Zarumaal

Zarumaal was born in the Pyandonea capital of Abbarbas. His mother, Ilninveh, had unfortunate complications during childbirth and was unable to recover - passing away the same night. Zarumaal’s father, Kaadoveil, held this against his newborn son. Although the birth of a son was seen as a great and powerful omen in Maormer culture, Kaadoveil couldn’t shift the grudge he held. Shortly before his son’s first birthday, after struggling to care for Zarumaal and falling into a deep depression, Kaadoveil took the child to the sea and wrapped him in a blanket. He placed Zarumaal in a basket and sprinkled enchanted sand on him to guide his journey into the Abyss. Before sending the baby out to sea Kaadoveil was reprimanded. He was charged with attempted murder and executed - leaving Zarumaal an orphan.

As the years passed Zarumaal never had much of a home. He grew up under the care of multiple midwives and nurses who only cared for him as much as was necessary. Beyond that he seemed to roam as he pleased - perhaps maturing more than required in order to fend for himself. At the age of six he found friends in the spirits and took to the wonders they showed him - unlocking his magical talent. Despite being so young his power was undeniable. It was wild and scared those who cared for him. This caught the attention of the augurs, and even the royals. Zalris, the firstborn son of Orgnum, had arranged to meet with young Zarumaal. After asking the young mage about his ambitions Zalris decided to take him in. Zarumaal was brought into the royal household and raised by the royal visiers like any royal child. Of course this meant he was somewhat ostracized by the other young royals. He was a commoner and it was almost unheard of for him to be raised with the royals. Instead he kept to his studies and always looked to please Zalris. A few years passed before the viziers decided that Zarumaal was old enough to look after himself. At the age of ten he was put to work in Orgnum’s palace. He was still taught on the side, mostly by Zalris himself, but most of his efforts went towards keeping the palace in perfect condition. This didn’t last too long - only a couple of years passed before Zalris requested Zarumaal show his true promise as a mage by becoming an apprentice beneath the viziers officially.

Zarumaal was almost trained with heartlessness. The disdain the royal household held for him for not having royal blood was clear. He trained hard regardless - excelling in combat and strategy beyond expectation. He earned his place by the end of the apprenticeship, and at the very least the respect of the royals for remaining so headstrong after it all. When he was at last released from the vizier’s apprenticeship he immediately requested to challenge the royals for their assets and a place in their fleet. Many royals tried their hand at defeating Zarumaal in their combat rites and were defeated. To them it was humiliating, naturally, but to Zalris it was simply hard work that paid off. The prince stepped up himself to face young Zarumaal and at last put his winning streak to an end. In return he offered Zarumaal a place on his own fleet.

The Bloodmoon Coup

In the year 2E 631 several royal fleets began to band together in the dark of the night. A plot to seize rank and clean dirty blood from the royal. Most of those involved remained anonymous, choosing to cover their tracks to avoid execution. Toppling Orgnum would’ve been a sizable benefit, but inevitably impossible. The coup named themselves the “pure blood” royals, and captured and culled several royal children and their parents - thinning the royals by at least half at the time. Whole fleets were crushed and buried at sea, towns and cities turned upside down. In just a few days the Pyrrah Bay was on its knees and in pieces for the royals. Zarumaal himself suffered great losses of his own forces and was attacked, but survived with minor injuries. Orgnum quickly put a stop to the coup and those who weren’t captured, arrested or executed for their crimes vanished into the mist.

During the coup Zellaha, Orgnum’s first wife and the mother of Zalris and Chamille, was murdered. Her killer was unaccounted for and an investigation seemed futile to Orgnum. Zarumaal took it upon himself to uncover what happened during the Bloodmoon Coup - investigating without sanction. This gained him the eyes of the royal court, but Orgnum allowed it without intervention. The King’s Augur, Nedirus, urged they allow the gods to divine what should happen. Zarumaal, after months of searching for information uncovered that Urah, another of Orgnum’s wives, had instigated the coup.

When he brought the case forward to the Maormer King himself he was rewarded greatly for his work. Still, Urah was not executed - merely punished. Orgnum dictated that it was destiny to keep their bloodline clean and that the cull had been divine will. The backlash was huge, but nobody really had the power or will to challenge Orgnum over the decision.

