Achkhrach the Heroine of Faith

PK Statistics

Role

Chapter 9

Rumors will always exist. Rumors of the rise of a new Emperor,
rumors of blood splattered upon the Eastern Road, rumors of
bandits, of trolls, of a spawn of death and a spawn of life.
Some have a modicum of truth, some are but fictions - and it is
the jesters, the bards, the bartenders, the officials - it is
the story tellers job to discern fact from fiction.

There is a rumor of the fairy tale of the disfigured princess,
of a kingdom destroyed by the greed of royalty. This rumor states
that the princess, a being of unsurpassed beauty, fled the kingdom
and removed what semblance of identity from her body. She
hideously marred her body to avoid detection, changed her name to
avoid recognition, and travels the road as a mendicant, no a hag,
no a traveling gypsy. She now lives as the wife of the Emperor of
Thera, no as a sheepherder, as a prostitute in Seantryn Modan. Her
parents sought her for their own greed, no for pride, no murdered
her in her bed for her insubordination.

Within this rumor, certain facts are undisputed. The kingdom once
existed, yet drew upon itself as its beloved princess vanished. A
rebellion occurred as a malformed and deranged figure, perhaps a
spirit, no an avatar of a god, no a human, laughed in the midst
of what she wrought. In a matter of months, nightmares turned into
reality, while reality turned into nightmares. The kingdom lies in
ruins, and only a tower of unsurpassed beauty lies untouched by the
ages. Yet its beauty is a hideous character, for it gleans with
wickedness, insanity, and above all, truth of what befell the
kingdom and the princess.

Role

Chapter 8

Dancing and weaving through the crowd, the princess, disguised the
best that she could, howled with glee. It was noontime and the
market square was crowded with merchants, both buyers and sellers.
Unbeknownst to them, the dark figure clothed like a beggar was not
simply only another truant child. Orderly screams from soldiers
erupted on her trail. Whether the soldiers were chasing her because
of the chaos she created or because she was the princess was
unknown, even to the princess. But she could care less. Breathing
deeply, she dangled, upside down, by the arms of the statue of the
founder of the kingdom. Its dead, coldless eyes seemed to cry even
more at the princess's plans. But she could care less. For she had
found something greater than her beauty, than the mindless suitors,
than her responsibilies to her suitors. Clutching a book with the
worn title "Fairy Tales" in her hand, she waited for the crowd.

The soldiers came to a halt, surrounding the statue. They had only
been told to capture the runaway thief and not to harm it. Little
did they realize that the thief was far more dangerous than thought.

"Thief, lower yourself from the stat..."

The lead guard took a step back as the princess lowered her hood.
Her appearance was well known to the kingdom. However, it was not
out of awe or respect, but one of surprise and disgust that caught
the guard's throat. Standing before him was a scratched, hideously
marred young hag. But those icy blue eyes ... they were the same.

Smiling aloofly, the princess opened the book and begin reading from
it. The words were true enough, like that of childhood wishes and
dreams, but with sharp pangs of malevolence and death. The words
became darker and darker, delving deeply into the ancient lore,
transforming into the tongue of a different and ancient language.
A foreign language.

It began with the rumbling of the ground, as if an earthquake
approached. Dark stormy clouds emerged in the sky, shadowing the
sunlight that once protected the marketplace. One scream, two
screams, then a multitude of screams erupted amidst the marketplace
as the dreams of childhood innocence became nightmares. Shadowy
creatures emerged from the shadows, with sharp fangs and claws,
strangling and decapitating their owners.

Even amidst the screams, the insane laughter of a child, no a
princess, no a hag, no a witch ... something ,,, pierced the
kingdom's walls.

- When nightmares and stories of our youth become reality, will the
year of Achkhrach emerge.
- Unknown traveler.

