Shanks Aelarion

''Shanks Azurov Aelarion was a former Emperor of Bardonia, Holder of the Cursed Weapon Amaterasu, Head of Trostism and founder of the City of Trost, as well as the adopted son of the late Capna Azurov. Remains one of the last living pioneers of the Dandelist Empire, was former head of the Dandelion Noble Family, and currently holds as the head of the Aelarion Family''

Early Life
Shanks was a child that was born in a field of dandelions in Bardonia just north of the city of Dorasterrock. He was discovered by Capna Azurov. Not knowing where he came from or where the child's parents were, he took the boy into his care.

As he grew up Capna had shown him how to live in the world of Rathnir, teaching him things such as fighting, leading, and other necessary skills. As he grew, he gained overwhelming patriotism for the nation in which he grew up in. He began studying, learning about the past triumphs of Bardonia and about its religion of Dandelism

His obsession with his studies led him to a search of the past. He spent months traveling Bardonia until one day found himself in the Bardonian Vaults below Bardonia City. In the vault he discovered a book called the "Golden Prophecy". This book describes the seed of a dandelion. The seed had made its way across Bardonia, through the wars, through the grief, as well as through the highest highs of the land and the lowest lows of the land. One day when the seed finally settled in the soil, its roots started sprouting and the seed started to grow. When its stem finally peeked through the surface, the flower began to bloom as the dandelion was glowing gold. The glow was to be seen far throughout the lands, even dimensions away. Even though the flower had finally bloomed, it continued to grow. It grew until a child had been born from the dandelion. This was a child born directly from a dandelion, meant to be a guiding light for the nation.

After reading this, Shanks eyes began to glow, and the books pages started unwriting itself. The last sentence left on the book, was "The Golden Child has returned". With Shanks discovering his origin, he leaves the vault as a new person and with the ambitions to lead the nation into its next era.

🎕Origin🎕
Although he found how he was birthed, Shanks had not found out the origin of this phenomena until years later. While exploring Bardonia, he was led to the North of Bardonia City where he again had a vision of White Dandelions. It showed him visions of his blood father Eleven Dandelion entwining with a spirit. This spirit was an embodiment of the dandelions which then unintentionally led to the bloom of his birth. This discovery led to the creation of Trostism (Trostian Dandelism) and the creation of Trost itself. His birth father being Eleven and his adopted father being Capna Azurov, meant Shanks was in two Noble families. As well as one of the last living descendants of the Dandelion family, which originally began with Unic0rnb0i Dandelion.

Time in Ryzan
Shanks was banished from Bardonia for three years for an undocumented reason, but during this time he traveled the world of Rathnir and experienced many different places and cultures. It was said that he began his journey up north in Ryzan for a short time period in the beginning of his exile and spied for some time in order to show his loyalty and faith to Bardonia even though being banished. Not feeling at home there, he set out to explore the world himself.

Sail to Tortuga Isles
He sailed his way down south to Tortuga Isle, where he would learn even more PvP skills and explore Tortuga's cities. He met many of the highest ranked pirates in the world. After his time of partying and drinking rum with the pirates there, he would announce his departure.

The Lorentish Exploration
After his time in Tortuga ended, he continued exploring further south, where he would meet Rience De Relmont and would live in his empire known as the Lorent Kingdom. He got a home in the city known as Champagne where he would get involved in the military and internal affairs of the nation. After some time Shanks was offered to oversee the city of Meraux but declined as he did not feel confident in his ability just yet. He spent the rest of his time there making many friends, later meeting Odio Talatraa right before his departure.

Spy in Frostmarch
After making his connections in the Lorent, he would learn more about the political state of the world and moved even further south to spy for the Lorent in Frostmarch. During his time in this frozen tundra of a nation, he would gain even more political influence by becoming a senator in the region widely known as Ato and lived in the beautiful city of Atopolis until Frostmarch inevitably fell into the hands of Tortuga.

Sail North
Once Frostmarch collapsed into the territories of Tortuga, Shanks would leave Ato and Atopolis as a whole to sail back North to his true home of Bardonia. This trip would take up the rest of his time in exile and would end his world exploration. As he would miss his old friends he's made around the world, he was glad to return to the place he truly felt at home.

