Zalikar

As seen in

In Their Shadows

Dark King Zalikar (a.k.a. Darkness)

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Species

Erlithmanil

Ethnicity

Angli
Daoine
Romani

Age

3,867,755 years

Class

King of the Erlithmanil

Status

Sealed

Location

Murk Mountain

Affiliations

Ilnithic
King's Shadows

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Zalikar is the element of darkness, the physical and mental embodiment of this force of nature. He is among the ten Erlithmanil and plays a prominent role in both the history and myths of Emynea. Detached, enigmatic and shrewd, he is the self-designated leader of the elements otherwise known as the Dark King. He is also infamous for his ruthless mass eradications of humanity in the millennia before his downfall. As Zalikar never offers any explanation for these actions most have assumed his motivations to be revenge or even raw malevolence.

Zalikar, like all of the Erlithmanil, possesses five aspects. These aspects are both different divisions of his magic and expressions of different parts of his mind. Zalikar's aspects are Azowyr the Shadow, Vokda the Void, Siptalis the Melancholic, Felryth the Dreaded and Irkath the Unknown. Each of his aspects are defined by absence. Azowyr is shadow, the absence of light. Vokda is void, the absence of physical matter. Siptalis is despair, the absence of joy. Felryth is fear, the absence of hope. Irkath is the unknown, absence of knowledge.

At the end of the Era of Legends, it was Zalikar who formed a pact with Azryth to restore their power after Luxis denied Lithmor's plea for aid. Endlessly secretive, Zalikar keeps the exact details of this pact to himself but Dalyeric understands it to revolve around the balance of souls Luxis and Azryth are responsible for.

Much like the rest of the elements, Zalikar focused his attention to particular areas of Emynea during the Era of Legends, crafting his ideal lair and home to make into his Seat. Zalikar's Seat is deep within Murk Mountain in the Tenebrous Chain. Like other Seats, it cannot be navigated or entered without using all five of his aspects. This way, no one else can enter his Seat without his assistance, the ultimate security system. As one of the least popular elements to early humanity, dark magic is not as widespread as some of his cohorts, few earning his respect or gratitude. The rarity for dark magic only grew more severe after his restoration. As he took severe vengeance on those he had shared his power with, hunting them down for their betrayal, few survivors went on to pass dark magic down through the ages.

Alongside all of the Erlithmanil, Zalikar's physical form was destroyed and his soul was sealed away by Accia Syltharis, and his own daughter Sylthari the Celestial, before his body could reform. Without their divine souls, the bodies of the Erlithmanil were unable to regenerate and withered away. This string of events is referred to as the Downfall of the Erlithmanil. Like the rest of his kind, he seeks a new body and took on an Elemental Familiar to this end. Duff is his familiar, an equally cryptic and solitary creature. It has been centuries since any potential host has surfaced because Duff has denied his duties, isolating himself in the mountains after a particularly devastating failure.

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Physical Appearance

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Zalikar will readily wear the body of his host but he does have a preferred appearance resembling his original body. He takes on the appearance of an Eluzian man with black hair and a pale complexion. He is tall and fit with with spidery hands and gaunt features. With a bony and angular face, he is noticably tall with a sonorous voice and grim aesthetic. He has a sharp look, his eyes usually silvery gray though even this will change with his mood or by which of his aspects he is most influenced by in the moment. He alternates between being clean shaven or wears a more dramatic, pointy beard.

Gender

Cis Male
He/Him

Eye Color

Silver (casual/Azowyr )
Crimson or all Black (Vokda)
Brown (Siptalis)
Green (Felryth)
Blue (Irkath)

Hair

Pitch or raven black hair which is fine, usually kept out of his face. Sometimes keeps a beard.

Skin Tone

Light skinned and rather pale

Height

6'6"

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Abilities

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Zalikar is the source of all five of his aspects—he is darkness itself. He can freely manipulate any of his aspects without limitation. He is also able to temporarily cut off a dark caster from accessing his element, temporarily disabling their innate connection. However, Zalikar cannot permanently disconnect a caster and it takes concentration to maintain. He also retains the ability to create new dark casters, temporary or otherwise. Zalikar can freely come and go from his elemental planes and exert control over them. He can be aware of anything occurring in these planes when shifting his awareness to them.

However, most of these abilities are limited by whether or not he possesses a host body. Without a body, all of his activity is limited to his planes and his separate aspects.

Zalikar has one extra ability unique to him only. He formed a pact with Azryth and this ability comes from their pact. Zalikar is able to extract a soul from any being, ripping it from their body and taking it into his own until he passes it to Azryth directly, keeping this soul as his prisoner. It is an intimate and intensive experience so he uses it only when necessary or to keep with his commitments to the pact. This ability is also how he maintains leadership and control over the other Erlithmanil as he can remove them from any successful host they manage to acquire.

