Kralich

Dual element Erthus of Reflections, a prominent revisionist in the Imperian Confederacy, and a living legend among his peers.

## **History**

### **Early life**

Kralich
was born some time before Tyranis found the Kravarius as
the son of a father Erthus of Fire and mother Erthus of Light. His mother died
in childbirth, as is the risk of dual-element couples, and his father was
bitter over this and for much of Kralich's life blamed him for her death (the
two would later reconcile, but the scars left over would heal much slower). He
came to resent this bitterness and worked that much harder in education for it.
He was bullied regularly for his dual-elemental parentage and his teachers
would often single him out and give him the dirtiest jobs to perform. He
attempted to persevere and stayed with it in his late matron's memory. However,
he found that he lacked the capability to be a scientist like his mother, and
he believed that he was not worthy of becoming a Erthus. For some time, Kralich
drifted from place to place on various spacecraft around the Confederacy with
his father, who was a guard for merchants.

Kralich
found great difficulty in procuring assistance with his situation as
segregation laws on dual-element Imperians worked to his disadvantage.
Eventually, he ran away from his father and stowed away on a garbage scow. When
he was found, the owner forced Kralich into servitude until he had paid off his
debt, without realizing that the owner of the scow was a dishonorably
discharged Kilaro. This Kilaro explained, over time, that he had been removed
from the Confederacy as he had advocated for rights for dual-element beings.
When Kralich inquired, the Kilaro revealed that every member of the ship was a
dual-element Imperian, including himself, although he joked that had Ignithitus known
that as well, he probably would have been executed.

This
Kilaro taught Kralich what he knew of dual-element usage whilst the latter was
aboard the scow. However, after some time, Kralich had worked off his boarding
fee. He attempted to bargain with the Kilaro to allow him to remain aboard,
eventually even threatening him desperately, but the Kilaro brushed him off,
saying there wasn't anything new he could teach him, and that he had to
"shine his own way". Kralich left the scow with some spare currency,
and landed on Molikonglia, where he spent an unknown amount of cycles fending for himself against the tribal clans.
He even met Bartherious, who
gave him shelter in return for telling him what he knew about the Confederacy's
weaknesses. Kralich, at this time, resented the Confederacy for their treatment
of his kind, but would later blame the deaths that resulted from the exchange
on himself.

He boarded a transport off of Molikonglia and
gradually made his way back to Magnus Imperus. When he arrived, he was not
permitted to enter the capital as a consequence of being a dual-element Imperian.
Greatly displeased and significantly more stubborn than he had been when he left,
he demanded to see his father. The guard was not co-operative, and, upon a
comment saying how his mother was a mongrel for breeding outside of her
element, Kralich flew into a rage and attacked the Makori border guard,
injuring him severely. Kralich was detained and sentenced to fifty cycles of
hard labor. Whilst imprisoned, he was visited by his father, and it is at this
time the two began to reconcile, with his father realizing his hard treatment
of Kralich was what had landed him in his current situation. Kralich graciously
accepted his apology, but did not speak with his father until after he had
served his time.

### **Imprisonment**

Kralich
was critically wounded when a prison gang assaulted him due to his dual-element
nature. He recovered in the infirmary, and it is there he met Talia, and their destinies from that point were
intertwined. When he left the infirmary, he sought out the prison inmates and
delivered a crushing speech on how, even being born from illegitimate means, he
was worth more than the inmates ever would be. He declared that he would resist
any and all attempts at demoralizing or inspiring fear in him, and that he
would go on to become a legend in the Confederacy, and a force for change. He
then began planning an escape from the prison in order to begin putting his
plans into motion. He needed to recruit members for his escape, and began
searching. Although he never confirmed for certain, it is believed he
deliberately went looking for others with dual elements.

