Beler Brommon

It could be said that Beler's birth was a stroke of bad luck. No parents, no relatives, cruel orphanage, overwhelming debt, the list goes on and on. The right decision always seemed just out of his reach, so it should come as no surprise that when he made a pact with a greater being he chose the wrong one. The ancient squid that he called Master would never speak directly to him, let alone give him a name to call him. Instead, it would drag him all over the Kingdom looking for something that Beler could never seem to find.

Beler was a wreck of a man during this period of his life. Tired from never sleeping and paranoid of the next visit from his patron, Beler never had time to make any real connections. He joined a group of adventurers from the Guild in hopes of making some coin and added protection from his episodes. The men seemed trusting enough: a scholarly wizard named Dipan and an over-eager chef named Vanji. He seemed drawn to them in a way he couldn't explain, and for a time his patron didn't bother him. It wasn't until later that he would find out why.

"It's the moments when it doesn't call to me that I worry most. The thought of knowing that it could pull me away at any second...it terrifies me."

— Beler to an uncomfortable bar keeper

Following the lead of the wizard, the group found themselves in a tomb. Nasty things of all sorts called this place home and the idea of staying there for long made Beler wish for another one of his episodes. Eventually, they found what the wizard was looking for, and, after the grou opened it, Beler seemed to snap. Something pulled him into his master's realm. Terror filled him but it wasn't his own. It was his master's fear he felt. He could hear the screams, the pathetic attempt to pull away from its attacker. Beler could feel all of it up until the end and then suddenly he felt nothing. In those few moments of silence, a new sound echoed from the darkness surrounding him. A man stepped forward out of the shadows. He wore a tattered naval uniform that Beler didn't recognize, and he slurped up a tentacle into his mouth as he approached. He looked down, surprised to see another person, and said, "Now, who the hell might you be?" This was the first time Beler met The Drowned One, the man who would become his new master.

The rest is a haze of memories. The rush of power, confidence, and then isolation. Alone again. He was not sure what he did in those moments but he knew he had caused pain to his party members. And he reveled in it. The feeling of superiority was everything. The flood of memories, of seeing the group fall before him was exhilarating. He wanted more, so he went out looking for it. He found himself in the port city of Naporia. He signed up with a crew as quickly as he could to get on a boat. The ocean called him, whispered sweet nothings in his ear and begged him to sail across the water. During the night, this siren's call pulled him from his sleep, causing him to take control of the ship and veer it straight into one of the Mirrored Deep's many whirlpools. It ate them like all the other ships, but what the crew found below was not a watery death. Instead, they found an underground temple dedicated to a god that was no longer worshiped. 

"It is not the depths that we should fear, lads! It's not the way we die, for all men must face that eventually! What we should fear is knowing that we had the chance to do something great, be something great, and not having the courage to even reach for it! Today, I reach for it! I'll reach to the bottom of the damn ocean if I have to! Even if I don't come back up from it, even if Riru steals my breath! Better to have reached for something rather than nothing!"

— Beler to the panicked crew as they went down the whirlpool. 

Several fish-like creatures protected the temple, keeping those foolish enough to approach away, but Beler could sense what slumbered in the temple. He could hear it. He rallied the men to him and together they fought. Eventually, they cut their way through to the main chamber. There sat his prize, his siren's song, the very thing that would give him what he wanted. That's when the captain of the ship attempted to take it from him. He walked towards it like it was his. Like it had always belonged to him. Beler shot the captain's head from his shoulders as easily as taking a sip of water and when he walked towards the scepter none were foolish enough to challenge him. Pulling it free, he felt the rush again. The promise of power and there he met The Drowned One again. Beler promised to achieve his goal and in return, he would be made the new king of this world. He would never feel weak again, never feel put down or broken. The Beler that emerged from that whirlpool was not a king yet, but from that point on he certainly acted like one.

After obtaining the Drowned Maiden everything became simpler. Beler could crush any enemy on the sea, and, eventually, the Esnaxi military took notice. They tried to stop him but like the others before them trying seemed to be all they could do. Instead of sinking them, Beler decided to strike a deal with them. He would become captain of one of their fleets and give them greater safety than any before. Or they could reject him, and he would take the Deep for himself anyway. They agreed and now Beler works for the Esnaxi navy. He does as he is told, mostly, but usually, he just uses the fleet to achieve his own goals. Beler acts as if he has already won the war that his god has promised him will come to pass. He acts as if the crown to the world already rests upon his head.

As far as Beler is concerned, after meeting his competition, it's a foregone conclusion.