GM Turin's Wraith of the Righteous

Game Master Turin Starfall

In act 4, you basically engage in diplomacy to not have Nocticula join the worldwound invasion. For that you travel to her plane in order to impress her and do diplomacy with her. Murderhoboing your way through her realm could well be seen as an invasion attempt, and by the time you are in the Abyss you are powerfull enough to threaten a nascent demon Lord, meaning you would be obligated to fight anything individually less powerful, and Alyushinyrra has a population of several million demons.

SHEETGEAR

1. What is your character’s name?
Hoping to reuse an old alias, if the name is not too ridiculous, Anklebiter Bonk. I typically play goblins as not having a recognizably human sense of gender, so will use it and they pronouns. Bonk's gender is goblin.

2. How old is your character?
15, in the prime of a goblin's life (comparably 22-30 in human years)

3. What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
They are typically an amorphous globule of grey/green/blue stuck to the wall, and when they are not, they're a small, grey green thing with huge ears (except when they're not that either). Ever since the accident, the goblin has taken to appearing however it wants with its shifting, fluidic body.

4. What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Despite a heart of gold, the goblin is generally rather rude and petty in its communication; even when it lacks a mouth, it will rudely wobble and gesture at people behind their backs.

5. Where was your character born? Where were you raised? By who?
As an infant, Bonk was found by a convent of Sarenite nuns in Varisia, who raised the toothy thing with a fierce passion, but after a long five years, wanderlust took the goblin and it ran off to join a traveling circus.

6. Who are your parents? Are they alive? What do they do for a living?
A few years ago, the circus was captured by giants, where most still live, and while they are not technically imprisoned or enslaved, neither are they free to leave. Anklebiter and a select few of the sneakier jugglers, tumblers and clowns slunked away in shame, abandoning their fellows. The memory haunts the goblin, and it hopes to return one day and see justice done.

7. Do you have any other family or friends?
The renewed but smaller band continued to travel, resorting to thievery to make ends meet, and the circus performances became more of a distraction than anything else, loud noise for the clowns to slink around in and rob the patrons blind. Some came with Bonk up to the Worldwound, hoping genuinely to rally the morale of those bravely fighting. It would end tragically for most of them: as Abyssal flame set upon their camp, priests of Iomedae were only able to rescue the goblin and two others.

Anklebiter can be a hard sell on friendship, anxious, jittery, and rude, and the ones who have loved them most mourn for their wasted potential. Hopefully, the goblin will prove them all wrong.

A loyal and true companion to those that show them kindness and understanding.

8. What is your character’s marital status? Kids?
No one would agree to marry Bonk before the fire, and now that they're this?? The odds have lowered.

9. What is your character’s alignment?
TN. Though as a goblin they are bound by chaos, their religious background has instilled a healthy amount of rules-following in their nature. At heart they are a Good person, but they have had to set this aside to survive in the past several years. I would like their journey to end with them returning to NG.

10. What is your character’s moral code?
Their Sarenite upbringing strongly flavors the goblin's worldview, believing in hope, compassion, redemption, but having had to struggle and fight for survival they've been forced to make many concessions. There are many lines that they won't cross, but there are many lines they thought were set firmly that have already needed to wash away.

While they cling to Sarenrae's dogma, to protect allies, provide aid to the sick and wounded, seek and allow redemption, necessity has required them break all of these at least once, abandoning the circus to the giants, stealing from those in worse conditions than their own, avoiding their own path back to the light of the Dawnflower.

11. Does your character have goals?
Survive. Long term, find a way to undo this strange Abyssal curse that has been imposed upon it (or find acceptance within)

12. Is your character religious? what deity?
Sarenrae is its chief god, but there is casual worship directed towards many gods commonly worshiped in Varisia, including also Desna, Erastil, Shelyn, Gozreh, and least of all Abadar. Since coming to the Worldwound, Iomedae has received her share of its supplication also.

13. What are your character’s personal beliefs?
If something is funny, it is worth doing; if someone suffers for the joke, do it twice. Despite this, Bonk is neither a comedian nor very inventive, much of what they find funny falls flat on an audience.

14. Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
The goblin is jittery and laughs easily. When it is an ooze, it wibbles and wobbles and jiggles and juggles near constantly, entertaining itself with the fluidic motion of its body. They are also extremely overconfident.

