About Skalezaar "Skales"Stat Block:
Skalezaar aka "Skales"
Male Kobold Cleric/1 (Separatist) N Small Humanoid (Reptilian) Deity: Dahak Homeland: Varisia Init +3; Senses: Perception +5, Darkvision 60'
Spells
Domains Dragon, Artifice (Trap)
Background:
Perhaps the strangest cleric one will come across, Skalezaar (also known as "Skales") started as a humble acolyte in the exceptionally large Sleekfang tribe, training to become a devout member of his kind, and between his devotion and his natural talent for divine magic, he was well on his way to achieving his goal.
But as he studied and trained, he felt something nag at him as he went through his rights. He looked through the texts, listened to the tales of Dahak and his creating of kobolds, and did a great deal of meditation on the subject. Yet he simply could not shake this feeling of hesitation. He felt... unsteady. As if he were trying to ride a slurk that he believed may have had a broken leg. But the true revelation did not strike him until one day, he asked his mentors a question: kobolds were created from the tears Dahak shed after Apsu's defeat... but why? Why would the First Dragon weep following the resounding victory over his father? His teachers had no answers for him, but urged him not to think too hard on it. However, Skales couldn't ignore this glaring issue. In all of his teachings, studies and reflection, he could resolve this contradiction. Dahak had won! Resoundingly so! So why would he, the supposed Endless Destruction, have reason to weep? But his understanding of his religion was truly rocked when he learned that when Rovagug sought to devour all of creation, of all gods, Dahak stood alongside Apsu and the others to repulse the Rough Beast! He sought to preserve creation!? Although his mentors argued that without anything to destroy, Dahak would cease to exist, but this displeased the young acolyte. Skales withdrew from his tribe to consult his texts, reflect on this, and conjure an answer for this series of revelations. Finally, after supposedly 6 nights and 7 days of prayer, pondering, and meditation, Skales emerged with an understanding of Dahak that challenged all he and his kind had believed: Dahak was not endless destruction, but a cycle of both destruction and creation. He had gained far greater clarity into his devotion and challenged his elders and mentors with his newfound revelation. For every question they posited him, he had an answer. For every contradiction, he rationalized and directed back at them. His evidence was incredible, but undeniable, and even more unbelievable, was that he had been gifted with divine might that seemed to prove his point. And his ability to argue his point was starting to cause whispers among his tribe that, perhaps, he might be right. Sadly, his preaching was forbidden and his presence was starting to worry his superiors. Skales was hastily banished from his snarl and set to wander the world. Even so, Skales remained resolute and vowed to spread his revelation to all kobolds, wyverns and dragonkind who would hear him out. He would be heard, and he would right all the heresy they had been so wrongly given. Dahak would see him safely on his mission, for in his shattering of the established religion, he would be creating something new and greater. Just as his deity did so long ago. Personality:
Skalezaar likes to keep his history somewhat vague to encourage a degree of mystery and divine providence to his message. After all, saying he just figured it out one night is not as impressive as "6 nights and 7 days of fasting, study and meditation" to the average kobold. Thus, his backstory may change every so often to whatever he thinks may sound more convincing and cool, but core elements typically remain the same... after it, it HAD to happen somehow. Regardless, Skalezaar speaks with authority on the subject of his religion, and his devotion means he often sees divine intervention in almost everything.
