Sentinel Eliyas

The Guide to the Realms

Trigger warning: References to death and murder in History

Sentinel Eliyas is a Sentinel with the power of the Elements. To many species, he represents passion and versatility. From the limited knowledge there is about him, people believe he was chatty and quite easygoing. However, others believe he has become apathetic over time, due to how Humans and Elves are destroying Dankar's environment.
It is thought that he was one of the last of the Sentinels to disappear, as he has the most recorded about him. Eliyas stayed with humanity for the entirety of the Age of Triumph, only leaving after the Sentinel War and the Ice Age.

History

Role & Early History

According to the legends, Sentinel Eliyas guided people across the seas as they travelled. He calmed the waters and ensured their journeys were safe. He also had a reputation for saving those who were drowning. In this way, he was a lot like the Hydro Dragon Rokai. This is what earned him the name "Guide of the Realms".
He was also seen as an advocate for humanity. Eliyas often fought with the Dragons on how best to protect Mortals. The Dragons were of the view that Mortals should not have access to some types of knowledge, which made Mortals hate them. Eliyas was their voice and was popular among Mortals, to the point where many worshipped him. Eliyas is not a god, but was not opposed to being worshipped. But this reputation did not last for long.

Connection to the Elements

Eliyas was also known to be quite power-hungry. In the past, he only had one power: the power of water. Like all Hydro users, Eliyas felt a strong affinity to the oceans. But he also felt a connection with other powers native to the Mortal World. So, to destroy this connection, he often isolated himself for long periods of time.
But his connection to the Elements only grew stronger with time. Eliyas had a feeling he was destined to hold all the Elements so he decided to find ways of getting them all. Before the Age of Arcana, humanoids could only hold one power safely. But Eliyas was ambitious, and wanted to break the old rules, even if it cost him.

Gaining Fire

At the start of the Age of Triumph, Eliyas spent his days studying the Elements to understand how they worked. He was especially interested in how they reacted with each other, and combined to create new effects. Eliyas tried to get knowledge on how the Elements affected the body and soul of a Mortal, and if a soul could hold more than one power. Despite his dislike of the Dragons, Eliyas tried asking the Pyro Dragon Kayara for some of her fire to test his theories. Kayara was not keen on sharing her power, but she saw no harm in giving him an extra Element. She thought it would end up hurting him in the long run.
With his newfound knowledge, Eliyas could withstand the side effects of holding 2 powers. He then went on to continue guiding travellers across the seas. He also gifted people the power of Pyro, even though that went against the wishes of the Pyro Dragon.

Gaining the Other Elements

However, his ambitions did not stop there. By the Age of Arcana, there was a Dragon and a Sentinel for every Element. But Sentinel Eliyas did not want to go through the process of asking the other Dragons for an Element because he knew they'd chase him away. So he decided to go the easy way and take the powers of the other Elemental Sentinels by reason or by force.
Many of the Sentinels were not prepared for the sudden change in Eliyas. None of them were willing to give up their powers, because it meant they would die. Eliyas was happy to reason with some of them, and they gave him the powers of air, lightning and ice. He absorbed those Elements, and the previous owners died. Eliyas did not seem to get any side effects, except for a desire for more power. He also struck a deal with Sentinel Nadja, who was his girlfriend, to never take her power, which was nature. While the previous Sentinels eventually came to an agreement, the next Sentinel Eliyas found was not so lucky.

Killing Sentinel Sabra

Eliyas was missing the power of earth. Earth was held by Sentinel Sabra, the first empress of the Eshon Empire in the Red Desert. She saw how power-hungry Eliyas had become, even though he said it was to give power to the Mortals so they could stand against the Dragons, who were hiding things.
Sabra was not one to simply give in to people's demands, and did not trust Eliyas to protect the Alopari like she once did. So she stood her ground and fought him. They fought to a stalemate, and Eliyas accepted the result and left. However, he did not want to give up and decided to kill her later that night in cold blood.
While most people were unaware of this, the Alopari knew and never forgave him since then. Sentinel Nadja, who was Sabra's sister, was devastated when she heard the death and broke up with Eliyas. Ever since then, she has harboured a deep hatred of him and even attempted to murder him. As for Eliyas, he felt guilt over Sabra's murder and ran away to avoid judgement from the Dragons.

The Sentinel War & Disappearance

Eliyas avoided most of the other Sentinels and the Dragons for the rest of the Age of Triumph. He instead spent his life working with Mortals to train their powers. He also spent a lot of time in the waters, guiding sailors and adventurers as he first did. But he was no longer in his prime. Absorbing all those Elements had made him spiritually sick, so he was often fatigued.
When Sentinel Skylar felt there might be an impending disaster, Eliyas was one of the first to believe her. Skylar and Eliyas spent the remainder of the Age of Triumph trying to prevent the disaster. Eliyas tried asking the Dragons for more knowledge so they could find an optimal solution, but the Dragons refused. Then, Eliyas decided to fight the Dragons, saying that they were hiding knowledge and wanted Mortals to stay subservient. This soon triggered the Sentinel War, which went on for 10 years. What made matters worse was the Alopari and Sentinel Nadja both sided with the Dragons because of Eliyas, although Nadja had other reasons too.
No-one actually won the war because the disaster that Skylar predicted came. The Ice Age stopped all the fighting and both parties put a lot of their efforts into protecting the mortals. While other Sentinels disappeared, Eliyas stayed until the world froze, before disappearing.

Location

Currently, it is not known where exactly Eliyas went after he disappeared. Most people think he died, along with the other Sentinels and species of old. However, many have claimed to seen him underwater when they were drowning. This claim has not yet been proven, because academics think the legend is where the claims come from.

"It was terrifying! After the waves capsized our boat, I found myself in the water. I tried swimming, but I was too weak. The next thing I know, I see two huge eyes staring right into my soul! I tried to get away, but it was no use."

— A survivor giving a testimony

Legends

Being the Sentinel who stayed on Dankar the longest, there are fewer legends about him than with the other Sentinels. The most common legend is that Eliyas' laugh causes the waves of the sea to crash on the shores. Another common legend is that he is usually one with the water. That is, he can turn his entire body to water and live in the sea.
It is also believed that he was married to Sentinel Nadja, because of pictures depicting the two together. In some circles, people knew they were in love, but it is unknown if they ever got married before Nadja broke up with him.

Divine Classification

Final Sentinel

Species

Sentinels

Sex

Male

Churches & Orders

The Sentinel Path

The Sentinel Path is the largest order in Dankar, and are known to put the Sentinels on a high pedestal. They believe that whenever someone uses their powers in the physical world, it creates a debt to the spiritual world. The Path value Sentinel Eliyas' teachings, which state that one must also give back to the environment as gratitude for allowing them to use their powers.

The Guardians of the Realms

The Guardians of the Realms are another order which seeks to restore balance to the physical world. They believe they are the sole arbiters of protection, as they were entrusted with this mission by both Sentinels Eliyas and Nadja. Because of this, they show great respect to Sentinel Eliyas, and even dedicate an entire month to him, by looking after the elements in the physical world.
They place him on a high pedestal, and patiently await his return. The Guardians believe if they clean up the world and stop Human and Elven activity from destroying the environment, then Sentinel Eliyas will return to reward them.