Cualaac

**Cualaac** ( or **Cual'aac** in the Eolen Dialect ) is one of the few Ixalen remaining after the Ixalen Extinction Event. He originally comes from *Zintla Tocama* in Iciahuia.

He lives in the 23rd Landing, though he's hidden away in the underground prisons to evade detection by the Paradise Association. From here, he puppets the Otlan Trust to his own will, giving them written orders to carry out.

## Background

Cualaac is an Ixalen who’s true parents had succumbed to disease before his hatching. Living in Iciahuia, he was nothing more than a beggar and thief. When he was this small, however, he was highly impressionable. In one of his rounds, he wandered into the underground district of the city, Zintla Tocama, home of the residents with the debilitating illness of Velmirh. The paranoid, delusional Ixalen who lived there had gotten to him during this stage, and he began to develop the condition himself as a result. He would return over and over, each time letting the illness hook into his psyche and development, and becoming more dependent and exclusive to the Ixalen of the lower district.

In particular, he was cared for by a band of filthy politicians, beggars, and wordsmiths, who taught him the arts of their trades. The politicians taught him to rally others to his own side and to deflect the negative words and press to those against him. The beggars taught him to be one with the shadows and sympathy of others, and to take opportunity by the reigns. Lastly, the wordsmiths taught him to deceive and pull at the heartstrings of others, then smash them when they least expect.

Cualaac sharpened these skills to a point, growing more and more connected them as a means of survival. The Ixalen who raised him, however, did as well, and they began to push him away, trying to get him to go into other callah to gather more and more to understand their plight and pass law in their favour. So he did. He started by gaining a foothold in Iciahuia, though he often pulled the strings from the shadows, leaving the teonotza in charge but blackmailing and manipulating them.

It was during his struggle to take Mictla that Ixal would be destroyed. As he then held Iciahuia, Chocoaya, and Xochitla in his influence, he was one of the first to be shuttled away from the crumbling planet. When he arrived on Earth, however, he was riddled with paranoid and persecutory thoughts, believing the calamity to be a simple obstacle in his rise to power. Since, he’s decided he would claim Earth as well, and return to Ixal to rule again. During his struggle to gain a foothold in even the smallest towns, he met several Eolen, both tourists and residential, who had in turn introduced him to the Otlan Trust. He struck a bargain with their founder; He would introduce them to Eolen who fit their needs, while they offered him board and shelter. In time, he began controlling the cult, directing their actions from the shadows.

## Personality

In surface appearances, Cualaac could come across as a questionable, yet ultimately caring alien, usually offering the services of the Otlan Trust and its other members. He may have been slightly bitter at times towards topics such as warfare or genocide, but he would usually cut this behaviour out before getting too aggressive. He also remains very serious, and refuses to even entertain the idea of violence, even fabricating a lie that he "left behind his violent past". His persona was that of a careful creature who bettered himself to help others.

Unmasked, the Liege in Chains proves to be strong-willed and shrewd, totally dedicated to his cause of striking revenge against the Paradise Association. He is no stranger to murder, and has little regard for life that isn't Eolen or Ixalen in origin. The only exception to this seems to be those in the Otlan Trust. He has a strong distaste for outsiders too, particularly humans and Earth-based life as a whole. Cualaac shows absolute belief in his belief that what he is doing is right, and that the Tetlan Ixaal race must be avenged for the tragedy it suffered

He also shows talent for manipulation and cunning. From the Oasis Warrens, he puppeteers members of the Otlan Trust to enact his will on Earth, ranging from theft to espionage, though he's yet to use them as tools of murder. With his background in politics, rallies and speeches are his specialities, as he garners more and more Eolen into his fold to bolster his cause. Cualaac empowers those who follow him, and aims to win through wit what war can't obtain.

## Appearance

Cualaac stands at about 5'1'', though his tail adds another 2'4'' to his total length. He has two toes on each foot, with a third dewclaw on his leg. His hands have four fingers each, counting the thumb. His paw pads are not uniform in colour, being black with uneven splotches of teal and green on them. Like other Ixalen, his claws are all retractable. His skin is pale white, similar to an eggshell colour, and he has powder blue striping along his outer arms and legs, and upper back. When his skin is wet, it turns a dark navy blue, and the stripes stand out more due to contrast and their bio-luminescence.

His hair is a blueish-teal, with tinges of navy blue towards the front. While most of it is brushed back, a small portion is set to frame his face over his jaw, and over his forehead. Just above his temple is where the antennae start, one on each side, and extend for about 7 inches. His eyes are a bright yellow-green, with the pupils slit vertically.

## Trivia

* Cualaac is unlike others of his species in that the venom in his claws and fangs are impotent. This is because of a genetic defect present in his lineage.
* He is one of the few Ixalen to have true contact with humans outside of Paradise.