came towards where Arolas was hiding in the brush. He came out and quickly launched another arrow into a bandit, then dropped the bow as the others drew too close, pulled out his hunting knife and killed the remaining three bandits as they tried to attack him. After it was over he ran to Victoria and held her in his arms as she died. He buried her in that forest and remained there, raising his children in that cabin.
His children grew up. First Arbellason left when he was 21, determined to do something important with his life. Arthion left to find his brother two years later, leaving Arolas and his daughter alone, though she too left the cabin to pursue her own life in another two years. Arolas remained in his cabin for the next two years after that, growing increasingly lonely until finally he couldn't stand it any longer.
Pre-Flood
When Arolas was 63 he took his worldly posessions and left the cabin in which he had lived for many years. He sold everything he owned and used the money to purchase a small boat. For a year he sailed around the coast, learning how to sail, before eventually setting off to travel across the ocean. He spent the next two years sailing to various places, seeing Empyria, Alkaria, Suiriku, Athedia, and the place that would soon change his destiny... Nombarg.
After his travels, Arolas finally decided to settle down in Valikorlia, where he had grown up. He enlisted as a town guard, posessing no real skills that could help him in a city environment. For the next five years this provided him with a steady source of income, until Trent Harbinger became King.
Trent Harbinger ordered the creation of an elite group of Rangers, woodsmen capable of hunting and tracking men. Arolas was the first to volunteer, and the first to be granted the position. He served with distinction and eventually the Duke of the newly acquired territory of Nombarg decided to Knight him. Arolas was overwhelmed, having suddenly become gentile. He served the new Duke of Nombarg (Ukena) and acted as his Adjutant; that is, his assistant. The Duke died and, having no suitable heirs, Arolas suddenly found himself being named the acting Duke of Nombarg by the new King, Azenthius Esthras.
The Valikorlian territory of Nombarg flourished and many people migrated to the island. Arolas held balls in the castle and even purchased a mansion in Valikorlia, one of the same mansions he had once worked for as a gardener many years earlier. Indeed, times were good, but they were about to become bad.
The Flood
The rain started and it didn't stop. When the water levels rose, Arolas decided it might be a good idea to the ship he used to get back and forth between Nombarg and Valikorlia. By the time he got to it the land had already begun flooding. He sailed the ship back towards Valikorlia, having to make the difficult choice of abandoning Nombarg and its inhabitants in order to save the people of Valikorlia. Arolas captained the ship himself, and most of the people that were in Valikorlia when the flood began found themselves on his ship. Eventually, even King Azenthius himself found his way onto Arolas' ship. Arolas was angry at Azenthius, who did nothing when the floods began to save his people. As the waters continued rising Arolas decided it would be a good idea to sail for Suiriku, for Suiriku was, at least in the fables, said to be on the back of the giant turtle, Bork, and thus Arolas believed that Suiriku would rise with the waters. They never made it to Suiriku, but it wouldn't matter; the waters eventually receded and the ship wrecked upon the land.
Many of the current inhabitants of Kharlia, whether they know it or not, owe their lives or the lives of their parents to Arolas and the ship he used to save as many lives as he could.
Post-Flood
The next thirty years were a dark time in Arolas' life during which he oft strayed from the righteous path he had once led as a priest. Arolas put the burdens of others upon his shoulders and always kept himself busy. Because of this he never had time for his family or himself. He spent his free time in the pubs and slept with women he barely knew, resulting in the births of two more children under two more women. The women were poor and unable to support children, so Arolas took care of the children and the women, just as he tried to take care of everything else.
Arolas was first given a daughter about five years after the flood, and he named her Victoria after the woman he once loved. This is the only one of Arolas' children who does not possess an Elvish name, or a name beginning with an "Ar" sound for that matter. Arolas did not raise her as he lovingly raised his previous children, for now he was a nobleman and possessed a busy schedule. She was often watched over by housekeepers and such, though Arolas always took time out for her. About fifteen years after the flood Arolas had another child, this one birthed by a human mother unlike the first three who were Elvish and Victoria who was from two half-elf parents. Arphenion was thus only 1/4 Elvish, and posessed more human traits than Elvish. He named this son Arphenion, meaning Son of a Nobleman, so that everyone would henceforth know that the Kanosek name was of Nobility.
