Charine the Bloody Scholar, Chancellor of Eternal Night

Role

Chapter 19

(You see a series of diagrams drawn in a steady hand, with arcane notations
of the sort used by Mages.)

Khardrath's Planar Sanctum - Open Elemental Channels.
The Staff and Bowl - to be sacrificed and their magical traces examined by
the Apparatus. Do this using Pascimius' equipment. Of course, have to slay
Pascimius and other Mages first.
The Circlet of Flowing Shadows - to be sacrificed after the Staff and Bowl.

Assistant Mages will each operate on the Staff and Bowl.
I will infuse the magic of the Planar Devices with the Circlet of Flowing
Shadows.

After that, I will absorb the combined magics into my mind. When the
experiment is successfully completed, I will return to the Archmage and
report success. With further research, perhaps the Scepter may be used to
produce widespread infestation of the Prime with Ccul'gra.

Should it be necessary, gold will be set aside for a sufficiently large
Device to be built to conjure Ccul'gra en masse.

Expected result: Increased affinity for the Ccul'gra, perhaps leading to the
ability to bind a Ccul'gra Familiar. With such knowledge, to bring the
advent of the Eternal Night. Should I die before then, the device-based
experiment ought to be recorded in the Chasm's libraries and incorporated
into the Scepter for future worthy Scions, so that they may bring forth the
Eternal Night. Though given lacklustre nature of many current Scions, this
may be a distant dream...

(The rest of the blueprint is filled with technical notes only of interest
to the Mage engineering this project...)

Role

Chapter 18

I had heard news among the Voralian colleges that Burtrand and Jacintha had
died, within two weeks of one another. A funeral was to be held, and I
attended it - without being invited. There was a minor altercation, in
which I slew a Priest and sent a crowd running.

The funeral had me thinking about mortality. Like my parents, I will die of
old age - in perhaps two decades. Still, the Eternal Night is beyond our
grasp. I have wrought my share of death and destruction, and that pleases
me. But the ultimate goal eludes me.

I have decided that in order to ensure that the Prophecy is fulfilled, I
should write down the fruits of our research for future Scions. In the
meantime, I have procured the Large Water Bowl alongside the Staff of
Elemental Power Earth. When I can assemble a few scholars to aid in the
experiment, I should be able to study in detail the nature of devices that
can breach planar barriers.

Role

Chapter 17

The stench of brimstone filled the air, as a fiendish ice devil appeared.
Cunningly drawn underneath the wooden platform upon which the caskets sat
was a set of two Circles, which allowed the Chancellor to conjure with
safety. Reciting from Avello's Convegno, Volume 3, Charine called an ice
para-elemental. Weaving her magic swiftly, she bound both servitors to
her. A sinister hiss heralded a black-green pit viper, which proceeded to
sink its venomous fangs into the Priest. He was torn to pieces in a gory
spectacle. All about her, pandemonium reigned. The crowd was frantically
trying to escape. While some were Mages, none had any illusions about facing
the infamous Scion.

But curiously, the action ended. With a snort of contempt, Charine uttered
the words, 'xafe ay candusqarr'. With a soft 'pop', she disappeared,
bringing the creatures with her.

Role

Chapter 16

'Let this day mourn the passing of Burtrand and Jacintha, the loving couple
who have lived their life in service to Voralia and the Light. In life,
they have served the Mages of this fair city and have contributed their
research to worthy causes. They have left behind a legacy of compassion,
and for that we shall always honour their memory...'

The crowd listened to the speech. A few guests had come to satisfy their
curiosity about an awful rumour that had been floating on the winds... that
this couple once had a daughter, and their daughter's name was Charine...
Charine, Chancellor of the Eternal Night, one of the elder Conjurers of the
Scions, and loathed and feared for a multitude of unspeakable crimes. Hers
was a life of crimes against the Light. The complete absence of any mention
of offspring of the deceased couple seemed to fuel the veracity of that
rumour.

The rest of the crowd comprised of friends, relatives and members of the
Voralian public. Jacintha and Burtrand were good Mages who had rendered
significant service to the city, and enjoyed a minor degree of fame among
the citizenry. They were otherwise mediocre mages, content to fade into the
background, to serve and to live quietly in the name of the Light.

