Description
There is something wrong with this giant. Whether it is the radiating
spiral-shaped bruising surrounding his eyes or the skin being stretched too
much over his cheeks and chin, it is almost as if his face just does not
quite fit him properly.
His eyes are coal black, with strange, cloudy patches within the iris.
Brilliant crimson hair falls to his shoulders, and a simple beard of the
same red runs from ear to ear. He is quite tall for one of his race,
standing at a little over ten feet.
A wide belt of black leather girths his waist, a variety of bladed
implements hanging from it. He is dressed in leather tunic and leggings of
a dark brown shade, and chainmail-backed gauntlets cover his hands.
Role
A light in the darkness.
Added Fri May 8 03:45:32 2020 at level 15:
Vlalkon's parents had both died when he was very young. Both anathema to
the Theran Empire, they had been hunted down and slain. Vlalkon likely
would have joined them--for the Empire does not tend to favour loose ends.
Vlalkon had not been there, however. He did not know the reason, but he had
been left with an associate of his mother, named Zrath.
Zrath was a reclusive practitioner of the dark arts. He had but one child
of his own, a daughter of an age with Vlalkon, Ezara.
The two did everything together when growing up. Vlalkon didn't know what
it was about Ezara, but he knew she was not like him, or Zrath, or any
other giant he had met (few as that were). She was too kind. When Vlalkon
would catch fish and smash their heads against the rocks to stop them
flopping, she'd cry, and so Vlalkon made sure she didn't see him do it
anymore. When Zrath would fly into a rage, it was Ezara who would dress
Vlalkon's injuries. Vlalkon loved Ezara, a fire in his blood and soul that
only grew over the years. She was the light in an otherwise dark world. She
pointed out the beautiful things in nature as they travelled. Vlalkon
didn't understand why she cared about the trees or the lakes, the mountains
or the valleys, but he would look at them for her and make appreciative
noises.
The three of them moved often. Vlalkon never really knew why. Zrath was an
anti paladin in truth. Vicious and quick to wrath, he was not slow to reach
for the whip and so Vlalkon and Ezara learned to keep their own council.
But Vlalkon had a secret.
Vlalkon was going to kill Zrath one day.
He'd decided that when he was very young. When he was strong enough, he'd
kill the monstrous Zrath, and he would take Ezara to find the refuge, or
maybe the battleragers. Anyone who would cut down people like Zrath.
Somewhere the most important person in his life could have a life worthy of
her. One day, they would be free.
Sins of the Father.
Added Fri May 8 03:49:50 2020 at level 15:
It was a cold autumn day when what Zrath had been running from for all
these years caught up to them. Though the memory had a somewhat detached
feel, Vlalkon would never forget awaking to the stench of blood and fire.
Would remember the great shadow cast without sun or firelight that
stretched over their campsight. Would remember knowing that if he looked up
at whatever cast that shadow something terrible would befall him.
The shadow spoke with words that sent lances of pain into Vlalkon's ears,
and Zrath begged for mercy. Begged for more time. Pledged his pact would be
fulfilled; but even Vlalkon knew there would be no mercy this day. Yet as
the shadow reached out to engulf Zrath, the cruel giant had one last card
to play.
"Take daughter! First born of Zrath! Take soul, spare Zrath!"
The shadow paused,, then descended. Two screams rang out, and were silenced.
{Betrayal of us, and betrayal of kin. Yet the price is offered, and the
price is taken.}
Vlalkon scrabbled in the dirt to Ezara's unmoving form; tendrils of frost
already racing across the soulless husk. It was not meant to be this way.
Vlalkon was not a brave giant. His unvoiced pledge to kill Zrath was
perhaps the bravest thing he had ever done, and such promises were easy to
voice with one's self the only witness. But the shadow had taken the one
thing he loved; and so Vlalkon was brave for the first time in his life.
"Give back! Give back!"
The terrible shadow stooped, and Vlalkon knew in that moment that his death
was at hand.
But then it paused.
{Such potential.}
A fetted wind rolled over Vlalkon, and the entity pulled back.
{Two souls were ours to take, and two souls we have taken. Two souls to
Cocytus, and two souls for eternity.}
"Vlalkon trade! Vlalkon go instead!"
The shadow trembled in exultant expectation.
{Make them lament your birth and rejoice at your passing. Study as her
father did; and do the work of Sedayamin. A soul as black as the abyss and
forged in blood as trade.}
Vlalkon was horrified. There was nothing in this world he loathed more than
Zrath; a hatred which had only grown to eclipse its former fury by the last
few moments.
