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Razkar of the Shorn Skulls
"Myri... cast eyes on your son this day. Feast though your warrior on this gift I bring. Goddess, I bring you victory. I bring you souls from glorious battle. Goddess... I bring you blood. I, Razkar of the Shorn Skulls, fulfill my vow, and pledge myself anew."
The last thing many souls have seen in this world...
Basic Information
Race: Myrian
Birthday & Age : Season of Summer, Day 9, 486 AV (27 years old)
Gender: Male
Physical Description
Razkar stands nearly six-feet tall, unusual for a Myrian male, and well-proportioned for his height. A lifetime living and hunting in the jungles outside Taloba has mercilessly banished all excess fat from his frame, leaving him as lean and taut as the animals he tracked as a boy. He wears his hair long and rarely cuts it, and even then only to ensure it does not hinder his vision. His eyes are black, a rare trait in Myrians seen as a blessing or a bad omen, depending on which clan one asks. It does make Razkar appear more frightening to some, but most times they glitter with amusement or interest in whatever they gaze at. Anger him, however, and they will do naught but reflect what they stare at, soulless and opaque.
Razkar's entire body is a patchwork of blue, red and black tattoowork, not to mention scars gained from more duels, skirmishes, battles, hunts and altercations than even he can remember. The most prominent are a series of cuts and gashes on his torso and left arm, gouged into his flesh by a tiger several years ago.
As befits any Myrian, Razkar is also bedecked with piercings through his face. All are bone, most from fallen enemies who distinguished themselves in his eyes. A more recent addition is his teeth: the top and bottom are sharpened to points that he cheerfully uses in combat.
Tattoos
Razkar's most glaring characteristic is the extensive artwork covering his arms and torso. Prime among them is the large circle on his forehead, which he refers to as "Myri's Eye". The massive, circular one on his right shoulder is in honor and commemoration of a ferocious fight between him and a tiger before he joined the Taloba army, a fight he barely survived.
Another visible image is one that covers most of his left arm, depicting a fierce, snarling tiger fighting with two Myrians joined at the hip. The female is Ayatah of the Scattered Bones, the great love of his life, who helped him hunt and kill a tiger for an Elder of his clan.
The pattern in his back is most important to him, however. Starting with a single skull at the center of his spine, a close, circular line of similar skulls winds out to now cover roughly a third of his back. Each one represents nothing more or less than a life taken by Razkar's own hand, and most likely a scalp taken thereafter. Anyone who inquires as to how many that is will be bluntly told the answer is "between myself and my Goddess", but there were several dozen by the time he set foot in Riverfall, and there is plenty of room for additions.
Since his arrival in Riverfall in the Fall of 512AV, Razkar has added one hundred and twenty-one skulls to his back.
Character Concept
"Goddess, ancestors, here my words this eve. Words I bring with humble offering.
Goddess, look upon my steel with favor. Know your servant will claim scalps and lives. Will send you the souls of warriors. Will give you cause to rejoice in the honors you bestowed.
Ancestors, smile upon my works. Know your son is worthy of his place among you. And our Queen will be honored in your son's offerings to her..."
Razkar is a man in love with combat. He believes killing in the service of his Goddess is his destiny, and the foremost purpose any worshiper of Myri. More than his loyalty to his people, his love for his clan and any contract he could sign outside of his homeland, Razkar is first and foremost a fanatical follower of Myri.
His entire life revolves around making war, and his attitude mirrors that purpose. When at "peace", he devotes himself to the martial arts, training constantly. In combat he veers between a screaming beserker and an eerily silent killer, whichever is needed. But he does not throw himself heedlessly into battles beyond him. Pragmatic despite his bloodlust, Razkar knows that in death he will take no scalps, and please no Goddess.
In other worlds, Razkar would be thought a zealot for sure and probably a psychopath, and both are broadly true. But he certainly has his own morality, and he is not some sullen and hostile automaton when not waging war. The Myrian has friends and family, loves and hobbies, not to mention a curiosity about the "barbarian" lands that has been well-served by his travels. Though his savage appearance may belie it, more often than not he pities those barbarian races he travels through, for they live beyond the light of Myri in his eyes.