When the Dalmarite Revolution occurred, Arolas sympathized for the Rebel cause. The fact that the Valikorlian Empress lured their leader, Gulderic, in and beheaded him to appease Dalmar rather than allying with the Rebels to fight their oppressors made him bitter and resentful of Valikorlia's current leadership. In secret, he provided the rebels with supplies and became a strong supporter and ally of Antoine Lefaye, the new leader of the Revolutionaries. It was around this time also that Arolas experienced a renewed faith in Setengar and the other Gods. He began attending Church weekly, then daily, and eventually decided to change his life. He no longer viewed others' problems as burdens that he must take care of, but instead viewed them as a way to help others and touch their lives.
After that, but before the war between Dalmar and Valikorlia escalated, Arolas took a battalion of soldiers and went to Meridiem to explore, himself already being a very experienced sailor as well as ship captain.
Staghorn
Upon returning to Kharlia to find that both Dalmar and Valikorlia had been destroyed, Arolas gathered up whatever Valikorlian remnant soldiers he could and built a fort in a forest near the ruins of Valikorlia. In the first week there, as the story goes, Arolas saw a great Stag, bigger than any he'd ever seen before. He set about hunting the animal and after a long battle he killed the buck and brought it back to the fort to the bewilderment of the soldiers. The deer fed the hungry and tired men as they continued building, and Arolas is said to have cut off one of the deer's antlers, (oddly foreshadowing the event in which he would cut off one of his own ears), raised it up and proclaimed "I bring you this Stag Horn as a symbol. It has made the greatest sacrifice of all, it has given its life that we may live. We have made sacrifices as well. Many of us have lost loved ones, and many of our fellow Valikorlians have died or are missing. But our sacrifices will not be in vain. Our sacrifices will be a price paid in blood for the cost of our children's futures and our grandchildren's futures. We must become hunters, axemen, and carpenters, that our children may have the means to become businessmen, scholars and architects." Afterwards, the soldiers began referring to the fort as Fort Staghorn because of the passionate speech.
Fort Staghorn grew and continued growing. Eventually it became more of a town than a fort, and a town needed more land to expand upon than what they currently had. The lands to the South, just outside the forest were very fertile and were thus cultivated. Arolas realized the importance of economy rather than just survival, and decided that two crops would be planted. One, a staple for survival: wheat. The other, a cash crop that everyone had use for: cotton. Around the cultivated fields a small farming community known as Oakburn was built up where the farmers would live and grow the crops for the new civilization Arolas envisioned. But this civilization would need a capital, a city for people to migrate to, to show people that though there had been much destruction in the last 30 years, hope was not lost, and civilization carried on. The forest had a large clearing to the east of Fort Staghorn and Arolas envisioned that a city could be built for those who were left homeless after Valikorlia was destroyed. Arolas and his soldiers went to work and, after clearing out a small band of goblins, construction of the city of Greendale began.
Greendale started small with a few buildings in a clearing and eventually it grew, and grew, and grew, until many of the trees of the forest had been cleared to make room. One of the first things Arolas had built was a large church reminiscent of the church that had existed below the castle in Valikorlia before the flood. Arolas took great pride in this church, and it was one of the things that helped draw people to the new city, for Kharlia had been without a proper church of Setengar for over a year. Within a year the city was bustling enough that Staghorn, with a fort, a farming community and a capital city, could now be declared a Nation, and a Nation needed a ruler.
Arolas had no intention of being crowned as a King, originally opting to govern as he had been; under the auhtority granted to him as a Lord of Valikorlia, and as he was not Royalty of Valikorlia, he said he could never be a Valikorlian King. The people objected and many peers convinced Arolas that Staghorn was no longer the "remnants" of Valikorlia, but that it was its own Nation, and it had only grown because of his leadership. Eventually Arolas gave in, and Staghorn was declared a Kingdom. The coronation took place as the finishing touches were being made to the newly built castle. Thus died Lord Arolas Kanosek of Valikorlia, and in his place was born King Arolas I of Staghorn.
