Valkhad T'Fiera Arcleod

Grand Duke Valkhad is a half-mad sorcerer who overlooks the land of Evermelt. He is a General of the Th'n Bolakian Army and the Evermelt Guard, as well as a highly respected advisor to the King of Th'n Bolak. He is also the founder of the Sorceror's Academy of Evermelt and one of the original members of Team Drak. He began his ascent to immortality during the assault on Sho'Athar and the Winter Queen.
==History==
===Early Life===
Valkhad was born Dir Valkhad T'Fiera Arcleod, the sole child of Donekhad T'Fiera Arcleod and his wife Sovakri. Dunharath was a high-ranked priest of the Path of Light, in a city that was under siege by the Dreaming Dark and slowly succumbing. In the months of his wife's pregnancy, he worked tirelessly on a way to keep his son safe once he was born. The end result was a ritual capable of tearing the very fabric of reality, opening a portal to an entirely different universe. There was, however, a great cost. The ritual required an immense source of arcane and spiritual energy in the form of a fragment Quori soul, used as a focus. Sovakri, a powerful sorceress, was unable to trust anyone else to complete the ritual for fear of it falling into the hands of the Dreaming Dark and took it upon herself. It took two months for her to prepare the ritual and herself for the ordeal. Through an excruicatingly painful process, Donekhad was able to extract the fragment soul from Sovakri and contain it inside a phylactery; a perfectly spherical diamond. Working together, the two were just strong enough to successfully open the gateway. It opened into a stone street, in a cold and darkened city. Weakened as she was, she was only able to go as far as the house closest to where the gateway stood. She placed Valkahd, wrapped in swaddling clothes, at the doorstep. With the last of her strength, she whispered a prayer for his safety and placed an enchantment upon his eyes, turning them a striking shade of blue, like her own. Stumbling back into the arms of her husband, she watched her child as the rip in reality slowly wove itself back together -- just before it and Valkhad winked out of sight, the door began to open.
===Before Team Drak===
For all he knows, Valkhad is human. He isn't, but he was found at the doorstep of a renowned alchemist and his wife as an infant. They too, assumed he was human and raised him as such; they named him Gerard, put him through school, and loved him as their own, but never told him of his origins. At six he began refusing the name his parents gave him, claiming that he had always known his name was Valkhad. He was a rather quiet child, always staring off into space or reading while the other children would be outside playing. He was teased often which, oddly, never seemed to bother him. However, like anyone, he could only be pushed so far -- in Valkhad's case things usually ended with bruised knuckles, a bloody face, and a classmate beaten nearly to death. It also led to rumors of possession, due to a tendency to laugh maniacally in his rare outbursts of rage. Valkhad has a silver tongue, and a penchant for knowing exactly what to say to anger... well, anyone. It never did him any favors, especially after enrolling in university to study alchemy. He was never particularly studious, yet he would appear to understand lessons before the professor ever finished explaining them. His nonchalance and outwardly apathetic attitude drew scorn from his instructors, though he nonetheless rose to the top of his class by the age of 18. He didn't discover his ability to communicate telepathically until a stray thought about one of his more portly professors led to a severe beating. Shortly after turning 20 his abilities as a sorcerer began to manifest, which quickly led to his expulsion from the university after an argument with a classmate left his dormitory wing a mass of charred embers. His adoptive father, reactively denouncing the methods of modern education, personally took Valkhad under his wing as an apprentice alchemist while allowing him time to hone his affinity with the arcane and rudimentary martial training.
Valkhad does not suspect that he's not human, but he knows he's different... somehow. He is haunted by dreams of persecution by a malevolent shadow, and he's always felt as if he were two beings sharing a body. It is a subject he is extremely reluctant to speak of, as delving in to it may reveal who he really is.
==Goals==
*Discover self origins
*End the siege on The Dominion and Drak's Vale by the Far Queen and the Winter Queen
*Build and facilitate a university for cosmic sorcerers
==Diary of a Madman==
===Entry One===
At times I wonder what will become of me. It has been two years since I discovered the true nature of my origins. Two years since I saw past the boundary of this realm... past the boundary of sanity itself. I still see it sometimes, in my dreams. A writhing sphere of flesh. A undulating mass of teeth, eyes, and skin constantly in flux. Oceans of blood, dotted with islands of warty skin give way suddenly and violently to a bulging chancre, oozing waterfalls of pus into a gulch of churning, amorphous mouths. I can hear the sound they make even now...that maddening cacophany of gibbering screams. This thing... this... abomination, floating in a miasma of warped reality, surrounded by seven black pillars. I can feel it pulling at my mind, threatening to rend everything I know. I wake up, shaking and sweating, and I can hear its pulse echoing and fading away.
Whatever part of me that is not of this universe has also felt the foul touch of this madness. I have never had to struggle to maintain control... until now. I cannot stop myself from laughing at times. Hysterically. At nothing. I feel it trying to break free; Trying to overtake the union which has so firmly been established. I must maintain control. I must.
