Renji Caldara
Former Commander of the Fourth Flame – Pride, The Black Dragon of Kaligo, Phoenix of the Sixth Legion.
Threat Scale (Commander of the 4:th Flame): Lower Goliath
Threat Scale (post memory loss): Upper Troll
Description
While he was still Commander of the Fourth Flame, Kiryu was known as the Black Dragon of Kaligo, a name he gained due to his signature black armor, and sheer ruthless destruction likened to the Ancient Black Dragon of the North.
Kiryu was feared in the Lumare Empire for his ruthless swordsmanship and white-hot fire magic. He was revered, even feared by many within the Kaligo Empire.
As Commander, having grown up surrounded by war and tragedy, he was entirely numb and detatched. Kiryu did not care about those he killed, not about comrades he lost. He was a cold, stoic killer, never showing his emotions to anyone. He was serious about the war, fully devoted to the way of the blade, to the heat of burning bodies, and the thrill of being feared. He had no other purpose in life than being a weapon of war. He trained and followed his orders, coldly, without a shred of empathy.
After losing his memory, Kiryu changed fundamentally. He rejected his violent past, becoming a much gentler, kinder person, taking on the new name: Renji Caldara.
After joining the Elite Squad of the Sixth Legion, he learned the ways of the Lumare Empire, grew closer to his comrades, awakened his water magic, all while hiding his true identity.
In an attempt to rectify his past atrocities, Renji decided his penance would be to end the centuries-long war and unite the two empires.
Backstory
Childhood
Born into the already legendary Ardoladd family, Kiryu lived his early childhood lavishly. He got private tutoring in magic and combat, from the grandmasters of the Kaligo Empire, as well as from his elders in the Ardoladd family.
One fateful night, hundreds of Knights of Lumare alongside Former Captain of the First Legion and Royal Wizard Conrad Snowden, attacked the Ardoladd estate, killing all of his family and relatives.
Only Kiryu and his older brother Kouga survived the attack, the two brothers both making it their missions to avenge their family and take the heads of the Snowden family.
Kouga joined the military and Kiryu following right behind. Kouga quickly got promoted up the ranks, first to Chosen of the First Flame, and later to the highest rank in the Kaligo military, the Commander of the First Flame – Pride.
Teenage years
Kiryu fought in the Fourth Flame, not as Commander or even Chosen, but as a lowly recruit. Unlike his brother, he was looked down upon for his young age. He watched as his brother effortlessly ascended the ranks, crushing his competitive spirit.
A year later, by the age of 16, Kiryu showed incredible valiance in battle, single-handedly defeating a squad of soldiers, which culminated in him being promoted to a Chosen of the Fourth Flame. His fire magic burned hotter than the other Chosen, and his ruthless skill with the blade earned him plenty of battle fame.
By the age of 17 (year 398), Kiryu’s brother Kouga Ardoladd was killed by the Royal Wizard Kline Snowden during the battle at Azuria. Kiryu and the rest of the then Chosen of the Fourth Flame were saved by his brother, who sacrificed himself to buy them time to retreat.
Following his brother’s death, Kiryu went numb with hatred, focused all his efforts on the war, training, and honing his magic, to the point he was puking up blood, all in an attempt at becoming strong enough to avenge his brother.
He rose the ranks as more Lumareans began fearing his flames, eventually being promoted to the Commander of the Fourth Flame, with the codename Pride, just like his brother.
Losing his memory
Four years later during the siege of Kariaburg, Kiryu faced his brother’s killer, the Royal Wizard Kline Snowden.
Cornered and facing the same fate as his brother, he had to swallow his pride and attempt to retreat. While trying to escape, Kiryu was hit with a blast of water, a blast that sent him plummeting to his death over the castle walls.
Miraculously, he survived the fall, waking up on an unknown beach with no recollection of what had happenned, or even of who he was.
He stumbled through the Lost Forest, finding the Stone of Life & Time in a lake, the divine metaphysical artefact that had been lost for thousands of years. He continued stumbling through the forest, having a close call with a goblin, a night prowler, and even a giant. After running for his life, Kiryu ended up passing out on the side of the road in Lumare territory.
He was saved by Maria Quinn, a farm girl who took him to the village of Ironstraw. There he met Uncle Quinn, a former Elite Warrior of the Lumare Empire, now the village chief of Ironstraw. Quinn let him live despite knowing his true identity, on one condition, he would forsake his violent past, work as a farmhand for the rest of his life, and taking up a new name: Renji Caldara.
Burdened by profound guilt over his past, Renji took it as his penance to rectify the suffering he caused as the Black Dragon of Kaligo. Despite rejecting violence, life has a funny way of forcing you to face your darkness, whether you like it or not. In an attempt to protect Maria from some village thugs, Renji ended up killing two men.
What made the situation worse was that a Captain of the Lumare Empire, Stormbringer, a man who knew his true identity, came out to kill him. However, after witnessing his blue eyes, an impossibility for someone known for using fire magic, Stormbringer ended up arresting him for study instead.
One thing led to another and Conrad Snowden, the head of the Lumare Academy and Lumare Empire’s legal system, ended up assigning him for covert study under the protection of the Sixth Legion Elite Squad, postponing his execution.
Special attributes, items
Renji has possession of the Stone of Life & Time, the primordial magical object capable of manipulating time and life itself, and thereby near limitless healing of mortal injuries, while simultaneously appearing no more than a green crystal embedded in a silver pendant.
Renji still has his equipment from when he was a Commander: an Adamantite sword called Dragonsbane and black leather armor made of Greater Black Drake leather and blackened magicite).
Because of his grueling training when he was a Commander of the Flame, Renji’s body is still automatically in a constant state of magistrength enhancement, with reflexive defensive magic a hair’s trigger away. Because of this, he is much stronger, faster, and physically resilient than a reglar person of his weight and height.
Misc information
Kiryu does not know that during the attack on his family, his elder sister and a few others actually managed to escape. He hasn’t seen them since that fateful day all those years ago, assuming they all died, while in actuality they are thriving, hiding all the way in Durania.
Kiryu, when he was still a Commander in the Kaligo Empire, had amongst the strongest fire magic in the Empire; his fire magic burns hot enough to produce winter-white flames, able to melt through even adamantite.
Age: 21
Height: 181cm
Weapon: Dragonsbane (adamantite sword), water/fire magic, Stone of Life & Time
The World Stones 