Post by nox14 on Apr 13, 2020 19:33:13 GMT -8
Kor Hael Ezekiel Kasky II, Hammer of Witches
Resolve level: 0
Resolve level: 0
-Appearance
Age: 28
Sex: Male
Physical Description: Kor Hael, or more often Kor, has a prototypical fighters build. Standing at 6'1" [1.86m] and weighing 210 pounds [95.2 kg] distributed around a whip thin frame taut with muscle rather than seeming malnourished. His blonde hair [cut into a french crop] and green eyes are attractive, though his smile is not owing to a mouthful of expensive silver teeth.
Attire:
Kor wears thick woolen socks under riding boots of a strange, material similar to sharkskin with which is typically bound under brown leather shin coverings and the metal sleeve for lack of a better word [The later mentioned spiked toe cap, heel, and outer sole]. Leather breeches with small pouches buckled to them cover his legs.
He wears a long, untucked cream colored vest with silvery floral threading under his short sleeved greatcoat. The coat is covered in absolutely too many pockets bearing a variety of odds and ends specific to his job. A plain, pale blue fabric under layer is the final part of his ensemble, with long sleeves and all.
-Biography
Quirks:
Soldier Against Corruption - Kor hatred for the occult means he is skeptical at the least of any more suspect members of his adventuring party, but also means he excels against those who would commune with the occult and eldritch creatures
Black Library - Kor possesses generations worth of wives tales, superstitions, and rumors of those from what he refers to as "The Deepest Dark", all learned from those within his order or shady individuals met on dark roads. One of these is the rumor of a so called "Black Library" of knowledge, containing the knowledge of a now extinct order of scholars who had devoted themselves to the study of all things damned and heretical. Whether it actually exists is another matter, but he is obsessed with uncovering such a thing.
Zealous Fury - When Kor is worked into a battle frenzy, it can sometimes be hard for him to come down from the high of an encounter. This effect worsens the longer a battle goes on.
Lurker - Kor spends much of his time in the darkness, and prefers to be surrounded in its familiar embrace rather than the harsh bright lights.
Backstory Synopsis: Raised in small village, Kor was taken as a small boy to become an apprentice under a veteran witch-hunter and his since prospered in the craft.
Full Backstory:
Born in a small town in the French countryside, Kor Hael was raised faithful and superstitious in equal regard. When he turned 11, a group of witch-hunters entered town on what they referred to as a "Red Tithe". The Red Tithe was a right given to witch-hunters, in which they were permitted to take lower class children and offer them salvation through life ridding the world of pagans and heretics. Kor Hael was one of four taken from his village, and to his knowledge was the only one of his interrogator group to survive to full witch-hunter status. The path, such as it was, consisted of countless hours of memorization of superstitious theory and functional techniques of martial as well as more peaceful categories.
Kor Hael took part in his first witch burning at age 16. A woman who had been reported to often sneak off into the woods in the midst of the night was brought to Kor Hael and his master, who found her guilty on suspicion of witchcraft. The atmosphere around it was surreal. The quiet compliance of the villagers as they gathered wood for the pyre, the cries of the woman as she was tied up, the quiet crackling as Kor was handed the torch and lit the first pyre of many in his career. Standing in front of those roaring orange flames, his master patted the young man on the shoulder and muttered two words that stuck with Kor Hael.
"Good job."
Utterly simple and without great import, but something in Kor Hael's mind clicked at their mention in this context. He was doing righteous work, and the power was undeniably intoxicating. Nothing compared to the simple farmers life he would have taken part in if he had not been taken. It was power for a peasant boy, and he was eager to seize it.
It didn't take long for Kor Hael to achieve full witch-hunter status and earn his ceremonial brand after this, as only 5 years later he was branded, as well as presented with his Mandate. A symbol of his authority, and the very source of his real power. His career, as speculated, was quite successful despite how it ended. Roughly 8 years of everything from vicious brawls to highway ambushes, along with Light knows how many more burnings of various sizes, all ended on an utterly spectacular note.
Kor Hael had found himself in a tight spot. A noble had been suspicious of reported gatherings in old, dried up silver mines and Kor Hael deigned to take up the request for investigation. The investigation itself was absolutely correct, as a heretical cult was discovered to be regularily meeting and conspiring. The bad part was, the nobles son was one of the ringleaders for the operation. Kor Hael, unfortunately, learned this news from a rage stricken father who was rather angry at the sight of his howling sun lashed to a pole with flames licking at his feet.
