Darza the Student
Darza was born to travelling merchants from
Desmia. Her father was a merchant from Boram, and her mother was a Desmian crusader who was able to get her hands on a boat. The two left Desmia seeking a peaceful life running healing potions along the coast, and were slowly drawn Southeast towards
Suneka. The couple also saw great advantage in the Suneka's education system: after three children that were primed to take over the family business, they wanted their fourth child to have a magical education, and were able to secure a connection to have their child taken inland to the
Akatlan for citizenship at age 3.
While Darza's parents initially intended to have her primarily raised by foster parents with them returning every year while they ran their trade route, the Akatlani civil war that immediately broke out was enough to convince them to leave behind another child to look after Darza- their second child, Rosha. Rosha stayed with Darza's adopted merchant family as well and helped raise her with
Orthodox values. These violently different worldviews- Sunekan and Desmian- clashed within Darza at a young age. She had few friends as a result and spent her childhood isolated outside of her close friend Tesmi. She and Tesmi excelled in school and helped each other enter Akatlan's Premier Wizarding Academy:
The College of Stars. Darza excelled in higher education, and her years as an initiate from 1834 to 1839 were incredibly validating for her. A wizarding savant, she completed her education quickly but stuck around in the college system. Instead of graduating quickly and joining Rosha in the merchant business, she decided to abandon her family and follow her friend Tesmi into the Sunekan priesthood. For her entire life, the divisive worldview of Desmianism had only isolated and hurt her- but Tesmi and the priests had always been there.
Darza's time in the priesthood only lasted a year. She had expected to stay with Tesmi- but the reality of priesthood was a shock. Darza struggled as a priest, never having developed really solid social skills and quickly realizing that most of her job would not be magic or theology. After a dramatic falling out with Tesmi, Darza retreated back to the college of stars in 1841. She threw her entire being into wizarding and research, and was quickly noticed and recruited by the ruling political party - the 'rationalists' of Tlakra Ruzin. The rationalists provided Darza with a new home for a few years, particularly Ruzin themselves. Ruzin had softened in their later years and saw traces of their now estranged daughter in Darza, and provided her a safe space for research and discussion. Darza was able to articulate her philosophies without censorship for the first time, and would continue to idolize Ruzin after their death in 1844. That brief moment of acceptance faded after Ruzin's death, and Darza was increasingly isolated during her research for the rationalist clique from 1844 to 1847.
Darza the Adventurer
In 1847, Darza hit a wall in her research. Theory and practice could only go so far. As she stewed in her loneliness and frustration, a sudden light entered her life: the explorer and travel writer Tepilu. Darza was a fan of his writing and often turned to it as an escape- but after meeting him in 1847, she became captivated by his personality. Or, more accurately, she became captivated by the dreams of adventure he represented. At the end of 1847, at age 27, she quit her post at the College to join Tepilu on his next adventure: into the rising Empire of Calazen, particularly the newly conquered territories. Darza was to be his backup firepower and he found her intense cynicism fascinating. Always the troublemaker and one for causing scenes, Tepilu encouraged her imperious and dismissive attitude. She began to grow more confident, but more abrasive.
At first, Darza and Tepilu seemed to be best of friends. They ventured for three years together into occupied
Sikrek and through Calazen. As travel became more familiar to her though, Tepilu appeared less and less intelligent to her. Her respect for him declined, and so their relationship grew toxic. In late 1850, they parted ways. Darza headed North to the occupied realm of Kidejah, where an ancient wizarding academy with totally unique traditions awaited: The College of White and Gold, the most advanced and prestigious center of wizardry in
Inahng.
Darza just kind of walked into the College of White and Gold without any awareness of what a recent occupation by Calazen meant for most people there. She intended to just start fresh and approach wizardry from a new perspective, but she quickly got pulled into a world of elaborate political intrigue. After realizing that there was a high chance she would be drafted into the Calazan military after her four years of study were up, Darza sided with the rebellion out of necessity. After three years of study and intrigue, she pulled a major stunt for her new comrades: stealing one of the Eight Mummies of Kidejah- unique artifacts accidentally made by
Mavara's tampering that allowed for reliable long-distance telepathy. These artifacts also held immense cultural and religious value, and the rebels wanted to make sure that the College's mummy was out of Calazen's grasp. Darza thought the mummy was independently incredibly interesting, and began fleeing with it through the
Adira Mountains back to Akatlan. She was soon pursued by none other than
Esam the Great- the new emperor of Calazen and the greatest sorcerer alive. Darza had never met a spellcaster of his power, and only barely escaped with her artifact and her life. She was the only survivor of that operation, and all of her friends and contacts in Inahng were quickly detained. Many were killed. Darza, terrified and truly feeling powerless for the first time, made the almost childlike decision: to swear to defeat death itself, to become immortal.
Darza the Master
Back in Akatlan, Darza was immediately forgiven for her transgressions and welcomed into the leadership of the College of Stars. Her newfound power, artifact, and writings all helped with that. For the next six years, Darza jumped back into magical research with periodic college-backed expeditions. The other masters of the college were wary of her at first, but she slowly integrated herself into the ruling clique. After years in Inahng and now with a top-down view of a major Akatlani institution, Darza became utterly disillusioned with Sunekan religion and politics (not that she was thrilled with them before).
