Race:
Drakken
Age:
146
Element(s):
Fire
Wind
Height:
6'7"

Bio:
It was said that the Drakken throne had been built on the bones of thousands of their enemies, sacrificed to the Old Gods when the wicked thing was formed. Rynek would have been envious of his brother who was destined to sit atop it if it wasn't for the fact that Rynek had already made his peace with the dead - it was the living he craved. There's an art to killing that can't be ignored. The thick stench of death that airs the nose, the screams of dying men that enlightens the ears, the weight of a blood-drenched blade that has all cower before you and the pleasure of taking a whore straight after killing; devine. Of course, if whores are in short supply, men nearly always have wives and daughters.

It's the job of the king to rule and the job of his brothers to issue his justice with blood and steel. Rynek himself was a weak thing at birth, a shame to his family. Thankfully, he wasn't slaughtered as his true powers revealed themselves only a few short years later. The boy was a vicious bastard with little to no care of others and his fighting displayed a cunning that outweighed that of even the harshest of Drakken fighters. He didn't have an ounce of honour but by damn was he a fine killer. His people were heavy things, capable of fighting with weapons that were nearly half their size but Rynek preferred the eloquent dance of the sword.

Trained for a couple of years by Wilheim the Black, considered the strongest Drakken in existence, Rynek was slowly moulded into a well-oiled killing machine with no regard who fell in front of his blade as long as someone did. Over the decades as he has fought and defended the throne of his brother, he has diverged away from the typical fighting styles of the Drakken and adopted styles from the far east - styles that his brothers couldn't even begin to perceive. Abandoning his bastard sword, he had a curved blade forged and took up training in increasing his speed exponentially using his powers.

Every man has fell before him all except for one - his mentor Wilheim the Black. Being the only man to ever land a hit on the legendary warrior, Rynek has been placed as the second strongest Drakkan alive and is just as dreaded by his enemies. Despite his... psychopathic tendencies, his anger and lust for battle can quickly fade if he finds a pretty enough girl. Of course, she has to keep things entertaining or it typically won't end well for her.

As of now, Rynek is only returning from a long trek to the South to crush a king who thought that he could harass their southern borders. The war was long with well over five years of absence from the Prince.

Other:
Was rumoured to have urged his father to obliterate the Gemminite nation after hearing of the beauty of a princess there.
One of the few Drakkens with a sense of humour - although a brutal one at that.

Race:
Gemminite
Age:
18
Element(s):
Fire
Height:
5"10

Bio:
Kalani was raised by two Fire Gemminites who only expected the very best from their only daughter. While they were strict in raising her, Kalani managed to flourish and even exceed their expectations. Kalani grew up to be a beautiful, independent, and proud woman. She was ready to take on the world when she was Chosen, much to her dismay. Her parents, though upset at first, knew that they had to give up their daughter and sternly told her that even though it was not what she wanted, she had to be the best at whatever she ended up doing; be the best Gem bride she could be. Whether or not she listened to their advice, we'll find out soon.
Other:
Kalani is a passionate perfectionist; expecting only the best from herself.
However in regards to other people, she is more cynical and doubts they have any true capabilities.
She is also fiercely competitive.

One could not find a less impressive looking Drakken if they were given a lifetime to search. Easily 6 inches shorter than that most Drakken with short, stubby horns which he commonly covers with a hood or helmet, apparently out of shame. His build is also far less imposing and his arms far thinner than those of his taller brethren, lacking the same degree of muscle when compared to other drakken. At a glance one could be forgiven for not realising he was one of the Drakken and perhaps merely an extremely muscular if dull looking Gem. However, those seemingly mundane brown eyes hide a burning lust for power, supported by an expertise in military strategy and a sound grasp of how to weave his elemental powers into combat. The darkest creatures of the blighted south would be hard pressed match his brutality. - Description of Zakroti Unalim as given by a Gem Representative



Race:
Drakken
Age:
82
Element(s):
Fire, Earth
Height:
5'11

Bio:
Zakroti was easily identifiable as a runt upon his birth and in accordance with the wishes of his father, Nagoti Unalim, was to be left out to die in the elements. His mother managed to placate his father and convince him not to have the baby put to death.
His father abhorred him growing up and he was routinely looked down upon by his taller siblings, indeed Zakroti existed as a blot in his immediate families gaze. Outside of his immediate family, his other relations did not care much for him as he was simply another nephew or grandson and were it not for his remarkably small stature he doubted any would even remember his name.

