Voy Graves

Dr. **Voy Graves** is a main character in *Stories on the Subjugated Straits*. He is a member of the Wornor Party, and a **Cleric** of Axedite.

## Biography

### Pre-series

Voy grew up in Kippering, a small coastal town in the vassal states of Disni, where he attended medical school and learned to become a doctor. With few job opportunities in the small town, he moved to Mishhaavenbard in continental Disni, where he also became involved with the nearby Bigbuldor's church of Axedite and became a cleric.

Voy's life in Mishhaavenbard was mostly quiet; he's alluded to spending many of his days "inside with the blinds drawn." As a hobby, he got into history and religious studies, and over time became well-researched enough to call himself an amateur historian. In Mishhaavenbard, he, along with the rest of Disni, witnessed the Chorjunite Invasion of December 698. At some point between then and early 700, he felt Axedite "calling" on him to go to the city of Reo in the Commonwealth of the Wornor Straits, and he took a boat there shortly after.

### *Stories on the Subjugated Straits*

#### Book 1

On the boat to Reo, Voy met Nati and Kaseos when the former eagerly introduced herself. He trailed them into Reo, where he then met Lynx, Cassandra, Detonia, and Silence. As a new "companion" of Silence, who carried the legendary blade Yowuli, Voy was summoned along with the others to Reo's Oracle shrine, where he was named as part of a prophecy to unseat the Wornorian king, Donathan Rasp. Upon the Commonwealth Marines' siege of the city, he fled into the surrounding woods with his new party, and set off toward the next Oracle shrine for further instruction.

On the road to Devo, Voy became concerned for Nati after learning she believed she was from the moon, and had no practical knowledge of how to survive on the planet. Later, he and Kaseos agreed to jointly attune to Yowuli; Kaseos agreed to let Voy teach him the blade's history so he could appreciate its importance, in exchange for him teaching Voy swordfighting. When a band of kenku bandits ambushed the party, Voy ultimately ended the battle by posing as the god Idia and scaring the remaining bandits away, allowing the party to receive directions to Aku from the shrine. Later that night, Lynx confided in him her concern about Detonia and Silence's potentially dangerous natures.

Upon reaching Oz, Voy helped Kaseos research his family history, confirming his mother as the missing heir to the city of Elmore, and making Kaseos himself the rightful heir for the throne. Later, Voy met with Oz's local bishop, who agreed to help heal Nati's memory in exchange for Voy investigating a series of nightly murders in the city. He and the party discovered the murders to be the work of a devil, who battled them briefly, then left them with a warning of the return of Roxy, the "true Queen of the Hells."

He took Nati to the bishop, who advised Nati to sleep on the altar of Drolene overnight. Nati reluctantly did so, and awoke with her memories restored. However, Kaseos privately informed Voy that Drolene took her to space overnight; this horrified Voy, who seemed to have knowledge of the new gods' presence in space. On the boat ride to Elmore, he confronted Cassandra over her freely sharing the same knowledge with Nati, arguing that the uninformed should be kept in the dark for their own peace of mind.

#### Book 2

Having agreed to help Kaseos reclaim the throne of Elmore, Voy helped recruit influential figures in the city to his cause, namely bishop Ceridwen Teguchi and tax collector Ebenezer Hisotoke, the latter with considerable help from Silence.

Later, Voy learned from Kaseos about Kas's "ankle," Avriel, who was currently trying to "crack" time travel; the high-tech phone they gifted to Kas suggested they may have already done so. Voy immediately asked for an audience with Avriel, mentioning the potential for historical research inherent in time travel, and Kas agreed to help arrange it. Soon after, Voy met with Ceridwen, who confided in him that she privately followed Idia, the presumed dormant old god. Her altar was rumored to have recently become responsive for the first time since the Divine Flux; and Voy shared Ceridwen's worry that it could be an omen of similar upheaval. That same night, Voy turned against Lynx when she appeared to spread secrets and suspicions about Nati and Kaseos.

When Kaseos revealed himself as the rightful heir before Morosue and the citizens of Elmore, Voy accompanied him, mainly as a counter to the intimidation tactics of the inquisitor in Morosue's court. Upon Kas's successful ascension to the throne, Voy was appointed his court's high priest.