Return to Bardonia
After his three-year exile, Shanks returned to Bardonia and settled into New Dorasterrock. He arrived to Bardonia in a dead state under the Imperium with the current Emperor being Conquestor. After discovering the poor leadership and desperate position of Bardonia, he would revive the Bardonian population and conspire with Capna to take full control over the Bardonian provinces and coup Conquestor. After this long but swift coup, Andreas Medici and Howertt Medici were both placed as Autarchs with Howertt being the diplomat and Andreas handling internals. With this coup being a success Shanks managed to get himself a position on the Imperial Court.

Imperial Restorationists
During the coup against Conquestor, Shanks and his father plotted for days in order to collect the populations support. Once the coup was announced Capna released his speech and the internal battle against Conquestor and the Imperium begun. But with the overwhelming support of the people and Shanks's campaign to return Bardonia to the "Golden Age", Conquestors seat as leader was in jeopardy. As a last resort to regain control of his people, he hosted a public address in which he answered questions that were asked by the people. Even with Capna and Shanks being suppressed, the people would continue and argue against him, most notably Wrenbee, Emperor Cheese, and others. This left the curent emperor extremely distressed. With the address ending in the banishment of both Shanks and his father, it was the final straw for the Bardonian people, and the revolution began. Shanks led all the Bardonians back to Dorasterrock where the "Bardonian Imperial Restorationists" was created. Its leaders being Andreas, Howertt, Shanks, Capna, Unic0rnb0i, Eleven, Yazov, and many others. With Conquestors final push he placed an Eldham Union Official to defuse the situation but ended in him requesting Conquestor to resign. Once Conquestor resigned the Restorationists succeeded and reformed the government which created a massive growth in population and productivity within the nation. This was the birth of the Sixth Bardonian Empire, better known as the "Dandelist Empire".

Early Governing
The creation of the Dandelist Empire had Shanks handling a lot of the internal affairs inside of Bardonia as well as learning diplomacy from both Autarch's. At this time, he was still new to the political scene but still had overwhelming support from the Bardonian people. He stopped multiple rebellions and revolutions throughout this time. He also went with his father Capna and destroyed the nation of Kazan and integrated it into the empire. After some time of Bardonia's revival, Shanks pushed for its independence with the other government members which in turn led to the collapse of the Imperium as a whole.

Chancellorship
Shanks was pronounced Chancellor by the two Autarch's Howertt and Andreas Medici on August 22nd, 2022. During this time, he was on the front lines of every battle in the Second Westmarch war. During the Bardonian "3 Days of Hell", he helped organize the coup which led to the fall of Howertt and Yazov's leadership and installed Unic0rnb0i and Crezyman back to the throne. By the end of the Second Battle of New Dorasterrock, Unic0rnb0i had become the sole Emperor and would continue to guide Shanks in both leadership, diplomacy, and overall wisdom. Throughout this time, he gained connections all throughout Rathnir by making friends with Beagle the current leader of Yimmu-Audal, King Cass leader of Galadonn, and many other notable names. During his time as Chancellor Shanks often organized Bardonian projects such as the Dorasterrock Palace, the Dorasterrock Temple, and others.

Second West March War
After the defeat of all his predecessors, Andreas Medici, Howertt Medici, Crezyman, and Unic0rnb0i, Shanks was left to lead Bardonia in the lowest point of its history. With three of his cities being attacked by Ryzan, Bardonia that he was left with was at the brink of death. No money, no gear, and no soldiers the leaders of Bardonia stood. When Ryzan attacked for the final blow Amaro Medici, Wingsauce, Tundroo, and others stood strong and was able to defeat the Ryzani army themselves! With this turning point victory Shanks conducted a plan to turn the war around and bring death to Ryzan. He begun by having his cities leave Bardonia and join Ryzan to infiltrate it, once that was done Ryzan had thought that Bardonia was on its final leg and would die after one last attack. But behind the scenes, Amaro and Shanks would pull strings from all across Rathnir and gathering a large army. The Bardonians also worked tirelessly to make armor sets and swords to prepare for the biggest battle of the time. The towns that Shanks had infiltrate Ryzan started to pay off with information and factories to continue war production under the noses of the Ryzani leadership. With this battle it would change the fate of Bardonian history, winning this would mean that Bardonia would gain its historic territory back and would be the greatest comeback of the nation's history, but a loss would bring Bardonia to its death. When the battle arose Shanks, Garama, and Wingsauce had conducted a plan to counterattack on the cities of Ryzan and the battle begun with complete bloodshed. Many Ryzanis and Bardonians died, but the Bardonians were able to break through the walls of Tossagrad and conquer it. The church bells rang, and the dandelions bloomed upon Shanks, he had somehow done the unthinkable and defeated Ryzan when Bardonia had lost all of its hope. The plan he and the Bardonians made worked like art and led to Bardonias survival.

