Eldoth Naler
From Aberddu Wiki
| Character Profile | |
| Name | Eldoth Naler |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | Pureblood |
| Class | Cleric |
| Age | 23 (born 1087) |
| Religion | ? |
| Played By | Tom |
Eldoth is a former guildmaster of the AAG, and was a member of the Guild from October 1107 until his death on January 23rd 1110. Although originally a priest of Law, he came to worship a God he believed to be a combination of Knowledge and the Enigmas.
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Early life
Eldoth was born to a relatively wealthy family in Aberddu, and so lived a fairly comfortable childhood. A keen scholar, he seemed to be ready from a young age for a life in service to Knowledge, so much so that his parents paid for his education in the temple. Although he became a priest in training, he had not yet been taught to channel the powers of his god through prayer when the deity was devoured by Keesoth in 1102. With the brothers of Erudition having sealed themselves within the Temple, Eldoth was left at a loss as to the wisest course of action. His initial anger led to a desire for justice; a crime had been committed, and it must be punished, even if the offender happened to be a God. Late in 1103, Eldoth presented himself to the Temple of Law, and once again began training as a priest. By the time this training was completed, he had become truly dedicated to his new god, and his initial motivations were forgotten for the while. The next couple of years were spent in service to Law, with Eldoth finding a role within the Temple as a scholar of sorts, studying the various laws that exist, both in Aberddu and elsewhere, so as to better apply justice. He became a great believer in following the spirit of the law rather than the letter; the written texts all too often contradict themselves, and Eldoth knew that by selectively drawing upon them one can apply punishment as and when it is needed, as opposed to merely following the standard procedures.
Joining the guild
Due to the rising threat from Frysia, Eldoth joined the AAG in the Autumn of 1107, seeking to use his clerical powers to aid the city as a whole. As a part of this he teamed up with Abatha Valdes and Helga Oakenshield, two other new members of the guild, to provide healing to those who needed it during the winter. Despite his initial goals, he was never a part of a mission that directly involved combating the Frysians, instead finding himself sent on jobs to Ctuma and the Middle Kingdoms.
It was one of these missions that would ultimately lead his life in an unexpected direction. Eldoth was part of a small group sent to an overgrown Temple of the Enigmas in the Middle Kingdoms, where he encountered two elderly priests of Knowledge living as hermits. In exchange for a vow to return at least once a year until their deaths, he was told the words of a ritual that would summon Knowledge for one final question, and told he would know when the time was right to use it. He also found the Book of Questions, an artefact of the Enigmas that could answer any question (although the answers given were normally fairly vague), and what he refers to as the Eye of Knowledge, a small eye-like gem that allows the user to interpret any written language. The eye proved to be one of a set, alongside those owned by Abatha and Vitel. It is believed that the fourth member of the group, Skalf, also has one, though he disappeared soon afterwards and its powers are unknown.
Anoveld
Eldoth was part of the AAG mission into Frysia in August 1108, and formed part of the group that retreived the scroll required to kill the Black Inquisitor. For much of the evening Eldoth was tasked with looking after the scroll, which he did so until asked to give it to the protection of those guildmembers unable to fight outside due to an infection. Eldoth passed it to Jonah, who gave it to Arkhan, who gave it to Theodore. Theodore chose this point to reveal himself as a Frysian traitor, portalling away and taking the scroll with him, to the shock and dismay of the guild. Having looked after the scroll for so long, Eldoth was particularly shaken by this, feeling it was his fault for following orders and not trusting his better judgment.
Despite this setback, the guild resolved to attack Anoveld the next morning, taking advantage of the distraction caused by a horde of Ju-ju zombies raised by Kenshiro. During the course of the long battle Eldoth found himself somehow transported into the Book of Questions, where a strange figure wearing robes of constantly shifting colours spoke to him. To Eldoth, this seemed a continuation of previous strange occurrences with the book, where it had started to ask him questions of a seemingly unanswerable nature.
Following his reappearance on the battlefield, Eldoth joined with the rest of the guild in the final attack against the Black Inquisitor. While most of the guild dealt with the manifested demon that had been bound to the Inquisitor’s soul, Eldoth, Jonah and Abatha were able to attack the Inquisitor himself, swiftly hacking the weakened man apart. It is unknown who struck the killing blow.
