[OOC] Pilgrim's Caravan: An Open-Ended Fantasy (with Worldbuilding!)

[MagusDream]

I am so tempted to make another character, specifically a beastman. If I wasn't lazy today...

[OddnessApproved]

I am so tempted to make another character, specifically a beastman. If I wasn't lazy today...

@MagusDream

There is always tomorrow!

[Crusader Lord]

Oh, big agree.

Besides, it gives him more complexity. Anyone can do a vapid serial killer- but, really? Evil is boring. As writers, we try to pretend that the morally black is fascinating, but real tyrants and murderers are usually so empty inside that there's nothing to explore. They did what they did because they wanted to, because it gave them power or satisfaction, and half of them frankly will tell you so themselves. There aren't any layers. It's only when you're in the struggle to be good that all the interesting stuff can really happen.

@Tortoise

-Paarthunax (from Skyrim)

[Enigmatik]

Malleck

Malleck 'Freepaw'

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:
Malleck belongs to the Ainok- a race of humanoid canines indigenous to Alywne's savannahs and deserts, with significant variety between individual specimens. A quick way to irritate almost all of them is to mistake them for Gnolls, their bitter enemies. He's young for most races, at 20, but reached maturity five years prior, and has been travelling with the caravan for three years.

Appearance:
Malleck has dusty fur, blotched with natural camoflague in hues that range from sandy khakis to deep blacks, with a noticable cross pattern that stretches from his muzzle to his nose, the crossbar reaching to the ends of his brows. He has a shaggy plume of hair that's been braided and tied with baubles and other accessories in an attempt to tame it, and bright amber eyes with black sclera. He stands at around 5'5", a normal height for Ainoks, with the typical tight-wound muscle. His fur serves double duty to both cool him in warm environments and warm him in cool ones, meaning he usually eschews more clothing than a simple tunic, covered in straps and bags to help him carry anything he needs on the road.

History & Personality:
The Ainok are a semi-nomadic peoples who live as a periphery ally of the desert's great Dinnin kingdoms. Travelling throughout the dry seasons, Ainok clans, usually made from extended family units settle into temporary pastoral settlements during the wet season to reap the benefits of nature's sudden flourishing. A true-blood Ainok through and through, Malleck has grown up with this cycle- from his time as a pup on his mother's back to an adult of fifteen, expected to be able to hunt and provide for his family.

But, Malleck always sought out more than this. He was born under the light of Otota the dancing star, his paws always itched during the wet season, eager to be on the road again, eating up the dusty miles. He bid farewell to his family when he was sixteen, departing alongside a merchant caravan returning from trade with one of the Great Clans deeper into the desert. Although he had had brief interactions with outsiders before- the Ainok are no strangers to traders, caravaneers, hunters and even the occasional hostile band, this was the first time he had been truly exposed to different cultures and ways of thinking, and he loved it.

He drank in the diversity and the uniqueness, adding their tales sand stories to his own mind, and whenever he could took the opportunity to tell them and retell them at the fire, enhancing his own tales as he did so. It is one thing to have a firm grasp of a single method of storytelling- quite another to begin to understand the universal traits that sapient species use in their myths and legends, and to weave them together.

Soon after the caravan arrived in settled lands however, one of the guards informed him that there was an even better option out there. The Pilgrim's Caravan was, coincidentally, in the same city they were, and with thanks to his previous travelling companions, he joined up, bringing with him his stories, while being always eager to learn more.

Motivation:
Malleck is a classic example of someone filled with wanderlust, and travels both out of a desire to see the world and to imitate the passage the Dancing Star of Otota makes across the skies. He knows not when his wandering will end, or if it even will at all, but is more than happy to stick with the Pilgrim's Caravan for as long as it stops his feet from itching.

Skills, Strengths and Weaknesses, and Tools:
As an open and gleeful follower of Otota, Malleck is expected to be able to bring cheer wherever he wanders. to this end, he has immersed himself in the entertaining arts- music, singing, storytelling and dance. He can work his magic with only a willing audience, but any instrument is obviously a boon. A not-insignificant part of his memory is dedicated to the countless tales he's heard and repeated across his pilgrimage, but for all this knowledge, he is undoubtably rather 'book dumb.' Coming from an oral culture, Malleck can neither read nor write, and he has neither inclination nor patience to dedicate himself to learning how to do so. He also cannot swim and easily and violently becomes motion sick, preferring to walk if at all possible over sitting in a caravan or boat.

As with most long time travellers, Malleck can defend himself- after all, he comes from a community of hunters and herdsmen, frequently in conflict, but fighting against other sapients always sat wrong with him. It felt wrong- dirty, almost indivine in a way, and so instead he much prefers to laugh off an insult than to take a swing. For self-defence, he prefers anything that can extend his reach, distance between himself and his foe- be that a spear, stave or simply a sufficiently long and durable stick. When it comes to magic, Malleck's powers are extremely limited- he is neither a shaman nor wizard- although he practices the Ainok's typical astronomical fortune-telling and can produce a few minor illusions, mend a broken rope or help seal a small cut, anything greater than this is beyond his abilities.

Optional: Extra Details

What They Most Want:
They'll figure it out at some point!

If They Had a DnD Alignment, It Would Be:
Chaotic Good

Three Likes:
The sound of laughter, a well cooked meal, a new story to learn.

Three Dislikes:
Gnolls, betraying his trust, being unable to see the stars at night.

Do They Follow Their Heart or Their Mind?:
Heart! Part of the job, honestly.

Worst Fear:
Forgetting

Favorite Color:
All of them!

Most Like The Animal:
'Dog' would be pretty stereotypical, but also wrong. Malleck's more like a songbird of some kind.

Favorite Time of Day:
Deepest night- where the stars shine the clearest, and the fire seems that much brighter.

How They Dress:
As minimally as possible so other peoples aren't offended. He has fur for a reason.

Favorite Season:
The dry season! What do you mean most places don't count a 'wet' and 'dry' season?