He
first met Xeyiole, possessing
the elements of Air and Iron. He was almost the same age as Kralich, and had
been imprisoned for conning several upper-class nobles of their currency and
redistributing them amongst the poor neighborhood he lived in. The two hit it
off quickly, and Xeyiole, being imprisoned for twenty cycles, was more than
happy to try and find a quicker way out. He recommended a friend whom Kralich
instantly recognized as one of his few friends from school-Froststellan,
who had mostly Ice elemental energy with heavily controlled Iron powers to hide
his status. The two exchanged courtesies before Kralich brought up the subject.
Whilst he was hesitant to commit either way at first, he decided that working
as an unpaid prison guard for experience wasn't worth the hassle, and agreed to
help Kralich.

Next,
Kralich sought after someone tough enough to keep the other inmates away from
their operations and intimidate guards into keeping their distance, too.
Frostellan said he had seen a particularly burly and rather moody man who often
sat alone in his cell. The three approached him, and were quickly told to
leave. Believing him to be a lost cause, Kralich and Frostellan moved on to
find other candidates for their prison break, but Xeyiole stayed and attempted
to convince the convict to assist him. He learned the convict's name to
be Driacus, a
dual-elemental of Earth and Stone, and that he had been imprisoned as, in his
city, homosexuality was punishable by hard labor. Xeyiole confessed he, too,
experienced similar feelings, and although the two did not hit it off as
quickly as Xeyiole and Kralich had, Driacus agreed to help.

Encouraged
by this, Kralich worked on acquiring a veteran inmate who possessed more
knowledge of the operations of the place. He found Kel'Thuzain,
a rare tri-elemental of earth, air, and shadow, a man who had been imprisoned
for practicing illegal sorcery and attempted necromancy. The experience chilled
the younger man, who was barely a teenager by Imperian terms, although
Kel'Thuzain (whom Frostellan nicknamed 'Kel') agreed to help, on the condition
that they supply him with three bodies from the morgue to experiment on when
they escaped. Kralich agreed, and tasked Frostellan with retrieving the bodies.

Finally, Kralich needed an insider, not just one
working for experience like Frostellan, in order to help fuel their escape
plans. He had Xeyiole stab his arm with a sharp wire, meaning Kralich had to be
rushed off to the infirmary, and used his time to convince Talia to aid them.
She initially refused, but after hearing Kralich's intent and reasoning (as
she, herself, was a hybrid of Water and Fire), she agreed to help. The two
began bonding as he regularly made his way to the infirmary to plan with her,
and by the time their plans had been laid, the two entered into a romantic
relationship.

With the dates set, the group began their escape
plans, and made it away from the prison before anyone had realized they were
gone. The six decided to remain together for now, as they all shared a common
cause-the improvement of rights for more than single-element beings. Talia and
Kralich improved their relationship, becoming more intimate in nature, and
Xeyiole and Driacus agreed to 'experiment' with their feelings in order to
learn more about what made themselves who they were. Kel simply spent most of
the time away from the group, experimenting on what dead material he could get
his hands on, and Frostellan often accompanied Talia and Kralich, as was the
custom for young couples.

### **Transformation into an Erthus**

When
Kralich and his five compatriots escaped the prison, they then needed to find
transport off-world in order to set up operations elsewhere. They navigated to
the nearest pirate spaceport and attempted to bargain their way onto a vessel.
However, before they could finish negotiations with one captain, the spaceport
went on full alert as members of the Apex Conglomeration approached, intending
to hire mercenaries. The Diabolith sensed the presence of Kel'Thuzain, whose power
gave him a similar air to an Erthus, and they ransacked the outpost looking for
him

Eventually, they found Kel'Thuzain and the rest of
Kralich's group and intended to take the six of them prisoner. Kel'Thuzain
bargained for his life and tricked the Diabolith into turning their backs on
him, where he quickly killed one of the three. The other two then made a move
towards the group of Makori, but Kralich, realizing the life or death
situation, released an outburst of light and fire elemental energy, which
prompted the other Matoran to do the same, and Kel'Thuzain sealed their
destruction by unleashing his latent elemental capabilities. The Makuta were
utterly decimated by the sheer onslaught of elemental energy.