Battle of Slouttawa
After the destructive loss, Ryzan and the Phoenixian Imperium decided to not give up and continued the war in an attempt to retrieve Carthya. Shanks and the rest of the Imperial Court would then prepare for this attack, gaining resources and planning in order to ensure another Bardonian victory. Throughout the battle, Ryzan and their troops could not gain an upperhand in Carthya so the Bardonians and their allies continued forward and conducted a swift counterattack in Slouttawa leading to a slaughter. The Bardonians came back victorious once again and peace negotiations with Ryzan opened after losing the battle 65-16.

End of the Second West March War
Once the battle of Slouttawa was lost by Ryzan, Bardonia had a foothold on all of Ryzan and began breaking it into pieces diplomatically. Taking multiple cities under Bardonian control. With Ryzan being on edge, Shanks began peace talks with the diplomats of Horde and Ryzan. They had originally come to a compromise but was rejected by the Bardonian Imperial Court. In response, the Court had written a harsher treaty named the "Treaty of Playistan" which takes about half of Ryzan's territory and cities such as Orenia, Tonton, and others. The new treaty was originally rejected by the Ryzan government but after realizing their situation they agreed and finally ended the long war. The Second West March War ended in a Bardonian victory and would be the downfall of Ryzan and would dissolve the Phoenixian Imperium as a whole and was seen as the greatest comeback in history. This would set the way for long term peace in all of Syltor which led to the joint creation of the "Syltor Security Council". This council was a place to discuss things diplomatically and was made by diplomats of Norfthorn, Bardonia, and Ryzan.

Loyalists
The Zodiac are a group of Shanks loyalists. Originally created in Bardonia, spread its influence across the world. The group was a secret society which gathered information and carried out tasks that were assigned by Shanks himself. They left their mark around Bardonia with signs saying "In Shanks We Trust" to notify their territory. Although not much is known about the group, they have been confirmed to be hidden in the shadows.

The Influence
With Shanks pulling strings across his sphere of influence using the Zodiac as his direct strings. He would use them to puppet events and people all across Rathnir. Using the Zodiac, he would stop multiple rebellions during his Chancellorship and is rumored to still be under control of the group. Although it is not confirmed, he is said to still orchestrate the loyalists for political gain and manipulation.

Ranks

 * The Gemini
 * The Signs
 * Zodiac
 * Celestial

✾Trost✾
Trost is a city to the north of Bardonia City, it was founded by Shanks and Penguin as a hub for peace and prosperity. Its architecture and culture attracted many and eventually Tundroo joined and became a Cardinal for Trostism. Shanks spent a lot of his time in this city and harbored his knowledge and wisdom even further while continuing his studies in Dandelism. Trost continues to grow as a Bardonian Citadel with plans of major buildings such as the Bardonian Court House, Trost University, and the first ever Trostism Temple.

⛧The Unforgivable Ritual⛧
In year 214 TE, Shanks went on an exploration trip with his son Kaiba Aelarion to the Ruined Cathedral located north of the Medici Mounds built by the Druids that had once inhabited the land prior to the Bardonians original settlement. While exploring the area, they discovered a wall inscribed with drawings of a ritual and text below with an unknown language that neither of them could understand. The only word that was able to be translated was the old druid word of "darkness".

After this discovery, they traveled back to Trost to further examine and study what they have found in the Trost Laboratory. They had come to the conclusion that the ritual was used to banish evil from the soul and place it into a gemstone in order to purify one's soul. They decided to perform this ritual in order to create a better version of themselves and relinquish all evil from their soul in order to serve their home nation of Bardonia in the most righteous way possible.

In order to prepare for the ritual, they gathered all the materials that were inscribed in the ruins. They gathered two white diamonds, vials with one's own blood, and the pure druid runes. Once all of the pieces were collected, they set up the ritual in the Azalea Forest in the north of Trost. They followed the instructions below:

Ritual:

- Draw a hexagon on the ground with the blood of those performing the ritual.

