Kolas

Kolas, also known as Io, Iovarian, Arkor-Kolas, Lipos, Kirane, or the Red Imuris, is an ancient Tivanaris Traveller who serves as a harbinger of sorts to the approach of the cosmic horrors, seeing it as his duty in the universe.

Kolas is the oldest character known in the Varanor universe, and is believed by some to have been among the first living things in existence. As such, the depth of his knowledge and power knows no boundaries. Curiously, Kolas is often known to masquerade as a human, such as during his appearances on Varanor and Corendel, although he was worshipped on Seboan as a malevolent deity during at least two of his appearances. Every appearance of Kolas is known to coincide with that of a cosmic horror, which raises questions to scholars and scientists of what the horrors truly are, and why a being as powerful as Kolas is powerless to do anything about them.

Kolas is revered by Elia Soliar and the Riftcallers, and his presence on Varanor was recorded by his wife, the historian Fare Traigian, he being mentioned in a majority of her work. His many disguises have been recorded throughout the history of time and space, and accounts by Seboan scholars show that he has some form of shape-shifting ability. He is also skilled in an enigmatic magical art pertaining to landscapes and environments, as the enchantment known as the Worldveil was his doing, he single-handedly sculpted a labyrinth on the Seboan island of Koron, and he was said to have moved entire continents with telepathy, though how much of the tales spoken of his power are myth nobody knows but him and Fare.

History
Kolas was born on Seboan, although the date is unknown, and he claims to have existed since near the beginning of the universe. According to Fare Traigian, he seems to be able to understand the cosmic horrors, showing that he has attained a significantly higher understanding of the mechanics of the universe than many other known beings, with possible exceptions of other Travellers such as Lin or Tesara. He has had encounters with many horrors, including the cosmic swarm.

Seboan
Kolas has a special connection with the planet of Seboan, as he was born there, and he was present for much of the world's early history. It was believed by the people of Seboan that other powerful beings on the planet, such as a long-living king called Varthornen, had primordial powers similar to those of Kolas, and as such he was worshipped as one of a pantheon of gods, known as the Tivanari.

Kolas' first appearance on Seboan is believed to have spanned millennia, as, despite his agelessness, he lacked the ability to travel, and many aspects of the planet's history were formed under his guidance. Under the pseudonym of Lipos–who was presented as a distinct entity from Kolas, who was well known to the people of Seboan–Kolas joined the other Tivanari in a council which governed the human populations as an oligarchy. Due to many disagreements, however, with the other Tivanari, "Lipos" was supposedly ousted from the council.

However, Kolas was still able to sense the "ripples in space-time" caused by the horrors, and he had warned the other Tivanari of the presence of a powerful storm-like horror. The Tivanari, in their pride, failed to heed Kolas' warning, and the country of Rithlan was ravaged by the horror's passing. Rithlan, in its ruin, was declared uninhabitable by the remaining Tivanari, and the survivors were sheltered by the Tivanari themselves in their homeland of Diriyil.

It took thousands of years for Kolas to return to Seboan, after travelling to Corendel and several other unknown worlds. It is believed that he first gained the ability to travel from an altercation with the Rithlan horror. When he returned, he found that he had become the stuff of legend: Kolas himself was believed to be lying dormant in a river known as the Arkor, giving him the nickname of Arkor-Kolas, while "Lipos" was held to be a great villain, vanquished by the Tivanari.

Angered by the twisting of events, the destruction of Rithlan, and the dictatorship of the Tivanaris Varthornen, Kolas, for the only known time, set his goal of warning aside, and raised an army to challenge the Tivanari for rule of Seboan, intending to establish a republic in Diriyil and liberate the so-called servants of the Tivanari. However, his rebellion was vanquished quickly, and, regaining his senses, Kolas fled Seboan once more, and his original purpose was revealed as another horror, "Eryieth," passed through the world, this time causing terror and ruin on several densely populated islands.

It was during Kolas' second appearance on Seboan that he gained the nickname of the Red Imuris. This title referred to the Imuri, a group of powerful magical constructs that Kolas created in an attempt to combat the horrors. This plan resulted in failure upon Kolas' exile from Seboan.

Although only two appearances by Kolas on Seboan were recounted to and documented by Fare Traigian, it is believed that, due to his affinity for the planet and the people inhabiting it, he may have visited it several more times under separate aliases–the name Iovarian, for example, is known to have Seboan origins.

