Fiction:Iyoka Quista

"Do not mistake me for Ada-worshipping filth. I keep my troops in line through discipline, not some promise of religious salvation. Do I believe in an afterlife? Philosophic evidence would make it seem likely. But do I believe Ada is an omnipotent god? The answer is an unwavering "no". Sure, he created the Volver, but there is nothing special about the creation of life. I see it happen everyday. In the breeding facilities of my Splinter, in the laboratories of my allies, at the base of the monstrous Glacier. The afterlife is nothing more than a means to an end, one that I will exploit to the fullest."

- Iyoka Quista

Iyoka Quista the Impaler is a rebel Volver who leads the violent and amoral Crimson Splinter faction, and a former friend and advisor to Crimson, the founder of the Volver rebellions. An experienced and intelligent commander, Quista is a known war criminal, even rising to the wanted level as such abominations as Glacier, Solid, Lorka Gredyc, and Pridar'Valicar.

Early Life
Iyoka was born to wealthy parents in the rural areas of Ascon. He lived in a huge castle with every accommodation. Quista was not a spoiled child. His father trained his vigorously in every combat skill he could think of, and his mother taught him history, religion, science, and other knowledge that he absorbed quickly. His role in the household was that of a servant. Iyoka's father believed that, despite their aristocrat status, that they should uphold several customs of ancient Volver culture.

His skills first came into prominence when a burglar broke into his castle at night. Despite being completely unarmed and unarmored, Iyoka dispatched the burglar without effort. Because of this, his father decided to try and get him to become a Knight. Iyoka quickly agreed to his father's suggestion, eager to prove his skills to the rest of the community.

Knight Training
Iyoka trained hard at the academy, being a master swordsman and marksman. He quickly impressed both his teachers and his fellow pupils. His teachers considered him a prodigy, near the level of famous Volver like Anthil Agna and King Glynnorious. He had one problem, though. His beliefs in the old Volver traditions made him stand out and be ostracized by most of his peers. Iyoka frequently ran his mouth about his beliefs at all the wrong times, and he eventually became separated from most everyone else at the academy. Except for one.

Iyoka knew who he was, of course, but he never really talked to him. Until he approached Iyoka at mealtime. The first line he spoke to Iyoka was "I agree with your beliefs." This man's name...was Reathee Desaa. The two spoke frequently, discovering that they had much in common. They both believed that the Volver were a "master race" of sorts due to their adaptions, and that they should not ally with other races; rather, they should dominate them, leaving only other superior races to stand alongside the mighty Volver. The two both swore that, given the chance, they would take over the Empire.

Iyoka graduated from the academy shortly after the War of Tyris Major. He heard the news of the battles, seen images and videos from the battlefield. He was impressed with the enemy, except the Antroths. Iyoka believed the Antroths to be inferior beings to be wiped from the galaxy. He saw potential in Unitech, seeing the fusion of multiple advantageous things into one as a great concept. He saw the Biskin as the enemy, but also believed that they might make good allies. His mentality towards the Infectants was similar. After he graduated, he was assigned to the same squad as Reathee. He was pleased by this for two reasons. He was happy to have someone he trusted by his side, as Reathee was probably his only friend. The second reason was so that they could continue their plotting in secret...

Nebulorian-Alpha War
A new threat soon arose to challenge the Volver Empire. An extradimensional race known as the Nebulorians. They attacked Ascon without warning. Iyoka took to a fighter to attack the Nebulorian ships. He found that his weapons could not penetrate the Nebulorian shields, so he landed to fight the enemy ground troops. He fought the Nebulorians on-foot and killed quite a few of them, giving many civilians the chance to reach underground shelters, where they would be safe from the Nebulorian airstrikes. Iyoka was slightly injured by a nearby airstrike explosion, but continued to fight to the best of his ability until they were repelled.

Iyoka recovered quickly from his injuries and was praised for his bravery, but also berated for his disobeyal of orders. For the remainder of the war, he fought under the close supervision of his superiors. He joined in on the final battle alongside Reathee, fighting right through the Nebulorians themselves, rather than the Dead Watchers or Unitech. He witnessed the Dark One arrive and battle Ne'yon, impressed with his power. When Glynnorious sacrificed himself to destroy Ne'yon and the Spear of Apocalypse, Iyoka was as disgusted as his ally Reathee was. A Volver sacrificing himself for "the good of the galaxy"? Why could another, non-Volver, participant of the battle have done it, since they all were so desperate to stop the Spear's firing? Still, Iyoka rejoiced that the Nebulorian threat to his plans was ended, but also that Glynnorious was dead, leaving the position of ruler that much closer to Iyoka and Reathee's. Still, Iyoka knew victory was far from the pair's reach. But not for long...

