Kaleb, Lord of Duality, Lord Enforcer
Areas of Influence:
Duality and Unity
Symbol:
Yin and Yang Alignment: True Neutral Race: Giant Quote: "" "" |
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Kaleb was born in the hillside village of Ug Thasa which, when translated from his native language means 'homeland.' Kaleb was the son of his village's greatest warrior, and the village healer. This being the case, his family was one of, if not THE most respected families in the village.
At a young age a nearby village of giants began to dispute certain territorial claims that Ug Thasa currently held over the surrounding farmland. This dispute led to a small attempt to overtake the territory by force. Kaleb's father led the small force that was assembled to repel the invading villagers. The invaders were repelled but Kaleb's father died in the battle. Kaleb was heartbroken and went to his mother with one question. 'Why,' he asked? Kaleb was too young at this point to realize the sort of pain that his mother must have been going through. But, she looked up at Kaleb with a loving glance and uttered a one word response, 'Chogee,' which, when translated can mean 'Duty' or 'Service' or both. This would eventually come to define Kaleb's life. Kaleb didn't understand at first but as he grew older, he saw his mother fulfill her duties as the village healer until she too died.
At this point, Kaleb was nearing adulthood, but had found no trade that fit him and, with his mother gone, he felt alone and out of place. Kaleb began to journey into the surrounding woodlands, sometimes for days at a time. On one such journey, Kaleb decided not to return to his village. Instead, Kaleb took to the forest and never looked back. He finally found a place where he felt like he fit in. As he traveled the woods, he slowly began to learn how to survive in the harsh environment. However, one winter was particularly cold and caught Kaleb completely off guard. Kaleb found himself unable to find sufficient shelter and nearly died. He was near delusional when a grizzled old woodsman came upon him. He seemed to utter a short incantation and suddenly, the area became warmer, as if the weather had all of a sudden changed for the better. By the time Kaleb came to, he was dry and warmly clothed. At first, the ranger, a grey-elf named Nelendriel, thought Kaleb to be simply a lost traveler. When he realized that Kaleb called the woods home, he decided to take him in and show him how to survive. Thus ended Kaleb's time as a wanderer and began his life as a ranger. For some time, Kaleb learned the basics of survival. Eventually, Nelendriel taught Kaleb all he could teach the young giant and told him that he must travel into the cities and towns and become a part of the guild if he wished to learn more. Kaleb was confused. The woods were his home, not the towns and cities he had rejected. Nelendriel explained to him that the towns and the woods were, for better or for worse, coexisting and that to maintain the balance between them, he needed to exist in both worlds and understand them both.
So, Kaleb ventured into the cities. He was not at all pleased with what he saw. True he learned much from the guildmasters and had many adventures, thrilling in the excitement and the battles. But the battles he witnessed in the cities were no more than petty, honorless murders in the very cities and towns that people called home. Not only that, but often these killings were done by gangs of killers who overwhelmed their victims through numbers. Kaleb was disgusted by this and asked around about these things.
He wished to know if these honorless killers would be punished for their deeds. It was at this time that Kaleb learned about the two things that would define the rest of his mortal life. When speaking of honor in battle, he learned of the religion of Lord Darkwood, the God of Honor. In fact, from the strong way he spoke of these things, people were surprised that he was not already a branded follower of Darkwood. Kaleb also learned that such deeds were once punished by the Enforcers of the Law. However, in recent years, the house had been destroyed by the Book of Law itself, which rejected the corruption that was trying to overtake it. There were rumors that the Enforcers would return one day as a few of the remaining members of that house seemed to be preparing for just such a day.
Meanwhile, Kaleb sought out the shrine of Lord Darkwood. He prayed there often when he wasn't practicing his craft or our adventuring. One day, his lion, Digger, seemed quite overtaken by something. His other lion, Kale, seemed oblivious to whatever was going on. Still, Digger began to lead Kaleb through the forest. Before long, Kaleb was once more before the shrine of Darkwood. This time however, there was another there. Lord Darkwood himself appeared before Kaleb. After speaking with the Lord whom he had worshiped for so long, Kaleb was branded and set forth to serve his Lord.