Varanor
Kolas first appeared on Varanor in approximately 1730, under the guise of Io, a high-ranking advisor to the Adralorn Governor Liorh Arator. It took over eight hundred years after Kolas' appearance on Varanor before the horrors he warned of appeared on the planet: this is because, although he was able to sense the ripples caused by Morva Caitnic's connection to Varanor, he could not predict the exact time that she would awake as Edothri.

Due to his long life and expansive knowledge, Kolas was able to provide the Arators with the military tactics needed to take Arath, and when she did so he was established as her "High Advisor." He manipulated the politics of Arath for many years, and always managed to remain in his place as a High Advisor to the Governor of Adralorn, throughout the Arator, Vindel, and Sairin dynasties.

"Io" also had a reputation as a famed storyteller, and he recounted many of his exploits on planets such as Seboan and Corendel to large portions of the population, as anyone was willing to listen. Due to his immense comprehension of the world and his apparent immortality, he became an idol to the Arathian people, and many saw him as greater than the Governors of the country.

Kolas' apparent omnipotence failed him, however, when Liana Vayor unexpectedly assassinated Irik Retrise, and the Second Arathian civil wars broke out. During these years, no politician or alleged gubernatorial descendant would claim Kolas as their advisor, and as such he was left to wander the world, the horrors caused by Morva's fears still not present. It was during this time that he encountered the Anacerian people, and became fascinated with their mythology due to their apparent knowledge of cosmic horrors. As Kolas delved deeper into the Anacerian legends, he realized that the forces that compelled him and the forces that the Anacerians worshipped were one and the same, as their populace had lived through many long cycles of Morva's calling of horrors to Varanor, and he fled Sarn, horrified at the revelation. Still, however, he was unaware of the reasoning behind the Anacerians' knowledge

Kolas, still under the alias of Io, attached himself to the Governor of Indrond, Entor Palair, and retook Arath, ending the civil wars. "Io" is widely considered to be the driving force behind the Second Aithar dynasty, which stemmed from Palair, and, due to a sense of impending urgency gained from the Anacerian revelations, began to rule with force and gusto.

This hold over Arathian politics culminated in the creation of the Veil in 2256, after, in 2255, a horror crossed over the southern ocean toward the Ilis Mountains. Kolas was appointed as the official Governor of Adralorn, First of the Riyvans, and Sovereign of the Titan's Spine for a period of six months due to the emergency, and, with the advice of the previous Governor Relys Aithar, wound a powerful enchantment around the two central continents of Varanor (excluding Elemine); this enchantment was deemed the Veil, and it was strong enough to repel the horror from the continents of Varanor.

Kolas circulated a story of invaders from Elemine, to quell alarm, and quickly disappeared from the public eye, leaving Relys Aithar in charge of Arath once more. His last known appearance on Varanor was in the year 2308, after living for fifty years in the city of Kalia with the historian Fare Traigian, who he came to marry a year after they met, in 2258. He recounted many tales of his past to her, many of which were published in her magnum opus, On the World's Nature. While in Kalia, he took the alias Kirane Thornen.

After Fare's death in 2308, Kolas departed Varanor, and left her legacy across the universe. Castle Traigian, a work of artistic architecture in Seboan, owes its name to her, along with the star Fare, the brightest star in the sky for many planets. On every planet, its name as the same, as Kolas ensured that on every world his beloved's memory would be honored.

Many centuries after his surfacing on Varanor, he became an object of inspiration for Elia Soliar, and as such an idol to the Riftcallers. Soliar's Riftcalling theory was based largely off Fare Traigian's descriptions of Kolas' magical abilities.

Corendel
Kolas is also known to have appeared on the planet Corendel, under the alias of Kirane, only several years before it was overtaken by the cosmic swarm. His short, urgent visit was, according to Kolas himself, out of fear, as even Kolas fears the cosmic swarm.

Kolas recounted to Fare Traigian his meeting with a Corendelen woman in the early stages of her transformation into a part of the swarm, and, to him, "it was the only thing (he'd) ever seen that was truly terrifying. It confused (him). It stretched (his) brain to new limits. It scared (him)."

The Corendelen people were mostly killed, although Kolas was able to organize some into groups that he believed to be safer than others, due to their locations in remote, subterranean parts of Corendel. Kolas never truly knew, however, whether they survived, as he never visited Corendel again, fearing what would have become of it after its encounter with the swarm.

