Vander:
The Vile Blade

Son of decorated commander Sir Tholran who died believing in Garn's ideals, Vander inherited his father's ancient gauntlets and naive patriotism. He enlisted alongside shield-brother Neroph with dreams of restoring imperial glory, but reality crushed their idealism through campaigns led by incompetent generals who sold soldiers' lives for political favor. When Neroph deserted to join the Twilight Sun after their unit's senseless decimation, Vander clung to duty out of stubborn faith in his father's sacrifice. That faith died when he returned from a campaign to find his family slaughtered by common looters exploiting Garn's collapse. His Storm Primal powers erupted through the inherited gauntlets as he hunted the bandits with such brutality that survivors named him "The Vile Blade." Now a mercenary haunted by Neroph's words about Garn's inevitable fall, he seeks purpose in civilization's ashes while strange dreams pull him toward a destiny he doesn't yet understand.