Trajan Meng

Appearance and Equipment

* Bald, black and gray goatee, hazel eyes, dark skin, 6'0", a warrior's build

* Usually wears brigandine armor over a thick tunic, plate pauldrons, heavy boots and gauntlets, trousers, all dark brown.

* Armed with his enchanted warhammer, the Iron Reckoning.

Skills and Abilities

The Iron Reckoning: An enchantment bestowed on the head of Trajan's warhammer, and successor to his previous bespoke warhammer. the Emblazoned Sun. This new weapon has retained one ability that is enhanced from before, one altered from before, and one ability that is entirely new.


Iron Skin: The ability enhanced from the Emblazoned Sun's old enchantments. With the Iron Reckoning charged, Trajan may touch the head of the warhammer with his left hand and instantly turn his skin into a magical form of dark gray metal. While it does not make him impervious to physical attacks, it offers an incredible amount of protection without loss of mobility (though it is tiring, like wearing plate armor). Lasts longer than the Emblazoned Sun's version of the spell, up to several minutes long. Less effective against blunt weapons designed to crush armor.

Ward: The ability altered from the before, previously called Bulwark. Holding the Iron Reckoning in one hand, Trajan may extend his other to project a conical Ward that will deflect magic as a shield deflects weapon strikes. While meant for personal protection, the cone around Trajan is sufficiently large enough to protect up to two other people behind him, should they stand close enough to him and close enough together.

Consecration: The ability new and unique to the Iron Reckoning. Trajan may slam the head of the warhammer into the ground to create a circle of intense protection nearing invulnerability and nigh immovability, five meters in radius, for all who stand in it--friend and foe alike. Thus, it is best used when at a distance from foes, or with a large enough group to hold the perimeter of the Consecration. The Consecration lasts for thirty seconds, and is very draining on the Iron Reckoning's charge--far more than Iron Skin or Ward.

Military Training: Trajan, from his time in the Anirian Guard, has retained his martial prowess, sense of discipline, and ability to lead and command and make difficult decisions. He relishes the camaraderie of a tightly-knit unit of people, whether that be the soldiers of his past or his fellow believers of the present.

Personality and Characteristics

Major

* Believes in the power of the human spirit to overcome any and all adversity, and holds a deep love for his fellow man and woman.

* He harbors no ambition for leadership, power, or influence. But all three found him regardless over the years, and he has had to adjust accordingly. So he chooses to lead by example, to never ask anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself. He takes extreme ownership over the failures of those working with him; not blaming them, but instead questioning himself as to what he could have done differently or better that would have allowed them to succeed.

* A recovering xenophobe and former hardline human supremacist, Trajan does nevertheless seek to right the wrongs of his past, even if old thoughts and habits can prove hard to shake.

* A humble man, he shuns recognition and praise and honors. He views himself as no more special or important than the men and women to his left and right. As one part of a greater whole, and a brother to them, rather than a father.

* Devout in temperament and mannerisms, whether it be as an advocate for Mankind or as a patriot of Vel Anir.

* Selfless to those he views as brother or sister, he would do anything within his power to help them, even making the ultimate sacrifice to save them, should it be necessary.

Minor

+ Has a soft spot for elves and half-elves, even if he refuses to admit it to himself.

+ A certain amount of cognitive dissonance is necessary to maintain his worldview.

+ Quietly in search of a new cause to champion.

+ Is oftentimes annoyed by bards.

+ Quite gruff.

Biography & Lore

A miner's son. A miner who, through hard work, a can-do attitude, and a willingness to assume leadership and responsibility, came to own the very mine in which he once toiled, and more. Lessons he taught to Trajan. True satisfaction does not come from what is given. Earn your place in the world, son. Your spirit demands it.

As a boy born in Vel Anir, Trajan knew he would be called to serve in the Anirian Guard when he came of age. And he looked forward to his service eagerly. He worked hard in his father's iron mine at a young age, physically and mentally preparing his body. At the prompting of his mother and his three sisters, Trajan also devoted time to his education once the Meng family became a minor House in Vel Anir.

