Barachiel was the emperor of the Malverand Empire and the father of Sariel. He wielded the complete Spiral Shard before disappearing through the Aethrendar Gate.
Magic
Barachiel possessed copy magic, which helped make some of the first cores.
History
Barachiel governed Malverand through its guardians. The empire remained united under him, but its guardians fought one another after he disappeared.
Barachiel enforced Malverine throughout Malverand. He banned other forms of communication and sent language enforcers across the empire. Settlements that departed from the language were burned and their inhabitants relocated.
While testing the gate above the Aethrendar Sea, Barachiel entered it and did not return. The spiral shard split into two pieces that the remaining guardians could not wield. Sariel was not ready to succeed him, and the guardians continued governing without an emperor who could wield its power. They also stopped the research into new god cores.
Barachiel had ordered Isandriel to destroy guardians who became a danger to the world. Isandriel later carried out that duty with Thalion and the Order of Thalion Zenith.
Relationships
- Thamrielle and Sariel: Thamrielle was Sariel's mother. Sariel was Barachiel's intended successor, but he failed to wield the spiral shard and eventually left Maraveth.
- Raphael: A guardian determined to preserve the empire after Barachiel's disappearance, even when he could no longer remember Barachiel himself.
- Isandriel: A guardian entrusted with destroying dangerous guardians. Isandriel continued to follow Barachiel's orders long after the emperor disappeared.
Barachiel was the first emperor of the Malverand Empire, the wielder of the complete Spiral Shard, and the father of Sariel. He governed from Maraveth and worked with Arcanis to expand the empire and develop its magic and technology.
Appearance
Barachiel was a large man with broad shoulders, dark eyes, and a beard. His hair grayed before he received a Malverand heart.
Magic
Barachiel could copy other mages' spells. He learned them almost instantly, though mastering many kinds of magic remained difficult. His copy magic helped Arcanis make the first essence cores and god cores.
The spiral shard allowed him to reshape the world, restore corrupted land, and create living beings. It had no god with whom he could end a pact, and wielding it gradually broke down his body.
History
Early life and Maraveth
Barachiel left Myrravel after essence began spreading through his settlement. On his way to Maraveth, he met Arcanis and brought him along. Raphael accompanied them to the city, where Barachiel copied Michael's ice magic and helped Arcanis find mages for his research.
Barachiel's speeches and work earned him a place on the council. When its leader stepped down, the council unanimously chose Barachiel to succeed him. He named the growing nation the Malverand Empire. He appointed the guardians to oversee its regions, with Raphael remaining his personal guardian.
Barachiel wanted Malverand's prosperity to reach people beyond its borders. He accepted Eremion's preference for capable mages in government but kept positions open to exceptional people regardless of their background. When Arcanis developed Malverand hearts, Barachiel restricted them to the guardians, fearing the consequences of making immortality widely available.
To prevent language drift, Barachiel enforced Malverine, banned other forms of communication, and sent enforcers across the empire. Settlements that departed from the language were burned and their inhabitants relocated.
The spiral shard
Arcanis made a special spiral shard for Barachiel. To charge it, they traveled above Morozkaya, where Barachiel bonded with it and began drawing essence from the surrounding area. He lost control. Shockwaves destroyed their skyship and struck the city, while the draining killed millions of people and stripped life from the peninsula. The upheaval in the land caused a tsunami.
Barachiel regained control in time to turn back the wave and save Michael, Raphael, Thamrielle, and Remiella. Afterward, he used the shard to remove corruption and restore land across Malverand. He grew forests and crops to feed people and stopped wars wherever he intervened. He regarded the destruction at Morozkaya as the cost of obtaining the power to save the empire.
Isandriel and the guardians
Barachiel feared that the gods and their wielders could become dangerous. He ordered Arcanis to make a safeguard capable of destroying them, including Barachiel himself if necessary. When the balance shard was ready, Barachiel created a newborn from essence, bonded the shard to him, and named him Isandriel. Michael and Raphael raised and taught the child, though Raphael was not told how he had been created.
When Eliona slaughtered an opposing faction in Shaoying instead of negotiating, Barachiel and Raphael restrained her. Barachiel ordered Isandriel to destroy her in front of the other guardians, demonstrating that their power did not place them beyond punishment.
Disappearance and death
Barachiel approved the expedition to Vireen and the construction of gates to connect it to Valrindor. By the time the connection was tested, he and Thamrielle had a son, Sariel. Barachiel intended to relinquish the spiral shard because his body could no longer withstand it.
After Michael and Eremion crossed the Aethrendar Gate and returned, Barachiel entered it. Eremion's god, Khauren, had arranged for an entity to attack him in the void so that Eremion could become emperor. Barachiel fought it and weakened it. He could not leave the gate with the spiral shard without destabilizing the passage, so he severed his own hand and threw the shard back through the gate. It emerged in two pieces. The entity pushed Barachiel out onto Vireen, while Michael took charge of Malverand in his absence.
Barachiel reached Vireen without the shard, but his body was already failing from wielding it. Eira tried to heal him and found no wound she could repair. He recognized that she came from the future and copied her temporal magic by touching her hand. After she assured him that she loved the world she came from, he accepted Malverand's fall and entrusted the world to Eira and Hrzai. His body dissolved into essence, leaving his Malverand heart with Eira. She later used it to revive the atraxi who became Brynor.
Relationships
- Arcanis: Barachiel's friend and the engineer whose inventions sustained the empire. Barachiel supported his research and supplied copied magic for his creations. Arcanis later followed him to Vireen.
