The Doppelganger

*“I understand the need for deception. I should; I live a life of it. Distasteful, perhaps. But necessary.”*

-The Doppelganger

## History

The Doppelganger was nameless as all of his kind were. Originally from the Final Empire, he came to Arendur to start a new life, marrying a human woman and living as any ordinary city-dweller would. Nonetheless, he was not fulfilled, and lived a myriad of double lives, trying to find an identity that suited him. Upon the passing of his wife, and the aftermath of the Arendur-Ragnarok War, the Doppelganger decided to reinvent himself. In an almost unheard of move, he began to live in his true form, a pale, featureless, and androgynous humanoid. A mage of unusual capacities and great talent, as well as a skilled tactician, the Doppelganger joined the Arendurian Army and the Illuminated, rising swiftly within both organizations. Taking advantage of the chaos following the war, he took Tolumvire's place as the leader of the Illuminated. He would dispense with the majority of the cabal's structure, removing the positions of the five Masters, and altering his own title from Grand Master to Master - the sole leader. Under his directly, the Illuminated worked more closely with the army, leading to whispered accusations that the mages had become a branch of the military. In reality, the Doppelganger was contending with practical realities in a way that Tolumvire did not. The position of Master had always been dubious, with Tolumvire rotating its members as suited his whims, leading to a chaotic internal structure. It was easier for the Doppelganger to dispense with the pretense of an organized bureaucracy, and simply lead unilaterally. The army had taken grave loses from the war, and the loss of the city of Arendur and relocation to Oranor put the nation's citizens in grave danger. The time for enlightened research was gone - though the war was over, the fighting was far from finished. The Doppelganger made many enemies, chief among them Jotunheim, whose research team found itself sidelined and cut off from funding. Upon Tolumvire's return from exile, the Doppelganger was put in a position of limbo. Tolumvire himself did not know what to make of him, for though he admired his work and had no cause to doubt his loyalty, he did not approve of how he had altered the Illuminated, and nor did he fully trust him. After a good deal of vacillation, Tolumvire would eventually dismiss the Doppelganger from his position, and replace him with Jotunheim. The Doppelganger himself was tasked with the creation of a new security apparatus, to be called Zactar Intelligence - a task he took to with remarkable ease and lack of rancor. His activities following that point were somewhat shrouded, but it was known that he perished along with the rest of Oranor's citizens.

## Personality

The Doppelganger was a rational and cool-headed leader, prioritizing efficiency and merit. No one truly knew or trusted him, yet he exuded a sense of competence, and inspired grudging loyalty from his men. As the Master of the Illuminated, he was secretive, ever-watching, and solitary in his decision-making process. Despite his desire for total control, he allowed a surprising degree of independence from his men, allowing them to take initiative and even flout norms, so long as they brought results. This was not, of course, his true personality. A shapeshifter who embodied many identities, the public persona of the Doppelganger was a contrived image of what a level-headed and decisive leader ought to look like. He was capable of being a kind, sociable, and unambitious family man when it suited him, or anything else that suited his fancy. Such that he had an emotional core, he was a self-effacing and even-tempered individual, with a penchant for story-telling, and a chameleon-like capacity to put others at ease.