Second Infectant War
When the Second Infectant War rolled around, the first target was Ascon. The Infectants besieged the Volver palace in an attempt to kill King Brygon. Iyoka fought the Infectants off with all his power, but refrained from attacking Omega, seeing him as a potential ally in the future. Like his friend Reathee, he also believed that Brygon was too inexperienced to lead an empire. He also realized something important: Brygon had no heirs or relatives, leaving open the possibility of either himself or Reathee taking over in he was killed.

After the Infectants were repelled from Ascon, Iyoka went to see Reathee. He informed him of his realization, and the two started forming a plan. They knew that Brygon would take the fight to Floo, and that he would fight directly to defeat Omega. The two agreed that they would try their best to get Brygon killed without directly revealing their betrayal, agreeing that they would not succeed if they openly revealed themselves as traitors.

During the final battle on Floo, Iyoka went in in the first wave alongside Reathee. They intentionally avoided Brygon and kept their troops away from him, leaving him cut off from some support. They also rerouted reinforcements to various other battlefields, attempting to get Brygon outnumbered. Their efforts were futile, however, and were forced to flee when Hive-mind revealed herself.

Iyoka participated in the fight when Hive-mind and the Meeno Grox attacked the UFG headquarters. He slaughtered the Meeno troops, the limited-minded cyborgs little match for him. He witnessed Hive-mind destroyed and was pleased, but was angered to find out that Brygon had survived the battle. Afterwards, he was commended for his battlefield experience and promoted to Knight Captain. He would then report back to Reathee and reported his failure. He asked what their next move would be. Reathee simply said "We overthrow the empire."

Second Ascon Civil War
Iyoka was a bit surprised by Reathee's declaration of such direct action, but was happy they could finally do it their way. He was instrumental in gathering followers, as well as contacting Solid of the Unitech Citadel to meet with Reathee, who began calling himself "Crimson". Remembering his theory about killing Brygon by "accident" and not revealing themselves as traitors, he gave Crimson the idea to launch failed assassinations against members of the UFG and WAOS to make it seem as though the Volver Empire itself had betrayed the UFG. He did not participate in the assassinations. Later, once the Dead Watchers, Gigapedus Dominion and Unitech had joined his and Crimson's cause, they launched their attack on Ascon.

Victory was quickly obtained, with Iyoka, Crimson, and Solid personally taking over the palace. As Crimson made announcements of his control to the empire, he thought his victory was assured. Iyoka, however, was less convinced, and warned Crimson that the UFG would not give up so easily, and that they would be coming for them. Crimson felt invincible behind the Gigapedus blockade and Unitech and Dead Watcher support on the ground. Still, Iyoka knew victory was not yet completely obtained, and rallied the Knights of Ascon.

Iyoka was correct, as a large UFG force invaded Ascon, bypassing the Gigapedus blockade, who were busy fighting a Centapedus fleet also trying to help retake Ascon. As Unitech attempted to hold the UFG fleet back, Iyoka fought their forces on the ground. He successfully killed a large number of enemy soldiers, as his physical durability and Nebulorian-class armor allowed him to withstand rounds from a tank. While Dead Watcher Wraiths held off King Lavern, Iyoka began to believe that Crimson was right about victory being assured.

However, a mysterious black-armored Volver Knight arrived and attacked the Separatists, quickly defeating all of the Asconian Knights in the immediate area around the palace. Iyoka clashed with him, being the only Separatist able to take him on directly. Despite a brutal swordfight, Iyoka was eventually forced to retreat. He was enraged at this, but knew a lost cause when he saw one. Not one to waste lives and resources when he didn't have to, he called a retreat. He later met up with his other allies, discovering that Crimson had lost an arm to the Dark Knight. Worried about his friend's condition, he swore to kill the Knight, as did most of his allies. Lorka Gredyc of the Dead Watchers then proposed that they retrieve ancient Enlightened One artifacts to use against their enemies. Iyoka supported this, and the group departed.

Enlightenment War
Iyoka traveled to the asteroid-ship belonging to the Proditkar Movement with the rest of the separatists and retrieved a device called a marker. He witnessed the resurrection of the Biskin at the Unitech Citadel. Despite the Volver and Biskin being enemies, and Ziskin and Crimson hating each other, Iyoka didn't have anything against the Biskin and considered Ziskin to be yet another ally to his cause. Ziskin was generally unfriendly to Iyoka, due to his past with the Volver and believing they killed his grandfather. Iyoka told him that the Volver of the present day had nothing to do with his grandfather's murder. Ziskin saw the logic in this, but told him that it was too late to back down now because they were already at war.

