Xerxes

He/Him, gay, mated to Apollo.

A starry-eyed mage hailing from two powerful and deeply heroic warrior mages. Throughout his early years, Xerxes was held to their immense standards and expected to be just like them. And he always wanted to follow in their footsteps and pursue his own magic. His original clan took on the structure of a small kingdom, with him seated as its youngest mage prince. Xerxes has never had any desire for the throne, but lives to help others and to experience the adrenaline of combat. He's deeply empathetic, and idealistic to an extreme degree. He believes that through group effort alone, much can be achieved. He's the very picture of a baby-faced adventurer, but with a massive dose of awkwardness and naivety.

His familiar, Celestine, is also a royally bred creature herself. She comes from a long line of magically inclined Hippalectryon, and can rival even Xerxes with her magic. She is recognized as a noble within beastclans herself, and is often referred to as Lady Celestine when in the presence of many of them. She often helped him control his own magic, and provides magic and wisdom beyond what he has. In his travels, she is often the one to pull Xerxes out when he is in over his head, even if he doesn't always follow his advice.

He is still very young and has a lot to learn about others and reality as a whole. Custom for any possible leader in his clan is to leave the comforts of their aristocratic life to adventure and experience the difficulties of a commoner, and Xerxes did exactly that. He wanted to prove his dedication to his people by dealing with the largest threat of the kingdom, a merciless outlaw by the name of Apollo. The Skydancer hailed from a neighboring Plague clan that thrived beneath the noses of Xerxes' kingdom, working as mercenaries that took even the most gruesome of jobs. Apollo was their leader, known for robbing even the wealthy and doing anything in his power to complete his jobs. He especially plague Xerxes' sister kingdom, a water clan whose small size couldn't contend with the vastness and brutality of the mercenary clan beneath both.

An immense task that the young royal was in no way equipped to handle right off the bat. He and his party was beaten senselessly by Apollo's associates, while Xerxes was left barely alive. He only caught a passing glance at Apollo himself before they escaped. Not only did he fail, but it also cost him his fellow royal and traveling companion, Artemis. She was captured as a hostage by Aspen's forces, and held in ransom for her clan to give them land and titles to call their own. Artemis was able to escape both through her own merits and Xerxes' cooperation, this made Apollo's clan all the more aggressive. Xerxes began to grow as a leader in fending him off, but realized slowly it wasn't as black and white as it seemed.

He learned that Apollo's clan was driven out by Artemis's ancestors, and only did as they did in hopes of keeping themselves alive and reclaiming the secure land they once had. He saw that Apollo only did as he did because he felt he had no choice- it was either his people suffer in the streets or he harm others to give them the homes they once had. The bitter, angry heir was only that way due to how Artemis's family continued to oppress and drive them out. And Xerxes grew to understand him, and to perhaps value the dedication Apollo had for his people... perhaps more than that when he began to develop affections for the leader.

Though reasonably stubborn to believe so, he eventually convinced Artemis of the truth. That Apollo wasn't as evil as he seemed. She however, told him of the background of her kingdom- that Apollo had hailed from her line of rulers and was exiled with his subjects. While that had been many years ago, that leader had threatened the rest of her people with violence. Banishing them was the only was in their mind to protect her people. Yet Xerxes reminded her that Apollo was not his ancestor, and seemed to be resorting to his actions because of how he's forced to live. Artemis was still reluctant to give him a chance, but wanted to do what was peaceful for everyone. But that also required having Apollo present himself, which was no easy task.

Xerxes had to convince someone who still saw him as an enemy to support their cause. Apollo was too stubborn to accept any form of diplomacy, which escalated into a duel between the two. While Apollo was and has always been much stronger in combat that Xerxes, Xerxes was able to get through to his emotions this time and wear him down until they both could understand eachother. This was the sparks of a budding relationship, and all they needed to seek audience with Xerxes' parents. Despite trusting their son, the clan leaders could not obey their terms. They would not accept that Apollo's clan was anything but evil, and they had no choice but to exile their son, Artemis, and Apollo for what they believed to be treason. The three were doomed to roam the Ashfall Wastes, and no matter Xerxes' many attempts, they have never been allowed back in.

All three were devastated, losing their homes and their people. But with Xerxes' spirit, they refused to be hopeless. Without supporting one another, they wouldn't have survived. They came upon the clan during a time it was stable, and have stayed ever since. Xerxes and Apollo have grown even closer, becoming full blown and extremely passionate mates while Artemis' mate from her own kingdom has come all the way from their original home just to be with her. But if Xerxes couldn't have the kinder rules he wanted in his old clan, he could create a wholly new clan to fill that role. He was the first to volunteer to build a clan within the Light Territory, and it has since grown into a bustling empire along an edge of Lanternlea Port. He has invited Artemis to work as his partner leader, while their mates are also given smaller holds of power. Through their shared control, they have built a city they claim is a close to the idealistic tales in a fantasy story. Between their strong alliances and thoughtful policies, they have even far succeeded Xerxes' original clan.