15. Why does your character adventure?
Having suffered in the Worldwound and been rescued by Iomedaeans, there is already a favor owed which in its mind needs to be paid back as swiftly as possible, but also, it feels it is its duty. So much of its life has been spent running away, gambling, cheating, stealing, and now it has the opportunity to seek redemption thru action here in Sarkoris.

16. How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
They wouldn't describe themselves as such. They're simply a nun and a circus acrobat who has abandoned both to do the right thing. Or to try to.

17. Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
Bonk was badly burnt by the Abyssal fires of the Worldwound, and left scarred all over. In time, whatever Abyssal curse that sat within the wounds, a curse Iomedaean healers were unable to identify or remove, transformed their body into what it is now, a formless shifting mass. Whenever they assume their former appearance, sometimes the burns will show, and other times they won't, simply growing or shrinking in the presence of fear or flame.

18. How does your character get along with others?
The goblin is rude, small and petty, an acquired taste that many don't see fit to put the time in learning to like, but Anklebiter is also a true friend and ally to those that love them, loyal to a fault towards those who have shown them any kindness.

19. Is there anything that your character hates?
Even growing up outside of goblin society, goblins and dogs are natural enemies, and horses are worse. It is intensely aware of how underfoot is is in the presence of horses, and dogs have all their teeth right at eye level, it is not a preferable situation.

20. Is there anything that your character fears?
Fire. Despite the natural goblin aptitude for this, and the Sarenite worship of the sun and the flame, its recent experiences and transformation because of the Abyssal fires of the Worldwound have permanently soured Anklebiter on the stuff.

21. Beyond just this, you need to make sure you explain why your character is in Kenabres (Mendev) on Armasse (on 16th Arodus, 4712)
After their troupe's accident and the goblin's strange recovery, Bonk was brought back to the city and held for observation. Iomedaean priests have determined that while their strange affliction was borne of the Worldwound, it is of no threat to the populace nor the goblin's soul, no demonic taint lingering. They were released a short few days ago, and are adjusting to life as it currently stands (or wobbles).

1. What is your character’s name?
Alvra Drag'or of minor house Drag'or of Irrisen

2. How old is your character?
Twenty four years of age good narrator!

3. What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
Taller than the folks of most of the Inner Sea, Alvra stands a little over six feet in height. Her skin is a light pink from travel on the road, while her straw colored hair is tied in a simple ponytail while still reaching the small of her back. Taking a bit more of her mother's Ulfen traits, Alvra's eyes are a vibrant green, always darting about to take in her surroundings. Walking about in her traveling clothes, the woman keeps a small dagger at her side while her well traveled walking stick is always in her hand. Dressed in hues of blues and greens, and with the butterfly pendant around her neck, it would be safe to assume she followed Desna's teachings.

4. What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Fairly outgoing, Alvra tends to speak what's on her mind before thinking about what comes out of her mouth.

5. Where was your character born? Where were you raised? By who?
Born in Halgrim, Alvra was raised on the Ironbound Islands by her panrents and keepers.

6. Who are your parents? Are they alive? What do they do for a living?
Helrod and Sarken Drag'or, retainers of the Linorm King White Estrid, oversee the workings of the ports of Halgrim.

7. Do you have any other family or friends?
Alvra was born as an only child, but had quite a few friends, with a few of them being the guards of the palace.

8. What is your character’s marital status? Kids?
Alvra is currently single with no children of her own, though she will temporarily adopt children during her travels until their parents or guardians can be found.

9. What is your character’s alignment?
As a traveler of Desna, traveling where she feels, is Chaotic Good

10. What is your character’s moral code?
Be good towards others, especially other travelers.

11. Does your character have goals?
Alvra would love to be a part of someone's epic, or at least record a hero's stories to literature for future generations.

12. Is your character religious? what deity?
Desna guides Alvra on her journey thoughout Galorion.

13. What are your character’s personal beliefs?
Be good onto others, and they should show you the same. Slavers should be put to justice, as no one should own a sentient creature.

14. Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Alvra is overly optimistic, even in the gravest of times.

15. Why does your character adventure?
Adventure lets her see the world, and learn the stories of her traveling companions!

16. How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
She views herself as the optimistic storyteller, with a talent of knowing or learning of things through talking to the people or hearing of rumors.

17. Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
There is a birthmark on her left shoulder, almost looking like an odd shield or a one winged butterfly.