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Personality

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As the personification of darkness, many of his aspects are an expression of his personality and tendencies. He is especially secretive and distrustful of the nature of mankind. He can be deceptive or secretive, rarely forthcoming, and he speaks sparingly. He keeps all others at arms length and can be exceptionally cold. His words cut deep and he easily sees past facades. He knows everyone's deepest secrets, fears and insecurities by way of his aspects and this leads him to first see the worst in people.

He is solitary and introverted by nature but this quality became more extreme after lifetimes of loneliness and betrayal. He understands the most terrible despair and grief and forces people to face them so that they might grow. This can also be applied to fear and anxiety. He has an extremely intimidating, heavy and frightful presence and attention from him can be overwhelming—he is skilled in using all of this to his advantage. One of his greatest weapons, however, is his automatic knowledge of secrets, lost knowledge or the unknown itself. He utilizes this information while offering no explanation to those around him. He does not care if the world assumes him the villain.

Zalikar is quite insightful as well as possessing deep comprehension. He finds knowledge to be important in a different way from Lithmor and is rather annoyed when humans perceive Kanilwyr's knowledge, that which is common knowledge and belief, as truth instead of the deeper mysteries or lost knowledge he possesses. While everything he does has been carefully planned, calculated and is meaningful, he does not feel the need to boast his logic. It is not that he wishes to hoard his secrets but that he is distrustful of the intentions of those around him and withholds out of caution. There are also times which he believes withholding the truth can protect people from suffering and worry. He is much more considerate and empathic than anyone realizes or than anyone believes—even himself.

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Speech

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Ominous, cryptic, foreboding, melodramatic, intimidating, manipulative, invasive. He knows the darkest reaches of every beings' mind and utilizes this knowledge to his advantage. He speaks clearly and slowly at his own pace. He only lets on as much as he prefers directing others without finding the need to explain his reasoning yet most who know him trust his directions implicitly. He doesn't mince words and he dislikes people who speak too casually with him. For this reason, he can't stand Raegeric who adores annoying him and giving him silly nicknames like "Kar Kar".

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Personal History

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Alongside the rest of the Erlithmanil, Zalikar was created by Luxis and Azryth amid events called the Birth of the Erlithmanil. After this cataclysmic event, The Era of Legends began, Zalikar and his cohorts walking the world and reshaping it into Emynea. They began gifting those inhabiting Emynea with magic so they could better survive this new world. This was a turbulent time but humanity readily worshipped and revered the elements, vying for their favor and magical blessings. Yet when their magic ran dry humanity just as readily turned on their once gods. Some went so far as to attack them, nearly killing Wylrith, Zalikar's closest friend. Zalikar felt particularly wounded by this betrayal, growing embittered. It was also Zalikar who stepped up and took up a pact with Azryth, restoring himself and his fellow elements to power.

After taking his revenge, Zalikar moved into the next phase of his life and of Emynea's history. He took up the mantle of Dark King of the Elements. However, it was the birth of his daughter which allowed him to truly move forward, siring the first Aethid. Seeking a stable future for their daughter, he and his wife Lithmor led the Erlithmanil in crafting Accia where they could manage humanity together. Eras rose and fell under their guidance, some growing more advanced than our modern age. However, Zalikar still had one greater betrayal which would wound him. That of his daughter.

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Failures and Embarrassments

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Zalikar has always felt foolish for his naievete in his younger years, allowing humanity to take advantage of he and his allies and being left in a helpless position because of that trust. He feels equally foolish for his raw adoration of his daughter, of how intenesely she was able to wound and betray him. This, to Zalikar, is his greatest failure to himself and to those following him. As a man who has experienced massive betrayals throughout his long life, and as one of the most feared and misunderstood elements, he has faced his own unique form of loneliness.

Zalikar had made little to no effort to lead or even direct the othe elements in the beginning, generally unpopular and reclusive. Yet he still came to love humanity as most of the Erlithmanil did. Zalikar is surprisingly an extremely empathetic, sensitive and sympathetic individual, naturally perceiving and relating to the sorrows of humanity. He found their despiar and fear, their inner darkness, to be a unifying force which helps people to understand each other, to have shared experiences. Zalikar was generous with those who earned his favor and admiration because they were few and unique. When he had lost all of his power, gifting it away, and they turned their back on him it impacted Zalikar all the more profoundly, a mistrust and bitterness worsened by the betrayal of his daughter. Now Zalikar trusts no one.

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Morality

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Zalikar prioritizes balance, fully aware of the mechanics of life, death and souls. Where many see a thriving population, he sees unnecessary suffering, mental illness and corruption. While Erlithmanil like Lithmor, Ylithuum and Ferith focus on the current joy and aspiration in human lives, he looks to the end result of their actions and advancement. While Zalikar can appear heartless, cruel and apathetic, he understands suffering intimately and possesses a unique kind of empathy. All of his actions and choices stem from this understanding and empathy, even if all those around him see his actions as cruelty and malice. He convinces even himself the emotions and experiences of humans mean nothing to him but he is unwittingly still motivated otherwise.

