Description
A natural oily sheen helps the head of this small demi-human shine.
He is young but completely bald to the point that no hair even seems
present, even just under the surface. This enhances the sight of his
bulbous cranium to the point of looking somewhat out of place on his
study, stocky looking frame. Down the left side of his face runs a
series of jagged looking scars that resemble flesh tears.
Beyond his stature, his clothing looks somewhat unkempt and
bedraggled. Some sort of robe that he wears even seems to leave
small damp spots as he moves about. Bulging from under the robe
looks to be some sort of hefty leather sack and at his waist appears to
be a dagger and a couple small shafts. Overall, his presence doesn't
look too impressive but you notice. . .
Role
The Cycle's Beginning. pt1
Added Wed Aug 25 12:49:50 2021 at level 16:
Several years past, a child was born to a small aristocratic family of
Svirfnebli from Lower Cragstone. They were each growing older and
decided to have an heir for their hard fought for fortunes. This child
was Capathok, a Sparkstone through and through. After all, his
parents were quite the talented magi and they had earned their money
through elemental shaping and other various weavings, which paid
quite well.
As the young boy grew, so did his parents fortunes. They began living
more an exceedingly more extravagant lifestyle, day by day. The finest
enchanted stonework, a jewel-encrusted set of matching pipes, and
plenty of finely woven surface-dweller garb. On occasion they
received varying payments, usually in fine gems and easily traded
goods but one day it was some exquisite pipeweed, supposedly of
freshly harvested halfling fare.
The pipeweed was indeed quite fine and his parents enjoyed it for
some time but as the days passed, their obsession with it grew. In the
end, they squandered their entire fortune for the stuff that ended up
being laced with some heavily narcotic-like substance, possibly even
enchanted itself. The purveyor of the stuff drained the good fortunes
from the Sparkstone's leaving his parents as destitute, broken, and
eventually to a cell. As it was, Capathok was far too young to partake
but did witness much of these goings on.
The Cycle's Beginning. pt2
Added Wed Aug 25 12:50:25 2021 at level 16:
By watching his parents succumb to the wiles of money and the
associated lack of wisdom on their part, it left a lasting impact on him,
causing a deep loss of trust in such monetary systems. As it was, he
never really developed the strong orderly upbringing needed for such
business as it was but he did take after his family when it came to
innate magic.
Always the experimenter, he would often try various spells and
although he could clearly feel the pulse of mana within, he never really
mastered any magics. He knew that he didn't want to follow in his
parents footsteps and decided to do otherwise. Body shaping magics
would be his, not these odd elemental ones that they cast and called.
Having felt he had an affinity within the waters, he did several
experiments there, one ending quite dreadfully.
After this poor experiment within the confines of the underground
waters, he found himself floating in the shallows by the edge of an
underdark sea. He awoke to what he thought were voices of other
men and women and a strange repetitive pain across his cheek,
encompassing the entire side of his head. "Eat... food... eat.. meat...
eat.. food.." repeated in his head as the pain streaked across his flesh.
An entire cast of small crabs were picking at his flesh, nibbling as they
picked, bit by bit.
The Cycle's Beginning. pt3
Added Wed Aug 25 12:50:53 2021 at level 16:
He was still in shock from failing his magical attempt so poorly that he
nearly drowned, but to hear what could have only been voices from
crabs sort of creeped him out. For weeks he worked with a poultice on
the side of his face and that horrid memory dancing in his head.
Eventually he made the decision to learn shapeshifting. Thinking that
maybe being able to transform into a water creature may give him a
better understanding of what happened.
He departed the underdark and the confines of Lower Cragstone,
heading for the surface. He chose a town that was near the water to
call home, Hamsah Mutazz but even it was far too big, bustling, and
damnably tied to commerce for his liking. However, for now, he'll call it
home and has since sought some formal training within the surface
guilds of shapeshifting.
While inside one of the academies for newer trainees, he came across what
appeared to be a woven tapestry. Upon it, he learned of the Outlanders and how
they forsook mercantile affairs and yet live full lives while within the bounds
of nature. After seeing this, he's decided that he wants to learn more about
them and possibly join them himself, if the need and opportunity present
themselves.
The Sound.
Added Wed Sep 22 09:44:45 2021 at level 35:
It's quiet. All around various things are happening in near perfect silence.
In an odd paradox, sounds that do occur are quick to be heard but many aren't
heard at all. Mostly, he hears the sound of his own breathing as he peers
around the thinking depths. Occasionally a squeak of a porpoise, the faint
clicking of crab claws, or the thrust of an ocean current catches his attention
as he lazes in the joy of the ocean. However, sometimes it's different.
Much the same as when he'd been mutilated years ago, occasionally, he hears
them. As rudimentary as they are, they each have strong meaning and
understanding when they come. The voices of the creatures call to him. He
hears their struggles, delights in their finds, and on occasion, he answers
their calls with one of his own. His augmentations have afforded him some
ability in this along with the heightened animal senses but even that didn't
solve the mystery of the sound he heard.
It began gradually one day after detouring some crab and carp away from rotten
zombie remains and grew to become not only more audible but understandable. A
single sound grew from near his oversized hippo head and began to change. The
change was what caught his attention as it had spooked him at first. In the
end, there was only one word that he could make out, "Flow". He knows there
was more but it left him pondering, was it his imagination, someone unseen, the
water itself? That's when alighted in his mind.
It was the current. Along the deck and within the sunken hull of the ship,
between the rotting and broken beams and planks was the breeze of the sea, a
cool current meandering by. He knows that had to be what was talking. A
solitary word from a force of nature itself. By finally making this
connection, he decided to learn more about this and is headed to learn of it by
seeking the Lord within the untouched wood.
The Change.
Added Sun Oct 10 07:29:59 2021 at level 48:
Questions arise for most people when it comes to understanding shapeshifters.
Many wonder why a person would seek to undergo such a change, villagers
wonder why magic, and yet others think on what it must feel like when they
look like an animal. In truth, there are likely a great many answers to each
of these questions, each varying based on the mage and why he or she chose to
study shape changing magic in the first place.
Capathok having chosen to undergo the change because of his early interactions
with the voice of water creatures noticed that, to him, the change is largely
just a physical one. All his faculties seem to be in place though he feels
largely constrained by his physicality to be able to move and communicate with
those around him. Furthermore, he discovered that not all shapes that shape
changing magic allow access to are of the same type. As example a
hippopotamus he feels at home within the waves but sluggish on landing.
Likewise, his ears do not understand the aquatic tongue while in that form.
Furthermore, he noted that the tongue contortion isn't simply the physical.
Once within the augmentation, he noticed that he inherently uses some body
language along with what seems like odd grunts, clicks, growls, and whatnot,
to convey his ideas. Because of this, he's made a point to warn the wildlife
he finds during his travels to not eat the meat of those he faces. On
occasion he sees them acknowledge his warnings, greetings, and the like, but
it is yet rare for him to hear their voices. His hopes are that tutelage
under Lord Ergush will help that.
PK Wins
Oct 2, 2021 |Lv 38|Underdark|Phorligul vs 1: [38] Capathok (100%, whip)