| Character
Description and History
Kage Selden was once a druid who sheperded a verdant valley to
the south of Anauroch, the great desert of Faerun. Over time, he
began to realize that the climate of the region was in decline.
Within a decade, the beautiful shire deteriorated to nothing more
than a wasteland as the desert lay claim.
Having descended from a rugged people who had earned the territory
by blood, the inabitants of the valley chose to remain. Unfortunately,
the decision cost them their lives, as famine and disease claimed
those who had survived endless attacks by desert raiders who had
followed the blight from the vast.
Kage was one of the few who survived, although his friends, family,
and way of life lay still beneath the encroaching sands of Anauroch.
He had only his beliefs to cling to, and could understand how the
sanctity of the natural order could require the sacrifice of all
he loved to endure.
After several years of wandering in the blighted land, he encountered
a Bedine merchant who regaled him with tales of the exotic Phaerimm
who wished to flood the Realms with sands of death. Intrigued by
the idea of a magical source to the destruction, but doubting just
the same, Kage gave the last of his wealth to an adventuring band
for accompanying him on a half-serious expedition deep into the
desert.
The group was about to turn back after several weeks of endless
dunes when a solitary beast of fell demeanor slew them to a man.
Before rendering a death blow upon Kage, the creature forced the
thoughts from his mind. It reveled in the pain, loss, and anguish
that its kind, the phaerimm, had inflicted upon this man. Instead
of slaying him, he drew the thoughts upon Kage's chest in the form
of mystical images that torment him to this day.
(NOTE: When Kage is distressed or weakened by strife, he experiences
the joy felt by the phaerimm at the death of his loved ones. He
wishes to retain such torment, as it may lead him one day to the
same phaerimm for a reckoning.)
Obviously unbalanced by this turn of events, Kage wandered the
desert alone for several months. When he walked again upon healthy
soil, he had abandoned the Gods of nature who, in his mind, had
turned their backs upon thousands of innocents who perish at the
hands of the Phaerimm to thi very day. He became a lost druid, mocking
the beliefs he had clung to in any way possible.
After a decade of depravity, he was visited by a raven bearing
a scroll from a druid known only as the Ravenmaster. The aging sage
bid him accept the worship of Fenrys or be forever destroyed as
an abomination. Feeling that the offer was reasonable under the
circumstances, he accepted.
Kage soon found himself assisting a group who struggle to this
day against a fell evil beneath the Thunder Peaks. He has come to
lead this band, guided by the Magister and even Mystra herself,
and given the name of The Sigil.
ROLEPLAYING NOTES:
Kage is harsh, forthright, and almost mean. He will do anthing
to overcome an obstacle, as he is truly a man with nothing to lose.
However, he works constantly toward redemption, at least in the
eyes of Fenrys. The new power has punished the priest more than
once, but Kage is currently within the graces of his newfound faith.
Beneath the harsh exterior lies a person who has never lived a
moment past the tragedy of Anauroch. Whenever he strikes a foe,
he sees the Phaerimm and its mangled bodies who were his first adventuring
band.
At times, Kage can be almost charitable - he has demonstrated a
particular mercy toward children and innocents, and is often reluctant
to destroy foes who have submitted.
The final fate of Kage's soul remains undecided, as retributive
wrath and torment still guide his every move.
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