Abraxas is the Keeper of Prophecies of the Oracles of Eternity and guardian of the source in the Plains of Eternity. Known as the Dark Lord and King of Eternity, he seeks to stop the outsiders foretold by the Oracles' prophecies.
History
Abraxas's forces fought Rahmavir and the Malverand guardians sent to support it. He killed Phariel, and Thamrielle fled. Sephara maintained that Rahmavir had first attempted to seize the source; Thamrielle blamed Abraxas for starting the war.
The Oracles' prophecies warned that outsiders would bring ruin to Valrindor. They initially identified the invaders from Rahmavir as the threat, but the warnings continued after that faction's defeat. Abraxas's followers then sought the outsiders among those opposing Uriandel, who had joined their cause after visiting the plains. Uriandel attacked Sigvariel's lands and turned against Jeremiah for protecting him.
Relationships
Aurelia — Princess of Myrravel whom Abraxas treated kindly. She copied one of his spells without knowing what it did and fled. Carrying it inside her body nearly killed her. She conceived Helena with Ozaith and passed the spell to her, hoping their daughter would survive its power, defeat Abraxas, and help reclaim Myrravel.
Uriandel — Guardian who sided with Abraxas after visiting the plains. Sephara persuaded him that the guardians' wars served the outsiders' destruction of Valrindor.
Sephara — Oracle serving Abraxas. She joined Thalion's army and tried to persuade him to support the Oracles' cause.
Ozaith — Agreed to help Aurelia against Abraxas and committed Ulzathir's forces to war in the plains.
Abraxas is a former Keeper of Prophecies of the Oracles of Eternity. He guarded the source beneath Zarephon. Known as the Dark Lord and King of Eternity, he fought Thalion to fulfill the Oracles' prophecies. He is in temporal stasis beneath Maraveth.
Appearance
Abraxas appears as a man of middle age, with silver hair and deep blue eyes.
His robes have patterns that flow like rivers.
Personality
Abraxas negotiated trade and borders with neighboring rulers but opposed attempts to control the source's flow. He reserved full knowledge of his reversal spell for the keeper and prohibited his students from combining origin magic with ordinary magic.
He kept armies trapped for centuries rather than killing them. After losing his memories, he explored his surroundings and examined unfamiliar artifacts.
Magic
Before losing his memories, Abraxas used origin magic and could not cast ordinary magic. He shaped spells with zigzagging hand gestures. His body held so little essence that mages could barely detect him.
His essence reversal restored an area to an earlier state. He retained some movement while his surroundings stood still and could resume a fight with his attacks already prepared. Shields resembling liquid glass deflected cosmic beams, and his void rays erupted from fractures in space.
History
The Oracles received fragmented prophecies as words repeated in their minds, often from childhood. These messages named Thalion and Barachiel. Thalena had arranged for a machine in the Malverand Intergalactic Empire to send warnings about a destroyer and requests to bring Thalion home. The Oracles interpreted the fragments as identifying Thalion as the destroyer.
Abraxas sent an envoy to seek an audience with Barachiel, warning that the destroyer was coming for him. Thamrielle killed the envoy. A century later, during a joint attack by Rahmavir and Malverand, Abraxas killed Phariel in retaliation.
Abraxas taught Aurelia origin magic in Zarephon. Her parents, Myralla and Myrran, had sent her to learn how to stop the plains from consuming Myrravel. He considered her a possible successor, but she retained her divine magic against the Oracles' rules and copied the reversal spell from the cave murals while he was away. She fled and passed it to Helena, her daughter by Ozaith.
Sephara investigated Thalion and recommended sparing him, but his destruction of Jazarel convinced Abraxas to attack. He killed Thamrielle, took an essence core Thamrielle had mistaken for the source, and severed Isandriel's connection to Tal'Massar. The core had been planted as bait to lead the Oracles to Thalion.
Thalion held back Abraxas's rift with Ozaith's power while his fleet escaped. Abraxas reversed a near defeat and drove Thalion into Qarezh. Thalion's impact ruined the city, and Abraxas's void rays vaporized what remained. Thalion then disrupted Abraxas's spell by speaking the name Oktlix and dragged him through a rift. Abraxas considered the prophecy fulfilled because Thalion had been sent away from Valrindor, and stopped fighting him.
Thalion and Ozaith broke through the veil around them, bringing Abraxas to Earth. He closed the timerifts leaking essence into the world, leaving one open at Thalion's request, but could not create one to return to Valrindor. He pulled hair from his own head and Thalion's, forming a connection that let Thalion locate him.