Later, Iyoka and Crimson realized that they lost the Civil War because their men were too weak. Iyoka gave Crimson the idea to use the marker to resurrect the Volver Braves of old, as they were much stronger than Volver of the present day. They cloned back the Braves just in time to follow Lorka Gredyc to an assault on his homeworld of Ugandalore. Iyoka was happy to fight in the battle against the UFG, but was angered at having to work with the Alpha Cyber Collective. He landed with waves of Biskin, Volver Braves, Unitech synths, Dead Watchers, and Bio-Morphlings, assaulting the capital of Ugandalore directly. He successfully cut down several Volver Knights and Ugandalorian Ultra Commandos. However, the Black Knight showed up again, injuring Ziskin and Crimson, and killing most of the Volver Braves. Iyoka did not fight him. Rather, he went to another area of the battlefield to engage the Waptoria Alliance of Species. He and his forces proved more than a match for the all-organic Waptoria army.

Then, the Alpha Cyber Collective and Brotherhood of Darklings betrayed each other, leaving the battle a free-for-all. Iyoka took his forces to fight the Zarbania Powers, helping to push them off-planet. Then a huge ship rose from the sea. Iyoka's Dead Watcher allies had awakened the long-thought-extinct Enlightened Ones. Lorka and a Unitech strike team went to take out the ship, but were brainwashed by an Enlightened One rebel group known as the Proditkar Movement. All separatist troops were recalled to the Proditkar asteroid-ship. Iyoka went with them and quickly agreed to join, seeing them as a great way to advance the Volver rebels. He then found out that Crimson, his closest friend, had been killed. Iyoka was enraged. He told Proditkar leader Pridar'Valicar "I'm going to kill whoever killed Reathee. I swear it. So if you help me achieve that, I will join you unquestionably." Pridar agreed, and Iyoka pledged himself to the cause.

Then the time came for the Proditkar to attack Ugandalore directly. Iyoka dropped down with Marauder tribesman, Unitech troops, and troops of a Brotherhood of Spode rebel group, the Circle of Sins. He fought savagely against the UFG troops, but the Proditkar were eventually defeated and forced to retreat. Afterward, the Volver called Bishop informed the Proditkar that the UFG was planning to attack the Kashriinox homestation. The Proditkar highlords went off to fight them, leaving all their servants behind. Later, the separatists discovered that the Highlords had been captured. Iyoka couldn't care less. All he knew was that the separatists were now in control of the Proditkar Movement. He then helped reorganize the Movement with the others. Later, he would attend the Ruin's Hand (the reorganized Dead Watchers) funeral for Crimson.

Year One
As conflicts began popping up throughout Mirus, Iyoka became aware of a new Volver rebel faction: the Blood Knights, led by none other than Anthil Agna. Realizing Anthil would likely have him killed if he didn't submit, Iyoka took his remaining troops and joined Anthil. He assisted him in many of his plans, including providing personnel for Anthil's assassination mission against Lavern. He was also instrumental in keeping Anthil preoccupied with other matters so as to prevent him from trying to kill King Ziskin.

Eventually, the Blood Knights were approached by Solid and Lorka, asking for their allegiance. Anthil refused until they promised to help him build a portal that would bring Ada into the Alpha dimension. Iyoka was horrified and enraged. He swore on his life that he would never see the day when Ada returned, but would see Anthil's head on a stake.

To be continued

Year Two
After the Proditkar rescued Iyoka, his troops, the Living Blood King, and the rest of the Blood Knights who chose to accept the Proditkar's help, he took his troops into hiding and reorganized the remaining Knights into a group he called the Crimson Splinter. With the assistance of Lorka Gredyc, he turned the Splinter into a force that could directly challenge the Volver Empire.

Later, he learned of a rebel Vanara called Anthrax wanting to join the Movement. Iyoka realized that he could use him in a new plan of his, to cross Vanara and Volver into a new breed of shock troops. Anthrax agreed to assist him in the matter.

Personality
Iyoka is considered evil by many, but not unstable. He suffers no psychopathic effects whatsoever, and is a genius on and off the battlefield. He has no morals and next to no pride, unlike most Volver. He is single-mindedly driven toward his goals, and will let nothing stand in his way. Iyoka is a brutal fighter, using his teeth and claws just as much as his weapons. He enjoys fighting and bloodshed, and is always eager for battle. He has an immense hatred of Xizothano Ada, a burning fury that cannot be expressed in words. He's willing to throw aside everything, even work with the UAE, to take him out. This is because Ada killed his friend Reathee Desaa, and later brought him back as one of his soldiers. Iyoka will stop at nothing to both avenge his friend and try to bring him back to life. Iyoka is also stubborn, and can refuse to accept things he doesn't want to.

