The Significant, The Last Caster]
(Summary Below if TL;DR)
The Context
To begin the story of Telekhus Kastor, we first have to understand his family history. He is descended from a clan of Nomads, from the Kingdom of Korella. This clan of Nomads had five families named Kastor, Niler, Falur, Solkir, and Wevar. The first heads of these families were the children of the fourth son of the reigning king in Korella. This fourth son had disappeared after the crowning of his eldest brother. The royal family at the time sent out search parties, looking for this fourth son. He was never found.
Yet the whispers of the Wandering King rose up with the smallfolk. About a man who told stories of how he was the rightful heir to the Kingdom of Korella. He wasnât in one place for too long, and the true king of Korella tried to find this âWandering Kingâ. The ruling monarch failed this task. The Wandering King was too elusive to be found.
The Wandering King was the fourth son, who had found joy in lying and travelling. From the grandiose life of a prince, to the cutthroat life of a sellsword and a storyteller. The fourth son never stopped travelling, even after he had his five children. His children grew up in this new nomadic way of life, always travelling, always telling stories, and always selling their skills. The fourth son died, but the children continued on his legacy of the Wandering King, claiming him to be there god. This was, of course, in complete regards to the storytelling they grew up with. It was a lie, and the children knew it.
Hundreds of year later, this clan of Nomads had fallen from five families to three. The family of Solkir died with Andellekhus Solkir, the seventy-four year old woman who refused to marry or have children. The Wevar family died because of an unfortunate fishing trip that had two towns flooded and at least 300 people dead. The Falur family stayed in the Kingdom of Korella, while nothing has been heard of the Niler family in ages. This story, though, is not about those four families. This story is about the last Kastor, Telekhus.
The Early Life of Telekhus Kastor
Telekhus was born on the outskirts of the Mythic Woods Kingdom to Sakkhus Kastor and Janice of Arisa. His father was never well known as other the other Kastorâs that came before him, but the stories he could weave were brilliant. He went from inn to brothel to tavern, and everywhere in between telling his lies. In many circles that knew of Telekhusâ father, he was known as Sakkhus the Sly. His mother grew up humbly, knowing not to lie. She was also gifted in magic from a young age, being sponsored by a passing noble. She was taken from her home and shipped off to the Magic Academy when she was only seven years old. Studying Creation magic under an old Master Mage (though she had an unhealthy obsession with Ancient Magic), she attended the Academy for seventeen years. She was 24 years old when she left to get hands on with her research. She was given a grant to focus on her Creation magic, but then she met Sakkhus. Janice fell in love with him and his stories, and so ran away with the grant money. She kept studying and researching Ancient magic, though. Unhealthy obsession, after all.
Sakkhus was 35 and Janice 25 when they had Telekhus. His first name comes from his great-grandfather, and Tiomo came from his motherâs master. While he was born in the Mythic Woods, he stayed there for a very short amount of time. Very soon, they were on the move. They traveled for two years, before ending up in the Akara Kingdom. Stories were told, and Sakkhus received a high-paying job from a navy general to assassinate another general. Sakkhus, of course, accepted the job, and in six months the general was dead, and he had received his pay. During this six month period, Janice kept researching Ancient magic and had made a quite important revelation. They left shortly after Sakkhusâ job was completed.
Three years pass of small jobs and staying in small villages. Telekhus started speaking in short sentences when he turned three, then full sentences when he turned four. When Telekhus passed age five, the Kastor family had returned to their mother lands. They stayed in the capital city for another three years, as Sakkhus had gambled his way into service of the royal family. He was the protector of the sickly princess. She didnât survive the full three years of servitude he had been forced to pledge to the royal family. She died two years and three months after Sakkhus became her protector.
During those two years and three months, Telekhus grew close with the princess. He was a friend to the sickly princess, and started to learn the art of storytelling from his father. Sakkhus not only told stories to the princess, but his son as well. They both loved his stories, and Sakkhus was pleased by their reactions. When Telekhus turned six, his father started training him in the bastardized sword-style of the Royal Sword Style of Korella. Due to cultural influences, the Kastor style of swordsmanship barely looked anything like the strict forms of the Royal Sword Style, yet the roots were still there. The roots were, of course, the basic footwork. The princess with her keen eye noted that the footwork was similar. Sakkhus told her it was an offshoot from her familyâs style. The princess thought he was telling another one of his stories. He wasnât.
When the princess died, Telekhus was confused. He didnât understand how his best friend could just be gone like that. When his mother told him the truth of the matter, he cried for days. He just couldnât believe that his best friend wasnât coming back. Telekhus asked Janice if there was a way to bring her back. âTelly, there is no way to bring her back. Not even with magic,â she said to him.
Three weeks after the death of the princess, the King requested the presence of Sakkhus and Telekhus. âI have a question for you, Sakkhus Kastor. What is your relation to my family?â This one simple question held so much meaning.
