Abijah Uwainor
From Valwiki
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| Player: | Stragen. | |
| Assumed Name: | Oscard du Courte. | |
| Title: | Lord, former Duke of Larius. | |
| Age: | ~5000 (looks ~50). | |
| Race: | Human (Abijahn). | |
| Eye Colour: | Red. | |
| Hair: | Unkempt, gray/white. | |
| Skin Tone: | Very pale. | |
| Height: | 6'4". | |
| Weight: | 214 lbs. | |
| Alignment: | Neutral evil. | |
Contents |
Personality
Abijah’s personality is, to be honest, rather hard to explain or understand. Because of the nature of his transformation, the time that has passed since it has happened, and his betrayal at the hands of his own childe, Oscard (explained later), Abijah has become extremely erratic, and only retains a small fragment of his former humanity. In effect, he is driven by only a few desires. That which he could never resist in life (pleasures of the flesh) – even if he cannot experience such things any more, his thirst for revenge, a wish to accumulate as much power as he can, and, ultimately, a wish to convince Clarisse de Tharonil that he is in fact Abijah, and not Oscard du Courte. Abijah is single-minded in his wish to punish Oscard for what he did, and for taking some of his power.
Moreover, Abijah is haunted almost constantly by visions of his last night alive – the night when he experienced pleasure on a scale that could never be replicated. Reliving almost daily the experience he had with the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen, who it turned out, was in fact the goddess Dearuhk, he is all too aware of the fact that now, as an Abijahn (or rather as ‘Abijah’ as the thinks of himself), he can never experience anything even approaching such a feeling again. He might be alive inside, but his body is very much dead. Despite the fact that Dearuhk’s seduction led to his death: he bears her no ill will, he feels that she, even if he was only a tool in some godly game, gave him something he would never otherwise have experienced. Apart from anything else, an undead associate of his tells of rumours that she had his son. Is that possible? Abijah doesn’t know, but he sure as hell wants to find out.
Background
Childhood
The only son in a rich noble family living in what was then the fledgling city-state of Langstrom, Abijah, early on in his life, had a relatively stable childhood. His parents, who lived comfortably on the income from their estate, decided from when he was very young that their son should not live his life managing the estate; that forcing him into such a thing would be unreasonable. Instead, he was sent to live for a time with John D’arc, one of the bodyguards responsible for protecting the King of Langstrom. They hoped that he would grow up understanding the important principles of life – truth, honour, dignity.
And, as he began to grow older, just that happened, and while living under the tutelage of D’arc, Abijah also became a devout Setengarite with a genuine belief in the deity. He had a reasonably strong build, and as well as religious belief – he also showed significant promise with the blade, and his parents gave consent for him to follow in the path of D’arc as a guard of Langstrom’s royal family.
Youth
Despite all this positive development, Abijah was also placed in a situation where something far less positive developed; the vice which would eventually lead to his tragic downfall. Now living in the city and frequently exposed to the affairs of court as a bodyguard in training, Abijah found himself seeing almost immeasurable beauty on a daily basis. Having previously lived almost exclusively on his parents’ estate where the only women (his mother aside) were peasant workers, he was, Abijah was simply entranced, perhaps overcome, by the sheer beauty of the women he now saw before him. He was, in essence, unable to prevent himself falling terribly in love on mere sight, and even less able to resist temptation concerning the pleasures of the flesh.
D’arc noticed Abijah’s weakness, and was concerned about it, but eventually decided that his training as a royal guard, as Abijah requested, should continue. After all, D’arc reasoned, he was a young man of genuine faith with enormous potential. What could possibly go wrong? The answer, at least for some time, was nothing much. By the age of 24, Abijah was an experienced and talented guard, and by 25 he was effectively a master of the sword style that developed into the Golden Blade. However, it utilised a longsword instead of a rapier, and buckers and bracers were used as off-hand weapons, rather than the main-gauche. Abijah quickly took to using a gauntlet to parry, liking the fact that it could not be disarmed.
Adulthood
Because of his clear mastery of the guards’ style and otherwise impeccable conduct, Abijah was soon assigned to a very privileged post: personal guard of the Princess of Langstrom. Abijah and D’arc, who had always been on good terms, were thrown into conflict when D’arc protested Abijah’s appointment, worry about what might happen. Abijah, thinking D’arc wanted to restrict his career, accused his mentor of jealousy, and ignored entirely his warnings about what could happen.
