Azrael Keras

Azrael Keras (a.k.a. Azzy.)

"When will we truly get our peace and freedom from those cold blooded murderers? Why do they keep hunting us?"
"Because they have found you and your kind weak. I and those loyal to me have pledged to help your kind attain the peace and happiness you have been deprived of and craving for millennia"
"But why are you asking me to lead my kind? I don"t even know how to swing a sword, let alone fight"
"That we can resolve with a bit of training and in no time. As to why i am choosing you to lead it.... Its because i have seen a fire in your eyes and heart that i have never seen before. You have the potential to liberate your entire race and give them the freedom they all want. The choice is upto you now"
Mathias Christiansen, the founder and first emperor of The Sanguine Imperium , talking to a young Azrael Keras.

Azrael Keras was the first emperor and founder of Tenebria, the kingdom of Undeadkind. Widely hailed as the greatest undead being to have ever lived, Azrael was well renowned for his ideas about the rights of undead, as well as his successful fight to attain and defend them from anyone who would try to snatch it away. To this day, Azrael is a widely revered hero not only amongst undead beings but across all of the Imperium

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

”A behemoth of a man, yet slender and graceful. His blood red hair reached down to his waist, looking like a flowing river of blood. Looking at those golden eyes and that beautiful smile he flashed whenever he saw me, I knew that he loved me More than anything else in the world.”
Queen Niraya, talking about the physical features of Azrael.

Azrael was a tall and attractive person. He had a well toned, slender and muscular body that was marred with a few scars he had suffered during battles

Special abilities

As a vampire, Azrael was adept in the arts of blood magic and necromancy. During his journey across Elladia, he had taught himself many of the other schools of magic and besides deepening his knowledge about blood magic and necromancy, had attained some degree of knowledge over them. It was this, combined with his technical skills with the greatsword and various forms of combat, alongside his incredible tactical and strategic genius, that enabled him to be a truly great military and political leader.

Specialized Equipment

During battles, Azrael was armed with a large greatsword and fully armoured in a suit of steel plate armor. His aggressive style of combat was suited to this particular set of arms and armor that he bore for his life. In the later part of his life, he wielded an ancient vampiric sword that he had found inside of the temple of Nocturna.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Birth and early life

Azrael was born to a normal vampiric family in the northern regions of Inaria . From a very young age, he and his family had to live in utmost secrecy for fear of both Argonite and human hunters coming to their territories to exterminate them. He was a deep thinker, often drifting away to his own dimension where he had free reign to think and no one to hold him back.
Growing up and witnessing the torture inflicted not upon vampires but all sorts of undead by both humans and Argonites, he was determined to know why exactly they hated undead.

Journey across Elladia

Arctic Night by Trichardsen

"Father, I dont care what you say but i will be leaving soon. I want to know why exactly they hate our kind so much, and how we can save ourselves from this oppression. I know it sounds like a bogus goal but this can"t go on any longer.
Azrael to his father, on the eve of the beginning of his journey across all of Elladia.

At the tender age of ten, Azrael had made up his mind to leave his home on a journey across all of Elladia alongside some of his close friends and in the meanwhile, unearth the truth of why exactly his kind was oppressed and deprived of the most basic rights. After his preparations were done, he had told his parents about his decision.
Fearing for their only childs life, they had strictly forbidden him on going on the journey, thinking that it would bring nothing but ruin to their family. Azrael however, was not shaken from his goal. When his parents were sleeping, he had snuck out of his home through the window in his room and met up with his friends, ready for their journey across the world.
Over the course of their decade long journey, Azrael and his friends had gained a lot of insight and knowledge into the ages long hatred of undeadkind. Apparently, the argonites and a large portion of humanity were appalled by the fact that undead were beings that would come back from the dead., even though this theory was false as undead could be both naturally born or formed after being raised from the death. He had also discovered the origin of the undead races, and how they were created by two deities that all undead used to worship. Having learnt this, he had decided to return to his ancestral homelands and start spreading his teachings of freedom amongst the general undead populace.

