Ak'har Seraph

One of the most notorious Huntlords of the Seraph family, Ak'har's influence has lasted well beyond his time as active leader. He continued to serve as patriarch and advisor to both his son and grandson and is a major force behind the family's leadership. Instrumental in both the destruction of Silverleaf and the Sieges of Darkmere, he is finally killed in the summoning and destruction of the Immortal Flame.

Personality

Strict, ruthless, and calculating by nature, Ak'har is known for giving off an air of authority that few challenge. He's known for being an excellent tactician who weighs his actions carefully, rarely being outmaneuvered in battle; his leadership is a source of enormous confidence for those under his command, and the Seraphs during his time as acting Huntlord were some of the harshest and most driven in the family's long history. Despite harboring a great devotion to family and Flame, Ak'har is pragmatic above all else. He's willing to do whatever he believes necessary for the ongoing survival of the Seraphs, even when it means lying, manipulating, or harming his own. In his own harsh way, Ak'har does care for his people on an individual level; he takes great pride in his grandson Darius in particular, making his anger at Darius's betrayal even greater. However, any personal feelings fall a distant second to his devotion to the Immortal Flame. Ak'har is a true believer and a fanatic, considering the resurrection of the Flame his ultimate goal. He's aware of their 'god's fundamentally evil nature but doesn't see it as necessarily at odds with their beliefs.

Abilities

Like all Seraphs, Ak'har shows the traits of his demonic ancestry via his affinity for fire; he can control and generate flames and has a general immunity to fire and extreme heat. Due to the strength of his bloodline and the favor of his god, he can take this one step further by summoning dark-hued flames capable of harming even other Seraphs. While he's a skilled fighter with most weapons, due to his age Ak'har typically favors use of his innate abilities over close-range combat. He's known for his extreme proficiency with his fire magic, and is capable of shaping flames into near-living constructs capable of acting and attacking independently of his direct command. Though he's in his eighties and definitely doesn't have the physical strength of his youth, Ak'har's age has only made him more powerful. He's had decades to sharpen his mind, and his experience shows in his ability to stay in control of most situations; it's hard to catch him off guard, and he thrives on knowing more than his enemies at all times. When combined with the full force of the Immortal Flame behind him, it makes him a lethally dangerous individually to go up against.

Backstory

Growing up in a time where the strength of the Seraph family was already on the rise, Ak'har's strength and ambition was recognized early and he took on the title of Huntlord at a relatively young age. It was clear from the beginning that he was favored by the Immortal Flame, and the god seemed to take note of his rise to leadership; initially awed by the recognition, Ak'har quickly settled into negotiating that favor for power and resolved to lead the family to greatness for both of their sakes. Spending his earliest years as Huntlord increasing the family's strength and working to extend their network of allies and operatives across the Old World, Ak'har's first major move was a breathtakingly bold attack into one of the shards of Genesis itself. He managed to find an Old World human in the magical community that bordered Silverleaf Shard and bargain with them for the secrets to opening a way into the shard; striking with the full force of the family as well as summoned demonic allies, he managed to rout Silverleaf's forces and put the city to the torch. The ruling family was killed, with only the royal children escaping to the shelter of Darkmere Shard. The destruction of a major elven Kingdom rocked Genesis to its core, multiplying the fear and reputation of the Seraphs tenfold and solidifying Ak'har's position as the family's leader. They were no longer a threat belonging purely to the Old World, and received a great deal more scrutiny despite the fact that gaining access to a shard had been a stroke of luck not easily repeated. It also brought them under the direct attention of the then-Reaper Haruko Nakajima, who began a more active pursuit of the family as a result. With one young son and another newborn, Ak'har recognized that his direct lineage was at risk. He decided to keep his elder son Leven with him to be trained as his successor, while placing his younger son Joshua to grow up with an unsuspecting human family in secret. Later in life, having successfully destroyed Nakajima, he brought Joshua back into the family and recognized that he was a stronger candidate for Huntlord. Ak'har passed over the formal leadership of the Seraphs to Joshua, but remained a major influence on the family's leadership in the role of patriarch. Ak'har's ongoing influence ended up costing his son dearly. Despite Joshua being a far less aggressive and militaristic leader than his father, Ak'har continued to push for a violent campaign against the new Reaper, Kenneth Hunter. He managed to discover Kenneth's true identity and arranged an attack that killed the Reaper's wife and son, resulting in Kenneth spiraling into vengeance-fueled madness and eventually killing Joshua in retaliation. In the sudden absence of leadership Ak'har ended up stepping up to the role of Huntlord once again, taking up the responsibility of raising Joshua's young son Darius in anticipation of him taking his father's place. His tutelage had a great effect on Darius, who already was considered heavily favored by the Flame due to his white hair and significant emerging skill as a fighter. Ak'har's young protégé came to power younger than any Huntlord before him, and had picked up a great deal of his grandfather's ruthlessness and discipline as well as a deep hatred of the Reaper; his obedience to his Ak'har meant that the old Seraph had a powerful tool in his own plans for the family's future. His consequent betrayal of the Seraphs as a result of his friendship with Artemis Hunter, Kenneth's successor, left Ak'har pride and body deeply wounded and left him with a burning desire to destroy his traitorous grandson. Taking a much firmer hand with Cyrus, Darius's cousin and successor, Ak'har resumed leadership of the family in all but name. He managed to breach the borders of Genesis once again, tearing a hole through the protective magic of the shard with the help of his god in order to bring the City of Darkmere under siege not once but twice. In the second attack, despairing at the seeming inevitability of their defeat, Ak'har managed to reach the sacred lake of the Darkmere itself and use its potent place magic to invite the Flame across the barrier between the The Otherlands and the material world. With the process initiated, he invited the Reaper to chase him back to the Old World and beyond the reach of any allies before surrendering to the magic he'd set in motion and being destroyed as the Immortal Flame crossed over into the Old World.

Important Relationships

THE IMMORTAL FLAME
Ak'har is the Flame's most devoted servant, and the god favors him accordingly. There's no illusions between the two about how maliciously evil the Flame is, but Ak'har sees no objections; he believes wholeheartedly that the sort of world the Flame wants to bring about would be better for the Seraphs, and is willing to go to any lengths to secure that future. The two share a far closer bond than that between most Seraphs and their god, speaking frequently so that Ak'har can carry out his designs in the mortal world. DARIUS SERAPH
HIs grandson Darius is a point of pride for Ak'har, a validation of the strength of their bloodline and an asset to the family. In many ways he considers Darius his own child, having raised the boy since the death of Ak'har's actual son Joshua when Darius was young, and has had a great deal of influence on his upbringing and mindset. His grandson's betrayal was something he took intensely personally. JOSHUA SERAPH
Despite being Ak'har's son and heir, Joshua and his father never truly bonded; whether as a result of Joshua's upbringing outside of the family and ignorant of his heritage or a result of their vastly different personalities, their relationship was always one of filial duty rather than genuine love. RAETHE
The half-elven bastard child of Akhar's son Leven, Raethe used his elven appearance to serve as Ak'har's inside man within Darkmere Shard. Ak'har being the first person to show him any sort of acceptance meant that he felt desperately loyal to his grandfather, despite Ak'har having little real affection for Raethe beyond the opportunity he presented.