But love makes us do terrible things.
Vlalkon nodded.
A force took hold of Vlalkon's chin and tilted his eyes up to the thing
that dwelled beyond the shadow, and Vlalkon screamed.
{Then our pact is made a new. Harvest well, foolish giant.}
But Vlalkon was already unconscious, crimson tears running from eyes and
ears alike.
Key points.
Added Fri May 8 03:52:04 2020 at level 15:
1. Vlalkon's caretaker made a pact with the pit fiend Sedayamin, but failed
to live up to his end of said deal (with predictable results when one of
the servants of said fiend caught up with him). Vlalkon does not yet know
the nature of said deal, only that Zrath tried to barter with his
daughter's life and only dug his hole deeper.
2. Vlalkon has a deep self loathing. He always wanted to be someone who
fought against that which he agreed to become to save Ezara's soul from
torment in the depths of Cocytus. He doesn't even have any guarantees that
he's not being duped in some way, but its the only hope he has.
3. Vlalkon is driven almost entirely by this need to save Ezara. His
greatest fear is that he will not have done enough to satisfy the pact
forged with Sedayamin when he dies.
4. He is terrified that someone might find out his secret and try to stop
him, or kill him before he has done enough to satisfy the pact. He'll have
a nearly obsessive desire to control circumstances, to try to organise
things the way he thinks they must go.
5. Gazing upon the agent of Sedayamin did terrible damage to the untrained
giant. The colour and beauty of nature Ezara once so enjoyed is lost to him;
all colours are muted and the only colour that remains vivid to him is the
crimson shade of blood. Whether this was accident or by design, he has no
idea.
6. There is a great deal about his past that Vlalkon does not know. Why he
was left with Zrath, why his parents were anathema, etc. He will try and
uncover some of this to try to "arm" himself better.
A formative choice.
Added Thu May 14 05:43:28 2020 at level 25:
The first thing Vlalkon had learned was just how little he knew. Some might
say that was a constant state of being for giants, but that would not be
entirely fair. Vlalkon knew what he wanted. Knew roughly how he was going
to get there. But he didn't know the how of how he would get there; there
was too little he knew of the entities he had pacted with. Too little he
knew of what could have attracted them in the first place.
He had to fix that.
He had wandered for a time. His guildmaster had sent him out, and as much
as Vlalkon loathed him, he had little choice. He needed to learn that which
the man could teach, but that did not mean he could not work on other
things at the same time. The first thing he needed was a way to learn more.
He had first considered the chasm, but quickly discarded them. He could not
risk drawing attention to himself before he had learned to ply the malign
craft he had sworn to, and from all he could learn those of that place were
noted where ever they went. He would be far too visible in the Tribunal,
and feared that they would cause him no end of trouble once he started
trying to harvest souls for his purpose.
The idea of the tower was immediately discarded. So much unpredictability.
So much he could not control to his ultimate ends. Vlalkon would never feel
helpless to the tides of circumstance again if he could avoid it.
That left the Empire, but that came with its own issues. He was not
terribly concerned with his parentage causing him difficulties, though he
did wish to know why they had been made anathema. Though the odds were slim,
perhaps that might shed some light on the circumstances which had lead to
trageddy. Perhaps if he rose high enough, he could find that out. The Black
Sect did also likely have great amounts of information hidden away on the
subjects he was seeking. Those were the benefits.
The drawback of course was that he could very easily draw attention from
within just as easily as without. He must try to avoid gaining attention.
Slow but capable, dull but relentless.
For now.
Greatness.
Added Fri May 15 10:13:07 2020 at level 29:
Vlalkon had had many terrible dreams since the beginning of his studies.
Memories of that night. Of the days since. Dreams that would rouse him in a
sweat that burned with cold against his skin.
But waking to Gaspare Gnazzo's burning eyes staring down at him had been
perhaps the most startling of them all. For a single, terrible moment,
Vlalkon had expected death; and had felt a brief surge of shameful relief
at the prospect.
Yet he had not died. Discussion of the length of his intestines aside,
Vlalkon had learned something that had shook him. Empire's Emperor turned
god had divined his lack of true belief in the Empire in a single glance;
and if not sympathised, drawn a parallel with his own experience. With each
statement Vlalkon had been shaken more than he had thought he could be. But
the cold truth of his benefactors final words before his promotion was what
had stunned him into silence.
"The Empire won't elevate you to greatness."
"What you love will."
They were simple words, but struck Vlalkon far harder than a physical blow.
What would he do for her?
Anything.
Could one be great and yet loathe every breath drawn?
