Zel
Zel is a complex and tragic lead character in The Metalwood Saga. He serves as the reluctant military commander and eventually the Warlord of Gulthurub, a crumbling stronghold of the human Remnant on Earth.
Unbeknownst to him for most of his life, Zel is actually a half-elf—the biological son of the brutish human warlord Relzeb and the ancient elven Prime Mage Cariel (who manipulates the Remnant under the aliases Segena and Magona). Gifted with the exceedingly rare magical Talent of gatesending, Zel is caught in a desperate internal struggle between the brutal expectations of his people and his own innate desire for peace and beauty. He ultimately sacrifices his life to save the elven archer Arra from his mother's wrath.
Appearance and Personality
Zel’s appearance reflects the tension between his harsh human upbringing and his hidden elven heritage. He is described as a handsome man with a "thick brown beard" and a "wide nose". His eyes are striking, noted by Phoenix as being a "piercing" hazel color, and by Arra as being "strangely golden". As a status symbol among the Remnant, he wears his dark hair in "proper jata form"—long dreadlocks that fall almost to his waist.
Physically, Zel is "tall and slim and muscular". However, compared to the hulking, brutish men of Gulthurub like his father Relzeb, Zel considers himself "small" with a "tiny" waist, and he frequently feels inadequate. Because of his half-elven genetics, he feels and appears slightly more feminine than the brusque humans around him, which remains a lifelong source of deep insecurity. He is typically seen wearing "tattered black" or coarse blue and brown clothing, and later dons "reclaimed armor" that clinks musically when he walks.
Personality-wise, Zel walks a fine line between desperation and command. He projects a swaggering, confident exterior to survive in Gulthurub, but internally he is emotionally raw, volatile, and prone to panic attacks and self-loathing. Despite the Remnant's hatred of elves, Zel possesses a soft heart and a yearning for beauty and "great deeds".
Biography
A Brutal Childhood
Zel was raised in the unforgiving environment of Gulthurub by his parents, Relzeb and Segena, both of whom despised his lack of brutishness. Relzeb viewed him as a "sissy" and a "runt," physically abusing him in an attempt to beat his gentler nature out of him.
His mother, Segena (secretly the ancient elf Cariel), was even crueler. When Zel was a teenager, he found a chest of ancient, silken, frilly pink clothes and put them on, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric. Segena caught him, viciously shamed him for acting like a "freak," dragged him into the street by his ear, and brutally whipped him in front of the entire town. This trauma deeply scarred Zel, forcing him to overcompensate by striving to become a hardened warrior.
The Warlord of Gulthurub
Years later, as the Remnant prepared for an all-out war against the elves of Sylrantheas, Zel utilized his rare gatesending magic to explore the Under of the sky city, New San Francisco. There, he stumbled into a brutal skirmish between Phoenix, Beam, and a gang of underkids. When the floor collapsed and trapped the group inside a secure Cothellon room (the huntroom), Zel opened a gate to escape back to his home. Desperate to flee the sky city, Phoenix, Beam, and Rylan jumped through Zel's gate right behind him, unwittingly delivering themselves directly into the Remnant stronghold of Gulthurub where Zel and Segena immediately took them prisoner.
To manipulate the Remnant forces and sideline Relzeb, Segena unexpectedly proclaimed Zel the new Warlord of Gulthurub, placing the burden of the elven war squarely on his shoulders. Desperate to prove his worth, Zel led the attack on the elves in the Presidio, using a mounted Gatling gun to kill dozens of elven Hunters. However, during the battle, he locked eyes with the elven archer Arra, instantly falling in love with her strength and grace, which severely complicated his loyalty to the Remnant cause.
The Bookstore
Overwhelmed by the pressures of command and Segena's manipulations, Zel used a gate to escape to the floating city of New San Francisco once again. Wandering the clean, orderly streets in a panic, he stumbled upon the human bookseller Trey (Tarathiel). Trey kindly welcomed the dirty Remnant warrior into his bookstore, showing him copies of fantasy novels like The Lord of the Rings. Reading a quote about Éowyn fearing a "cage" and desiring to do "great deeds," Zel realized he shared the exact same fear. Inspired by Trey's charity and the stories of noble elves, Zel resolved to be his own man and end the senseless war.
Rebellion and Sacrifice
Returning to the surface, Zel ordered his troops to stand down and bravely approached the elven lines to parley with Arra and her father, Silanar, offering to fight alongside the elves to stop Segena's machinations.
The fragile truce was shattered when Segena revealed her true identity as the immortal Prime Mage Cariel (and the god Magona). When Relzeb drew a gun and fired at Arra, Zel threw himself in the bullet's path, taking a grievous wound to the gut to save the elf he loved. Bleeding heavily, Zel wrestled his father to the ground.
Moments later, Cariel conjured a magical katana and viciously attacked Arra. Seeing that Arra was about to be overwhelmed, Zel used his darkprime willow to gate directly behind his mother, burying his knife deep into Cariel's back. Because Cariel was a Prime Mage, the wound did not kill her. Enraged by her son's ultimate betrayal, Cariel manifested a battle axe and buried it into Zel's neck, killing him instantly.
Though his life was cut short, Zel was remembered by his aide Jalnab as a great leader who ultimately saw the good in everyone and died trying to save the world from his mother's evil.
Powers and Abilities
- Gatesender (Dark Willow): Zel is one of the extremely rare humans capable of gatesending. By burning pieces of darkprime willow, he can create portals of swirling orange light to instantly travel vast distances. He often suffers from minor memory loss—a side effect of gatesickness—when passing through them.
- Swordsmanship: Trained to be a brutal Warlord, Zel is a highly capable physical combatant, wielding a massive, thick steel broadsword with enough skill and brute strength to hold off trained elven bladedancers and top Under assassins like Beam.
Key Relationships
- Cariel (Segena / Magona): His abusive mother. She views him as a disappointing, soft tool to be manipulated for her grand Plan. Zel fears her but ultimately defies her, plunging a knife into her back to stop her rampage.
- Relzeb: His father. Relzeb despises Zel for his "sissy" nature and half-elven traits, actively trying to beat the boy into a hardened killer.
- Arra: His primary inspiration and love interest. Zel falls for her the moment he sees her on the battlefield, viewing her as the beautiful, noble ideal he wishes he could be. He sacrifices his own life to shield her from gunfire and his mother's blade.
- Jalnab (John): His trusted aide and instruction mentor. Jalnab is one of the few Remnant who treats Zel with respect, trying to guide the young Warlord's chaotic emotions.
- Phoenix and Beam: Sky city fugitives whom he captures. He eventually forms a begrudging mutual respect with them, enlisting their aid to try and stop the war.
- Trey: A brief but life-changing encounter. Trey's kindness in the sky city bookstore proves to Zel that he doesn't have to be a monster, inspiring him to seek peace.