Returning home

River Mountain

Returning home, Azrael found his village to be largely the same as when he had left it, with the exception that some of his friends parents and relatives had been killed by the hunters. He and his surviving friends had then begun to spread their teachings of undead rights amongst the general undead populace and also some of the Argonites and humans whenever they could. This was also just at the time that the great unification wars were beginning, which would lead to most if not all of mankind being unified under a single political entity.
At first, Azrael was successful. Many of the other undead began to think about his teachings and spread it to others. They were also vocal in their protest against the Humans and Argonites who routinely came and systematically exterminated undead beings wherever they could find them. Soon the independence movement gained strength, with even some Argonites and a lot of humans advocating for the rights of undead beings
Alarmed by the increase in Undead unity and their power increasing, a lot of the hunters had united together and began launching systemic crackdowns to undermine the growing movement amongst the undead, to devastating and horrifying effect. Large colonies and settlements of undead beings were razed to the ground, their inhabitants butchered . This happened on such a wide scale that the Independence movement was utterly shattered due to the terror spread amongst the general undead populace.
All of this had surprised and horrified Azrael at the same time, who was living in his parents village and spreading his ideologies there. Tears ran down from his eyes as he heard the news of undead settlements being razed and their inhabitants being massacred. It seemed that all hope was lost until one day, a stranger arrived.

A stranger arrives

Knights Divison

"I was afriad of those tall, behemots riding on war horses that approached our village. Little did i know, that they would be our unlikely saviours and help us in our darkest time of need. Nocturna does indeed bless her children during their darkest times"
Azrael Keras, talking about the day Mathias and his men had came to their village"

One day , as Azrael had been returning from praying at a hidden shrine of Nocturna, he had seen a large group of armored warriors riding on horses approach his village. Fearing that they were hunters as well, he had gone to warn the inhabitants of his village about them and told them to hide. It surprised him however, to see that the riders were not hostile to them, after they had called them up to come out and talk.
At first, only Azrael went and after confirming that they were indeed friendly, the rest of the villagers came out to talk to them. Their leader, a young man slightly older than Azrael known as Mathias Christiansen, talked to Azrael personally. He had told him that he would support the cause of the undead and their independence in return for his kingdom being a part of his empire but promised him a large degree. Despite being wary and distrustful of Mathias, he had agreed to the proposal and soon began organising armed resistance amongst his fellow villagers.

The war begins

Storm the gate

"For millennia we have been deprived of the most basic rights by those who oppress us. We tried to protest and peacefully obtain our freedom but that only ended in the massacare of our kind as we have seen. Now is the time to take up arms. Nocturna herself will bless us from this moment on, for we will have our promised haven soon enough. We only need to give it our best. I urge every one of you to take up arms and drive our enemy out of our lands with all the strength you have! Never stop fighting till the enemy is gone from our lands"
Azrael, giving a speech to a gigantic crowd of undead.

In the meanwhile as the undead were beginning to organise, Mathias had also brought in large numbers of his own soldiers and equipment to arm and train the soldiers of the rebellion. As Azrael and a number of his trusted followers had started going from settlement to settlement, spreading the word of the revolution, more and more people started to join. Day by day, the undead army began to swell in size and had grown to tens of thousands in only a few months, not counting the human soldiers in their ranks. Soon, they had begun executing large scale offensives against the hunters and their allies, reclaiming their ancestral lands.

The last battle

Battlefield

"My brothers and sisters, all of you have fought well throughout this war. Through sheer self sacrifice and dedication to our cause, we have managed to reclaim our ancestral lands and drive off the invaders. Only the last battle now awaits ahead of us. After this, we will all be at peace, and our dreams will come true. Let us give those bastards all we have got and teach them a lesson that they will remember for ages!"
Azrael Keras, delivering a speech during the Battle of the Irevian fields

