1. Barnabas, tired of seeing the realms squabble amongst themselves, cause nothing but chaos, being unable to care for the least of their citizens, and sure that Ultima loved his creations and only wanted what was best for them, like he did, devoted himself to his God’s cause. From then on, he saw the world as a place only he could save until Clive was revealed to be Mythos, and then Barnabas devoted himself to making sure Mythos was complete, even at the cost of his own life.
Ultimately, he is tired of the world, tired of the political disputes, tired of the magic being used as a crutch, the lack of warriors that could match him in skill, and missing his mother. He is working for Ultima as much to end it all as he is out of religious devotion to his god.
That being said, he wasn’t always like this. At one point, he was like Clive, wanting to make the world a better place and valuing the other people of Dzemkys/the Motes of Darkness. Losing them, especially his mother’s death, jaded him.
2. He is analytical, good at reading and manipulating people. He twisted Benedikta to his side, turning her against Cidolfus, and Hugo’s descent into madness was due to his machinations. If Kupka hadn’t wanted Benedikta, he would have slept with Titan’s dominant to twist the Warden of Earth under his control, to put him in Clive’s path as a road/building block for his role as Mythos. At the same time, he turned Ash’s population into nothing but Akashic thralls and prepared to invade Storm. He might be fond of Benedikta; she was another dominant and someone else who saw the world as the heartless place he did, and she was a useful spy and manipulator as well, something he trained her in, and between the two of them making Kupka fall utterly in love with her that it made it easy to manipulate him even after her death, to drive conflict between him and Mythos so Mythos might take his power. Still, she’s a tool to him, and he is a tool to Ultima.
He also manipulated Cidolfus onto the path he ultimately took. In the twenty years he knew Ramuh’s dominant, he saw Cidolfus would object to his plans and controlled events, so Cidolfus would discover his true intentions and leave him.
Aside from this, he manipulated events on Storm for his and Ultima’s benefit as well, engaging in conflicts, such as Kanver’s battle for independence, another bit of chaos in the world for his God.
3. His hatred for humanity is fueled by his mother’s death, first and foremost. The religious differences between the Circle of Malius and a rival cult that killed her and many others of his people. Then, seeing VaValisthea’solitical state only fueled his distaste for the Twin Realms, he conquered Ash partly out of the simple desire for a challenge, a desire to better the world, and revenge for his mothemother’sh. When he had all of Ash under the Waloeder Flag, he tried to make it better but failed and continued to watch the other nations fail to do better themselves, leading him to fall victim to his hate, which was when Ultima appeared to him. Ultima tricked him into thinking he would make humanity better that returning them to an Akashic state would bring peace to Valisthea.
At the end of it all, though, Barnabas was a man who just wanted to be reunited with his family. While at the end of his life he does wonder if Clive was correcwasn’tfree will wasn't the root of evil, he thought it was very brieflcan’tt ultimately, can't let go of his devotion to Ultima and the hope his God would let him reunite with his mother in the afterlife. His last thoughts were of her.
4. His idolization of his mother is one of his most important aspects. The death of his mother is the most prominent emotional scar he ever received, and one that Ultima made use of, often taking her form. In fact, Ultima camother’srnabas in his mother's form the first time they met. His final thoughts were of her and them finally being reunited. The relationship between him and his mother is rather twisted; she trained and taught Barnabas to be devout to Ultima. She taught him to fight and conquer, and her death left a mark on Barnabas, whom he never genuinely healed from. There seems to be a sexual element to their relationship as well, as Barnabas was happy to lay his form’sn Ultima in her form's lap while nude. Whether this part of their relationship before her death is unclear, it could be he immortalized her as the perfect woman as he lost her when he was a teehe’sr, that age where he's still a child, almost an adult, and she was such a dominant force in his life, or there could have been a sexual relationship between them. Until we know for sure, we cI’monly guess. For now, I'm leaninIt’swards the former.
His mother was likely the one person he truly felt a connection to. He had friends once before he conquered Ash, other memebers of the Dzemkys people he traveled and broke bread with; he had to have had an army behind him, no matter how much of a powerhouse he was, to conquer a continent, but he probably never connected with them as much as he could have. He might have tried, he might not have, but his mother was the most important human connection he had.