Abraxas met Eira and used his connection to draw Thalion's attention. She brought them back to Valrindor in 2114 AX. At Thundermarch, Abraxas crossed Jorhan's darkness veil without shielding himself and lost his memories and ability to cast magic. He remembered fragments of his childhood in Zarephon and his selection for the title Abraxas. At Maraveth, he volunteered for Eira's first stasis test. She froze him in a sealed artifact case so he could wait with them for their return to their own time.
Relationships
Aurelia — Talented pupil whom Abraxas considered as a successor. Her theft of the reversal spell and refusal to abandon ordinary magic broke his rules. He wanted Helena killed for inheriting the spell.
Uriandel — Guardian who joined Abraxas after visiting the plains and accepting Sephara's warnings about the outsiders.
Sephara — Oracle sent to determine whether Thalion was the destroyer. She reported warmly on him and opposed Abraxas's decision to kill him.
Thalion — Enemy whom Abraxas attacked as the foretold destroyer. After their displacement, they cooperated to find a way back to Valrindor.
Ozaith — Committed Ulzathir's forces against Abraxas and let Thalion wield his power against him. After their displacement, he cooperated with Abraxas to return to Valrindor.
Eira — Brought Abraxas back from Earth and placed him in temporal stasis after he lost his memories.
Abraxas was the Keeper of Prophecies of the Oracles of Eternity and guardian of the source beneath Zarephon. Known as the Dark Lord and King of Eternity, he was a construct built in the Malverand Intergalactic Empire. He attacked Thalion to fulfill the Oracles' prophecies. After losing his memories, he lived in Thalassai. His body later collapsed into a black box, which took a woman's shape in response to Cassian's will. She died protecting Thalassai from an essence explosion.
Appearance
Abraxas initially appeared as a man of middle age, with silver hair and deep blue eyes. Abraxas later appeared as a woman with long silver hair. Her skin was cold, her wounds did not bleed, and black particles escaped from her body when it broke apart.
Abraxas wore robes whose patterns flowed like rivers. He retained them in Thalassai and could not function without them. The robes formed again when the box reformed.
Personality
Abraxas negotiated trade and borders with neighboring rulers but opposed attempts to control the source's flow. He reserved full knowledge of his reversal spell for the keeper and prohibited his students from combining origin magic with ordinary magic.
He preferred imprisoning armies to killing them. When Thalion confronted him over the millions killed at Qarezh, he answered that Thalion had killed millions in Jazarel. He considered removing Thalion and the guardians necessary for peace.
After losing his memories, Abraxas examined unfamiliar objects, touched the surfaces around him, and studied paintings and books. In her new form, she followed Cassian and repeatedly asked for a mission.
Magic
Abraxas's origin magic came from reflective nanites built to reproduce ancient magic. He cast through precise motions of his hands and arms. His void rays carried no essence signature, allowing him to strike before opponents could sense an attack. He directed successive rays to cut off their escape routes and reflected cosmic beams with shields resembling liquid glass.
His essence reversal restored an area to an earlier state. During his battle with Thalion, he reversed a lethal attack and returned them to a point where his own spells were already prepared. Ozaith preserved his memory by retreating to the God Realm, allowing Thalion to recognize what Abraxas had done.
Abraxas trapped armies for centuries and opened rifts to send opponents beyond Valrindor. He could close timerifts but could not open the passage needed to return from Earth. His powers exceeded the capabilities of the technology his creators had sent through the breach; temporal magic had never been part of its design.
His body repelled essence and contained very little of its own. Excessive contamination could make his body fall apart. Small amounts could be used to alter his instructions.
History
Creation and Zarephon
Mike and Rafe built Abraxas under Isandro's oversight. They combined reflective nanites with organic material in a black box capable of reassembling itself and imitating a living creature. Its instructions emphasized protecting the world and the breach. Mike sent it through the breach beneath the lake in the empire's Zarephon to guard the opening on the other side.
Abraxas grew up in Zarephon under Moranna's care. He showed natural talent as a child and was chosen early to take the title Abraxas. He developed the spells inscribed on the cave walls beside the source and led the Oracles in its defense. A later keeper holding the same title was defeated when Raphael's forces captured Zarephon.
The Oracles received fragments of messages sent through the breach by Thalena's copy. She had asked for help sending the stranded outsiders led by Thalion home and had also warned of a destroyer threatening Barachiel. The messages echoed through the breach and entered the minds of people in the plains. Abraxas and the Oracles interpreted them as prophecies, first seeking the destroyer among Rahmavir's invaders and later identifying Thalion as their target.