Could one be great and hate what they had become, and would yet become?
For her, he would.
He must learn more. He must find this Collegio.
Just as soon as the alcohol induced hammers stopped their drumming on the
inside of his skull.
The madness of passion.
Added Thu May 21 05:32:06 2020 at level 37:
"She requires you to carve her into this world."
Vlalkon sat in the Black Sect's hall and thought on his discussion within
the Gallery of the Muses.
His hall, now.
Perhaps the most outwardly visible change in his situation to the world at
large. No doubt many thought it was the most important, and would continue
to do so even if they had been privvy to his conversation with Gaspare
Gnazzo.
They would be wrong, of course. They would not understand. His situation in
regards to the Empire had just become vastly more fortuitous, as well as
vastly more dangerous. Vlalkon had little to no interest in the politics of
the palace, but he was now armed with some of the finest tools he could
have hoped for in pursuing his goals. Many had cluttered the path before
him, both those from within and without the sect. There would be far fewer,
now.
Carve her into this world.
He had gained a far greater thing this day. There was little room for hope
in fatalism. He knew his eventual fate. He knew the pact he had struck.
Yet that stark revelation; she was not truely gone, for he remembered her.
Remembered her laugh, her joy at the small things. Her dismay when his
crueler nature would be most apparent. Every memory a dagger between the
ribs and a fire to the soul, as vivid and stark as if it had been hours and
not years.
Carve her into this world.
He would be gone one day. The world would seek to forget him. He would
ensure that the memory of him is one they would rather consign to the past.
But he would not let them forget her. She would live on passed his end. He
would carve her memory so deeply into the world that no matter how hard
they would try she would live on for generations.
It was the most he could do.
The least she was owed.
And more than the world deserved.
Medium realised.
Added Fri May 22 05:54:31 2020 at level 37:
Another failure.
Vlalkon stared down at the canvas. Dull. Lifeless. Simple paint on drab
weave.
He had gone to the valleys. To the mountains. To the distant north. Swam
within the aryth for days, no matter how he loathed the taste of salt. He'd
gone to the places where she had been happiest. Hoped so deeply to be
inspired. To capture that moment. Finally to here. The black slopes of
Kiadana-Rah, in a moment of desperation. Scant miles from Veran valley,
where it had all gone so wrong.
This... was not her. There was no spark, no connection. No... passion.
In a sudden rage Vlalkon flung the pot of crimson paint he was holding
against the black basalt cliffside. The glass exploded into shards, red
liquid spraying like a parody of blood. The most recent attempt at a
painting soon following, bouncing down the mountain and out of sight into
the boiling waters below. She had always hated his temper.
He was a failure.
The wine was bitter, but he drank it all the same. Long into the early
hours of dawn he sat there, the bottle long ran dry. He had been so sure.
So sure he could do this. When hunger finally drove him from his misery, he
rose to his feet. His teacher would be so disappointed.
He turned to leave.
The red on black of the paint against the basalt cliff transfixed him. Long
since dry, and in nothing resembling a painting. But it drew his eye like
the moth to flame. The contrast shined even to his ravaged sight; and in a
single instant of inspiration he understood his error.
The rest of the canvases he had stashed in his girdle soon followed the
first into the depths below. He would not need them. Would she have wanted
to be depicted in such a medium? Of course not. What a fool he had been.
Carve her into this world.
Had his mentor given him the answer, all along?
He would need different tools. A different approach.
But from despair had come inspiration; and he would turn his failure into
his greatest work.
One worthy to show her face.
Weep for me.
Added Sun May 24 08:10:34 2020 at level 37:
The pile of black basalt slabs that was his failed attempts was not a small
one.
When his hand had shaken. A line imperfect. When dust had entered his
throat, a cough jolting his hand to scratch her face. Each a far greater
pain than the recent loss of his profane spear.
Unacceptable.
But now he held her. As close to perfect as he could be. Her face carved in
stark relief staring back at him. Her black skin, the stone so dark. Her
large eyes, still empty, but accounted for. The sun glared down upon him as
he sat atop the Pyramid of Azhan, but the heat in the centre of his chest
was far greater.
With a tenderness not given to any other this last century, he gently
placed the two shards of emerald into her eyes. The green was dull to his
sight, but that was alright. She could never be dull to him, no matter how
his eyes lied. The dwarf villager had tried to keep him from his work, so
one of his kinsman had died to supply the stones. There was something about
that which pleased Vlalkon.
But something was still missing.
He studied the image. Every feature was perfect. He had made sure of it.
But something...