Finally, the Enforcers of the Law returned as the rumors had stated all along. Immediately, Kaleb submitted his application and not long after, found himself again in the presence of divinity. This time it was Lord Wervdon that had summoned him. Kaleb discussed his desire to serve the law, much as his father had served his village when he was young. He was accepted into the ranks of Enforcer, one of the first new members. He rose quickly through the ranks, eventually achieving the station of judge. Still, the house was without a leader and one day, he was again summoned by Wervdon. This time, he was told that the Committee of Elders had chosen him to be the Leader of Enforcer. Kaleb accepted the position and served in that capacity for many years. During that time, he always tried to serve both his house and his Lord. Kaleb was known for his devotion both to his duty and to his honor. Throughout the years of his leadership, Enforcer was at war with Outlaw, of course, who also disappeared for a brief time, reemerging as more of an underground criminal organization than the freedom fighters that they once proclaimed to be. Also, there were many conflicts with the Empire known as Legion who were not pleased that Enforcer would not submit to their rule or their rules. Kaleb persevered through it all, always trying to keep the integrity of the law intact.
During his life, Kaleb made many friends and, due to his job, made several enemies. At one time, Kaleb became betrothed to Lady Halana of the Crusade. However, one day, she resigned her position amongst the crusaders and disappeared. Kaleb went on a long journey to find her, but she was never to be seen again. Kaleb returned, heartbroken, but continued his unswerving service to the Protectorate.
One day, after a long life of both victory and defeat, Kaleb fell dead. His long service to the protectorate and the people of Thera was at an end, or so he thought. Still, Kaleb's spirit lingered. Kaleb was not worried at first, for he had seen many of Thera's heroes linger briefly before making their final journey to the spirit world. After a time however, it became apparent that Kaleb's journey was far from over.
After a brief time walking Thera as a 'ghost', Kaleb made a spirit journey. Details of this journey are sketchy at best, but it is known that Kaleb became aware of some great threat to the universe. It is said that the threat he perceived was so great that even the Pantheon became concerned. The Pantheon is said to have convened a great meeting and even the Dark God's agreed that such a threat could not go unchecked. However, for some inexplicable reason, even the greatest of Gods could not fully perceive the nature of the threat, only it's existence. In fact, of all the beings in the universe, it seemed that only Kaleb was attuned to this threat. So, at this meeting, it was also decided that the best hope for Thera and the Pantheon was for Kaleb to be accepted amongst them. And so it was that Kaleb ascended and became the Eternal Guardian of the Heavens.
Kaleb became one of the immortal Lords of Enforcer. His beliefs were centered around Service, Duty and Unity. But, Kaleb found that after his death the house was slowly falling prey to the greed and temptation that were always seeking to undermine it. Kaleb at first sought to guide the house along with Lord Wervdon and Lord Malistien, but when it became obvious that the mortals of the house were not fit for the duty they had been assigned, Kaleb stepped down from the protectorate. Meanwhile, the evil that Kaleb had sensed for so long seemed to reveal itself. The Brethren came into being. Sponsored by Lord Rungekutta himself, it was no wonder their presence had been shielded by the Pantheon. Kaleb was not prepared to stop the very threat that he had ascended to avert. It nearly broke his spirit. Instead, Kaleb saw that for the land to overcome such a threat, the land must unite. Feeling that Enforcer was unfit for such a task, Kaleb went to the Immortal Lord of one his long time rivals, Lord Xeonauz of Legion. Speaking with him, Kaleb convinced him that Legion could use his aid. Xeonauz agreed and Lord Kaleb took his place as a Lord of Legion.
