Desolas Arterius II

"'We fight, or we die.'"Desolas Arterius II (2152 CE - present) is a Council Spectre and former Hierarchy Cabalist. He is famous for his leading role in saving the Citadel during the Eden Prime War in 2183, and later bringing an end to the threat of a galaxy-wide extinction event during the Reaper War in 2186. As a Spectre candidate, Desolas was mentored by decorated Spectre-Agent Nihlus Kryik, whom he later mated with and married. The couple has four children together - Janus, Sarena, Cassian, and Alasius.

Prior to his career as a Spectre, Desolas served in the Human Systems Alliance as part of the Citadel Council's Interspecies Military Integration Plan (IMIP), after his Cabal was wiped out in a thresher maw attack on the Human colony of Akuze in 2177. Before the unprecedented massacre that robbed him of his adopted family, Desolas had been training to become the successor to the rank of Kabalim of the Talae, under the tutelage of his former mentor and lover, Kabalim Alasius Carteia.

Desolas is the only child of the late General Desolas Arterius I and his wife, Lieutenant Maea Abrudas, both of whom served in the Relay 314 Incident. He was born in Cipritine, the capital of the Turian homeworld Palaven, but was soon shipped out to the Turian colony Taetrus for formal training after his biotic potential manifested at age 8.

Birth and childhood
Desolas was born on the 28th May 2152 CE in Cipritine's Trebian Maternity Hospital, following his mother's high-risk pregnancy. Due to Maea's declining health, Desolas was born premature and required specialist care to survive outside the womb for the first month of his life. Remarkably, he did not appear to be negatively affected by the chronic eezo-poisoning which was slowly killing his mother. Like his paternal uncle, Saren Arterius, Desolas presented with the pale gene from birth.

Desolas was raised by his parents on House Arterius' ancestral estate in Cipritine's Martialis District. Both his parents doted on him, although his father was often away on duty. His twelve-year-old uncle was rather close with him, having never known a pale turian other than himself.

When Desolas was two years old his cousin Gaius Abrudas was born. The pair quickly became inseparable and did virtually everything together. Gaius was the son of Desolas' maternal uncle, Markus Abrudas, and his wife, Sedia Erax.

When Desolas turned five the turians were at war with humanity. Both of his parents were called up to serve on Shanxi's front lines. Desolas was left in the care of Sedia, who worked as a logistics officer in Cipritine's Colonial Affairs Office. The young Arterius was more than happy living with his cousin's family, blissfully unaware of the battle that raged several hundred lightyears away. After the Citadel Council forced Primarch Fedorian to demobilise the turian military and sign a peace treaty with humanity, Desolas' parents returned home to Palaven. His father was fuming, disgusted by the lack of backbone Fedorian had shown. While Maea shared her husband's sentiments, she was simply relieved to be reunited with their son.

Desolas' father became increasingly distant in the months following the end of the war. He grew obsessed with the idea of overthrowing Fedorian and restoring the hereditary pre-Aurelian Empire, which he intended to rule over as imperator with Maea as imperatrix and Desolas as his heir. Maea tried to convince him that his plan was madness but her protests fell on deaf ears. Saren was far more sympathetic to her and promised to keep an eye on his brother for her.

Using the Arca Monolith, General Desolas began to create an army of turian super-soldiers, dubbed "meta-turians", which he intended to use to overthrow the primacy. But the general soon learned he was playing with fire when he lost control of the experiment. Saren was forced to contain the situation. He radioed Palaven Command and requested an orbital strike on Temple Palaven, sacrificing his brother's life to ensure the survival of their species. When Maea confronted Saren he told her the truth about her husband's death, the truth subsequently driving a wedge between them. Desolas would not see his uncle again for over two decades.