Despite the fervour with which he pursued his new duty, the inevitable did, of course, soon occur. Besotted by the beauty of the individual he had been charged with defending, Abijah seduced the princess and a passionate, if short, affair ensued. For a short time, Abijah was happy, but then, of course, he was caught. A suitor, favoured as the match for the Princess because it would extend Langstrom’s territory, had come to visit her. What he discovered, much to his shock, was a man, Abijah, lying naked with his future bride in her bedchamber. To say the least, it did not go down well.
Fortunately for Abijah in self-preservation terms, the man was too shocked (and it was said around court – also too cowardly) to attack him, but he (the suitor) certainly made Abijah’s conduct clear to the King, and the suitor also stated that he would never now marry the Princess. As a result, Abijah was quickly stripped of his position and knightly title, and prohibited from ever entering the castle-walls or the presence of a royal again.
It was, he came to believe, a blessing in disguise, at least for him. While he was torn up with anguish for the king’s daughter, it was indirectly as a result of his exile that he met Lyuain Argone, the individual with whom he would very soon form the church of Setengar. Argone, a priest and holy-man of devout faith, saw the virtue in Uwainor, and in Argone Abijah recognised a spiritual individual who could, he hoped, help him overcome his flaws.
Abijah, who had become a talented warrior in his time as a guard to the Royal Family of Langstrom, now found himself delving into holy magic. He became highly interested in the magical learning process, specifically with its focus on Setengarite philosophy. It was this learning which lead to Abijah be thought of as one of the first 'paladins', warrior-priests who followed Setengarite teachings fervently. In a way, he had overcome the great shame that had resulted from the scandal with the King’s daughter, and many forgave him considering what he now was starting to achieve. For he, only a few years after his terrible scandal, had initiated the formation of the Church of Setengar with Argone. He was responsible for the organization of the paladins, the more militant wing of the Church; while Argone organized it’s more purely religious structure.
Fortunately for Abijah, those who forgave him included Setengar – the god had come, in his own offhanded way, to see Abijah as one of his favourites, along with Argone. Sadly, this change of fortune for Uwainor did not last long. Within only a short period, the Church of Setengar had slowly started to glow in popularity and influence, partially due to Abijah’s efforts (though more, certainly, because of Argone). However, Abijah would not bask in success for long, for just as his reputation had seemingly recovered, it would again be tarnished, this time irreversibly; even in the eyes of his god.
Dearuhk and Death
While Uwainor was meeting with his former mentor, John D’Arc (for the first time since his exile), a strange and beautiful maiden entered the venue of their conversation – the construction site for Langstrom Cathedral. Abijah, instantly enamoured of the woman, seemed to D’arc to have returned to his old ways. Moreover, his instincts about the woman told him that something was very wrong. John spoke his misgivings to Abijah, but in response Uwainor became irate, requesting that his long-estranged friend leave. Thoroughly concerned yet ultimately acceding to his friend’s wishes, D’arc left, leaving the two alone.
Abijah, at this point, had effectively lost all traces of coherent thought. As a devout Setengarite, he should have felt that something was wrong – but, due to his lecherous nature, he did not. He was overcome by everything about her; her flowing black hair, her scent, her rounded figure. She was, to him, the perfect temptress…just as she had planned. Unable to resist himself, Abijah fell easy prey to her seductive charms. The act of love-making was so wondrous an experience that he temporarily forgot the person he had told himself he never would; the princess whose future he had ruined.
Then, at the end of the thing, she told him something amazing, something incredible. She was not a maiden, but Dearuhk herself…the dark goddess, at once Setengar’s rival and his enemy. His reaction was one of ambivalence; in one sense he reviled her deception, for he knew it would result in his damnation by the god he served. Yet, the other though occurring to him was the one which dominated him in the end – a reaction close to jubilance; he had just spent a fleeting, passionate moment with a deity, probably the greatest lover ever to exist. Hoping for some explanation from her could only result in disappointment, for as quickly as she had entered his life she was gone.
Early Abijahism
While Abijah knew that Setengar would be furious with him, he did not suspect the full magnitude of what would occur. Expecting some repercussion, Abijah was shocked with what Setengar eventually did; he had never seen before the truly cruel side of the platinum dragon. Uwainor wondered whether Setengar really was the virtuous god he had believed: for he had been cursed with an eternal state of quasi-existence. Not only that, but it featured a terrible twist – he could only survive by consuming the blood of his own kind.
For the first few years, he did not truely realize what his new existence would entail – a life forever isolated from his own society. In a way, he was the hunter; he fed on those he used to call his kin, stalking in the night. Yet paradoxically, he was also the hunted: the few within the Church who knew of him were fervent in their pursuit.
