Kaphla Mesala

Summary

Kaphla Mesala is a name that few know, but a man that many fear. He is known as the Soul Stealer, the bane of all mages he faces. He lurks in the shadows of the mirthwood, doing all he can to

After surviving an attempted execution as a teenager, he has dedicated his life to taking down as many mages as he can. Many are determined to hunt him down, but just as many have been killed.

One must wonder... who exactly is he?

Personality

At his core, Kaphla Mesala is a deeply angry man. He is deeply frustrated with the world and its people, believing that all intalli are inherently cruel and stupid. He believes himself to be a true harbinger of Reshwal and his only true acolyte. He has little care for the sanctity of life and will almost always resort to violence, even in situations that could be easily resolved otherwise. Unsurprisingly, Kaphla has extremely poor social skills and is easily confused by social and cultural customs.

He has an unexpected appreciation for creativity and experiences rare moments of peace when he is crafting.

History

Early Life

Kaphla Mesala was born on the outskirts of a small village on the border of Reinao and Suiran. He was born with a severe magic deficiency, leaving him utterly unable to cast magic of any form. He grew up largely isolated from others, only ever really interacting with his mother, Solaris. Solaris did little to rein in her son, instead actively encouraging his wild and violent temperment. One of the only peaceful things that she taught him were stories of the gods.

From the start, Kaphla was always deeply frustrated by his lack of magic. In his adolescence, Kaphla grew deeply fixated on Reshwal, praying near constantly to gain his deity's favor. He wanted nothing more than to be his acolyte. On one fateful day, a blizzard struck his town. His mother was deeply ill, drifting in and out of consciousness as their house only grew colder. Filled with terror for his mother's life and rage over his magic, Kaphla focused every last part of his mind and body into a prayer.

In a miracle, Kaphla had managed to summon a small flame in his hands. After this experience, Kaphla knew that Reshwal had given him a blessing. He grew deeply committed to enhancing his magic, using all that he could to figure out how to gain more magic. In another stroke of luck, Kaphla managed to draw magic from the prey he had hunted. In yet another gift from above- Kaphla figured out how to travel through the shadows. Truly, Kaphla couldn't stop himself from advancing more and more- With feat after feat, Kaphla had managed to teach himself spells that even the strongest and most knowledgeable of mages would struggle to learn.

But he was oblivious. He had known that mages existed, of course, but... he had never even seen one. Why would they care that he was a caster? He wasn't just any old intalli, he had Reshwal's blessing! He was an acolyte, they had to understand that.

Unfortunately, there is little mercy in the eyes of mages. At only fifteen, Kaphla was nearly slaughtered. Ambushed in the middle of the mirthwood, Kaphla was forced to run for his life from a single, sadistic mage. It was a terrifying game of cat and mouse, the mage being all too happy to toy with the young pariah before them. But before the game could end, Kaphla was forced to make a life-changing decision. Instead of fleeing, Kaphla phased into the shadows of the woods and charged at his attacker. In one last miracle, Kaphla slammed his horn into their chest- stabbing them directly in the heart.

With his face drenched in blood and the corpse of a mage lying at his feet, Kaphla Mesala didn't know what to do. But his body knew. He could already sense it, the magic pooling from the mage's body. Driven by pure instinct, Kaphla did what he always did to prey. As easily as one eats or drinks, he tasted an intalli's pulsar.

And it felt good.

Path of a Pariah

Something yet to unfold.

Abilities

Pyrokinesis

Like most wyrir, Kaphla is capable of summoning fire. However, he lacks any real skill in controlling it. He is only able to summon extremely hot blue fire and is incapable of creating anything stronger than a candle wick or weaker than a wildfire. He is resistant to fire but not immune. If used for too long, his fire can and will burn him. Kaphla tries his best to keep his fire under control and only summons it in fits of extreme rage.

Shadow Travel

Kaphla is able to de-materialize into and form shadows. This lets him travel short distances and hide his form. He is unable to outright attack using this ability, instead using it for sneaking and ambushes.

Soul Stealer

Kaphla is able to easily steal magic from the pulsars of others. This gives him an extreme boost in magic and allows him to temporarily harness the same spells that the original owner of the pulsar possessed. This also gives him a temporary high along with semi-permanently altering his personality and beliefs due to the absorption of another's soul.

Relationships

Tupao Avda

Someone yet to speak on.

Aster Starfall

Kaphla despises Aster Starfall and all that he represents. Not only does Aster perpetuate Tupao's connection to Orenomos, he has actively gotten in Kaphla's way several times. Kaphla is enraged that Aster claims to be an acolyte and fully believes him to be a fraud and a blasphemer. He truly cannot wait to kill him.

Sukozen Avda

He expected more out of him.

Nyarav Temporus

Kaphla has a deep hatred for much of Orenomo's higher mages, Nyarav included. He has attempted to kill her at least once, seeking to destroy Orenomos from the top down. Her continuous survival has brought great frustration.