The Terra-King

Jerris Trent’s earliest memory is of being buried alive by the earthquake that destroyed his childhood home. He was pulled from the rubble after three days but suffered permanent damage to his eyesight and scarring from injuries that almost crippled him.
His family dead, young Jerris became a ward of the state and spent most of his time in orphanages and foster homes. He was keenly intelligent but withdrawn and taunted by other children for his appearance and his disabilities. He learned to compensate for his near-blindness and he became fascinated with the subject of seismography and the underground. He became a student of the sciences and eventually a seismologist. His studies led him to discover the existence of vast networks of underground tunnels beneath the surface of the world. His colleagues dismissed his theories, so Dr. Trent set out to prove them.
His quest eventually brought him to Kaiju Island, where Dr. Trent discovered an entrance to the vast underground network he always theorized was there. He also found remnants of ancient technology belonging to the Serpent People and the Preservers as well as the Serpent People’s former slave-race, the Sub-Terrans. Trent described himself as “feverish with discovery” upon making these finds, and spent weeks studying the ancient technology. The servile Sub-Terrans fell under his sway, eager for a new master to obey, and assisted in repairing some of the technology. His discoveries may have affected Trent’s already unstable mind, since he soon abandoned the surface world and declared himself the Terra-King, Ruler of the Underworld.
The Terra-King and his Sub-Terrans have on occasion launched assaults on the surface world, seeking to conquer or to avenge some wrong done to them. The Terra-King has also come into conflict with the remaining Serpent People and tribes of Morlocks in the underworld, and their conflict has been known to spill out onto the surface world, or involve allies from there, both willing and unwitting. The Terra-King’s “dominion” is vast, and may include further artifacts left behind by ancient civilizations. For the time being there is peace between the Sub-Terrans and the surface world, but it remains to be seen if that peace will hold, or if the mercurial Terra-King will strike once more.
The Terra-King is a profoundly lonely and isolated figure, ruler of a dark and dismal kingdom, finding solace in his “royalty” and command over subservient followers. He claims he wants nothing of the surface world, but the truth is that he hungers for acceptance and acknowledgement of his discoveries and his genius. Of course, any suggestion of this is enough to send him flying into a rage. The Terra-King jealously protects his kingdom, and strikes out against any perceived threats, be they polluters who use his domain as a dumping ground, miners who dig too deep, sub-surface fracking or exploration, or governments who perform underground tests.
Terra-King has developed some adaptations to his environment with the aid of advanced technology. Although blind, his other senses are heightened to a considerable degree, allowing him to hear faint sounds, feel light on his skin, and sense movement through minute vibrations in the ground and air around him. These heightened senses allow the Terra-King to maneuver in total darkness, and make him a surprisingly capable combatant, particularly in his native environment, where he often has an advantage over sighted opponents.
The Terra-King has access to advanced technology, including blaster weapons, giant digging machines, sensor devices, and the like, as well as devices capable of keeping superhumans prisoner in his dungeons, at least temporarily. He typically carries his command scepter, a metallic rod packed with hidden circuitry, making it a transmitter capable of summoning and controlling some of the creatures on Kaiju Island and elsewhere in Sub-Terra, using them as living weapons against his enemies. The control scepter can also fire blasts of electrical energy or emit a powerful electrical charge when wielded as a close combat weapon.