Ise Prakt

Name: Ise Prakt

Title(s): None, nicknamed the Snow Crow by superstitious Dalers

Home/Location: Wanders the valley of Sundren

Birthplace: Termalaine, Icewind Dale

Age: 44

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Deity: Loviatar, formerly Tempus

Alignment: CE, formerly NG

Background:

Born a farmer's boy in the ruggedly beautiful yet war-tested town of Termalaine, second northernmost of settlements that make up the Ten Towns. Growing up to become a honourable and strong young man, he was obedient and disciplined, aways eager to partake in the daily labours of the family farmstead ever since his early years. In 1351, Termalaine was beseiged by the barbarian forces of Heafstaag, bent on conquering all of the Ten Towns in one fell swoop. Ise, eager to test his mettle, joined with the local militia to repel the invaders, successfully so. After peace was restored, he returned to the calm routines of his home a quieter man. He would soon marry the neighbouring farmer's daughter, whom would in time give birth to their child, a spirited little girl they named Isabel. Ise would unsurprisingly turn out to be a devoted and caring husband and father, and with wife and child he would enjoy an idyllic life for the next 5 years. Then disaster struck. A feud had gotten out of hand between Termalaine and the neighbouring town of Targos, and Ise's farm along with many others were burned to the ground in the dead of the night by a group of Targosmen. Ise, fully half a century later, was often still plagued at night by horrific memories of his battles against Heafstaag's army, and was at this hour, as countless times before, having a stroll in the nearby woods, calming his senses and contemplating on the lives he had taken. As the town horns blew strong, sounding the alarm, it was already too late. Ise could do nothing to save his wife and daughter, who had been horribly burned to death still in their beds. He despaired, falling to his knees and joining the other townsfolk in their pleas to get their loved ones back. The difference was, his had been heard. Or perhaps the cries of the others did not fall on deaf ears either, only that they were not foolish enough to heed the answer. Call it folly or love. The Maiden of Pain, Loviatar, had kept Her eyes and ears on Termalaine this fateful night, and with Her Ise had bargained for his Isabel's return. The bargain was this : Bring enough pain and suffering to the people of the Ten Towns and beyond, indeed as much hellish despair as you now experience yourself Ise, and you may yet hold your beloved Isabel in troubled arms again. In the state he was in, he could not acknowledge much of a choice. With Targos to feel his wrath first of all, he would start on a murdering romp throughout the Ten Towns and all Icewind Dale. Truly anyone unfortunate enough to stand in his way would be cut down without mercy, but Ise waylayed those with families and loved ones to lose with a special glee. Rumours began to circulate of a monster, and the townsfolk would soon speak of the creature with great dread. The Snow Crow they called it, a nickname chosen due to it's victims often being picked clean to the bone. It was not Ise however who had ravaged the corpses of the fallen so, unbeknownst to the masses, but the cloud of crows that eventually came to haunt his every step. During the harsher seasons of the Dale sustainance for these creatures could be exceedingly difficult to come by, and so once they had learnt that food would be plentiful wherever he trod, crows and Ise became an inevitable part of each other's lives. Truly these scavengers would more often than not be the only company Ise would share for the next two decades. Throughout these years security along the roads and hills nearing any civilized lands steadily increased in an effort to catch their persistent killer, finally culminating with the hiring of Luskan mercenary brigands to form crack patrol squads. They nicknamed themselves the Bird Pluckers and boldly claimed to be able to rid Icewind Dale of it's murderous thorn in the side once and for all. Ise narrowly survives his encounter with one such patrol, and flees into the Spine of the World. By chance he soon stood before the gate of the Sunderer, and with a heavy heart, the desperate longing for his Isabel crying out from behind muffled layers of insanity, like the paddings of an asylum cell, he sets off into pastures new.

(This isn't common knowledge, it's his life story. If your character also hails from Icewind Dale he/she is likely to have heard of the Snow Crow, although unlikely of any real information linking Ise Prakt to that name.)

Faction(s):

None, formerly Termalaine Militia

Significant Relationships:

Isabel : His long lost daughter. The hope of seeing her again is all that keeps him from destroying himself. The fire of his love for her still burns deep within him, although now flickering amidst the growing darkness.

Crows : Ise posseses an affinity and understanding towards all crows, developed over the long years spent in their company.

Lauan Tissle : Lauan reminds Ise of his daughter tremendously, and ever since their chance meeting he has looked after and cared for her much like he once did Isabel. Ise is torn concerning her. A part of him now knows a love again, one that he has been without for so long, and as such is overjoyed... Content with being a part of Lauan's life and ready to let poor Isabel rest at last. While another part knows it can never truly be the same, contemplating whether or not to continue on the path Loviatar has set him on... Making Lauan a choice victim instead of a daughter.

Braghuru the Ice Hag : Ise happened upon this unfortunate creature during his visit to the Cold Climp Mountains. The pair shares much in common, perhaps even more so than they'd each dare think, and through her missery and hatred she has rekindled Ise's own. It is long since he has felt his murderous calling as strongly as he does when he is around Braghuru... Sundren beware.

Miscellaneous Information:

Ise will often mimic a crow's call when conversed to or in battle.

He is an immense man standing well over 7 feet tall, his length matched by his behemoth build.

He is bright blonde of hair and heavily bearded, with light blue eyes.

As if not inconspicuous enough, he is also easily recognizable by the massive claymore he brandishes. Although physically peerless he posesses no real skill with this sword, and is unfamiliar with fighting anything able to withstand his initial onslaught.