Over the course of the war, Azrael and his army had managed to push back the alliance of the hunters back and reclaim most of their lost lands. In a desperate attempt to defeat the rebellion, the hunter lords had decided to make their last stand on the fields of Irevia, which took its name from the nearby mountain , Irevia.
Determined to finish off the last remnants of the invaders, Azrael and Mathias, alongside their combined armies, had marched onto the Irevian fields. Setting camp there, Azrael had gone and married his lifelong friend and biggest supporter Niraya, an exceedingly beautiful and kind vampiric lady who would go on to become the future Queen before the battle began. As the dawn of the battle approached, Azrael gave a final speech that would be remembered even after thousands of years after the conclusion of the battle.
After finishing his speech, his and Mathias" army met the combined armies of the hunter lords and despite suffering enormous casualties, he had come out victorious. Showing compassion to the hunter lords, he had forgiven them and even told them that they would be welcome in his nascent kingdom. Most of the lords had quickly retreated but some stayed behind, joining Azraels forces and becoming a part of his kingdom. The undead had finally achieved their dreams after millenia of Struggle.

Coronation and proclamation of a new kingdom

"Let it be decreed that from this day onwards, the kingdom of Tenebria shall come into existence and be a safe haven for all of undeadkind. We have fought tooth and claw with our freedom, and now our journey as a unified race truly begins"
Azrael, officially founding the kingdom of Tenebria during his coronation ceremony at the Temple of Nocturna

In the aftermath of the war, the undead were overjoyed. They had finally achieved their dreams after millennia of struggle and deprivation. After the end of the war, they had almost unanimously advocated for Azrael as the king of all undeadkind, and promised to join the nascent Sanguine Imperium as well. At his official coronation ceremony , he had officially proclaimed the founding of Tenebria and also proclaimed that they would join the Imperium, but also have a large degree of autonomy.
Despite this angering a lot of undead who felt that their newfound freedom had been snatched away, their minds were changed in the upcoming few years and decades as the Imperium kept true to its promise and ever since then, their relations and bonds have only deepened to such an extent that Undead are in general, highly regarded by most humans.

Reign

In the first few years of his reign, Azrael had focused mostly on developing his nation from a shambled country to a gigantic economic, technological and military powerhouse. With his economic reforms, he had managed to make the country incredibly rich, capitalising on the raw mineral wealth that lay in his kingdom. In the later years of his reign, his focus was mostly towards improving diplomatic relations with the The Sanguine Imperium and its constituent kingdoms, which further strengthened the geopolitical power of Tenebria.

Death

"I don"t know why he took his own life. He seemed to be troubled and plagued by nightmares but i shrugged it off. I didn"t know that it would drive him to suicide."
Attributed to Queen Niraya, commenting on the suicide of her husband

A few weeks before his death, Azrael began to have nightmares of a horrifying nature. He had seen a strange, malevolent entity in his dreams and it had tempted him to join him unless he be tortured like the rest of those who went against him. Despite all the attempts by Niraya to soothe her husband, the nightmares grew worse and started taking a toll on his mind. He was restless during the night, claiming to be seeing horrifying demonic visions.
One day, Niraya woke up and saw her husband lying in a pool of blood on the other side of their room. There was a suicide note next to her which explained that he was not able to take the nightmares any more and was giving into the influence of the entity and that it was better to take his own life. He also apologised to his wife and told her to protect the unity of the kingdom and take care of their children. In the following years, the Queen alongside her advisors and the crown prince had managed to protect the country from internal and external threats and maintain the unity of the country.

Legacy

"He was someone that appeared once in many ages. A hero of the ages as you could call it. Even to this day I, you and everyone else have not forgotten about him. In the hearts and minds of every undead being, he lives on as the greatest of our kind."
Inarra Keras, talking to Casper Christiansen about the legacy of Azrael

Even after thousands of years after his death, Azrael lives on in the hearts and souls of the Tenebrians. Many monuments and settlements are named after him, and there are dozens of statues dedicated to his name. The Temple of Nocturna, where he is buried, remains the most important building in all of Tenebria, even more so than the royal palace due to its importance to the Sanctus Noctis, the main religion of the Tenebrians.

Sexuality

Cisgender Heterosexual.

