Carrion Sùil-taibhsear

WIP FUTURE CHARACTER; this is for planning.

Theme Song: https://youtu.be/b7-FYDMtqo8

[...]

Carrion

Male Tiefling

Player: SamB123

General Information
Full Name:	Carrion Sùil-taibhsear
Nicknames:	Ardhem
Age:	27
Deity:	Math Mathonwy, Morrigan
Alignment:	LG LN LE NG TN NE CG CN CE
Occupation:	Warrior-Scholar, former gladiator
Faction/Rank:	Sign of One / Namer
Place of Birth:	Coimhlint Gghéar
Physical Attributes
Height:	1.8m
Weight:	75kg
Eyes:	Luminous, yellow
Hair:	Platinum blonde; short beard
Complexion:	Pallid, ash-gray
Physical Build:	Lithe, Ectomorph
Physical Features:	Cranial horns, spiney ridge on back, ophidian tail, tattoos
Skills
Knowledge of the arcane and of the planes, intimidating and deceitful, skilled at deciphering writing and glyphs, able to focus his mind well.
Equipment and Items
Greatsword, Warhammer

Disposition

Trait

I live by my wits, adapting to the milieu and cultivating power.

Ideal

Though I may not know their ways, neither do they know mine, which can be to my advantage.

Bond

My freedom is my most precious possession. I'll never let anyone take it from me again.

Flaws

I have a weakness for the exotic beauty of female fiends and tieflings.

I never show charity, believing it to be "unselfish love".

Carrion Sùil~taibhsear is a tiefling with definite presence. Always polite, he seems to fill more than just the space he occupies. Whatever it is, the Celtic tiefling also has a darkness about him. There's an almost enticing sense of danger about him.

Carrion doesn't seem too fond of most priests or paladins, but he's obviously not an Athar. In fact, he freely admits to worshiping both Math Mathonwy[1] and The Morrígan[2]. The tiefling's demeanor is charming, and his attitude pragmatic. Carrion sneers at the ideals of love and charity, but he embraces the virtues of artifice and adroitness, as well skill at arms. Cruel as needed and kind when desired, he never lets anything interfere with his goals.

Aspect

Carrion Sùil~taibhsear is obviously a tiefling. Pointed ears, coupled with an ophidian tail, show his fiendish image. Luminous, yellow eyes peer at you, in a pragmatic gaze. Underneath his raiment, a spiny ridge elongates across his upper back. The tiefling's platinum, short hair is slicked back with lime-water, and his beard is well-trimmed. You might see a tattoo stretching across his right shoulder, neck, and chest, depicting a badger, a raven, and a Triskelion[3] ; and a tattoo on the bridge of his nose, depicting the Awen[4].

Carrion outfits himself in Celtic garb. The tiefling's casual attire includes a tartan cloak, a stylized tunic, and Bracae trousers. His armor is comprised of brigandine, layers of leather lined with small steel plates; over which is worn a leather gorget/mask, a pauldron and a spiked, leather spaulder. A wool kilt and a sword harness complete the armor. In either outfit, he dons a leather vambrace and a torc.

Coimhlint Gghéar

The Prime of Coimhlint Gghéar is unique in that it is a flat, circular world. Around the edges of the flat orb, impossibly high peaks and sierras stretch towards the crystal sphere. Coimhlint Gghéar is a mostly verdant, temperate orb, but it is rife with the struggle between the subdued lands of civilization and the untamed wilds.

The lands of the Cruithne contains rolling hillocks, beautiful rivers and lakes, sylvan groves, and lofty escarpments. To the northwest, the taigas and towers of the shadow elves intersect with the Celtic lands. Far north, antediluvian forests lead to great mountains, covered in ice. The southwestern desert is spotted with rocky cliffs and oases, wherein the hagspawn build their trade cities. To the east, there lies vast swamps, interspersed with the fortresses of the orcs and with willow woods. In the southern half of the orb, there are a great many tropical islands inhabited by a swarthy race of Scythic[5] seafarers. It is rumored that, in the furthermost reaches of the world, tarry the formerly dominant aes sídhe[6].

