Sylas

Sylas (Qaasin / Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock)

Overview

Sylas is a member of The Perjurers, an ancient conspiracy working to destabilize Asgartha. He has inhabited multiple host bodies across centuries: previously “Qaasin,” currently “Sylas.” The “Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock” that Afanas Korovinovich hunts is also Sylas—an identity he used to stage Qaasin’s death. Sylas prefers hosts with natural permeability to The Aether, aligning with his Yzmir operations.

Appearance

Sylas wears an enamel mask that conceals eyes glowing with an unnatural hue. When he removes the mask, his glowing eyes reveal his parasitic nature. Through Irises, he can perceive parasites on other beings—he observed translucent venomous slugs, multicolored leeches, and invasive crustaceans moving on and beneath Saskia Averina’s skin.

Background

The Qaasin Identity

As Qaasin, Sylas operated as a Yzmir Battlemage. He rescued young Afanas Korovinovich after routing the Kraken that had attacked Afanas’s ship near Cebir, retrieving the unconscious boy from icy waters. Afanas’s entire family perished in the shipwreck. Beside Afanas’s bed, a night bird with shadow-like plumage and a lunar-pale mask remained—a creature Afanas had saved from a steel prison in the waters. The bird, like Afanas, had lost an eye. Afanas named it Senka.

Qaasin mentored Afanas throughout his convalescence, teaching meditations, mantras, and demonstrating Yzmir Spheres. When conditions at Cebir proved too dangerous, Qaasin brought his young protégé to The Kadigir. Though Afanas was already ten—old to begin initiation—he specialized in Kinemancy, becoming a combat mage.

Faked Death (356 AC)

Afanas investigated the Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock for years until Qaasin warned him the warlock would take measures. After Afanas and Senka leaped through a vortex to an estuary, Afanas found Qaasin’s lifeless body—skin cold and pale. This staged death allowed the parasite to abandon the Qaasin host and assume the Sylas identity. The loss of both family (to Kraken) and mentor (to the warlock) fueled Afanas’s decades-long hunt, not knowing all three identities belonged to the same entity.

The Perjurers Conspiracy

Sylas belongs to The Perjurers. After Amahle Kalu’s betrayal of the conspiracy, Sylas was tasked with destabilizing the Asgarthan regime. For nearly a century, he worked to undermine stability and prevent outward expansion.

Saskia Averina considers Sylas “something like an older brother.” He watched over her at Cebir during her early development as a Perjurer, offered her Storhvit as a testing ground for her schemes, and provided her with Chimeras for experiments. Sylas created the Kraken as a puppet for conspiracy purposes, allowing Saskia to carry out experiments unhindered. By 392 AC, the Kraken had “outlived its purpose.” Sylas sabotaged the Expeditionary Corps’ assault during the Battle of Madan Bay, destroying a Yzmir meteor strike to free the Kraken from containment, killing Battle Mages Asta and Elewa.

Sylas claimed a female target in Yzmir domain as his to deal with, warning Saskia to stay away. The target’s identity remains unspecified.

Saskia also referenced an “incident with the Strix” where Sylas had failed to deliver a creature to her, for which he later atoned. Given that Senka was found imprisoned in a steel coffin aboard the ship the Kraken destroyed during Afanas’s family voyage to Cebir (~327 AC), and that Senka spontaneously bonded with Afanas during the shipwreck, the Strix may be Senka — a delivery that failed because the creature chose its own partner.

Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock Campaign (~303-393 AC)

Imprisonment of Kuraokami (~303 AC)

As the Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock, Sylas summoned Kuraokami’s Eidolon to Cais Adarra under the pretense of regenerating an already-dead world-tree. Using “unholy artifice”—possibly lost Yzmir knowledge buried in The Mandates—he lured the dragon into the trunk and turned the bark into prison walls. The method excised Kuraokami completely from the collective unconscious, making the dragon’s summoning impossible.

Triple-Walled Prison System

The warlock constructed a three-layered containment system:

First Wall (Matter): The Nilam itself—dead world-tree transformed into a physical prison with opalescent bark unbreakable from within.

Second Wall (Climate): Engineered sudden glaciation using Kuraokami’s siphoned essence, transforming Cais Adarra from mild climate to polar wasteland. A pre-glaciation settlement of several hundred people abandoned the site. The warlock weaponized the dragon’s natural cold manifestation as deterrent.

Third Wall (Species): Created and deployed Belisenki as guardians—giant moth-like species suited to cold, programmed to defend the mountain from human intrusion.

305 AC Tsunami

While Kuraokami remained imprisoned, the warlock continuously siphoned the dragon’s essence. In 305 AC, he twisted the accumulated power to create a wave that devastated Arkaster capital, killing Basileus Itzamna ruun-Heeren, much of the government, and thousands of civilians. Aroro Niski sacrificed herself defending the capital. The prison was maintained for 90 years until Exalts shattered it in 393 AC.

