Rigel Fearshroud
Rigel of Freemill (a.k.a. Fearshroud)
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Early Life
Rigel was once a simple soldier serving on the borders of the Holy Kingdom of Caresnas. Unhappy with his prospects he was only too eager to listen when a man with intelligent eyes and a good deal of gold offered him an opportunity for wealth and power. Rigel tried to seize the opportunity but his attempts at luring a patrol into an ambush failed miserably, with the ambushers killed and Rigel's betrayal all too obvious to his former comrades. Rigel fled into the mountains and proved crafty enough to evade his pursuers. In the mountains Rigel found a group of bandits who were willing to welcome a former soldier. The bandits were mostly former serfs who had little training in fighting. Though hardly a gifted commander, Rigel's experience set him well ahead of his fellows and it didn't take long for him to become the group's leader. Under Rigel's leadership the group became known as The Feasting Crows, and a string of easy victories led them to becoming overbold, attacking larger and wealthier targets. When word arrived about a wagon carrying taxes that had lost half it's guards to an ogre attack there was no way the Crows were going to pass on the opportunity. Out of all of them, only Rigel had some reservations, but he knew if he didn't take this chance then the group would turn on him. Rigel had already established that the best way for him to lead was to hang back and shout orders. After all, how could he see any threats to the group if he was rushing ahead of them. The rest of the Crows had accepted the reasoning of the former soldier as they'd heard that was how officers behaved amd so they weren't surprised when Rigel hung back during the attack. They were very surprised by the ambush the soldiers guarding the wagon launched, and if any of them had survived they may have been surprised by quickly Rigel gave them up for lost. In fact Rigel had started running after giving the order to attack and was well on his way back to the mountains by the time the ambush was launched.Dreams of Glory
With his latest band of allies destroyed Rigel was at a bit of a loss. Their camp was still there but he was unsure if any of his band of thieves had survived, and if they would view him as a traitor if they find him there. He therefore decided to try to find a new place to lie low. As luck would have it he found a nice set of caves with a nearby stream quite easily. After a bit of cautious investigation, Rigel concluded that the caves were unoccupied at this point in the year and took up residence in one of the smaller caves which was a bit more concealed than the others. While not all that skilled in other areas, if there was one thing Riigel did know how to do it was survive and it wasn't long before he had a fairly decent camp. Having found ample found in the area Rigel was in the process of getting ready to start smoking meat to extend his supplies when he started having odd dreams. While it wasn't unusual for Rigel to dream of leading forces into battle, this was the first time he had dreamt about leading them against Caresnas. He'd never thought of himself as a traitor but this latest setback had awakened an anger within him. Despite this anger towards those of Caresnas Rigel found the dreams rather uncomfortable and after a few nights experiencing them he realised that there must be something in the area affecting him. Rigel quite liked the home he was making for himself so rather than simply leaving he decided to hunt around for whatever was causing the dreams. After a few weeks of exploring the nearby caves Rigel found a carved stone doorway with unfamiliar symbols on the frame. With his curiosity piqued Rigel spent a couple of days searching for a way past the door before discovering it was a fake, with the real way in hidden behind a rock nearer to he cave entrance. As Rigel made his way in the tunnel changed from unworked rock to what appeared to be polished marble. Further in torches resting in sconces illuminated the corridor, which Rigel found a bit strange as the dust he was disturbing showed no-one had been down here for years if not longer. The corridor led to a square chamber about eight foot across. In the centre of the room, illuminated by more burning torches, was a marble sarcophagus. The relief on the top showed a heavily armoured figure holding a sword. Around the dges of the sarcophagus was a form of angular writing that Rigel had no idea how to read. After a few minutes of careful thought Rigel decided that while his camp was quite nice, there was too much here that looked straight out of a winter night's story and that it was time to leave. Returning outside he gathered his belongings and headed south out of the mountains.A blameless Life
