Role

Chapter 7

Earliest in Kanlax' life, there were two major aspects to his personality.
The first was freedom in the sense that he never did anything he wasn't
comfortable with, and avoided taking any serious obligations upon himself.
The second was his inner conflict of nature vs. nurture: he never felt too
comfortable in the confines of civilization, but he also was brought up to
value its comforts and to depend upon its products to a degree.

These two aspects defined his behavior in multiple ways:
* Lawful behavior. This is a manifestation of the first aspect as much as
the second - because being wanted for a crime is an obligation! And in
Kanlax' eyes, it's a more straining obligation than abiding by the laws.
* Self-control. At the time, he used to be afraid of "becoming the beast".
While this is no longer the case, suppressing emotions has become second
nature to him, and he is uncomfortable with too much display of affection,
anger, contempt, lust or other strong feelings.
* Lack of direction. He sought to make his impact on the world in various
small ways rather than dedicating himself to a single grand purpose.

Over time, these behaviors evolved. He managed to remain savvy with both
civilized and wilderness folk, as well as many magi and battleragers.
Over time, he adopted a philosophy that no side is in the right, and that
none of them have the capacity to build a better Thera. He even questioned
the Fortress with the same - he's not against fighting evil, but singular
focus on destroying every being with red-aura does not a better world make.

That was the time when he found the Citadel (or rather, the Citadel found
him). That's when another aspect of his personality manifested in full: a
desire to teach. He's vehemently against imposing his views and opinions,
but he figures a teacher can give ground for people to form their own.

The traits developed over time, in ways both good and bad.

What has been merely lawfulness of convenience has taught him the value of
diplomacy and understanding other people's motives. What has been a habit
of self-control has evolved into impartiality and scholarly thinking. But
at the same time he feels he has "seen it all" and may often act jaded or
even cynical. Or find refuge in dark humor.

What has been a lack of direction has become versatility and variety of
endeavor. He made a fortune in money, won tournaments and wrote books,
defeated enemies and achieved unique status as a legend of the lands.
And as he gets older, so does grow his obsession with making something that
will last beyond his lifetime. In this, he may be missing the important
matter of simply enjoying life.