What Gods/Spirits/Whatevers They Worship (If Any):
The Ainoks of the savannah worship the stars- which come into view so brightly and clearly each night when the sun sets. They believe that these stars are each Gods in their own right, and that those born under the light and influence of various celestial bodies are favoured or disfavoured by these Gods. Born under the light of the so-called 'Dancing Star,' otherwise known as the Goddess Otota. Being both an incredibly bright star, and one that appears to be the most mobile in the night sky Otota holds a special place within the Ainok pantheon as the Goddess of gaity, enjoyment, fertility, pleasure, and so on and so forth. Malleck considers himself a staunch follower of Otota's light, and it is under her auspex that he travels.

Notes/Worldbuilding:

Ainok do not traditionally use last names, as by and large they stay within small familial groups, and even during interactions between groups, misunderstandings are easily avoided. 'Freepaw' is a rough translation of the Ainok term for a wanderer who has willingly left their family, distinguishing Malleck from a banished and disgraced Ainok.

Took me longer than anticipated, but here it is!

[Tortoise]

I am so tempted to make another character, specifically a beastman. If I wasn't lazy today...

@MagusDream

Take your time! But I do have a soft spot for beast folk

Further sheet reviews (and a reply to your PM, Magus) to be completed tomorrow.

[astrifer0us]

Updated!



@Expendable I do not have a height for Siri/cannot find one.
@Letter Bee I do not have a height for Roter/cannot find one.
@astrifer0us I do not have a height for Fern/cannot find one.

If you would like these characters to be added to the height chart image. You can supply a rough estimate (if you don't know the exact) of how tall they are and I will add them.

@Katakuri

fern is 5'10!

[OddnessApproved]

@astrifer0us

I'll add Fern right away!

Add-on:



Fern is added!

[MagusDream]

OK, I'm done with my beastkin.

Free-Spirited Fanged Fighter

"You wanna tell me your story? Go ahead, but I don't give a shit. If you wanna my respect, put'em up and fight! That's how I work."

---

Basic Information

Name: Korzan
Alias: The Fanged Fighter
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Race: Beastkin (Werewolf)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Time in the Caravan: 9 months, after being defeated by the Caravan.

---

Appearance and Fashion

Appearance: Korzan is a 1.82m (5'11) tall werewolf. He is very muscular and has pride in being that way, doing exercises day after day in order to grow more "ripped", as he himself says. His fur is grayish-blue and white, and his eyes are sky blue. His hands are humanoid and don't grow into claws, but his feet are wolf-like and his claws are sharp.

Dressing Style: As someone who doesn't care about fashion, Korzan's style is very simplistic. He wears a belt around his torso and some bandages on his arms, as well as baggy pants, with the only thing preventing them from falling being the belt that he also doesn't close. The pants also have a hole in the butt for his tail, and the hole wasn't prepared beforehand but ripped by Korzan. The only armor he actually wears is a pair of leg guards. He wears two earrings on his right ear.

---

Personal Information

History: While Korzan doesn't like talking about his past, he comes from a hidden beastkin village located in the near-central southwest region of Alwyne. The name of the village? He forgot and doesn't bother remembering it. Neither the name nor the exact location of the village, which he was supposed to know since he lived that. If bothered enough to talk about it, Korzan simply resumes his home as a "boring shithole of weaklings", meaning that the village he came from doesn't emphasize fighting and rather prefers a peaceful setting.

When it comes to his journey, though, Korzan left home simply because he didn't want to spend his life away "rotting in silence", as he says, so he departed to have some fun. He traveled throughout the world trying to find people to pick up fights with and to declare himself the strongest in all Alwyne. This also means that he ended up in trouble with several places and has been banned from kingdoms and villages because of his troublemaker nature. That, and the fact that he always ended up causing chaos at pubs, his favorite place to spend the night.

At the places that enjoy a good brawl as a sport, he always sought to win, entering every arena or tournament he could. While winning some and losing some, Korzan ended up building a name for himself, getting known as The Fanged Fighter. Known as a powerful pugilist, vicious respectable opponent, and sore fair loser, people love watching his fights whenever some event of the sort happens.

That's when, during his travels, Korzan ended up meeting the Caravan. After seeing some people like Virro, Jormon, Hoogarth, and Roter, he foolishly bravely challenged them to a fight, making it clear that it didn't matter who came at him, he would defeat all of them. He demanded that they would pay for a party in the next town's pub if he won, and would join them if he lost, which he was sure would never happen.

... Well, the results speak for themselves, because it's been 9 months that he's been in the Caravan. If you ask him, though, he'll never admit his loss.

Personality: If not something obvious, Korzan's a fighting maniac that loves a good brawl. He's the type that speaks with his fists and not with his mouth. He also loves when things get even more chaotic, which is when he gets overly excited and far more dangerous since he loses all self-control and just goes berserk without any sort of restraint or consideration for those around him. This makes him entirely problematic because teamwork isn't his specialty.

There's also the fact that Korzan doesn't respect people who haven't shown their strength or made an effort to fight. This means that he won't listen to people who are too pacifist even to try a punch, no matter how weak they are. Mages and archers are also included on this list because Korzan hates people who "are too scared to face everything forward". This doesn't apply to swords or other weapons like axes, he makes an exception because he thinks that knights and mercenaries are on the frontlines, just like him.

Even so, Korzan isn't a rule, law, or orders follower. He does whatever he wants based on his morals, likes, and values. He also has the intricate "hobby" of not only disobeying people but doing exactly what they told him not to do, just for the fun of it. There were other instances where the other members of the Caravan had to bail him out because he did exactly what they told him NOT to do. This makes him get on the nerves of other people quite easily.

Deep down, though, Korzan's really happy to be a part of a new group, even though he's pretty dishonest with his emotions and doesn't tend to show his weak sides. He's also very fond of kids and likes to play around with them as a big brother or something. That, and at his most profound point, he has a thing for being pet and ruffled, though he doesn't publically let people do those things, being caught off-guard most of the time.

Likes:

• Fights. The more chaotic, the better;
• Drinking and smoking. He's a heavyweight on drinking, but abuses that fact and drinks without end;
• Kids. He likes to play around with them;
• Being pet and ruffled. Yes, Korzan has a weakness for that.

