Loreval

Loreval is Artiste of the Monarch's Claws. He is the foremost offensive magick practitioner in Illena, through knowledge rather than power. Despite family pressure, he remained loyal to Shiel, and obtained his current position during the darkest days of the civil war. The Monarch's Claws had been purposefully demoralized and broken by the previous artiste due to his support for Eder, and Loreval has spent several years regrowing its reputation as well as its agents. He is well-respected in most circles, though he made several enemies because of his refusal to support Eder's bid, which includes family who followed the king's uncle into exile.

Early Years

Loreval is the second son of Lord Chorle and Lady Edmina qua Lothique. He had a typical noble upbringing that included attending prestigious schools and private tutors in the shadowarts. He showed great promise in the mystery arts, though he had such a fondness for books, most assumed he would become a scholar rather than a practitioner.
He attended Therdion Vall, a well-known and highly regarded mystery arts school in Shayd, and spent a few years at the Palace School in Iova. Upon his return, he shocked everyone, including his immediate family, by applying for admittance into the Monarch's Claws. At that time, it was widely regarded as a failing enterprise, with uninterested artistes leading struggling agents. His zeal for returning the organization to its former glory was welcomed by King Netharin, though the artiste, Gadric, disliked his interference. Because Loreval family had social standing and wealth above most Illenan nobles, Gadric could not dismiss him, but did attempt to make his work life an Abyss, hoping he would leave.

The Illenan Civil War

The reason Gadric had attempted to drive the Claws into the ground became very apparent when Eder declared his intentions to usurp his nephew with the artiste standing at his side. Loreval, furious at the betrayal, not only of his king, but of his organization, accepted his promotion to artiste and immediately gathered those loyal to the young monarch. He spent an intense few eight-days training them into a semblance of the protective order they had once been, and used his knowledge of magick to design ingenious wieldings that the young and untried agents could employ with great success. The most useful became the defensive shielding he created for Shiel and Iavan, ones that did not require strength or knowledge to wield, but that would hold until an agent of greater ability could care for the attack. They saved both king and cousin from Eder's assassins.
During this time, Loreval's father wrote him about his extended family supporting Eder, including his grandfather. Loreval accepted the ill news, and told his parent that he remained true to Shiel and his vision of Illena. The curt reply, basically cutting him off from his family, prompted him to sever contact with all of them.
Unlike many Illenans who found Sikode's presence distasteful, Loreval saw an extremely powerful wielder who had the capacity to destroy Shiel's enemies if given the opportunity. He understood the Rakan's drive to make more of himself than his homeland would have allowed, and fighting for a king would fill that need. Sikode did not disappoint, defeating Eder's premiere wielder, one personally chosen by Gadric to not only annihilate the foreign shadowartist, but to destroy Shiel's support. Some expected the Rakan to make a bid for the artiste's position, but he demured. Both knew, Loreval was the better man for that particular position.

Merren

Loreval found the Merren rumors of bloodmagick disturbing, but he also had a difficult time believing them. They seemed ludicrious; how could humans manage to drain magick from another's body? None of his study had ever indicated that it might be possible, and he had delved into some very dark wieldings. His first encounter with a bloodstone shocked him, and the realization that the bloodmages had several different types of bloodstones horrified him. He quickly developed a team to delve into the magicks and find ways to cleanse the peoples and areas affected by them, During this time, he helped develop magickal masks that would protect the wearer from breathing in the bloodmagick contamination, which, they had discovered too late, proved detrimental to one's health.
He and his people worked on ways to neutralize and reverse the adverse effects of the bloodmagick, and became adept at breaking wieldings left in bloodmage mansions that were meant to incapacitate and kill the enemy.
After Sikode's experiences in the Javone palace dungeons, Loreval had his agents in Shayd begin to research possible explanations for the crystal monsters. They discovered nothing that seemed to relate to them. Loreval himself, busy with reconstructing a Merren wielding force to protect Cilair as well as the cleansing of bloodmage-tainted lands, has not had the time to devote to the research.

Skills

Loreval has an intuitive grasp of most magickal concepts and is widely read, giving him a firm background when he decides to create new castes of wieldings. He may not be the strongest member of the Monarch's Claws, but he is the most knowledgeable, and that knowledge has served him well.
His understanding of motivations in noble families has helped Shiel navigate the Illenan social world to great success. He has an excellent sense for how gifted a shadowartist may be, and employs their talents accordingly.

Loreval

Age

66 years

Country

Illena

Language

Jonnese + 3 others

Occupation

Artiste of the Monarch's Claw

Hair

Greying brown

Eyes

Dark grey

First Appearance

Trouble in Tindrel

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