[CHAR] Night of the Marked

[Zeroth]

Name: Arden Barnett
Age, Gender: 25, Male

Appearance:

Picture

An even six feet tall and rather handsome, Arden strikes a noble figure. His hair is a dark brown, his eyes a vivid green, and the steel of his armor burnished lightly with a dark blue gloss. Signs of wear here and there are a testament to his experience, but he keeps his equipment well maintained. He has a slight pallor of the face, but is otherwise hearty and hale.

He often wears a grim countenance, and his gaze seems far away. But when they return to the present, more often than not it is with a kind of intense focus that makes meeting his eyes a daunting task. When he does smile, it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Personality: Despite his gloomy demeanor, Arden is what one might call a "perfect example" of the chivalrous and honorable nature of a knight. He does what is right no matter the cost to himself...and sometimes, to others. This is his primary flaw: he sees the world in stark contrast between good and evil, and values the order of law above the more realistic concerns of the common man. Against a direct threat, meeting the forces of the Night in the pitch of battle, he is a stalwart ally. But often he misunderstands the plights of others, and his attempts to help are too heavy handed. Nor is he quick to forget a grudge, and when his ire is roused he acts without thinking and--hypocritically--takes the law into his own hands. One might say, however, that he has another flaw of being too generous. Despite his hard stance on evil, he treats others well. He often refuses a reward for a good deed, and is willing to give what he can to those in need. Often times this leaves him with an empty purse, or lets others take advantage of him.

Backstory: The son of a noble knightly lineage going back for generations, Arden held himself to a standard set impossibly high by his forbears. Their line had loyally served the Kingdom and the Church for centuries, and long ago had been given a mission they carry out to this day: delivering the righteous judgement of the Crown upon those deemed to be oathbreakers, those most foul of nobles, knights, and other men of high standing whom the lesser magistrates could not bring to trial. In cases where the watchmen could not seize a criminal of this standing, or when the King could not risk a civil war, the men of House Barnett would seek honorable challenge, or serve the Crown's interest in Trial by Combat. It is for this they are not well liked by the rest of the nobility; those who call them friends merely try to stay within their good graces with honeyed words, and those who have too much pride for such groveling decry them as no better than assassins or hired thugs.

Not long after Arden came of age, he married a beautiful young woman named Diantha. They were deeply in love, but as time went on Diantha never became pregnant. Arden didn't love her any less for it, but with such a standing as his it was vital that they conceive a child. They tried many medicines by the royal doctors, visited the cathedrals all over the kingdom to receive blessings and prayers, and did as best they could. Still Diantha remained barren. She began to fear that Arden would leave her, or else take a mistress. No matter how much he reassured her, the gazes of his relatives from their lofty arrogance bore down on her more and more heavily.

Late one evening, though she feared the Night, Diantha covered herself with hood and cloak and made her way to a lonely cottage to speak with an old, withered woman. When she returned, before Arden could ask where she had been she coerced him to the bed. Within weeks they came to know that she was with child. For a time the two could not be happier, though Diantha began to make trips out into the town on errands later and later. Soon Arden began to fear that she would encounter some foul Nightkin if she stayed out any later, and he left in pursuit when she had not returned by sunset one day.

He found her, dancing in circles in the forest around an alter covered in blood, alongside others all dressed in black. Crying out to her, he charged forward with drawn sword in hand to strike down those that had kidnapped her. Though he felled one, the others all fled. They screamed for Diantha to follow them. Arden reached out to her, though only now did he see that she had begun to change into something horrible. With a wicked smile she embraced him, kissing his cheek.

He screamed as he felt her lips brand him. He pushed her away, and pointed his sword at her. Each saw the betrayal in the other's eyes.

Arden hesitated. Diantha ran. And so the quest began...

Equipment: Arden wears armor of plate steel and chain mail, along with a thick gambeson and a tabard bearing his family crest. Slung across his back is a wooden heater shield, also bearing the coat of arms, reinforced with strips of metal along its edges.

Theme: Ron Morina - The Fallen

Other: Arden has quite the reputation as a warrior, and a rumor about him says that he once fended off a dozen armed men on his own when a treasonous knight tried to have him killed before the trial set later that day.