===Entry Two===
-- Missing --
===Entry Three===
47th of Siege, 3rd Winter
Fate, it would seem, is far more cruel a mistress than any verse could do justice.
The Winter Queen drunkenly holds the Fae Court by the throat, so in turn does her endless winter hold Th'n Bolak. The Far Queen amasses an army in the East, and I shudder to think of what has become of Three Bridges -- if there even is a Three Bridges that anyone would recognise, anymore. Duke Thurk now controls the vast majority of the country; Despite the scheming little toad's incessant claims of not having any desire for the throne, he lusts for money (and power) like a monarch. I find myself in a similar position that I would not have expected even three months ago; Grand Duke Valkhad, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Gods! Even I, at my most narcissistic, could not have conjured a more pretentious title. I have been tasked with overseeing the finances of the kingdom, and -- wonder of wonders -- raising and commanding troops to stand in battle against our enemies.
Commander Grand Duke Valkhad T'Fiera Arcleod, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Kingdom of Th'n Bolak. HA!
The Githyanki have secured a foothold in Th'n Bolak, as proven by the failed attempt to rout them from Burning Mountain. King Drak sent me soldiers, and I sent them to their deaths. Like so many others before them. My new office has come at the cost of what little sleep I was able to find, even with the horrid visions that frequently haunt my -- well, I suppose they're essentially dreams. How does a man sleep at all, knowing scores of lives are being cut short... at what? The stroke of an inked quill on an attack order. I sign my name, plant my seal... and thousands die. Is this the price of leadership?
I am surrounded by livery and serfs and the companions with whom I have traveled these many long years, and I have never felt more alone.
Self-pity is unbecoming. I digress.
I have begun drafting preliminary designs for an academy of sorts. It is a place for those who study this cosmos, while feeling entirely alien to it. It will be open to all races and callings (within reason) willing to call its walls home. While my initial idea was for an academy specifically tailored to sorcerers, it would be prudent to include any and all other sorts that draw their power from the sun, moon, and/or stars.
Perhaps I will find more Kalashtar... more like me that have somehow slipped the bonds of their reality to emerge in this one.
Perhaps, one day... we will find a way home.
===Entry Four===
"-- Missing --"
===Entry Five===
47th of Felling, 4th Winter
Hands are still shaking. Head feels like Asteron just sat on it. Probably should have known she was a frost nymph. No other way she could have been out on those ice sheets in so little clothing. Not really sure why I chased her... actually, very sure. Too much wine. Also too much mead... and ale... and that Evermelt Reserve Brandy. Definitely too much of that. Keeps the visions away, however. Need to make sure this season's batch is ready to ship.
Good thing Krusk found me. Nymph's brother apparently was taking me to Valhalla. Not sure I'd like to have woken up there. Got a nice parting shot in before I lost consciousness. Hope to see those giants again. They seemed to like something Krusk said.
Hope that one brings his sister.
Wish I'd gotten her name...
===Entry Six===
48th of Felling, 4th Winter
As I sit here nursing a viciously sore head and a mildly bruised ego, I realize that I have not recounted Drak's abdication. The speed at which the whole thing happened came as a shock to everyone involved, I feel. I had known of Krusk's claim to the throne of Th'n Bolak by blood for some time, and even I was taken aback. Half-orc or not, the man -- I mean, the King, could use a lesson or twelve in political tact and subtlety overall.
Drak reacted as I expected. As much as it incensed me, I can't say I'd have done any differently. What can one do when rivaled by a legitimate, familial claim to sovereignty? He left the throne without argument -- then again, there isn't much to argue when all of one's friends suddenly turn and say "We immediately support this new king. You are done here." I took no pride in casting my vote for Krusk -- it needed to be done. Drak was becoming... disturbed. Obsessive. Begrudging. He was becoming a "goblin king." To be clear, Drak was not a bad king. It simply seems that he didn't grasp the notion of wartime relations. Had we left him in power, we would have been the common enemy of four factions. Few were... shall we say "ecstatic" to jump into bed with Duke Thurk, but we need a solid ally and the Neral League holds the vast majority of territories on the continent. Further few were happy about the cease-fire with the Githyanki, myself included, but it gave us a golden opportunity to launch focused offensives on the Winter and Far Queen(s). With the Gith at our backdoor, we were locked in a battle of attrition -- on three fronts. Our armies were paralyzed, until Sil brokered his agreement. Gods help me for admitting this... Sil's insatiable thirst for ever shinier weapons has actually played to our advantage.
It troubles me that Drak may have been responsible for the assassination of the Shah of Al Haria. When we find him, I will have answers. I need to know that he was desperate.
===Entry Seven===
The following entry is barely legible due to the apparent haste and fervor it was written in. There are small tears where a quill (presumably) pierced the paper. Ink smudges blot out nearly the entire border, and unidentifiable stains have discolored a large portion of this page. The last line is the exception -- it is written perfectly clearly in large, thick letters. The sheer number of pen strokes has nearly worn through the paper, yet no ink has seeped into any surrounding pages.
