Ommund Rifflock, High Priest of Hielel, Esteemed Sage of Mount Akkum, Noble Lord of the Kylis Tomes, Mightiest among Mortals, etc.

The mob had laid down their arms. Where there was before screams and roars, and cries of angry dissent, the rioters and guards alike had now become a united crowd of cheers and hopeful voices, inspired by the young acolyte's words and charisma. Behind the platform on which the young man stood, his robes stained red with the blood of the dead High Priest and flecked with rain from the churning sky overhead, Aelid stared. These events, she knew were unprecedented. For the High Priest of Hielel to be struck in the neck by a stray arrow in the Artifice Riots, and then for the mere image of her fellow acolyte, lost in prayer over the dead man's body, to calm the crowd was pure insanity.
She watched, her face twisted with astonishment at what had just happened, as her friend spoke a last tearful word to the crowd, and turned to walk back into the temple. With his left sleeve, the one not stained with blood, he wiped the tears from his face and ran a hand through his brown hair. Aelid turned to follow. The two figures walked into the temple in silence, one in white robes, the other in white robes stained red.
"You lied to them, Ommund." Ommund turned to face Aelid. Not a shred of the sadness which had marred his face a moment before remained. "How so?", he replied with a curious tone.
"You said that the Sky Gnomes knew that they were a blessing from Hielel. You said that they would be willing to help us, but we know this is not true. Slaves Ommund! You know they are slaves here!", she whispered, through gritted teeth.
"Ignorance is bliss, Aelid. Which would you prefer, a contented population, or more riots like the one that killed poor Tane? Besides, the Gnomes are fools if they cannot see that Hielel led them to us. Who other than a God of Knowledge would do that? I have to go."
Robes billowing behind him, he swept into a side door, slamming it shut behind him, and leaving Aelid fuming and unable to reply.

Omond Rifflock was a revolutionary priest of Hielel, God of Knowledge. He was largely responsible for the end of the Zerbath Riots in 1 AE, when he convinced the crowd of the usefulness of Gnomic technology, and convinced them that the machines were blessed by Hielel. He was extremely charismatic and witty, rising to power in the Zerbath city council. However, over time, he bacame more and more radical and paranoied, eventually leading thousands to their deaths in a 'pilgrimage' to The Lands of Ruination. After his death, measures were taken to prevent any priests from becoming radical and gaining so much political power ever again, as he did.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Early Life

Ommund was born to the noble Rifflock family in Ancient Zerbath. He never knew his mother, who died shortly after his birth, so he was raised mostly by nurses hired by his father Pretcher, a ruthless politician for the city, who made most of his wealth from the mines the family owned in The Blackwyrm Mountains. Ommund's early life was luxurious. He lived in the family manor East of Zerbath, and was educated in history, politics, and religion. His elder brother, Monder was destined to inherit the family title, and the two, being educated in different fields, seldom saw each other. Ommund, who was destined for a career in the church of Hielel, a god of Knowledge, was described by his carers as sociable and charismatic, but could be subversive. He was prone to lying and rule breaking, so was often in trouble.

Adolescence

By the time he was 12 years old, and his brother 16, Pretcher Rifflock, his father, decided that it was time to play a part in his youngest son's education. Monder had become distant with his father, and the two had argued frequently. This is thought to be the reason that Pretcher decided to get to know Ommund better, in case Monder refused to take the family title of Viscount. The two shared similar personalities, and with Pretcher teaching Ommund the politics of Zerbath and the church, the two built up a strong relationship.
By the age of 16, Omund became an acolyte at the Temple of Hielel, under the High Priest Tane Greylock. He showed great interest in the teachings of Hielel, and strove to advance in the temple's hierarchy. It was this which, in the end, prevented him from advancing to priesthood. In the words of High Priest Greylock, "He is too eager and impatient. He craves power. That is no mindset for a priest." When he turned 18, however, the world shook with the news that soldiers in Zerbath had captured a Sky Gnome flying town. Suddenly, The Kingdom of Archaria was able to manufacture and use magical machinery on a scale never before seen. This event laid the path for Omond's future.