[Lucius Cypher]

Name: Malkai
Age/Gender: 31/Male

Appearance:

Personality: Malkai is a strong-willed individual with his own code of honor. Often stubborn and determined, but also naive and petty. Malkai can be a kind man who will come to the aid of others without cause or reason, but he's also quick to anger and slow to calm. While he doesn't consider himself such, he often acts out of idealistic heroic notions, risking life and limb for himself or others for no reason other than that the person is in trouble, or whoever is causing them trouble is wrong for doing so. Not that he isn't pragmatic and selfish; while he may be kind he is not generous, and does not give his belongings freely. He involves himself in the affairs of others regardless of their wishes, often getting in the way of things which he has no business to be in. Malkai has no issues with stealing from the poor or the rich, young or old, needy or not. While his actions may result in some good, he himself is not a good person, as he'll lie, cheat, and steal as it suits him, and at the same time defend someone's honor and put a stop to more vile villains on principle or simply because he wants to. He can easily chose not to if he so desires.

Backstory: Malkai was born beyond The Grinds, in a land known as the Planescape. A land of wild nature and powerful monsters, were mortal men lived transient live styles, forced to either flee from the beasts or become the monsters themselves. They were called the Kharnates, who were excellent beast tamers and could often turn a simple metal pot into workable piece of armor, and one Kharnate could take on an entire company of men.

Of course this was rumor and hearsay, and Malkai himself wouldn't know the truth of it. He was only a babe when his father left the Kharnate and ventured through the Grind, living as travelers and occasionally mercenaries. The reasons were simple enough: His father was marked by a demonic creature known as a Succubus. These devilish women prey on men's base desire for sex, but use that desire to sire more of their own and to eat the souls of mortals. The succubus sought Malkai's father specifically because he and his ancestors have had a long history of being preyed upon by this specific demon, and some would even say that she is an ancestor to Malkai as well.

Malkai's father was caught by the demon when he was eleven years old. He and his father had returned from a bloody battle, where his father had lost a leg due to arrow infections. He was hallucinating and in his dying moments, thought back to more pleasant times with his wife, who died while birthing Malkai. It was then that the succubus attacked, taking on the illusion of Malkai's mother to elope with his dying father, impregnating the demon as well as absorbing his father's soul. Malkai did not discover that this happened until it was too late, when he walked into the tent and saw the demon straddling his father's lifeless corpse. He didn't even have time to scream when the demon pounced him and put her brand at the base of Malkai's crotch. When he was older and more of a man, he too would be sought after by the demon, and his future would be abruptly taken from him for the pleasure of the she-demon.

Since his father's death Malkai knew to do very little beyond fight and run, and he did more running than fighting. He ran into the forest hoping that perhaps he would get eaten by a monster or wild animal, to die quickly before letting the demon toy with his body and soul. But instead of finding despair, he found a friend. A little pup, sucking from the teat of his slain mother. The dog was barely larger than Malkai's own hand, and yet there was a certain kinship with the pathetic beast. They both were survivors of a violent tragedy. Perhaps together, they could survive their brutally short future.

With the pup in tow, Malkai roamed the lands. He raised the dog, which he named Pup, to protect and hunt with him. Together they roamed the Shadowed Vale, facing men and beasts together, growing stronger and richer each battle. But little did he know, Malkai's growth and success were being watched by the very same demon that slew his father. And soon he'd discover that the strength that carried him so far won't be enough to defeat this demon...

Equipment:

Inventory

Hunting Knife - A knife Malkai stole from a hunter, good for skinning animals, gutting his enemies, and cutting his steak. Malkai is pretty good at throwing it too, though he only does this in emergencies or for tricks.

Battle Axe - Malkai's ancestral axe. Small enough to hold with one arm but big enough to cleave a main right through his chainmail, Malkai's axe is truly a barbaric weapon.

Short bow - Another weapon stolen from a hunter, though it's said that this arrow is a specially designed one from the Kharnate: It has the strength of a longbow but compact, best for horse-back archery. Malkai has some experience with the weapon as a hunting tool, though he's recently used up all his arrows trying to kill his recent catch.

Butchered Deer - Ever pragmatic, Malkai has recently killed and butchered a deer for his own use. The meat he's obviously saved and salted to feed himself and pup, and has a total of ten pounds of the stuff on him. He also has some bones and antlers bundled up. He isn't entirely sure what he can use them for, though he figures he could turn them into arrowheads when he has a chance.

Water skin - Made from a Deer's stomach, this leathery bag can hold up to a quart of liquid, typically river water though Malkai has used it as a wineskin before.

Bear fangs (17) - While he's aware that Valeton has an actual currency, Malkai has found that he could trade the teeth of various beasts for bartering, at least with certain tribals in the Shadowed Vale. Bear teeth in particular seem to be quite valued by most, and Malkai was fortunate enough to find an already dead one not too long ago. If nothing else, once he can find himself some string he could make a badass necklace out of the teeth.

