Zafir Callas

B a c k g r o u n d
Zafir has dedicated his life to not only the blade but
every other manner of weapon one can think of. In many
ways, it is he and not the blade he carries that is the real
weapon. Now that he is a little older, he feels privileged
to have trained the noble children of the ruler of his
House. He has been their teacher in the ways of combat
and strategy for most of their lives, and has become
something of a big brother to them. While the time has
come to let them make their own decisions, he will never
leave their side or forget his oath to protect them.

DRIVE - STATEMENT
Duty: 7 - People are the true strength of a Noble House.
FAITH: 4
JUSTICE: 6 - I will get revenge on those who wrong me.
POWER: 8 - The ability to destroy a thing is the key to controlling it.
TRUTH: 5

SKILL - Focuses
BATTLE: 6 - Dueling
COMMUNICATE: 5
DISCIPLINE: 4
MOVE: 7 Pilot, Stealth
UNDERSTAND: 6 - Danger Sense

TALENTS
DECISIVE ACTION
You take risks in combat, often ones that seem foolhardy or needless. You have a knack for making those gambles pay off.
In a conflict, when you succeed at a Battle test to remove an opponent’s assets, and you bought one or more dice by generating Threat, you may spend 2 points of Momentum to remove a second
enemy asset.
DEDICATION
Your commitment to a cause is unwavering, and this has carried you through many a tough situation.
At the start of a scene, if there is no Momentum in the group pool, roll 1d20. If you roll equal to or less than your Discipline score, add 1 to the group Momentum pool.
FIND TROUBLE
You know where to find the criminal element wherever you go.
Wherever you are, once per adventure, you can always contact the criminal underworld or black market (as long as there is one in that area). This doesn’t mean they will be well disposed toward you, just that you can find a contact.
ASSETS
A fighting Kindjal (short blade):
that once – so it is said – killed a Sardaukar.

Secrets:
Zafir Callas was not born into greatness—he was forged into it.

He was the son of a weapons instructor who believed mastery was mercy. As a child, Zafir was taught that hesitation cost lives, and that emotion was a liability in the moment a blade was drawn. His early years were not cruel, but they were unforgiving. Bruises were lessons. Failure was repetition.

But Zafir’s talent quickly outgrew his teacher.

By adolescence, he was defeating grown fighters. By early adulthood, he was sent beyond House Nagara to study under off-world masters—duelists, assassins, and battlefield tacticians. He didn’t just learn weapons; he learned people: how they move, how they lie, how they break.

That’s where the whispers began.

⸻

The Sardaukar Duel (The Truth Behind the Legend)

The Kindjal he carries—the one said to have killed a Sardaukar—is both truth and myth.

Zafir did face one.

But it was not a clean duel. It was a covert assignment. A test, perhaps even a setup. The Sardaukar was already wounded, already hunted—but still terrifyingly lethal.

Zafir survived. Barely.

He killed the Sardaukar not through superior strength, but through something he rarely admits even to himself: fear. Not cowardice—but the raw, desperate instinct to live. He fought dirty. He adapted. He did what “honorable” fighters would not.

And that truth haunts him.

The Kindjal is a reminder—not of victory, but of the line he crossed.

⸻

The Noble Children

Training the ruler’s children changed him more than any battlefield.

At first, it was duty. Then it became something else.

He saw in them what he never had: choice, curiosity, even softness. They challenged him—not in combat, but in belief. They asked why things were done a certain way.

He didn’t have answers.

Over time, Zafir became more than their instructor. He became their shield—not just physically, but politically. He has quietly intervened in court intrigue, redirected threats, and even taken blame for actions that would have damaged them.

There are rumors that at least one of the nobles trusts him more than their own blood.

That is dangerous.

⸻

Internal Conflict

Zafir lives between two opposing truths:
• He believes in honor
• He knows honor alone gets people killed

He teaches discipline, yet secretly prepares his students for the reality that rules will break when survival demands it.

He wants to fight a duel history will remember—but he fears why he wants it:
• Is it for honor?
• Or to prove that the man who survived that Sardaukar… wasn’t just lucky.