Standing a distance apart from the crowd was a lady, old but still robust,
possessed of a severe gravitas and no minor degree of grace. Upon seeing
her, the Priest paused. The blessings of his Lady Voralia granted his eyes
the ability to sense the souls of people, and this lady exuded a blazing
aura of red.

'The lady over there. This is a holy event, sanctifying the passing of two
virtuous people. Who are you, and what gives you the right to intrude upon
our solemnity?'

The lady smiled wanly, and bowed her head. Without a word, she stepped up
before the caskets containing the corpses, and knelt for a minute. The
congregation watched her in silence - wild susurrations rippled through the
crowd, as outlandish speculation filled the minds of those present.

The lady bowed slightly, elegantly. 'I am the daughter of Burtrand and
Jacintha. Would you deny me my final farewell to my parents, dear Priest?'

The Priest hummed urgently, the congregation was bathed in a white aura.
'Charine! If we must die here to you and your foul magic, then let us die in
service to the Light. You may crush our bodies, but NEVER crush our souls!'

Admirable as the Priest's intents may have been, his fortitude was not
shared by the ordinary members of the congregation. 'Spare us, Chancellor!
We will leave!'

Charine regarded all that with a slight smile, and replied in a magically
amplified voice, 'Be calm, people. I have no need to slay you all. At any
rate, my pets only need that much feeding...'

The Priest cried, 'You are without your pets, foolish Chancellor! Guards!!'

Role

Chapter 15

The strangest of adventures befell me recently. It started off as a
misadventure, with the blasted Maran claiming the Scepter and slaying me
twice - credit goes to my folly, not their cunning.

The oddest creature appeared and spoke with me, and despite my very best
efforts (I am a Planewalker, after all) I could not track down its identity
nor its Plane. The lacunae in the study of Conjuration are great, so I
presume it was another one of the more powerful entities floating around
the Planes. Most intriguingly, it stated that it lived in between the
Planes, rather than on a specific Plane, and that it had the ability to
travel to other Planes - even Planes other than the Prime. As far as most
scholars know, the Prime is the nexus of all Planar travel, and travel is
possible from a Plane into the Prime, but not, say, the Positive Material
into Elemental Fire. This entity, the Eye in the Darkness, must be
powerful indeed to accomplish such.

I was led on a trip to Maethien, and then to Past Maethien, wherein I
claimed the soul of Lenais, the conjurer. By a fortuitous twist, he bore
the sleek black rod attuned to my person.

In another wakening, the Eye visited once more, and managed to appoint me
the Chancellor. Too long has the Chasm laboured without much success. The
Advisor Dartis had focused on the study of the Khar-Zhur Trees, and I have
aided in that. However, I will not follow in her path.

The Scions' primary imperative is to bring forth the Eternal Night. Yet
this is all but impossible if our foes hinder us at every turn. Therefore
our secondary imperative is to destroy these foes. It is at this secondary
imperative that I shall direct the Scions to work.

I note also that I must assemble a group - preferably when our foes are
crushed - to liberate the dragon spirit within Nizarrsh Datul. The Eye in
the Darkness had expressed a desire to see that particular place. I wonder
if it (the Eye) can manipulate the dragon's spirit in some manner...

Role

Chapter 14

At last, Charine has found Kortempest. The irony of it all is that after
finding Kortempest, her life continues as it always had - to fulfill the
prophecy of Eternal Night. Perhaps Kortempest had intended for that all
along, and perhaps Charine was born to be a champion for the Ccul'gra upon
the Prime. And perhaps it does not matter, because Charine retains her free
will and enjoys the various benefits of being a conjurer and a Scion. A
deterministic view of the universe is a self-fulfilling hypothesis, and is
an untenable one because it is impossible to find any means of disproving
it. Whatever happens, it was 'meant to happen all along'. Charine has no
liking for philosophical thinking. In magical talent, she is strong, but in
her desires, she is like lesser Ccul'gra, and her weapons are knowledge and
magic.

Role

Chapter 1

Recently, my role file was wiped out. Thus I am re-posting them
from a notepad file anew.

