Arden Riverfall
(a.k.a. Arden Schoenberg)
"His face twists into a gruesome smile, dripping with contempt. He leans over as if to whisper in the Emperor's ear, and a wave of extraordinary power erupts into the room. Mordecai Gorecrest's eyes roll back into his head, blood trickling down from the sockets as he collapses into the throne, dead."
Arden Riverfall was the last known descendant of the Temporan Riverfall Dynasty, which fell at the hands of the Gorecrests in CY 1500. He served as the primary advisor to Emperor Mordecai Gorecrest from CY 1597-1619, though his soul had been replaced with that of the Crawling King at some point during that period.
Arden Riverfall was the last known descendant of the Temporan Riverfall Dynasty, which fell at the hands of the Gorecrests in CY 1500. He served as the primary advisor to Emperor Mordecai Gorecrest from CY 1597-1619, though his soul had been replaced with that of the Crawling King at some point during that period.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Arden Riverfall was born as the bastard child of father Fenrir Riverfall and an unnamed mistress in CY 1495, in the few tense years before the Gorecrest insurrection of 1500. For those few years, he was hidden away in the Palace of Twilight in central Misty Run as to not draw attention to Emperor Fenrir's illegitimate son, and he was thus solely educated by Palace staff.
When the insurrection occurred in 1500 and his family was slaughtered, him being hidden away in a deep recess of the Palace was what spared him from death. He managed to hide until the Palace was completely overtaken, and as there were no records of his existence, no one came searching for him. One of the servants - a young Human woman by the name of Elisabeth Schoenberg - chose to take him in and pretend that he was her son so no Gorecrest would suspect any wrongdoing.
At the age of eight, he began his training as a wizard through apprenticeship with the court Enchantress of the time. He learned the fundamentals of arcane magic and casting, and studied under her until she was killed by the Dynasty eight years later on suspicion of stirring rebellion.
He went into The Academy of Ancient Studies with a far greater foundation of magic than the typical undergrad, even by the standards of the most prestigious school on the continent. He immediately jumped into arcane study with the era's modern Master of Evocation, where he became a ferocious war caster primed for combat.
Towards the end of his undergraduate degrees in evocation and arcanotech, Arden came across a particularly unique Spell Scroll during research abroad in Hresvelg. It possessed an incantation called Reality Break, which contained extremely dangerous properties that he'd never come across before. The power to manipulate time itself - a school he dubbed Chronurgy - was not something accessible to Uthilithian casters in any sense. Rather than come public with this knowledge, he chose to keep Chronurgy magic to himself (which, along with Graviturgy, would become wider knowledge upon his death).
After several years of further study and mercenary work (the latter of which he swept under the rug), he reached the status of Archmage at the young age of 25 - becoming one of the youngest in history to do so. Deep in the Hebra Mountains he constructed a Wizard's Tower - a generic name for the structure a wizard with grand skills will craft for themselves - an endeavor that took a decade to build and ward completely. He then began a professorship at the newly-built St. Cethleann's College in 1530 as a professor of evocation, and Arden would use those resources to do further research into Graviturgy. He would be employed by the College for the next 30 years, before making the move back to his alma mater in Misty Run.
While working at The Academy of Ancient Studies, a freak accident would occur in one of his evocation labs. Through his own divinatory powers, he would discover that this wasn't in fact an accident caused by a student - but rather that one of his students was an Archfey disguised as a mere Elf. This angered Arden, as despite his many emotional shortcomings, he hoped to retain the safety of his students. The archfey then requested to strike up a deal with Arden - he'd leave his students alone in exchange for guiding Arden's next 'research' endeavor.
The research, he would come to find, would consist of finding ways to desecrate the three spiritual wonders of Tempora - the Spirit Temple, the Body Temple, and the Isle of Eldin. All three carried significant religious meaning to the practitioners of those faiths - followers of Lation, Briris, and Zisnera. They would become henceforth infested with monsters and incredibly dangerous.
This exposure to The Erlkönig was extremely corrupting to Arden's psyche. He found himself making increasingly unethical, even evil decisions far before the Crawling King entered the picture.
In CY 1580, Arden managed to call upon the Celestial spirit known as Capricorn near his tower in the Hebra Mountains. With the help of the Erlkönig, Arden sealed Capricorn into the earth itself, never to be released unless the three major Temporan temples were purified of their desecration. (This occurred on Guardian Moon 14, CY 1580 - the same day as Paavu Murkstone's birth).
Arden would continue serving as a professor in the Academy's evocation department until CY 1597, when the Gorecrest Dynasty would take note of his research and pedigree. He was selected by Mordecai Gorecrest to become the new court mage of the Dynasty, when he would switch careers. Soon after Arden being hired, Emperor Mordecai's advisor (an elven man from Zonaius) was found murdered in the Merchant's Ring. He requested that Arden fill the position.
In approximately CY 1610, Arden would travel to Thur Nirkhum on the basis of a diplomatic meeting. Rather than heading straight home, he made his way to the Portal of Creation - something he only discovered through extensive historical study. He convinced Essek Thelyss to allow him through (likely through some form of suggestion), where he came across the dead plane of Exandria.
The details of what happened in Exandria are unknown, but it is known that Arden Riverfall's soul was removed from his body and reinstated with an extension of Torog, the Crawling King. He became a vessel of a torture god, and upon his return, curried even more favor with The Erlkönig.
With Torog's essence in his body, Arden became increasingly cruel and manipulative. He convinced Emperor Mordecai to enact truly awful legislation that would institutionally harm millions of Temporans, and attempted to cut the continent off from the rest of the civilized world through increased border protections and travel laws. At this point, he also created The Inner Six - an organization of six incredibly dangerous individuals who would carry out his more unsavory work. He would also ally with very wealthy and exploitative nobles.
In CY 1619, The Stonebounders drew the attention of Arden through the death of Dame Myrdith Dolciana. She and her estate were very significant donors to the Gorecrest cause, and so he decided to begin sending his closest lackeys to depose the group.
The Stonebounders managed to defeat all of the Six (with the exception of Gribe Rhecerron, who defected from the organization before being Disintegrated by Arden) and turned their attention to Arden himself. On Verdant Moon 29, 1619, the Stonebounders stormed the Palace of Twilight to face Arden in battle. His corporeal form was slain on this day, and a weakened realization of the Crawling King was released unto the world. Much of the Palace was harmed, many were killed, and Torog dug its way to the Portal of Creation in Thur Nirkhum.
Current Status
Being tortured by Mephistopheles
Current Location
Species
Date of Birth
Red Wolf Moon 8
Date of Death
Verdant Moon 29
Life
1495 CY
1619 CY
124 years old
Circumstances of Birth
Child of Fenrir Riverfall's mistress
Circumstances of Death
Shot by Faladin Soldhom
Birthplace
Place of Death
Family
Children
Eyes
Brown, beady
Hair
Balding, stringy brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
White with pinkish undertones, slightly too taut
Height
5'8"
Weight
160 lbs
Belief/Deity
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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