Role

Chapter 7

Months passed since the priest's departure. His great miracles
in healing the princess was unnoticed - indeed, his story, even
his presence, corroded away by the day to day life of the
people. Suitors came and were sent away, for the king and queen's
greed was unfathomable. As long as the princess remained in the
kingdom and rumors of her purity and beauty spread far and wide,
the kingdom would prosper.

However, the princess herself was unnerved. Her thoughts and
dreams drifted towards the night the priest departed, to the Eye
in the Darkness she imagined and his strange and haunting words.
She was becoming more dissatisfied by each passing day. She
ridiculed at the notion that she was the the prize of this
kingdom, at the greed that her parents held towards their wealth,
and most of all, at her own beauty, which she once coveted and
now despised. Her gift was a curse, a mundane and passing
reality that will soon be surpassed by time. Wealth itself would
be spent, and upon her parents death, they too will realize the
frugality of which they devoted themselves toward.

---

'Trifling. Another suitor to come see me, to dote over me, merely
to be sent away.'

While the princess acted as expected and courteously entertained
the guest, dark thoughts clouded her mind.

'If only no one knew about me. If only I was born without this
beauty. If only my parents would send me away. If only this
kingdom didn't exist. If only...'

Fanciful wishes and wanton thoughts blazed through her mind as
she smiled and curtsied disingenuously as the departing the prince.

'If only I was as wise as the priest, and I left here. If only the
priest's lore was mine. I must escape. Away. Away! AWAY!'

So fierce was this thought that the haunting voice of the priest
reverberated in her mind. A keen sense of urgency supplanted any
thoughts, towards the ground, as if beckoning for her arrival.

'Escape...'

The startling revelation removed any pretenses of disguise from
her beautiful face. Soft giggles, as she was trained to do in the
presence of guests, turned into a maniacal laughter. The princess
skipped to her room, disregarding the ridiculous expressions on
the peasants faces. A new scheme emerged in her head, a scheme
that would unravel the very core of her kingdom. A scheme that
would forever change her.

Role

Chapter 6

It was quiet. Too quiet. The priests baleful expression pierced
through her soul. Her mouth attempted to take back her request, to
teach her of his faith, but it could not. An illusion of
non-chalent cruelty took form besides him into the shape of a
gaping maw. A flash of..what appeared to be triumph..shone in
his eyes.

Smiling cruelly, mischieviously, and lustfully, the priest spoke
in a haunting tone. "Confused, child? Intrigued? Why, or why, did
I approach you here, at the beginning of midnight, by your bed ...
Perhaps such knowledge is for me to know, and for you to fish.
I have harbored you for too long, child, for you not to know..."

Looming closer to her, he casually twisted his fingers, somehow,
through sheer will, keeping her eyes unbiddingly open. He drank
in her eyes, and she in his.

"I have heard for your beauty, of your pampered nature for too
long, child. You, who is pampered by your beauty, by your royalty,
and by your longing for something more. Kings and queens would give
their lives for your beauty, but you seek a greater purpose. I
came not to heal the frailty of your body, child, but the frailty
of your mind. Your unquenchable delusion is not a delusion child,
but a glimpse of the Eye in the Darkness."

Laughing mockingly, any semblance of kindness of feeling left
his expression.

As his transfixing gaze left her, she fell on her bed, breathing
laboriously, as the last semblance of the priest left. His
haunting words echoed in the room.

"Go search the unfathomable darkness, child, for it will provide
you salvation and the answeres you seek. We may meet again later,
child, before his gaze."

The illusion of the priest's form flickered, revealing a tall,
well kempt, dark-elf, sneering menancingly and insanely at the
frail and beguiled princess before him.

Role

Chapter 5

Amidst all the turmoil inflicting the princess' mind, one small
comfort existed - that of the healer. Surely she felt no attraction
for the balding healer. Yet his chubby face and his melodious voice
seemed to ease her mind. Day and night he came to her, for he was
the only one outside of her family to have such access to her tower,
and told her grand and magnificent stories of the outside world. But
for a moment she would forget her doubts and laugh with child-like
abundance at the images his words enthralled in her mind.