Staghorn thrived, and many things grew around it, including the prosperous Ignis Fatuus mage tower which would cultivate one of Arolas' soon-to-be worst enemies. It became a major World power and began competing economically with Bridgeton and the new town of Ganelon. Staghorn's borders continued to expand as more and more outlying settlements were built. Arolas was comfortable, and finally sensed that there was peace in the World. He decided to take a leave of absense from the throne to travel once more to Meridiem in hopes of meeting with the governments there on behalf of Staghorn, as well as to convert the natives to worship Setengar. In his place he left a trusted government official as a Steward to watch over the throne. The Steward seized the throne while he was gone and proclaimed himself ruler. This caused an uproar in Staghorn and a resistance soon formed. The government of Staghorn was destroyed and the Steward Arolas had left in his place was ousted from power. A new government emerged known as Celdin.
Celdin
When Arolas returned from Meridiem he brought with him a shard of a great and powerful artifact known as the Sword of Setengar. His battalion of soldiers had been almost wiped out by savage orcs in Meridiem and Arolas and a few other soldiers were all that remained. He returned to find his Nation had been overthrown. This did not sit well with Arolas at all, and what more he found that Celdin had annexed the people of the Seanchanni and Ganelon, long-time allies of Staghorn. They were being heavily oppressed, and Arolas enlisted their help to reclaim the throne.
After over a month of plotting and enlisting the help of loyalists and other governments alike, Arolas entered the streets of Greendale, revealed himself to be alive to the amazement of the townspeople and many of the soldiers, and abruptly marched upon the castle. Very little resistance was offered as most of the men recognized him as their King. Arolas and those loyal to his cause entered the castle and, with his newly acquired Gauntlets of Klindor and a broken half of the Sword of Setengar, Arolas killed the acting ruler of Celdin and reclaimed his throne without much bloodshed. His first acts as the newly crowned and self-proclaimed King of Celdin were to release Ganelon and the Seanchanni from Celdin's grasp. Ganelon formed a constitution and the Seanchanni were left to do what they wish.
Celdin once again flourished and peace returned to the land, briefly. Elsewhere in Kharlia the nations of Alberea, Marseilles and Warholm were beginning to grow as the people of Celdin battled a constant undead threat.
Warholm grew more powerful everyday, and eventually began to take over the lands of the South and annex them as Celdin had done with the lands of the North. Arolas attempted to remain neutral as the undead problem was giving Celdin enough to worry about. Meanwhile, Alberea went to war with Warholm and proved to be of equal strength. Warholm continued expanding however, eventually taking the Bridgeton remnant of Fort Darkblade. Soon, a representative from Fort Darkblade came to Arolas and asked him to assist them in freeing themselves from Warholm. Arolas met with Johnathan Alber, the Alberean King, as well as representatives from Marseilles, who were also eager to battle Warholm. Arolas formulated a plan in which the soldiers of Fort Darkblade allowed combined forces to occupy the fort without violence in order to call Warholm's army to attack and take back Fort Darkblade. Arolas' plan would then have the forces of Fort Darkblade turn on their Warholm "allies" who had annexed them and together the combined forces would ultimately annihilate Warholm's primary force, leaving them without any alternative but to surrender. However, the Marseilles and Alberean forces were too eager, and soon after arriving at Fort Darkblade they left to strike at the Warholm farm town of Shiridian. Having lost two territories in an extremely short amount of time, Warholm realized they were defeated and surrendered. Arolas wanted no spoils for Celdin as it would be too difficult to maintain any territories in the southern end of the continent, and Port Wolfe was divided up between Marseilles and Alberea.
Things seemed okay for a while, until Ganelon was ravaged by the Olcas Ruta, an enemy mage tower of Ignis Fatuus. The dead began to walk throughout Ganelon and those that couldn't escape were made victims. Arolas came to Ganelon with a force of soldiers and catapults and more-or-less annihilated what had once been the democratic City-State of Ganelon. The undead continued their antics, though the threat was lessened.
