Zurvan Kalaraja

Zurvan Kalaraja is Mingrelia's Minister of Finance and the loyal bartender at Beggar's Inn. He is known to be a conservative and rational man, but he's also known to be livid when things are dire. Moreso, he's a party animal at times. He's seen with his black tunic and cloth, or any other dark colored clothing.

Early life
He was born into an aristocratic household in Ryzan with their dad Salizar and his mother Kaimana, unlike his elder sister Adira. However, his life was not as simple as hers. He was primarily bred to be a religious guy for the aristocratic world. He was frequently in trouble for refusing his father's demands, even though he received private education. His siblings and sisters thought his father was violent, and his mother seemed neglectful.

His relationships with his own sisters and brothers were just as strained. Although his elder brothers were in boarding school, he didn't immediately fall in love with them. They were there to safeguard him when Salizar tried to become aggressive while they were back for the holidays. His sisters weren't born until he was in his early teenage years, but he made it a priority to defend them all his life.

His mother was no help, no matter how often he pleaded for assistance and comfort. He had to discover from Hakim that all they wanted was to marry into a strong family and carry on the family name. He began to flee at this point, but Salizar would track him down and severely beat him. When Salizar captured him during one of his breakouts, he was shackled and acid was poured on his left eye, severely wounding him. He was then taken home to be cared for by a doctor.

Following the incident, he ended up playing the silent game and following his father's wishes until he could live on his own. In comparison to his gentler, more passionate old self, he felt like a robot around his own family. His teenage years were no different, though he was now in boarding school himself. His parents were pleased; he had honor with his name. It did, however, instill resentment in the rest of the family.

Meeting Adira
When he was 15, he slipped away to stroll around town after returning from boarding school. However, after discovering that his father was present at the piers, he went to check and saw an adult Adira in a heated argument with him. He wanted to burst into the scene and figure out what happened, but Hakim stopped him before he could, telling him it was best to stay out of it. He then learns about that woman being his older sister, whom their father abandoned many years ago. He was outraged because he didn't expect Salizar to swoop so low.

Days later, he'd find himself in a situation with that same Adira pressing a knife to their father's throat. She froze, glancing at Zurvan and noticing his misaligned eye. This irritated her, so she decided to beat Salizar close to death and storm out of the house. He was pushed aside and ridiculed for not notifying authorities when he went to aid his father. However, the authorities were unable to locate her and thus dismissed the investigation. Only a few months later, while in school, he would run with Adira again.

He'd eventually meet her when they met in secret. Both were angry and sad, although she wanted to assist Zurvan and the others. They would communicate through letters, and she'd occasionally let him and his siblings skip school in order to travel and have fun for a while. It would keep going until he reached 18, at which time the headmaster alerted their parents of the situation.

Family expulsion and heresy
Salizar and Kaimana arrived at the school as soon as they were informed. Salizar was itching to beat the teenagers, but Kaimana told him not to. The females were not harmed, but the boys were brought to a darkened room with Salizar seething. He offered them a decision to make: go to a religious school for a couple of years to straighten themselves, or be booted from the family and deprived of their fortune.

Hakim was enraged and cursed Salizar for everything he did, telling him why everyone did it in the first place, and it was then that Hakim decided to leave the family. Eimantas was quick to respond to the request to leave as well, but being the most intelligent of the group, this disappointed Salizar. He didn't offer Runihura and Zurvan an option, leaving them as the only ones remaining, with Zurvan being the major cause of the predicament.

Religious school
Runi and Zurvan were both transferred to a religious institution in Escharia run by the Soleannen religion. Both were baptized and received religious instruction as well as regular instruction on how to act "civilized." They were quietly hiding in little concealed places, discussing about breaking out and enjoying their lives when they weren't racing about doing chores. Being punished was no different, except they were sometimes made to pray for lengthy hours without food or drink in addition.

During Zurvan's excursion to the library, he surreptitiously taught himself the disciplines of necromancy, and he would continue to hone his abilities over the years. He would contact a skilled necromancer to learn more about the black arts. This would drive him to receive his tattoos by escaping the convent and obtaining them, from the master necromancer himself.

He maintained this forbidden magic with Runi for up to three years until it was discovered by an eavesdropping monk. He was handed to the head abbot about this purported blasphemy, for which he had been continually tortured to "have him on the correct road." This went on for months until he lied about atonement before attacking the head abbot. As a result, he would apostatize and condemn the abbey entirely, Runi following as well.

It wasn't certain how long both were meant to stay, but both fled while serving in the kitchens at the ages of 23 and 26.

