Sivak Praetor Kal'bortaash

Kal'bortaash is a dragonborn who appears in the Undesirables Campaign. He is a leader of the Sivak Clan and husband to B'lanna.
His kresh name is Toe-biter
He is played by I.W.

Description

Appearance

Kal'bortaash is a hulking figure standing taller than almost all other dragonborn, with broad shoulders and a muscular physique. His silver scales cover a pitch black skin tone, making him have a gunmetal grey coloration that is more noticeable than other members of the Sivak Clan. A thick set of horns curve behind his head, along with the typical spurs at the wrists that most dragonborn males have, but his are chipped and worn down from numerous battles. He has electric blue eyes with a penetrating gaze that doubles with his posture to give him an intimidating presence.
While not covered in scars, Kal'bortaash has very little armor covering his body. Like many, he wears a harness to carry his weapons, but his combat skills have made it so that he rarely gets injured on the battlefield. He wears reinforced leg guards because most try to attack his lower half first, so they are scuffed and marred. His signiture weapon is a bardiche with a black metal blade that has a red hue in the light and a haft of polished mahogany called 'Bloodletter'. A ring on his middle finger carries a setting of a piece of meteorite on his right hand.

Personality

Kal'bortaash is a very proud man, reveling in his strength and prowess. There is an arrogance to him, believing that he knows what is best for the clan and that he is untouchable. He seems to raise himself with moral superiority based on old beliefs of the clan from an age where they turned their backs on the gods. There is also a strong sense that physical and militaristic might is what determines who is right or worth his time.Despite this ego, his brand of leadership has kept the clan alive in the Sivak's battle with both the duergar and dark elves. He strongly believes that those with power should be an inspiration to those under them to elevate them to new heights, making his regime the strongest military the clan has had in many generations.
This has served as a double edged sword for the clan leader as he seems highly insecure when he feels his position as the strongest and the bravest is threatened. Many suspect this came from the unfiltered praise he was given as a child for his natural prowess. To this extent, he has an intense paranoia that Sivak Gol'rotta is out to replace him or claim what he believes is his. He also looks down on the rangers in his army, as they are seen to rely on stealth, distance and geurilla tactics, despite how necessary they are for the clan's survival in a forest connected to the Feywild. He even downplays the part of his equal and advisors, regarding their contribution to clan leadership as less important, as it would dimish him to share the credit of the clan's prosperity.
In the years around the return of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, this has started coming out as obsessive and often sadistic retaliation to those he feels threatened by. This is most notably seen directed toward Gol'rotta as she was born larger, stronger and more charismatic than himself. With her departure from the clan, it surprised many that this would get worse. Kal'bortaash seems to have developed a manic obsession with making those that supported his supposed rival suffer in her place.

