Triton

Triton, honored as the Grand Champion and Commander of the Order and known once as the Rended Spirit, was an Ertdorian warrior and the master of the Knights Thash. Renowned as perhaps the greatest fighter in Aquilan history, second only to the gods themselves, Triton founded the Knights in honor of the fallen Lady Thash and waged countless conquests against the forces of darkness before losing his way.

Physical characteristics, skills, and abilities
Accounts of Triton's great feats of strength are numerous, and while many are inflated to the point of absurdity, all are rooted in the truth. With centuries of experience, Triton was generally accepted to be the finest warrior in recorded history bar the likes of Notch or Herobrine. He stood at around two meters tall, possessing the stamina and endurance to outclass any mortal opponent in speed, strength, and strategy.

Triton mastered almost all forms of combat from the wildly offensive movesets of ancient Occan warriors to the elegant rotation of modern Audaxian duelists in hopes of being prepared for any combative situation. He typically fought in his own unique style, described as a perfectly refined consummate and unpredictable frenzy of stonewall blocks and immediate counterattacks. His swings were mostly strength-based, on some accounts batting the enemies' weapons right out of their hands; when push came to shove, however, Triton could be a patient and observant fighter, staying on the defensive until his foe revealed an exploitable weakness.

He was also a practiced hand in the area of unarmed combat, trained to smash windpipes, knock teeth out, and otherwise disable opponents in a single strike, though he mostly preferred to keep to his blade in combat. His battle sense was also unmatched, on one account dispatching a squad of invisible assassins by relying on his sense of sound and time to outwit them. Additionally, he trained himself to shrug off wounds that would otherwise incapacitate normal combatants, being a true master of wars of attrition.

In short, Triton was a sight to behold on the battlefield thanks to his unrivaled firepower and toughness, whether leading faithful allies into battle or squaring off an opponent in a one-on-one duel. This was mostly due to over two centuries of experience; he was able to live so long due to a blessing from Makrozoia that rendered him biologically immortal, or immune to aging, but still able to eventually die in combat. Triton was biologically 43 years old.

Biography
Roughly two and a half centuries before the emergence of the Outlanders, the boy known only as Triton was born, the first of the three children of King David of Magdeleine, which was, at the time, a prosperous kingdom. Triton, despite being the eldest of the three, could only recall small images of his true parents. David was a worried man, small, with modest tan skin and kind eyes; the face of his mother was a blur, and all he could remember of her was her frightened tone as the two monarchs reluctantly decided it would be best for their children to be placed under the care of someone powerful enough to protect them.

The kingdom of Magdeleine fell just days after Triton and his siblings, Diana and Laius, were handed over to Juno, the woman with white eyes, kicking and screaming in a fruitless effort to be with their parents once more. Juno did her best to comfort the children as they rode away into the night, leaving the doomed city behind. The demons that had been threatening invasion for weeks descended upon the kingdom, overwhelming its great barricades and slaying all within with relative ease. Sotmr, the lieutenant of the Demon God sent to collect King David's head, was enraged to find that the ruler's children were nowhere to be seen.



Sotmr, the Demon Inquisitor



There were many lost children living in Juno's secret hollow, and all were quite intrigued by the shelter's three newest residents, whom the caretaker introduced as the children of the king of Magdeleine. The youngsters of the hollow knew very little of the outside world aside from the sprase memories they retained of the time before their adoption. Juno taught them math and science, and gave them a vague history of the events of the world, but never allowed any of them to leave the hollow once they had arrived. This was never out of malice; Juno cared for all of these children enough to realize their parents had their reasons for surrendering them, or that the children were sure to live under her protection and would never survive in the outside world.

Triton remained stoical and cold during his stay in the hollow, always suspicious of the other children and hardly speaking to Juno. Still, he retained his love and care for Laius and Diana, watching over them and protecting them from danger when he knew there was none. For his cleverness and unwavering loyalty to his skin, Juno never admitted it, but she may have regarded Triton as her favorite.

Triton began to wonder just who this mysterious Juno was and why his parents had given he and his siblings to her. Had they simply not loved them? No, that was impossible. Something sinister was afoot and the boy simply had to get to the bottom of it. In the dead of night, at the age of 15, Triton fled his quarters and investigated Juno's living space in the darkness, using his well-practiced sneaking skills to stay undetected.

The boy found something interesting in the woman's quarters: a massive mural painted on the wall, depicting three young children - two boys and a little girl, all with piercing white eyes - playing together in tranquil fields of grass with the sun gleaming in the sky. As Triton attempted to make sense of the artwork, Juno approached from behind and calmly remarked that she understod how he felt.