Yet, there were times where even those words did not reach her
thoughts, when he would stare at her with a dead expression. A
sinister flicker of boredom sometimes reached his expressions, and
during those moments, it seemed like he was wise beyond the stories
as if ancient knowledge just stayed aside from his presence.
Mysterious and dark, and she imagined, infinitely terrible -
wisdom that would shake her very foundation. She always wondered
when he would speak of this wisdom, but he would continue to regale
her with stories.

Intriguingly, all her charms that would enthrall even kings to her
failed to work on the healer. She attempted to seduce him in her
naive ways, but he would laugh and pat her head like a child. She
attempted to entice his mind by engaging him in interesting
conversations, but they too failed. So she attempted to pry upon
his faith.

Role

Chapter 4

---Taken from the Diary of Princess Eloyria

Why? Why must I envision my torment? I have healed, have I not? My
body, once stained and disfigured, is now as beautiful as before.
People stare at me with the same wondered expression. My parents
treat me as before, the healer looks favorably upon me and blesses
me with his God. But every night, I hear them - the laughing, mocking
and jeering worships of my tormenters. Every night, I can feel their
filthy and dirty hands grasping, clawing away at me, trying to tear
me apart and take my very soul.

Everything should return to normal, should it not? I should be as
happy as before!

But no, those eyes. Those pitiful wretched eyes, staring at me with
such shame and disgust. Am I just a porcelain to be gifted to the most
worthy? Just a treasure to be put aside? Am I not, me?

Questions plague my mind. Questions that I need to answer. Doubts,
uncertainties. Even now I can see those suitors gaze upon me and
think only lustful thoughts. Am I only that? An object of desire?

What am I?

Role

Chapter 3

Her tower became a different source of frustration and angst. Before
the princess wailed against the thought of captivity - now, she wailed
against her misfortune. She drew within herself, huddled in a mass of
self-pity and revulsion, as her once beloved servants shyed away from
staring at her too long.

Day and night the healer approached her and attempted to comfort her.
His words were soothing as he spoke of the outside world. For he was
a well-traveled healer, vast in the ways of the world. He would speak
of the Majestic Palace of Seantryn, the fogs of Arkham, while
dangerous, carrying a marvelous mystery in itself. His words droned on
as he slowly prayed to his god for her health. As much as the princess
reveled in those stories before, now she just stared at him with
sullen eyes. The warmth and charisma was gone from them. The star,
ever bright in its light, had sunken into a black hole of despair.

For weeks and weeks she huddled in her chambers, not to be seen by
suitors nor by any save her servants, her parents and the healer. And
yet, rumors of her unsurpassed beauty still circled around every lips
through all the kingdoms. Compounded by her mysterious disappearance
and news of that she has not been betrothed, suitors came in larger
abundance, hoping to win the heart of the young maiden.

Months passed as her self-loathing increased. The turmoil in her mind
and heart ate away at her life. While her beauty was steadily restored
by the healer's prayers, her mind could not be restored. Doubt and
uncertainty filled her thoughts. Was she just a prize to be collected
by her parents? Was she just gifted by the Gods with beauty? Do
people enjoy her presence because of who she is, or is it her beauty
that they enjoy?

Her beauty eventually returned and the scars of brutality left her
body. However, these questions reveberated in her mind, even as she
approached her suitors with a fake smile plastered on her face.

Role

Chapter 2

'Go away'

The first thoughts that arose from her subconsciousness was just that
- she did not want to escape the pleasant dreams, nor deal with the
eventual reality of what struck her. Four silhouettes towered over
her and droned incessantly with remorse, anger, and frustration.

'GO AWAY!'

Angered at disturbing her otherwise peaceful rest, she attempted to
open her eyes and began her preparation to give her intruders a verbal
lashing. As she took a deep breath, the crashing pain numbed her
senses and a loud cacophonous scream emerged from her throat. Her
pain was compounded by the frantic attempts to grasp the situation, to
grasp reality, and the jarring movements twitching her body.

