Kaight (platinum)

Chaos Lord Kaight Knob the Haunted Lunatic You burst into a fit of insane laughter! Race Half-Sylvan Culture Sylvan of the Lassaran (LAS-sa-ran) D'ahranal Class Paladin Profession Master of the Order of Voln Religion Disciple of the Goddess Zelia In-a-Word Chaos Good Disposition Friendly and Polite Demeanor Outgoing Primary Trait Inconsistent Secondary Trait Uninhibited Flaw Quite insane, but able to function in society for the most part. Greatest Strength Loyal Greatest Weakness The reality of his past and current situation (the loss of sanity). Habits Talking to himself and other odd behavior. Hobbies Collecting doorknobs. Soft Spots Wives, Mothers, and Children. Likes Doorknobs and other household items (Forks, Plates, Spoons, etc.) Dislikes Dirty, messy, and smelly things. Fears Exceedingly fat cats. Loyalties Me, Myself, and I. Best Friend Pelenae Epeloine. Spouse Dead, but no longer haunting him. Loved One Wife (Deceased) and Son (Deceased).

As I gaze over the horizon, the wind tugs at my cloak and whispers, "Adventure" in my ear.

Origin

And so he left that place and walked. At one time that place might have been his home, but now it kept him in a perpetual state of mental sufferage. The simple garden his wife had tended. The child's toy left carelessly on the floor. The home represented all the warmth he had never thought himself deserving of and yet had somehow been blessed with.

They were gone and with them went his mind.

It did not happen as a wave crashing upon a shore. As the gentle brook babbles over the rocks of the riverbed and eventually wears them down, so too did the loss of his wife and child slowly erode away his sanity. Ten years was the time it took for the final vestiges of his lucidity to be smoothed away and left blank.

It was then that she appeared to him, the Goddess cloaked in all her madness, and made him hers. She had watched him for those ten long years, protected, offered succor. Chaos cares not for what is right or wrong, good or evil. It simply is and it had provided her with yet another disciple upon whom she could bestow her blessing.

Zelia, Goddess of the moons and of insanity. She regarded herself as a healer rivaling Imaera. Who else gathers the remnants of all the broken minds and grants them release? Release from depression, from remorse, from sadness, from whatever feelings led to the fracturing of their psyche.

Upon receiving the blessing of the Goddess, comprehension dawned upon the man like twilight upon the horizon. Freedom. That is the word best used to describe this feeling that had swept all of his cares away. His wife and child were still with him. In fact, he could hear them whispering their joy at his new found freedom. After all, family only ever wishes for each other's happiness and that is what he had once again found.

Important Notes:

1 Kaight carries around "a doorknob with a small ring wedged around one end". Let's just say this object represents his home and family and he carries them around with him in a pouch at all times.

2 Due to the possession of Talaundia's cat by the ghost of his wife, Dora Knob (who appears to be quite insane in death,) Kaight is rather wary of familiars and other animals.

3 Kaight's mother was of the Lassaran (LAS-sa-ran) D'ahranal.

4 Upon returning to the Landing, the ghost of Kaight's wife manifested in the kobold village along with the ghost of his child. At this point in time, Kaight is being haunted by the ghost of his wife and much of his odd behavior can be attributed to her influence.

---

To Hatch a Potato You Need to Crack an Egg

The silence was deafening. It’s strange how the absence of sound can make the stillness rise to a crescendo that threatens to overwhelm a person’s sanity with a hollow ringing.

“Wife?”

Kaight started himself as his voice broke the silence of the morning air. He called out the name of his beloved over and over while glancing about. Panic began to inch its way along his spine, up the nape of his neck, and take a firm grasp on the fragments of his mind.

He stopped crying out suddenly and frantically searched his sack for the doorknob he always kept close at hand. Surely his wife’s soul still inhabited the one possession he carried away with him from his home. In frustration he emptied his kobold skin sack onto the ground and fell to his knees to search feverishly through the scattered contents.

A cacophony of laughter bombarded his ears as Kaight pleaded with the doorknob to answer him and was met with yet more silence from the object in his hand.

A scathing female voice interrupted Kaight’s sobbing. “What are you, stupid? Doorknobs don’t speak. You’d have better luck hatching a baby drake from a potato.”

The laughter only grew louder as Kaight’s weeping began anew.

---

“They must be responsible. They are to blame for everything,” said Kaight in a low whisper only he could hear.

It had been several weeks since his wife had stopped speaking to him and had all but disappeared. The loss of her comforting presence was taking its toll on his already fragile mind and was causing his behavior to become even more erratic. One moment he could be laughing and crying the next.

“Careful, a pair of Them are watching you.”

Kaight had been mistrustful of the female voice that had first spoken to him weeks ago following the disappearance of his wife, but it seemed she was on his side for the most part. Many a timely warning had come from her when agents of Them had appeared suddenly. No matter how seemingly innocent the person or persons might seem, They always turned out to be part of Them. They were very crafty and Kaight feared he wouldn’t have survived this long without her help.

The women seated across the fountain from Kaight looked to be having a casual conversation full of bright smiles and gentle laughs, but he could see Them looking at him. They tried to do so without his notice, but he could see how Their eyes shifted to him and how Their bodies tensed up as They noticed him looking at Them.

Kaight pulled the hood of his coraesine-threaded longcloak down over his face, obscuring his features. The longcloak blended him into the surroundings as he sat perfectly still. Kaight could see how the two women relaxed now that They could no longer detect his presence.

---

The scream seemed to go on and on for eternity. Nothing drowned it out. Kaight wasn't sure he even slept as the scream continued on in his dreams. He dreamed of a pitch black void that seemed to be made up of nothing and yet the scream seemed to fill the entirety of that void. When he was awake, the scream made it hard to focus on anything It was deafening to the ears and numbing to the senses. Kaight wasn't sure if the scream was just in his head or if he was the one screaming.

While hunting in Old Ta’Faendryl, a Gremlock managed to slip its garrote around Kaight’s throat. Death brought a measure of lucidity back to Kaight as the scream cut off abruptly as the Gremlock released its grip on the garrote and Kaight slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Whether it was the disparaging remakes coming from his no-dachi, Pelenae Epeloine, or some other outside influence, comprehension came upon Kaight as his spirit gazed down at his corpse. The hood of his coraesine-threaded longcloak had been pulled off from his head to reveal a face he hardly recognized as his own. His face was emaciated and haggard looking with dark circles under the eyes. It was as dirty as any street urchin he had seen wandering the streets of Wehnimer’s Landing. The suit of mithril platemail that was his most valued possession (next to his doorknob of course) was in a horrendous state. The fur lining the suit of mithril platemail was tangled and matted by filth; its blue fur lining barely visible beneath the layer of grime covering it.

While he still retained some semblance of sanity, Kaight decided that he must act quickly to discover what had happened to his wife, who the female voice belonged to in his head, and what outside influence was slowly smothering his mind in the embrace of insanity.