Erdaritr Vellens

**Erdaritr Vellens** was the founder of the Salahan Empire. Survivor of the Fall of Irsiari, he would take several survivors away from the demonic devastation of his homeland into the northern part of the continent of Palakro. He united the various cultures of the northern half of the continent through either diplomacy or threats.

## Erdaritr Vellens

### Aliases

"The Immigrant" "The Rising Sun"

First Emperor of the Salahan Empire

King of Salahan Kingdom (Formerly)

Savior of Man

Shield of Mankind

### Relatives

Golaris the Golden (Grandmother) Eratorus (Son)

Lairan (Grandson)

House Vellens (Descendants)

### Affiliation

Empire of Salahan (Founder) Empire of Irsiari (Formerly)

Gold Dragonhost (Formerly)

## Biography:

### Early Life:

Erdaritr was born a gold dragon in the years before the cataclysm of Onixana. He was born to a child of Golaris the elder dragon, mother to all gold dragons, and then given under glamour of human look on the doorstep of a pair of Irsiari nobles, since Golaris wanted to see what would happen.

He was raised by those nobles, and was cared for by the humans who took pity seeing an infant in need. As he grew, the dragon came to love his adopted parents and wished he could truly be a human, like them. He found a dusty tome about dragons after much searching and learned that the most powerful of the drakes could turn themselves into human shape.

Erdaritr spent a decade desperately trying to turn himself human. He spent his entire youth chasing this dream, and eventually finally became able to do so. He transformed himself, but held a slight limp due to the deformity of his right wing. Though he had been sheltered growing up on his parents’ small estate, he wanted to see the world. Though his heart grew heavy doing so, he bid farewell to his parents and travelled out into the open world.

### Blessings of the Goddesses:

Unfortunately, he soon saw the truth of what the world had become, and knew that humans were fragile to the machinations of evil. To repay all mankind had done for him, he swore he would make a place where they could be safe, and unite the scattered tribes so they could be together as one people. He began small, with only those around the area of his parents property. They knew him and trusted him, listening when he said he would lead them away from the approaching hordes of Jun’huru.

However, other humans did not trust this upstart and ready to roll over and let the demon conquer them. In his despair, Erdaritr climbed the highest mountain in the area and prayed for seven days and seven nights for a sign, at first Adoni, and then from any god that would hear him. In the waning hours of the seventh night, just as his heart started to turn dark as the fire of his hope burned low, he got his answer.

The signs were small at first, and perhaps, he realized, they had been there from the start. But now, the accelerated signs became much more noticeable. Flowers bloomed miraculously fast as they curled around him, the wind picked up with not a single cloud in the bright starry sky, and a light like it was suddenly day appeared. Three women stood around him, ethereal and beautiful.

The first spoke up, and when she spoke it seemed as if her words whispered all around him on the shoulders of the wind. She identified herself as Venru, spirit of the wind. From her dress she pulled a feather, white spotted with brown and black. In an instant, it transformed into a beautiful hand and a half sword covered by a scabbard black as night, but with a pommel that shone like a star. Anthúlgâr, the Northern Storm, forged by Nelcan using the harnessing of all four winds for different parts of the sword. The blade was made of Anthùl, the Northern Wind, Rhûnthúl, the East Wind, Dúnthúl the West Wind, and Kharnthúl, the Southern Wind. In order to meld the winds together, Nelcan used the fire of Zurcon, who lent his help after hearing it would be wielded by his descendant. Venru told Erdaritr that the winds had minds of their own, and would not allow a weak person to wield their power.

Erdaritr, dumbstruck, managed to struggle out a simple “Why me?”, to which the three goddesses smiled. “The humans are young, easily corrupted, but with potential. We have seen the hearts of their possible leaders, and know them to be brave but unprepared. Then we saw you. A dragon, with a love for the humanity so strong you spent ten years trying to become one. Dragons are not as easily corrupted as men, but none held great enough affection to lead the humans in the way necessary. They may be fragile, but their unending hope and stubborn will to survive have endeared us to them. Make an oath to protect them, and these gifts are yours.” Erdaritr dropped to his knees, and sword to the goddesses that he would do everything under the sun to ensure the humans were safe and given the home they deserved.

He never spoke of that night in length, telling only his tale up until the women appeared, and never speaking more. However, when he returned, he was a changed man, and held a fire in his eyes that had not been there before. With his new confidence, former dragon had no issues persuading the many scared humans that he would protect them with the help of his guardian goddesses.

