The Apotheosis Of Azariah

A boy who was left fatherless as a young child and a social outcast, Azariah grew up lonely and had to harden up fast. When his home was destroyed by the Ruk Shol, Azariah had nothing left- so when he was captured by the Zamunsol, he gave little resistance. In his new home in the enclave, Azariah nursed a burning hatred for the Ruk Shol and the chance to strike back at them. The more he studied the world and saw its corruption and depressed state, the more he felt a burning desire to see them wiped out utterly.

Nevertheless, his rage was personal and seated deeply within himself- it did not manifest as angry outbursts, but as a kind of quiet determination to press himself to the edge of his ability, and even more so the opportunity to use this ability. When he left the Zamunsol enclave, he cared for their agenda of unity and desired to see it through, but nevertheless lived in a mental state bordering on nihilism. He only desired that he would slaughter as many foes as possible before he himself died, a desire reflected in his reckless two-bladed fighting style that left him open to attack for the chance of shedding more blood.

It took time and the death and mysterious resurrection of a life-long friend for him to realize that there was more to life than fighting, that life had a value greater than death. He remained a risk taker and a ferocious combatant, no longer because he cared not if he died, or that he wished to destroy more, but rather because he came to the conclusion that nothing great can be achieved without passion or risk.

In a moment of crisis when all seemed lost, he took a risk in implanting within his left hand the seed of a tree that gives life, and sealed the wound with a kiss of flames. In that moment, Azariah became an entirely new being in every sense. His shift in perspective and the addition of the seed changed the way he thought and perceived things; the divine magic that held the world together and which was woven into things began to rise out of the things which he had normally studied in a mundane manner. When he fought, he began to feel in an abstract sense ways in which he could defy the reality he once knew so well and do things which seemed impossible. His fervor began to take on a more mystic quality as it was no longer the might of his arm that guided his weapons, but the wisdom and discernment brought about by his change in understanding. He had, in that sense, transcended the need for physical attunement, because he began to become attuned with that which superseded the physical realm yet cleaved so close to it. In time, he would no longer need the seed, because his mind will have been totally transformed into a place of nearly complete understanding through experience. He would become a planter, sowing the seeds of his revelation into the world and removing weeds of darkness that would choke them out as he went.