Having experienced elemental transcendence for the
first time, the six felt charged, and Kel'Thuzain told them that if they were
to find appropriate armor and tools quickly, the six of them could ascend to
become Erthus. They frantically searched amongst the ruins of the pirate
outpost, when Kralich stumbled upon a canister of black market armor. The six
donned the armor, and with a flash of light, the six became Erthus. Xeyiole is
reported to have commented, "Who would have thought certain death could
make our dreams come true?"

The six stole a pirate freighter and returned to Magnus
Imperus, where, due to the beginning of Tyranis' conquest, they were pardoned
of their crimes, on the condition they would risk life and limb in the line of
duty for the Imperian Confederacy. Kralich convinced them it was the best way
to change opinions about dual-element Imperians, and so the six were christened
the Erthus Gripas-in Imperian, meaning "Knight Hybrids".

### **Erthus Gripas**

The first order of business for the team was to
elect a leader. Frostellan volunteered, citing his experience at controlling
inmates in the prison, as did Xeyiole, as he believed his charisma would make
leading the team easier. Talia, however, convinced the group to elect Kralich
to lead, as without him, the six would have never been brought together in the
first place, and it was he who was destined to change the course of history for
dual-element Imperians. After a short debate, Kel'Thuzain grudgingly conceded
and voted for Kralich.

The
six had their first assignment on Molikonglia, where Kralich's previous contact
with Bartherious was thought to be an advantage in negotiations with the Molikong
people. However, without Bartherious present, Kralich found the Molikong Khanate had
resorted to infighting. He did his best to negotiate an end to the conflict,
but failed to achieve any sort of consensus. However, the largest intact Molikong
clan agreed not to wage hostilities against the Confederacy on the condition
that, following the war, they would be given supplies. Kralich agreed he would
get them supplies following the war, and with this small guarantee of peace,
Kralich was commended by the Primis Council-the first time such a commendation
has been given to a dual-element Imperian.

Meanwhile,
the Erthus Gripas took part in many petty skirmishes with the Diabolith’s
forces, and often found they had to rely on themselves and few others as the
Confederacy at large was loathe to help the only officially supported
dual-element Erthus team. The Gripas, regardless, managed to defend a whole
world from Diabolith onslaught for a few hours whilst civilians were evacuated.
They found that their armor, whilst previously used only as a tool to fuel
their growth, had been a knockoff based on prototype armor made by Acridius
himself. It magnified their elemental capabilities threefold, meaning each of
them were easily capable of holding off a Diabolith alone. When the some ten
thousand Makori found their way off-world, the Erthus Gripas went with them,
and witnessed the planet cracker which Tyranis had access to.

They
made haste to Spherus Magna, where they briefed the Primis Council on the
planet cracker. Realizing their worth and capability, Silvarus voted
for the six to be made an endorsed Toa team, like the Erthus Titan. Ignithitus was vehemently opposed
to the idea, and attempted to confiscate the adaptive armor. However, a chance
attack by the Conglomeration prevented the occasion, and the actions of Kralich
and Driacus saved Ignithitus' life from a bolt of shadow. Following that
engagement, he hesitantly agreed, on the condition that should they fail, the
Gripas would be stripped of their titles and returned to imprisonment. Kralich
agreed, and was bestowed a replica Luxaus to
denote his status.

The Gripas led the fight in many theatres of war
against the Apex Conglomeration, and each of them was said to have personally
defeated ten Diabolith. Across the Confederacy, they amassed a fierce
reputation for only enlisting dual-element or above beings from across the
worlds of the Confederacy. Their army was highly trained and specialized, with
their mastery over their dual elements giving them a colossal advantage over
their Diabolith adversaries. Kralich's well-known battle cry, "Light unto
darkness", was echoed throughout the Confederacy in times of need.