The Cruithne

// Most important city: Na Seodra Cruithin[7], "The Jewel of the Cruithne"

// daonna ó thuaidh = humans

// scáth imsheé = elves

The freemen among the Cruithne are the farmers and the tradesmen who reside within clann regions; the bulk of which are humans, but also shadow elves and half-elves. Men and women engage in handfast, but this does not preclude fornication with others besides their chosen mate. All Cruithne, both men and women, train as warriors and are conscripted, by lots, into the armies of the clann as retainers. Freemen live in thatched hovels, hunting lodges, or large homesteads, depending on their wealth.

Beneath the freemen are the daor, debt-slaves. Many daor are half-elfs or half-orcs, born to poor families. Many are sold, as children, to the mines or ore refineries of the scáth imsheé; while other half-breeds are abandoned and placed in the orphans' asylums, where they incur a debt for their care. They are not permitted to handfast, though are encouraged to copulate among each other, and are forbidden spear or sword. On rare occasions, a debt-slave earns enough to gain her freedom and gains status as a freewoman.

The Cruithne are ruled by the Ard-Rí a Throid, who resides at Na Seodra Cruithin. The Ard-Rí is always a Celt of pure blood, elected for life by the rí ruirech (kings), the banríon (ruling queens), and the larans of the scáth imsheé. The Ard-Rí always takes a noble consort of the scáth imsheé, who is known as the co-chòrdadh àrd. The Ard-Rí and co-chòrdadh àrd often take other, more casual mates for pleasure.

The rí ruirech an the banríon meet every season by the will of the Ard-Rí a Throid, at Na Seodra Cruithin, to hold the Comhdháil the on Holy Days: Samhain, end of the harvest and beginning of winter; Imbolc, beginning of spring; Bealtaine, halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice; and Lughnasadh, beginning of harvest season. (The isolationist larans of the scáth imsheé attend only Bealtaine.) Blood feuds are suspended. Wine and mead flows freely, and the retainers of the lords mix without consequence.

Religion is very important part of the lives of the Cruithne. The Cruithne chiefly worship the Celtic Pantheon, especially the Daghdha and Cromm Crúaich[8], an aspect of Arawn. The priesthood consists of the druis, the vates. The druis act as intermediaries between the Celtic gods and the Celts themselves, opening and closing the Holy Days with rituals of human sacrifice and caring for the general needs of the Celts.

There is great rivalry among the druis orders of the various Celtic gods, mitigated by each druí order's communal role. Most important are the druis of the Daghdha, who construct and maintain the great standing stones for keeping of the times, and the druis of Cromm Crúaich, who officiate burials and perform human sacrifice to mollify their god during times of pestilence. The druis of The Morrígan teach the art of war, while the druis of Oghma teach oration. The other druis orders are smaller in scope and purpose, but all the orders have their place in the communities of the Cruithne

The druis believe that the fiends and celestials are the "minions of the gods". (The fiends allow this fiction, while the celestials' denials of this go unheeded.) Celestials are considered messengers of the brighter gods: the Daghdha, Belenus and Brigantia, and Diancecht. Fiends are viewed as tied to the darker gods: Cromm Crúaich, Math Mathonwy, and The Morrígan. The aes sídhe, or the Fey, are viewed as those who disowned the gods and who seek to lead astray the steadfast. Visits from Outsiders are taught, by the druis, to be omens.

The vates are nubile, female oracles, voluntarily isolated in temples by the druis of Cromm Crúaich and Math Mathonwy. The visions of the vates are triggered by fornication. Many vates consider it an honor to copulate with the druis of Cromm Crúaich and Math Mathonwy, but dread to do so with a half-fiend. The vates live privileged lives, and they and their children want for nothing. It is not infrequent for a specific druis to handfast a particular vates. This is permitted, as long as her visions continue.

Tieflings and aasimars are rare but not unknown. Most enjoy special status as children of the druis. Tiefling bloodlines are the result of the mating of a half-fiend with a vates. When it is known that a vates has borne a tiefling child, the half-fiend father is killed, and the vates is permitted to become a druis. Tieflings descended from these bloodlines are usually the privileged children of the priests of the darker gods. As a countermeasure to the minor fiendish influence in Cruithne society, many female druis of Belenus and Brigantia seek to lie with those aasimon who serve these two gods. Aasimar of these bloodlines tend to become famous, considered blessed by the gods.