Dislikes:

• Peace and quiet. Korzan hates the stillness;
• People who don't put an effort of strength;
• Magicians and archers.

Worst Fear: Not being able to fight anymore.
Favorite Color: Gray blue.
Favorite Time of Day: Nighttime.
Favorite Season: Has no preference.
Heart/Will or Mind/Reason?: Korzan follows his heart/will.
Motivation: Other than losing a bet with the Caravan, Korzan is going with them to grow stronger and to try his hand at them again.
Lifelong Dream: Korzan's lifelong dream is to be recognized as the strongest being in the entire world.
Spirit Animal: He doesn't have a spirit animal because he is one.
Faith and Beliefs: He doesn't have any faith.

---

Battle and Equipment Information

Skills: Korzan's main skills are all related to combat. First of all, he's a great fighter and dedicated martial artist. His style is really varied, but it mixes styles like kung-fu, karate, and judo, with a bit of muay Thai. His movements are very nimble and fast, as well as focused considering he takes fighting to win, despite his rather violent and cocky personality. He's also very good at outdoor activities such as running, climbing, etc, considering how much he's a physique enthusiast.

Werewolves, in particular, are born with a special "power" that allows them to heal faster than other races so their regenerative functions are naturally better than a human, elf, or even some other beastkin.

There's also the fact that werewolves are far more powerful under the influence of the full moon, so Korzan gets even stronger, faster and wilder than before.

Korzan's also pretty good at walking around in nature, such as forests, mountains, and other non-manmade places. Because of his heightened senses as a beastkin, he has good eyesight, hearing, and smell, which becomes really useful in cases where somehow the groups split into those sorts of places.

Strengths and Weaknesses: Beastkins have a better constitution than most races so Korzan has inhuman strength, speed and is more resilient to damage than humans. This also means that he can jump higher and reach places that humans normally can't, like the roof of a house without any stairs. And because of his athletic prowess, he doesn't get easily tired like other people, being able to go for hours on exercise without getting too much strain.

The problem is that, outside of battle, Korzan isn't useful. He's not the best talker, his impulsive nature is more of a hindrance than anything, and the fact that he does whatever he wants whenever he wants doesn't help at all. He's also not smart so he avoids complicated stuff or just sleeps through it because it isn't interesting to him.

Another singular problem is that Korzan falls for the most stupid taunts known to live beings. It doesn't help that he's short-fused, but he gets possessed like a bull seeing red once you provoke him.

It's also important to notify that, while he gets stronger on the full moon, Korzan's animal instincts overwhelm any reasoning he has and he starts to behave like a savage animal that doesn't have control. Of course, one can make him stop by treating him like an animal, but they have to be quick to do it, otherwise, they're dead.

Weapons and Tools: Korzan uses no other weapons, and has no extra tools or even a bag. If anything, he's just walking around with what he has now and just leaves whatever money he gets on some quest or whatnot with someone more careful and organized that actually cares about money.

---

Music Themes

Main Theme: Prex -Materia Kyokoensis- (Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Portable)
Battle Theme: Get Down to Business (Guilty Gear X2 Accent Core Plus)

[OddnessApproved]

Sees some people have theme music...
Starts looking for theme music for my characters
Cannot find theme music...
Deep dives into the music of youtube and starts finding things Yes.

[MagusDream]

Sees some people have theme music...
Starts looking for theme music for my characters
Cannot find theme music...
Deep dives into the music of youtube and starts finding things Yes.

@Katakuri

I had this habit of using music in my characters and posts for years now. It helps me give the idea of an ambience outside of just text.

[OddnessApproved]

<Snipped quote by Katakuri>

I had this habit of using music in my characters and posts for years now. It helps me give the idea of an ambience outside of just text.

@MagusDream

I have a habit of using music with my characters in posts (I usually hide them in a word or something in my post, link-wise), but I usually do not find theme songs. Though, I am feeling it for this RP. I think I found a good one or two for Virro. I'm having difficulties with Cricket on theme music. Nothing is quite fitting.

Edit/Add-on:
Virro's theme song?

[MagusDream]

<Snipped quote by MagusDream>

I have a habit of using music with my characters in posts (I usually hide them in a word or something in my post, link-wise), but I usually do not find theme songs. Though, I am feeling it for this RP. I think I found a good one or two for Virro. I'm having difficulties with Cricket on theme music. Nothing is quite fitting.

Edit/Add-on:
Virro's theme song?

@Katakuri

I opened the song expecting Kingdom Hearts, hahahaha!!

[OddnessApproved]

<Snipped quote by Katakuri>

I opened the song expecting Kingdom Hearts, hahahaha!!

@MagusDream

I'm trying not to find very popular songs for their theme songs. It's so hard. Lmao

Add-on:
I cannot find a chaotic/energic enough song that fits Cricket.

[MagusDream]

<Snipped quote by MagusDream>

I'm trying not to find very popular songs for their theme songs. It's so hard. Lmao

@Katakuri

Being real, I look at Cricket and I can only imagine Oh, I'm a Flamelet! from Secret of Mana 2 playing. IMO, though, because it's energetic and has that sort of mischievous tone that I think it fits. And in battle, I can only think of Adventure of Lovestruck Tomboy from Touhou 9: Phantasmagoria of Flower View (if you want something more playful) or A Tiny, Tiny, Clever Commander from Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object (if you want something more serious, I guess).

Virro... hmm... I'm still unsure of a theme song that fits him well, though I feel as if Empty Tone from Drakengard 3 is a rather tranquil song that has this distant feeling. I'm trying to find something else, though. For battle, however, I definitely call Infallible Intelligence from Blaze Union a Virro theme in a fight.

[OddnessApproved]

<Snipped quote by Katakuri>

Being real, I look at Cricket and I can only imagine Oh, I'm a Flamelet! from Secret of Mana 2 playing. IMO, though, because it's energetic and has that sort of mischievous tone that I think it fits. And in battle, I can only think of Adventure of Lovestruck Tomboy from Touhou 9: Phantasmagoria of Flower View (if you want something more playful) or A Tiny, Tiny, Clever Commander from Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object (if you want something more serious, I guess).

