Prince Varik Heliodson

**Prince Varik Heliodson** was a the Prince, King Regent, and King of Theros. His older sister Penelope served as the country's queen until her death. Her son became Varik's ward.

When Varik was 16, he enlisted in the Therosian army and trained with their finest soldiers in Akros. He rose up quickly in the ranks thanks to his natural gift for fire magic. He led many battles, which were primarily fought against minotaur marauders who attacked Therosian caravans and cities. A battle against a leonin pride over a border dispute left the prince with facial scars. Varik left the military after his sister died to serve as king regent.

Varik ascended to the throne for a second time when King Demetrius went missing after the battle at the Field of Pyra. Many, including Varik, considered Demetrius dead. One of his first actions as king was to sever ties with the party due to their rudeness. His main focus was trying to build political will for a war against the minotaurs. He believed Queen Nekros and her army were no longer a threat thanks to the explosion that wiped out much of the army of the living and the Returned.

Varik wasn't just the King of Theros for a time - he was the Obsidian King of the Spellfire Club. He tried to recruit the criminal Antonin Scalea into the club to bolster their forces. Their recruitment meeting at Secretes was interrupted by the party. SBG3 killed him.

## Reign

Varik served as King Regent after Queen Penelope died as her only child, Prince Demetrius, was only 8-years-old at the time. Varik's reign as King Regent ended on Demetrius' 18th birthday when he was coronated as King of Theros.

As King Regent, many saw Varik as simply a placeholder. Many in court saw him as pompous and too serious. Nonetheless, Varik certainly had political ambitions even if his time on the throne was limited. His major agenda was drumming up support for military action in case the other humanoid communities (tritons, satyrs, centaurs, amazons, Verse Sai, and leonins) wouldn't peacefully join the nation of Theros. While war never broke out during his reign, support of the kingdom of Theros taking the entire peninsula its named after grew. Skirmishes between the borders of Therosian communities and other societies were frequent throughout Varik's tenure.

Varik explicitly kept minotaurs out of his plans for expanding Theros. He sees the bullfolk as savages and believes they should be driven out of the Therosian peninsula if not exterminated altogether.

The prince now serves as an advisor to his nephew. The prince is very protective of the newly crowned king and isn't shy about voicing his opinion.

## Magical Prowess

Varik falsely claimed to be a sorcerer with innate fire magic like many other members of the Heliodson bloodline. His fire magic was actually a boon from a fiend Varik made a warlock pact with. The Heliodson family didn't die because of a plague that swept through their house. The prince killed all of his family members in a ritual sacrifice to appease his fiend patron. Demetrius was the only one to survive the poisoning but was unaware of his uncle's actions until after reading his journal of his death.

## Titles

* King of Theors
* Prince of Theros (formerly)
* Son Star
* King Regent of Theros (formerly)