Cerod

Cerod, the Time Lord, is the second child and the eldest son of the Mother and Eos. Cerod is the Rau'n of Time, and the personification of time itself as a fundamental structure of the world. He is among the most powerful and ancient of the Ao.

Cerod's realm belongs to anything and everything pertaining to the passage of time. His influence touches all things, from the growth of a plant to the traveling pilgrim. Time governs all facets of life, though it holds no pertinence unless paired with Fate.

A being of infinite patience, the Time Lord is said to have been tasked with governing the Gates of Eternity, and cared little for the affairs of the mortal races, more concerned with assuring that time was not skirted or tampered with by abrasive mortal mages. He was never truly a kind ao, and was instead known as a stern, stoic creature whose words were carefully enunciated, much akin to the way he managed the threads of time; precise and efficient. But time has ways of warping the body and soul, and rau'n are no different.

During the Age of Light, Cerod had always shown affection toward his sister, Nimue, who he was also closely associated with, as Time was a means to an end and Fate was merely the destination. Some might have said that the Time Lord was even in love with the Seamstress, but any advances made by him were fruitlessly cast aside, and in his heart, Cerod withered.

It was near the beginning of the Sundered Morning that Cerod found love in the form of the rau'n of Peace and Order, Jazaria, who reciprocated it and eased his burdened mind. But the Time Lord was blind to Fate, and he could not foresee the tragedy that would befall the rau'n and especially himself. Cerod witnessed firsthand the fall of his beloved at the hands of his sister, Aoide during the Battle of Bran Vaal. For all his power and all his influence, he had been powerless to save her. Fate had been predetermined, and he himself could not undo what was set in motion, only allow it to abide.

A nagging whisper echoed in his mind. Why had Nimue not foretold him of Jazaria's fate? Why had she not rewritten it? The anger swelled in him, but Cerod was not a creature of rage and fury. His anger turned to a despair that led him to depart the mortal world, for he understood that his duty as the Master of Time could never truly allow him the priviledge to know the love of another. His grieving was hidden from the world.

After the Age of Shadow, Cerod retreated into his domain, rarely making an appearance other than to personally annihilate any and all mortals who sought to free themselves from the bindings of Time. He became a cold and distanced Ao, who knew nothing but asperity and veiled cynicism.

His Children are the Vezhati, Time Keepers who assist their creator with the safekeeping of the rivers of time.

Appearance[]

As fluid as time is, so too is Cerod's manifestations. Most often he appears as a middle-aged man, with straw-colored hair and an unusual heterochromia in his eyes, where one is the color of gold and the other a shade of lilac. But if he so desired, he could appear before a mortal as a young boy, an elder man, or a young adult with the same color scheme. Regardless of any form, his eyes appear timeless.