Markus Craghand – Earth Elemi Crusher

The militaristic government of Abunen Kolden had been preparing for the incoming war from Greater Abune in Tharador for centuries. They knew that the Dreamed Elemi that fled would one day wish to return and claim the lands lost. So for centuries they have prepared their populace for such a day. Markus and those who he grew up alongside were part of those preparations. Bred, born and raised as soldiers. They never knew the warmth of a mother’s tender hold, nor did their hearts beat with love for their friends and the concept of lovers was alien to them.

Markus however was more empathetic than many in his cohort. This behaviour made him a natural leader, and often his unit excelled in trials during childhood training for he would bolster his comrades. Markus definitely felt a love for his comrades, but he would never meet anyone else apart from their officers and drill instructors for years. Only in their first battle did Markus ever face those apart from the people he had spent eighteen years of his life around. It was in this same battle that all of them perished.

As his squad surfed down the stony crags of a nearby mountain to flank an enemy, like in so many training scenarios, they were struck by something their training had never prepared them for. A gargantuan explosion engulfed the squad, tearing the mountainside to pebbles. Markus fell dozens of feet and crashed down on the floor, losing consciousness. When he came to, the battle was over and all he could find of his squad members, his brothers, was their charred corpses. In the distance he could see clean up crews of the enemy hauling bodies and finishing off survivors. Quickly he stood and clambered up the mountain he sailed down from, trekking for weeks and living off the land until he found civilization at last, hundreds of miles away in the land of Er Nava.

Here he came under the wing of another Earth Elemi from Vergso Mene, who taught the wayward soldier, giving him the name Markus (as before that he had none) and showed him how to function in regular society. Eventually Markus joined the VVL alongside his friend and they shared in many adventures together until they were separated for having such similar skill sets. They were better as divided assets than bound together. Still, they rejoice whenever their paths cross and they see the other is alive and healthy.