18. How does your character get along with others?
She is accepting of most people, letting them do what they please for the most part, as it isn't her place to dictate what they do. If she believe something might hurt someone, she'll offer advice or try to talk them out of doing harm.

19. Is there anything that your character hates?
Alvra abhores slavery with a passion.

20. Is there anything that your character fears?
Her main fear, is becoming a slave or trapped in a way that she can not travel.

Beyond just this, you need to make sure you explain why your character is in Kenabres (Mendev) on Armasse (on 16th Arodus, 4712)
Alvra Drag'or was beginning to find merchants who were on their way to Tian-Xia after visiting Numeria, yet became interested in the temples of Kenabres. Specifically, the temples of Desna, as it was odd to find followers who had stayed in one location long enough to create a permenant structure, especially large enough of one to house a library of tales of the crusades against the worldwound.

Someone left a little bundle at the steps of the abbey. A screaming, crying, toothy thing swaddled in rags. But the nuns of Sarenrae's temple take in all comers- anyone in need was welcome, and all that was asked was that you work to improve yourself.

The Sisters of the Sun's Reflection gladly took in the goblin infant, which they named Anklebiter for its full mouth of teeth, short stature, and willingness to bite onto who or whatever might be passing by its mouth, and Bonk as it would often slam its head into the person carrying it.

Mother Moxley, the kind and caring auburn-haired halfling leader of the abbey, took special interest in the child, raising it as if it were her own. She spent much of its early years going over the histories and myths of the Dawnflower, teaching the young goblin to respect life, protect those less fortunate, and be willing to forgive. But try as she might, she could not contain Bonk's wanderlust, and as a traveling circus passed thru their small Varisian outpost, the goblin had left her forever.

Anklebiter was only 5 years old at the time, but agile and bouncy, happy to climb in the cannon and be rocketed away, to climb the high wire and 'accidentally' fall to the floor with nary a scratch, and they were taught to tumble and juggle, to mime and climb, to sneak and thief. Quickly, it became a daring and nimble pickpocket, and the pockets of none who attended the circus would truly be safe.

They fell in love with their new home in a way they never had at the abbey, and though every pocket pinched brought them guilt and shame, it also put food on the table. It was hard to argue with a full stomach. But this guilt was simply practice.

The circus would take the goblin all over the Inner Sea, bringing it with them to the frigid north of Irrisen, the hot sands of Katapesh, the elf-forests of Kyonin.

Four years into its tenure with the circus, as the caravan traveled along a dark, deserted highway across the wastes of Numeria, they were set upon by a roving pack of giants, dreadfully pale and scarred things which ate two of their horses and demanded a performance. The circus, of course, complied, both out of fear and professional pride, and the ringmaster gave Bonk a special role that night. Make the delay worthwhile.

They slunk around, diving into pockets and purses large enough for a whole band of goblins to sleep in, and taking what these giants had deemed interesting or valuable enough to keep, absolutely fleecing the tent's new, nonpaying customers. The take was monumental, even with the loss of their horses Anklebiter had unearthed enough prizes to feed the crew for years, to buy whole stables of the best horses around. If only the goblin's greed hadn't been bigger than their head, the circus might have made it out that night.

As one of the tumorous and guffawing wasteland dwellers reached into its pocket to scratch its thigh, it found Bonk inside. The giant stood, and roared aloud "Treachery!" The band quickly corralled the performers and weapons drawn, bid them return with them to their camp or die here. They would be spared their lives for the giant's entertainment.

Four and a half long years passed inside the giants' camp. The creatures were cruel and laughed easily, as entertained by Bonk or the gnomish ringmaster Davik sitting in giant sized furniture as they were stabbing each other in the neck or chest. Many members of the circus would fall victim to their captors' pranks and cruel jokes, crushed underfoot perhaps in a pantomime of a smallfolk slipping on a banana peel, or tossed in the air in an imitation of the jugglers, and though these jokes were not always fatal, they were always painful.

But for those who resisted, who threatened violence or escape, it was always fatal.

When she truly could wait no longer, Bonk's closest friend Stephanie, a human fire eater, announced her plan for the circus to leave in the middle of the night. They should simply run, flee one and all, and though the giants might chase, some would escape. To the goblin, this was unconscionable, they could not take action that would lead their fellows to harm, and especially not when this was their fault anyway! Davik, the ringmaster, agreed.