However, despite their best efforts, the Diabolith
still pushed slowly but surely into Confederacy space. It is at this time
Kralich learned Bartherious had attacked his home village and killed his father
using the weaknesses Kralich had originally given to him. Overwhelmed with
grief, Kralich left the group. His Luxaus turned silver, representing his loss
of prestige, and he spent some time away from his team and the conflict. When Ignithitus
called for every available Toa to make their last stand at Midnight Ridge,
Kralich had a vision of his father convincing him to go. He arrived just as Tyranis
was to eradicate the Gripas, and released a Light Nova which pushed Tyranis
back. He then fought directly alongside Ignithitus to distract and defeat Tyranis.
At the forefront of the engagement, the Toa Gripas absorbed some of the
elemental energy which was exhumed by Tyranis following his defeat. The six
became very powerful, and although not to the tune of the Primis Major or the
Titan, they became some of the principal peacekeepers in the Confederacy.

### **Darkest Dimension**

One
day, the six were on a border patrol mission when they received a distress call
from a nearby colony. Kralich immediately mobilised to render aid and the six
made planet fall. When they arrived, they found the colony in ruins, and odd
gravitational and dimensional anomalies littered the planet. Kralich made the
move to retreat and call for support, but their vessel was destroyed before
their eyes. When they turned back, they stood face to face with the Demonkin, the most
powerful being to ever arrive in their universe or most others.

Completely unknowing of whom the being in front of
them was, Kralich and his compatriots mustered themselves for combat. The
Demonkin did not so much as flinch from their combined elemental might, and
instead raised a hundred thousand dead Makori for them to fight. The conflict
was taxing for the six, being forced to kill those same villagers they had once
sworn to protect, but after almost two deci-cycles of constant fighting, they
had defeated the Demonkin's army. Kralich personally challenged the Demonkin,
to which he simply laughed. Enraged at the arrogance of the being in front of
him, Kralich made a move to attack him, but with a flick of the Demonkin's
wrist, was projected into orbit, and then brought thundering back down, with only
the emergency systems of the armor keeping him from dying. The armor itself
malfunctioned and broke, where even Tyranis' power could not have achieved such
a feat, and Kralich was forced to watch, immobilized, as the Demonkin inflicted
a manner of evils upon his team.

Kel'Thuzain
was, at first, simply killed, but the Demonkin raised him again with full
sentience and corrupted his mind to serve as his chief necromancer. Xeyiole was
mutated into a mostly serpentine creature who lacked much mental capability,
Driacus was mutated and ascended to a Great Being of War but was driven insane
by the experience and, being a Great Being, was now trapped in the Realm of
Might, and Frostellan was utterly eradicated as the Demonkin saw no reason to
keep him. Talia and Kralich were both abducted by the Demonkin and brought to
the Darkest Dimension, where Kralich (Darkest Dimension) ruled the universe
with an iron fist as one of the Demonkin's Triumvirate. Talia was brainwashed to swear utter fealty to
Kralich's dark counterpart, and Kralich himself almost fared the same. However,
the Demonkin decided that in order to crush Kralich's spirit entirely, he would
release him back to his dimension, under the mental guise that the Demonkin had
destroyed the Imperian Confederacy altogether, several thousand light years
away from his home world and on a little known and inhabited world far away
which did not possess the capability to send Kralich home.

Kralich would later find out that the reason for
the Demonkin's attempts at breaking him was that he foresaw Kralich's son being
involved in his defeat. What he did not foresee was that the children were not
necessarily his and Talia's.

### **Landfall on Earth**

Kralich was deposited on the far off world of Earth,
in the Sol system. A race of beings who had not even achieved inter-planetary
space exploration yet inhabited the system, named Humans. They were generally
smaller than Kralich who, as a Imperian, was some seven feet tall, and, in
addition to his grey skin compared to their pale or melanin-infused skin, meant
he feared begin questioned and imprisoned. However, he found that Earth had no
shortage of meta-beings, having been visited by nearby alien species multiple
times and possessing a natural meta-gene which one in every million humans
gained access to in some form.