After six years perfecting her spellcrafting and making college connections, Darza began to meddle more aggressively in Sunekan affairs. Aside from frequently studying with the Chiun-Malgo Cult School
(the other major Sunekan wizarding institution to the West), Darza would often venture into warzones to test new spells, search for possible new apprentices, or interfere with local affairs. This only further reduced her opinion of both politicians and "the common masses".
After just over a decade of perfecting her craft, Calazen finally invaded Suneka. The same emperor who had outcast her before, Esam II, led the charge once more as the foreign troops poured into Akatlan. Esam and Darza both saw this invasion as personal, as their last duel had pushed both of them to their limits- and they had traded long-distance barbs in the decade since. In truth, Esam had been considering a Sunekan invasion prior to Darza's interference, but her influence had attracted his focus towards Akatlan.
Darza the Fighter
For eight years, Darza helped the Sunekan side fight off Esam's forces. But after the last holdouts of Akatlani resistance fell in 1878, Darza decided to venture into Calazan territory to acquire an advantage: a blessing from the Immortal Demigod-crystal
Mavara. Mavara was holy to the Nediran religion but largely lived in isolation, refusing to hand out blessings- but it was said that those who could adequately impress her could receive great boons and even immortality. To steal such a boon from Esam's territory had long appealed to Darza, and this was a great opportunity now that his armies were busy in a massive war. Much to the relief of the Sunekan coalition, Esam took off after her once he realized she had entered his territory- and the two began a very elaborate cat-and-mouse game through the Adiran mountains.
Finally, in 1879, Darza and Esam faced off at the foot of Mavara's temple. They were equally matched, but Esam had grown reliant on his army and
The Saltspear- and was outplayed and outmatched by Darza's careful planning. Esam fled and Darza was able to clear out the temple guard. She marched in to seize Mavara's power for herself, but Mavara refused her. Darza was enraged, and was unable to overpower Mavara's retinue after exhausting herself in the fight. And while Darza rested, so did Esam. The next day, their cat-and-mouse fighting continued, and they clashed in a full battle the next week. This time, Mavara sent her retinue to interrupt, and in a rare moment offered to mediate their disagreement. While Esam was open to negotiation, Darza threatened the immortal instead. It was only by luck and Mavara's good mood that she did not die that day. But negotiations became impossible quickly, as her particular threats rattled and enraged Mavara more and more.
Darza continued hiding out around the Adiras trying to sneak past Esam to extract power from the immortal for a full year. In early 1880, the demigod
Haru arrived to de-escalate the situation. Haru was able to convince Darza to leave the continent entirely, to venture West to visit Mavara's sister- the divine lighthouse
Aysha. And so, Darza's thirst for knowledge and power led her away from her burning homeland, to distant Samvara.
Darza the Immortal
In Aysha's empire of Shirpatra, Darza was not given immortality, but knowledge. Aysha saw in Darza a well-intentioned and ultimately like-minded visionary that just needed some guidance. She gave Darza access to magical knowledge, some light blessings, and stunning revelations about the Gods and cosmos. Darza studied with Aysha for eight more years, though she also periodically traveled with Haru to visit distant magical wonders. Darza's power grew more and more, and she finally achieved what no mortal had: immortality through magical cloning. With a spellbook almost complete with every possible spell, Darza became overwhelmed with the possibilities: private pocket dimensions, simalcrums, altering reality itself. Aysha invited Darza to stay with her permanently and at first it seemed that Darza would accept. Ultimately the greatest of wizards couldn't stand being subordinate to anyone, though. Darza and Aysha also had quiet but increasingly disquieting philosophical differences. She returned to her homeland in Suneka, stronger than ever.
In 1888, Darza returned just in time for the grand Sunekan counter-attack. She helped repulse Esam and his invaders and was hailed a war-hero. She threw together a clique of people to stitch the Akatlani government and the College of Stars back together, and then set to work on a new project: making her own wizarding college.
With her global connections and great reputation, Darza assembled a wide variety of powerful wizards to join her in starting
The Darzan University. It was to be the perfect wizard school and research center: non-religious, free from all political obligations. Initially Darza promised to support Aysha and Haru in all matters, until Darza was able to convince one of their great grandchildren- the god-blooded Solar Samaya Seraja. Samaya's presence was able to distort and cloud the watchful gaze of
The Lunar Pantheon, and with that final layer of protection Darza was ready to go rogue.
Darza's relationships with Haru and Aysha have since deteriorated drastically. Not only did she begin forcing her ideology onto their descendant, but rumors began swirling of Darza engaging in morally dubious activities. Secret island fortresses, blackmail, mind control, thrall labor, physically and emotionally isolating initiates, and trades with highly immoral world leaders were all on the table. Darza simply didn't seem to care about her underling's activity, nor did she seem to respect the wishes or consent of others in her dealings. Her organization built rapidly, at any cost. And it flourished. Darza began managing a pack of simalcrums, which oversaw truly massive new experiments. No one knows exactly why or how, but Darza has been building something colossal in the last fifty years. Test subjects keep ending up in
The Moonlands as well- it is really anyone's guess what the mysterious archmage is up to.
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