Name: Ildaz Krek' Tel Jinturil Race: An ancient and mighty race originating from the antediluvian world Tavam, the Kel' Daram inhabit a relatively desolate section of the void, now devoid of any other races of any kind. Virtually no information about about their culture, origins, or even biology exists outside of their section of the void, and even in that area, the information is vague at best. [hider=Kel' Daram] The Kel' Daram have been separated into three distinct Clans since the beginning of recorded history, the Ja' Turahn, the Sakvarii , and the Iskavor. [hider=The Clans] [hider=Ja' Turahn] The Ja' Turahn are considered to be the mystics and most scientific members of their culture and their higher castes and elite members of society are nearly all incredibly powerful sages with staggering Psionic strength and skill. They are the masters of Kel' Daram sorcery and they have several advanced crafts in which they specialize. They construct the mightiest of Voidships that the Kel' Daram utilize, the feared and coveted Voidspires, massive vessels that can be nearly as long as a moon and require thousands of years to construct. They are also known to be the ones that most often develop new technologies and Psionic techniques. They inhabit Tavam's second largest continent and have a population only somewhat smaller than the Sakavarii. The Ja' Turahn generally dress in a somber amber. [/hider] [hider=Sakvarii] The Sakvarii are the epitome of a warrior society, their castes are determined almost entirely by an individual's skill at arms, producing unmatched warriors of unfathomable skill at the highest tiers of their clan. They are the most connected to the physical world among the Kel' Daram and have accordingly developed skills beyond those of direct combat. The Sakvarii produce practical machines to aid in construction and cultivation, and they develop the most deadly of land-based war constructs to aid in combat. They inhabit the largest continent of Tavam and possess the largest population of the three clans. They dress in brilliant hues of blue. [/hider] [hider=Iskavor] The Iskavor are by far the smallest clan among the Kel' Daram, they make their home on a continent much smaller than either of the other clans. While the other two clans have a history of regular, if minor, conflict and occasionally violent clashes, the Iskavor rarely get involved and usually managed to avoid hostile confrontation with either of the other clans. They are the most unique of the clans, they are the explorers of their culture, a role that very few Kel' Daram would find important or even interesting. They have also developed the feared technique of Voidstepping, a Psionic style that allows the user to become shrouded from sight and mind, and even allows masters of this skill to virtually teleport in short distances, remaining unseen the whole time. Some have even worked this ability into being able to shroud their entire voidship to avoid detection by other races during their explorations. They dress in a mixture of deep reds and purples. [/hider] [/hider] The culture of the Kel' Daram is based upon a basic caste system. [hider=The Castes] [hider=Fuldara] The lowest and most numerous members of society are the Fuldara, the citizens, these are the members of Kel' Daram society who's Psionic skills are not great enough to fully manifest a Psiblade through the use of a vambrace. They fulfill the role of labourers and live peaceful lives, often mixing with Fuldara from the other clans without conflict. [/hider] [hider=Taredal] The second most common portion of the Kel' Daram populous are the Taredal, the warriors, and it includes many different kinds of Kel' Daram and is referred to as the First Step of Ascension. The most common members of the Taredal are those who are able to ignite their Psiblades but can go no farther with their skills, and only among the Sakvarii can such a being continue further along in society. the rest of the members of the Taredal are young Kel' Daram who have only started to discover their potential and after some time and experience will ascend to the next step on the path. [/hider] [hider=Velderi] The elite among society, this caste is the most diverse among the three clans. In each clan the Velderi refers to the prodigious Sages, Kel' Daram with massive Psionic strength, and among the Ja' Turahn those are the only members of the Velderi. Among the Sakvarii any Taredal is able to advance to this level if they are able to prove that their skill and prowess is formidable enough. The Iskavor hold the venerable of their society in high esteem and any Kel' Daram who lives long enough to be so considered gains access to this caste as well. [/hider] [hider=Ja' Daram] This is the final step on the Path of Ascension and it is the caste of rulers. They were previous members of the Velderi and in each of the clans they are determined differently. The Iskavor have each member of the Velderi vote to appoint them until they die, the Ja' Turahn hold trials of divinity to discover their rulers, and the Sakvarii determine this position by personal