Plot:Fallen Graders

Fallen Graders
Date:	Dec 03, 2004 Sep 23, 2005
Status	Past
Location	Worldwide
Summary:	Karryasa and Zamfir Grader fall out of power. The Council of Thirteen is formed

Deaths

• Thoren Jumakh was found partially eaten by several Freshwater Kuenum. He was found to have been poisoned by Paupfaedhs, which caused him to initially sink and drown.
• Jecht Savarally was found dismembered at Janardan Academy.
• Karryasa Grader's body was never found. She disappeared while investigating the case at the Janardan Academy. She is assumed deceased.
• Zamfir Grader died of a "broken heart," assumed to be a result of his intense grief.

Timeline of Events

81380

• The Council of Thirteen is formed.
• Zamfir Grader is Dead The body of Zamfir Grader is found. It is determined that he "died of a broken heart" after grieving for his lost wife. (Mid Mia 23)

81379

• A public trial is held. Kakosenas is found not guilty due to lack of concrete evidence; Riot is dismissed. Both are released and given a settlement.
• Savage Attack on Koani Grader An attempt on Koani Grader's life is made. The assailant, Riot, is arrested. (Early Dyo 38)
• Koani captured Karryasa's alleged killer, Kakosenas Shriker, and sentenced her without a fair trial.
• Koani Grader attempts to rule in her parent's stead.
• Zamfir Grader was hospitalized due to self-injury.
• Pendragons Shocked at Magosai's Disappearance Karryasa Grader was swallowed up by the Nothing, and assumed to be deceased. There were two eye witnesses: Ramix Sun and Kakosenas Shriker. (Mid Mia 40)
• Karryasa Grader dismisses a special USR operations team and investigates the murders at Janardan herself.
• Several strange murders (Jecht Savarally and Thoren Jumakh), centred around student dismemberment, start occurring in and around the Janardan Academy. It was spun by the media as "gang-related" activity and is kept fairly quiet.

What Really Happened

For the past ~30 Ramathian years, Zamfir and Karryasa Grader have been ruling the planet Ramath-lehi as a co-dictatorship. They weren't "bad" leaders, but they also weren't exceptionally "good" ones. Despite questionable actions over the years, they continued to do enough good things so as to outweigh the bad. There were uprisings against them, countless assassination attempts (all thwarted and easily avoided), yet miraculously, no one could shake their iron grip on the planet. So continue to rule they did. Pendragons started to believe that they were invincible / god-like / omniscient. Until a strange murder happens at the Janardan Academy. A student (Jecht Savarally ) is found in the hallway... quite uh, dismembered. The incident is quickly made hush-hush. The Grader's personal secretaries are notified and a team is constructed to investigate. Karryasa dismisses the team, and she herself (strangely) picks up the case. She brings along Ramix Sun (a member of the Council of Twelve).

Karryasa intuitively picks up the trail of the killer which leads to a confrontation. Karryasa Grader goes missing. We learn from Zamfir Grader that something terrible has happened. Either on purpose, or by some fluke of Dark Sorcery, Karryasa's physical form was sucked into a hole to the Nothing. Zamfir, although not with her at the time, had tried to save her. Their mental bond was strong, but not strong enough. What ended up happening was a tearing. Karryasa's physical self was devoured entirely by the Nothing. Her mind however, was split in two. One half of it followed her body, the other half, which Zamfir managed to hold onto, drifted off somewhere else (thought to be perhaps in Fronima). So what happens? Zamfir freaks out pretty much. He's failed Karryasa. Naturally, he's very upset.

" It was Dark Sorcery. I felt her pain. I felt her fighting. I tried to hold onto her. It... it ripped me - us - in two.  "

-- Zamfir Grader, on the loss of his wife.

Koani Grader, his eldest daughter, seems to simply swoop in (without even having to be notified about the disastrous event) to take care of him and other matters at hand which everyone else is in a panic. Which is a little queer, since before this, she was a bit of an "unknown." Her temporary insertion into Zamfir's seat of power is so seamless and professional though, that few stop to argue about it. So she starts taking over all of Zamfir's duties while giving him time to rest and hopefully recover from his mental illness. Now Koani has been known to drink every now and then. Alcohol is really the only substance that can actually affect her (she has a queer metabolism because of her genetic/Lukuo makeup). So one day, after finishing a meeting via mental uplink, she's hanging out in a bar. She meets Riot Stormwing. The two of them joke, and seem to really hit it off (unbeknownst to Riot that she is actually talking to Koani Grader). Things are okay until they start to get heavier into the drinking...

Riot tells Koani something that she was supposed to keep a secret: Riot's friend Kakosenas Shriker was responsible for the death of Karryasa Grader. Koani sort of has one of these moments: O_O;;;!1eleven Koani prods Riot for some more information about her "friend," makes sure that anything else that Riot wants to drink is on her tab, then hastily takes off. Koani takes this information and orders the arrest of Kakosenas Shriker. They catch her without too much incident and toss her into the Krokino Prison in the Tmu Desert. Without a trial, mind you. Riot soon finds out that the pendragon she'd been talking to at the bar was Koani Grader, and her friend has been "unfairly imprisoned" because of her. She is pissed. Like, really pissed. Riot starts to "research" Koani. Eventually she tracks her down and Riot, Koani, and her three bodyguards have a showdown. In short, Riot manages to thwart the guards and quite successfully beat the shit out of Koani. So, Riot gets arrested. Coincidentally, she gets tossed into the same cell as Kakosenas.