Manifestation of biotic power
When Desolas was just eight years of age, Maea's worst fears for her only son came to life. Being a pale, Desolas was routinely bullied at school for the colour of his plates. During one particularly violent attack, he unintentionally lashed out at his aggressors with his mind, throwing them across the courtyard with the biotic power that had lain dormant in him since before his birth. Several of his fellow students were injured by his outburst and Desolas was terrified by what he had done. As he tearfully told his mother what had happened, Maea too began to weep, knowing that it was only a matter of time before someone came for her son.

Later that same day, armed soldiers from the Dicasterum Mutarius turned up at the Arterius family estate, demanding that Maea hand over Desolas. Frightened, Desolas clung to his mother and begged her to make the soldiers go away. But Maea was powerless to resist; such was the law. She wept as she watched the soldiers drag her only child away from her, his anguished cries the last thing she would hear from him for the next twenty-three years of her life.

Desolas was forced into the back of a biotic containment vehicle and flown out of Cipritine to a remote fortress in the Vashstitas Desert. There he was placed in a holding cell with another boy called Marion Cailus, who was also a newly discovered biotic. The pair latched onto each other in their mutual fear, becoming friends. A few days later both boys were placed on a ship bound for the turian colony of Taetrus, to be inducted into the Talae Cabal.

Life in the Talae Cabal
Desolas and Marion were both inducted into the Talae Cabal, a division of biotic warriors garrisoned at the Talae Fortress located in the Dilvulian Wildlands on Taetrus. There, the boys were raised with a few other biotic children of varying ages. Desolas was given a basic education of High Cipritine, Mathematics and the Sciences, under the tutelage of the fortress' resident historian. However, the bulk of his education centred on Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, and Military History. The Talae's Kabalim personally oversaw the physical training and mental conditioning of all the children, teaching them how to focus and project their inner power to manipulate the physical world around them.

When Desolas turned thirteen, his Kabalim passed away. Her death profoundly affected him. As a scared and angry little boy, she had been a stabilising force in his life; he had emotionally latched onto her, his child's mind interpreting her as an idealised grandmother figure, in the absence of his real family. He struggled to control his feelings of grief in the months after her death, his emotions manifesting as a scathing rage which made his biotics dangerously unstable.

The Dicasterum Mutarius sent a new commander to replace her. Desolas was initially scornful of his new Kabalim, a man named Alasius. Alasius was a hard taskmaster and demanded excellence in all things. He was also a former legion officer who had a reputation for getting results. But as Desolas matured into adolescence, Alasius' training style began to fit him better. Alasius pushed him hard which made Desolas subconsciously push back harder, burning out his innate pale rage before it ever had a chance to rear its head. This was deliberate on Alasius' part; he understood Desolas' complex emotional problems and thus had created a personalised training regime for him with the specific intention of giving Desolas better self-discipline. Desolas would comment later in life about how Alasius' training spared him that fate of losing his mind to his bestial rage and going feral.

But it wasn't just rage that plagued Desolas. Being a pale also cursed him with a rampant libido, an inborn biological imperative to dominate others and replicate his pale gene in his offspring. The end result was severe sexual frustration which, inevitably, manifested as rage. Desolas was an odds with this aspect of his condition. The beast in him needed to sate its base lust for control and procreation, whereas Desolas himself desired companionship and love, fearing the isolation which his condition inflicted him with. His life experiences had taught that if others were not outright terrified of him, they were only either disgusted by or neutral towards him. Only a precious few people had ever shown kindness toward him or viewed him as a friend, fearing the beast lurking beneath his plates.

Marion was his closest friend - the only friend Desolas had ever had - but when he expressed his desire for them to be more than that, Marion politely declined, telling him that he considered Desolas a brother and did not harbour romantic feelings for him, or for men in general. While Marion had been gentle in letting him down and the pair still remained the best of friends, Desolas could not help be feel the familiar sting of rejection in his heart yet again. This pain made him feel ever more isolated from other people which only further fed into his pale rage.

