Description
Large and hulking, the massive visage of a fire giant stands before you.
Standing a shade over twelve feet tall, his tremendous bulk is enhanced
by his battle-hardened muscles that threaten to tear through his armor,
which is nearly concealed by large tattered cloak from the hide of a
tundra yeti. His boulder-like head is topped with fiery orange hair,
that has been braided into a number of long, thick braids, and tied
off with cords of frayed rope. His chiseled jawline sports a matching
rough beard, also braided and tied. His skin, a jet-black ebony,
is tightly stretched over his powerful, thickly corded body, and is
scarred in several places with the remnants of jagged, battle wounds.
A broad, menacing grin expose yellowed and blackened teeth, and allows
a fetid, rotten breath to escape into the air. Glaringly noticible on
the left arm of this giant is a patch of pus-oozing scar tissue, in the
shape of a circle.
Role
Emotional whirlwind
Added Mon Feb 5 17:12:52 2007 at level 1:
Drakh Taag-Rah was born of humble means, in a roughshod neighborhood
far from the brilliant fires and lava of the Kingdom of Kiadana-Rah.
With poverty all around him, there was little ambition, desire, or
lust for power - just the weary acceptance of the harsh reality of
subsistence living.
In a slow-paced, but hard working town, he spent his youth as an
apprentice blacksmith, working large sheets of heavy metals under the
tutilage of his father, and the watchful gaze of his tyranical,
overprotective mother. Due to her overbearing nature, there were
no schools for Drakh to learn within, no friends for him to interact
with, and no sights to pique his creative interests. Nearly the
entirety of his childhood years, he spent within the close confines of
his home, and attached forge. His education was limited to the tasks
his father put before him, and his ambition ran as far as his desire
to complete those tasks before nightfall - otherwise his meager dinner
would be cold, or already eaten by his parents as punishment for his
tardiness.
While others his age would venture out from within the depths of the
Mount, to visit lands abroad in search of excitement, fame and fortune,
Drakh was confined to the smithy, pounding away on his large forge,
crafting practical, sturdy armorment for the giant patrollers of
Kiadana-Rah's mount. Time seemed to stand still while the young giant
beat the rugged metal, molding piece after piece of the same, identical
armor. His creativity was equally as stifled, as any time he deviated
from his father's strict plans (by creating a seam differently, or by
modifying his technique to mold the metals, etc.) he would be relentlessly
mocked and lectured at for his "stupidity", even if his innoventions were
improvements over the current process.
This sheltered, guilt-imposed household causes Drakh to become self
inhibiting, since he has become fearful of the repercussions of his
"stupid" behavior, and subsequently, angry at himself for being unable to
please his parents as well as his for his self-perceived stupidity. This
destructive cycle causes him to become further depressed and alienated
from both himself and others - in other words, emotionally paralyzed.
*-* *-* *-* *-* *-* *-* *-* *-* *-* *-*
Due to his isolation and lack of education Drakh's speech is far more stunted
than most fire giants, and his fear of being "stupid" causes him to often keep
his thoughts to himself. His long years of toiling at the forge, however, have
left him more physically developed than most of his peers.
Up from the rubble, Drakh rises.
Added Tue Feb 6 18:02:58 2007 at level 15:
The air was so still around his outdoor forge that Drakh thought
there was a good chance it was going to rain - an unusual occurence,
certainly, but not so uncommon as to be noteworthy. Working
furiously, pounding at a sheet of charcoal plate, he felt no
uneasiness for his safety, and even welcomed the coolness that a
passing rain would bring to the stifling heat of the afternoon.
It suddenly began to grow dark as ominous, low clouds drifted
across the horizon, and blocked out the sun. Cursing, Drakh throws
down his forge hammer, knowing that he will not be able to finish
his work before the rain comes, and begins to tidy his station for
the incoming storm. Calling quick warning to his parents, he strides
inside his home, and begins the process of closing the window and
door. He huddles near his parents, far from the sole window to
the outside.