Immortal Comments

Role

Chapter 2

A swift wind blows up Voralia's Tears, carrying with it the fructifying
scent of spring. The faintest whisper of the breeze touches Jacintha's
lips, and she smiles at the pleasing scent. Jacintha turns to Burtrand, her
husband, and places a loving hand gently over her swollen stomach. She is
some seven months with child, but her stubborn love of adventure has kept
her on the road with Burtrand. The couple are explorer-mages under the
command of Burtralis, leader of the expedition investigating Azuremain.

So far, the work has been mundane - filing away various archaeological
finds, doing surveys of trans-planar activity traces, and other typical
investigative tasks. Due to the peace and quiet, Jacintha has been allowed
to travel with her husband, and both of them have holed up in one of the
stone houses while not patrolling the perimeter.

Night falls, and the couple fall asleep in each other's arms. Again, the
mysterious phenomenon manifests itself - a keep materialises and forms
above the ruins. Still, this has happened with such regularity that the
explorers are used to it, and think nothing of it. What Burtralis is trying
to find out is the cause of this phenomenon, but he has no answers as yet.

Role

Chapter 3

In the meantime, Burtralis toys with a shard made of an unidentifiable
obsidian material. His frustration grows - he is not finding any answers
with these tentative magical tests. It is time for more drastic measures.
Gathering an array of magical equipment, he channels great energy into the
shard, seeking his answers...

... and finding something he would rather not have found. The shard
shatters with a hollow shriek, and tenebrous black mist swirls out of the
crumbling object. The mist manifests itself into an extraplanar creature of
pure, pulsating darkness. A howling splits the sultry night-air, rousing
the expedition's mages - 'I am Kortempest, Lord of the Cculgra! Your
world is MINE to consume!'

A fierce battle rages, as the mages struggle to dismiss the Nightwalker. It
is fortunate that the Nightwalker had been weakened by its sudden release
from its prison-shard, and that its grasp on the Prime Material Plane is
weak, even in a place such as Azuremain. A coordinated Dismissal spell by
a dozen conjurers is enough to banish the creature to its home plane. With
a shriek the creature whirls out of the Prime Material Plane, cursing its
banishers.

Role

Chapter 4

After the incident, curious misfortunes befell various members of the camp.
Nearly all of the conjurers responsible for the Dismissal of Kortempest
were afflicted with terrible nightmares, and five had died from the strain.
It was only until a contingent of Voralian priests arrived that the shadow
of the Cculgra lord was lifted - or so it seemed.

Jacintha returned with the priests to Voralia, to deliver her child. The
child would be called Charine. All seemed well for the couple after the
night's ordeal, but unbeknownst to them the devious Cculgra lord had
sought out a final contingency to bring the Cculgra to the Prime yet
again - Jacintha's unborn daughter. In a terrible twist of fate, Charine
was destined to be the instrument of bringing the Eternal Night to the
world.

Charine grew up strong, intelligent and beautiful, the pride and joy of her
parents. She seldom played with other children, preferring instead to read
her books. Her parents did not mind, and attributed her withdrawal from
society to her rare genius. The guildmaster of Conjuration was so impressed
that Charine was immediately enrolled into early lessons for magecraft and
conjuration. Little did the master know that her gift for twisting planar
boundaries was due to a curse - or a blessing? - from a powerful Cculgra.

Role

Chapter 5

One might think that a demon-spawn child like Charine would betray her
parents in some spectacular manner. She did not. Instead, Charine grew as
distant from her parents as she did her childhood 'friends'. Driven by some
dark obsession within her soul, she worked to master the basics of her art,
and left her family and Voralia. She found herself in Galadon's Conjuration
guild, which asked fewer questions about what sorts of creatures the
conjurers may prefer to summon. There, her quest to bring the Cculgra into
the world begins. She has yet to learn about her destiny, but surely time
will tell. In time, in her dreams, the Cculgra will pay her a visit - and
attempt to turn her into their tool to open a portal into the Prime. Only
Charine's strength will determine if she will dictate the terms, or if her
otherworldly 'benefactors' will. At any rate, her fate is inextricably tied
to the Cculgra - whether as a pawn, or as a mistress.

Role

Chapter 6

Charine trudges wearily up some rocks and brambles, hurrying to rejoin her
allies in Akan. She has been slaying the dwarves for a while now, and
somehow she finds herself enjoying it, and even enjoying feasting on their
bodyparts... something which puzzles her, but does not disgust her. She
feels so distant from it all, like everybody around her is a little figure
moving on a chessboard. Catching her breath, she pauses and considers the
new spell the Guildmaster has just taught her... the summoning of the
Familiar.

