Klav Ikaia

Klav Ikaia was the former High Rider of Elturel, the instigator of the 1447 Reign of Vampires, and a major player in the defense of Elturel from 1497-98 during the Damnation of Elturel. Ikaia's long history and actions as an honest ruler, undead tyrant, and protector of innocents at various points in his life have left him with an extremely contentious legacy.    

History

  Born in 1403 in Elturel, Ikaia was groomed from a young age to become a Hellrider. This aspiration came to pass, as Ikaia was inducted into the Hellriders from a young age and quickly progressed through the ranks until he was named High Rider.   As High Rider, Ikaia continued Elturel's policy of intervention in the affairs of neighboring settlements, putting them under Elturel's Guard. During one of these missions, in 1442, Ikaia and a host of Hellriders rode to the Snakehills to confront a feral vampire that had begun turning a wide swatch of yuan-ti, orcs, trolls, and other monstrous races into vampire thralls. The expedition was a success, and the feral vampire, and most of its spawn, were destroyed. Unbeknownst to the rest of the expedition, however, Ikaia had become infected.   For the next five years, Ikaia hid his vampirism, either out of shame, a stubborn belief that he could conquer it, or perhaps feeling a draw towards its power. Regardless of original intent, by 1447, Ikaia had fully succumbed to his vampiric nature and had secretly transformed various members of Elturel's high ranks into vampires as well.   In Flamerule of 1447, Ikaia's vampiric nature was discovered by Naja Bellandi, the High Watcher of Helm. Ikaia attempted to murder Bellandi to silence her, but the priestess escaped by throwing herself off of the Maiden's Leap into the canals below. Now aware his secret was exposed, the High Rider ordered his followers to reveal themselves and begin taking over the city in truth, launching the Night of the Red Coup and starting the short-lived Reign of Vampires.   During the fighting. Ikaia continued to rule from the High Hall, aware that the city could not hold out for long without proper leadership. However, he was caught unaware on the 2nd of Eleasis by the appearance of the Companion in the sky, which burned away the vampires of the city into ash.   However, while Ikaia was presumed dead alongside the rest of his followers, in actuality he managed to retreat into the Maze underneath the city before the Companion was able to incinerate him. From there, Ikaia began slowly rebuilding his forces, and his time in subterranean exile gave him further mastery over his vampirism and its abilities. Whether out of a sense of worry that full vampires were too hard to control, a belief that thralls were distasteful or overly weak, a mastery over his vampirism that restored Ikaia's old morals, a desire to have soldiers immune to the sun, or something else, Ikaia began filling his forces with dhampirs, half-vampires with less of a blood-thirst over full vampires. These dhampirs were pulled from the street rats and others that found themselves in the deep Maze, shunned by wider Elturel for one reason or another.   Whatever Ikaia's end goal was, it was surely interrupted on the 2nd of Eleasis, 1497, when Elturel and everyone in it were teleported to Avernus, the result of the pact that summoned the Companion fifty years ago. Though underground, Ikaia and most of his followers were close enough to the surface to be taken with the rest of Elturel. Quickly moving into action, Ikaia and his followers established a base of operations at Shiarra's Market, with Ikaia himself taking residence in a city bank. From there, Ikaia held court, kept order, sent out parties to rescue survivors, and established defenses to protect those he rescued from demons and Hell Knights.   Ikaia also provided aid to the Lost Star Detectives, who arrived in Elturel a few weeks into its damnation. The Detectives helped Ikaia stablize the situation in the Dock District, and in return Ikaia transformed Xifira Mistmore into a dhampir and provided the Detectives with a few dhampir to help them fight across the bridge to the Upper District. Ikaia later provided the Detectives with diamonds to raise Dzarya from the dead.   During the Battle of Elturel, Ikaia led the defense of Shiarra's Market against the horde of Yeenoghu's demons that managed to make it into Elturel, successfully keeping casualities as low as possible. However, upon arriving back in Elturel, Ikaia immeaditely faced opposition from many of Elturel's survivors. In the western districts, an organization called the Order of the Sun had formed with the express purpose of never allowing an undead to rule Elturel again. Ikaia was also opposed by the Lost Star Detectives and the surviving Hellriders, all of whom backed Alcor Miursa's claim to the title of High Rider. Whether fearing the bloodshed another civil war in Elturel would cause or finding his position untenable, Ikaia and his dhampir fled the city. While they were pursued by the Order of the Sun, Ikaia and his forces were able to escape them. His current whereabouts are unknown.