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Dorian the Spellweaver
Those who visit the Cirque might not realize that its cheery and boisterous showrunner, Dorian the Spellweaver, carries the heavy burdens of a shadowed past.
Born via one of the massive engines that create the Caelha people deep beneath the city-pearl of Concordia, he possessed an unusual gift that saw him hand-picked by Faction officials from early childhood. One of his Genesis mutations - the bio-mechanical augments that manifest on Caelha's bodies from birth - enhanced his right eye, granting him insight into the souls of others. He could see into their deepest desires and dreams, and while deep down he wished to use that power for good - the Faction had other plans.
He was placed into the Faction clade denoted by the rune "Y" - the second-most prestigious behind the Queens themselves.
The Inquisition.
The training saw him put through endless trials meant to break down the bodies and spirits of all but the most seasoned trainees. He persevered through them all - emerging on the other side a man full grown...but forcefully stripped of his once-gentle heart. With his natural talents for sorcery corrupted and honed to a lethal edge, he served as an agent of arcane inquiry. His eye's gift was twisted into a tool of insight into deviance and heresy against the Faction. In this position, he served for many years, climbing the ranks of the Inquisition until he could count himself among the top ten of their order. Those in these positions are granted prestige duties, serving crucial roles in Faction government. When one such special duty is given, the Inquisitor retires from their previous work to dedicate themselves fulltime to the new job.
For this Caelha - once named Y-V-R - that duty was to serve as guardian and overseer to the Queen who would become Clara.
His gift of insight would prove to become the Faction's worst enemy. For it was Clara's unfailing true desire - the joy and hope of a future dancing across a beautiful, starlit stage - that finally reached through to the Inquisitor's bitter, empty heart. And as that dream echoed in his mind, all that he was taught, all that he believed, fell away.
He had been living a lie - and if he did nothing, he would watch the undying machine consume the Queen's dream - forever.
And so he consulted forbidden tomes buried deep in the Inquisition vaults, desperate for a means to sever the Queen's pact with the creation engine. He found but one way - to summon and bargain with an entity capable of altering souls. Wielding a forbidden tome of voidal rituals, Y-V-R conjured forth the spell, entreating a call unto the Void. A desperate plea rang out - to save the Queen from her fate.
But to the Inquisitor's surprise, not one entity appeared, but two. Pulled from the Void at the same instant, both entities represented a different answer.
One, an Elderborn appearing as a mass of ravenous rats. Calling itself their King, it promised to change her fate - if the Inquisitor would give his soul to be consumed.
The other, a Paragon of the Void. An aethrin conjured by Nihila, the lost goddess of secrets - in a bid to save them.
But before the Inquisitor could make a decision, the two entities began to battle. The chaos and destruction led to a breach in the Inquisition's facilities - ironically giving the Inquisitor and the Queen their lucky chance to escape. But not unscathed; as a result of breaking his oath to the Faciton, the Inquisitor lost the use of his Genesis, which he eventually replaced with aethertech augments of his own invention.
But the question remained of what would happen to his soul. As their summoner, the entities would eventually track him down. As he and the Queen lived on the run, both from the Faction and the forces from beyond - he knew it was only a matter of time. And Clara, separated from the machines, was falling increasingly ill.
Something had to be done. And one night, an emaciated, red-eyed rat appeared before him and the Queen.
The offer would be made once again...
