Zenzele Azikiwe

Zenzele Azikiwe, sometimes known as "Z", is the Thane of Universe Eight, ruling over all of Thane's Isle and Thane's Isle controlled territories. Zenzele gained his seat of power when his thane-father, Wynton Kellogg of the Greengaurd, was assassinated. Zenzele has no children but for the ten apocolites in his karass, though he has at least one aunt, and a few nephews and nieces living in King's Hill. Zenzele is in a romantic relationship with an apocolite in his karass, Sophia Miller. He is an apocolite, with the powers of a Child of Light.

## Appearance & Character:

Zenzele is abnormally tall, standing near seven feet in height. Beneath the ornate purple, block, and golden thanely robes he wears, he is muscled and cut. Zenzele is of an unknown age, but has bits of grey in his black hair. He has no wrinkles on his face that can be seen, and his appearance is described as imposing and intimidating. Zenzele hails from Zulu ancestry, and his skin is dark. His eyes and veins are gold, as he is a Child of Light, with the powers of a star controllable by his mind and body.

Zenzele is well loved by soldiers, but is rash, headstrong, and impatient. He is quick to anger, and easy to challenge. He is strict regarding the gender roles established by his Zulu upbringing, and asserts his dominance as one of the strongest and most powerful men on Universe Eight. Due to the Zulu belief that people of their culture are "the people of the heavens," Zenzele takes it a step further due to his apocolite status, and believes he is a god amongst men. He excersize extreme authority over his household at King's Hill, and many of the employees and guards within the halls of the King's Hill Manor fear Zenzele's wrath if he is to be angered. Zenzele is a soldier and a warrior, and has no qualms shedding the blood of those he deems to be foes. Regarding those beneath his charge, Zenzele expects the highest degree of obedience and success, and failure often results in brutal beatings, mostly by his hand (when concerning the apocolites of his Karass). Though, Zenzele has a loving and tender side, as shown with his romantic relationship with Sophia. Like all humans, Zenzele desires love and compassion, though he often believes he does not deserve it.

## History:

### Earthen Life:

Little of Zenzele's early Earthen, and Afterlifian life is known. Zenzele keeps a record of his life in a memoir, tucked away in the desk in his Office of Sand.

Zenzele Azikiwe was born -1840 AD, in the Zulu Chiefdom, during the reign of King Mpande. Zenzele's early childhood consisted of the traditional Zulu way of life. Boys and young men hunted, took care of cattle, and trained to be soldiers. Zenzele came of age, and fought in the Zulu army as a spearman, waging war against the Boers, and later the British. Being in the army, Zenzele may have witnessed or had a hand in the invasion of Swaziland.

Zenzele is noted to have fought in the Battle of Isandlwana, which the Zulus won despite being technologically outmatched. At some point after this, Zenzele, his sister Alenka Azikiwe, and many villagers were captured by the British, and Zenzele was executed by gunshot.

### Early Afterlife:

Zenzele Azikiwe arrived on the Afterlife at an unknown date and era. His body was most likely reverted to a younger state by the transition. Zenzele has memories of the RIft War, though him being present at these events would make him a double-centenarian, which is unlikely. The Lumieri were not purged from the Universe Eight until Thane Violette Frederikke performed her duties on Thane's Isle, so his memories may be of a more recent time. At some point, Zenzele gained the abilities of a Child of Light, and was put under the charge of Wynton Kellogg, an apocolite in Frederikke's karass. Eventually, Wynton Kellogg became thane of Universe Eight, and Zenzele became an official apocolite of Thane's Isle. He was the last of the ten in Wynton's Karass to be "called."

### The Moon Sea War:

Prior to the events of the Moon Sea War, Zenzele honed his abilities with both the wisp blade, and his apocolite powers. He became a terror on the battlefield, and it was noted that Sunnese forces would rather retreat to fight a more numerous force of the Thane's Isle navy, than fight Zenzele alone. In the middle of the war, Zenzele called his first apocolite, Duncan Ulysses Wolf, who bore the powers of stone. This act enraged Kellogg, and the other apocolites, who claimed Zenzele broke the sacred Gregaronian thanerite.

Zenzele and Duncan fought in the Battle of the Northern Isles, which ended when Zenzele used his plasma powers to destroy nine Sunnese vessels, and destroyed the three islands in the process, neutralizing them as strategic points for both the Sun Nation, and for Thane's Isle. This act horrified the populace, and Zenzele's name grew to be feared.

