Zera was taken by the bandits and lived with them for nearlly five years, learning methods of combat and strategies from their leader as well as developing experience in persuasion. However, during a raid he was gravely injured and his innate powers manifested for the first time, driving his comrades to madness. They lashed out at one another in an effort to prove the strongest and eventually killed eachother. Crushed by his string of heartbreaks and defeats he was found by Academy personnel who brought him to the school to heal and learn to control his talents.

It took over a year for Zera to snap out of his downward spiral of misery and self-terror. He found that throwing himself into his studies not only improved his mood but gave him clarity. He took up studying both the Arcane and Alchemical sciences as well as studying under several specialists to come to understand his innate powers.

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He discovered he had the divine spark by the time he was a junior in college and devoted himself to mastering it. He also declared his focus of magic to be "Vitomancy" or the study of life forces, both negative and positive-refusing to soley focus on Necromancy which was his actual talent.

After graduating with his first diploma, a Bachelors Degree in the Arcane Arts, he immediately began studying for his MDiv only to discover one of the unique abilities of the War God domain. He summoned a pair of Valkyiries, his first "host", who he named Freyja and Hilda. The two were teenagers in appearance when first summoned and conferred upon him the title of "father". Despite his new responsibilities as a parent, he managed to complete not only one but three masters degrees.

Over the course of the next few years Zera experienced several adventures (to be re-enacted and flashed back to in the future!) which lead to his decision to join the Teaching Staff at Starlight Academy. He recieved his Doctorate shortly thereafter and was instated as a professor at the academy.

 

Personality

Zera has always been a light hearted and generous individual with a gregarious streak. He often comes across as somewhere between focused and utterly impulsive. He is a good hearted man who enjoys a good laugh, a hard drink, and a great story. At the same time he can be horribly self-deprecating. He has been known to chastise himself for days over small mistakes in order to prevent himself from ever making them again. He often pretends to be either aloof or foolish, given his tremendous size he also takes to pretending to be a brute. This usually gives him an advantage when he reveals his keen intellect.

Zera can be quite boistrous, taking time to share stories with friends and going out of his way to sit with students in the cafeteria in order to get to know them better. The truth is that this is a habit from his days as a bandit and later on-military commander. 

Zera believes firmly that one's abilities are what they make of them, and that no person is defined by the skills that they have or their origins. He believes in the good of most people and firmly stands on the side of good over law when push comes to shove. 

Zera has his sneaky side, he often uses tricks and subterfuge in order to teach his students a lesson and has even been known to pull pranks in the teachers lounge in order to get "some liveliness in here".

Zera has a love of dancing, books, and fishing and actually dislikes doing paperwork very much. He has a history of sneaking out of his office to go fishing with his co-workers or "delegating" when he can to have an easier day.

Zera loves his daughters very much and constantly dotes on them and brags about them. He can get testy when Freyja brings home women and Hilda brings home either or, but understands that they are adults with needs now. He often pouts about it at work.

Zera's anger is legendary, when confronted with injustice he will go out of his way to put a stop to it, even at the risk of his own body. His anger often manifests in words and expressions just as well as physical power. Many say that when he is angry and still, that is when you should be the most afraid.

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Appearance

Zera is a huge human, heavily muscled and standing over two meters tall. His hair is always cropped short in a military flat-top cut. He has glacier blue eyes, which people often describe as haunting or intimidating despite his obvious good nature. His skin is covered in scar tissue from beatings and defeats he experienced as a youth. His back is branded with several tattoos, one of which was given to him by his grandfather and is the Lords Prayer in polish. 

Zera commonly wears loose fitting outfits and tunics prefering comfort over stuffiness. His distaste for high class clothing goes as far as his large collection of fun and stylish sandals.

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Powers and Abilities

Arcane Magic

Zera has a wide understanding of the core concepts of Arcane magic. Abjuration, the study of protective magic. Evocation, the study of creating with magic. Conjuration, the study of calling pre-existing objects into being with magic. Illusion, the study of manipulating light and sound with magic. Enchantment, the study of manipulating the mind with magic. Divination, the study of seeing the past present and future. Necromancy, the study of manipulating life forces. And Transmutation, the study of altering that which already exists.

His academic understanding of these schools far outweighs his capacity to use the magic from them, and he can only utilize basic to intermediate spells from the schools other than his own speciality;

Branch 1: Vitomancy

Zera practices a rare form of Necromancy known as vitomancy which focuses on not only the creation of undead and manipulation of necrotic energy but also the healing of wounds and manipulation of positive energy. He is extraordinarily talented with the use of this magic and under great duress and by expending all of his magical reserves he once raised an army of the dead large enough to hold an attacking batallion of soldiers at bay.

Zera's healing spells can rapidly heal minor wounds, knitting skin and torn muscles. More intense healing magic takes more time, and it is only his experience which allows him to heal as rapidly as he does. He cannot bring a soul back from the dead-nor can he heal a lost limb in a sitting. Such grevious wounds take weeks to heal, even with his skills. Zera's healing spells are not considered holy-and do not harm undead, they are simply a manipulation of life energy.

Zera's necrotic powers focus primarily on the creation of undead soldiers. On a good day his maximum is around ten to twenty solid undead. They fight on par technique-wise with their master though they do not have a fraction of his physical strength, endurance or agility. They make excellent training dummies and deterrents. Zera can conjure bones from the ground to grab and briefly hold enemies. He is even studying a method of using necromancy to manipulate and control diseases to search for cures.

Branch 2: Alchemy

While not strictly a part of one of the major schools, the art of alchemy requires a working knowledge of arcane magic. Zera practices alchemy on a daily basis in order to perfect a wider array of potions, tonics and healing salves for the use of students. Many medicines found at the infirmary were actually made by the Professor. Zera can craft alchemical potions with the skill and knowledge of a master of his craft. He by no means has the capacity to create a philosopher's stone-but he can create potent salves of healing, mana potions, alchemist bombs, and even various poisons.

Domain of Conflict

Zera was born with the divine spark, given to him by his father, a god of Tyranny. Thus, Zera possesses the domain of "conflict". His knowledge of military engagements as wel as tactical scenarios is extraordinary. However, his divine powers rely on the belief of others and losing the respect of his peers and allies leaves him vulnerable. If an enemy believes he is capable of great feats, then he is. His Divine powers manifest in other ways as well. Despite his best efforts he has not been able to summon aditional valkyries to his side-as such it is not yet considered one of his skills. 

Divine Body

Zera has tremendous physical strength, stamina and agility. He moves far quicker than his appearance would belie. Another name for this status is "paragon" though he is by no means invincible. He possesses a more mild form of super-strength.

War God's Blessing

Zera is a military commander more than he is a front-line warrior. He possesses the ability to impart a temporary "divine spark" to up to three individuals a day. This grants them temporarily enhanced physical attributes as well as enhanced awareness. These enhancements are based on their own natural abilities-if they are weak to begin with, the "buff" will do little.