Coin Purse - Separate from his the pouch that holds his bear teeth is a purse that actually holds some money. It's mostly silver piece, but he does have some gold for more expensive purchases, though not enough to give him anything more than a weeks stay at a decent inn. Most of the coins are dirty and rusted.

Armor - A spiky metal helmet, hide pauldrons, fur kilt, and thick fur boots are what Malkai has for armor. While certainly not as protective as conventional metal mail or nowhere near as useful as actual plate armor, what little it does protect gives Malkai the ability to shrug off glancing blows, and it makes him look intimidating.

Hunting dog (Pup) - Despite his name, Pup is actually quite large now. He would stand at Malkai's height if he was on his hind legs, and is waist high on all fours. Pup is quite intelligent compared to other dogs, and he's capable of preforming quite a few complicated tricks and seems to understand what people are saying. Malkai likes to say that Pup "Is smart enough to speak, but wise enough to stay quiet". Has a knack for smelling creatures of the night, particularly animal-like monsters such as werewolves or trolls. He's painted with kaddis, a special war paint that allows Pup to be able to smell out Malkai even if they are both covered in blood and gore.

Tent and Bedroll - Made from the tanned hides of various animals, the tent is a large tarp that can be folded into a compact square, and the bedroll is a thicker thing of fur and skins which can be rolled up. Clever use of rope and sticks can allow Malkai to make the ten large enough to cover up to at least two people, typically himself and Pup.

Lantern - Helps Malkai see in the dark. Can be fueled with either oils or wood, though currently it has half a container of oil. Attached to the lantern is some flint and steel, which he uses to light the lantern and anything else that needs to be on fire.

Fermented Mushrooms (3) - Shrooms which Malkai typically eats in the midst of battle. While he doesn't know what they're called, he does know what they do: When consumed they increase his pain threshold, allowing him to ignore pain that would otherwise make most men crying for death. The harm he suffers won't affect his performance beyond literally dismemberment, though he'll be in a world of pain once he recovers.

Travel Sack - What everything is being carried in. A sturdy leather bag that holds most of Malkai's things, with extra pockets on the outside to easy access to small objects and straps to secure larger ones.

Theme:


Other: Malkai is illiterate, though he knows how to do some math, such as multiplication and division. While not famous, he's fairly well known outside of Valeton, at least if you're a mercenary or tribal. Whether or not it's good or bad depends on who's asking, as he has made as many allies as he's made enemies. He is something of a criminal due to engaging in acts of thievery, burglary, robbery, and at least one confirmed murder of a caravan guardsman. Has not actually been in Valeton, though he knows where it is.

[Halvtand]

Seth of Valeria

Name: Seth of Valeria. (Technically the Duke of Valeria)
Age: 21.
Gender: Male.

Appearance

Personality: The most apparent feature of Seth’s personality is his charisma. He is a true nobleman, able to charm people left and right. He has a way with worlds and a sort of natural authority that makes people pay attention to him. On top of this, he also has IT. No one can specify or explain what IT is, yet everyone know. Something about him makes women weak, and men jealous of his very being. IT does not work on everyone, but a surprising amount of people will either like or dislike Seth on a first glance because of it. Coupled with his own natural charm and charisma, Seth can often choose whether he will spend the night alone or with someone.

Born a nobleman, Seth was handed the world on a silver platter. He is used to getting what he wants and can sometimes act very childishly. while he is an educated and intelligent man, he is emotionally immature and sometimes very naive.

Backstory:
The house of Valeria was once strong and influential. We were noblemen, rich, beautiful, powerful. Then the Nightkin came.
First they laid siege to the estate of Valeria, cutting off all communications with the outside world.
We endured their fear.
They climbed the walls and attacked our soldiers.
We battled their onslaught.
They ran through the estate, slaying our servants with their claws and fangs and horns.
We defended the weak.
They killed my beloved.
I fell into despair.

Backstory

Seth of Valeria was born as the third son of Duke Thors III of Valeria.
As the third son, Seth was never destined to take over the title, estate or fortune of his father. All that was meant for his oldest brother, Ian. The second son was to be educated, he would become a priest and a spiritual leader for every man and woman in Valeria. The third son would get nothing. In order for him to live a life of dignity and relative comfort he was promised a position as officer in the army, it came with a price, but it was nothing for a Duke.
While his brothers learned how to become gentlemen, quote poems and dance, Seth was taught how to fight with a longsword, ride a warhorse and plan strategies to win battles.
He lived well, got along with his brothers and sisters and his parents. The siblings would often keep each other company on their spare time and pass along any insight or lesson they had been taught. They could talk about poetry for hours, even Seth who only learned through his siblings. They could spar, ride, talk politics and gossip. Over all, it was a very good life, and Seth never realised just how sheltered they were until it was too late.

