Name:
"Name's Voss."Class:
"Your kind refer to me as Barbarian, so that will suffice."Devotion:
"Many of my kinsman favor Ragnarok, but I pledge myself to Kessel."Familiar:
"I am not Druz Tassa, it is not my place to command the beasts."Spell List:
"I wield not the otherworldly fury of the Julda."Backstory:
To the south east, several weeks of hard travel away, are wide and arid deserts that house various tribes of natives to the land. These men, considered little more than simple minded savages playing in the sand, maintain a proud, nomadic culture that often puts the needs of the many ahead of the few. Each tribe follows a larger, ruling caste that tend to form their own pseudo tribe to better lead their people. This is a native form of preventing any one group from holding too much power, as the warrior tribes cannot trade, farm, teach, or otherwise act as a civilized people to anywhere close to the same degree as the tribes that practice the native faiths and magics of the land. Warriors of these southern desert dwellers are trained to be light on their feet, as heavy armor would simply bog them down in the sand and open plains that break up the sand and leave them open targets. Such a life is from where Voss hails from, though why he chose to leave remains a closely guarded secret.
The reality is that Voss is under the command of one of the
Julda, literally Sand Prophets, who tend to hold the real power in the society, even if the ruling caste are the faces of the tribes. As a warrior, one of Voss' duties was to protect and defend those of importance, even against the machinations of others within the tribes. He had been a skilled fighter, light on his feet and strong of arm and shield, doing the dance of war that his people practiced. Fade back, braced for the attack, and ducking forward after weathering the storm. Voss was an oddity among his kind, as most of the warrior cast followed their version of Ragnarok, while Voss favored a nameless god, one who was yet considered powerful as most would not invoke their name, and yet hope they had their blessing. Kessel, god of fortune, and given the warrior way of his people, which incorporates heavy amounts of bleeding. A man who is bleeding uncontrollably from a wound cannot readily fight.
Voss was assigned to a
Vur Julda that most distrusted, if not outright reviled, as the guardian of their well being. This
Vur Julda was dabbling in what was considered godless arts, yet the ruling cast deemed the efforts worthy of protection. So despite misgivings, Voss had to protect the
Vur Julda from the efforts of even his own kinsman in their efforts to challenge and slay what was foreseen as a madman. Eventually, Voss would find the
Vur Julda in heated debate with another of his caste, and his charge attempted to strike his fellow caste member down with powers that no god could ever grant, be it religious or otherwise. This left Voss with a dilemma, his honor demanded he protect the female
Julda from his charge's attack. Yet, his place in the tribe demanded he stand by and let it happen. Voss chose to slit the throat of his charge, drawing the razor sharp steel across the stunned
Vur Julda's throat. He was then taken into captivity, held while the ruling caste argued with his warrior caste.
The incident split the tribes evenly down the middle. One side, led by the ruling tribe, by their tongue the
Kastan, argued he had betrayed his oaths and acted selfishly. The other, led by the warrior tribes, by their tongue the
Bala Tinva, claimed that the attempt on a fellow
Julda's life invalidated the oaths that Voss had been forced to swear, and he had been honor bound to act as he had. The strife was eventually ended, before it came to violence, by the
Julda tribe. They decreed that the dark arts that the
Vur Julda had endangered the tribes and Voss had acted justly. However, to keep the peace, Voss was oath sworn to the
Julda who he had saved the life of. She had foreseen trouble in the northern lands of outsiders, and until now had nothing but her complaints to satisfy her. Now she had a oath sworn of the
Bala Tinva, and she tasked him with heading north to offer his sword in preventing the madness she foresaw, and had left her unstable at the best of times. Voss would follow his orders, departing and learning the northern outsider terms and language for things along the way, and added to what his
Julda had taught him, learning of a King's Call. This surely was the place that his
Julda claimed he had to go and prevent disaster at. So, he went, and that was the first step on a path of redemption, according to his tribe and people.
