Karthus El'than
Name: Karthus El'than, most of the time
Class: Undisclosed
Primary Residence: Inconsistant
Birthplace: Unmapped Village, to the East of the Sundren Border
Age: 22
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Deity: Shaundakul, with respects to Oghma
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Background:
Karthus was born in an unmapped village to the immediate East of the border of Sundren land, at the edge of a small forest. The village was rather secluded from the bordering communities, including Sundren, despite having been in existance for centuries, with the estimated two hundred inhabitants rarely communicating with the outside world. Entirely self-sufficient, the tiny community flourished without incident or tragedy since being founded by the El'than bloodline, all those years ago.
Born to the village elder, Theliand El'than, and his mate, Sharrise, Karthus was the eldest son amongst a family of four siblings. Although his sister Moona had been birthed years prior to himself, tradition stated that only the eldest son could take the position of the village leader after the passing of his father. This tradition had run within the El'than bloodline since the founding of the village, and had never been broken - not until the generation of Karthus.
The El'than family set the example for the rest of the village to follow the ways outlined by Silvanus, and had thusly been gifted as Druids for many generations. Since the first generation of villagers, not a single child had been born to the El'thans without showing at least minor proficiency in Druidic magics, and Karthus was not an exception. On the contrary, Karthus had shown more promise than any other since the founder of the village, whom he had been named after. He, along with his brothers Caleb and Se'rok, were mentored by the village loremaster of Silvanus, each starting at the age of four years - they were taught the concepts, lessons, and worship of the Oak Father, and the sacred codes and oaths of a Druid.
Excelling in all of his studies, and in the practical application of Druidic magic, Karthus was to become a promising leader for the village at the time of his father's passing, to the joy of his sister, whom he had been closest with. Although Moona was not trained as a Druid herself, she held a deep understanding of the Oak Father, and had always provided Karthus was guidance in regards to the religious aspect of his life. He loved her dearly, and that was perhaps what brought his idealistic lifestyle to a conclusion. On the day exactly 20 years from Karthus' birth, Moona was absent from his celebration. By the time the sun began to set that day, the village scouts had set out to find her in the deep woods. They found her.
Moona had been bitten by a venomous snake during a walk she had taken through the forest earlier that morning, and it had left her unable to gather the strength to walk. By the time she had been located and returned to the village, her condition was only getting worse. Caleb managed to identify the poison within her veins, and described it as being lethal without the aid of a powerful healer. The village itself lacked a healer with the capabilities required to perform the necessary methods of restoration, but there was an elderly man, Roth, that was known to have a shelter on the main road that ran by the outside of the forest. Karthus, who loved his sister dearly, begged and pleaded to his father Theliand to allow his sister to see the distant healer, but the entire family knew that it was forbidden, and Theliand refused.
Roth was known to have assosciated with the practice of Resurrection, and the use of unnatural healing methods, which had been declared to not be acceptable practices by the earlier El'than generations. In the following of tradition, Karthus' father had no choice but to have his daughter die a natural death, than to live one extended by something that the Oak Father might not permit. It was at this point that oath, code, and Druidism were forsaken, as Karthus defied the order of his father, and the tradition that had been carried throughout his bloodline for centuries. That night, Karthus stole Moona's limp body from what would have been her deathbed, and fled the village in an attempt to make it to the main road.
It took only a few moments before the noise was heard, and Karthus' parents awoke to the sight of the breaking of his oaths. Paying no mind to those that he thought were wicked, Karthus ran, barely mantaining his strength while running with the weight of his dying loved one. Warm tears running down his cheeks, legs burning, the anguished and defiant young man ran through the woods as fast as he could, his sister in his weakening arms. Every step that he took resulted in a pulsing throb in his muscles as he strained to keep running, despite the pain and the thorns and branches of his surroundings cutting into his clothes, unable to use his arms to push them aside. It was all futile though, as before he had even made it through half of the dense foliage, he began to feel his sister's life slipping away, right through his fingers. It only took a few moments for her breathing to stop, and her eyes to adopt a lifeless quality that only brought more tears on the part of Karthus. Falling to his knees in emotional torment, Karthus released his sister onto the ground before him, as a dozen or so members of his village began to catch up to his position.