A fierce protectiveness for kin and comrade also defines Razkar. His former fang in Taloba, most of whom are now long dead in battle, were as highly-regarded by him as his own clan. The half-Dhani Tinnok of the Tempered Steel is one he counts as his closest companions. The fact half her blood is steeped in the Ancient Enemy means nothing to him. She has shed blood with him in service of Taloba, and thus all other factors are meaningless.
Actions, in Razkar's opinion, are what truly defines one. Blood and past are factors, indeed, but it is the choices made in a moment that echo for centuries that make or break a spirit... and Razkar's view of them.
Passion is also a hallmark of Razkar's soul, but it is closely-guarded as a potential weapon that can be used against him. No vows have been exchanged in what would be seen as a "legally binding" fashion, but his heart and his loyalty is most definitely sworn to Ayatah of the Scattered Bones, a half-Epyharian who is also walking the world. To say he is devoted to her would be an understatement, and one of his main drives in life is to ensure her safety and happiness.
Razkar is also capable of introspection and self-analysis, which often works against him. He often fears that what he truly enjoys is simply the death and pain he inflicts in combat, and he uses his Goddess-Queen as an excuse to indulge the inexcusable. This is perhaps why he follows his warrior code so closely: because without it, he is nothing but a murderer.
As of the current date, off the battlefield Razkar is most often polite and reserved around those he meets, neither offensive nor forthcoming. To those he regards as worthy of his respect (something of a rarity outside his own people), he is positively warm and considerate. But the Myrian is a reflection of his own people: compassion and loyalty is not given freely; it is earned. Still, he seems to subscribe to the philosophy that there's no need to be a skurak when you don't have to be.
Character History
"Myri guide my hands... and Dira my blades..."
Rezkar was born to Zek and Yurta of the Shorn Skulls, a clan that has lived, hunted and fought in the jungle outside Taloba for centuries. Under the harsh upbringing of his clan-mothers, the boy grew tall, strong and unforgiving of weakness. Like his mother, Yurta, he soon showed an affinity for tracking lives through the foliage of the jungle, and ending them.
His clan got its name generations ago from their habit of scalping their enemies and braiding the skin, bones and sometimes organs onto their clothes. His mother had an entire cloak of scalps; his grandfather's bed was covered with a blanket crafted from flesh. These traditions he was taught, proud to learn and prouder still when he began his own Cloak of Fallen.
In his twentieth year, he joined his clan on patrols of their lands, even on long-distance patrols on behalf of the Taloba army. In 508AV he fought with his clan to hold back a rampaging Yukman horde that had already destroyed another village. He fought well and the horde was annihilated, but Razkar watched his mother slaughtered by the monster. His fury was terrifying to behold when he, equaled only by his grief and depression after her death.
His father knew of only one solution to end his son's listless nihilism, and he was sent to fulfill his service with the Taloba army early. To his surprise and his clan's relief, Razkar relished his time there. The skill he already showed with gladius and ax was further honed, as was his devotion to Myri. He marched with the Taloba army in dozens of patrols and several ambushes and battles against Dhani, Yukmen and various encroaching barbarian races.
In 509AV, something that Razkar had neither planned for nor expected happened: he fell in love. Whilst on leave from the Taloba Army at his clan lands, he met a travelling Myrian/Epyharian, Ayatah of the Scattered Bones. The two young warriors seemed to form and instant connection and while they left the Shorn Skulls village on a tiger hunt as friends, they returned as lovers. For two years he continued his service for Taloba and for Myri, his relationship with Ayatah deepening from physical lust and affection to a passionate devotion.
Then, in Spring of 512AV, the Djed Storm nearly ripped all of that apart.
As devastated by the Storm as his country and people were, Razkar nearly lost himself to a nihilistic, hateful despair. Aya and he suffered for it, and even his duty as a warrior bought him no relief. It took the combined efforts of Aya, his other half-breed comrade Tinnok of the Tempered Steel and the gaining of his Mark of Myri that finally dragged him for his pit of self-pity and despair.
Taloba, though, was no longer home to the young male. Not even the jungles and the canopy of his childhood bought him release from his ennui and he decided to accompany Aya when she announced she would leave for the barbarian lands, continuing her very un-Myrian education. Razkar, however, would be leaving for a different reason...
