Tervana

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Tervana
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Player: Vermain.
Title(s): "The Divine" (by the Divine Order of Taron).
Age: Unknown.
Race: Archvile.
Eye Color: N/A, blue in mortal guise.
Hair: N/A, blonde in mortal guise.
Skin Tone: N/A, fair in mortal guise.
Height: 6'2".
Weight: 175 lbs.
Alignment: Lawful Evil.


Tervana was an inter-planar conqueror, a fanatical Archvile whose trust in his own wisdom and morals drove him to subjugate other worlds. He acted as he felt necessary for the grander scheme of things to work as they were intended, a sense of the universal balance that can only be described as a form of pride taken to insanity. To Tervana, a thousand lives eradicated for the purpose of saving millions was a simple question, though he alone was allowed to make such a decision for he alone knew the truth behind such actions. Incredibly vain, Tervana viewed himself as the perfect leader; a man who, if given the chance, would rule the multiverse as a benevolent dictator with the "one true way". And so, using his charisma and raw power, he sought to make this a reality.

Appearance

Tervana's devil form appeared as a humanoid suit of armor in general outline, being of the Benath devil subtype, lacking anything that might identify him as an extra-planar being; his ornate armor body was a regal violet hue, interspersed with ribbons of blue cloth and a heavy, deep-blue cloak. His face was kept covered at all times by a completely concealing helmet, with a "crown" of sorts adorning the top. Only two small eye-slits on the front gave any indication that there might be something alive inside, a periodic glow of orange appearing in times of battle.

Abilities

As is befitting a conqueror vying for world domination, Tervana's powers were suitably impressive: he was incredibly well-learned and knew even the most minute detail of any subject if he had access to any written material on it. A master of telepathy and telekinesis, and an expert swordsman, Tervana was a formidable combatant against even his fellow devils. Most of all, however, he was gifted with an incredible insight into the behavior of mortal creatures, able to discern for what reason they do things. This made him an incredible manipulator, possessing empathy and knowledge of his victims that most evil villains do not.

History

Tervana

Tervana's insurmountable urge to "save" the intelligent universe from itself by forcing everything within it to conform to his master plan eventually drove the Archvile's sights to Kharlia. When exactly he arrived is unknown, but it is easily concluded that his territory in Nuzalheim was soon conquered by other Archviles after his departure. There is speculation that ancient references to a magic-user clad in blue that roamed the lands performing minor miracles may have been Tervana, testing out his powers of influence even before he decided to bid for control of the world.

His first true appearance began innocuously enough as he secretly formed the Unified Holy Order of the Divine, also known simply was the Divine Order. Under the guise of a new religious cause, and dedicated to the uniting of the war-torn nations of Kharlia under one banner of peace and Good, he quickly gained followers that treated him as a living deity, the reborn physical form of perhaps Setengar or Saurvold. Through their worship, Tervana steadily grew more powerful, augmenting his already formidable abilities with political favors, vast intelligence networks, and able-bodies to do his bidding. In short time, a grand tower was constructed in the capital city of Gadestria and it, along with the city, served as the epicenter for the Divine Order's religious crusade.

Secretly, Tervana had another purpose beyond subjugating the simple people of the region. Through his intelligence network, Tervana learned of a previous attempted invasion by the forces of the Abyss, at the hands of the former circle-master Eurogynes. Furthermore, he learned of the untold power that lay in that dread world, the runic rituals that Altima had stolen eons before from the Ancients. Tervana focused his resources on finding out more, eventually discovering that remnants of the demonic presence still lingered throughout the world, and that a single magical portal lay dormant on the top of Mt. Phoenix. Traveling there alone, Tervana unlocked the portal and was immediately spirited into the Void. It was here that he found the decaying remains of Eurogynes, now only a shadow of his former self. The former circle-master was not without power, however, and struck a bargain with the Archvile: in return for his freedom, Eurogynes would tell Tervana everything he knew about the ten runic tablets. Tervana agreed and Eurogynes was granted a new form in the material realm, to be known only as the Lurking.

The Lurking too had hoped to eventually utilize the power of the Ancient's runic circles housed within the Abyss, and the runic tablets were the key. All that was needed was to gather them up and perform an eldritch spell to bind the runic circles to Tervana's will, granting him powers unimaginable. Tervana immediately set out to uncover the runic tablets by any means possible, but his plans soon hit a snag: several people, most notably elder religious officials, had begun to question the motives of the Divine Order, and their movements were spied on heavily, especially by the Templars of Setengar. When several Divine Order members were caught and killed attempting to steal one of the runic tablets from its heavily guarded tomb deep beneath Valikorlian royal castle, the worst was confirmed for the Templars: the Order was in league with Evil.

A scramble began to quickly find the other tablets, both by the Order who wished to claim them, and the Templars who wished to protect them. Tervana had already collected four of the necessary ten by this point and had channeled energy into them in order to unleash devastating Doom Beasts upon the unsuspecting people of Kharlia. In time, the only remaining tablets were kept by well-protected adventurers, such as a scavenging kender, or locked deep within royal vaults such as the one in Valikorlia Castle. Feeling an old presence at the castle that drove him into a rage, the Lurking traveled to the castle with Tervana's best minions and ravaged the royal forces there. It was a decisive battle, and the runic tablet was eventually stolen, but the Lurking was finally destroyed at the hands of the Templars, never to be heard from again. Caring little for this loss of an ally, instead chalking it up to part of the One True Way, Tervana pressed on with his efforts to gather the tablets, drawing closer and closer to his goal.

Thankfully, the adventurers managed to evade Tervana's grasp long enough for the peoples of Kharlia to coordinate and plan their next move against the insane dictator as it was only a matter of time, they reasoned, before he would manage to get his hands on the last tablet. They decided that the only way to save the world was to assault Tervana in his divine tower. They arrived in Taron to be greeted by an army of fanatic followers, counting not only mortals but demons and evils in their ranks. An epic siege ensued that saw many thousands perish. Shortly after this began, however, Tervana grew desperate and began to perform the binding ritual without the necessary components. A few brave heroes managed to reach his inner sanctum as he performed the ritual, but Tervana bested each of them with ease, his power already matching all of their own.

Seeing that there was no other option left, two of the members took it upon themselves to do something they knew could very well doom the world. While Tervana was preoccupied fighting the rest of the heroes, the two chanted hurriedly, forcing every bit of will they had left on their final spell: a separate portal that would overlap the one currently forming to the Abyss, hopefully canceling out the rift and leaving the tablets inert. Accounts vary on exactly what happened after that; many only remember a brilliant white flash, and an entire section of the continent was simply swallowed whole, the great seas rushing in to fill the empty crater of earth that existed there before. The divine tower and the city surrounding it vanished in a thunderous roar, and when the dust had settled, the world had been altered dramatically. Tervana was nowhere in sight, and has failed to reappear since. It is widely assumed he was consumed in the ensuing dimensional rupture, but some scholars still hold on to the belief that he escaped and is simply watching and waiting for the time when the world forgets about him and he can begin his process of subjugation anew.