In 425, Rudeus and Eris Boreas Greyrat fought Dragon God Orsted in a forest on the outskirts of Sharia. The reason for the battle is unknown, but some theorize that Dragon God Orsted meant harm to Ariel Anemoi Asura, and Rudeus was acting to protect her. After this battle, Eris Boreas Greyrat became his third wife. In the same year, Rudeus fought in the Asuran civil war on the side of Ariel Anemoi Asura. He did battle with North Emperor Auber Corbet, North King Wi Taa, and Water God Reida and defeated them, for which he was called the architect of Ariel Anemoi Asura’s ascension to the throne.
Rudeus established Ruquag’s Mercenary Band in the Magic City of Sharia in 427. Though he took the role of chairman, he is believed to have delegated all actual running of the company to his younger sister Aisha.
In his twentieth year, he and Zanoba Shirone allied themselves with Pax Shirone to fight in the Shirone Kingdom’s war of defense. They engaged the enemy force from the north at Fort Karon. Rudeus is said to have killed over ten thousand people in this battle. Following his graduation from the Magic University in 429, he journeyed to the Holy Country of Millis with Cliff Grimor.
While there is no detailed account of that time, he is believed to have applied himself to deepening his friendship with the Blessed Child, as well as to appointing Cliff Grimor to a position of importance in the Millis Church.
In 430, he fought alongside Dragon God Orsted in the Biheiril Kingdom. In the course of that battle, he overcame North God Kalman III and so became one of the Seven Great Powers.
YEARS IN THE SEVEN GREAT POWERS
Following his ascension to the Seven Great Powers, Rudeus ceases to appear at the center of events. This may account for why, in the present, he enjoys less recognition than other great names of the same generation: Silent Sevenstar, the Witch Nanahoshi who stepped into the spotlight more or less as Rudeus stepped out, and Roxy M. Greyrat, who later became headmistress of the Magic University. Both are more widely known.
Because of this, few are aware that he was one of the Seven Great Powers. It has been proposed that Rudeus died in the Biheiril Battle, and the one who appeared afterward was a body double, or that it was only a name. As records remain of his involvement in the establishment of Ariel National University, these theories can be immediately discounted.
It is unknown what Rudeus was trying to achieve by stepping out of the public eye. Sources indicate that, as a follower of the Dragon God, he enjoyed the friendship of figurine maker and president of the Doll Making Company Zanoba Shirone, Pope Cliff Grimor of the Millis Church, the Blessed Child of the Millis Church, Queen Ariel Anemoi Asura of Asura, Death God Randolph of the King Dragon Kingdom, the Doldias of the Great Forest, and Immortal Demon King Atofe of the Demon Continent. It is believed that he was attempting to bring the world under one banner in preparation for the resurrection of Laplace eighty years hence.
Other sources call him a paragon of wickedness who resurrected the forbidden teleportation circles as part of a plot to use their expediency to achieve world domination.
DEATH
Rudeus’s wife, Sylphiette Greyrat, announced his death from old age in 481. He passed away peacefully in his bed at the age of seventy-four. An extraordinary five thousand people came rushing in to attend his funeral. Also present, after disappearing even more completely than all but Rudeus himself, was Dragon God Orsted.
Equipment
Magicians usually bear a staff and favor suppression attacks at long range. Rudeus, however, engaged in close range combat.
AQUA HEARTIA
A staff given to him by the Boreas family on his tenth birthday. It was made from the arm of an Elder Treant, native to the eastern reaches of the Great Forest on the Millis Continent. Its magic stone was an ultramarine blue water stone, an A-rank item from a wandering Sea Dragon in the north of the Begaritt Continent.
The staff was made by Rod Director Chein Procyon. Although extremely powerful, Rudeus ceased to use it after the completion of the Magic Armor (see below).
MAGIC ARMOR VERSION ONE
A prototype set of magic armor crafted with the assistance of Zanoba Shirone and Cliff Grimor. It stood around three meters tall. A Stone Cannon Gatling gun was mounted on its right arm and it bore a shield and stone of absorption in the left. While it consumed vast amounts of mana, it is believed to have possessed offensive and defensive capabilities on a level with the Seven Great Powers. Rudeus built it to fight Dragon God Orsted, then continued to make use of it after allying with his would-be enemy. However, it was destroyed by the Fighting God in the Battle of Biheiril.
MAGIC ARMOR VERSION TWO
A jet-black set of armor composed of arm, leg, and body parts. A detuned model of the Version One. This armor gives the wearer the abilities of a Saint-tier sword fighter.
MAGIC ARMOR VERSION ZERO
Rudeus’s ultimate weapon that was used in the Battle of Biheiril. Details unknown.
MAGIC ARMOR VERSION THREE
The Magic Armor used by Rudeus in his later years. Standing around two meters tall, it possessed the same functionality as the Version One. The General Purpose Magic Armor Series that came later is said to have been based on the Version Three.
STONE CANNON GATLING GUN
A bundle of staff-type magical implements that fire stone cannons without regard for mana expenditure. When activated, the Gatling gun fires off stone cannons at a tremendous rate, consuming so much mana that any ordinary person would be drained to zero in moments. It was created by Magical Implement Director Jacqueline of the Ranoa Kingdom.
STONE CANNON SHOTGUN
A version of the Gatling gun above configured to shoot twelve times in a single burst. It was created by Magical Implement Director Jacqueline of the Ranoa Kingdom.
PAUL’S SWORD
A magic item that cuts better the harder its target. This is the most famous of Paul’s swords, though as an adventurer, he favored a different weapon.
Spells
Rudeus was proficient in all schools of magic. As one might guess from the name Quagmire, he particularly favored earth and water magic.
Rudeus is said to have utilized a wide range of spells depending on his opponent, so here I shall list the most common ones.