Personality Characteristics

Likes & Dislikes

Azrael has always had a love of children and infant animals, being extremely fond of both of them in his childhood , a trait which he carried onto his adult life as well. He had often said that

Virtues & Personality perks

Azrael has had a genius intellect and a keen mind since he was born. Due to his free and rational thinking, as well as being able to keep calm even under extreme pressure, Azrael was able to tackle most situations with ease. He was also known to be an incredibly inspirational leader, and could lead a force of poorly armed undead villagers who barely knew how to swing a sword stand their own ground against well armed and excellently trained, veteran soldiers of the hunter alliance.

Social

Religious Views

Azrael was a devout follower of the goddess Nocturna and the god Thanatos, offering daily prayers to them whenever he found the time

Social Aptitude

Azrael was well known as an extremely friendly, kind and yet mischievous person. As a child, he had always played pranks on nearly everyone he cane across and he retained this quality even in his adulthood. A famous incident goes that he had once burnt the pants of an abusive officer by putting a small torch into his pockets, thereby humiliating him in front of his entire army.
He had always been a kind and caring soul, especially towards people who were depressed, Sad or oppressed in any way, and constantly sought to make his people and everyone around him smile and be happy

Hobbies & Pets

Azrael usually spent most of his free time with his family, or by playing boardgames and reading books. The latter was his favourite pastime, a trait which carried on from his childhood into his adulthood.

Relationships

Azrael Keras

Husband (Vital)

Towards Niraya Keras

5

5

Honest

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Niraya Keras

Wife (Vital)

Towards Azrael Keras

5

5

Honest

---

History

"You were always there for me. When i had no one to take care of me, it was you who took me in and showered me with your kindness. And for that, i have to thank you. I love you ."
Azrael, professing his love to Niraya.

Niraya was a vampiric girl who was the daughter of one of Azrael"s neighbours. Ever since their childhood, they had always been the best of friends and an undying bond existed between them. Niraya would frequently play with Azrael whenever she had the time, as she felt far closer to him than any of their friends. Over time, as both of them matured, Azrael would go onto become an active agitator, freedom fighter for the undead, with Niraya being always by his side. When the hunter alliance launched violent crackdowns across all of the present day territory of Tenebria, it was Niraya who had sheltered Azrael in her house and consoled as well as comforted him.
Throughout the undead war of independence, Niraya would accompany Azrael on all of his battles, and even fight alongside him as one of his personal guards. Before the final battle of the war, Niraya and Azrael were married and would go on to become the first monarchs of the undead kingdom of Tenebria.

Legal Status

Married

Azrael Keras

Friend (Important)

Towards Mathias Christiansen

4

5

Honest

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Mathias Christiansen

Friend (Important)

Towards Azrael Keras

4

3

Honest

---

History

"Today, my race is overjoyed at the prospects of ushering in peace after so long. But I personally have to thank you for all of this. Without your help and support, our peace and freedom would be a far cry. Thank you"
Azrael Keras, thanking Mathias Christiansen during his coronation ceremony

Azrael was an incredibly close friend to Mathias Christiansen, the founder and first emperor of The Sanguine Imperium which would unify most if not all of mankind. It was due to the material and other supports of Mathias that the undead army were able to pose any sort of serious threat to the hunters. Mathias had devoted a large portion of his armies and supply to the Tenebrian cause, and in return Azrael had sworn that Tenebria would join the Imperium and contribute a large portion of its economy , defence forces and resources to the growth and development of the Imperium.

Education

Most of Azrael"s knowledge was informal. He had learnt about the various cultures, tribes , kingdoms , geographical features, flora and fauna and many other things about the world of Elladia throughout his decade long journey. Even after being sworn in as the king of Tenebria, he had spent a lot of time with books and studying, and he always believed that knowledge and education should be one of the top goals of a persons life.