SEventh oF SEVeNs, 77777th WinTeR
THESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENcomingtellingsecretsfindingliesopeningeyesTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENTHESEVENcannothidefromTHESEVENindreamsorinnotdreamsTHESEVENareallandnothingTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENcannotresistthesongofTHESEVENbeautifulcadenceofscreamsandTHESEVENvoiceswillbehearduntiltheendofdaysTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENthereisnoescapenoescapenoescapenoescapenoescapenoescapenoescapenoescapenoescapeTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVEN
THESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENTHESEVENNOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPE
NOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPE
NOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPE
NOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPENOESCAPE
THEY ARE WATCHING.
(Written in the margin: When did I write this? What are The Seven?)
===Entry Eight===
7th of Stryfe, 4th Winter
As the months pass, our merry little band becomes more and more entwined in plots most foul -- I begin to fear we may have gotten in over our heads, this time. For some time now, we have been rescuing children; Yes, the great heroes of Th'n Bolak are rescuing children from villainous villains. Not that it isn't a serious matter...it turns out these lands harbor a dragon cult; Tiamat, to be specific. That was a particularly bright ray of sunshine when it came to be known. A thousand children were taken from across the realm. Simultaneously, in one night. Within a fortnight, they had been taken to various locations around the kingdom, each location being the resting place of a pillar of Tiamat.
For the sole purpose of not allowing the ritual to happen again on my words, I will not detail how it works. Suffice to say, the children were to be sacrificed and Tiamat brought into this world. We were quick to find the first pillar in The Fens -- a stinking bog which, unsurprisingly, was home to a clutch of black dragons. Babies, in comparison to some of the other grand lizards I've seen in my time, but dragons nonetheless. We were able to save the children held there, save one, the conditions of whose death I will also omit.
Next was Connachta... or was it The Frozen North? All this teleporting we've been doing at Sil's behest is meddling with my memories. I will simply assume Connachta was the next location. This is where our greatest failure came, losing nearly half of the children to poison gas -- the machination-in-part of a pair of greens, who tried to bargain for their lives. It was not, at this point, to preserve the ritual. They were using the children as bargaining chips. Krusk was not ready to bargain, and, in this instance it cost dearly.
Should it ever come to pass that I strike a bargain with a lord of one of the Nine Hells, let it be known that it would not be the first time I have made dealings with devils.
The Frozen North was our next destination. The rescue here went swimmingly, surprisingly enough -- until Kaden recieved word that his keep was under attack by a massive white dragon. After securing the children, we rushed to aid. Vindictive was waiting for us in the ruins. I am unsure what happened next; We attacked the thing with such intense ferocity that it fell almost as soon as it had landed to attack us. I say "fell," but that's not exactly what happened. Apparently the eldest of whites turn to solid ice when their wounds have become mortal. It was our sincere pleasure to turn Vindictive into chunked slush and send the remains to the corners of the planes.
After some manner of sleuthing we determined the next group of children was being held in Burning Mountain. A particularly touchy area, as it stands as the last remnants of the Gith forces on Th'n Bolak following their defeat by the Neral League. After some curt negotiation, we were permitted to fly to the back side of the mountain. If it ever comes to pass that I strike a bargain with a lord of the Nine Hells, let it be known here that it was not the first time I have made a deal with dark forces. I will only recount what happened here in truth, lest other forces seek to smear our reputations with an even fouler tale (one will wonder how we could appear much worse.) In order to pass into the mountain, we had to first contend with a massive lava flow blocking a gaping hole in the rock. I will, again, omit the details of how we came to do this -- but what I will say is that there was an elemental living there. Bound. Fed innocent flesh that twisted its mind and form into some sort of demon. It allowed us passage on one condition; Its freedom. We accepted, and pointed it toward Three Bridges. Asteron was... understandably upset, but continued along with us into the mountain.
We found the children, a cadre of lesser demons... and Hate.
Hate. The Firebringer. Sho'Athar's destructor.
He had turned the children to him, charming them using the same power dragons often use to strike fear into men. He, like the greens before him, wanted to bargain. We knew if we did not accept, we would return these children to their parents in urns. Reds, more than other dragons, lust for riches. He parted with his adoring playthings for the sum of two million gold in coin and enchanted wares. When we next meet, he will pay far more dearly.
==Etymology==
*Valkhad is a hybrid name shared by the human descendant Val, and the Quori spirit Khad.
*The name "Val" is derived from the English name Valentine which itself comes from the Roman cognomen Valentinus, and before that Valens which means "Strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin.
*The name "Khad" could come from the Roman cognomen Cato meaning "Wise" in Latin.
*"Fiera" is a feminine name meaning "Proud" in Esperanto.
*"Arcleod" could be derived from the Latinized name Archelaus, from the Ancient Greek name Archelaos, meaning "master of the people"; archos meaning "master" and laos meaning "people".
*During the creation of the character "Valkhad", the name was a variation on a previous character's name "Valcrist". "Khad" is a common Quori spirit name.
Category:Player Character
Category:Kalashtar