With some trepidation, she whispers the incantation, focuses the threads of
thought necessary to bring the magic to fruition - she is almost
disappointed to see nothing, until she notices a soft hissing at her feet.
She twitches, almost about to retaliate with a bolt of magic, before she
remembers that the viper is one of the familiars used by conjurers...

Tentatively, she explores the mind of the pit viper. A connection like she
has never felt before, a feeling of total control, yet of intimacy. For the
first time in her life, Charine feels alive.

After she rests from her adventures, she takes time to commune with the
familiar - He is male, and his name is something quite unpronouncable by
human tongues, but for convenience's sake Charine calls him 'Slahar'.
Slahar has the usual diet of snakes - small mammals - but also enjoys
drinking the blood of people slain by his mistress.

Role

Chapter 7

I find myself in a plain, bare room. Something about this place feels
wrong. Out of the world, somehow. Yet I feel, oddly, at home here. The room
is grey, and the walls seem to be made of solid mist. I hear voices in my
head, voices that hiss, like Slahar, but different somehow. No creature I
know hisses like that. I try to scry the planes to find my location, but my
blood freezes as I feel all arcane energy cut off from me.

Before me is a man. He is not really a man. I know he is a creature of some
sort, and this is an illusion the creature wears before me.

'You are growing, at last, Charine. Growing to fulfill the prophecy.'

I do not know what he is talking about, yet I know that what he is saying
is the answer to the vague sense of impending greatness... or danger...
that I have felt all these years. The same sense that made me see clearly,
how foolish and useless all the people around me were. He who called
himself my father, she who called herself my mother, and they who thought
themselves friends. They are not important. The illusory man in front of me
is.

'You probably don't know all the details right now... your brood lords - or
'parents' as your kind calls them - did not tell you what happened the night
two months before you were born. You have a great destiny to fulfill, and
you must do this. An Eternal Night will settle upon the Prime Material, and
you will be our way into the Prime. You will call the portal to let us all
into your world.'

How presumptuous, I think, but somehow I do not speak. It is then I realise
it is a dream, but dreams have never been so vivid... or so well-remembered.
Regardless, this creature might herald some great power in me. 'He' thinks
to use me as a tool, but I see opportunity for power here. I am called,
inexorably, to fulfill his prophecy... but not his purposes.

Role

Chapter 8

The answer is clear to Charine now. She has felt the power and influence of
the Cculgra throughout her life, and knows that their coming is inevitable.
What wiser plan than to ally herself with them, so that she may occupy a
place of security when the Eternal Night dawns? She will work to that end
of bringing the Cculgra into Thera. And she will bargain for her rightful
power from the Cculgra. She knows that they are far too powerful to
enslave, just as demons are. Perhaps a mutually beneficial pact may be
worked out.

She has read Queen Mergulla's message, and will respond when she is ready.
She has decided to join the Chasm.

Role

Chapter 9

I have a sense of being watched. Being judged. The being who made me is
watching me, of that I am certain. It irks me that I cannot demand my
answers from him, because he hides behind the shadow of anonymity. I have
called the mightiest Devils any mortal of the Prime may call, and I have
slain even the powerful Berserker Droma. Perhaps It will learn that I am
no simple toy to be used.

The blood I have tasted does not satiate me, because it is not enough. If I
must bring Thera to its knees to taste the terror of its weakest lambs, I
will. I have noticed that the Devils are incited by shows of weakness -
they cast more viciously at those who flee like cowards. I am the same.
Those who flee before me will find no escape, for their blood will be all
the sweeter, tainted with their sweat and fear.

Slahar will feast alongside me, but after I do. I have no desire to taste
the poison he has used upon my enemies.

Role

Chapter 10

On the subject of Order - What is Order? Order is not blind conformity to
the laws of mortal men. Instead, Order is a way of life. It is believing in
a set system of conducting one's life. Charine has no great wish to rule
the entire world, but rather bring about its destruction.