Virro... hmm... I'm still unsure of a theme song that fits him well, though I feel as if Empty Tone from Drakengard 3 is a rather tranquil song that has this distant feeling. I'm trying to find something else, though. For battle, however, I definitely call Infallible Intelligence from Blaze Union a Virro theme in a fight.

@MagusDream

I'm really vibing with the ones for Cricket, I think I like the second song the most. I think Adventure of a Lovestruck Tomboy fits her quite well. And yes, I am too, still struggling with Virro. I cannot find the right sound that hits the constant sadness and content emotions he has - I'm not going to stop looking though.

You do not mind if I use Adventure of a lovestruck Tomboy for Cricket?

[MagusDream]

<Snipped quote by MagusDream>

I'm really vibing with the ones for Cricket, I think I like the second song the most. I think Adventure of a Lovestruck Tomboy fits her quite well. And yes, I am too, still struggling with Virro. I cannot find the right sound that hits the constant sadness and content emotions he has - I'm not going to stop looking though.

You do not mind if I use Adventure of a lovestruck Tomboy for Cricket?

@Katakuri

Go ahead, all yours! Not like I can use this with either Ark or Korzan.

[OddnessApproved]

<Snipped quote by Katakuri>

Go ahead, all yours! Not like I can use this with either Ark or Korzan.

@MagusDream

Haha. It would be pretty funny if you used it on one of those characters. Thank you!

[MagusDream]

<Snipped quote by MagusDream>

I'm really vibing with the ones for Cricket, I think I like the second song the most. I think Adventure of a Lovestruck Tomboy fits her quite well. And yes, I am too, still struggling with Virro. I cannot find the right sound that hits the constant sadness and content emotions he has - I'm not going to stop looking though.

You do not mind if I use Adventure of a lovestruck Tomboy for Cricket?

@Katakuri

I was thinking about Virro when other themes struck me. I'd pick either Path of Repentance from Final Fantasy X (this beautiful classic guitar remix sounded wonderful to me), or maybe Rydia's Theme from Final Fantasy IV (I got a remix with some other orchestral instruments to fit). There's Theme of Love from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, though I picked the Heroes version of the song because I find it more solemn.

[OddnessApproved]

<Snipped quote by Katakuri>

I was thinking about Virro when other themes struck me. I'd pick either Path of Repentance from Final Fantasy X (this beautiful classic guitar remix sounded wonderful to me), or maybe Rydia's Theme from Final Fantasy IV (I got a remix with some other orchestral instruments to fit). There's Theme of Love from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, though I picked the Heroes version of the song because I find it more solemn.

@MagusDream

Mhm... I appreciate the help a lot! I was writing a paper, so sorry for the delay in reply. I think I will keep searching for Virro's theme song. Those songs above, are nice, but they are not hitting the vibe for me. I guess Virro's theme song is the harder one to find after all.

[Crusader Lord]

@Tortoise So I tried to shorten the concept to having been in three cults of any note, to keep things simple. Meanwhile I am not intending him to be OP or anything, but I also worry I could haver overlooked something as well, so if I need to fix or change anything then please do let me know!

Warning, the history section has some 'building' sections tossed in there along the way to try to help build context...messier than I had hoped, but I'll get to see what you think about it all at least. Whew.

Was how it came out of my brain and onto the google doc I prepared a lot of this in though.

Otherwise...here is the first of potentially two, the second I am having a lot of trouble deciding on the concept of horribly so, characters for the RP! :3

The Old Man, Dreamwalker, and Occultist Extraordinaire!

Knossos Dreamwalker

Race, Age, Time in the Caravan:

Human, 72, 17 years with the Pilgrim's Caravan

History:

Long History Warning (@_@)

Knossos is a man who was born to a small village family in the humble farming village of Aktí within the Kingdom of Ordos, a coastal nation with a large eastern coastline and access to the sea since seemingly time immemorial. A kingdom that had little access to the outside by land, save for a pair of crucial northern and western mountain passes respectively dubbed the "Chióni" (Greek for "ice", aka the 'northern pass' out from the nation's northern border) and the "Fiume" (Italian for "river", named such due to the great river flowing alongside the pass down a steep cliff as one passes through it), it had been in the middle of various issues or conflicts over the years as well as notably involved at sea. Yet even with having the sea so accessible, the growing of crops and rearing of livestock was still very much important. Indeed, this would be the task the family of young Knossos had taken up for many generations within the inner land region of the kingdom proper.

At birth Knossos's surname, as was his family's already, continued on in the same old local tradition of one's surname being taken from the work and job they had. However, this surname was not without nuance either. Farmers would add differentiating spellings or emphasis in their surname to separate themselves, or even use different words related to their occupation that by tradition made their heritage clear. Likewise, this made record keeping in the kingdom easier and more accessible, though it also brought about legal cases of 'who claimed what surname idea first' at times as well (inevitably). Yet with this all in mind it would make the 'easier' or more straightforward surnames that much harder to get ahold of...usually only held by nobility or very old family lines indeed. In the case of Knossos' family of birth, Faermer (a corruption of "farmer") was their particular surname and made them one of the oldest families to live in their area. A family that, indeed, had stuck about stubbornly as mules and long tilled the land and lived in the same spot in the central region of the kingdom since before the kingdom itself had even been born into existence.

So long had they been around they were among those in the kingdom's population who still possessed what is called an "Ancestor Stone", a practice from even pre-kingdom times that saw family members were buried around or underneath a great stone or boulder rolled down from the mountains to one's home. Such a stone marked one's place of settlement and the center of their property, and the effort of getting one was seen as a labor that showed respect to one's ancestors and the land itself. The larger it was, the more awe-inspiring and respectable it was seen to be. In that vein the Faermer Family was known more notably...having the largest one in their region of the kingdom, rumored to have been brought down by an ancestor granted strength by a spirit living within the boulder to help him on his way. From this, it is said the family was ever bound to this spirit that watched over the bodies of their dead and the land of their descendants. Further, upon Ancestor stones the names of the dead ancestors would be etched, and burials would continue to radiate out from the stone at the 'center' of this impromptu graveyard but would always remain pointed back at it...to point the dead back to those who came before so their spirits may join them in the afterlife.

