Kallistos
"He lost everything before he existed. He was responsible for more pain than you or I will ever see. And the life he lived after was the loudest and truest sorrow the world has ever known. He transformed from a feared tyrant into a beacon of sacrificial love. And you dare say that there is no hope for you?"Trebyn Akaritas, cleric of Kallistos, to a new acolyte
Kallistos, god of redemption, was the only Meydra left in Ekaia after the Death of the Meydra. In the same moment he took all the Meydra up into the Outer Planes, Evendur saw fit to transform the love between Lekatash and Tekina into the last Meydra, whom he named Kallistos.
Kallistos came into the world as a small child, as all second-generation Meydra did, and grew rapidly. From a young age he was visited in the silence of prayer by his parents, who explained to him what he was. Since talking with them was his greatest joy, he felt a great need to make them proud, so, in an effort to do so, when he came of age, Kallistos began a campaign of aggression with the surrounding peoples in an attempt to further create a great empire, causing much death and carnage. At his last stand, when victory was almost a certainty, Evendur appeared to him and warned him that he had chosen a road that his parents never would have, and that it was leading him away from Evendur and from them. Kallistos then ordered his armies to stand down and spent many years attempting to atone for the destruction he had caused, rebuilding families and land as best he could.
In this time he founded the country of Kroshesket and dedicated it to the memory of his parents. In the aftermath of the war he had caused, many years into his efforts to atone, he led the fractured people of Talazic to victory in defending themselves against an invasion from the north, a nation with which he formerly had almost allied himself. He leaped aboard the last departing ship to battle the corrupt king, knowing that if he escaped another invasion would be quick to follow, and Talazic would fall. Nobody knows how this battle ended, but the nation from the north has not been heard from since, nor has Kallistos. Many believe he died; some believe he survived and now wanders the world incognito. In any case, he is always portrayed as a young man with dark skin and white hair, his eyes cast downward in contrition and a crown of tears upon his head.
Relationships
Kallistos was son of Lekatash and Tekina and brother of Gisei. He is not thought to have ever married; however, his closest friend is known to have been Jotaki Tatreska, a renowned fighter from Kallistos's village. Jotaki refused to join Kallistos's army when he first formed it, and their paths crossed again after many years, in the aftermath of Kallistos's conversion. Jotaki is said to have helped Kallistos on the path to forgiving himself, and was chosen by Kallistos to be the first king of Kroshesket.
Followers
In most places Kallistos is revered as an example of redemption, and his story is taught to virtually every child in Talazic. His clerics can be found everywhere, and wear his symbol, a shard of ice with water dripping from it.
Some small clans still hold bitterly onto the belief that Kallistos's actions were unforgiveable and shaped the world into a darker place. This belief has been in decline ever since Kallistos's death and is very rare today, but has historically been the source of much turmoil and conflict.
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