The sneakiest, he said, should flee under cover of darkness. Take the children, but leave the rest. It was worth knowing any had escaped, and this would keep them all alive. "Find help, and come back for us when you can."

That night, they ran. The eleven sneakiest acrobats, tumblers, clowns and jugglers snuck and slunk away with eight children in their arms. The sky was clear, the stars dazzling, the moon high and bright, and the nineteen of them escaped across the wastes, heading north to civilization, to Mendev.

The party's attempts to rally forces to seek vengeance and free their comrades fell on deaf ears. The only war that seemed to matter in Mendev was the war, everything else could wait. Some took the news better than others, continuing to seek justice, but for others it was too much. Their party of nineteen quickly dwindled down to twelve, three adults, each taking their children but none of the others, and with no other recourse, the twelve returned to performance, needing money to eat and live.

This, too, was not enough.

And so they became thieves, darting into people's homes and farms and taking what they could, sometimes even daring an expedition into the Wound, stealing supplies from dead or dying soldiers, critical food stocks meant to feed a whole platoon.

After a year of this the band had fractured again. With fewer adults to help, Bonk had insisted most of the children be taken in by the Temple of Sarenrae, and now they were five. Bonk itself, Stephanie, a dwarven clown named Pessial, a tiefling juggler named Saraiah and a young teenaged half-elf called Golden who knew only thieving. These were they that would suffer the worst.

On an ill-fated incursion to the lines of battle, as the party slunk over the shifting scarred land of the Worldwound, they came upon what they believed to be a stark defeat for the defenders of man and a grim victory for the cultists that wandered the plains of Sarkoris. As Pessial kept a watchful eye, the rest crept around, picking the bodies clean of any supply when the corpses jerked their arms forth and gripped the thieves tightly. Pessial fled but collapsed to the earth a short distance away, stopped by something.

Abyssal fires raged around them, licking their skin. The goblin swore it could hear voices chanting around it, but could not make it out for its own agonized screaming.

It awoke days later. Priests of Iomedae had managed to rescue it from the field, stopped the fire, but it was too late for most. Only two of its friends had survived, and it was not allowed to see them. Actually, it was not allowed to do anything. Truthfully, the Iomedaeans had almost executed the thing they had brought before them, the thing which they had rescued, brought into the hospital as a goblin yet which collapsed into ooze as its coma progressed, only stopping for one among their order who had advocated for the thing's continued survival.

This was neither demon nor devil, not fiend nor fey, this was something else entirely. It should be studied, understood. And it was also a being, worthy of respect and assistance. This priest, Bonk's savior, a kind man of Lastwall named Mora, took it upon himself to make contact with the former goblin, testing if it could recognize its surroundings, what, if any, sentience it retained, if it could communicate.

And Anklebiter could. It was, for all intents and purposes, still the same creature that had been caught by the blaze days prior, and although it had no mouth with which to express itself, it could form loose facsimiles of a hand or a face to pantomime its intentions. The first thought Mora successfully interpreted was a desire to see its friends.

Sadly, one was still in a coma, badly burnt and unrecognizable, but Stephanie had been spared the worst of it, and was brought in to reunite with her friend.

Seeing her face awoke something in the creature. Its form shimmered and shook, rising and climbing and returning to its former appearance. The goblin and the fire eater embraced, the woman squeezing her friend so tight he flattened against her, boneless and fluidic as he was.

After a few more months of observation and training by the priest Mora, the goblin was released from the hospital and given leave to continue its life in Mendev, given quarter in the city of Kenabres. As much as it struggled to adapt to its new form, it had been given a new lease on life. It would join the Crusade, repay the debts it had incurred, and it would end this curse upon the land, and upon itself.