Meanwhile, Knossos' first name was selected for the constellation he was born under. Whilst the first names of children would originate from anything ranging from figures in legend, to places they were born, to those who the family or parents wished to honor in their lives or pay respects to, and so forth, trends in this naming structure trended toward certain lines of things depending on one's place and status of birth. Farmers and Woodcutters and such would usually use more land and terrain-focused names, whilst those such as scholars and magic users might get names based on famous authors or constellations or other phenomena that sounded fancy and sophisticated to use as a name, etc. So in this vein Knossos' own name was something of an oddity, only chosen when a passing magic scholar was hosted by the family on a journey to the north and assisted in his birth when one of the local midwives or the village doctor would not be able to make it in time. So grateful were Knossos' parents that the traveling magic scholar was given the chance to name him out of respect. No small honor to be sure, no matter one's class! Thus the newborn was named for the constellation locals called 'Knossos', which looked like a king sitting on a throne, named for a great and wise king who once ruled the region in legend and solved a series of 'unsolvable riddles'. Indeed a great warlord of the Minotaur species, an army in tow, had arrived from across the sea and balked at the strength of the inhabitants of the region. The future king of the region then approached him boldly, despite others holding back in fear as the enemy raided the coast, said that, "what we have not in arms, we have yet in wisdom". Amused at this, the monster challenged this young man to a game. Three divine riddles, handed down by the gods of the warlord's homeland, would be given to the young man. None had ever solved them, but any who did would be granted great fortune and blessing on their bloodline forever for their wit and wisdom.

...Safe to say, the future king would win this contest and a divine revelation would come down upon the assembled group present at the contest. It was such that the warlord would withdraw from the region to attack another place out of respect for the gods of his own people. This future king would then become a greater leader, possessing almost supernatural wisdom and gifts in whatever he put his mind to. He would thus be named the "many-gifted", or "Knossos", and eventually gain enough influence and power to found a capital in the same place on the coast he'd won the contest with the warlord. It would be in this same place the very throne of his future palace, and the throne of all future kings that would rise even when the Kingdom of Ordos formed, would be reverently placed...and where the constellation of Knossos, said to be the king's immortalized spirit in the stars, watches over and grants wisdom to rulers of the land on the same day each year that the contest was won by the original Knossos. Even with the fact the Kingdom of Ordos' line was once invaders who blended in with locals, they would outright forcibly marry into them the last of the old king's bloodline and keep the tradition in order to assert authority as well as gain the seemingly palpable supernatural benefits gained from it (which is actually real tbh).

With all of this in mind, Knossos seemed poised merely to inherit the family farm and land in life. He had nothing going for him otherwise, and he felt a restlessness within him from a young age. Indeed his young mind would wander to things greater than himself and the old stories, and his parents were often sore with him or given myriad headaches simply trying to deal with him. In the end they would not need to worry, however, as the new village doctor to arrive at the village when Knossos was just five would begin to influence the boy in a different direction. Secretly a member of a cult dedicated to an alien being from a far-flung dimension/plane dubbed "iL'Thris the Deep Lord", whose home was a warped and corrupted ocean that spanned seemingly across infinity and whose true form was imperceptible to mortals and caused them to descend into madness. This cult's founder was the one mortal the Deep Lord had shown its true and aberrant form to, being curious about mortals after a one in a billion chance it would ever take notice of another dimension/plane at all, but the chain reaction resulting from this had led the maddened cult leader to form and cult and begin spreading it in secret...with maddened plans to one day overthrow the kingdom and summon a great monster to ravage the land. Said cult would influence Knossos until he was ten, after which he was taken away and assumed dead in the woods by his home as the cult prepared him more rigorously for adulthood in their ranks after faking his death. By the time he turned twenty one, he had learned all the magic of the cult that he could absorb (acquired from iL'Thris) and reached the upper ranks of the cult and then been infused with part of iL'Thris as other upper-ranks had (iL'Thris taking pity on their 'fragile mortal lives', thinking this was their request for help in that sense and it seeking to be merciful to help the seemingly 'good friends' of the one it had made contact with). All went according to plan, though, at least until the time when the long-foretold "Day of Summoning" came along.

The ritual kicked off, and disaster came, but a brave band of heroes that had formed and begun to rise amidst the pre-ritual period would take the fight to the cult before destroying them in a climactic final battle. Neighbors of the Kingdom of Ordos had even sent in reinforcements to help in order to avoid the spread of chaos deeper into their lands. Such was how terrifying and drastic the effect and impact of this all was. What would follow is the lead hero of the group of heroes marrying the kingdom's princess, who was about his age, and the Kingdom of Ordos rebuilding as it bloodily purged out the remnants of the cult. Among the scant few people, able to be counted on one hand at the very most, Knossos managed to survive and flee by land to a land far away. Somehow. Even he questioned harshly how many died and how his escape happened to work out despite the odds...yet in the end the reasons did not matter. He had lived and survived another day, but the cult had not.

But what of the enlightenment the cult had promised? What of the power, the truth, everything? Something like the cult, yes, it had to be true. But if this route to truth did not manifest for them, perhaps the next would? Yes! Another had to work! It had to. There was no other way, it was all he'd ever known. So he would have to find another route! Yes! Truth lied beyond the veil of any of this, it had to, and he would find it for the benefit of all this time!