The Sword of Setengar and Shak'un
A new threat emerged, a man who had once been a very powerful elder mage of Ignis Fatuus, Shak'un Nihrathek. He claimed to have bonded with darkness, and in his new found wisdom he became extremely resentful of the Gods, to the point that he virtually abandoned his powerful Illusion magic which he had brought into the world. He called Arolas out, and fought many Celdinites in the process. Arolas would not face Shak'un until he was ready, knowing he would be annihilated if he did so before he was fully prepared. Arolas continued a search he had been on ever since going to Meridiem; the search for the last piece of the Sword of Setengar. He managed to find it in Celdin of all places, in a bizarre twist of fate the final shard was found deep in the strange, murky depths of what had been named Lake Kanosek just outside Greendale. Arolas found the blade lodged into the shell of a Black Water Beast, a mammoth, lobster-like creature with a rock-like shell that inhabited the very deep lake. Arolas forged the shards of the blade together and cooled it in holy water. It emerged complete, the Sword of Setengar and all of its abilities had been remade after ages of being split apart.
Arolas and a small band of soldiers confronted Shak'un atop the summit of Laboo. There Shak'un used his most powerful spell, sent directly at Arolas. The rest of the people with Arolas were sent tumbling down the mountain and unable to move afterwards. The only one who was able to stand was Arolas, as he held the Sword of Setengar out to protect himself during the blast and it deflected the brunt of the spell. Still, he was gravely wounded, and the others were unable to move, a testament to Shak'un's power. Arolas stood and ran to attack Shak'un only to be absorbed into a dark portal where he and Shak'un would remain for what Arolas described as "ages upon ages, several lifetimes of men would pass in that dark abyssal hell." Inside the dark realm, Arolas sometimes battled Shak'un, and sometimes they talked, and sometimes they just sat in silence. He says he felt no hunger while inside, and that he got to know Shak'un exceedingly well over "the many years" spent in the realm.
Whatever happened there, Arolas emerged a few months later in a forest in the same armor he had been wearing. He was scarred upon the face, his skin was pale, and according to him, he was dead. But then, as he testifies, a great light enveloped his body and he felt a renewed life in his flesh. He began to wander and met with his friend Matrim, who had taken his place as King. Matrim was shocked to find that Arolas was still alive, and Arolas told Matrim he had difficulty remembering his life before the dark realm as it felt "so very long ago." Eventually, he did remember who he was, and Matrim gave up the throne to allow Arolas to return as King.
King Once Again
Arolas took the throne and served as the Ruler for a while. Things were beginning to stabilize in Kharlia. The undead attacks occurred much less often and Arolas felt a sense of peace that he had not felt in a long while. He also believed that Setengar gave him his life back for a reason, and that the reason did not entail ruling Celdin. He decided to implement a democratic system, giving the power to elected officials and becoming a figurehead ruler. This did not sit well with the rest of Kharlia, and matters were made worse when the elected officials created unpopular laws and did unpopular things.
Their abilities as diplomats were also quite poor, as the dwarves of Hammerforge soon grew very hostile towards Celdin. The diplomacy with Alberea went poorly as well, and they sided with the dwarves. Eventually Arolas realized he had to do something and called for the leaders of Alberea and Hammerforge to discuss terms to avoid war, as no war had officially started. The dwarves and Albereans, both blindly driven by their stubborn senses of pride and honor, took this as surrender and decided to flaunt their power, marching a band of warriors into the castle where the Dwarves demanded Arolas' ear as a symbol of inferiority in addition to allowing Alberea to place their own ruler in power. Arolas, cornered and not wanting to start a needless war, reluctantly took his blade and severed his own ear. He then threw it at the dwarves and stormed out. Many believe these actions to be cowardly, but Arolas is angered by those that think such things. He gave up his position of power as well as his own flesh to appease the Albereans and Dwarves and avoid a war that would cost the lives of his people.
After that, he left Celdin for a while, and the Alberean-placed Ruler, who Arolas deemed a "false Ruler", attempted to bring back Valikorlia. The attempt ultimately failed, and when Arolas returned after travelling through Kharlia in disguise, he did not reclaim the throne. Things finally seemed to be at peace through Kharlia, even if he did not condone or agree with the current government and whomever they attempt to place as their false Ruler. As long as things were peaceful, however, he saw no reason to reclaim his throne, for that is all he ever wanted for his people.