This lasted for a while and Kaleb attempted to bring some semblance of nobility and honor to a house whose history was one of simple bloodshed and domination. In time, partly because of his influence and ties with Enforcer, both entities merged into the force known only as The Empire. The Empire attempted to combine the best of both Enforcer and Legion into a force that would both protect the land and unify it under a single governing body. However, the nobility of the thought quickly gave way to the iniquities of mortals and the Empire soon began to waiver and eventually collapsed.
It was around the time of the Empire's collapse that Kaleb finally discovered the true nature of the supposed evil that was threatening all of reality. Kaleb traveled deep into the cosmos to face the evil. He was not seen for some time and, when he finally returned, he was greatly changed. Instead of the giant ranger covered in furs and animal skins, Kaleb now appeared in a full suit of armor half of which was black as the darkest night, while the other half was the purest white. Kaleb described his ordeal to several people.
Instead of finding some great and powerful evil threatening the universe, Kaleb instead found...himself. Apparently, when Kaleb ascended to the Pantheon, he decided that to be a proper immortal for Enforcer, to be impartial and unbiased as a Lord of a house whose very principle was equality under the law regardless of belief or path of morality, that he must purge himself of all influences of both the light and the darkness. It turned out that this act was what actually caused the event that, left unchecked, would destroy all of reality. It turns out that the light and the darkness inside Kaleb, now part of an all-powerful, immortal being could not just be cast aside into the ether. Instead, the two parts of himself gained sentience and a purpose, a singular purpose, that being to destroy the other. Pure light and pure darkness in such proximity to each other and, aware of each other's presence led to an inevitable conflict. However, the energy released from such a conflict was so great that it sent ripples through space and time tearing at the very fabric of reality. It seems that Kaleb's ascension to the Pantheon was his destiny regardless of the catalyst which prompted it and that the tearing at the fabric of time allowed his spirit to gain precognizance of the battle and all that it could cause if it were to go unchecked.
When Kaleb found his two counterparts facing off against one another his immortal mind quickly determined what had happened and he understood the only way to stop them would be to integrate them back into himself. However, he found this to be more difficult than it had been to purge them from his system. The two beings that Kaleb had created from himself had grown too powerful in their own right for Kaleb to simply reintegrate them. So, Kaleb instead designed and created a special suit of armor and found a way to draw the energies of his two parts into this containment suit and, donning it uses his own godly power to balance the opposing powers. He never removes the suit for fear of releasing the destructive energies.
It was after this that Kaleb's demeanor changed. In his first immortal incarnation, he was much like he was in life. His speech, despite his obviously godly intellect, was still as simple as it had been in life. His appearance and raiment were indicative of a battle worn giant ranger. After his transformation, Kaleb became much more serious in demeanor. His speech is regal and refined. His appearance is mostly masked by the full body armor that he now wears constantly, though his size is still immense. One of the most notable of changes was that of his belief system. Before going on the journey, Kaleb espoused the virtues of Service, Duty and Unity. These tenets followed Kaleb from his childhood and his mother's explanation of his father's death. However, after his ordeal, Kaleb realized that there was a more powerful force in the Universe, that of Duality. Duality is the law of opposites which is prevalent in almost everything in the Universe. His own exposure to his own dual nature showed him the power and the inevitability of duality. Kaleb could not get rid of his own duality without causing a nearly cataclysmic event. Kaleb is now the Lord of Duality. His major tenets are Duality and Unity with his lesser tenets being Service and Duty. His old symbol of the majestic lion was replaced with yin and yang, to represent Duality.
After his return, Kaleb found that Enforcer had again returned to the land and Kaleb decided to return to the House he had served in life and abandoned as a God to help guide it to be a better house than the one he had left. However, this was not to be. Enforcer was a flawed entity. Little did anyone realize, Enforcer was simply an arm of an ancient and secret society whose very existence was centered around the need for law and order. They created Enforcer in order to maintain the law without revealing themselves. However, after Enforcer's final attempt, the Ancient Order of Justicars decided it was time for them to take matters into their own hands. And so they established themselves as the governing body of law in the land and Kaleb, as always, was there to watch over them.