By: Korath Amon
Date:1057
Character Name: Chargoth Karkon vol
Titles: The Anvil of the Dwarves
Birthdate: N/a
Date of Death: 1056 At the cave of creation. Face down, in the mud.
Physical Description: Chargoth is a short, squat Dwarf with no beard. He shaved it off when he abandoned his post at Harrison's Pass. He wears piecemeal, dented crusted rusted dirty armor. No one knows what his body looks like under his armor, as it rarely comes off. He claims to have never taken a bath. He is most notable for his shield, which is bloodstained and dented.
Behaviors: Chargoth Karkon Vol may have been the crudest, most foul mouthed creature to have graced haven. His mouth would have made a sailor blush. He believed in deeds, not words. He was notable for the list of commanders on his arm. Woe to those who tried to tell him what to do, and we not on that list.
Allies and Enemies: Allies, Most notably Darkarath and Olan. The seven who made it through the wastes were like family. Chargoth respected all phoenix warriors. He treated Claude with respect(which was saying something.) He would have done anything to protect Lambic. Enemies included: Anyone who ever met him, Incarious(who the angry little dwarf hated.), Vaun(who the dwarf was conviced committed murder), and Wudan(who he never got a chance to collect on.)
Notes/ Character History:
The History of the Karkon vol.
"Not Another Step."
Vycean Karkon vol was not a particularly good soldier. He was rude, crass and obnoxious. He drank too much. He smoked too much. He liked female company, and he complained. A LOT. But he was a decent soldier during the peaceful years. He was often sent to the brig, or given long hours as punishment.
Like all brash, rude soldier types, He was shipped off to Harrison’s Pass. His life there was miserable, but then again so was everyone else. He was decent guard, being able to keep himself up. But he often complained about his duty. He never wanted to go on patrol. "Not Another Step." He said. Often disobeying orders. He’d root himself in place and refuse to go anywhere.
It was no surprise when a raiding party of 100 was selected to venture into the wastes beyond the keep, that Karkon Vol was sent. He complained. No one liked him and he had no friends in command. At first when he was told he’d have to venture forth, He proclaimed, "Not Another Step." Punishment was had, and of course Karkon vol went. He went, weighted down and very heavily armed of course.
But he made their lives difficult. He complained. A lot. When Karkon Vol was tired or marching, He’d root his feet and Claim "Not Another Step." And the Unit would come to a screeching halt. He complained, and swore pretty much all night and day.
The unit battled the creatures of the dark, and Eventually made their way back to the keep. There, they found a huge battle. They found an undead army at Corenn’s command. There were slightly more than fifty men from his unit, Karkon vol included. They swarmed the Keep.
Tired. Hungry. Cold. Injured. The warriors were not at their peak. Nevertheless they came to do their duty. Some of the warriors stormed the battlefield. Karkon vol was told by his commander. "Karkon Vol. Let no creature enter this keep." Karkon vol smiled through a mask of blood. "NOT ANOTHER STEP."
And Karkon vol fought his way to the wheel that closed the gate. He closed the gate. He killed anything that tried to enter. And from that point, no enemy stepped foot in the keep. Not a single creature made it another step.
When it came time to dole out the awards, Karkon vol was ignored, but not forgotten. The Karkon vol family would never become nobility, but they would serve the Phoenix Lords with loyalty. Albeit grudging complaining respect.
Every member of the family becomes a guard. It is simply what’s done. Dwarves of the Karkon Vol family have made the best guards for seven centuries. Legend has it that nothing guarded by a Karkon Vol has ever fallen.
That is until the cataclysm.
In the years leading up the the Great cataclysm, The Karkon Vol family has been thinning out. Orkill Karkon Vol, is the eldest patriarch. He ruled the family with a iron fist. He forbid the use of magic by any Karkon Vol. He is near death.
His only son Szczynikil died after having a single heir himself. Orkill has taken it very hard. The son Chargoth, is everything that he could wish for. Chargoth is brash, stubborn and crude. He makes the Karkon Vol family proud. The child was dubbed "The Anvil." During his birthing ritual.
Chargoth was trained as an Undead Slayer. Dwarven undead slayers are special soldiers who are neither living, nor truly dead. They have one foot in the grave and one foot in the realm of the living. This gives them power over the dead. The dead restless spirits from the realms of shadow must obey the undead slayer. It is said, that death its self is afraid of the Slayers. The slayers are considered to be already dead, and have nothing more to fear from life.
