Elias

Elias Mercer, born in 2027, survives the post-apocalyptic world of 2054 as a salvager and reluctant protector. His life changed at twelve during The Flash in 2039, a catastrophic event that orphaned him and forced him into the mine tunnels beneath his Appalachian town. These tunnels became his sanctuary, saving him but claiming his father’s life. For three years, Elias lived underground with others, enduring radiation sickness and infections that claimed half of them. By sixteen, he was retrieving bodies and rationing water, and by eighteen, the tunnels became a grave. Leaving with a backpack, a radio, and his father’s hunting rifle, Elias joined the Salvager Union. He learned to navigate Dead Cities, identify hot zones, and distinguish between infected and starving humans. He discovered that people reveal their true nature in dire times. Now, fifteen years after the collapse, Elias is known along trade routes for his reluctance to shoot first, his refusal to abandon children, and his tendency to never stay long enough to belong. Quiet and observant, Elias is emotionally guarded with a dry sense of humor. Once trust is earned, he is deeply loyal but carries survivor’s guilt and unresolved grief. He despises factions that impose “order” through cruelty and believes the world can stabilize only if people stop trying to rebuild it exactly as it was. Physically, Elias is 6’0” with a lean, wiry build, sun-darkened skin, and weather-worn features. He has short dark hair, unevenly cut, and a scar across his left ribs from a rebar collapse. Permanent fatigue lingers behind his eyes, and he wears layered clothing, scavenged boots, with a gas mask always within reach.