Baron Falco Servanti

People are so reluctant to admit when they've stepped out of the shadows of common man. Unlike you and the rest of the dregs you so passionately defend, I embrace my superiority without fear! Now, let me show you just how far behind I've left you
— Baron Servanti

Nobility in modern Tairos is less a matter of tradition or peerage and more about power, ambition, and arrogance. Falco Servanti is a paragon of such flawed ideals. Yet, his tale doesn't begin in the modern era but long before, when the tribes of man were first forming their centers of civilization. In those ancient days most of humanity was flocking toward the central plains to join the burgeoning city-state of Balmoral. However; it is with those that chose isolationl that the Baron's story begins.

Riding in his Wake

These tribes left the growing community far behind, fearing the loss of identity, of freedom, of the favor of their primitive gods. They took to the distant parts of Tairos where most became easy prey for lurking dangers. This was the age when Orc and goblin warbands still roamed unchecked, giants cast their shadow over the lands, and rumors of Dragons still sent shivers up the spine. This was an era when everything was new, difficult, and the promise of survival was far from a guarantee - especially for those that shunned Balmoral. Such was the case for a tribe on the northeastern coast, the Ash Moon clan, named such for the blood and oak ash mixture they'd anoint themselves with while worshipping the different phases of the moon. They were a brutal people but no more so than the land demanded of them. Despite their ferocity in battle and prowess hunting the beasts of coast, the Ash Moon numbers dwindled more and more every year. And every year they fled further from the growing domain of the nearby Ghal Ankharan dwarves and Balmoran expeditions. Soon they turned to the unforgiving reaches of the frozen north, careful to avoid the tribes of Frostmere while still scraping by with enough food to continue on. The Frostmerites dominated the east where the mammoth herds were plentiful and the cold waters yielded their bounty. Instead they moved west, hoping to find some promised land to settle and to finally thrive.

Instead, they found hardship after hardship. With each new challenge their chieftain, Shatuk, managed to navigate a path to survival but always at the cost of a handful of lives. In the tribe's final days only twenty or so remained. Desperate and out of supplies, Shatuk set out on his own promising to locate food while the others stayed safe from yet another coming blizzard. In the frenzy of blowing winds and snow the chieftain found something. Not food, nor rich hunting grounds, but something else. Frozen within a tomb of ice was a gate, long buried and forgotten. Shatuk at first believed this was a sign or gift from the moon spirits - perhaps a reward for remaining faithful for so long. He hacked and chipped at the frozen prison from dawn till dusk. His flint weapons cracked and crumbled so he dedicated every drop of his oil and tinder to melting it free. At first he was driven by the desire to save his tribe no matter the cost. Though, as the hours bled away so did the purpose behind his task. The closer the gate came within reach the more a new idea rose to the surface of his mind. It wasn't the moon that gave him the courage to set forth into a blizzard, it was him and him alone. Every choice he made brought him closer to this moment, to this gate. The chieftain was chosen for this, the others were simply clinging to him like suckerfish, riding in his wake.

With a final application of flame the gate was free. Shatuk stood before it as the device's controls spun to life and navigational chevrons clacked into place. The last concerns for his tribe flickered and died like the final ember in his campfire, all to be replaced by a single thought as he placed his hand upon the controls- I stand above the rest. With that, the gate activated, and Shatuk vanished within the shimmering portal within.

The Fear of Perfection

The first time he crossed the barrier it read the desires of his heart and brought him the reward he so craved. Darkness, pure, impenetrable darkness. And, with it, a silence so complete that it threatened to swallow him whole. Then, the darkness gave way to a sickening radiance. Strange structures larger than anything his small mind could ever imagine were revealed by bruise-colored veins of energy running through the ground and into the buildings. He had discovered some nameless city built by hands far more advanced then the architects of Balmoral. The buildings called to him immediately unlike the moon he venerated his whole life - and rewarded him only with damning silence . The city spoke to him, sang to him, and beckoned him to enter and receive his destiny.

Shatuk never felt fear as he walked into the city, as the lights faded, as shadows claimed him. Then, he awoke in the snow once more, beside the gate he unearthed. Any doubt about all of it being a dream brought about the freezing winds were dispelled when he merely looked to the quiet gate and it leapt to life. Whatever happened between walking into the city and returning to the bitter north is missing from his mind. Encoded in its place is something new - the knowledge of the gates' inner workings and the ability to control them with nothing more than a thought. Blissfully, the rewards for his achievements didn't cease there. The winds felt cool but they didn't lash at his skin or lungs as they did before. The old scars of battles long past were washed away from his body as had the aching wounds buried beneath their surface. Never once did the chieftain look back and remember those that awaited his return. The Ash Moons we so distant a thought they might as well have belonged to the heart of a different man.