Her hair. Her hair had always been the greatest part of her beauty. Red as
blood and shining in the light of the sun.
He reached for paint. He could fill the cracks. It would be the easiest
part of the entire work. No room for error.
His hand hovered over the paint.
She deserved more.
He took up his sharpest blade, and his blood began to fall like sanguine
tears.
The vote begins.
Added Thu May 28 16:59:01 2020 at level 40:
Vlalkon sat in his chambers considering what he wanted out of the vote.
Emperor, obviously. There had been a time when he hadn't, but he'd been
shown the value in such things. Many people had been swept aside from his
path upon his raising as dread lord. Only more would be upon taking the
throne.
But there was no sure path to the throne. He had stacked the deck where
able, and had one last plan to set in motion concerning the war master. But
it could still simply not go his way.
So what else?
Dread Lord. Such must be retained. It had unlocked many doors, and he did
not doubt it would continue to do so. So those were his two goals. If he
could succeed in either, he would be content with the result of the vote.
So who could facilitate such coming to pass?
Soon he would know.
As things stood, the High Priestess had pledged him her vote. He did
believe her, surprisingly. She seemed somewhat apathetic about the whole
thing, but that was all to the good.
The Shadow Lord had pledged to vote for him, and Vlalkon to vote for the
Shadow Lord in turn. Vlalkon was not sure about the duergar yet, but
expected betrayal. The High Priestess had told him she had informed the
rest of the council not to vote for her. Naturally, that meant one of them
would.
He scratched his head. This was all very confusing, but it didn't look too
bad.
He must speak with the War Master yet, but the most important question of
all remained.
If Vlalkon were not to take the throne; then who did he think would best
serve her ends?
That, of course, was the most important question of all.
All the riches in the world.
Added Sun May 31 05:08:26 2020 at level 40:
Vlalkon stepped back from his latest piece, the throbbing in his hands a
dull ache to match the sharp stab of longing in his chest.
This one had been easier, in many ways. He had gained confidence with the
technical aspects. But it had hurt far more, both physically and otherwise.
He gingerly tugged his gauntlets back over his blistered hands. Even his
heritage could only do so much, and melting the stone to shape it had left
its mark. Not one he could allow the council to see, yet. A perceived
weakness was dangerous at the simplest of times, and these were not simple
times.
So many had spoken to him of the throne. Asked how much he was looking
forward to taking it, if it was him. They didn't understand.
It wasn't about the throne. It never would be about the throne. It was just
the means. Power, prestige, riches and respect. Worthless in the end.
It was about her. It would always be about her.
He stared at his latest work, a bitter smile twisting his mouth.
The only thing he could not have.
PK Wins
May 8, 2020 |Lv 15|The Dragon Sea|Lahesm vs 1: [15] Vlalkon (100%, divine power)
May 8, 2020 |Lv 15|Azreth Wood|Barzag vs 1: [15] Vlalkon (100%, caustic smash)
May 8, 2020 |Lv 15|Feanwyyn Weald|Vethos vs 1: [15] Vlalkon (100%, lightning bolt)
May 10, 2020|Lv 19|Udgaard|Lahesm vs 1: [19] Vlalkon (100%, molten smash)
May 16, 2020|Lv 30|Northern Foothills|Morihyama vs 1: [30] Vlalkon (100%, caustic smash)
May 16, 2020|Lv 31|Graveyard|Hyrantheus vs 1: [31] Vlalkon (100%, black light)
May 17, 2020|Lv 34|The Dragon Sea|Bahlou vs 1: [34] Vlalkon (100%, poison)
May 17, 2020|Lv 34|The Imperial Lands|Iastran vs 1: [34] Vlalkon (100%, black light)
May 17, 2020|Lv 36|The Eastern Road|Pedleigh vs 1: [36] Vlalkon (100%, black light)
May 18, 2020|Lv 36|Eil Shaeria|Hyrantheus vs 1: [36] Vlalkon (100%, poison)
May 18, 2020|Lv 36|Organia, the Veil of Shadow|Daederyn vs 1: [36] Vlalkon (100%, black light)
May 18, 2020|Lv 36|The Imperial Lands|Qutt vs 2: [38] Fardrin (68%, pierce), [36] Vlalkon (31%)
May 18, 2020|Lv 36|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Qutt vs 2: [36] Vlalkon (27%, black light), [35] Bukwe (72%)