Suddenly, without warning, a blindingly bright light fills the sky,
and the clouds open up, the rain beating hard upon the low,
frond-shingled roof of their earthen home with a force and clatter that
threatened to break through the oft-patched roof and deluge the small
home with water. Through the shuttered windows Drakh watches as long,
fierce-looking bolts of lightning struck the many small peaks of
mountain surrounding his village, mesmorized in a trance-like state as
the blasts pulvorized boulders of rock into small bits of rubble.
Drakh walks to the window and places his eyes against the slats of its
shutters and looks up into the clouds, towards the heavens, while
uttering a prayer of few words under his breath.
At that same moment, a fiery bright flash of lightning strikes the roof
of his home, scant inches above the seat he just rose from. Drakh watches
in awe and disbelief as the roof tumbles down upon his parents head,
killing them instantaneously.
"where I go now?", Drakh whispers to himself, his head tilted towards the
skies.
"Up then", he says.
An unlikely drifter
Added Fri Feb 16 18:08:31 2007 at level 30:
Drakh, in his slow, meticulous fashion, neatly picked his house clean of the few
valuables that he felt might have some resale value in the markets, and began his
ascent out of the mountains near Kiadana-Rah.
After spending his entire life in relative isolation within the poor, barren town
of his youth, he boarded a rickety ferry with the few belongings he carried from his
home, and awaited his next challenge - fulfilling his destiny.
Drakh, a young man with little contact with the outside world other than the few
peddlers who scheduled visits to his town's miniscule marketplace was utterly
overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the lively Hamsah docks where his ferry
docked days later. After wandering around in awe for a few hours, and being
fleeced by an experienced trader in negotiations for his few treasures, he looks
for, and finds work on a small ferry boat, working the route between Arkham and
Hamsah - slowly building a purse of coin. During his off hours, he would travel
around the lands with small groups of other travelers, killing beasts and mortals
alike, in search of treasure and fortune - but even among those groups he was slow
to make friends. His lack of social skills ultimately caused him to leave his
work on the ship, as he was constantly being blamed by his coworkers for whatever
problems occured on the ship.
Without the structured life he had at home and on the ferry, Drakh wandered from
acquaintance to acquaintance, from meal to meal, and from bed to bed - a drifter,
who slowly began to lose sight of his goals.
Structure
Added Fri Feb 16 18:08:57 2007 at level 30:
In his wanderings, Drakh came across a meticulously built road of a quality he had
never seen, but reminded him of the perfect armor he was forced to craft in his
youth. He walked north on that road, past two imposing watch towers, straight
through to an impressive square. He looks around carefully and sees absolultely no
signs of life about him. Ahead of him to the north, stands a bold, powerful-looking
palace, like nothing he has seen before. He stands in awe in the square, looking
up at the massive structure.
Suddenly, out of a cloudless sky, a bolt of lightning streaks down towards Drakh,
veering off at the last moment, striking the pinnacle of the palace's majestical
height.
A shiver comes over the large, awe-struck giant.
"Up."
Desires grow
Added Tue Feb 20 17:32:33 2007 at level 32:
Drakh quickly grew accustomed to the life of a Blade - the structure, the rules,
the "game" that all Citizens play - and he began to thrive in the environment.
Beginning as a lowly oathed, he worked diligently at impressing the Empress,
Kharghurln, making himself as useful to her as he could - informing her of the
whereabouts of enemies and ally alike. He attempted to use their shared race as
an advantage, as he not-so-gently pushed her for a promotion within the Blade,
boasting of the strength of the fire giant, and how all would fall under the
giant's might. His gambit worked, and he received his promotion - quickly too.
Empowered by this newly uncovered "strength", he wonders to himself if it's his
"calling" (as he has no other words to describe the feelings he's encountered)
to rise through the ranks of the Empire, until he sat atop the throne of the
Palace, ruling the Empire as he saw fit... and decided to use any edge possible
to achieve it.
"Up."