Izeke Kaen

Father: Zaoso Kaen

Priest of Vix in Northwest temple in Xian

Mother: Eimaya Kaen

Member of the military of Xian

Parents

Zaoso and Eimaya met in the temple on the Northwest island of Xian. Eimaya came to the temple in search of a place to rest and recover from her injuries. She decided to stay with Zaoso and start a family at the temple, which is where the kids were raised. Zaoso was a powerful mage and practiced the art of magic with other powerful mages from the surrounding islands. He swore an oath to spread the love and warmth of Vix to all who wish to worship Vix. The oath also includes protecting the followers of Vix and defending the nation of Xian. Eimaya was a Captain in Xian’s Navy and was in charge of a battleship that patrolled the waters around Vekir and Scalatia. The ship was attacked and most of the crew was killed. Eimaya washed up on an island and limped to the temple of Vix to get her wounds treated. There she met and fell in love with Zaoso. Eimaya abandoned her military career after the destruction of her ship and she never mentioned anything about her military career afterwards. Eimaya was a very secretive person and would disappear for days at a time.

Conflict/Inspiration

Zaoso was a defender of the island and became very reputable with the other temples and some members of the military. However, he also captured the eyes of his enemies. One night, Zaoso was abducted by elite members of a foreign nation and taken away to be questioned. Eimaya tried her best to track down and rescue Zaoso but gave up because she couldn’t go up against an army. Eimaya then turned to her contacts from her old military days and tried to assemble a way to rescue Zaoso and ensure that whoever did this would pay.

Family

After a few years on the island, Eimaya became pregnant with twins. The first born was Izeke (Monica) and the second was Saiju (Tristan). They were raised in the temple by their parents but would also learn life lessons from the priests that lived in the temple as well. At an early age Zaoso and Eimaya decided to start training their children in the ways of magic. Izeke was a natural, she was born with the spark. Saiju on the other hand was not born with the spark. However, both Izeke and Saiju trained together in the art of magic. Zaoso noticed the intense power that Izeke had and took her under his wing and started to introduce her to the various forms of fire magic and the duties of a priest. Saiju was jealous of his sister’s gift and kept practicing the basics until he perfected them. He worked day and night every day with the hopes that one day he would be gifted with the spark.

Timeline

Age 8: Training begins for Izeke and Saiju
Age 16: Training is divided. Saiju goes off with Eimaya and learns how to

incorporate the sword into his training. Izeke trains with Zaoso and learns different forms and various temple duties.

Age 20: Zaoso is abducted from the temple and is when Saiju and Izeke split. Izeke

travels to the surrounding islands, sometimes with but mostly without Saiju, to train with the masters in hopes of becoming a master one day. Saiju devotes his life to Vix and disappears for very long periods of time.

Age 24: Meet up and go after the Dragon.

The overall goal of both Izeke and Saiju is to get their father back but in order to do that they need to work their way up in the temple and the religion to obtain the necessary resources.

I think I born lucky – into a family of strong leaders and loving parents and with a twin brother. Being the (barely) first born, I feel guilty sometimes – as if I have robbed him. I question whether I had taken the Spark from him at birth, a rare and prized affinity to have. But as we have grown, I think less about it; Saiju is clearly talented in his own way that works for him.

Even though I was able incorporate fire in our basic form training, I enjoyed having someone to compete with. Our sibling rivalry helped us better ourselves as well as get closer to each other, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world because he is my best friend.

Since my connection to Vix was something so natural, it was obvious that my father would take me down his path. I had this...inherent understanding of fire and the love and warmth it can provide. Its beautiful radiance can light up the darkness in the world and in our souls, bringing hope. The flames are like an embrace from Vix themselves, letting us know that we are never alone and it’s comforting and loving.

Many outsiders see our fire as destruction. A weapon. Fear manifested by warmongers for control. They see us defending our nation as aggression and terror, and I wish there was a way to show that they couldn’t be further from the truth. We want to preserve all life in Xian; each one is so precious and beautiful. But they leave us no choice with war. We are forced to militarize our people for peacekeeping. If that is what it takes, so be it – our people will not tolerate destruction of our home.

I want to become a great Priestess that can uphold these values and be a model of Vix for our people. I believe our worship will help us overcome all hardships. At the same time, I want to be able to defend our people and help them feel safe, so I utilize my talent in various ways – such as combat. I will become a great mage that will steer away darkness with my light.

Although I am making great progress, I still have much to learn from our masters. A great priestess mage has strength in all the forms and experienced different wisdoms throughout their journey. With the intent to improve my fighting and meditation forms, I am traveling to each of the Xian islands to train with various masters who have different wisdoms. That and my meetings with many new people have given me many different perspectives.

When my father was taken, our church was distraught. The whole island was flabbergasted at the idea of his abduction. Most of all, Saiju, our mother, and I were in despair. Of course, the Kaen family would not take this lightly, and soon after mourning, we were preparing for his rescue. We have been tracking and forming a rescue party, but it will not be enough to face an army. I had been looking for a way to rally up soldiers but was unsure until presented with the opportunity to fight a dragon.

This battle would be it. A way to prove myself a master and the reputation would allow me to rally up people for this rescue mission. Saiju and I would be well known across all the islands. When we face the dragon, I will not take its life. Instead, I will make it yield and take a part of it as a trophy and proof of my success. And there is no one else I would rather do it with than my brother.

I never really felt pressure to be good or to do anything in my life. My parents are loving and compassionate, and despite my prodigy status, I had free will over my destiny. Since training came easily to me, I was a care-free child. No point in taking life so seriously – relax! Control is an illusion. Perhaps, I take situations too lightly and will only seek caution in dangerous situations that would more than not involve death. I try to promote a little fun atmosphere to provide comradery.

Other personality traits:

Conscious of my eyes (I might look scarier than I am)
Care way too much about my family
Definitely care a lot for the people of Xian’s wellbeing
Presumes that outsiders don’t understand Xianians (?) or don’t care about them
Vegan
Refusal to kill unless it is the difference between life or death (and each death will be honored with a prayer)
Overwhelming fear of dying or fear of her family dying (especially in front of her)