She explained that she, too, desperately wanted to see her true family once more, but had resigned to the fact that destiny chose a different path for her that she'd not soon defy. As it happened, she managed this quiet home in the wilderness to provide homeless children they help they needed, hoping no one would in Ertdor would have to live the same life as she once did - alone and with no sense of direction.

Triton pressed on. He understood Juno's true intentions better now but still demanded to know what cruel fate had befallen his parents. Feeling guilt, Juno confessed that his parents had placed them under her care to protect them from the forces of the Demon God. When she refused to explain further who exactly this Demon God was or where he could be found, Triton elected to do what no other child of the hollow had done before: leave their home in search of answers on the surface. Before he could leave, however, Juno bestowed upon him a glittering blade called the Crucible, which she claimed was an heirloom of her family. Triton thanked her and set off, leaving his siblings behind.

The boy wandered the mountains of Ertdor for some time with only the clothes on his back and the Crucible to his name. During these many months of isolation, Triton learned to hunt and prepare food, and lived a more or less comfortable life as a wayfaring hunter-gatherer, desperately looking for any sign of his parents or the great evil that had slain them.

The seventh winter was the coldest yet. Wildlife was sparse, and the bitter cold was always searching for the young man who had not spoken with or seen another human in years. His blade was stained with the blood of countless animals but still hungered for the entrails of the demon that he was hunting for. When Triton finally arrived at the abandoned gates of the former kingdom of Magdeleine, he instantly collapsed from exhaustion.

Triton awoke in a stupor, instantly drawing his blade and searching for an assailant. The only thing around him was a crackling fire, some tender animal meat, and a strange looking individual with red skin and a headdress. Instantly, the boy believed he had finally found the Demon God that slew his parents, but the red-skinned beast reacted quicker, disarming Triton and pinning him to the ground with a sharpened spear. The young man expected to die instantly, but death never came.

The creature helped Triton to his feet and introduced himself as Polyrath, scolding him for his poor manners. Polyrath admitted he was indeed a demon, but had no love for the Demon God, claiming to have been cast out of his dominion for crimes he didn't care to repeat. Triton explained that he was searching for the so-called Demon God in order to avenge his parents that had once ruled Magdeleine, where Polyrath now lived as an outcast. The demon sympathized with the young man's quest and offered to assist him, to which Triton reluctantly agreed.

Polyrath, as it happened, was one of the Demon God's greatest warriors, claiming that few were his match in combat. The demon taught Triton countless secrets of sword combat, using the Crucible blade and an assortment of sticks to practice. Polyrath also shared much arcane knowledge with his protege, offering great mystical insight into the arts of love and war. He taught the young man to see without his eyes, to prepare for any opponent, and to transcend his physical shell into a pure instrument of war on the battlefield until he was ready to confront his foe.

Polyrath, the Demon Outcast

The demon pointed Triton in the direction of the isle of Hesperides, perhaps the most remote location in all of Aquila. There, Polyrath explained, he would find an entrance to the realm of the Demon God. Over the course of several months, Triton traveled halfway across the world to the island, instilled with invaluable knowledge of war and survival. Finally, at the age of 26, Triton arrived at the shores of Hesperides, a frozen island that resonated with the echoes of the dead. As Polyrath said, at the center of the island was a great black portal that led to a place outside the physical realm. Steeling himself, Triton leapt into the darkness and came out on the other side.

On the other side of the portal was a place of great evil. Hellish creatures scurried about, bathing in pools of molten lava and the blood of the innocent. This was unlike the Nether that was described to him by Juno; this place was darkness itself, a broken mass of cursed islands with nothing but the darkness of the void beneath them. Hopping from platform to platform, Triton explored the endless maze of the demon realm for what could have been years, reaching the obsidian fortress of what he believed to be the Demon King as a bearded and battle-scarred warrior that had seen enough to drive an army of laymen to the brink of madness.

The beast within, a two-headed charcoal beast that called itself Sotmr, was quite surprised to see a mortal man waltz into his home, and quite amused to learn his identity as the son of King David. When Triton accused Sotmr of being the Demon God and murdering his parents, the Demon Inquisitor chuckled and said he was only half right before charging at the man with the intent to kill.

Triton, however, was ready for the Inquisitor. With consummate grace he contorted the Crucible in countless directions, chipping bits and pieces of blackened skin off the demon one at a time. Sotmr grew increasingly frustrated before erupting into a fury of rage, blasting rays of red energy at the man that shook the walls of the fortress. In one last attempt to maul Triton, Sotmr sprinted towards the man headfirst; the warrior ducked out of the way at the last second and sliced the demon across the chest as it passed by.