Kralich
spent some time on the world, adopting their time frame of a year (which is
roughly equal to one and a tenth cycles). He would spend time attempting to
find a way off the world, but was unsuccessful, instead finding Earth really
was a world not yet possessing of the capabilities of space flight to the
extent he required. In utter despair at the situation, he contemplated suicide
and eventually opted to forego his Luxaus and leap from a cliff. He was,
however, interrupted by a young woman who was travelling nearby on a vehicle,
who convinced him to come with her. She was attempting to form a team of young
meta-beings who would attempt to dispense their own brand of justice and raise
the profile of younger meta-beings. She identified herself as Riley, and Kralich took her up on her offer, seeing it
very similar to his intent to better the cause of dual-element Imperians.

She
took him back to their base of operations, which was an old, abandoned
apartment complex re-purposed with training rooms and communications technology.
Much of this was obtained on Riley's or the others' free time, and as a
consequence Kralich had some difficulty adjusting to their archaic design and
capabilities. Nevertheless, the two worked for some time together, dealing with
petty criminal threats in their area. Kralich spearheaded the search for the
leader of an illegal weapons smuggling cartel and personally apprehended him.
It took some time for Kralich to get used to the idea that he was not to kill
the criminals but to imprison them.

Some
three or four human months in, Kralich found himself thinking more and more on
Talia and his compatriots. Riley still did not know his origins, believing him
to be a meta-human. He decided that if he ever intended to wreak vengeance on
his dark counterpart, he would need alliances, and Riley's team of meta-humans
would be a good start. He called a meeting with them and explained his origins,
as well as his goal for the long term. The other members of the group were, at
first, disbelieving of his origins, but they then declared they would not
assist him against such a huge menace, and left the meeting. Riley remained and
questioned Kralich in some more detail, and when she was convinced he was
serious about his intentions, she agreed to remain with him. This was the start
of a gradually growing feeling of romantic interest between the two.

He promised Riley that, before they worked on his
issue together, he would first help her track down the key villain in her city.
They spent some weeks tracking their movements, and eventually it was found the
villain was Riley's uncle. His use of mental control enabled him to stun Riley
and make her mentally unable to comprehend attacking him. However, her uncle
was unprepared for Kralich's superior training, and the two dueled. Kralich was
a far better swordsman and disarmed the uncle. He was about to execute him, but
Riley pleaded with Kralich to let him go and apprehend him. Understanding this
was his defining moment to Riley, Kralich gave the uncle mercy, and handed him
over to the authorities. That night, Riley and Kralich shared time together in
her quarters, marking the official beginning of their romantic relationship.

Kralich taught Riley, over time, how to make her
own armor. Kralich had re-forged and modified his adaptive armor to function
reasonably effectively and even helped Riley create and use her very own enchanted
helm. She learned enchantments relating to speed, believing it to be the one
most likely to assist her acrobatic tendencies, and painted it red to fit in
with her former uniform. She donned it, and Kralich did a mock duel with her to
test her abilities. Although he defeated her, she had learned to use her helm
in combat for the first time, and enjoyed the experience.

Following this, Kralich began experiencing mental
and physical struggles which he believed were tied to his darker counterpart.
Believing this to be the bait he needed to draw him out, Kralich openly allowed
these struggles to continue. Around two weeks after they began, Kralich found an
inter-dimensional portal had opened in his and Riley's room. Not wishing to put
her at greater harm, he wrote a note and stepped forth into the portal.