Moreover, he did not properly understand the nature of his curse. Telling himself that he simply would not consume blood, he became increasingly hungry. While talking with John D’arc, trying to explain his situation in the hope that his mentor would understand, his hunger overcame him; and, not able to control his own desires, Abijah killed D’arc in the act of feeding.
The Ghoulish Princess
Torn up at the truth of what he had done but strangely satiated, Abijah went to the only other person he really cared about – the princess of Langstrom. It was in this act that he started to understand the positive side-effects of the curse; the potential to use the blood to manipulate himself and his surroundings. Even as a holy mage, he had suspected that mana had something to do with the blood, and now that he survived on the liquid; its power became clear to him. To get into the castle, he had to somehow overcome a wall, and by instinct he tried to expend some of his blood, focusing his will on moving upwards. Gradually, certainly shakily, Abijah started to rise, overcoming the obstacle. This was the origin of the flight discipline.
Using a similar concept as a means of speeding himself up, and in the process forming the basis for celerity, Abijah quickly reached the Princess’ room. What he found shocked him to the core of his being. For, as he recalled, the sheets of her admittedly elaborate bed had, previously, been white, not crimson. Moreover, he smelt something beautiful, something wonderful – blood. While his body felt joyous, his mind most certainly did not. Something was wrong, the blood he smelt was, he knew, hers.
Rushing into the adjoining chamber – where a trail of blood suggested she was located, Abijah saw her slumped over a table, a bloody dagger in one hand and an equally bloody scroll in the other. She had, it seemed, stabbed herself, and Abijah stared absently, thinking the whole thing a dream. But then she coughed, blood coming from her mouth. At once he was torn – caught between the luscious scent of her blood and the knowledge that if he decided to feed here and now; she, like D’arc, would soon perish.
Abijah resisted the temptation which beset his senses, and instead of feeding on the remaining blood in the princess’s system, he did the opposite: he coughed up his own, attempting to refill her supply. As he did this, he, unknowingly, created what Abijahns now call a ghoul. Where an Abijahn is created when a person’s blood is drained completely before some is given back; the ghoul exists as a mixture of human and Abijahn blood. Abijah knew something had happened, but at first he did not realise what – he thought he had simply saved the love of his life.
Next, believing the princess to be okay for now, he turned his attention to the scroll. It read:
Daughter,
Your actions with that guard were unthinkable. I simply cannot stand the thought that you allowed someone like him to get his filthy hands on you. He might be of noble birth, but you should have known full well that his intentions were anything but noble. Not only do I cringe in disgust when I think of what you must have done with that knave, but the Prince of Athrasia, and more importantly, his father, has rejected offhand any suggestion of marriage. Do you realise what this means? Our kingdom would have grown immeasurably. Moreover, there would not be a threat of war hanging over our people! Because of your foolish actions, and your actions alone, our future as a kingdom is in jeopardy. Accordingly, you are to be exiled to the country – and you will never leave the house we send you to. There will be no human contact other than that of your keepers, and as far as we are concerned, you are not our daughter.
Goodbye, former daughter of mine,
-His Royal Highness the King of Langstrom.
As Abijah read those final lines, his heart crumbled – he had, as he always secretly suspected, destroyed not only his future as a member of court, but also her prospects, as humble as they might have been. He decided that decisive action of some form was necessary, but that first he would take the princess somewhere safe, hopefully to a place where she would never again be delivered into such despair.
Escaping the castle was a fairly simple process, even though it meant the bloody death of several guards. To Abijah however, that was unimportant; he cared only for the welfare of the princess. Knowing that he would be followed, Abijah acted both quickly and harshly – feeding on and killing a prominent noble who had previously opposed him, and then sending a message that he was sick and should not be attended for several days. In this time, Abijah looted the man’s manor extensively, all the while keeping an eye out for a more permanent residence, or for any sign that he had been discovered.
Eventually moving on to a picturesque estate in a developing city-state, gradually building-up his wealth, Abijah continued to live with only one desire in mind; to continue caring for the princess. As a ghoul however, she felt a sort of loyalty to him – something he quickly came to realise. Although regretful about it, for he wanted her to love him of her own accord, there was nothing much he could do about it; at least not if he also wanted to keep her alive for the next millennia.
