Another of the characters devised by Steve Bristow, Will Doyle and Jamie for the FL computer game Eye of Heroes:THE PRIESTESS: KERROL, THE WOAD WITCH
Appearance: Kerrol wears a shift made from moss and cobwebs and a necklace of bones and twigs. She carries a gnarled wooden spear adorned with shrunken skulls. Her green-skinned body is painted with stripes of blue woad, and her hair is a mass of dreadlocked vegetation. Her eyes glow bright green.
History: Many ages ago the God Tambu challenged the Goddess Lacuna to a race across the Spine of Harkuna. Tambu tricked Lacuna by spiking her water gourd with wine, and Lacuna tripped drunkenly upon Sky Mountain and lost the race. Her falling body formed a great rift between the mountains: the Pass of Eagles. So angered was Lacuna that she made Kerrol, a human priestess born of wolves, whom she charged with the total destruction of Tambu’s followers.
Wild and fearsome, Kerrol waged a decades-long war against the priesthood of Tambu. Her battle cries echoed across the steppes as thunder, and her spear was dressed with the shrunken skulls of Tambu’s priests. So untamed was Kerrol that she fought on even after Tambu had bartered a truce with Lacuna, which angered the Goddess. Lacuna summoned Kerrol to her court, where she was bound as a pet for many centuries.
In time Kerrol was tamed, and sent back to Harkuna to spread the faith of Lacuna. She became something of a saint to wayfarers across the Fabled Lands, and after her death shrines were built to honour her alongside those of Lacuna. Kerrol met her end at the spears of the Uttakin, fighting to stem the ceaseless march of their diabolic, polluting technologies. It is said that every wolf across the Fabled Lands howled as one at the moment of her passing.
Character: Kerrol is short-tempered and has little time for fools. Her manner is brusque and humourless, and she is prone to rage. She simply wishes to get the job done.
Interesting choices on national origin. If I had to pick, I'd say the steppe lends itself to a wayfarer character, Uttaku to a priest, Sokara to a warrior, the ocean (well, Dweomer) to a mage, Golnir to a troubadour... and I suppose that would leave Akatsurai with a rogue, which is sort of odd-one-out, but I think the other 5 match up pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI guess I could still be right about the troubadour and the mage!
I never thought of it that way, Mitch, but your choices seem right - although a Wayfarer is also a pretty good option for Book 3, with all those Scouting rolls!
ReplyDeleteSokara could be a good fit for a rogue too, leaving Akatsurai with warrior, which certainly makes sense.
I didn't mean in terms of game mechanics, I meant in terms of story - Sokara is a military nation, Uttaku is a theocracy, the steppe are pure wilderness etc.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I realize that. Golnir is the perfect place for a troubadour to pick up stories and so on. But I still think a vast ocean is a good place for a Wayfarer - Jamie and I were thinking of Captain Cook as much as of Lewis and Clark.
ReplyDelete