"He is too eager and impatient. He craves power. That is no mindset for a priest." - Tane Greylock

The Speech

In Zerbath, the city at the centre of the Age of Expansion, the mood amongst the citizens was turbulent. Citizens were afraid that the new technologies would make their jobs redundant, and some had heard rumours that the captured Sky Gnomes were being forced to work against their will. With these revelations, the people of Zerbath formed a mob, and riots began. Multiple confrontations with guards occured over the following two weeks, with the final, and most important one being in the square outside the Temple of Hielel. The mob and a consignment of guards met at the centre of the square. The mob became increasingly unruly, and started throwing stones at the guards. The guards were ordered to hold, until someone in the crowd shot an arrow. This heralded the guards start to advance upon the front line of the rioters, and fighting broke out. More arrows flew. The High Priest, Tane, came out onto the temple steps to try and calm the crowd, when a stray arrow struck him in the neck.
The fighting subsided a little, as some of the combatants noticed the tragic accident, but it was the sight of a young acolyte, steeped in the blood if his mentor, lost in prayer, which truly calmed the crowds. This was Ommund. He rose, and delivered a magnificent and poignant speech with tears in his eyes. He both mourned the death of Tane and applauded the coming of the sky gnomes, arguing that they were a gift from Hielel, and that they worked willingly.

Rising the Ranks

In the aftermath of the speech, the public opinion of the gnomic technology was shifted. The citizens of Zerbath now welcomed it, and looked to who else but Ommund for guidance on it's use. Ommund rose to priesthood, and became an eminent and popular preacher, even influencing city politics. As the Gnomic technology became commonplace, more and more people saw truth in his words that it was harmless, and the temple of Hielel gained many more followers. Within 4 years, Ommund became High Priest of Hielel, the youngest to ever take the role at the age of 22. During this time, although he appeared charismatic and wise, he still was often overwhelmed by the tasks suddenly placed before him. In times like these, he looked to his father for guidance. After the speech, the already close relationship between him and his father only solidified further. Pretcher was impressed and proud of his son's work, and was happy to provide assistance.

Enmity and Paranoia

The first 5 to 10 years of Ommund's high priesthood went smoothly. He continued to preach the virtues of the gnomic technology, blessing machines from factories and quashing any suggestion that the sky gnomes were enslaved. However, when Omund was 29, details of a secret war, waged by Gnomes and their allies against Zerbath, began to emerge, and were spreading faster than he could control. This was bad news for Omund, as it challenged the beliefs which kept him in power. The situation culminated when a priestess named Aelid Warren revealed a conversation between herself and Ommund, in which the High Priest admitted to lying in his speech. Though Omund still had many supporters, public opinion started to shift against him.
A week after Aelid's claim, Ommund stood at the top of the temple steps, where he had delivered the speech 11 years ago, to deliver another. He admitted that there was a war on. However, he also argued that it was not Zerbath who was at fault, but the Gnomes. They were, in his words, "disobeying the God who sent them to us" and "Blaspheming against Hielel". Once again, through charisma and rhetoric, Omund was successful. Aelid was voted out of the Church of Hielel, and disappeared two months later. In reality, she was killed by Ommund's assassins, marking the first of many deaths of Ommund's enemies. After this situation, Ommund, in pursuit of more political power, decided to serve on the Zerbath city council, and was one of the councillors responsible for spearheading the assault on the Gnomes and their Allies. He crushed most political rivals with shocking force, and was, for a time, the preeminent political figure in Zerbath.