Thus Knossos would desperately claw his way to a land far away from his own, that being of the desert Kingdom of Khamsin in the vast and expensive Khamsin Desert. An ancient land that had begun as a cradle of civilization on the far northwestern coast of its continent, placed right on the equator, it had been inhabited at first only by the ancient Iwiw (a jackal-like canine beastman race) who had built up the origina Kingdom of Uat there between the fertile Nilei and Ma'at rivers coming in from the northwestern coast to build up a civilization of their own. The Uat civilization lasted over three and a half thousand years before it would be broken and put under the yoke, though some such foreign-conquering rulers would maintain some of the land's practices and such to help maintain power, and the land saw civilization there going from fledgling kingdom in super ancient times to ancient empire, to being subjugated by others and breaking free each a few times over, to ultimately lingering as a modest but notable kingdom by current times. A kingdom known for its mix of ancient ways and modern innovations and so forth, a melting pot of trade and harsh landscape and so forth, it was a pale call of the original Kingdom of Uat in ways to be sure. Even so, it was more stable, advanced, and enduring than it had ever been before as a 'breadbasket' of past nations.

Yet it was within this new Kingdom of Khamsin proved to be where a new cult was found by Knossos, a group dedicating themselves to an Ancient Great Demon Lord named Ashtara who sought to take the region and transform it into a microcosm of where she had come from: A ravaged, demonic plane that to her and her followers would be transformed into a paradise. Or at least such a 'paradise' is what she promised. A paradise free of struggle, war, and turmoil. Nothing but the best pleasures of life and beyond, and for all eternity. Despite his former affiliation, he did join the cult and manage to rise the ranks to an extent once more as he pursued things with a new zeal. From Ashtara, he as well as other mid-rank and higher-up members would be granted to drink of some of her blood (and the higher-ups took in some of her essence to boot). Yet for how Knossos was concerned, only partaking of her blood infused him and others with a demonic dark magical power that allowed them to partake of certain magics. Conjuring/summoning demons, making use of curses, casting red energy attacks of tainted demonic magical energy, and conducting blood rituals would become the things he could do using this 'gift'. Yet it would be when this cult tried to rise up and cast their big 'summoning ritual' to bring forth their patron that things would eventually turn as they locals and a plucky band of mercenaries-turned-heroes would rise up and smite them back. Barely manifesting an arm of their patron to try to crush the heroes, Ashtara could see the writing on the wall and merely withdrew after it was clear the cult could not keep it up. The higher-ups who had absorbed her essence binding them to her in a way drinking her blood did not, would be sucked up by her alongside the dead bodies of deceased cult members as 'reparations' for her plan not succeeding. Those living members left behind, Knossos included, were pursued and killed and slain and put to the sword. Knossos was only thirty three years old at the time, and barely scraped through the desert with his life before collapsing at an oasis.

His strength in convictions was beginning to waver, but despite it all his desperation to find what he sought pushed him to travel far away once more as he sought another group. One more shot. Another route to truth, before he got old enough and died where he stood. He had to. By all the powers that were, he...he...if he didn't, then what would all of this be worth? The deaths, all in vain? Sacrifices, all falling on empty ears? No. No, he could not let it be. And thus he traveled to find the final group he'd end up joining.

In a land far in the northern hemisphere, farther north than he'd ever been in his life before, he came across a group seeking the power of an ancient civilization called the Vilkyn. Once a people who in rather ancient times owned the territory the group has set up in, in fact having originated from there in days long gone, the Vilkyn race and civilization had collapsed over a series of centuries and disasters and such that had brought them down into extinction. Yet according to some of their old records, something of great value lied where their capital had once been. Formulae to create unique crystalized mana gems, a unique creation differing from 'crytalized mana' or the like, and devices as well as magically-wrought constructs which were made to be powered and even partly shaped by these magical power sources...among which was one meant to revive the race from the dead that hadn't been able to be activated in time during the capital's fall over two thousand years ago. The group having been funded by a wealthy noble of a nearby kingdom, one who sought this power to use it for himself, they plucked away at things as Knossos joined on at first as a simple 'expert in obscure magical arts'. Then as the group became more obsessed and cultic, driven by a desire for power and made promises by the noble of becoming immortal, Knossos would see himself more and more involved as he sought to study the Vilkyn magical arts and records. He would gain the magical knowledge the group sought, at least, before eventually the group was caught by the kingdom the noble came from as the noble himself was outed by some means. The group lost all funding, an attempted half-activation of the great Vilkyn device saw a botched raising of undead that now inhabit the Vilkyn ruins and surrounding wastes there, those who were in the same kingdom as the noble were killed, and Knossos barely escaped with his life by braving the undead and making his way out in a different direction than most took.

...Even so, he could collapse on the ground of a vast northern forest to the southwest of where the group had been set up at the old Vilkyn capital's ruins. An old path merchants on rare occasion took was right before him, and yet his strength gave out seeking to make it onto the road itself. Collapsed in a bush next to it, his vision blurred, his wounds continued to worsen, and he would pass out expecting to finally die. His resolve to find 'truth' in the only way he'd known how, so indoctrinated into it he had become blind, would too finally break as his body did. Truth? He sought truth, but this path was not it. This way was not the one. And what had he done? Run about seeking all of this like a fool for decades of life? He, a fifty-four year old, was going to die here. He would not see the power of the Deep Lord transform the world into a utopia as the first cult had promised. He would not see a glorious paradise form as the second cult had promised. He would not see power and riches and glory in mortality as promised by the third and final cult he'd joined. Nothing. And so as he felt himself drift, the aging man would scoff at himself and allow himself to drift away.

But this was not to be his fate, it seemed.

Waking up in a shrine to the god Drothur (God of Travelers, Merchants, Wanderers, Transients, Homeless, and Foreigners), Knossos found himself cheating death once more. At least, this time it was so without his own choice in the matter. A passing cleric of Drothur had found him, the clothes on his back, and his magical satchel containing all his things, and brought them to the shrine to heal. Telling the confused and utterly depressed man they had been guided by a dream to take that road, in particular even seeing the location they had found Knossos in, the cleric said that the had felt the hand of their patron deity upon him. But why? Knossos would wonder this and ask as he was forced to heal up for some time, talking about everything to the cleric as they tended to him personally, but wasn't handed over to anyone else in the meantime as Drothur's will was seemingly to help him recover. The same cleric who had helped him would leave, returning to travel as was their calling, but would leave him with a parting message when he asked one last time the question that burned so brightly in his mind: "Why?" "Why save me? Why care for me despite all the things I've done?". The cleric merely responded, with a smile, that:

"My lord Drothur saw fit to save you, even one who seems to have long lost his way in life and done much in pursuit of many self-blinding and destructive paths. Most do not survive this sort of life, among those who have been in such a place as yourself that is. And yet you have come to see your own folly. The veil of ignorance has come up from your eyes, and this is a most precious gift indeed.