The two of them spend two weeks or so in prison. By that time there was enough media intervention to actually force a trial to occur. So it's Stormwing vs. Grader. Koani doesn't hire a lawyer and chooses to represent herself. The judge rule in favour of Riot. Koani winds up having to pay both Riot and Kakosenas a substantial amount as a settlement. To put it lightly, Koani is not at all impressed. So some time passes. Koani has Kakosenas trailed for some time, wanting to catch the "Swampland Shriker" in the act so that she'd have a reason to toss her in jail again. I mean, really, what would you do if you knew your own Mother's killer was on the loose? Eventually she figures it's hopeless for the time being; her trailers can't come up with anything so she calls them off. Riot in the meanwhile is living life to its fullest. She buys a house, but still keeps her dormitory at Janardan. Radin Dragyn, and Cayson Lapices, two "popular" ardens, end up moving into her dormitory with her. Now, Cayson has a bit of a secret. Cayson's adoptive Mom is Jaceen Lapices, a teacher at Janardan. However, his real Mom is Koani Grader. Cayson later finds himself seriously crushing on Riot, but feels pretty horrible about it. I mean, she beat up his Mom, so shouldn't he hate her for that?

Eventually Cayson shares his secret with Riot, and all seems to go over well. Sometime later, the two of them become a couple. Koani has been pretty much kept in the dark concerning her son's relationship. They really aren't that "close." So imagine her surprise when... WTF JACEEN, CAYSON, AND RIOT show up on her doorstep (She had previously invited Cayson and Jaceen over to her place to spend the night). Yeah, so... she isn't impressed. Not at all. She ends up playing hostess for a little bit before politely excusing herself. Just to have a little freak out session. When Koani returns home, much, much, later... we learn something sad. Zamfir Grader has passed away. Apparently he died from a heart attack (Ooh, Zammikins, I will miss you). However, Zamfir's death isn't as simple as that. Koani later reveals to Riot that it was she who caused Zamfir's heart attack (well, Riot sort of guesses).

Yeah, patricide. Koani didn't want to see her Father suffer any more, so she poisoned him.

Major Characters

• Karryasa Grader (Arch Magosai) - Zamfir's mate; rather maimed/torn in appearance; a very renown seer; seen as the "head" of the Grader operation; thought to have Zamfir under a spell to "use" him
• Zamfir Grader (Arch Magos) - Karryasa's mate; deeply into politics; known more so for his "presence"; very adept with elemental magic and "shadier" things; all of his magic has a signature aqua colour, typical of a Grader
• Koani Grader - Eldest daughter of Karryasa and Zamfir; widow; somewhat of a seer, but not nearly as good as her mother; appeared to crawl out of the woodwork when turmoil hit the Grader family; has had dealings with rapine in the past
• Kakosenas Shriker - Alleged murderer of Karryasa; the catalyst
• Riot Stormwing - Took justice into her own hands (beat the shit out of Koani for not giving Kakosenas a fair trial.)

Minor Characters

• Sari Zeb - Arch Magosai before the Grader reign; mated to Arch Magos Thanos Dragyn; died in a "suspicious" machina explosion; was an exceptional seer; rumoured to speak to Karryasa Grader in her dreams; another catalyst
• Vythe Vidallyn - Grader's Head of Security; Koani's personal bodyguard; actually happens to have a "thing" for Koani that isn't really mutual
• Codat - A Grader bodyguard; USR trained; not too much "real" experience under his belt just yet; took a bullet through the hand from Riot during the showdown at the Rloa Kumiym
• Szambel - Another Grader bodyguard; USR trained
• Radin Dragyn - Cayson's most bestest best friend in the entire universe; son of Ratharee and Lorax Dragyn; comes from a very, very large family; okay, so maybe he's not crucial to the plot, but he's so goddamn cute
• Lakmir Grader - Zamfir's younger brother; Koani's uncle; "rightful" heir to the Grader reign; was skillfully manipulated by Koani Grader for her own personal gain
• Jaceen Lapices - Really just tossed in the plot to give Koani added trouble; Saber's sister; Cayson's "adoptive" mother; is very, very mistrustful of Koani
• Sabre Lapices - Koani's late husband; Cayson's father; was murdered by a rapine on planet Candrice IV; some believe that Koani killed him though
• Ramix Sun - Council of Twelve member; into inventing / troubleshooting; the Sun's are one of the "founding" families of the Council with a lineage that can be traced far, far, back; a very royal bloodline
• Jecht Savarally - The student that was found dismembered at the Janardan Academy.
• Thoren Jumakh - A character who perished during a cult initiation because of "Paupfaedhs, a legendary powder that causes the drinker to sink when they hit water." He was eaten by a Kuenym.