Aras Yarera

**Aras Yarera** was a member of the Venom Mercenaries and the older half-brother of Oros Zusco. Joining the legendary Gast Venom as part of his mercenary group, Aras was hired by the Marlon Royal Family as an extra soldier in the wake of political unrest in Marlon. Raping and pillaging as they pleased, he and his brother unintentionally sparked the Marlon Revolution.

## History

### Early Life

Born in Asmodean in EC 481, Aras and his younger half-brother Oros grew up as fighters, learning swordsplay and developing a special technique to travel by wire. The two eventually joined the Venom Mercenaries and worked under their leader, Gast Venom. Causing mayhem wherever they went, the brothers and their group became infamous across Bolganio.

### Service Abroad

In EC 500, Aras and Oros accompanied Gast during his visit to Keel Freezis at his mansion in Elphegort to negotiate buying the Venom Sword. Told to wait outside the premises, the two eventually got tired of waiting and entered the main gates, eventually meeting up with Gast and seeing him empty-handed. After being chastised for not waiting, the two learned that Keel had refused to sell the sword and, at his command, followed their leader as he left the mansion grounds.

Later that year, the Venom Mercenaries were hired by the Kingdom of Marlon to make up for its shortage of domestic troops during the Marlon-Elphegort War. Aras and Oros took up posts in the capital city of Bariti, raping and pillaging as they pleased under the royal family's authority. During this time, Aras met and entered a relationship with a woman who later conceived his child.

One day, Aras and his brother visited a tavern in the main square and drank heavily, arguing with the tavern owner over paying their tab. After Aras kicked the man in the stomach, the brothers left without paying. They later returned to the tavern on a different day, noticing how crowded it was. After becoming drunk once more, Aras watched as Oros harassed a waitress and laughed, mocking her pleas for them to stop.

After a one-eyed man kicked Oros in the face, Aras tried to intervene only to be beat mercilessly by his female companion; the woman continued to beat him up until Oros returned with the other mercenaries. After they were suddenly surrounded by the other bar patrons, the mercenaries were tied up and brought outside the tavern, watching as the woman, Germaine Avadonia, announce the start of the revolution before a crowd of people. Shortly after, the revolutionaries threw Aras and his brother into the Methis River along with the other mercenaries.

### A Pirate's Life

Soon after this ordeal, Aras became the captain of a small pirate ship, with Oros as his first mate; the two then led the "Yarera-Zusco Pirates" in plundering various ships in the Hark Sea. In EC 505, the two were offered a substantial amount of money by ESSENCE to abduct a blonde-haired woman voyaging to Lucifenia. Seeing this as their chance to leave behind their days as pirates, they accepted and the pirate band set out to find the ship their target was on, the Royal Victoricia.

Approaching their target and assuming it was a merchant ship, the pirates fired their cannons at the Royal Victoricia and continued to approach, even as their target sank their ships one by one. After ramming into the Royal Victoricia, Aras called out to the enemy admiral and declared that his pirate crew was comandeering their ship. When sailors from the opposing ship boarded their vessel, Aras and Oros quickly defeated their opponents before boarding the Royal Victoricia alone using Oros' special-made wire glove.

Once onboard, Aras spotted their target and prepared to do battle, knocking out the admiral while Oros secured the blonde-haired woman, Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche, as their hostage. As he called for the pirates to return to their own ship, he watched as a red-armored woman emerged, looking sick, and realized that it was Germaine Avadonia. Determined to get his revenge, Aras joined his brother in preparing to attack, only to watch as Riliane and Germaine approached them.

After struggling to fend the two women off, Aras and Oros began to lose their battle while their subordinates were captured by the sailors of the Royal Victoricia. Deciding to flee, Aras had his brother bring them back to their ship using his wire glove, and the two sailed away. As they gloated about their escape, their vessel was suddenly attacked and pulled under the waves by a giant Ziz Tiama, killing the two pirates.

### Afterlife

After his death, Aras' soul was sent to the Heavenly Yard, only to return to the ground world following the destruction of the Third Period in EC 999. Him and his brother were invited to a party at Marlon Castle held in Kyle Marlon's honor. Later during the party, Aras inhaled the airborne Gift and fell unconscious while Oros called his name. When Mora Viwirtz hired Gast and the Venom Mercenaries to help the Marlon forces drive back the Tasan Party soldiers attacking the castle, Aras commanded their attack.

## Skills and Abilities

Trained in fighting techniques from a young age, Aras was a capable swordsman and could quickly dispatch his foes, making him valuable as both a mercenary and, later on, as a pirate. In addition, he was physically large and strong, granting him a lot of strength. Becoming a pirate captain in only five years, he also demonstrated leadership skills that allowed him to amass followers and command them effectively.

Despite this, Aras had a low tolerance for pain and was easily overwhelmed by more skilled swordsmen. He also occasionally made amateur mistakes and could only handle low-hit targets. Along with this, the swordsman was not particularly intelligent, unable to recognize when he had been deceived and was often outwitted by simple maneuvers.

## Character Connections

Oros Zusco: Aras' younger brother. He often had Oros follow him as his subordinate and even trusted him as his second-in-command after becoming a pirate captain. Balancing Oros' smaller size with his larger size and strength, Aras utilized his brother as a useful partner during their battles.

Gast Venom: Aras' superior in the Venom Mercenaries. Although content to follow Gast's orders whenever he gave them, Aras took a lax approach towards following Gast and didn't show him much respect.

Germaine Avadonia: Aras' opponent. After their humiliation and near-death at Germaine's hands at the start of the Marlon Revolution, Aras and his brother harbored a desire for revenge against the revolutionary, and so became enraged when they accidentally encountered her again.