Baruuk - Male Half Orc Rogue / Kineticist 1

HP 13
Init 4

STR 7
DEX 19 (17+2)
CON 18
INT 12
WIS 12
CHA 10

Fort 8
Ref 8
Will 3

BAB 0
CMD -2
CMB 12

Languages: Abyssal, Hallit, Orc, Taldane

Traits: Chance Encounter, Fate's Favoured

Alternative Racials: Shaman Tattoo

Class Features
Burn, elemental focus, gather power, infusion, kinetic blast, finesse training, sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding

Feats
Weapon Finesse (from Rogue Finesse training), Precise Strike

Acrobatics 8,
Appraise 0,
Bluff 4,
Climb 4,
Craft 0,
Diplomacy 0,
Disable Device 8,
Disguise 0,
Escape Artist 4,
Fly 4,
Handle Animal 0,
Heal 1,
Intimidate 0,
Knowledge Arcana 0,
Knowledge Dungeoneering 0,
Knowledge Engineering 0,
Knowledge Geography 0,
Knowledge History 0,
Knowledge Local 0,
Knowledge Nature 0,
Knowledge Nobility 0,
Knowledge Planes 1,
Knowledge Religion 0,
Background Skill - Linguistics 4 ,
Perception 5,
Background SKill - Perform Tattoo artist 4,
Profession 1,
Ride 4,
Sense Motive 1,
Sleight of Hand 8,
Spellcraft 0,
Stealth 8,
Survival 2,
Swim 2,
Use Magic Device 0

1. What is your character’s name?
Baruuk

2. How old is your character?
Late 20's

3. What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
Baruuk is a half orc man in his late twenties or early thirties. It’s hard to tell with his salt and pepper beard and unkempt, slowly graying hair. His skin has a reddish tint to it, almost as if he had spent too much time in the sun. The first thing you see when you look at Baruuk is - the lacking, at least when it comes to orcs, muscle tissue. He is not very tall, standing a little under 6 feet, but he makes that up with his fluid motions. His brow is prominent and pupils are wide. His nose was broken at least once, based on the shape, and when one looks away from him, there is something else about him - just in the corner of one’s eye. An aura of sorts, but it’s hard to describe. He has multiple tattoos on his neck and arms, some of them resembling what seem to be flames, but white, and some of them resembling constellations in the night sky. However, the most prominent tattoo he has is on the back of his neck. This is not an ink tattoo, it seems like scar tissue that was either branded, or flayed into the skin a long time ago - and yet, surprisingly clear. It seems like a four-winged creature with a long tail splitting into two ends, and no head, enclosed in a circle. His clothes usually consist of various gray and beige tones, and he occasionally appears in something bright red or crimson, if he feels -really- ceremonial. There is one exception to this rule, however. A single silken scarf. One he always has nearby, either as a bandana, or around a wrist, or neck. The scarf seems almost too colourful for this man.

4. What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
At first glance Baruuk seems like the outgoing type, cracking a joke once in a while, and he doesn’t mind doing small talk with strangers. But after taking a better look, his eyes reveal a certain sadness of sorts, and one can’t shake the feeling that this happy-go-lucky person in front of them is just a facade for a jaded creature, trying to defend itself from further pain.

5. Where was your character born? Where were you raised? By who?
Born in a traveling circus called The Midnight Caravan.

6. Who are your parents? Are they alive? What do they do for a living?
Mother - Fajr Uzun - animal handler in the Caravan.
Father - Radu - Tattoo Artist
Both alive and well as far as Baruuk is concerned.

7. Do you have any other family or friends?
Wife - Chanai - lost in the abyss.

Baruuk considers the Midnight Caravan and it's members his close friends, if not family.
The Uzun (mother's orc tribe) is actually his blood family, but he was not accepted when spending time there.

8. What is your character’s marital status? Kids?
Married, no children.

9. What is your character’s alignment?
Chaotic Good

10. What is your character’s moral code?
Freedom is a birthright, and one is allowed to do as he wishes, as long as those actions do not inflict harm or misfortune on others.

11. Does your character have goals?
Find his wife in the Abyss. Preferably alive, although it's been a while. When that is done, probably confront the woman who had sent him and his wife into the Abyss.

12. Is your character religious? what deity?
Follower of Desna. The Midnight Caravan was mostly Desna's devout.

13. What are your character’s personal beliefs?
See point 10.

14. Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
See point 4.

15. Why does your character adventure?
See point 11.

16. How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Scout, infiltrator.

17. Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
Severar tattoos. See point 3.

18. How does your character get along with others?
He's a friendly type. Cracks jokes, is willing to help if he is currently not doing his own little expedition into the Abyss.

19. Is there anything that your character hates?
Orcs. And - being raised on the road, he is not a fan of being stuck to the same place for an extended period of time. He remains in Kenabres at the momet to find his wife.

