Zyros

**Biased Page**
This is a page that has biased information. Some of the information might not be true or might have been changed to fit a character's perspective or to fit an agenda on purpose. Do not take these as facts, but as storywriting.

## Into the depths

Zyros was born in the cottages of Ukialta but soon found his place in the Caverns of Calortirus, in which he was exiled by his father. In the caverns he met men enslaved in shackles of iron who spent their days mining their lives away. Zyros did not know the name of his parents but he assumed he was captured. All he knew was the voice of the man he hated the most, the person the people called 'Master' to his face or 'The Slaver' behind his back, this person was obscured by the darkness but his steps were imbued with greed and his hands were clean from bleed.

He was no slave, he knew not of the problems that Zyros lived by, but he did still treat Zyros better for some unknown reason, perhaps he pitied him for being born in the mines unlike the others, perhaps it was something else, something it would take Zyros his life to find out.

In the mines Zyros learnt to speak, mine and secretly fight. Soon he knew the location of every ore type within the mines and could form basic sentences at an uneducated but still understandable level. Combat was imbued within the veins of Zyros and by a young age he was the better of his peers yet still feared Zyogre who could cut down a man in a single slash, he dared not think about fighting the Slaver or the cost may be his very life.

## The Torment

One day, a former adventurer turned slave, old with age, heard of the news of the departure of 'The Slaver' overseas to an unknown land.

This was not an uncommon occurrence but this time was different.

The slaves continued to mine knowing that the locks of the Caverns kept them in and even if the entire slave force united were to miraculously breach them upon in a show of force unparalleled to the abilities of any hardened miner; than the Slaver would throw them to the deepest of the Cavern flaws and have them climb their way up in complete darkness.

The first day the slaves grew thirsty but kept mining.

The second day the slaves grew hungry but kept mining.

The third day the slaves grew weary and tired but kept mining.

The fourth day the old slaver collapsed to the cold floor but kept mining.

The fifth day the old man died. He was free in death.

The sixth day hope was lost, food was dreamed of and water was forgotten. The pickaxes were thrown aside, the slaves would rather face death than continue to swing, they had prepared themselves after all. This was no life of man, but life of those kidnapped from their homelands and their gods. Tt was time, they thought, to return to their heavens and lay in the clouds of death.

They did not realise that Zyogre had died on the second day, they were forgotten. The only ones who knew of their existence was themselves and no-one was willing to save them.

Zyros did not accept this. He was not yet broken in the mines but too tired to accept fate anymore. He had barely arisen from being a boy but he understood the cruelties he would have to commit. Fed on the skin of the deceased and satisfied with the thirst that had left him with the blood of the old man he charged for the gate. He bashed at the iron gate but it stood firm. It slowly wore but the number of pickaxes available also fell forcing him to resort to using craniums tied to femurs to make makeshift tools. Soon he was the only one left and the gate had been almost breached. Before he left, he turned to see the piles of corpses, disfigured and tattered. He closed the gate on the caverns after walking out. Now he saw the light, the gentle embrace of the rays hit his face and for the first time he saw the graceful ocean. He had no tears to cry but he had pride and hope.

## **The Pride**

Along the shores of the kingdom of Ukialta lied the prosperity of the many, the world seemed to revolve around Ukialta, the buildings were under construction and the toils of life were part of the human experience, if Ukialta had to be described it could be called the manifestation of tranquility. Yet the economy was weak, the wealth had slowly began fading to Ukialta and the elders of the nation refused to accept that the trade city of Ukialta could fall. Zyros began a journey to re-seize the flow of wealth.

In the east the forces of the Ageosi were readying and uniting, their relations grew more and more, it was an inevitability that an attack was coming and therefore Zyros began a pre-emptive strike to gain resources that could alter the tide of any conflict, the rare metal called Obsidian. With such a resource Ukialta could face off war for years and keep its peace and freedom. To do so Zyros went to Deva Victoria, a sewer of Ageosi soldiers, there he tricked the merchants and traced with him the goods all the way up to the lands of Thyconium,

Upon arrival on the shores of Thyconium he was within strike range of the blades of the soldiers who came from Victria. He pleaded with the first man he saw yet all he could remember was being stared at as he was dragged into the depths of the ice cold waters, stabbed and beaten he was left half dead without the bounty he had rightfully taken. He found wreckage along the shallows of the Thyconium terrain as he pushed himself towards his home.

Days after the incident he had recovered from his wounds but the elite of Ukialta, including the rule of Ukialta, had gone against his judgement and as such plotted to remove him for good. However an anonymous messenger saved the life of Zyros with a message alerting him of the plot by the Śran. Enraged at the betrayal Zyros quickly put an end to the rule of the Sran and took over the nation briefly to temper the disputes of the Ageosi whilst resolving the inner disputes amongst the people of Ukialta.

On one morning Zyros went to a teahouse to refresh and met with a bizarre shopkeeper, there he met with a curious bartender who offered Zyros a tea, unbeknownst to Zyros the tea was poisoned, the concentration was diluted by the tea and therefore did not kill Zyros but it constricted his movements greatly and forced himself to move like a corpse. His skin began to decay and over the next few days he endured torture of horrific levels.

The Sran may have fallen but his son remained alive, immediately he ran to the Ageosian states in his maddened state where he was manipulated whilst he was still weak. He eventually came to his sense and was able to take back control from the evil Skarian Hyrcanus and regain his homeland. There Zyros welcomed the young man with open eyes promising that his father shall be avenged when the Ageosian states fall.

Zyros asked for Okislit to rebecome the king and become a symbol of the invasion in return for murdering a single one of Ukialta's enemies. The only condition was that Okislit would not be a weak king like his father before him. Okislit promised.

Okislit chose Skarian Hyrcanus.

On the docks of a dark shore Zyros arrived at the shores of Kratia, captured by Okislit. There he remained unarmored with 2 guards holding him forward, Alsiy to his left and Tabi to his right. He was brought up the steps of Kratia and once he arrived to the centre of the village he gulped in front of the King.

Skarian Hyrcanus looked at the sight with a devilish smile before proceeding to spit on Zyros whilst he lay on the ground shoved down by Aliyr. Right as the sword of Skarian fell upon Zyros he was saved by a clank of metal from Aliyr's armour. The plan had worked.

A flurry of weapons came down upon the unguarded and afraid Skarian who turned around to see there was no people there to save him. Skarian cornered himself into the back of the wall before charging forward into Aliyr's blade whilst Tabi slashed at the legs of Skarian. He fell on his knees, to see a final smirk by Zyros standing beyond the mercenaries next to Okislit.

Skarian Hyrcanus was slaughtered. Yet Polemos, the bastard to the north, remained.

## **The Fall**

After the return of the assassins to Ukialta Okislit was crowned King of Ukialta and for weeks the country was in a state of prosperity. The barbaric nations of the east, however, were in turmoil and soon the first signs of war became apparent.