duels. There is no single ruler of the Kel' Daram or even of each of the clans, the members of each clans' different Ja 'Daram hold individual councils and in times of great need or peril they all come together to form the Council of Ascended to guide their whole race. [/hider] [/hider] The Kel' Daram have a mystifying biology and their supposedly natural development seems anything but natural. [hider=The Coming of Age] For the first twenty years of a Kel' Daram's life, the infant requires a steady supply of fruit from a particular tree to continue both physical and mental development, after it's infancy a young Kel' Daram will continue to require this fruit as well as water in a gradually lesser amount for the next thirty years. At then end of those fifty years the Kel' Daram will make a pilgrimage to the holiest sight of the Kel' Daram, The Tower of Astricaz, and when the Kel' Daram returns from this pilgrimage it has come of age, becoming a true adult, after which the Kel' Daram can still eat and digest food and drink, but it's body no longer requires it. [/hider] [/hider] Age: Considered to be among the venerable of the Ja' Turahn, Ildaz is 612 USY Gender: Male Appearance: Ildaz stands at an average height for his race, around 6 and a half feet tall, though he seems to shift stances occasionally making him appear somewhat shorter and occasionally even taller. His skin is a dark grey, lightening around the inside of his hands and around his eyes, his black uncut hair is bound into thick, ritual braids trailing down from his head. Ildaz's body is typical of the Kel' Daram in that he is more slender than stocky, yet his musculature is incredibly well defined, born of centuries of strict exercises. He wears a simple loincloth underneath his virtually ever-present armour. His eyes are a brilliantly glowing blue, excepting only for what would be recognized as pupils, a faintly swirling nexus of generally subdued colors. While Kel' Daram do possess a mouth it is devoid of the more intricate musculature that most other races sport and is virtually devoid of emotion, the task of expression is left to the eyes which have an abnormally complex series of muscles bound to them and have an incredible amount of possible directions and positions it can be molded into, only complemented by the colors of his pupils which change based on his current disposition. (Contrary to the picture below, Kel' Daram have both mouths and forward facing knee joints) Equipment: Ildaz carries very few possessions about the ship, the crew having only seen his armour and weaponry, such as it is. -Phase-Forged Acolyte Armour: A relatively subdued style of Kel' Daram armour, it lacks many of the the sweeping designs of the more common formats, it was smithed within the Psionic-powered forges of Lenterev, designed to resist damage not only by physical and thermal sources, but mystical forces as well, providing a modicum of protection against a majority of opponents. -Psi-Bound Vambraces: A pair of somewhat bulky bracers secured to Ildaz's forearms, focusing his Psionic energy into the vambraces produces formidable Psiblades to erupt forth, these blades naturally posses the capability to cut nearly all mundane materials and can greatly damage mystical or energy based creations as well. These blades are directly controlled by Ildaz's mind and can me modified exactly to his wishes, whether he wants them to be a different shape or whether he wants to nullify it's damaging properties and only transfer physical force instead. -Mysterious Crystal: Ildaz has been seen to carry a perfectly symmetrical prism of crystal around, matching the kinds found on his armour's chestplate, vambraces and rarely seen helm. [hider=Ildaz] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/00/13/d7/0013d7d5e245d7f7cd6bd83139c9f735.jpg[/img] [/hider] Homeworld: Born among the glorious spires of Hanuril on Tavam Alignment: The entirety of the Kel' Daram race has a resoundingly strong alignment to Lawful Good and it seems to most, if not all, that Ildaz fits into the same vein. Role: Chief Engineer/Quartermaster Skills: Physically, Ildaz has displayed a consistent and unrelenting sense of endurance to the crew, from holding completely motionless in an obviously taxing meditation position for hours, to never seeming to rest before or after any particular action he takes part in. He also has shown to have incredible flexibility and reflexes, able to twist and flow around obstacles and dangers both in and out of combat. In close combat he displays a sense of intelligence and efficient competency more than anything else, for Ildaz does not possess a master's skill with the blades and his greatest tool is his mind, in all things. Ildaz possesses an impressive array of Psionic techniques, from intricate telekinesis, to casting basic Psionic charges. He has shown skill at using the Kel' Daram form of Questing, a Psionic technique meant to seek out entities, forces, or anything in-between, ranging from across the ship to across a planet. Ildaz is finely attuned to the flux of the Void like most other Sages