"Myri... cast eyes on your son this day. Feast though your warrior on this gift I bring. Goddess, I bring you victory. I bring you souls from glorious battle. Goddess... I bring you blood. I, Razkar of the Shorn Skulls, fulfill my vow, and pledge myself anew."
The last thing many souls have seen in this world...
Basic Information
Race: Myrian
Birthday & Age : Season of Summer, Day 9, 486 AV (27 years old)
Gender: Male
Physical Description
Razkar stands nearly six-feet tall, unusual for a Myrian male, and well-proportioned for his height. A lifetime living and hunting in the jungles outside Taloba has mercilessly banished all excess fat from his frame, leaving him as lean and taut as the animals he tracked as a boy. He wears his hair long and rarely cuts it, and even then only to ensure it does not hinder his vision. His eyes are black, a rare trait in Myrians seen as a blessing or a bad omen, depending on which clan one asks. It does make Razkar appear more frightening to some, but most times they glitter with amusement or interest in whatever they gaze at. Anger him, however, and they will do naught but reflect what they stare at, soulless and opaque.
Razkar's entire body is a patchwork of blue, red and black tattoowork, not to mention scars gained from more duels, skirmishes, battles, hunts and altercations than even he can remember. The most prominent are a series of cuts and gashes on his torso and left arm, gouged into his flesh by a tiger several years ago.
As befits any Myrian, Razkar is also bedecked with piercings through his face. All are bone, most from fallen enemies who distinguished themselves in his eyes. A more recent addition is his teeth: the top and bottom are sharpened to points that he cheerfully uses in combat.
Tattoos
Razkar's most glaring characteristic is the extensive artwork covering his arms and torso. Prime among them is the large circle on his forehead, which he refers to as "Myri's Eye". The massive, circular one on his right shoulder is in honor and commemoration of a ferocious fight between him and a tiger before he joined the Taloba army, a fight he barely survived.
Another visible image is one that covers most of his left arm, depicting a fierce, snarling tiger fighting with two Myrians joined at the hip. The female is Ayatah of the Scattered Bones, the great love of his life, who helped him hunt and kill a tiger for an Elder of his clan.
The pattern in his back is most important to him, however. Starting with a single skull at the center of his spine, a close, circular line of similar skulls winds out to now cover roughly a third of his back. Each one represents nothing more or less than a life taken by Razkar's own hand, and most likely a scalp taken thereafter. Anyone who inquires as to how many that is will be bluntly told the answer is "between myself and my Goddess", but there were several dozen by the time he set foot in Riverfall, and there is plenty of room for additions.
Since his arrival in Riverfall in the Fall of 512AV, Razkar has added one hundred and twenty-one skulls to his back.
Character Concept
"Goddess, ancestors, here my words this eve. Words I bring with humble offering.
Goddess, look upon my steel with favor. Know your servant will claim scalps and lives. Will send you the souls of warriors. Will give you cause to rejoice in the honors you bestowed.
Ancestors, smile upon my works. Know your son is worthy of his place among you. And our Queen will be honored in your son's offerings to her..."
Razkar is a man in love with combat. He believes killing in the service of his Goddess is his destiny, and the foremost purpose any worshiper of Myri. More than his loyalty to his people, his love for his clan and any contract he could sign outside of his homeland, Razkar is first and foremost a fanatical follower of Myri.
His entire life revolves around making war, and his attitude mirrors that purpose. When at "peace", he devotes himself to the martial arts, training constantly. In combat he veers between a screaming beserker and an eerily silent killer, whichever is needed. But he does not throw himself heedlessly into battles beyond him. Pragmatic despite his bloodlust, Razkar knows that in death he will take no scalps, and please no Goddess.
In other worlds, Razkar would be thought a zealot for sure and probably a psychopath, and both are broadly true. But he certainly has his own morality, and he is not some sullen and hostile automaton when not waging war. The Myrian has friends and family, loves and hobbies, not to mention a curiosity about the "barbarian" lands that has been well-served by his travels. Though his savage appearance may belie it, more often than not he pities those barbarian races he travels through, for they live beyond the light of Myri in his eyes.
