Kaarak
Sovereign of Death and Decay.
Lore pending
This page carries Kaarak’s strictures and little else. The wider lore of his faith — his tombs, his rites, his clergy, his place among the Sovereigns — has not been written yet. What is here is complete and canon; it is simply not the whole page.
Many are those who seek what cannot be traded — another’s soul, true love, a year of life. Those whose need or greed outweigh their sense or morals will sometimes seek to bargain with Kaarak. His clergy, called Talons, are his brokers, and the dead are often their stock: they can buy a servant that never tires, make it dance like a puppet, and hold it past any hope of release.
A bargain with Kaarak is always kept, and should never be trusted. Trade ten years for fame and the fame may come — but you will never know when the ten years fall due. He does not cheat; he has no need to. The price is exact and never plain, and by the time you can read it, it is paid.
Traditions that teach him: the Antiquarian.
His worship day is Sar, the week’s end, shared with Baaldra, when the household gathers and remembers its dead.
The dwarves and the gnomes name him otherwise. Where a Sairan says Kaarak, they say Kolturrant, and call him Sovereign of Desire and Darkness, and claim to reckon their bargains in coin rather than corpses.
Strictures
There is no light way to worship Kaarak. No tradition teaches him to a lay follower; the least of his servants is already sworn as deeply as a monastic of any other Sovereign, and his deepest have signed away more than behavior.
Antiquarian
- A Talon of Kaarak must always carry on his person his ledger of covenants, the record of all of his bargains, both worldly and otherworldly.
- A Talon of Kaarak must offer prayers at dusk each day. Offering prayers requires one hour (6 turns).
- A Talon of Kaarak must never give freely when he can extract some price or favor instead. He may not cast spells nor use his powers for charity, only for profit. He will keep to the letter of any contract; further concessions require a new bargain.
- A Talon’s bargains are valid beyond death. If a party dies without paying, the debt is extracted from her estate — or her corpse.
- A Talon of Kaarak is bound to the service of his master, and must play the apprentice until his debts are paid. Until the character reaches 7th level, his master may impose a duty upon him each month, which he must honor without a corresponding favor.
- A Talon of Kaarak has pledged his own soul to the Keeper. He may not be raised, resurrected, reincarnated, or by any means restored to life, unless his return is bought with a sacrifice of equal value.
- Any failure of the Talon to keep these strictures must be kept in his ledger, that he may keep Kaarak honest when the price comes due.
The bargain
A share is profit. A Talon throws his full power into a venture he shares in and breaks nothing: the common gain was his price. A favor granted beyond that venture is its own bargain, and its debt is owed separately.
Every bargain is kept, and none is safe. Kaarak does not break his word; he does not have to. The one who deals with him may not know when the price will fall due, or whether the thing bought was worth the thing paid — only that the account will be settled in full, in his coin, at his choosing. His own servants broker on those terms, and can promise a buyer nothing better.