Gatsoven Farious
From Valwiki
"Don't touch his maiden." - Ilthak.
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| Player: | Phantos. | |
| Title(s): | Sorcerer. | |
| Age: | 114. Born in 58 BF. | |
| Race: | Tiefling. | |
| Eye Color: | Red. | |
| Hair: | Brown with gray. | |
| Skin Tone: | Pale. | |
| Height: | 6'2. | |
| Weight: | 160 lbs. | |
| Alignment: | Neutral Evil. | |
Contents |
Personality
Self-absorbed. Greedy. Untrustworthy. These are just a few ways to describe the sorcerer Gatsoven, and they have been used many times before people drift to more vulgar adjectives for the Tiefling. Gatsoven looks out primarily for himself, which extends to the people he trusts will further himself in some way. If he's convinced the survival of a person will bring about whatever plans he has for the future, he will protect them fiercely until they fulfill such wishes; it is for this reason that some people may have illusions that Gatsoven is a nice guy. Those that know him well know that he is prone to fits of rage and other outbursts of emotional turmoil, though he is capable of forming long lasting relationships as evident by the Tiefling's connection with Ilthak, his illithid compatriot.
Despite the uneasy air he casts about him whenever entering a room, Gatsoven makes it a point to be a very social individual. Always talking with a wavering voice, he often inadvertently puts emphasis on words while talking. A nervous tick of sorts, this emphasis is typically related to something he is lying about or doesn't mean the full truth regarding.
Equipment
Bastard Sword of Mel'tharan AKA The 'Griefmaker': The bastard sword Gatsoven used in the Meridiem campaigns, but now rarely put to use, it resembles a normal bastard sword but the blade is serrated. Gatsoven often refers to the blade as different names, but the Griefmaker is the most common appellation.
Arm of the Sinner: Gatsoven's right arm is always seen wearing a long sleeved glove that extends out to halfway between his elbow and his shoulder. The finger points are sharp but it is unknown if Gatsoven does in fact have claws underneath. The glove is crimson red and it has never been seen taken off. Surprisingly, it has never been tattered, shredded, or otherwise ripped during battle or any other circumstance that anyone around has been able to see.
Mageweave Clothing: Gatsoven is often seen dressed in simple garments, forgoing the use of long robes or any form of practical armor. His clothing is made from durable mageweave giving no clear benefit other than providing a comfortable garb. His boots are simple as well, although this is due to the fact that Gatsoven enjoys bare foot walking.
Elvish Canine: Tied to a belt-loop and dangling from a chain, Gatsoven keeps a sharp tooth from his father's jaw. Whether it has a magical benefit or is merely a memento is unknown.
The Maiden's Fancy: Gatsoven's prized possession, the Maiden's Fancy was a caravel, a smaller sized ship designed for fishing but was later upgraded with additional masts for long distance sailing. The first version of the Maiden's Fancy was destroyed, much to Gatsoven's dismay, and was then later rebuilt using mostly new material. This, too, was shipwrecked and eventually a third was commissioned. Each ship surpasses the last in grandeur, but hold the weakness of using parts from the former iterations; these are sometimes extremely damaged and waterlogged.
Abilities
Gatsoven is a remarkable sorcerer and requires no spell book to cast his spells. He has been known to delve into experimental magic, an example being his close work with Ilthak, a fellow sorcerer and Illithid. Their research lead to a remarkable spell fusion technique, in which both spell casters fuse their original incantation for a more potent version, or mix spells together for often dangerous results.
Unfortunately for his twisted plans, Gatsoven does not grasp new ideas quickly, and often-times fails spectacularly at arcane experiments and research. His foray into necrogenesis, the art of bringing about undeath through chiefly alchemical means, was an example of such a failure. The Tiefling was so sloppy with his work, he eventually wiped out an entire colony of Anura in using them as test subjects.
Background
The Meridiem Campaign
The first appearance of Gatsoven Farious that anyone above-ground can recall was during an adventure throughout the continent of Meridiem by some Kharlian natives (7 PF, age 65). This included, among others, the (in)famous Kender figure, Tindertot Rastleknot. Gatsoven and his ally Ilthak were in the port town of Hurlin for business of their own when the two sorcerers helped the Kharlians during a fight with thieves. Soon-after, the party and the unlikely duo decided to band together due to mutual circumstances. After much adventuring, the group toppled the empire of the Four Gods, a criminal syndicate based in Hurlin. Around that time, Gatsoven left the group on less than friendly terms after an incident that left his prized ship, The Maiden's Fancy, mostly destroyed. It is unclear if he left with Ilthak or not, for the mindflayer had disappeared shortly after the final battle between the adventurers and the true leaders of the Four Gods.