- Michael and Raphael: His trusted guardians. He chose Michael for the secret safeguard project because of his calm judgment, while Raphael remained his personal protector.
- Thamrielle and Sariel: Thamrielle was his empress and Sariel their son. Barachiel wanted Sariel to succeed him, but the prince could not wield the spiral shard after Barachiel's disappearance.
- Isandriel: Barachiel created him to destroy dangerous gods and guardians. He assigned Michael and Raphael to teach him and placed southern Malverand under his care.
Barachiel was the first emperor of the Malverand Empire, the wielder of the complete Spiral Shard, and the father of Sariel. He governed from Maraveth and worked with Arcanis to expand the empire and develop its magic and technology.
Appearance
Barachiel was a large man with broad shoulders, dark eyes, and a beard. His hair grayed before he received a Malverand heart.
Magic
Barachiel could copy other mages' spells. He learned them almost instantly, though mastering many kinds of magic remained difficult. His copy magic helped Arcanis make the first essence cores and god cores.
The spiral shard allowed him to reshape the world, restore corrupted land, and create living beings. It had no god with whom he could end a pact, and wielding it gradually broke down his body.
History
Early life and Maraveth
As a boy, Barachiel gave speeches about bringing prosperity to his village. Lothar heard him and decided to give him the means to pursue that ambition. During a walk beside a river, Lothar touched his back and gave him the magic to learn spells almost instantly.
Barachiel later left Myrravel after essence began spreading through his settlement. On his way to Maraveth, he met Arcanis and brought him along. Raphael accompanied them to the city, where Barachiel copied Michael's ice magic and helped Arcanis find mages for his research.
Barachiel's speeches and work earned him a place on the council. When its leader stepped down, the council unanimously chose Barachiel to succeed him. On Lothar's advice, he named the growing nation the Malverand Empire. He appointed the guardians to oversee its regions, with Raphael remaining his personal guardian.
Barachiel wanted Malverand's prosperity to reach people beyond its borders. He accepted Eremion's preference for capable mages in government but kept positions open to exceptional people regardless of their background. When Arcanis developed Malverand hearts, Barachiel restricted them to the guardians, fearing the consequences of making immortality widely available.
Lothar also advised him to prevent language drift. Barachiel commissioned Arcanis to create Malverine, banned other forms of communication, and sent enforcers across the empire. Settlements that departed from the language were burned and their inhabitants relocated.
The spiral shard
Arcanis made a special spiral shard for Barachiel. To charge it, they traveled above Morozkaya, where Barachiel bonded with it and began drawing essence from the surrounding area. He lost control. Shockwaves destroyed their skyship and struck the city, while the draining killed millions of people and stripped life from the peninsula. The upheaval in the land caused a tsunami.
Barachiel regained control in time to turn back the wave and save Michael, Raphael, Thamrielle, and Remiella. Afterward, he used the shard to remove corruption and restore land across Malverand. He grew forests and crops to feed people and stopped wars wherever he intervened. He regarded the destruction at Morozkaya as the cost of obtaining the power to save the empire.
Isandriel and the guardians
Barachiel feared that the gods and their wielders could become dangerous. He ordered Arcanis to make a safeguard capable of destroying them, including Barachiel himself if necessary. When the balance shard was ready, Barachiel created a newborn from essence, bonded the shard to him, and named him Isandriel. Michael and Raphael raised and taught the child, though Raphael was not told how he had been created.
When Eliona slaughtered a faction of murderers and child kidnappers in Shaoying instead of negotiating, Barachiel and Raphael restrained her. Barachiel ordered Isandriel to destroy her in front of the other guardians, demonstrating that their power did not place them beyond punishment.
Disappearance and death
Barachiel approved the expedition to Vireen and the construction of gates to connect it to Valrindor. By the time the connection was tested, he and Thamrielle had a son, Sariel. Barachiel intended to relinquish the spiral shard because his body could no longer withstand it.
After Michael and Eremion crossed the Aethrendar Gate and returned, Barachiel entered it. Eremion's god, Khauren, had arranged for Oktlix to attack him in the void, offering Eremion a chance to become emperor and promising Oktlix freedom. Barachiel fought Oktlix and weakened it. He could not leave the gate with the spiral shard without destabilizing the passage, so he severed his own hand and threw the shard back through the gate. It emerged in two pieces. Oktlix pushed Barachiel out onto Vireen, while Michael took charge of Malverand in his absence.
Barachiel reached Vireen without the shard, but his body was already failing from wielding it. Eira tried to heal him and found no wound she could repair. He recognized that she came from the future and copied her temporal magic by touching her hand. After she assured him that she loved the world she came from, he accepted Malverand's fall and entrusted the world to Eira and Hrzai. His body dissolved into essence, leaving his Malverand heart with Eira. She later used it to revive the atraxi who became Brynor.
Relationships
- Arcanis: Barachiel's friend and the engineer whose inventions sustained the empire. Barachiel supported his research and supplied copied magic for his creations. Arcanis later followed him to Vireen.
- Michael and Raphael: His trusted guardians. He chose Michael for the secret safeguard project because of his calm judgment, while Raphael remained his personal protector.
- Thamrielle and Sariel: Thamrielle was his empress and Sariel their son. Barachiel wanted Sariel to succeed him, but the prince could not wield the spiral shard after Barachiel's disappearance.
- Isandriel: Barachiel created him to destroy dangerous gods and guardians. He assigned Michael and Raphael to teach him and placed southern Malverand under his care.