Social Status

Charismatic, witty and wise, Ommund had many friends. Amongst his allies, he counted multiple major nobles, including Earls and Dukes, High priests of other churches, and powerful merchants. He was even acquainted with the Archarian Royal Family. As for his own family, the only relative he was is close contact with was his father, who continued to support and advise him, even condoning his more questionable political tactics. He never was friendly with his brother, who had entered into the navy, because of the rift between them. Ommund never married, but when he was 36, rumours emerged of an affair between him and the noblewoman Galdowyn Harcey. Both parties hotly denied accusations. However, when Galdowyn had non-identical twins, fathered by Ommund, she and her husband raised one child, whilst the other, who closely resembled her father, was secretly sent to live in a monastery in the North. The fate of this child is unknown.

Decline

As the population began to get used to the arcane engines and technology, Ommund's influence waned. They no longer needed Ommund for guidance in the use of Arcane technology - it was simply part of life. Ommund became increasingly paranoid that he would no longer be powerful, and that his enemies were working against him. When he was 45, these fears came true. He was voted out of the Zerbath Council, and his influence continued to wane.
As if this wasn't bad enough, three weeks later, a messenger brought grim news. Ommund's now elderly father had been taken gravely ill, and was remaining in his mansion, being kept barely alive by expensive arcane machines, and unresponsive. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Omund was devastated. He became more radical, and more paranoid than ever. As he struggled to regain what power he had lost, his sermons became increasingly centred around himself, and less around Hielel. Eventually, as his supporters dwindled, he decided that enough was enough. He left Zerbath without warning, leaving the Church of Hielel without a leader. He headed to the newly conquered Schanri, specifically to Mount Akkum.

The Kylis Tomes

Ommund spent three years on Mount Akkum, hatching a plan to regain his power. When he returned to the Archarian mainland, he brought with him 5 books, which he called The Sacred Kylis Tomes. He claimed that these books were a gift from Hielel himself, which were bestowed apon him. The Church of Hielel, who had elected a new High Priest, labelled the works blasphemy, and removed him from priesthood (the Kylis Tomes were false, and were written by Omund). Ommund did not care. With the Kylis Tomes, he already had a following in Alderbridge, and he had created a new sect of the religion, with machine worship, but more importantly him, at it's centre. For the next 23 years, he toured the country, holding rallies and expanding his cult, which gained a large following. In his old age, he became more and more deranged, and only visited Zerbath to see his now ancient Father, still barely alive and in a coma.

"Ommund Rifflock is my High Priest, my messenger to the mortal realm, my conduit through which my power shall flow. I shall speak through his voice, which you shall obey as if it were my own." - The Kylis Tomes, Volume 1, Chapter 5

Ruination

In 54 AE, when he was 72, Ommond's world collapsed. The Great Ruination Swept over the valley and Ancient Zerbath, destroying all in it's path. The elderly King died of shock at having a quarter of his kingdom destroyed, and a new age was ushered in. The year became 0 AR (After Ruination), and, in the days that followed, the new panicking king ordered the destruction of all Arcane technology, after reports that is was the cause of the disaster. Ommund now knew that this meant that his father was finally dead. Maddened by the loss, he refused to believe that the machines were to blame, and instead told his followers that the Ruination was sent as a test by Hielel, and that at the centre of the wastes was magic beyond dreams. Gathering up a group of five thousand devoted followers and zealots, he planned a pilgrimage into the Ruination.