One day when Seth was 16, he found himself engaged to the daughter of another nobleman. Her name was Elena. They had met before and was quite taken with each other. Life was good.
One night shortly after the engagement Seth was wandering about the estate, as he used to do every now and then. This night he came across a strange man in one of the hallways. It was a tall, handsome man with dark hair and strangely piercing eyes. His clothes were all black and made from a strange material that made them flow and tumble around in the non-existing breeze, but without making any sound.
They stood watching each other in silence for a moment. Seth too surprised to act, and the stranger watching with interest. To relieve the tension Seth did what he always did and smiled, he got a smile in return, but that smile held no friendship. Then a thought hit the young noble. They had no guests at the moment, and only a skeleton crew on hand during the night. This person was an intruder.
As he called out the intruder with a loud cry, the stranger swiftly produced a rapier from his belt and advanced with almost impossible speed. Being caught without a weapon handy Seth grabbed the first thing he could think of, a chair, and hurled it with all his might at his assailant. The stranger, however, barely seemed to notice the obstacle and cleared it with a leap that had him almost touching the roof. He came down with a stab, and caught Seth just above the heart. The nobleman screamed out in pain and grabbed the blade to pull it out, but the stranger pushed much harder than him.
Footsteps, rustling armor and weapons. The stranger pulled out his sword after an eternity and slapped Seth over the head with the dull side of it.
He woke up in his bed, the servants had found him alone, bleeding, in the hallway. It was a small wound, and it had already stopped bleeding when the sun came up.
When the sun went down, the wound had formed the mark. That following night would be forever burned into Seth’s memory as the Night of Demons.

Excerpt from Seth’s journal on the Night of Demons.

I remember it like it happened just yesterday, even though I was only a boy. 16 years old, not yet a man. I was engaged to a beautiful woman, Elena. We were in love and was to be married later that year, when the leaves turned red. But the demons broke the walls and stormed the city. My father was among the first who fell, my brother came next. My master drew his sword and rushed head first into the advancing horde. His every strike, stab and sweep felled one of the Nightkin, to him they did not matter. His blade kept moving even if it had to cut several of the beasts in one swing. A truly magnificent sight. But there was no time to enjoy his swordsmanship this day. He had attacked so furiously for only one reason, to buy me some time to get Elena out through the secret passage. But they had found it first.

As I gently lowered my beloved down into the hidden tunnel that would take her to the edge of the city, to safety, she was pulled down into the darkness. I heard her scream echo in the darkness. With my father’s sword, the blade of Valeria, in my hand I went in after her. The tunnel was big, dark and empty, so I ran. I knew the maze by heart and ran for the exit as fast as I could. Suddenly I heard steps up ahead and the whimper of my beloved. I held my sword high and yelled “Let her go free, fiends! Face me!”

Then they came at me. I could not say how many they were, I just started to cut them down. Like my master had shown me, I kept the blade in motion, I let it cut through the enemy without hesitation and spilled the blood of many fiends that day.
When the Nightkin were slain I looked around for my beloved. I found her bleeding and dying further along the tunnel. The beasts had put a blade through her chest. We were alone, I could hear the chaos above, people running, screaming, trying to get away, but we were truly alone.
I tore a piece of her dress and tried to stop the bleeding. I sincerely believed that if I could just keep the blood inside her we’d find someone who knew what to do outside the tunnel.
The bleeding would not stop. I tried everything, but the blood just kept coming. After a while she reached up, touched my cheek and left me behind.

I carried her lifeless body out of the dark tunnel and away from Valeria, I did not stop until we came to the closest village. They helped me bury her under a tree, She had always loved trees.

After the night of demons everything that mattered was gone. Seth went back to Valeria a few days later, but the estate was in ruins. Bodies everywhere, even the cattle and dogs had been slain. He was all alone, everything from his former life was either dead or burned. He had no skills that would earn him money to stay alive except his sword and hatred of the Nightkin. He gathered as much money as he could carry, and a few heirlooms that he couldn’t let the looters have, and left. Seth of Valeria became a mercenary, taking every mission he could to scrape together a few coins, of course favouring those that involved slaying Nightkin or aiding those in need.