Sotmr's skin was singed with the metal of the holy blade. As the evil beast moaned in agony, Triton approached it carefully, demanding it seek forgiveness for its crimes. The demon simply cackled in pleasure, professing that the man's teacher had deceived him. With its dying breath, Sotmr whispered the words "the world will know fear" before dissolving into a hot pile of ash.

Triton left the fortress with great doubt in his mind. Having lost track of the exit portal long ago, he decided the only way out was to leap into the void below and hope he would land back in Aquila. As he hurled through time and space, he saw strange visions of the past and future, crying out in horror before the light and returned and he awoke in an empty field. Knowing not where he was, he set to wandering once more, eventually discovering a small settlement whose manager explained was in Sivistys. With the help of local guides, Triton left Sivistys and trekked from one of Kilran to the other, eventually returning to his childhood home of Juno's hollow.

Arriving at the hollow, Triton found it to be completely abandoned, though there were no signs of a battle of any kind. Within Juno's quarters, he discovered a new mural of himself standing triumphant over the slain Demon Inquisitor and a note from Juno herself address to him:

"My dear Triton, the Rended Spirit,

''It may be many months before this message reaches you. I have already foreseen that you will avenge the deaths of your parents, but your fate afterwards is difficult to see even for myself. I wonder what you will do now. The children of this hollow have moved on, including your siblings. Laius and Diana are safe. Your brother has taken an interest in fishing, and Diana has decided to pursue medicine. Both, I feel, will do well for themselves. Perhaps they did not need me after all. As my children have moved on, so must I, then.''

''You have opened my eyes to many things. I can no longer ignore my past or my true desires. If my true family is out there, then I must find them. I miss the company of my brothers. I only hope they will recogize me. It has been some time since I spoke to them.''

''And with that, I leave you, but not without one token of knowledge: I beseech that you seek out the one known as Thash. Despite the unusual nebulousness of your future, I cannot help but notice how closely the two of you are linked. She needs you as much as you need her.''

It is time for both of us to stop ignoring our true desires."



Triton had heard rumors of the one known only as Lady Thash. She was said to possess magical healing powers, roaming the countryside in the Hinterlands and giving aid to those who needed it. Heeding Juno's final message, Triton set out for the Hinterlands, seeking Thash.

Lady Thash was not difficult to find. She was intrigued by the man, who said that he had been sent to find her by a woman named Juno. It was a strange motivation that she did not quite believe, but she still tolerated his presence, allowing him to accompany her on her travels for several weeks. Triton was amazed by her abilities, but frustrated, as he failed to understand why Juno had sent him to find her. She was an impressive woman and stunningly beautiful, yes, but why was she important?

Triton cast his doubts aside when he began to see her true beauty. She was striking physically, but as he revealed more and more about herself to him, he was completely captivated by her insight regarding human emotion and the justice of the outer world. For the first time in his life, he felt truly committed to another individual beyond that of familial relation. It was here than he realized that the blood of the covenant was thicker than the water of the womb.

When demon sightings in the Hinterlands became more frequent, however, Triton grew gravely concerned for his newfound love. In his years of experience, he had developed a marked disdain for the kind of the elusive Demon God and hoped their hordes had been silenced with the death of Sotmr. In an effort to combat to growing demon threat, Triton recruited several dozen of the Hinterlands' greatest warriors and a handful from other regions in Aquila, all in an effort to protect Lady Thash.

Thash was greatly offended by Triton's obsessive concern and protectiveness. She distanced herself from him slowly until she refused to see him, convinced that he had grown mad. Triton and his men pursued her relentlessly, chasing her to the ends of the world for decades. A curious blessing had befallen Triton and his men during their search - while many years passed, almost three decades to be exact, they remained youthful and vigorous in their journey, which Triton took to be a blessing from Juno.

When Triton and company finally found her home on the remote island of Kuwaktana, they were devastated to find her lying in a pool of black blood, dead. Believing that she had been killed by the Demon God, Triton dedicated himself to avenging her. With all faithful remaining allies that he had collected to find and protect her, he formed the Knights Thash in her honor, a new order devoted to carrying on her idealistic legacy and eventually finding what evil had destroyed her.

With Triton as their Grand Champion, the Knights Thash waged a brutal campaign across all of Aquila in an attempt to utterly annihilate the entire demon population. As their numbers grew, the world's demon infestation ground to a halt, but Triton would not be satisfied until the Demon God was finally cast out of the world. As the demon death toll mounted, a great darkness began to fall upon Aquila.