She could see clearly - a healer, her parents, and what appeared to be
majestically dressed prince, all hovering over her. The light that once
shined her parents eyes were gone - in its place were zealous
expressions of grief and panic.

'Shh...calm down, Eloyria. You..y...'

Her mother couldn't finish the sentence as a wave of fatigue and
revulsion overcame her.

Befuddled and confused, the princess didn't understand the situation.
All her life, people expressed joy around her and looked at her with
reverance and glee - now, the four around her looked at her with shame
and disgust. As she attempted to open her mouth to speak, another bout
of wracking pain overcame her body. Darkness ensued once again.

------

The princess awoke from her slumber. Strange events and thoughts
plagued her dreams, the most prevalent a row of listless faces glaring
at her with lustful deranged expressions in their eyes, and the weeping
faces of her parents. Night was coming as the sun slowly lowered in the
event horizon. Although movement was still painful, she somehow managed
the courage to sit on her bed. Twisting her head to her dresser mirror,
she tried to fathom why there was such pain in her body.

A grotesque monstrousity looked back at her. The once lustrous hair
was tattered - pieces of flesh were torn through her body. Cuts and
bruises cultivated in her body chaotically, as if a wild animal toyed
with her before finally attempting to consume her. Blood coagulated in
a constant stream from her lips.

There was no semblance of her former beauty, no hint of the glory that
the gods gifted her with. She had become undone.

How she wept. How she willed herself to wake from this nightmare.

Role

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there lived a princess of unsurpassed beauty.
Rumors spread that the brilliance in her smile healed all wounds,
that Gods and Goddesses paid homage to her perfection. Men flocked
from all each and every city, from the elven city of Darsylon to the
cursed city of Barovia, simply to witness this holy sight.

Ever since her youth, she was a wild child, so full of confidence and
vigor. The walls of her kingdom were obstacles to be torn down, the
strict rules of her parents were to be ignored. Trouble followed her
footsteps and dischord was her motivation. She yearned to experience
all life had to offer.

As she came to age to become betrothed, her parents became
increasingly paranoid and fearful for her safety. With various
ruffians vying for her hand, they sought the greatest and most
wealthy suitors. Their desert kingdom was poor, a small parcel of
land with no natural resources or strategic position. Nature itself
was their unmerciful enemy. The reputation clinging to the princess'
appearance brought more trade then ever before. To prolong what they
viewed as this miraculous gift bestowed upon them, they locked the
princess up in the highest tower and provided her with comfort
befitting an Empress.

The princess grew tired of her captivity. She yearned to taste the
desert sands again, to enjoy the warm flesh of a male, or female,
upon hers. Thus she schemed for her escape. Her words were like
honey, her appearance a blaze of glory and enchanted her servants.
Soon, those that her parents placed their faith in to secure the
princess were her slaves.

The day arrived.

Ironically, what she failed to notice was her gift and curse.
Traveling through the twists and turns of the palace, she finally
entered the commonplace. Yet, the bustling crowd soon caught grasp
of her, for even the more clever of disguises could not hide her
beauty. Weeks of planning unraveled. Despair overcame her as the
mob surged forward, just to behold their golden goose.

-------

Rumors erupted the following days of her attempt to escape. She
successfully entranced the mob. No, she pleaded with the Gods, who
took symphathy on her and transformed her into a beautiful eagle,
to sore the skies forever. The winds came and swept her away to
the highest peak, there to be guarded by a dragon and await her
beloved to come and rescue her.

No one knows for certain what happened. After all, the story
became the basis of a fairy tale.

Yet, even within a fairy tale, a sliver of truth remains.

Immortal Comments

PK Gank-O-Meter

Skill List

PK Wins

PK Deaths

Leveling History

Timeline

Mob Deaths

Edges

Flaws

Racial Edges

Class Edges

Edges