Emperor Calus
Emperor Calus
Former Emperor of the Cabal Empire, usurped by the Red Legion many years prior to the Red War. Following Ghaul's demise, Calus travelled to the Sol System to recruit Lightbearers to his legion as Shadows in preparation for the arrival of The Darkness. In this way, Calus believes he will stand last among all things at the end of all things.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Following his encounter with the "black edge," Calus had apparently undergone profound physical changes. His Councilor, Match, claims to have seen him ingest exotic and dangerous substances, such as liquid helium-4 and pure neutronium, which would instantly kill any normal biological being. Some time after these events, Calus ceased to appear in the flesh, instead making exclusive use of his robotic proxies when addressing his advisors. It is implied that his robots no longer bear any resemblance to him as he is now, as in his own words, "I was not what I appeared to be" and "...my form and my strength are inextricably linked."
Body Features
Calus' automaton form resembles an oversized Cabal. It stands roughly 20 feet tall with the expected rough, tan skin and spade-shaped skull. Calus' physical form is only ever seen by his Shadows, and resembles the bountiful Royal Wine that permeates the Leviathan. This form is contained in a large golden machine that seems to circulate the substance like a cardiac mechanism.
Facial Features
Calus' automaton face is shaped like a spade, with beady blue eyes set deep in the skull and nostrils flared horizontally out from the front of his flat face. His lipless mouth points down at the corners, exposing large underbitten fangs. His forehead is adorned with a golden medallion inset with a massive purple jewel.
Identifying Characteristics
The most noticeable characteristic of Calus is his stature, followed by his gaudy attire. He is rarely seen without his golden chalice, from which he sips Royal Wine at all times.
Physical quirks
Calus does not move, preferring to recline on his throne. If he does stand, he does not leave the altar upon which his throne rests.
Special abilities
Calus has been imbued with potent psionic abilities by his Psion council, having the ability to pull individuals into what is called a mind prison; composed out of the sheer force of his psionic energy similar to an Ascendant Realm, making him a force to be reckoned with.
Apparel & Accessories
Calus is swathed in gold and purple fabrics, golden plate armor, and a golden cuirass with a tall flared collar that surrounds his head like the corona of the sun. His legs are wrapped in violet satin ribbons, as are his wrists, and each of his four-fingered hands are encrusted with jewels and golden rings.
Specialized Equipment
Calus's phsyical form resides within a golden machine that pumps Royal Wine through the Leviathan like a heart.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Many years prior to the invasion of the Solar system, Calus led a populist revolution to eject the military aristocracy known as the Praetorate from power and became Emperor. By his side during the revolution stood his long-time friend and protector Shayotet, who stopped numerous attempts to kill Calus. Under his rule, the Cabal Empire became a seat of all-encompassing hedonism and revelry. His accomplishments during that time included redistributing Praetorate wealth to the people, granting citizenship to the Imperial Legions, and putting down various alien threats such as the Sindu, the Clipse, and the Psions' OXA Machine. However, when the OXA machine was rebuilt by the savant Otzot, Calus was impressed enough by her genius to order the machine preserved and hold a festival in her honor, elevating Otzot to his court as Imperial Dreamer.
His reign was not without personal troubles. Calus was wary of Umun'arath, his Evocate-General, for her paranoia and obsessive fixation on war. His own daughter and heir, Caiatl, grew up similarly despite his efforts.
One of Calus' pleasures was the Coliseum, and one day, an albino gladiator, bleached from prolonged exposure to solar radiation due to being cast out as an infant, named Ghaul made his first appearance there. Ghaul's patient skill and unusual coloration soon made him a favorite of Calus', and the Emperor eventually made him Primus of the Red Legion, where he believed his talents would be put to better use as the head of the most fearsome Cabal legion ever assembled. Calus grew to love Ghaul like a son, and believed they were kindred spirits who both envisioned a newer, more perfect world. Ghaul's association with The Consul and members of the Praetorate worried him, but not enough to cause him to take any action, with the former having great animosity for the Emperor, for he was stripped of rank and title, humiliated and castrated by Calus during the Emperor's coronation, and told him to run into the paved wasteland.
Behind his back, Ghaul was in fact organizing a coup with the Consul and some of Calus's closest friends, family and advisors: Umun'arath, Shayotet, Otzot, Moli Imoli, Iska'al, and Caiatl.
Ghaul launched his coup in the dead of night, the Red Legion storming into his palace, ceasing and/or killing political members, Calus ran to his throne to retrieve his special item that would save him from this fate, however, Caiatl was there, he pleaded with her for help, but his daughter crushed the bone in hand, and declaring she will not be weak. With the Emperor too popular to simply execute, Ghaul, his Red Legion, and the Consul arrested Calus and an unknown number of supporters in his own court and exiled aboard The Leviathan, imprisoned within the Menagerie and taken far from the Empire along a pre-programmed course, far into the cosmos.