The Knights Thash were bombarded with all manner of crooked monsters, twisted things that served as the only remnants of the dreaded era of the Before Time. Their numbers were overwhelmed, and Triton began to fear for his life. Before the source of the evil could personally dispatch after suitable humilation, though, a guiding light interfered, temporarily sparing his life and that of the remaining Knights.

With this radiant spirit's help, the Knights were able to travel to the land of Merth Docto, a scarred land mass that functioned as the sort of base of operations for the Demon God - or as the spirit called it, Moros - on Aquila. Arriving at Merth Docto, a great many Knights immediately fell dead, though the spirit was able to shield most of them from the power of the Ancient Fear.

As the spirit clashed with Moros, Triton and the Knights were able to enact a great ritual within the sinister crater in the center of Merth Docto. The Demon God, recognizing their plan, attempted to stop them, though the radiant spirit was able to hold it off, grappling it across the stars and shaking the very foundation of the universe. Narrowly, the Knights completed the ritual, casting Moros outside the bounds of the universe at the cost of the spirit's "life." It was in the direct aftermath of the final battle that Triton realized the depths of the Ancient Fear's power.

The catastrophic event that followed the ritual, known as the Great Desynchronization, split Aquila into several different continents, drastically changing the world economy and the sentiment of all Aquilans. The Knights Thash still remained, though, dedicated to continuing Lady Thash's legacy of justice even after making amends for her death. Triton didn't quite know how, but he suspected the Demon God was still not completely vanquished.

While traveling the country, Triton and his right hand, Ceto, encountered an arcane shrine to a being known as Makrozoia. The shrine, possessed by Makrozoia's spirit, came to life, proclaiming itself to be the true king of Aquila. The spirit echoed Triton's fears that Moros was not completely vanquished. Reasoning that he was the last hope the world had now that the other mysterious radiance had been destroyed, Makrozoia asked the men to bring him a suitable host body so that he may one day return when it was time to clash with the Ancient Fear. The Knights agreed.

When signs of the Ancient Fear's return began to manifest in Occa, including the awakening of an ancient Demon Emissary called Bethecles, Triton knew it was time to enact his plan. He had become aware that the spirit Makrozoia was in truth the Mad King, father of Notch and Herobrine, after tales spread of the famed Outlanders slaying him in Imperium after a short conflict known as the Resurgent War. Triton believed it was all part of a master scheme to restore the King to his original form so that he may defend the world from Moros, and that it was now time for him to enact his part of the plan.

Triton and the Knights scoured the land for relics of Makrozoia's past, which would be instrumental to reviving him through an intense ritual. Through scheming and trickery, Triton was able to steal all the relics required to power a weapon known as the Slip Device (hidden on an island in Occa), which could steal the life essence of thousands and use it to restore an individual from death.

The Outlanders, fearing the return of the Mad King wouldn't be wise even if to defend against a bigger threat, disrupted Triton's ritual, forcing Makrozoia's spirit to temporarily inhabit his body instead of manifesting once more in his own. Now a puppet of the Mad King, Triton trapped the Outlanders inside a vision - a twisted reflection of their former home, now infested with devilish soldiers and signs of the end of the world.

Makrozoia's spirit possessed much power, but it was not enough to protect him, as he was still inhabiting Triton's mortal body. The Outlanders barely managed to slay their mortal enemy for the second time. The Mad King's essence spewed out from Triton and dispersed in the dream world with little hope of ever recuperating.

The Outlanders celebrated, but Triton stirred once more, finally himself again and now on the brink of death from the battle. He immediately realized the severity of his actions, blaming himself for every innocent life he had taken under the Mad King's spell since he was converted to his cause decades prior. He admitted he was close to death, but did not wish to take the players with him.

Triton observed that there was no easy way for them to get back to the living world, but Makrozoia had created one exit - a bottomless pit in Tempus that led directly into the void. Before they jumped, the Outlander known as Zoomer gave Triton a healing potion, saving his life at least for the time being. He lamented that they had given him hope for the first time in many years, and urged them to do what he could not: stop the Ancient Fear, Moros, whom he had meant to revive the Mad King in an effort to combat. With his efforts to bring back Makrozoia thwarted, he believed they were the only ones who had a chance to stop the malevolent spirit of doom. The Outlanders leapt into the void, leaving behind Occa, uncertain where they would land next.

Triton was a battered and broken man, but he had not been lying when he said the Outlanders were able to restore some glimmer of hope within him. Seeking to atone for his mistakes and with the Knights Thash in virtual ruin, Triton eventually returned to Aquila.