Khavas Laverath

Khavas Alatraen Yon-Xanthan Kien-Zinthos Laverath is the head of the family and the reigning emperor of Laverathia. A very just ruler with a sharp mind, Khavas isn’t known for empathy or mercy.

Appearance
Khavas is very tall, large and muscular – a renowned triton warrior through and through. His skin is blue, and he has gills and webbed hands. His hair is long and dark blue in colour, and he has a beard. His blue eyes are surrounded by black sclera. He’s always dressed in formal regalia with lots of shells.

Personality
Khavas is extremely strict and traditional; he has a routine and he expects everything to fall into that routine. To him, the end result always justifies the means.
 * Strengths: Intelligent, powerful, regal
 * Weaknesses: Quick-tempered, haughty, ruthless

Khavas prioritizes his people above all else and regards all others with disdain.

Background
Khavas is 77 years old. Not one to simply sit on a throne, he never has any qualms with picking up his trident and defending his people. In fact, he wants to play an active role in keeping his empire safe and has a great deal of difficulty with adopting a passive stance in virtually any matter. Khavas has led many battles and has forged a reputation for being an absolute force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Laverathian bards sing of his feats, and tales of his battles are recorded in a variety of tomes.

Khavas' father, Zinthos Laverath, was the previous emperor of Laverathia. He faced a succession crisis in attaining his crown and Khavas grew up under immense pressure. This was likely due to Zinthos' need to prove himself as the best possible leader for Laverathia. Furthermore, Khavas caused a huge stir within the Laverathian court when he began courting Arlyn, as she was a scout of common birth. Khavas never even entertained the thought of leaving Arlyn, however, as he fell deeply in love with her. He tells her everything and can't bring himself to keep anything secret from her. She is the only person who can calm him down whenever his mind goes into a frenzy, and she is oftentimes the only reason why he shows his enemies any modicum of mercy.

Khavas upholds many political agreements that keep Laverathia as isolated from the surface as possible. One such rule is that surfacers’ ships must stay away from the Laverathian Basin's waters. He distrusts the surface, as he believes that its people are disrespectful to the depths and that their actions sully the seas. When Emperor Karseidon II sent the Wreath of Persana back to Laverathia, Khavas saw this as an olive branch of sorts, but it did little to mend the breach in relations between Laverathia and the surface world.

In 597, Khavas imprisoned his second-hatched son, Reides, due to his request to work as an ambassador on the surface world. This had a huge impact on his relationship with his first-hatched, Viglis, who, prior to the incident, respected his father immensely. His fourth-hatched, Lotlyn, also began to grow distant from him. According to Arlyn, Khavas still loved all of his children despite his rather restrained way of showing this love.

Unbeknownst to his children, Khavas knew that Reides escaped to the surface world and had spies report on his activities during his time in Port Valor.

Reides' Homecoming
(tba)

Goals
Above all, Khavas is primarily concerned with ensuring Laverathia's safety. He is willing to do just about anything to keep those he loves safe, as was shown when he locked Reides away in a tower in order to protect him from the surface world.

When Aquos fell in 598, Khavas flew into a rage unlike ever before. Blaming himself for the situation, his rage only heightened when Ryl'dhagt of the Abyss began using Lotlyn's safety as a means of keeping Khavas out of a leadership role. Khavas had to place his faith in Viglis' leadership skills and spent most of his time locked away in the refugee camp, held together by Arlyn. Though the situation was deeply frustrating and had a horrible impact on his mental health, he knew that he had to hold himself back so as to keep his beloved daughter safe.

Khavas was quick to fall back into his role as emperor upon the reclamation of Aquos following the Siege of Coralpeak Citadel. He has a huge list of audiences which he must attend to, so his hands will be full for quite some time. Despite this, he allowed Reides and his companions to skip ahead of the line and offered his thanks to them for their role in the conflict. Furthermore, he granted Reides the title of ambassador and entrusted the Wreath to him.

Khavas is now willing to work together with Reides in order to keep Laverathia safe as the situation with the Burning Knight continues to unfold.

Abilities
Khavas is extremely politically-savvy and is regarded as a good emperor to his people, even with his ruthless streak. He has a very sharp mind and excels in compiling tactics.

In battle, he channels his rage and allows it to fuel each and every one of his attacks. Following the Path of the Zealot in full service to Persana, Khavas uses his divine fury to keep the people of Laverathia safe. He typically wields a massive trident, but is skilled with a sword as well.

Khavas and Arlyn
yay

Khavas and Reides
oh boy

Khavas and Viglis
tba

Khavas and Lotlyn
tba

Khavas and Dhudus
also tba

Quotes

 * "What is the meaning of this? Who would dare allow surfacers here?!"
 * "He sent the Wreath back to us, and now this is happening as a direct result! I should have never dealt with those blasted surfacers at all!"
 * "Your actions were instrumental in the reclamation of the capital. Please accept the gratitude of the royal family."
 * (To Reides) "Perhaps your time on the run wasn't entirely wasted, though my spies in Port Valor reported otherwise. [...] I could not leave a runaway prince unaccounted for."
 * "Swim tall. The one known as the Deeplight shouldn't be bowing their head at every moment."

Trivia

 * In Session 2, Reides thought of Khavas when he was told about a Trident of Fish Command. This was because it reminded him of his father's favoured weapon. He did not let the party know about this, however, and simply appeared conflicted.
 * Arlyn insists that Khavas is a good man, but has said that the way he was raised left him with "a lot he needs to unlearn." Given the significantly less tumultuous nature of his second major audience with Reides, it seems like Khavas is making some progress with this.