Rather than unleashing the beast's hatred upon his beloved friend, Desolas instead chose to force it upon himself. He began to deliberately harm himself in an effort to stay in control and to punish himself for being "a freak". He attempted to conceal this behaviour from the rest of his Cabal but Alasius was not so easily duped. During a training exercise Desolas started to bleed profusely after being thrown to the floor by Alasius' biotics, sparking alarm. Alasius ordered Kaeto, the cabal's medic, to patch Desolas up. During the medical examination, Kaeto inevitably discovered Desolas' self-inflicted wounds and reported them to Alasius after they had been treated. Concern for Desolas' welfare, Alasius spoke to his charge alone, asking Desolas to confide in him about why he had hurt himself. Unable to conceal his misery any longer, Desolas burst into tears as he explained his feelings of intense loneliness and abandonment, and the difficulties he experienced when trying to suppress his pale urges and rage. Wanting to help his charge overcome these difficulties, Alasius offered Desolas a solution - he would allow Desolas to sate his urges on him, provided that he also see Kaeto regularly for counselling. Overcome by his kabalim's selfless generosity, Desolas accepted these terms.

Desolas entered a physical relationship with Alasius at the age of seventeen. At first it was nothing more than a means to an end but, over time, both men began to feel someone more for one another. Desolas viewed Alasius as his saviour, Alasius, however, was disturbed by his feelings for the younger turian. Not only was Desolas his subordinate, making the relationship highly unethical, it threatened to compromise his ability to lead - if he was ever forced to choose between saving Desolas' life or the lives of everyone else in the cabal, for example, he was afraid of what his feelings might make him do. Because of this, Alasius chose to keep his feelings a secret. Desolas desired nothing more than to tell Alasius how he himself felt but felt that he could not say such a thing to his superior officer. He was also afraid of being rejected again. The two men would continue to love each other in secret for the next eight years.

Disaster at Akuze
In 2177, the Talae were mustered by Palaven Command to investigate a turian distress beacon signalling from inside human-controlled space. Desolas, now 25 years old, was second-in-command of the Cabal, serving of Alasius' optio and training to one day become his successor. Alasius briefed the cabal about their mission, telling them that a turian signal had been located on the planet Akuze, despite the fact there were no turian patrols in that region of space. Desolas did not realise it at the time but the reason why his cabal had been sent to investigate was because Palaven Command expected it to be a trap and therefore sent a unit they considered to be "disposable", just in case. There were rumours that Primarch Fedorian specifically chose Desolas' cabal for the job in the hopes that he would be killed in action, wiping out House Arterius' bloodline forever to get back at Maea for her husband's attempted coup.

When the Talae touched down on Akuze to begin their investigation they were jumped by a platoon for human marines. A tense standoff ensued, the humans naturally suspicious of a squad of elite turian soldiers trespassing on a human world. Alasius attempted to defuse tensions by negotiating with the human's commander, a woman named Jane Shepard. They were just beginning to find common ground when all hell broke loose. The ground began to shake and in an instant both sides were attacked by thresher maws, the giant worms bursting from the ground to drag humans and turians alike deep below the ground. The creatures had been lured there by the human supremicist group Cerberus, whose intent had been to study the potency of their acid against turians for potential use as bioweapon. Desolas was forced to watch as his adoptive family were, one by one, consumed by the worms.

By the time the human's evacuation shuttle arrived, over fifty people were dead. Only Desolas, Alasius and Jane were still alive. Alasius gave his life to defend Desolas, managing to kill one of the thresher maws but at the cost of his own life. He was sprayed with thresher maw acid, which he also inhaled. Within minutes the acid was dissolving his lungs inside of his body and melting the flesh off his bones. Realising there was nothing he could do to save the man he loved, Desolas cradled Alasius in his arms, tearfully confessing his love for a final time, before granting his kabalim a quick and painless death by slitting his throat.

Desolas would never truly recover from Alasius' death. Years later he would name his youngest son Alasius in honour of his beloved kabalim, the man who had first returned his heart and forged him into the soldier that the galaxy needed him to be. Desolas would often remark about how Alasius' training had saved his life more than once and that he could never have defeated the Reapers without his mentorship.

