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| Qaal Magus of Bel Hammon | |
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| Born | Ca. 1500-600 BC |
| Died | N/A |
| Spouse | None |
| Issue | None |
| Religion | Khama |
| Parents | Unknown |
| Affiliations |
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| Persuasion | Qaal's Stat is 16 for Persuasion /Dice |
Qaal (full Allorn name unclear, or omitted), is a Magus of the Elven hermit state of Bel Hamon. As a Magus, Qaal is in theory a respected member of Bel Hammon society, but his indignance to his homeland, as well as the fact that he moves from nation to nation (and reportedly, never back to Bel Hammon), implies he might be an exile or emigrant. Qaal is in all respects not a noteworthy person of much fame and acclaim but has occasionally popped up whenever cutting-edge bio-tech or bio-magic was discussed or explored. He also seemingly is interested in adequately warning anyone from interacting with his fellow countrymen.
Qaal's exact birth is unknown, as is his exact age. He acts cagey about how old he is. What is known for sure, is that he is old enough to have been living in the Kingdom of Amelore before the Five Family Rebellion, which would put his age at somewhere between 400 to 500 years old. Some comments he had made about the Arch Age, a period during which Archmages fought wars over the Allorn Empire, implied he might be much older. If he is a first-hand witness to the Arch Age, that puts his age at 1800 to 1000 years old, potentially older. If this is the case, then he would be classified as an Ald-Magus, having used considerable magic to extend his lifespan beyond what is natural.
Qaal has an unrivaled understanding of Creation Particle theory and application but is incredibly cagey about sharing any of it with the wider public, due to the perceived horrors of Bel Hammon's design on magical eugenics. Generally, however, he is a good source of Elven history, particularly in the later eras, and may be one of the few first-hand witnesses to the Denial of Immortality, the Five Family Rebellion, and the Archmage Wars.
Early Life
Scant little is known about Qaal's early life, mostly because he just does not talk about it. It is presumed that he was the product of the usual Bel Hammon eugenics programs to create powerful Mages, from a prestigious family given his access to wealth even while abroad. Nothing is known about his family or his origins. He sometimes however speaks fondly of the region to Bel Hammon's north, which implies he might have been born somewhere close to the Vasaal City States, or potentially migrated into the Bel Hammon Princedom at a later point in time when the Allorn Empire was still whole. Nothing else is known about his personal history until the Amelore period, so the narration will continue to that section.
Amelore
Qaal is confirmed by paperwork and testimony to have been a citizen of the Kingdom of Amelore during the Kintyr conflicts, as well as the eventual Five Family Rebellion that overthrew this state. Qaal was a member of a group of Bel Hammon Elves that are referred to as Methenwë, though he considers this an anti-Elven slur. His allegiance to these Elves in particular means he was part of a wider project by the Bel Hammon Elves to hijack and re-program the Soulcores to suit their purposes. He may have been part of the same group that reprogrammed the Conduit and interfered with Dragon sites in the first century BC. Where Qaal went after Amelore is unclear, though he survived the Five Family Rebellion.
Amontaar
Qaal re-appears in historical narration 300 years later in Amontaar, seemingly having changed much in the past 300 years, and having settled down in Amontaar in a private clinic working on bio-tech and bio-magical cures for common diseases by doing research in creation markers. A few Regalians interacted with him, though he generally kept a low profile because Bel Hammon Elves were not looked upon fondly in Amontaar. When Regalians assisted the Sol of Amontaar to seize absolute power in his realm, Qaal fled the city during the political upheaval that followed as Allorn loyalists and other foreigners who did not comply with the Sol's political agenda were imprisoned or exiled. Qaal being of Bel Hammon origin, was naturally distrusted by Amontaar city authorities, and thus expelled while his wealth was confiscated.
Regalia
Qaal presently resides in Regalia, after having been exiled from Amontaar, while losing most of his wealth. Either through wilful ignorance on the part of the city, exceptional incompetence of the bureaucracy, or political intrigue on his part, he has been appointed consul of the Suvial Princedoms, despite never having held this nationality, or being appointed by the Suvial. Qaal remains a low-profile figure in Regalia while doing Magical research on his favored subjects, while occasionally expositing Elven history, or warnings to discourage others from chasing after Bel Hammon.
Morality
Qaal is a morally complex figure that some people have a very natural urge to kill. As a Bel Hammon Mage, he is naturally associated if not outright with terrible moral transgressions and spiritual crimes that the Bel Hammon are famous for. If Qaal truly has been alive for over a thousand years, that means he likely also has a thousand years of bad actions with bad intentions under his belt, even if sometimes the review of Bel Hammon is a little caricature-like and unnuanced to reality.
Qaal never denies having done bad things but also holds that debating the past is largely a waste of time because he can perform acts in Karmic justice in the present day, not for the sake of saving his soul or offering any would-be victim catharsis, but leaving a net-positive in the world. Qaal seems to be a pious Khama worshiper, despite the inherent contradiction of that existence as a Bel Hammon Elf who may have participated in the Pearl Wars. He seemingly always asks strangers if there is something he can do for them, and seemingly wants to end a day having tried to help as many people as possible, though some could argue this is all performative for a Mage who likely still has enemies stalking him.
Appearance
Qaal has a short stature for an Elf and especially for a Bel Hammon Elf. He tells others that the way he looks presently may not necessarily reflect his appearance at birth, and that bio-Magic fixed a lot of birth defects present in him at an earlier age. Some could speculate this is because the Bel Hammon families are immensely inbred due to their habit of keeping close relatives in wedlock for the preservation of power within the family. He has a generally calm demeanor about him, has a beard with gray and white hair which is unusual for an Elf, and often wears clothes that leave him unassuming and unnoticeable, except for when he wears his Bel Hammon robes. Qaal's fingers are replaced with Magitech finger prosthetics, a symptom of long-term Magic usage which corrodes and destroys the fingers over several centuries of use.
Personality
Qaal's personality is generally hard to pin down because any public missive and even Qaal's own words state that no one should ever trust a Bel Hammon Elf to be honest, or face-forward with their intentions. At face value, Qaal seems kind, soft-spoken, and helpful, but he has been known to say dismissive and infantilizing things to intellectuals, and have outbursts of ego and pride. He is overly apologetic and generally makes himself out to be as minimal of a threat as possible, which seems to work most of the time. His politics customs and norms are unknown, save for his habit of engaging in Khama worship at the Khama temple and following their doctrine.
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