Magic on Irilia is governed via the use of runes inscribed into ones flesh. Runes that, once inscribed, allow for the manipulation of natural forces. Basic forces such as fire, air, and water, or more esoteric ones such as time, space, and even the soul. Each individual, referred to with a descriptor of their respective force or element followed by the title Marked, can only have two runes on their body at any one time, and two opposing elements cannot be wielded by the same person. So, for example, an Inferno Marked cannot wield a rune of water, but they can use one of air, as it complements their original ability. It should be noted, however, that should the marked individual lose the patch of skin or appendage upon which the rune is engraved, they will lose the powers it grants as well. This is the reason many of the Marked wear armor over certain parts of their bodies, even in times of peace.

Can't be too careful after all.

As for Gervasius, he's what's known as a Continuum Marked, someone who has the runes of space and time inscribed on their body and is capable of manipulating both to a certain degree. A rarer occurrence than you might think, as very few remember these markings, with fewer still being able to fully comprehend, let alone effectively use the immense powers they bestow.

Aegis of Eternity: Due to various temporal alterations through the use of his runes, Col has removed his natural susceptibility to age, effectively granting himself eternal youth, locked his timeline-and as many alternates of it he could find-into an entirely different section of the void that is not connected to the main hub of temporal lines so that they cannot be altered via time travel, and rendered himself immune to any manipulations of time or space another individual make while in his presence. This lets him move through areas that are spatially and temporally warped with impunity, in addition to giving him the ability to remember any changes one makes to the past. The only thing he has not done, however, is remove his ability to be affected by objects residing within the third dimension. This is because of what he learned in one of his alternate timelines, one in which his other self had grown tired of being hurt, and removed their ability to feel pain of any kind by making themselves immune to physical reality as a whole. A foolish act as he soon learned, because it booted this alternate version from existence and into the void, where their corpse floats to this day, the universe having ceased its recognition of their presence entirely.

Since becoming aware of this unpleasant outcome the Prime Chronarch has, sensibly, refrained from following in his alternate selves footsteps.

Alterations and the like aside, however, Gervasius still possesses the same bodily needs he's always had. He might not die from age, but starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation will all take their toll on him if he's not careful.

Cessation of Time: Using his runes, Gervasius brings the flow of time within a certain radius to a halt. The exact range of which seems to be decided by Gervasius himself. Once cast however, those in the outside world see nothing more than an impenetrable crystalline dome or bubble obscuring the affected area, while those within-other than the user of course-perceive the experience the same way one who has lost time does. With the process of objects, people, and time moving appearing to have been skipped altogether. As for the user, they are free to do what they please within the confines of the bubble, even granting individuals trapped inside the same degree of freedom they themselves possess should the fancy strike them. This can be applied in a wide variety of practical ways, such as to prevent eavesdropping, or keep a particularly dangerous foe at bay to buy allies an extra bit of time.

Fate's Acceptance: With naught more than a touch, Gervasius can manipulate the age of objects and individuals, making them too young or old to be able to put up any kind of meaningful fight. If he's feeling generous that is. If not, then he'll simply age them into a pile of dust before continuing on with his day.

Fate's Denial: Reversing time around himself or others lets Gervasius heal the most damaging of wounds he or those he is aligned with may receive during combat. While he can simply use this power with nothing more than a thought when it comes to his own body, when it comes to others though, he must be physically touching the damaged area or else his temporal rewind will be ineffective.

Voidal Shift: Gervasius could, through the utilization of the empty spaces between timelines, travel to whatever moment in history he desired, provided he knows of it beforehand of course. After arriving in this strange new world, however, Gervasius found this ability greatly reduced. No longer able to leave the current timeline for reasons he has yet to discern, he now uses it as a means of transporting himself and others across long distances, as well as a defensive measure for avoiding enemy attacks.

Eyes of Chronos: Gervasius can momentarily enter a trancelike state and peer into a number of different possible futures to glean information from them, but their state of constant flux prevents any one course of action he may take after gaining said information from being more advantageous than the rest.