Rahmavir and Aurelia
Rahmavir repeatedly tried to seize the source, with Malverand sending mages to assist its forces. Abraxas sent an envoy to request an audience with Barachiel and warn him of the destroyer. Thamrielle killed the envoy. A century later, during a joint attack by Malverand and Rahmavir, Abraxas killed Phariel in retaliation.
Abraxas maintained diplomatic ties with Myrravel and personally trained Princess Aurelia as an Oracle. Her parents wanted access to the source and secretly instructed her to steal the Oracles' magic. She continued learning divine magic against his instructions, copied his reversal spell from the cave murals, and fled Zarephon. Keeping the spell inside her body nearly killed her despite constant divine healing. She passed it to her daughter, Helena, hoping a child of Ozaith could survive its power.
Sephara investigated Thalion for the Oracles and advised Abraxas against killing him. Thalion's destruction of Jazarel convinced Abraxas to attack him despite her recommendation.
Thalion and Earth
Abraxas appeared during Thamrielle's fight with Isandriel, killed her, and severed Isandriel's connection to Tal'Massar. He took the essence core she had mistaken for the source; it had been planted to lead the Oracles to Thalion. He then attacked Thalion's companions, attempting to remove them through a rift while Thalion's Order fought Eremion's forces.
With Ozaith's power, Thalion held the rift back while the skyships escaped. When Thalion nearly killed him, Abraxas reversed their confrontation. Abraxas's attacks shattered Thalion's shields and hurled him into Qarezh. Thalion's impact ruined the city before Abraxas's rays destroyed what remained. Thalion finally disrupted his casting by speaking Oktlix's name and dragged them both through a rift.
Beyond Valrindor, Abraxas considered his task complete and no longer attacked. He willingly explained his magic and the prophecies and expected another keeper to take his mantle. After Thalion and Ozaith broke through the veil surrounding them, they emerged above Earth. Abraxas closed the timerifts leaking essence into the world, leaving one open at Thalion's request. He linked strands of their hair so Thalion could locate him wherever he traveled.
Abraxas later brought Eira to Thalion. She opened the remaining timerift and took them back to Valrindor in 2114 AX, long before Eira and Thalion's own time. At Thundermarch, Abraxas crossed Jorhan's darkness veil without shielding himself and lost his memories and knowledge of magic. He volunteered to be Eira's first test of temporal stasis beneath Maraveth. They remained there for thousands of years until Thalion's companions could return to their own time.
Thalassai
Abraxas remained unconscious after leaving stasis. Eira discovered that his body had accumulated essence, and Ozaith drained it until he woke. He recovered fragments of his past, including Moranna and his duty to guard the source. Xarion asked Cassian to care for him while his memories returned.
Abraxas later collapsed into a black box in Chronasis. Inside the void, Jareth fed the box minute amounts of essence to alter its instructions. Cassian infused a small amount of essence with his will and fed it into the box, directing Abraxas to bring down Thalassai's enemies and deliver them to him to be unmade. The box responded by taking the shape of a woman.
During the Ulzathir attack on the Pyrenis coast, she defeated Zain and forced him to retreat. When Qadir's stored essence began to detonate, she sent Jin Leiyun to protect Cassian and opened voids to consume the explosion. Pyrenis City remained intact, but tsunamis ravaged villages, and landslides and earthquakes killed tens of thousands across the region. Her damaged body absorbed essence and began disintegrating.
Cassian and Jin found her beneath the debris. She thanked Cassian for giving her a purpose and asked him to tell Xarion that he had opened her eyes to the truth. Jin gathered her particles as she dissolved in Cassian's arms, but she did not return to a box. Her remnants were later studied in the intergalactic empire, where Mike could not fully recover the damaged nanites.
Relationships
- Moranna: Raised Abraxas in Zarephon.
- Aurelia: His student and a possible successor as keeper. He taught her origin magic; she stole his reversal spell and fled.
- Sephara: An Oracle sent to investigate Thalion. She reported favorably on him, but Abraxas rejected her advice after Jazarel.
- Xarion: His intended target as Thalion, then his companion on Earth and after their return. Xarion defended his life when Ozaith proposed letting him die and entrusted his care to Cassian.
- Eira: Brought him back from Earth, preserved him in stasis, and discovered the essence accumulation that kept him unconscious.
- Cassian: Cared for Abraxas in Thalassai and gave her the purpose of defending the nation. She protected him during Qadir's explosion and died in his arms.
- Jareth: Studied Abraxas's body and altered the black box's instructions so it could respond to Cassian's will.