His small size was and in many was still is a source of humiliation for him and as a child he was only able to take solace in his mothers presence, partly due to her being the only person he was taller than. She was one of the very few members of his family to show him any kindness and he was understandably devastated by her death despite her position in Drakken society being little better than a concubine.

On his 15th Birthday Zakroti led a small force of Drakken warriors across the border into the territory of a foreign peoples and sacked two small towns, returning with nearly one hundred and fifty slaves. The fledgling lord sent them off to his father as a gift. Grudglingly, his father acknowledged the achievement and granted the boy the holding of Mu'Fanla, a small fortress situated in the otherwise barren mountains to the south of his families holdings. Although this was somewhat impressive for a first military achievement, given that few expected to see him in any form of leadership role at any point in his life time and certainly not so young, he first rose to true prominence during a conflict in the western lands, in which he saved the life of a prominent noble and was gifted the holding of Mu'Kasi, a large fortress situate overlooking the pass out of Drakka and into the neighbouring territory. Zakroti exacted a toll on armies passing through and raised considerable funds from this, which drew the ire of several nobles.

Mu'Kasi was eventually levelled after the toll fees offended a particularly ill tempered noble, which resulted in a retaliatory campaign that culminated I a siz month siege; The lord agreed to pay for the reconstruction of Mu'Kasi and Zakroti has been careful to ensure that it has a considerable garrison at any given time. By this point, a number of Drakken nobles and even a handful of members within his family had begun to see Zakroti's potential as an ally.

At age 50 an opportunity presented its self that Zakroti could not ignore; His father had fallen out of favour with the family and the king and, as such, Zakroti seized the chance and met in secret with a number of family members and Drakken nobles to hatch an insidious plot

With all the pieces on the board set, Zakroti challenged his father to honourable combat. As expected, his father refused; Consequently, Zakroti led a force of Drakken and mercenaries to sacked his fathers estate, winning in spite of the fact that his army was outnumbered two to one. The young lord had his father thrown into an oubliette where he allegedly remains to this very day.

Zakroti claimed dominion over his fathers lands and vassals by right of conquest and alleged that his father had refused to fight him out of cowardice. This was upheld by the family court which ruled in favour of Zakroti, though not out of any love for the young lord himself but rather so as to avoid invalidating a right of conquest claim that the family's head was pursuing; His father had already fallen out of favour after refusing to commit his forces to a war effort two years prior and so this was considered to be an acceptable trade. Further, two key family members with positions in court had been amongst those who conspired with Zakroti to bring about his fathers downfall.

A considerable number his siblings refused to accept the leadership of their runt of a brother and openly rebelled against him and by extent the ruling of the family court. As such, Zakroti engaged in a decade long internal war of stabilisation with the nominal support of his grandfather. This war was drawn out by repeated outside interference as many Drakken nobles joined the war on various sides simply for the joy of fighting or in order to further their own ambitions. The war ended with the Sack of his brother Lakli's estate, crushing the final credible threat to his rule.

The consolidation that followed this infighting resulted in Zakroti having twelve of his brothers and three of his sisters hung, drawn and quartered. Three of his brothers were forced to eat pieces of their own skin as they were flayed alive. Lakli himself was sewn into a bag along with various venomous serpents and diseased animals before being tossed into the river and washing off downstream into the ocean; His body was later found washed up on Gemminite shores, shrivelled up like a prune. Zakroti had two of his sisters publically defiled and enslaved, giving them off to be handed around the Drakken nobles who had supported his side in the rebellion. Initially, Zakroti had planned to engage in a war with the nobles who had supported his brothers cause, however the Drakken Court had been planning a major offensive and did not wish to see their numbers decreased by the infighting and thus passed down an official order to prevent further escalation. This edict officially declared Zakroti to be the rightful successor of his father by right of conflict in order to prevent any further infighting. Asa result both sides reluctantly backed down with neither willing to incur the ire of the Drakken Court or King, knowing that they would be all too willing to crush the weakened lords if given an excuse. The Court, however, did not force the family to accept Zakroti onto its internal council and as such Zakroti was now allowed to claim his fathers seat under the pretence that it still de jure belonged to his living father

