Arkham



The sorcerer known only as Arkham was not always capable of wielding his power. The child of a Tiefling merchant and a greedy prostitute, his life was never in his control. As many Tiefling offspring are he was discarded at birth, sold by the one person that should have loved him and raised without a loving presence. His master, Callen Vonaar, was a cruel merchant who viewed his Tiefling servant as a novelty and would parade him out for his guests for their abuse and entertainment.

The entirety of his childhood is relatively unimportant, it was a continuing cycle of abuse that built within him an immense of hatred of his master and those around him, with the exception of one. His master also owned another slave, a human girl by the name of Reia that his master had also acquired. Reia was the lone exception to the world around him. She showed him kindness and in return he became fiercely protective of her, and many of the worst beating he ever received where the result of attempting to shield her from the same abuses he received.

He traveled with his master from camp to camp, and from town to town, performing whatever task was asked of him for years until the incident. It was during his 19th year of servitude that his master’s caravan pulled into some ruins on the outskirts of a moderate sized settlement populated by a small group of outcasts. As his master pushed his goods around the camp he was approached by the group’s leader with an interest in purchasing his Tiefling servant. His master refused but the man insisted and before he knew it he found himself sold and watching his Master’s caravan pull out of site.

As his master’s caravan departed he was bound and blindfolded. He lay there for a long time before he was hoisted up and eventually dropped on a cold stone surface. His blindfold was removed and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night he looked around and saw himself surrounded by hooded figures. One of the figures began incanting something in a language he couldn’t understand as the other figures chimed in often. The hooded figure invoked the name of Asmodeus pulled a large curved dagger from beneath his robes. The dagger was raised high, and the last thing he remembers of his life before becoming Bedlam was the dagger plunging downwards and feeling the prick of the tip on his chest.

What happened next is unknown to anyone living, what he recalls are the visions. Visions of the Nine Hells and the torment that lies within them. Visions of the unimaginable suffering of its inhabitants. Visions of the great citadel of Malsheem in all its splendor in the bowels that nightmare. Visions of the luxurious lives of those living in that magnificent palace, surrounded by torment and suffering, they continued favorable existences as the servants of their master Asmodeus. Visions of Asmodeus turn towards him and opening his mouth to speak a single word ‘Behold’. The next thing he remembers for certain is waking up in those same ruins several days later, the ground scorched and the charred remains of those worshipers around him. A two man patrol of armed guards was also there, surveying the carnage. As he sat up on the alter trying to take in his horrific surroundings, the guards, not expecting to see anyone living amongst the wreckage, turned on him blaming him for the carnage and charging him with swords drawn promising to ‘smite the demon’. He scrambled from the alter and grabbed the first thing he found, a wooden quarterstaff from the clutched ashen hand of one of the worshipers. As he spun to protect himself he felt a dark warmth from within him as blue flames shot from the staff and instantly killed the soldiers.

What most would have viewed as something horrible, he viewed as something glorious. He realized that this power was the one thing that would prevent him from ever being a slave to the desires of others again. The world would bend to his demands, or it would bend to his power. He took the mantle of Arkham, forever discarding his past and recreating himself in a form for suitable for his new found powers. He set out in pursuit of his old master’s caravan, determined to share his powers with him.

As he traveled he learned that he possessed an immense amount of power, but that he had very little control of it. Sometimes those that “crossed” him would burst into flames, sometimes they would drop dead of poison, but they always fell before him.

He moved from town to town following the caravan of his old master but with so many caravans on the road he eventually lost track of the trail and now pursues it almost blindly having not had any credible information about it for some time.

He still has visions of Asmodeus and the Nine Hells and has come to associate his powers with the lord of the underworld. He doesn’t know if the visions are signs of things to come, or picture of the eternal torment that awaits him. He’s determined to find out more about the source of his power and what if anything Asmodeus wants of him.

He tends to remain cloaked most of the time, rarely lowering his hood in the presence of others. He is mostly respectful to others realizing that wielding his power attracts a lot of unwanted attention, but he cannot tolerate any perceived disrespect from others. Those that disrespect him or refuse his requests are sometimes dealt with publicly, but more often find themselves or their belongings the recipients of horrible “accidents” at a later time. Growing up at the boot heel of others he does better with smaller crowds and takes a very long time to trust strangers in any fashion.

Enemies
Callen Vonaar: Arkham’s old “master”. He leads a small caravan across the world gathering supplies from one place and selling them in another. He does not have a set trade route and rarely revisits the same places. Arkham has lost the scent of his trail and still pursues him.

Allies
Reia: The human slave girl of Callen Vonaar. The only person ever to show him any kindness, Arkham longs to see her again and to free her. He has no idea if she is still with Vonaar, but can only assume that the answer lies with finding his caravan.

Deities (foe?/ally?)
Asmodeus: The lord of the underworld still appears to Arkham in visions. Does he come to beckon him to his side or is he simply showing him the future torment that awaits him.