Sarvatha d'Ristos n'Sevii Cetirnen

Sarvatha tends to present a cool front to the world around him. The son of bonded laborers brought in as the spoils of war from one of the frontiers, he long ago learned that his coloration sets him apart and makes him an easy target. In response, he learned to hold his temper, learned to fight only when he had the advantage, and learned that there was no shame in retreat. He's learned to walk a fine line between caution and boldness, refusing to be held back or deflected from the course he's chosen for his own life, though he's also learned to hide the full extent of his abilities from others around him.

Another fine line he walks is that of the jaded warrior. Refusing to become simply a killing tool at the hands of the Mother Temple, Sarvatha has clung to his love of life and the creatures in it - even, to some extent, the other people around him. On the other hand, a certain amount of hardness is required to be a Knight in Laruen, with its constant wars and expansions. So he walks the line warily, trying to balance between the two extremes he feels within himself, that of the heartless killer and that of the soft-hearted civilian.

Sarvatha is a tall, strangely slender man, especially for being the Knight that he is. His skin is a swarthy brown, his hair a black so deep it looks blue in certain lights, and his eyes are a startling, mercurial silver, one minute as dark as tarnished silver, the next as bright as freshly minted silver. He's naturally ambidextrous, favoring neither hand over the other.

When heading into battle, or simply wishing to intimidate someone, Sarvatha resorts to his full battle-gear of dark grey armor, symbol of his rank as an Umbra Knight. Most other times, though, he tends to wear simple, loose clothing similar to Cetirnen's, though of a dark grey instead of the lighter grey that his Neo'Savok prefers. No matter what the situation, though, Sarvatha is never found without some sort of blade on him, whether it be a simple dirk sheathed at his hip, all the way to a great zweihander strapped to his horse as he goes off to war.

Sarvatha's preferred method of fighting (beyond simply intimidating his foe into retreat) is a two handed style similar to eskrima. In war, he either chooses to wield the zweihander or the longsword.

For as long as he can remember, Sarvatha has always been able to hear the 'voice' of Shadow. For him, the magic isn't a thing to simply use, but a sapient force that's perfectly capable of acting on its own, towards its own ends. 'Umbra' he eventually named the voice, after the highest rank of Shadow-magic, to the voice's gentle amusement. If it has a true name, or a gender, Sarvatha has never been able to discern it.

As a child, it was a playmate and teacher, keeping him company when he was lonely, consoling him when he was sad, guiding him when he was lost. Labeled a child-prodigy (though a bit odd for his habit of speaking aloud to himself, as Umbra refused to let him tell others of its existance), Sarvatha was quickly taken to the Mother Temple under the wing of a Shadow Priest, there to learn to be either a Magician, Priest, or Knight, as his parents, bonded laborers from the heathen lands, were deemed incapable of teaching him as he deserved.

At the Temple, he chose to follow the Path of the Knight, instead of that of a Magician like they wanted him to. No one could deny, however, his skill at arms and horsemanship, and it was decided to 'permit him his folly'. As he had tested as Umbra-rank in magic skill already, all that remained was to train him to the peak of his ability... and perhaps make his training so difficult that he willing chose to switch Callings to that of Magician.

With Umbra's help, however, Sarvatha took the abuse and, in his own way, thrived. He grew strong in both body and mind, bolstered by Umbra's praise and encouragement, aided by its explanations when he couldn't understand something, assisted by its method of 'showing' him what he couldn't grasp on his own. Perhaps an unfair advantage, but one Sarvatha felt justified in using, when he realized exactly how much harder they pushed him than all the rest. The accomplishments were his own. Umbra just taught him what his teachers refused to.

Eventually, he advanced with honor, becoming a full Umbra-class Shadow Knight, lacking only his Final Proving to make him a blooded Knight.

Shimmer Black Eilana: A very quiet flit, even for flits, she is often found coiled about Sarvatha's neck. She hates Mitheo's three flits (though she will tolerate Lissir) and constantly hides from them.

Shimmer Ice Devol: More outgoing than Eilana, Devol proudly perches on Sarvatha's shoulders, showing off his fine coloration to anyone who looks even mildly appreciative. A sucker for attention, a bit of meat and a scratch on his head will forever lock the giver in Devol's mind as "good folk" who he can bother for attention if he feels Sarvatha isn't giving him enough.