Rigel had heard enough stories about cursed tombs to know that the best way to avoid being ensnared was to live a fairly blameless life going forwards. He managed to find a village in need of some extra hands, and while the anger towards his former comrades still burned it grew less intense over time. After six months of toiling as a labourer even the dreams of conquest started to fade. Pleased with his cleverness in escaping the pull of the tomb, Rigel began to assert himself more in the village. His experience in leading a band of robbers proved surprisingly useful in securing a place as the leader of the local militia, and much to Rigel's surprise he found himself enjoying earning the respect of the other villagers. All this fell apart when a member of his old patrol came through the village and recognised him. Rigel was arrested as a deserter and traitor and placed in the village stocks while arrangements were made for his jounrey to face judgement. Several of the villagers were convinced that this must be a mistake and attempted to free Rigel. Although they were successful in freeing him, the soldiers discovered the escape and the villagers were hunted down by the soldiers. Only Rigel managed to escape, and with no other options he made his way back into the mountains.Seizing Power
The anger which had been burning low for months flared up again, stoked by the feelings of injustice against himself and those who had tried to rescue him. With the anger came the dreams again, and this time Rigel saw himself not as a conqueror, but as a liberator who would overthrow the tyrants of Caresnas. Barely aware of where he was going, Rigel found himself back at the site of his old camp. His mind filled with visions of himself leading a rebellion against the wicked oppressors who had repeatedly denied him his due, Rigel returned to the sarcophagus. Unaware of how he knew what to do, Rigel located a hidden switch on the side of the sarcophagus that triggered a hidden door to open in one of the chamber walls. Behind the door was the armour and sword depicted on the top of the sarcophagus, looking in perfect condition. No longer able to resist the lure of the power that his dreams had shown could be his, Rigel moved to don tha armour. He was surprised, but not dismayed, when the armour responded to his touch, the pieces seemingly moving of their own accord. As the final piece settled into place, Rigel picked up the sword and then almost dropped it as a sharp pain stabbed through his chest and right hand. The pain faded within moments and Rigel shrugged it off as just his imagination. Eager to see how in looked in his new armour, he hurried outside to check his reflection in a nearby pool. Rigel was not disappointed, as he found he cut quite a commanding figure in the armour, and the high shoulder plates framing his head seemed to give his expression a greater intensity than before. Drawing the sword, Rigel was pleased to find it well balanced and after spending some time practicing a few heroic poses he was overcome with a desire to try it out. A nearby tree proved a tempting target, and much to Rigel's delight the sword didn't just cut deeply into the wood, it went right through. Despite the upper half of the tree nearly braining him, Rigel was laughing as he dodged out of the way. With a weapon like this he would carve through the tyrant's troops with ease. After calming down a little, Rigel once again left the mountains and headed back down into Caresnas. The return journey proved much faster as Rigel felt no fatigue and was able to keep up a good pace despite his heavy armour. As he enterered the outer edges of Caresnas Rigel began looking for potential targets so that he could begin his glorious mission to free the oppressed people. A small patrol of soldiers were unlucky enough to be scouting the area, and while Rigel would once have bided his time and tried to set up an ambush, now he felt no fear and simply charged them. The soldiers were no strangers to combat, having faced many goblins, orcs, and beasts but they were no match for Rigel. Every one of Rigel's blows cut through armour and powered through parries while the soldiers' blows seemed to just bounce of Rigel's armour. Within a few short minutes all seven members of the patrol were dead, not even having had enough time to panic or flee. Elated with his success, Rigel decided it was a good time to revisit the village where he had been arrested to get some measure of revenge.A New Existence
Arriving at the village, Rigel found that the soldiers were still there and were using it as their base while they searched for him. This time, rather than rushing in Rigel elected to wait for nightfall. While sure he could kill all of the soldiers without any risk to himself, Rigel wanted to create an impression which he was sure would draw others who would value freedom as he did. As night fell Rigel snuck quietly into the village, amazed at how little his armour made. He managed to get to within 12ft of the patrol's leader before being noticed. The soldiers had no idea Rigel was there until Rigel cut their leader in two with a single stroke. Confident in his own abilities and those of the armour, Rigel set about crippling the soldiers, severing or breaking limbs rather than killing them. He found the sense of fear from them intoxicating and failed to notice one of their number did not flee, and had instead loaded a crossbow. Rigel barely had time to hear the deep vibration from the crossbow's cord before the bolt took him in the middle of his unprotected forehead. The pain was intense but mercifully brief before Rigel lost consciousness. He was surprised when he was able to open his eues again a few moments later. From the position of the soldiers it seemed he had been out for only a few seconds. The soldiers' cheers of triumph quickly turned to fear and horror as Rigel stood again, and began chasing them down. His original plan forgotten, Rigel