Political Savant: Being a ruler who is overseeing multiple versions of himself and his kingdom simultaneously, in addition to waging a war across time, has made Gervasius quite skilled when it comes to political maneuvering. As he must find solutions that not only satisfy himself, but his people as well.

Pinnacle of Humanity: Centuries of training, leadership, and war have allowed Gervasius to reach the peak of what a normal human could hope to achieve in terms of physical might and intellectual prowess, making him much faster, stronger, and smarter than anyone else in his native universe.

Aside from himself that is.

Master Tactician: Given his personality, and way of handling things in general, Gervasius' cold and detached nature has one major upside in the form of strategizing. Unlike most people, who would react in horror at seeing their friends being ripped limb from limb, the amount of insanity inducing shit has rendered Col almost completely immune to such reactions. This lets him maintain his focus in the most stressful situations, times when remaining calm is of the utmost importance, and allows him to achieve victory where none was thought possible.

Socially Inept: While he may be good at strategizing and politics, he is perhaps the last person one would consider inviting out to a social gathering-or any sort of gathering really-due to the cold and mostly apathetic nature he has developed since the war between his empire and Aevum began. Unless the goal is to bring said party to a slow pain filled stop, in which case Gervasius should be the first person whose services you employ. Gatherings aside, he's also not the one you want trying to comfort your dying friends, as he will do an absolutely piss poor job of it.

Arrogant: While he may not seem that way at first, especially in a place and situation he's unsure of, once Gervasius has his feet under him, he can be the most arrogant bastard you've ever met. Granted, it's not exactly something a he can really avoid given his immortality. Age and experience tends to make one more sure of oneself and one's own actions after all, and Col is no different. Hell, if anything his long life has made him more self-confidant than most ordinary people, as it has been spent-for the most part-maintaining the well-being of a literal history spanning empire. This general air of superiority tends to drive most away, as there are only so many condescending explanations and critiques people can take before getting fed up, while simultaneously providing a potential weakness for enemies to exploit.

Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer after all.

Gervasius history is a long and bloody one. One in which even the earliest of his days of his life were filled with conflict. Conflict between his parents as they both tried to carry out their own plans for their son's future-a future that would see him working on the family farm in any case-conflict between the petty nobles of the land and the even pettier bandits. A lot of whom had taken to using the power of rune magic to bolster their chances of conducting a successful raid. So it was no surprise then when they came to his father's farm that fateful midsummers eve, stealing the crops they had labored over for years, scouring their house from top to bottom for anything not nailed down, and killing one of the two central authority figures in his life in the process. The other, his mother, was taken prison as Gervasius himself was, although the two would meet very different fates. His mother would be sold off to a local lord, who had very unsavory intentions, while he would be recruited into the ranks of the bandits themselves. They did not brand him with any runes, however, for obvious reasons.

Anyway, for the longest time after his capture, Gervasius had attempted to fight back, to be brash, but eventually came to the realization that he would heighten his chances of survival and escape if he simply played along. So he did. For years he went along with their raids and schemes, all the while learning the skills that allowed him to slay his captors while they slept, leaving him free to make his own way in the world. Well, almost. First he would make sure his mother was safe, if she were still alive that is. Deciding on this course of action, he made his way to the lords keep, and began snooping about, somehow managing to remain lucky enough to avoid being detected by the guards. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found the room in which his mother was being held. He did not, however, make an attempt to break her free. During his time with the bandits he learned that when confronted with a larger force one could not overcome through subtlety, to fall back and regroup. Formulate a plan of attack, learn patrol movements, and identify the main weak points of whatever you were attacking. Then, gather some men, get some weapons, and go all out.

And that's exactly what he did.

Leaving the keep, he spent the rest of his young adult years gathering resources running jobs as a freelance mercenary. Weapons, armor, rations, and men, slowly over the course of years he prepared until, at long last, he was ready. Riding forth from the city of Aeryith with its shining spires and bustling streets, he and his company of three hundred mercenaries laid siege to the castle, the main force providing an excellent distraction for the guards while Gervasius infiltrated the structure itself and freed what remained of his family. Making his way out he regrouped with his warband, who had lost around a hundred or so during the siege, and fled into nearby forest, losing their pursuers. Breaking up into smaller groups from here, they returned to Aeryith under the cover of darkness. Although some small part of him wished to know, Gervasius knew better than to ask his mother about what had happened during her time in the keep.