### **Return to the Darkest Dimension**

Kralich
arrived in the run-down and slum-filled capital of Magnus Imperus in the
Darkest Dimension. He was unsure what to do when he arrived, but found that
Riley had followed him before the portal closed. A brief argument ensued, the
end of which came about when Kralich conceded that as Riley were now here with
him, the two may as well stay together. Kralich adopted the alias Hichrak in
order to avoid drawing attention to himself, but quickly found that the local
populace were, for some reason, terrified of him and Riley. After some asking
around, he found out the Erthus in this universe were not peacekeepers, but
peace*makers*, brutalizing and oppressing the local population
in to obeying their King's regime.

The two eventually found their way to a den of
bandits, where the old retired guard of the King's forces often frequented for
drink. Kralich questioned the man and found he had only served his counterpart
because his wife was being held hostage. When his wife was executed anyway, the
King released the guard with a pitiful pension which he mostly drank away.
Kralich revealed his identity and, with some effort, convinced the retired
guard to smuggle him and Riley into the castle. Once there, Kralich felt as if
he'd know what to do, although where this feeling came from and why he wasn't
sure.

Kralich
and Riley were intercepted by a group of guards led by an enslaved Diabolith,
but they managed to defeat them and moved on to the castle. Bolstered by the
love of his partner beside him, Kralich and Riley fought their way up to the
King's throne room. They reached the door, where his counterpart's son, Karcharin.
Naming himself as the Black Enforcer, he put up a significant fight, but
Kralich convinced him his father was a tyrant who needed to be stopped. Karcharin
said he would evacuate the prisoners and slaves currently in the castle, and
told him to put an end to his father for the sake of the universe. Kralich
assured him he would.

However,
when Kralich entered the throne room, he was immediately struck by the image of
Talia, who was distressed at his arrival with Riley. Believing her to be dead,
Kralich lost his composure and stepped towards her, where he was suddenly hit
with a hammer blow by his darker counterpart. His elemental power nowhere near
matching his counterpart's, Kralich was defeated, his sword broken, and Riley
was indoctrinated in front of his eyes to swear unwavering love and loyalty to
the God King, as he proclaimed himself. Totally defeated and at a loss, Kralich
surrendered, and he was imprisoned in the dungeons of the castle, intending to
be left there for the rest of his days.

Kralich spent four human years locked away in the
dungeons, fed on scraps and whatever he could scavenge from his hard labor. He
was utterly hopeless and believed himself to be a failure. However, one night,
he heard a faint whispering from the wall next to his cell, and opted to
attempt to find the source. Over the next few weeks, he would use sharp pieces
of rock from his hard labor to chip a small hole in the wall with which to see
through. When he reached the other side, the wall burst open, revealing a
golden Luxaus with the spirits of his former team members of this dimension
circling it. They told him how his counterpart had locked away his original Luxaus
and forged his own twisted version of the helm, locking the spirits of his
former friends with it. Kralich took the helm and donned it, transforming back
into an Erthus, with his armor fully restored and his elemental powers boosted
five-fold by the abilities of his newfound friends. Bolstered by their
companionship, he easily worked his way up to the God King's chamber, when Karcharin,
now indoctrinated to his father, impeded his progress. Knowing that he could
not save Karcharin, he fought and killed them, promising to make good on his
vow of almost five years prior. He took Karcharin's sword and infused it with
the powers he had been given, christening it the Claw of Adrenagon, after his
father’s name.

He
arrived in the throne room with light shining from his armor. Servants huddled
and staggered away from his bright visage, and he called out to his counterpart
to once again challenge him in combat. The God King appeared, flourishing
his Eternity Sword, and met the challenge. It is unknown for how long
they dueled, but their titanic struggle and elemental outbursts were said to
have been visible by those servants below. Midway, Riley regained her former
self, having been forced to watch the ordeal, and picked up a weapon to fight
alongside Kralich. She absorbed some of the elemental energy from the ordeal,
allowing her to resist his counterpart's attacks, and together, they disarmed
and defeated the God King. Kralich smashed the Eternity Sword, releasing the
absorbed spirits of thousands of innocents, and left his counterpart to die in
the crumbling castle. Talia was released from his counterpart's control, but
she was too physically dependent on his power and turned to dust after saying a
tearful goodbye.