Aftermath and False Corollary
Unknown to most, Gatsoven suffered a major break down after the loss of his ship; the sailing boat represented his life's greatest achievement, and with neither it nor Ilthak around to offer consolation, his mind wandered into the dark territories that all Tieflings struggle with. In a fit of sorrow-induced madness, he stole a boat and set sail to the northern lands of Kharlia with the ridiculous intent of killing everyone that lived there because of his loss; he would hold his once-companions and all of their kind responsible for his personal grievance (9 PF). The boat he stole had no long-term supplies and sported pieces of water-logged material and lumber on its deck, remnants from Gatsoven's previous ship that he had meticulously picked out of the shore and kept with him. The voyage was therefore doomed to failure, and the Tiefling found himself beached on a jungle island weeks after taking off from Marseilles. Now having lost two ships, Gatsoven flew into a rage and smote the surrounding landscape in a magic-fueled mania for several days before passing out. He would awaken with a mind cleared from its previous rage, but felt redoubled in his determination to destroy those that wronged him. He discovered this island to be none other than the exotic land of Vautspachl, gloomy home of the Drow. He watched them for a time, hiding amongst the various locales until he made his way to the capital city Sjafor. It was here that he learned of a planned union between all dark elf territories, what would eventually come to be known as Mournirra.
Having no love for Drow and feeling such a union would pose a threat to his greater plans, Gatsoven snuck into the lower sector of Sjafor and traveled east, towards the aberration city of R'Igugogugo. It was here that he had lived in his youth, and the strange and horrible inhabitants allowed him passage unharmed into their ranks once more. As best he could, Gatsoven appealed to the leaders of the city's racial factions, and in time they heeded his call for action against the forming Drow military force. But even as the combined forces of illithid, beholder-kin, and other chaos-beasts marched towards Sjafor, Gatsoven had struck a bargain to acquire the Husk of Dael, a horrible artifact safe-guarded by the creatures of the city, and traveled north to the ruins of Thuulstrea (10 PF, age 68).
The Thuulstrean Plot
During The Flood, Thuulstrea's entire cavern system was submerged beneath a tide of crushing salt water, resulting in the devastation of nearly all structures and death to most of the inhabitants. In the years to follow, an amphibious race of frog-like creatures moved into the ruins and enjoyed a relatively peaceful life of fishing and fungus harvest. When Gatsoven arrived, he took to controlling the locals by means of force and promises of power. While the war of Sjafor pushed the Drow from the Underdark to topside, Gatsoven was busy preparing his ruse: by projecting false dreams into the minds of the fleeing Drow, and those already situated on the island of Cruciform, Gatsoven would lure them northward to Thuulstrea where they would eagerly help rebuild the city under the false banner of Searith. Those that emigrated from Sjafor took all of the necessary supplies and worked with great fervor, all the while Gatsoven making himself out to be a prized prophet of the dark goddess.
By the time the last of the immigrants had come to Thuulstrea, Gatsoven had nearly exhausted the population of frogmen, carrying out cruel experiments on them in hopes of finding a way to create an army of his own. As their numbers dwindled, Gatsoven bid the remaining few that were bonded to his will to begin the next step of his plans: kidnap Drow from the newly rebuilt streets of Thuulstrea. Hundreds of people went missing, each one used as fuel in the Tiefling's ever maddening research. Though the Tiefling was no closer to figuring out how to truly use the power of the Husk, his achievements did include the creation a small force of aberrant creatures.
Additional Info
Here are masses related to the Thuulstrean Plot.
1-20-05 23:00 Meanwhile, across the world... Three shrouded figures huddle closely over a sickly purple and black husk, the dimly lit sources of light around them never ceasing as the cocoon spiraled in phantasmal colors and sound. From behind enters another, though not garbed in any protective garments, the Tiefling smirks as the three servants step back from their experiments to let him see, "So, our latest subject? I hope he is doing ''well''" The three looked to one another and then back at the husk, unable to speak, yet articulating no sense of confirmation. The Tiefling looks to the now inactive pod, a clear liquid spewing from its underside, his face twisted in rage for a moment but then reverted to a smirk, "Do you know why your race was so easy to destroy?" The Tiefling smiled wider, gazing at the three while his voice strained, "Because you simply cannot do anything right!" With that he turned and left, raising his grotesque arm up, "Do not fail again. Create me a better subject, or I shall use you for ''material''." The three solemnly turned back to the purple husk, one leaving to the other end of the room where a door opened to reveal holding chambers. Wails of misery and pain wavered out from the dank room, and the heavily clothed servant returned moments later with a gaunt gray elf, gibbering incoherently in pain and hunger. Somewhere down the hall a laugh could be heard, and Gatsoven could not have been more elated.
1-22-05 16:30 Meanwhile, across the world... The Drow thought it most bizarre. After a long war with the monstrous races of the underworld, their people had been all but beaten back to the surface. Those that ventured topside and made encampments were all given dreams from their mother goddess, Searith. Appearing to each of them on a shadowy beachscape, she only stood and stared at each one as if judging them. If the dream did not end there, it would then show the spider-goddess pointing to the northlands where, far into the horizon, lights could be seen. Every elf that awoke with this dream in their minds instantly knew, they had to leave. To go and seek this place the great Mother had chosen for them. But this was not what puzzled the Drow. Indeed dreams from Searith were not uncommon in their society. No, the strange occurrence here was that as soon as the Drow made it their quest to venture north, boats came, beaching up against the shores north of the fields of inspiration. They climbed aboard and were off, to the north, where they soon met a figure dressed in black robes. Raising a clawed hand in greeting, he bade their leaders to come, sit, and discuss the new empire of the Drow. Weeks passed, and the strange man showed them the way to a new world. Illithid, beholderkin, it seemed as if every underground race they had fought before were now aiding them in the construction of their city. They did not trust the robed man, but he gave no reason for such. Providing them with food and supplies, he never held any rules against them. Stranger still were the ruins of a previous Drow settlement, and the dark elves had much to ponder as they became adjusted to their new home, Thuulstrea.