Theliand and Sharisse quickly pulled Karthus from the corpse of his sister, seeming to be more angry at his actions than saddened by her death. Rather than returning to the village, though, to face the shame and expulsion from his Druidic order, he continued making his way to the main road without a single word to his furious parents, or brothers. What became of the village at that point, Karthus did not know. He assumed that Caleb would take his father's place upon death, just as Karthus had been supposed to, and that Se'rok would become a mentor for newer generations of Druids. Guesswork aside, all that Karthus knew for certain was that he would never call himself a Druid again, and that Silvanus would no longer guide his path.
Having travelled much since leaving his birthplace, and never calling a singe place home again, Karthus quickly adopted the methodology of Shaundakul, the walker of winds. Under the deities teachings, Karthus has tried exceedingly hard to find himself a new identity, having left behind the one assosciated with his bloodline. Still denouncing the Druidic codes that had broken his heart, and deprived him of all that he loved, he still bears a sensitive spot to related subjects. However, although he does not affiliate with the title or the specifics of a Druidic life, Karthus never lost his profound bond with nature, nor his care, respect, and appreciation for its power and beauty.
Recent History:
Upon arriving in Sundren through the Gate of the Sunderer, Karthus has struggled to come to terms with what has happened to him, and what it has done to him on an emotional and psychological level. Constantly in an internal conflict with who he is, and who he wants to be, his behaviour is inconsistant and unpredictable, and his direction is undecided. Karthus has been involved in a great many significant affairs in the time he has spent in Sundren; some documented, and others not.
A Betrayal Revealed:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7866
Cure the Apathy:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7912
(Karthus instigated much of the content in this speech)
An Old Friend, a New Tale:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7928
Druid, or Not:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8058
Uncovering the Blades:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7750
The Landaren Affair:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7633
The Assault and Bombardment of the Necropolis:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7629
Confronting Samantha:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7693
Releasing Demons on the Coast
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7808
The Demonic Rampage
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7828
The Rescue on Schild Mountain:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7501
Testing the Artifact:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?p=52232#post52232
An Encounter with Mad Jack:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7652
The Fight with Devaki:
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6553
Meeting Lycanthropes
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7812
http://www.sundren.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7794
Significant Relationships:
- Marrs Masters - One of Karthus' first friends upon entering Sundren's lands, these two have had an extensive and troubled history. Having once betrayed Marrs upon discovering his motives, the future between these two seems volatile at best.
- Landaren - Another of Karthus' old friends, these two had fought side-by-side on countless occassions, with much success. With the conflics that would arise in the future, Karthus was both an ally and an enemy to his old friend at different times.
- Cadmus of Helm - Never a close friend, but always a trusted ally, Cadmus and Karthus, along with many others, had stopped what might have been the single greatest threat Sundren had faced in the entirety of Karthus' time within its borders.
- Nulinus Lightbringer - Having betrayed and supported his resistance to Landaren without anyone ever knowing of either event, Karthus had gained Nulinus trust, using it as a means to an end that would change a great many things in the days to come.
- Snow Hawk - Although knowing admittedly little about Snow or his tribe, Karthus came to respect the faceless one in a short amount of time, after he enlightened Karthus with a very significant insight in regards to the art of shapeshifting.
- Hano Fetten - Hano became a close friend and ally of Karthus during many times of trouble, and although they stand on opposite sides of a battlefield now, Karthus still sheds tears for his broken friendship.
- Yashia Jadysvarion - Similar to Hano in many regards, Yashia was a close friend of Karthus and remains to be so despite the strife between them and their allegiances. Although they have grown distant due to this, Karthus thinks of her often.
- Mandele - It's a love hate relationship, or something.
Factions:
Attempting to affiliate himself with all the sides of any given conflict, Karthus is a friend of nearly all parties, though also an unseen foe. He has made few direct commitments to any particular group or faction, though he will often attempt to appear as though he has, in an attempt to unlock doors that had once been sealed. His motivations are unknown to all, and perhaps even to himself.
What is made outwardly apparent, though, is that Karthus seems to have established some form of affiliation with both the Banites and Veritas - two known enemies to the general populace, and to Sundren itself.
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