Orgnum's Favour

After decades serving Zalris in the royal fleet Zarumaal’s achievements only seemed to grow and grow. He was like an endless pot of possibility and opportunity and the royals held him up like a trophy to encourage the people to serve the royal family dutifully. Several royals vied for his favour and to obtain Zarumaal’s hand in marriage. At Zalris’s request he had tried his hand at courting but nothing seemed to satisfy him. For his efforts, King Orgnum himself recognised Zarumaal for his devotion and offered him whatever he might have desired. It was then that he chose Princess Chamille, and declared his intent to marry her. As a royal who had never been married or shown any promise of bearing children, Orgnum was more than happy to grant the request. In the year 2E 781 Zarumaal and Chamille become betrothed to one another. Still, Zarumaal wasn’t all like other Maormer men. He gave the princess the opportunity to get to know him more intimately and let her make the decision of when they were to be wed - which would unfortunately be never.

As the years went on Zarumaal became loathsome to Chamille. Sometimes he treated her like a prize, like he ought to deserve her by now for all of his work. He was manipulative and spoke down to her often. He never forced himself upon her once despite that, staying true to his word. He had acquired a taste for power and political position, making him far more strict and cruel over time. His ego was practically sky high. At last he was convinced to sleep with other women after Chamille had requested that he remain true to her until she was ready - severing any ounce of trust the princess had for him. Zarumaal began to hold it against Chamille and blame her, reassuring her that she was simply silly and wrong time and time again and that, eventually, she would need to marry him.

The War of the Isle

In the year 3E 105, in the wake of the War of the Isle, when Chamille and Zarumaal are out to sea they are ambushed by other royal forces with the intent to murder Princess Chamille and capture Zarumaal. Chamille, injured, manages to escape into the sea but Zarumaal is trapped on board his own vessel. After three days of hiding he is finally discovered. Weak from three days of no food and very little rest, Zarumaal puts up little to no fight as he is dragged across the deck as an example to his crew. It is only then revealed that their attackers are two of Urah’s children - Qysan and Argnohl, one of which is the youngest of Urah’s children. Qysan tortures Zarumaal on his own vessel for seven days and nights - leaving him battered, scarred and bruised for the world to see the worth of all of his achievements. He is publicly stripped of his rank, demoted and humiliated before he is treated for his wounds.

No longer under Zalris’s command, Zarumaal’s forces are taken by Qysan and Argnohl and added to their own fleet - at least those that survived. After he has recovered from the battering received from Qysan, Zarumaal petitions his new commanders to search for Chamille. He is rejected countless times until he manages to convince Zalris to assist him, and at last he is granted permission to investigate Chamille’s disappearance. After months on end of searching, he discovers her totem washed up on outlying islands and from that that she is still alive. After that, Zarumaal began to unravel Qysan’s leadership in order to take back control of his fleet - but he was given up by his fellow officers. As punishment, Zarumaal is sent to the Summerset Isles as a spy in order to prepare for the oncoming war. He is given the alias of Cyranircil, and is force fed alchemical solutions beforehand by his betters to assign the best way to conceal his Maormer appearance. Once the perfect concoction to optimally mask Zarumaal as an Altmer had been refined, he was shipped off immediately without a moment’s notice. With barely any connections or map of the Isles Zarumaal might as well have been stranded.

After a few years in exile, Zarumaal discovers Chamille hiding on Summerset. He finds that she has been laying with an Altmer man - Orinalmo. Enraged, Zarumaal pursues Chamille and tries to get her to open her eyes and see her treacherous behavior. Instead, he comes to understand that Chamille has built a life for herself with Orinalmo. It takes time for him to accept it, in time even befriending Orinalmo. Eventually, Zarumaal gives Chamille’s totem back to her and breaks off their engagement so that she may do with her life what she wishes. Only then does he realise how unhappy Chamille truly was. In order to protect Chamille and Orinalmo, Zarumaal begins to feed false information to his superiors regarding the state of the Isles in an attempt to deter them.