- Add druid runes and place the gemstones in the center of the blood hexagon.

- Say the ancient druid words inscribed below the ruin drawings.

On their first attempt the ritual led to nothing. Shanks and Kaiba would visit the ruins a final time. After a second examination they noticed a red circle in the upper right of the drawing. This led them to believe that the ritual was only effective during a blood moon in its peak hour. They once again awaited the chance to perform the ritual and calculated when the next blood moon was to come.

After a four month wait the blood moon was finally arriving. Kaiba and Shanks once again prepare for the ritual and gathered the same materials as before. They went back to the Azalea Forest north of Trost and attempted the ritual once again. This time dark fog and black sparks unleashed with a temper from inside the gemstones and began to absorb all dark energy from their souls. The intense power and energy being erupted was too much for their physical bodies to handle so they lost consciousness during the middle of the ritual. When they finally awoke, the grass surrounding them was burnt to dust and the trees around them had all died. All that was left on the scene were the now red glowing gemstones that were once pure and transparent prior to the ritual.



Shanks and Kaiba were surprised and confused at the success of the ritual and decided to keep the gemstones as a reminder of their former selves and to show their transformation. Both of them would turn their gemstones into a necklace and wear them at all times. However, there was a slow change inside of both of them after the ritual. Shanks would begin to show signs of animosity and narcissism and began to hallucinate and at times was caught speaking to the gemstone itself. Over time these signs would continue to corrupt him and influence the way he viewed the world and himself. This corruption would begin to be physically visible with his first symptoms being blood red eyes and pale skin.



The Dark Realms
After months, the energy of the pendent grew stronger and stronger and its influence over Shanks would continue to increase as well. It would speak in whispers with him about mythical creatures, beings, realms, and weapons. It would continue to tempt him to get closer to these powers of darkness. Over time it would reveal itself as a spirit trapped inside of the gem and would further explain the basis and foundations of the Dark Arts and secret forms of Magic. Shanks was a prodigy and quickly learned how to use and control the Dark Magic at will; However, with this new intense power being extremely strong, it would also exceed his bodies capabilities and it would damage him physically depending on the strength of the spell or art. With Shanks itching for more power the spirit within the gem would reveal to him a solution to bypass the physical barriers that are currently stopping Shanks from getting stronger. It told him that the key to getting stronger is by going into one of the Dark Realms himself. It explained that there are 9 Dark Realms with different levels of spirits and entities. Traveling from one to another could cost him more than just his life. At first Shanks was hesitant, but the pendent had an influence over his soul that was overwhelming. So, he would use his current abilities to open the gate to the Dark Realm known as Agartha.

Dark Realms: Agartha
Once Shanks opened the gate, he saw nothing; but once he entered, he was unable to move. Evil spirits and demons surrounded the gate with aura so strong that it stopped all of Shanks's movement. He would use the Dark Arts and Spells that he learned to free himself from the chains of aura that were holding him down. He continued and killed each being that were surrounding the gate and left to explore. The pendent would guide Shanks to a safe area and would explain that 100 years in this realm is only 1 hour in the real world, and that he was trapped in a realm unless he is able to collect enough spirits to make a new gate.

Cursed Weapon: Amaterasu
Shanks being trapped in this realm would continue to destroy his mind and twist his spirit to the point of no return. He was forced to slay demonic beings and spirits for weeks on end and would eventually gather their souls and created a new type of magic himself. He would use the Dark Arts on these collected souls and bind them together into a weapon with a force so strong that anyone who grasped it would be burst into black flames that would engulf them for all eternity in which even death couldn't stop. This weapon would be named Amaterasu. It was a Scythe that was forged out of pure evil and even its aura itself could kill.

With a weapon as strong as this, he would make the Dark Realm of Agartha his domain and ruled it with ease. Shanks gained so much power and control over the arts that even the dark spirits would bow down to him. In this time, he would go through a kind of metamorphosis and his physical body would break down and left him with only his spirit. With this metamorphosis it permanently stopped his aging and destroyed any barriers or limitations for power. Once Shanks reached this point, he killed all of the spirits in the realm to extinction and left it bare with only blood and the smell of death behind. He would open an exit gate and return to Rathnir after 300 years in Agartha.

Dark Realms: Gehenna
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