Hersey and new faith
After a year with the guild, Eldoth had grown far more powerful than he would have had he stayed in the Temple and was starting to think again about his past desires, of the faith taken from him. For a brief while it seemed any resolution to this would be beyond him, as in October 1108 he was seemingly killed by a strange mist through which a ghostly army marched, a mist that also appeared to claim the lives of Elmo, Ashanti and Scrap. The four of them awoke in the Life temple a few days later, yet it was some time before Eldoth spoke of what had occurred. It transpired that the group had become caught up in a battle between Aragon and Nippon that had taken place hundreds of years in the past in the Middle Kingdoms, and had appeared to be able to have an effect on events. The battle itself was relatively minor, but when Eldoth examined the history books later he found mention of a group of 'strange pilgrims, accompanied by a slavering rat-beast', who warned the Elven general of the evils of Frysia, causing a runner to be sent to Aragon. Eldoth believes this was one of the reasons for early Elven attacks on that country, attacks that eventually resulted in the formation of Frysia as it is today. As such, part of him feels responsible for the creation of what is arguably one of the greatest evils on the planet, no matter how impossible this actually is.
In late 1108 Eldoth was one of the 167 members of the Temple of Law who stood alongside future lord commander militant Jonah Lystyrian in denouncing the inaction of the temple, urging that the followers of Law take a more active role within the city. As a result, he and the other 'heretics' were barred from the Temple, as the superiors had evidently decided the best way to deal with a problem was to ignore it. Later that the winter he was one of the few long-standing members of the AAG not to become trapped in the Cleric's Knee, and one of those left behind to take command if the rescue party failed in their mission. Around this time he was also one of the candidates considered (although not through his own choice) for election as Guildmaster following the resignation of Stryke Clan Stallion; the position was ultimately won by Dane.
Following a seemingly standard mission to Ctuma in early 1109, Eldoth disappeared for a few weeks, having failed to return with the rest of the group. It later transpired that the magic that returned them had transported him to the Temple of the Enigmas that he had visited almost exactly a year previously, most likely due to his desire to return there and complete his promise to the Priests of Knowledge. Whilst there he finally made use of the ritual they had taught him, but rather than using it to ask a question instead attempted to channel the remaining power of Knowledge into the Book of Questions, reasoning that Knowledge and the Enigmas were two sides of the same coin, thus neither could exist without the other. This appears to have been successful to some extent, as a few weeks after his return to Aberddu Eldoth began preaching outside the Temple of the Fallen Gods, claiming that Knowledge and The Enigmas were now combined into a new, as yet unnamed, God. This apparent resurrection of Knowledge caused him to all but abandon the faith of Law, and though most people seemed to think him delusional Eldoth converted at least one follower within the AAG, Baralis.
In May 1109 Eldoth was part of the group present at the (re)ascension of the Aesthetics, who had been restored in the form of an Avatar some time previously. While travelling to the temple of the Aesthetics he was sought out by a group calling themselves the brotherhood of Waheid, who demanded he give them the Book of Questions. The group contained former priests of both Knowledge and the Enigmas, and like Eldoth believed the two were now one. He gave them the book, vowing to find and join them as soon as possible. Later that same day Eldoth met a man claiming to have been present when he died, in a battle that Eldoth believes will occur at some point in the near future. The man was wearing Eldoth's cloak, having been given it when Eldoth died, and returned it to him, as by this stage it had been lost somewhere along the way. Because of this, Eldoth has half-jokingly named it the 'Cloak of Paradox'. Upon his return to Aberddu, Eldoth began making plans to seek out the Brotherhood and travelled to Baylis, where local customs demanding proof of purity of race frustrated his efforts to find the group. Ultimately he failed in this goal, and returned to Aberddu in time to join the guild for their mission into Tartatia.
Tartaria
See also ‘Betrayal Rewarded?’ [1]
On his first evening in Tartaria Eldoth came the closest to death he had ever been, when he fell unnoticed in the dark near a wood pile. It was only chance that saved him, as someone came across his body before his soul passed on. This experience left him quite shaken, having been faced with the reality of his own mortality. The next day he joined the group that was tasked with finding the totem of the fireborn, which turned out to in fact be the Phoenix. His help in this matter caused him and the rest of the group to be named as members of the newly formed Clan Phoenix, though later events mean that Eldoth has vowed to never use this honorific.
That night the totem was reborn into the body of the clan shaman and the guild tasked with protecting it from the almost constant attacks on the camp. Knowing the power of the totem, Eldoth reasoned that if he killed it while it was vulnerable that power would instead pass to his God, potentially allowing its rebirth. His better nature left him in two minds about this, and he warned Baralis about his plans. Despite this he was able to enter the tent containing the Phoenix through the cover of the Merkabah realm and was only stopped from attacking by being beaten into unconsciousness by Nostros, high priest of the Celestial Flame. Eldoth believes that Nostros’s intervention was not fuelled out of a sense of duty however, as the fire elf seemed to have the same idea as he had with regards to the Phoenix.
Knowing that his continued presence posed a considerable danger to the Phoenix, Eldoth asked Mattheus to send him back to Aberddu. It was almost a week before a member of the guild tried to track him down, and to Eldoth’s surprise it was Ares Payne who did so. Expecting to be asked about his actions in Tartaria, Eldoth was even more surprised when the half-troll gave him the Guildmaster’s ring, putting him in charge of the AAG. Though he did not necessarily want the job, Eldoth accepted it as his duty.
