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+--- Thread: The Chronicles of Pallas, God of War (/thread-317.html)
- Michael Vellas - 08-02-2016
Titanus Pallas was the only son of the Pallas family who ruled alongside the other Channelers in the captial city of Olympias, a massive city with skylines piercing the clouds. Born at the end of the 5th Age, Pallas grew up in a world where channellers were at the height of their dominance and power. From Olympias they ruled the world. With the use of Gateways and Portal Stones, it was easy to keep the populace in check.
His childhood was unremarkable. Until the Power manifested itself, the children of the Gods learned the history of their ancestors and of the duty of governance they would one day assume. Pallas was particularly enthralled with the annals of history which recorded the feats of the Age of Heroes, and aspired to become a strong and just ruler. He was also keenly interested in the fragments of history that mentioned a time when a great darkness lay across the world. However, little history was preserved from that era and the true nature of the darkness had been forgotten.
Pallas did not spark naturally. At the age of 22, the Power echoed and was brought out by his parents. Under the tutelage of Megamedes, his father, Pallas spent half a century learning the mysteries of the One Power. He was a competent student but excelled at nothing in particular. In this period, he married the Lady Atharen at the age of 30. His studies suffered for it as he payed more attention to his family who he adored. Together the couple had seven children. Kratos, the eldest, Selene, Nike, Bia, Eos, Zelos and the youngest, Athene.
Two hundred and twenty years after their union, Atharen died giving birth to Athene.
The child was the last gift his wife gave to him, and Athene looked exactly like her mother. Thus, Pallas doted on his youngest daughter.
As he had no Talents or great affinity for any area in particular, he served as a minor official in Olympias for a century.
At the age of 172, his parents died in a dispute between a rival family, and Pallas was left to govern the estate. As the head of an influential family, Pallas was thrust into the middle of Olympias' political spectrum. He held one of the highest offices of the realm, serving as a Governor of Auriga, a province in the heartlands of the Pantheon, partly because of the power he now held as the head of his family and partly because of his tenure as an official in the capital.
The city of Capella, a city renown for the fierce storms that brewed in it's mountainous peaks, served as Pallas' home for the next 200 years. In this time, tensions began rising amongst the channelling rulers. A group of young men and women rose to prominence in the capital who began stirring the currents of political stability.
Pallas in his capacity avoided the early stages of the conflict, taking no interest in upstarts. It was in these years he started to change. Early in his 200 year reign of Auriga, he spent a great deal of time investigating the mysteries that intrigued him in his youth. He poured over the histories and learned much of the Fourth Age, and even pieces of the fabled Third Age, however, it was never enough.
However, it was enough to give him avenues to explore. Not a natural Dreamwalker himself, Pallas entered Tel'Aran'Rhoid physically and under the guidance of his daughter, Selene, attempted to seek further answers to the question of what the dark past that had been insinuated in the histories actually was.
The more time he spent in the World of Dreams, the more his demanour changed. This change took centuries to manifest. It was not until his 193rd year of governing Auriga that these changes became noticable to his family and friends. He had become harder and more cynical. Most notably, he was increasingly sure that a dark haze hung upon his heart.
At this point, he went even further. He sought out the Tower of Ghenjei. In this Age, few used the famous Tower, those who did rarely returned, and those that did said nothing except to warn others from following in their footsteps. Determined and prepared for the challenge - as he had discovered much of the workings of the Tower in his search - he entered.
Pallas was in the Tower for a month in total. Multiple times he was almost destroyed by the tricks of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, but eventually he found his way to the Chamber of Bonds, where the Finns were forced to abide by the mysterious covenant that had been established with mankind. Here he asked three questions:
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1) Who am I?
2) What is the darkness in my heart?
3) How can I remove it?
The Aelfinn answered.
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1) You are Pallas, son of Megamedes, heart of battle and the twisted blade. Betrayed and Traitor, he who brings war to the world.
2) An ancient oath, a shadow bound but ever waiting! We shall speak no more!
3) None can change what never happened to them. Time is an arrow, the way is forward. Beware the Three, a Great Storm brews!
Edited by Michael Vellas, Aug 2 2016, 12:03 PM.
- Michael Vellas - 08-04-2016
At the age of 372, now in his prime, Pallas returned to the capital Olympias. With his questions answered - however vaguely - his direction in life changed. He became increasingly convinced that war was imminent, and that he would be forced to participate in no small way.
For the next 128 years, Pallas spent his time honing his martial skills. Unlike the benign training he had received in his youth, he excelled in matters of destruction and military warfare. He was among a team of scientists and other, similarly talented colleagues who refined the Gigantes - the colossal constructs that served as guardians and bodyguards - to be used in war.
With rising tensions among the vocal younger men and women, a great deal of time was dedicated to the creation of new constructs - most with the purpose of killing. Of these creations, several were deemed far too dangerous. First among these were the Cyclopes. Constructs born from the fury harnessed at the heart of a storm. Given sentience, the usually incorporeal 'cloud' that constituted their physical form was transformed by their will into an imitation of their human creators. There was one curious difference between; instead of two eyes, the Cyclopes formed one, giant eye in the middle of their heads.
When questioned about the difference, one of the Cyclopes' simply replied. "There can be only one eye of the storm."
The creators were unsure if this what this meant, if it had some greater meaning, or was simply a form of humour. Whatever the case was, the Cyclopes grew in power and intelligence and soon could not be controlled. Production of the Cyclopes was stopped and several safeguards were put in place to contain the ones already in existence.
If the Cyclopes was the storm, the Hekatonkheires were beings of pure destruction. Only three were ever created, but three were enough. They were moulded after the Gigantes, large and humanoid in appearance. They were the result of an ultimately failed project to create the ultimate warrior.The act of channelling was considered to be the ultimate form of power, but the amount of Power one could wield was limited, even with angreal and sa'angreal. The Hekatonkheires were supposed to be - in essence - living conduits which could tolerate massive amounts of the One Power flowing through their construct bodies to be used by their masters.
The beings that were created were twisted and infused with enormous amounts of the One Power, beings who despised their existence and the ones who gave them life. The Hekatonkheires could not channel, but they were capable of feats usually attributed to channeling. Most alarmingly, not only were they capable of such feats, but they were capable of things that full cirles of 72 with a sa'angreal were not. Things that should not be possible for any living being.
Both the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires were deemed too dangerous. Their productions were halted and the beings already created were imprisoned within a vacuole prison called Tartaros.
Edited by Michael Vellas, Aug 10 2016, 12:07 PM.