Dominion of Vecculka

// Orc lands, swamps and large fortresses

Oases of Dreams

// Hagspawn lands, market towns around desert oases

The Moryatsi

The people of the north know very little of the Scythic Moryatsi, but some facts have been gleaned from the rare Moryatsi slave. The Moryatsi are ruled by sorcerer-kings, known as králs. The králs are at constant warfare with each other and with the north. These ruddy-skinned southerners worship Fiends and view their summoning as a religious obligation.

These Scythic islanders are accomplished shipwrights and archers, who frequently raid the lands of their northern neighbors. Northern youths and maidens (as breeding slaves), precious metals, and furs are much coveted by the Moryatsi sorcerer-kings. It is whispered that the islands of the south are barren (truthfully, the islands are not), and so the bloodthirsty králs seek to constantly reinvigorate their rule with successful raids (which they do). Such raids are, of course, not always successful. Furthermore, vates who flee their voluntary isolation - a very sporadic event - have been known to join Moryatsi, and these vates become corrupted by král sorcery. Centuries of conflict between the Moryatsi and the north has only widened the gaps of misunderstanding and hatred.

Backstory

Carrion Sùil~taibhsear, the tiefling , relaxes near the statue of Kali within IX and sips blood wine. He had recently come to Sigil, after a few years as a gladiator. Tomorrow, he was to meet with a Sign of One representative and demonstrate a vision as part of his entry into the faction. Tonight, he marked the time and slipped into memories. It had been several months since he had been a gladiator in Torch...

There are four gladiators in the Soul-Mob Scourge squad: Carrion, the Celtic tiefling "striker", armed with a greatsword or hammer; Meldir, a tricky Deurgar warrior, armed with longsword and shield; Little Soldier, a mephling "snarer", who used a whip and a dagger; Vapor, an odoriferous, obese human "muscle", who wore weighted boxing gloves; and Jinx-of-Desire, a tiefling "gladiatrix" and Carrion's mistress, who wielded a curved sica sword[9]. The arena was located in the middle ground of Maygel, past all the sales pitches and pickpockets.

The Soul-Mob Scourge had been in several successful matches, and the squad knew their work! Today was no different. Jinx-of-Desire was the honey trap, who lured opponents away from their formation. Then, Little Soldier would flank them, while Carrion and Vapor would hit them from the side or from behind - a classic hammer and anvil attack. Their opponents, a mix of duergar and Githzerai, fell for it beautifully. The crowd cheered when the maneuver worked, and the squad bowed before they left the arena.

After the match, they return to their kip and divide up the gelt. Little Soldier, Meldir, and Vapor headed to the tavern. He and Jinx-of-Desire enjoyed wine and then each other's bodies, as was their wont after a match. Of course, as gladiators, both had varied partners and fancies; but a match always saw them alone together, exultant in their lust. There was just something about the adrenaline rush of combat, which made Jinx-of-Desire ravishing!

The next match was a bait-and-switch. The Soul-Mob Scourge was told they would be fighting some elves. When they entered the arena on Maygel, the squattest of Torch's mountains, what greeted the Soul-Mob was ...a gehreleth. The tall, slender farastu took one look at Vapor, and then crushed the fat man's head. Carrion struck the farastu with his greatsword, and the weapon stuck to the creature. The next strike of the gehreleth knocked Carrion out.

When Carrion awoke, the tiefling was told that he had survived the farastu, but the most of his squad had not. Meldir had killed the farastu, but not before it killed the others. Jinx-of-Desire's body was so crushed, apparently, that nothing but paste was left. The loss of his mistress caused a cruel, smoldering rage in Carrion. He pondered whether it worth losing friend for years, until he died himself, the forgotten slave of a gladiator school. After a few days of recovery and mourning, Carrion left and walked... past the Blood Swamps, straight into the Portal to Sigil!