Riley and Kralich were critically wounded, and he
died. However, the spirits of his five team member's counterparts used all of
their energy to revive him. Kralich then gave up his element of fire to revive
Riley as well-essentially turning them both into single-element beings and
giving her control over the element of fire, and gaining a measure of Kralich's
lifespan, effectively turning her into an Imperian. A portal opened which led
back to their universe, and the two entered into an uncertain future with an
uncertain purpose, but they were happy, and Kralich was free at last.

### **Return to the Confederacy**

When Riley and Kralich returned to their universe,
they found themselves in the Primis Council chambers in Magnus Imperus'
capital. He was instantly recognized and his return was celebrated. In a series
of public interviews, Kralich recounted his adventures, and sought out his
counterparts in this universe. Using his newfound knowledge of the workings of
the Demonkin's power, he managed to transform Driacus and Xeyiole back to their
former selves, where they held a funeral for the deaths of Talia and
Frostellan, and where Kralich also vowed to find and free Kel'Thuzain from the
Demonkin's control.

Xeyiole went off to help a colony on the borders of
Spherian space, whilst Driacus accompanied him, and the two adopted an orphaned
Makori to raise. Kralich and Riley traveled the Confederacy for some time, with
Kralich intending to show her the wonders of his universe, and the two married
whilst observing a supernova in a far corner of the galaxy. They spent some
time working together on their powers, with Kralich needing time to get used to
his reduced elemental capabilities and Riley needing time to access her new
elemental powers.

They
eventually settled down in the capital, in a house provided to them by the
Primis Council for their work in defending the Confederacy. Kralich was offered
to become a Kilaro. However, he decided he would rather remain as a Erthus
alongside Riley than become something she would not understand. The two had two
children-Tarzal, who was
named for Kralich's mother (as her name was unisex), and Argus, named for the alias of Riley's father. Argus
inherited much of Kralich's more hot-blooded temperament, whilst Tarzal was
more like his mother. With times changing in the Confederacy with the defeat of
Tyranis and as the Apex Dozen were not yet in full
action, Kralich felt at peace.

### **Family and Exile**

Kralich and Riley raised their sons as best as they
could. Although they tried for a girl, they were unsuccessful, as the two had
expended their elemental energy in creating Argus and Tarzal. The two were born
as twins, and Tarzal often spoke of this with delight, whereas Argus spoke of
this with disgust. Kralich, from the start, had difficulty getting through to
Argus, as his hard nature and the favoritism he perceived in his parents
towards Tarzal made him bitter. Kralich made every attempt to bridge the gap between
his son and him, but Riley was more successful, and Argus came to rely on her
heavily.

Argus was still jealous of Tarzal, however, as he
was much more popular, and one day attempted to murder his brother. Riley
caught him and suffered great emotional pain, marking the start of her
prolonged sickness. Kralich had Argus disciplined, blaming him and his lack of
personal control for the occurrence, and it is at this time that Argus grew to
hate his father altogether. After his disciplinary at a youth detention center,
Argus and Kralich argued often, and Argus' hate for his brother was only
compounded by the fact that Tarzal publicly forgave his brother-something Argus
felt was undeserved and patronizing.

Riley was gravely upset at the lack of proper
relations between her children and their father, and her sickness only
worsened. Kralich spent many sleepless nights tending to Riley's well-being,
but it was in vain, as she died on Argus' sixteenth terran birthday (their
family celebrated Spherian and Terran birthdays). For the first time, Argus,
Kralich, and Tarzal were united in mourning their mother, but her death spurned
a dark awakening in Argus. Following the funeral, Argus was contacted by the
spirit of Tyranis in order to become his protégé and help him seize control
from the Demonkin. Argus accepted, and was teleported away.