In Eldesta, Dwarven Undead hunters are partially killed and then inscribed with the runes of life and death. A silver spike is inserted into their hearts, and they are revived with it intact. Then it is removed and they are healed. They are forever changed by their brush with the Lord of Shadows.
When Chargoth underwent this rite, he was dead longer than usual. There was trouble, and the Keep at Harrison’s Pass shook as an army of the dead tried to attack. Later, a seer told the Karkon vol Clan that the dead were afraid of this son of the Dwarves. When they revived him, Chargoth was never the same. But he is true to the slayers.
Then came the Cataclysm.
During the cataclysm, Chargoth held his post at Harrison’s pass. He guarded the forbidden gate into the realm of nightmares. The earth shook and the world shifted. Eldesta proper vanished from the world in a blink leaving the rest terrified and confused. Many fled.
Chargoth sat in the dark. He sat behind the most fortified Gate in the known world. He was never relieved. As the others Fled, Chargoth waited. After two days, all the other guards at Harrison’s Pass were gone. Chargoth waited. He sat behind a wall of iron and runes.
The demons that lived past the gate whispered to Chargoth in his mind. They told him horrible tales of doom and dispare. They asked him to leave his post and flee. They asked him open the gate and let them loose. But still Chargoth waited. After a week his food ran out. He slept by tying himself to the gate. In the dark the demons talked to him, but he resisted their whisperings. He would not be the first Karkon Vol to abandon his post in seven centuries. He was told to guard this gate. Chargoth took his orders very literally.
He waited, smiling to the dwarven rune lords. He knew that either he would die, or something would happen. He battled the night demons in his mind. As he began to grow weak from starvation, he saw in his mind a holy light, and preceptor Donovan. He knew some of the guard survived. But he simply could not leave his post with out orders.
There was a small group of nineteen other people who had made it to the Keep at Harrison’s pass. What they found made them horrified. Harrison’s pass was deserted. No archers on the battlements, no guards at it’s front gate. They were about to turn away when DarKarath insisted that they check the gate. He knew that the Anvil would never have abandoned his post.
There they found a delirious dwarf, foaming at the mouth and dying of thirst, exhaustion and hunger. The first attempts to remove Chargoth from the gate resulted in wounds. So Derek Sandoval, convinced the dwarf to eat and drink, and with them there sleep.
Two weeks had gone by. Chargoth refused to leave until he was ordered, and none of the survivors had rank. That was until a Phoenix Guard showed up. He was badly injured, but he rallied the little group and told them Preceptor Donovan had called all remaining Guards to a far away place called Final Haven.
Chargoth agreed. So he packed up his gear and told his group to meet him out front. Before he could leave the gates of Harrison’s pass, he needed to do one last thing. The dwarves that constructed the gate had left a final solution in place. On of the ancient guards could call upon the dwarven runes to bring down the pass once and for all. A final earthquake shook to block the dangerous pass.
Chargoth walked to the secret place and placed his hand upon the forgotten stone. There he whispered to the ancient forge-fire, the place from which dwarven life had sprung. Runes glowed with eerie light and the earth shook.
The gate at Harrison’s Pass collapsed behind Chargoth. The stone slabs tumbled inward and locked. The mountain came down. The final solution was finished.
Then the left for final haven. Only seven made it. Delane, DeKarth, Jason, Chargoth,Olan, Hannah and Derek. The wastes claimed the rest. And their arrival in Final Haven was just the beginning.
I am Chargoth Karkon Vol.
I am from a lowly warrior clan.
The Karkon Vol are of the lowest warrior Caste.
Warriors will never be true Dwarven Smiths.
They will never be leaders.
They have one purpose.
The Karkon Vol have only Duty.
Honor, Nobility,and safety are the province of others.
I Exist to only to Die.
I do not die for honor.
I do not die for nobility.
I do not die for fame.
I die, so another may live.
I fight so another does not have to.
I am a Karkon Vol. The Warrior Caste of the Phoenix Guard.
I am the Anvil of the Dwarves.
Eldesta is my home.
I may be the last son of Karkon Vol.
When I die, it will be so another may live.
I have a duty to my Clan.
I have a duty to the Phoenix Guard.
I have a duty to those who have shown true loyalty to me.
Only in death will I serve my purpose.
"Deliver Oblivion!"