He knew that it'd be better for the memories to simply fade away.

After their return, the group settled down within the city. Years passed and people moved on, Gervasius mother found work as a seamstress, while he continued to lead his mercenary warband out on mission's for the inhabitants of Aeryith. New recruits were brought in to fill the empty spaces left by the dead, and new ventures are undertaken. Life, in general, was good.

Until it wasn't.

The ruling king wished to go to war with another realm across the sea, and began recruiting several mercenary parties alongside the usual gaggle of townsfolk. Among those selected was Gervasius company. And while he didn't like it, he did heed the call nonetheless, unable to refuse the orders of the highest power in the land. So, once again, the band road out to war.

Only this time things did not go as smoothly as they had expected. Quite the opposite in fact. As they went to ambush a heavily guarded caravan, Gervasius had found himself underestimating the numbers their enemy truly had, and found both himself and what little remained of his men fleeing back to the safety of a nearby city. A defeat that not only devastated troop morale, but one that gave Col pause as well. For the first time in his life, he truly began to consider the state of his world. How its petulant lords and greedy kings squabbled amongst themselves for the so-called honor of victory, while simultaneously squandering the lives of the very people who helped them attain that victory in the first place. Or how the rogue Marked roamed the lands, looting and pillaging. And at the end of it all, he decided something had to be done.

Action had to be taken, and a new order had to be established in place of the rotting corpse that was the old. It was the only way for peace to truly flourish.

So Gervasius made his way to the city's library, a hoarde of knowledge that contained books on almost everything imaginable, rune magic included. It was here that he first found mention of individuals known as Continuum Marked within the dusty pages of some long forgotten, and clearly neglected tome. While the book didn't have much in the way of specifics, it did reveal to him the location of secret temple, one in which the aforementioned Marked were rumored to have lived. Armed with this knowledge in mind, he began making preparations for his trip to the mountain temple. He gathered as much food, water, and climbing equipment as he could before finally setting off...

Alone.

While most would have gone in a group, Gervasius knew his men would just slow him down. Not only that, but he couldn't be sure they wouldn't just double cross him at some point during the journey, what with everything that had happened. So he ventured out, by himself, and started off on his long trek. One that took three grueling weeks to complete. But, finally, he arrived at the temple. Only to find it in ruin. Its walls broken and crumbling, and what little remained of its halls abandoned. Still, he would not be denied. Making his way inside, he began searching the place from top to bottom, scouring every nook and cranny for any sort of inscription or drawing that would reveal the shape of the runes he sought. And, after several hours of clawing through stone and rotten wood, he finally found what he was looking for.

In the center of one of the side chambers, deep within the temple, there was an old dusty tome lying on top of an equally old and dusty pedestal. Its pages yellowed, cracked, and worn, but still readable. And on them were the runes he sought. The power that would allow him to tear down the old kingdoms and replace them with a new, unified, empire. One that would ensure its citizens were treated with the respect they deserved. One that would live on through the ages...

One that would be, eternal.

Approaching the book in a careful manner, one almost akin to reverence, he examined its pages. On the left was the angular symbol of an hourglass, while the right held a spiral with warped lines, almost as though the drawing was trying to eat the page on which it was inscribed. Hastily pulling off his pack and retrieving a dagger from its cavernous depths, Gervasius rolled up his sleeve and started cutting. The bite of cold steel against warm flesh was stinging, but it was nothing he hadn't felt before. And by the end of it, he had finally finished the first part of his plan.

He had finally become a Continuum Marked.

Destroying the book, the runes having been committed to memory and flesh, Gervasius made his way out of the temple and started off down the mountain. Along the way he encountered several wild beasts, which helped provide him with some much needed practice. Calling upon the powers of his runes, which blazed in the falling snow, he destroyed them quickly and continued on his way. After a few more weeks of trekking, he finally made it back to Aeryith where he began using his runes more often while out fulfilling contracts. Once again, alone, as it seemed his company had gone their separate ways after his little trip. Somewhat disappointing he had to admit, and somewhat saddening, but not unexpected. He would have left for greener pastures too if he were in their shoes, especially after everything they'd been through.