That may seem utterly chaotic to some. However, the method with which
Charine chooses to bring this about is highly systematic. She envisions a
series of portals throughout Thera, each modest in size, so as to ensure
enough prey for the Ccul'gra who come through. Also, excessive destruction
would not be in the interests of the mortal members of the Chasm. Rather,
controlled culling of the weak is to be used.

She has no hatred for civilisation in particular - both the wild, natural
world and the cities are meant for destruction. Nor does she have a
particular preference for the cities over the wild. Her orderly ethos
indicates her way of thinking rather than her attitude towards the laws.

Role

Chapter 11

Charine's many victims might be able to attest at her seeming kindness to
her fallen enemies. After all, being a downright evil and destructive
sorceress, she is not expected to behave in such a manner.

(while the player prefers not to cause unnecessary grief to others, the
character must have her own justifications)

First, Conjurers must understand that one of the most important things in
interplanar dealings is the willingness to stand by contractual
obligations. A conjurer is thus, by habit, unlikely to betray those they
ally with without first stating her intention. She is not honest by any
means, but she will not break the Law of Contract. A promise must be
followed to the letter, but there is room for creative interpretation.

Second, the Planes watch their callers. One might be tempted to think that
a conjurer can deal with each servitor with impunity, but she actually gains
a reputation over time. Just as she has a reputation with Therans, she has
to maintain a good reputation with the Planes. To impress the Devils, she
must show strength, dominance and must not be cowardly.

Third, the conjurer enjoys a fight - a challenging fight. Servitors are
hardly impressed with the mass slaughter of a horde of rabbits. To strip an
enemy bare for no provocation is intentional weakening of the foe, and
speaks of the conjurer's desire to face weakened foes rather than strong
ones. And this is harmful to the reputation of the conjurer.

Role

Chapter 12

Conjurers rely heavily on personal charisma and persuasion to deal with
their servitors, and are similar to bards in that respect. While most
planar creatures could not care less about the beauty of the conjurer,
appearance does affect how Charine views herself in some minor way. She is
not particularly insecure, but just about as insecure as the ordinary
person.

With age, the beauty of youth is eroded. The genetic lottery that gifted
Charine with her appearance did not guarantee the endurance of beauty. She
has resorted to less-than-salubrious means of enhancing her appearance. The
vampiric leeching and energy draining of devils grant health, and she has
studied enough to allow some small measure of the vitality to restore some
lost youth, at least on the surface. The illusion of beauty fades quickly
should she be deprived of victims' youthful life-forces for draining.
While she has experienced success in aesthetic enhancements, she is unsure
of whether or not the weakness of limb that old age brings can be staved
away in a similar fashion. She plans to do further research with the
draining powers of devils to find out.

Role

Chapter 13

(A Dialogue between the Shadow Plane and the Prime)

Charine: You are a hard Ccul'gra to find... Kortempest. I had to bargain
rather creatively with one of your neighbours to find your true name. I
know you've been watching. What, now, is your intention?

Kortempest: So, I am supposed to be impressed now that blood stains your
hands in copious quantities?

C: I do not live to impress you, Kortempest. We work as our pact dictates,
sealed within the Ebony Scepter. Do you know how long it has taken for me
to find you? Or did you just enjoy watching me from the shadows?

K: Of course. There has been a... confluence of interests. Your actions and
goals suit me. A mutually beneficial bargain. My cohorts and myself are
interested in your world. And you will bring them to your world. In return,
we leave your scholars alone to enjoy what is left.

C: That was the bargain. You will understand that I am not to be controlled.
This circle wards you, and this magic binds you - tell me the circumstances
of my birth.

K: (relates the events at Azuremain, prior to Charine's birth). You will
also find favour with those Ccul'gra under my dominion more easily, to help
you accomplish... our goals.

C: You have upheld your end of the bargain. And I will uphold mine. When the
Eternal Night falls upon Thera, we will meet again, on the Prime. I will use
this information to see if we can perform magic that may re-create your
appearance on the Prime... on a large scale.

(End of Planar Contact)

Immortal Comments

PK Wins

PK Wins

PK Wins

Title History

Skill List

PK Statistics

PK Gank-O-Meter

PK Wins

PK Wins

PK Deaths

Leveling History

Timeline

Mob Deaths

Edges

Flaws

Racial Edges

Class Edges

Edges