His morality is quite different from how anyone else perceives it, believing he has no conscience. What matters to him is balance, reducing unnecessary suffering and looking out for the future of the world he feels responsible for. Of course, given the perspective and knowledge his aspects afford him, it is natural he may see only the worst in the world. With the knowledge of every individuals fears, despairs ad secrets, it is easy for him to see only the worst in those around him.

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Wealth and Reign

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Zalikar ruled over the whole of humanity as a god king throughout the entirety of the Dark Era, years 9,817 to 3,801,170 of Emynean history. Many eras rose and fell under his watchful eye, some more advanced than others. Because Zalikar has a tendency to collect and hoard things he likes, especially music and treasure, he collected quite a treasure hoard over his long reign. Many treasure seekers have met their end within the depths of the Cryptic Karst attempting to locate his legendary treasure trove. These are both actual treasure and wealth as well as lost cultural, artistic and technological relics from eras past.

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Family

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Despite their drastic differences, Zalikar and Lithmor fell hard for each other early on, remaining married for millenia. Together, they sired the first Aethid, Sylthari the Celestial. Zalikar adored his daughter, possessing traits and abilties from both he and his wife, and doted on her endlessly. Sylthari was beloved by many of the Erlithmanil, both as the first Aethid and for her dazzling peronality. They lived together as a family within Accia, the Dark King, Luminescent Queen and Lunar Princess. Supposedly, Zalikar has other children but none have been confirmed by the Kingdom of Accia, remaining only rumor.

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Friends and Followers

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Despite being grim and reclusive, Zalikar has a unique kind of charisma and knows the best ways to motivate or frighten people into following him. He is actually a very apt leader despite not being particularly inspirational like his ex-wife. While few hold his respect, those who have earned his friendship are prized by Zalikar. Some of these individuals include Wylrith, Rylis, Dalyeric and Lunil. He and Lithmor were once inseparable but now they are sworn enemies, to the satisfaction of Ferith who never cared for Zalikar. He and his elemental familiar, Duff, were once close but recent events have driven a wedge in their relationship.

Aside from friends and allies, Zalikar has kept humanity at arms length for some time. Even those who worship or follow him are kept under a cautious eye. Chief among these were the King's Shadows, a cult revering and serving Zalikar as his secret society. Now, this organization is a shadow of what it once was, very few true Shadows left. Curently, Nigel Black has bound himself into service to Zalikar, undertaking any task his master assigns him. He is Zalikar's hand as events unfold around Zalikar's latest potential host, Tia Minx!

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Divine Domains

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Each of Zalikar's aspects have their own elemental plane. Physical planes overlay and exist parallel to the physical world, connecting anywhere and everywhere an aspect occurs. For some planes, this is static while others constantly ebb and flow as the aspect occurs and moves. Mental planes instead connect to every mind of every cognizant species in Emynea, different planes connected to and storing the memories and thoughts related to certain emotions by aspect.

Aspects and Planes

Aspect	Plane	Description
		Azowyr's Plane is a dimension of shadows, every real world shadow a window or even portal to and from this plane for those capable of shadow stepping. This is one of the most interconnected planes, especially at night and underground.
		Vokda's Plane is a void, a vacuum, akin to the void of space which is the largest potential void portal. Outside of space, there aren't many substantial natural portals in Emynea but this plane is very efficient for space travel and storage, a cold and empty vacuum. However, Zalikar has created many permanant void portals within the Tenebrous Chain, the castle in Accia and an many other locations known only to him, these portals invisible to those without void magic.
		Siptalis' Plane is a mental plane which every mind is connected to, connecting the sorrows and despair of every living thing in Emynea. Memories and thoughts related to Siptalis are stored here and a sorrowful shadows of each individual lifeform wanders the shores of this plane .
		Felryth's Plane is a mental plane, connecting the fears, anxieties and nightmares of every lifeform in Emynea. This is a frightful plane to view or travel, home to endless nightmare creatures, invasive anxious doubts and most frightful of all Felryth, the lord of this domain.
		Irkath's Plane is a mental plane but is by far the most mysterious. All secrets, lost knowledge and the mysterious unknown are contained within this plane, granting Irkath a half-omniscience shared with Kanilwyr. Irkath automatically knows the unknown. However, the plane itself is obtuse, heavily symbolic and very difficult to maneuver or comprehend, Irkath carefully guarding the most dangerous secrets from even Zalikar. Even within Zalikar's mind, Irkath plays the role of the subconscious.

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Historial Events

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See History of Emynea!

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Crest and Monograms

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