Kralich later found out what had become of Argus,
and whilst Tarzal became an Erthus in his mother's and father's honor, Argus
continued to watch from the shadows, his hate multiplying. Kralich blamed
himself for Argus' downfall and the death of Riley. With a lengthy goodbye to
Tarzal and a message left to Argus, Kralich left the Imperian Confederacy,
never to return.

### **Travelling the Cosmos**

Kralich left the Confederacy behind, bestowing his Luxaus
upon Tarzal and leaving him with faith that Tarzal would do his mother and
father proud. He took Riley's body and sent it into the dying core of the sun
that had gone supernova on their marriage night. He then resigned as an Erthus,
and traveled the universe, solving petty evils and making a name for himself as
a mysterious stranger who did good for the sake of it.

All the while, he was ever vigilant as to signs of
the Demonkin's return, and those who followed his tale predict he will return
when the Confederacy needs him most.

## **Tools and Abilities**

### **Makori**

As a Makori, his armor was white with gold accents,
and his clothing usually followed a dull yellow. He had a staff which he used
for practicing his abilities and later evolved it into a makeshift combat
weapon. He had highly limited access to his light and fire powers, instead
usually relying on his slight build and speed.

### **Erthus**

As an Erthus, Kralich wore an Erthus-level
enchanted helm which allowed him to access great speeds and outpace most
enemies. He wielded good control over both his elements, although he didn't
master them until later in his life. His armor magnified his abilities
threefold and was highly resistant to nearly every form of damage. He wielded
an upgraded version of his staff and used it to puncture the armor of enemies
and spear them. He also used it as a focus for his elemental powers. When he
was given a replica Luxaus, he light powers were massively supplemented and he
managed to single-handedly defeat Diabolith.

### **Darkest Dimension**

When he returned to the Darkest Dimension, he had
mastered his elemental powers via intensive training in preparation for his
combat with his dark counterpart. He had since lost his Luxaus, and instead
used no mask at all. His powers were vastly increased by his interaction with
the spirits of his team members' counterparts and used the Claw of Adrenagon, a
very powerful artifact possessing immense light power. Kralich was capable, at
this time, of releasing a Light and Fire Nova, although he chose not to. When
he wore the replaced Luxaus, which was visually identical to his old helm, his
light powers were supplemented once again.

### **Exile**

Giving up his fire powers to save Riley, Kralich
lost around half of his total elemental energy as a result, no longer placing
him far above the average Erthus. He did, however, completely master the full
depths of his light capabilities and found the true depths of his elemental
strength. When he left his Luxaus behind, it had a minimal effect on him as he
still maintained nigh-apex strength over the element of light regardless.

## **Personality**

### **Before a Toa**

Kralich was aggressive as a child due to his poor,
strained relationship with his father. He always resented how he was bullied
and treated in schools for his dual-element nature, and his mother was a
particularly touchy topic which would provoke him to physical violence very
quickly. He was, however, very hard-working and idealistic, believing he could
change the world and the Confederacy if he put his mind to it.

### **Erthus of Reflections**

As an Erthus, Kralich was proud of his status and
his position within which he could make a better name for his kind. He was
loyal to his team and to his cause, and acted like a big brother to any of the
younger Makori that he came across. He was also selfless in risking his life
for others and established a name for himself as a staunch defender of the
innocent.

### **Earth**

Depressed as a consequence of losing Talia and (as
he was led to believe) his home world, Kralich lacked much self-confidence and
was often moody and dejected. However, as his and Riley's relationship
flourished, he began to lighten up more and returned more to his former self.
He took great happiness from his relationship with Riley, more than he had ever
done from Talia's, and this was a cause for happiness for much of his life.

### **Exile**

With the death of Riley, and the turning of Argus,
Kralich was left dejected once again, but he remembered that Riley had told him
he was a true hero in his darkest moments and that was his crutch to not lose
his sense of honor and defense for the innocent. He was wizened to the tremors
of everyday life and thus did not make the mistake of too much interference in
matters not concerning him.