Leaving for Andromeda
(WIP)

Desolas had had enough with the Milky Way. He and Nihlus encoded and sent Fidellion & Iacoba a message, which was unfortunately not decoded in time. This included a message to the Duarchs, informing of them of certain abdication of the throne. Desolas' message to the Duarchs was not released until after Antraxes' reign, for fear of it legitimizing Antraxes' rule.

Relationships

 * Nihlus Kryik - Desolas' mate for life. They met during the Normandy's shakedown run, and went through a lot together.  Nihlus is Desolas' soulmate.

Load-out

 * Primary Weapon: Disciple (Asari semi-automatic shotgun, modified for Turian physiology. Gifted to Desolas by Asari Justicar Samara, after saving her daughter Falere.)
 * Secondary Weapon: M-12 Locust (Human automatic submachine gun, modified for Turian physiology. Modded beyond recognition. Gifted to Desolas by master thief Kasumi Goto, after killing her lover's murder. Kassa Fabrications.)
 * Tertiary Weapon: M-77 Paladin (Turian prototype semi-automatic pistol. Gifted to Desolas by Nihlus Kryik on the eve of the Battle of Taetrus. Elanus Risk Control  Services.)
 * Armour: Daemon prototype armour (Turian light armour. Designed by Nihlus Kryik in collaboration with Serrice Council.)
 * Biotic Amplifier: Cerberus Skunkworks' prototype Prometheus model (military grade, L5n)
 * Omni-tool: Ariake Technologies' Logic Arrest model (Human, military grade, modified for Turian physiology)

Disciple

 * Microphasic Pulse: A phasic module installed into the mass effect field generator encases each slug in a phasic envelope before it is fired. This disrupts any mass effect field protecting the target, resulting in superior penetration of shields and biotic barriers. Weapons fitted with this type of module are legally required to display the letter designation prefix of S, rather than the standard M.
 * Thermal Sink: Sophisticated heat-sink materials improve the absorption and dissipation of heat, allowing the user to fire more slugs before the weapon overheats and the internal heat sink requires venting.
 * Synchronised Pulsar: Overclocked electromagnetic pulsar technology strengthens the weapon's mass effect field generator, increasing the mass and acceleration of each slug fired. For each damage threshold upgrade, a letter designation (A through F) is added to the name of the weapon. Desolas' Disciple is an F class weapon, the most powerful damage category of shotgun commercially available.

M-12 Locust

 * Phasic Jacketing
 * Heat Sink Capacity
 * Microfield Pulsar

M-77 Paladin

 * Sabot Jacketing
 * Smart Rounds
 * Titan Pulsar
 * Cranial Trauma System
 * Power Magnifier
 * Harpoon Rounds

Powers

 * Biotic Charge: Recharge Speed: 8 sec // Damage: 850 // Force: 1275 N // Barrier Restored: 100%
 * Lash: Recharge Speed: 4.80 sec // Damage: 180 // Force: 1200 N
 * Throw: Recharge Speed: 3.20 sec // Damage: 200 // Force: 1320 N // Radius: 2 m
 * Shockwave: Recharge: 6.40 sec // Damage: 375 // Force: 875 N // Radius: 2.60 m // Range: 24 m
 * Slam: Recharge Speed: 3.20 sec // Force: 1980 N
 * Barrier: Recharge Speed: 8 sec // Damage Reduction: 40% // Damage: 750 // Radius: 4.50 m
 * Lift Grenades: Damage: 1350 // Radius: 8 m // Duration: 6 sec
 * Biotic Blink: Evade incoming attacks by teleporting biotically over short distances
 * Syphoning Strikes: Melee kills restore biotic barrier

Lineage and Relations
Desolas is descended from several ancient and powerful military families, through the bloodlines of both his mother and father.