of the Ja' Turahn and can feel it's ebb and flow as if it were his own blood and breath. It is his connection to the void, mixed with a natural curiosity to understand things that has lead to his greatest talent, Voidship Engineering. Ildaz has the uncanny ability to know exactly what is wrong with most forms of older and more archaic vessels, and contains a vast wealth of knowledge on ways to both correct problems and most importantly prevent new problems from occurring, a relatively rare skill among the Void. History: While Ildaz is not particularly secretive about his past, he isn't very forthcoming either. However, the crew has managed to accumulated a reasonable amount of information over the twenty years he has been aboard the Nova Dawn. The earliest recollections that could be pried out of Ildaz's history start during his time as a Taredal, having just been initiated into the caste of warriors and swelling with pride at having so easily manifested his Psiblades. Going through all of the intensive training and condition that goes with being a part of the Taredal for nearly a hundred years before undergoing his first battle. The last of a long series of full titled engagements against a race called the Firokii, it was a quick and vicious battle, the Kel' Daram slaughtered the few remaining Firokii defenders and the remainder of their people fled their section of the void. The young Ildaz was swell with pride once again at having managed to perform admirably during the engagment. He remained in the Taredal cast for another hundred and twenty years or so, practicing his skills at arms as well as discovering his burgeoning Psionic strength. Immediately before he was going to beseech his elders for entry into the Velderi, His race launched into war again, this time against a race that none of his comrades even bothered to learn the name of, the only titles that mattered were, Murderers and Heretics, a ship from their home planet landed on a newly established monastery of the Kel' Daram and killed all who resided there and stole all the artifacts they could find, bringing it back to their planet. The full might of the Ascended Armada descended upon their worlds, burning all but their homeworld to ash, and it was upon their homeworld that Ildaz fought, alongside his many comrades he charged into the fray, watching several of them fall by the end of the day. It wasn't even a full twenty-four hours from when the monastery was attacked, to the point at which nearly a whole race ceased to exist, and the Kel' Daram returned to their homes, content that justice had been satisfied. For the next two-hundred years Ildaz honed his mind and soul to his full potential, going through rigorous Psionic training among the Velderi. He showed a consistent prowess at understanding and manipulating Voidcraft technology and after several decades of intricate practice and experimentation, Ildaz was permitted to join a group of Sages in constructing a Galderin-class Voidship, the equivalent of a patrol craft. It was the proudest moment of his life when the vessel finally lifted from the Phasespires and it's engine matrix held steady. Throughout the construction of the voidship, Iladaz displayed an understanding far beyond that of a novice and detected many impurities and flaws long before many of the other Velderi noticed themselves. Recognizing his prowess with voidcraft, many of the venerable sages gifted him with their knowledge and tutelage augmenting his skills into becoming truly prodigious. Ildaz rarely goes into detail about much of his life but tends to speak about the battles he's been a part of with a mixture of both pride and some other unknown emotion, verging almost on regret. He doesn't say much about why he came to the Nova Dawn, other than the fact that he approached the Captain about employment at a Voidport roughly twenty years ago, incredibly far from his homeworld. Personality: Ildaz exudes a sense of understanding, whether it be of someone's untold past or an unexplained phenomenon. He comports himself with a learned disposition and has a tendency to seem as if he is unaware of his surroundings do to his lack responsiveness when working on something or meditating, but has an incredibly keen focus when talking directly with someone or addressing a group. His mannerisms are intricate and subtle and seems to be unable to become offended in natural conversation and actions. He has an almost haughty manner when dealing with strangers and new-comers and is almost completely dismissive of artificial life forms and lesser animals. He shows an absolute ruthlessness in combat and can swing from having an easy conversation to dead silence to engage in vicious combat instantly and will return back again to the conversing immediately after to continue the same conversation, seeming to have never been interrupted. Ildaz holds to a strict sense of honesty when dealing with anyone or anything, he never makes his intentions or opinions hidden. Other: Protoss? What are those? I've never heard of them before in my entire li-*cough*(En taro Tassadar!)*cough*