Skalezaar is considerably moderate for a kobold, even if he believes in two different extremes of religious doctrine - creating and destroying. He encourages things that have outlived their usefulness to be dismantled or destroyed, but insists that for each act of destruction, something meaningful must be created in its place, preferably using the remains of what was destroyed. Interestingly, this makes him largely opposed to senseless destruction of more monstrous creatures, like goblins, who simply seek to wreck everything in sight with no thought of making something new (this is also why he believes Dahak opposed Rovagug in his bid to devour all existence - it is senseless ruin with no thought). This also means that when something is created, time, effort and thought must be put into the act to make it worthwhile. Strangely, Skales abhors both the undead and resurrection, as he views it as an affront to the cycle of destruction and creation; the dead have passed and should stay gone. Bringing them back, especially mindless zombies, is reversing the cycle and ruining the flow of the universe at large. Intelligent undead are a bit harder to condemn or justify in his eyes, as they have the ability to produce more of themselves and perpetuate the problem. However, they also have new minds and hearts created from the process, thus making something new out of what was old. Skales believes that kobolds are the first real creations Dahak made on his own (while he contributed to the process of creating metallic and chromatic dragons, he had aid from his mother Tiamat). Wyverns and drakes are also creations of Dahak, but they are more like incomplete replicas of true dragons (though no less Dahak's creations, thus still counting as dragons themselves). Skales argues that the reason kobolds create traps is because they are unwittingly follow in the footsteps of their maker; kobolds create traps so that they may destroy things, and in the process, they make something that will eventually destroy itself, for once a trap is triggered, it ceases to be what it once was. While he typically sites physical and material things to build and destroy, Skales also believes that disbanding a concept in favor of a new one is just as fair. Skalezaar's Sermon:
"Too long has the Unfavored Son been so poorly represented! Those who would preach heresy against him claim him to be a mistake of Order and Chaos: where the other gods created, Dahak favored destruction, and so Apsu entered the Material Planes and battled his son, defeating him and following him to finish the job in our realm!
That is a lie! So often do we focus on the loss that we forget the gain! We focus on the details, but fail to see their contribution to the greater picture! My kin, I tell you this with certainty - Apsu was wrong, and we have been lied to! His son, Dahak, is not the great destroyer, but merely, a balance of both his father and his mother. Long ago, before dragons were made, there was Order and Chaos. Apsu and Tiamat. Together, they made all that there was and the gods we know today. Of all of them, though, Dahak stood apart from his siblings: where the other gods chose to create, Dahak supposedly destroyed. But that is not true! He created AND destroyed! He was the first dragon, and he made all dragons since! Tiamat made the '6 Beautiful Metals' and Dahak shaped them into own image, before hunting them down. Apsu entered the Material Planes to battle Dahak, and what did Dahak do? He pleaded. He called to his mother, Tiamat, for her mercy and she in turn healed his wounds and restored the dragons he had destroyed, making the first chromatic dragons. But Apsu was not satisfied, and with the arrogant metallic dragons sided with him, laying siege to Dahak and the chromatic dragons! But Tiamat intervened and denounced her mate for attacking their son and his brood. With her aid, Dahak defeated his father and forced him to retreat! And yet, Dahak did not celebrate this victory. No... for the first and only time, he shed rainbow tears, which fell and became the first kobolds. Indeed, kobolds are dragons, as we were created by the First Dragon in his sadness. But why? Were Dahak so ruthless and uncaring, would he not be indifferent to the defeat of his own father, if not celebratory?! Instead, he wept. And were he so bent on the destruction of all things, why then, did he stand with the other gods when Rovagug threatened all creation?! Indeed, he stood alongside his own father, who had sought to destroy him, to prevent all things from being devoured! The answer is clear and evident, my kin: Dahak is not a lord of senseless and meaningless destruction. There is purpose in his so-called rampages. Lest we forget, he is the son of Order and Chaos. He is an unloved child, who followed the balance of creation and destruction that he was formed from, and punished by his father for doing so. He is portrayed a force solely of destruction... yet, he created the first dragons, and he created kobolds! He created wyverns and drakes! And lest we forget, his slaying of the metallic dragons gave rise to the chromatic dragons! And instead of aiding Rovagug in destroying all that is, he chose to oppose the Rough Beast, standing with his father Apsu in doing so! Dahak knows something that his father will not accept: one cannot create endlessly. There must be an end to things... and because things are destroyed, new things may be created in their wake! This is why kobolds make traps to this day! We create to destroy! And with what we destroy, we may create new things! Dahak alone made us, and so we are blessed with the knowledge that he knows, whether we comprehend it or not! We destroy so that the next generation my make things anew! Blessed be Dahak! Praise to the son of Order and Chaos!" |