So he let them be and continued on with his plan.

During his time running contracts, he had a custom tailored set of robes and piece of armor made for him by one of the local craftsmen. Mainly because he needed some better clothes, but also because he needed a better way to protect the runes engraved in his arm. Once he had them, however, he was finally able to use his magic more freely. Without the ever present fear his arm would be chopped or bitten off when he least expected it. With this new advantage, he was able to become even more powerful, and after a certain point decided it was time for the next phase of his plan. Perhaps the most difficult part yet.

He declared an all out war on the rulers of the world. Using his powers to his advantage, he amassed an army and, using advanced tactics and control over spacetime to his advantage, led a conquest that saw the lords and kings fall one by one to his forces. To further air his efforts, Gervasius also forged his own blade-Omega-and imbued it with power over space and time as well. How he learned to do so is unknown, as no soul currently living on Irilia knew the secrets of weapon enchanting, but he did so nonetheless. And so it went for the next couple of years, with town after town and palace after palace falling to his might, until at last his banner was the only one flying in the ocean blue skies of Irilia. From here he began the even longer process of establishing a new order, altering his interaction with time in order to do so. Once this was done, however, the newly christened Aeternal Empire had become something beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined. A vast realm that spanned multiple timelines, overseen not only by Gervasius from the new capital of Aeryith, but his alternate selves in the other realities. Variations the he gave his runes and knowledge to, establishing the order of Chronarch's-with him as the Prime-that kept the empire running as smoothly as possible.

In addition to this he also created a legislation governing the use of runes known as the Marked One's Law, which prohibited their use inside cities and villages unless it was for self defense, the defense of another, to help fend off an approaching warband, or to aid in work, be that your own or someone else's. This was done in the hopes of preventing the rampant banditry and rune abuse Gervasius had been victim to years prior and, for the most part anyway, it worked. There were minor exceptions to this ruling of course, with small uses of rune magic for convenience sake being allowed, as they posed no real threat to the world at large.

With these things done, and the safety of the kingdom he'd built in the best hands possible, Gervasius took the time to enjoy life once again. Hosting public feasts, authorising new infrastructural developments, exploring some of the possibilities he'd conquered in greater detail, and spending more time with several friends he'd made along the way, were just a few of the activities he occupied his immortal mind with.

All things considered, life was good. Perfect, even. The kingdom was flourishing in a new era of technological and cultural enlightenment, the wars and disagreements of the past were seemingly forgotten with each new generation that came along, and people were-for the most part-satisfied with the way things were going.

But, as with many things in his life, this peace was not to last. For a few centuries later, a Chronarch driven by a desire for more power rose up in defiance of Gervasius rule. From what timeline they came or how they managed to amass an army great enough to challenge the Legions of Brass that defended the empire, no one knew. Not even the Prime himself. By the time everything was said and done, and the army mobilized, the rebellious force had already built up enough might to christen itself a temporal power in its own right. And thus a small band of rebels led by a rogue Chronarch, became Aevum, a time conquering realm that rivaled the even the great Aeternal Empire in might. So war was declared, a war of attrition as the kingdom of Aevum put more and more of existence to the sword.

It is during this troubled time that the Prime Chronarch has become the coldest he's ever been, as the effects of watching masses of people die, timelines collapse, and some of his best friends perish, have finally started to take their toll on him. Yet still he preservers. Still he carries on, as it is his duty to do so. His duty to all the friends he's lost, all the innocents who've had their families torn apart by the conflict, and all the soldiers who have given their lives in defense of the empire. As such it was this duty, this unrelenting desire to make things right once more, that drove him to recklessly traverse the void and come to the aide of a Chronarch in need. And it was this reckless traversal that sealed his fate. For just as he was about to enter the time period, a force stronger than anything he'd felt before suddenly pulled him away. Sent him tumbling through the darkness and towards a future unknown...