And he met her while on a trip to study abroad in Elbion. Valynthe. An elf. She and several other young elves were out training with a seasoned master of magic. A glance and catching of one another's eyes. They met again in one of the city's prominent Libraries. A tenseness, then a melting of the ice. Trajan and Valynthe's both reached for the same book on a shelf. A shared laugh. A mutual blushing. A similar disliking of certain aspects of Elbion, compared to their homes of Vel Anir and Fal'Addas. And a secret midnight meeting at a local inn. It mattered not that they were of two different worlds. They each had found young love.

Trajan's parents were cautious. Though they were not native born Vel Anirians, they knew the culture. They feared the whispered rumors, the suspicious glances, the names. A damaged or outright ruined future. Trajan feared none of it. He had found the love of his life, and Valynthe hers, despite the gulf of difference in their possible lifespans. And they were happy.

And then it happened.

The Battle of Wandering Creek. A clash between a small unit of Anirian Guard and a band of Fal'Addas elves. An utter slaughter on both sides, crows and worms the only victors. The few human survivors said the elves initiated the battle, and vice versa. Strained relations between Vel Anir and Fal'Addas. There were even wild whispers of intrigue and conspiracy. And no one knew the exact truth.

Trajan was on the cusp of joining the Guard himself. Fear and hatred crept into his heart as he sided with his home and kin and blamed the elves. And the most painful nights of his life followed. Seeing his fear and hatred met only with Valynthe's grace and forgiveness. Seeing the monster he could become. And they parted from each other for the last time, tears and sorrow gripping them both. Their love fractured and forlorn. A heavy and conflicted heart shuddering in Trajan's chest.

He went on to serve with distinction and honor in the Anirian Guard for ten years. And love never found him again.


But he was not a career soldier. The Guard had indeed earned its reputation as the finest infantry Arethil had ever known, but Trajan's aspirations lay elsewhere. He wanted to extend that unity and camaraderie he had experienced in the Guard to all of humanity. Mankind, united under one banner, their combined spirit and kinship unconquerable by any xeno threat. For he had faced elves and orcs and others in the Guard. Seen firsthand the raw advantage any single one of them had over a man.

And for twelve years, he traveled far and wide. To Elbion and Alliria and back to Vel Anir and to almost every majority human settlement in-between. And what he found dismayed him. Mankind, a far cry from what the scholars called the Age of Expansion, the ruins of the castles of old scattered about the lands a testament to its fading glory. Mankind, suffering from an utter disunity and a strident unwillingness to recognize the encroaching threat. Layabouts. Complacents. Sympathizers. And worst of all, traitors. Though he had lent his hammer to many raids and mercenary contracts against specifically xeno targets during this time, the men around him concerned themselves only with spoils and coin. Short-sighted. Greedy. Lacking a grander vision.

And so at last, on his fortieth year of life, Trajan decided to take the matter into his own hands. Not all the people he had met during his twelve journeying years were idlers. He gathered the four most inspired and dedicated among them, Khadija Han included, and founded the Luminari.

Its sacred mission: To unite Mankind, and instill an unbreakable spirit of kinship, for that was humanity's true strength over the xenos.

A grand plan. One he knew full well that he would not live to see fulfilled. But one whose motion he could start.

And one of the first orders of business would be to bring the College of Elbion under complete human control. An effort to gain magical superiority over Mankind's inevitable enemies.

References

The Vicar of Suffering (Blackmailing Anima and Luc)

Those Beyond (The Pandemonium Crisis)

For Mankind (Forging an alliance with Madame Valkery)

In the Service of Mankind

And Sorrow Sang Softly (Recruiting Aiofe, the healer, to the Luminari)

The Burning of Elbion (Failed attack on the College of Elbion)

A magical study of forgotten races

Deposing the Warlord Gromagg Ur

Hellsfeld (Captured. Sent to prison in Alliria)

A Conversation through Bars

Failing Grasp (The Luminari crumbles)


Wandering Creek (A change of heart from his old ways)

The Attack on Fort Endurance

The Revolution of Vel Anir (Slain)