20. Is there anything that your character fears?
Drowning.

Beyond just this, you need to make sure you explain why your character is in Kenabres (Mendev) on Armasse (on 16th Arodus, 4712)

Since the Mendevian Crusaders are launching raids into the Worldwound from kenabres, Baruuk volunteers to join in and map the place while looking for Chanai.

Baruuk is a half orc man in his late twenties or early thirties. It’s hard to tell with his salt and pepper beard and unkempt, slowly graying hair. His skin has a reddish tint to it, almost as if he had spent too much time in the sun. The first thing you see when you look at Baruuk is - the lacking, at least when it comes to orcs, muscle tissue. He is not very tall, standing a little under 6 feet, but he makes that up with his fluid motions. His brow is prominent and pupils are wide. His nose was broken at least once, based on the shape, and when one looks away from him, there is something else about him - just in the corner of one’s eye. An aura of sorts, but it’s hard to describe. He has multiple tattoos on his neck and arms, some of them resembling what seem to be flames, but white, and some of them resembling constellations in the night sky. However, the most prominent tattoo he has is on the back of his neck. This is not an ink tattoo, it seems like scar tissue that was either branded, or flayed into the skin a long time ago - and yet, surprisingly clear. It seems like a four-winged creature with a long tail splitting into two ends, and no head, enclosed in a circle. His clothes usually consist of various gray and beige tones, and he occasionally appears in something bright red or crimson, if he feels -really- ceremonial. There is one exception to this rule, however. A single silken scarf. One he always has nearby, either as a bandana, or around a wrist, or neck. The scarf seems almost too colourful for this man.
At first glance Baruuk seems like the outgoing type, cracking a joke once in a while, and he doesn’t mind doing small talk with strangers. But after taking a better look, his eyes reveal a certain sadness of sorts, and one can’t shake the feeling that this happy-go-lucky person in front of them is just a facade for a jaded creature, trying to defend itself from further pain.

**************************************************

Baruuk was born in a traveling circus named The Midnight Caravan. His mother, Fajr Uzun, worked in the Caravan as an animal handler, and his father - Radu - was the entertaining body decoration artist. The Midnight Caravan would travel through northern Avistan, and set up shop, several months at a time, near major hubs along the trade routes. With the only other child similar to his age in the caravan, an almost two years older human girl named Chanai, Baruuk would move through the crowds waiting to enter the circus grounds and ask for charity donations.

Once they grew a bit older, they would start occasionally pickpocketing - with the ringleader’s permission - the people to fill the caravan’s coffers a bit further. Since animal handling was deemed too dangerous for him, Baruuk would help his father with tattoos and piercings when he was considered too old to play the part of ‘the hungry orphan’ with Chanai. Once he reached his teens, Baruuk’s mother had decided to visit her old tribe and introduce Baruuk to the orc way of life. She had left the boy with the tribe’s witch doctor, a freakish old man without eyes, and the tribe’s Wise-man immediately saw something about the boy.

Baruuk’s mother left back for the Caravan, and Baruuk would either find his way to his parents, or his mother would come pick him up when he would turn seventeen years old. Not a week later, the witch doctor invited Baruuk to his hut, and made him inhale a burning herb to enhance the boy’s senses. The young half-blood saw an odd fog-like substance. The shaman explained this to be aether, the material from the space between worlds, and that he had noticed strands of aether sticking to the young half-blood when he entered the witch doctor’s hut. The shaman took it to himself to help Baruuk discover the reason for this, and possibly use it to his and the tribe’s advantage. In the meantime - mostly due to his small stature between orcs - Baruuk would be assigned menial tasks in the tribe. Caring for children, gathering fruits from the forests nearby, and keeping the fires burning at night. He had learned the language properly, and picked up on traditions and rituals of the tribe, all while the shaman attempted to figure out why aether was clinging to his body like tar.