Regardless, resistance had been crushed and many had been sent to meet Krenta during these efforts. Any siblings that still harboured misgivings about his position wisely fell silent after this; After all, the strong rule in Drakka. With his position finally secured, Zakroti spent his 60th birthday plotting out reconstruction efforts and rebuilding his power base in preparation for another conflict

Towards the end of his 81st year, Zakroti pledged his armies to his families cause during an invasion of the dreaded south and was elevated in status due his exceptional performance, finally being allowed to claim his fathers seat and thus a member of the family court and gaining significant prestige as a result. With his new station came the privilege (and indeed, the obligation) of taking a bride or several. Zakroti was ordered by his great grand father, the head of the family and one of the powerful Drakken warlords, to take at least one Gem Bride from the next group of selectees, a decision the lord is somewhat reluctantly obeying. Indeed, Zakroti has shown little interest in taking a bride outside of the pure pragmatic value.

Other:
Zakroti's small stance and the humiliation that was derived from it has led to the development of a superiority complex; That is to say, he presents an elevated sense of importance in order to mask his underlying fears of inferiority. As such his primary driving force was to find some validation in the world, to find some way in which he doesn't always feel so... Weak. He found that power and brutality brought him reslect and fear, and has cloaked himself in the two ever since.
Zakroti holds a considerable envy of the Gems due to the condition of their homeland, though purely because he believes Gemminia would serve as a better powerbase than Drakka as it would be able to support more people and in turn field larger armies, though this view has proven to be unpopular among the Drakken and thus he is usually rather quiet about it.

Race:
Gemminite
Age:
18
Element(s):
Fire
Height:
5'2"

Bio:
If you believed that most if not all Gemminites were naught but some peace-loving, air-headed fools then Atallia is the living argument against that. Born in the north to the Faeron clan, she was taught from a young age that living under the boot of the Drakken was a nefarious business - they could either remain passive and wait until the boot stomped down or they could push back. Her family were one of the few in the whole nation that argued for the latter. After losing a sister to the Drakken, her father imbued within her that the continuation of the Drakken's very existence was a mockery to the Earth.

Despite those rather serious lessons and the pressures of raising a daughter who was very clearly beautiful, her parents were good to her and gave her freedom to explore the world around her. It could have been the fire flowing through her but it seemed that from the outset, she was a flighty little thing with no regards for danger or rules. It landed her in more trouble than it was worth but she had quite a bit of fun annoying neighbours and numerous townsfolk.

As she grew, Atallia didn't really change. Granted, she garnered a bit more attention from the males --a harsh curse that she remained unaware of-- and although she was a little more likely to wear a dress, you could almost always expect her to be causing a ruckus. Her ascent to womanhood was grateful, at best, but instead of just echoing the dying embers of rebellion, she became a soaring ember - something that the Gemminites could stand behind. Quick-witted and armed with a tongue sharp enough to draw blood, very little people could hold up an argument against her. Like a roaring flame, she was unpredictable and answered to no one. No one, that is, until the Drakken guards came calling.

Talli had heard the stories like any Gemminite child of how the Drakken came and took their brides from the beautiful swathes of Gemminite youth. She had heard the stories of the Huron families and how girls suffered a life of abuse that was only ceased upon pregnancy. And the Zagmars, who became known as the "Defilers" for the fact that their brides went through horrors of catastrophic levels and more often than not, bucked under the pressure. Naturally, she didn't credit herself with much in terms of beauty but she was enough to warrant being chosen to become a bride. Strangely, as she was taken, she didn't fight or argue - this was an opportunity for her. Her intent was abnormal. She was going to show her people that they should not fear the Drakkens; she was going to have them hesitate the next time they picked their wives and there was no way in Hell she was going to destroy some light-hearted fellow.

She would find the best of them and tear him a new one.

Other:
Atallia has a tattoo of a dragon upon her left shoulder. The origins of said tattoo will probably be explained IC.
Her eyes are a gold colour but they've been known to light to a powerful red when she's particularly angry.
Isn't the strongest in terms of magic but has enough cunning and tactical genius to use it where it counts.