Later Abijahism
By the end of that period, Abijah had become quite an influence in Kharlia, manipulating people even within the ‘incorruptible’ organisation that he had helped to form; the Church of Setengar. Aside from such machinations (and the growth of what would, with the development of Abijahn culture, becoming known as ‘disciplines’), the period was fairly uneventful; until, when he was aged around 1,000 (Abijah has since lost track of his exact age), he fed on a certain young man named Oscard du Courte. He had always attempted not to kill his victims (as long as he bore them no personal grudge), but accidents often occurred. This was one such occasion – but with an exception, he remembered what he had done to save the princess all those years ago.
Oscard was fully drained, and as a result Abijah's act did not create another ghoul, but instead made Oscard, too, an Abijahn. This realisation was a source of great joy for Abijah; because instinctively, he knew that he could use the same process to finally give the princess independent thought once more; and as a result, he hoped, her genuine affection.
Abijah’s guess was correct; he successfully managed to sire the princess, Clarisse de Tharonil, and finally she was free of the inhibition of ghoulism. Now, she became an Abijahn, like her lover of some time ago. But, alack, all was not to be happy; for Oscard, feeling resentful of the loving way that Abijah sired Clarisse, also followed his instincts. As Abijah was recovering from the loss of blood that comes with siring two Abijahns in one day (even for the oldest), Oscard became the first to utilize the process that would become known as Diablerie. He attempted to drink the blood and soul of Abijah Uwainor, his sire, and was partially successful.
Oscard effectively managed a role-reversal; he became as powerful as Abijah had been while the latter became far less so. Abijah’s nature was such that Oscard could not take all of his energy or his soul, and Abijah’s blood-potency were lessened to where Oscard’s had been; that is, hardly developed at all. He seemed to have the knowledge he had before – but his blood was simply not as powerful as it had been, it felt as if he had lost a generation; become an elder while Oscard became, in effect, the first.
Sadly, this is what happened in practice, too. Because for a time, Clarisse was in the post-embrace haze which occupies all Abijahns after the shock of the event, Oscard managed to convince Clarisse that he was her sire – that he, in fact, was Abijah Uwainor himself. Somehow, in the act of the embrace, Clarisse had forgotten what Abijah looked like.
While Clarisse was convinced of Oscard’s claim to be Abijah, Abijah himself was powerless to demonstrate otherwise; simply because the power that once he could have used prove his identity was now possessed by Oscard, his own childe. Abijah knew that she would never believe the truth if he were to tell it.
Hence, Abijah pretended, despite his love, to be Oscard du Courte, knowing that if Oscard (who claimed to be Abijah) found out what he was claiming – he could easily be forced to endure Final Death. For a while, Abijah enjoyed a period of relative calm, other than his obvious distress at his loss of identity. He shared a brief love-affair with Clarisse, which, while only lasting two hundred years and of course devoid of any sexual release, meant a great deal to Uwainor. However, it eventually collapsed, as most such relations do, when Abijah tried to convince de Tharonil of his true identity.
Despite his most fervent protestations, she would not believe him – as, alack, he had expected. As a result, Abijah decided it better that he simply take on the name Oscard du Courte, rebuild his abilities (even if he would never be able to reach his previous potency), and wait for a chance to get his revenge.
Recent Existance and the Present
This he has been doing for about 4,000 years, using the assumed identity of Oscard du Courte to build up a huge empire as the ‘Prince’ of West Kharlia. In this period, however, while his skills have become well-honed once more (though still no comparison to Oscard), Abijah also started to become less and less human mentally. His lack of contact with Clarisse, who believes him a traitor to Abijah (Oscard), has made him incredibly deranged – Abijah has become almost exclusively focused on the preservation of his influence and empire, and on eventually exacting vengeance from Oscard. He is prepared to do anything necessary, except harming Clarisse herself, to get back at Oscard. In a way, this makes him the weaker of the two Princes; because de Tharonil, the Prince of East Kharlia, scorns him for supposedly ‘pretending’ to be Abijah himself. This has become the true tormented state of Abijah Uwainor. At this point, he can hardly even remember what being ‘human’ was like.
This is very much Abijah's current state of existance; he is hungry for revenge, and seeks to prove to Clarisse that he truely is Abijah, and hence win back her affection. While no Abijahn can engage in sexual activities (they are dead), the sharing of blood, and, indeed, the mental elements of love, often provide some solace from the true horror of an Abijahn's unlife.
In addition, Abijah has recently come into conflict with one of Clarisse's childer, an [[1]] named John of Blackwood, who he discovered spying on the situation in the west. The man's unusual belief in a philosophical, moral code took Abijah by surprise.