Months later, when collecting berries in the forest with the young orcs, Baruuk and his group were attacked by a lone wolf. When the wolf attacked, the half-blood lashed out, and the wolf was tossed into a nearby tree out of thin air. Baruuk lost consciousness, and woke up in the shaman’s hut o the next day. He explained what had happened in the forest, and with the old man’s help, Baruuk had slowly begun tapping into his power to move objects at a distance. The chieftain recognised this as an advantage to his local slave raids, and insisted that Baruuk joins the next one. Compared to your standard orc, Baruuk was of small stature, and could scout ahead easily. But he was still not accepted into the war party as one of their own. In their eyes, he was a half-blood freak of nature, and instead of being invited to the daily rationing, the teenage half-orc had to feed himself with whatever he had found on the war trail. Either way, since it was a promise to his mother, he endured the treatment, and returned to the tribe’s hold. One year after he arrived at the Uzun hold, Baruuk decided to return to the Midnight Caravan. He had left the same night, only thanking the shaman and leaving a few paintings of mammoths for his favourite children. Nobody else needed to know, and nobody else would miss him.

Baruuk traveled south, towards the trade routes he knew so well from his previous life, asking about the Midnight Caravan. He traveled with groups of various reputations - merchants, marching soldiers, mercenaries - and picked up rumors. Before his fifteenth birthday, Baruuk had finally caught up with the Midnight Caravan. After an emotional greeting with his mother and father, he found Chanai - his friend for as long as he could remember. When he found her, she was working as the fortune teller’s apprentice and assistant. And while Baruuk did not change much physically, Chanai did. She had curves, and Baruuk - almost a young man now - had been very confused by his feelings for her. But he tried to not act on them. But Chanai has learned the art of cold reading in her apprenticeship, and picked up on this with ease. When questioned on the matter, Baruuk confessed that she meant a lot to him. As a friend, and a lot more. Chanai was initially flattered, but she had also developed feelings for Baruuk over time. This resulted in them seeing each other more intimately. Both families were lifelong friends at this point, and fortunately approved.

Two years later, Baruuk decided to ask for Chanai’s hand in marriage. But he wanted a special gift for the proposal. When he was trailing the Caravan, he had heard of a very rare type of jewel from the throat of the world. He spoke to a few merchants on the trade routes, and as it turns out, very rare jewels tend to be very expensive. Absolutely eclipsing his budget, he had decided to use his unique talents to get one. When the caravan was packing up to leave the next morning, Baruuk snuck out, and quickly visited The Highside Stacks - an upper-class neighborhood within the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. He used his talents to ‘displace’ a ring he would consider fitting, and quickly ran back to the Caravan.

On the next evening, Baruuk proposed to Chanai - his best friend, his partner in crime, and the love of his life. She agreed instantly. The Caravan organised a small feast to celebrate. Five months later, at the end of spring, Chanai and Baruuk had their wedding ceremony. As a joke, Chanai gave Baruuk a colourful silken scarf. Baruuk swore to never leave his home without it, and had kept his word so far. Months passed by, and life was a bliss for the couple. But nothing lasts forever. While Chanai’s engagement gift was breathtakingly beautiful, it was also breathtakingly unique, and when the Caravan passed Varisia for the next season, the original owner’s acquaintance noticed the jewel. Shortly after, Baruuk was on the run from the law. Not exactly a new experience, for members of the Midnight Caravan, but as it turns out, the jewel’s original owner was not some lowly wandering merchant with one wagon, but a high-ranking official. And they pulled a lot of favours to retrieve their stolen property. Chanai had to make a decision - she would support Baruuk in whatever situation and she left the Caravan with her husband. Despite the fact that Chanai had never given Baruuk a hard time for this, it was a great burden on his conscience. He never forced people to do things. At least not that he would know of. He decided to return the jewel, and buy a new ring with legitimate funds.

Chanai insisted on coming with him, to explain the situation if he got caught. In their young naivete, they thought there was a chance to melt a cold heart with their story. Unfortunately this was not the case. As it turns out, the reason why so many favors were pulled to find this jewel, was because it was no ordinary jewel, and the owner was a potent arcanist. Immediately after returning the ring, she had thrown them into the Abyss out of spite. Quite literally. Struggling to find a way back home, they managed to survive for days before being found by a strange woman. She promised to help them reach the surface, and led them through the dangers of the environment, and around demonic hordes.

Unfortunately, just as the trio was approaching the surface world, they got separated, and Baruuk was found by a crusader patrol. He cried and begged, telling them there are two more people lost in the Worldwound, but the crusaders were a working machine, not deviating from their plan. If Chanai and the other woman are any deeper in the Worldwound, they are already dead, as they had put it. Baruuk was taken to the surface, where he decided to stay in Kenabres and join incursions into the Abyss to find his Chanai.