I believe...you are being given a chance. A great rebirth of purpose. An opportunity to take a new path, to pave a new road, now that you have been able to realize what so few like yourself have ever been able to.

Eh? As for my own personal reasons? Heh. I would not dare leave a lost wayfarer such as yourself to die in the wilderness...never again. I have made my own mistakes in the past, but I seek them not ever again.

So for forth, oh man named Knossos! Oh walker of dreams long broken! Go with my lord's blessing upon you, and see your new path to its very end without regrets! I shall see you there at the very end, my friend."

And so the cleric left.

Once a year had passed since Knossos having been brought to recover at the shrine, he would remove himself from the shrine and local area. Indeed, he would find himself joining the Pilgrim's Caravan as it was preparing to leave the location around where he'd been cared for throughout the prior year. Claiming to be a magical scholar of sorts, he would take his occult expertise and magic and skills and set about to make the world a better place in any way he could. He would also seek to gather knowledge along the way to this end. Ultimately on the road, and for the next fifteen years, Knossos would peddle his knowledge to assist others as an 'occult expert'. He would care for those dealing with haunted places or cursed items. He would be hired by nobles to investigate ruins, examine eclectic and rather niche 'magic items' for them, or try to assist with afflictions and issues caused by non-standard magical sources or origins. Such was his purpose. He would even buy up cursed items or such to 'contain' them safely, and for that he gained some reputation of a good but also wary sort. He even assisted areas with more 'zealous' beliefs investigate certain matters relating to his expertise and skills, if only to work with the law and try to form an amicable relationship with such groups to avoid trouble on his part. At the same time, however, it isn't as if he is without potential to get into trouble due to what he is skilled in dealing with. His skills have been of use to the Pilgrim's Caravan itself at times as well, making him a staple of the last decade and a half in regards to certain matters if nothing else, and yet to date he knows the danger never goes away. The next plot, the next oddity, the next obscure magical issue, the next place that could potentially be where he runs into his past again, whatever it may be...

...but he will see his new chosen path to the end, no matter what!

Personality:

An older man usually of a calm, jovial, or relaxed type of mentality and way he holds himself. Even so, he inherently possesses a sober patience and calm in or outside of his work as well. He is generally well-spoken, and is well-read to a sometimes troubling extent when it comes to his area of expertise, but one won't find him being usually unfriendly to others unless they seriously manage to tap into his anger r get him to really not like them to a notable enough extent. Knossos is very meticulous about his work and frankly passionate and serious about it to boot when it comes down to it. Attempting to snatch anything of his is something he will more than sternly lecture someone else on, at the very least, though he truly loathes those who fumble about with the occult or such things with no regards for their lives or others’. Outside of his work, one can find him willing to share a hot meal or drink with others and even have a laugh and talk and such...or a shoulder to rest on if they need to unload something painful or so forth onto someone else. At his heart children do have a soft spot with him as well, due to what happened to him in his own childhood (or lack thereof to an extent due to what happened in his own childhood), and at his heart he truly is a kind man who seeks to do the best he can in regards to himself and others with nothing but sincerity. Yet it is also that same sincerity that sees his anger and other negative emotions being that much more hot, poignant, and fierce whenever they manage to peek out from behind the veil of his usual demeanor.

Whilst he is not of the mind that he knows everything, he’ll amidst that as bluntly as possible with a laugh if asked, he is still a very much knowledgeable man whose talents go as deep as the years of his life have gone on long.

"What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

-Paarthunax, Skyim (2011) ((And this is a quote that IC would be something Knossos would actually think to say to be honest)

Motivation:

To assist others regarding matters of the occult…in a sense, a ‘guiding light’ to help them understand or deal with or even avoid danger from such things. De-cursing items, storing away dangerous occult objects/relics, advising or counseling people on how to deal with occult matters, keeping tomes of occult knowledge and scrolls of otherworldly wisdom away from others by taking them himself, etc. Likewise in this main goal he gets to travel and see the world, something he’s come to enjoy raiding along with the Caravan over the last decade and a half. Perhaps his goal is also evidence of seeking redemption of some kind for the years of woes and miseries he created or participated in prior, to atone for his once-evil life by seeking to do good with what he knows and can do, though he’d deny such a thing if asked about it or it was implied toward him or such.

Skills/Strengths:

-Occult Expertise (Occult Magic/Occult Knowledge): To be more specific about this area, his whole thing here and in general runs on the premise that even in a world of fantasy and magic and monsters and so forth existing there are ‘outliers’ even within the realm of magic itself. Obscure or unique magical arts/practices, forbidden or frankly taboo spells that were spells developed or discovered, magics tied to beings from abnormal otherworlds mages don't usually or haven't made contact with as a standard practice, socially/culturally unacceptable magical practices/arts, etc, along those lines. This realm of things is where Knossos’ expertise falls into the lines of, though even he admits he doesn’t know everything. How could he? He is just one man. What he does know has come from decades of experience and personal study, both during his cult-joining days and since then afterward, and his travels with the Pilgrim’s Caravan has assisted him in this by exposing him to new places and things to study and acquire and so forth along the way.

In terms of applications, his capabilities are more varied than they are specific. He can summon and command tentacled or oceanic-like beings from the space iL'Thris comes from, as well as summon and command demons from wherever Lady Ashtara came from. He can conjure unique magical/twisted alien waters from an alternate dimension to use to attack others, doing so in things like water jets and barriers and so forth, and unleash/conjure unusual black demonic fire that it would take magical means (or a lot more buckets of water than should be required normally for a fire) to put out. He is further steeped in curses and the mechanics of them and things such as cursed objects/items, and has knowledge of some tribal or obtuse/obscure/fringe magics from across the area’s he’s traveled through or learned from in the last one and a half decades.

