Difference between revisions of "Arak"

Revision as of 18:06, 23 August 2009

One of the central antagonists to Alexandria, one of the major figures in the Prophet's War, and one of the central unequivocal villains in the Canon of Orthodoxy. Though unimaginatively cruel and flagrantly evil, he did not choose that state, and so the Testimonials by and large treat Arak as a tragic, pitiable figure rather than an object of hatred or scorn.

A peer of Alexandria born in the village of Tragidore, it was Arek who first discovered and awoke the Black Wyrm while poaching in the Tragidorian Forest. The exact means by which the Wyrm was uncovered and awoken is unknown, but as a result Arek became possessed by the Dark Lord's energy and became the first Dark Oracle. He led a campaign of terror in Tragidore, harassing the town with the undead corpses of friends and family, while also abducting the village's children one-by-one, for the purpose of sacrificing en-masse to the Black Wyrm's Spawn. In this attempt he was thwarted by a group dispatched from a nearby city by a traveling oracle, Gargendime, who drove off the Black Wyrm and destroyed its offspring. Most of this group would later form a key part of Alexandria's Stand: Steros Merroand, Marwynn Teldendillion, and Sayid ibn Maimun. The Half-Elven Ranger Kivan and [[Dadtim the Elder] were also in the village, independent from the Oracle's summon, but also interested in the missing children.

Arek reappeared several weeks later, leading an attack on the caravan of the oracle Gargendime, who had taken possession of Alexandria as an Oracular Candidate. In the battle, Alexandria was abducted, most of the oracle's guard were slain, and Gargendime himself lost his oracular ability. According to the Testimonials, the group came across the scene and gave chase, finally tracking Arak and Alexandria to a nearby cave, where they found Alexandria dead by Arak's hand. Assuming he had thwarted the Prophecies of Alabar Tremaline, Arek mockingly decorated the cave in passages from that text in her blood. (Ironically, it was from these very quotations that Alexandria and the Stand would learn of the prophecies.)

Through unknown means, and unknown to Arak, Alexandria was returned to life, fulfilling a key section of the prophecies. It's worth noting that, whatever the means, the raising of the dead would be a great miracle, having been the only successful resurrection since the art was lost to the world during the Time of the Eight.

Arak then set about on what was apparently his primary goal : the destruction of the churches of the demi-pantheon. He began systemically but secretly turning the Oracles, most of whom resided in the unincorporated polii of what is now Alexia, into Dark Oracles. Rapidly the divisions caused by these turnings led to the Prophet's War, a many-sided civil war among the Polii, which quickly spilled over into neighboring nations. A short time into this conflict, he learned of Alexandria's resurrection when she became leader of Polis Jastor and declared against him. The two would not meet again for some time, however, as shortly after her declaration a massive fleet of The Lost appeared off of the North-West coast of Sidhe-Praxen and would eventually take Alexandria to the West.

Instead, as the various sides in the civil war coalesced into two sides, Arak prosecuted his war primarily against the Stand, generally with great success. By 23 BI, Arak controlled all but a handful of Polii along the northern coast, and with the help of his Dwarven allies, had driven Flannary from the war entirely by bribing Fresia into invasion. In 21 BI, however, Marwynn Teldendillion unlocked one of the Eight Obelisks and, using its powers, was able to stall Arak's advances.

The stalemate held until 21 BI, when Alexandria returned to the mainland in command of the armies of the Lost. Alexandria's massive reinforcements, coupled with the power of the broken obelisk, proved too much for Arak to resist. After losing a ten cities in a season, Arak committed all of his forces to killing Alexandria.

The combined forces of Arak's regulars, his servitors, and those dwarven clans who still remained loyal to him attacked Alexandria's forces, who were wintering at the town of Attlai. The battle that followed was one of the most epic non-divine wars before or since, including not only the combined might of several nations, but also featuring the last two dragons and the reappearance of the Naga.

Arak was slain by Alexandria on the Plains of Kamdel on Third of Renewal, 20 FI by Alexandria. At this time, Alexandria had yet to acquire any divine or arcane powers, yet by all accounts, was able to defeat a fully armed and armored Arak in single combat with her bare hands.