âMy family and I are descendants of the Wandering King, the fourth son of an old king of Korella. This fourth son had five children. Kastor, NilerâŠâ Sakkhus told the king of the history of the Kastor family, and the Nomad clan. The king listened in silence, as Sakkhus wove the truest story he knew. At the end of it, though, the king asked for proof. Sakkhus wiped paint off his cheeks and forehead, revealing three pitch black circles. They were each half an inch in diameter. Any true descendant of royalty had these birthmarks, each located perfectly in the middle of the forehead and cheeks. You have a trace of the royal blood of Korella, and those marks would appear the day you were born. When Sakkhus showed the king these marks, and nodded. âAs family, I will grant you one favour, even though we are barely related. But as a father, I must thank you for making my darlingâs last days as happy as they were. Ask me anything, and I will grant it to you or any of your family members.â
Sakkhus asked for information on Ancient magic, anything and everything the king could provide. The king granted him, more specifically Janice, access to the library of magic. It took seven months for Janice to read everything she needed. She went through most of the library, scouring the scrolls for Ancient magic. She found them, and she learned from them. When she was finished, and she found every single bit of information she could find, her only words were, âThis time has been significant.â
For the next five years, Sakkhus trained Telekhus harder and harder. He was taught in the art of the lie and story. He was taught swordplay. His father took smaller jobs so he could focus on training Telekhus in everything he knew. On the other hand, Janiceâs obsession with Ancient magic grew. Everyday she was trying to perfect the chants, the magic formations, and the body movements. Each new place the Kastor family visited was just another chance for her to find and barter for magic tools.
Everything changed when Telekhus turned fourteen.
How Ancient Magic Ruined His Life. Or Made it Better. Depends on How One Looks At It
The seventh month. The seventh day. The seventh hour. Telekhus had just turned fourteen. Seven was a powerful number. A seven pointed star, with a circle on each points of the star. Within those circles, triangles. Then squares after that. Written in these squares were the words of power of ancient times. Inside of the star was a bowl of blood from Telekhus, Sakkhus and herself. Telekhus lay unconscious just above the diagram. Sakkhus was off to the side, groaning in his sleep. Janice started chanting incantations and magic words, while gesturing in a wild way. Magic was in the air. Janice was releasing mana uncontrollably. The diagram started glowing brighter and brighter, the blood in the star was being drained. It wasnât enough. Not enough mana, not enough blood. Janice noticed this, and then noticed how her son was losing the colour in his skin. She couldnât stop. Something had taken control of her. Sakkhus had finally stopped groaning, and realised what was happening. He did the first thing he could think of: he tackled his wife and they both fell into the middle of the star. This was significant.
Overload. Too much power with nowhere to go. There was no container. Except the unconscious boy that was Telekhus, who was significant to both of the sacrifices for this magic to work. Blinding white light burst from the diagram, before focalizing into the body of Telekhus. His body didnât stop glowing until a week later.
10 Years Later
Between losing his family in an event that he had no recollection of, and gaining unbelievable power, Telekhus had no true goal in life. He didnât know what to do except tell lies and fight. He thought gold was a good enough goal.
In the decade of his work he gained two titles: The Significant, for the glow that comes to him when he fights, and the Last Caster, for his stories about how he was the last Kastor. People took the story that he was the last casting-type mage. The irony in this was that he had no talent with magic whatsoever. The Ancient mana circulating his body only made him stronger, faster and quicker, and more durable. He was the container only, the thing that channeled the magic, not controlled it. The magic improved his martial skill, but nothing else. Or if the magic did do something else, Telekhus would not know. He has no talent with magic after all, his mana pools too small.
Currently, Telekhus is travelling to Arisa village, to see if his grandparents are still alive.
The Summary
Brief History: Telekhus travelled across the kingdoms with his parents for years, learning of the art of his people: storytelling and fighting. An incident with Ancient magic had his parents dead, and him with a power he never understood. After that, he wandered for years. Currently, he is looking for his motherâs parents, who lived in Arisa village.
Personality: Telekhus is a brash man from barely ever being able to be hurt. He is charismatic, being able to control a room with his words, woo a woman with barely three words, and can get a lot of gold out of the people who hire him. While a charismatic man out of battle, he is a wild animal in battle. Due to the Ancient magic making him near unstoppable, he doesnât care about himself or his surroundings when he fights.
Physical Description:
Telekhus is like any Nomad: dark skinned, tall, lanky but with powerful, compact muscles, and has brown, almost black, eyes. He keeps his black hair closely cropped to his head, not only for practical issues, but also to show off his tattoos. Starting from the dots on his face, they swirl outward and inward in patterns that look like ocean waves. They cover his face, his head, his neck, and his upper body. He wears leather armour over cotton undershirts. His sword is simple steel, with no elegant patterns to it whatsoever.
Abilities:
Master Swordsman: Years of rigorous training in many different styles of swordplay just added to his already cultured Kastor swordplay style.
Enhanced Strength, Speed, Reaction Time, and Durability: Due to Ancient magic circulating through his body, it has the ability to enhance his martial prowess. This release of magic only happens during combat.
Storytelling, Lying, and Persuasion: A master of the speech arts as well. He can make a man poison another man. He can get three women into his bed at any one time, and he has the ability to get paid outrageously for a simple job.
Weaknesses:
Overconfidence: As heâs only been defeated once, he has a very inflated view of his martial prowess. He definitely allows this fact to get to his head.
Lack of Talent in Magic: He has power flowing through his body, but no proper way to channel it except through physical fighting. Under the right guidance, he may be able to properly control the Ancient magic in his body, but Telekhus very much doubts it.