### The Tumult:

When the Moon Sea War was declared over, Zenzele took power over Universe Eight. A civil conflict known as "The Tumult" broke out across Thane's Isle, and culminated in the assassination of Wynton Kellogg, and eight his apocolites. Siera Marsilis (Wynton's Child of Storm), escaped the carnage and was never found. Zenzele immediately assumed control over Universe Eight, which had broken into two distinct factions; those loyal to the now deceased Kellogg, and those loyal to him.

### The Thane's Isle Civil War:

The rebellion Zenzele failed to quell during the tumult, quickly became known as the "Second Afterlifian People's Republik," which balked the monarchy, and viewed Zenzele as a usurper. The initial conflicts were victories for the loyalists, though Zenzele found himself bogged down by stately duties, and training his newly-arrived "finest" apocolites; Sophia Miller, Morena Franco, Desiree Forcier, and Leon Broks. Duncan Wolf was immediately sent off to fight. A massacre at a peaceful protest sparked more territories on the Isle to join with the Republik, to Zenzele's chagrin. Due to this, he dismissed Andrey Ivanov, and Justin "The One-Eye" Rudyard from his Thane's Guard. Andrey joined the Knights of the Northern Isles (a unit he had been in previously), and Rudyard was fired outright.

At some point during the training of his finest apocolites, Zenzele fell in love with Sophia Miller, and the two began a romantic relationship, one considered inappropriate by the rest of the apocolite karass. Zenzele realized his apocolites were not warriors from Earth as he had been, and trains them harshly (sometimes abusively) to bring them to a level he finds acceptable. Two succeed; Morena Franco, and Duncan, but the other three; Leon, Sophia, and Desiree, do not immediately meet his standards. He does not treat Sophia cruelly, as they are lovers, and this often irks Desiree and Leon.

## Recent Events:

Zenzele, now confined to doing buisness at the manor, is met by bluesteel mogul Jack Sharpe, along with his two sons; Jacob and Jared. The meeting concerns Sharpe's wish to purchase Zenzele's charter for the massive West-North Railroad, which currently acts as half a profitable company, and half a public service. Jack Sharpe wishes to privatize the whole affair, but Zenzele declines. Realizing he can goad Zenzele and challenge him, Sharpe challenges Zenzele to a trial by battle to decide the fate of the railroad. Zenzele, not to back down from a challenge, accepts the terms. He is harsh to Leon (who he has chosen as his champion), and warns the apocolite that if he fails, he will go to the front lines of the Republik war.

After Leon loses his fight, Zenzele is silently furious, but keeps his word and hands the charter over to Jack Sharpe. Soon after this, he learns of the Sun Nation attack at Fort Lightchild, and puts all available forces forth, including the Thane's Guard, to stop the invasion. Jack Sharpe brings up the question of training high-school children to fight in bluesteel armor, with swords and shields like the knights of yore. Zenzele, trying to avoid another embarrassing defeat, allows Sharpe after being convinced, and asks Sharpe to prove this new "Bluesteel Paragon's" worth.

Zenzele orders the lavish "Silver Cloud" express train assembled, along with passenger and freight cars for the soldiers. On board, Zenzele orders Jack Sharpe home with Jared, but Jack Sharpe wishes to witness the battle, and sends Jared home alone, though it is unclear where their home is (it truly is the tunnels beneath the High Isle, but Zenzele is unaware of this fact). Sharpe and Zenzele goad each other, before they depart for their cabins.

Zenzele stays back at the military camp, and is off performing thanely duties when Ben, Peter, Naia, and Armando arrive in the camp. He is summoned by Sophia, and threatens the Sunnese with execution, but is stopped by Ben Reynolds. He elects to allow two of them to go free, but one must stay behind and be questioned at the Retirement Row prison. Armando Latorre is selected, Zenzele accompanies the Sunnese and Ben in the back of the military truck, and the group goes to Huxley Homestead. Zenzele, displeased with his host's provisions, elects to hunt in the woods, and shoots an elk with a .44 Magnum revolver, before using his plasma powers to cook it. He overuses his powers, and destroys the elk carcass, but still provides it for the group, despite it tasting terrible. Ben and Zenzele get into an argument when Zenzele questions Ben's autism. Ben is enraged when Zenzele calls him "retarded", but Zenzele catches Ben's wisp blade, using his powers of plasma to shield him somewhat from the sword's cutting edge. Zenzele breaks Ben's wisp, and demands him to calm down. It is then that he reveals why he demands Ben be thougher, and tells the story of the Northern Isles and how they were destroyed. Eventually, the motorcade arrives, and they leave Huxley Homestead.

Zenzele boards the King's Hill Limited with Ben, and welcomes him to the manor. Upon reaching the manor, the phenomenon of the "augural point" traps Zenzele, and the denizens of the manor in time. It is unknown what Zenzele and the others experience during this freeze of space time.