Noutarask
Upon hearing of the spawn of Dearuhk, Arolas took up his blade and began spying on Noutarask's mansion. He stayed many nights outside, watching those who would come and go. One night, a foolish group of bandits attempted to break in, aided by Talboh the Hound Knight. Arolas came in after them to stop them from making a foolish mistake, but it was too late. Noutarask saw Arolas and his followers began insulting the one-eared former King. Vereor, the demon "mayor" of Celdin approached Arolas and continued insulting him. He drew too close, and Arolas was not bound by honor when it came to fighting evil. Without hesitation he stabbed Vereor in the torso with the Sword of Setengar and then made claim that he would eventually purge the world of Noutarask's evil. He then convinced Talboh to leave with him as they were no match for all of Noutarask's followers.
Arolas and Talboh went to the pub in Ganelon where Arolas wiped clean the bloody blade and met with Armadeus Xxian, who was also plotting against Noutarask. The two formulating plans to rid the world of the spawn of Dearuhk once and for all.
Illness and Recovery
Unfortunately, Arolas never had a chance. He soon fell ill and was confined to his bed for weeks. Armadeus came to his bedside and, delirious with fever, Arolas regained his senses long enough to tell Armadeus one simple thing: kill Noutarask. Noutarask was defeated, and Arolas, who had seemed to be dying, made a quick recovery.
Arolas returned home to Greendale as the Celdin Civil War ended. The Government of Charles Kalendin recognized Arolas as the rightful King of Celdin, and his position as the figurehead King of Celdin was restored.
Valikorlia United
River Delphinus was elected the Chancellor of Celdin and Arolas observed his nation as it slowly begin to return to stability following the civil war. Time passed, and Celdin's power slowly grew back to where it had previously been. Arolas invited King Johnathan Alber of Alberea to discuss the relationship between Celdin and Alberea. The two had many secret talks and negotiations over the following months. Though Arolas was half Elvish, a race that the Albereans did not care for, the relations of the two rulers slowly became amicable as they realized they were more like-minded than either had previously thought. They sent letters back and forth and it became clear that they both valued the idea of Valikorlian unity. Negotiations commenced and Johnathan Alber insisted that Alberea would accept nothing less than an Alber in a ruling position. Arolas was not thrilled with the idea of an Alberean ruler, to say the least, but the prospect of Valikorlian unity proved too enticing to resist. After having met his son Cedric, a man of devout faith and belief in the Gods of light, Arolas and Johnathan agreed upon Valikorlian unity under the rule of Johnathan's son, Cedric Alber.
Using his power as King for the first time in over a year, Arolas proposed the disbanding of the Celdin government in favor of uniting the Kingdoms of Celdin and Alberea. Politicians scrambled to retain power and prevent the proposal from happening, but popular opinion was too difficult to ignore. The nobility within the military of Celdin supported the reunification and a great deal of pressure was placed upon the politicians. The bill was denied several times by parliament by a narrow majority that seemed to decrease each time it was proposed. A counter-proposal was put forth from several politicians which would require all proposed acts and bills to be voted in favor of by a 3/4 majority rather than the previous 2/3 veto-proof majority before becoming law. The hope was that this bill being passed quickly would mean the unification bill would never be passed, as a 3/4 majority is extremely unlikely to occur. The bill passed with 55% of the vote, meaning it was not veto-proof. Arolas vetoed the bill, and the next time the unification bill was put forth, it passed.
A great ball was held during which King Arolas Kanosek and King Johnathan Alber gave up their thrones and each named Cedric Alber as their successor and thus the Third Valikorlian Empire was created.
Post Divide
Arolas has largely kept to himself since the Valikorlian unification. Though he has at times become greatly frustrated by the politics of the Empire, he is nevertheless greatly proud of what he helped create, which he views as the last, best hope for humanity.
After having his name submitted without his consent for the countship of Kanoshire, (a county named after him, no less), Arolas was pitted against Jarden Smarth in an election. Arolas did not attend any sort of functions relating to the election, and Jarden was given the countship amid some controversy. Arolas, ever wary of the entire Smarth family, suspects that the results were tampered with, but has largely kept quiet.
He became deeply saddened when he learned that his cousin's daughter Gwendolyn Kanosek took her own life while she was with child because she felt like her family had disowned her. Though he was never close with Gwendolyn, he took offense with what he perceived as an arrogant attitude of entitlement regarding her father, Theodore Kanosek, hoping he would remember the humble roots of the Kanosek family and subtly reminding him that, if it hadn't been for him, Theodore would likely be making a living as a dirtfarmer and living in a hole in the ground.