Abilities
Iyoka is bigger than your standard Volver. He comes from a very tiny clan that put physical strength above everything else. Iyoka's clan also practiced selective breeding. They executed the weak, and the strongest Volver was allowed to breed with anyone they chose. As a result, Iyoka is very big and strong, about the same strength as the ancient Volver Braves. Since his ancestors were pure Volver, with no alien genes in their bloodline, Iyoka has every Volver ability, like poison and wings. He has knowledge of every Volver fighting style currently known, and has excellent skill with most Volver weapons. He has lighting fast reflexes and great speed despite his large size. Iyoka is also extremely smart, having been taught by his mother everything she could find to teach him. Since then, Iyoka has kept up the tradition of learning all he can. However, he was never well known due to both his small clan and the fact that much of his knowledge was either forbidden or learned after he rebelled. He has also picked up fighting skills from several other factions, like Unitech, Ruin's Hand, and even the Biskin.

Weapons and Equipment
Iyoka carries a variety of weapons and utilizes several types of technology. He always has his gear ready for use in case of an emergency, and maintains his equipment to the highest standard.


 * Alphorium Broadsword: Iyoka's primary melee weapon is a large broadsword made of Asconium, a very durable metal found only on Ascon. The sword has been passed on throughout Iyoka's clan bloodline. Iyoka is strong and skilled enough to wield the weapon, which is almost as long as he is, with one hand.


 * Shattorium Shortsword: Given to him by Crimson from his personal stash of Nebulorian technology, the Shattorium Shortsword is a blade of Nebulorian technology capable of cutting through a diamond. Iyoka can wield this three-foot blade with most of his other weapons.


 * False Alphorium Blade: Iyoka wields a blade developed by the Blood Knights that replicates the properties of Alphorium, including it's essence-swapping abilities. Though slightly less durable, it is still very deadly to non-Volver.


 * Abyssal Daggers: High-quality daggers completely impenetrable to essence attacks. Iyoka is a skilled thrower and close-range fighter. He often wields one in a reverse-hold while using another of his blades for quick and devastating combo attacks.


 * Venom Tailblade: Iyoka has a very large, curved blade attached to the tip of his tail, under his poison bulb. It is highly venomous: non-Volver are dead in minutes. Volver can be affected, but not as severely. Iyoka is very good with the blade, able to use spin attacks and swing it over his shoulder.


 * Volver-class Assault Rifle: Iyoka wields a standard Volver assault rifle that he has modified with Nyarquaeshian technology. It has a greatly increased magazine size, rate of fire, and accuracy. It's abyssal tech upgrades allow it to blow through most matter.


 * Plasma Pistol: Iyoka's sidearm, his plasma pistol can destroy most organic material, shut down shields, and melt through most metals. It also can fire a net of energy to immobilize targets.


 * Crimson Impaler Armor: Iyoka's special armor, it is known to be one of the most powerful Volver sets of armor ever made. It has both asconium and shattorium plating, internal shock absorbers, heavy energy shields, and later, plaganium shielding. He can withstand rounds from capital ships with his armor fully powered up.

Allies
"Friends. Hmm. An interesting concept."
 * Crimson - "The one who understood me the most. I will not stop until you return to this world."
 * Lorka Gredyc - "One of my closest allies and supporters. Surprising given that I fought against his forces during my early military career."
 * Solid - "Same for him."
 * Glacier - "He's a useful being, no matter what others think."

Liked
"Beings ranging from useful to cannon fodder."
 * Koschey the Deathless - "We have somewhat similar ideals, though our methods are very different."
 * Anthrax - "Vanara rebel. He may prove useful to my goals."
 * Ghetsin - "He kind of reminds me of Reathee..."
 * Maccasin - "A powerful warrior, but with a lot to learn."
 * Shiver - "Hypnotism? A very good skill to have."
 * Morg - "A smart lad, though I don't know him very well."
 * King Ziskin - "We have the same foes."

Neutral

 * Kadnig Zeleke - "We'll see about you."
 * Pridar'Valicar - "Your classic megalomaniac."
 * Dark Hunter - "A demonic creature that I may find a use for."
 * Krianus - "One of the few members of his kind with any real potential."
 * Omega - "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
 * Beta - "Same goes for this guy."

Disliked
"Your destruction is imminent."
 * Ne'yon - "An inferior being who belives himself to be superior."
 * Hive-mind - "Bitch servant of Ada, though her spawn may prove useful."
 * Dark One - "Your kind may prove useful, but you yourself are a threat to my plans."
 * Krad - "You are primitive."

Quotes From Others
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