Timeline

392 AC - Meeting with Saskia Averina

Saskia Averina visited Sylas to discuss The Perjurers’ plans. Sylas revealed he had not heard from other Perjurers in decades. Saskia indicated the “day of reckoning” was approaching and they would need to infiltrate the Expeditionary Corps. Sylas confirmed he intended to join the Corps to ensure Asgarthan actions would not undermine conspiracy interests.

393 AC - Proposal to Fly Over Tumult Depression

At a meeting in Nilam Spires observatory led by Satrap Zaj Ke Va, Sylas proposed flying over the Tumult Depression rather than around or through it. He noted the availability of four vessels: two Lyra Sahankas (The Ouroboros and The Wayfarer) and two Ordis flagships (Mesektet and Mandjet). He urged the assembly to advise Admiral Temera Singh to request reinforcements while Avkan remained in power before elections. The Satrap agreed to study the proposal.

After the meeting, Sylas approached Moyo Chibuye cryptically, implying Moyo would “find out soon enough” what their bond with Silk meant—hinting at a potential Musubi ceremony.

393 AC - Observing Sap-Enhanced Sigil Session

Sylas observed a Gephyromancy Sigil engraver at Nilam Spires experimenting with Sap in the tattooing process, applying permanent Sigils that glowed blue phosphorescent and grafted onto his being unlike traditional fading Sigils. Sylas assessed the process as unnatural and dangerous.

393 AC - Sap Concerns Meeting with Saskia

Saskia Averina summoned Sylas to discuss her Sap safety research. Examining blood samples through his glowing Irises, Sylas perceived the same concerning effects Saskia had discovered—a “snag” in The Perjurers’ plans. He declared they would need to “cut out the weed before it spreads.”

393 AC - Confronting Maw

Sylas confronted Maw (inhabiting Lindiwe) to propose an alliance against Wanjiru’s followers in The Qorgan, revealing he knew Maw was researching the Sixth Sphere—a banished power capable of triggering a second Confluence. Sylas disclosed knowledge of Maw’s true nature as a “Worm” in “larval state” that feeds on hosts before shedding to colonize new ones. When Maw defensively manifested Shiva’s destructive third eye through Lindiwe, Sylas armored himself in protective shields. Maw rejected immediate alliance, retreating behind mental barriers.

Relationships

• Afanas Korovinovich: Rescued as child, mentored as Qaasin, manipulated for decades; hunts Sylas as “Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock” unaware of true identity
• Amahle Kalu: Betrayed The Perjurers; her defection led to Sylas’s destabilization mission
• Aroro Niski: Defender of Arkaster who sacrificed herself during Sylas’s 305 AC tsunami
• Belisenki: Guardian species Sylas created as third wall of Kuraokami’s prison
• Itzamna ruun-Heeren: Basileus killed in Sylas’s 305 AC tsunami
• Kali: Goddess Eidolon bound to Sylas by psychic chains, wielding knives with red spectral light
• Kelsang: Fellow Perjurer expected to remain at Monolith
• Korovin: Afanas’s father, killed in Kraken attack
• Kraken: Created by Sylas as puppet for Perjurer conspiracy; routed by Qaasin to rescue Afanas
• Kuraokami: Dragon Eidolon imprisoned by Sylas (~303 AC), essence used for 305 AC tsunami
• Lindiwe: Yzmir Initiate possessed by Maw whom Sylas confronted (393 AC)
• Maw: Parasitic entity Sylas proposed alliance with against The Qorgan (393 AC)
• Moyo Chibuye: Yzmir Initiate whom Sylas cryptically approached regarding Silk bond (393 AC)
• Saskia Averina: Fellow Perjurer; mentored at Cebir; conducted experiments aided by Kraken puppet
• Senka: Night bird Afanas saved; observed by Qaasin during convalescence
• Shiva: Multi-armed Eidolon Maw manifested defensively during confrontation (393 AC)
• Silk: Chimera larva whose bond with Moyo Sylas alluded to (393 AC)
• Temera Singh: Admiral whom Sylas urged assembly to advise regarding reinforcements (393 AC)
• The Nilam: Dead world-tree serving as first wall of Kuraokami’s prison
• The Perjurers: Ancient conspiracy Sylas belongs to
• The Qorgan: Wanjiru’s organization; Sylas proposed alliance with Maw against them
• Sixth Sphere: Banished power Sylas revealed some still possess
• Wanjiru: Eidolon whose followers in The Qorgan oppose both Sylas and Maw
• Zaj Ke Va: Satrap who agreed to study Sylas’s Tumult crossing proposal (393 AC)