The encoding in his mind allowed him to connect one gate to any other in Tairos, forming a bridge to cross the land instantaneously. However; he soon learned he could do more than simply travel from corner to corner of the continent. It could bring him forward and backward in time as well. His first temporal journey was to a tribal gathering me remembered as a young child. Members of the Ash Moon and dozens of other groups came together to debate the merits of joining the tribes that were building Balmoral. Most chose to travel to the plains and become part of the effort of unification. He presented himself, tried to sway the tribes from merging with Balmoral, even going so far as offering himself up as new leader to take them north to carve out an empire all their own. They scoffed at the stranger, accused him of being a madman, and laughed at his idea of unification under a different banner. So he murdered them all. Fueled with blind rage at the notion they'd dare look down upon him. He strangled the leaders, sundered their body guards with fist and stone, and soon turned his anger on the tribal citizens as well. Come the next sunrise they were all dead or scattered, even members of the Ash Moons as well. Among the bodies at his feet was his own father... and his younger self. The paradoxical nature of killing one's self in the past seemed to have no impact on his own existence; an once his mind calmed from the blood-soaked frenzy he took that as yet another sign of his transcendence./justify]

He traveled over and over, different places in Tairos, seeing all it had to offer in the thousands of of years from when he found the gate and beyond. He found new tests of his strength, of his wits, and his ever growing intellect (and an unbound rage that was growing fiercer each time his temper ran red) but it was never enough. A list of great accomplishments was nothing without a reward to show for it and those to recognize the achievement.

To that end he cast aside his old tribal identity and began creating a family lineage, impossible wealth, and a history of greatness. The Servanti family was crafted by his hand, throughout the ages, one time jump at a time. He forged this dynasty in the plains and swore it to nation of Balmoral so that he might infiltrate the court and one day lay claim to the throne himself. He began amassing generations of followers in the standard flow of time and plucking key retainers from across all of Tairos' past, present, and future. All the while he delighted in learning of the legends and heroes of the many different eras and then seeking them out in person whenever or wherever they might be - and then breaking them. Nothing pleased him more than seeing how poorly theses people measured up against their myth. The idea that common folk practically worshipped lesser beings than he was a source of constant elation for him... and constant tragedy for countless good souls across the centuries.

Destiny Undone

The Baron Falco Servanti was a regular in the court of the last Adamantite King. Slowly, he was making progress toward his ultimate goal, and perhaps would have been successful sooner were it not for is incredible temper. Many of his agents were retired early and brutally, or worse - dropped through a gate in time and left to be fed to some horrible beast or another. Falco loved seeing past versions of monsters he personally bested devour those that failed him.

Yet, despite the many setbacks of his own making, he was poised to take the throne (under the guise of Baron Falco Servanti the IX). Unfortunately, this destiny would be undone because of The Autumn Queen and her terrible war. Falco had no particular love for the fae, he found them to be fragile creatures with bombastic egos. Their coming was also disruptive to his use of the gates, making programming destinations a more time consuming and irritating process, but they were not worth confronting when his true goal was so close at hand.

Like the rest of Tairos, the Baron was blindsided by the fae's true purpose here. While he himself was not particularly interested in magic the first clue that something was going awry came from his many employed casters. He had been killing an unusually high number of them for failing in their tasks recently and all had been complaining about a new instability in the Leylines before his temperament took an ugly turn. It wasn't long after that before open war broke out between the The Grand Concordance of Tairos and the Autumn Queen.

The continent erupted in chaos and Falco could not find a way to reap this particular whirlwind. Much of the fae's aggression was directed at Balmoral and its territories, which included the Servanti Barony. None of his interests or ambitions lay in fighting a war so rather than rally to the call of Adamantite King; Falco took his wealth, his vast collection of stolen trophies, and even his estate and shunted it all through time.

While successful in absconding with his artifacts and manor there were unforeseen consequences of using a gate to move so much material with a single activation. It burnt out, stranding him in modern Tairos on a distant tropical isle near Big Ruk Island.

The Fires of Ambition

For a time, the Baron sated himself on challenging the many monsters of the Far Harbor region. He added bloody trophies to his home and many rare oddities from the jungle to his artifact collection. Yet, he yearned for more as he always had. The recognition of a nation of lawless pirates and criminals wasn't enough. Living out his days on an island in the middle of nowhere wasn't enough. He began work rebuilding his gate with the help of long-time ally Bolsiver Fenring so that be might continue to torture the past, present, and future with his blood-soaked ambitions. The process has been painstakingly slow and fraught with perils but progress is under way and moving in the right direction.