On the Leviathan, Calus wallowed in despair for an unknown amount of time until a strange event shook him out of his stupor. The Leviathan had come up against an expanse of utter nothingness, at the very edge of the universe, shorting out the navigation systems and the course the conspirators had set. Calus looked into the void and came to an understanding, believing that it had chosen him to herald its inevitable victory.[7] He would watch it consume the light of the universe, and all among the last of the living would know his greatness.
With control of the Leviathan back in his hands, Calus set out on a long voyage of his own, "[plumbing] the secret places of the cosmos", visiting strange realms and old ruins. This cemented both his conviction that his hedonistic philosophy was correct and his intent to retake his empire. Along the way, he gathered forces to strengthen his Loyalists. He created the Shadows as his elite champions, allied with aliens such as the Clipse and the Sindu, and sent messages promising that whoever slew his conspirators would be given great wealth and glory. Eventually, he set a course for the Sol system, which the Red Legion was planning to assault. He sent his Shadows on a mission to assassinate Ghaul which failed, but he learned of other warriors in the system that might serve his purposes.
For an unknown period of time, Calus has been using the Leviathan to consume planets and grind their soil into dust to mix with spores from the flowers in the Pleasure Gardens to create "Royal Wine", which he would then consume to give himself vast psionic powers.
After the death of Ghaul, Calus immediately set to work on reclaiming the empire. He gave elements of the now leaderless Red Legion the chance to "join the loyalist regime," sending them on missions to collect geological data on Nessus with the intent of converting the soil of the planet into Royal Wine. The Leviathan arrived at Nessus soon afterward and began consuming it, and it has remained there since.
Calus extended an invitation to Guardians of the City to board his vessel for slaying Ghaul. The Guardians accepted Calus' summons and began serving under his rule as Shadows of his loyalist regime. At some point months later, the Leviathan consumed a chunk of Nessus that contained a powerful Vex Mind, Argos, Planetary Core, the entity responsible for converting Nessus into a perfect Vex world, which then caused the world-eater to clog up and malfunction. Emperor Calus immediately called upon the aid of the Guardians to destroy the Vex intrusion, where they succeeded and repaired the Leviathan.
When Val Ca'uor and the Red Legion invaded the Leviathan directly, Calus called upon the Guardians once more to expel them. Several of his Loyalists were slain personally by Ca'uor; however, with Calus assisting the Guardians with his own psychic powers, Ca'uor was killed, the Red Legion Fleet decimated and his forces routed. Calus watched with glee as Ca'uor died and was impressed that the Guardians have grown "fat from strength and power." Calus tells the Guardians that he awaits the day they will stand by his side when the end comes.
His reign was not without personal troubles. Calus was wary of Umun'arath, his Evocate-General, for her paranoia and obsessive fixation on war. His own daughter and heir, Caiatl, grew up similarly despite his efforts.
One of Calus' pleasures was the Coliseum, and one day, an albino gladiator, bleached from prolonged exposure to solar radiation due to being cast out as an infant, named Ghaul made his first appearance there. Ghaul's patient skill and unusual coloration soon made him a favorite of Calus', and the Emperor eventually made him Primus of the Red Legion, where he believed his talents would be put to better use as the head of the most fearsome Cabal legion ever assembled. Calus grew to love Ghaul like a son, and believed they were kindred spirits who both envisioned a newer, more perfect world. Ghaul's association with The Consul and members of the Praetorate worried him, but not enough to cause him to take any action, with the former having great animosity for the Emperor, for he was stripped of rank and title, humiliated and castrated by Calus during the Emperor's coronation, and told him to run into the paved wasteland.
Behind his back, Ghaul was in fact organizing a coup with the Consul and some of Calus's closest friends, family and advisors: Umun'arath, Shayotet, Otzot, Moli Imoli, Iska'al, and Caiatl.
Ghaul launched his coup in the dead of night, the Red Legion storming into his palace, ceasing and/or killing political members, Calus ran to his throne to retrieve his special item that would save him from this fate, however, Caiatl was there, he pleaded with her for help, but his daughter crushed the bone in hand, and declaring she will not be weak. With the Emperor too popular to simply execute, Ghaul, his Red Legion, and the Consul arrested Calus and an unknown number of supporters in his own court and exiled aboard The Leviathan, imprisoned within the Menagerie and taken far from the Empire along a pre-programmed course, far into the cosmos.