The next day, Voy joined Ceridwen for the cleansing of the altars, where Voy saw Idia's altar respond to the rites. He confided in Ceridwen that, much like her, he'd once had a connection to the old god Gaher. Cassandra, who he'd allowed to follow him from a distance, covertly warned him that she'd inadvertently broadcast the events to her god, Roris. The two, unable to trust each other fully due to their mutual secrecy, failed to determine a course of action. Soon after, Lynx sought to apologize to Voy, but he countered by pointing out contradictions in her claimed origins. Pulled into Voy's Zone of Truth, Lynx admitted that she was sent from Drolene's space station to observe and befriend the party, but warned him that if she were to fail, the god's plans might change.

The next day, Voy spoke to Yowuli about the Caurdal War, in which she fought; Yowuli disputed many details Voy had assumed true about her party, sending him into a panic. He rebuked Kaseos's attempts at comfort, insisting he didn't understand; but was driven to action upon learning of Avriel's recent kidnapping. A further attempt by Kas to reach an understanding led to Voy privately confiding his true plight and reason for wanting to meet Avriel, marking the first time he'd told anyone his real origins. Along with Lynx and Ceridwen, the two of them left to rescue Avriel soon after.

#### Book 3

Voy and Lynx connected Avi's kidnapping to Delmarva with the recent arrival of a mysterious group, who they soon discovered to be infernal cultists infiltrating Castle Delmarva. He and his party fought through the cultists and found Avriel imprisoned in the castle's basement, ultimately helping free both them and Delmarva's royalty from the cult's influence.

At his long-awaited meeting with Avriel, Voy implored them to take him back in time, under the pretense of investigating Yowuli's historical discrepancies. However, after Avriel's continual refusal, Voy eventually confessed the truth - that he was from a thousand years in the past, and wished to return home to his loved ones. In return, Avriel admitted that the real reason they could not help was due to the Time Travel Regulation Department, a time-faring police department who'd outlawed changing the past, and therefore made time travel near functionally impossible. As Voy broke down at the revelation, Kaseos attempted to convince him not to give up hope, but in doing so, harshly criticized him for grieving. In response, Yowuli cut off her attunement from Kas, leaving Voy as her sole wielder, and a still despondent Voy refused to speak further with Kas.

Voy returned to Elmore with the others, shutting himself away in his room in Castle Elmore for most of the next few days. He was forced into action when an assassin made an attempt on Detonia's life; he healed Detonia as he and several others rushed her to Ceridwen to be cured. He later aided in Detonia's plan to fake her death to prevent further attempts on her life. At the Battle of Endsville, a decisive victory for Elmore in which Detonia was never seriously threatened, he covertly positioned his Spiritual Weapon for her to impale herself on, then preserved her dead body to be revived later.

In the following days, Voy continued to shut himself away, primarily only interacting with Yowuli. During this time, she sent him intermittent visions and dreams depicting Aku, the former headquarters of the Kensei Knights. Eventually, he accepted her insistence to go there, believing it would provide him answers about his loved ones in the past, and got the rest of the party - save for a hesitant Kaseos - to agree to go with him.

## Personality

Voy is crabby, distrustful, and easily annoyed, being described as "brooding" by Val. He gets along poorly with the stranger characters of his group, such as Detonia, who he prefers to avoid. He resents his status as an adventurer, and regularly expresses a desire to get the prophecy over with as quickly as possible. He gets aggravated when side quests delay their progress, even those he sought himself. He also seems to place great importance on punctuality, always being the one to set times for the party to meet up or depart, and getting annoyed when his companions are late.

However, Voy does have some kinder aspects. Owing to his profession as a doctor, he makes a point to help those he believes are unwell, such as when he took on a potentially dangerous mission to earn memory restoration for Nati. Though he's willing to fight, he does avoid bloodshed when possible, and laments when his party or others are put in unnecessary danger. With his party members whose company he can stand, he occasionally displays a dry sense of humor, particularly at the expense of others.