A fierce protectiveness for kin and comrade also defines Razkar. His former fang in Taloba, most of whom are now long dead in battle, were as highly-regarded by him as his own clan. The half-Dhani Tinnok of the Tempered Steel is one he counts as his closest companions. The fact half her blood is steeped in the Ancient Enemy means nothing to him. She has shed blood with him in service of Taloba, and thus all other factors are meaningless.
Actions, in Razkar's opinion, are what truly defines one. Blood and past are factors, indeed, but it is the choices made in a moment that echo for centuries that make or break a spirit... and Razkar's view of them.
Passion is also a hallmark of Razkar's soul, but it is closely-guarded as a potential weapon that can be used against him. No vows have been exchanged in what would be seen as a "legally binding" fashion, but his heart and his loyalty is most definitely sworn to Ayatah of the Scattered Bones, a half-Epyharian who is also walking the world. To say he is devoted to her would be an understatement, and one of his main drives in life is to ensure her safety and happiness.
Razkar is also capable of introspection and self-analysis, which often works against him. He often fears that what he truly enjoys is simply the death and pain he inflicts in combat, and he uses his Goddess-Queen as an excuse to indulge the inexcusable. This is perhaps why he follows his warrior code so closely: because without it, he is nothing but a murderer.
As of the current date, off the battlefield Razkar is most often polite and reserved around those he meets, neither offensive nor forthcoming. To those he regards as worthy of his respect (something of a rarity outside his own people), he is positively warm and considerate. But the Myrian is a reflection of his own people: compassion and loyalty is not given freely; it is earned. Still, he seems to subscribe to the philosophy that there's no need to be a skurak when you don't have to be.
Character History
"Myri guide my hands... and Dira my blades..."
Rezkar was born to Zek and Yurta of the Shorn Skulls, a clan that has lived, hunted and fought in the jungle outside Taloba for centuries. Under the harsh upbringing of his clan-mothers, the boy grew tall, strong and unforgiving of weakness. Like his mother, Yurta, he soon showed an affinity for tracking lives through the foliage of the jungle, and ending them.
His clan got its name generations ago from their habit of scalping their enemies and braiding the skin, bones and sometimes organs onto their clothes. His mother had an entire cloak of scalps; his grandfather's bed was covered with a blanket crafted from flesh. These traditions he was taught, proud to learn and prouder still when he began his own Cloak of Fallen.
In his twentieth year, he joined his clan on patrols of their lands, even on long-distance patrols on behalf of the Taloba army. In 508AV he fought with his clan to hold back a rampaging Yukman horde that had already destroyed another village. He fought well and the horde was annihilated, but Razkar watched his mother slaughtered by the monster. His fury was terrifying to behold when he, equaled only by his grief and depression after her death.
His father knew of only one solution to end his son's listless nihilism, and he was sent to fulfill his service with the Taloba army early. To his surprise and his clan's relief, Razkar relished his time there. The skill he already showed with gladius and ax was further honed, as was his devotion to Myri. He marched with the Taloba army in dozens of patrols and several ambushes and battles against Dhani, Yukmen and various encroaching barbarian races.
In 509AV, something that Razkar had neither planned for nor expected happened: he fell in love. Whilst on leave from the Taloba Army at his clan lands, he met a travelling Myrian/Epyharian, Ayatah of the Scattered Bones. The two young warriors seemed to form and instant connection and while they left the Shorn Skulls village on a tiger hunt as friends, they returned as lovers. For two years he continued his service for Taloba and for Myri, his relationship with Ayatah deepening from physical lust and affection to a passionate devotion.
Then, in Spring of 512AV, the Djed Storm nearly ripped all of that apart.
As devastated by the Storm as his country and people were, Razkar nearly lost himself to a nihilistic, hateful despair. Aya and he suffered for it, and even his duty as a warrior bought him no relief. It took the combined efforts of Aya, his other half-breed comrade Tinnok of the Tempered Steel and the gaining of his Mark of Myri that finally dragged him for his pit of self-pity and despair.
Taloba, though, was no longer home to the young male. Not even the jungles and the canopy of his childhood bought him release from his ennui and he decided to accompany Aya when she announced she would leave for the barbarian lands, continuing her very un-Myrian education. Razkar, however, would be leaving for a different reason...