On his mother's side, Desolas is a direct descendant of Markus Abrudas, the first Primarch of Carthaan and lifelong friend of the legendary Primarch Aurelion of Palaven. Through the same bloodline, Desolas shares a common ancestor with the modern-day members of House Aurelos: as a tribute for his service during the Unification War, Aurelion granted Markus his eldest daughter, Trebia Aurelos, thus uniting both their houses in political matrimony.

On his father's side, Desolas is a direct descendant of the infamous Quinteia Arterius, the last of the colonial warlords to hold out against Palaven during the climax of the Unification War. She is most famously remembered for being paraded through the streets of Cipritine after her eventual capture, as part of a grand triumph in celebration of Palaven's victory over the rebel colonies. Quinteia is historically recorded as being the first cabalist, surrendering her freedom in exchange for the promise that her twin sons would be spared from the ancient Turian ritual of Sanguis Purifico (whereby one's bloodline is eradicated through ceremonial slaughter, as punishment for high treason).

Other influential figures in Desolas' ancestry include: Admiral Quintus Arterius, a Duarch Classium of Palaven during the 9th Century; Legatus Geminax Abrudas, the first Turian ambassador to the Vol Protectorate, responsible for formulating the Lenos Treaty of 717 CE, which assimilated the Volus into the Turian Empire as a client race; Gaia Abrudas, the first Turian ambassador to the Citadel, 800 CE; and Traianus Ursivus, Primarch of Palaven from 1498 to 1517 CE.

A distant relative of Desolas' is the famous naval commander Dea Praeton, captain of Ark Natanus, who perished when Natanus collided with the Scourge in the Andromeda Galaxy, in 2819 CE. Desolas' paternal grandmother, Melaena Praeton, was Dea's great-aunt, making Dea his second cousin.

Desolas' first cousin once removed on his mother's side, Admiral Raherix Ursivus, was assassinated by Cerberus in 2182 CE. An unknown Cerberus operative sabotaged the Human cruiser SSV Anixara, which had been transporting Raherix to Arcturus Station to observe the unveiling of the new SSV Normandy, on behalf of the Joint Military Council. As the Anixara was launched into FTL by the Arcturus-Widow mass relay, an unstable chemical catalyst was released into the cruiser's metallic hydrogen fuel tanks via a timed injection, triggering an explosion which severely weakened the vessel's structural integrity. The Anixara then broke apart inside the FTL corridor, it's compromised hull unable to endure the stress of travelling at faster than light speeds. All hands aboard were killed instantaneously.

In the aftermath of the disaster, the Alliance-lead inquiry attributed the explosion to faulty engineering - a verdict most likely engineered by Cerberus to conceal deliberate Human involvement in such a high-ranking Hierarchy official's death. It is believed that Cerberus targeted Raherix due to his anti-human sentiments and his desire for the Turian Hierarchy to possess sole command of the Normandy, rather than leasing her out to the Human Systems Alliance or submitting to dual ownership.

Online
Gamer Profile for: CobrastyleVanguard
 * Citadel E-Mail: desolas.arterius@citadel.civ.pub
 * Personal E-Mail: cobrastyle_vanguard@citadel.civ.pub
 * SpecTRe E-Mail: desolas.arterius@citadel.mil.cc
 * Alliance E-Mail: desolas.arterius@earth.mil.sa
 * Hierarchy E-Mail: desolas.arterius@palaven.mil.ae
 * Taetrian E-Mail: desolas.arterius@taetrus.??.??

Galaxy of Fantasy
Characters (Citadel Servers):
 * Urdnot Des, Level 512 Krogan Battlemaster
 * Character Title:

Guild Affiliations: Characters (Palaven Servers):
 * Desolas Arterius II: Level 404 Turian Vanguard
 * (Name WIP)
 * Urdnot Des, Level 15 Krogan Vanguard

Spectre Operations

 * Most Played: Nihlus Kryik, the Attican Scourge