Drakahl

Details

Description

Drakahl is a member of a species known as the Toor. Created by Titans many eons ago, Toor appear as nearly human-sized Titans, usually standing between 7 and 9 1/2 feet tall (213.3cm to 289.6cm). He appears quite young, even though he is centuries old and often passes as a human barbarian; hiding the fact that he is Toor. At the start of Bathed in the Blood of Ravens he can be seen wearing armor forged from draconic flesh, empowered by demonic souls, which grants him otherworldly strength and power. He wields a sentient blade named Strambáneur that drinks souls and feeds their power to both itself and its wielder.

Background

Drakahl was born in one of the last remaining Toor tribes wandering the northlands. His people raised young as a group, discarding the human or elven idea of ‘parents’ completely. He was always considered short for a Toor, and was thus forced to work twice as hard as the other children so that he would develop his strength enough to contribute to the same extent as the others.

His tribe moved nomadically, raiding small villages, avoiding larger human and elven cities, and living off the lands that the other races considered less hospitable. When he was twenty six, his tribe was driven out of the west by lizard-folk and dragon-kin, through a pass in the Mythaeil Mountains to the plains that sat between Mount Feyr and Ekthri Wood.

Over the next several decades, his tribe fought back against what they perceived as attacks by the Ekthri and the Afyr, often attacking their settlements in an attempt to scare them off of further incursions into the Warlunds, which they called home.

By 1105, his tribe was under constant assault by elf and human alike, but their enemies were scattered and working in isolation. They had begun gaining ground, and were close to securing their homeland. That is, until Arkhan Vaelin sought to unify the human fiefdoms, and sought aid from the Ekthri and Afyr.

In 1108, at age 125, a large portion of his tribe were captured by Arkhan Vaelin using the combined forces of three fiefdoms and the Ekthri. He was brought to Engle Plateau and forced to build the great lifts that once raised and lowered goods between the two build sites of Fel’Rechaun and Fel’Vizsiour. His slavery lasted four years, from 1108 until 1112. During which time he was rarely fed, only allowed to rest when he passed out from exhaustion, and whipped often.

In 1112 he took advantage of the news that Uldenheim had broken away from Arkhan, and roused his tribe to rebellion. They broke free of their bondage and fought there way, barehanded, off of Engle Plateau while the bulk of Arkhan’s army was fighting Uldenheim’s forces to the north. Over the following year, his tribe selected him as their chief and he led them to join forces with Uldenheim to fight back against Arkhan. The final battle was extremely bloody, resulting in the loss of over half of his tribe, and nearly resulting in his own death. The war officially ended that same night, as Arkhan was murdered in his sleep by his second wife.

After being carried back to their base camp, Arkhan’s wife appeared in their camp and saved Drakahl’s life with strange magic. She stayed to offer predictions and advice to the tribe, all the while implanting ideas in Drakahl’s mind as to the potential of their future, and his importance to the world as a whole.

When Orluhnd began re-forming Arkhan’s armies in 1118, Sorscha convinced Drakahl to betray his tribe and join forces with the would-be King, quickly proving his worth and becoming one of his generals. Together with Gahl, they defeated all opposing fiefdoms and tribes, save one. The final battle of what was dubbed the War of the Wilds pitted Orluhnd’s forces against the last remnants of Toor. During their lopsided victory, Drakahl did as Sorscha had instructed him and ran Gahl through from behind, ending the hero’s life and putting a dark stain on the otherwise perfectly executed military campaign.

After the war, Drakahl left Arkhania with Sorscha and traveled the world, acquiring followers, plotting, and scheming toward the future. Ninety years later, in the year 89 of the 2nd Era, at the age of 226, he sailed to Gusarski Cove and joined up with the Ravencrest Clan as a warrior, under the guise of helping in their quests and eventually setting off to free Pelrigoss from Pahn, a quest devised by Nightweaver as part of her overall plans.

During that quest he betrayed the Ravencrests, killed many of them, and took the throne of Pelrigoss for himself. At the start of Bathed in the Blood of Ravens, he still sits upon that throne… a throne that he and Nightweaver consider a steppingstone toward a greater calling.

Timeline

• 06/06/983 1E - Birth

• 08/11/1009 1E - Tribe forced to relocate to Warlunds

• 10/08/1108 1E - Enslaved by Arkhan Vaelin

• 12/06/1112 1E - Frees Toor from slavery, becomes Chief, joins Uldenheim rebellion

• 01/03/1113 1E - Saved from death by Sorscha

• 04/03/1118 1E - Leaves tribe, offers services to Orluhnd Vaelin

• 12/01/1118 1E - Named General of the 2nd Legion

• 05/23/1119 1E - Joined  by Gahl the Raven, General of the 1st Legion

• 09/09/1120 1E - Betrays Orluhnd, slays Gahl on Engle Plateau, leaves with Sorscha (See Prologue, Bathed in the Blood of Ravens)

• 03/23/89 2E - Joins Ravencrest Clan adventuring group in Gusarski Cove

• 13/01/95 to 13/06/95 2E - Betrays Ravencrests, killing several, and claims throne of Pelrigoss

• 10/13/113 2E - Bathed in the Blood of Ravens, Legacy

Character History

Drakahl was an NPC in the background of several campaigns in the 1990’s; always a villain, and never confronted directly by any party that survived the campaign. While often portrayed as pure evil in the eyes of the protagonists of those campaigns, his character alignment was always True Neutral. His actions are always in support of the goals of the Circle of Nine, a group he co-founded with Nightweaver to stand in opposition to an extreme evil which they feel the heroes of the world—even the gods—are incapable of defeating on their own; especially considering their distaste for doing whatever it takes to win… something the Circle of Nine will not hesitate to do.