On the Leviathan, Calus wallowed in despair for an unknown amount of time until a strange event shook him out of his stupor. The Leviathan had come up against an expanse of utter nothingness, at the very edge of the universe, shorting out the navigation systems and the course the conspirators had set. Calus looked into the void and came to an understanding, believing that it had chosen him to herald its inevitable victory.[7] He would watch it consume the light of the universe, and all among the last of the living would know his greatness.
With control of the Leviathan back in his hands, Calus set out on a long voyage of his own, "[plumbing] the secret places of the cosmos", visiting strange realms and old ruins. This cemented both his conviction that his hedonistic philosophy was correct and his intent to retake his empire. Along the way, he gathered forces to strengthen his Loyalists. He created the Shadows as his elite champions, allied with aliens such as the Clipse and the Sindu, and sent messages promising that whoever slew his conspirators would be given great wealth and glory. Eventually, he set a course for the Sol system, which the Red Legion was planning to assault. He sent his Shadows on a mission to assassinate Ghaul which failed, but he learned of other warriors in the system that might serve his purposes.
For an unknown period of time, Calus has been using the Leviathan to consume planets and grind their soil into dust to mix with spores from the flowers in the Pleasure Gardens to create "Royal Wine", which he would then consume to give himself vast psionic powers.
After the death of Ghaul, Calus immediately set to work on reclaiming the empire. He gave elements of the now leaderless Red Legion the chance to "join the loyalist regime," sending them on missions to collect geological data on Nessus with the intent of converting the soil of the planet into Royal Wine. The Leviathan arrived at Nessus soon afterward and began consuming it, and it has remained there since.
Calus extended an invitation to Guardians of the City to board his vessel for slaying Ghaul. The Guardians accepted Calus' summons and began serving under his rule as Shadows of his loyalist regime. At some point months later, the Leviathan consumed a chunk of Nessus that contained a powerful Vex Mind, Argos, Planetary Core, the entity responsible for converting Nessus into a perfect Vex world, which then caused the world-eater to clog up and malfunction. Emperor Calus immediately called upon the aid of the Guardians to destroy the Vex intrusion, where they succeeded and repaired the Leviathan.
When Val Ca'uor and the Red Legion invaded the Leviathan directly, Calus called upon the Guardians once more to expel them. Several of his Loyalists were slain personally by Ca'uor; however, with Calus assisting the Guardians with his own psychic powers, Ca'uor was killed, the Red Legion Fleet decimated and his forces routed. Calus watched with glee as Ca'uor died and was impressed that the Guardians have grown "fat from strength and power." Calus tells the Guardians that he awaits the day they will stand by his side when the end comes.
Gender Identity
Male
Sexuality
None
Employment
Former emperor of the Cabal Empire. Current figurehead of the Loyalist legion and ruler of the Leviathan.
Accomplishments & Achievements
- Overthrew Cabal Praetorate
- Attempted to grant Psions freedom
- Viewed the edge of the universe
Failures & Embarrassments
- Deposed as emperor during the Midnight Coup
- Visit to the "black edge" left him damaged
Mental Trauma
Whatever Calus saw at the black edge left him mentally unstable, prone to intense mood swings and manic episodes.
Intellectual Characteristics
Calus' personality is defined by five key characteristics: his hedonism, his narcissism, his ruthlessness, his need to be adored, and his utter certainty in the ultimate victory of the Darkness. As a hedonist, he loves opulence, extravagant displays, and pleasures of all kinds. As a narcissist, he considers himself godlike in status and power, is incapable of accepting any point of view other than his and immerses himself in royal scenery that often depicts his own image. When roused or denied, he is fully willing to use force to achieve his goals, throwing the old Praetorate to the mercy of mob justice without remorse and annihilating the Sindu fleet when they refused to join his loyalists. Altogether, Calus is a figure of contradictions. He is an emperor enthroned by and supporting populism; he is capable of genuine altruism immediately following ruthless conquest; he is self-centered but dotes on his subjects; he is sure of the end of all things and his own death, but he is spurred to action and preserving what he can.
Morality & Philosophy
Fundamentally, Calus wants to love and be loved by those he rules. He abolished the Cabal Praetorate as he believed they abused their control of the Cabal Legions for their own benefit at the expense of the people's welfare, attempted to free the indentured Psions but was overthrown before he could complete the act, and considered the Consul and Ghaul turning the Cabal into a warmongering empire to be the ultimate betrayal to their way of life.
His interest in the Guardians continues to grow, as he hopes they will become his Shadows and even saved them from being destroyed by the Leviathan, as they both defeated Ghaul and proved themselves to him that there was more to them than just the powers they possess. Calus laments the brutal, militaristic nature of the Cabal Empire as it is now, and desires Guardians to lead efforts to restore it to its former glory.