1-24-05 19:45 Meanwhile, across the world... Gatsoven had never seen anything like it before. True, his travels with the mindflayer Ilthak had exposed the Tiefling to a wide array of the strange and unnatural, but this was really something. After paying some homeless men to spread rumors about a rich and eccentric collector looking for any of the alien looking symbiont creatures that had been cropping up around town, it took only a few days before people all around were out hunting the hunters. He had acquired three different specimens and began experimenting as quickly as he could return to his laboratory. The initial tests were pleasing; the dark matter that the symbionts were comprised of shifted and lost form under the pressures of the magic technology. Breaking them down into their purest forms yielded raw corruption, and the canisters in which they were held could barely contain the amorphous entities. Gatsoven would not allow any of the enslaved elves to come near, even with their heavy protection. Despite wearing nothing to protect himself, the Tiefling seemed almost unphased, though he was in a state of insane anticipation of what he could do with the power. Leaving the testing chambers, Gatsoven approached the three enslaved figures that performed most of his experiments, "We're getting low on... ''material''" He smirked, "I've exhausted your race so I went out and found another. Go, find one of the dark elves and bring them here." The three turned to leave as Gatsoven held a canister of the dark material, "In fact... Bring me a few... '''no!''' A dozen. I require no less than a dozen Drow." Gatsoven nodded and then charged off, heading to the breeding chambers where the transformation husks were kept. He knew he was on the verge of discovering exactly what he required. Necrogenesis was just a step away.
Uncovered
Gatsoven continued this for many years, but Sjafor would not remain in siege forever, with the Drow eventually beating back the aberrant creatures from their lands (20 PF, age 78). Thuulstrea, too, would not remain in a state of rebuilding for much longer; after the Drow finished their construction work and fell into the normal day to day lives, they began to question the validity of the Tiefling's claims, and investigations began to discover the fate of those that had gone missing. The church of Searith and its elite caste of warriors uncovered Gatsoven's inner chambers and, in an uproarious battle, drove the madman from their city, destroying or confiscating his research. The beasts he had created put up a tough fight against the Drow, but ultimately the sorcerer was outmatched and narrowly escaped with his life. Having lost the Husk of Dael and his cover blown, the bitter Tiefling returned to Kharlia in hopes of forming another plot (22 PF, age 80). Ironically, the Drow were able to coax the artifact into bolstering their own numbers, with accurate guidance from their divine patron. Though the Thuulstrean Drow soon after fought amongst themselves in civil war, Gatsoven's initial mission had failed miserably: everything he had wanted to avoid had, in turn, come true by allowing the dark elves to rebuild a northern outpost under Kharlia to solidify themselves as a military presence. Mournirra would be founded many years later with a particular hatred of aberrations.
Legacy
Pushed to the brink of madness by his culminating failures, Gatsoven again entered a furious state of blood lust. If he could not fashion an army with which to destroy the world, he would take it on himself. Traveling across the still-recovering lands of Valikorlia, Gatsoven carved a path of destruction and misery across the countryside (24 PF, age 82). He committed many atrocities during this time, a period of six years, culminating in his arrest by agents sent from Thuulstrea; the Drow sought vengeance against the notorious Tiefling, and sold him off to the enterprising Duergar of Sslodraeth where he was to stay a prisoner until whatever gruesome death was dished out to him by the city's notorious arena (30 PF, age 88).
Proving to be an excellent outlet for the sorcerer's rage, the arena of Sslodraeth held Gatsoven for only three years before he managed to escape with a clear head and renewed sense of purpose; during that time, his success in the ring helped spur on the growth of the entertainment industry in the city, a fact that Drodarr Doomquake used to his advantage in the years to come (35 PF, age 93). Fleeing to the surface, Gatsoven had been aided in his escape by a Drow alchemist known as Shynt'e, whose advanced skills and years of research had resulted in the very thing Gatsoven was after: necrogenesis. Finding it to be less effective, and much more difficult, than he had previously imagined, Gatsoven relinquished that hope in light of an agreement he made with the elderly woman; in exchange for his freedom, Gatsoven was to infiltrate the Legacy and act as a mole for a shadowy figure. He did so with ease, as the cult's own radical views were not far off from his own, and eventually the Tiefling rose in rank, even as contact with Shynt'e all but died off (37 PF, age 95).
Wayward campaign (39 PF, age 97), current day (56 PF, age 114).
