Skarner, the Primordial Sovereign
- The Primordial Sovereign
"I may have faded into legend—but I am no mere story."
- Brackern
Ixtal
All
But deep beneath the cardinal arcology of Ixaocan is the chamber where Skarner dwells. There, he listens to the vibrations of the earth above him. Listens... and waits.
Skarner's myth began millennia ago. Born to the brackern clan Ọ̀pal-hin, he was a progeny of the legendary broodmother Nixalẹ. While the other bracklings in his brood left the safety of Nixalẹ's back, Skarner chose to linger, his unease and curiosity driving him to study her power and wisdom.
Observation soon evolved into ingenuity. Unlike his broodmates, Skarner honed the brackern's innate control of earth and perfected the art of reading underground vibrational patterns, allowing him to sense and decipher far-away movements.
When Skarner was older, it was through these vibrations that he detected a dramatic shift in the continent, marked by the arrival of settlers from the east. Clan Ọ̀pal-hin did not trust these newcomers, but Skarner's curiosity could not be suppressed. He needed to know what made them tick.
He surveyed these "Ixtali" people. They were born, they toiled, they died—there one second, and gone the next. However, through his observations, Skarner saw that they used what limited time they had to build, create, and invent. Their existence fascinated him... until he discovered just how fragile they truly were.
When a nearby rockslide threatened to destroy the burgeoning Ixtali settlement, Skarner, wanting to preserve the subjects of his observation, intervened. Emerging from the jungle, he towered over the people and used his physical strength and command of the earth to pulverize the rockslide before it could touch the village. As the dust cleared, the Ixtali gazed upon their savior in awestruck reverence and gratitude.
Within Skarner, a protectiveness began to stir. These fragile beings could not survive without him.
He no longer observed the Ixtali from afar, and as he became more involved with them, Skarner spent less time with his clan. The humans became his permanent project, and their nation, his new home.
The relationship he formed with the early Ixtali was one of exchange: the Ixtali shared their culture and history, and Skarner used his earthen prowess to help build the cardinal arcology of Ixaocan where the planet's lines of power connected.
But Skarner's greatest contribution was as a founding member of the civilization’s ruling caste. Combining Ixtal's scientific mindset with the collectivist culture of the brackern, the Yun Tal’s goal was to lead its people into a bright future.
And so it was through Skarner's protection that Ixtal flourished.
Outside of Ixtal, the Shuriman Empire extended its reach, and Skarner watched as Ascended stormed the continent. His belief in the resourcefulness of mortals was shattered as he saw the darker side of humanity: corruption, driven by a lust for power.
Skarner could sense the building tension in Shurima. He was vocal about his distrust, but when the Shuriman Empire invited Ixtal to form an alliance, the Yun Tal eagerly accepted.
With the Icathian rebellion, he was vindicated—but at the cost of many lives. By the time the Shuriman Empire collapsed and Ixtal regained its independence, Skarner had nothing but disgust left for the world outside their jungle—a wasteland of pain and suffering.
A wasteland made even worse by the Rune Wars.
Witnessing such destruction, Skarner finally convinced the Yun Tal to withdraw from the world, shielding their lands with magic and lies to hide themselves away.
But his faith in the Yun Tal was shaken. Where they'd failed to keep the Ixtali safe, Skarner would not.
Now knowing that only he could protect Ixtal, Skarner constructed himself an underground chamber below Ixaocan, designed to amplify the vibrational threads across the continent. Every thrum spoke of another threat to Ixtal's safety, but he could also hear the steady noise of Ixtal above him—proof that, through his sovereignty, the city continued to survive.
There, he listened... and waited.
Deep beneath the dark earth, his paranoia festered until, over time, vigilance gave way to seclusion, and he ceased leaving his chamber altogether. To the Ixtali above ground, Skarner slowly faded from memory into myth, his presence known only by the Yun Tal who traveled underground to confer with him about Ixtal's future.
Now, as new generations of elemental masters join the Yun Tal, discussions have begun about the possibility of rejoining the world once more. Skarner hears these whispers, which spur his paranoia, as he knows that opening the door will invite pain, suffering, and death like it did generations ago.
The only one Skarner can trust is himself, and he'll do anything it takes to protect Ixtal and its people.
Even if that means becoming the root of their destruction, himself.