Duaz Arak

General

Duaz Arak is a military leader and strategist and protagonist of the Iron Gate Saga. He is instrumental in advancing the mission of the Akrehdei, thus enabling large parts of the plot to come into effect.

Appearance

Duaz Arak is a lanky Akrehdei with blue-purple scales, subtle rust-red markings, and yellow eyes.

Personality

Duaz Arak is highly intelligent on one hand, but extremely emotional on the other. He usually appears calm and focused, but experiences fits of rage when confronted with personal failure or uncontrollable situations.

Unlike many Akrehdei, Duaz Arak is not particularly religious and not a collectivist. He sees these traits more as obstacles than as something positive. He is also curious and eager for knowledge.

Duaz Arak limits the number of friends he makes to people who can match him, often preferring solitude.

Life

Early Life

Duaz Arak grows up at the Citadel of the North as the son of two Markhrer, a religious minority among the Akrehdei. From an early age, he has difficulty adapting to his environment and soon distinguishes himself through his exceptional intelligence. However, his abilities are not fostered by Akrehdei society.

In his youth, he pursues a bureaucratic career and works towards establishing an expeditionary corps. Unlike most Akrehdei, he is deeply interested in humans and their ways of life, even learning the Intermediate language. Duaz Arak manages to persuade religious authorities to support his ideas with imperialistic arguments.

Imprisonment

However, the first exploratory expedition he plans across the strait ends in failure, with most participants losing their lives. As a result, Duaz Arak is sentenced to life imprisonment at the behest of influential bereaved families. He spends about two years in the Citadel, which takes a toll on his psyche before he is released from prison to be used as forced labor. This happens against the backdrop of a growing demand for workers, as in the meantime, the Akrehdei have declared the Great Crusade.

Duaz Arak then decides — following a Markhrer tradition — to divide his name (which was previously Duazarak) to signify his change in life. Immediately after his release, he begins scheming with the simplest means to first secure minor tasks and then a position within the military administration. Initially, he has little interest in the Crusade, as he is not particularly religious. However, the danger posed by the bereaved families of the failed expedition, who remain hostile towards him, forces him to seek secure positions.

At the same time, Duaz Arak seeks contact with the enslaved Humans, learning about them and their customs. Eventually, through intrigue, he manages to gain the trust of a Human woman named Palt, who introduces him more deeply to Human culture. Through this, he discovers that the Humans possess highly detailed knowledge of the coast and the sea. He uses this knowledge to warn the military leadership when he learns of plans to soon transport Akrehdei civilization across the sea to the north while it is frozen. Duaz Arak realizes the Humans might be persuaded to support the Akrehdei beyond their enslavement if their support means they will rid themselves of their oppressors.

He also befriends a Totem named Kyurash, whose eccentric nature is practically the opposite of his, but whom he learns to appreciate as an authentic friend.

Rise to prominence

Informing the Akrehdei about regional weather patterns as well as Human knowledge of boat-building earns Duaz Arak the attention of Praetor Kijš, at whose side Duaz Arak eventually travels after the crossing of the sea. Duaz Arak is intrigued by the undiscovered lands before the Akrehdei, but only very reluctantly accepts the advisory position Kijš forces upon him, since that brings him close to some of the people who previously helped imprison him.

Over time, Duaz Arak rises in prominence through his competence, despite his unorthodox practices. He realizes that Kijš is a brilliant politician - a skill he decidedly lacks himself - but in no way able to lead an endeavor as complex as a crusade with a whole civilization. This leads Duaz Arak to become more active. Neither is he particularly religious, nor idealistic or ethically-thinking. However, he does also not wish for lives to be lost meaninglessly. This forces him to balance his own safety - ensured by his delivering results - advancing the dangerous path the Akrehdei are on, his rivals' influence, and personal reluctance.

Duaz Arak is pivotal in splitting the Akrehdei civilization into different trails, easing resource distribution and consumption. At the side of Kijš, he helps quell dissent in such other trails and conquers countries that refuse to let the Akrehdei pass through their territory.

Eventually, Kijš makes Duaz Arak the supreme commander of the army. Although Duaz Arak experiences great difficulty being an inspiring leader like Kijš, he eventually adapts, ridding himself of his rivals as well. His strategic and innovative thinking guides the various migratory movements of the Akrehdei, allowing them to acquire new knowledge, weapons, and ideas as they push northward over the years.

Conspiracy with the Magotho

Under his and Kijš' leadership, the Akrehdei establish contact with the Magotho and form an alliance with them. Duaz Arak also plans and leads the campaign against Aerznia. Duaz Arak realizes the aligning interest and influence of the Magotho would be a viable way of weakening Aerznia, which would in turn allow the Akrehdei to invade and ransack the region, compensating for the Akrehdeis' depleting resources. Contributing to this scheme becomes an artful challenge to Duaz Arak, one he dedicates his life to with newfound vigor.

Invasion of Aerznia and Campaign for Kehda

Duaz Arak plans and leads the Akrehdei invasion of Aerznia with Kijš and his staff. The death of Kyurash at the Battle of Runa makes him order to fully destroy the whole city in an act of revenge, contrary to his usual approach. During the invasion, he also encounters Kehdei, leading him to realize they are in fact not demons, as the Akrehdei commonly believe, but simple biological relatives.

The Akrehdei subsequently advance towards Kehda Kehda. However, the campaign stalls there, as the Akrehdei are unable to cope with the unexpected desert. Duaz Arak had meanwhile begun to fear such an outcome but is unable to convince Kijš of the futility of any attempt, in part because the First Priest Biro capitalizes on the Akrehdeis' success to fuel their people religious zeal.

Ultimately, the crusade fails due to Kehda's harsh climate. Duaz Arak is devastated when his entire life's work collapses, especially when stragglers arrive to reveal that Kijš and Biro had been involved in a conspiracy over a decade ago to set in motion the whole crusade in the first place.

As the Akrehdei decent into chaos and partially reintegrated with the Kehdei, Duaz Arak abandoned his station and vanishes.