Kor had simply shrugged, and had the small compliment of soldiers with him bar the man from the vicinity of the countryside field he had used as a site for the bakers dozen of burnings. A few hours later, Kor Hael was met with the small private army of the noble, who chased him and his contingent from town. The noble himself had begun the spread of vicious rumors to his fellow aristocrats en masse. Kor Hael Ezekiel Kasky II, the infamous Hammer of Witches himself, saw his career torn apart in a month. His letter of release saw to his disgrace, and he was informed to stay where he was to be relieved of his service by an executioners axe.
But Kor Hael refused, and instead gathered himself to flee to the Hamlet hoping to carry on his work.
Misc. Notes:
Accent: Kor speaks with a soft French accent, specifically turning the "oh" sound in the word coat into an "uh" sound like cut, as well as turning the -er suffix into something closer to "-air".
Walk and Posture: Kor stands mildly hunched, usually with his arms crossed across his chest and leans on something whenever possible. He seems to be unable to walk at a slow pace, always hungering to eat up as much ground as possible. As such, when he's required to walk slow he ends up figeting with his weapons or one of the trinkets on his person. His run is much like a mad dash, feet pounding the ground as fast as possible as opposed to a long, loping stride.
Scars
Kor Hael's chest is branded with the same haloed skull as his knee-guards, directly in the center of his chest. Scratches and bitemarks that appear to be of human origin cover his forearms, legs, and a small amount on his face.
-Skills & Equipment
Weapons:
Rapier - An ornate, basket hilted weapon Kor has been carrying for as long as he has been hunting. Used primarily as a thrusting weapon, the thin blade is sturdy enough to be used as slashing weapon against unarmored targets.
King, Queen, and Knight - A matched set of 3 well made but old handcannons, King and Queen are securely stored just about his waist in matched holsters while Knight sits by its lonesome on Kor's left hip. All of an exceptionally large bore, the name of each is acid-etched on each side of their barrel. While King and Queen are comparitively plain, Knight has both a small bayonet and spiked trigger/handguard made of brass.
Armor:
Kor's armor is, like his weapons, exquisitely made but well worn. A cuirass with subtle vine patterns is worn beneath his short sleeved work coat, able to protect his vitals against more vicious attacks while trusting the thick material of the coat above to take care of anything else. His lower half is protected by spiked toe caps on his boots along with knee-guards in the shape of haloed skulls. His arms are similarily lightly guarded, relying on leather gloves with small brasses crosses on the back of his hand and fingers for protection along with more leather fastened to his forearms with a large cuff on the elbow.
He also has a large pauldron fastened to his right shoulder [his sword arm], which is adorned with ornate layering, the decoration of hooded figure overlooking 3 archways, and multiple "purity seals" covered in holy scriptures. Instead of the hat pictured, Kor typically goes bareheaded or wears a visored barbute helm if he feels the need.
Helmet, pauldron, and breastplate are, however, in such a state of disrepair to use them would be to armor ones body in paper. Hefty sums of coin [1,100 each] will be required to procure the blacksmiths services to repair them.
King and Queen, albeit in fine working order, have suffered a fate much more forgiving than his armor. The blacksmith is currently holding onto the pistols as insurance, in order for Kor Hael to afford his room and board at the Hamlet. They're at a sort of ransom, for 950 gold each.
Other gear:
Libros Ex Haereticus - The "Book of Heretics" is a grimoire of knowledge essential to anyone who hunts those who would seek the channel power from the deepest dark. Consisting of basic but largely superstitious knowledge on how to consecrate objects and places, precautions to be taken when hunting heretics, and a thousand other facts in its hallowed pages, Kor has scribbled his own notes in the margins where applicable. It's typically chained and padlocked to his right thigh, as Kor is loathe to risk his lifes work. The book has a dark red cover with the title written on the front of it in flowing silver script
Witch Hunters Mandate - A series of letters each signed by a high church official, the mandate details a witch-hunter's limits and methods of the justice they are trained to dispense. There are, unsuprisingly, very few limits...
Consecrated Stakes - Self blessed wooden stakes are stored in many places on Kor's person, typically staked into the ground at intervals to protect his campsite like a holy fence of sorts, they can also be used as able weapons against those that would suffer from the Lights touch.
Strengths:
Capable Fighter, both armed and unarmed
Superstitious and fanciful knowledge of the occult, some of which is ultimately rooted in truth despite him being unable to verify it.
Master of the art of Interrogation, few criminals have lasted long under his watch
Weaknesses:
Quick to jump at shadows, paranoid
Little experience against expert fighters, most of his bouts had been against those with little to no training.
Superstitious, has certain rituals and actions he insists on performing.