In terms of outright skill and experience and self-discipline he's akin to a veteran old wizard working up in a tower or at some prestigious magical school somewhere in the world, but this is also his one greatest strength to boot.

-Magic-Infused Body: His body ages outwardly, but internally the quality of his body is still easily at the level of a prime 20-to-30-something year old due to what it has been infused with. He, in other words, isn't as old inside as he is outside. His mind is sharp, his body can handle the exertion, and so forth that a human in their 20-to-30-something prime could without a doubt. That and some minor regeneration capabilities that allow him to heal from a wider range of things than normally is possible and slightly increases his passive natural healing rate to boot.

His durability isn't beyond that of a normal human being, he isn't Wolverine in terms of healing speed or anything ridiculous like that (heck no), and so forth. But whilst his lifespan will be inevitably extended by an unknown amount of time, an extent even he has no idea of the length of, he will eventually in the longer term die of old age with everything just giving out due to the raw amount of time that has passed. Even then it isn't 'eternal youth' that he has either...really just slowed aging in regards to the quality of his body (but not his aesthetic appearance).

-General Survival Skills: Cooking, cleaning, foraging, handling weather, making a fire, creating basic or functioning shelter, fishing, and similar things are array of generalist survival skills he’s refined from necessity over the decades and years before and even during his caravan years. He’s a very well-seasoned hand in this regard without a doubt.

Weaknesses:

-He has no armor to speak of, and his physical capabilities are still very much human. He is just as mortal as anyone else to boot when it comes to being able to be killed.

-No weapons skills to speak of. Best he could use is maybe his knife, but eve then that is just for survival and travel and such general-use purposes.

-Whilst some of his magical capabilities and occult knowledge do overlap with actual standard magical practices or categorizations, don't expect him to know standard magic stuff and standard-type spells and so forth. His knowledge is nuanced and eclectic and frankly niche in nature, so whilst some overlap in how things are categorized and work can occur he is no scholastic wizard who got a proper magical education from some magic university or so forth. He can probably identify some things from being on the road for so long, and doing his own research, but he's no wizard. He's just your friendly caravan-traveling occult expert and magic user.

-Knossos' body was fused with part of an alien being and outright demonic power it now produces and can tap into. To any sort of zealous paladin, trained mage trying to detect magical sources, and the like, he stands out like a gigantic bonfire being lit up in the middle of total darkness. It is impossible not to notice him, as in being among the sorest of sore thumbs in terms of standing out in this way.

To this end, he commissioned and purchased a Magical Ring (see "Tools") that hides his magical presence/energy from detection by others. Second to the magical bag he carries his things in, it is the second most expensive item he openly wears or carries on himself. Despite obsessively wearing it all the time on his right hand, no matter what he is doing or in the middle of, it also isn't a perfect thing. High-tier, high-level, and top-tier types of magical detections spells or magics can see past his protection and pick up on him. Likewise, if one manages to get the ring off of him that is not good news either for him.

Of course in some areas, this ring might not be needed if no one can detect magic there. But especially in major cities or capitals or areas with magical schooling he has to keep this ring on.

-Due to the above weakness, he also has an inherent weakness to specifically holy magic(s). Healing magic of a holy sort still works on him, he isn't some full demonic being or so forth, but it leaves him feeling physically weaker as an end result. Meanwhile offensive holy magic does hurt him extra to a distinctly noticeable extent. Barriers of holy magic that protect from monsters or demons or such, etc, do not keep him out since he's not fully anything of the sort. On the other hand such things, depending on potency, do make him anywhere from uncomfortable to feeling a sense of passively-throbbing pain or potentially worse depending.

Tools:

-Traveling/Professional Work Clothes (see the appearance picture at the top of his app)

-Water Skin (not seen in picture but he wears it around normally)

-Knife (for cutting rations and food and such, or whittling, or whatever general use thing it could be used for)

-Magical Ring (Hides the magical energies and such within him from being noticed by magical detection methods. This works all the way up to even a moderately strong sort of magical detection capability at most.)

-A Bag of Holding Expy type object, one he has had enchanted and reinforced and put more money into than anything else he wears or the like. It stands out like a sore thumb with him, made to last beyond a lifetime and then some, but does look about as well-traveled with all the work done to it. He can withdraw whatever he wishes out of the bag, but if damaged badly enough he has to get it repaired to access his things again. At the same time, between enchantments and runes and materials used to reinforce and augment it, this magical bag can be returned to his person or even into his hands with a thought and is harder to break than most things in the world. This is because he has put a lot of money into it over the years from his mercantile pursuits, as well as some back when he was in cults due to having had this bag as far back as then when he bought it for himself after fleeing the destruction of the first cult he was in.

It took all he had to get the back itself back then, in its original condition no less, but since then it has been a literal staple he even keeps on his person at all times even when bathing and sleeping and otherwise...maybe he's a tad too careful about the thing actually. He is touchy about this thing, and the investment he's made into it alone is, ah, not exactly normal for a person to do.

With this it contains: Food rations, regular clothing, a backup water skin, occult-related magical tomes/scolls, various mundane books related to both the occult and other subjects, clothing from when he was in those three cults in the past, magically-contained cursed items or other such dangerous objects, and all of his money.

Other:

-His surname, "Dreakwalker", was self-appointed and has stuck since. Inspired by the clerics parting words to him and his own reflection back on his own life. A poetic touch, as it were, which also makes him sound rther fancy and well-versed in what he knows (which he is well-versed in regardless of name anywho).

-NOTE: As far as the caravan knows at most, he's a roaming magical scholar who got experience on the road over many decades and is specialized in the occult. Was interested in such magic, and left his hometown to pursue his interest on the road. Wants to help people. Never said where he comes from, told his life story, etc.

-Yes, Knossos' homeland is based in some 'rough' part on Italy/Greece/the Mediterranean in terms of naming and such. No, I have not worked this all out. No, as of submitting Knossos' app I cannot say more than that at the moment.