Alric

Overview

Belonging to the council of The Nine, a gathering of sorcerers who opposed Balor and his Fallen Lords during the Great War, Alric is the embodiment of all the ideals that an Avatara aspires to. He is both competent leader and sound military strategist, a fearsome warrior as well as a studied mage. Though others among The Nine may have surpassed him in individual areas, Alric stands as a truly well-rounded individual, skilled in all things, and for that reason has come to represent the quintessential Avatara. Not surprisingly given his innate talents, he became the spearhead of the organized resistance against the Fallen Lords who encroached on the human kingdoms. Being the ruler of the free men of the Province and the foremost of the Avatara, Alric led the armies of the West against the assemblage of undead abominations and horrific creatures brought to bear against the known world in the advent of the Sword Age. Despite the impossible odds encountered and and mounting losses suffered by the forces of the Light, Alric's firm resolve was unwavering, and many of the Legion's greatest victories against the Dark can be credited to his levelheadedness and sagacity even in the face of the direst of circumstances.

The Great War (Myth: The Fallen Lords)

While Alric served with distinction as an officer throughout the Great War, he is perhaps most famous for devising the gambit which brought a decisive end to the war and stole victory from Balor even as he seemed on the cusp of completing his conquest. During the seventeenth year of the conflict, Alric had been captured by The Deceiver, and over the course of his imprisonment and interrogation was able to ascertain that Balor was not only the figurehead of the armies of the Dark and their greatest general, but also literally the source of their power. After an unlikely rescue, Alric became convinced that a much more aggressive stratagem was required to win the war, explaining to the men of the Legion that there was no profit in continuing to fight a losing battle against the Fallen in defense of their own cities. Marshaling what remained of the armies of the Light, Alric began to push northward toward the old Trow city of Rhi'anon from which Balor commanded his forces.

Knowing that the Legion no longer possessed the strength of numbers to take the citadel by force, Alric prepared over the course of many months to lure Balor away from it so that he might be cut down, thereby dispersing his armies. Upon reaching the city, the majority of Alric's forces launched a diversionary attack against the palace's main gates, while a small group approached from a different direction, planting an ancient Myrkridian battle standard within sight of the fortress. In a former life, Balor had fought a bitter war against the Myrkridia, and Alric knew that the sight of their standard would be enough to goad Balor into making a personal appearance. When the dark lord appeared, Alric revealed the nature of his plan, pulling from his robes an Eblis Stone, a magical artifact which temporarily held Balor powerless. Before the enchantment could wear off, the Legion's soldiers severed Balor's head, and Alric's final act was to magically teleport his men to the Great Devoid so that it might be thrown in, ensuring that the dark lord was utterly destroyed.

Soulblighter's War (Myth II)

In the years following the Great War's end, Alric returned to his throne in Madrigal, presiding over a sixty-year period of peace and renewal. So idyllic were the years after Balor's fall that many accounts of the war came to be regarded as nothing more than horror stories and tall tales. As few who had fought in the Great War had actually survived it, there were not many who could refute these claims. Alric was one of these men, knowing all too well just how close humanity came to extinction, and when word arose that Soulblighter, one of Balor's generals, had resurfaced with an army of his own, he knew better than most just how grave a threat he posed to the recovering Province. Recalling a passage in the Total Codex which detailed a man "who would resurrect the Myrkridia and visit horrors on the world without equal in history or myth," Alric immediately recognized what Soulblighter meant to accomplish, and by what means. He was not able to prevent the return of the Myrkridia as he had initially hoped, but as Balor had learned long ago, Alric's proficiency in war and strategy was not to be underestimated.

Though Alric's assault on Rhi'anon six decades prior was, at best, suicidal, his next move would be equally dangerous. With the intention of evening the playing field, he led the Legion to the Stair of Grief with the intent of reviving the Fallen Lord known as The Deceiver, who had been laying in a state of near-death hibernation since his defeat at The Watcher's hands during the Great War. In spite of his follower's misgivings, Alric's judgement proved sound once again, as The Deceiver expressed gratitude for his freedom by aiding the Light against his former ally. While The Deceiver traveled within the Tain to eliminated the source of Soulblighter's Myrkridian armies, Alric successfully recovered the Ibis Crown from the ruined imperial capital of Muirthemne, gaining both its power and the allegiance of the Heron Guard as the leader of the Cath Bruig. When the time came to confront Soulbighter directly, Alric would not need to resort to the same subterfuge necessary to defeat his predecessor. Wielding the mighty Balmung, he would face Soulbighter in open combat, forcing the beast to retreat into the bowels of the earth. Braving the burning heat and choking gasses of the volcanic Tharsis, King Alric and his men caught up with Soulblighter deep within the mountain where he was attempting to magically shatter the Cloudspine range. After a second confrontation, Soulblighter was cast into the fires of Tharsis, putting an end to his chaotic campaign.

Abilities

Being a renaissance man of a sort, Alric was not deficient in any area, and was in fact quite learned in the ways of martial warfare, sorcery, statecraft, and history, among other subjects. Of the Avatara, Rabican may have been respected for his skill in combat, and Murgen for his knowledge of the arcane, but Alric has come to be seen as the culmination of their ideology more so than any man since Mazzarin, the first Avatara. His confident and resolute demeanor in the face of unspeakable evil was enough to inspire the loyalty of his men without even mentioning his capable leadership. When called for, he was formidable adversary in battle, and wields the powerful Dispersal Dream spell, an ability capable of annihilating whole formations within seconds. Above all else, he is acknowledge for his keen intellect, which has led to many of the most salient moments of triumph for the Light. As both the leader of the Province and the new ruler of the Cath Bruig, there are few who doubt that his influence over the course of human history will only continue to grow over the coming years.