Teachings of Azrael

"I believe, every person, regardless of their religion, race or nationality has a right to live, and that doesn"t only include undead like us, it includes everyone. We were all created by the gods, to fulfill a purpose in this world. We aren"t the unholy, impure creatures the hunters portray us to be. We have families too. We still have loved oness and kindness in our hearts"
Attributed to Azrael Keras

Azrael had strongly believed in the philosophy of equal rights for everyone and egalitarianism. He pointed out that undead were naturally born too, and that only some living beings who wanted to be reincarnated as undead did so. He preached that no matter what one"s race, religion, species or nationality is, every being that could feel and had a mind of its own was a pure creation of the gods, and should not be harmed. He held this view not only towards his fellow undead brethren, but also for everyone in the world.
Azrael had also believed in the power of pardoning one"s enemies as much as one could. This was because he believed that in the end, both parties would benefit from this and go on to help each other out. This was also one of his key diplomatic stances which whilst angering a lot of undead at first due to them not getting revenge for the murder of their family members, they had accepted this approach after many of the other powers of Elladia had become almost overwhelmingly friendly towards Tenebria for their kind attitude, and established strong diplomatic ties with them.

Achievements and accomplishments

The greatest achievement that Azrael had managed to achieve in his lifetime was the unification of the entire undead race into a single kingdom, something which no one in history other than Mathias Christiansen had managed to achieve and by doing so, he had managed to give undeadkind the peace and freedom they had been craving for millennia

Failures and embarrassments

Generally, Azrael did not consider himself to have many failures because in the end, all of them were related to undeadkind and their struggle for peace and that issue was resolved after Tenebria was formed. However, towards the last weeks of his life, Azrael would begin to experience nightmares concerning a strange and malicious entity. As the nightmares grew worse and were on the verge of corrupting him, Azrael decided to commit suicide, seeing it as a failure that he would not be there to lead his country anymore and that he would have to leave his children alone.

Mental Trauma

"The screams of my family members and friends as they were tortured and slaughtered, they still haunt me to this very day. No one, not even those who do it deserve something as horrifying as that. I won"t lower myself to their level by doing that, because i do know that everyone has a right to live"
Azrael, recalling the systematic massacres of some Undead villagers.

Azrael was deeply troubled from his childhood after witnessing the massacres of his fellow vampires and undead. It had also fostered a sense of kindness inside of him, and he learnt to be sympathetic to not only undead beings but also anyone who was oppressed. It would leave a long lasting mark on him as well, with him being unable to sleep and having nightmares even after the formation of Tenebria.
Towards the last few weeks of his life, Azrael began having bad nightmares and hallucinations. What was sinister though, was that all of them involved a strange, malevolent entity that was slowly corrupting Azrael to its will. Despite the best efforts of his wife Niraya to comfort him, Azrael eventually slipped more and more into insanity and claimed that he could not take it any longer. To stop himself from giving into the whispers of the evil entity, he committed suicide one day, thus saving himself from this sinister fate.

Intellectual characteristics

Throughout his life, Azrael was a great seeker of knowledge. He was always an avid bookworm, reading whatever tome or scroll he could get his hands upon. Not only did he love knowledge, he also loved to use it for the betterment of everyone, he himself stating that knowledge was made to better the lives of everyone and not ruin it. Azrael was also responsible for the founding of the scholars guild, a group of intellectuals who would pass onto their knowledge upon the younger generations and would run the higher education facilities of the kingdom

Current Location

Temple of Nocturna

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Lord of the undead, The defender of the dark

Birthplace

Inaria

Spouses

Siblings

Gender

Male

Eyes

Red

Hair

Long waist length red hair

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale white

Height

6"7

Weight

100 kilograms

Quotes & Catchphrases

Below are a few famous phrases and quotes from Azrael.

"Oi lads! Why the fuck are you slacking off? Get back to work unless you want to be the sacrifical lambs of the hunters forever."
Azrael, upon seeing a group of undead soldiers slacking off

"To me, a strategic victory means far more than a tactical one. Sure they might be cheering on the battlefield with the heads of my brethren, but in the end, it is they who are one step closer to being collectively becoming cadavers"
Azrael, remarking on the advantages of achieveing a strategic victory rather than a tactical one in the war

"Make no mistake brothers. We shall win our freedom and peace. We just need to struggle a bit more and then we will have it. Let us give those black skinned rats and their allies a lesson that they will remember throughout the ages!"
Azrael Keras, inspiring his soldiers with a short speech before a battle against the hunter alliance.

Aligned Organization

Tenebria

Other Affiliations

• Sanctus Noctis
• Tenebrian Undead legions