The Battle of Thornain's Bastion

The pilgrimage set off from Aldermouth a month after the Ruination, carrying what supplies and surviving arcane technologies they could. They set off towards The Blackwyrm Mountains, meeting little opposition, until they came to dwarf territory. There, at the Dwarven boarder fortress of Thornain's Bastion, they were told that they could go no further. The dwarves had come to an agreement with the Archarians to defend the boarder to the Ruination in exchange for independence. Ommund decided to take the fortress by force. Using old arcane siege equipment and simple weapons, the rabble attacked the fortress.
Using his charisma, Ommund approached the gate alone, saying that he had been abandoned by his followers, and that he needed a place to rest. The good natured dwarves opened the gate, when a company of soldiers who followed Ommund ran in from hiding places and overpowered the guards before the gate could be lowered. At this,the rest of the pilgrims flooded into the fortress, attacking the unprepared dwarves in a chaotic melee. Steel clashed, and smoke from arcane siege engines covered the battlefield. The courtyards and insides of the fort were wrecked. Omund yelled orders from atop a pile of rubble, but towards the end of the battle, was hit in the chest by a crossbow bolt. He was put on an arcane machine to keep him alive, which greatly limited his mobility. In the end, the pilgrims beat the 100 strong dwarf garrison through sheer numbers. It was, however, a Pyrrhic victory. The dwarves were well trained elite forces, and Omund's mob had few professional soldiers. In the end, Omund lost over two thousand followers in the batte, both to the dwarves and friendly fire from the siege engines.

Death

Not to be deterred, Ommund pushed on into The Lands of Ruination. As they got into the valley and pushed toward Ancient Zerbath, many followers succumbed to the madness and monsters of the ruination, or died from exhaustion. When they reached Zerbath, Ommund approached The Half-Ruined Temple of Mirosaer, in hope of a place to stay. After the Arch-priests heard his heretical babbling, and after he insulted them for not joining his pilgrimage, they turned him away. Knowing the power of the many spellcasters in the temple, and not wanting to incur the wrath of the Gods by fighting on holy ground, Ommund left.
Instead, he went to his childhood home to bury his father. He found the building a wreck, and explosion seemingly having torn off the top floor. Upon examination, he saw that the complex machines that had kept his father alive had exploded in a wave of necromantic energy, proving that the machines were the cause of the Ruination. Disillusioned, and with no father to bury, he went back to the camp. Cursing the Gods, he told his remaining followers that Hielel had left this world, and left him to be his successor, making him a demigod, and mightiest among mortals.
In the following months, the ever dwindling mob walked the wasteland. As Ommund's group dwindled, so did his strength. The wound from Thornain's bastion was worsening again, and he knew he was near death. Sudden fears and doubts hit him all at once. Would his legacy live on? Once he died, would he face the wrath of Hielel for his heresy? Eventually, the pilgrimage stopped in it's tracks, having lost the will to go on. With only 20 followers left with the will to live, the others abandoned by Ommund and left for dead for the crime of "weakness", Ommund set up camp for a final time in an old cave.
Over the next month, he ordered his followers to paint a magnificent mural, depicting his life, to preserve his legacy forever. As they painted, Ommund set up a ritual, which he hoped would make him immortal so that he could avoid Hielel's wrath. When the mural was complete, the ritual began. Ommund doused himself in holy oil, then spoke the forbidden words. His body was consumed with flames, and he burned til there was none of him left. 19 of the remaining followers wandered into the wastes, never to be seen again. The other, however, a certain Ennet Roundhedge, had doubted him since his claims at Zerbath. Gritting her teeth, she made it back to Archaria through sheer will to live, to tell the tale of what happened to Ommund, and to warn the world not to let a person like him rise to power ever again.

Legacy

After Omond's death, and after his crimes had come to light, The Kingdom of Archaria passes a law, limiting the power of temples, and limiting the time that a city councillor can remain in office, to prevent another Omond Rifflock from ever rising to power again.

Summary

Paranoid psyco priest with a god complex needs to make up titles for himself to feed his ego.

Year of Birth
18 BAE
Year of Death
1 AR
Age at Death
72

Species

Human

Date of Birth

8th of Fabulasuin

Circumstances of Birth

Second son in a wealthy noble family.

Circumstances of Death

Died due to a failed ritual to achieve immortality, having lost almost all followers

Gender

Male

Eyes

Sharp and Emerald Green

Hair

Short, matt chestnut, becoming long and silvery in later life.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Slightly tanned

Height

6'2" or 188 cm

Weight

121 lbs or 55 kg