He created Sleipnir partly to fill the hole imother’sart left by his mother's death.
REVISIONS
Ultimately, he is tired of the world, tired of the political disputes, tired of the magic being used as a crutch, the lack of warriors that could match him in skill, and missing his mother. He is working for Ultima as much to end it all as he is out of religious devotion to his god.
That being said, he wasn’t always like this. At one point, he was like Clive, wanting to make the world a better place and valuing the other people of Dzemkys/the Motes of Darkness. Losing them, especially his mother’s death, jaded him.
2. He is analytical, good at reading and manipulating people. He twisted Benedikta to his side, turning her against Cidolfus, and Hugo’s descent into madness was due to his machinations. If Kupka hadn’t wanted Benedikta, he would have slept with Titan’s dominant to twist the Warden of Earth under his control, to put him in Clive’s path as a road/building block for his role as Mythos. At the same time, he turned Ash’s population into nothing but Akashic thralls and prepared to invade Storm. He might be fond of Benedikta; she was another dominant and someone else who saw the world as the heartless place he did, and she was a useful spy and manipulator as well, something he trained her in, and between the two of them making Kupka fall utterly in love with her that it made it easy to manipulate him even after her death, to drive conflict between him and Mythos so Mythos might take his power. Still, she’s a tool to him, and he is a tool to Ultima.
He also manipulated Cidolfus onto the path he ultimately took. In the twenty years he knew Ramuh’s dominant, he saw Cidolfus would object to his plans and controlled events, so Cidolfus would discover his true intentions and leave him.
Aside from this, he manipulated events on Storm for his and Ultima’s benefit as well, engaging in conflicts, such as Kanver’s battle for independence, another bit of chaos in the world for his God.
3. His hatred for humanity is fueled by his mother’s death, first and foremost. The religious differences between the Circle of Malius and a rival cult that killed her and many others of his people. Then, seeing VaValisthea’solitical state only fueled his distaste for the Twin Realms, he conquered Ash partly out of the simple desire for a challenge, a desire to better the world, and revenge for his mothemother’sh. When he had all of Ash under the Waloeder Flag, he tried to make it better but failed and continued to watch the other nations fail to do better themselves, leading him to fall victim to his hate, which was when Ultima appeared to him. Ultima tricked him into thinking he would make humanity better that returning them to an Akashic state would bring peace to Valisthea.
At the end of it all, though, Barnabas was a man who just wanted to be reunited with his family. While at the end of his life he does wonder if Clive was correcwasn’tfree will wasn't the root of evil, he thought it was very brieflcan’tt ultimately, can't let go of his devotion to Ultima and the hope his God would let him reunite with his mother in the afterlife. His last thoughts were of her.
4. His idolization of his mother is one of his most important aspects. The death of his mother is the most prominent emotional scar he ever received, and one that Ultima made use of, often taking her form. In fact, Ultima camother’srnabas in his mother's form the first time they met. His final thoughts were of her and them finally being reunited. The relationship between him and his mother is rather twisted; she trained and taught Barnabas to be devout to Ultima. She taught him to fight and conquer, and her death left a mark on Barnabas, whom he never genuinely healed from. There seems to be a sexual element to their relationship as well, as Barnabas was happy to lay his form’sn Ultima in her form's lap while nude. Whether this part of their relationship before her death is unclear, it could be he immortalized her as the perfect woman as he lost her when he was a teehe’sr, that age where he's still a child, almost an adult, and she was such a dominant force in his life, or there could have been a sexual relationship between them. Until we know for sure, we cI’monly guess. For now, I'm leaninIt’swards the former.
His mother was likely the one person he truly felt a connection to. He had friends once before he conquered Ash, other memebers of the Dzemkys people he traveled and broke bread with; he had to have had an army behind him, no matter how much of a powerhouse he was, to conquer a continent, but he probably never connected with them as much as he could have. He might have tried, he might not have, but his mother was the most important human connection he had.
He created Sleipnir partly to fill the hole imother’sart left by his mother's death.