Guildmaster
Soon after his return to Aberddu, Eldoth began to make plans for his time as Guildmaster. No-one is quite sure what these plans were, as early in September of 1109 he was kidnapped by demons alongside Ed Debrie. The two of them were both replaced by demonic doppelgangers, who due to their positions within the guild council essentially ruled the AAG for the next six weeks. In this time they also captured and replaced three other prominant guldmembers; Ashanti, Fenn and Solustaren. The demonic replacements were eventually uncovered by Jonah, Kenshiro and Torgluk, who confronted them within the guildhouse in late November. By this stage the demons had grown tired of the masquerade, and after a lengthy battle departed for places unknown. Before doing so, 'Eldoth' destroyed both the Guildmasters ring and the guild charter, while thanking Jonah for his mentoring in recent weeks. A week later Jonah repaid the demon for this mockery, using upon the power of law to utterly destroy it (and not even allowing it to finish its pie).
The kidnapped Guildmembers, including Eldoth, were rescued from the pit just before the end of November 1109. For most of the week after his return Eldoth could be found in the Temple of the Fallen Gods praying, after which he claimed to be more powerful than ever before. Concerns were however quickly raised over his mental state; while in the Pit the captives were each held within the body of a demon, and Eldoth claims to have counted the number of heartbeats within the time he was there; four hundred and seventy five million two hundred and thirty five thousand six hundred and seventy five, equating to about 13 years. The experience had a significant affect on Eldoth's mental state, indicated most noticeably by the removal and replacement of his right eye with the eye of languages. Although the original intention had been to restore the former Guild Council as soon as possible, it quickly became apparent that Eldoth was in no state to serve as Guildmaster, allowing Torgluk to remain in power for the foreseeable future.
Recovery
Following his escape, several guildmembers appeared highly concerned about Eldoth's state. Responses varied from guildmember to guildmember, with some choosing merely to keep an eye on him while others attempted to avoid him altogether. His acquisition of the nickname 'Crazy Agnus' did not help matters. However the death of Jonah Lysterian at the end of 1109 appeared to show his first hope of recovery; before his conversion, Eldoth had seen Jonah as something of a mentor, as well as having been one of the three who had slain the Black Inquisitor. It was only with Jonah's death that Eldoth realised he had never explained his reasons for abandoning Law to his former friend, and by then it was too late. However the sense of loss felt by the guild came with a new realisation for Eldoth; bad things happen, and will continue to happen, so it is foolish to dwell on the past, as he had been with the experience of the Pit. As part of this recovery, he purchased a Crazy Agnus doll from the My Little Adventurers Dolls range.
Death
During the first meeting of the guild in 1110 Eldoth was twice possessed by a force of divine origin, during which time he delivered two prophecies. The first, "Tonight, one of faith will face the darkness", heralded the death of Edward deBrie the same night, while the second "Those of faith should look to their own and act" is assumed to be a more general message. After his delivery of the second message, Eldoth claimed to be able to see people's faith through his formally blinded eye, although he never described this phenomenon in detail.
Following deBrie's death, it was discovered that the being that had slain him and taken his soul was a servant of a new God known as Vengence, whose minions had attempted to prevent the rising of both the Aesthetics and the Phoenix. Recognising the threat thus posed to his own God, Eldoth agreed to accompany several powerful members of the guild on a mission to Old Nippon in order to retreive Ed's soul. The mission was successful to an extent, but came with a terrible price; the Collector who had previously slain Ed drained Eldoth's soul from his body and delivered it to his Goddess, now revealed (in a cruel twist of irony) to have been created by former followers of Law. Eldoth's body was returned to Aberddu, where he was buried in the Temple of the Fallen Gods, though not before various members of the guild had looted his body.
A couple of weeks after his death, an entity refering to itself as 'the voice of Eldoth Naler' began to briefly possess guild members, so as to deliver prophecy in a similar way to those that Eldoth himself had experienced. With Eldoth's soul having supposedly been devoured by Vengence, it is unlikely that the voice is linked in any physical way to Eldoth himself, but its exact nature is unknown.
Several months after his death, Eldoth's beliefs were vindicated when his disciple Baralis Severance succeeded in raising the God Truth in the now renamed Temple of the Rising Gods. Truth's current form bears a striking resemblence to Eldoth, having been created from a statue of the God that had in turn been modelled on Eldoth himself. The two relics that Eldoth carried upon his death (The Eye of Knowledge and the Cloak of Paradox) have both become a part of Truth's form, with the eye replacing the same Eye that Eldoth had removed himself.