chased down and killed the remaining soldiers, but when he called out to the villagers that it was safe and that he had freed them from he the tyrant he was dismayed to find his former comrades in the militia had arrayed themselves against him. Rocks and spears were hurled at Rigel, along with insults like fiend and monster. Realising that the villagers had decided to side with the tyrant rather than their liberator, Rigel cast aside what little affection he had remaining for them and treated them as he had the soldiers. Following the slaughter of those foolish enough to stand against him, Rigel remembered the blow to his head and reached up to check the wound. He was surprised he felt no pain and there was no trace of the bolt. Taking off one of his gloves so he could check for blood Rigel was shocked to find the flesh had disappeared from his right hand. Frantically scrabbling Rigel used the bones that were all that was left of his right hand to remove the left glove, only to find his other hand was also reduced to bone. Panicking now, Rigel went running around the village trying to find a reflective surface, not noticing that it seemed totally deserted. After much searching he found a polished piece of metal that allowed him to see his face. What stared back at him was not the commanding face he had seen up in the mountains. Now it was a skull, with a small crack in the forehead. His eyes were now black orbs wreathed in purple and green flames. Rigel was sure he should be terrified of his own face, but as the initial panic gave way he realised that he wasn't scared. It was like the initial panic was how he thought he should feel, rather than something he truly felt and the fear just couldn't take hold. As cold hard logic gradually took over he became aware that he no longer had a heartbeat, nor was he breathing. His worst fears from when he was alive had been realised, the armour had cursed him. But in his new cold state, Rigel was not dismayed. Now he was unstoppable. He could throw down the tyrant and set himself up as an immortal ruler.An unfortunate weakness
Though filled with dreams of conquest, Rigel finally noticed the lack of any villagers. He was sure he had only killed about a quarter of them so he started looking around. After half a glass of searching he found some tracks heading southwest. Though he had lost a lot of time, Rigel set off in pursuit. It was soon clear that the villagers were making for another small settlement named Joste. Joste wasn't a large village, but it was well known in the area as it had the only temple for 20 miles. While the local priest travelled a circuit of the villages to provide healing, prayers, and sermons, he insisted that all major ceremonies be conducted in the temple. The villagers clearly thought that the temple or priest would offer some protection. Despite his irritation with the villagers for turning against him, Rigel couldn't help being amused by the thought of old Guide Kyle providing any protection. Barely topping 5ft the old preacher was as skinny as an elf, and would have difficulty standing up to a child let alone a fully armed warrior. When Rigel finally reached Joste, the sun was sitting just below the horizon. Although tempted to wait so he could make a dramatic entrance as the sun rose behind him, Rigel decided he wasn't that patient and walked up to the village gates. Finding them closed, Rigel didn't bother calling for them to be opened and just used his sword to smash them apart. Striding into the village, Rigel was not surprised to see that all the people were gathered in and around the temple. As he approached Rigel could see Guide Kyle standing at the boundary of the temple grounds, seemingly waiting for him. Rigel could almost taste the fear coming from the people in the temple as he swaggered along the street. The only person who seemed unimpressed with Rigel's splendour appeared to be the old Guide who stepped out to meet him. Planning to terrify the people of Joste by cutting down their Guide with a single blow, Rigel was more than a little surprised when his swift downward stroke was deflected by a shimmering field that surrounded Kyle. He was even more surprised by the steely look in Kyle's eyes and the light that suddenly blazed out of the sun emblem Kyle held in his right hand. The light burned Rigel with a pain more intense than anything he had endured in life. Stumbling back he felt the beginnings of fear, not the remembered fear from earlier, this was true terror of something that could destroy him. Behind Kyle Rigel could hear the villagers singing a hymn to the sun god and the sound seemed to amplify the pain. Kyle advanced, chanting a prayer praising his god and calling down divine retribution on the undead fiend before him. Rigel was forced to flee from the little priest and retreated from the village. Now aware that he had a serious weakness Rigel returned to the mountains to gather his thoughts and make new plans. The south was clearly too dangerous as it was infested with priests, so Rigel decided to head north. Once he would have feared to head into the savage lands alone but now it seemed the far safer option.Entering the savage lands
