Overview
Brynor, formerly Belanor, is an ancient atraxi mage from Atraxis Prime Alpha who serves Xalmyrra in council field missions, gate expeditions, the Land of Darkness, and Nerissa's Invasion of Xalmyrra, and later heads the Xalmyrran Council. In public Xalmyrran life he is a legendary Keldaran warrior, a former Keldaran general, a tournament champion known as the Avatar of the Earth and the Living Mountain, and Mirael's husband.
As Belanor, he goes first through Atraxis Prime Alpha's escape gate, teaches early temporal magic, is Hrzai's wielder in the long plan against Xol'Zahir, and carries part of Vireen's hidden history.
Appearance and Personality
Brynor is a rugged, bearded man with a massive build, broad shoulders, thick forearms, and movements that often shake the ground. His booming laugh, blunt speech, and oversized gestures make him hard to miss even outside battle.
He is direct, loud, protective, and impatient with ceremony. Beneath that rough surface, he is perceptive and warm toward the people he trusts. He prefers action to politics, but he accepts command when Xalmyrra needs him. Mirael, their children, and the world he wants to keep safe for them matter most to him.
Magic and Abilities
Brynor is a master of earth magic, and his power does not depend on an active god or shard. He uses earth magic for seismic leaps, walls, pillars, tunnels, battlefield reshaping, and overwhelming close-range force. He also combines air and fire magic for propulsion, flight, pressure, cutting attacks, and direct offense.
As Belanor, he is the first temporal mage. Eira gave him life and temporal magic, and temporal magic's blue hue comes from him. Brynor can blink himself and companions, form temporal shields, teach temporal basics to Isandriel, and use temporal movement in large-scale travel and combat. Older atraxi gate activator technology uses his blinking.
Brynor's essence sense is unusually strong. He can detect distant signatures, read hidden signatures through earth and objects, and handle essence with precision that surprises powerful mages. He carries Barachiel's Malverand heart, implanted by Eira on Vireen, and for part of Xalmyrra's ancient cycle history he is Hrzai's wielder under the name Belanor.
History
After Barachiel and Arcanis die on Vireen, two atraxi bodies emerge from the damaged gate and are killed. The larger body belongs to an atraxi from the gate-exploration period that follows the atraxi receiving and modifying gate schematics in a causal loop involving Amos and Thalena. Eira takes the bodies aboard a ship, implants Barachiel's Malverand heart in the larger atraxi who becomes Belanor and Arcanis's heart in the future Jareth, revives them, and sends them through the void toward the atraxi gates.
Belanor later emerges from a gate on Atraxis Prime Alpha with no memory of his origin and markers that do not match known atraxi expeditions. When Atraxis Prime Alpha collapses, he goes first through the escape gate and leads the surviving atraxi to Xalmyrra. In early Xalmyrra, his unusual affinity is temporal magic; Belanor joins the atraxi settlement in Irrathis, contributes to gate work, and accompanies Aldred into the sealed spiral-shard chamber beneath the council hall.
During Jorhan's long control of Xalmyrra, Belanor moves between Atraxis Prime and Xalmyrra while hiding more than he can safely reveal. His failed attempt to tell Kaldramir the truth gives Kaldramir the knowledge that ignites the War of Scars in one cycle. After centuries of isolation, he begs Hrzai, then known to him as Xelthys, for a life of his own. She sends him through a northern cave near Varentis and into a life with fractured memories. Khoradyn gives him the name Brynor.
As Brynor, he builds a new life in Keldara, marries Mirael, and has two children, Braylen and Nereyne. He fights for the Xalmyrran Council in the field, dominates tournament combat, enters the Land of Darkness, opens old gates with gate activators, maps routes through the void, and gradually recovers the truth behind Belanor. After Aldar begins operating more freely in the field, Brynor becomes the formal head of the council.
During Nerissa's Invasion of Xalmyrra, Brynor defends Erenmyr's shore against Nerissa's coalition and Gabriel's forces with Orin, Tazarin, Seralyth, and Mirael. When a defeated enemy becomes an essence bomb, Brynor takes the cocooned body deep underground, seals the fissure above himself, and contains the blast. He promises to return someday, but he is missing afterward.
Relationships
- Family: Mirael is Brynor's wife. Braylen and Nereyne are their children.
- Mentors and Origins: Eira revives the future Belanor and gives him temporal magic. Hrzai later chooses him as her wielder. Khoradyn gives him the name Brynor after his passage near Varentis leaves him with fractured memories.
- Allies: Brynor's allies include Aldar, Mirael, Khoradyn, Orin, Aurion, Kaelric, Astheron, Feryon, Tazarin, Seralyth, and the Xalmyrran Council.
- Enemies: Brynor's enemies include Jorhan after his corruption, darkness creatures, and later invading forces aligned with Nerissa, Gabriel, and Raphael.
- Isandriel, Barachiel, and Hrzai: Belanor teaches Isandriel temporal basics. Brynor carries Barachiel's Malverand heart, and Hrzai's old Belanor pact makes him her wielder.