Something else has come to attention recently, the myth of the The Eternity Door. When first he heard of it it sounded like one of many tall tales that circulates the region. Yet, evidence of the door's existence continued to find its way to him. Legends of the powerful keys that are said to unlock the it, old ruins predating Far Harbor, all of it proved to be an impossible lure to ignore. So much so because it harkened back to his very origin, the idea of a gift meant only for a true paragon. Was this the gift he was meant to have and the power of the gates was not a reward but a tool to lead him to the real prize?

Falco did what came naturally to him, he set out on a dangerous expedition to one of the old islands to seek out and capture a priest of the Scaly Folk and force the truth from the thing. While the cost in lives was high he returned one such creature and painfully extracted the information he needed. Then, he added the reptile to his artifact collection as a living exhibit, taking great pleasure in knowing he's the only person in Tairos to have one.

With the stories now verified he has joined the hunt for the elusive keys and the prize waiting behind the Eternity Door

Additional Visions

Negotiations break down between the Baron and the ogre chieftain

Falco Vs Ogre

Falco's Rage

Falco and the closest thing to a friend he has in all of time, the nefarious Count Bolsiver Fenring

Falco and Fenring

Baron Falco Servanti by Antti Hakosaari

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

A step beyond peak physical condition for a human male

Special abilities

Whatever happened to Falco in the nameless city did more than just impart him with the knowledge of gate operation. His body was pushed to levels beyond what peak human capabilities can achieve. He is stronger, faster, and able to quickly analyze complex situations across a broad spectrum of academics. His wounds heal at an accelerated rate, his immune system is able process and purge toxins with extreme efficacy, and his body seems capable of limited regeneration (which has slowed his aging to a crawl) as well. Many of these more martial abilities seem further enhanced while he is in the throes of a blinding rage

Apparel & Accessories

Prefers the finest options when available. In social situations that means impeccable attire. In battle that means the most glorious arms and armor possible. And when involved in contests of strength he prefers to be bare chested and on full display those watching

Specialized Equipment

Falco has collected a number of magical items over the course of his travels. Many are meant to protect him in moments of peril or provide contingencies should things go awry

Mental characteristics

Gender Identity

Male

Sexuality

Pansexual

Education

Baron Servanti's knowledge of gate usage was imparted to him by the control console he touched. The rest of his impressive catalog of knowledge and strategy has come from the many years spent traveling across time.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Falco believes his list of accomplishments and achievements is near limitless and casts its shadow upon all other so-called exemplars. While an arrogant view to take it is not without foundation. He has personally bested some of the finest combatants in Tairos' history. He has slain many of the deadliest beasts to walk any age. And he has amassed an intellect comparable to the eldest of elven lords. If any one thing could be considered his most precious achievement it's the collection of trophies and artifacts he's curated over the years.

Failures & Embarrassments

None. Falco doesn't acknowledge anything as a failure because goals that have yet to be accomplished are either still works in progress or efforts that he realized aren't necessary any longer. A paragon cannot failure, they can only be cheated or delayed. A paragon is inevitable

Mental Trauma

Some might say considerable. There is speculation that the gate controls deeply altered his thought patterns and led to an extreme degradation of empathy and morality. While in control and planning his advances he is seen to exhibit classic psychopathic tendencies but when his temperament shifts dangerous sociopathic rages take over that can last moments or hours before abating. However; it's certainly possible that the simple tribal leader had always been capable of these dangerous extremes put the struggle for survival kept them in check.

Intellectual Characteristics

Baron Servanti is deeply philosophical and very much considers himself an archetypal philosopher-king. He appreciates art, fine food and drink, displays of athleticism, and tales from history. That said; he views them through a very particular lens. He appreciates the art he has. He enjoys the food and drink because it consists of recipes plucked from across time, something only he could do. The feats of athletes are enjoyed only because he can compare them to what he is capable of and comfortably shadows. And tales from Tairos' history, the great heroes are either peers he has surpassed or foes he's broken in battle.

Morality & Philosophy

Falco's primary morality lies in the concept of the Übermensch. He is a person of exceptional caliber and the only meaning or value that existence has is that which he assigns to it.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Demonstrate his superiority and claim the rewards owed for his peerless position he alone holds

Social

Religious Views

If gods are capable of failing, if they're capable of being cut off because of The Queen's Rebuke , then how can they truly be gods. Gods stand above all others and the gods of Tairos certainly do not

Hobbies & Pets

Falco has many pets but they are treated more as show pieces and part of his collection rather than valued living things for which he has any affection for

Speech

Falco is able to both identify and convincingly mimic most of the accents, dialects, and vocal mannerisms for any of the languages he speaks. He doesn't learn a language that isn't worth completely mastering. Only another linguistics' expert would be able to tell he is not a native speaker

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Current Location

Far Harbor

Species

Humanity

Ethnicity

Old Balmorans

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Baron associated with the Empire of Balmoral

Age

Children

Gender