### Great Migration:

Soon, a great migration of the humans began, and Erdaritr was hailed as the savior of man and shield of mankind, their divine-chosen leader. Along the way, Erdaritr changed into his dragon form many times, though never in sight of his new-found subjects, burning large groups of their pursuers out of the eyes of the humans.

However, despite his efforts, they were still faced with many large hosts of demons intent on destroying them. They lost many people, but prevailed in every conflict, growing stronger with each battle as they picked up the equipment of their fallen enemies and the experience to match the win. By the time they reached their far off destination, the people were battle hardened down to the oldest farmer and youngest squire, all having seen battle and war many times.

Though many were tired of war, including Erdaritr himself, with the power of Ríhend showed him the hearts and actions of those that controlled these lands were vile and cruel. He sent emissaries to the downtrodden of those good kingdoms that had been forcefully taken, promising to free them of the tyranny of the Dragonbinders. Erdaritr was disgusted by the enslavement of his kin, and vowed to end this terrible act once and for all. With his at this point very formidable and hardened army he took one kingdom at a time, the goddesses whispering in his ear and guiding his blade until he wrought destruction upon the Dragonbinders, and forced them into submission, as they had done to the copper dragons so many years before.

Upon the completion of this war, Erdaritr went to pray on a mountain near the last battlefield, where the Tolmeacha appeared to him once more. They told him how proud they were of who he’d become, and proclaimed that they held his oath fulfilled. The mood turned slightly sad, however, when they said that this would be the last time they spoke to him directly. They wanted to allow the humans to forge their own destiny, without the goddesses’ constant intervention. Before they went, they allowed him to ask for one more gift, anything he could ever possibly want. To their surprise, his answer was that he wanted to be human. Fully, not as a dragon using magic to masquerade in a human’s body. They agreed, but said that he would be as much dragon as he was human. From now, the blood that ran through his veins was true red man-blood, but that at any time he could change into a dragon. The difference between this transformation and those of his descendants was that it was not guided by magic, instead it was an inherent gift to all those of the Vellens line, two forms with one soul.

### Emperor of Salahan:

Erdaritr rejoiced, glad to finally feel true in his preferred skin, but soon he grew worried. Eventually, one of his descendants would use this power against innocents. In the previous wars, he had seen the destruction dragonfire had brought upon his people, and his worst nightmare would be a descendant of his doing the same. So, he hid it, and in every history book made golden dragons to be terrible monsters, so that his descendants would have no choice but to hide it as well.

Upon his return from the war, Erdaritr focused on building up Rahanas, the once small camp town that had blossomed into a great city and the capital of his new empire. As his standard, he took the rising sun. The yellow on top represented the light of the Tolmeacha, who had guided them to peace through their proxy. The grey at the bottom represented the demon horde and all those that tried to destroy them, resting underneath the sun as their failures rested underneath the greatness of the Salahan. The red sun represented the new dawn, and their journey rising in the east and settling in the west.

As Rahanas grew, so too did Erdaritr’s age in numbers. He abdicated, giving the Ruby Throne to his son, a great warrior and fair leader known as Eratorus. He disappeared into the mountains, taking only the crown and leaving the other two gifts. Many years passed, and the long prosperous reigns of his son and grandson passed.

### The Foreswearing:

Eventually, many years later he descended down to see the progress, aged but not dead due to the light of Ríhend. His great grandson, Admirus, was nothing like his predecessors, and treated his ancestor coldly and with contempt. Upon his arrival, the Emperor demanded Ríhend, wanting it’s light for his own cruel goals. Erdaritr refused, and swore none of his House would ever wield it again until they proved themselves just and worthy.

## Personality:

He was said to be bold, compassionate and charismatic, mainly expanding his empire through diplomacy rather then conquest.

## Items and Powers:

**Silver Tongue:** Erdaritr was a talented orator, capable to give men courage before the battle, and persuade petty kings to flock to his banner.

**Enhanced Endurance (Power of the Dragon):** Erdaritr is an incredibly tough individual, able to shrug off poison-tipped arrows and injuries while fighting.

**Near Immortality:** His golden dragon heritage gives him immunity against most diseases and physical weakness that comes with old age.

**The Light of Ríhend (Special Ability):** Erdaritr got the blessing of Ríhend, Spirit of Fire, which combined with his heritage gives him near infinite lifespan.