Tolraun is Zeneph's first successful creation—and his greatest critic. Created before the dimensional collapse, before Zeneph lost his memories, Tolraun remembers what his creator has forgotten. He witnessed the First Dragons' sacrifice. He knows how the Bucklah truly works. He understands that Zeneph is borrowing power without permission.
And it infuriates him that Zeneph won't listen.
Tolraun calls Zeneph "boy" even though Zeneph created him—a reminder that a god without wisdom is still just a child. He paces, he challenges, he picks up deformed creatures and demands Zeneph take responsibility for them. He is the voice of mercy when Zeneph would cast out. He is the conscience when Zeneph would create recklessly.
But Tolraun knows he cannot force change. He can only hope that someday, his creator will finally hear him.
What Tolraun Remembers:
• The First Dragons taught Zeneph and Korriel how to use the Bucklah responsibly
• You must ASK the River of Souls for permission to create
• Every creation requires ongoing care and responsibility
• The dimensional collapse was caused by unchecked creation
• The First Dragons sacrificed themselves to prevent total destruction
• Zeneph and Korriel are BROTHERS who lost each other
• Korriel is not dead—he received a different judgment
What Zeneph Has Forgotten:
• All of the above
The Tragedy: Tolraun knows the truth, but Zeneph won't believe him. "You are trying to fill my head with nonsense!" Zeneph commands Tolraun to stop speaking his faults. The conscience is silenced by the one who needs it most.
Tolraun loves Zeneph. That love makes it all the more painful to watch him fail.
"Do you take no care or thought into what you create? I mean some of these creatures have the ability to destroy all life as we know it."
Zeneph snaps back: "You wouldn't understand Tolraun, I created you, I could just destroy you!"
Tolraun scoffs: "Right, just like you destroyed the Leventar?"
This is their dynamic: Tolraun pushes. Zeneph resists. Tolraun persists. Zeneph commands him to stop. And Tolraun walks away, disappointed but not defeated.
When Tolraun encounters the deformed fox creature—muscles on the outside of its skin, hideous but harmless—he picks it up. This creature was Zeneph's "newest abomination," about to be cast out like all the others.
Tolraun carries it back to Zeneph: "Boy, what in the infernal hells is this?"
Zeneph: "I… Don't know but I was about to cast it out."
Tolraun's response is simple and devastating: "Have you no mercy at all for those you rule over, boy? Your people will hate you. I am disappointed in you."
This is Tolraun's gift: he sees value in what Zeneph discards. He protects the unwanted. He is the mercy Zeneph refuses to give.
"Zeneph, you must find her. You are drawn to her magic. I know it, because I feel it, too."
Tolraun knows Zeneph needs Akishka—not just as mate, but as stabilizing force. Her magic balances his chaos. Without her, his creations spiral out of control.
But Zeneph is bound to Zeneire, unable to leave while the sick remain undefended. Tolraun sees the trap: Zeneph cannot heal without Akishka, but cannot reach her while protecting his failures.
"Have you ever thought that maybe your brother isn't dead? Perhaps he received a different judgment than death!"
Tolraun knows Korriel lives. He knows the brothers are searching for each other across dimensional barriers, neither remembering the other's face. He knows their reunion is essential to healing the Bucklah.
But Zeneph won't hear it: "You will stop this nonsense! I MUST FIND KORRIEL!"
The irony: Zeneph searches desperately for his brother while commanding Tolraun not to tell him the truth about that search.
"The Leventars are killing the dragons with their sickness, boy. You should at very least send down some creature that is capable of curing it."
Tolraun understands what Zeneph refuses to see: the Leventars aren't inherently evil. They're malfunctioning because the Bucklah magic is dying. If Zeneph would just STUDY them instead of casting them out, he could fix the problem.
But Zeneph won't: "What part of this are you not understanding! I CAN NOT CONTROL THIS."
Tolraun knows the truth: Zeneph CAN'T control it because he won't admit he needs help.
"Life carries a very delicate balance. You cannot create things without consequences!"
This is Tolraun's core teaching, repeated throughout his challenges to Zeneph. It is the lesson Zeneph must learn, the truth that Lanora will eventually teach when she becomes Keeper of the River.
Creation requires:
Zeneph has none of these. Tolraun embodies all of them.
Despite everything—the dismissals, the commands to be silent, the frustration—Tolraun does not give up on Zeneph.
He paces. He challenges. He saves the deformed creatures. He tells uncomfortable truths. He reminds Zeneph about Korriel. He points toward Akishka.
Because Tolraun knows something Zeneph has forgotten: gods can learn.
And when Lanora ascends as Keeper of the River, when she finally teaches Zeneph the lessons Tolraun has been trying to impart for centuries, Tolraun will be there.
Not to say "I told you so."
But to say: "Finally. Now let's fix what you've broken."
⚡ Character Created by Sister ⚡
Integrated into Chronicles of Apocalyptica