Fugitives
They did odd occupations while hiding out in caverns throughout their time as fugitives. While on the side, Zurvan learned how to brew and sold drinks and potions to support the both of them. Runi, however, began taking foolish decisions that led him to commit petty thievery. No matter what, he was always saved by Zurvan, whether it was through bribery or killing whoever caught him.

Despite the reality that the anxiety of being discovered even after Abbey affair haunted them on a daily basis, it was critical for both brothers in being harsh on one another for each poor decision.

Separation and incarceration
Someone notified the Soleannen religion of their presence just around six years later, resulting in their detention for their crimes. Despite their determination not to apologize for their behavior, Zurvan openly ranted in court about his loathing for the faith and his desire to destroy it. This would anger the clergy to the point that he would be threatened with execution. Runi begged his brother to reconsider his actions so that they could both survive for the benefit of the family as a whole. His gentleness got to Zurvan, so he pretended to apologize in order to have the execution postponed.

This worked, but at the cost of having to return to faith. Runi's outcome was much worse; during the night, guards entered their cell and viciously separated them, with Zurvan never seeing him again. He would spend 7 months behind bars alone and distraught, before busting out and fleeing.

Brief Happy Reunion
Zurvan wandered all over Rathnir and Eldham after his escape with no real plan. He apostatized again and returned to building, brewing, and, this time, rekindling his passion for necromancy. He would reunite with his brother Hakim for the very first time when going through the Yimmu Desert. For him, time had passed, and he became a rich and influential merchant with a private caravan. With this wonderful news came the whereabouts of Eimantas, Jara, and Tanteraka; as well as Hakim's imminent wedding to his fiance, Kumudha.

He would make it his duty to find Runi after Hakim's wedding. He would consistently look for clues, whatever he could find. When he left he asked for his siblings to help find him. It would take 13 years for him to finally see them all again.

Reuniting with Adira
He would end up in Viodaxa, where he would reunite with Adira. During which he learns about her ailment, her alleged love affair, and her daughter Ashei. In response, he would explain what had occurred after all those years. He was relieved that she kept in touch with everyone else, but even she had no idea where Runi was.

He was offered a request before leaving: to watch over and guide her daughter. It was the sole thing she desired the entire family to do. Zurvan would graciously accept, but he was not in the right frame of mind at the time.

Unbeknownst to them a year later she would pass away at the age of 50.

Fiance's Death, Mental restoration
Throughout those same 13 years, he would find love, but his romantic life was considered confidential; little else is known about the two. Nonetheless, Jara claims that he would have had a child named Sayuri. He did, however, prioritize his fiance like his family. Unfortunately, both would die as a result of Zurvan's past.

He would have a verbal altercation with some Soleannen clergymen. His fiance would become entangled in the crossfire of his necromancy, killing both her and the child. Since then, he has lived in agony, haunted by the guilt of killing someone he adored, as well as the use of Necromancy.

Reuniting and recovering with Runihura
He would finally learn of Runi's whereabouts many years after their deaths. This would lead him to a modest mountain home in north-western Rathnir. He'd come to peace with a partially blind Runi who shared a home with a young girl named Charaka. He would find out about Runi's enslavement, gaining his freedom, and his potential rise into becoming a great swordsman in wars; As well as how his sword broke into pieces with caused him his deteriorating blindness. He would spend the next 13 years and beyond with them, working to overcome his guilt and recover, as well as to learn to stop and reclaim his life.

Beggar's Inn
Zurvan would travel to the Province of Firewood, but not without difficulty. First, he was hired to brew at a drunken old man named Somsak's tavern Beggar's Inn. Second, the old man was racist toward elves, which he had to put up with because of his low pay. To maintain the ingredient stocks afloat, he would briefly live in a yurt and farm. This is where he would meet many acqauintances, as well as his crush Pik Luon of Lunaris.

Mingrelia
He'd end himself at the Yimmu city of Mingrelia after leaving Runi to start over. Initially, he performed minor desert rejuvenation tasks on Hasdrubal's behest, which earned him a position in the town's construction company's administration. This would also lead to him becoming the city council's Minister of Finance.

Finding Ashei
He would finally take it upon himself to finish what Adira desired. This would take him to the Gensin Monastery in Plagos, only to be met by a skeptical monk Mordecai. The monks there were highly suspicious of him, thinking he was only there to harm Ashei. however he made sure it wasn't the case, as he told them about her mother's request. Mordecai was unaware how secretive she was, she never knew about siblings, let alone the notion of have a secret lover. He would then be brought to her burial place, not knowing about her death after all those years.

Time would pass since then and he would finally meet Ashei at Beggar's inn. It was arough start as she was very cold to him, but the years of mental instability made her worse. Since then he has been making her his priority, and hopes to be the missing piece to her life.