Valence "Val" Sayal
Race:Gem
Age:20
Element(s):Air
Height:6' 2"
Bio:Val grew up in a sort-of 'cult' of the more paranoid members of the Gem race- the ones that always expected the Drakkens to go to war against them. For the most part, they were completely and totally secret, only occasionally recruiting members throughout the ages, keeping a small force trained and ready to go. The cult, of sorts, was called the Pasirengimas Pabaiga- "Preparation of the End." They wanted to be prepared when the Drakkens finally decided to attack the Gems as a whole, and thus had far-reaching roots in major families and communities. Because of the great wisdom the elders had, this held an advantage- they believed that violence wouldn't happen anytime soon, if at all, but saw the value in having some armed force ready to go.
Val grew up in this secret community, which dwelled in the hearts of multiple of the largest cities, and the largest forests. They were few-numbered, but they kept a long vigil, making alliances with Gems within the Drakken lands, and sometimes with Drakken themselves, promising power to them, should they ever help them in the downfall of their superiors. Sometimes it worked; sometimes Drakken went missing. Either way, Val was trained using weapons long since forgotten, with techniques long since passed, against an enemy that had changed surprisingly little.
Val, among others, was taught a wide array of skills suitable for assassination, espionage, commanding, or front-line fighting. Each of the members of the cult should be able to perform a wide variety of tasks, in the event of Drakken war- which is exactly what's happening.
During the latter half of Val's current lifespan, he moved from one of the forest outposts to one of the many mountainous bunkers of sorts, dug out over centuries as secret places to defend Gem from the Drakken. Here, he learned the more brutal sides of things- practice fights often ended with blood being shed. They learned how to hunt, how to sneak, how to snap a Drakken's neck. They beat captured Drakkens to a pulp, and they used ancient techniques from a long-past time to wield blades whose secrets to forging have been lost- khopeshes.
Being surprisingly sane for a cultist, Valence was chosen to serve as his generation's leader, and to begin working against the Drakken. Things were changing; subtle warnings via dreams began plaguing the cult, until they all vanished- and soon after, they found out the Drakkens were coming.
Valence was, throughout his training, a very dedicated, undistracted pupil, who was a natural at fighting and warfare. Some other cultist Gems would whisper that he was a Drakken in Gem skin; he let the rumors continue on their merry way, ignoring them in favor of more training. He had an unusual drive to be the best he could be- his teachers often told him that he was Pyrus's champion, the one that'd save them all. He knew they didn't mean it; they wanted to encourage him to be better, to do more, but he still took it to heart.
Other:The cult numbers close to two thousand, all across the lands of the Gem. Up to three hundred are stationed within the various 'fortresses' within the mountains on either side of the Gem-Drakken pass, hiding and waiting, training new recruits. Meanwhile, the other ~1700 or so Gems of the cultist live normal lives among the people, sit in outposts across the land, or work in Drakken or other nations to keep war from coming, or to delay it.
They actually receive fairly decent support from the water royalty, seeing the sense in the cult's motto- "Offer one hand in peace, and arm the other." The cult does nothing more than keep a sort-of 'Elite' group of soldiers at the ready, prepare hiding places for the population, and construct weapons and armor in secret, for the day that Drakkens, or others, will invade.
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