Reflections of a Dying Star
In Reflections of a Dying Star, it is revealed that, as of 2662, Kolas had been on Varanor for at least a year, as he sensed the ripples caused by Morva's next waking, which he deduced from Anacerian texts occurred every four hundred years, although he failed to explain why the gap between his initial appearance and the appearance of the 2255 horror was so long. However, he could still hardly bear the grief of losing Fare centuries earlier, and travelled to the Ilvenraek, where he met Tesara, another Traveller contained by the Veil.

After the callings of the Ilis horror, the Vyr horror, and the Sclavaighe, however, along with the increasing volume of lucirrans across the southern continent of Varanor, Kolas and Tesara were forced from the Ilvenraek, making a voyage to Adralorn. Upon his arrival, he learns that the governor, Orys Aithar, had been assassinated, and that his daughter, Olivia Vance, served with the usurper, a Rythian girl named Liana Kalanay. Using his crimson stone as proof, Kolas identifies himself to Olivia, who enters him into Liana's circle of advisors.

He meets Asha Harlan, a historian from the forsaken city of Vyr, and is intrigued at her survival. He has little time to ponder, however, as he receives word from the Adralorn communications master, Mel Osterly, that several horrors are approaching the city- lucirrans, the Vyr horror, and an unknown horror. Governor Kalanay assigns he and Asha to arrange evacuations, and he is able to evacuate the majority of the city before the horrors arrive.

He flees the city in the last evacuation with Asha, Olivia, Arlina Kaban, and others, despite a command from Kalanay to stay and fight with her. He watches as the city of Adralorn falls to the horrors, and is present when Olivia Vance is coronated as Queen of Arath, Governor of Adralorn, First of the Riyvans and Sovereign of the Titan's Spine by Kiril Mantell and her other advisors. On Mantell's advice, Kolas and the refugees from Adralorn make towards Varen Province with the new Queen in tow.

Characteristics
Kolas' physical appearance changes with every alias he takes, as he possesses unspecified powers that allow him to change his corporeal form at will. His known appearances are as follows: In every form, Kolas retains some aspect of the same personality: eternally wise, with a constant sense of peril. He knows his task well, and, after the War With Kolas, remains aloof, looking at each world he visits as an intellectual rather than an equal. He does not hesitate to tell his story to others, as he believes that all people should have some knowledge about the universe, and knowledge of him is as close to knowledge of the universe as many people will ever get.
 * Arkor-Kolas was said to change his appearance frequently, although he primarily took the form of a tall, hooded man in all grey. This form was the first to carry the crimson stone that serves as the only way to identify a form of Kolas, which was taken from an "ember of the first flame" and molded into a polished, immaculate stone. Arkor-Kolas wore the stone as a necklace, and it became a symbol for his power.
 * Io took the form of a young, never-aging Riyvan man, who disguised himself as a typical noble in clothes similar to those of a provincial governor. He wore the crimson stone in an ornate silver circlet.
 * Kirane appeared to be a Corendelen elder, who kept the crimson stone as a component of his headdress. Due to his status as an elder, he took a giant bear from the planet; he left it unclear to Fare Traigian whether he brought it to Varanor or not.

Powers
Kolas has displayed many powers and magical abilities over the course of his travel, and is one of the only known characters to have any; this is likely due to his status as, essentially, a primordial god, and his uncanny ability to unlock the secrets of any world he visits. Some of his powers are listed below:
 * Shapeshifting: Kolas is able to take any form he desires, as demonstrated by his identity as Arkor-Kolas, a core component of which was his shapeshifting.
 * Environmental shaping: Kolas has been known to carve environmental features such as the labyrinth of Koron out of plain earth, and, while most tales of his environmental shaping are likely overblown, he has at least some capabilities.
 * Prescience: Kolas is able to predict the movements of the cosmic horrors due to the ripples they create in spacetime and warn people accordingly. He also made several predictions about the future to Fare Traigian, such as predicting the time of a supernova, which they watched together at one point.
 * Dimensional shaping: The Veil is believed to be a bubble in the fabric of reality itself, hence its ability to keep out horrors such as the 2255 horror, and it was singlehandedly created by Kolas.
 * Creation of constructs: The Imuri, while believed to not be entirely alive, were constructs of Kolas' will nonetheless.