Calus' decision to embrace his hedonism partly stems from the fact that he knows how the end of the galaxy is approaching quickly, and how he wished to revel in each small delight until the end comes. He states that the reason he won't kill Guardians is because he's enamored with a race of warriors who won't yield in the face of such overwhelming despair.
Calus appears to take issue with the Queen of the Reef, though not the Awoken people in general. His scribes state that at some future date his Shadows will kill the Queen for her defiance, and he personally mentions that if the Guardians come to live on the Leviathan that they cannot return to the Dreaming City. This likely has to do with their conflicting crowns, as Calus would not accept subservience to anyone but himself and the Queen notably bows to no one. He also loathes and pities the Hive, viewing the sword-logic as something they use as an excuse to hide their own fear of death; he states that given their repeated defeats at the hands of the Guardians, they would kill themselves as soon as they encountered them and save the Guardians the hassle if they truly believed it. Nonetheless, he wishes to civilize the Hive and induct them into his empire, saving them from themselves.
His interest in the Guardians continues to grow, as he hopes they will become his Shadows and even saved them from being destroyed by the Leviathan, as they both defeated Ghaul and proved themselves to him that there was more to them than just the powers they possess. Calus laments the brutal, militaristic nature of the Cabal Empire as it is now, and desires Guardians to lead efforts to restore it to its former glory.
Calus' decision to embrace his hedonism partly stems from the fact that he knows how the end of the galaxy is approaching quickly, and how he wished to revel in each small delight until the end comes. He states that the reason he won't kill Guardians is because he's enamored with a race of warriors who won't yield in the face of such overwhelming despair.
Calus appears to take issue with the Queen of the Reef, though not the Awoken people in general. His scribes state that at some future date his Shadows will kill the Queen for her defiance, and he personally mentions that if the Guardians come to live on the Leviathan that they cannot return to the Dreaming City. This likely has to do with their conflicting crowns, as Calus would not accept subservience to anyone but himself and the Queen notably bows to no one. He also loathes and pities the Hive, viewing the sword-logic as something they use as an excuse to hide their own fear of death; he states that given their repeated defeats at the hands of the Guardians, they would kill themselves as soon as they encountered them and save the Guardians the hassle if they truly believed it. Nonetheless, he wishes to civilize the Hive and induct them into his empire, saving them from themselves.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Overall, the only goal Calus strives for is the right to be the last survivor before his own end at the upcoming apocalypse.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Calus is an adept negotiator and a cunning strategist. However, he lacks the self-control and humility necessary to maintain long-term alliances.
Likes & Dislikes
Calus loves his subjects, and his people that love him in return. He dislikes pretenders to his "sacred knowledge" of the end.
Virtues & Personality perks
Calus's main virtue is his overwhelming generosity.
Vices & Personality flaws
Calus is an unrelenting hedonist and narcissist.
Personality Quirks
Calus laughs boisterously for his own amusement.
Social
Family Ties
Calus is the father of Empress Caitl, the current leader of the Cabal Empire.
Mannerisms
Calus speaks slowly, in long drawn-out sentences, as he loves the sound of his own voice.
Alignment
Neutral
Current Location
Conditions
Honorary & Occupational Titles
- The True Emperor
- Chief Gift-Giver
- The Good Host with the Generous Banquet
- The Prince of Mirth
- The Lord of Laughter
- Master of Celebrations
- Patron of Festivity
- The Golden King
- Bringer of Joy
- Champion of Cheer
- VIP #3801
Currently Held Titles
Birthplace
Torobatl
Children
Current Residence
The Leviathan
Gender
male
Eyes
Beady and blue
Height
20'
Weight
1500 lbs.
Quotes & Catchphrases
- There is beauty to your Light. Let me admire it up close.
- Prove yourself worthy, and I will grant you the means to true power.
- You've accepted my challenge, good! I would be pleased to see what your Light can do.
- I say this to you, oh champion mine, and I say it from my heart: there are those who would bargain away their souls just to live a little longer. I am not them. Life must be worth living. Life must be lovely and delicious and enviably sweet! Nothing has ever lived that will not die, so what matters is how we use our time.
- Nothing. Nothing can stop us. You and I are pillars of this existence, and shall be until all comes crashing down.
- It falls to you, my Loyalists, to show them the way. You’ve met them. You know their conviction. So I unleash you. Hinder them. Topple them. Teach them pain. They will only ask for more. And they will grow stronger for it.
Aligned Organization
Related Plots
- Ulurant
- Risen
Ruled Locations
Comments