May 19, 2020|Lv 36|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Noggard vs 1: [36] Vlalkon (100%, caustic smash)
May 19, 2020|Lv 37|Forgotten Crypts|Dravaden vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, burst of energy)
May 20, 2020|Lv 37|Arkham|Noggard vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, bleeding)
May 20, 2020|Lv 37|The Battlefield|Dravaden vs 2: [40] Ridriki (39%), [37] Vlalkon (60%, iceball)
May 20, 2020|Lv 37|The Open Plains|Iastran vs 3: [37] Vlalkon (28%, burst of energy), [40] Ghele (27%), [40] Grahn (43%)
May 21, 2020|Lv 37|The Outlander Refuge|Kahuvag vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, burst of energy)
May 21, 2020|Lv 37|Mount Calandaryl|Dravaden vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, burst of energy)
May 22, 2020|Lv 37|The Aryth Ocean|Morihyama vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, burst of energy)
May 22, 2020|Lv 37|Outside Hamsah Mu'tazz|Iastran vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, burst of energy)
May 22, 2020|Lv 37|The Imperial Lands|Tharuli vs 2: [37] Vlalkon (18%), [37] Yxenni (81%, disruption)
May 22, 2020|Lv 37|BattleRager Village|Qutt vs 3: [35] Ymmazuma (0%), [37] Vlalkon (70%), [40] Ghele (28%, KB)
May 23, 2020|Lv 37|The Village of Barovia|Kahuvag vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, poison)
May 23, 2020|Lv 37|Arkham|Pedleigh vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, black light)
May 23, 2020|Lv 37|Organia, the Veil of Shadow|Tohrgaur vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, bleeding)
May 24, 2020|Lv 37|Outlying Villages|Kahuvag vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, poison)
May 24, 2020|Lv 37|The Eastern Road|Khorvin vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, burst of energy)
May 24, 2020|Lv 37|Grinning Skull Village|Tharuli vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, cleave)
May 25, 2020|Lv 37|Grinning Skull Village|Kahuvag vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 25, 2020|Lv 37|Eil Shaeria|Aelynr vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 25, 2020|Lv 37|Feanwyyn Weald|Pedleigh vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 25, 2020|Lv 37|Crystal Island|Lokwam vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, downward strike)
May 26, 2020|Lv 37|Mount Kiadana-Rah|Iastran vs 1: [37] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 26, 2020|Lv 37|Lord Tabershaw's Keep|Khorvin vs 2: [37] Vlalkon (61%, pierce), [33] Gromnih (38%)
May 27, 2020|Lv 38|Organia, the Veil of Shadow|Isphelian vs 1: [38] Vlalkon (100%, beating)
May 27, 2020|Lv 38|Eil Shaeria|Iastran vs 1: [38] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 27, 2020|Lv 40|Eil Shaeria|Shobenhivel vs 1: [40] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 27, 2020|Lv 40|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Shobenhivel vs 2: [40] Vlalkon (53%), [36] Phron (46%, fatigue)
May 27, 2020|Lv 40|The Ruins of Ostalagiah|Khorvin vs 1: [40] Vlalkon (100%, iceball)
May 28, 2020|Lv 40|Eil Shaeria|Topaka vs 1: [40] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 29, 2020|Lv 40|Organia, the Veil of Shadow|Lunathas vs 2: [40] Vlalkon (70%, pierce), [40] Noggard (29%)
May 29, 2020|Lv 40|Eil Shaeria|Trelystan vs 1: [40] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
May 31, 2020|Lv 40|Outskirts of Tir-Talath|Rephin vs 1: [40] Vlalkon (100%, pierce)
Jun 1, 2020 |Lv 43|Akan|Quanhest vs 4: [51] Vorfindel (30%, searing light), [47] Fardrin (19%), [51] Targung (22%), [43] Vlalkon (27%)
Jun 2, 2020 |Lv 50|The Imperial Lands|Kruissina vs 1: [50] Vlalkon (100%, hunger)
Jun 4, 2020 |Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Merahaid vs 2: [51] Vlalkon (24%), [51] Wijara (75%, flurry)
Jun 4, 2020 |Lv 51|Arkham|Pininip vs 2: [51] Wijara (77%, parting blow), [51] Vlalkon (22%)
Jun 4, 2020 |Lv 51|Arkham|Pininip vs 3: [51] Wijara (68%, divine power), [51] Vlalkon (31%), [51] Exine (0%)
Jun 4, 2020 |Lv 51|Island of Corte|Giddush vs 2: [51] Ajanfindel (70%, claw), [51] Vlalkon (29%)
Jun 9, 2020 |Lv 51|East Sumner's Road|Thiga vs 1: [51] Vlalkon (100%, crush)