Akarui

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“The whole ‘King’ thing is more of a formality title. Realistically I’m more akin to a ‘mayor,’ but the title has been that way since long before I came around.”

~ Akarui, welcoming new arrivals to Diadem

“My team and I fought to the brink of death for this Regalia. If you intend to take it from us, you best be prepared to go through the same hell.”

~ Akarui, before his Regalia Challenge

“If that’s how you feel, Nash-Zeroth, then the Thirteen Kings of Diadem will stop you!”

~ Akarui, leading the Demesne Masters

Species:

Bird (deep purple robin, called a “violet bird of paradise”)

Gender:

Male

Profession:

King of the City of Diadem for ten years running, though he describes the role as closer to a mayor. Former adventurer, Thunder Force officer, Regalia Hunter, and the scout and stealth specialist of the Chamberlins. Holder of the Violet Demesne’s Regalia, the Chrysanthemum Cross, on behalf of Arledge.

History:

Akarui Kage arrived on the island a decade ago at the age of 23, part of a four person United States special operations team alongside Jensen, Valeos, and Harken, known as the Chamberlins. The ruler of Diadem at the time told them about the island’s legend immediately, and the team threw themselves into it. They researched, investigated, and interrogated former Regalia Hunters, and decided the Violet Demesne’s Master, Arledge, would be their first win because he seemed to have the least combat experience. Arledge warned them it was a bad idea. The fight lasted a full hour, four against one, and Akarui was the only one still standing at the end of it. Arledge handed him the Chrysanthemum Cross, a violet ankh with a golden sleeping bunny set into it, and told him the rest would be far worse. He was right. The Chamberlins lost to every Master they challenged afterward, coming closest against Conroy before turning on each other mid-fight.

The team’s first real Thunder Force assignment was guarding Mr. and Mrs. Raposa, a pair of scientists debuting a drill meant to tunnel out of Diadem. Akarui personally took responsibility for their son, an angsty seventeen year old Goth punk who kept giving him the slip. The drill exploded, killing both Raposas and many others. When their son resurfaced a week later, broken, Akarui made it his promise to look after him. He left the team the next day and ran for ruler so he could have a hand in every future project and keep that kind of disaster from happening again. The boy was Nash, who later earned the job of King’s Aide on his own merit.

As King, Akarui deliberately downplays the Regalia legend as a “hokey magic legend” to keep his citizens from chasing it to their deaths. About a year into his term he realized that he and his former team had barely aged, and with the research of Professor Sebastian Whitmore he traced the effect to exposure to the Masters, with every Challenge multiplying the longevity. Fearing what an almost undying population would do to Diadem, he kept steering people away from the Challenges while backing Nash’s submarine project as the alternative way out, fighting the city’s representatives for months to fund it.

When the Kings of Kings arrived and became the city’s heroes, Akarui welcomed them personally, warned them of a mole within the Thunder Force, and eventually accepted their challenge for the Chrysanthemum Cross as a public spectacle in the Sports Zone arena, with Arledge crashing the event to watch. After the Crooked King was revealed to be Nash, Akarui escaped the trap Lucky set for him and arrived during the final battle against the fused Nash-Zeroth. He pinned the creature’s hands with a black sword and the Crooked Cutlass, rallied the twelve Demesne Masters as the Thirteen Kings of Diadem, confronted Nash over the drill incident, and worked out that the Diadem itself is Zeroth’s Regalia, which let the Kings of Kings challenge Nash-Zeroth directly. After Nanashi was formed, Akarui either resumed his role as King or became the new King’s aide, depending on the Kings of Kings’ decision.

Notes:

• Just under five feet tall. Rumored by Nash to wear platform shoes on the sly.
• Eyes glow a faint violet. Wears gold-laced draperies over his clothes, and the Chrysanthemum Cross around his neck.
• Uses lavender incense to invoke a “compassionate atmosphere” during meetings.
• Does not know how to swim, and reportedly takes private lessons from a tall avian lady at the public pool.
• Barely molts anymore, a side effect of his time as a Regalia Hunter.
• Has a running feud with Anais over Gated community ordinances he refuses to enforce.
• Objected to being played by a pigeon in the remade Diadem film.