Biography

Background

Kal'bortaash was born to the Sivak Clan in the early part of the Age of Tranquility. Larger than any other egg in the last several generations, his hatching had many members of the clan buzzing with praise for him and what his future might hold. While in the kresh, these whispers made it to him, filling him with pride from a young age. He did let it make him feel superior to others, but it had started as him protecting other children from bullies, gaining him respect and lotalty from the other children, as well as more praise from the adults. Confident and on a relatively good path when he was old enough to leave the kresh, his confidence was rattled when word was that Gol'thaga, the soldier he had heard stories of and admired more than any other, had an egg that was even bigger than his was.
As if overnight, the whispers began to be about this new child and what their future would be. While initially jealous, he did his best to assure himself that he would always be ahead of this new child because he was older and would have more experience. He had even hoped they might become good friends and an unstoppable duo in battle. This changed the day the egg hatched as it became as if no one paid the young dragonborn any mind. Desparate to win back the attention and adoration of his friends and the adults, he kept working hard at everything to regain the clan's attention. As me began to panic and fill with anxiety, the ten year old dragonborn was approached by an old dragonborn woman he didn't recognize who asked him what was wrong. When he explained his feelings on what was happening, rather than assure him that it was natural for people to be excited about newborns and that things would settle down again and go back to normal, she instead confirmed his worst fears. He was going to be left behind and abandoned for this young girl. That no one in the clan was going to love him or care about him anymore. Kal'bortaash asked what he could do to not let that happen and the old woman offered to make a deal with him. She would guide his path and make sure he always found success in everything he strove for, all he would have to do in return was give her his love with full spirit. He would agree, feeling calmer and secure once more.
The years that followed had Kal'bortaash excelling in his military training and he became the talk of the town and a hero of the clan with his many victories in the Underdark. When the daughter of Gol'thaga, Gol'rotta, was old enough to leave the kresh, she would quickly learn to avoid him as he would bully her despite her admiration for his abilites. He used every opportunity to belittle the younger dragonborn and only kept his distance when her father, Rotta'ghan, was near. When Rotta'ghan was killed in battle, Kal'bortaash's friends would be shocked that he wouldn't even let the girl mourn him without harassing her further. When he wasn't deployed, the younger dragonborn learned to avoid him, confused as to what she could have done to make him hate her so much.
By the time he was thirty, the previous praetors, Hy'giliax and Ba'chira, decided to step down and open up the Praetor Games to determine the next clan leader. Kal'bortaash entered, along with a few other hopefuls. He dominated every challenge, as they were all traditionally physical based. Taking his position as the new clan leader, he considered possible mates to bring into the position of praetora alongside him. While almost any of the women of age in the clan would have accepted without hesitation, Kal'bortaash decided to ask the one closest to Gol'rotta, her cousin B'lanna. He was applauded for his choice, as she was a highly intelligent young woman, but part of him couldn't resist separating the two so that Gol'rotta would be further isolated. It was a thought that bothered him in the back of his mind, as by that time Gol'rotta was showing promise to be an incredible military leader. Every time he imagined how powerful the Sivak army would be with her in it, there was always a whisper echoing in his head that she was just chasing his accomplishments to take them from him.
All of his thoughts began to revolve around that notion. He began to reduce the value of B'lanna's input, in case she was trying to help Gol'rotta undermine him, especially since her focus seemed to he on putting less emphasis into the military. Kal'bortaash was further enraged when he found out that Gol'rotta had developed abilities reminiscent of a paladin. With her whole family being different or revolutionary, it only cemented the idea that they were planning to overthrow him. Seeking any way to keep them down, he took advantage of Gol'rotta's appointment to captain and assigned Sivak Lieutenant Arleith to her unit, knowing the two would not be able to pursue a relationship together if they served in the same battalion. He would also draw attention to the Feytouched Sutra'ber, B'lanna's sister, to further strain their relationship and focus.
An opportunity for him to end his one sided rivalry presented itself with a set of lost travelers that had managed to free themselves from the Dreaming Grove's fey influence. Starved, they stole food and attempted to flee with precious supplies. Though it was understood that they were desparate and coming out of a terrible situation, Kal'bortaash refused to give lenience, lest it be taken as a sign of weakness. He called for their execution and ordered that Gol'rotta be the one to do it. From this position, he knew her only options would be to refuse and risk exile for defying the clan, or she could prove she was loyal to the Sivak by breaking her paladin oath and follow her orders. She would ultimately do as she was commanded and as he hoped with such an outcome, he could see that he had finally broken her spirit as well as her scales tarnished in front of the witnesses.
While Gol'rotta left mere days after, his elation was short lived. Not six months later, she had openly declared war on Frostbane and claimed the head of one of their generals. Kal'bortaash was not afraid of any consquences and in fact would have been proud if any other member had done so. To him, all he saw was growing support of someone whom had accomplished something he had no equivalent to. He could only imagine her returning and taking leadership from him with the support and admiration of the rest of the clan. He began further making things difficult for those attached to Gol'rotta or supportive of her in an effort to make them resent her before her arrival to speak for her actions.

The Undesirables

Kal'bortaash is a major character in the fourth arc of the Undesirables campaign. He is one of the leaders of the Sivak Clan, home of player character Gol'rotta. The party's actions decide if he is an ally or an antagonist.

Relationships

Gol'rotta

Kal'bortaash is ten years older than Gol'rotta, but has despised her since her egg was laid. Seeing her as a threat to everything he is and has accomplished, he has actively gone out of his way to make her life miserable. At a point, it seemed like whenever she was involved it was as though he could no longer think rationally. This would only get worse as she grew older and aquainted herself with more of the clan and became an integral part of the military, leading his paranoia of her intentions to get worse.

Sivak Praetora B'lanna

What once started as an honest admiration for her intellect and beauty has turned to bitter resentment over the years. There is no love lost between the two as their goals seem to actively work against each other, even in things that don't involve B'lanna's family. Noticing that she still finds time to train and has learned exotic fighting styles and keeps filling her spellbook, Kal'bortaash has grown uncertain who would win a fight between the two of them.

Character Information

Quests

• Kal'bortaash is actively trying to ruin the reputation of Gol'rotta and will do whatever he can to turn the clan against her. This will extend to slandering the rest of the Undesirables as well and must be dealt with to determine how the conflict the Frostbane is resolved.

• Kal'bortaash can be freed from the influence of Moirai, guaranteeing him as an ally from then on.

Legacy

• Kal'bortaash has raised the strongest Sivak Army since the Age of Intelligence.

Notable Items

• Bloodletter: A bardiche passed down his family line that leaves deep wounds that causes enemies to bleedout rapidly if they are not outright killed.

Character Type
Non-Player Character
Actor
I.W.
Date of Birth
Mataek 30th, 116AT
Place of Birth
Argentum Bastian
Class
Barbarian
Storm Herald (Tundra)

Affiliations
Clan Sivak- (Praetor)

Family
Sivak Praetora B'lanna- (wife)

Tlhogh Stone
Meteorite