Carrion sips more blood wine, ordering another flagon as he does so. The musicians start to play, but the tiefling is still lost in his memories. Trying to mentally surpress the flood of pain, Carrion considers his father, once a druis of Arawn, and the reason both ended up in the gate-town of Torch.

The young tiefling man, Ardhem (later known as Carrion), sat listening, ignored by the two arguing druis. The first was his father, Dughall, and the second was the an-druis, the high priest, of the North Temple of Arawn. The men's raised voices lashed against the stones of the monoliths and the menhirs of the open-air henge, echoing off of the stiles rising to the enclosed dais and altar. Other druis, several men and a few women, stood listening, awaiting the final decision of the an-druis.

"You cannot do this, Dughall! Arawn will NOT permit it. A vates can never be raised."

"I must do it, An-druis Elgine... Tamra was handfasted to me, and bore my son!"

"And blessed were you that your handfasted was a vates, and your son, Ardhem, was born a diabhal, a gift from our god to one of his priests and the priest's chosen carnal oracle! ...But Arawn has taken her!"

"I MUST BRING HER BACK, An-druis Elgine!" Dughall roared.

"Then, you do it without my blessing..."

Lost in his own thoughts, Ardhem barely heard the unremitting argument between the two druis. They had been at it for over an hour, and the last ray of the sunset gleamed through the central menhir.

The sunbeam streamed up to the dais, lighting upon the body of his mother, the departed vates, Tamra. Her brown hair and fair-skinned face were briefly illuminated by this last sunbeam. Even in death, her beauty shown through; her body mature, but still ripe for childbearing. Tamra would lie preserved, by the arts of the druis, in a burial shroud. The body of a vates is preserved for three months and would not decay, until burial. For now, his mother wore a diaphanous frock and a thick shawl.

For two decades, Ardhem's father was handfasted to her, and out of their unions had come poignant visions and had come Cemoc, a diabhal, a tiefling. Ardhem was their only child, and he knew the druis of Arawn considered their family to blessed. At the moment, the tiefling of seventeen summers didn't feel 'blessed'; all he felt was... a distant pain.

Ardhem barely registered it, as Dughall beckoned. Father and son left the temple, in silence. The young tiefling silent in grief, and the older man silent in quiet rage...

// WIP: Father hands over a medallion with a glyph on it.

The next night, Dughall bore Tamra's body to a clearing in the forest. Still in shock, but obedient to his father, Ardhem brought the firewood and lit the fire in the clearing. The druis unwrapped her body from the burial shroud. His father began the resurrection ritual...

An hour later, with final chant, Dughall sliced the palm of his hand with the atheme and and sprinkled the blood onto Tamra's corpse.

The blood hit her cold face, and a man called out, "NO! I forbid it, Dughall!"

An-druis Elgine leaned on his staff, panting in exertion, as he stepped into the clearing.

"An-druis, you should not be here," Dughall growled. "I canNOT have you intereferring!"

The world seemed to slow down, as Ardhem saw his father plunge the atheme into the chest of the elderly An-druis. The high priest gasped, and cried out to Arawn. Black tar materialized out of the ground, and bemired the two living men. Ardhem lost consciousness, as he felt the world begin to shift . . .

Objectives

Imagineer of the Multiverse

1. Seek to discover the truth of the center of the Multiverse by examining the edges of it and the cracks between it. Thus, "proving" oneself as one of the Imagineers of the Multiverse.

2. Establish himself at both the Hall of Speakers and the Center of Eternal Dreams, garnering respect and rank within the Sign of One.

3. Form a Signer think tank, to research the the edges and the cracks. The think tank would focus on exploring the Multiverse, in order to get a big picture view of it.

4. Build a research center, preferably somewhere such as the Astral Plane or the Demi-Plane of Shadow.

Pilgrimages

1. Visit the ancient city of Corrieton, within Math Mathonwy's realm of Corriegrave. Fight on the Bloody Field, Tir Na Og, realm of the The Morrígan.

2. Launch an expedition to the Hinterlands[10], preferably starting in Ironridge.

Affiliates & Disputants

Associates

1. Sign of One

Rivals

1. Paladins and goodly Clerics/Divine Agents (in general)