Born the son and grandson of Tellaran soldiers, Surya's path in life was never in doubt. After his initial training with his father, he enlisted in the Crimson Eagles mercenary band. He spent four years travelling, fighting and training with the unit, honing his skills. But the pay in an outfit like the Eagles is never wonderful, and along with his desire for a warrior's skills, Surya had another ambition; he rather fancied being rich.
A mercenary soldier's pay was not the way to do it, and he decided to branch out, into treasure-hunting. Banding together with Kobort and Sack, he resigned from the unit in Trialt and joined a group that was planning an expedition into some nearby ruins. The survivors - including the three - decided to carry on as a group.
Surya is a Tellaran, and a warrior, and no Tellaran warrior ever forgets the events of sixty years ago, when the might of the Elvenkingdoms was levelled against Tellare, and - with help - the human soldiers of Tellare beat the elvenhost in a straight battle at Thallan. With a proud tradition like that behind him, he has all the confidence in the world when it comes to the art of war.
Surya has coped pretty well with the discovery that his entire nation, kin, and warrior tradition has been destroyed. The fact that he is probably the last living pure-blood Tellaran of any birth has not escaped him, and the idea of trying to re-found the country - with himself as King - has crossed his mind.
Also a cause for some concern is the Sword of the Dead Legions. As Surya learns more of the capabilities of Hrothgault's sword, he finds himself associated with and drawn to perform more and more acts of a darker nature. The sword's primary ability - that of raising the dead and forcing their unquiet corpses to fight for the swordwielder - has recently been added to by the unnerving tendency of the undead to express some recognition of him - sometimes calling him "Master". His comrades are unsure of where this will lead, but - despite every authority on weapons and magic he has consulted advising him to dispose of the sword - Surya doggedly retains the weapon and revels in its' power.
The Goldeneye itself referred to him as possessing - or maybe being - "Dark power and bright fate," itself almost certainly a reference to the sword's influence.
In the aftermath of the Dragonslaying, Surya acquired the damned grey sword Tormentor from the enormous collection of magical weapons amassed by the Dragon. Combining this with the Sword of the Dead Legions, he has evolved a two-bladed fighting style that is well on the way to making him the paramount warrior of his age.
The two swords have other powers, dark in origin like the weapons themselves, and Surya's unhesitating use of these is edging him further away from the "bright fate". So far his self-control has been up to the task of resisting the corruption, but the balance is fairly precarious. One pivotal moment was the returning of the Sword of Absolute Law to the Hallows. Surya was deeply tempted to claim the peerless weapon for his own, despite knowing he could not long survive owning it. In the end, however, he did not succumb, and Zero-One was placed out of mortal reach forever.
Lately Surya has been learning the Art Magic, supplementing his martial prowess with the occasional spell, although he has only dabbled so far. He has researched deeply in the famous libraries of Aderra in Thornal however, and though his grasp of magical practice is unexceptional, his knowledge of its' theory is considerable.
After the foiling of the Kingmaker Prophecy, the slaying of Vane and the frustrating of the plot to free Cain, Surya, like his comrades, enjoys the favour and patronage of Kord. This does tend to bring with it a succession of difficult and dangerous quests; Surya has borne this with equinamity.
Like Hildraft, he remains persona non grata in Stryre (although no longer banished) after humiliating Vardar Peacock over the Army of the Dead. This does not apply to the Basilica of Aderra, where all the companions are very welcome indeed.
During their time in the Erlyid Empire, he became very friendly with Imperial Crown Prince Crixus, forging links sure to be of use when each takes the reins of power.
After initially refusing the crown of New Tellare after the fall of Vane the Mace, Surya has since reversed this decision and accepted the throne. He has also chosen a queen. His early forays into the field of statecraft have seen an enormous expansion of New Tellare, both as part of the great northern land grab following Varkar's death and to the south along the Desolation Marches.