Travelling into the Savage lands it didn't take Rigel long to run into a band of greenskins. The creatures attacked before they realised what Rigel was and didn't live long enough to regret their mistake. After beheading the last one it occurred to Rigel that he would have been better trying to enslave them to start building himself an army. When he encountered another band he made a bit more effort to leave a few alive but even after succeeding in that he found that he couldn't communicate with his captives. Rigel had never been a quick study so it took him most of a season before he could make himself understood by his captives. With that difficulty overcome Rigel began recruiting in earnest. Despite his terrible appearance the greenskins were soon following Rigel willingly as he led from the front and constantly brought them victory. As his band grew Rigel began searching the savage lands for items of power, following up on even the slightest rumour and killing or enslaving any who got in his way. Despite his successes Rigel was unable to find the thing he sought, a way to protect himself from divine power. His search finally led him to a set of caves that were home to the Braklin Sisters.The Braklin Sisters
Rigel and the Sisters did not meet on the friendliest of terms. While they didn’t fight each other directly they did spend time pitting their minions against the other’s. After realising that neither side was likely to prevail without the loss of most of their forces Rigel and the Sisters agreed to join forces. In addition to swelling the size of their army, Rigel and the Sisters had complimentary skill sets, with the Sisters providing magic and Rigel providing his fighting experience. The Sisters were not totally happy in the alliance despite their newly expanded domain and they had a captured dwarf forge a helm for Rigel that they hoped would allow them to control him. Rigel was delighted with the helm, and even more pleased when the Sisters’ attempts to dominate him backfired. Rigel was at something of a loss as to what he should do with his new control of the Sisters. Since their alliance had started they were the ones who had been creating the long term plans, and Rigel was unsure of what he wanted beyond having a way to resist the divine power that could be unleashed by clerics. In the end Rigel decided to keep his instructions simple, telling the Sisters not to betray him and to find ways to increase his power. The simplicity of his instructions left the Sisters very little room to manoeuvre so they made relatively few attempts to destroy Rigel while trying to increase his power. While the Sisters worked, Rigel continued to lead his army, leaving a trail of blood and destruction through the savage lands. The constant fighting and a need to preserve at least some of his warriors meant that Rigel gradually acquired a reasonable grasp of tactics and strategy. As he learned to do more than just lead a wild charge into the enemy Rigel began to attract members of the southern races to his banner. Several of these new volunteers turned out to be spies from Caresnas, but the Sisters were able to identify and corrupt them before they could report back.Taking Fort Elegar
When the Sisters identified a way to boost Rigel's power he wasted no time in directing his forces towards what was once Fort Elegar. There was no difficulty in seizing the fortress, but the spirits haunting the place made it impossible for Rigel's forces to take up residence. Only Rigel and the Sisters were able to enter without fear which gave the Sisters the peace they needed to complete their work. Conscious that his forces were vulnerable and likely to get bored, Rigel set them two tasks; raiding towards the north, and gathering supplies to rebuild the fortress defences. The raids were kept away from any settlements linked to the southern lands allowing Rigel the time needed for the Sisters' ritual. As natural attrition reduced his forces, Rigel didn't bother recruiting more, relying instead on animated corpses as he waited for the Sisters to finish. After a century of work, the Sisters presented Rigel with his newly enhanced helm. As a side effect of the enchantment, Fort Elegar was no longer haunted, and Rigel started recruiting for his army again. As his army grew, Rigel began ordering attacks to the south.Fearshroud Domain
Leading his raiding parties, Rigel found that he was now able to resist the powers of clerics and his raids grew bolder. Unfortunately for him, he drew too much attention and the massed forces of The Alliance were sent against him. As his army was driven back, Rigel was forced to realise that powerful as he was, there was little oone warlord could do against a force that powerful. After issuing a final set of orders to his remaining warriors to hold the fortress Rigel fled with the aid of the Sisters. Travelling far to the north, Rigel carved out a new domain, subjugating greenskins and giants. The few expeditions sent from the south to investigate this land never returned. When the years of darkness came Rigel found his forces under as much pressure as those in the south, and much of his kingdom was destroyed. While inconvenient this wasn't a disaster for Rigel as he and the Sisters proved a match for even powerful demons. When the years of darkness ended, Rigel set about rebuilding his forces, and was able to expand his kingdom beyond what it had been before.
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Current Location
Species
Children
Gender
Male
Height
5'10"
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