Istemi is a Duke, and a significant advisor to
Throforlig. He is one of the few nobles who truly knows his origins and nature.
He was opposed to the planned war on
Vilknier, but was unaware of how it is being manipulated by the
Wihesmart until his attention was drawn to them by the party.
He has
Ingerishko's gift, but he leans heavily towards the more psychological elements rather than the fierier elements to manipulate his political rivals.
Title and role within Acaria
Istemi is a Duke of Acaria, which means he holds the highest possible noble rank aside from the Archduke himself. As with all of the nobility of Acaria, he has certain responsibilities within the military. His specialism is in the military use of magic, commanding the secretive mage division drawn from the
Torres of Mustoir.
Personal life
Istemi was the oldest of three brothers, but was taken under his father Zeynel's wing at an early age and never developed a close relationhip with either. The middle brother Burak died in combat when in service with the military in the Greinar chain, and youngest brother Demirel lives in Tecard. Zeynel died when Istemi was just 20 years old, and with his mother Sabiha having already passed when Istemi was a child he took his responsibility as a young Duke extremely seriously.
Istemi has never married or sired any children, despite this being a fairly typical requirement of a senior noble. Demirel has several children, and he has identified his eldest nephew Tosun as a suitable heir and has been grooming him to take on the responsibilities of running the Bereket household after Istemi's passing.
Relationship with Ingerishko
After Zeynel and Sabiha's passing, Istemi was totally focused on his work as a young duke. He was desperate to make an impression on his fellow nobles and to build a stronger official reputation with the Archduke. Only a few months later, he found himself backed into a diplomatic corner and at risk of losing his fledgling career to an older noble. As he found himself increasingly flustered, he suddenly found himself seemingly capable of looking straight into the mind of his opponent in the debate. He couldn't read their thoughts, but he suddenly became intensely aware of their weaknesses. As he pieced together the trigger phase, he unknowingly cast Mind Sliver for the first time, causing them to double over in agony, clutching their head. With his opponent now flustered and with a significant migrane, Istemi easily won the debate.
It was some time later, sitting at home late one evening and pondering how he was so easily able to read this person's weaknesses that he was first visited by Ingerishko. He saw him as a tall Satyr-like creature with the long straight horns and powerful black furred legs of an Oryx. Roughly once a year he is visited by Ingerishko, never announced, and they trade information on both magic and Acarian politics.
Istemi has become an extremely capable spellcaster, focusing on his initial mind altering skills. He spends a lot of his spare time researching documents acquired, borrowed or stolen from the Torres of Mustoir, trying to understand how his magic works. He refers to himself as a Cerebromancer, a term of his own invention. He can both cause intense physical harm as well as control the behaviour, all without breaking stride or showing any outward signs of his spellcasting.
He remains somewhat skeptical of the goals of the powerful being who has granted him this power, but is grateful for it and the occasional insight into the political scheming he was not already anticipating himself. He was completely unaware that anyone else had such a connection until he met Jarek (and later
Aysin).
Relationship with Throforlig
Despite being 94 years his junior, Istemi has had a lifelong friendship with the Archduke. He first met him as a teenager, back when Throforlig was more active within the city of Tecard (if not outside of it), taken to a meeting at the palace by his father Zeynel. Istemi showed a clear interest in a number of dwarven artefacts which Throforlig had brought back from Vilknier. The teenage Istemi was often invited to see the curiousities in the palace, and Throforlig became an important mentor to Istemi when he ascended to the Dukedom at just 20 years old. At this point, Throforlig was 114 years old, but to human eyes seeming no older than 45. He had already ruled for 89 years, and his youthful appearance was starting to get called into question by nobles who were less familiar with his background.
It was Istemi, with help from Ingerishko, who hatched the plan for Throforlig to fade from public view. Together with
Ertek Bardakci and Aladogan Durak, both then heirs to their duchies, they presented the plan for Throforlig's name to be removed from public record, doctor the public archives of the War Museum and other official sources, and for the senior nobles to present a united front. Discussion of Throforlig's parentage was criminalised as treason, and the nobles quickly fell in line. As the years passed, successive generations of Acarians became less and less familiar with the archduke as anything other than a mythical figurehead.
Wealth and family background
The Berekets are one of the oldest and most presitgious families of Tecard. Istemi has substanital reserves of cash available to him, as well as a wide range of historic art work, fine weaponry and so on. Their ancestral home is located in the shadow of the castle gates, and is a sprawling four storied mansion capable of supporting multiple generations of family and a large group of servants. However, much of it is disused, with Istemi preferring to live and work alone, at least until Aysin joins his service.
He has an affinity for items of magical power, and has slowly collected a range of curiousities. These include a smouldering black plate armour, an andrionite infused maul (which holds no other enchantments as yet), healing and strength potions from the Narlander Alchemists, and a Wand of the War Mage. His proudest posession however is his Stone Golem.
Comments