Rule and Shard Use
Aurion is the former king of Soltheris, a level nine cosmic mage, and later a member of the Xalmyrran Council. He rules from the Luminary Halls in Zeydrith during Soltheris's struggle against the Land of Darkness, drives the orrery project through Thalvian, abdicates in favor of Daryas, and eventually takes the spiral shard left by Xol'Zahir.
After the Omberion campaign, Aurion remains alive but damaged by shard overuse and corruption. He uses the shard's last power to restore Seralyth in an altered form, leaving himself poisoned by darkness mingled with his own essence.
Appearance
Aurion has brown hair streaked with silver, gray or silver-flecked eyes, bronze skin, and a muscular build. When he draws heavily on essence, cosmic glyphs glow across his skin like liquid starlight and his eyes blaze with cosmic brilliance.
He commonly wears cosmic-blue or deep navy robes and cloaks traced with silver threads or star-like constellations. He also wears royal Soltheris attire, a cosmic cloak, and later a Kaldaryn-style tunic during the Omberion campaign. After he nearly spends the spiral shard, his arms remain partially blackened by corruption and darkness mingled with his own essence.
Personality
Aurion is proud, dramatic, ambitious, and deeply attached to the idea of destiny. He often speaks in grand declarations about greatness, being chosen, or protecting the world, and he steps into major threats personally even when advisors urge restraint.
That confidence has a reckless edge. Kaelric, Daryas, and Seralyth repeatedly try to temper his decisions, especially when his large-scale magic endangers him or nearby people. Even so, Aurion is not careless out of indifference: he is fiercely protective of Soltheris, haunted by his father's apparent death, and capable of admitting that his own selfishness and ambition have hurt people around him.
Abilities, Skills & Magic
Aurion is a level nine cosmic mage. His magic includes massive starfield barriers, celestial beams, starfire missiles, meteor strikes, and glyph-based body enhancement. He can draw power from essence cores and, in extreme cases, from the essence flowing through the world itself.
That level of essence draining is dangerous. At Dravemir and in later village defenses, Aurion's greatest displays save lives but also drain nearby people and land, leaving exhaustion, sudden aging, and devastation behind. His own body suffers from the strain as well.
After taking Jorhan's spiral shard, Aurion becomes a shard wielder. The shard amplifies his cosmic magic, including enormous starfield barriers, destructive cosmic attacks, and the spell he uses to restore Seralyth. The power is finite and corruptive: by the Omberion battle the shard is nearly depleted, his arms are blackened, and no healer fully removes the damage. The shard shatters after the Seralyth spell.
Background & History
Aurion is the son of Therion, the former King Therion of Soltheris. For years, Aurion believes his father died when a celestial beam destroyed him. Soon after that loss, Hrzai/Xelthys visits Aurion in golden form and pushes him toward ascension and enlightenment. The encounter deepens Aurion's obsession with destiny, Arcanis, and the possibility of breaking mortal limits. Hrzai and Thalena/Arcanis stand behind that guidance through overlapping plans to strengthen Xalmyrra's future defenders, though their designs do not unfold cleanly.
As king of Soltheris, Aurion rules from Zeydrith with Seralyth as queen, Kaelric as his oldest friend and protector, and Daryas as a trusted commander and administrator. He pushes Soltheris's Artisan Guild toward ambitious magical technology, especially the orreries designed under Thalvian's command.
During Soltheris's defense against the Land of Darkness, Aurion personally defends Dravemir and the southern villages. His power destroys swarms of darkness creatures, wraiths, and harbingers, but repeated overuse of essence creates political and moral consequences. Kaelric, Daryas, Seralyth, and outside leaders worry that Soltheris cannot survive if Aurion continues paying for victory by draining the land and people around him.
Aurion later abdicates, gives the throne to Daryas, and joins the Xalmyrran Council. Aldar sends him and Lirien on missions beyond Xalmyrra. In Valrindor, Aurion reunites with Brynor, meets Jorhan as the dying god of darkness clears Durakarn, and takes the spiral shard after Jorhan's final sacrifice. He calls the act his purpose and his own choice.
With the spiral shard, Aurion fights beside Garrik's forces around Blackcrag and the Siege of Omberion. At Omberion, he uses immense starfield barriers to blunt skyship detonations and let allied forces escape. The barrier casting nearly kills him, depletes the shard, and leaves corruption-blackened damage that even Garrik cannot fully heal.
After returning to Zeydrith, Aurion uses the shard's final spell on Seralyth's preserved body beneath the Luminary Halls. The spell restores her heartbeat and consciousness, but the shard shatters and the darkness in Aurion's body worsens. The shard leaves him poisoned, while she remains alive in an altered state with her memories and possible changes caused by the shard.
Relationships
- Family: Son of Therion. Husband of Seralyth. Half-brother of Kaelion through Therion/Tazarin.
- Allies: Kaelric, Daryas, Astheron, Aldar, Lirien, Brynor, Garrik, Mirael, and later Seralyth after her return.
- Enemies/Rivals: The Land of Darkness, darkness creatures, harbingers, and the armies threatening Blackcrag and Omberion. Xarion is a long-running political rival, while Kaelion is an ideological opponent before their half-brother relationship is understood.
- Thalvian and Jorhan: Thalvian is Aurion's famed engineer and builds the orreries under his command. Jorhan enters Aurion's late history when Aurion inherits and studies the spiral shard after Jorhan's death.