He met the stranger many times between the Night of Demons and now, and found out who, or what he is. A Vampire named Talon.
Talon would stay in the shadows, occasionally letting himself be seen by Seth and/or other humans. Every now and then he will watch as Seth seduces a fair maiden and brings her into his chamber for the night. Come morning, she will be gone.

Equipment:
Seth does not carry much equipment. While he is a reasonably intelligent man, he doesn’t trust that voodoo-stuff with his life.
He carries:
The Blade of Valeria - A twohanded sword passed down the Valeria family for generations.
A dagger - For close combat stabbing.
Chainmail - Great for making it through the night.
Heavy gauntlets - These gauntlets can easily stop a blade or similar attacks.
Valerian locket - A gold locket with the picture of his sister in it.
A small pack with necessities such as food, some money, tools for maintaining his weapons and his clothes.

Theme

https://youtu.be/c1_6OdRBWds

Other: Though quite unusual, Seth has a kind of relationship with “his” Nightkin. They meet every now and then, talk, fight, stare, make faces… Seth is aware what kind of a monster he has been marked by. Despite the fact that Seth regularly picks out Talon’s next victim, he cannot stop seeking attention and comfort from the breasts of women.

Being a nobleman and relatively well brought up, Seth minds his speech. He will never use contracted words (such as can’t) and will always pronounce the whole thing (cannot).

[Lauder]

Name: Ahori Valkairus
Age, Gender: 27, Female

Appearance:

Image

Personality:
Ahori is a rather cheerful lass, almost too cheerful as most people would put it in most cases. She seems to have an extremely optimistic attitude about her despite that fact of what is happening. Though, all the happiness that she has seems to be a mask to hide how she truely feels about everything in general. This is her flaw: she will lie so that nobody is to worry about her, wanting simply to be left alone. Though her mask is also one of her greatest assets as she will not falter when things seem to be unfavorable, instead seeking to push on. That being said, she is also a very cold person as she does not seem to care much about the lives of others unless are to do something to gain her friendship and trust. Ahori is the type to avoid confrontation if she can, being afraid of breaking down in front of people. When it comes to helping people, she does purely to get rewards from it so that way she does not have to be considered poor, plus she is a bit greedy when it comes to money.

Backstory:
Ahori had been born under a house of fallen nobles, ones who have lost all honor to their family for an unknown reason to her. This had lead to her family being very angry towards one another and her, thus causing her coping mechanism to come into play at an early age. No matter what, she had a positive outlook on the future despite knowing full well that it may not happen anytime soon. However, do to the violence that her family had towards one another she had to mature faster than most kids would want to.

At the age of ten, she had already made a name for herself as a petty thief who stole bread, coin, and various other valuables that people had. This had not gone over well with her family in the slightest and it lead to many severe punishments. On a near day to day basis, she was locked within her room and not allowed to have dinner. This only reinforced her will to go and steal in order to survive in her own household. Ahori then took up a different interest in her life, dancing, while not a true job she could make bits of money off of performances. While at first she was not the best, she quickly grew in her talents as she wanted to further develop this. By fifteen, she was considered a master at her art, though still not the best that could be found in the city. Another plus is that she incorporated her dancing into her theivery so that she would not get in as much trouble in a fight.

Continuing her career was her top priority and when she hit the age of twenty-six it became even more important as she had actually started to make a good income, bringing her family together once more. However, there was one thing that began to haunt her at night, a small imp who continously followed her though no one but her could see it. It beckoned her to join it for a lifetime of power and infamy, but she refused and it had respected her choice. Though, every night it would come to her and ask to for her to join it and every night she refused. Except one night, Ahori had questioned it instead, asking why it had been doing this. It had answered that it merely wished to inhabit a new body so that it could gain power that no mortal could comprehend. After that, something began burning her stomach, a mark had appeared. When she asked why, it answered with "So I don't lose you. You will become my host even in death. I chose you so because of your skills. You are able to dance, literally, dance around attacks. If you wish to live a normal life then kill me, but know that I am always watching." With that her vendetta began.

Ahori became consumed with trying to find the imp and kill it. She drove away her friends, family, even her audeience. Her fame began to dwindle within a year, but she refused to give in and began a wider hunt for the imp, only catching glimpses of it or hearing it speak to her.

Equipment:
-Rucksack
-Iron Dagger
-A loaf of bread

Theme: Os Trabocos - Amarcatu

Other:
N/A